Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Chapter 136 Nursing Home (Part 2)

"So he was transferred to this nursing home—" Isaac looked at the note, "Sent from the city hall?"

"They're probably being treated as homeless or mentally challenged by the city police. Every year, there are quite a few homeless people who can't find their families. While able-bodied adults can be allowed to support themselves," the city police say, "the elderly and children, since the welfare bill was passed, are considered inhumane to simply evict them. Therefore, corresponding policies have been introduced, with private welfare organizations helping to take them in. The operators can enjoy certain tax exemptions, making it a profitable business, although some people still try to exploit loopholes."

In other words, Ellerza was found by the city police, but since he couldn't speak clearly and they couldn't contact his family, they transferred him to this nursing home for care—Isaac said, "This is what you wanted to confirm, boss: did you know Ellerza might have been here?"

"Because this demon's face looked familiar. After thinking about it, I realized that such Eastern faces are not commonly seen in Vista. After a little more thought, I realized that he does resemble Elsa somewhat. He wrote to me saying that the mess he made was that he summoned a demon and got entangled with it."

Isaac frowned. It seemed that Elsa had summoned a demon, but might not be able to resist the cognitive and memory distortions caused by the demon, so he came to Carlo to solve this problem.

But Elsa, an Easterner, may have been mentally corrupted and confused when he arrived in Vista. He didn't find Carlo, but was instead picked up by the city police and later sent to this nursing home.

The room he lived in was the one at the end of the corridor on the third floor, and his demon stayed there with him.

“He moved in eight years ago, and seven years ago he disappeared from the records. There’s no record of him in the register, and the director has changed,” Carlo said. “I’ll go to the archives and see if there were any unusual reports about this nursing home seven years ago, or anything about E.

Records of Lesha's death or relocation.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Take another look around the office and see if there's anything else that's worth noting."

Carlo didn't say anything more, probably because he had temporarily disconnected and gone to the archives. Isaac looked at the remaining folders in the bookshelf and pulled out a few employee files.

After flipping through a few pages, Isaac found basic information about the caregivers and cooks. Most of them had worked at the nursing home for less than two years. Their departures and arrivals were sporadic. Isaac flipped directly to seven years ago, when all the staff had been replaced due to a change in the director.

It's not unusual for a nursing home to change leadership, but when even the frontline staff are all replaced, it usually means something is wrong.

Further on, the workforce becomes much more stable.

Isaac closed the booklet, still feeling somewhat uneasy at the thought of that demon being right beside him.

—If it came here with Elsa eight years ago, and Elsa is now missing, it seems this demon might still be in that room.

So why the mass killings today? They haven't gone berserk in the past eight years, but something happened today of all days.

Moreover—Isaac recalled the gaze he had sensed before entering the nursing home.

Was it from this demon? But according to Carlo, the demon had been hiding on the ceiling of that room, "self-isolating," until he opened the door and then reacted.

Could there be something else in this building?

He thought of the underground zombie workshop the two police officers had mentioned; this might be one of the ghoul cult's strongholds.

The entire underground operation couldn't have been run by outsiders, and these frequently changing employees were very likely members of the Ghoul Cult. The periodic turnover was to prevent anyone from staying in one place for too long.

Isaac flipped through the ledger again, and after a moment, Carlo's voice rang out: "There was indeed something that happened seven years ago."

Isaac put the booklet back on the bookshelf: "Hmm?"

"Nessil Ellersha killed the founder of this nursing home, that wealthy businessman Elias."

"what?"

"It is said that Elias would regularly visit the residents in each room to check on the quality of the nursing home’s services. On that day, he entered Elsa’s room and Elsa stabbed him in the throat with a pair of hidden scissors, and then stabbed himself in the throat as well."

"At the time, this was handled as a regular murder case. After all, it seemed like a kind-hearted wealthy businessman visiting a mentally ill old man, only to be ambushed and killed by the madman. Back then, the cooperation between the FBI and the city police department wasn't as close as it is now. In cases like this, the city police department could handle them on their own and wouldn't report them to higher authorities."

"Fortunately, the murder case files are shared between the two sides, so I can find them here without having to go to the city police station."

Isaac leaned against the table, pondering the message.

When Elsa moved into the nursing home, he was probably already in a state of severe cognitive confusion. How could someone who couldn't even speak clearly and was transferred there by the city police as a homeless person suddenly go berserk and kill the founder of the nursing home, and then immediately commit suicide?

"When Elsa was brought in, he was already mentally unstable," Isaac said. "But he was kept in that room for almost a year without incident, until Elias came to see him, at that point in time—"

"It's too much of a coincidence. Are you suggesting that Elias did something to provoke Elsa?"

"Yes," Isaac nodded.

"Well, it's difficult to find out exactly what happened seven years ago. But we can at least speculate about what happened after Elias died seven years ago."

Isaac nodded: "After Elias died, the dean and staff changed. There are very few records of guests on the third floor, but the layout of the third-floor corridor doesn't look like it has been unused for a long time."

"Judging from this change, coupled with the suspected involvement of the Ghoul Cult underground, it is very likely that the Ghoul Cult took over this nursing home after Elias's death."

"If the third floor was a temporary stop for the ghoul cult, then it makes sense; there's a line of doors in the nursing home's basement."

Isaac paused for a moment after thinking about this.

According to Carlo, the victims ranged in age from twenty to fifty, with no elderly people among them. If this were a massacre targeting nursing home residents, the victims should have been predominantly elderly. However, the scene appeared to be more like a group of young adults trying to escape through the door.

If these people are all members of the Ghoul Cult —

Isaac suddenly realized something: "Boss, why did you call me over?"

"Because although the identities of those who died are still being verified, when they were brought to the FBI, I saw someone you recognized among them," Carlo said.

Isaac was taken aback: "Who?"

"Glen, although only his head is still intact, he's not hard to recognize."