Unsure of what to make of the odd questions sent her way, Dolope decided not to think much of it and so remarked. "Well, if that’s all, I believe I should be taking my leave. We wouldn’t want the auspicious time for prayers to pass."
"Agreed." Alex nodded as he stepped aside for Dolope to pass with Philo.
As the two made to leave, Alex suddenly remarked. "Miss Dolope."
"Does the name Hermione mean anything to you?"
"It is a beautiful name," Dolope admitted with a smile. "If my husband were still alive and we had another daughter, I’d have loved to name her that."
"I see," Alex muttered before asking another question. "Do you know anyone by the name Leokhares?"
"Not at all," Dolope said with a shake of her head.
Though worrisome, Alex didn’t think much of it just yet.
The lower districts were quite large with a significant population.
One couldn’t expect the other to know the identities of everyone in the area.
It would be best if he checked out Leo’s home before making any judgment.
With that, Dolope turned to leave, only to pause after a few steps forward as she appeared to have recalled something.
"Yes?" Alex appeared hopeful only for that to be dashed as Dolope remarked.
"Perhaps you might want to check on Melita. I heard from some of her neighbors that she didn’t leave for work this morning."
"I see," Alex remarked, doing well to hide the disappointment he felt. "I’ll do so."
Finally, Dolope left with Philo, with Arwen finishing up her writing at around the same time.
"Alex, what’s going on?" Arwen asked.
"I don’t know." Alex sincerely replied. "However, it’s clear that whatever happened to Leokhares has happened to Dolope as well."
"According to the report, the only reason Leokhares was so adamant he had a daughter despite not recalling anything about her was because of the items he left as evidence."
"Indeed. Unfortunately, for Dolope, it might be harder for her to tell if something is wrong since she still has one daughter."
"So what now?" Arwen asked.
"First, we pay a visit to Melita, then we head over to both Leo and Dolope’s homes."
With that sorted, the two swiftly continued on their way.
It didn’t take long for them to arrive at Melita’s home.
The building appeared to have been recently renovated, allowing it to stand out from among the other houses around it that were slowly decaying.
Alex knocked at the door before taking a step back to wait for a response.
However, there was none, even after almost two minutes of waiting.
Glancing at Arwen, he proceeded to knock again, and after a minute of no response, he kicked the door in, granting them access into the house.
They wandered into a clean living room with a radio placed on the center table.
"Check this floor, I’ll check the second," Alex said with Arwen nodding.
The two quickly parted with Arwen conjuring a pale flame tongue on her finger while Alex was prepared to snap at a moment’s notice.
After almost fifteen minutes had passed, the duo once again reconvened in the sitting room, their expressions revealing their displeasure.
"Where could she be?" Arwen couldn’t help but ask.
Alex let out a sigh. "If I were to guess, she’s been taken."
"We can’t be sure if it’s a cult. However, it appears to be the same as Theoren’s disappearance."
"Do you think it’s the same as the case with Leo and Dolope’s daughters?"
Alex pursed his lips. "We can’t be sure. Though all four are missing, it’s almost like the little girls have been erased from the minds of those closest to them... or is it that their existence was erased from reality itself?"
"So two different culprits?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Alex remarked. "Perhaps the abductions have been done by the same individual, only that one is significant and the other is not."
"Like the ones we can remember are a smokescreen to take us away from the abductions of the little girls?"
Alex nodded. "It is possible. However, we can’t be certain yet. We need to carry out further investigations before we can ascertain anything."
"Agreed," Arwen said.
Then, Alex got to his feet. "Come, you’ll head over to Dolope’s place while I check out Leo’s place."
"Alright then." Arwen jumped to her feet as well, ready to get going, only for Alex to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Be careful. We have no idea what we are up against."
"I hope you do," Alex said. "Guard your mind and even if it seems insignificant, as long as it appears odd, make sure to pen it down, in other words, be vigilant."
"Once I’m done at Leo’s place, I’ll come over to Dolope’s house. Make sure to scope the place out before my arrival."
Arwen nodded with a serious look on her face.
Satisfied with her response, Alex let go of her shoulder, allowing her to take her leave.
Once she was gone, he snapped and quickly engulfed the house in an inky blackness.
This lasted for a few seconds before the blackness receded, at which point Alex let out a sigh. "Nothing."
Taking one last look around, he proceeded to take his leave, closing the door behind him as he left.
After asking for directions from the regular inhabitants of the lower districts, Alex quickly found his way to Leokhares’ address.
It was insightful, though, that none of those he asked seemed familiar with the individual he described, though they were familiar with others that had a similar name.
Upon his arrival in the area, Alex didn’t immediately head to the house and instead spent some time talking with those around, and, unsurprisingly, they all had the same answer to his questions.
There was no one named Leokhares living in this area.
That abandoned house has always been that way.
Having confirmed his suspicion that Leokhares had suffered the same fate as his daughter and Dolope’s daughter, Hermione, Alex finally made his way to the dilapidated building that was supposed to be Leokhares’ home.