In the afternoon, she went straight to the back of Tashnia building and walked in his office, kinda dark but decided to wait there anyway then she saw the book, 'Ghosts of Streekville', she was curious and couldn't help but wanting to see what was in it because it was where she spent her childhood, Hawkes was not there yet anyway so she got defiant then took it out from the shelf and opened the first page, there were something that slipped off she picked it up, there was a pictures of him graduated in the most Ivy League schools in the world, "Oxford Law? good for him but why be a superintendent in an old apartment for an Oxford Law graduate?".
Perfida got to the next picture, it was him with a boy that was like five with red hair like him and blue eyes, freckly face with teething smile wearing a soccer uniform and a trophy then she looked at the next picture of him wearing a suit, the fourth picture shocked her, there was a group photo of policemen with him in it and Apollo.
She got to the next and next, it was getting weirder because there were clippings about her, Perdita and Apollo about the car crash and that there were written notes about her, where she lives, where Archie lives, where she goes to school, and the lists of her friends, Perfida dropped them, horrified that she found out that Hawkes was some sort of a stalker.
Perfida quickly took them again and she noticed there was a black sleeve peeking out a box on the lower part of the shelf, the design was familiar to her so she took it out and it got her thinking and she remembered that day when day when Perfida and her family went to the cemetary, he was the guy that walked away from her when she was going to ask about the mysterious flower, which meant he was the one that put them there.
Perfida ran out the door but she bumped into Hawkes as he came back "hey! why are you...?" he asked and he notice that Perfida looked panicky. "What's wrong?" he walked to her but she backed away.
"Don't go near me," she told him with her voice shaking.
"What are you talking about?", then he saw that the book was on the floor, he knew what she meant. "Let me explain."
"That you're a creep? stalking me all my life?" then it hit her, that he was the man that killed her father and her sister. "You were the man that chased us that night."
"Listen to me, I was..." he uttered but Perfida was shocked.
"It was you!"
"No.. I was..." he admitted but Perfida was too scared to hear his explanation. "It's not what it looks like," he walked to her.
Perfida still has his jacket in her hands so she threw it at him, covering his face. "Get away from me!" she screamed then ran out the door and out of the building, she was at the street booking her RodeCar while running. It arrived just the end of the street, Hawkes was getting closer to her yet she managed to get inside and drove off, he looked stressed and angry.
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Perfida arrived home and showed to Archie what she found out "I can't believe this," Archie was shaking his head as he looked at the pictures and the notes. "This is sick."
"Papoli, we have to call the police," Perfida urged, Archie didn't hear her because he was staring at the photo of when Apollo was an investigator and Hawkes was a cop. "Papoli?"
"Sorry, what?"
"I said we should call the police."
"Yeah, yeah," he stuttered. "But I think we should stay in hotel for now, he might know we're here, we should start packing. Berta!"
Perfida quickly took her clothes and shoved every in her weekender bag then Perdita came in the room not knowing what was going on "why are you packing?" she asked.
"We have to stay somewhere else," Perfida said closing the zipper of her bag.
"Wha.. why?"
"Let's just say, Hawkes is not just some psychic superintendent."
"What do you mean?"
"I found out he's a creep, he's been watching us all our lives."
"No way! how?"
"I don't know and I'm not sure if I want to find out but there's one thing, I'm sure of, he was the one that was after us that day, I think he was the one that... killed you and dad."
"How'd you know?"
"It's... obvious, okay?" Perfida informed. "We have to hurry".
"Peachy...I don't..."
"Peach! are you ready? we have to go," Archie said loudly.
"Yeah, I'll be right there," Perfida took her weekender. "Come on" then got out the room with Perdita.
The twins, Bryce and Harrison got inside the car while Archie was talking to Berta "here is your salary and we already booked you a RodeCar."
"Are you sure that you're gonna be okay?"
"Yes, don't worry about us," Archie said to her then her RodeCar arrived and Berta got inside, waved them farewell with concern in her face and they waved back to her.
Hawkes got to Archie's home, he got out of the car and walked to the door, he noticed that it was a ghost town, so quiet, empty, he went to the back and looked through the glass sliding door, no one was really home, then he saw a color pencil that was left on the table next to the lounge chair and he knew it was Perfida's so he took it and used his object-reading powers to know where she was.
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The family was staying in Solaris, one of the most luxurious hotel in Ares City, it was summer after all so it was the peak season for foreigners all over the world to visit such place with cosmic citizens that were also respected guests or they worked there too. Perfida was outside the balcony of their hotel room, thinking and stressing out while everyone was inside, she was one the phone with March explaining to him everything "wow! that's crazy, so are you sure that you guys are okay there?" he asked.
"We're fine, Papoli just called the police and they said that they will be here tomorrow," he said to him.
"Still... so what about that Roland ghost guy?" he asked.
"I don't know, he's not my problem anymore."
"So he just doesn't show up after that...?" March asked again then Perfida heard his dad calling him. "I have to go, call me if something happens, okay?"
"Of course, bye," Perfida put down her phone and went inside, she saw how Bryce was so clueless at the situation, Perfida felt so guilty about what was happening because she thought that she was putting her family in danger then she walked up to Perdita and Archie at the dining area of the room. "I'm sorry, Papoli, it's my fault we're in this mess," Perfida apologized.
"Peach, don't think that way, we're family, we're gonna get through this," he said to her.
"Papoli is right, if anyone is at fault here it's him," Perdita said. "I always thought he looked suspicious."
"Let's get out story straight when the police comes here," Archie advised.
"Okay, I know, today.. I mean this summer has been so... insane after seeing other different ghosts and I don't know why," Perfida expressed. "You know, I honestly thought even though he's such a jerk to me, he was that one person who can teach me to understand what I can do, what more I can do, like that psychometry" Archie and Perdita listened to her emotional talks "when I first saw it, when he did it, I was floored and wished I could do that too and I can, just in a different way and he'll help me with it, now I don't know what I feel about everything."
"I know you trusted him, I did too and so did you're sister but you know, this is up to you, you can still be the one that help these restless soul even without his guidance".
"Yeah, we got your back," Perdita smiled and Perfida smiled back to her.
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Verona was back in her mansion, she was in the living room in the middle of the night, it was dark like the house of a vampire, she placed the urn by the fireplace below the portrait of her and Baron, she was wearing her mourning outfit, black dress suit and a headdress with a net, she was staring at it and crying, she then felt that she wasn't alone and it wasn't a good feeling she turned around and was startled, it was just her butler, he was bald or balding hair, with sleepy eyes and medium built with slight muscle in him wearing a white turtle neck top and a those butler suit, he also got startled by her "oh! my goodness, Dominic," she stammered holding her chest, she was still traumatized after what happened in Ares city.
"Sorry, madam, I didn't mean to scare you," Dominic said to her in a monotone voice.
"What do you want?"
"I'm going to bed now, do you need anything before I rest?"
"No, I'm good, thank you, Dominic, I want to be alone now."
"Of course, ma'am, again I'm very sorry for your loss," he looked at Roland's urn and was also saddened by his loss.
"Thank you, Dominic," she sniffled, he then walked away and left her alone. Verona just continued crying and drinking alcohol to numb the emotional pain because the wound in her heart was still so fresh. "Why did you have to find out? everything could be avoided if you didn't find out the truth."
Dominic was in his quarters, he was about to sleep but he couldn't help but think of Roland, how he took care of him since he was a baby because he was the one that helped Verona took Roland and Geneva away from his real father and that was Nyles, he then also remembered when Roland found out about himself, he actually confronted him about who was his father but he pretended that he didn't know too so the guilt was still there that he took Roland away from the truth and he was partly responsible for his death.
"I'm sorry, Roland, I had to keep it from you, I should've told you if I knew you were going to die," he sobbed.
Later, they both were asleep in their rooms, Verona was dozed off from being drunk but Dominic easily woke up because he heard footsteps outside his room "madam Verona?" he called but no answered but the thumping sound continued and he could see someone walked passed his door,it could be an intruder so he had to check it out himself.
Dominic quietly got out of his room and he could someone walking to the left by the corridor, he took a bat as his weapon and followed him, he saw him standing by the stairs with his back turned, Dominic snuck behind him and getting ready to hit him as he got half way to him, the intruder turned around, it was Roland "hello, Dominic," he said to him in a cold stare.
Dominic dropped his bat, his eyes popped out and his mouth was agaped in shock "Master Roland?" he gasped as he saw how deathly pale he was.
"You lied to me Dominic," Roland angrily said to him. "I trusted you."
"No," Dominic shook his head in disbelief. "This can't be real."
"I trusted you, Dominic," Roland walked towards him and Dominic screamed as he got closer to him.
The next early morning, Verona woke up and her head was pounding from being drunk the previous night, too drunk that she did not heard her butler scream, she got up from her bed and wore her silk robe and walked out of the room, she got to the stairs and was about to go down but she saw Dominic lying on the floor with blood coming out from his at the end "oh! my God!" she screamed in horror, she quickly got down for him "Dominic! Dominic!"