All the students were gathered in the indoor gym, sitting on the floor. Police officers and teachers were up on stage giving a talk. Dean noticed Natalie standing behind another officer, watching the students. But it was clear she was looking at him and even smiled when their eyes met.
The police were talking about drug problems and how a lot of high schoolers are joining outside gangs—it's a big deal right now. Natalie didn't say anything herself; she just acted like a supervisor, watching her team and all the students, but especially keeping a close eye on Dean in particular.
"Hey, NS, why does she keep staring at me?" Dean thought, trying to listen to the presentation.
["Just let her. She's probably just curious... maybe."]
"What do you mean 'maybe'? She's not suspicious of me, right?" Dean asked.
["That's highly unlikely. She's not what you think. You'll find out later, hohoho."]
"Why won't you just tell me?" Dean pressed.
["As a boss, you don't tell your employees everything, right? You used to be a boss too, hohoho."]
"Grrr... whatever," Dean mumbled.
The presentation lasted about 45 minutes. Then the teachers told everyone to head back to class. Dean stood up and started walking out of the gym, but suddenly, "Tap!" Someone touched his shoulder. He turned to see Natalie, who had come down from the stage, smiling as she held his shoulder from behind.
"Want to chat for a bit? I have some stories about your dad," Natalie said with a smile.
"Um... but I have to get back to class," Dean replied.
"Ah, right. You haven't graduated yet, huh? Maybe we can chat later," Natalie said, pulling out her smartphone. "Can I get your number?" she asked, showing him her phone.
"Sure," Dean said, taking his phone out of his pocket and unlocking it. "Here."
Natalie looked at Dean's phone, then opened a QR code in her messaging app and let Dean scan it. After that, they both put their phones away. "Tap!" Natalie touched Dean's shoulder again.
"We should definitely chat when you have some free time," Natalie said.
"Yeah, just let me know," Dean replied.
"You need to get back to class now, right?" Natalie asked.
"Yeah, I'll head out," Dean said.
Dean immediately turned and walked out of the gym with his hands in his pockets. Meanwhile, Natalie watched Dean walk away, disappearing around the corner.
"Hmm... he has that mysterious app on his phone, huh? This is getting even more interesting. It's the first time I've seen a high school kid with eyes like a killer," Natalie muttered to herself.
Natalie walked out of the gym. When she reached the school gate, "Honk! Honk!" a car horn sounded. Natalie looked over to see a sedan stop on the right side of the school. Inside, a middle-aged man waved at her. She walked closer to the car.
"Dad... uh, Lieutenant, why are you here?" Natalie asked, bending down to look inside the open window.
"Come on, get in. I'll take you to your office," Michael replied.
"I have my car, Lieutenant," Natalie said.
"I just want to talk. Get in first," Michael insisted.
Natalie got in and sat in the passenger seat. Michael could see Natalie's face was serious and she seemed deep in thought.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked.
"I just met Uncle Victor's son, Dad... uh, Lieutenant," Natalie replied.
"Just call me Dad, it's just us in the car. Victor's son goes to school here?" Michael asked, leaning forward to look at the school through the window.
"Yep, he's different from the other kids," Natalie said.
"Oh? How different?" Michael asked.
"Just different. Anyway, what about your case, Dad? Any new leads?" Natalie asked.
"It's just getting messier. Yesterday, there was another victim in a rented house on the other side of town. Same as usual, no trace, organs missing, and very mysterious," Michael replied.
"Wow, who was the victim?" Natalie asked.
"A perverted teacher, 50 years old," Michael answered.
"Was the victim often reported to the police too?" Natalie asked.
"Of course. Several students reported his actions to the police, but he wasn't arrested because there was no evidence," Michael said.
"Are there really no clues at all?" Natalie pressed.
"So far, there are two. First, the perpetrator is clearly a professional and a skilled surgeon, probably a young surgeon or a medical student, because when we investigated the black market organ trade, the caller who sold organs to them was a young man. Second is this mysterious app that's become an urban legend in this city. For some reason, most of its users also end up dead and had grudges against the victims found," Michael explained.
"I see, it's really mysterious. So, it's probably not a high school kid then," Natalie mumbled.
"Huh? What are you talking about? How could a high school kid use a scalpel and sew someone back up so neatly like that? Besides, there's one more problem: all the victims' bodies are dry like mummies. I even started thinking the culprit isn't human," Michael countered.
"Hehe you right, Dad, maybe it's just my imagination," Natalie replied.
"Tell me, your intuition is usually good, right? Why did you say the culprit might not be a high school kid?" Michael asked.
"Ah, no, Dad. I just bumped into a handsome student who had the eyes of a sadistic killer, hahaha. (I can't possibly say that the one with those eyes is Dean, Uncle Victor's son, can I?)" Natalie replied.
"Oh, that just sounds like you want a boyfriend! You like bad boys, after all. So try to find a boyfriend and get married. I want grand kids soon, you know," Michael said.
"Ugh, why are we talking about that, Dad? I want to work first. I'm only 26! You're impossible, Dad," Natalie grumbled.
"Hahaha, just kidding. How was the presentation? Anything suspicious at this school about the recent gang activities?" Michael asked.
"Nothing, Dad... no students seem suspicious so far," Natalie replied.
"Alright, you head back to the office quickly. I have somewhere else to go," Michael said.
"Okay, Dad, I'm getting out," Natalie replied.
After that, Natalie got out of the car, and Michael drove off immediately after waving, rolling down his window. Natalie walked to her car, thinking,
"Maybe it's just my imagination. There's no way Dean is the culprit... my instinct is probably wrong this time. He's still in high school and definitely not a surgeon. But at least one thing is true: he's handsome like his dad, and he's quite interesting too... nah, he's just a kid, don't think too much about him Natalie," Natalie thought to herself.
*****
After school, as Dean walked out of the school building, he saw many students gathered at the front gate.
"Hmm? What's going on? It's unusually crowded," Dean muttered to himself.
He walked closer and saw that almost everyone gathered was male. They were all looking in one direction outside the fence, and some were peeking out as if there was something behind the gate wall on the left. Dean pushed through the crowd and looked left, his eyes widening to see Claire standing leaning against the wall, wearing what looked like a brand-new school uniform, seemingly waiting for someone with a cheerful expression.
Dean immediately walked out and went to Claire. As soon as she saw Dean approaching, Claire's face lit up, and she rushed over to him.
"Hi!" Claire greeted.
"What are you doing here? (He looked at Claire's uniform.) Why are you wearing a uniform? And why are you out of the hospital already?" Dean asked.
"Mom came by earlier and talked to the doctor. She said if I was fine, it would be better if I go home because staying in the hospital is expensive. So, they let me go home, and I immediately left again in a spare uniform because I wanted to come to your school, hehe," Claire explained.
"How did you even know my school was here?" Dean asked.
"Did you forget? This was my school too when I was alive as Jenna!" Claire replied.
"Oh... right. Well, come on, let's go home," Dean said.
"Okay, let's go!" Claire said, taking Dean's arm.
Immediately, Dean felt a deep sense of hostility behind him. He turned to see many male students with grim faces staring at him with killer looks.
"Ugh... so much for staying unnoticed," he muttered to himself while trying to remove Claire's hand from his arm.