The Nemesis

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE HALLOWEEN MURDER

With its ghostly halo glow growing paler as the witching of Halloween crawls closer, the full moon gazes down on the neoclassical facade of the Hawthorne's regal Montrose House, where a highly anticipated black carpet is drenched in bursts of camera flashes. A single pitch-black, 1930s Rolls Royce hearse radiates as it, like a knife, sharply cuts through a village of broadcasters lining the road, before stopping in front of the stretch of black carpet.

Upon security opening the back door of the morbid vehicle, Carlsile's delighted feet, wearing well-polished crinkle leather boots, step onto the black carpet and reach out his hand for Pip; she grasps Carlisle's hand tightly as the camera's blindingly bright lights blink wildly on her and his face, like in a nightclub, but far more chaotic in the sense of being overwhelming with waves of jumbled shouts of instructions, "smile!", "kiss!", and "look this way!".

Eyes of the cameras fixate onto the young lovers' exquisite clothes, snapping photos at every angle of Carlisle's sleek black, silk and wool-blended GUCCI tuxedo, where sketches of Jack Skellington are embroidered in silver on the back and his clumsily styled stringy waves of hair mysteriously shrouding parts of his face.

Pip forces on the most beautiful smile she can afford, with her signature femme fatale blow kiss, and gives the cameras a twirl of her ruched bust, sleeveless, blush-pink GUCCI neoclassical punk dress, with six silk layers of chiffon sashes and adorned with black ribbons and lace on the edge of every silk layer. A few liberal strands of Pip's subtly curly hair, carefully twisted up into a fairytale-esque loose bun and layered with hand-crafted peony flower, dallying around Pip's feeble clavicle emphasizes her ethereal, feminine beauty, mesmerizes the cameras and tortures Carlisle's barely suppressed urge to make love to her in this exact moment.

Carlisle gives her a light peck on the shoulder and she slides her hands up to his arm, needily holding onto him like she is a child hyperventilating after a nightmare and he is her comfort doll. Carlisle nods with an alluring enigmatic smirk, and wraps his arms around Pip's body to plant a reassuring kiss on her lips, to which Pip fervently buries her face into their kiss, feeling braver as her heart soars up high.

The two break the kiss with longing gaze and walk down the black carpet, to be met by several curious interviewers, who bombard them about their blooming romance.

An ubiquitous Lexus suv makes its sensational, swoonworthy appearance, with its windows rolled down and Timothee's cheerfully smiley head popped out of it, his hair suavely tousled into the shape of a dancing fountain frozen in the moment.

He takes off his boxy Tom Ford sunglasses and merrily calls out, "Happy Halloween!", as he waves his hands to the cameras, in a casually cool way as if greeting his friends at a party.

Before security can open the car door, Timothee—dressed comfortably chic in a black Balenciaga Joker Face-print leather jacket, red sweater, black sweatpants, and white chunky sneakers—eagerly hops out and jogs over to the black carpet, waving both his hands between angelic laughs that radiate the world around him.

Timothee readily poses as car after car arrive, in the design of a very long stretch of bead necklace, dropping off the most namely celebrities, influential politicians, mighty tycoons, and notable aristocrats, and their privileged acquaintances, onto the limelight of the black carpet.

Jade steps out of her white Rolls Royce limousine in a staggeringly high red Vivienne Westwood patent leather, ribbon-laces platform pumps; wickedly haute Alexander McQueen puffy red dress, enchanted with the flight of black ravens printed on the skirt, crosses painted on the bust in black, and a matching red and black oversized ribbon flowing down on the side of the dress; and vintage 1950s black velvet hat with a fine net veil and decorative beading; Chanel crimson velvet bejeweled with silver Camelia flower rings; and a custom-made Dolce and Gabbana black lace masquerade mask; and her signature rouge lipstick on.