Chapter 827: A GHOST
Chapter 827: A GHOST
THAT’S when George glanced at Luo Yan as if he only noticed his existence then. “You—tell me what happened!”
Luo Yan raised one of his brows. It seemed this guy was so shocked by his fall that he didn’t even bother with his ‘gentle’ act. “You fell from the fourth floor and we saved you.”
As if George only remembered what happened after Luo Yan mentioned that, he visibly shivered. “S-someone wants to kill me… it’s a ghost. It’s a ghost I tell you-!” The other suddenly grabbed Luo Yan’s arm. “You must save me, detective!”
Luo Yan’s eyes were filled with interest when he heard that. “Calm down first and tell me slowly what exactly happened.”
“I—I—”
“Take a deep breath first. That’s it. Now, tell me what happened.”
Luo Yan’s voice seemed to have a hypnotic effect. Because George slowly calmed down and started telling him what happened.
“After lunch, my wife and I went back to our room to rest because both of us didn’t feel well. It’s probably the effect of what happened last night. While sleeping, I suddenly heard a scream. It woke me up. I asked Cathy what was happening. But I didn’t get an answer. When I turned to her side of the bed, it was empty. I called for her name but no one answered. So, I walked out of the room and that’s when I saw it. A—a ghost.”
The other closed his eyes. He looked like he was trying really hard not to remember it.
“The g-ghost, it was standing at the end of the corridor. It started to walk towards me and I just unconsciously stepped back. I- I didn’t know what I was thinking back then. My mind just went black. I could have just returned back to the room but instead I continued to step back. Before I knew it, I was already falling out of the window.”
“Why do you think that what you saw was a ghost?” Luo Yan asked.
The other seemed to be very convinced that what he saw was indeed a ghost. But since this ‘world’ didn’t exactly have a supernatural setting, it’s impossible for ghost and the likes to actually exist. If the genre of this story suddenly changed from mystery/crime to horror, Luo Yan would definitely lose it.
George’s answer to his question was not really that unexpected if he thought about it but it still surprised him nonetheless.
“It’s… it’s Richard! I saw Richard!” George exclaimed, his gaze erratic. “What else could he be if not a ghost?”
“Mr. George, no- George, have you thought of the possibility that you might just be seeing things? From what I’ve heard, you have never met Richard. So, how can you make sure that it was him you saw?” Luo Yan said in a very calm tone.
“Yes, I didn’t meet him in person. But my wife- Cathy kept a small portrait of him on her dressing table,” George said that last part with a bit of hatred in his tone, as if he didn’t like that fact. “There’s no way I wouldn’t know how that guy looked like.”
Hah, it seemed that Catherine’s little obsession with her older brother wasn’t so little after all.
Luo Yan appeared thoughtful. Making it look like he was starting to believe George’s ghost nonsense so the other would tell him more details about this.
“Can you describe how you saw him and what he looked like the moment you did?” he asked.
“He was standing at the end of the corridor in the fourth floor. He- he was wearing long-sleeved white shirt and black pants. He appeared to be much older. But- but that face. I’m sure it was Richard,” George said.
“Did you notice anything else?”
“I- he has a weird way of walking. As if he has a problem with his gait.”
“Like he was dragging one of his feet or something?” Luo Yan asked, trying to get a better understanding of what the other saw.
“That’s it! He seemed to be dragging his left foot. I didn’t notice it at first because I was too scared but that seemed to be really the case.” Then as if realizing something, his eyes suddenly widened. “If what I saw was a ghost, then they shouldn’t have been dragging their foot like that. Th-then- does that mean that- that- what I saw wasn’t a ghost at all?!”
[That’s what I’ve been saying.] – Luo Yan thought sarcastically.
“Does this mean that Richard is still a-alive?” George asked, looking at Luo Yan with his eyes full of disbelief and fear.
“I can’t really say anything to that. What I do know is that you have to rest. I think all the things that happened had been affecting you in a fairly negative manner,” Luo Yan said in a soothing tone. He gently pushed the other back on the bed. “Sleep. Everything will be alright once you wake up.”
“I—where’s Cathy?”
“Don’t worry, she’ll be here soon,” Luo Yan said in a tone as if Catherine would really be here in a minute. “So, rest up first.”
He wasn’t sure if it was because of what he said or because of the tone of his voice, but George slowly closed his eyes. In a matter of minutes, he fell back asleep.
“Stay here with him,” Luo Yan said to the footman who looked very lost at the moment. Probably because he couldn’t keep up with the conversation that just occurred.
“Sir, detective, are we not going to tell Master George about what happened to his wife?” the footman asked in a low voice.
“No need.” Luo Yan then guided the footman to sit on the chair that the other had been sitting on while accompanying George. He lowered his head and whispered to the footman. “Stay in this chair and don’t move until I come back, okay?”
The footman looking all confused still nodded.
Satisfied, Luo Yan walked out of the room. Just as he did, he saw ‘Sofia’ walking towards him.