Copernicus Menard was never one of those sentimental people nor was he one of those who would show their feelings and emotions.

But what the brat spat out at him the other night...he couldn't understand what he was feeling that time. Someone found a way to break him and he did not like that at all.

His eyes almost betrayed him at that moment when she said those words. He did not want to feel affected...he is not that kind of person. Or so he thought.

"Were you also a bitch when you were still here?" He asks the non-living object in front of him as he sits on the ground. The tombstone that has his sister's name engraved on it stays silent as it's supposed to. "Hey, Ada, I'm trying to recall your bitchiness when you were still walking on this earth." He brings a hand to his chin and subtly rubs it in thought.

"Ah, you would always steal the remote from me even when I had it first!" He exclaims after a while.

"Hey, move."

Copernicus Menard, aged 12, does not move on the couch as he stares at his older sister, five years older than him.

"I said move!" She shouts trying to push him away. He does not budge at all, making her huff out of anger. "Fine," she sneers and grabs the T.V. remote control from his hand. She immediately changes the channel into whatever she wanted.

"Hey! I was watching my favorite cartoon show!" He shouts, trying to grab back the remote control. His sister though raises it high in the air for him to not reach it.

"And I'm going to watch this newly released movie that everyone in school has been talking about. I've been waiting for it for two months!"

"You always get the remote every time I have it, you bitch!"

His sister gasps in shock then in delight when she hears the sudden utterance of such a word. "Where did you learn that word?" She asks.

"I-In..." Copernicus stutters, "in school. My friends say it!"

"I'm going to tell mom!"

"N-No, please!" He says on the brink of crying. His eyes started to water out of worry.

"Then stop trying to get the remote control."

He wipes his eyes as he nods profusely. He fixes his eyes on the T.V. and started to watch with his sister the movie she has been wanting to watch for a long time.

"You were a big bitch that time," he continues, back in the present. A smile then starts to show on his face. "But you also knew how to cheer me up."

Copernicus would not stop sniffing beside his sister as they both watch T.V.. His sister would glance every now and then at him and slowly her conscience started to get to her. She lets out a sigh before changing the channel back to Copernicus’s show.

He looks at her in surprise and finds her with wide open arms. He immediately goes to her and wraps his arms around her neck then cries into their embrace. She soothes him by rubbing her hand on his back.

"There's no need to cry," she says softly, still rubbing his back. "I'm sorry. I can watch the replay of the movie."

"D-Don't tell mom and dad please," he sobs. "Mom will kill me if she knows that I said that word to you."

"Of course I won't tell them," his sister reassures him. "Now go watch your show and stop crying. You're such a baby."

"I'm faced with a bitch now." Copernicus sighs in his place and lazily lays on the fresh-cut grass surrounding his sister's tombstone. "She tries my patience every time I'm with her," he continues. He throws his hands in the air. "Then she accuses me of wanting all the attention?! Ada, you know why I confronted that man a year before. It was all for you."

"I bet she's the one who is really selfish," he mumbles under his breath. Clearly he was really hurt with what the brat accused him of. Right after she said those words, he could not find the strength in him to retaliate. "But I could have told her the truth, right? I...I just felt that I was not cut out for it yet. It has been 13 years...yet the memory imprinted in my head is still so vivid."

Letting out one last deep breath, he stands and dusts off grass from his pants. "As much as I would like to spend more time with you, I have to go back to work. After losing my 'partner' I'm now alone with my part of the investigation." He smiles down at the tombstone for one last time today. "I'll see you soon, Ada."

------------

Lieutenant Menard has walked through these corridors before. Years ago...months ago...not weeks ago though.

The nurses and other staff members have known him as the guy who was (or is) so persistent. But they come and go due to the change of time, even psychiatrists.

Lieutenant Menard knocks on a door of the new head psychiatrist of the institution. He had to somewhat argue with her secretary since he did not set an appointment ahead. He had no choice but to take out his badge and show it to her in order for him to enter. He has done that for many times already, it's starting to get uncomfortable.

The door swings open and a young woman with her white doctor's coat on beams at him. "Hello," she greets him.

"Hi," he greets back, "Um...Doctor Kang?"

She brings out her hand for him to shake, "Doctor Kang Nia. Nice to meet you."

Lieutenant Menard takes her hand and gives it a firm shake. "Lieutenant Copernicus Menard. I'm here to ask if-"

"Nia, who is it?" A voice calls out to the doctor from inside the room. Copernicus could feel his blood start to boil again. He knows the owner of that annoying voice.

Doctor Kang opens the door wider and instantly Copernicus sees the brat, standing by the window of clinic, looking back at him with a scowl.

"Mister Menard," she greets him coldly.

"Brat," he says back in the same nature as her.

"Um...come in," Doctor Kang gestures for him to enter the room which he obliges with.

"Pleasure to see you," Irene says to Mister Menard as Doctor Kang closes the door.

"How nice it is to see your lovely face again," he also continues but in a sarcastic manner. Doctor Kang Nia looks at the both of them in confusion. Did someone turn the thermostat down? It's suddenly getting chilly in here.

"Y-You think my face is lovely?" She asks, hiding the fact that she was taken aback with his words.

"Clearly someone does not know her sarcasm," he grumbles under his breath.

"It's clear that you both know each other," Doctor Kang speaks up. The other two face their attention to her. "I also have a feeling that you both are here for the same reason."

"Oh really?" Lieutenant Menard looks at the brat, "You're working on your own now, eh?"

"I function way better without a partner," she snaps at him.

"At least we both know that we agree on one thing," he snaps back.

"Could you both take a seat, please?" Doctor Kang says which sounded more like a command. They both look at her again as Irene was about to snap back at him. The doctor gestures to the two chairs in front of her table and the two nuisances to their seats opposite from each other. At the same time, unconsciously, they cross their arms in front of them.

Doctor Kang suppresses an eye roll. What the heck am I? A psychiatrist or a marriage counselor?

"I feel like you both need sessions with me," she lightly jokes as she eyes the both of them. The other two, on the other hand, were not having it. "Well," she starts again after an attempt to clear her throat, "Riri is here for-"

"Riri?" Lieutenant Menard repeats the name with a hint of a teasing smile on his face. Irene's cheeks start to flush into a hue of red as blood rushes to that area.

"Nia," Irene immediately says, "can you go back to what you were going to say?" Irene had to shyly fan her flushed cheeks from the man beside her.

"You're here for Jax Graves’s medical records, I assume. I cannot release them to her because she is not a law enforcement officer." Doctor Kang looks at Lieutenant Menard as she speaks.

"Which is actually not fair in my part since I play a role in this investigation," Irene mutters in dismay.

"I cannot go against the law. My license may get provoked," Doctor Kang states her point.

"You can tell us now," Lieutenant Menard utters, "I'm here and I have my badge to prove it if you want."

Doctor Kang gives him a pointed look before standing from her swivel chair. She then heads for the file cases behind her and opens a drawer near the bottom. "Jax Graves, Jax Graves," she murmurs under her breath. She finds the right folder with his name written on it. Doctor Kang takes her seat again and opens the folder. As she skims through the pieces of paper, Lieutenant Menard tried to take a peek of what were written on the nurse- or doctor-patient interaction files of Jax Graves. Doctor Kang suddenly slams close the file folder.

"By law, I am only allowed to tell you his name, address, social security number, blood type, and date and time of treatment."

"With all due respect, Doctor," Lieutenant Menard starts, "my team has a record of all of the general information regarding the person at hand." He finishes in a gentle manner. Irene is even surprised that he could pull something like that off.

"Perhaps you could give or show us a copy of his patient interactions," Lieutenant Menard continues, "Those are what we really need for our investigation."

"Lieutenant, I cannot just willfully hand them to you."

"Yes, you can," Irene suddenly speaks up. Both the doctor and lieutenant look at her, waiting for her to continue. "Jax Graves was supposed to be admitted in this hospital last year," she continues, "His name was filed already, everything was in place for his arrival. You, Nia, were even the psychiatrist assigned to him. But he never showed up here. He escaped prison and also escaped staying in this institution. We need his files, and we have the right to have a hold of them because we can bring him back here. I can decode him if I get a hold of his records." She stares right at the doctor, clearly her eyes were pleading for her to reconsider. “We can bring this man back here for the treatment he needs.”

"Riri, I-"

"If you can't do it for me," Irene interrupts her, "then do it for him and his team," she finishes, bringing her hand to Lieutenant Menard beside her. The man, on the other hand, looks at her trying to hide his amazement with her assertiveness.

Doctor Kang takes her time to look at the two people seated in front of her and exhales a heavy breath. "Come back here tomorrow," she strictly utters. Irene lets out a breath of relief. "I will prepare all recordings of his interviews by then so that you both get to hear them."

"Thank you, Doctor Kang," Lieutenant Menard says.

"Promise me that you will take him here for his treatment," Doctor Kang points a finger at the lieutenant. "Everyone in all walks of life deserves to still be treated and brought back to good health. Even if he really is a suspect."

"Yes, Doctor," Lieutenant Menard speaks again.

"You may go now," Doctor Kang says. Both Irene and the lieutenant stand. "Except you, Riri," Doctor Kang stops her, "I like for you to stay for just a minute."

Irene looks at her in confusion as she takes her seat again. Doctor Kang directs Lieutenant Menard to the door and even opens it for him. "I'll see you tomorrow, lieutenant," she says before closing the door after he exits.

"Nia," Irene whines, "why am I still here?"

"I can sense some kind of tension between the two of you…something, perhaps, sexual?" Doctor Kang cheekily states out loud as she crosses her arms in front of her and leans on the door. A smirk finds its way on her face as she dares to ask, "So...when are you two gonna bang?" She then sneaks a wink at her.

"KANG NIA!"

------------

"Riri," the name rolls of his tongue and lips so easily that he loves saying it to piss her off.

"Stop," she mumbles as she takes another whiff of her Tiger Balm. Is this stressing her out? Of course, it is!

"Who would have thought that a bratty name like Riri would fit a person like you," he comments.

"Shut up," she mutters, closing her eyes as Lieutenant Menard continues to drive back to the city. “And it’s a nickname that my college friends made for me. That’s why Doctor Kang knows it.”

Yes, they ended up back together in his car after the lieutenant forced her to tell him where she has to go next. She did not want to be in the same car as him again but he kept on insisting.

Taking her back to the city was the least that he could do for her after she pulled such a stunt to gain access to Jax Graves's interviews. Lieutenant Menard is not that much of an apathetic person himself.

He glances at her, eyes closed and breathing heavily the scent of Tiger Balm while leaning on the window ledge of the car. He notices the soft sound she emits when she takes a whiff of the Tiger Balm as they were driving in silence.

He looks back at the road and heaves a sigh.

Too bad that she's pretty but really fucking annoying.

------------

"Please pass the scanned newspaper clippings to your block beadle," Irene announces to the class in front of her as she closes her laptop and starts to fix her belongings. "Then you may go."

Lieutenant Menard dropped her off at the university where she works at. Of course, they fought before parting ways when the lieutenant forced Irene awake as she was about to finally see the face of her prince charming in her dream. Instead, she sees the face of a douchebag.

Irene required her class to find newspaper clippings of any article about the deemed “Radio Massacres” back in 2005. Such was given the name due to the fact that the victims were portrayed the same as the lyrics in the songs that were played in the radio during the 80's.

Since Irene is part of the investigation team now, articles from the past may aid in helping her find the suspect and understand his or her motives. Maybe fresh minds, like her students, could impart more information that she did not or fail to consider before.

What she discussed with her class were mostly trivial things - things that she knew already. She was hoping to find something fresh. It could have been a smart question from a student or a play of objects in the pictures on the articles. But none of those things happened. She was albeit disappointed.

As her students gave their requirements to Mister Price, their beadle, one-by-one they left the room. Some bade their professor farewell, others were apathetic and just went straight out of the classroom. Only the beadle was left behind in the classroom as he arranged all the pieces of paper he is holding.

"Ma'am?" He suddenly calls out to his professor, walking towards her table.

"Yes, Mister Price?" Irene places her stuff down and faces him. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No," he stammers. "I...have a weird newspaper clipping for you."

She tilts her head to the side, finding his way of wording intriguing. "Well, why do you find it weird?"

"Because it's the obituaries segment," he answers her question.

"Oh? Why would you keep that segment of the newspaper?" She asks. "Unfortunately for the victims, no one needed a death notice for each of them."

"But one had. Here," he unfolds the scanned copy of the newspaper page and brings it closer to her, "only Ada Menard had for herself. And I think that picture is she with her family," he continues.

Irene takes the piece of paper from him and studies the section, reading every word and every name. Her eyes then widen out of recognition. There is a man, rather a boy, in the picture with the victim, Ada Menard. With tousled hair and that lopsided smirk, she would not deny that she suddenly turned cold out of fear, nervousness, or even both - she's not sure. What she is sure of is that she knows that specific person in the picture.

No. That...that cannot be him.

"M-Mister Price," she stammers, "may I keep this?" She looks straight at her student as her hands start to shake. She swallows in fear.

"Yes, ma'am." He nervously smiles at her while gesturing towards the piece of paper on her hand, "that was the requirement that we had to pass after all."

"Thank you."

"See you, Ma'am," The beadle utters before leaving his professor alone in the room.

It cannot be...It cannot be...

H-How could this happen? The coincidences are too uncanny.

She opens her handbag and takes out her phone. Going through her list of contacts, she finds the name she was looking for and swipes on it. She brings her phone to her ear as the phone starts to ring.

"Chief Webford?" She immediately says as the person on the other side answers her call. "As much as you can," she starts, "tell me the relation between Lieutenant Menard and Ada Menard, please."