《IMPOSTOR》


 Lets all stay in one house

    So many kidnappings started to happen in the town called Nishille. A girl was reading the news on her phone. Suddenly she got a notification saying, "you were added to the group chat." She opened the message. Slowly, so many other people were also added to the group chat. When the group chat had 16 people, the admin changed the group''s name to ''Suspects''. Everyone was confused, then the admin started typing.


    ???: Hello. From today onwards you guys are the prime suspects of the kidnappings that have been happening around recently.


    ''Alex'': And how could we be the prime suspects when you are the kidnapper?


    ???: Well, of course I am the kidnapper, but my real identity is still a mystery and that real me''s phone number is also in this group chat. What you all have to do now is to find that one person who is behind these kidnappings and you will be out of the suspects list.


    ''Mary'': Why are you doing this and why do you want to get caught by shortlisting the suspects?


    ???: Well you see, I want to see something interesting. It''ll be fun to see you guys trying to solve the case desperately. Life is so boring without some real life adventures, after all.


    ''Donkey'': Are you for real?!


    You are only doing this because you are bored?!


    Are you a psychopath?


    ???: Yes.


    ''Coolguy69'': But why us?


    ???: Well... You guys are the smartest people in this town.


    ''Eva'': How can you say that with so much certainty?


    ???: I have your personal details, your academic details, your actions that make you eligible for this group chat, and so on.


    So your time starts now.


    ''Phantom'': Like we will listen to you, we don''t care about who the culprit is.


    We just need our peace of mind. It will be fine as long as we know that we are not the kidnapper, and what will happen if we don''t listen to you?


    ???: I will leak these suspects list to the people of this town. Plus, don''t you think it''s a little bit selfish to think about your "peace of mind" when the people I kidnapped are suffering a few miles away from you? How can you sleep well after knowing the fact that you were one of the 15 people who could''ve saved them from their sufferings?


    The choice is all yours.


    The kidnapper went offline after that.


    Everyone discussed it and came to the conclusion that they''ll investigate this. Everybody introduced themselves in the group chat.


    ''Alex'': I''m Alex, obviously as in my profile.


    ''Mary'': I''m Mary.


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    ''Donkey'': I''m Tony.


    ''Coolguy69'': I''m Vincent.


    ''Eva'': I''m Evelyn.


    ''Phantom'': Ralph.


    In the chat: Cheng.


    In the chat: Vishnu.


    In the chat: Akbar.


    In the chat: Satoshi.


    In the chat: Catherine.


    In the chat: Meera.


    In the chat: Annie.


    In the chat: Trevor.


    She introduced herself.


    In the chat: I''m Misty.


    Misty: Hey guys, can we all meet up tomorrow?


    We need to discuss a lot of things.


    Satoshi: You are right, but where?


    Misty: At the Graveyard.


    Trevor: Graveyard? Are you into some sort of horror shit.


    Misty: No, I meant the cafe Graveyard.


    Trevor: Who names their cafe graveyard?


    Anyways, I don''t know where this cafe is.


    Mary: You totally don''t go outside much, do you?


    It''s the most popular cafe out here, you will find your way.


    Btw, time?


    Misty: 12 pm, if you all are fine with it.


    The next day in the Graveyard cafe


    "So guys where were you all when you were added to this group chat. I was at home," said Misty.


    Trevor, Ralph, Catherine, Akbar, Alex, Vishnu, Satoshi, and Annie said that they were at home as well. Mary said that she was at her aunt''s house helping her aunt to make cookies. Meera said that she was at the hospital. Tony said that he was at the gym. Vincent said that he went to get the groceries. Evelyn said that she was at her Karate class. Cheng said that he was coming back from the library.


    "Okay guys, I have a plan to catch the kidnapper right now, right away. Well, it''s more like 1% chance. Anyways, to come to the point, I know that Trevor is a hacker, so I-" said Misty.


    Catherine interrupted her. "Wait a minute, how do you know that?"


    "Well, he was caught by the police for hacking into the government stuff."


    "Yeah, he''s Jonathan James 2.0," said Mary.


    "I''m not that great, which is exactly why I got caught so easily but I can do simple stuff," said Trevor.


    "Okay, but how were you so sure of that? It could have been a random Trevor. Plus you only saw him today for the first time," said Catherine.


    "Well I thought it couldn''t be any random since the kidnapper said that he picked the "smartest" for this. So I just simply asked Trevor if he''s the same Trevor."


    "Hmm, makes sense," said Akbar.


    "So what I was getting to was that Trevor will check into ours and this kidnapper''s yesterday''s location and see if these two cells were in close range," said Misty. Trevor looked into the location of these people. Everyone''s cell who said they were outside showed the exact location they said they were in yesterday. Everybody else''s locations were random since they were at home including Mary''s since she was at her aunt''s house. However, the kidnapper wasn''t anywhere near them. In Fact the kidnapper was not even in their town itself, they were at the nearest town.


    "How could it be possible?" said Alex.


    "It''s possible, if they''re a hacker as well, they could do some hacking. Not only that, there could be a helper as well," said Trevor.


    "Hacker, you say, there''s only one hacker in our group," said Meera.


    "They could be hiding that fact from us," said Trevor.


    "Could be a helper as well, since there''s a total of 5 people kidnapped so far. It''s not easy for a person to hide 5 people alone. Even though it''s not that hard it''s not that easy either," said Misty.


    "What do we do now?" said Cheng.


    "There''s so many things we could do but for now I have a proposition to all of you," said Misty.


    "A proposition?" said Cheng.


    "Yes," she glanced at everyone. "Let''s all move to one house until we find out who the kidnapper is."


    "It''s only a logical reaction considering that it will help us all monitor each other''s actions. I don''t mind it but we need a house for that," said Akbar.


    "I arranged it. Well, more like I have it, a house spacious enough for all of us. When Misty asked about it before everyone arrived, I immediately said that we could stay in my big house," said Satoshi.


    "So far, me, Ralph, Mary, Meera, Satoshi, and now Akbar agreed to this proposition. You can tell me if you''re against this, if not you don''t have to say anything," said Misty.


    Nobody said anything against it, that meant everyone agreed to her proposition. "So tomorrow we will all meet here again and then Satoshi will lead us to this house, so pack your bags and be here tomorrow. By the way, it''s my cafe," said Misty.


    "Yes, it totally makes sense. The name of this cafe is as weird as you," said Trevor. They all went back to their home agreeing to meet-up and move to that house tomorrow.

 Looking around for clues

    Since everyone has left now, she thought she should look up a little into the case. So she locked her cafe and went to the one place the kidnapper should have crossed paths with, which would be the toll booth.


    ''Luckily, a highway is followed by our town so there''s two toll booths here, and fortunately or unfortunately you have to pass through that to get back to our town after leaving,'' she thought. ''That means the toll collector must have seen the kidnapper if they left the town and came back. Even Though it''s unlikely it wouldn''t hurt to check after all.''


    She drove her car to the said destination where she saw a suspicious looking man wearing a black leather pants and jackets with a hat covering his face. ''Is he the kidnapper...? No way, that''s way too much of a coincidence. Plus he looks more like a buffoon rather than a criminal,'' she thought.


    "So you''ve finally come, I was expecting you," the mysterious man said.


    "Huh?" It was her immediate response to his words.


    "Oh forget it," the mysterious man slowly removed his hat. "I don''t know why I said it."


    "Trevor?"


    "Yeah, guess we both had the same idea."


    "Yes, I guess... So, did you get any information so far?"


    "No, I just reached here, guess we have to investigate together."


    "Okay, fine by me."


    They approached the first toll booth. "Hey sir, have you seen anyone suspicious here?" said Trevor.


    "Yeah, you," he looked behind him, "and the girl behind you looks suspicious as well."


    Misty gave an awkward smile. "I mean apart from us... Like, have you seen someone suspicious yesterday specifically?"


    "If you did see someone, please give their information," said Trevor.


    "Uhm, no, and I don''t think I can hand over such important information to anyone."


    Misty Showed him a photo of the group, which she took when they all met up. "Have you perhaps seen any of them leaving or entering the town?"


    He squinted his eyes to observe each of them carefully. "No, I don''t think I did."


    "Thank you for your cooperation, we will take our leave now."


    They got the same response from the second toll booth too. "Guess we are at a dead end," said Trevor.


    "No, now we at least know that the kidnapper didn''t leave the town that day," said Misty.


    "Yeah but I was hoping to get some info about the kidnapper."


    "Well, no worries we will definitely catch them in a few days."


    "I hope so, but aren''t you missing something?" said Trevor.


    "Yes, I suppose there could be a helper who isn''t part of the 15 suspects who wasn''t seemingly suspicious because they weren''t trying to hide anything," said Misty.


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    Trevor nodded. "I could get the details of everyone who passed through that toll yesterday."


    "No need bro, I don''t think they''re so stupid to give away any information in any way. Plus we shouldn''t focus on diversions right now, we need to focus on the 15 suspects." Both of them went back to their home after that small investigation.


    The next day all of them met up again at the ''Graveyard'' to leave for the new house. "Guys, come with me I will lead you to my caravan and when everyone is ready we will head over to my big house," said Satoshi.


    "What about our vehicles?" said Alex.


    "Well, those with a vehicle can come by their vehicle and just follow my caravan." They rode to Satoshi''s house.


    "Hmm... it''s not really a house, it''s a FUCKING MANSION," said Catherine.


    "Oh, this mansion was yours after all, huh?" said Alex.


    "You are rich," said Ralph.


    "What''s the problem with being rich?"


    "I hope it''s not daddy''s money," said Mary.


    "Stop saying such things..." Satoshi unlocked the door. "Even though it''s half true," he murmured quietly.


    "Half?" said Misty.


    "How the hell did you hear me?"


    "I have good hearing ability."


    He sighed. "Let''s just get in." They all got inside the house


    The house had way more room than 15, even though some were relatively smaller, so everybody got themselves a bedroom. Everybody was panicking about their luggage and stuff, they were exchanging conversations too.


    Misty felt as if her whole world changed in a matter of a few seconds. She always wondered how it would feel to have friends, because she never had any before. She does have a friend, but a group of friends is another thing. ''Is it finally time for me to experience that too...'' She shook her head, ''nah, I know it''s a beautiful scene to view. A bunch of random strangers making friends with each other, but I also know that all these strangers-'' she paused for a second. ''No, these "friends'''' have dark secrets that they don''t want to share.''


    "Yo, what are you thinking?" said Satoshi.


    "Nothing," she shrugged.


    "Just forget about the case for now, take some rest and relax with us."


    She talked a bit with everyone for a while and went to bed. The next day, Misty woke up early so that she could leave early for some ''investigations''. Right then, she saw that Trevor also seemed like he was getting ready to go somewhere. "Are you getting ready to kidnap more people?" she said.


    "No," he said in a serious tone, "I''m going somewhere."


    "Seems like something important, sorry I guess," said Misty.


    "Where are you going anyway, off for a kidnapping?" said Trevor in an annoyed tone.


    "I thought I should investigate a little bit," she said.


    "That''s also my second goal of the day. Okay then, you go ahead and investigate. I will go do my business and do some investigations myself as well," he said.


    "Let''s do it together then," she said.


    "I don''t really mind but it will take some time before I finish my first business."


    "It''s fine, you are also among the 15 suspects, I want to know where you are heading to."


    "Okay fine." They both got in Trevor''s car once they were both ready and drove off. "Don''t you think they''ll suspect us once they realise we left this early? We did leave a note, but they wouldn''t know where we actually went, so they''ll suspect us," said Trevor, while driving the car.


    "Let them be, they''ll eventually realise that it''s not us, I mean at least not me," she said.


    "Aye, it''s not me as well," he said.


    "It''s here," he stopped at the cemetery. "I will be back," he said and left.


    When it took him more than 30 minutes she got impatient and got a little suspicious of him. So, she just went towards the grave he was standing in front of. When she got near it, she saw the names on the gravestone, it read ''Alice Cameron'' ''Rex Cameron''. She remembered that Cameron was his last name and she took a glimpse of Trevor''s face, he had a sad look on his face. After seeing that she just went back and waited for him. He came back an hour later. Then he just got into his car and drove.


    "So, what''s our next destination?" he said.


    "Can we go to the said locations of these people when they were added to the group chat. Well, mostly their houses, going to public places is a hassle."


    "Okay, off to your house." He started driving faster. "They are my parents," said Trevor. "Hm?" "That grave was my parents'', you probably saw a glimpse of it, so I thought I should clear it for you."


    "Sorry for invading your privacy." After a while They reached her house.


    "Okay I will ask around about you and your existence that day. For some reason you didn''t even open your cafe that day." Trevor came back after a while. "Well, they said they didn''t see you around that time of the day... suspicious."


    "Hmm... Yes I guess."


    "What? You don''t even have any excuses for yourself, Ms. Kidnapper?"


    "No, I am not the kidnapper, I just agreed that it indeed is suspicious."


    "Then why didn''t your neighbours see you that day during that time?"


    "I just didn''t go out during that time of the day."


    "Hmm, whatever," he said and got in the car.


    "Where should we go next?" said Trevor.


    "Of course to your house," said Misty.


    "Well, the results will still be the same because I don''t go out much anyway." Turns out he was right, nobody saw him around, that day.


    "Trevor?" "Hm?" "Isn''t it kinda weird you don''t go out much, but you are the one who is accompanying me to look for clues. Something a culprit would definitely do."


    "I have my reasons."


    They went around these people''s said locations and went to some other places as well to gather some significant clues. They got the same reactions from most of the neighbours except Catherine''s. Her neighbour said, "oh, I went to her house around that time because we ran out of salt. When I got there, I saw that she was busy with her phone. She never seemed to be the type to be addicted to mobile phones, so I was surprised and to top it all off she was grinning at her phone."


    When they went to the store where Vincent went, they said they don''t remember seeing a guy like that. Though they also said that it''s hard to remember everyone they see everyday. The hospital staff had the same to say about Meera. Evelyn''s and Tony''s coaches confirmed that they were indeed at their said locations that day.


    The librarian confirmed that Cheng was at the library, she said, "he''s such a good boy. Having a strong passion for books at such a young age, so I''d remember if he doesn''t show up one day. He left around the same time he leaves everyday, which is about 5 minutes before the timing you said."


    The most surprising thing of all was what Mary''s aunt said. "She didn''t come here yesterday, her sister did come here though."

 Lets play truth or dare

    They went back to the house confused. They saw that everyone was sitting in the living room looking dead serious. "What''s up?" said Misty.


    "See this..." Akbar showed her a note which read, "You all are the dumbest people in existence, staying with a group that has a potential kidnapper? You guys came running right into my trap."


    "Now that I think about it, wasn''t it you who brought up the idea to stay together in a house," said Alex.


    She ignored his question. "Let''s play a game."


    "A game?" said Akbar.


    "Yes, a very childish game considering our current situation," said Misty.


    "Hey, you are ignoring my question!" said Alex.


    "I will answer it once the game is finished," she said.


    "A game you say, what kind of a game?" said Catherine.


    "To put it simply, it''s just truth or dare."


    "Huh? look at her build up for just truth or dare. I thought it was some original game she came up with," said Mary.


    "Same," said Satoshi.


    "Well, there''s a small twist to the game. I will give 5 people the opportunity to be the one asking truth or dare questions. The other 10 have to answer."


    "That''s unfair," said Mary.


    "Yes, I know, which is exactly why we''ll allow the universe to pick those 5. We''ll pick them through a lot," said Misty.


    "Oh, so in other words it''s just based on luck, huh?" said Evelyn.


    "... Yeah ... Just write your names and put it on the table, and shuffle it when you put it. I have my own way for the lot selection, we''ll do that," said Misty. Even though everybody was a bit hesitant they agreed to it eventually.


    The lots were selected and the selected ones were... Trevor, Cheng, Meera, Vincent and Misty. Everybody was annoyed but they didn''t say anything since the lot selected the people. "It''s so weird and annoying. We just got a note from the kidnapper and we are out here playing truth or dare. To top it all off, two of the possible suspects are gonna control us now," said Ralph.


    Misty grinned at him. "Unfortunately, there''s no other way to cool you guys down. You guys will randomly suspect anybody in this tense atmosphere, it''s the only way."


    "Okay then, I will ask the first one," said Cheng. "Vishnu, truth or dare?"


    "Truth."


    "You were quiet from the day you came here. Why were you so silent, are you perhaps trying to hide your kidnapper persona from staying silent?"


    "No, I just prefer it this way. Plus I don''t think a kidnapper would stay silent and attract suspicions like the one you just said, will they?" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Cheng was both impressed and surprised by his answer that he stayed silent.


    "Guess it''s my turn now, well I don''t have any clever or cunning questions or dares," said Meera. "Okay Annie, truth or dare?"


    "Dare."


    Meera pointed at a small cloth laying on the sofa. "Okay then, take that cloth and hit me as hard as you can." Annie took that cloth and hit Meera''s hand, shortly after, Meera''s hand started bleeding. Meera quickly took the cloth from Annie''s hand and wrapped it around her arms.


    "You didn''t hold back at all," said Ralph, while grinning at Annie.


    "That was an accident... she was the one who wanted it..." said Annie.


    "Okay Mary, truth or dare," said Trevor.


    "Dare."


    "Hmm..."


    "What hmm? Just give me my dare."


    "Well then, give me your house keys."


    "That''s terrible, why should I give you my house keys?"


    "That''s terrible Mary, even kids go according to the game''s rules."


    "Well, I am not a kid anymore! Fuck this game I am done."


    "Okay then, don''t do it but please don''t leave, it''s a game to cool down after all," said Misty.


    "Ralph, truth or dare," said Vincent.


    "Truth, I guess."


    "You are a pro stalker, aren''t you?"


    Ralph''s face turned pale for a moment but he quickly snapped out of it. "Come on bro, you are asking as if it''s a job, like seriously pro? Well of course I am not a stalker."


    "Okay, it''s the last one and it''s by me. Catherine?" said Misty.


    "Truth."


    "Catherine, you love chaos, don''t you?"


    Catherine was surprised. "What kind of a question is that?"


    "Just answer me."


    "In a way, yes."


    Everyone went dead silent. "Okay guys, you have cooled down and the game is over," Misty said cheerfully.


    "The game is over? Yes, but I am more scared now, for some reason," said Satoshi.


    "You guys are probably suspecting us because the camera footage isn''t showing anything, right?" said Misty.


    "Yes," said Mary.


    "Since there was no CCTV footage, we have no options but to suspect you guys, but I think it doesn''t make sense in a way," said Cheng.


    "Satoshi, what happened to the CCTV by the way," said Trevor.


    "It was hacked last night, it''s showing this empty living room from the time 10 pm. The reason we suspect you is also because you are the only hacker known to us in this group. Apart from the fact you guys are the only two who came to the living room before everyone woke up, at least the only people we have proof of. To top it all, the last line suggests that Misty lured us into this house, and where the hell did you leave for so early in the morning," said Satoshi.


    "Hmm, anyway I will check on that CCTV''s problem first." Trevor went inside the CCTV room.


    "Hey.... aren''t you gonna explain anything to us?" said Akbar.


    "No, just think it through thoroughly and you will know it''s definitely not us," he said.


    "Yes, he''s right guys, I have been trying to say that to you guys for a long time, but nobody was listening," said Cheng.


    "Yes, you are right, if they were really the culprit who hacked the CCTV why would they give obvious clues that it was them? About Misty, somebody is probably trying to frame her," said Ralph.


    "You''re half right, phantom," said Trevor.


    "Half?"


    "Yeah, their main goal is probably not to frame Misty. It is to convince all of us to leave this house, if it''s not Misty of course, and framed Misty in the process," said Trevor.


    "Hey, are we ruling out the possibility for the culprit to be Misty and Trevor?" said Mary.


    "No, they''re still suspects just like all of us. What I am saying is, don''t make them the culprit just because of certain events and uncertain facts. However, there''s still a possibility that they just did this to make it seem like they wouldn''t do something so risky or something like that," said Cheng.


    "Trevor pointed out half of it already, but I want to add something to it. If it''s not me, which is something I am certain of. Then that person who wrote this letter wants us all to leave, that implies..."


    Trevor interrupted Misty. "That this person is most likely harmless, right?" said Trevor.


    "Yes, harmless in a way where this person can''t kill someone no matter what," said Misty.


    "This person is definitely not a saint because he kidnapped some random people and is making them suffer. However, they are definitely not a murderer, that''s what you mean, right? Big sis Misty?" said Cheng


    "Yes."

 You are the kidnapper, arent you?

    "What a pointless game," said Akbar.


    "It''s not so pointless," said Meera.


    "Really? Then tell me what was the point of this game. According to her it was something to cool us off but things got more complicated, at least in my eyes," said Mary.


    "Perhaps that''s what she wanted," said Cheng.


    "Are you implying that she''s the culprit?" said Alex.


    "No, it''s just... something else," said Cheng.


    "Okay Satoshi, the CCTV wouldn''t be so easily hacked now. If somebody does try to hack it, we''ll be alerted immediately," said Trevor.


    "That''s good," said Satoshi. That day was over just like that and everybody went to bed.


    The next day they got very unpleasant news. "Guys, somebody else was kidnapped last night," said Alex.


    "What?! How do you know that?" said Vincent.


    "Well, me and Alex thought of going outside both for fresh air and some clues and people were talking about it at the town centre," said Mary.


    "Does that mean somebody got outside last night and did this?" said Vincent.


    "It''s impossible... Trevor fixed the camera last night and we checked it today, it was working just fine. We didn''t catch anybody in it, how could somebody go out and do this without getting caught by the CCTV?" said Ralph.


    "Well, maybe somebody hacked into it and made it back to normal before we woke up, but I made it extremely hard to hack back into it. Even if somebody almost succeeded we''d have gotten an alert," said Trevor.


    "What''s up guys?" said Misty, after seeing the tense mood right after she woke up.


    They explained the situation. "Hm, maybe they didn''t hack the cam," said Misty.


    "Then?" said Mary.


    "There are blind spots for cameras, they probably got out through those blind spots," said Misty.


    "Hmm, could be," they heard a voice from behind.


    Trevor was startled. "Yo! Are you some sort of ninja, bro".


    Catherine smiled. "Maybe. Anyway, let''s announce this news to everyone else."


    "That''s right," said Vincent. They broke the news to everyone, everyone was surprised but they went on with their days because they knew that a 6th kidnap was on the way. Everybody is trying to solve the case in their own way at this point. Everyone also knows that there were multiple investigations going on for this same case, because they couldn''t trust each other.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Yo, are you not going to do anything today," said Trevor.


    "Well, I am tired after yesterday''s investigation," said Misty.


    "So, are you not going to do anything? I am thinking of doing something myself. I don''t want you to waste time by investigating something I already did. I am pretty sure everyone is already doing that right now," said Trevor.


    "No, I am definitely going to ask Mary why she lied to us," said Misty.


    "That was my plan as well," said Trevor.


    "Well then, let''s do it together, but later."


    "Yeah, right now she seems to be having a chat with Alex."


    "Now that you mention it, I remembered that somebody told me that they both were the ones who first found that letter," she said.


    "Who told you?" He said.


    "Vincent did."


    "They were also the ones who told us the news today," Trevor held his chin with his hand in confusion.


    They waited and waited but their conversations didn''t seem like it would end any time soon. So they thought they had to butt in. "Mary, we have something to ask you," said Misty.


    "What is it? Tell me dear."


    "Before that, Alex, can you please leave," said Trevor.


    Alex left, Mary was annoyed but kept her calm. "What''s up?!"


    "Why did you lie to us?" said Misty.


    Mary''s face changed from annoyed to anxious. "W...w.. what are you... talking about, when did I... l..lied," said Mary.


    "Oh, you didn''t?" said Trevor.


    "Y...yes I didn''t."


    "Stop lying, Mary," said Trevor.


    "Mary, we went to your aunt''s house yesterday. She said only your sister was there, tell me why you lied," said Misty.


    She stopped trembling. "That day, my sister had mistaken my phone as her own and took it with her accidentally. Actually she always makes that mistake. You know she''s very nosy, so she asked some questions pretending to be me so that she could know more about this interesting case. When you asked me where I was, I said I was at my aunt''s house because I knew that Trevor was a hacker. I interpreted that you''d probably match locations..."


    Misty and Trevor went quiet for a short time, Trevor broke the silence. "It''s a little too much of a coincidence, but it''s believable." Misty agreed and they both left.


    A few moments later, Akbar called everyone to come sit in the living room to discuss something Important. "So guys, I found something out," he said.


    "What is it?" said Mary.


    "You know it very well, Mary, it''s about you," he said.


    "Tell us already, big bro," said Cheng.


    "Mary lied to us about her location that day."


    "What?! Is it true Mary?!" said Vincent.


    "Yes."


    "If you really had the balls to eavesdrop and "discuss" about it with everyone, at least tell everyone the whole story," said Trevor. Akbar explained it to everyone.


    "Oh, well then you did have a reason, I guess it''s fine then," said Vincent.


    "Yes, true but it could all be a big lie to cover up, maybe the real reason behind that lie is..." Akbar turned left, walked a few steps forward to reach Mary. He then leaned towards her and looked her dead in the eyes. "You are the kidnapper, aren''t you?"


    "Cut it out already!" Alex stood up from his seat, "They randomly came out of nowhere and asked for it, so she probably didn''t have any time to think of a lie. Stop saying your dumb conclusions out loud without any proof!"


    "The discussion is over so let''s just leave then," said Trevor. Everyone left after that.


    At midnight


    ???: Did you kidnap somebody new yesterday?


    Caller: No, you told us not to, so we didn''t. We thought it was you.


    ???: No, it''s not me as well.


    Caller: Maybe it''s one of the other two with you in that house?


    ???: I am not sure but they gave me the impression that it''s not them.


    Caller: Does that mean there''s some other kidnapper in that house who is not part of our team, if so who could it be?


    ???: Likely, but the real question is, are they dangerous?

 Entry of Police

    The next day


    Trevor woke up to see Misty all ready to leave for somewhere. "Where are you going so early in the morning?" he said.


    "Investigations," she said.


    "Oh, may I come with you?"


    "I don''t know, you are one of the possible suspects, I can''t let the culprit meddle with my investigations."


    "I don''t think I will be able to do that. You are also one of the suspects, what if you are up to something?"


    "Yeah I know, which is exactly why I said I don''t know. So in these circumstances it''s best to just tag along."


    "Yes, which is exactly why I am also coming with you guys," said Ralph.


    "Oh, why didn''t I notice him here when we were talking?" said Trevor.


    "Because I just came here."


    "And what is this about you tagging along with us? You were literally doing nothing ever since you came here, why the sudden interest?" said Trevor.


    "It''s not a sudden interest, it''s just as I said. What if you guys are the culprits and are up to something, and how do you know if I didn''t investigate alone before? So yeah, I am coming with you two."


    Misty and Trevor looked at each other, Misty then looked at Ralph and said, "yeah okay, you are just doing what you are supposed to do." Just when they were talking to each other they saw Vincent getting into his car.


    "Hey bro, where are you going?" said Trevor.


    "I''m not cut out for "investigations" so I just thought I should get some fresh air," said Vincent.


    ''Wait, he''s going somewhere alone, he has more chances to do something,'' Ralph thought. "Bro, I will come with you, it''s suspicious to move alone," said Ralph.


    "Okay," said Vincent. Ralph went with Vincent.


    "Guess he ain''t coming with us," said Trevor.


    "Good," said Misty.


    Evelyn came from behind and said. "Why? Are you guys up to something."


    "No, fewer people are better, especially considering the fact that there are werewolves among us," said Misty.


    ''Why is everyone so secretive when approaching us... it feels like everyone is a Ninja,'' Trevor thought. "Okay, I will be back in a minute, Misty," Trevor went inside the house.


    They left for their little investigations after a while. "Yo, where are we going?" said Trevor, who was driving the car.


    "To the police station," said Misty.


    "Police... station, huh?" He said.


    "What''s up bro?" said Misty.


    "Nothing... Why go to the police station? Are you going to reveal our little secret to them?" said Trevor.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Yes, kinda," she said.


    "Wouldn''t we be in trouble if we did that?"


    "Nope."


    "Weird..."


    At the police station


    "Sir, we would like to meet Mr.Fred," said Misty.


    "Sorry, we can''t let random people meet the chief without an appointment," The officer said.


    "No sir, tell him Misty wants to meet him, plus I called him yesterday to let him know that I am coming," she said.


    The officer went inside to get the police chief''s permission to let them in. "Okay, you two can go inside."


    They went inside the chief officer''s room. "Hey Uncle Fred," said Misty.


    "Yes, come in, Misty," he said. He then looked at Trevor and said, "you are that hacker boy, right?"


    "Yes..."


    "Hmm, anyway please take a seat," said Fred.


    "So tell me what you want to talk about, Misty." He then paused and looked at Misty and Trevor for a second. "I assume it''s not something personal."


    "Yes, it''s not personal. It''s about the mysterious kidnappings in our town, I want to ask you-"


    Fred cut out Misty''s words. "Misty, you don''t have to help me with my investigations anymore. Remember what I said to you when your parents died? You just live your life happily with your new boyfriend. Even though I don''t quite like a criminal like him as your boyfriend."


    "Boyfriend? Are you calling Trevor my boyfriend?" said Misty.


    "Yeah, who else would be with you?" said Fred.


    "I could come here with my friend, you know, and there''s a reason behind why he''s here with me," said Misty.


    "So he''s not your boyfriend?" said Fred.


    "Yeah, he is not my boyfriend. Uncle Fred, you are wasting my time! So let me get straight to the point, I''m not doing this to help you, I''m doing this to help myself," said Misty.


    "Yourself? What do you mean?" said Fred.


    Misty explained the whole situation to him. "Look uncle Fred, I only told you this because I believe that you will keep this a secret, you will right?" said Misty.


    "You know you are making this hard for me, but okay. Only because I know that you will find the culprit, especially with the help of the person next to you," said Fred.


    "Uncle Fred, these are the list of suspects, it even has their pictures, will you look into these people''s history?" Misty handed over the papers to Fred.


    "Ofcourse, I will," he paused.


    "What happened sir?" said Trevor.


    "It''s Catherine," said Fred. He flipped pages of the suspects list and examined each one of the pages carefully.


    "What''s up Uncle Fred?" said Misty.


    "8 out of these 15 people have committed some kind of crime in the past. Well, Trevor being one of them," said Fred.


    "Who are they?" said Misty.


    "I only know full details about some of them. I will have to check into it further. I will tell you the full details tomorrow, okay? For now, I will tell you the names of the 8 "criminals" in your group, they are Trevor, Mary, Catherine, Evelyn, Tony, Satoshi, Vincent and Vishnu."


    "Okay Uncle, we will come back tomorrow, but I have one more favour to ask of you," said Misty.


    Back into the house


    "I wonder what they are up to," said Akbar.


    "Probably doing something impactful unlike you," said Mary.


    "Oh, you are still mad at me for yesterday, huh? It''s not my fault that you lied to us. By the way you aren''t doing anything either," said Akbar.


    "I did some investigations at some point at least and I am leaving for investigations now as well. I am just waiting for Alex to get ready," said Mary.


    "Hey guys, isn''t it suspicious that Cheng bro is doing "investigations" on his own. He even left early so that nobody would accompany him," said Akbar.


    "No, he''s too young to be the kidnapper. He probably doesn''t want any culprit to accompany him," said Mary.


    "That''s not true Mary, even young people can be cold blooded murderers. You are way too gullible. Anyways, let''s go," said Alex.


    "Okay," said Mary. They left.


    "I''m leaving too," said Tony.


    "Alone?" said Evelyn.


    "Yeah," said Tony.


    "I will come with you then," said Evelyn. They also left after a while.


    "It looks like only us lazy asses are left behind," said Catherine


    "Yeah," said Satoshi.


    Back to the police station


    "Uhm okay fine, I will do it," said Fred.


    "Thank you, Uncle," said Misty.


    "Trevor, I''m sorry for back then," said Fred. Trevor just left without saying a word.


    "Uncle, you said you are sorry but you still called him a criminal a while ago. I''m pretty sure people are already treating him horrible enough. At least you, a protector of law, should know that people make mistakes and change. Always remember that he was just a kid back then," Misty exited the room. They both got in the car and left.


    "So your parents are also dead, huh?" said Trevor.


    "Yes, they died two months ago."


    "It must hurt alot, right?"


    "No, not really." He was surprised by the answer and they both said nothing for the rest of the ride back home.

 Its just the beginning

    They came back to the house. They went inside to find that only six of them are home right now. "Huh? where are the others?" said Trevor.


    "Well, everyone including you guys loves to play detective, so they are out to find some clues," said Akbar.


    "Okay, then why are you guys still here?" said Misty.


    "Well, According to Akbar we don''t have to go outside to find the culprits. We can find it by using some "tactics" even by staying together indoors, I guess he''s somewhat right. Annie and Vishnu are probably too scared to go outside and talk with people. Satoshi said that he doesn''t trust us enough with his house. Meera wasn''t feeling well, and as for me, well, I don''t need clues, clues need me," said Catherine.


    "Yeah... right..." said Misty.


    Everyone else came back at night. Everyone was sitting around the dining table having their dinner. "Hey, did you guys hear that news?" said Evelyn.


    "No, what is it?" said Akbar.


    "The sixth person who got kidnapped was just found. According to him, the current kidnapper is not the same person as before. Apparently, the current kidnapper is using this kidnapped man as a messenger. This man claimed that the new kidnapper is trying to threaten the first kidnapper, and this kidnap was just a warning to that first kidnapper. This kidnapper may kidnap or even kill more people if that first kidnapper doesn''t come clean," said Meera.


    "That''s... strange," said Trevor.


    "Yeah, what a weirdo, which psychopath will be willing to even kill just to find some other culprit?" said Catherine.


    "Is somebody from our group this psychopath? I mean, we are already dealing with a weird kidnapper, I don''t want to deal with a possible killer," said Mary.


    "You know Mary, everything is possible," said Satoshi.


    "Genuinely, we have to be careful," said Alex.


    "Yes, it''s possible that one of us got so frustrated to the point that they will be willing to do anything to get themselves out of this mess. I mean we all have more chances to be that other kidnapper than a random person. Other people couldn''t care less about it," said Ralph.


    "Yeah, also, couldn''t they be bluffing?" said Meera.


    "Maybe, but don''t you think this person''s sense of justice is kind of fucked up. Like, kidnapping someone else to make a kidnapper come clean, that''s just horrible," said Misty.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The next day


    Misty got a call from Fred that he''s still looking into the suspects¡¯ information and told her to come tomorrow. So Misty and Trevor chose to stay in the house that day. Everyone else except Catherine, Akbar, Meera, Annie, Vishnu and Satoshi left that day as well.


    "You guys are still not interested, huh?" said Misty.


    "Come on Misty, just shut up. We already told our reasons just yesterday, stop making it such a big deal," said Meera.


    "Okay, sorry," said Misty.


    "Hey Misty, tell me what you found out so far," said Akbar.


    "Like we will share our precious findings to a lazy ass like you," said Trevor.


    Afternoon


    They were all talking to each other, and suddenly they heard a car''s voice. They went outside and saw that it was Cheng. "Yo guys, I have news," he said.


    "News? What news?" said Trevor.


    "Just look at this," Cheng handed his phone over to them. It was a news program from their local news channel. In the news, it was said that the people who got kidnapped were finally found. They also got the sketch of the two culprits. Those sketches were of two people they didn''t know.


    "What? Did they find them randomly? Does that mean all our actions..." Everyone else gave a death stare. "... I mean all your actions go to waste?" said Catherine.


    "Not everything, everything I did was meaningful. Also there''s something else," said Cheng .


    "How did you do it, Cheng?" said Akbar.


    "Well, our town is densely populated, so it''s difficult to hide the captives without anybody noticing in these densely populated areas, but there are very few places which don''t have many residents. So I just went there and started to look around those places. I was looking through these places for the last three days. It was more of hard work than smart work but it definitely was worth it at the end of the day," said Cheng.


    "And how did you get the police involved?" said Catherine.


    "I simply called them, and when the police arrived I said to them that I don''t want to do anything with this case anymore and asked them to let me leave. Somehow, that police chief agreed," said Cheng.


    "How did they not notice you?!" said Akbar.


    "Well, they did and tried to catch me as well but I easily overpowered them. In the end they ran away," said Cheng.


    "Ran away? Yeah, that explains the sketch," said Catherine.


    "By the way, aren''t you guys ignoring the fact that the kidnapper we are looking for is still not found," said Vishnu.


    "I don''t think that matters, we only agreed to look into it because of those kidnapped people, right? But now that they are found, our reason to continue with this case is equal to nil," said Catherine.


    "But... okay then," said Vishnu.


    Just when they were talking, they all got a notification on their phones.


    ???: You guys think it''s all over, right?


    But nothing''s over yet.


    It''s just the beginning.


    You guys have to find me, or else I can simply kidnap more people.


    I am definitely not like those weak teammates of mine. I can easily kidnap people with nobody else''s help.


    The kidnapper went offline after sending these messages. Cheng sighed. "I was anticipating this."


    "Oh, that''s what you meant, Vishnu," said Catherine.


    Everyone else came back one by one after seeing the news and the kidnapper''s message. They discussed it and eventually came to the conclusion that they have no choice but to continue.

 Crime Files of Suspects

    The next day


    "Hey Trevor, aren''t you coming with me?" said Misty.


    "Nope, for a change I will do the investigation alone or perhaps with another pair," said Trevor.


    Misty grinned at him. "Perhaps you already found another pair?" Misty left for the police station.


    Trevor realised that he never really explored the place he''s staying right now, so he decided to look around the house a bit. ''This house looks like a traditional Japanese house,'' Trevor thought. He then saw that Evelyn was sitting outside the house looking at the dried out cherry blossom tree.


    Evelyn looked behind and saw Trevor. "Hey," Trevor waved.


    "Uhm... hi," said Evelyn.


    Trevor walked to her. "uhm, can I sit here?"


    "Yes, you can."


    He then took a seat beside her. "What are you doing by staring at this tree?"


    "I was mesmerised by how weird trees are, in autumn all of the leaves will be withered away from it, but in spring, trees are filled with the greenest most beautiful leaves, and cherry blossoms in particular will have these beautiful pink flowers," said Evelyn.


    "Oh, you are poetic," said Trevor.


    "Am I?" said Evelyn.


    "Yes, you totally are, plus you seem to be a perfectionist, two traits a certain someone doesn''t have."


    "Are you talking about Misty?"


    "Yeah, she is sometimes unpredictable, you can''t tell what kind of shits she does..." Trevor chuckled, "in short she''s a weirdo."


    "Huh? Does that mean you don''t like her?" said Evelyn.


    "That''s..." Trevor flinched.


    "You know what? I don''t like her too, she thinks she owns the world, and what was with that truth or dare game she invented. An annoying piece of shit," said Evelyn.


    Trevor clenched his fist. "I see, you don''t like her, but that''s not really the case for me. Yes she is a weirdo but that weirdo is the only person who I can call my friend when everything''s over because I myself is a bigger weirdo than her." Trevor gave her a light smile.


    "I see," Evelyn smiled to herself.


    "Oh, just remembered, why didn''t you go with her today."


    "Because I wanted to change my plan."


    "Change plans?"


    "I thought I should change my team for a bit, maybe I could join you."


    "But I do investigations with Tony currently."


    "One more person couldn''t hurt," Trevor shrugged.


    "I wonder if Tony will agree to it," said Evelyn. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "Don''t worry about it, I talked to him and he has no problem with it."


    Evelyn hesitated for a second, then she said, "then it''s fine."


    Trevor looked at the tree for a few seconds. "You are right, trees really are mesmerising. We can see this cherry blossom tree fully blooming in the spring, and maybe we can have some tea together, sitting around this tree."


    "What do you mean by we?"


    Trevor smiled. "All of us." Evelyn smiled back.


    At the police station


    Misty was there way too early and Fred took a while to arrive. "Oh Misty, come inside the office and take a seat."


    Misty did as she was told. "Honestly Uncle Fred, you are so carefree these days," she said.


    "That''s not true, my dear. You were here way too early," said Fred. Misty felt embarrassed because he was right. Fred looked around, "I don''t see Trevor, is he not with you?"


    Misty frowned. "He said he wanted to do things differently."


    Fred was confused for a second. "Does that mean you actually wanted his presence?"


    "It''s not that, it''s just that he was the one who wanted to investigate with me. Now he randomly changes teams."


    "Now, you were never a team to begin with."


    "Anyways, that''s not important right now, tell me, what did you find?" said Misty.


    "Oh, everything is in this case file, here," he handed it over to her.


    She examined it. "It looks like you created it."


    He was amazed. "How could you tell?"


    "It''s sloppy, and nobody can do it as terribly as you can," said Misty.


    Fred''s amazement was turned into distrust. "You can leave," said Fred.


    "Thanks, Uncle Fred," Misty left after that.


    Misty thought it''s not a good idea to look through those files in that house, so she went to her cafe.


    She sat down in her cafe. She opened the file to see the title "Misty''s weird friends'' crime files."


    ''Honestly how did he even become a police officer, let alone a police chief,'' she thought.


    THE CONTENT IN THE FILE:


    Friend 1 - Catherine


    The person who I know the most about in this list of people is her (I mean except you my dear child and maybe Trevor). She killed her own father 5 years ago, but it was for self defence. According to her sister Maria these are the things that happened at the night of the murder:


    It was a Friday night and their father came home drunk and started to beat their mother. It wasn''t the first time that it was happening, so their mother had enough of everything and threatened to call the police on him, upon hearing this he went crazy and stabbed her with a kitchen knife. Knowing that they''ll be his next prey, Catherine ran outside, and took the wooden axe for self defence, she knew he could easily overpower her, so when he charged at her she attacked him with no mercy.


    Friend 2 - Mary


    Mary originally isn''t from Nishille. She actually lived in New York before. She only came here in her late teens like around ten years ago. She had little to no money left when she arrived here. Her sister and aunt also relied on her back then. To top it all off, she wasn''t able to find any job. In the end, at such difficult times, she became a robber. At night she''d go to small shops, jewelleries, and similar places to steal money and valuables from there. She was actually good at it, she managed to hide her face from the camera, but even the greatest criminal would get caught once.


    Friend 3 - Trevor


    I already told you about it back then.


    Friend 4 - Satoshi


    His case is perjury. He and his brother were fighting over their father''s property around 3 years ago and when it came to the court, he lied about a few things. He was charged a penalty for it, but in the end he did get most of his father''s will because he himself had a major role in making their company this big.


    Friend 5 - Evelyn


    She''s real dangerous. She isn''t from here, she is from Los Angeles. 3 years ago she beat a person to a pulp. When asked why she did that, she said that they were disrespecting her friend. I was forced to look into her history due to her horrible attitude. When I did, I learnt that She was involved in some drug activities and other grave crimes back in Los Angeles that too in her early teens.


    Friend 6 - Tony


    Tony was a school bully, one day he took it too far by throwing a kid in the lake. The kid was saved, but Tony was charged for attempted murder.


    Friend 7 - Vishnu


    It was a suicide attempt. By law that''s still a crime, after all. The truth is, I thought he was brought here because he did something wrong, that''s why I included his name when I told you about the criminals. Since I included him then, I thought to include him in this file too.


    Friend 8 - Vincent


    He was a scammer. He''d scam people using various methods, he was really skillful at that. He made his "customers" believe that he''s genuinely from a company and he''s just offering a helping hand to them. He was even able to use the employees of the company without letting them know that they are being used for a scam purpose. He got caught five years ago.


    END OF THE FILE


    Misty closed the file, got out of her cafe, locked it, and left for the house.

 Detective Game

    Back at the house


    Everyone was there except for her investigation partner and his two new teammates. She had planned to talk about these crime files that day itself, so she waited until everyone was home.


    At night


    "Everyone, I have something important to tell you. Please gather in the living room," said Misty.


    "What are you, big brother?" said Trevor.


    "Yes, now shut up and come sit."


    Everyone came to the living room and sat there. "Okay, what is it, Misty?" said Trevor.


    "Well, here, you can read it yourself. Also, read it aloud," said Misty.


    "Yeah, just give it to me now," said Trevor. Trevor read the whole crime file to everyone. "Well, your Uncle is a little weird, his crime file isn''t that professional," said Trevor.


    "Well, it''s not supposed to be professional. He isn''t giving it to some judge or something. It''s just the little old me," said Misty.


    "Hmm, cute conversations, but can you tell us what the HELL is going on," said Vincent.


    "Yeah, who''s this Uncle?" said Mary.


    "Uhm, Officer Fred is this Uncle," said Misty.


    "HE IS YOUR UNCLE?!" said Ralph.


    "Not really my uncle but he was my parents'' friend, so I call him Uncle."


    "Wait, that''s not the important part here," said Alex.


    "Yeah, why didn''t you tell us that you were investigating with the police all these days?" said Cheng.


    "Yes, what if the police came here and took us in for questioning? I think everyone knows how brutal Nishille''s police are, especially you Trevor, but from what I understand, you knew what she was doing and went with it! It''s absolutely ridiculous!" said Vincent.


    "Woah, calm down, she didn''t go to the police, she went to the one person who is useful as well as trustworthy," said Trevor.


    "Yes, we get it, but you could have told us. Also with this information one of their threats would have vanished," said Alex.


    "It''s because I didn''t want the kidnapper to find out that I have connections with the police," said Misty.


    "Then why are you telling us now?" said Evelyn.


    "It''s quite visible, actually," said Cheng.


    "What?" Mary tilted her head in confusion.


    "You are so dumb, Mary," said Catherine.


    "If you are that smart, tell me what''s up, you lazy bitch," said Mary.


    "Well, from this particular information we can see that..."


    "That?"


    "That this person knows a lot about us, no they... "investigated" about us in advance."


    "Yes, they purposefully chose these 8 people because they are criminals. I thought they probably chose randoms, and everything they said that day was just a bluff, but turns out it''s not the case," said Misty.


    "Why did they choose criminals in particular?" said Mary.


    "I am not sure, there could be many possible scenarios."


    "There''s something else we are overlooking though," said Catherine.


    "Uhm yes," said Trevor.


    "The fact that 8 of us are literal criminals," said Meera.


    "We are gonna talk about it sooner, but not today. I can''t sacrifice my beauty sleep for that," said Alex.


    Mary looked downwards. "I mean I don''t think it''s that important. Most of the important points were talked about in the file. Plus it will be painful for the criminals."


    "I am sorry, Mary. Guess it''s not that important," said Alex


    The next day


    Catherine woke up late just like Everyday and sat there spacing out. "My life is going great these days. Well, except for a few things. Honestly it''s way better than the life I had with my father and..." her eyes widened. She calmed down. "Well, it''s all over now, don''t dwell into your past anymore." She did her morning routine and headed over to the living room. To her surprise, everyone was home today. "Wow, it''s a pleasant surprise."


    "Yeah, for us too," said Alex.


    "Since everyone is home today, let''s play a game," said Catherine.


    "A game?" said Misty.


    "Yes, you are not the only one allowed to give instructions, you know?"


    "Okay, so what are we playing?" said Trevor.


    "It''s a simple detective game. We are kind of private detectives at this point, so it''s the best kind of game for us," said Catherine.


    "Uhm, can you elaborate?" said Mary. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "I will ask questions to you, you know like those riddles, and you will have to answer that. To make it even more interesting, We will group into 5 groups consisting of 3 members."


    "Are you participating too?" said Misty.


    "Yeah, but one of you can create a question for my team." She saw Alex walking in the other direction. She held onto the back of his collar. "Hey, where are you going, you are in my team."


    "But....."


    "No buts," said Catherine with a scary expression.


    "Okay...."


    "Cheng, you are also in my team."


    "Tsk, bully."


    "Did you say something?"


    "I said I would love to join your team," said Cheng with a fake smile on his face.


    Misty teamed up with Meera and Vincent. Trevor with Evelyn and Vishnu. Mary with Akbar and Tony. Satoshi teamed up with Ralph and Annie.


    "Okay, Everything is set. Now, let''s begin. The first question is to Misty''s team. Mr.M was murdered in a hotel at 10 pm. There were 5 people who he had an argument with Last night. Each of them were called and asked what they were doing last night. The first person said that he barely left his room last night. The second person said that she went to sleep early yesterday. The third person said that she was putting her baby to sleep at 10 pm. The fourth person said that she was preparing for her college presentation the whole night and barely got to sleep. The fifth person said that he went to meet a client, came back to the hotel, watched some shows, and went to sleep. Now tell me who''s the culprit? You can discuss, and if somebody from the team already knows the answer you can just say that. Also, you do have to reason why that person is the culprit."


    "It''s the third person, because the police only asked about last night, but she said 10 pm which is the time he got killed," said Meera.


    "Bingo! That''s the correct answer."


    "Yay, our team got it," Vincent held his hand out, "so, where''s our price?"


    Catherine lowered Vincent''s hand. "There are no prices, you aren''t in elementary school anymore. We are playing this for fun."


    Vincent showed disinterest. "There''s no fun without a price."


    "Next is Trevor''s team. A precious jewellery was stolen from a famous museum. They tried finding fingerprints, but they couldn''t find any. There are 3 suspects, all are museum staff and they were doing their jobs when they were called. The 1st suspect is the security who was in charge of the CCTV. 2nd is the cleaner. 3rd is the receptionist. Who is the culprit?"


    "The cleaner, because there weren''t any fingerprints, and cleaners usually wear gloves," said Vishnu.


    "You are right!"


    "It''s Mary''s team''s turn now. Ms.x died on a Christmas morning. It was determined that she was poisoned. There are 3 suspects. As usual they were called and asked what they were doing at that time. The 1st suspect was the maid, she said she was cleaning the house. The 2nd suspect was her husband, he said he went for a jog and came back to find her dead. The 3rd suspect was her son, he said he was getting ready for college. Who killed her?"


    "So none of you know the answer, huh?" said Mary. They nodded.


    "Guess we have to discuss," said Akbar.


    "So you know, I don''t think it''s the son, because a child could never hurt his mother."


    "That''s not true Mary, but I still don''t think it''s him. I think it''s the maid, maids are popular for doing such stuff," said Tony.


    "That''s generalising, them, I think it''s her husband, he probably poisoned her before leaving for the run and acted like he knew nothing," said Akbar.


    They started arguing over that. "Seriously? Why don''t you think it''s true? A child''s pure love won''t allow him to kill his mother!"


    "Why are you so dumb, Mary?" said Akbar.


    "You are the dumb one, asshole!" said Mary.


    "Yo, watch your tongue, I didn''t curse you."


    "Guys, we need to answer the question," said Tony. They argued for the next 5 minutes.


    "Okay, time''s up, but since you guys were arguing I will give you two more minutes." They stopped arguing and tried to figure out the answer.


    Two minutes later


    "I think it''s the husband, because who goes on a run on a Christmas morning?!" said Akbar.


    "That''s wrong. It''s the son, he said he was getting ready for college, but it was Christmas and it''s a holiday. The fact you thought about Christmas and still couldn''t think of the fact that it''s a holiday is such a shame."


    "Next is Satoshi''s team''s turn. I will ask a moral question for a change. I got this question from my sister. A student committed suicide in a school. Whose fault is it? One, the kids who bullied him. Two, The teacher who ignored it. Three, the parents who didn''t let him change the school even after knowing about the bullying."


    Five minutes later


    "The bully I guess, because it all started with them, everything else wouldn''t have happened if he wasn''t bullied," said Satoshi.


    "You are right in a way, but that''s not the answer I want. I didn''t ask who was the bigger asshole, I just asked who was at the fault. It''s everyone''s fault, it''s the fault of the kids to bully him to the point that their victim gave up on his life, but it''s also the fault of the parents and teachers to ignore his cries for help. That''s the morally correct answer."


    "That''s just your perspective, I guess. The answer changes from person to person," said Annie.


    Catherine stiffened her eyes. "Hmm, then tell me your answers, Annie."


    "Well... I don''t really know. Also you got your answers, so.... there''s no point in... questioning me," said Annie.


    "C''mon Catherine, you know she''s shy, don''t force her," said Cheng.


    "So, next is your team''s turn, Catherine. Imagine you are stranded in a desert, there''s a rope on the left, and an oasis on the right. Tell me, how are you gonna escape the dessert?" said Trevor.


    "Let me guess, the answer should be... "stop imagining" how original!" said Catherine.


    Trevor got flustered. "You are... Right. I just wanted to get it over with!" They took that day as a day to cool off and decided to keep the investigations aside for a day.


    The next day


    Trevor left with Tony and Evelyn to investigate. They got in the car, Trevor took the driver''s seat, Tony sat on the passenger seat beside the driver''s seat, and Evelyn sat on the back seat, Trevor started the car. "So, where are we going?"


    "We are going to meet the man who was kidnapped by the second kidnapper," said Tony.


    "Well why? It doesn''t affect us," said Trevor.


    "Well... If this person is from our group, it will be dangerous for us, that''s why," said Evelyn.


    His location was saved in Car''s Map, so Trevor drove to the destination. When they reached his residence, they saw that his old and rusty house was getting a renovation. He was standing there and gazing at his house, he looked back and saw the trio standing beside the gate. He ran towards them. "What happened, why are you here?"


    Trevor looked at him with a confused expression. "Oh Trevor, don''t worry, we came here before, and our way of questioning wasn''t exactly... pleasing," said Tony.


    "Oh..." he said.


    The man stopped talking, and started thinking about something. "Hmm... I get it!"


    "What did you get?" said Evelyn.


    "Uh...uhm... I get it that you came here to question me again!" The man said.


    "Yes, and you can''t run away today," said Evelyn.


    "Yes, I was just really scared last time."


    "So tell us anything you know about them, Mr. Scott," said Evelyn.


    "This question again? I don''t know anything about them, if I knew, wouldn''t I have told the police?"


    "Yes Mr.Scott, we know that, we are not asking about the identity of the kidnapper, rather how they look, like their physique. Did they seem like a man or a woman to you. Were there more than one person. Were they cruel to you?"


    "It''s hard to tell if they were skinny or fat, or anything. When I tried to defend myself, I could feel that they filled their dress with something, so they looked like Santa Claus. I never heard that person''s voice either, so it''s hard to tell their gender. I only saw one person, I don''t know if there were other people who I didn''t see." Mr.Scott let out a big sigh. "Only thing I can say for sure is that this person is very evil, and will do anything to get their way. They love Chaos more than anything."


    "Thank you, you could have told this the other day itself instead of running away. Anyways, Let''s leave guys," said Tony.


    Tony and Trevor started walking towards the car, while Evelyn stood there still. ''An evil person?! Does that mean this 2nd kidnapper is more of a danger than us. Will they try to kill our boss to get their way? I can''t let my boss die. No, that won''t happen. In anyways, I have to find this kidnapper!'' Evelyn thought.


    "Hey Eva, what are you doing? It''s time to leave," said Tony.


    "Uhm Mr.scott, can we come here more often? I still have some questions, but since you are busy, later I guess." Evelyn walked back to Trevor and Tony and got in the car.

 Dont Suspect Her!

    At the house


    Mary and Alex are standing in front of Alex''s car to go for their own investigations. Just when they were about to enter the car Cheng called them from behind. "Yo, I am also going with you."


    "Why?" said Mary.


    Cheng started to scratch his head. "Well, it''s kind of boring to investigate alone,bI''m kind of at a dead end too."


    "Okay, I guess," said Alex.


    "Sorry for the third wheeling, guys," he gave them a slight smile.


    Mary smiled back. "Oh, come on Cheng, you are my little bro, it''s okay." She started walking forward with a smile plastered on her face, suddenly she realised something and her expression changed from happy to embarrassed. "Wha... What are you saying Cheng, you can''t third wheel us, because we are not a couple."


    "Yeah, right. Anyway, let''s go," said Cheng.


    Suddenly they heard a loud thud from the house. Alex ran inside and saw that Meera had fallen from the stairs. Annie was standing at the top of the stairs staying still, shocked. "What happened?!" said Alex.


    Annie started crying. "She.... she slipped and fell off."


    Others also came there shortly after. "What did you do, Annie?!" said Catherine.


    "I didn''t do anything, she fell off her own!"


    "Guys, don''t you have something more important to do than arguing...." said Meera while struggling to get up.


    "Oh sorry Meera," Alex went over to her and helped her get up, Vishnu also gave a hand.


    "Are you okay, Meera?" said Vishnu.


    "Not really, it kinda hurts," said Meera.


    "Let''s go to the hospital, then," said Vishnu.


    "I''m coming with you, we can go in my car," said Alex.


    "Thank you," said Meera. They both took Meera to the hospital.


    "I always got a psychopath''s aura from you, Annie. Turns out I was right," said Catherine with a cold look.


    "I told you it wasn''t me! If I did something, Meera would''ve told you," said Annie.


    Akbar laughed. "Don''t worry Annie, she''s just messing around with you."


    Catherine remained cold. "Oh, am I?"


    "Oh come on, stop it already, you are scaring her," said Akbar.


    "Right," Catherine went back to her room.


    "She really doesn''t like you, huh?" said Cheng.


    "Why do you think like that?" said Mary.


    "I mean she''s probably the nicest woman in existence," Cheng paused. "Well yeah, she''s kind of weird but she was always nice and kind towards all of us but she is always cold towards Annie," said Cheng.


    "Maybe it''s because she''s the only woman who''s almost as beautiful as her, maybe she feels threatened?" said Akbar. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "Nonsense, she isn''t the type to get jealous," said Cheng.


    "I think... I think it''s because I''m quiet," said Annie. "Everyone..." Annie shreds a tear, "everyone always hated me for being quiet but..." she started to weep, "but it wasn''t in my hands! I tried so hard to talk but I really wasn''t able to do that."


    "That''s probably not the case, Annie, don''t cry." Mary looked at Cheng. "Cheng, I think you should apologise to her for what you said."


    "I''m sorry," said Cheng.


    "So Mary, let''s go," said Cheng.


    "Where?" said Mary.


    Cheng was confused. "Weren''t we supposed to do investigations."


    "But Alex isn''t here anymore," said Mary.


    "That''s fine, we can do it without Alex. Don''t you wanna prove that you are capable of doing things without his help?"


    Mary thought about it for a few seconds. "Hmm, okay then."


    "Right, that''s the Mary I know."


    Cheng stopped the car in front of Mary''s house. Mary peeked outside and got confused. "Why are we here?"


    "To question people," said Cheng.


    Her eyes widened for a bit. "Don''t tell me you asked for my help because you suspected me."


    "No, I am here to talk with your sister," said Cheng.


    "You want to hit on her?"


    "No, it''s for investigation purposes!"


    "So you really do suspect me, huh?" said Mary.


    "Just wait, you will understand what I''m up to," said Cheng.


    They got inside and there was no one there. Cheng sat on the sofa, Mary called her sister and told her to come home fast and sat on the opposite side of Cheng. "So Cheng, why do you suspect me?"


    "I don''t, I really don''t. I wouldn''t have teamed up with you if I really suspected you. I could have questioned anybody else than your own sister if I really do suspect you, it''d just be a waste of time."


    "Then why?"


    "Tell me, when did she start mistaking your phone as hers?"


    "Now that I think about it, it started around 2 months ago. She never mistaken my phone as hers before that, but it was because she suddenly bought a phone similar to mine. There''s nothing suspicious in it."


    "Right, but this phone is an old model, why did she buy an old phone? Have you ever thought of that?"


    "Yes, I did, in fact I even asked about it. She said she got this phone for free from one of her friends. I thought it was funny that her friend had the exact similar model of phone as mine and was glad that she got stuff for free and didn''t think much of it. So, all your doubts are cleared now, don''t you dare suspect my sweet little sister."


    "Then again she had a newer expensive model of a phone. Why''d she go for the downgrade? Taking the phone is one thing but using that phone over your slightly newer and shinier phone is weird, isn''t it?"


    "I don''t know about that, so to answer your question...."


    Suddenly she noticed something in his words. "Wait, how do you know which model of phone my sister used before that?"


    "Can you give me your purse please?" said Cheng. She gave him her purse, he slowly opened it and took out a picture from that purse. "I saw it from this picture." It was a picture she took with her aunt and sister, her sister was holding her phone in one hand. "You know, I became suspicious of you when Akbar said that you lied to us that day, so I started looking through your stu-"


    Mary cut off his words. "It''s not very nice to look through people''s stuff."


    Cheng bowed his head due to shame. "I know, I''m sorry, it was for investigation purposes after all. Back to the topic, I saw this picture and got even more suspicious. Your phone was plain and dull and hers was shiny and pretty with cool accessories, there''s no way she can mistake it as hers. Then I thought people were bound to make mistakes no matter what. So in order to clarify everything I went to your aunt because she seemed to be the type to have a sense of justice. She told me the same things you told me but things only became even more confusing when I talked to her. I found all of these things strange, I mean really strange, so I started stalking her." He paused, "you can smack me in the head for this, because I myself feel guilty-"


    Mary stood up and smacked him. She looked at him with a scary expression. "Go on."


    "Ye... Yeah. So when I was stalking her, I saw that she hid a note on the bus stop. When she left, I took the note and it read "Meet me here at 12 AM." He sighed. "Well of course I couldn''t be outside for that long, If I did I''d be the no.1 suspect. Anyway, since I couldn''t go there I hid a camera there, and this is what it caught that day." He handed a USB over to her, she copied the file and played the footage.


    In the footage


    Cayla, Mary''s sister, was waiting for somebody at the bus stop. After a while a man with a hood came to the bus stop. Cayla barged at this man. "What are you doing?! You said it''s not that big of a deal and it was something like a prank, but now..."


    He put his hand over her mouth. "No Cayla, it''s not safe here, let''s go somewhere else and talk." He put down his hood, his face was fully visible now.


    Mary paused the footage. "This man... he... he looks familiar."


    Cheng smiled at her. "Of course you know him, he''s a helper of this kidnapper that we are so desperately trying to catch after all.¡±

 Out

    "Yeah, now that you mention it. It''s one of the two kidnappers that got away that day!" said Mary.


    "Yes."


    "Does that..." she tried to hide her pain, she chuckled, "does that mean my sister is with these kidnappers?" She went silent for a few seconds. "Of course she isn''t, my sister isn''t capable of doing such stuff. She''s an airhead like me."


    "Yes she is, which is exactly why she''s involved in it. She was tricked into joining them," said Cheng.


    "Tricked?"


    "Yeah, focus on the words she says, "you said it''s not that big of a deal and it was something like a prank." That means she helped them thinking it was some weird sort of prank, but after seeing the news she realised the gravity of the issue."


    "But what favour will she "accidentally" mistaking my phone as hers do to those kidnappers?"


    "It was to make you look suspicious," a voice was heard from behind.


    Mary recognised this voice and barged at this person. "Do you know what you have done, Cayla?!"


    Cayla started to cry. "I''m sorry sissy, I... I didn''t know."


    "By the way, miss, how long have you been there?" said Cheng.


    "I just came, but I was able to tell why you were here from that last bit of conversation you had. I''m guilty after all."


    Everyone was silent for a good minute. Finally, Cheng decided to talk. "I know you guys are devastated due to various reasons but I have to know where these helpers are hiding."


    "I don''t know," said Cayla.


    "Then tell your boyfriend to come here," said Mary.


    "He said he''s going on hiding and he won''t be meeting anyone, not even me."


    "In that case..." Cheng took his phone and started dialling a number.


    Somewhere


    "Miss.Eva Said that the boss called us weak in the group chat. Who are we doing all this to, Robert?"


    Robert wasn''t hearing any of his words and was thinking about his lover Cayla. ''I hope you are doing okay,'' Robert thought.


    "Robert?" "Robert..." "Robert!"


    Robert snapped back to reality. "Oh god Jerry, what is it?!"


    Jerry felt bad and said, "n.. nothing..."


    Robert quickly realised that they were both stuck in a horrible situation and he shouldn''t get angry at him like this. "I''m sorry, what is it?"


    "I was just saying how our boss called us weak even though we are doing all this for our Boss. Actually I was asking if you have heard about it, Miss.Eva told me about it."


    "Yeah, it''s totally an ass move, especially coming from the boss." Robert took his phone out of his pocket and started scrolling through YouTube. A title suddenly caught his eyes, it said, ''A new lead on Nishille kidnappings.'' "Hey Jerry, look at this." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Jerry glanced at his phone. "Huh? It''s most likely nothing, they are probably just reusing the info they already have."


    "I hope so," Robert clicked on the video.


    In the news


    "The police have confirmed a new lead. They said they have caught a girl who holds valuable information and will investigate further upon her statements." A footage of Fred and his policemen taking Cayla away in the Police car was shown.


    "No, it shouldn''t be happening. Why is... Cayla... No!" Jerry tried comforting him by patting on his shoulders. Robert took his hands and looked at him with blood shot eyes. "Jerry, let''s surrender."


    "What are you talking about? We can''t do that! We promised the Boss," said Jerry.


    "I see. A promise to an asshole like boss is more important to you than saving an innocent girl, huh? Think about it, Jerry!"


    "Nothing is going to happen. She doesn''t know anything, so they will just let her go when they learn about it."


    Ralph let go of Jerry''s hand, bowed his head to the floor trying not to cry. "That''s the problem, she doesn''t know anything. Those bastards... Nishille''s police have killed innocent people because they didn''t say anything but the truth was, they didn''t know anything."


    Jerry put his hands on his shoulder. "Don''t worry, Nishille''s police have changed a lot in the past few years. They won''t do anything to your Cayla."


    Robert raised his head. "Okay, I believe you, but you have to promise me one thing."


    "What is it?"


    "If she had even a minor scratch to her body, we are going to surrender no matter what."


    "That''s..."


    "Don''t worry we still won''t snitch on the boss, we will just endure the physical abuse of the police. For the boss... For Cayla."


    Jerry was unable to decline his request, "okay."


    The next day in the news they saw that Cayla was covered in scars and injuries. It was the last straw for Robert. He called Jerry with him and drove to the police station.


    The police were surprised to see both of them, one of the police arrested them and took them inside. Cayla was sitting in a corner covered with blood and scars, Robert teared up. "I''m sorry Cayla, I shouldn''t have included you in our plan. First I somewhat used you for making your sister look suspicious. Then I deceived you by telling you that it was for a prank. Now, you even got hurt because of me."


    "No I didn''t," said Cayla. Robert got confused.


    "Yes she didn''t! It''s all the magic of my makeup up skills," said Mary.


    "Ma... makeup?" said Robert.


    "I will explain," said Cheng. "So yesterday I..."


    Yesterday


    "In that case..."


    "Who are you calling?" said Mary.


    "Officer Fred. I have a plan."


    "So, Why did you call me, smart boy?" said Fred. Cheng explained everything to him. "Hmm, how may I help you?"


    "Just arrest Cayla. He will definitely come running when he sees that his dear lover was caught by the police."


    Earlier that day


    "It seems that my strategy didn''t work. Maybe continue with this and he will eventually surrender himself, sir," said Cheng.


    "I wonder how long we might have to wait, there''s a chance they might never show up."


    "Then, I have something to add to your plan, let''s make her look like she was beaten up badly by the police. This will definitely make him come out," said Mary.


    "How are we supposed to do that?" said Fred.


    Mary took out her make up set and grinned. "With my makeup skills of course."


    Present


    "I see, I''m glad she isn''t hurt." The police locked them up. Fred asked one of the police officers to interrogate them. Even after an hour of questioning they insisted that they''re the only ones involved in it.


    "Sir, they''re not giving away any other information."


    He went inside the lock up. "I Heard you aren''t giving away any information," said Fred.


    "Yes, because there is no more information to give. The answer isn''t going to change even if you start your natural Nishille torture," said Robert.


    He smiled at them. "Okay, I believe you. Well, I don''t actually, but the interrogation is over. You will be here for the next two days. So make sure to tell us, if you "remembered" anything in the meantime," he walked back.


    Robert blinked in confusion. "Did the Nishille police change?"


    Fred stopped walking. "By the way, I''m glad that you are out of the game. Now it will be a fair game."


    "Thanks, you two." Fred looked towards Cayla and corrected himself, "three, I mean."


    "Thank you for letting her get away with what she had done, sir," said Mary.

 Failed Plan

    The next day


    Evelyn was sitting at her usual spot, in front of the dried out cherry blossom tree. ''I wonder what this 2nd kidnapper''s motive is,'' she thought.


    Suddenly, she got a call, it was Mr.Scott, she answered the call. "I knew it was him!" he said.


    Evelyn was surprised. "What do you mean?"


    "I know the identity of the 2nd kidnapper, come to my house and I will explain everything," Mr. Scott hung up.


    "Why can''t he tell it right away?!"


    "Is everything okay Evelyn?" said Trevor, who was standing behind her.


    "Yes, I mean no. Mr.Scott just called me, he said he found out the identity of the second kidnapper."


    "Okay then, let''s leave right away. I will call Tony too," Trevor left.


    She sat there in silence for a few seconds. ''I wonder if it''s a good Idea to let him tag along with us. Especially since that bitch Misty is making plans to catch the boss,'' she thought. A wind flew past her, she smiled. ''Well, isn''t that what the boss wanted.'' She stood up and left.


    At Mr.Scott''s house


    "So tell us, who''s it?" said Evelyn.


    Mr.Scott gave her a smile, took a deep breath and laughed hysterically. "I got you didn''t I?" he started laughing hysterically, "I always wanted to get back at you for giving me a hard time that day." Evelyn snapped and punched his face, he fell to the ground. She slowly walked towards him and took him by his collar.


    Tony ran behind her and released him. "What are you doing?! He''s an old man."


    "Yeah and old people shouldn''t be making such jokes. I should teach him a lesson."


    "What''s happening? You said this is a foolproof plan, but here I am getting beaten up by this girl," said Mr.Scott.


    Evelyn got confused. "What do you mean? Are you following someone''s instructions?"


    She looked at Tony. "Is it you? You suspect me?"


    "No, of course not!"


    "That means it''s you Trevor, of course it''s you," she chuckled.


    Trevor was disappointed by Scott''s actions. He scratched his head. "Well, does this reaction prove that I am right?"This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Of course not. I was laughing because you proved me right once again."


    "Once again?"


    "Yeah, everyone only became my friend because they needed something from me and I was sure it would never change. You joined us because you suspected me, you were only acting kind and friendly because you wanted to prove that I was the culprit!"


    "Don''t you have anything to say, Trevor?" said Tony.


    "Yeah, because she''s right."


    Tony ran over to him and kicked him, and Trevor fell to the ground. "You probably don''t know how lonely she felt all these years. Now you just reminded her of her trauma."


    Trevor sat up. "What am I supposed to do? We are at difficult times. We have to find the kidnapper at any cost."


    "Yes, but you still shouldn''t have played with her feelings. You could have just randomly joined us. I heard your conversation that day, all that was... unnecessary."


    Tony walked towards Evelyn and consoled her. "Let''s go, he can walk home." They both left.


    Trevor stood up and looked at Mr.Scott. "Seriously?"


    Mr.Scott gave an awkward smile. "You good?"


    "No, it hurts like hell. He''s a Gym bro after all. Looks like that kidnapper asshole picked strong ones in particular too," said Trevor.


    "Huh?"


    "Nothing."


    Trevor came back home and went to Misty. "What''s up with the big shoe mark on your shirt?" she said.


    "That''s not all, I got a tattoo of the shoe mark too. Anyways, that doesn''t matter, my plan failed horribly."


    "Plan?"


    "Remember what happened that night?"


    That night


    Misty, Trevor, Catherine and Evelyn were watching TV. "Don''t you guys think that this kidnapper is an asshole. This person has totally lost it, they are calling their partners weak. I am pretty sure that these people knew this person''s silly but filthy plan and still joined. I bet this person couldn''t care less even if they end up dying," said Misty.


    "That''s not true," said Evelyn.


    "Hm?" Trevor was surprised by this answer.


    "I mean, I know people who are rude outside and make themselves look bad but in reality they are the nicest people. My mother was like that."


    "But it is different here, this person really is shitty," said Misty.


    "No! It''s-" Evelyn noticed the look others gave her and stopped. "Sorry, my personal emotions took over. My mother isn''t like that, so anyone who acts like that isn''t necessarily bad. If they are, that would mean my mother is too."


    Present


    "You were trying to provoke her, right?"


    "Why didn''t you ask me directly?"


    "Because I was gathering more hints against her, I also completely forgot about asking you. When I gathered enough hints I decided to look into it. Why didn''t YOU take the initiative?"


    "Judging from her reaction I figured she could be a helper if she''s in fact involved. So, in order to focus on the main culprit I ignored her."


    "Now, give me some ideas to gather strong proof against her."


    "Nah, do it yourself. I''m on break and you need to do something cool yourself too."


    "Right," he walked out of her room.


    ''Well, it''s hard to think of a great plan by myself. For now, I will just tag along with them and think of a plan on the way I guess,'' he thought. He then went towards the cherry blossom tree to find Evelyn. When he reached there, he saw that Tony was sitting there with her. "Yo guys," Trevor walked to them and sat beside Evelyn.


    "What do you want?" Tony looked at him coldly.


    "Well, I am here to tell you that I will still tag along with you."


    "What if we refuse?" said Tony.


    "It''s okay if you refuse, but if Evelyn refused I''d think it''s because she''s the culprit. She is prohibiting me right after finding out I suspect her, that''s suspicious."


    "She won''t refuse because I will," said Tony.


    "I don''t need your answer, I need hers and her answer is the final one. Also, if you want to use force, you can," Trevor looked at Tony. "Don''t forget I can do that too," his voice was colder than anything.


    "Okay, I agree, you can tag along but just go away and give us some fresh air," said Evelyn.


    "Okay fine, bye.¡±

 Suspicious Friends

    The next day


    Trevor went to the living room to see Misty having her morning coffee. "Yo, selfish bitch."


    She drank her coffee slowly and finished it while Trevor was standing there in that awkward silence. "Yo, sceptical asshole," she smiled at him brightly.


    "Rude."


    "You were the one who started it."


    "I was just stating facts, you refused to help me after all."


    "So do I. Also, just because I said I can''t do it, doesn''t mean I mean it. It''s just that I have other things to worry about right now."


    "The kidnapper?"


    "N... I mean yes."


    "Don''t sweat it, take it easy. We don''t have people to protect right now, so we can do it at a much slower pace."


    "Hmm." The room went quiet for a few seconds.


    "Hey Misty, want to go on a stroll?"


    "That''s weird of you to ask."


    "Don''t misunderstand, I just want to take a walk with my friend."


    "You are being weirdly nice to me all of a sudden."


    "Does that mean you don''t want to come?"


    "No, I am coming."


    They got out of the house and started walking along the footpath. "By the way, you don''t have to think about any ideas for me anymore."


    "Why not?"


    "It''s because of what you said last night, I want to make a plan myself. Well, I mean you should still think of some way but no need to rush. What if I couldn''t think of anything? What if my second plan failed too? Give your current goal of catching their leader the priority. Oh, speaking of the leader, how''s your plan going?"


    "Things aren''t really going my way, but it will be okay."


    He smiled. "Yeah, you will be fine, Watson."


    She smiled back. "You will succeed too and why are you calling me by your name, is this the opposite day or something?"


    "Watson? If anything I will be Sherlock and you will be Watson."


    "I don''t think Sherlock will go waltzing towards Watson for help and then later complain about it."


    He chuckled. "Remember that day I told you that I have my own reason to investigate with you. I know it''s childish but it''s because of my deep love for detective books."


    Trevor''s phone started ringing, he took the call and walked a bit forward to talk. Misty stopped walking and stared at him. ''I''m glad that you still have a childish dream after everything that''s happened,'' she thought.


    He hung up the call and came back to her. "Misty, we have to go back. It was Evelyn, she said that they are going to look into something. Let''s hurry back, I want to spy on them."


    "You go back alone, I am going to the lake to cool off my mind."


    "Okay then, bye."


    Trevor came back home and got ready, he went back outside and saw Evelyn and Tony waiting for him there. "So, what''s the plan today?" said Trevor.


    "We are going to spy on Mr.Scott today," said Evelyn.


    "Why?"


    "Maybe the second kidnapper will show up to his house? What if they are working together?"


    "Look Evelyn, this second kidnapper isn''t that much of a big deal. Also, if you are saying that this second kidnapper is working with them, won''t that mean that this person is harmless and is trying to bait the kidnapper into showing themself?" said Trevor.


    "That''s right, I have thought about it too, but what if these two, including Mr.scott, are really dangerous and will do anything to catch the culprit?" she said.


    "Hmm, seems like a problem for the real kidnapper."


    ''That''s right too, this person is most likely harmless to others but what if they are dangerous for the boss? But I can''t tell them that it''s my reason here,'' she thought. "No! He could be a danger to anyone. Some people get too determined for their goals sometimes," said Evelyn.


    "I think the discussion is done here, let''s get in the car," said Tony.


    After reaching his house, they parked the car somewhere far away from the house so that he wouldn''t notice it. Mr.Scott was staring at his newly renovated house, staying still, mesmerised by its beauty, after a while he went inside. "He''s going inside, we won''t be able to see him from here," said Tony.


    "Our primary goal is to check if he goes somewhere sketchy or if someone sketchy is visiting him. As long as We can still see the entrances/exits of his house, it will be fine," said Evelyn. After a couple of hours he left his house. "Guys I am going after him. It''s suspicious to go in groups so you guys stay here and check if somebody''s visiting his house," Evelyn got out of the car and followed him.


    Scott came back after half an hour so did Evelyn. "Got any leads?" said Tony.


    "No, he... just went to get the groceries. What about you?"


    "Nobody came here."


    "You are just wasting our time, you know?" said Trevor. Evelyn ignored his words and got inside the car.


    At the house


    Meera was sitting on the bed thinking about something. Vishnu came to the room with a bowl in his hands. "What are you reflecting about?"


    Meera snapped out of it. "Oh, nothing."


    Vishnu sat on the chair beside her bed. "Here is your food."


    Meera looked at Vishnu for a good second. "Why are you doing this?"


    "Hm? You mean serving you food? Since you are not well you can''t take it yourself so I thought to help you."This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "It''s not like I can''t move at all. Others understand this, but you are helping me on your own."


    Vishnu was quiet for a few seconds. "There are two reasons, but before that I want to ask you a question. Have you forgotten about me?" She was shocked to hear this question.


    She gave him a light smile. "Of course I haven''t, you are my favourite patient of all time."


    "So you do remember me, then why are you ignoring me?"


    "I thought you were going to give me your reasoning for helping me, and I haven''t heard it yet."


    Vishnu sighed. "Yeah right, one reason is because I want to repay you for helping me get rid of my depression. Two is.... well..... I have noticed that you aren''t eating well. You would skip breakfast, lunch,dinner, everything, you''d only eat enough to live, but not enough to live healthy."


    "You know, it''s my job to help people with mental illness, you don''t have to pay me back."


    "Tell me what''s up? Why aren''t you eating well?"


    She took a deep breath in. "I still trust you the same as I did before, so I want to tell you a secret. Promise me you will forever keep it a secret."


    "What is it?"


    "It''s about Annie."


    "Annie? What is it about her?" he went into deep thoughts. "Don''t tell me that she really did push you back then."


    "That''s not..."


    "You promised me, so keep it a secret, okay?"


    "I never promised you, I just asked you, but I will try to keep it a secret for a while..." he gave her a smile, "for your sake."


    Meera was flustered hearing this but she shook it off. "Vishnu, it was fun hearing you speak all those years ago." She pulled her face closer to him. "Speak to me."


    Vishnu''s face turned red. "Th..That''s what I was doing all this time, what do you want me to talk about right now?"


    She got all cheerful all of a sudden. "Like how your life has changed, your current goals, etc."


    He frowned. "Up until this point it wasn''t so good, but recently things started to get better. I''m at the top career wise, horrible things are finally starting to disappear from my life and now I even got new friends. About my goal..." he looked up towards the ceiling, "As I said, things are starting to get better for me, but all these years I never felt complete peace or true happiness. I just want to live a peaceful life, I . . . just want to be happy."


    "That''s sad," said Catherine.


    "Where did you come from?! Also it''s not sad, things are getting better so I''m sure once this kidnapper stuff is over I can find peace and happiness," said Vishnu.


    "You are so weird Cathy, how do you keep on appearing out of nowhere," said Meera.


    "I was here for a while, and I wasn''t even trying to hide myself. It''s just that you didn''t notice me because you were busy flirting."


    "Shut up. Anyways, why are you here?" said Meera.


    "I just wanted to check up on my sick friend."


    "I have a feeling that you have ulterior motives," Meera squinted her eyes, "tell me what''s up, Cathy."


    "You are cheeky. You told me that you are a psychologist. I don''t know why you are hiding this from everyone but that''s not the matter here. Tell me..." her carefree face turned dead serious now, "was Annie one of your old patients?"


    "Yes."


    "Okay," Catherine walked towards the door.


    "Hey wait, don''t you want to know why she was my patient?"


    Catherine stopped and looked back. "No, I just wanted to know this."


    "Still, since you know this much I am going to say it. She was suffering from anxiety disorder." Catherine left without saying anything.


    Cheng was sitting outside and admiring nature, then he saw Satoshi coming outside and unlocking his car. He called out to him. "Big bro, I will join you with your investigations today."


    "Hm?"


    "You seemed to be uninterested in this back when it all started, but lately you have been going out alone a lot. You are investigating alone as well, I want to see what you are up to."


    "Who told you I was investigating? I was just going out for some fresh air."


    "All these days?"


    "All these days."


    Catherine saw these two talking with each other and approached them. Cheng held his chin by his hands, "suspicious."


    "What''s suspicious?" said Catherine. Cheng explained the situation to her. Catherine looked at Satoshi, Satoshi moved his eyes away from her when their eyes met, she looked away after a while as well.


    "I don''t know what''s going on but anyway since you are saying you are going out for some fresh air, I will join too," said Cheng.


    "No, you can''t. I want some time alone."


    "You are enjoying your leisure time while everyone else is working their ass off for a thing that concerns you too."


    "Shut up! Some people have their own problems to deal with and they don''t even have anyone they could rely on. They are forced to fix all that by themselves!"


    Cheng was surprised and felt bad. "What''s up Satoshi? Whatever your problem is, you ca-"


    Catherine cut him off. "Don''t Cheng, just leave him alone for a while." Satoshi got in the car and left.


    "That''s so unlike you, Catherine," they heard a voice from behind. They looked back to see Misty leaning on a tree beside her.


    "You were listening in? How long were you here?" said Cheng.


    "Probably like one or two minutes. Anyways, what happened Catherine?" She slowly pulled herself away from the tree and stood straight. "Normally you''d be the one who will bug others, suspect people like him, or be there for your friends when they need you. That didn''t happen here, for some reason." ''Why am I acting like she and I have been friends for ages?''


    Catherine smiled and looked straight into Misty''s eyes. "It''s because I understood that''s what he needs right now, dear. I also think that there''s somebody else who needs that right now."


    "I see," Misty turned around and went inside the house.


    Mary, Alex and Akbar are cooking in the kitchen. "Catherine has been acting weird lately," said Akbar.


    "Hm? Why do you think that?" said Mary.


    "She randomly does and asks whatever shit that comes to her mind. It''s kind of annoying."


    "Really? I didn''t know."


    "That''s because you are dumb."


    "You are forgetting what this thing I am using to chop these onions is."


    "I have been thinking about it. Do you think this kidnapper is on their move to do something? Is he behind his new victims?" said Alex.


    "Maybe, who knows?" said Mary. The kitchen went quiet for a while.


    "I don''t think so, right now they are vulnerable and are most likely afraid to do unnecessary actions," said Akbar.


    "But I think they are onto something. Just you wait, we will surely get news like that soon," said Alex.


    "Hmm, I wonder," said Akbar.


    "How are things going for you, Akbar? I thought you were investigating stuff by staying indoors."


    "W..well, I am trying my best, you know."


    "Right. Don''t you think Misty has been acting suspicious lately. What do you think? What if she is related to some crimes?" said Alex.


    "Some?"


    "I mean she could be hiding things from us, you know, especially since she has a police Uncle."


    "Now that you are putting it this way. I am also starting to suspect her," said Akbar.


    "You guys are suspecting her for no reason. Seems like something''s bugging her," said Mary.


    Catherine ran from across the kitchen and took Mary''s hands. "Are you... are you alright, Mary? You are saying a logical thing for once!"


    "Where''d the knife go now?" Mary released her hands from Catherine''s, "but really, it''s true that I am the dumbest in our group. However, I can definitely feel it when something''s wrong with somebody I care about."


    Catherine smiled. "Of course Mary, I know you are that kind of a person. I was just messing around."


    Mary noticed that Catherine was wearing gym clothes. "There isn''t any equipment here."


    "Oh that''s fine, I am going for a jog. I am starting to get rusty, so it''s important."


    Ralph and Vincent were sitting in a small food vendor. "Hey Vincent, I have been wanting to ask you this for a while. Why... did you scam people back then?"


    "That''s a dumb question. I obviously did it for money, nothing more, nothing less."


    "You seemed pretty dumb at first glance, but you are a pro scammer. Are you perhaps the kidnapper and are manipulating me into believing that you are actually my foe."


    Vincent scoffed. "You think I will actually tell you the truth if I am in fact the kidnapper?"


    "Vincent, Do you regret doing that all those years ago?"


    "No, not at all. Not one bit."


    ''This guy is... hard to predict,'' Ralph thought.


    "But don''t worry, I won''t betray you. You are quite interesting and I love working with interesting guys like you."


    "That''s what I thought, but..." said Ralph. ''Ever since that case file came...'' Ralph thought.


    "Not only that, we have been investigating together for quite a while now to such an extent that I could call you my partner in crime? I can''t betray my partner after all," said Vincent.


    Evening


    Satoshi came back home now, he was about to enter the house when Misty confronted him. ¡°What''s up, Satoshi, you are hiding a lot of things from us these days,¡± she stiffened her eyes.


    ¡°Whatever that means,¡± he said.


    She smiled softly. ¡°You can talk to us if something''s bothering you, you know.¡±


    ¡°Of Course I can,¡± he reciprocated with a slight smile, which faded before it even appeared, ¡°but you know, I can''t tell you what''s bugging me right now. If things don''t end up like how I want it to be, the first person who I will inform will be you.¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, promise.¡±


    ¡°By the way,¡± she grinned at him,¡± just because I am talking to you this way, don''t think you are on clear. I still suspect everyone and that includes you.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see, you are trying to find someone to frame and since I am acting suspicious I am easy to frame,¡± he grinned back.


    ¡°Right, we will find out in a few days.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think you can find the culprit that fast, you are as slow as a sloth,¡± said Satoshi.


    Misty gave him an angry frown, ¡°we will find out real quick!¡± She ran back inside. ¡°I am to blame for showing concern for you.¡±


    Satoshi stood there and smiled to himself. ¡°Guess things will get better.¡±

 Saviour

    At night


    Everyone is back home now, Trevor, Tony and Evelyn just came back home and are entering the house now. "You seriously wasted our whole day by making us "spy" on Scott. Like seriously? You can literally sense idiotic energy from him, he even destroyed my plan," said Trevor.


    "You know looks and actions can be deceiving. Also, I didn''t ask you to join, you are the one who joined us, right Tony?"


    "Right... but really Eva, we kind of wasted our whole day, we found nothing."


    Evelyn gasped. "Y..You too Tony? I didn''t expect this from you."


    "Okay, your plan didn''t waste our time, now stop being dramatic," said Tony. She gave him a bright smile.


    Trevor looked at both of them. "You guys already became best friends, huh?"


    "Yeah, we are not the type to change teams after knowing our teammate sucks," said Tony.


    "Two things, I didn''t change the team, and my teammate is great," said Trevor.


    "Right, then why doesn''t she have any leads till now? She has been investigating since day 1 and she hasn''t gotten any leads yet."


    "Hey Tony, stop getting on his nerves," said Evelyn.


    "C''mon, it''s fun to mess with him."


    Trevor sighed. "I''m going to my room, I want to take a bath." He walked a few steps forward and stopped midway. He then turned around and grinned at them. "By the way... She''s at least better than two people who wasted their whole day spying on an innocent old man thinking he is related to some mafia or something like that."


    Tony laughed. "Looks like we are not the only ones who made strong bonds here."


    Trevor smiled. "Okay, let''s talk later, guys." He went inside.


    Evelyn couldn''t help but smile seeing these conversations. Tony looked at Evelyn. "I''m gonna go eat something, I''m starving. You get inside too, it''s cold outside," he walked towards the entrance.


    "Yeah, I will," she said in a soft voice.


    She stood there out in the cold, spacing out. ¡®It''s fun being with them, it feels like they care about me more than you, Jodie... Oh I accidentally called you by your name instead of "Boss" in my mind, huh? You are not the same anymore.¡¯ She noticed the moonlight falling upon her. She turned back to look at the moon. ¡®You again... I just remembered that Jodie wasn''t the first friend I had, it was... You¡­¡¯


    12 Years ago in Las Vegas


    It was night and Evelyn''s mother came back home late, Evelyn ran to her mother in excitement. "Mama, you are back! Eva is hungry, can you make some food for me now?" said Evelyn.


    "Later."


    "But mama you said the same thing the other day..." Her mother didn''t pay attention to her words and went to her room, "...and the day before too and..." The sound of a door slamming shut was heard. Evelyn went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, there was nothing inside. "It''s the same as before." She closed the fridge and sat on the floor leaning towards it. Her eyes became teary, her voice cracked. "I''m hungry."


    She went to the balcony after a while, she looked at the sky to see the full moon shining bright. "Oh, you are not broken today, I''m so happy for you. I want to be full too," she laughed hysterically, "you get it right?" The smile on her face faded away quickly. "Four days..." There was nothing but silence for the next 30 seconds. "Right, I could go ask for food from others, there are many people living in this apartment."


    She went outside and knocked on the neighbours door. An old woman opened the door, she was shocked to see Evelyn''s state. She gave her food and asked a few questions. Evelyn said thank you and left.


    She got to her apartment and went to the balcony. "Do you know, moon? I can finally sleep well after a while today. Today, you and I are both full." She heard the doorbell sound but she didn''t bother about it and continued to gaze at the moon, then her mother called out for her after a while. She went to see what was up and found the old woman in the entrance facing her mother.


    She looked at her mother and saw that she was furious. "Why would you go outside and ask for food from others?" her voice was rather calm.


    "It''s because I was-" her mother slapped her and she fell to the ground.


    "Why are you trying to live?! Why can''t you just starve to death?"


    The old woman tried to interrupt, "hey, why are you-"


    All of a sudden she heard a woman''s voice. "Mom? What are you doing here and what''s going on here?"


    "See dear, Tina has a daughter and she has been neglecting her child all these years. Like, look at her."


    "Let them be, whatever it is, it is their problem, don''t interfere and come with me." She dragged her mother away with her.


    "No, she needs he-"


    Evelyn started crying. "What do you mean by that mom? Why should I starve to death?"


    Tina walked past her. "Oh, so you want to live? If so just go away from this house and stop bothering me, you can live a long life this way."


    "But I have nowhere else to go....."


    Tina turned back. "Come with me," Tina took Evelyn to the streets with her, she threw her in an empty alley. "I don''t care if you have nowhere to go. Don''t show your face to me ever again," she walked forward, she slowly faded away from Evelyn''s eyes as she walked further and further away. Evelyn sat there for the rest of the night.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    When morning came, she got up and wandered the streets to get help or to figure things out, she stopped in front of a bakery with a poster saying ''Looking for workers.'' She got inside the bakery, the Shopkeeper saw the little girl and confronted her. "What are you doing here? What do you want? Do you need pastries? Where''s your mom?"


    "I... I want to work here."


    "Huh? What kind of a joke is that? Get out of here!" She did as she was told, she asked for help from many people, many did want to help find her mother, but when they learned that her mother abandoned her they also abandoned her. The night came in what felt like seconds to her. She found shelter under a shop. She decided to sleep there that night.


    She felt somebody calling out so she jolted awake, she saw a shady looking Man in front of her. "Hey little girl."


    "Who are you?"


    "I''m Ken. Today, I saw you wandering around the streets looking for a job. I will give you a job which will give you food, shelter and money."


    "Really?"


    "Yes, but for that you have to come with me." She followed the man to an underground basement, where she saw many other kids and teenagers. The man took out a whistle from his pocket and blew into it, everyone went silent and looked at the man. "Kids, listen! This is your new friend, treat her well and teach her what to do and what you have learned so far." The man left the basement.


    One of the older girls came to her. "Hey, what''s your name and how old are you?"


    "My name is Evelyn and I am 11 years old."


    The girl''s eyes softened. ''The same as me when I started.'' "Anyways, I''m Riya and he''s Oliver," she pointed at a boy standing in the corner. "We are kind of the leaders here, we are the oldest after all."


    The boy walked towards her. "You will be here for the next 4 years, after that you are free to choose what to do. For now, we will tell you what''s your job here. He took out a small see-through sachet with some white powder inside it. "You go around and give this white powder in this cover to the place assigned."


    "What''s that?"


    "It''s called cocaine, it''s basically illegal to carry it around and selling it is beyond illegal. Also, you will be taught karate by Ken here," said Oliver.


    "I think that''s all you need to know for now. You can go play with the other kids here," said Riya


    She sat there in the corner and looked at the kids running around and playing, suddenly she felt a hand touching her shoulder, she looked up and saw a girl of her age.


    "Hey, why are you sitting here? Come play with us."


    "Maybe later," Evelyn gave the girl a smile.


    "What''s up?"


    Evelyn''s eyes started to get teary. "I''m scared."


    "Oh that, it''s fine, just face your fear and go forward, we have nowhere to go after all."


    "That''s not an effective way of cheering up."


    "I know, but it''s the best I can do. Anyways, what''s your name? I''m Vanessa," Vanessa gave her a smile.


    "I''m Evelyn."


    "Hm, from today onwards you and I are friends, okay?"


    "Okay..."


    She did her assigned work with precision for the next two years, but...


    "What happened, Ken?! Is... Is Vanessa okay?!"


    "She was killed by that bastard. He didn''t pay for the goods we gave him, so she insisted on getting the money, then he hit her on the head. We can''t even... file a complaint."


    "Give me his location."


    "What are you going to do?"


    "Just give me the location."


    She went to the location given to her, she pressed the doorbell and waited, a man in his forties opened the door. She stabbed him in the guts the moment he opened the door and got inside to take back the stolen drugs. She heard the police siren while she was collecting the goods, she tried exiting through the door but the police were already there. "Aren''t you the same girl who was riding a motorcycle without a licence that too as a minor? You got away that day," The policeman said. They took her to jail and locked her up. The stabbed man revealed that she was a drug dealer.


    The police interrogated her to know more about their organisation. "Tell me who do you work for, how many people are with you?"


    "I don''t know what you are talking about, I work alone."


    "Hm, what about your organisation then?"


    "I only get orders from them, I don''t know anything about it."


    "Where do you get the drugs from, then?"


    "They hide it in random public places and I get it from there." The police kept on asking questions but she didn''t say anything about anyone else being involved, eventually the police gave up. They looked up her name and found that she is involved with many other crimes. She was sentenced to four years in juvenile prison for all the crimes she did.


    8 years ago in Las Vegas


    Evelyn was able to get released two years before her sentence finished. She decided to live normally from now on, so she decided to find a job. Unfortunately, she was not only rejected but also humiliated wherever she went. Being frustrated, she decided to go back to the criminal life, so she called Ken.


    Ken: Hello, who''s this?


    Evelyn: It''s me, Evelyn. I need your help.


    Ken: I don''t know what help you need from me, but whatever it is, my answer is no.


    Evelyn: What do you mean? You said I can choose what to do when I''m 15 and I''m way past 15. I want to get back to drug dealing.


    Ken: That''s true, but that doesn''t apply to you. You have a criminal record now, we need safe people for our job and you are not safe. Please don''t contact me again.


    Ken hung up the call on her. Evelyn went to her rented apartment and sat there thinking. She looked at her phone, it''s not actually hers, it''s the memento of her friend.


    She remembered Vanessa''s words. "I have finally saved enough money to buy this."


    "What''s this?"


    "You don''t know? Well yeah, we kinda live in a cave and this is a new thing."


    "It''s called a smartphone, we can use it to make calls, message people, play games and many more. Also, there''s this thing called the internet, I have this application called Reddit....."


    ''Reddit, I should make a post about job searching,'' she thought. She found a community to post, there she found a link saying ''join our Discord.''


    She started talking a lot on that server, she made a few friends there, the one she was the closest to was "Jodie". Months passed by and she was still not able to find any job, ''the money I have saved up from all the drug dealings is slowly disappearing. I have to find a job sooner,'' she thought. She got a notification on her phone.


    Jodie: Hey.


    Evelyn: Hey, what''s up?


    Jodie : Nothing, wbu?


    Evelyn: Well, just got back after getting rejected from a company after an interview.


    Jodie: That sucks. It''s about time you work up on my advice.


    Evelyn: I know it will be easier to just leave this place and start a new life somewhere else, but where can I go? It''s true that I''m a criminal but I don''t know left from right, I will get in trouble wherever I go.


    Jodie: I have been thinking about it.


    You can come to my town Nishille.


    I will be there for you if you need any help and you can find a job here.


    Evelyn: What are you talking about?


    Don''t trust an internet stranger and invite them to your place.


    Plus, I''m a criminal.


    Jodie: You became a criminal because of your circumstances as a kid. You were abandoned by your own mother, being a naive child, you decided to become a criminal.


    Evelyn: I was going to go back to being a criminal, it''s just that I wasn''t able to.


    Jodie: Again, it''s because of your circumstances as a teenager, you were frustrated because of your state. So tell me, are you coming?


    Evelyn: I need to think about it.


    Evelyn thought about it alot and finally decided to leave Vegas for Nishille.


    Present


    "Evelyn?" Evelyn heard a voice from behind, she looked back, it was Catherine. "Wait, are you crying?"


    "No, it''s just dust."


    "Dust, huh?" Catherine laughed, "anyways get inside, it''s cold outside, I''m in charge of gates and doors."


    Evelyn got inside, Akbar saw Evelyn. "Are you okay?"


    She got mad. "Of course I am, don''t be ridiculous."


    "Don''t get near her, she''s upset, she was crying just now," said Catherine.


    "Crying?"


    "Anyways, I''m off to sleep."


    "Mm." ''Really "boss" what are you doing? Even your biggest fan has a guilty conscience, she''s about to give up. It''s time to stop this silly game, I am... Worried about you and everyone around us,'' Akbar thought.

 Second Kidnapper

    The next day


    Evelyn woke up and went to wake Tony up for their investigations, to her surprise Tony''s room was wide open. She looked inside the room and he wasn''t there, so she looked for him everywhere, he was nowhere to be found.


    She went to Trevor who was in the living room talking with Misty.


    "Hey, have you seen Tony, maybe he went somewhere and perhaps told you where he''s heading to?"


    "No, have you looked for him everywhere?"


    "Yes... Is he ok?"


    "Yeah he probably is, he probably went for a walk or something," said Trevor.


    "Try calling him," said Misty.


    Evelyn took her phone and dialled Tony''s number. She put her phone down after a while. "It''s switched off."


    "Tsk, he most likely forgot to charge it," said Trevor.


    "Yeah, he does that a lot," said Evelyn.


    "Well, just to be safe, let''s ask Satoshi to check the CCTV," said Misty.


    They went to Satoshi and told him everything, they all went to the CCTV room together to check the CCTV recordings.


    Satoshi''s face was filled with horror. "It''s... Hacked again."


    Trevor crossed his hands. "The timing of this hacking is..."


    "Suspicious," said Misty.


    "Also this hacker is very skilled if they can get past my hack blocker."


    "I''m gonna inform Uncle Fred, and he may be here shortly afterwards so don''t freak out," said Misty.


    Evelyn went to the Cherry Blossom Tree and sat there. ''Is Tony kidnapped? If so, is it you, Jodie? Or is it this second kidnapper? Yes, it''s probably the second kidnapper, Jodie said no more kidnapping, but what if Jodie changed mind...''


    "Yo," she was startled, it was Trevor. "You were thinking if your leader is involved, right?"


    "Can you stop this? I''m really not involved with the kidnapping."


    "I wonder about that." Trevor saw the concerned look in Evelyn''s Eyes. "Don''t worry, he''s probably fine, he''s strong after all." ''Of course he''s strong, I still got that tattoo he gave me a few days ago,'' he thought.


    ''This warmth, I used to feel this warmth from you a few years ago. Where has it gone now, Jodie?'' she thought. "If... If Tony is really kidnapped, it''s probably the second kidnapper."


    "If you, the kidnapper''s right hand man, think so, it should be the truth." Trevor got up and left.


    ''I should confirm if the boss is really involved or not,'' she thought.


    Evelyn went to her room, took out the spare phone and messaged Jodie.


    Evelyn: Is it you?


    Jodie replied after half an hour.


    Jodie: No, it''s not me and we still don''t know if he''s really kidnapped, so keep calm.


    Evelyn: Can I trust you?


    Jodie: Of course you can. Now, stop texting me, what if somebody saw us?


    Evelyn: Okay.


    Evelyn switched off the phone, ''I still don''t trust Jodie''s words that much.''


    Fred''s car arrived one hour after receiving the news, Misty and Trevor went to him right away. "Considering the circumstances, I think he''s really kidnapped," said Misty.


    "I can''t really file him as missing just because of your circumstances, he has only been missing for a few hours, right Misty? I have to wait till one day passes."


    "Even if one day passes, you really shouldn''t file the case, we will get investigated..." they heard a suggestion, they looked around to see Catherine.


    "Sorry, I have hidden your secret for long enough. I have to act like a real policeman now but before that I have to tell you that I am here for questioning, please cooperate." He questioned everyone one by one.


    Fred called out to Misty. "I didn''t seriously question them yet, I only asked a few questions about Tony. From the answers I have gotten so far, Evelyn Lopez is the one who saw him last, but of course the real kidnapper won''t reveal it. I will come back tomorrow with the rest of the police." He looked at his watch. "I am heading out now, I have an important meeting today."


    "Okay."


    Fred patted her head. "Take care of yourself."


    Trevor and Misty went with him to send him off. Trevor saw the car getting further, he smirked. "Looks like somebody is still a daddy''s little girl."


    Misty smiled. "I wish he was my real father."


    "I thought you would get all flustered and defensive and stuff, but you liked that teasing."


    "Yes, he''s like a father to me but deep down I know he''s not my father and he has his own family, so when you said that, I really liked it."


    Trevor looked at her in amusement, then let out a soft chuckle. ''I was right, you really are weird,'' he thought.


    Everyone gathered in the living room because Alex called for everyone. "So what do you plan to do by having a meeting?" said Vincent.


    "Isn''t it obvious? To discuss our current situation of course."


    "There''s nothing to discuss about it. Our current situation is as follows. One, we are all in a house together with a kidnapper and probably their helper. Two, one of our friends got kidnapped. Three, the kidnapper kidnapped him, that''s it," said Akbar.


    Evelyn was mildly infuriated. "What do you mean by this kidnapper kidnapped him? It could be the second kidnapper," said Evelyn.


    Akbar frowned. "I think it''s really the real kidnapper," he looked firmly into her eyes, "and I think they really need to be stopped."


    ''What are you talking about Akbar, do you not trust our boss anymore? Are you planning on going against Jodie?'' she thought.


    "I''m sorry, I just pointed out my opinion," said Akbar.


    Mary looked at Akbar worriedly. "Akbar, you are acting weirder than usual."


    "I think the second kidnapper has more chances to kidnap Tony as compared to the real kidnapper, because as far I know he was investigating the second kidnapper with Evelyn," said Alex.


    "I agree with Alex and Evelyn, the last people the kidnapper would kidnap are Evelyn and Tony," said Meera.


    "Does that mean we all have to focus on the second kidnapper as well now?" Mary sighed, "seriously guys, you guys are such psychopaths."


    "Yes, I think the kidnapper chose crazy people on purpose as well. They wanted to see real chaos I guess, but who do you think this second kidnapper is? I suspect Misty," said Ralph.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Really Misty, you are too focused on finding the kidnapper I wouldn''t be surprised if you end up doing stuff like these, you are a weirdo after all," said Trevor.


    "I have no reason to do something so lame like that, I can simply make a full proof plan to catch em," said Misty.


    "But you said your plan isn''t going well."


    Misty laughed awkwardly. "Can you not talk about that, asshole. I was trying to act cool, you know."


    Trevor laughed. "You are still trying to find a way to look cool? Well, no matter what, you could never be like me."


    "It''s true that I could never be like you. Being a loser like you isn''t so easy, I am so proud of you for that." They started arguing with each other.


    Alex sighed. "I think the meeting is over."


    "Weren''t we talking seriously just now?" said Catherine.


    "Yeah, we were. By the way, what do you think of everything, big sis Cathy?" said Cheng.


    "Me? Well, something just seems really off to me."


    "Yeah same, but I just don''t know what it is."


    "Hm, maybe, we can figure it out together."


    "Yeah, I guess. Also, did these people forget about Tony already? That''s kinda cruel."


    "Well, He''s a strong guy, so they know that he will kick their asses if they try to harm him." Everyone left the living room, only leaving Trevor and Misty who were still arguing


    Meera and Vishnu were sitting outside the house, the wind was blowing over them. Vishnu looked at her. "You think he will be fine?"


    "Hm? Do you get along well with him?"


    "Yeah. I talked a lot with him ever since I came here. He said he understands my problems because he had Social Anxiety when he was in high school."


    "He had Social Anxiety too? But it''s said in the case file that he was a bully."


    "Yeah, I was surprised when I found out. Not only surprised but a little disgusted, you know how much... I despise bullies. I have been indifferent to him ever since I found out about the case file."


    Meera smiled. "Cathy and Mary said a similar thing to me. You get close with people without knowing much about them but after knowing their past you distance yourselves from them. The ones who don''t do that are the ones we call true friends, if you ask me. They understand that their friend is no longer the same person as they were years ago."


    "Yes, I have thought about it and wanted to apologise to him, and then this happened."


    "Yeah and you had your reasons to act like that unlike others."


    ''Talking to her still makes me feel better,'' he thought.


    ''Talking to him is as soothing as ever,'' she thought.


    Catherine was looking at them from a distance, she smiled. "They look good together."


    "And you definitely don''t look good stalking them," she heard Mary''s voice.


    "Mary? You are the first one who managed to surprise me by coming out of nowhere."


    "I learned from the pro," she pointed at Catherine.


    Catherine laughed lightly. "I''m proud of you then."


    "By the way, don''t go around staring at random couples, it''s creepy."


    "It''s beautiful to see people being truly happy with the person they have fallen in love with, I''m happy for them," she paused. "I... Had someone like that years ago. Well, it was more like a kiddie crush but he was the most important person to me those years."


    "What happened to him?"


    "He left, leaving me alone in the pit of hell."


    "What do you mean?"


    "He moved to a different place and I wasn''t able to see him after that."


    "Do you blame him for that?"


    "Who knows?" Catherine looked at the sky. "There''s something else," she grinned at Mary, "I know somebody else who''s totally out of the world while talking to someone."


    Mary blushed. "What do you mean? And what''s with that expression?"


    "You know, sometimes it''s better for girls to take the initiative."


    Mary frowned. "I can''t, he has so many reasons to reject me."


    "Like?"


    "I''m not beautiful like Annie, I''m not smart like all the others here, I get easily annoyed by everything, I''m not heavily influential like you or Misty, I''m loud-"


    Catherine put her forefinger over Mary''s mouth. "Maybe you are right, there may be a million reasons for him to reject you but there''s also a million reasons for him to accept you. So, just take your shot."


    The day was over just like that, Evelyn was sitting in the living room waiting for Tony''s arrival. She remembered her conversation with Tony the day after the revelation of the case file.


    That day


    Tony was sitting on the sofa in the living room, he noticed Evelyn standing beside. "Hey, what are you doing by standing there?"


    "I want to talk."


    "Okay, but first just sit."


    She sat on the sofa with him. "You probably hate me now that you know that I''m a criminal."


    "Huh? I thought you would hate me, I honestly have no reason to hate you. In fact I don''t deserve to hate on you," he looked downwards, "I was literally a bully, you are better than me."


    "Do you want to know why or how I became a criminal?"


    "If you want to, if you are doing this to prove you had a reason for what you did, don''t. I already understand you probably had your reasons," he smiled at her. "You don''t have to prove anything to me, I trust you."


    Present


    Evelyn''s phone started ringing all of a sudden, she took out the phone, it was a call from Tony, she quickly answered it. "Tony! Are you okay?! Where were you all this time?"


    "I''m... At Tetra street, come quickly." She put her phone in her pocket and ran to her car, she drove off quickly.


    Tony was Waiting for her in Tetra street, he saw a car heading towards him, he waved at it. Evelyn saw that Tony was covered in minor wounds. "What happened? Why did you disappear? We were worried to death."


    "The kidnapper... kidnapped me."


    "Kidnapper? The real kidnapper? Or the second kidnapper."


    "The real one."


    ''Jodie.... Kidnapped him?'' she thought. "That can''t be, it''s probably the second kidnapper, you are useful for the real kidnapper."


    "That person kidnapped me so that the group would focus on the second kidnapper as well."


    "How do you know?"


    "They told me themselves."


    "You saw them?"


    He looked into her eyes. "What if I did?"


    She started panting, then she calmed herself down and smiled. "I mean if you saw the kidnapper we can submit them to the police and finally be free."


    Tony sighed. "I didn''t see them, they used a device with a voice changer to communicate with me and they were wearing a mask."


    "I see, you know, it could be the second kidnapper trying to deceive you."


    "No, it''s not. They even tried to kill me, if only if it wasn''t for their helper I would have been dead."


    "They tried to kill you...?" ''It can''t be, Jodie would never... Even if it''s really Jodie, why tell only Akbar... Jodie doesn''t trust me anymore?'' she thought.


    "Evelyn.... I want to tell you a secret."


    "Secret? What is it?"


    "I have.... Met the second kidnapper, I know their identity."


    Evelyn was horrified, "who''s it and why didn''t you tell me before?"


    "I have my reasons...." he tried avoiding eye contact.


    "Huh? Okay I''m not gonna ask your reasons, just tell me who''s it now."


    "I can''t."


    "Why not? You are the second kidnapper, aren''t you? Are you trying to frame the kidnapper?"


    Tony scoffed. "Frame? Really? I don''t need to frame that asshole, that person is in fact the culprit and I''m not the second kidnapper."


    "Stop saying such things, I don''t like it coming from my favourite person."


    "Are you... Really the helper?"


    "No!"


    "Then what''s the problem with me calling them an asshole! That person tried to kill me."


    "It wasn''t them!" she lowered her voice, "I''m sure it''s the second kidnapper trying to fra-"


    "Out with it!" said Tony.


    "Boss told me it wasn''t...." she put her hands over her mouth.


    "Did you just spill?"


    Evelyn fell to her knees. "Boss wouldn''t lie to me," She looked at Tony, "And my boss wouldn''t try to kill anyone, especially you..." Tears started to form in her eyes, "You are someone I want to cherish for the rest of my life."


    "I see Evelyn." Tony said nothing for a few seconds. "Everything was just a big lie. I wasn''t kidnapped, nobody tried to kill me, I don''t know who the second kidnapper is. It was all his plan to catch you."


    She chuckled. "Trevor, huh?"


    "Yes."


    "You guys still don''t have any proof though."


    "We have," Trevor came out from behind a tree, "I recorded your conversation."


    "Thought so."


    Trevor kneeled down and put his hands on her shoulder. "The police will be here anytime soon, get up. You did enough for your boss, and don''t hate Tony for this, he did this because I asked him to."


    Few days ago


    "Hey Tony," said Trevor.


    "Oh hey, you are probably disheartened after getting no clues on your first investigations with us."


    "Yeah, and I want to tell you something."


    He lifted his eyebrows in confusion. "Yeah tell me."


    "Evelyn is one of the helpers, you can test it your way. I will give you an example tomorrow. I may be able to catch her tomorrow but the main goal of tomorrow''s actions is to give you an idea. Help me if things happened the way I say it will be like," he raised his hand for a handshake.


    Tony ignored it, "Okay, let''s see."


    2 days ago


    "Let''s go Evelyn, he can walk home." Tony and Evelyn got in the car, he drove off. ''Is he saying the truth? Should I test it with the example he gave me?'' He thought. "Eva, I think there was no need to act so hyper."


    "Yeah, I''m sorry."


    "Also this second kidnapper isn''t that important, let them kill the real kidnapper."


    She hit the car door, "it shouldn''t happen!" Evelyn looked at Tony to see him scared, "I mean everyone deserves to live."


    Yesterday


    "Guys I am going after him. It''s suspicious to go in groups so you guys stay here and check if somebody''s visiting his house."


    Tony waited for Evelyn to reach a distance. "I will help you."


    "Huh?"


    "She acted weird yesterday, so I will help you, but I still don''t completely believe she''s involved in any of it."


    Trevor widened his eyes all of a sudden. "I just got an idea. Let''s just put it to work tomorrow."


    "What is it?"


    "She lowers her guard when with you so..."


    Present


    Police car arrived at Tetra Street. Fred put the handcuffs on Evelyn''s hands and other two police took her away with them. "Wait," said Trevor. He came in front of Evelyn. "Everything I said that day in front of the cherry blossom tree wasn''t a lie. I really see you as a good friend."


    "I''m sorry Eva for using your soft spot for me as a tool against you. We will be good friends after you are released, right?" said Tony.


    She looked back at Tony. "Of course we will." Then she looked at Trevor. "You too Trevor."


    They both went back home. Everyone was waiting for Trevor in the living room. Tony looked at Misty and then at Trevor. "You told her the plan, right?"


    "Of course, I need Watson''s approval after all," said Trevor.


    She smiled, "and I told everyone just now."


    "Good job guys," said Alex.


    "You guys played us," said Cheng.


    "Yeah, I hate it," said Catherine.

 Friends Forever

    Fred was interrogating Evelyn in the lock up. "Are you sure there''s nobody else involved?"


    "Yeah."


    He sighed. "That''s a lie of course, it looks like you are not going to reveal who your boss is." Fred went outside the lock up, he saw Trevor and Misty standing there. "Here for clues or here to see her?"


    "Both actually," said Trevor.


    "Did she give any information on the kidnapper?" said Misty.


    "No, she is more determined about protecting her leader''s identity than her own. You can go see her."


    "What are you guys doing here? Especially you Trevor, haven''t we talked about everything we need yesterday? Wouldn''t it be kinda awkward to talk again today?"


    Trevor smiled softly. "Will you slow down with your questions?" He handed her a package, "here."


    "It was Mary''s idea to give you this, since we all can''t meet you at once," said Misty.


    She opened the package. "Fortune cookies?"


    "These fortune cookies have a message from all of us. You can break it randomly and read our messages," Misty smiled.


    "Thanks... I guess. You people... Don''t hate me for what I did?"


    "We do hate your actions," said Misty, "however, we don''t hate you. You have become our friend, that''s why, we are ready to forgive you."


    Evelyn smiled to herself. "It''s the same for me."


    "Hm?"


    "Trevor probably told you that I have talked shit about you to him, but I did it because of your intentions to catch my Boss."


    "I gave you a response and it will ruin a potential friendship, so I didn''t," said Trevor.


    "In reality, I wanted to be friends with you, you really remind me of my friend who died long ago. Not only that, it''s been a while since I had girls as my friends. In fact, I never had a girl as a friend ever since I became an adult, I want to do girl stuff with a fellow girl."


    "It''s kind of the same for me. Okay then, it''s fixed, once you get out of the jail, all we girls, me, you, Annie, Catherine, Meera, and Mary will have a girls party together."


    "Oh, I will join too," said Trevor.


    "It''s a girls only party, you idiot," said Evelyn.


    "I know that''s why I will dress up as a girl and join you guys."


    She laughed. "You are such a big idiot."


    He smiled. "I''m glad you laughed, it was pathetic seeing you all depressed, it made me feel guilty."


    "Thank you guys," said Evelyn.


    "Time for us to leave," said Trevor.


    At the house


    Akbar was sitting in the dining room. ''Well, it''s only us left now and it''s easy to catch me. I don''t know what''s taking them so long, I''m ready to get caught already.'' He leaned his head towards the chair. ''I''m really tired of everything,'' he thought. He slowly closed his eyes and started to drift to sleep.


    He saw a little girl pointing her pinky at him. "Promise me, you will forever be my friend."


    He suddenly felt a light smack in his head. "Stop sleeping here, it will mess up your neck. Go and sleep in your room."


    Akbar stood up. "Ugh Mary, you are so annoying, I''m not sleeping I was just resting my eyes."


    "Yeah it definitely looked like it."


    Akbar went to the living room and laid on the sofa, he put his right hand on top of his head. ''It''s the anniversary today and I can''t even come visit you... How pathetic,'' he thought.


    20 years ago


    It was Akbar''s first day at school, but Akbar didn''t want to go. His parents somehow got him into the car and now they are on the way to the school. They reached the school and his parents are now struggling to get him out of the car, he''s holding onto the car seats. "Stop it Akbar, you are a big child now, you shouldn''t do stuff like this."


    "I don''t wanna go to school."


    His mother looked around to see a kid who wasn''t crying on her first day of school. "Look at that girl," she pointed at the little girl, his gaze went to her, "she isn''t crying or being annoying, doesn''t she look cool? Don''t you wanna be like that? Look at that, even teachers like her."


    He stopped crying and slowly loosened his grip onto the seat, his mother took him out of the car and accompanied him to the class. He was still hesitant when he reached the class and hid behind his mother. The teacher smiled and sent the same little girl who wasn''t crying to get him. She walked to him and raised her hands for him to hold, he took her hands and she guided him to the class. Every kid was sad and lost all their energy, but that little girl cheered everyone up and those kids played together all day.


    Akbar got used to his new life after a few days but one day one of the kids stole his toy and they fought with each other. The teacher saw them and stopped them. "Why are you fighting?"


    "This Akbar hit me," the other kid said.


    "Is that so? Akbar, say sorry."


    "Teach-"


    Akbar was interrupted by that same little girl. "No Teacher, he''s lying. He took Akbar''s toy, that''s why he fought with him." This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Thanks Jodie, now Denny, say sorry to Akbar."


    "Sorry."


    The little boy made everyone else not talk to the little girl in return for candies, the kids stopped talking to her. Akbar went to the kids. "You guys are such meanies, my mother told me that you shouldn''t do horrible things for your own good. If you do so, Allah is going to hate you and he won''t bless you."


    The kids ignored him and continued to isolate her but Akbar always played with her. After a few days the kids missed playing with Jodie because she was every kid''s favourite classmate and was jealous of Akbar to be able to play with her. All the kids stopped getting bribed and started talking to her. Eventually, Denny also became her friend.


    It is now the end of the academic year, Jodie, and Akbar are now best friends. "I have this band to give you because you guys are my friend, show me your hands," Jodie put the bands on her friends'' hands.


    "Thank you," said Akbar.


    "This is the proof of our friendship," she raised her hands, clenched them, then raised her pinky and looked at Akbar, "promise me, you will forever be my friend."


    He crossed his pinky with hers, "we will!"


    Present


    Akbar opened his eyes. "Did I fall asleep again?"


    "Yeah you certainly did," said Catherine who was sitting at the corner of the sofa. She took out a handkerchief. "What kind of dream were you having? Here, wipe your tears off."


    He touched his cheeks to find it wet. "Oh, it... it''s because of the weather."


    "Probably, but wipe your tears anyway."


    "Yeah," he sat up and took the handkerchief from her hands. The room went silent.


    "Do you need some time alone? You don''t look fine," said Catherine.


    Akbar wiped his face. "From what I understand, nobody here looks fine. It''s like they are having bigger burdens than the world leaders," he looked at Catherine, "even you Catherine."


    Catherine turned her gaze and slowly stood up. "I take that as yes."


    Akbar laughed. "How is that a yes? Anyways, good thing you aren''t gonna bother me anymore."


    He gazed at the wall for about a minute. ''I promised her that day that I will forever be there for her. I don''t want to break my promise.'' He sighed, ''I have told you to get that thought out of your head.''


    16 Years ago


    Akbar is now in 3rd grade, luckily Jodie got admission in the same school Akbar took admission in. It was another day in school, he was waiting for Jodie but she didn''t show up that day. That week went by but she still didn''t show up.


    Akbar''s mother came to pick him up from school, he ran to his mother and got in the car faster than ever and slammed the car door. "Hey, what was that, little man?" Akbar didn''t say anything. She got in the car and drove it off.


    She peeked through her rearview mirror to see her son gloomy. "Tell me how your school is going."


    "It''s going good."


    Akbar''s mother Raziya decided to talk with his teacher the next day. The next day, Raziya accompanied Akbar to his classroom instead of letting him walk there alone. Teacher smiled. "Hello," she then looked at Akbar with that smile plastered on her face, "get inside dear." Akbar walked into the classroom. "You can leave now, he''s safe in our hands," The teacher said.


    "That''s not why I am here, I''m here to talk."


    "Talk?"


    "Yes, my son has been pretty down lately, is anything troubling him? You are his teacher so you must know."


    The teacher thought for a moment. "I think it''s because of the fact that his best friend hasn''t been coming to school lately."


    "Best friend? You mean Jodie? She hasn''t been coming to school?"


    "Yes, we plan on visiting her home today. We too are worried about her."


    "Can I join too?" said Raziya.


    "Yes, you can come with us this evening."


    "Thanks."


    That evening, Raziya and Akbar accompanied the school staff on their visit to Jodie''s house. They reached her home and pressed the calling bell, her mother Hisa opened the door narrowly. "You are... Jodie''s teacher."


    "Yes and we are here to ask why she''s not coming to school. Is she sick?"


    "Y..yes, please leave now."


    Raziya noticed something in Hisa''s face whose other half was hidden behind the door. "Hey... can you come a little forward," said Raziya.


    "Uhm, I''m kinda busy now so-" Raziya pulled her forward. Her left eye was bruised.


    "What is this?! Are you ok? Is Jodie ok?!"


    "It''s just our family issue, please leave."


    The teacher said, "Mrs.Rodd, you have to tell us if there''s any problem."


    Hisa fell to her knees. "My daughter is at gunpoint, you guys are putting her life in danger."


    "By whom?" said Raziya.


    "By her own father," she sobbed.


    Raziya was shocked to hear this. "Okay, go back inside like none of this conversation happened and get her to safety. I will call the cops," Hisa closed the door.


    The police arrived shortly after, broke into the house and caught Jodie''s father.


    Hisa offered everyone to get inside and have tea, they got inside and sat in the living room. Jodie was happy to see her friend after so many days so she ran to him and held onto his hand. "Let''s go play outside." Akbar agreed to her preposition.


    Hisa brought the tea and snacks, and put it on the coffee table, then sat with them. The teacher said, "so, why was your husband threatening to kill his own daughter?"


    "He never went to work nor tried to find one. All these days... I was trying my hardest to earn for the family but that bastard was wasting money on alcohol. I still kept up with the shits he made me go through for the sake of our daughter. However, I recently lost my job and that guy held my daughter as a hostage, he wanted me to get him food and alcohol everyday on his table. He prohibited my daughter from getting outside or to take her with me, so that I won''t run away with my daughter."


    Jodie''s Father was sent to jail but he broke out of prison two months later.


    "Thank you for taking care of my daughter while I''m at my work," said Hisa.


    "Don''t worry, I''m glad you got yourself a new job," Raziya paused and thought about something. "I heard your husband broke out of prison, are you going to be alright?"


    Hisa smiled. "We won''t, I know we won''t but we have to be."


    "I have a surprise to give you tomorrow," said Jodie.


    Akbar tilted his head in confusion. "What kind of surprise?"


    "It''s not a surprise if you reveal, you know?"


    "Okay I''m taking my leave," said Hisa. Hisa looked at her daughter. "Let''s go, Jodie."


    "See you tomorrow," said Jodie.


    Both of them walked to the exit, Akbar followed them, he stopped in front of the gate and waved Jodie goodbye.


    A truck hit both the mother and daughter the moment they entered the road, the blood splashed all over Akbar''s body. Hisa ran to them, but Akbar stood there still, all he could see was the lifeless body of his friend under the truck.


    Hisa and Jodie died that day, the driver of the truck who killed them was Jodie''s father.


    Akbar changed after that day, he ignored everyone in his class and never made any new friends.


    Years went by and he became a 5th grader. Akbar was sitting in front of the lake. He saw a rock laying in the ground, he took it and threw it towards the lake. "Eight. You always used to lose to me back then, I wonder if you would have beaten me today."


    He suddenly saw a stone passing by his side and hitting the lake, it skipped 10 times.


    "I just did."


    He looked back instantaneously. "You are... not Jodie."


    "Of course I am, if being Jodie helps you cheer up, I will be Jodie. Wanna challenge me?"


    He looked towards the lake. "No, I''m not interested."


    "I thought you would love to play with Jodie again. Maybe it''s because I finally defeated you, you are scared of me now."


    "Two things. One, you are not Jodie. Two, I''m not scared of you."


    "I won''t believe it until you get ready for a rematch."


    "Okay then." They played it once again and Jodie won again. "I think that''s the end. I''m going back home," said Akbar.


    "You are a loser who can''t defeat me huh?" said Jodie.


    "That''s not like it... okay then, let''s play again." They played a lot of matches but Jodie won every time.


    "How about we arm wrestle then?" said Akbar. This time Akbar won.


    "I have many game suggestions to see who''s the best of best," said Jodie.


    "Okay let''s play then." Akbar spent the whole day playing games with Jodie.


    "Oh, it''s become dark, I have to go home. See you tomorrow," said Jodie.


    "Let''s play again tomorrow, I had so much fun today. By the way, what''s your name?"


    "As I said, I''m Jodie if that cheers you up, bye."


    ''Wait, weren''t we competing? I totally forgot...'' Akbar thought.


    He became friends with Jodie and met Jodie''s friends too, he saw that Jodie was highly respected and well loved, Jodie had an influence over everyone. ''You are really... Jodie,'' Akbar thought.


    Present


    ''Jodie and her are not the same person, she died long ago. You made a promise with your first friend not this Jodie,'' Akbar thought.

 Dead End

    At the police station


    Evelyn was sitting on the floor looking at the bag of cookies in front of her. ''I don''t know what you all wrote, I''m kinda scared.'' She took the bag and took out a cookie, it had Annie''s name on it. ''So it has the name of the people who wrote the letter inside.'' She put it back, and rummaged through it as if to find a specific cookie. She took out the cookie with Akbar''s name on it. She took a deep breath in. ''I wonder what you wrote...''


    She broke the cookies and took out the letter, it read, "I''m glad you realised your mistakes. I don''t hate you for any of your actions, rather I''m glad that you are gradually changing your heart. It could have been better if you realised the gravity of your actions earlier. Anyhow, I don''t think our friendship will break for this, and I feel your boss will also be friends with you forever too. Next time, try to differentiate between good and bad things, you can convince others later."


    She smiled. ''Such a long one. You are an idiot for writing such suspicious things, but you are really pure.''


    At night in the house


    Akbar was standing on the balcony and looking at the sky. ''Jodie, I have made quite a lot of friends in the span of weeks,'' Mary and Catherine''s faces came to his mind, ''there are also the people who remind me of you.''


    "What are you doing here all alone," he heard someone''s voice.


    He looked back and saw Alex. "Nothing, just looking at the sky, it just feels good."


    Alex just hummed and went silent, he broke the silence after a while. "I''m gonna tell you a secret."


    "Huh? Hm," he said, still mesmerised by the beauty of the night sky


    "I''m the second kidnapper."


    "Oh, you are? That''s great..." He stopped talking midway. "Wait what?! YOU ARE THAT KIDNAPPER?" Akbar calmed down a bit. "No way bro, you are joking," Akbar laughed awkwardly.


    "It''s true," said Alex with a straight face.


    "What? Why are you telling me this."


    "Because," he turned his face towards Akbar, "I know you are the kidnapper." Akbar''s face turned pale hearing this. "Huh? Why did you go silent hearing this? Are you perhaps the kidnapper?"


    "OF COURSE NOT! I was just too stunned after your revelation. Are you... Are you really the second kidnapper?"


    "Yeah, why should I lie? You can stop pretending now, I can''t report it to anyone because that will also make my cover blow," said Alex.


    ''I shouldn''t lose my composure like that, he could be using the same tactic Trevor used,'' Akbar thought. He gave a laugh and put his hands over Alex''s shoulder. "Come on! You are doing this because you suspect me right?" He took off his hands and walked towards the balcony door. "You know, you will make me call the police on you if you keep doing this."


    Akbar walked downstairs and entered the dining room, everyone else was already sitting there, waiting for their dinner. He sat in his place and started drinking the water straight from the jug. "Hey! Don''t drink from the jug!" said Mary.


    Catherine smiled creepily. "Hey Kidnapper."


    Akbar spat the water and started Coughing. He looked at her, ''this woman.'' "What the fuck is wrong with you? What was that?"


    "I mean where were you all this time? Now you suddenly come back and start drinking water like a maniac."


    "I didn''t know drinking water was something only a kidnapper would do."


    Mary came with the food in her hands, with Trevor and Tony assisting her. "Now now, can you lazy rats shut up for like 30 minutes. I had to do everything all by myself today even though you two were here for the whole day. Now I have to bear this?" said Mary.


    Catherine sighed. "Let''s just eat then."


    Alex came down the stairs and joined them for dinner.


    The next day


    Akbar was sitting face to face with Alex in the Living room next to the coffee table. They both stayed silent for a good minute. Akbar finally broke the silence. "Nice weather, right?"


    "Hm? Ah yeah, it''s beautiful outside today.m," after this, they both went silent again, but soon after Alex said, "did you... believe what I said yesterday?"


    He laughed. "No, of course not. I know that we all are at the edge these days. You suspected me so you used the same strategy as Trevor, I can understand."


    "Two things. It neither was a bluff nor was my suspicion wrong. I revealed it to you because I wanted you to know that you are my next target. I want you to know that I''m gonna put you behind bars."


    Akbar''s face turned cold. "Okay I guess."


    Alex pulled one of his eyebrows up in confusion. "Did you just confess?"


    "Nope, your suspicion is wrong. If you really think I''m the kidnapper then try to prove it, I will also gather proof against you."


    "What if I said I already have proof then?"


    Akbar scoffed. "I would say you are bluffing." Akbar stood up and went outside the house. ''I recorded the convo with Alex but I can''t show it to anyone yet, it may turn everyone against me.'' He looked at the sky. ''Let''s see what I can do.''


    Misty saw Akbar standing outside alone so she approached him. "Hey, what are you doing here alone?"


    "Hm?" he looked back and saw Misty, "oh, it''s just you. Nothing, thinking about ways to catch the kidnapper."


    "Well anyways, Mary is asking for all of us to help in the kitchen."


    "How dumb is she? Should we do chores in the house or try to get away from all of this stuff."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She laughed. "Don''t let her hear this, she will tear you up."


    "I''m already prepared for that," Mary was standing behind them, furious with a kitchen knife. "By the way smart ass, when were you trying to get a way out of this." She sprinted towards him with the knife in her hand.


    Akbar took a step back. "Hey, I was just joking, don''t take it too seriously."


    "Then joke around when I''m around, not in my absence!" she sighed, "Anyways, everyone present here should help me out in the kitchen, lazy bitches." She went inside the house.


    "You will definitely be a great mother, Mary," said Misty.


    Akbar grinned. "Yeah, she really wants to be a great mother to Alex''s children."


    Mary stopped and sprinted towards Akbar again. "I''m definitely killing you today."


    "Akbar, she might end up killing you, shut up!" said Misty.


    He quickly ran past her and went inside.


    She slapped her head lightly and smiled. "This guy."


    Akbar laughed. "You really do love him, ri-" his eyes widened, ''she loves... Alex...''


    "What''s up? Why did you pause like somebody really stabbed you with a knife?"


    He turned over. "Nothing, I will be waiting in the kitchen."


    "Hm? What''s up with him?" she looked at Misty, "he''s acting weird, I mean weirder lately, right?"


    "Well, I can guess why he was acting weird right now."


    "You can? What is it?"


    Misty sighed. "Imma go and call the others."


    Afternoon


    "How''s the food?" said Mary.


    "It''s delicious," said Trevor.


    Mary Smiled. "Of course my recipes are always top notch."


    "Just like you," said Alex.


    Mary choked on her food and drank a glass of water. "Where is this suddenly coming from?"


    "Maybe it''s Mutu-"


    Mary interrupted Catherine. "NO!"


    "What no? And what were you saying Catherine?" said Alex.


    "It''s probably nothing, right Cathy?"


    "Ye..yeah, it''s nothing."


    Akbar looked at all three and made a pouting face. "I am not liking any of this."


    "Huh? Why?" said Meera.


    "Some people don''t deserve to be loved by other people."


    "Huh? What are you even talking about," said Mary


    Catherine chuckled. "I agree with Akbar, but I personally believe it applies in friendship as well."


    "You mean some people don''t deserve to be friends with certain people?" said Akbar.


    "Yeah, Like I don''t think Evelyn deserves any of our friendship, because she made us all suffer."


    "I don''t know what you are up to, but don''t say such stuff. She regrets her actions," said Trevor.


    "Yeah, I agree," said Misty.


    "I agree more," said Mary.


    "You are saying that because you weren''t that close with Evelyn, but if someone close to you was the culprit, you would have hated them, Mary," said Catherine.


    "No, I won''t. It''s true that I will be heartbroken but I will forgive them."


    "That''s why such people don''t deserve a friend like you."


    ''It''s true, I don''t deserve a friend like her,'' Akbar thought.


    Annie finished eating, took her plate from the dining table and stood up. She went to the kitchen and washed her plates and walked past the dining table.


    "Are you going back to your room, Annie? You can go take a walk or talk with us. Don''t always go off alone," said Mary


    "No, I''m good. I''m going to sleep." She was slowly climbing the stairs."


    "Hey!" said Catherine, Annie stopped. "I''m gonna tune in to a movie today on Satoshi''s TV, you can watch it with us, it''s a crime thriller," Catherine smiled, "just like our life currently. If you are interested go and wait in the living room and by the way it''s an invitation to all." Annie turned back, climbed down the stairs, and went to the living room


    Mary Smiled. "Cathy was right, the kidnapper really knows a lot about us."


    Everyone present there gathered in the living room to watch the Movie. After a while, there was a scene which showed the main character observing every step of the culprit and even following them with discretion to find evidence against them. Akbar looked at the scene carefully. ''I can use it to find evidence against Alex.''


    Everyone left the room when the movie ended except for Akbar. ''I will definitely bust you before anything gets out of hand,'' he smiled awkwardly, ''I hope I am not running right into your hands.''


    The night came and everyone went to sleep. Alex came out of his room and walked outside at 2 AM. He walked for around one hour and reached the woods, he walked a few more steps and started digging through the soil. He took something out of the hole he made and walked back to the house. He reached the house and buried the thing in the lawn. He went back to his room after that. Akbar has entered the living room from his hiding, he was following Alex all along.


    He waited half an hour before going to the lawn and digging up what was buried, it was a phone. "You are caught, Akbar," he heard from behind.


    He recognised the voice. ''Ca..Catherine?'' He looked back and saw Catherine standing behind him with Alex.


    "Wh..what do you mean by caught you?"


    "Why were you following him? Also why do you care so much about what he''s hiding?"


    "Of Course I care, it''s because I want to catch the second kidnapper."


    "Second kidnapper," she emphasised those words, "why is he the second kidnapper and not the first kidnapper? Is it because you are the first kidnapper?"


    "No, he told me himself that he''s the second kidnapper! I just believed him..."


    "Are you the second kidnapper, Catherine? And that asshole is your helper?"


    "Are we? If so, how are we supposed to move with our plans? Nobody''s gonna trust you."


    "You think? You guys plan everything and go in coordination using this phone," he showed them the phone in his hands.


    Catherine smiled. "Well, there''s nothing in it," she smirked, "we always reset it, with no way of getting the data back," she turned back. "By the way, go to your room and sleep, there''s nothing you can do about it, especially with that useless piece of brick." She stopped talking and looked at the sky as if she was thinking about something, then she went. "Oh, there''s one thing. You can turn yourself in." They both went inside. Akbar sat there in silence for a while, then stood up and went inside.


    Next day Afternoon


    ''What can I do about them? Whatever I do, it will turn everyone against me,'' Akbar thought. Just then, Akbar heard a car approaching the house, he went outside to check. He saw Fred standing outside the house, he started sweating. ''Why is he here?'' he shook it off and went to welcome Fred, "uhm hello, sir."


    "Hello young man," said Fred.


    "Can you call Catherine Quilt for me?"


    "Wh..Why do you want to meet her?"


    Fred gave him a look. "I see, I''m not welcomed here."


    "N..no sir, you are definitely more than welcome. Please get in, I will go call Catherine."


    "I''m fine here. Just tell her to come fast, time is of essence," Fred smiled.


    He went inside to inform Catherine that Fred is here to see her. He was observing them from afar. She handed something in a cover to Fred. Fred noticed Akbar, and made Eye contact with him. Akbar got scared and went to his room.


    Misty Came to Akbar''s room after 15 minutes. "Akbar, come with me."


    "Hm? Why?"


    "Uncle Fred wants to see you."


    He stood up. "That''s kinda concerning, he doesn''t even know my name."


    She sighed. "I know."


    Fred looked at him. "Oh, it''s you. Anyways, you are under arrest."


    "For what?"


    "For the serial kidnapping in our town."


    "But I''m not the kidnapper."


    "Stop pretending Akbar, I found your spare phone you use to text the main culprit. You are only helper, huh? Well whatever," said Catherine.


    ''How did she get it?'' He thought. He looked at Fred. "Sh..she''s lying sir, whatever she gave you, it''s fake evidence to frame me."


    Fred squinted his eyes. "It''s not fake, it''s verified by the officials."


    "If you are thinking about how we got the deleted chats, just understand that I know a little bit of hacking," said Catherine.


    Akbar''s hands were trembling, "but there''s no proof it''s mine, she made her own spare phone look like mine."


    "Hmm, but there''s this CCTV footage of you digging something out of the lawn yesterday," said Fred.


    "Yes! The CCTV! If you got such footage, then if you check the CCTV more you can find the footage of Catherine and Alex standing beside me and talking, you can also find Alex getting outside the house yesterday. I was following him the other day, I was digging out the thing he buried!"


    "There''s nothing like that in the CCTV," said Satoshi. "Both me and Officer Fred checked the footage of the whole night, there was nothing except you digging something up."


    "There''s no way. Did they mess with the CCTV again?"


    "Like you said there''s no way somebody could have gotten past Trevor''s hacking," Satoshi smirked.


    Akbar widened his eyes. "You are also working with them, right?"


    "What are you talking about? Also if you already knew that these people were up to something, why didn''t you inform any of us?"


    Akbar gritted his teeth. ''That was a big Mistake. Seems like there''s no way out for me, I''m turning myself in, but...'' He looked at Catherine, and then took a deep breath in. "Yes, it''s me. I''m guilty for the crime of kidnapping all those people," he pointed his fingers at Catherine and Alex, "but those people aren''t any saints either.¡±

 Where everything began

    "They are... they are the ones who kidnapped Morrison Scott," said Akbar.


    Catherine raised both of her eyebrows. "Oh, we are? Do you have any proof for that?"


    "Yes, I would have had two proofs if we had the CCTV footage, but Satoshi also works with them," he took out a voice recorder from his pocket and gave it to Fred.


    "Your conversations in this are vague," said Fred.


    "Yes, I agree, but can''t you understand the suspicious tone of our conversation. Like I''m implying that he''s a criminal or something like that," said Akbar.


    "Well-"


    "ALSO ALEX, didn''t you say you are gonna turn yourself in when I surrender, just imagine this as me surrendering," said Akbar.


    Catherine smiled. "Didn''t he say that thinking that you were the main culprit."


    Akbar widened his eyes. "SEE, she just admitted."


    "Akbar..." said Fred.


    "Sir, now that it''s all clear, arrest them too!"


    "Akbar, listen."


    "What am I supposed to listen to? She just spilled, y-"


    "AKBAR!" Akbar went silent hearing Fred''s voice, "Alex lied... everything he said was all part of their plan."


    Akbar calmed down. "How are you so sure? They could be lying."


    "You recorded this yesterday, and Catherine told me about her plan about disguising as the kidnapper way earlier."


    "Also Akbar," said Catherine, "we never found your spare phone."


    "What?" He looked at Fred.


    "Yeah, I lied," said Fred.


    "Then how did you know I had a spare phone?"


    "There''s this thing about you, Akbar," said Catherine.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Well, you are pretty dumb."


    "What does that have to do with you finding out there''s a spare?"


    "Try to remember what you said last night when you found out the phone Alex hid."


    "What did I say?"


    "You said, "You use this phone to contact each other" or something along those lines. Really, you are not that stupid to not catch up on that, but the Akbar I know will definitely take time to come to that conclusion. Since you thought about it right on the go, I speculated you have such things prepared."


    "Hmm I see, so you two would go as far as to make a fake drama to catch me. So, how did you know that I was one of the culprits?"


    "There''s this line your leader said. "I took the smartest people for this." At first I thought they were just bluffing because not everyone here wasn''t exactly smart, but when I found out about the case files I realised that they really did investigate us. Even though I didn''t believe them at first, I managed to cherry pick the people who are relatively less smart, so I gave special attention to their actions. Out of all those people..."


    A Day after they came to Satoshi''s house


    Mary was the first one to wake up after Misty and Trevor left. ''I guess everyone is still asleep,'' she thought.


    She went to the living room and found a paper. "Me and Trevor are just going for a little investigation, don''t suspect us."


    ''Like, I''m not already the most suspicious one here,'' Mary thought. She put it back there and was about to leave, just then another piece of paper under Misty''s note caught her eye. She picked it and read it. "You all are the dumbest people in existence, staying with a group that has a potential kidnapper? You guys came running right into my trap." Mary was shocked.


    Alex also woke up that time and saw Mary standing there with that piece of paper. "What''s... up? Mary?"


    Mary was surprised to see him there and looked at the paper in her hands. "No... it''s not what you think it is."


    "Huh? What am I thinking? Are you okay?"


    "I found this here," Mary handed the note to Alex, "you are probably gonna suspect me of doing this since I was standing here with this note."


    "What even is it?" He took it from her hands and read it. "Two things. One, I don''t suspect you currently because who in their right mind would write something like this and stay still in a place with this on their hand. Two, let''s inform everyone." He woke everyone up and told everyone about what happened.


    "So guys I think the kidnapper doesn''t want us here," said Akbar.


    "Yeah, anybody can tell that," said Catherine.


    "Let''s check the CCTV," said Akbar. Catherine looked at Akbar and blinked. The info they got from the CCTV was that it was hacked. "Well, the only ones who came here before anyone were Misty and Trevor," said Akbar.


    Back to the present


    "You were desperately trying to give something. There are times where it felt like you were smart but it was due to the fact that you knew things that others didn''t know. When Misty''s case file came, I came to the conclusion that this kidnapper chose Relatively dumber people to get our attention out of the dumb one in their group. In order to further back my suspicions I decided to play that detective game. I gave you an easy question but you still failed to give me the right answers."


    "Oh that is why..." said Cheng, "that is why you tried your best to not team Mary up with Alex."Stolen novel; please report.


    "Yup, I wanted his companions to be dumb as well."


    "I would have rather liked it if she didn''t catch the kidnapper," said Mary.


    "I agree," Tony nodded.


    "Hm, I see." Fred handcuffed Akbar, "I was trying to act too smart." He slowly walked to Mary. "Welp, I wanna know if I still deserve to be your friend. You said you would be heartbroken," he paused, "well, sorry for that. Back to the topic, you said you would still forgive because they are... no, I am your friend."


    "Yes," she smiled, "especially since you are ready to atone for your sins." A gust of wind flew past them.


    He gave her a smile back and walked to the police car. He stopped right before entering the vehicle and turned over. "SEE JODIE, WE ARE MAKING THESE AMAZING PEOPLE''S LIFE A MISERY. YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO TURN YOURSELF IN BEFORE THINGS GET OUT OF HAND."


    "If you really think that they should stop, why not snitch on them," said Ralph.


    Akbar chuckled. "I won''t betray them, I want them to turn themselves in, if not, I will wait for them to get caught." He turned back, and walked towards the police car. ''What was that Jodie, were you testing my loyalty?'' Akbar got in the car and Fred drove off.


    The wind was still blowing past all of them as they saw the car get away. "I wonder... I wonder who this person is? Does this person also see us as friends now?" said Mary.


    "I don''t think even the innocent ones think of each other as friends. We are all still just strangers who have come together to catch that kidnapper." Alex looked at Mary. "After that, we will all go back to our life."


    Catherine looked at Alex. "There''s nobody who you have made a connection with?"


    "There is, but I am not sure if it will stay forever," said Alex


    ''Forever huh?'' Mary thought. "Okay everyone, whatever was happening is over, let''s get inside, there''s no use in standing here."


    ''These amazing people huh? This is exactly why I didn''t want to include you with me here. It would have been better if I let you stay with Jerry and Robert should have come with me, but you wouldn''t listen.'' Ralph walked back inside.


    15 Years ago


    Ralph was standing in front of his school with his friends waiting for his bus to arrive. Just then, he saw a boy across the other side, waiting for the bus going the opposite route. He noticed that he was standing there all alone without any friends or classmates. All of a sudden his classmates came and started teasing him and calling him names. "Look, the gloomy rat is waiting for the bus today. His Mama didn''t come to pick him up today. Even your mom doesn''t like you," all the kids started laughing at him.


    Ralph didn''t like it and was about to go to the other side to talk back to them for Akbar, even though it was the first time he was seeing Akbar. Just then his friend stopped him by pulling on his hands. "They are a year older than us, they will beat us up."


    "But Robert..."


    "And our bus is almost here too."


    From then on Ralph wanted to be friends with Akbar. He always looked at him with great respect and admiration but he never noticed it. The school bus wasn''t available one day, so everyone had to wait for their parents to pick them up. Ralph was waiting for Robert''s mom to pick both of them up. Just then, he saw Akbar leaving the school. He tapped on Robert''s shoulder to get his attention. "Hey, that kid is leaving alone."


    "So?"


    Ralph tilted his head. "Isn''t it weird for a kid to leave alone? Where is his mommy and daddy."


    "It doesn''t matter," Robert shrugged.


    "No! You are the one who said that it is dangerous for a kid to do that. Now you are fine with that?" He dragged Robert with him, "we are following him!"


    They walked a bit and Akbar entered the cemetery. "Hey Ralph, let''s leave, that kid is creepy."


    "No, we''re gonna see what he is up to."


    Akbar stopped in front of a grave, and he started saying something. "Hey, can you hear what he is saying," said Ralph.


    "We are at the same distance, how am I supposed to hear when you can''t, dumbass."


    "Hey Jodie," said Akbar. Akbar took out a beautiful band from his bag. "It''s your birthday today, this is your birthday present." He put the band on top of her grave. "Umma will get mad if I''m not there in school when she arrives." He runs towards the cemetery exit.


    "He''s coming this way!" said Ralph, he didn''t notice them and ran past them.


    "Hey, he will disappear if we don''t go behind him."


    "Wait, let''s check whose grave it is." They went to that grave. "Huh? who could it be?" said Ralph.


    "Maybe his family."


    "Probably, let''s go back and find him," both of them started running.


    Present


    A police officer is driving the car, Fred is sitting on the passenger seat next to it, and Akbar was cuffed on the back passenger seat. Akbar remembered his conversation with Misty a couple of days ago.


    "You and the shitty police chief know each other huh? You must be quite horrible too, if you are close with him."


    "Hm," she crossed her arms, "I don''t know if I am horrible or not but I can assure you that... Uncle Fred has changed to be a better person now."


    "Uhm sir?" said Akbar.


    "Yes?" Fred looked back.


    "I know it''s too much to ask of you as a criminal, but can you stop at the cemetery? I want to... visit someone." Fred stayed silent. "Figures," said Akbar.


    The car went on, after a while. "Stop," said Fred. The car stopped, Fred got off, opened the back door and uncuffed him. "You know the consequences if you dared to run away."


    He got out, and looked around to see the cemetery, he teared up. "Thank you sir!" Fred smiled. He slowly walked to Jodie''s Grave. He looked at the gravestone which read, ''This is the place where my dear friend and her dearest daughter are resting peacefully.'' Down the line there was their name, ''Jodie Peter and Hisa Peter.''


    "I will finally have to face the consequences of my actions, that is why it will take a while before I will be back." He smiled, "but don''t worry my mother will come visit you once in a while." Suddenly two leaves flew and landed on his palms, one of a maple tree and the other of an ash tree, he widened his eyes and went back to normal. "I understand," he looked at the sky, "From now on, Ralph will forever be Ralph and Ralph only." He looked at the Grave in front him. "Thanks Jodie." He walked back and got in the car, it drove off.


    Ralph is sitting in his room, holding his head with his hand. "Why am I getting those memories all of a sudden."


    18 years ago


    Ralph came back from the school and ran towards his mother Riya, who was holding her 1 year old daughter. His mother stopped him by holding onto his forehead. "It''s dangerous to run around when the baby''s around, you might hurt her."


    "Sorry..." he pouted. His eyes sparkled all of a sudden. "Look at what I drew," he showed her his drawing, it was a drawing of their family.


    She just glanced at it. "Okay, now go and eat your snacks, it''s on the table."


    The night came and the next day was Sunday, he went to the living room to see his dad there, he ran towards him. "Dad, you are back."


    "Stop there, won''t you let me play with your sister in peace?" said his father Joseph.


    "Can we play catch today?"


    "No, I am busy."


    "Hey, how about we go out for Lunch today?" said Joseph.


    "Yeah, that''s a great idea," said Riya.


    "Then what are you waiting for? Go and get ready."


    Ralph was happy to hear and changed his clothes to go with his family. He got ready and went to his parents, Riya was looking around. "Mom, are you looking for me? I''m here."


    "Yes! Since you are at home, look after the house, also your food is in the kitchen, it''s the leftovers of yesterday." Joseph called them from outside, "come fast!" Riya picked her baby and got in the car outside. He stood in front of the door still until his parents came back.


    After a few months their little daughter passed away due to fever. When the funeral was over, he went to his parents. Riya looked at her son and started crying, she hugged him tight. "Why did you put my little sister in a box? Where is she?"


    "She won''t come back."


    From then on, his parents showed much love for their son.


    17 years ago


    Ralph was trying to sleep but he got scared and went to his parents room. He was trying to reach the door knob. "I can''t anymore," he heard Joseph''s voice, "I can''t see him as my own son anymore."


    "I feel the same way," said Riya.


    "It''s not the same Riya! He''s your own son, I can''t get over my daughter''s death by loving another man''s son."


    "What do you mean? I never wanted to be his mother, it was an accident that happened when I was 18! I hate him because he has his father''s face, but I will gladly see him as my daughter. So I can deceive myself into thinking that he''s the one who died."


    Ralph went back to his room, he didn''t sleep the whole night and the morning came. He looked at himself in the mirror. "I will be her, so that I can make them happy. I''m not Ralph from today onwards."


    Present


    Ralph was sitting in his room, holding his head with both his hands. "Why are these memories coming back to me all of a sudden?¡±

 Cornered

    Fred and his policemen now reached the police station with Akbar. Fred unlocked the lock up and put him in there, Akbar walked inside. "Took ya long enough, dummy," said Evelyn.


    "Well, at least I survived longer than you," he walked to her and sat beside her. "Now that we have come this far the past is flashing into my memory."


    14 years ago


    Akbar was waiting for Ralph near the lake. Ralph came from afar and waved at him, his friends were behind him, Akbar waved back. "This is Akbar," said Ralph. He then pointed at his friends and introduced them one by one. "This is Amal, John, Robert."


    "Hey, nice to meet you," said Robert.


    "As you must have guessed we are Ralph''s friends," said Amal.


    ''Ralph? Oh this kid''s real name is Ralph.'' "He..Hello," Akbar got anxious because it was his first time talking to a group of kids after not talking to anyone for years.


    Everyone was weirded out by that, Ralph caught up on that and decided to change the mood, "so guys, let''s play."


    "Erm, play what?" said Robert.


    "What do you mean by play what? We are here to play right?" Ralph made a pouting face, "there should be no questions here." He took out the badminton rackets from his bags. "Let''s play this."


    "If we play badminton one will be left out," said Robert.


    "Let''s play doubles."


    "Doubles? Then I am gonna be in Ralph''s team," said Amal.


    "You were last time, now it''s my turn," said John.


    "No, I will be playing with Akbar, you guys team together," Ralph looked at Robert and grinned, "you will be the referee."


    "Knew it..." Robert sighed, "have fun," he smiled.


    "N..no Robert you can team with-"


    Robert cut off Akbar''s words and handed him the badminton. "Shut up now or I will really let you be left out," he patted Akbar''s back and smiled, "have fun."


    Ralph put his hand over Akbar''s shoulders. "It''s settled then," he said softly, "Akbar."


    Akbar slowly made connections with all of Ralph''s friends. Amal and John changed schools next year. "It''s just us now," said Ralph . He gave both of them a smile. "We will be friends forever, right?"


    "Right," said Akbar and Robert in unison.


    Akbar was waiting for the school bus one day and saw Robert standing alone, he ran to him. "Where''s Ralph?"


    "He didn''t come today," said Robert.


    "Robert..." "Hm?" "What do you think of Ralph, like do you get mad when he''s too mean to you."


    Robert laughed. "Why should I? He''s my bestfriend. I can definitely understand what he''s up to."


    "It seems you respect him alot."


    "Definitely."


    One day the school bus was cancelled and Akbar saw Ralph exiting the school alone, he ran to him and pulled his arms. "Where are you going alone?"


    "House."


    "Alone?"


    "Well, Robert is absent today, so his mom won''t be here to pick him up, so I will have to go alone."


    "My mom will drop you."


    "No, my house is on the other way..."


    "It''s fine Umma will manage." His mother came with her car, while they were talking to each other. He asked Ralph to get in, and got in the car with him, Raziya looked back. "Umma, can we drop him to his house, his house is on the other side."


    Raziya''s eyes sparkled with Joy. "Of course dear!" she drove off the car, "so are you his new friend he was talking about?"


    "Yes," said Akbar, "he''s Jodie... I mean his real name is Ralph."


    "Thank you, Ralph, you... saved my son."


    Ralph''s eyes became teary, he quickly shook it off and smiled.


    8 years ago


    "Guys this is my... no our new friend, Evelyn," Ralph emphasised on the word our. He introduced Robert and Akbar to Evelyn.


    "A girl on our team, you will be the queen here I guess," said Akbar.


    "Nah Akbar, you will forever be our queen bee," said Ralph.


    "That''s not funny..." said Akbar.


    "By the way nice to meet you, Ms.Evelyn," said Robert.


    6 years ago in their hideout


    "Guys, this kid here is so obsessed with our group. He''s saying he wants to join us and he''s already attached to me," said Robert.


    Ralph walked to Jerry, kneeled and looked him in the eyes, "will you be loyal and useful to us?"


    "I... I will."


    "Then you are welcome," Ralph gave him a smile and walked away.


    ''It feels like he and the Jodie I met years ago are different... He has changed,'' Akbar thought.


    A year ago


    "Guys I want to do something interesting," said Ralph.


    "Interesting?" said Robert. "Everything you tell us to do is interesting in some way or the other. Like the time you told us to not meet up with each other and act like complete strangers."


    "Hmm, let''s play a game with a bunch of people."


    "What do you mean?" said Akbar.


    "Yes, quite a fun game. We will have to kidnap a few people for that though."


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "What the fuck? No way Ralph, are you out of your mind?" said Akbar.


    "You can leave if you are against this, but I expect you to keep your mouth shut, for the sake of our friendship," Ralph walked out.


    "Why are you all fine with what he just said?" He walked to Robert, "why aren''t you stopping him, you are his childhood friend right?!"


    "I have been trying to change him for years, I don''t think I can change him anymore, now all I can do is to follow him."


    Ralph came with a bag the next day, "I have made my perfect plan."


    "What is it?" said Akbar, uninterested.


    "I think you decided to stay, Akbar."


    Ralph took his bag, unzipped it and flipped it, many photos and few papers fell to the table, "So I have gathered the info of all these people. I made a list of all the smart people we are gonna use."


    "So, you have been stalking people, Ralph..."


    Ralph was silent for a few seconds. "I want you all to call me by "Boss" from now on."


    "Why?" said Akbar.


    "I don''t want you accidentally blurting out my name if somehow you got caught. From today onwards, I will be your boss even in your thoughts."


    Present


    "So many things happened ever since became friends with-"


    Evelyn put her finger over his mouth. "Shh, you might end up saying too much," she took her finger off. "Well, it seems like the Boss is all alone now."


    "Yeah... let''s see how they are going to catch them, if they even can," said Akbar.


    Back to the house


    Trevor and Misty are sitting in the living room talking to each other. "All the helpers of the culprit are caught, according to our calculations," said Trevor.


    "That''s quite a calculation you have got there," said Ralph.


    ''Another ninja.'' Trevor squinted his eyes. "Uhm, yeah."


    Ralph sat on the sofa with them. "So tell me what''s your next step?"


    "Next step?" said Misty. "We don''t want to tell you, even if we had something going on in our end."


    "Why not?"


    "Are you forgetting the fact that you are one of the possible suspects?" said Trevor.


    "And what makes you think that the person you are talking to isn''t the culprit?" He looked at both of them. "This question is forwarded to both of you by the way."


    "We are only talking to one person at the moment," said Misty. They both raised their hands and pointed at Ralph. "And it''s you," said Trevor.


    Ralph sighed. "Well, I''m completely aware that you guys understood what I meant." He stood up. "Seems like you guys already have an Idea who it could be."


    Misty smirked. "Why do you look like you also know who it is, you always looked that way."


    Vincent entered the living room, "Yo, you guys are being too rude to my friend here. If it''s okay to discuss with each other, it wouldn''t hurt to tell your plan to him either, right Ralph?" Vincent winked at Ralph.


    "Right...."


    Few days ago


    Ralph and Vincent were laying on a field. "Hey..." said Ralph. "Hm?" "Are you the second kidnapper?"


    Vincent laughed. "No, and why can''t I be the first kidnapper if you really suspect me?" Vincent sat up. "Is it because you are the original kidnapper?" he stiffened his eyes.


    "No!" Ralph sat up. "Don''t you remember I already asked you if you were the kidnapper the other day." ''What a dumbass I am, why did I ask that...''


    Vincent looked at the sky, the wind started blowing. "It''s fine even if you are the kidnapper, the truth is I already believe it''s you. I think you are interesting because I think you are the kidnapper."


    ''That''s the conclusion I came to for this guy, that''s why he was one of my picks. That''s also why I''m rather unguarded with him, but I feel that was a mistake.''


    "What are you thinking? Or are you just shocked I found you so easily."


    "No way, I''m just surprised how you can come to such absurd conclusions."


    Present


    ''This guy...''


    "And who are you to say that? Trevor, I think we have made a mistake in our calculations," said Misty.


    "You guys are annoying, I''m leaving," said Vincent.


    At night


    Ralph was sitting in his room and suddenly he got a message notification from an unknown number on his phone. It read "Hey kidnapper."


    Ralph opened the chat.


    Ralph: What do you mean? I''m not a kidnapper.


    Who are you?


    ???: Me? You know me very well, and nobody is as eager to meet me as you, I can say for sure.


    Ralph thought about something.


    Ralph: I get it. It''s one of you who''s trying to impersonate the second kidnapper. Even if I''m the kidnapper, I don''t think the same tactics will work thrice.


    ???: Hm, that''s what you think about me, huh?


    The unknown number sent an image, it was an image of Scott tied to a chair, Ralph panicked.


    ???: Now now, don''t panic, it''s an old picture from when I kidnapped this moron. Nobody else but the real kidnapper should have it, right?


    Ralph: What makes you think that I''m the kidnapper?


    ???: So many things about you just doesn''t seem to sit right, that''s it, bye.


    Ralph: Hey, wait.


    The unknown number went offline. ''Could it really be the kidnapper...''


    The next day


    Ralph unlocked his car, Vincent saw this and came outside. "Where are you going?" said Vincent.


    "Investigation."


    "I''m coming too, wait for me."


    "I thought you weren''t interested in it."


    "I never said that, I will be right back."


    They both left in the car after a while. "So what''s up with you suddenly going for an investigation?" said Vincent.


    ''Not revealing it will make me more suspicious.'' "I got a message from the second Kidnapper?" said Ralph who was driving the car.


    "Second Kidnapper? It''s probably like the other two times, maybe they suspect you?"


    "Yes, they suspect me, but there''s a catch. This person who suspects me is most likely that kidnapper."


    "Why?"


    "I will tell you but first I have to make the most likely to definitely¡­"


    "Hm?" Vincent didn''t get what Ralph meant.


    They reached Scott''s home after a while. They walked to the house, and rang the calling bell. Scott Opened the door. "Who are you?"


    "Hello Mr.Scott, we are here to inquire about your kidnap," said Ralph.


    "Again? At Least you aren''t rude like that girl."


    ''That girl? Is he talking about Evelyn, she does lose her temper quite a lot.''


    "What do you want?"


    "It''s a bit confidential..." "Hm." Ralph took his phone out from his pocket. "Does this picture ring some bells for you?"


    Scott looked at the image. "Isn''t that me? And that place looks like the place I was kept when I was kidnapped." He took the phone from his hands. "Yes! A picture of me was taken by the kidnapper when they kidnapped me, at this exact pose." Scott looked at Ralph. "Where did you get this from?"


    "Hmm, thank you Mr.Scott, it''s time for us to take our leave," Ralph took his phone from Scott''s hand.


    Back at the house


    "We have been gathering clues since day 1 and at this point everything is pointing towards...." said Trevor.


    "Ralph...." said Misty.


    Day after they arrived at the house


    "So far we got the info that everyone except Mary was at the said locations. Well, some were in rather public places so it''s hard to notice them," said Trevor.


    "Yeah, but why would Mary of all people lie about it, I thought she was in the clear..."


    "I felt the same, we will get to the bottom of it anyways, I mean we have to. We are in real big trouble here after all. So, what''s next, are we going back to the house or are going to continue with the investigations? I would like to continue."


    "Yeah, I would like the same, let''s make use of," she searched through her bag, and took out the group photo, "this picture I took."


    "You have a copy? So we can investigate individually."


    She handed him a copy of the photo. "Here, I don''t really trust you and you could fiddle with leads, but imma trust you for now."


    "Same goes for you, see ya."


    "Meet me here in 30 minutes."


    Misty went to a store in the town centre, and showed the shopkeeper the photo. "Do you know any of them from the photo?"


    "Well, a weird question," The shopkeeper sighed. "Which new trouble have you got caught into, Misty?"


    "You don''t want to help me? I see... Ms.Rose."


    "No, let me have a closer look," she took the picture from her hand. "This is..." she pointed at Meera, "this is Dr.Meera."


    "Doctor?"


    "Yes, she is a psychologist, she comes here with her patients for some therapy or something."


    "Do you know anyone else?"


    "Ah... I know everyone."


    ''Ofcourse, she knows everyone.'' "Do you perhaps know if these people have any connections with each other?"


    "Well, Annie and Vishnu were Two of Meera''s many patients. Catherine and Satoshi were childhood friends. This Ralph was friends with Akbar and Evelyn. Vincent... he''s."


    "I know that already..."


    "Okay then, I guess that''s it."


    "Do you know any of the people that''s related to all of them?"


    "If I had to say that, it would take the whole day to say everything."


    "It''s alright then, thank you."


    Trevor decided to Inquire in the school, so he went to the principal''s office. He went inside the office and sat on the chair in front of the principal. "Uhm, who are you? And what are you doing here?"


    "I''m here to gather important information, so-"


    The principal rang the bell. "SECURITY, THERE''S AN INTRUDER."


    "Maam, I''m your ex-homeschooled student, Trevor. Help me!"


    "What do you want?"


    "Have any of these students studied here?" He gave her the photo.


    "Yes, this is Akbar, Right?"


    "Yes, it is!"


    "And this is Ralph, they are ex-students of this school."


    "Were they friends or something?"


    "Yes, very good friends."


    "Do you know any other friends of theirs?"


    "As far I know they were good friends with a student named Robert."


    "Do you have a photo?"


    "I shouldn''t show it to you, even if you are an old student."


    He stood up and bowed. "Thank you ma''am.¡±

 Case Solved

    They both met up after 30 minutes. "So, you got any info?" said Trevor.


    "Yes," Misty Explained everything to him. "Do you have something?"


    Trevor crossed his arms. "Hmm, the Info I got is correlated with yours.


    "What do you mean?" said Misty.


    Trevor revealed his findings to her. "Did we just find our culprits?"


    "I guess so, but let''s not get to that conclusion just yet because apparently the kidnapper was kinda stalking us, so maybe they..."


    "...are trying to frame someone?"


    "Yes, let''s try to gather more proof."


    Present


    Vincent and Ralph are now back home. ''So this time, it''s the real one,'' Ralph thought.


    "Hey Ralph, you are quite enthusiastic to catch the killer recently," said Misty.


    "Ofcourse I am," Ralph looked at her sharply.


    "Yo bro, calm your eyes, or else I will..." she walked closer to him, "bulge those out," she smiled cheerfully.


    "Hmm, sorry."


    "So, what did you find out?"


    "Misty, you know what-"


    Ralph stopped Vincent from saying anymore. "Why should we share our findings with someone who won''t do the same to us."


    "Okay then," Misty shrugged, "you don''t have to..."


    Vincent looked at Ralph. "Are you going to keep it a secret? Now my doubts are starting to get stronger, you really are the kidnapper I guess."


    "That''s not it, anybody could be the second kidnapper, I don''t want them to.... think that they have gained power over us. Also, didn''t you say that you like me because you think I''m the kidnapper, if I''m really the kidnapper shouldn''t you be shutting up. I''m not saying I''m the kidnapper though...."


    "Hmm, I don''t really care either way. Let''s just say you aren''t the original kidnapper, does that mean you trust me and that''s why you told me this of all people."


    ''Not really, but this guy joined me so I had to tell him.'' "Yes."


    At night


    Everyone was eating dinner, suddenly Misty got a call. "Oh, it''s from Uncle Fred, I will be right back."


    Misty came back after a minute. "I got bad news."


    "What is it?" said Mary.


    "Another kidnap has been registered."


    "Is it the first or second kidnapper?" said Ralph.


    "Well, Uncle says that there are signs pointing towards it being the first kidnapper."


    Ralph came back to his room after having dinner. ''Is this person trying to frame me for what they did? They are such a pain in the ass,'' he smiled creepily, ''if this person wants me to kidnap, I will just fulfil their wish.'' He put his hand over his head. ''No, what am I thinking, I have already decided to stop.''


    He then got a message from the second kidnapper.


    ???: Check your spare phone.


    ''I see, they want me to make sure that they are really after the kidnapper. If I checked my spare right now, you can confirm that I''m the kidnapper, quite clever of you...'' He smirked, ''I have just the right solution for it.''


    He went to the living room and called everyone over there. "I want to tell you all something important."


    "Hmm, what is this important thing?" said Misty.


    "At first, I didn''t want to tell you this because I don''t know who''s real and who''s fake."


    "I can definitely see who''s fake," said Trevor.


    "Stop it Trevor, you can keep your speculation for some other time. So what I was talking about was..." He showed the chats to them. "Whoever the original kidnapper is, should just come out at this point, this second one has lost it."


    Everyone was dead silent. "I guess you are all confused about what to do. Well, the only thing we can do right now is to go to sleep. It''s too late to do anything," said Vincent.


    Everyone went to their rooms. When it was midnight, he got out through the window wearing a hoodie and slowly reached the window side of Vishnu and got down. ''As Misty said there are blind spots for the camera. However, no matter how sneaky someone is, the camera will definitely catch someone going out, how did they get out that day. Like the camera can''t exactly capture which side I came from neither my face, but the camera captured nothing that day.'' He walked out of the house and walked for quite a while, then stopped and dug his spare phone out. "Now it''s time for me to take a look at what my buddy has in stock for me."


    ???: You should have already guessed that it was me who kidnapped this person.


    Ralph: Ofcourse, I know it''s definitely not me, so it has to be you, duh.


    ???: But now everyone will think you are the one behind it.


    Ralph: Not anymore, I''m texting them that it isn''t me. Like, they know that this is the original kidnapper, maybe they won''t trust me. However, they will put you in the blacklist too, that''s a win for me.


    ???: You can''t anymore.


    Ralph: What?


    Ralph''s phone screen suddenly went black, and letters started to show up. ''Hacking succeeded.'' He tried to turn it on again, it turned on but he wasn''t able to use any of the apps. He ran back to the house. ''Is it... Is it Trevor? But will he go that far?''


    He got back to his room the same way he got out. ''If I''m right, that fake kidnapper is trying to...''


    He took his real phone out and opened the suspects group chat. ''Yes, I am right.'' There was a message from his spare number in the group chat


    ???: I think you guys heard the news already, I''m here to confirm that it was indeed me.


    Tomorrow, you will get another news, and that won''t be a pleasant news either.


    ''What do they mean...''


    He wasn''t able to sleep the whole night. At around 5 am, Ralph got a personal message from his spare number.


    ???: Hey, I have a surprise for you on the front door, come and see.


    Ralph quickly went there, when he reached there, he saw a body. His eyes fluttered. ''Wh..what is that? That''s not a corpse, right? This guy isn''t so out of his mind to kill a person, right?'' He gathered his courage and hit himself. "Whatever it is, I have to face it." He went closer to the body and flipped them, it was the body of a lifeless man. "Who''s.... this?" The man''s body was very cold.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Ralph?" he heard Vincent''s voice from behind. "What is.... this?"


    "You have got the wrong idea.... it''s... IT''S NOT ME!"


    "Why are you here?"


    "I got a message.... and when I came here, I saw this corpse. I swear, it''s not me."


    "It has to be the kidnapper''s work, and you are the kidnapper!"


    "HOW ARE YOU SO SURE?!"


    "I have got so many hints from day 1!"


    "I don''t care if you think I''m the kidnapper, but don''t think of me as a killer."


    "Huh, but the kidnapper and the killer are the same person, right?"


    "I think... I think it''s done by the second kidnapper. I don''t care about anything anymore but whoever did this needs to be punished, it''s very evil."


    "You aren''t making any sense here." Vincent called everyone to the spot.


    "So you''re telling me, the second kidnapper did it?" said Misty.


    "Yes, Forget about the kidnapper, he never did something like a murder, but this person is a much bigger threat."


    "Hmm, Ralph, could you give me your phone? I want to see the said Message."


    "Uhm...Here but..." he handed her the phone.


    "But?" She started to look through the chats. "Nothing is making sense here. You are saying the second kidnapper killed this man but the message you got, the message in our group chat, all are from the kidnapper."


    "The kidnapper''s phone was probably hacked or something..."


    "And how do you know that?" said Trevor.


    "Ralph, can you come with me for a while? I want to talk to you about something," said Misty.


    They went a little farther from everyone else. "What do you want to talk about?"


    "You just admitted to me that you are the kidnapper," she whispered, "only you and I know someone ever hacked your phone."


    Ralph''s eyes widened. "You are..."


    "Yes, I definitely am," she smiled. "You have won but there''s a catch now, they won''t find me without finding you, you are going to take this secret to your grave. I will give you more proof now. Your spare phone is back to normal now, you can see my new message."


    Ralph smiled. "This strategy again, but I am really not the kidnapper."


    "You think it''s my strategy, just go and check your spare."


    He went to his room when nobody was looking and opened his chats.


    ???: I''m Misty.


    Now you know it''s not a strategy.


    Along the way, I realised you were right.


    It''s more fun being the villain, now I don''t even care about catching you.


    The police arrived after a while. Fred questioned everyone one by one. It''s Ralph''s turn now. "Sir, what is more important to you, justice or your personal feelings..."


    "Hm? Justice I guess."


    "Then I want to tell you that... Your Misty killed this man. I am the first kidnapper... This is my chat with the second kidnapper," he handed him the phone.


    Fred pulled out the handcuffs. "Your plan worked," he handcuffed Ralph, "Misty."


    Moments before the truth or dare


    Misty was writing the name of everyone on the slip, she felt someone''s presence and looked up, it was Vincent. "What are you plotting with this game?"


    "Nothing, I just want everyone to calm down."


    "I can help you with whatever it is. You know, I can''t go against you."


    "I think letting you know just one thing won''t hurt," she picked a lot and looked at him. "This lot will choose you, and once it does, you have to ask Ralph the thing I want."


    "Hmm, okay."


    Misty and Trevor were talking with each other in the CCTV room after the game was finished. "So far, Ralph is losing," said Misty.


    "Yeah, he reacted the worst to our questions. We still have to investigate more about everyone else though, because it could be others trying to frame them."


    "Yeah, we still need to have an eye on Ralph," Misty started to think, "I just got an Idea! Let''s create a second kidnapper."


    "Second kidnapper?"


    She took her phone and dialled a number. "Mr. Scott, meet me at Medieval street, you have a new job."


    Misty and Trevor went to Medieval street. "So you want me to pretend to be kidnapped by someone?"


    "Say the things I told you when asked about their appearance, don''t mess up, it''s a very important mission."


    "Alright."


    The day they visited the police


    "Okay Uncle, we will come back tomorrow, but I have one more favour to ask of you," said Misty.


    "What is it?"


    "I want you to prepare a dead body for me."


    "That''s almost impossible for me!"


    "Keyword, Almost."


    "No Misty, you aren''t understanding," he looked at Misty and saw the determination in her eyes. "Alright."


    Present


    "You know, we were trying to gather info from all of you by talking to y''all. Eventually that helped us shortlist the suspects," said Misty.


    "One person was too indifferent towards us. That was you, you always tried to avoid convo with us of all people. That was our call to do two things. One, to strengthen our suspicions against you. Two, to have some helping hand, that helping hand was Vincent," said Trevor.


    Ralph chuckled. "I thought you liked interesting people."


    "Yeah I do, that''s why I helped Misty," said Vincent.


    "When you decided to start investigating upon learning about the second kidnapper, that made us believe that you have a 60% chance to be the kidnapper," said Misty.


    "With Vincent''s findings, we managed to come to the conclusion that your group has a 70% chance to be the kidnappers. On the day, the hostages were rescued, something Evelyn did raised it to 80%," said Trevor.


    "The involvement of Ralph and Jerry made it to 90%," Fred smiled.


    "Yes, Uncle Fred and you should have already figured that the hacking was done by Mr.Trevor the great."


    "Also, nobody got kidnapped last night, that was a bluff."


    "Alright, I admit my defeat, let''s go, sir," Ralph walked to the car.


    Fred and Ralph got in the car and it drove off. Everyone looked at it while the car was going further, the wind was blowing just like every other day.


    "So, it''s over," said Mary.


    "Yes, now, you are all free to go back to your lives," said Misty.


    "Well, let''s pack our bags and go back to our homes," said Meera.


    "But this is my home though," said Satoshi.


    "I was talking to others."


    "Hey wait, we should all actually stay here for one more day. We should celebrate," said Annie.


    "I want to go home. I don''t know why but something in me keeps telling me that, but since someone like Annie wants to celebrate this somehow, I''m in," said Mary.


    "I feel it''s best to go back," said Catherine.


    "I feel the same way," said Misty.


    "I agree," said Trevor.


    "Me too, also I have something important to do so I am leaving either way," said Cheng, "I will leave around 10 am."


    "Okay bye then, we will celebrate without you," said Annie.


    "You seem like a completely different person, Annie," said Cheng.


    Everyone decided to stay for one more day. Trevor and Misty looked at eachother and sighed.


    Afternoon


    Misty was packing her bags and saw Satoshi walking towards her. "Hey."


    "Hey, good job on catching the culprit."


    "Please don''t give me compliments. I don''t know if I should be sarcastic or be nice in such situations."


    Satoshi laughed. "Sorry then."


    "Thank you very much for letting us use this house, or should I say mansion, without any hesitation, you are really awesome."


    "You are doing the same thing that you said you don''t like."


    Misty chuckled. "Hm, sorry."


    At night


    "Wow Satoshi, You really did decorate it royally," said Misty, while being amused by the decorations.


    "Since everyone said that they want to celebrate, I decided it should be extravagant...."


    Misty got a call from Fred at that moment, she picked up the call. "Did you call me to give me some bad news? Is it something like Ralph running away?"


    "It is definitely bad news, but it''s not the bad news you think it is?"


    "Then, what is it?"


    "I need your help, yours and Trevor''s. One for the proofs and stuff. Two, and the MOST important one, I need an alibi for the usage of the corpse we just used. Oh god Misty, I keep getting in trouble because of you."


    "Okay I''m coming with Trevor," she hung up the call and looked at Satoshi. "Well, I can''t get part in the celebration because I have to go."


    Trevor heard this. "Too bad, but have fun," he grinned.


    Misty smiled. "Yeah, too bad," that smile went to Rage, "for you and me both. Now, come with me!"


    "What? No...." Misty dragged Trevor outside with her.


    The party started. They all ate the best food and drinks, played a few games, danced, sang, and did everything they could do.


    Mary was standing outside and looking at the night sky with the beautiful moon and shiny little stars. She heard footsteps behind her and looked back. "Oh Alex."


    "It''s a beautiful night today," said Alex.


    "Yes, totally unlike me," her eyes softened.


    Alex sighed. "You might not be beautiful like the moon but...."


    "Hm?" Mary looked at Alex.


    "... I like how you aren''t the most beautiful girl in the world. I like how you aren''t that smart. I like the fact that you get annoyed easily. I like your loudness. I like.... everything which is you. I love you! Mary."


    "What?"


    "I have been observing you ever since you came here. You are so kind, you are just so amazing. Will you give me a chance?"


    "You are saying I only have faults to love," Mary rolled her eyes.


    "No! I was saying I love everything about you. I just said that you were kind. Mary, I can say a million other things-"


    Mary chuckled, she then leaned in and gave him a kiss, it was only a few seconds long but it definitely delivered her love for him. "Now, we are officially dating," she smiled and ran back inside.


    Vishnu was in his room looking outside through the window, the wind was blowing hard, his hair blowing with the wind. ''Hm, it''s quite windy today.'' he thought. "Well, I like it anyways." He went dead silent as the wind touched his hair and made it fly in rhythm. ''Maybe tomorrow''s the day when I will see the day... I have been chasing for years. I lived 28 years, waiting for it to arrive in my life. From tomorrow onwards, I can finally live a life with peace.''


    The next day


    Misty and Trevor came back home after clearing everything in the police station.


    "Your Uncle had no reason to ask for me. He''s as shit as ever," said Trevor.


    "Okay, I will tell him that for you."


    "I was just kidding..."


    Misty unlocked the door to see someone from their group lying face flat on the ground still, in a puddle of blood. Misty and Trevor looked at each other in terror.

 Loss of Friends

    "What... happened here?" said Misty.


    "It seems he is already dead," said Trevor.


    "Yes, I''m calling the cops." Misty dialled the emergency number.


    "I''m gonna check up on everyone else."


    "911, What''s your emergency?"


    "One of my friends is dead!"


    "One of them? May I know the name of your friend?"


    "We haven''t I-"


    Suddenly, Trevor called out for her. "Misty!"


    Misty ran to him. "What happened?!"


    "L... look," Trevor pointed forward. She looked at the direction he pointed at, and was frightened at the sight of what she saw.


    "Hello ma''am? Is everything alright?" The Dispatcher said.


    "We... just found another victim, Satoshi... he''s dead too." Satoshi was laying in the middle of the dining room, there was a gunshot Mark in his forehead.


    "Alright ma''am, just tell us your location, the police will be there in a short while."


    Trevor woke everyone else up, fortunately everyone else was alright. The police and the ambulance came in about 10 minutes. Misty talked with one of the police, while other policemen got inside the house to examine.


    "What the heck happened yesterday?" said Tony, he was visibly angry.


    Meera looked at everyone who was gathered, desperately, then she felt someone touch her shoulder, she looked back to see Catherine. "I am... sorry."


    Meera breathed heavily. "Wh..why are you sorry? It''s not him ya know? It''s probably some random person, he," Meera sobbed, "just went out for a walk."


    The police flipped the first body over to confirm their identity, it was Vishnu. Meera started to cry the moment his death was confirmed. A tear fell from Catherine''s eye as she saw her crying.


    "We all knew it was Vishnu the moment everyone gathered together, only he was missing." Alex looked towards the dining room. "Apart from Satoshi."


    "Meera loved him very much, Alex!" Mary sobbed.


    Tony was staring blankly at the dead body of Vishnu. The attendant came to pick his body up and slowly, he picked up the body and walked past Tony. Tony''s expression changed to anger suddenly. "You can''t keep the words you have said, you are a waste of a man!" He punched the wall, tears started to form in his eyes.


    "Cursing your dead friend or hurting the wall won''t bring him back," he heard Trevor''s voice and saw him standing beside him. Trevor had a serious look on his face. "That is why, cry it out." Trevor walked out, Tony''s eyes fluttered, Tears started to fall from his eyes, he cried uncontrollably.


    The police tried to look through the CCTV footage, but somebody had already destroyed all the setups in the CCTV room.


    The police left after examining the crime scene, Vishnu and Satoshi''s body was sent for postmortem.


    Everyone was sitting in the room in dead silence, this was the first time it was this silent in a room where all of them were present. Meera broke the silence. "It''s all Misty''s fault."


    "Huh? What do you mean?" said Trevor.


    "Wasn''t it her idea to stay in the same house?" said Tony.


    "So?"


    "What do you mean by so?" said Tony. "If she hadn''t told us to stay together we wouldn''t have been here. THEY wouldn''t have been here yesterday!"


    "It was needed to catch the culprit, and she wanted all of us to leave yesterday but you had other plans, now shut your trap!"


    "No matter how much you try to defend her, it doesn''t change the fact it''s her-"


    "SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU DON''T SAY A WORD ANYMORE," said Alex. Both of them stopped arguing, everyone was surprised to see Alex angry for the first time. "I know that it''s not easy to bear with what just happened, but please stay calm. If we don''t stay calm we won''t be able to catch the culprit," he looked at everyone firmly, "don''t you want that to happen."


    "Yes guys, blaming each other won''t help. We have to find a way to find this killer and make that killer pay!" said Mary.


    The front door suddenly opened, Cheng came through the door. "Cheng!" said Mary.


    "I just heard about it, I will help you guys too."


    Cheng talked with everyone. "You talk about creating a plan but we can''t really create a plan together, because one of us is the culprit." He gave everyone a soft smile. "What you all need right now isn''t a plan but some rest, I need it too."


    Everyone left the living room after a while, Misty walked out of the house and went to the lake. She sat by the lakeside and embraced the wind. "I''m sorry Vishnu, Satoshi."


    "Why are you apologising?" said Trevor.


    "Where did you... come from?"


    "Well, I saw you leaving the house alone, so I decided to follow you. Now, answer me."


    "People keep on dying because of me, I should at least be sorry!"


    "That''s not true Misty, it''s totally not your fault. Let''s just say that the things that happened, happened because of all of us meeting, still it wouldn''t be your fault. It was Ralph who brought us all together!"


    "Hmm..."


    Trevor looked at her for a few seconds and sat beside her. "Ya know I felt the same way you felt long ago, I mean around 10 years ago."


    "When your parents died?"


    "Yes! You are the best at deduction!" Trevor laughed, his laugh slowly faded into a slight smile. "That day they decided to end it all because of what I had done. It was supposed to be a family suicide but God wanted me to suffer even more so I, who is at the fault, somehow survived."


    "Don''t.... blame yourself for that. Also, all that happened long ago, don''t bring that up now and make yourself feel miserable just to make me feel better."


    "Girl, you are ruining the mood, I am telling you this because I want to tell you something else. I decided to try that, suicide that is, once more, but then I met a certain person. He knew what was going on in my mind, it was as if he were god. He told me this." The man''s words came to his mind as he said it to Misty.


    "It''s true that what you did was what started the conflict in your family but a lot of other things could have gone the other way too. For example, your parents had to choose a family suicide as the solution for this problem. Stop blaming yourself for what happened. Some things are destined to happen. If we try to look too much into it, we will only have time to find our faults. According to your logic, God is the reason we are suffering because he started it all by creating us. If you make a mistake in life, make sure to have regret, make sure that such a thing will never happen but don''t let it hold you back, don''t let it destroy you."


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    Trevor gave Misty a warm smile. "I want to say the same thing to you, even though you did nothing wrong here."


    The wind blew slowly. "Thank you, Trevor," she smiled.


    Catherine was standing right outside the house and looking at the sky, suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked back to see Mary. "Oh hey, what''s up?" she gave her a slight smile.


    "You haven''t eaten anything today and it''s noon already, you should eat something," she raised the food in her hands.


    "I... don''t feel hungry."


    "I see, what... are you thinking?"


    "I was thinking about Vishnu, he was certain that he would have a perfect life once it all ended. I''m sure it would have gone like that if he had survived but now..."


    "Yes, I feel bad for him, as well as Satoshi. Satoshi wasn''t in the best mood lately, it looked like he had so many problems in his head. He wasn''t able to be at peace in his last moments."


    Catherine bit her lips in frustration. "That''s what makes this even more painful to me. I can''t bear the fact that he died in a desperate state."


    "You really made a strong bond with everyone here. It would have been hard for you no matter who died."


    "That''s not true, Mary. Satoshi isn''t just like anyone else for me. In fact I would have stayed calm and made plans to find the culprit if it wasn''t him."


    "Why is that?"


    "Because," Catherine looked at the sky, "he was my childhood friend. We did end up cutting contact with each other but he always occupied a spot in my heart. All these years, I was praying to God to have a reunion with him and he did in fact hear my prayers just so he could make me suffer later on."


    "I''m sorry..."


    "Hm," Catherine''s gaze turned from the sky to Mary, "I''m sorry for you too... You started dating and bad news followed that, it must be tough."


    "It''s the least of our concerns right now," said Mary.


    At Evening


    Misty and Trevor are standing in front of the police station. Fred came out and walked to them. "Hey Misty, you said you want to find this killer yourself and this is our first lead on finding them," Fred handed her a file consisting of a few papers.


    "What is this?"


    "Their autopsy report. Well, not the real autopsy report, it will take days for it to be prepared. I just wrote the things the examiners said to me in this paper, it will be of great use to you."


    Trevor and Misty looked at each other. "Thanks," said Misty in a low voice.


    Fred looked at her with a tint of sadness and then gave a warm smile. "Today is their trial, don''t you want to meet them?" Fred looked at Trevor. "Don''t you both want to see them.


    They got inside, Evelyn saw them and ran to see them. "I... heard the news," her eyes wandered in confusion, "what happened there yesterday?" Akbar was still slowly walking towards them.


    "We don''t know, we weren''t even there yesterday," said Misty.


    "So it''s really true?" said Akbar, he had a mixed expression of sadness and shock. "We are sorry guys, we are the reason such a thing happened, it''s because of us we all came together."


    Misty and Trevor said nothing for a few moments. "There''s nothing we can do now, what''s done is done," said Misty.


    "You guys aren''t exactly the ones who should be apologising. I guess you gotta do that, but it''s about time a certain person apologise, especially since their actions cost someone''s life," Trevor glanced at Ralph who was sitting inside the cell.


    "We are leaving, we have so many things to do. We will definitely find the killer and they will pay for what they did," said Misty.


    Misty and Trevor were about to leave and Ralph called out to them. They both looked back at him. "Can you ask your uncle to punch me as hard as he could."


    "What? Why?"


    "I deserved to be punished for indirectly causing Vishnu and Satoshi''s death."


    "If you really want to die, I mean get punched by him just ask him directly, he will fulfil your wish."


    Once Misty and Trevor left, Ralph sat on the floor. "It''s all my fault." Evelyn and Akbar stayed silent because they couldn''t deny that either.


    Evelyn took the cookie package out and sat near Ralph. "Maybe you are right, but don''t you wanna know how they reacted to knowing you were the kidnapper? It was made for me but it works for you too," she took out the cookies with Vishnu and Satoshi''s name.


    He first took Satoshi''s cookie and broke it. "I honestly hate you for what you did, but once you are done with your sentence, if you are ready to repent, I am ready to accept you as my friend," the note read.


    Evelyn broke Vishnu''s cookie. "I don''t know how I feel about anything but all I know is that I have enjoyed my time with all of you, so I could never hate you," it read.


    Tears fell from his eyes like a waterfall. "I am sorry, Vishnu, Satoshi, I didn''t want it all to end up like this."


    Misty and Trevor got out of the station and got in their car, Trevor was just holding the steering wheel, not starting the car. "Uhm Trevor? You wanna read the report right now, isn''t that why you aren''t starting the car?" said Misty.


    "Yes."


    "Okay then, let''s take a look into it." They both stayed in the car and examined the report. Trevor only drove off the car once they were finished.


    They got home and saw a luxurious car parked outside. They got inside the house to see the housemates standing in the living room surrounding an old lady. The old lady saw both of them and signed Trevor and Misty to go over there, they did just that. "We were waiting for you, children, took you a long time."


    "Sorry, we were doing important stuff," said Misty.


    "Is this important thing related to my son?"


    Misty and Trevor immediately caught up on what she meant. "I am sorry, we let your son die even though he allowed us to stay in his house," said Misty.


    "Why are you apologising? It''s not your fault that some heartless person killed my son, there was nothing you could do."


    "Ma''am, are you here because you want us to leave the house? If so, we are more than glad to do that," said Mary.


    "No dear, I was here because I wanted to see you all," she hid her pain with a smile. "Seeing you all will perhaps account to seeing my son alive?" The whole room went silent. "He talked about you all whenever I called him. He seemed to be having such a good time with you guys. I thought everyone felt the same about my son," her eyes were filled with tears, "but I was wrong. If you felt even a little connection with my son, tell me every small thing you know about this whole thing," she sobbed. "Whoever did it, pls tell me why you would want to kill my sweet child." The woman looked at Catherine. "At Least you should know it, right Catherine? I heard from him that you all were trying to solve a case, this time I beg you all to find my son''s killer."


    Misty looked at her in a serious manner. "We will!"


    "And I''m sure ma''am they won''t get away with making a mother cry for her son. That''s why, please don''t cry," said Mary.


    "Yes I agree, don''t cry aunty," said Catherine.


    The old woman wiped her tears off and stood up. "Now you know why I am here. I hope you will find the culprit behind my son''s death."


    Misty accompanied the old woman on her way, they both reached the car. "Ma''am I forgot to ask this but what is your name?"


    The old woman smiled. "Camila Rogers."


    "I promise you, I will find your son''s killer no matter what, Ms. Rogers."


    "I hope you will,'' Camila got inside her car and the driver drove the car off.


    Misty turned back to walk back inside and saw Mary standing beside her. "Where were you?"


    "Hm? I went to the police station. Why do you even care, Mary? Is it because you are the killer? Like, you don''t want us to find the culprit?"


    "I have heard this before, it was from Akbar, the difference is the word killer, it was kidnapper back then. In the end the one who said those words ended up being one of the kidnappers," said Meera, who just got there.


    "Well, if that''s your logic, I want to point out that somebody is acting exactly like how Ralph acted," said Misty. Meera went inside the house without saying anything back. Misty looked at Mary. "I''m sorry for being rude, Mary, our problem right now isn''t just a random wanna be psycho, we have got the real deal in front of us."


    "I understand but I want you to know that I was just worried about you and Trevor."


    Misty smiled lightly. "Of course Mary, thank you."


    "By the way, you shouldn''t have talked like that to Meera, you know how close she was to Vishnu," said Mary.


    "Well, she started it, everyone is frustrated and sad right now. She doesn''t get to be mean to anyone just because she was closest to one of the victims."


    Catherine came outside. "Well you said, you went to the police, what did you find?"


    Misty thought about it. "Well, I want to share it with you all."


    "I... don''t think it''s a good idea, you are forgetting the fact that the killer is among us," said Catherine.


    "Well, what''s with sharing the autopsy report, the killer already knows how they were killed. Moreover, I can get valuable information from you guys who were present here last night if I shared it with you."


    "Autopsy report? But it will take time for them to prepare it"


    "It''s not an official one, Uncle Fred just wrote down what was found."


    "Hmm, I see."


    Misty called everyone to the living room to share the info she got. "So guys, this is," she hesitated for a second, "an unofficial autopsy report of them."


    Usually, whenever things like this were shared to them, they all show different types of emotions and reactions. This time, it was just pure silence because it was too hard for them to comprehend that it was the autopsy report of their newly made friends.


    "So, what''s in it?" said Tony in a low voice.


    Misty was still hesitating, then she brought herself together. "Uncle Fred... just stated their cause of death and described their wounds," she opened the file. "It''s described here that Satoshi died because of brain death as he was shot in the head," she looked at everyone. "There were no other noticeable wounds, and it seems that there was no use of force and the attack happened on the go," she paused for a second. "Now, when it comes to Vishnu, he was having a panic attack moments before death. Apparently he was hit on the head before his death too," she paused and looked at everyone. "The wound which killed him was the stab to his abdomen, he bled out and died within minutes." She closed the file.


    "Did officer Fred say something else to you?" said Cheng.


    "Yes, when the investigators were looking through Satoshi''s room, they found this," Misty took out a bottle of sleeping pills.


    "Sleeping pills?" Alex stiffened his eyes. "Yes! I remember now, yesterday, I immediately felt really tired after eating, maybe it''s because of this. Did the killer use this to make us fall asleep, and did the deed when they made sure we were all asleep?"


    "But why would the victim have it?" said cheng.


    "That''s true, why did Satoshi have it..."


    "Maybe we are overthinking it, he probably has trouble sleeping so he uses it," said Mary.


    "Yes, it could be anything but whatever happened yesterday, whoever did all this, will be unveiled in a few days," said Misty. ''I promise you, Satoshi... Vishnu,'' she thought.

 Gathering Evidence

    "The police checked inside, didn''t they get nothing from it?" said Meera.


    "Yes, even the weapons used were right in front of the crime scene, they didn''t even try to hide it," said Misty.


    "That means we can get their fingerprints right?" said Alex.


    "No, whoever is this culprit has made sure to destroy any evidence possible. They weren''t able to find anything from the crime scene, no fingerprint, no scent, no evidence, nothing."


    "Sadly the weapons used to murder them were this household''s, so we have no scope in finding them through that either," said Trevor.


    "So from what you guys heard or saw so far. Do you have valuable info to share, which could be a turning point in this case? Try reconstructing that day, something useful may come up in your mind," said Misty.


    "Satoshi hasn''t been feeling well lately, I mean mentally. It looked like something was bothering him alot," said Mary.


    "I''m cent percent sure that was because of seeing me after all these years, even I felt the same, we were childhood friends after all," said Catherine.


    "Hm, anything else?" said Misty. Everyone else was silent, "I guess that''s it."


    "Do you guys suspect anyone?" said Trevor.


    "I suspect Annie," said Catherine.


    "Annie? Why Annie?" said Mary.


    "Because..."


    Two days ago


    "Vishnu, you have been looking pale lately," Catherine grinned, "is it because you are the kidnapper."


    "What?! No!"


    "I was just joking... you need to start taking lessons on that."


    "Ah... my bad then."


    "It looks like something is bugging you," she looked into his eyes, "you can talk to me, ya know."


    "It''s just that... I know a secret, and it''s so hard to live with a secret."


    "What secret?" Catherine tilted her head slightly.


    "It''s about... Annie, she..." Vishnu thought for a while then stood up and left. "I don''t think it''s a good idea to tell you."


    ''Well, he didn''t even tell the ones who he''s more close to why would he tell me.'' She stood up and turned to go to her room, then she saw Annie standing there, Catherine was surprised. "Did you hear what we said?"


    "Yes..."


    "Hmm," she looked at the ceiling to avoid eye contact, "what do you think it is?"


    "I don''t know, I don''t have any secrets."


    Catherine smirked. "Hah, of course I''m believing that lie."


    "Also why does a bitch like you care," Annie gave her a blank stare, "you don''t like me, don''t you."


    "No more nice girl acts, I see. Oh yeah, it''s because it''s only me here, that''s why you don''t have to put on your covers."


    Annie smiled, still keeping that blank stare. "Yes!" she laughed. "Nobody''s gonna believe you even if you said this to them."


    "Well, I know how to make them believe, but I don''t give a fuck as long as everything''s alright."


    Present


    "Did such a thing really happen?" Tony looked at Annie. "Annie?"


    Annie sighed. "Okay, I admit, I did act that way, but it was because she was always mean to me. Also, the secret she told him is probably the fact I''m two faced. I don''t know why she cares so much about that thing, maybe it''s because she thinks she failed as a doctor, who knows? But I can assure you it''s not me who killed Vishnu, in fact I really liked him. I was probably the closest one to him after Meera and Tony," she looked around to have a look at everyone.


    Everyone was silent for quite a while. "Wow, I never expected you to talk this much," said Tony.


    "She can do other things, which you never expected from her too," said Catherine.


    "Shut up Catherine, you are blabbering stuff without knowing anything! In Fact I suspect you. You are someone who always keeps your opinions to yourself but somehow you want to reveal it to everyone right now. Totally not suspicious!" said Annie.


    Catherine breathed heavily. "I''m frustrated by my friend''s death, and how dare you say that I''m responsible for his death."


    "Stop it!" said Meera. "Alright, the meeting is dispersed, you guys do whatever you want to or just go die, but please give me a break!"


    "I''m sorry... Meera," said Catherine.


    Everyone left the living room, leaving only Misty and Trevor. "So, what are we going to do now?" said Trevor.


    "The same thing we have been doing since meeting each other."


    "Yeah, we have no other choice." He looked at Misty. "So, what''s next? I feel you need a break before starting investigations, also the police are doing it so we can relax."


    "Hmm," she looked up, "okay then," she smiled at him. "I think you need rest too."


    Meera was sitting in her room, then she saw somebody coming in with a bowl, her eyes fluttered. "Vishnu?"


    The person came inside, it was Mary. "You haven''t eaten anything all day... I thought I should bring you food." She walked closer. "I will just put it here," she put the food on the table and walked to the door. She looked at Meera just before leaving the room, she walked back inside and sat on the bed. "Meera, if you are feeling terrible just know that I''m here.... know that all of us are here, we will help you."


    "Why did they kill someone like him," Meera''s eyes became teary, "he never wanted to do anything sketchy. He never interfered on any matters," Meera held Mary''s hands. "I''m sure Mary, some psychopath killed him for fun," she teared up.


    "Cry all you want, and let it all out," she gave her a hug.


    Meera suddenly pushed Mary apart. "Isn''t it you who killed him?"


    "What... do you mean?"


    "Misty said they found sleeping pills in his room. Alex felt tired after eating the food, I felt it too," Meera looked at her furiously, "and you are the one who cooked the food. So it must be you who put it on our food."


    Mary looked at her helplessly. "No Meera, I would never do that. You are not thinking straight, you should take a little rest."


    Meera went silent for a few seconds. "I hope you are right, if not I will kill you... Now, get out."


    Mary got out of the room teary eyed, and saw Misty standing there. "What are you standing here for? Do you also suspect me, and want to question me?"


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "No, I was just walking by and heard the commotion, I was about to barge in actually," said Misty. Mary wiped her tears and walked off. Misty stopped her, "wait!"


    "Hm? Why?"


    "I don''t really suspect you but I do have some questions to ask."


    "Nah, don''t lie, you wouldn''t if you don''t suspect me. Why don''t you just say it directly," Mary crossed her arms.


    "I''m telling the truth, but it seems like you don''t wanna help, okay I guess," Misty shrugged.


    "I never said that, what do you wanna ask?"


    "You served the food yesterday, right?"


    "Yes? I did get help but that doesn''t matter I feel."


    "So have you noticed someone skipping dinner or throwing away food? I always noticed that you always looked at everyone eating food, so I think you must have noticed it."


    "Hm, yesterday.... Vishnu skipped the dinner. Satoshi, Annie, Alex, Tony and Meera have a habit of bringing their food to their room, so they took their food to the room. I think that''s it, it''s only from my memory by the way."


    "Hm, thanks," Misty smiled, "now you can go. Also, don''t take anybody''s words by heart, something really terrible happened, so we aren''t really ourselves right now."


    "Yeah, I won''t. I hope you or the police find the culprit as soon as possible."


    Mary stopped walking midway and turned over. "I just remembered this, I found a fudge in Vishnu''s room today, but he never came to eat dinner. I thought it might be something important."


    Misty''s eyes widened. "It is! Thanks Mary!" she walked to Mary, "uhm, perhaps you have leftover fudge from yesterday?"


    Mary blinked in confusion. "Yes, it''s in the fridge," she pointed to the kitchen.


    "Nice! Please get me one, Mary."


    Midnight


    Everyone else was fast asleep while Misty and Trevor were in the living room discussing. "So you are saying all of them reacted to it?" said Trevor.


    "Yes, all six of them reacted weirdly to that statement," said Misty.


    "Well, at least we can shortlist the suspects to six."


    Earlier in front of the police station


    Trevor and Misty are sitting in the car. "Uhm Trevor? You wanna read the report right now, isn''t that why you aren''t starting the car?" said Misty.


    "Yes."


    "Okay then, let''s take a look into it." Once they were done reading it, there was nothing but silence there.


    Trevor broke the silence. "I think I know what our first step should be."


    Misty shrivelled her eyebrows. "What should be our first step?"


    "We should give them wrong info about the autopsy, like adding on an extra injury."


    "Will it work?"


    "Maybe it won''t if it''s somebody else, but it''s you who we are talking about, your bluffs are hard to not believe."


    "Hm, let''s see."


    Present


    "It''s good that we were able to shortlist the suspects, but I''m confused about what to do next," said Misty.


    "I can get the footage of what happened last night," said Trevor.


    "What? How? Why didn''t you tell me earlier?"


    "Well, the chances are low. Since the CCTV was hacked by Ralph back then, I somehow thought about the possibility of it getting destroyed. So I did some techniques for the footage to be copied to my laptop. I was short on time while doing this, so I skipped some steps, that''s why it''s hard to get access to that footage. Not to mention the fact that the whole system is destroyed, but getting linked to my laptop is the same as getting linked to the internet. That is why, I can easily get access to that footage, just wait a bit."


    "That''s great, Trevor!" Suddenly something clicked for Misty. "Now that you have reminded me that you are a hacker, can you look into Satoshi''s location history?"


    "Only Satoshi''s? Not Vishnu''s?"


    "Satoshi has been acting strange before his death. He also made a lot of trips, it was like he was after something. The more and more I think about it, the more I get convinced that a certain someone is the culprit."


    "I will arrange it for you by tomorrow."


    "And we are going to those places tomorrow."


    The next day


    Trevor and Misty got ready early to go for the investigation. Misty got on the driver''s seat, while Trevor got on the passenger seat with his laptop. "So tell me the directions," Misty drove the car off.


    The car travelled a bit and stopped at a certain house. "He visited this house more than twice, this house might be important for us," said Trevor. Trevor and Misty got out of the car and rang the bell. They waited a couple of minutes, yet nobody opened the door for them. "I guess nobody''s home, guess our visit has to wait," he said.


    They went to three other houses and decided to head back. "We have got a really big piece of information from our visits, we are almost sure who it could be," said Misty.


    "Yes, but hey we are still not sure about it, maybe something else happened in between," Trevor had a rather sad expression.


    "Yes, we just need to visit that one house and everything will be clear to us."


    Misty stopped her car in front of a house. "Why did you stop the car? Our investigation is over. Satoshi never went anywhere else," said Trevor.


    Misty got out of the car. "I have to collect a little Intel from here. Why are you sitting inside, come with me."


    "A.. Alright, but what are you doing?" They both walked to the property, Misty knocked on the door, Trevor looked around. "Seems like a pretty old house."


    A Woman opened the door. "Who''s calling my house old?!"


    "Uh.. uhm," Trevor looked at Misty, but little did he know that she was already pointing her fingers at Trevor. "I hope nobody gets a friend like you. I''m sorry, I just said what I felt."


    The woman scratched her head. "Well, you aren''t actually wrong," she looked at Misty, "you are Misty''s friend, so I will let you off the hook."


    "Thank you..."


    "So, what did you find, Lily?" said Misty.


    "You were right, those fudges contain the powdered form of those sleeping pills," said Lily. "I have to tell you this, whoever ate those fudge won''t get up in the first six hours even if you shot them in the head."


    "Thanks, I have to go now," Misty looked at Trevor, "let''s go, Trevor."


    Misty and Trevor got in the car, and Misty drove it off. "What were you talking about?" Trevor raised both of his eyebrows, "did you find the food the killer used to add the sleeping pills?"


    "Bingo! And the girl you just saw is an expert at identifying such things. So when I found out about it, I wasted no time bringing the test sample to her."


    "Oh, but you didn''t tell me about it."


    "I completely forgot, there were so many things going on in my head."


    Midnight


    Misty was sleeping in her bedroom, suddenly she heard a knock on her door, she opened the door to see Trevor. "Misty, I got the footage, I also got extra footage which I''m sure you will like."


    "Extra footage?"


    "Yes, come out, I''m a man and you are a woman, we shouldn''t be in our rooms with each other."


    "You have time to think like this, even at times like this."


    "I was just saying."


    Trevor put the laptop on the coffee table, and they both sat on the couch to see what would unfold. It was 2 am, and Satoshi was sitting in the dining room. He stood up when he saw a person coming towards him, the face of the person wasn''t visible, they were wearing a hoodie. It was shown in the footage that Satoshi was talking with the person for about 30 minutes. The hood was down at a certain point, but the face was still not visible as they were facing the opposite side of the camera. Trevor paused the footage, "hmm, this person has hair length over their neck. It''s too bad that the rest of the hair is covered."


    "So our culprit is someone who has hair down the shoulder," said Misty.


    "That''s every woman minus Mary, and Alex and Cheng from men."


    They continued to play the footage, the talk turned to an argument, after 45 minutes of talking Satoshi was heading back. He looked like he was determined to do something. His determination was so strong that Misty and Trevor felt that even through the screen. Then, the culprit took out a gun from their pocket, it looked like the killer was calling out to Satoshi before pulling the trigger. They both stayed silent when the footage was over.


    "Well, now I will play another footage, it''s footage of the same time but different place," said Trevor. The living room was shown in the footage, Vishnu was standing in the entrance still. "He... probably must have seen what happened." He started running and fell to the ground.


    "Huh? What?" Misty''s eyes widened. "I remember now, Vishnu had a stab wound on his heels," Misty gulped, "so this is why..."


    "A trap made by the killer..." Trevor played the footage again, the hooded killer came closer to him and stabbed him in the guts. Vishnu was crying in the footage asking something.


    "So this was the extra footage?"


    "No, I have something else to show you. To be honest, I don''t want to show it to you, this will make the 85% to 90%."


    "You know, even if it''s hard for us to accept, if that''s the truth, it should be unveiled, Satoshi was our friend too. In fact, I want the one who killed him to suffer. Vishnu''s murder may have happened in the heat of the moment, which is bad in itself, but as you can see Satoshi''s wasn''t." Misty remembered her first real day at the house.


    Misty was standing outside, thinking something. "Well, sorry for what happened today," she heard Satoshi''s voice and looked back. He scratched his head. "We suspected you for no reason."


    "Well, I would be more concerned if you didn''t suspect me, only the real kidnapper knows that I couldn''t be the one, so they wouldn''t freak out."


    "But everyone freaked out though, are you saying nobody is the kidnapper?" Satoshi smiled


    "Well, the kidnapper had to act like they care, because you all were making a fuss. The kidnapper knows damn well that they would be suspected if they don''t act that way."


    "How is your stay in my house," said Satoshi.


    "Like Catherine said, it''s not a house, it''s a mansion, there''s no way I would have a complaint staying here. Uhm... are you annoyed by us staying here?"


    "If I was, I wouldn''t have allowed you to stay here, will I?" Satoshi took a breath in. "In fact I''m happy that I got to meet you all. I have been living miserably till now. I lost contact with my friends, and my employees hated me because I was a little strict. I''m so glad I get to take a break from that. I''m thankful to God for creating such a scenario, I got to meet a bunch of weird but wholesome people who I could make friends with."


    "If you are going to be too nice, I will make sure to not leave even after the case is solved."


    Satoshi smiled. "Well, I don''t mind that as long as you don''t have any ulterior motives."


    Present


    "I don''t know if you have ever noticed, but he really treasured us all even though we just met. The fact that someone could kill such a guy is beyond me," said Misty, "show me the footage you are talking about.¡±

 Murder House

    The next day, they were greeted with unpleasant news. "What do you mean?!" said Meera.


    "Yes, Mary and Cheng are dead." Misty looked down with regret. "We were here till 2 am and went to bed after that. It probably must have happened after that."


    "Stop lying! They aren''t dead... I get it! You are trying to lure the culprit right? If so, tell me, it should be obvious that I''m not the killer!" said Meera.


    "If it was a lie, why would the police be here," said Trevor.


    "Where''s everyone else?"


    "Outside, the police want us to go outside to have a detailed look into everything."


    "Okay, I will go outside too." Meera walked outside and saw everyone gathered together, some crying, some holding back tears, some being strong. She looked around and saw Alex sitting on the ground and walked to him, "Alex?"


    Alex didn''t respond to her, but rather stared blankly, his eyes looked like void, no light, no emotion, just pure emptiness. "Alex!" Meera cried out, "please cry it out, or else you won''t be able to let go of the pain. Mary tried to help me out with Vishnu''s death, that''s why I can''t bear to see her lover being in despair! I want to help you!"


    Alex stood up. "Now you should be sure that it''s Mary right? The one who killed Vishnu?" He walked towards the gate.


    "Where are you going?"


    "Not of your concern."


    She looked around and walked to Catherine, Meera''s eyes were filled with tears. "What happened yesterday?"


    "I''m not sure but Mary and Cheng were killed last night. The police are still investigating their rooms." As they were talking, the attendants came out with two bodies in stretchers and put them in the ambulance. They both looked at them with a helpless expression. "Wait!" said Catherine, she ran to the attendants, "can I see them one last time?"


    "I''m sorry but it''s an order to not let anyone touch them."


    After a while


    Everyone except Alex was gathered in the living room just like every time. "We lost another member..." said Misty.


    "Who saw the body first?" said Catherine.


    "I did," Tony raised his hands.


    "You did?" Catherine stiffened her lips.


    "What did the police say?" said Meera.


    "From what we know so far, Mary died by getting stabbed, and Cheng died by getting shot in the head."


    "Just like Satoshi and Vishnu..." said Meera.


    "This is how... serial killers kill... It''s clear what we should do next..." said Catherine.


    "And what will it be?" said Trevor.


    "We should get the hell out of here, if we stay here any second longer, the next victim will be us."


    "True, we should go back to our houses, and it''s not nice to live in Satoshi''s house even after his murder, even though his mother is fine with it..." said Misty.


    "Alright then, pack your bags and leave," Trevor took his phone out, "I will call Alex and inform him." Trevor walked to the front door, however he stopped midway and looked back. "By the way, don''t think that you have escaped, we are still continuing the investigations," he walked out to call Alex


    Everyone went to their rooms to pack their bags but Misty stayed in the living room, with her arms crossed thinking about something, Catherine looked back. "You still gonna stay here?"


    "No, I was thinking about visiting Satoshi''s mother and saying thank you," she looked at Catherine. "You should come with me too, you already know her."


    "No, I haven''t talked to her for years, it would be awkward to finally talk with her after all these years."


    "Eh? Why should you feel awkward? You are definitely required to pay her a visit at a difficult time like this. Since you are required to do it, why not make it today?"


    "Alright then.."


    "It''s decided! Come outside once you are done packing, I will drop you to your home too."


    "Okay, thanks I guess."


    Everyone packed their bags and got out together. Misty locked the house, and looked at everyone. "We will... most likely never come back here again, take one last look at this place."


    "Even though this place has given us these bad memories, I still got a lot of good memories from this place. The fact that we won''t ever get to come back here is... sad," said Tony.


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    "We would have got to come back here as much as possible if Satoshi was still alive. One of you killed him," Alex clenched his fist, "and is getting sad over leaving the place. We would all have met up here once in a while if Satoshi was still alive," he turned around. "Also, I don''t want to remember that I ever came to this place."


    "Alex..." said Trevor. "Let''s go then," Trevor looked at everyone.


    Everyone took their luggages and got out. Everyone got to their cars.


    "Alright, good bye guys. It was nice meeting you all," said Tony.


    "Don''t say goodbye yet, we will definitely meet each other again," said Misty.


    "Yeah, especially since we still haven''t found the killer yet," said Trevor.


    "Well, Meera, you said you will drop me, so what are you waiting for? Unlock the car," said Tony. Meera unlocked the car and got on the driver''s seat. Tony also got inside the car on the passenger seat next to the driver''s. Meera drove off without saying anything.


    "Alright, bye guys," Alex got in his car and drove off.


    Trevor looked at Annie and Vincent, "I will drop you both off."


    "Alright, thanks," Vincent took his luggages and got in Trevor''s car.


    "You don''t really have to... I can walk," said Annie.


    Trevor walked to Annie and took her luggages from her hands, then threw it in his car. He gave her a stiff look, "come on Annie, stop the act of good girl, you are already caught now."


    "Alright," Annie rolled her eyes.


    Trevor put the luggages in his car and got inside the car, he lowered the car window. "See ya," he smiled, "Misty." He closed the window and the car took off.


    "It''s time for us to leave too," Misty looked at Catherine, "Catherine." They both got in the car and it drove off.


    Misty stopped the car in front of Camila''s house. "We are there, get off," Misty opened the door and got out. Catherine took a deep breath in and got out of the car. Misty rang the calling bell, they waited for the door to be opened.


    Camila opened the door after a good 30 seconds. "Oh, Misty, Catherine, welcome, come in," they both entered the house. "Take a seat, girls," they sat on the couch. "So what brings you both here?"


    "Well, Misty told me to come and visit you but I don''t know why she wants to meet you," said Catherine.


    "I''m here to give you this," she took out the house keys, "and I wanted to talk to you."


    "Oh," she took the keys from her hands, "you guys are already leaving?"


    "Yes, it''s dangerous..."


    Camila was confused, "dangerous?"


    "Nothing ma''am," said Misty.


    "What do you want to talk about with me?"


    "Satoshi entrusted something to me."


    Evening of the day Satoshi died


    Misty was eating snacks and Satoshi came to the living room and sat beside her on the couch and started crocheting. Misty noticed it and looked closely. "You know crocheting?"


    "Yes, my mother taught me this, and it became my hobby."


    "Wow, that''s amazing!" she got excited, "what are you making?!


    "A scarf.. for my mother."


    "For your mother?"


    "Yes, it''s her birthday in three days. I have always wanted to give her the fabric I crocheted but I was always so busy that I never got any time to do that." Satoshi smiled. "I''m actually thankful to Ralph, thanks to his sick idea, I got a reason to take a break from my work." He did the finishing touch. "Alright! It''s done," he put it a little farther and took a look at it, "how does it look?"


    "It''s beautiful, I''m sure your mother will love it."


    His eyes sparkled. "You think so? I''m glad then. I hope she will smile after seeing this," he frowned, "I have never seen her smile ever since my father died. She was probably disappointed at her children for fighting over their father''s wealth, I wasn''t able to look into her eyes ever since then."


    "She will be proud of you for attaining mastery in something she has taught you."


    "I hope so."


    Present


    "I found this in his room yesterday. He really wanted to give you this present," she looked down with regret, "so I thought that I should give you this."


    Camila''s eyes were filled with tears. She took it from her hands, and looked at it with love. "Thank you dear, this means," she sobbed, "this means a lot to me."


    "Catherine, you don''t have anything to talk to her about?" said Misty. Catherine was reflecting about something. "Catherine?"


    "Yes?" she snapped back


    "You don''t have anything to talk about with your childhood friend''s mother even after seeing her after so long?"


    "Uhm aunty... what am I supposed to tell you? I''m sorry about what happened."


    "You have nothing to talk to me about but I have a lot of things to tell you," Camila took Catherine''s hands. "I have always wanted to tell you this," Camila looked down with regret, "but I didn''t want it to be like this." Camila stood up. "I want to show you something," Camila went inside and came back after a minute, she had a box in her hands. She put it on top of the table. "These are the things Satoshi treasured a lot." She put all of those things on top of the table one by one. "This was his favourite childhood magazine... this is his first medal... this is.."


    "Wow, Satoshi really is good at looking after things," said Misty.


    "Yes, my son was always like this, but wait this isn''t exactly what I want to show you."


    She rummaged through all of the stuff. "Here it is!" she took out a painting of greenery. "He really treasured this."


    "This is ..."


    "That''s right, it''s the very first present you gave him. One time, I almost threw it away and the commotion he made..." She smiled. "When he finally found it, he told me this..."


    She remembered her son''s words. "Mama, you can throw away anything from that box but not this, this is my treasure."


    Tears fell down from Catherine''s eyes. "I''m sorry... I''m so pathetic."


    "Nothing is your fault dear, it''s not your fault you weren''t able to make up and get in touch again."


    "I really am the worst possible person in this whole world."


    "Say that again and I will smack some sense into you," Camila went inside again and came back with cookies in a tray. She offered it to Catherine, "take it, it''s freshly baked." Suddenly she saw a younger version of Camila offering her a pastry.


    It went back to normal and she took the cookies. "Thank you."


    Both Misty and Catherine talked a lot with Camila. Misty looked at her watch. "Oh, it''s almost time," she looked at Camila, "I''m sorry ma''am but we have to leave now. I have an appointment." She looked at Catherine. "Let''s go, Catherine!"


    They both got in the car and it drove off. "Who are you going to meet?"


    "Doesn''t concern you."


    "I''m sure it''s related to Satoshi and Vishnu''s case, as their friend it does concern me."


    "Oof Catherine, it''s just Trevor, Earlier we decided to meet each other to look over everything." She dropped her off in front of her house. Then she drove to her cafe, Trevor was waiting in front of the cafe, she got out of the car. "Oh, how long have you been waiting?"


    "Not too long, I just came."


    "Alright," Misty quickly took out her cafe keys and unlocked it. They both discussed for hours. "We are catching them tomorrow itself," said Misty.


    "If we both do our assigned task right, we have a hundred percent chance of finding them tomorrow itself," said Trevor.

 Motive

    The next day


    Catherine was standing on the balcony of her house. ''Who killed Mary and Cheng...? Ralph one mistake of yours is leading to many more conflicts,'' she thought. Suddenly she got a notification on her phone saying she was added to a new group chat. "What is this new group chat shit, I already had enough!" All of her other friends were added to the group chat. Just like the first group chat they were all added by an unknown number. ''Why did this person add all of us? Who even is it?''


    ???: Hello guys, I''m the killer.


    ''Of course,'' she thought.


    ???: I want to meet a certain person at the location I want tomorrow. I''m sure the person I''m referring to knows that it''s them that I want to see.


    If you don''t get anything I''m saying, that means you aren''t the person I want to meet. So, you can relax.


    ''This "killer" is talking about me. They know that I''m the real killer, they want to meet me,'' Catherine thought.


    The night of the Murder


    Satoshi walked away from Catherine. "Satoshi," she called out to him. Satoshi looked back and she pulled the trigger, the bullet pierced through Satoshi''s head. "I''m sorry, Satoshi, but I had to do it." She felt someone''s presence and looked back, she saw Vishnu standing there scared.


    "Why... did you..."


    Catherine sighed. "Now that you have seen this, I have to get rid of you too."


    Present


    ''This killer wants to talk to me about something. To be honest, I want to ask them a lot of questions too. It could be a trap but I will run straight towards their trap even if it is.''


    The next day


    Catherine got ready to meet this second killer herself, as they both are the worst scum ever who killed the people who they have made bonds with. "I''m excited to see this worst scum in this world," she got out of her house and started walking to the said location.


    Trevor is standing in front of the house they were supposed to visit earlier. He looked at the house in slight amusement. "Many secrets will be unveiled today." He got inside and rang the calling bell. A woman in her early thirties instantly opened the door now.


    "So, you have finally come to a decision, huh? Miss Maria."


    "Come in," said Maria.


    Trevor got inside and sat in the living room. "My name is Trevor, I guess you already know the purpose of my visit."


    "Of course, but where is your partner?"


    "Misty? She has other business to do. So, Miss Maria, I want you to answer everything correctly and precisely."


    Catherine is waiting for this person in an old building, then she sees Misty walking towards the building from afar. "Oh Misty, I thought you will disguise yourself but you didn''t a give a fuck about it? Surprising!"


    "Not so surprising to someone like you who literally killed your childhood friend for selfish reasons," Misty smirked. "Where is your disguise, aren''t you scared of getting caught?"


    "I don''t need a disguise when I''m going to off yourself," Catherine laughed.


    "Well, the police will be here anytime soon. Trevor, he shared my location with them. Whatever you are going to do you have to speed up because you are running out of time."


    "You have to come with me, Misty," she gave her a cold stare, "or else the dead will really end up dead."


    "Alright, I will follow you," Misty shrugged.


    "Throw your phone away before coming with me."


    "Alright," she gently put her phone down on the ground.


    Misty and Catherine are now in a different abandoned building where it will be harder than the previous building to find them. "Do you know why I killed Satoshi?"


    "Because he found out what really happened the night your parents died."


    Catherine laughed. "As expected of you, it''s easy for you to deduct anything."


    "We managed to come to that conclusion easily after questioning those old ladies who Satoshi visited before dying."


    The day they were going through Satoshi''s location history


    They reached a certain house, and rang the calling bell, an old lady opened the door. "Hey, we are Satoshi''s friends, you know Satoshi right?"


    "Yes, what do you want?"


    "You have heard the news, right?"


    "Yes, it deeply saddens me."


    "When we checked Satoshi''s location history, we saw that he had visited this house before dying. Why was he here?"


    "He... wanted to dig out the past."


    "Dug out the past?" said Misty.


    "He was asking me questions about a case that was closed six years ago, I don''t know why he would want to open that case now."


    "Which case exactly was he looking into?" said Trevor.


    "Catherine''s parents'' murder, which was already solved back then. It wasn''t even a mystery."


    "Ma''am, you have to answer the next question honestly," said Trevor


    "What is it?"


    "Have you given fake testimony for that case?" said Trevor.


    "I.. I..."


    "You are totally allowed to lie, but remember that lying will prevent Satoshi from getting the justice he deserves," said Misty.


    "I did. There were so many things off about their murders, and we never saw them fight with each other, but for the sake of the children we gave fake testimony.¡±


    Present


    "We got a similar reaction from everyone, so there is no need to explain shit."


    "Hmm, so you came to that conclusion from just that," she looked at Misty, "do you want to know the full story?"


    "I would love to."


    At Maria''s house


    "Why did Satoshi make multiple visits to you before his death?" said Trevor.


    "Before learning that, you should learn about us and our family."


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    "Alright go on."


    22 years ago


    Maria and Catherine''s mother, Cera, is walking to the school to pick her children up. The children ran to their mother the moment they saw her. Cera was visibly angry at her kids. "WHAT WAS THAT KIDS?! I TOLD YOU MULTIPLE TIMES NOT TO ACT LIKE THAT," Cera sighed and smiled forcefully. "You are Cera''s children, you should always be modest."


    "Okay mama," little Catherine pouted.


    Cera picked her younger daughter in her arms. "Mama is saying this for your own good. I want my little angels to grow up to be amazing ladies."


    "So having fun will prevent us from becoming amazing ladies?"


    "You aren''t having fun, you are being loud, there''s a difference."


    When Cera came to pick her children the next day, she saw that they had both played in the mud and it was all over them. She scolded them all through the school to home. When they got back home she lectured them. "Is what you guys did today good?"


    "No," both the children said in unison.


    "Will you do that ever again?"


    "No."


    "Good, but since you have already done that I will punish you for that, no dinner tonight."


    One Sunday the kids started to make a fuss about going to the park. "Mama, let''s go to the park!"


    "You aren''t supposed to act that way, remember? Ask the right way."


    "Mother, will you please take us to the park?" said Maria.


    "Alright." That day she took her kids to the park.


    "Mama, can I play on the slide?" said Catherine.


    "No, you definitely can''t, it''s not an elegant thing to do."


    "No mama, I wanna play!" she started crying.


    "DON''T... make a fuss! The other mothers are looking at me, they will think I''m raising a kid without manners."


    She got back home and gave Catherine a good beating. "It took a few more beating for your sister to follow me, I hope you will be better."


    "I just wanted to play slide..." Catherine cried.


    Maria hugged Catherine. "Don''t worry, the pain will shoo away after a while. Follow mother''s orders from now on."


    Catherine grew up and became a first grader. It was time for her to choose the extra curricular activity. "I want to join an arts club, I want to be an artist, can I join?" said Catherine.


    "Artist? There''s no such thing as that, nobody ever became anything like that," said Cera.


    "Then what club should I join?"


    "I don''t want you to join any clubs, joining clubs will disrupt your studies, I don''t want that to happen."


    "But-"


    "No buts, it''s fixed." Catherine went to her room teary eyed.


    As time passed by, Catherine became a 5th grader. She was standing with her best friend and her mother showed up in school. "Oh dear, is that your friend? I''m surprised my child even has a friend," Cera looked at her child''s friend, "I hope she isn''t too bothersome to you."


    "No ma''am, she''s the best friend anyone could ever get. Only monsters feel bothered by a girl like this. I''m surprised she has a mother like you."


    That night, Cera talked with her daughter Catherine. "Did you say mean stuff about me to your friend?"


    "I never did, I always felt you were a horrible mother but I never told that to anyone, maybe try getting better at hiding your true face."


    "You are talking too much," Cera gave her a strict look.


    "No, I will talk more! You were so mean to me even my nice friend could tell how evil you are!"


    Cera looked at her husband Stalin. He stood up from his seat and walked to Catherine with his belt in his hand. He beat her with the belt until she said sorry to her ten times. "Never ever disrespect your mother like that," Stalin went back to what he was doing.


    "I think you have learned your lesson here. Now do as I say, break the friendship with her," said Cera.


    "No, she''s the first friend I made," Catherine sobbed.


    "You want to keep a friend who disrespected your mother?"


    "She had her reasons to do that."


    "Say it loud enough so that your father could hear it."


    "Alright, I will break my friendship with her."


    "That''s my girl!"


    She never talked to that girl ever again. More and more time went by and she became a 15 year old. She was walking from school with one of her friends. "I really liked that movie," said Catherine.


    "Yes, it''s my all time favourite."


    "Oh my, I totally forgot about my part time job, bye." She ran to the supermarket which she worked at, she put on the Apron and stood in her assigned position. ''I have been working here without my mother noticing since last year. If it continues like this, I can take arts as my major with my own money. Then, I no longer have to do my artwork hiding in my room.'' She was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn''t see the customer in front of her. She snapped back to reality, "uhm what are you looking for-" her whole world collapsed once she saw the person standing in front of her, it was her mother, Cera.


    "I was looking for..." Cera pointed her hands at her, "...you."


    "Mother, please listen to me. I beg you, please don''t intervene in this too."


    "No, you are coming with me," Cera pulled her hands.


    Catherine pushed her hands off. "No! I''m done listening to you! I want to be dependent on myself." Cera left the store humiliated.


    She continued to work, but she was anxious about what was coming next. Like she feared, her mother came back with her father. He walked to her. "What are you doing here? Let''s go Home?"


    "No..."


    "Oh, you are starting to talk back to me?"


    "Think whatever you want..." she said hesitantly.


    "You have no reason to work here, our family earns enough money."


    "Still somehow not enough to make me happy! You guys took away my happiness, you guys took away my life... That is why, I don''t want that money which can''t buy happiness for me."


    He pulled her by the hair. "Enough talking!" He dragged her outside by pulling her by hair, she tried to break free but it was futile. That night, she was abused horribly by her parents. She went to her room.


    Maria opened the door and sat next to her. "Why would you do this?"


    "I''m freaking 15! Those assholes who we call Father and mother respectively are doing this to me," she pointed at her bruises in the arm with frustration and anger. "I was just so tired, I want to break free of them, I don''t want them to control my life anymore. Let''s just say it somehow becomes justifiable to control us when they are providing for us, but that''s not the case here. I was trying to be independent, don''t they want that?" Catherine took a deep sigh.


    "They don''t," said Maria.


    "What?"


    "They want us to be their slaves forever," Maria paused, "I am not sure about that but that''s the vibe I get from them."


    "Aren''t you finally 18? Why are you still living with these monsters?"


    "I tried moving out but they always found some ways to disrupt that. I have been fired from so many jobs because of them, the only good thing they are doing for me is that they are the ones paying for my college."


    "But they are also the ones who are preventing you from paying yourself. I would rather rot in the streets than to live here..."


    "That''s true," Maria stood up, "I hope you will do better than me, Catherine."


    Their parents showed some significant changes over the next few years, they were finally being good parents. Catherine finally graduated high school and turned 18. She decided to talk everything out with her parents and leave.


    Catherine is sitting in the living room facing her parents. "So, Mother and Father, I have decided that I''m moving out."


    Cera stiffened her eyes. "What about your studies?


    "What do you mean by studies? I have already graduated school, now there''s nothing left for me to study."


    "No, you have to leave for college!"


    "What do you mean mother? There''s no way I''m doing that," Catherine stood up, "and I''m not going to fall for your tricks anymore, neither am I scared of you anymore."


    Catherine walked forward. "I''m sorry... I didn''t know anything about parenting, that''s why my actions hurt you," said Cera, Catherine stopped. "I just wanted you to live a better life than me."


    "Making me suffer will help me have a better life, that''s a new fact."


    "I just recently realised my ways weren''t right and I made you two suffer instead. That''s why I decided to change and be a better mother, even though it was too late."


    "Yes, I have noticed that, that''s why there''s a tint of guilt in my heart, even though I''m not supposed to have it."


    "As proof that we are not trying to control you anymore, we are allowing you to commute, but please study further. I don''t want you to end up like me, please listen to me one last time."


    "I need time to think."


    Cera smiled. "I know you will make the right choice."


    Catherine was thinking about it sitting in her room. "Mother is in fact right, I would have a hard time finding a job without a degree..."


    Catherine went to see her mother the next day. "Alright mother, I have decided to continue studying, but don''t forget your promise."


    College wasn''t easy for her as that wasn''t what she wanted. She still went through hardships and finally graduated college. She would visit her home frequently and spend time with her family. It seemed that their family was finally acting like a real family. She wanted to look for a job, so she asked her mom about it. "Mother, I would like to start working somewhere. Like some stores, restaurants and stuff, so that I can look after my expenses."


    Cera smiled. "That''s not needed, dear. I want to fix my mistakes, that''s why I want to take over all your expenses. You can work at a good company once you have finished your studies, right now, just focus on your studies."


    She finally finished her studies and is back home now. When she was walking back home after coming back, everyone was staring at her. It was hard to make out what their expression meant because it looked like it was a mixture of two emotions but it mostly felt like pity. ''What''s up with everyone?'' she thought. Just then as she was walking, she saw her neighbour who she''s very close to. "Hey, Mrs. Cooper, how ya doing?"


    "Good," she wore the same expression everyone else had.


    "What''s up with y''all giving me this expression, did something happen?"


    "You don''t know yet?"


    "What am I supposed to know?" she gave her a serious look.


    "Your sister is admitted to the mental hospital."


    Catherine was shocked. "What? Why? She was completely fine the last time I saw her. I mean, I am hundred percent sure that she is still fine. Those are just rumours!"


    "I wish it was, but my eyes can''t lie, you know?"


    "It must be some mistake," she looked left and right not knowing what to do.


    "It isn''t a mistake but rather a trap."


    "What do you mean?"


    "The trap created by your parents..."


    "It could be possible," said Catherine in a low voice.


    "I talked with her when I went to visit, she said that her parents created this scenario to make her look crazy."


    "Do you trust her?"


    "The way you kids were treated is enough for me to trust her, I need no oth-"


    Catherine gave her a hug. "Thank you! You are the first one who''s understanding us," she let go of Mrs. Cooper. "Mrs. Cooper," her face was filled with anger and determination, "I will talk to her today, do you know which hospital she''s at?"


    "She''s back home, they only send her to the hospital when she becomes "violent" which of course doesn''t happen, but they can turn any lie into a truth.¡±

 End

    Catherine went to see Maria the moment she reached her house, Maria stood up after seeing her. "Cath!" she held back tears.


    "I have heard everything, tell me what happened?" said Catherine.


    "I have been shocked four times already in the last six months. You called our parents assholes, but they are worse than that. Which good parent sabotages their children''s life just to have the satisfaction of having total authority. Now, they have fixed my marriage with a guy I haven''t even met yet. It''s probably some guy who they can easily manipulate and control."


    "Calm down a bit and tell me what happened in detail."


    "I talked about moving out on a fine evening..."


    "No, you can''t," said Cera.


    "What do you mean by I can''t? Are you forgetting the fact that you have no authority over me? I''m going to do what I like to do," she walked out, "and I thought you guys changed," she rolled her eyes.


    She heard a piercing noise as she walked, and looked back to see her mother''s hand stabbed with a kitchen knife. She ran to her mother seeing this. "What are you doing?! You could die ya know," she took a piece of cloth and started wrapping her mother''s hands.


    "Yes, then why would you do that?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "You stabbed me with this knife," said Cera with a blank expression.


    "No I didn''t!"


    "Yes you did, and that''s not the only thing you have done. You have become too violent and..." Cera stood up with the knife still pierced in her hands and started throwing things, "...threw all this stuff today."


    "Mother... stop it," she said in pure horror.


    "Now that the preparations are done, it''s time to call them."


    "Call who?"


    Suddenly Maria felt the presence of someone behind her and quickly looked back, but she was too late, her father had already knocked her out with a chair.


    "When I woke up, I was in the hospital, mother convinced everyone I did this and I got the tag of mentally unstable..."


    Maria took Catherine''s hands in hers. "Can you kill me painlessly, I don''t want to live like this anymore!"


    "You''re Not the one who deserves death, in fact you deserve to live peacefully even more than some other humans. That''s why, don''t say that," she gave her a big hug, "I will always be there for you, sissy."


    Maria broke down in tears. "Thank you very much, Catherine."


    Catherine went to the living room and called out for her parents. "Mother! Father! I want to talk to you!"


    Cera came to the living room. "Looks like someone is pissed at us. It''s not like I care anyways," she said coldly.


    "You will pay for making my sister cry! You filthy old woman!"


    Those words triggered Cera. "How dare you call me that! I will determine your punishment soon!"


    "But I have already decided your fate, so pray for my mood to change." Catherine left the town that day and disappeared for days.


    Catherine came back after a few weeks and went to Maria''s room. "Pack your bags up, we are leaving this shit hole."


    "Catherine! You are back?!"


    "And I''m back with the solution for all of our agonies," Catherine smiled.


    "Hearing your words, I thought you were going to do something cruel."


    "Yes, I have only told those things to keep her from harming you anymore."


    Maria took her luggage and started to pack her clothes. "I''m more than glad to accompany you to even hell, if it means getting out of this place."


    "The place we are going to is definitely not hell, it''s heaven compared to this. I was on a run to secure myself a job, and I have even managed to get you a job too!"


    "That''s amazing!" They walked past Cera and got out of the house. To their surprise, she didn''t say or do anything.


    They started living in the town next to Nishille. Things were going smoothly for them as they were able to smile genuinely after so many years, until one day...


    "I NEVER EXPECTED THIS FROM YOU, CATHERINE. You took bribe money from a lady for doing your own job, that''s pathetic!" her Boss said.


    "No sir, I never took any money from anyone."


    "Stop lying!" he banged on his table. "You are fired."


    "Sir, you should investigate it more, or else let me investigate so I can prove my innocence."


    "Investigate? What do you want to investigate? What would a random woman achieve from doing all that."


    "So, I can suffer," she said in a low voice.


    "Huh? Anyways, enough talking! You are not my employee anymore, you can leave."


    Catherine saw her mother waving at her from afar when she got out of the company. ''Of course it''s you.'' She got back to her apartment and got the news that her sister was fired from her job as well.


    "What are we supposed to do now?"


    "Don''t worry, we will just look for new jobs, simple as that," Catherine smiled. They managed to get into new jobs but the same thing ends up happening every time. One unfortunate day, they were kicked out of their apartment for no reason and without any notice.


    "Why are they doing this to us?!" said Maria.


    "So, we will go back to them."


    "That wasn''t what I wasn''t asking."


    "Let''s fulfil their wish," she looked at Maria. "Let''s go back," she said in a cold voice.


    "Stop joking around! You-"


    "I AM NOT JOKING AROUND! Just... Come with me."


    Catherine and Maria got back to the house, Cera ran to them as soon as she saw them. "My children are back, thank god!" she grinned widely, "so you see, we might not need you in our life, but you will always need us."


    "When is father coming?" she said in a cold expression.


    "Tomorrow night..." said Cera.


    "Guess I will wait till tomorrow."


    "For what? For seeing your father probably I guess," said Cera.


    The next night Catherine and Maria ate dinner with their mother. "By the way Maria, your groom is still waiting for you, we have to fix a date soon."


    "I have already fixed a date," Catherine smiled creepily.


    "That''s great..." said Cera. ''Why is she acting weird,'' she thought. Suddenly Cera got a call from her husband. "Oh alright," she hung up the call. "Girls, your father is coming back in ten minutes."


    "I see," Catherine stood up and went inside. She came back after a while with a kitchen knife in her hand. "So, what will be your last words?"


    "What do you mean?" Cera stood up and walked to her. Catherine pierced the knife through her stomach, Cera fell to the ground.


    "I guess that should kill her," said Catherine.


    "Catherine, what did you just do?" said Maria.


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    "Me? I just killed a bitch, you saw that, didn''t you? Don''t ask me such questions. Now all we have to wait for is..." they heard the calling bell. "Oh, he''s already here, go and open the door for him, let me get the axe."


    "No, stop it! You shouldn''t kill anymore people, you-"


    Catherine knocked her out. "Sorry, I don''t have time for your nonsense, sissy." She picked up the axe, hid it behind her back and went to unlock the door.


    "Oh hey, took you long enough, where''s your mother?"


    "I will send you to her right now," she swung her axe at him and it pierced his head, killing him instantly.


    Maria woke up. "Catherine!"


    "I''m right here, and my jobs are done," she was sitting right behind her.


    "You have killed father too...?"


    "Yes, now call the cops on me. By the way," Catherine smiled lightly, "live life on behalf of me too."


    "No!"


    "No? You don''t want to? Fine then, but call the cops fast.


    "That''s not what I meant, what exactly happened today will be a secret between you and me. Let''s twist the story a little bit."


    Present


    "Then the story you have come to know was created," said Catherine. "Misty, you like licking justice''s ass right? Tell me, was what I did crime or justice?"


    "I don''t know about that and I couldn''t give two fucks about your personal life. It''s true that you had horrible parents, and they deserve to die the most gruesome death, but there''s a catch! Having horrible parents doesn''t give you the right to kill an innocent man!" said Misty.


    "Now, don''t speak to me like I am some psychopath or something. I didn''t kill him for the kick, even though I did get it. I killed him because he wanted to dig up the past. What''s the use of such a thing? Especially since the dead are good for nothing pathetic parents. A bad parent is worse than a criminal. I tried to deflate his intentions, I told him to stop digging up the past but he didn''t listen!"


    Days ago


    Catherine saw Satoshi while jogging and he walked past her. "Wait!" He stopped. "I want to have a chat with you," she said.


    They both went to a place with no crowds. "What are you trying to do?"


    "Nothing," said Satoshi.


    "You have visited my sister two times already. If you are someone who thinks too much into the picture, I want to assure you that everything is fine."


    "I don''t think so, as far as I know, your family definitely isn''t like how it is said in the file. Your mother and father always loved each other, they neglect their children but they really loved each other, that guy won''t kill her. Like said in the case file, you and your father have a bad relationship, but it''s the same for your mother. I''m looking further into it."


    "Why? Let''s just say we really did something but don''t you think that they deserve it? They were such shit parents."


    The day of the Murder


    He secretly went closer to Catherine, and gave her a note. Catherine opened the note and read it. "Meet me in the living room at midnight."


    She inspected the floor a lot. "What are you doing? Catherine?" said Alex.


    "Oh, uhm... I was checking out these beautiful floors."


    The night of the Murder


    Catherine was looking at the sky standing on the balcony. "Don''t eat the fudge," she heard Satoshi''s voice and looked back at him.


    "Why? Are they poisoned?"


    "I''m not like you, it has a high dose of sleeping pills, I want to have a nice long chat with you."


    ''Everyone except Vishnu ate the fudge, but that isn''t enough. I want all the time I could get to convince him,'' Catherine thought. Catherine went to the kitchen and opened the fridge and took out the fudge.


    "Oh, I thought you weren''t going to have it."


    "Nah, I love it," she took the fudge to her room and went back to the kitchen. "Mary, I have washed the plate I used to eat the fudge, don''t tell me otherwise tomorrow."


    Mary was busy with the kitchen chores, "alright."


    She waited for everyone to get to sleep to go give her fudge to Vishnu. She knocked on the door, and he opened. "What''s up? Catherine?"


    "Would you like some fudge?"


    "Uhm alright," he took it from her hands. "Thank you."


    She went to the living room at midnight wearing a hoodie.


    "Why are you wearing a hoodie?" said Satoshi.


    "Well, it''s cold."


    "Hm." He looked at her firmly. "I know that you are the one responsible for both your mother and father''s death."


    "Hmm, alright."


    "Alright?"


    "Well, Maria already told me that she told you everything. Can''t help it when your sister is a little bit naive," Catherine shrugged.


    "Catherine, surrender to the police."


    "No way! Have you even got an idea, what you are asking me?"


    "I''m not asking you to kill someone, it won''t hurt to turn yourself in, right?"


    "Dumbass, it''s not about me, if I turn myself in now, she will be sent to jail for lying for the sake of me. She would be marked as my accomplice! She never wanted to resort to killing till the very last seconds. I don''t want such a person to go to jail!"


    "Alright, I''m fine with her not going to jail but I want you to be free of guilt. You don''t deserve to be guilty over such assholes."


    "I would never feel guilty for killing my parents. Also me turning myself in is basically telling the police that she helped me hide evidence. Knowing her, she will probably fumble even if we have a plan."


    "It''s not about guilt," he looked into her eyes, "do you know the speciality of truth?"


    "It always finds its way."


    "Exactly, if you don''t come out right now, truth will see the light one day, and the consequences may be big."


    "If such a thing happens, let it be, but I am not betraying my sister by revealing our secret."


    They discussed it for the next thirty minutes.


    "You still don''t want to give yourself in, huh?" He walked back. "Guess I have to give my evidence to-"


    She took out the gun she took from the mansion, it had a silencer. "Satoshi!"


    She pulled the trigger just as he looked back.


    Present


    "I just wanted to save my sister, that''s all," she sat down on the floor. "So, what are your leads on me?"


    "Lead no.1, you took the fudge which contained the drugs and took it to your room to eat, you never do that. Lead no 1.5, you gave the same fudge to Vishnu and pretended that you ate it yourself, the CCTV captured you giving the fudge to Vishnu. Lead no.2, Satoshi was investigating you just before dying and in the end he did find out you are a murderer, you just killed him to keep it secret. Lead no..."


    "Nah shut it, I''m bored already. You, Mary and Cheng will die here today, that will shorten the people who know our little secret. Once I''m done killing you, I will get rid of Trevor. I''m sure that by now, she must have spilled everything to him already! After killing you all I will just surrender saying I did this for fun and they will trust me.


    Catherine took out the pistol and was about to pull the trigger, just then Misty ran to her. "Idiot!" Catherine pulled the trigger.


    Misty successfully tackled her. "Well done, Cheng, Mary!" She locked her to the ground.


    Cheng knelt down and looked at Catherine. "You know, it''s best to not fight it, she knows a special martial art form."


    "I would say kidnapping us was your dumbest decision," said Mary, who came behind Cheng.


    Catherine grinned. "Yeah, you guys win at the end of the day, but I saw through your same old trick of faking deaths."


    "It wasn''t my idea this time, neither was it Trevor''s, it was Cheng''s. He said it will make Maria spill easier, we all thought it was a solid plan."


    "Honestly, you kidnapping us wasn''t so bad of a plan but you weren''t sneaky enough and we found out what you are up to," said Cheng.


    "We threw away the drink with the drug, took out a new drink and pretended to be unconscious. Misty advised us to empty all the bullets from the guns," said Mary.


    Just when they were talking, Catherine pulled out a knife and stabbed Misty''s thigh and tackled her. "Shit!"


    "I still have this upper hand of having weapons." Cheng tried to get closer. "Don''t you dare come near me, I will kill you all. I''m going to do that either way," she smiled creepily. She raised the knife high and went for the heart, but she was shot on her arms right before she was able to stab Misty.


    "Get off her, or I will shoot you in the head!" It was Trevor, he ran to them. "Are you all alright?"


    "Well, I''m alright apart from this stab to my thigh."


    "Well, at least you are alive."


    "Why were you so fucking Late!"


    "I''m sorry but I trusted the cops, but they were only able to track your phone, not the tracker I gave you. Now they will barge in once everything''s over and will act like a hero."


    "Guys," said Catherine, they all looked back, "will you keep this a secret to ourselves! Like my parents'' death and stuff, don''t tell the world what really happened that night. Let the world think I killed Vishnu and Satoshi because I''m a psychopath."


    "What are you ... talking about?" said Misty.


    Catherine smiled. "I have enjoyed the time I got to spend with you guys."


    "Wait stop," Mary ran to her.


    Catherine pierced her own throat with the knife on her hands. They all watched as she died.


    "I.. wanted to talk about it.. to her," said Mary.


    "She would have most likely gotten a death penalty either way," said Cheng, hiding his pain.


    The police barged in. "Everyone, hands up!"


    Trevor sighed. "As I said."


    One week later


    Camila put a bouquet on Satoshi''s grave. "Mama... is going to Japan, and I will only come back once a year to see you. I''m here to say goodbye," she turned around to see Misty standing behind her. "Oh Misty, I have been wanting to meet you! Thank you for solving my son''s murder."


    "I''m glad I was able to," Misty smiled.


    "It''s time for my flight, bye," Camila patted her shoulder.


    Misty put a bunch of red flowers on Satoshi''s grave. "I hope you are at peace." She looked a little farther and saw Mary praying in front of Catherine''s grave stone, she walked over there. "Praying for an evil soul, that''s just like you."


    "Maybe she was evil, but won''t you agree with me when I say that every one of us loved to be around her. All these things wouldn''t have happened if she had better parents," said Mary.


    Mary and Misty got out of the graveyard together. Misty saw Alex waiting outside with his car. "Aren''t you gonna visit their graves?"


    "I already did, she was taking so long, so I decided to wait outside."


    "How long have you been there, Mary?" said Misty.


    "Like thirty minutes," said Mary.


    "Mary, you guys just started dating and you are already irritating him," said Misty.


    "I am not irritated at all, I am glad she''s here at least."


    "I see, you still aren''t over her fake death."


    "And he''s still mad at me for keeping it a secret, I mean it happened so fast, how can I find time to tell you?"


    Misty laughed. "I mean, I can''t blame him for being upset."


    Meera and Tony were standing in front of Vishnu''s stone slab praying for him. "I hope you are finally at peace, Vishnu," said Meera.


    "I will always cherish the days we have spent together," said Tony.


    Trevor visited the prison to see his friends. "Yo, criminals."


    "Only you? I''m so bored of seeing you and Misty, bring us someone new," said Akbar.


    "Maybe officer Fred should pay you a visit, with his special physical therapy. By the way, where''s Ralph?"


    "He''s still not over all the deaths," said Evelyn.


    "Tell him to not be so harsh on himself, he should just have some remorse."


    Two months later


    ''It''s been two months since everything ended and I haven''t seen them much since then. They will just come by for a coffee and leave but that doesn''t mean we are not close anymore, we are still in touch,'' Misty thought. Trevor opened the cafe door and got inside. "Hey, long-"


    Trevor cut her off. "You still help officer Fred with investigations?"


    "Uhm yeah?"


    "Then, let''s create a detective agency together. We will solve cases together there." Trevor walked back fast.


    "Ooh, somebody is missing me, I see," Misty smiled.


    "It''s not-" he saw Misty''s smiling face and couldn''t blurt out anything else. "Alright, let''s start our new beginning together," Trevor smiled.