Vivian and Brittany were back in the room, with the notebook open between them.
They had been going over the notes in silence for a while, until Brittany set the pen down on the table and leaned back slightly in her chair.
—There's something I didn't tell you in detail —she said suddenly.
Vivian looked up.
—About the Clown?
Brittany nodded.
—About the first time I saw him up close.
Vivian partially closed the notebook and gave her her full attention.
Brittany took a deep breath before beginning to speak.
—It was in Trenton.
She paused for a moment.
—My father was being extorted by a group. The one in charge of that area was a guy named Gabriel. Loren's brother.
Vivian frowned but didn't interrupt.
—I found out what they were doing to my dad and… I got angry. I went looking for him. I didn't think too much about it. I just wanted them to leave him alone.
Brittany lowered her gaze for a second.
—I found him in an alley with several of his friends. I told them to stop bothering my father. That he had already paid enough.
She fell silent for a moment.
—Gabriel laughed. He said a girl shouldn't get involved in adults' business.
Brittany clenched her hands slightly.
—And then… he got too close.
Vivian noticed Brittany's jaw tense.
—He tried to touch me. He pushed me against the wall. His friends were laughing. I tried to get away, but I couldn't.
Brittany swallowed.
—Just when I thought no one was going to do anything… he appeared.
Vivian didn't need her to say the name.
—The Clown —she whispered.
Brittany nodded.
—He came out of nowhere. With that mask. With that voice.
Vivian remained completely focused on her words.
—First, he made fun of them. He offered to take them out for ice cream as if everything were some kind of joke.
A small nervous smile appeared on Brittany's face, but quickly disappeared.
—Gabriel got angry and shot him several times.
Vivian's eyes widened slightly.
—He shot him?
—Yes.
Brittany slowly shook her head.
—And the Clown didn't even flinch. He got back up as if nothing had happened.
She paused.
—Then… he pulled knives out of thin air.
Vivian said nothing.
Brittany pressed her lips together.
—He didn't kill them. But what he did to them… was enough to make sure they wouldn't go near anyone again for a long time.
She lowered her gaze.
—He left them on the ground, screaming.
Silence settled between them.
—And before he left —Brittany continued— he laughed.
Vivian slowly raised her eyes.
—That same laugh.
Brittany nodded.
—The same one we heard afterward.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Vivian finally looked at the notebook.
—So he saved you too.
—Yes.
Brittany paused for a moment.
—Although I don't know if "saved" is the right word.
Vivian looked at her.
—Why?
—Because he appeared, dealt with them, and disappeared.
Brittany pointed at the notes.
—Just like in all the other cases.
Vivian quickly picked up the pen.
She wrote:
Brittany – Trenton – Gabriel (Loren's brother) – attempted assault – Clown intervention.
When she finished, she looked up.
—This confirms the pattern even more.
Brittany leaned slightly toward the notebook.
—Which one?
Vivian pointed at the new entry.
—He doesn't arrive beforehand. He arrives when someone is already in real danger.
Brittany nodded.
—And he always disappears afterward.
The two of them remained thoughtful for a while.
There was something about that story that fit far too well with everything else.
Finally, Vivian spoke.
—Sooner or later, we're going to have to talk to Ana and Madeleine.
Brittany nodded.
—They have pieces of this too.
—I know —Brittany replied—. But first, let's properly organize what we already have.
Vivian looked at her.
—Do you think we should tell them everything?
—If we're going to involve them, it should be with something clear.
Vivian remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she carefully closed the notebook.
—All right.
She rested one hand on the cover.
—Next step: finish organizing everything.
Brittany nodded.
—Then we talk to them.
Vivian placed the notebook on the table.
For the first time, she felt like the investigation was taking a clear direction.
They still didn't know what the Clown was looking for.
Or why he appeared.
Or how long he had been doing this.
But now they had another piece.
And every piece seemed to bring them a little closer to the truth.
---
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
Ryan was sitting in front of the Nexum screen.
The ranking was still generating activity.
More projects were paying for visibility, and the comments were becoming more frequent.
Ryan went over the statistics for a few minutes before picking up his notebook.
He wrote:
Ranking stable.
Below it, he wrote:
Next objective: attract bigger clients.
And finally:
Improve trust in the system.
Ryan closed the notebook and stared at the screen in silence.
He had seen them the night before.
Vivian and Brittany.
Walking together.
Talking about something that was clearly not trivial.
Ryan rested his head against the back of his chair.
He could have gone down.
He could have listened.
He could have left another balloon.
Another letter.
Another provocation.
But no.
Not yet.
Nexum needed more work.
The empire was only beginning to take shape.
And he wasn't going to let himself get distracted now.
A small smile appeared on his face.
—It's not time to play with you yet.
He turned off the computer.
He stood up and carefully stretched. His hand still bothered him a little after everything that had happened.
Ryan walked over to the window and looked out into the darkness of the county.
Somewhere in Morris County, two girls were still putting together pieces of a puzzle that he himself had created.
And for now…
that was fine.
Ryan closed the curtains.
—First, the empire.
He paused for a moment.
—Then the show.
And he turned off the light.