Arty corpses 2

A professional gamer, elite guild member of 'AA' android game.

A loner with no family, relatives or even friends.

She glanced at the initial photos of the corpse again, the one taken at the bathroom stall.

The air was thick with smell of sweat mixed with the dampness. Neon lights faintly flickered, casting shadows across the cramped space. Absence of ventilation made it suffocating and Jones rubbed her nose a few times.

A bathroom attached to the congested space, where the murder apparently occurred. Tiles slick with water and every step made a squelchy sound on wet tiles in the eerie silence.

The faint smell of disinfectant lingered somewhere. The surrounding plastic partitions were checked but showed no scratches or signs of struggle. The mirror and walls were checked for possible finger prints and sent for investigation. And a groove on the left wall, corresponding to the point where the handrail was settled seemed to be made out of it's impact.

The handrail protruding out of the corpse' head made the lifeless body stay upright on the seat. It's arms hung limply by his side, his hands curled as if still holding something that's no longer there. His face froze in grimace, lips parted and eyes wide open, it seemed to have looked at something terrible in it's last moments.

The blood dripped slowly from his chest on the floor, strangely forming a distinct pattern.

Also, the black trousers were lowered upto his knees, as if the murder either took place when he was using the bathroom or the scene was fabricated.

It was unlikely that the crime took place when the victim was in the stall.

At the same time, the security camera outside the restroom displayed the victim entering bathroom at 11:45 AM. No one else was seen entering or exiting during that time. However, the footage glitched at 11:58 AM, remaining static for few minutes before resuming.

But the camera at the corner of room was complete and not suggestive of any incident taking place inside the gaming room. He was seen simply walking to the restroom but not exiting it afterwards.

" This has to be a technical issue " The tech expert said nervously. Ross shook his head, " It's the same glitch we've seen before. " He said.

" How did he get here? The footage shows only one person was in the gaming area and this washroom isn't shared. " A team member spoke to another one.

" Either he was already in hiding here, could be from the staff or someone might have entered from outside. "

" Look into all the possibilities, Ross " Jones walked out of the room.

She walked out of the restroom and inspected the gaming PC victim was using at that time.

The PC was shifted from it's usual place. He might have a habit of adjusting the screen position to his comfort or it was a result of violence that might have occurred to him when he was seated there.

The gaming chair was clean with no blood. It's cushion pressed in the center, showing that he was using the chair continuously without any break.

The screen was stuck on a loading page. It's one side not working, displaying rainbow colours.

She stared at it for long. And she wasn't mistaken. Strange, glitchy letters floated in the center of the screen.

An officer handed her his cellphone collected from the side of the chair, on the floor. Broken, zig zag lines originated from its corner, occupying whole of it's screen. But the fact that the phone was still working yet it showed the time 11:30 AM and the date of yesterday was strange.

She sent the cellphone to tech expert. It was then that a call interrupted her.

She removed her gloves. She didn't pick the call up immediately and soon the call ended unanswered.

Her team members, having watched her react to that phone call, exchanged a meaningful glance.

Bang

The doctor slammed his fist against the door, silencing the room with a single sharp sound.

--

The whole staff of the place was suspected. However, neither the interrogation nor the hints summed up to point at a clear conclusion.

Jones rubbed her temples, trying to figure out what clues were they missing.

It was the game again. Sure enough, this game was the only reason these cases were taken with utmost seriousness. And because of her political relations was she able to know that the government was indeed speculating that it might be related to the game. It was also why she was appointed to investigate.

But investigating on field was tough. The suspected people didn't know about the game and the only evidence that victims were players of the game, was known through a government officer.

If the government knew and disclosing the system's details was not possible, what were they even searching for?

I'm pretty sure this investigation... it's just a pretense, isn't it?

Then wasn't racking brains a mere waste of their energy?

It simply meant ' investigate whatever you can but not delve into the depths, not seek what you aren't informed of '.

A call interjected her contemplation again.

" We need to talk, Jones." A deep voice called for her while his hand pulled her wrist.

His eyes stared unblocked at the vibrating cellphone in her hand. She knew what it was about.

She silenced the call, put the cellphone back in her pocket. Smacking the hand holding her wrist, she walked into a nearby room.

" I think it's time you stop having contacts with that white collar dog. "

His voice was deep and the tone was harsh. But it was not only him, others in the team too were skeptical about letting an outsider work with them, when they had to maintain highest level of confidentiality.

" What are you all so worked up for?" She said sloppily, stretching her neck and back casually.

The room was empty except for two of them and his gaze was sharp. She knew exactly what he was thinking but didn't want to spit something he himself wouldn't confess.

But apart from that, there was a more sensible reason. There was no permit, that officer was not a legal team officer and the deal was entirely informal, these were the points which would backfire her disastrously if found out.

But for working along with the team, it was necessary to tell them a bit about the game and it's possible influence. Not like they were convinced and that was why there was so much hostility.

But she had her own reasons. Rather, her personal reasons for risking her everything.

There was not much known to even the ruling government about this 'system' they were actually supporting, let alone a middling officer like her.

And even if by considering the seriousness of this matter, the cases that were assigned to her, it was not possible to remain uninformed about it and investigate the case related to it at the same time.

There was not a single chance that the legal team of that system would have seasoned her with the details. And again, she could get to know about the player victims via the officer himself.

Yet again she was at the divulging roads of thoughts. Everything meant that the investigation was pointless.

But was there any reason to refuse the curiosity of out-of-the-box thinker. Wasn't he more likely to spill the secrets when he himself was a wavering insider?

She had to admit, her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

It was worth the risk.

However, there was little planned out from this officer's side. All he had were suspicions on this character.

He had borrowed a cell phone from a distant friend, kept inside the locker room at the sauna. He was in touch with the investigation regularly until after few days, when the contacts were cut off.

A new murder case happened and he was thrown out of the team unknowingly.

*****