After the thrilling night, the team gathered this morning in a private dining room, enjoying a rich breakfast of soft pretzels, sweet granolas, boiled eggs, yummy salami, and hearty salads—all courtesy of Mr. Dressrious and Ali as thanks for their help.
As the meal drew to a close, Trevor, who was looking at his phone while eating salami, suddenly announced, “Guys, check the photo Ali sent us. There’s a symbol on the werewolf’s darts in our chat group.”
Ali had sent a photo of three black steel-tipped darts in their group chat, recovered from the security guards who were struck by the werewolf. All the darts bore the same symbol on the barrel: a rounded shield and a spear. Ali had texted: “I thought you might be interested in this. Find out what it means.”
“It looks like the symbol of Planet Mars, or the god of war, Ares,” Report Man said, stopping mid-chew on his salami and zooming in on the photo.
“Great. That certainly confirms we are dealing with a war-obsessed criminal gang,” Lady News said with a satisfied smile, eating a spoon of fruit yogurt.
“It may be hard for us to catch them all,” Spion said, taking a drink of coffee. “I did a little research on Chaotic System Foundation. It’s a famous private foundation for frontier science, based in Berlin, supporting many projects in AI, space, life science, and future sociology.”
“The organization looks legitimate on the surface, but it could easily be a front used by a criminal group,” Trevor said thoughtfully.
Report Man finished his salami, wiped his mouth, and summarized: “We now have three interconnected crimes: the murder of the Professor, the break-in at Shemsu’s apartment, and the break-in here at the Salon. Though the three crimes weren’t committed by the same person, they must be linked to the same organization—a group obsessed with war, using the professor’s research. When the professor found out and refused to be used, they killed him. I suspect the flash drive contains evidence the professor collected, which is why they want it so badly.”
“Why don’t we just check the flash drive ourselves and see what’s inside?” Spion asked.
“That’s not a gentleman’s behavior,” Report Man replied firmly. “We need the professor’s ex-wife and daughter to arrive and grant us permission first.”
“Anyway, Olivia is still the top suspect,” Lady News continued, emptying her yogurt cup. “She was the professor’s assistant and definitely knew the flash drive existed, and Ali told her the professor left it here. She likely informed her gang, and they planned the theft. Think about it: why attack Shemsu? Why not go through other staff, like Ali, to find out where the drive was stored? Olivia and the professor likely collaborated with Shemsu on the book signing for weeks, meaning she knew him very well. It was likely her who broke in and attacked him.”
“So, she’s a witch?” Trevor asked, surprised. “But how can we find evidence to prove that?”
“The professor’s car was fine when he drove to the Salon on Monday and drove back to the Academy on Tuesday morning, but it only malfunctioned when he drove back to the Salon that afternoon for the book signing,” Report Man pointed out. “So, whoever damaged the car must have done it that day, during the time between when the professor arrived at the Academy and when he left for the Salon.”
“I have a class at 10 a.m., but I’ll go to the Academy and ask about the professor’s schedule on Tuesday,” Spion said, finishing his coffee. “If his car was parked in the Academy lot the entire time, maybe someone saw who got close to it.”
“Ask about Olivia’s routine that day too,” Trevor said, eating a granola bar and looking at his phone again. “As the assistant, she should have been in the professor’s office and was expected to accompany him to the Salon. Why wasn’t she? That’s suspicious.”
“She will be here for the professor’s book event this afternoon. I’m planning to attend,” Lady News said. “Maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to her and find a flaw in her story.”
“I’ll meet my client this morning. He will arrive at the Salon this afternoon, so maybe I can catch the event too. He’s obsessed with the Dressrious app now; he told me he added all his clothes, shoes, and accessories he brought for this trip, and has already made an outfit plan for the whole week,” Report Man giggled.
“I need to go to the airport to pick up my dad later, but I’ll attend the event too.” Trevor put his phone down and suddenly realized something. “Do you think she may use the book event as a chance to steal the flash drive again? Ryan is wounded, as are several other guards. And I don’t think Wieven is willing to get involved with living beings; she seemed reluctant to help us unless Richard asked. We are practically defenseless.”
“Yeah, we need a better stratagem,” Report Man agreed, knitting his brow in thought.
“I don’t think she will try to steal it during the book event; there will be too many people then. But perhaps they will send a monster squad tonight—werewolves, vampires, witches, whatever. We absolutely have to ask the police for help, even if that means revealing the secret of the Storage Room,” Lady News sighed.
“What is the secret? I still don’t know.” Spion looked confused. Report Man frowned, “I don’t know either.”
Just as Lady News was about to say something, Trevor got an email from Bella. “Bella sent me an email—it’s the investigating report from the car company, Nikola. They confirm the car’s steering wheel was damaged. They are sending the official report to the police for further investigation. I’ll read it to see what else it can tell us.” He checked the time. “I need to go now. I also need to go back to my apartment first to change clothes; I can’t let my dad see those scratches on my jacket.”
“I should go too. I have an appointment with a business partner this morning,” Lady News said, clearing her belongings, ready to leave.
“You can send your jacket down to the Boutique. Ask Master Tailor to repair it; he is very skillful,” Report Man suggested. He wiped his hands and stood up. “I’m leaving too.”
“Thanks, I’ll do it.” Trevor picked up his jacket from the rack.
Spion was ready to leave too and said to Trevor: “Take the subway together?”
“Sure.” Trevor shrugged.
“What is the secret about the Storage Room?” Spion asked once they were out of the dining room.
“Can’t say a secret in public,” Trevor winked.