The P.U.L.L || #Wattys2017

Chapter 15: Clues

Emma, Rick and Joshua found themselves in a spacious living room. Joshua closed the trapdoor at the corner of the living room where they had emerged.

Click.

They looked around. It really was better than Emma's house. The living room looked quite normal but its classic style made it look more royally. Purple, royal curtains were draped on every windows and a classic couch and a small table lay at its very center.

"Where do we go next?" Joshua asked.

"To her room. That's where all the clues are, I think." Emma replied.

They followed Emma as she climbed the stairs just beside the trapdoor. After walking on a long corridor, Emma stopped at one of the doors. She looked at Joshua and smiled.

"It's locked." She said.

Joshua sighed. Apparently, he could only open electronic locks. Emma motioned for him to open it. She was pointing at a doorknob. 

Well, I guess I should just explain it to her at the very least. Joshua said to himself as he went towards Emma.

"Um, Emma, the truth is..." Joshua stopped short as he got near the door. He finally noticed it.

It was an electronic lock!

Joshua heaved a sigh of relief. It would work out after all. He quickly touched the electronic lock with his forefinger.

"Whoa! That's it?! How do you do that?" Emma asked, watching everything closely.

"I have my ways of unlocking electronic locks." Joshua smiled. "Unfortunately, I could only do that on electronic locks. But I know a thing or two about picking locks."

"No wonder. You'll make a fine thief, you know." Rick told him.

The three of them entered the room, Emma couldn't still believe how Joshua unlocks the electronic locks. 

The room was well-lit. A bed and a closet lay beside each other. A huge, round carpet lay at the center of the room. On the other side, there were piles and piles of papers beside a study table. 

"Now, we hunt for clues." Emma said as he began searching the study table.

Meanwhile, Rick scrutinized the piles of papers while Joshua looked at every inch of the walls. As far as they know, the police had already searched the entire house for clues leading to the Quiller's disappearance, but unfortunately, not one clue was found. The three of them took their chance to find the clues. They haven't had any leads yet but their intuition tells them that Gladiola did left a clue.

"Guys, take a look at this." Emma called for Rick and Joshua. In her hand was a piece of paper.

Joshua looked at it. "It's just an unfinished letter." Disappointed, Joshua continued searching the walls.

"Dear Emma, look." Rick read the words written on it. "What does that mean? I can't make anything out of it." Rick asked.

"Seriously, guys." Emma glanced at the two of them. "This is a secret letter. It was written with lemon instead of ink. That's why you cannot see it. Do I really need to explain that to the two of you?"

"Oh, you mean, the one they use in detective stories. Oh, okay." Joshua said. "We just need a fire, right?"

"What?! You need to burn it in order to read it?" Rick exclaimed.

"Shhh! Someone might hear you." Emma said. "You don't burn it, you put it in front of the fire in order to be able to read it."

Joshua, on the other hand, was focused on looking at the walls. I just get the feeling that she'll leave a clue on the walls. Just where is it? I guess it's hard to find since the authorities didn't even find it. Or maybe, she didn't leave a clue on the walls? No! I think she did. He said to himself.

Meanwhile, Emma found herself a candle. She smiled to himself as she read the hidden message.

" I found a clue!" The three of them simultaneously said.

Emma and Rick were both holding a piece of paper while Joshua pointed on the wall.

"You first, Emma." Rick said.

"The unfinished letter was really a hidden message, look!"

The three of them gathered around the paper as Emma put the candle behind it. To Joshua and Rick's amazement, they could see two words written on it.

Power Plant.

"That's neat." Rick admired the paper. "Now, look what I found!" He handed the paper to Emma.

"What's this? This is just a poem written by Gladiola!" Emma said.

"Untold and unseen, that's what it was. No one could tell what it is. During the time, it never did..." Joshua read it. What's this about? Is it a clue or what?

"Exist but it was there..." Emma continued reading. She couldn't make heads or tails out of it.

"Now, Look at all the first letters of the poem!" Rick told them. He had enough of his guessing game.

"U-N-D-E-R-G-R-O-U-N-D...underground! So that's the clue!" Emma said. "I was thinking too hard I didn't notice it."

"Now, what did you find, Joshua?" Rick asked.

"This." Joshua pointed at the wall.

.-- .- .-.. .-.. ...

"A series of dots and dashes." Emma said. She could barely see it since it was written so small.

"Morse code?" Rick asked. "I tell you, I hated memorizing that stuff. Now, I can't even read it. Except for the letter A. The second letter is A, right?"

"Yup!"

"W-A-L-L-S." Emma spelled out the code. "Walls! Whatever that means." She said.

"So far, we found Power Plant, Underground, and Walls." Joshua said. "Not sure if they are really clues, though."

"Underground power plant walls! I think that's what it means!" Rick excitedly said.

"No, It's Walls underground power plant." Emma said.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming towards the room. The three of them panicked as they tried to fit themselves under the king-sized bed. A drape of blanket covered the underside of the bed.

They managed to hide before the door opened.

"Who's there?!" The guard shouted.

Joshua lifted the draping blanket a little bit. He smiled to himself. Fortunately, that guard is not carrying any sort of weapon. Well, the taser on his belt is considered a weapon but I doubt he'll use it..

"Rick, I got a plan." Joshua whispered under his breath. " When he gets near the bed, I want you to pull his legs"

Rick did a thumbs up sign.

The moment the guard walked his first step towards the bed, Rick quickly grabbed both of his legs and pulled him. Joshua quickly grabbed the taser from his belt and pressed it lightly on the guard's neck. Joshua then turned the taser on for a split second.

The guard quickly fainted from the shock.

"Hey! Are you alright up there?" Someone from downstairs shouted.

"Yeah! I'm fine! " Joshua shouted. To his relief, the guard downstairs paid it no mind.

"Let's go!" Joshua quickly said to Emma and Rick.