The creepy armoire stands before you, its open doors reaching out like arms towards you in the darkness, inviting you to enter its embrace. The fine crafted wood of the furniture is now stained with rotting age, and the dolls set upon their stage seem to wither away by the second. The Salesman’s briefcase sits unlocked on the top shelf. There is also a locked cabinet beneath the main compartment. The doors of the armoire sway ever so slightly, as if steered by a draft, their stealthy movements betrayed by the creaking of their hinges.
On second thought, you know better than to go poking around at possibly cursed dolls in a haunted house, especially since you’re pretty sure you just saw one of them turn its head to look at you. No thanks!
You reach over the dolls and grab the briefcase from the shelf. It’s unlocked, but all that remains inside is this torn poster:
The briefcase, like some living thing, seems to breathe dust into the air. You clench your eyes to let out a sneeze, and when you open them back up the Salesman is waiting to meet your gaze.
“Hey pal, I’ve got some questions for you.”
“I’m happy to help, friend. What do you want to know?”
“It’s as you witnessed, friend! On the brink of revealing her murderer, and therefore my own murderer, she was somehow whisked away! I have no doubt that whoever has taken Elsie by these supernatural means is indeed the culprit, but who could it be? That lodger was a riddling man, perhaps he knows a thing or two about whatever dark magic is necessary to kidnap a ghost!“
“Let’s see, after being invited inside, a bit of chaos ensued. There was hurried talk about what to do with the broken down car, and then the neighbor was there. I’m not sure when she entered the room, but she was insisting that something be done about the children. The next thing I know, I’m offered some hot cocoa from a tray, I think Mrs. McDermott was holding it. The cocoa must have been poisoned! I unknowingly take a few sips, then excuse myself to the bathroom. Admittedly, I was looking for Elsie’s room. I wanted her to see the dolls! Before I could find her, however, I heard a blood-curdling scream from the main room. Rushing back, I saw the neighbor, Birdie, hunched over in the hall in a most agonizing-looking fashion. I felt a great pain in my stomach, my vision started to blur, and an awful taste entered my mouth. Nevertheless, I made it back to the others in time to see the corpses of Mrs. McDermott on the floor and Aunt Jane slumped down in a chair. As my vision darkened and I fell to the ground, I saw the boy, standing in the doorway, watching! My goodness… was it the boy all along?“
“Listen, friend, I’m an honest toy salesman. That being said, I wasn’t always an honest toy salesman. I used to be in the automobile resell business. I was young, and hungry! To increase my profits, I would find broken down vehicles and fix them just enough so they could be driven for a few miles. I knew it was wrong, but nothing really came of it until some fool plowed a car I had sold him into some poor man driving home to his family. Killed them both. That’s when the heat came on, and I skipped town. I’ve been on the run ever since. I usually spend at least a couple weeks in town, but… I got the feeling the feds were onto me here. I saw a suited up fellow in a hat not unlike mine snooping about town earlier that day, looked a lot like some sort of detective. I felt bad, but I still couldn’t come to terms with what turning myself in might mean, so I packed up my belongings and headed out. That’s when I ran into the McDermotts.“
