"How is Mom?" Rhea asked Ronan, who was watching the television.
Rhea hated the show he was watching. It was just like Romeo and Juliet; the main characters did everything for love, only to die in the end. Rhea never found the point of something like that. As a person, she never could imagine herself doing something like that, not with her rational mind. And the things that she could not imagine herself doing were the things she avoided.
"Same," he replied. "I read her a book today."
"She can't listen. What's the point?"
"Some people in a coma can listen, although they can do nothing more than that."
"She is basically dead," Rhea said.
"Riri!" Ronan exclaimed. "You will not talk that way about Mom!"
Rhea looked him straight in the eyes. "Ronan, the doctors said the possibility of her waking up is the same as the earth getting destroyed within the next ten years. I don't believe in miracles. I believe in facts and logic. The quicker you accept the truth, the better. If you keep hoping for something almost impossible, your life will be hindered."
"Riri, I cannot be that rational, okay? No one can be," Ronan said, toning his voice down. He was not someone who liked to yell or argue much.
"I am," she said. "People will die, let that be an accident, a natural death, or a murder. They will go. But life will go on, okay? All I'm saying is that there is no point in doing things like reading a book to a person in a coma. It's alright if you don't understand. I don't expect you to anyway."
As soon as Rhea turned, the doorbell rang. She looked at the watch. It was seven in the evening.
"Rose?" Rhea asked.
"No, she isn't supposed to come right now," he said.
Ronan went to open the door while Rhea waited in the living room, disgustedly watching two grown men joke like immature brats on the television.
"Is Rhea Elrod, your sister, home?"
Rhea recognized the voice. She had met the same man who questioned her regarding Dr. Frost's death.
"She is. But why?" Ronan asked.
"We have some things to discuss with your sister. You can be there as well," the officer said. "May we come in?"
"… Sure."
There were two of them. The one who Rhea recognized right away was the officer who questioned her. He was a bald black man with a shiny face. Rhea had never seen anyone's face shining as much as his. That was why she could remember him.
The other one was a young female officer. She was as short as Rhea but looked healthier than her.
"Good evening, Rhea. Had to disturb you at a time like this. My apologies," Officer Clint said.
"Take a seat, please," Ronan said.
"Why are you looking for me?" Rhea asked.
"We are here about Samuel Norman's murder. We found something related to you."
"Me?" Rhea asked. "Officer Woods, I have seen him only twice."
"Rhea, let us talk comfortably since it will take a while," he said. "You can call me William. And this is Officer Sherry Alani."
"You can call me Sherry, Rhea," she said with a smile.
"Alright," Rhea said.
Ronan sat beside her and placed his arm around her shoulder. Rhea was more comfortable with keeping a distance from people. So, being close enough to two police officers that they were on the first name basis and having her brother's arm around her shoulder- were the signs that she was going to be exhausted.
"It might come as a shock, but it should be told," Officer William said. "First of all, let me ask you something, Rhea, how well did you know Samuel Norman?"
"Just the fact that he was the assistant headmaster of our school," Rhea replied. "Nothing more."
"What about you, Ronan?"
"Same. I have seen him a few more times as I am part of the fencing club," he said. "He would go there to cheer us up. Was a cheerful guy, that man."
"I see," Officer Woods sighed. Rhea wished he would just get to the point and tell them how many photos of hers they had found in his apartment.
"What's the matter, officer? You are freaking us out…," Ronan said, his voice slightly shaky and concerned.
"Samuel Normal seems to have been obsessed with your sister."
"Obsessed?" Ronan exclaimed in utter disbelief and shock. "Our assistant headmaster was obsessed with my sister?"
"Not just that. He stalked Rhea for a long time."
"How long?" Rhea asked.
"Five years."
The room went silent. Even Rhea, who believed she was the master at playing hide and seek, was left in shock. She never even imagined someone stalking her for five whole years without her noticing. She only noticed a few days ago, and probably only because he wanted her to notice.
"Wait… wait, William… He was stalking my sister for five freaking years?" Ronan almost yelled. He was completely freaked out, and so was Rhea, but their ways of expressing so were different.
"He was," Officer Woods nodded. "Alright, so the thing is, he used to work at another school before, as an assistant headmaster. It's Springfield High School."
"It's just around the corner!" Ronan said.
"Yes, and according to the photos he took of Rhea, it seems the first time he saw her was at the supermarket with Mrs. Elrod."
"My mom goes by Ms," Rhea corrected. "And at the supermarket, was I crying?"
"Ah, yes…"
"I remember that time because that was the only time of the year that I went to the supermarket with Mom… But I have never seen anyone following me. How many photos does he have of me?" she asked.
"More than five hundred."
"Nice."
"Are there any cameras installed in our house?" Ronan asked.
"Fortunately, no as we did not find any pictures taken from the inside of the house. Some of them were taken from outside of Rhea's window. He… entered the house as well, from Rhea's window."
"I don't sleep with my window open."
"He used some tools to open it. We found all kinds of tools in his house. He only took photos of you and your room. We found your hair clips, ribbons, and… undergarments in his apartment," he said.
Ronan gasped. Rhea stayed quiet, recalling the things she had lost. She sometimes did not remember where she put her things, so she never thought greatly about it.
"Riri complained about some missing things," Ronan said. "But we never… That's… gross!"
"It is, of course, very unpleasant to hear," Officer Woods said. "Right now, we are trying to find out who killed him. Someone not just killed him, but also dismembered him."
"There is something, probably not so important, but I noticed a bit of detail," Officer Alani said.
"Sherry, you don't need to…," Officer Woods tried to intervene.
"No, I think it is important for us to let them know. That guy had been stalking a minor for five whole years! She needs to know!" Officer Alani retorted. "That guy's hands… Yes, he was dismembered, but his hands were cut even in smaller parts as if someone was so angry that they cut his fingers into small pieces. And his eyeballs were gauged out."
"Officer Alani thinks it was someone taking revenge because he stalked you."
"Someone taking revenge? I can assure you, William, I don't have a dear friend, or a dear relative, or a romantic partner who loves me so dearly in an obsessive way that they would kill and dismember my stalker," Rhea said.
Rhea understood why Officer Alani thought so. 'Eyes were used to see me and those hands were used to take pictures of me.'
A part of Rhea believed she was related to the case, as well as the case of Dr. Frost and her mother. When her mother met that unfortunate accident, she had a hunch it was not an accident, seeing the marks on the stairs. But she was not sure. After Dr. Frost died, she started to get a little suspicious that it was not suicide, but a murder, and she was somehow related to it. And after her stalker was killed, she was partially sure that she was indeed related to all those three cases. If not three, at least two of them.
"Are you okay?" Officer Alani asked. She stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rhea did not like to be touched, but she was not sure if it was alright to hurt her feelings by shoving her hand away. In the end, she did not do anything.
"Yes," Rhea nodded. "Can I please know more if you find out about something related to me regarding Samuel Norman's case?"
"Sure. We will let you know since you are related to it. But, unfortunately, it cannot be kept a secret."
"Great," Rhea murmured.
"Reporters are all over the place. They are like mosquitoes. They get the news somehow, almost every detail," Officer Woods said.
"Our mother is... was a journalist. We know," Rhea said.
"But we will try all we can to keep as many secrets regarding this case as possible. We don't want to cause trouble for the victim," Officer Woods said.
"Thank you, William," Ronan said grimly. He looked devastated.
"Brace yourself. We will send an officer to check on you every now and then. Be careful," Officer Woods said.
"Alright. We will be careful," Ronan said.
"We will take our leave, then, Rhea and Ronan. Be careful, hm?"