All of us just stared at each other in disbelief. Murder? In our little town!? There’s no way. I could tell hundreds of questions were running through our heads.
“We’re heading over to where y’all are. We have more information that I think we need to say it in person. See ya.” David said ending up the phone call. Bryant slowly lowered the phone. We sat in silence, for what seemed like hours, until Mia and David walked through the back door. Mia sat down beside Carmen and I, and we quickly embraced. David sat on the steps and put his head in his hands. After a few moments, David spoke up.
“Ok. Here’s what we needed to say in person. Dad got put on the case...but all of the other officers are terrified because they have never delt with anything like this. But he needs help. So…he asked us.”
“WHAT!?!” We all exclaimed and I jumped up. I started pacing back and forth, my mind swarming with excuses and confusion.
“There’s no way, David! We’re what!? Eighteen-, sixteen-, fifteen-, and fourteen-year-olds! We don’t have the training!”
“I know. But since we were there and saw it, we have to help. It’s not much. We’re gonna help with research, running errands, things like that. It’s not like we’re going to going across the ocean.”
“Grace.” Mia said calmly. I didn’t respond. My mind was racing. My brain was shutting down and my head was starting to spin. Nothing in the world was straight. I felt heat rising from my feet up to my head. Ringing was soon a deafening sound in my ears.
“No, no, no, no!!” I started to panic. I knew this feeling. My seizures were coming back. My vision soon became blurry then everything faded into darkness. The next thing I knew, I was being grabbed by a pair of hands and forced to the ground. My vision slowly came back and I soon heard someone talking. Mia was in my face talking to me and telling me to focus on her. Soon everything cleared and I frantically looked around.
“Hold on, hold on. Stay still, you’re fine!” she said firming the grip on my shoulders. I looked behind her and saw Josh and Bryant staring at me and Carmen was sitting beside me holding my hand. Soon, David came out of the house with a cold damp towel and a bottle of water. He knelt beside me and placed the towel on the back of my neck and handed me the bottle of water.
“You good there, G?” he asked. I blinked a few times while nodding my head and smiled slightly.
“I guess that was a shock that sent you a little over. Sorry about that.” I shook my head quickly.
“No, no! Don’t worry about it!” I took a deep breath to slow my racing heart. “I guess my body was like, ‘Oh hey! Now would be a good time to reboot!’” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Josh snorted and replied.
“Grace can still be her sarcastic self even on her death bed.” We all started laughing and Bryant shoved Josh off the porch. I knew Josh was teasing because he did truly have a compassionate side. But it was what I needed and he always knew how to make me smile. We all chatted for a while expressing our thoughts on the matter and soon agreed that we would be willing to help. The sun soon set over the mountains and the hot summer weather dissipated, and a cool breeze blew softly against my face. Soon my phone started vibrating.
“Ugg. Guys, it’s mom. I have to go home.” I said standing up. Mia and Carmen jumped up and almost knocked me over with their hugs. Thankfully I was prepared and didn’t fall. While I headed towards the door, Josh, David, and Bryant said their goodbyes. As I approached my car, I looked up to the sky and stopped. The pitch black sky was dusted with beautiful bright stars. I leaned on the tailgate of my truck and gazed at the constellations.
“They’re beautiful tonight, aren’t they?” a voice said behind me. I quickly spun around, and there stood David.
“David! Stop scaring me like that!!” I said trying to recatch my breath. He chuckled and sarcastically apologized. I shook my head but smiled back at him.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a clearer night than normal. It’s like the sky is covered in them.” I replied to his question, looking back up. He came up beside me and leaned against the car as well.
“I just wanted to make sure you were ok. It’s been a while since you’ve had one…”
“No yeah, I’m fine! I think it was just a mixture of things kinda sent my body on overload. I’ll be fine, I promise!”
“Ok, I just wanted to make sure. You’ve got work with mom tomorrow, right?”
“Mhm! Normal time too.” I said as I walked to the driver’s side of the car and hopped in.
“Ok! I’ll see ya tomorrow then.” he said closing the door for me. I started my truck and headed down the road to my house.
The next morning, I got up right before the sun rose. I quickly put my work clothes on and tied my hair in a low messy bun and pulled on my ballcap. I ran out the door and up the hill behind our house. As I topped the hill, the sun started to peak right over the horizon. Every morning I watched the sun rise. The calmness of the morning time sparked my ambitions to have a good day. Soon the sun was fully exposed in the sky and the ground had a soft glow. I turned around and was soon on my way to town. As I pulled into my parking spot, I noticed that there were several police cars scattered around town and White Bridge was a little more crowded. As I walked into the store, I noticed Mr. and Mrs. Lenn talking at the counter.
“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Lenn! How are you?”
“Good morning, Grace. We’re doing just fine!” Mr. Lenn replied. I walked to the back of the store to put my backpack away and write what time I arrived. As I walked towards the front, I heard the Lenns talking.
“But isn’t that a little dangerous? I don’t think that they would be ok with that.” Mrs. Lenn said nervously.
“It is. But I have to do it. And they’re the only ones that have any idea of what’s going on.”
“But they’re kids!” She exclaimed, “They aren’t that responsible.”
“I think that they have more in them than we realize. The boys have gotten some good skills and the girls are becoming mentally strong. Give them a chance, dear.”
“I don’t know. What about their parents? How do you know it’s ok with them.”
“Well, that’s what I was doing last night. I called all of them and explained the situation. And I also explained that I would take full responsibility. And surprisingly they said yes.”
“Well…whatever you think is best…” her voice trailed off. I softly walked closer to the conversation to hear exactly what was going on. Mrs. Lenn had a concerned look on her face and was fidgeting with a pencil. I quietly made my way to the front and stood next to the counter.
“What’s going on?” I asked softly. Mr. and Mrs. Lenn looked at each other, then Mr. Lenn let out a slow breath.
“Ok, Grace. Don’t freak out. Your parents have already said it’s ok. But um. This whole Barrett situation has gotten more involved. The London police have started investigating and yesterday they contacted me. They are asking me and you all to come over to London to help investigate.” My jaw dropped open.
“They need Americans who are not known like they are. They’ve already asked me to spy out some meetings, but they need teens who would not be as suspected as some of them. I’ve already asked your parents. And since you’re 18, they are ok. What do you think?” I shook my head in shock. I slowly let my thoughts speak for themselves.
“You mean I’m being asked by the London police…to come over to London…ACROSS THE OCEAN!...with you and the rest of the gang…to help investigate a murder that happened here in White Bridge?!” Mr. and Mrs. Lenn nodded their head.
“What have the others said?”
“They don’t know yet…we’re about to ask them.” Mrs. Lenn said looking towards the door. No sooner had she spoke, but the rest of the gang walked in. Carmen bounded over to me and, like always, gave me a kamikaze hug. Soon everyone was facing Mr. Allen and he relayed the same information he had told me. All of them mirrored the same reaction I had given. After much debate and conversation, we all reluctantly agreed to take on the task.
“So…when would we be leaving?” Bryant asked.
“Tomorrow morning. And, David. They’ve asked us not to fly commercially.” David nodded his head.
“I’ll make sure the plane has fuel in it and everything is in check.” And with that, he was gone.
“For the rest of you, pack a week’s worth of clothes. I don’t know how long we’ll be staying, but that should be enough. Boys. I need you to pack flashlights, batteries, and anything we would need to protect ourselves. Girls. Pack food, blankets, and things we would need to survive for a while.” We nodded our heads and quickly went to complete our tasks. Mia, Carmen, and I walked out into the sunshine and headed to my truck in silence and the boys went the opposite direction to work on packing. One thought was running through all of our minds.
“We’re heading to London.”
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