I was still gasping for air, my heart pounding like I'd just run a marathon. Rose had already holstered her pistol, her eyes intently fixed on the riddle paper. "Behind a deadly smile, a bitter truth is hidden."
"Okay, Miss Detective," I said, trying to catch my breath. "What now? A deadly smile? Sounds like a failed toothpaste ad."
Rose simply pointed at me. "Look, Arez, this code is very strange; I'm sure you understand its meaning."
I frowned and approached her to look at the code.
I glanced at her eyes for a moment; I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination, but her eyes seemed to say, 'I'll observe and offer a little hint if you're really stuck.'
I scoffed. If it weren't for wanting to go home quickly, I wouldn't bother solving this riddle. Besides, isn't she a detective? Why is she handing it over to me!?
I began to walk slowly around the dark warehouse. My eyes swept every corner, searching for anything that could be connected to "deadly smile" or "bitter truth." The warehouse was indeed empty, but there were several broken mannequin statues lying here and there, as well as some torn, faded posters.
"Smile... deadly..." I murmured. I saw one of the mannequin statues whose head was detached, but the rest of its body still showed a smiling pose. However, the smile looked horrifying because it was dirty and moss-covered.
"Is this about these mannequins?" I asked Rose, who was just leaning against the wall, watching me.
"Maybe," she replied simply. "Or maybe not."
I sighed. She wasn't helping at all. Alright, Arez, think. What could be smiling and deadly? Poison? But this is a warehouse, not a laboratory. A mask?
My eyes shifted to the walls covered in graffiti and torn posters. One poster, still somewhat intact, showed an image of a circus clown with a wide, creepy smile. Below it, there was mostly faded writing: "Circus... Laughter... Death..."
"Circus?" I muttered. "Clown? A clown's smile can be 'deadly,' right? I mean, some clowns are indeed creepy."
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. That could be a clue."
I approached the clown poster, trying to read the remaining text. "Circus... Laughter... Death..." I rubbed my eyes. Wait. Below that text, faintly visible, was a small image that looked like a blueprint. A blueprint of an old circus building.
"Rose, look at this!" I pointed to the blueprint image. "This looks like a circus blueprint. My assumption says Lupin might have hidden their stuff in an old circus?"
Rose came closer, glancing at the image. "Good. But what's the connection to 'bitter truth'?"
I thought again. Bitter truth. A circus is usually synonymous with cheerfulness and happiness, but if there's "death" and "bitter truth" within it, it must mean something is amiss.
"Maybe this circus has a dark secret?" I suggested. "Something that happened there in the past and left bitterness?"
Suddenly, my eyes caught another detail on the poster. At the bottom, in a corner that was almost torn off, there was small, barely legible writing: 'Located beneath the main stage, hidden behind false laughter.'
"I found it!" I exclaimed. "It's not about an old circus, it's about the 'main stage'!"
Rose looked at me, a faint smile on her lips. "What did you find?"
"Under the main stage... something is hidden. And 'false laughter' probably refers to this clown's smile!" I pointed at the poster. "So, the stuff is under the main stage, in a circus or a stage-like place!"
I searched around the warehouse. It was large, and there was a dilapidated small stage at one end of it. I immediately ran towards that stage.
"What about the 'bitter truth'?" Rose asked, still staying put.
"Ugh, that can wait! Let's find the stuff first!" I said, beginning to rummage under the stage, which was full of cobwebs. Somehow, I felt this was far more exciting than doing History homework.
I crawled into the crawl space under the stage. It was dark and narrow. There was a lot of debris and trash. I fumbled in the darkness. My hand touched something hard. A metal box! I pulled it out with difficulty.
"Found it!" I exclaimed with a wide smile.
Rose came up to me. "Open it."
I opened the box. Inside, there was my phone and some other personal items. But, along with them, there was also another letter from Lupin.
Congratulations, rookie detective.
You have found what you were looking for.
However, the bitter truth is:
This is just the beginning.
Enjoy our final surprise.
A burst of laughter will shake your world.
Suddenly, a very loud, ear-splitting alarm blared. Red emergency lights flashed and flickered, bathing the warehouse in an eerie glow.
"Damn it! A trap!" Rose exclaimed, her eyes wide. "A burst of laughter will shake your world? That's not laughter, that's a bomb!"
From holes in the walls and ceiling, thick smoke began to pour out. And worse, I could feel vibrations in the floor. The entire warehouse shook violently.
"Arez, this building is going to collapse!" Rose shouted.
Right after that, a loud cracking sound came from the building's structure. The walls began to crack, and debris fell from the ceiling. I panicked. This was too dangerous! I'm no hero!
"What do we do?!" I yelled, unsure what to do.
Rose was no longer relaxed. Her face was serious, her eyes sharp and calculating. "Follow me! Don't resist!"
She grabbed my arm firmly. Before I could react, Rose had already pulled me. She dashed with incredible speed, dodging falling debris. She leaped over collapsing wooden beams with astonishing acrobatic agility. She slid under crumbling ruins and spun in the air to avoid falling steel. Her legs moved like the most agile ballet dancer, her hand strongly pulling me, ensuring I didn't fall behind or get hit.
I could only stumble after her, mesmerized by her speed and agility. She wasn't just fast; she was also strong. She could see small gaps in the ruins, safe paths invisible to me. She pushed me, pulled me, even lifted me over piles of debris.
"This way!" Rose shouted.
She leaped onto a pile of empty drums, then slid down deftly. I tried to imitate her, but my leg got caught. Rose immediately spun around, pulled my hand strongly, and lifted me so I wouldn't fall. With one tug, she had dragged me to the other side.
The warehouse was collapsing further. Small explosions sounded from various directions, probably small bombs Lupin had planted. Some parts of the roof had already caved in. Dust filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
Rose spotted a large hole in the wall that had just formed from an explosion. "That's the way out!"
She pulled me and leaped towards the hole. As soon as we reached the edge of the hole, a large concrete beam fell right behind us, blocking our previous exit. We had just narrowly escaped death.
Rose pulled me out of the hole, and we tumbled onto the grass outside the warehouse, which was now leveled, leaving only piles of rubble. Dust billowed high into the sky.
I coughed, gasping for fresh air. My whole body was trembling. I looked at Rose, who now stood tall, slightly out of breath, but there wasn't a hint of fear on her face. She was truly amazing. She wasn't just a detective; she was an athlete too!
"Next time, don't be so reckless," Rose said, glancing at me with a faint smile. "Lupin always has a final surprise."
I could only nod, still in shock. Nevertheless, it seemed that unknowingly, I was starting to turn away from my previous life. No! This is only because I was forced to; Rose seems to be using my desires to push me into becoming a detective. I must be wise not to be influenced by her in the future.