Aleksander leaned against his Ducati Diavel 1260 S, eyes scanning the street as he waited.
He pulled out his phone as he waited for Wednesday, the screen lighting up with an incoming call from Dorn. He answered quickly.
"Bro, I hacked into the Nevermore Academy database to see if I could get something on this new case for you," Dorn said, his voice buzzing with excitement.
Aleksander's interest piqued immediately. "What did you find?"
Dorn's tone grew even more animated. "You know how Nevermore accepted all kinds of Outcasts until 1993? Well, at that point, Hydes were banned because they were considered too dangerous and unpredictable."
Aleksander's mind clicked into place. "So you were searching for any Hydes who went to the school back then?"
"Exactly," Dorn replied. "The last Hyde on record was Francoise Night in 1990. She attended Nevermore with her brother, Isaac Night. Isaac was a DaVinci but disappeared years ago. Francoise married Donovan Galpin, a normie from Jericho who worked in the local sheriff's department. She suffered from postpartum depression and was institutionalized at Willow Hill Psychiatric Hospital in 2010, where she later died."
Aleksander considered the timeline carefully. "Did she have any children?"
"Yeah,"Dorn said. "She had one son, Tyler Galpin."
Aleksander's voice hardened with determination. "Send me everything you can on him. Especially check for any sudden changes in his behavior."
"On it," Dorn confirmed.
Aleksander ended the call, the pieces falling into place yet pushing the mystery deeper.
After a moment, he spotted Wednesday—her silhouette sliding down a rusty downspout from the roof, landing silently on the pavement below.
A slow smirk tugged at Aleksander's lips as he muttered under his breath, "Just like I thought, she ran."
Wednesday moved swiftly and unobtrusively, her expression as unreadable as ever. Her focus was entirely on making sure Principal Larissa didn't spot her.
Oblivious to Aleksander's presence nearby, she bumped sharply into a farmer carrying a crate of apples. The crate tipped, sending apples sprawling onto the ground.
The farmer grumbled as he bent to pick them up, irritation creeping into his voice. Wednesday's vision flickered—the farmer distracted, distractedly texting while driving, missing an oncoming vehicle, and crashing fatally.
The grim image seemed distant from him, unaware of his fate."I swear, you're a weirdo," the farmer muttered, glancing up at Wednesday with a sharp glare.
Wednesday's gaze remained blank and distant; she simply nodded once, then turned and walked away.
She soon spotted Aleksander, who
gave Wednesday a small, knowing wave, his voice holding just a trace of amusement. "So how was your therapy session?"
Wednesday barely glanced at him, her face a blank slate of distaste. "Absolutely horrendous."
Aleksander nodded and took out his phone, handing it to her without another word. "You might want to take a look at this."
Wednesday's eyes narrowed minutely, more out of habit than alarm. She studied the phone—a $200 million bounty on Aleksander, the name Marilyn Thornhill lingering prominently as the client.
Wednesday deadpanned, "I must say, she's awfully generous."
Aleksander's lips curled into a dry smirk. "She got spooked after seeing me. The Morozova family's reputation tends to linger."
Wednesday's gaze lingered coldly on the screen, lips pressed in a thin, knowing line. "Infamy is inconvenient. But effective."
Aleksander nodded, recognizing the weight of Wednesday's words. "One thing is for sure," he began slowly, "Marilyn Thornhill has huge grudge against you and your family. She saw my friendship with you as a hurdle and tried to kill me because of it."
He hummed thoughtfully and continued, "Everything lines up—there's a Hyde involved, Marilyn Thornhill showed up at the school not long ago, and soon after, the murders started. The timeline fits too neatly to ignore."
Wednesday's sharp eyes narrowed. "We need proof, though. And that's never easy. Thornhill is clever."
Aleksander swiped through his phone and handed it to her. "You might want to read this," he said, showing her the case file on the murder of Garrett Gates, which implicated Gomez Adams.
Wednesday scanned the document, her face tightening as she saw her father's name listed as a killer.
Aleksander explained calmly, "From what I've found, though I have doubts, Garrett Gates was obsessed with your mother. She rejected him, but he continued to harass her. Despite multiple complaints, nothing happened because the Gates family was wealthy and influential."
He continued, "Apparently, Garrett Gates entered the school searching for your mother. After an altercation, your father stabbed him with a sword. Garrett staggered backward and fell off the balcony to his death, landing in the quad. Larissa Weems witnessed your father holding the sword at the time."
Wednesday struggled to process this. "So... he's a murderer?"
Aleksander gave a grave nod. "Yes, possibly. But there are suspicious details. The Gates family dropped the charges, which is odd. Ansel Gates, Garrett's father, was a hardcore follower of Joseph Crackstone's ideology. He wouldn't have let his son's death at the hands of an Outcast be brushed aside so easily."
Her eyes flicked up to him. "So there's something else. Something the Gates family didn't want getting out—something damaging."
Aleksander's voice lowered, heavy with conviction. "Of all the enemies your family had, the Gates family fits the profile. My guess is Marilyn Thornhill is Laurel Gates. She lost her entire family because of your father's role in her brother's death. That gives her a motive—a very real motive."
Wednesday's face darkened, the pieces of the puzzle shifting into a more dangerous picture.
Aleksander received Dorn's message and glanced at the details for Tyler Galpin. A smile flickered across his face as the pieces began to take shape. "Now, how about some coffee?" he suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
Wednesday hesitated, her focus still tangled in the dense case details. But then her eyes flicked toward Principal Larissa's car parked uncomfortably close. A flicker of tension rose. "Okay," she replied cautiously.
[A/N:Soon I am starting a new case,please post suggestions in the comments. Since
by Wednesday timeline now is Monday October 15th (2:40 PM) - Wednesday attends and escapes from therapy. Next event is mainly Harvest festival, which happens October 21st.]