The $450 Manhattan Room Mystery: Why Was a Famous Surgeon Performing Midnight Blood Rituals Behind My Wardrobe Wall?
👉 Previous Decision: You chose to break into the brownstone’s locked basement boiler room and found videotapes of Finch’s rituals.
The fluorescent lights of the 19th Precinct flickered over Detective Kincaid’s desk. He watched, unimpressed, as I fumbled with the ancient VCR I’d salvaged from Finch’s basement. The tapes, tangible proof, felt heavy in my hands.
“This is it,” I said, my voice tight with urgency. “Actual video evidence of Finch’s rituals, dating back to ’94.”
Kincaid leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. The first tape played. The screen showed static, then flickered with brief, distorted images of shadowy figures under pulsing red lights. The electromagnetic interference from Finch’s ritual room had corrupted the recordings.
“Ms. Hensley,” Kincaid said, sighing. “I’m looking at blurry shapes and a lot of static. You say this is Dr. Finch? I see a man in scrubs. Could be anyone.”
“But the dates! The patients! They were terminally ill, then they recovered!” I insisted, my voice cracking.
He picked up a file on his desk. “We’ve had reports. Your supervisor, Dr. Finch, alleges you’re suffering from grief-induced psychotic hallucinations. Excessive exhaustion from caring for your late mother.”
“It’s not hallucinations! Dr. Helen Vance is on one of these tapes, and she was on his operating table just last night!” I pointed at the VCR.
Kincaid shook his head. “Without clear visual proof, without a living victim willing to come forward, I can’t act against a prestigious surgeon based on these… ghost images. And the word of a suspended nurse.” He looked at me with an unnerving blend of pity and professional detachment. “Honestly, Ms. Hensley, you look like you need sleep. A lot of it. And maybe some counseling.”
He clicked off the VCR, the screen going dark. My chest felt tight. My evidence, my only hope, had turned into static and disbelief.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 10 to continue the story
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