Explaining took a few minutes. John’s response was instant:
“Holy shit! That’s insane! I knew that wasn’t Chris!”
I typed: “I’m calling 911. Don’t do anything, especially don’t call Chris. Let the police handle it.”
John’s reply shocked me:
<
8:56
974
“I already called. Stay put, whatever you do,
don’t go to 404 like Chris did.
They’ll contact me. Don’t leave your apartment.
Wait for my text, then we’ll talk to them
together.”
“Okay,” I replied, finally feeling a bit safer. The
police would sort this out.
But John’s repeated warnings not to leave my
apartment made something click. I realized
what felt so wrong.
I’d heard David’s door close. But when I looked
through the peephole, he was outside my door.
He hadn’t gone back into his apartment.
- 6.
I sat in my dark living room, heart pounding, waiting. My phone buzzed. John had added
Michool Sarah and mo to a now! aroun chat
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He explained his suspicions. Michael and Sarah,
now wide awake, bombarded him with
questions. John answered, including what I’d
seen. His final message was:
“Don’t worry, I called 911. They’ll handle it. Just
added you guys in case the police need you to
confirm anything.”
Michael and Sarah said they’d cooperate.
David’s threat was terrifying enough. Add in
Chris’s disappearance, and no one was
sleeping tonight.
Thirty minutes later, the police arrived. They
went to John’s apartment first since he’d called.
John texted: “Police are here, talking to them
now. They might want to talk to you too, @401.”
I replied: “No problem. We need to know what’s
going on in 404, and where Chris is.”
A few minutes later: “Okay, the officer’s coming
down to you. He said I should stay put, too
many people moving around isn’t good.”
I ran to the door, glued my eye to the peephole.
I couldn’t see David’s door, only hear.
I heard the elevator, then footsteps. One set of
footsteps.
