"Which one should we investigate first, Mr. Mater?" Selina asked.
Mater rubbed his chin with his fluffy cat paw.
Selina had downloaded all the relevant information regarding the three bounties to her phone. She was showing Mater the three pictures of the three areas related to the case.
Mater swiped her phone down to the case in Eluvia Street. This one seemed to be the simplest of them all. It wasn't guaranteed that a wraith would be there.
"It's better to cross off false bounty first so we can focus on the real thing." Mater meowed and pointed to the house in Eluvia Street.
"This one? Alrighty then."
Selina and Mater once again drove on her bike to the location.
"Uh… When Selina has more credits, I'll probably tell her to buy a motorcycle or something. This thing is too slow."
The pair disappeared into the street. The Dark Grimoire trembled gently in Selina's backpack.
Eluvia Street was a long slope with very few houses. Most of the houses here were big luxurious villas with their own big courtyard. Including the house they were investigating.
On the way there, Mater met a few cat enthusiasts just like last time. But he didn't allow them to touch him. He hissed at most of them and even clawed an impolite lady that wanted to touch him.
Selina had to apologize on his behalf which caused Mater to roll his eyes.
"They tried to touch me!" Mater meowed.
Soon, they found themselves at the location. Selina parked her bicycle in front of the gate and looked around. She lifted Mater out of the basket and held him in her arms.
"The gate is locked tight. We should find another entrance." Selina mumbled.
Mater jumped out of her arms and climbed through the fences. He approached the lock on the gate and extended one of his claws.
"Witness the master at work, woman." Mater inserted his claw into the lock and played around.
Before he became a warlock, he was a professional thief. These locks were no match for him.
"Piece of cake." Mater meowed.
The lock released and he pushed the gate open.
"You're so good, Mr. Mater!" Selina said.
Mater lifted his head high with a smug. "Obviously!"
The cat jumped back to her arms. The pair entered the courtyard and started the investigation.
Mater's eyes flashed red as he scanned the premises.
"Huh? There are traces of Chaos around. There might be an actual wraith here."
To communicate the threat to Selina. Mater hissed and extended his claws. He scratched in the air.
"There is danger inside the house?" Selina said.
Mater nodded. Selina's expression turned serious. She carefully placed Mater down on the ground to take the Dark Grimoire out of her backpack.
"Here's your book, Mr. Mater. I don't know how you use those powers but I hope you will use them to help me again."
Mater patted his chest, wanting to say 'count on me'. Selina got the message.
She held the book with her two hands. It snapped open, creating a platform for Mater to sit upon. The pair continued their journey.
There wasn't much to look at in the courtyard and garden of the house. It was infested with weeds and high grass. Some of the stone structures were covered in green moss.
"How long has this been abandoned?" Selina mumbled.
Mater noticed certain particular stone structures. He meowed and pointed in that direction. Selina followed his lead.
In front of them were three low squared stones. Selina felt a sudden creep on her back.
She squatted down and used a cloth to wipe off the moss.
"Here lies Darren Wilson. Beloved son."
"This is a tombstone?!" Selina blurted out.
She quickly wiped the moss down off the other two stones, revealing another two tombstones.
"Here lies Eric Wilson. Beloved husband and father."
"Here lies Lisa Wilson. Beloved wife and mother."
"A family of three? Looking at the date these people passed, they all died at thirty years old. Spooky." Selina mumbled.
Mater jumped down and clawed at her pants.
"What is it, Mr. Mater?"
The black cat pointed at the phone in her pocket. She pulled it out for him.
Mater pushed his black paw onto the phone. Images flashed on the screen until their profiles appeared.
He snatched the profiles directly from the ACPD database.
"This is?! You hacked the ACPD?" Selina's jaw dropped.
Mater lifted his head with a smug shrug and shrugged. "You're afraid?"
"Well. I hope they won't find out. If they do, we're in big trouble. Let's see what they have here."
From the profiles, Selina found out how they died.
"Eric Wilson. Suicide by self-immolation."
"Lisa Wilson. Suicide by hanging."
"Darren Wilson. Suicide by self-inflicted stab wounds."
"These people… There is definitely something wrong with this house." Selina said.
Mater nodded in agreement. He walked to the back of the tombstones and meowed loudly. It triggered Selina's curiosity so she followed.
Selina stared blankly to the empty graves. The three plots of land were dug up recently. What was even weirder was that it looked like the corpse emerged from the ground, not someone digging from above.
"These are definitely not normal." Selina took a picture of the graves and sent it to the bounty site.
The ACPD would be notified of new evidence relating to the bounty. Whether or not they take further action was their decision.
"I'm afraid these aren't enough to get the reward. Should we go inside the house?" Selina said.
She noticed Mater's eyes turned red and he was staring continuously at the house without blinking.
Selina turned her head to look at what he was looking at.
A shadow stood behind a window on the second floor looking right at them. Selina's hair stood up immediately.
The shadow suddenly disappeared. But Selina had managed to snap a picture.
"This is enough to guarantee a warrant and maybe get us the reward."
Mater was still looking at the house. Selina already knew what he wanted to do.
"You want to get inside?"
Mater nodded.
Selina sighed. She knew she couldn't do much from here. The goth girl placed the book near Mater.
"I will be waiting outside. Do you want me to contact the ACPD?"
Mater shook his head. The mission was to gather evidence for a possible NCE, doing more wouldn't bring them any further reward.
"Alright. I will be waiting outside. But if it gets dark and you don't come back, I will contact Detective Baltimore, okay?"
"That is fine with me."
Mater jumped onto the book. The Dark Grimoire carried him inside the house.