Claire suddenly froze right there on the couch, still holding the library card and the application form in her hand.
"Claire, what happened? Will you tell us too? What did you see in the library card that shocked you this much?" Stephanie asked as she walked toward her.
"Stephanie, I didn't look carefully at the library card when I took it from that old woman. Otherwise maybe I would've found out right there in the library who Garcie is and where she is."
"What's written on the library card that's so special?" Stephanie asked, startled.
"Wait—did they charge you extra for the books, Claire?" Lily joked.
"No. Both of you come here and look for yourselves." Saying that, Claire held out the card toward Stephanie and Lily.
When Lily and Stephanie examined the card carefully, they didn't see anything that could tell them who Garcie was or where she might be.
"What's so special in this? Neither I nor Lily can understand anything. There are just some book titles written here, some rules, and the book prices. And it says that if the books aren't returned after seven days, the security amount you deposited will be forfeited." Stephanie asked irritably.
"Stephanie, you and Lily aren't seeing what I'm seeing in that card." Claire said, her eyes widening.
"Oh god, please don't start speaking in riddles and just say it clearly," Lily said, getting irritated.
"Just check the signature of that receptionist aunty," Claire said, sitting back down on the couch.
"Yeah? So what's special in the signature? She just wrote her initials, G.G. That's not even modern," Lily replied, making a face.
But Stephanie had already understood what Claire meant, and she said excitedly, "Oh my God, Claire! Didn't you notice this back in the library?"
"No, Stephanie. I was exhausted after going through so many books and records, and in a hurry I just slipped the card into my purse and came back home. Then we got busy in that secret monitor room," Claire explained.
"G.G means what?" Lily asked Stephanie, still not understanding.
"G.G means Garcie Gunway, you idiot," Stephanie replied happily.
Now Lily and Cindy also understood why Claire had suddenly become so excited after seeing her library card. But the next moment she suddenly turned sad.
"What now? One moment you're happy and the next moment you're sad. Tell us what happened," Stephanie asked, looking at Claire's half-fallen face.
"I'm thinking… Garcie was born in 1994, right? So that means Garcie should be 31 now. But that receptionist lady looked like she was at least 50 or 60 years old," Claire said softly, sharing the thought that had been troubling her.
"But how is that even possible?" Lily asked Claire in astonishment.
"It's possible… if she isn't Garcie," Claire replied sadly.
"Claire, don't be upset. Tomorrow the two of us will go to that old woman and directly ask her what her name is. If she says her name is Garcie, we'll get the rest of the information from her. And if she denies it, we'll just apologize and come back," Stephanie suggested gently, trying to comfort Claire.
But Claire still wasn't convinced. She knew Stephanie only said that to make her feel better, while even Stephanie herself believed that the old woman's initials—G.G.—were probably just a coincidence, and she wasn't Garcie Gunway.
Just then Stephanie and Lily set the dinner on the dining table, and Claire brought Alex there after waking him up. Stephanie had made milk for Alex because he didn't eat food at night. Everyone began enjoying their dinner.
"Whatever it is, today wasn't as bad a day as the expression you're making," Stephanie said, noticing Claire's sadness.
"Exactly. Today was actually a really good day. After all, we found the evidence that proves Olivia innocent. What could be a bigger victory for us right now?" Lily added, trying to lighten Claire's mood.
Seeing the efforts of her two friends, Claire also began smiling. After dinner, Cindy, Claire, Stephanie, and Lily watched TV for a while and then all of them went to sleep, because the next day was going to be extremely hectic for all of them.
At 7 a.m., Stephanie woke everyone up.
"Claire, Lily, both of you get up quickly. You have to go meet the prosecutor today. If you hand over the video clip to him now, then the police will be able to release Olivia within a week, because first they will check whether the video is original or AI generated. Only after that will the order to release Olivia be passed."
Hearing this, Lily and Claire woke up, and Lily, rubbing her eyes, asked Stephanie, "Stephanie, is it necessary for me to go? I'll just stay home. You or Cindy can go with Claire."
"Lily, you're the only one who has at least some knowledge of law, so it's best if you go with Claire. If there's anything legal to understand there, you'll get it, and you can explain it to Claire too."
Just then Cindy, waking up from the adjacent bed, said, "Claire, take Dad's car. It's parked in the garage."
"Oh, we're going by car? Then I'm definitely coming! I love driving, and whenever Stephanie is with us, she's the one who drives. But if she's staying home today, then I'll get to drive." Lily said excitedly.
"Alright, Lily, you drive. Anyway, I'll just sit on the passenger seat, sleep peacefully, and enjoy the view outside," Claire said, agreeing with Lily.
"Can I come with you both too?" Cindy asked Lily and Claire sweetly.
The moment Cindy asked that, Claire and Lily both turned to look at Stephanie.
"No, Cindy. You have to stay home and help me with the arrangements for your dad's funeral. Your dad's funeral is tomorrow, you're probably forgetting," Stephanie reminded her gently.
Hearing that, Cindy suddenly remembered that yes, this evening the postmortem house would send her dad's body to the local church, and the last rituals would be performed there. Cindy, being an understanding child, didn't insist and quietly agreed to Stephanie's words. Everyone quickly took their showers, and then Claire and Lily came to sit at the dining table. Cindy and Alex had also come into the hall after getting ready.
"Today I've made your favorite hamburgers for Cindy and Alex," Stephanie said while placing plates in front of them.
"And what will we eat?" Lily asked, pouting like a child.
"I've made noodles for you two—Chinese style," Stephanie replied happily.
Cindy and Alex had gone through so much in the past few days, but ever since the Ghost Mentors team had arrived at Cindy's house, their mornings had become cheerful and their nights peaceful. After breakfast, Claire and Lily took Cindy's dad's car and left for the prosecutor's office, while Stephanie and Cindy began doing the house chores.
"Stephie, why do you do the cooking most of the time?" Cindy asked.
"Because I love cooking, and cooking helps me relax from my depression," Stephanie said with a warm smile.
Meanwhile, after a tiring 2.5-hour drive, Claire and Lily finally reached the prosecutor's office.
"Oh my God, the traffic was insane on the way! Otherwise, we would've reached so much earlier," Lily said as she stepped out of the car.
"But still you never reduced the speed! I was literally praying to God to reach here alive and not die midway," Claire joked.
Hearing that, both girls laughed and walked toward the prosecutor's office. Once inside, Lily used her charm to quickly get permission to meet the prosecutor, and both girls walked straight into his office and stood before him.
"So, Miss Lily, what was so urgent that you made my assistant at the reception schedule an immediate meeting?" the prosecutor asked as he welcomed them into his office.
"It is urgent, Mr. Prosecutor, otherwise we wouldn't have come this far," Lily said, signaling Claire.
"Well, Mr. Prosecutor, you really need to see this video footage. It might help you in Olivia Johnson's case," Claire said, handing him the pen drive containing the footage.
"And what exactly is in this video footage?" the prosecutor asked in surprise as he took the pen drive from Claire.
"Proof of Olivia's innocence," Lily replied confidently to the prosecutor.
"But Olivia has already confessed to her crime, and the police even found the knife used to kill Walter. And Olivia's fingerprints were found on that knife," the prosecutor asked, surprised.
"We're not saying that Olivia didn't kill Walter. But Mr. Prosecutor, Olivia did all of this to save herself and her children. I mean to say, it was in self-defence," Lily clarified, removing his confusion.
"Now please pass the order to release Olivia as soon as possible, because Olivia's children are alone at home right now, and they really need their mom," Claire requested the prosecutor.
"That's fine, but first I will have to send this pen drive to our lab so that we can check whether this video footage is real or not. These days it's the age of artificial intelligence—people make fake videos in two minutes that look completely real." Saying this, the prosecutor called one of his juniors and handed him the pen drive to send to the lab. Then he continued, "Don't worry. As soon as I get the lab report, I will pass the order to release Olivia, provided that the video is completely genuine," the prosecutor told Claire.
Hearing the prosecutor's words, both friends came outside. At this moment, they felt as if they had won a very big battle.
"So Claire, should we go straight home now?" Lily asked while walking down the stairs.
"I'm thinking we should go to the library once and meet that old woman too. My doubt will be cleared," Claire said to Lily in a convincing tone.
"Yeah, let's go. I feel like roaming around anyway, and this gives me a reason to. But call Stephanie and tell her that we're going to the library to meet the receptionist aunty," Lily said as she unlocked the car.
After sitting in the car, Claire called Stephanie and told her about going to the library. Stephanie told Claire to bring some things from the market on their way back, and then cut the call.
"Stephanie takes care of all of us like an elder sister," Claire said to Lily while locking her phone and putting it into her purse.
"You're right. Sometimes she becomes our elder sister, and sometimes she behaves like our mom. Honestly, when Stephanie is around, I never feel the absence of my own family," Lily replied.
"Lily, please drive the car a little slower. We have plenty of time," Claire said, trying to calm her.
But Lily had the steering wheel in her hands, and she was extremely excited to drive, so she drove fast and the two reached the library.
"Lily, I swear I won't sit in the car with you again if you are the one driving. You drive way too fast," Claire said, taking a deep breath as she stepped out of the car.
"Okay, sorry—my bad. Forgive me. When we go back, you can drive," Lily replied with a smile.
The two girls stepped inside the library, their eyes immediately scanning the room for the elderly woman at the reception—who was nowhere to be seen at the moment. The reception desk was completely deserted.
"Seriously, where is your elderly reception woman, G.G?" Lily asked Claire, looking around the library.
"Lily, I'm looking for her too. When I came here yesterday, she was right here at the reception, but today, the auntie is nowhere in sight," Claire replied, sounding equally confused.
"All I can see are a few students taking advantage of the library's privacy to enjoy each other's private parts," Lily said with a mischievous smile, pointing towards a corner of the library.
In that corner, a couple was seated. The boy was receiving a blowjob from the girl, and the girl, fearfully glancing around, was giving him the blowjob with his penis in her mouth.
"You must have definitely tried all this in your school, haven't you?" Claire teased Lily.
"No, Claire. I'm not so cheap as to sit in some old library and give a boy a blowjob. I haven't tried any of that to date, and if I ever did, it would be in a big hotel room or my partner's room. These school kids try to grow up before their time nowadays," Lily replied, looking at the school couple with a scornful expression.
"That's their daily routine. You can forget about that, and tell me, how may I help you?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind Claire and Lily; it belonged to a young man.
As Lily and Claire turned around, they saw a handsome youth standing there, whose lips were even pinker than a girl's. Lily immediately fell in love with the boy at first sight.
"Sorry, what did you say?" Claire asked the boy, surprised by the sudden presence.
"No, nothing. Tell me, how may I help you?" The boy asked Claire directly, slightly embarrassed by his previous words.
"Where is the elderly auntie who was here yesterday? My friend and I needed to meet her," Claire said, looking at the boy.
Before the boy could answer, Lily, impressed by his looks, asked, "What is your name, by the way?"
"My name is Lucas, and I'm the librarian here," the boy said. He then turned to Claire and continued, "You must be looking for G.G Ma'am. She hasn't come to the library today. Actually, you will meet her directly on Monday. Because G.G shifts here on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, as I go to music class, and I shift here on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday."
"Wow, such a nice name." Lily was completely consumed by a fever of love at this point and just kept staring at Lucas.
"Okay, fine, we'll meet her by going to her house. Do you have her address or phone number?" Claire asked Lucas, taking out her diary from her purse to note down the details.
After checking for a bit, Lucas gave G.G's address to Claire and then started making entries for today's book records in the register.
"By the way, Lucas, can you tell me what G.G Ma'am's full name is?" Claire asked Lukas again, hesitating slightly.
"Her full name? Sorry, actually, everyone knows her only by her name's initials. That's why I also call her G.G Ma'am."
"Okay, Lucas, nice to meet you and thanks for the address." Claire thanked Lucas and told Lily it was time to go.
But Lily suddenly called out to Lucas, "Lucas, are you single and free tonight? We could go to a movie tonight. I heard 'Thunderbolts' is playing at the theater."
"Oh! I am very sorry, Miss. Actually, my boyfriend and I are going on a fishing trip today. I am sorry," Lucas said and resumed his work.
Hearing Lucas's answer, Lily was completely shocked and quickly pulled Claire outside.
"What the fuck! My heart fell for a gay man?" Lily said, making a strange face.
"So what, Lily? What if he is gay, he still has a penis, right? And who knows, if you go to meet him, maybe Lucas, his boyfriend, and you could have a threesome," Claire said in a teasing tone to rile up Lily.
Hearing Claire's words, Lily shot Claire an angry look and then said, "Fine, you're enjoying this too much, making fun of me. So your punishment is that I will drive you to G.G Ma'am's house myself."
"Alright, fine, but honestly, I am so happy to know that your potential boyfriend is gay." Saying this, Claire sat in the car and burst into laughter. Then, the two of them drove off towards G.G's house, which was in the opposite direction from the library.