North asked, ‘Shall we begin replaying the footage at the midnight timestamp?”
After hearing this, Alex replied, “Yes, but at a speed of 8x.”
North then sped up the playback, and soon all eyes were glued to the monitor. However, the passage of time was still frustratingly slow despite the increased speed.
This was a private hospital that usually catered. to wealthy and influential people. Unlike most hospitals, it was not crowded, especially late at night, and the corridors were practically empty.
They stared fixedly for so long that their eyes grew weary.
It wasn’t until 12.50AM when a nurse pushed a cart from the other end of the corridor toward Phantom’s room. Nonetheless, she was completely hidden behind a hat and mask, making it impossible to see her face, but they could only confirm that she was a woman. Thus, everyone kept their eyes peeled for the nurse as she entered Phantom’s room. Unfortunately, no surveillance cameras were in the patient rooms, so they couldn’t tell what she did inside. Approximately ten minutes later, the nurse exited the room with the same composure with which she had entered, and she pushed the cart back to the nurse’s station using the same route.
Roughly ten minutes later, another nurse emerged from the station and entered Phantom’s room, but she left the room mere seconds after entering. Immediately after, medical personnel rushed to the room, and it became apparent that the Phantom had already passed away.
After seeing this footage, Olivia suggested, “Let’s rewind and see if the nurses were switched.”
Then, North pressed a few keys on the keyboard to split the computer monitor into two separate screens. The two nurses were clearly distinct individuals because the first nurse to enter was noticeably taller than the second, and their walking styles were obviously different..
In the meantime, she narrowed her eyes and calmly assessed the situation. “Someone most likely infiltrated the nurse’s station from outside the hospital. They used drugs or some other method to incapacitate the nurse, took the opportunity to commit the murder, and then retraced their steps to escape undetected.”
When Alex heard this, he agreed and said, “Yes, the ward assistant fell asleep. After questioning her for some time, she stated that the nurse had covered her mouth and nose, causing her to doze off. So, it’s clear that the nurse was the killer. I’ll go to the nurse’s station and look for clues that may have been left behind.”
He was about to leave when Olivia stopped him. “Enough, you can go tomorrow. Why are you exhausting yourself like this? Don’t you care about your own life?”
He sighed and replied, “I’m fine. I wouldn’t be at ease staying at home.”
After that, Eugene chimed in, “There’s no rush. I’ll inform the police station and have them take care of Jewel. We’ll investigate together tomorrow.”
Alex relented upon hearing this.
By now, it was already past 11.00PM.
Back in the room, Alex lay on the bed but couldn’t fall asleep. He closed his eyes and forced himself to get some rest, as they needed to uncover the truth the next day. Nonetheless, Jewel’s vivid image after image kept flashing before his eyes, each one brimming with life and vitality but also filled with unjust suffering. Despite his efforts to make her happy, the suffering inflicted by him and his mother was undeniably real… Although she had not done. anything wrong.
On the other hand, Albert looked into the situation independently to try to piece together. what had happened. After some investigation, he learned that Jewel, not Olivia, was arrested on suspicion of murdering Brett, the casino owner. As the new information left him bewildered, he proceeded straight to River because he believed that River was the only person who knew the truth.
However, River was surprised to see him. “Sir, why have you returned? Aren’t you keeping an eye on the clinic?”
Then, Albert asked, “I have something to ask you. Can you describe the woman you fought with at the hospital? Was it Jewel who visited Brett’s neighborhood on that particular day?”
After hearing this, River took a deep breath and looked at the man’s somber face before answering, “I’m not sure. After all, I don’t know Jewel personally. However, the woman had a red rose tattoo on her ankle and wore a black glove that could shoot steel wires from it. My wrist was injured because of those wires.”
While saying this, he pointed at his wrist, revealing a deep mark left by the wire.
