The Enigmatic Stairwell: Amelia's Vanishing Act

The Camera: The Security Guard - 10 July 2019

Detective Raymond Harris was meticulously reviewing the surveillance footage of the stairwell, his brow furrowed in deep concentration. The security guard who had been on duty during the evening of Amelia's disappearance had provided valuable information. He recounted how he had always enjoyed the light-hearted antics of the quirky young woman, particularly her funny faces to the camera. It was these antics that made him grow concerned when, on that fateful evening, she didn't reappear on the second floor as she usually did.

"The best part of my day, it was," the security guard had admitted with a hint of remorse. "I should've gone to investigate sooner. But I thought maybe she tripped or something. I never imagined..."

Raymond listened to the guard's regretful words, understanding that the man bore a heavy burden of suspicion. But he couldn't ignore the perplexing details that surrounded Amelia's disappearance.

As he watched the footage for the umpteenth time, Raymond couldn't shake the sense that something was amiss. And then, a seemingly unrelated anomaly caught his eye.

Just one week before Amelia's disappearance, the surveillance footage showed her walking down the stairs on a seemingly ordinary morning. But instead of the expected appearance on the first-floor camera, she vanished from view for about ten minutes before reemerging, continuing her descent as if nothing had happened.

Raymond watched this segment repeatedly, his mind racing with possibilities. He had seen countless cases over the years, but this was unlike anything he'd encountered before. The inexplicable disappearance and reappearance of Amelia in the stairwell, just days before she vanished without a trace, defied logic.