Chapter 578

Hearing this, Penelope quickly asked where.
The man pointed to the house behind him. “My place.”
Left with no other choice, Penelope took Kristin and followed the man inside.
The house was large and sparse. The living room featured floor-to-ceiling windows and a fireplace, with a single armchair in front of it. There was nothing else.
Besides the kitchen and living room, there were two doors on the east side of the house, which she guessed were a bedroom and a bathroom.
The man told them to make themselves comfortable and went into the kitchen to prepare some food.
Ever since she saw him, Penelope felt something was off about the man. The last time she saw him at the hospital, he was dressed exactly the same.
Black slacks, black leather shoes, a white shirt under a black jacket, silver-rimmed glasses, and his hair, slicked with pomade, was parted neatly on the side without a single strand out of place.
At the time, she’d thought he was some kind of government official, but what kind of official would be home on a weekday in such a remote location?
Besides, did he own any other clothes? Was this his daily uniform?
“Penelope, I have to go to the bathroom!” Kristin said.
Penelope led her to the two doors on the east side. The smaller one, to the north, seemed like the bathroom. She pushed it open to find a pitch-black room and fumbled along the wall for a moment before finding the light switch.
When the light flickered on, what Penelope saw inside made her gasp.
Kristin was right behind her, about to peek inside, but Penelope quickly blocked her view and slammed the door shut.
“Penelope, I really have to go!” Kristin whined, stomping her little foot.
Penelope’s hands were trembling. She shushed Kristin and quickly pulled her toward the front door. Gesturing for her to be as quiet as possible so they wouldn’t alert the man in the kitchen.
When they reached the front door, Penelope pulled on the handle, only to find it locked. No matter how she twisted it, it wouldn’t budge.
If not the door, then the window.
Penelope rushed Kristin over to the window and was about to open it when… “Dinner’s ready!”
The man emerged from the kitchen carrying two plates, beckoning them to the dining table.
“Uh, my daughter needs to use the restroom.”
The man pointed to the west side of the house. “There’s a hallway over there. The bathroom is at the end.”
“Th-thank you.”
Penelope stammered, quickly pulling Kristin in that direction The
bathroom must have a wed
she
thought. We can escape through it.
But when she opened the bathroom door, there was no window. Penelope was stunned. She quickly recovered, closed the door, and pulled out her phone to call the police.
“Officer, we’ve run into a murderer!”
“Yes, we’re at his house right now!”
“There’s a room in his house filled with all sorts of murder weapons! And there are
dismembered body parts and blood on the bed!”
“He’s locked the front door, we can’t get out!”
“Okay, I’ll try to keep him calm until you get here!”
After hanging up, Penelope was still panicking.
That room looked like a
slaughterhouse-not for animals, but for people. On the blood soaked bed, she had seen severed hands and feet…
She had been too careless! How could she have just walked into a strange man’s house, especially in such a secluded place?
And the man had been so eager to bring them here. He must have targeted them.