“Danger?” The word felt foreign on my tongue. “I don’t understand. What’s happening?”

“Please, sir,” he insisted, gesturing for me to follow him. “Let’s go downstairs. It’s not safe here.”

Numbly, I followed him out of the room, casting one last look at the mannequin. Questions buzzed in my head like angry bees. Who would do such a thing? And why? The officer led me to the living room, away from that eerie, silent figure.