Other cases

"That's quite intense even for the Bureau. They normally don't work so… openly." Hellen muttered as she procured a bag of chips from the table in front of them. 

It was one of those kinds which had a storage with a glass top. Aiden suspected there was also a mini fridge but aunt Hellen must've already finished all the beverages in there, which is why she went to the big refrigerator in the kitchen to take out those cans.

She cut the packet of chips wide open and offered it to them after she took a piece for herself. Leaning back, she said, "They normally would've left this work to supers who have powers related to investigation."

Aiden took an entire handful of chips and leaned back as he countered, "We don't know if the supers were there or not. Lucas was an ordinary guy that time, remember? He didn't have connections to the Bureau to ask them what was happening. How would an ordinary person know if supers were involved in the job? 

"Not to mention, even if he was subjected to the power of some super who specializes in investigation, he wouldn't know right? I assume the Bureau wouldn't leave traces of it right? For all we know, there might indeed be supers helping with the case. But I also doubt if they ever even approached Lucas. Like, they would instantly know his dreams were fishy if they approached him right? I doubt a common man can resist being investigated by the Bureau itself."

Hellen was already numb to how good Aiden was at analysis. She nodded her head with a thoughtful look and agreed.

"Now that you put it that way, it does make sense."

Hellen and Aiden both had a look of contemplation on their faces. After a few seconds of silence, Hellen exaggeratedly stretched and said,

"We talked a lot. Let's deal with the ghost shall we?"

Aiden informed Lucas about ghosts and specters, about what term to think and speak of in what situations, earning quite a reaction from him. Lucas had a look of urgency on his face as he quickly spoke,

"There's too much we have to catch up about but I wanted to tell you about Evander. I just remembered!"

Aiden and Hellen were surprised but the former reluctantly suppressed his desire and said, "We have really talked a lot, let's tackle the ghost first."

Aiden had enough maturity to get the hint. They ought to deal with the problem first outside of doing necessary things, catching up and everything could come later. He was pretty sure Hellen shifted their attention on dealing with the ghost for the same reason. It was her house after all, every extra second it stayed, it was extra work for her to clean up afterwards. Even if he stayed behind to help, the damage was still done. He didn't like the feeling of owing another person so much.

He approached the bat he was using yesterday and gripped it firmly. He swung it a few times to get the feel, and also imagined a ghost to hit. Picking up another one from the bundle, he tossed it to Lucas who was looking around the house.

Hellen was done checking up on the cameras in the meantime and was in the process of making sure her gun was in working condition. 

"Should be easier this time around with an ability to use right?" Aiden softly muttered as they approached the room where the ghost was hiding this time.

"Nope. Abilities must not be used unless necessary. Why would you make Lucas go through the side effects for no reason when the ghost could be dealt with without it just fine?"

"No no no! I can use my abilities if it means it would make the job easier. Don't worry about the side effects, it's not that serious. Why take unnecessary risks? I came here exactly to save you from the dangerous ghost."

Hellen turned around to face him and reprimanded with a serious tone, "Young man, you listen to me when we are dealing with the ghost. I don't want someone who has never fought against ghosts to give me advice on how to deal with them."

Aiden silently put a finger on his lips to indicate Lucas to keep quiet. He knew Lucas was just being eager to help but he also knew Hellen wouldn't be friendly when it was a matter of ghosts. It was literally a matter of life and death.

Quietly walking up the stairs, they approached the room and Hellen once again instructed Aiden to open the door. He wasn't as scared as last time but he still took a deep breath and calmed himself before opening the door.

"It's in the closet again."

Hellen informed. Aiden just nodded to show he heard her and entered the house followed by Hellen, Lucas entered last while holding a baseball bat in one hand, unlike how Aiden held it with both his hands.

Hellen and Lucas stayed in the back, while Aiden approached the closet. As soon as he entered the range when the ghost attacked him last time through the closet, Hellen's voice rang out.

"It ran away."

It contained a hint of annoyance, exactly what Aiden was feeling at the moment. Lucas was clueless but kept quiet nonetheless.

With an irritated frown, Hellen thought for a second and said,

"We'll chase it like yesterday night. If it can still use its ability after a dozen times then we'll leave. I'd rather go check on other cases of murders in the town than waste time here."

Aiden nodded, with Lucas still being clueless. For the next few minutes, he simply followed them, running from room to room in the entire house. 

Approximately 5 minutes later, Aiden once again laid panting on the carpet as Hellen checked on her work documents and Lucas sat on the sofa munching on fruits. He rejected another help attempt when the ghost tried to give him a towel for all the sweat he produced from chasing it, explaining to Lucas in the process. He updated him with all the information for the next few minutes as Hellen quietly worked away at her laptop. When he was finally done, she finally stood up and said, 

"Let's go, we'll look through the other scenes of murder today. Also, I'll get my specialized phone back today from the repair shop. Hope we'll have more information to work on then."