Why do the case files contain photographs that change overnight? What makes the surveillance equipment show impossible angles? How do the shadows form clues that weren't there? Why do the typewriters write reports of unsolved cases? What causes the evidence to rearrange itself in patterns?
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It was a dark, dismal afternoon, like they all seem to be these days, when I got this call. I could hear the rain battering the windowpane of my office when the phone rang.
― C.S. Woolley, The Kevin Metis Saga
When I first walked into Samuel Anderson’s PI office, everything seemed normal. His desk was strewn with case files, his cork board pinned with photos of suspects. But it was the old map on the wall that caught my eye.
It was a detailed architectural floor plan of the office itself. Too detailed. Things weren’t adding up - there were rooms on the map that weren’t in the actual office. I started comparing the two, room by room. That’s when I noticed it - a hidden door behind the built-in bookshelves.
My heart racing, I ran my hands along the spines, searching for what had to be a switch or release of some kind. Then I felt it - one book slid forward smoothly, and the shelves swung open with a low groan. Darkness greeted me on the other side.
I fumbled for my flashlight and used the light to illuminate my discovery. It was a small, cramped area - except along one wall was stacked boxes and file cabinets, all marked “CLASSIFIED”. Had I found Anderson’s secret archives?
Just then I heard footsteps approaching fast. Someone -or something - was coming. And it was right behind me in the hidden room! I’d uncovered more than I bargained for in Anderson’s spooky office map.
