Harker had officially sent a letter to Yakov Perelman, which he expected would probably reply within two weeks. If the guy would reply at all, that is.
It was hard getting information about him on his own. He did some digging in the library and found some articles about him and the BITMAC Institute. Apparently, he was a well-known physicist and astronomer that was included in some research involving light waves and optics.
But besides that, he can barely find anything. You'd expect more info for a high-profile scientist like this. But it seemed that after his early retirement at the age of 45, Yakov Perelman became even more discreet and only sponsored some research now while living in seclusion somewhere in LA. He doesn't take any interviews and barely appears to the public.
His retirement was said to be due to a freak accident that caused him to have his bones become brittle, affect his inner bodily functions like the passing of air into his lungs, and make him legally blind with cataracts.
Harker couldn't find any more details about this 'freak accident', but he does feel suspicious about it.
There were very few things in this world that could give all that damage to a someone. Harker was even surprised he was still alive, but then again, he was rich.
The rich had it easy. Healthcare, communication, gathering information….
They can get it all in the snap of their fingers.
"Fuck….. Okay. Guess I have no choice but to see Roland." He mumbled to himself as he cooked breakfast for his siblings.
"Who are you talking to?" Samson suddenly asked him.
Harker shrugged. "Myself. You never talked to yourself?"
"Not really. There's Samuel if I wanted to do that. Would make me look less mental." His brother said, setting down a telescope onto the table.
Harker set down the omelet in front of him. "Those two take so long to take a bath."
"Yeah. Even Dad takes faster than them. Chloe's done now and getting dressed, but Samuel is still taking his damn time like a girl." Samson started to pick on his food. "Proper hygiene and all that."
"He's right, y'know. You wanna be known as Smelly Sam at school?" Harker examined the telescope. "Where'd you get this, by the way?"
"Zaina Tariq gave it to me. She said it was a gift from Felix. But the lens got broken, and she asked me to get a replacement for it. I'm planning to, but I also want to use it for a while tonight." Samson said.
"Zaina Tariq, huh…."
Harker frowned as he saw the zigzagging pattern that the crack made on the telescope lens. "..... It's still crazy that they'd accuse Felix of murder."
"He didn't do it. Right, Sammy?" Samson said.
He then nodded to himself. "We both think that it's a set-up. I don't trust the police chief that visited the Garcia's, he has a shady look. I'd rather believe the Jester than him. He always acts brooding like Batguy, but those eyes? Totally shady."
"Why would the police set him up?" Harker asked.
Samson gave him a look, like he couldn't even believe he would ask.
eaglesnov?1,сoМ "He's colored, Harker. If I was Dahlia's friend, I'd be the top suspect too if I'm the only colored friend she has. And Felix was."
He then corrected himself. "Well, not really a friend. Dahlia just lives in the same direction so Felix offered to walk with her on the way home from school. Just near the area where she died, actually."
Harker raised an eyebrow. "There? But it's just full of abandoned buildings."
"Yeah. Zaina said that it was cheap to rent a place there. But she expected Dahlia would move anyway, since it's terrible. Plus she's getting a better college offer at Colorado and already made an application... Won't be long before she moves out."
Harker felt this detail was important somehow regarding the crime, so he kept it in mind.
He ruffled Samson's hair. "Finish your food now and prepare your backpack. But leave some for the others, okay?"
Harker went to get ready himself, unsure on what to wear. He then approached Samuel and asked. "Hey, which one of these do you think screams 'I come in peace'?"
Samson frowned. "You had a fight with Roland?"
"Not really a fight, just…. Something."
Harker shrugged, picking up one of the polo shirts. "I guess this one looks the most diplomatic."
His brother snorted. "That looks too formal for your style. I think that must be one of the clothes Roland bought for you that you couldn't wear because it's too bougie. And since you're thinking of wearing it now….. You definitely fucked up in some way and trying to let his guard down by wearing that."
"Hey, language." Harker chided. "And yeah. I did fuck up. Just finish your meal, dude."
Samson spoke while chewing. "How much did you fuck up? Big time?"
"Yeah." Harker said in annoyance, putting on the fancy shirt.
"Just say sorry then. It's Roland, I doubt he'd really keep a grudge long. That guy would forgive you in a heartbeat."
"That's not really the problem, though."
Harker sighed, his chest feeling so heavy that he wanted to get some fresh air.
"I know he would easily forgive me, but….. It'd be hard for him to forget about it. It's not something so easy to forget."
He opened the door only to find...
Roland standing by his doorstep, blinking with one of his fists up. He looked like he was just about to knock.
"O-Oh….. Harker. I was just about to knock." He confirmed Harker's suspicions. "What a coincidence…. Are you going out somewhere?"
Harker doesn't know how to respond for a millisecond, and settles with: "Why are you here?"
It sounded drier than he wanted to. What's wrong with him? Roland was the one who should be apprehensive, and yet it felt like he was the one who couldn't bear to see him.
Roland speaks as if there was nothing wrong, but his eyes couldn't meet Harker's.
"I…. I needed your help with something. You know that I'm taking Felix Garcia's case, and he also happened to be your neighbor….. Plus I believe there's something more going on."
He emphasized 'more', and Harker knew what he could be referring to.
So something like that was happening to his neighbor? This case did sound suspicious but this just boosts it up to weirdness level 1000.
It seemed that weird things were bound to happen even more now that he's a demon lord.
"I see. I'll help. This is actually good timing that you were here, I was actually about to go over to your house. I also need your help with researching something."
Roland nodded. "That would be a fair trade, then."
There was an awkward pause that passed, with only the sound of Samson's chewing filling up the silence.
".... You guys gonna just stand there like idiots or would you make up already?" The boy then said.
Roland made an incredulous face. "What?"
Harker pushed him outside and closed the door. "Nothing, I just…. How about we go for a walk in the neighborhood while the kids eat breakfast? I'll take them to school then we'll do what we need to do."
"Okay…" Roland visibly flinched when Harker touched him.
Harker sighed heavily at this. Then, he finally said.
"I'm…. I'm sorry about what my clone did to you. And that I didn't check up on you sooner. But I'm here now…. and I want to hear about it. Are you okay?"
Roland bit his lower lip. "You don't need to apologize, it's not really your fault. Not directly."
"But I need to know what exactly he did. It's still my responsibility. After all, he's technically still me—"
"No." Roland suddenly looked angry, his eyes bloodshot. "Don't say that. That wasn't you. Because if it was you, if it was a part of you…."
"Then I don't think I could maintain a friendship with you anymore, Harker."
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