Her legs worked on the pedals, with the force of the wind blowing in her face and hair. She couldn't turn her head around to see if there was anyone following her. The others must have known that she had left the house by now.
She had just reached the outskirts of the town on a bicycle that she had found near the tool shed. She figured it was Kevin's. She was now heading to the place where she had last seen Miss Marie in the forest. Rhénee never forgot that day. Miss Marie had gone all delirious when she saw Rhénee and mistook her for the late Emelda.
The road outside of town was lonely and deserted. After a few minutes, Rhénee stopped her bike in front of a wooden sign on the side of the road that mentioned the name of the stream nearby and an arrow pointing in the direction in which to find it. Rhénee didn't need directions because just like before, she knew where to go.
She slowly mounted off the bike with Sophie at the back, seated in a basket that Rhénee tied onto the bicycle so that it wouldn't fall off.
She grabbed the handle bars and made a turn down the corner of the dirt road into the forest. Sophie, still in the basket, let out a meow, the canopies of the trees directly above their heads. Rhénee turned to look at the cat as she continued to walk and drag the bike with her.
"I know, Sophie," Rhénee said as they were farther away from the main road and now deep into the forest. "I'm scared too."
With every step that she took, the sound of flowing water became more louder. She knew she was close and soon enough, she came into the clearing and in front of her was the stream with more trees across.
"Here we are," Rhénee said to Sophie. She soon reached out for the back pocket of her jeans with her left hand, and removed a picture of the cottage. She stared at it and then at her surrounding. "Now where to go."
Rhénee felt the bike fidget a bit and she saw Sophie jump out of the basket, landing onto the ground. Rhénee went back to looking at the photo and noticed the trees around it. Finding the exact location of the place was going to be difficult, and she knew it.
Rhénee couldn't help but look at the spot where Sophie had landed and noticed that the cat wasn't there. She looked around in a panic but she soon saw the cat walking away from her, still along the banks of the stream. Rhénee wondered where the cat was going. Sophie loved to move around, but this time, Rhénee felt she was receiving strange vibes from the cat. It felt like the cat knew where to go or was Rhénee only assuming?
"Sophie?" Rhénee called out to the cat.
For a moment, it seemed like the cat wasn't listening. Then it stop and turned it's head around to look at Rhénee.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rhénee asked.
The cat turned its head forward again and continued on its way. Rhénee just sighed and shook her head. Animals had good instincts for a reason. And based on that fact, Rhénee decided to go along with the cat. Hopefully, by luck, she might just find the cottage.
"I really hope you know where you're going," said Rhénee as she followed the cat, dragging the bicycle along with her.
***
Malcom stretched out his hand to ring the doorbell. Kevin was standing beside him, growing impatient when there came no response.
"Is anyone home?" Kevin asked Malcom.
Malcom didn't answer as he pressed the door bell again and heard it ring inside the house. The door bell was working just fine.
"Maybe no one is home," he said.
The two of them stood there for seconds, but it felt like minutes. Kevin shook his head and scratched the back of it.
"This is hopeless," said Kevin. "No one seems to be home and Rhénee must be in the forest by now."
"But we can't go there when we have no idea where she might be," said Malcom. "The forest is a vast place. She could be anywhere."
"Try ringing on the doorbell again. Miss Marie must be around. Where else can she be?"
"The hospital?" Malcom suggested. "She is old anyway."
"And you think they would let us see her? She has to be home."
This time, Kevin pressed the door bell countless times. Malcom who looked as cool as a cucumber, looked on at Kevin who looked like he was on the verge of losing his mind. Then a response came from inside the house.
"Hold on, I'm coming," came Miss Marie.
"That seemed to have worked," said Malcom as he gave Kevin a smile.
"Thanks," Kevin said, not feeling too pleased with Malcom's statement.
The white wooden door opened in front of them and there stood Miss Marie. She had a yellow apron on that was covered in flour in some places. The two young men standing in front of her now understood why she took long to open the door.
"Oh, Kevin, Malcom," said Miss Marie. "I heard the bell the first time. Sorry, if I took so long. I had to remove some cookies out of the oven. How are you two doing?"
"We're fine, Miss Marie," said Kevin. "We need your help."
"Help?" Miss Marie looked puzzled. "What happened? Is something wrong?"
"Remember the house in the forest that Rhénee was talking about?" Malcom asked. "We need to know where it is."
"Well, it's in the forest, where else can it be?"
"We need to know it's exact location."
Miss Marie shook her head. "I thought Rhénee knew where it was. Where is she anyway? Didn't she come with you?"
"No," said Kevin. "The photo didn't come with directions and I guess Rhénee is just as lost as we are. She went to look for it alone."
"Rhénee went to find the cottage alone?" Miss Marie now looked horrified.
"Yes, she did," Malcom answered. "And who knows where she could be when she doesn't know its exact location. I'm guessing you know where it is."
"This is bad," said Miss Marie. "She isn't supposed to be there. How could you let her go alone!"
Miss Marie's words came out with such brute force that both Kevin and Malcom almost took a step back. She now looked angry. Luckily, she didn't have a knife in her hand or else she would have lashed out at them. She was known for being violent at times.
"We meant to go as a group," Kevin started to explain. "But things happened at the house...., and-"
"What happened at the house?" Miss Marie interrupted him.
"We don't have time to explain right now. But what happened must have pressured Rhénee to go look for the cottage alone."
Miss Marie held her head and she looked horrified. She didn't seem to take the news very well as she felt the world beneath her begin to spin. She leaned against the beam of the door. Malcom came to hold her shoulders to support her.
"Miss Marie, are you alright?" Malcom asked.
"She's in danger," Miss Marie muttered as she looked up at Malcom. "She's in real danger. Trap... all this is...., danger. She's in danger."
"Goodness, now she's losing it," said Kevin. He also started to panick as he paced up and down.
"Keep it together, Kevin," Malcom said as he looked at him. He went back to looking at Miss Marie. "Miss Marie, are you okay?"
Miss Marie looked up at Malcom with a confused look in her eyes, and then she went on to look in front of her at the lawn, lost in her thoughts. She looked confused and Malcom was afraid that they might have led her to insanity.
She took hold of Malcom's hands on her shoulders, letting them drop. She looked back at him.
"We need to find her, right now," she said. This time, the expression on her face looked serious. It was as if she hadn't looked delirious just seconds before.
Kevin stopped pacing when he heard those words come out of Miss Marie's mouth. Malcom was surprised, but he didn't show it. Questions in his mind started to rise about the woman standing in front of him. But those questions could wait another day. Right now, he had to worry about finding Rhénee.
"Do you know where the cottage is?" Malcom asked.
"Yes," Miss Marie answered. "And I think I know where Rhénee might have gone to begin her search."
"Thank goodness," said Kevin, relief in his voice.
"Then we better get going," said Malcom. "Kevin, you can check in the house for Miss Marie to see if the oven is still on and lock the door on your way out. I'll take Miss Marie to the car."
"The keys are near the door hanging on the hook on the wall," Miss Marie told Kevin.
"Sure," said Kevin as he went inside the house, passing round Malcom and Miss Marie.
Malcom took hold of Miss Marie's hand and he slowly guided her down the stone path to his car outside the little white gate of her house.
After walking out of the gate and within a feet away from Malcom's car, Malcom opened the door for Miss Marie at the backseat. With his help, Miss Marie slowly entered the car. After closing the door, Malcom heard Eugene's footsteps behind him.
"Everything secure?" Malcom asked as he turned to look at Eugene.
"Yes," Eugene replied, dangling the front door keys in his hands and placing them in his pockets. "Everything's secure."
"Okay, let's go."
Malcom went round the car to the driver's seat. Kevin took the passenger front. Once the both of them had settled, Malcom looked at Miss Marie through the rearview mirror.
"Which part of the forest are we heading to?" Malcom asked.
"The road going east out of town, to the stream," said Miss Marie.
"That's usually the route many locals or tourists like to use," said Kevin. "We should have thought of that."
"It's our starting point, but we have a lot of ground to cover just to find her," said Malcom as he started the engine.
"I just hope she's okay," said Kevin.
"She better be," said Miss Marie. "You wouldn't want to anger the late Emelda from her grave if anything bad happens to her."
Eugene looked behind him at Miss Marie and wondered why she had said such a thing. Malcom just rolled his eyes and started the engine as he didn't believe in such superstitions.
"I really hope not," Kevin muttered to himself.
***
His hand slid over the head of the small lion statue, his eyes fixed on it with admiration. He soon heard the sound of high heeled shoes approaching. He looked up from the statue and saw Mrs. Derrand in a black sleeveless dress which had a touch of white around her neck. She also wore matching black and white high heeled shoes.
"Mr. Sinclair," Mrs. Derrand smiled at her guest. "Nice seeing you after such a long time."
"It's been a while, indeed," said Mr. Sinclair as he withdrew his hand from the statue and placed it behind his back.
"I see you're admiring the bronze statue," said Mrs. Derrand as she stared at it.
"It's quite exquisite. It almost looks life-like for a little thing."
"You know how some of us have great taste for such things."
"Really? I recall that it was your husband that had such taste. He was a hunter and artifact collector, wasn't he?"
Mrs. Derrand almost flinched as her deep blue eyes rested on Mr. Sinclair who in return, didn't seem to fear looking back into hers. The corner of his mouth went up into a smile.
"Yes, he was," Mrs. Derrand answered as she approached the white plush couch opposite from where Mr. Sinclair stood. "But you know he's late and I don't like talking about him."
"I know," Mr. Sinclair answered as Mrs. Derrand sat down and he followed suit, the bronze lion right next to him on the stand next to the couch.
"So, what brings you here?" Mrs. Derrand asked as she put up a smile on her face as though she hadn't been offended by Mr. Sinclair a few seconds ago.
"Oh, I just came here to see how you're doing."
Mrs. Derrand almost laughed, but instead she said, "funny, Mr. Sinclair. You and I have never been so close as to being friends for you to just come here and see me."
"You're right." Mr. Sinclair reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and removed something. "Then let's not beat around the bush."
There was a glass coffee table in between them and Mr. Sinclair stretched out his hand and placed whatever he had removed from his jacket onto the table. Mrs. Derrand looked at it, unamused. Mr. Sinclair, straightened up so as to look at Mrs. Derrand with a smile.
"What is this?" Mrs. Derrand asked.
"What you owe me, Mrs. Derrand."
"You can't be serious. I thought....."
"....that all has been forgotten? Not to me, and you know it."
Mrs. Derrand went back to looking at the black fountain pen on the table and her hands soon clenched into fists. She went on to look at Mr. Sinclair who still had a smile on his face that annoyed her to the core. The look in her eyes grew fierce with each silent moment that passed between them.
"Take it back," she said slowly. She was doing her best to keep her cool, but it proved to be difficult. And Mr. Sinclair could clearly see how much she was struggling to keep her anger in check.
"No, can do," he said as he stood up from his seat. "You know what you must do. There's no turning back from it."
Mrs. Derrand also stood, her face red with anger. "And you think I'll tolerate it! You and I had a deal."
Mr. Sinclair chuckled. "Yes, we did," he said. "And I am doing exactly what we agreed upon on. It's either that pen breaks, or someone dear to you does."
Mrs. Derrand would have wrapped her huge hands around Mr. Sinclair's neck, but she kept them to herself, clenched and shaking with rage by her sides. Mr. Sinclair smiled at her and started to make his way out of the living room, heading for the arched doorway. But he turned around halfway through to look at her.
"Oh..., and one more thing," he said in a delightful voice.
"What?" Mrs. Derrand asked, irritated that Mr. Sinclair hadn't left.
"Call it off," he said. His voice was stern.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about. I know what you're up to. I have eyes and ears everywhere, Mrs. Derrand."
"You don't tell me what to do. You're nothing but the late Emelda's advocate. If anything, you shouldn't be here ordering me around."
"You know better. Even though I worked side by side with her, I am one who can make your life a living nightmare."
Mrs. Derrand burst out laughing like a lunatic. Her laugh was high pitched that it echoed round the house. She even had tears in her eyes. She wiped them away as she tried to stop laughing.
"My life is already a nightmare, Mr. Sinclair," she said as she gathered her composure. "But I am still standing."
"You won't be standing any longer when you realise that this might involve your children, will you?"
Mrs. Derrand's face was filled with rage again as she held up her index finger to point at Mr. Sinclair. "Don't you dare-!"
"-involve your children?" Mr. Sinclair asked as he took a few steps towards her. He had his eyebrow raised. "Then you will listen to me and call it off. You don't want that nightmare coming true, trust me."
He turned around and left the room, leaving Mrs. Derrand who dropped back down on the couch. She felt all her energy drain out instantly. She thought of what Mr. Sinclair said, but her thoughts were soon held short by the black fountain pen lying on her coffee table.
In a quick flash, she took the pen and threw it across the room. It hit the wall, dropped to the floor and rolled under a small wooden table with a landline on it on the other side of the room. She didn't know what to do next, but she stood up and went for the landline. She picked up the handset and started to dial.
She waited for the phone to ring and when it did, she had to wait till the person finally answered:
"Hello?" came a gruff male voice at the other end of the line.
"We have a problem," said Mrs. Derrand. Her hand clenched hard onto the handset by her ear.
"What is it now? If you forgot, we're kind of busy at the moment."
"I don't care as long you listen to me!" Mrs. Derrand yelled.
"Not so loud, will you?" the man suggested, sounding like he was also losing his patience. "You need to calm down."
"Sorry, sorry," Mrs. Derrand said as she took in heavy breaths.
"Are you better now?" the man asked.
"No, I'm not," Mrs. Derrand answered, but this time, a lot more calmer.
"What is it? Why have you called?"
"Mr. Sinclair came to see me just now. And what I have to tell you might not sound so pleasant."
"What does that lawyer want with us now?"
Mrs. Derrand moved her foot forward that it was under the table and she felt it step on something. She looked down and saw the black fountain pen that she had thrown away earlier. She growled at the sight of it. Just like Mr. Sinclair, the pen wouldn't leave her alone.
"I can't talk about it over the phone. But I'll tell you this; we have to cancel the plan."
"What? Don't tell me he ordered that himself," said the man.
"He did. Or else the worse could happen to my children."
The man on the other end almost let out a chuckle but he thought twice about it. "Do you really think so?"
"He's a smart man. But one thing I don't understand is how he knew. I could tell in his eyes that he did."
"But how?"
"Someone amongst us must have told him something. But you have to call it off because I don't like this. He must be up to something."
"And what else did he tell you?"
Mrs. Derrand was on the verge of losing it, but she didn't raise her voice like she did before: "like I told you, we can't talk over the phone. Abandon everything and come here to my house."
"Are you sure you want to do this? This is our only chance at...."
"I don't care, just get here now!" Mrs. Derrand snapped and she slammed the handset back down onto the landline.
She felt her chest raise and fall rapidly, her breathing deeper than normal. One hand held her chest, the other holding onto the table next to her for support. Her head started to spin as well and she felt like at any moment, she would find herself on the floor.
She closed her eyes and started to take deep, calm breaths. Her doctor would be upset with her if he found her losing control like she had just now. She was warned that she shouldn't deal with things that stressed her out too much. But what could she do when it was too late to get out of the deep mess she was already in? Impossible, she thought to herself. There was only one way out of it and no one liked to think or talk about it.
She opened her eyes and found herself looking down at the floor where she saw the black fountain pen still near her foot. As much as she didn't want to bend over and pick it up, she did. She looked at the pen with spite when she straightened up.
She turned the black fountain pen and noticed the gold writing on it. She had trouble reading the words and her reading glasses were up in her room. So she held the pen a little further away from her for she was long-sighted. As she made out the name on it, she couldn't help but wonder what was really going on.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
