At the same time, in a small town about four hours from where Dean and Claire live, inside an apartment building, Michael and Natalie walked in. They headed to a rented unit on the 22nd floor. When the elevator opened, they saw a bunch of apartment residents gathered in the hallway, with some police officers keeping them away from the unit Michael and Natalie were going to.
"Go ahead, Lieutenant," a police officer said, lifting the yellow tape.
Michael and Natalie ducked under the tape and went into the apartment. They had to cover their noses with handkerchiefs because of the really strong, bad smell coming from inside. Natalie saw that the empty apartment had all its furniture, ready to be rented, and looked clean. But when they got to the living room, she saw a man's body sitting casually on the sofa, dead. His face looked totally scared, his naked body was super thin, like a mummy, and there were two clear stitches on his stomach.
"Ugh," Natalie mumbled when she saw the body.
"Do you know who he is yet?" Michael asked the young police officer on the case.
"The victim's name is Raymond M. Booker. He was a surgeon at M General Hospital who disappeared about a week ago. The landlord found him here because of a bad smell coming from the apartment," the officer said, covering his nose with a handkerchief and reading his report.
"When did he die?" Michael asked, checking out Raymond's body and holding his nose.
"Forensics says it's been more than five days, Lieutenant," the officer replied.
"And there's absolutely no trace of whoever did this?" Michael asked.
"None, Lieutenant. The landlord says this apartment was locked tight. Not even a window was open, and... you can see for yourself, the whole apartment is covered in dust, even though it's bright inside," the officer said, pointing around.
Suddenly, Natalie put on her gloves and bent down close to Raymond's body. His face looked like he'd seen something terrifying. She put her finger into his open mouth and pulled out a torn top piece of a black business card. She stood up and read it.
"Nightmare Agent?" she said, showing the card piece to Michael.
"Hmm... this is interesting," Michael muttered, looking at the card.
"Maybe the killers call themselves Nightmare Agents, Lieutenant," the officer, who also saw the card, said.
"Could be. That mysterious app's name is Nightmare Revenge, right? It's pretty clear this murder is connected to that app," Natalie mumbled.
"Hmm... alright, take that piece of card. This time, they left a trace, even if it's super small," Michael muttered.
"But how did they even get in here? And was the victim often reported to the police?" Natalie asked.
"Yeah, he had a lot of run-ins with the police. His father always used his money to clear all the charges. But about a week ago, his father was found dead in his office with his stomach ripped open, and according to the last witness who saw his father, it was Raymond, and Raymond was also the last one to leave his father's office before his father was found dead. So, Raymond was still alive then and killed his own dad. Now Raymond's found in this rental apartment... I just can't wrap my head around it. The distance from this town to the hospital is really far," Michael replied.
"Hmm... truly mysterious. Why did they bring the victim all this way? What was their actual goal? (And it can't be Dean. There's no way he'd come to this town, but for some reason, my gut keeps telling me it's him. Why do I feel this way?)" Natalie muttered to herself.
After that, Natalie walked to the window and stood silently for a moment, lost in her thoughts, while Michael continued talking to the police officer handling the case. Soon after, Michael turned and approached Natalie.
"What's wrong, Natalie? Are you okay coming here with me?" Michael asked.
"No problem, Lieutenant. I was supposed to be off duty today. My superior, Oliver, gave me a day off," Natalie explained.
"Ah... Oliver's your superior now, huh? Alright, let's get out of here and write up the report. But before that, we should grab something to eat," Michael suggested.
"You wants to eat after seeing all this? That's amazing," Natalie whispered to her father, pointing at Raymond's body and covering her nose.
*****
Meanwhile, Dean and Claire stood in front of the apartment door where Claire and Sarah live.
"Um... why are we here? Aren't we supposed to go to the cafe to open it?" Dean asked.
"I want to talk to Mom quickly about my scholarship," Claire replied.
"Okay, how about I wait outside?" Dean suggested.
"Why like that? Come in, let's go," Claire said, pulling Dean's hand.
"Click," Claire opened the door. "I'm home!" she shouted as she walked in. Sarah came out and was surprised to see Claire bringing Dean home.
"Oh, Dean's here? Why didn't you say anything that Dean come to our house, Claire? I haven't cooked yet," Sarah said.
"It's okay, Mom, I just want to talk to you for a bit about my scholarship, and then I'm going with Dean to open the cafe," Claire replied.
"Oh, alright then, come on in, you too, Dean," Sarah said.
"Y-yes, ma'am," Dean replied.
They both went inside and sat next to each other on the living room sofa. Sarah sat in front of them. Claire took a piece of paper from her bag and gave it to Sarah, who immediately read it. Then Sarah looked up, took off her reading glasses, and stared at Claire.
"You want to go into law school? But your scholarship is for sports?" Sarah asked, surprised.
"Yes, I already asked the school to transfer it because I actually excel in all fields, not just sports, and it turns out my grades are good enough for the law school. The results are in your hand, Mom. I want to be a lawyer in the future, Mom," Claire said.
"Oh... I don't mind at all, as long as you're happy (she looked down at the paper and smiled sadly). You're just like your aunt, Jenna. It's a shame she passed away before finishing her schooling; she also dreamed of becoming a lawyer," Sarah murmured.
"Oh, really, Mom?" Claire said, glancing at Dean and winking.
"What about you, Dean? Have you decided where you want to go?" Sarah asked.
"Yes, ma'am, I'm going into business school at the same university," Dean replied confidently.
"Wow, that's great! You already have a cafe, right? Your major fits perfectly," Sarah said.
"Thank you, ma'am," Dean replied with a smile.
"Alright then, I understand. I'll support your dreams, Claire," Sarah replied, looking at Claire and returning the letter.
"Thanks, Mom," Claire replied cheerfully, taking the paper.
"Do you two want to eat before going to the cafe? I can cook something quickly," Sarah said, standing up.
"Um... well..."
"Yes, we do, Mom!" Claire blurted out, cutting off Dean, who was hesitant, and squeezing Dean's hand.
"Okay, wait a bit, okay?" Sarah replied, immediately walking to the kitchen.
After Sarah left, Claire leaned close to Dean's ear to whisper to him, "Hey, Dean, help me talk to Mom so I can move in with you," Claire coaxed Dean.
"Oh, man... how do I even bring that up? Besides, it's only six more months," Dean whispered back.
"Ugh... you're hopeless. Fine, I'll talk to her myself later. I'm gonna go change real quick; wait here, okay?" Claire replied.
"Okay, but hurry up, it's awkward to be here alone," Dean replied.
Claire immediately stood up and ran into her room. Dean sighed and looked around.
["Your mother-in-law is nice this time, huh? Not like your old mother-in-law, who seemed to regret marrying her daughter to your ugly and plain self, hohoho."]
"Huh... just shut up, will you?" Dean replied, rubbing his temples, feeling a headache.