While everyone was eating, Rendell was secretly observing the middle-aged policeman who introduced himself as Greg. Just like Celine had said earlier, his posture didn't look like anything a police officer would have.
"Can you tell us your name?" Aurora asked the high school girl.
Everyone curiously looked over. She had been silent the entire time and even when they asked her questions, she only responded by nodding or shaking her head.
The high school girl lifted her head to look at Aurora. She hesitated for a moment, but she eventually answered in a whispering voice. "Lina."
"Lina? That's a beautiful name." Aurora smiled at her.
Aurora tried to chat with her, but Lina barely responded to her. She didn't seem very interested in getting to know them, but Aurora didn't force her. She thought that perhaps the girl was still in a state of shock after the sudden changes in the world. Even Aurora herself was still trying to comprehend what was happening.
Meanwhile, Phillip was still acting all friendly with Greg.
"Officer Greg, how long have you been an officer?" Phillip asked with a look of interest.
Greg chuckled and replied. "It's been more than seven years since I became a police officer."
Phillip put on a shocked face. "Really? Woah! It's my dream to be a policeman. I admire people like you, Officer Greg. Just that, I don't think I still have the chance to become one given our current situation." He shook his head.
Rendell who was observing them closely couldn't help but inwardly praise his acting skills. 'That guy should consider pursuing a career in acting.'
Greg stared at Phillip and said. "We never know what will happen in the future. It's still too early for you to give up your dream. Who knows? Maybe this crisis will soon end and everything will return to how it used to be."
Phillip didn't say anything and just lowered his head. 'This guy knows how to speak. He didn't even stutter once. Is he really a police officer? Maybe Celine made a wrong judgment…' He thought.
"Phillip, since when did you want to become a policeman? We never heard you talk about it." James sent him a teasing look.
Phillip cursed him in his heart. 'That stupid fool!'
After eating dinner, the group dispersed. Ralph went to take care of his sick wife and two little daughters. Ericka also followed to help him take care of them.
Celine and Aurora brought Lina with them to a different room. The girl was too shy to reject them so she could only follow them helplessly. Before they left, Celine stared deeply at Rendell and Phillip.
The two immediately understood the meaning of her gaze.
"Officer Greg, it looks like all four of us will be on night duty this time." Phillip laughed lightly.
Greg responded with a dry laugh. "I don't mind. I'm used to it anyway."
"I feel at ease with a dependable adult like you in our group."
"You think too highly of me. Haha!"
Looking at the two of them, Kent felt that something was suspicious. Phillip wasn't acting like he used to be and he seemed to be trying to get close to Greg. The Phillip he knew wouldn't do something like this.
"Strange…" He furrowed his eyebrows. He then nudged Rendell's arm and sent him a questioning look. "What's going on?" He whispered while pointing at Phillip and Greg.
"Follow me," Rendell muttered.
Kent squinted his eyes and followed him outside the house.
As soon as they stepped out of the house, Kent could no longer hold back his curiosity. "What's going on? Why is Phillip acting like that?"
Rendell looked around and made sure that no one was listening to them. "That's because…" he told Kent about Celine's words.
Kent's face became serious. "If that's true, then he is a threat to the group. However, we still can't be sure about this. Celine might be wrong. We should observe him in the meantime. It would be bad if we wrongly judged an innocent person."
"Ask that girl called Lina. She might know something about that man." Rendell said.
Kent nodded. "Understood. Tomorrow, I'll have Aurora and Celine ask her."
The two headed back to the house.
"Where have you been to?" Phillip asked when he saw them. He was incredibly nervous when he was left alone with Greg.
"We just went out for a bit to get some fresh air," Kent replied while pushing up his glasses.
Phillip clicked his tongue. He then stood up and grabbed a cigarette from his pocket. "I'll go out for a smoke. Do you want to join me, Officer Greg?"
Greg stared at the cigarette with desire, but he shook his head. Phillip was very annoying and he wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. "No, thank you." He shook his head.
"Too bad," Phillip muttered with regret.
"I'll be back soon." He waved his hand as he went out of the house.
'That brat is finally gone! He is so bloody annoying! If not for him, I would have already played with that little girl's body! Dammit!' Greg thought furiously. In truth, he wasn't a real police officer. He was a criminal on death row and he managed to escape from prison after the incident more than a week ago. Since then, he has been acting as a police officer and he even managed to fool some gullible people.
'I hope that girl doesn't tell them anything. It would be tiring to kill all these kids since they look pretty capable, especially that guy.' While thinking about this, he stared at Rendell whose face was riddled with scars. For some reason, he felt that he was the most dangerous in the group.
As if sensing his gaze, Rendell stared at him coldly.
Greg smiled and nodded his head. "Are you the leader of this group?" He asked.
"What makes you say that?" Rendell furrowed his eyebrows. He had no intentions to speak kindly with this man.
Greg shrugged and said. "I don't know. It's just a guess."
Kent became nervous at their short exchange. He was prepared to use his Gift if one of them decided to attack.