We turned the last turn, and a strong white light illuminated the entire room. The concrete was slippery, I fell to my knees, and my flashlight echoed on the stone floor. When I looked up, I saw my hands lying in thick black hair. I pulled my hand out of the tangles, and the connected skull, brain, and remaining parts of the victim's face cascaded out of this small room. Alex was behind me, tumbling in the massacre, her arms and jeans covered with blood.
I pulled her up and pulled her to a corner to block her blood. After a while, Alex's heavy breathing stabilized. I felt the lights flashing behind me, turned around, and saw this scene. Fifteen bodies were found in blood-soaked concrete 10 feet in diameter. Alex's flashlight was placed in Zhung Yāng at the scene of the massacre, and there was undoubtedly a dolphin tattoo in the beam.
Ashley was dead, her body was destroyed, I closed my eyes and felt the anger burning in my chest. It feels like every red blood cell in my body has stopped their trajectory and entered a death sprint state, rushing towards my heart. I can't help thinking that Ashley is dead because she is in my class and because she is in contact with me. In a sense, I killed her.
Fortunately, I couldn't afford the luxury of despair, and I struggled to pick up my phone and call Caitlin. She did not answer, I followed the instructions and left detailed information. After a few seconds, my phone vibrated and I bounced it off. Caitlin blurted out, "I'm on the road."
The lights turned around, Alex pressed a big red switch, and the horn began to roar. The lights went out, the roar died down, and the engine went out. Alex picked up the flashlight from the scene of the massacre, shot it slowly on the camera, and stopped. Through the faint light reflected by the lens, I was completely stunned by seeing the facial features caused by Alex. She yelled, "Damn!"
Caitlin was still on the phone, yelling: "What?"
Ashley's eyes are fixed on the rotating lighthouse lens, like two fried eggs. The flesh around the eyes was bubbling, cracking, and hissing.
It took a second for Alex to notice this nasty thing. The flashlight in her hand hit the ground, engulfing us in total darkness. I climbed up to her and led her down the stairs of the lighthouse. We came out of the lighthouse and breathed the long-awaited fresh ocean air together.
I pulled myself under the railing and slid down the concrete foundation. Alex entered lemming mode and followed me to the small wooden lighthouse dock. I bent down on the edge of the ten-foot-wide pier and pulled the anchor out of the water. The edges of the two ropes are very clean. They'd better sail separately and disappear into the night.
I sat on the edge of the pier, absently resting my legs on the side. Alex sat down beside me, his feet sinking into the dark blue cracks. There was a wave between my palms, splashing water on my face, trying to wash away the pattern on my eyelids in some way: Ashley’s Jǐng vigilant eyes attached to their artificial eyes.
I can feel Alex shaking his head next to me. She asked: "Who is-used to be-her?"
"Ashley Andrews, she is my student."
"sorry."
"Me too."
This was the only word he mumbled to himself.
Ten minutes later, the Jǐng horn in the distance began to sound, and the sound became louder and louder. The fog has dissipated a bit, and if I squint, I can almost recognize that Alex is next to me.
Alex said, "It's time to play the tour guide."
I nodded, pulled my leg out of the current, and kicked my new running shoes into the sea. Alex planned to do the same, and I said, "No trouble. You can't go back."
She nodded and pushed her heel back into her shoe. "What do you want me to do? If Caitlin sees me, she will kill you."
Alex is right. Caitlin would frown at Alex's performance in work and personal life. I looked around, "Why don't you go to the West End of London. There is a small platform in front of the lighthouse. We will go in in a few minutes and you can start."
Alex hesitated, approached me, kissed lightly on my cheek, and then disappeared from my sight.
After half a minute, the three bouncing balls of light turned into plump, feather-filled illuminating fog streams. I turned to the light, covered my eyes, and heard Wade Gleason slowly say: "The sweatshirt is good. I hope Pooh has an alibi?"
I think I look stupid because I am barefoot and my pants are rolled above my knees. I took the sweatshirt out from the bottom and said, "His hand is stuck in the honey jar. Also, I don't think he can hold the axe." I was doing nothing in the spotlight. "There is no opposing thumb."
The light disappeared from me, climbed to the foundation of the lighthouse, and then continued to climb the east wall. From the corner of my eye, I saw Alex's figure hiding in Yin's shadow. The other three obviously didn't notice this movement. I pulled myself to the foundation, and the four of us gathered at the edge of the entrance.
Caitlin asked: "Are you surely Ashley?"
No, I'm not sure. It is not uncommon for many women to have black hair and dolphin tattoos. However, I don't know that there are other women who fit the description, they have a real relationship with me, or more **, Tristen Greer will benefit from killing, jiān and praying.
"Yes, that's her."
"sorry."
Gregory and Gleason both nodded in sympathy. The three of them excitedly followed me up the stairs of the lighthouse. A homicide detective walking up the stairs to the crime scene is like a child walking down the stairs at Christmas, except that the gift is unwrapped. I was sneaky, I knew the current situation, and I felt more of a feeling that I couldn't solve it.
We came out of the spiral staircase, and the lights of three flashlights hit the filthy place. This is more terrifying than it seems at first glance. A short minute passed, and each of us was immersed in this scene. Caitlin broke the silence, "What is this?"
She stood by the lens of the lighthouse, pointing at the two condensation pockets on the glass. I can not believe it. Ashley's eyes are missing.
I walked to where Caitlin was standing. Behind the glass where the eyes are, water condenses. In addition, there is no evidence that Ashley's eyes have turned to the sun mirror twenty minutes ago. I am looking for some kind of explanation. Will the eyes fall off? Even if they have, they have nowhere to go. Maybe the motor started, and the rotating lens took the eye outside. No, Alex and I will see the lights continue to light up and the camera will stop at exactly the same position.
I stared at the three people staring at me dumbfounded. I don't doubt whether they think I have Parkinson's. I bent my temples to stop my head shaking, and said, "Her eyes. Ashley's eyes are like two fried eggs glued to the lens."
Gleason didn't look like he bought them. "If so, it looks like someone scraped them clean with a spatula."
His words were answered in the lighthouse room. "Scrape them clean with a spatula." I said to myself, he didn't come back, he never left. He always hides in the dark, lurking.
The shadow I saw was not Alex, but Tristen Greer.
I walked along the spiral staircase like a pillar of fire. Without the railing opposite the door, I might have done a terrible YMCA performance on the sea stage. I jumped under the railing and strode onto the granite seven feet below. How long have I not seen this figure? three minutes? five minutes
The fog dissipated, but the sky was still pitch black. It is impossible to see the end of each granite stone and the beginning of the next stone. They didn't build the lighthouse here for fun. I didn't see any lights shaking and weaving in the dark. If Tristen was going on a pilgrimage, he did it without the help of a flashlight.
I took the phone out of my pocket. Do you want me to call Alex? No, Alex is probably dead. I called Connor, but he didn't answer it. I can only think of another person and dialed the phone.
When the first bell rang, the other end was connected. I was about forty feet away from the lighthouse, and it was not a simple matter to make a phone call on the rock with headphones. I could hear his breathing on the phone, and I said, "Kevin? Are you there?"
Finally he said angrily: "Well, yes. What's the matter? We heard all the Jǐng flutes and saw two Jǐng cars coming. Is anyone dead?"
"Where are you?"
"In front of the monument. Has anyone died?"
The monument is about one-eighth of the height of the breakwater. I told him the truth: "Yes, someone died. The murderer is heading toward you. Start walking toward the shore. Go now."
He didn't respond, I think he might be pulled on his pants.
Kevin went on to say, "I think I pulled my pants up." Here you are.
I heard him coming and asking, "Did you see the car I stopped?"
"Yes."
"The password next to it is 1. Repeat it for me."
"Yes. There is a spare key in the ashtray." I didn't throw these kids into the crazy world devoured by sharks. They will be safer in a Range Rover than they are now. This is more like throwing plankton into the path of a humpback whale. "When you go in, lock the door. Then I want you to drive to the water and turn on the lights." I gave him instructions.
He repeated: "1. There is a spare ashtray in the ashtray. Drive to the water. When I see a figure, I light it up."
"Perfect."
I was on the road at the time, and I estimated that I was still three-quarters away from the shore. At this time, the lights of the Range Rover were on, illuminating most of the distance in the final sprint. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)