Her gaze oscillated between anger and disgust. The moment her eyes met his, Caster regained his composure, but his features were rigid with undisguised resentment, as if her arrival at that precise moment had been a stab in his side.
"What have my eyes just done?" She advanced with heavy steps, her angry stare piercing his body. She clutched a dry umbrella between her fingers, a clear indication that she hadn't been outside but was about to leave.
"Just a bit of excitement... as usual."
But before he could finish, a sharp slap landed across his face, making his head snap to one side. Yet his expression remained impassive, as if the blow hadn't caused him any pain.
As for me, I was completely stunned. His sudden transformation before my eyes still echoed in my mind, and her angry expression only made matters worse.
"Control yourself before chaos reigns again... Isn't it time you learned from your mistakes? Do you want to repeat the same disaster for the thousandth time? And with whom? With her?"
"Excuse me?" I interjected, as I usually do, mostly to no avail. But the sudden mention of my name made me utter this innocent word.
She raised her finger at me like a spear, ordering me to be silent for a moment.
I'd had enough of this humiliation and control in this house. I'd had enough of the constant surprises this palace held. Without saying a word, I pushed my way to the door and slipped out of the room, leaving them to their struggle alone.
I ran as fast as I could, not knowing where my feet were taking me. My only goal was to escape, my only destination was the distance. I was running... running with all my might.
I stepped out of the palace into the open air, nervously clutching my disheveled hair as I tried to process what had just happened. What I'm describing might seem ordinary to the reader, but it was truly a breathtaking scene, like something out of a terrifying dream.
I pulled my trembling phone from my pocket, and the first number I dialed was Detective Adam.
After an hour:
---
He was sitting there, in our usual corner, where chance meets destiny. I stepped out of the taxi, panting, my steps racing toward his table.
"Let's put an end to this now... I want to get out of that palace." I finally collapsed before him, catching my ragged breath. At the next table, the gazes of two lovers lingered on my bewildered appearance, while Adam calmly extinguished his last cigarette.
"Is this how you greet someone? You've lost your taste." His voice was as cold as unmelting ice.
I sat down impulsively: "I take back everything I said earlier. I don't want to know who Joseph is or anyone else. All I want is to leave that palace... today, before tomorrow."
"What's the rush? The investigation is still open."
"The investigation? Damn it!" The coffee cup rose with my slam on the table, and the lovers turned in surprise. I gave them a nervous smile and turned back to face him.
"Calm down a little. If you want to leave, the door is open. In fact, it would relieve me of having to deal with another death case. Go now if you can."
If you can? What does that even mean?
I took his cup to quench my thirst; he had forgotten—or perhaps ignored—to order me something.
"I'll run away... but my mother? Who will save her?"
He chuckled. "Really? You think running away is possible? Where to? The Amazon? He'll surely catch you. As long as you're inside that palace, you're safe. Outside, you'll be easy prey."
"Speaking in riddles again?"
"I mean Joseph. There's nothing vague about what I'm saying. You're the fool."
I leaned back in my chair, my eyes fixed on his coffee cup, until he broke the silence:
"Tell me... what happened? I know there's a reason for this panic... any news?"
That's when I began to recount everything from the beginning. I told him about going to the bar, meeting Joseph—or rather, the man who turned out to be Joseph—and how I fainted. I told him about my conversation with Stacker, and then what happened in the room with Caster and his terrifying transformation.
I made sure to mention every detail, big or small. He listened intently, his features hardening little by little.
I concluded, "I know you won't believe half of what I've said, especially the last part, but trust me... Caster transformed right before my eyes."
"A green potion?" he interrupted, as if he'd been waiting for that exact word.
I expected him to accuse me of being delirious, but he seemed to know exactly what I was talking about. I nodded silently, and he sighed deeply.
"All this happened in one day... How fast things have gone! I don't know what to focus on now. Joseph, what Stacker revealed, or Caster's transformation with that green potion?"
"Do you know anything about that potion?" I asked curiously, but he was lost in thought.
Then he spoke: "It's a book in the palace library, titled 'The Green Disguise Potion,' . The book explains how a person can disguise themselves as another person by drinking a potion containing a drop of that person's blood."
I sighed in exasperation and rubbed my head, trying to process it. "But Caster said that this is his true form..."
"He's taking advantage of your ignorance. He's definitely transformed into someone else. But that's not the strange part." He paused for a moment. "The strange thing is that the potion is only used once. But he's used it more than once, which means he has blood samples from the person he's transformed into... and that person isn't dead, but alive and well."
He was speaking as if he were thinking aloud. His words were disjointed and incomprehensible, and I barely grasped them. Is this how detectives think? Do their minds analyze things that quickly? He deduced all of this from what I just recounted, and I hadn't even understood a quarter of it, despite having lived through the events myself.
"Detective... I need an explanation."
He lit a cigarette and said, "There's no explanation for this now. We need the book. You'll go into the library and steal it."
"What are you doing?" I exclaimed indignantly. "Risking my life? Sacrificing me? You see me as a means to solve your case in exchange for my life? Can't you see that I came to you for help escaping, and you order me into a forbidden place?"
He rubbed his forehead. "How dramatic... and foolish you are. You think you'll get away with this without facing the truth? Without suffering any losses? If it were that easy, Paige would have married me, I would have solved the mystery, and I would have gotten away on my own."
"That doesn't change the fact that I might die for your cause."
"Listen to me... it's not going to happen. Stop being so pessimistic."
"Yes, I will die, I know."
"No harm will come to you."
"And how do you know?!!!" I shouted at him.
"Because both brothers love you!!!!" he shouted back at me.
I fell silent for a moment, stunned by his scream, which was even louder than my own. The two lovers at the next table had become spectators in an open-air cinema, our shouts jolting them every minute.
"Two kisses don't mean both boys love me," I said finally, trying to process what he'd said.
He shrugged coldly. "At least there are kisses... at least we know they both want you. And that'll spark petty squabbles between them, and make them both want to protect you. So... you won't die."
"Is that how you resolve things? Just like that?"
He smiled. "I'm a federal investigator... and that's how we do things."
"Let's forget their pettiness for now... why do you want the book? And how will it help us? Besides, how do you know it's in the palace, what it contains, and what its address is?"
"I told you you were stupid... I just told you: I'm a federal investigator, and this is our style. We've searched the mansion several times before, and we found it in Custer's room. I only read the first few pages, knew what it was about, and didn't pay much attention to it because I thought it was a work of fiction."
"As for its usefulness... investigations, in general, are about gathering any evidence that brings us closer to the truth. Perhaps the book will reveal something to us if we read it, or we might learn more about Custer's motives or others... I honestly don't know. But we need it. Essentially, your enthusiasm and your presence in the library will help us discover more."
"You mean... it will help us discover the reason for my death."
"You mean... we'll find out why this library was banned."
A long, heavy silence fell between us. I looked at him, then at the table, then back at him. Everything seemed to be crumbling around me.
"And you should know that more than eleven federal agents are working on this case... I'm the only one you see because I'm covering up the disaster behind me."
"Great... that means you don't need me."
He smirked. "Look at us as a bunch of losers who need your help."
"That's what you are... and what's worse is that you're asking for help from a loser like me."
"Asking for help? We're trying to solve this case to protect you, to save you from death." He said it with biting sarcasm.
I pushed back my chair and stood up, frowning, ready to leave, but he spoke without looking at me:
"Listen..."
I stopped and listened.
"Just bring me the book... and then, I'll personally help you and your mother escape."
I didn't say a word. I set off quickly, leaving everything behind.
---