I let the warmth of the sun swarm on the surface of my skin as I rode my bike to our next meeting in the park. I had a good feeling about this for some odd reason. I just had a lot of confidence that if we search the mansion, we might find the evidence we need. Sighting Evelyn from a distance, I brought my bike to a halt and watched as she rode towards me. About five minutes later, Vivienne joined us.
“Where is Iris?” I asked scanning the park for her.
“Oh... she is calling now!” Evelyn announced as she stared at her ringing phone.
“Quick! Answer it and put it on speaker please.” I insisted impatiently.
“Hey! Where are you? We are waiting.”
“Actually, I am facing a few difficulties.” She replied
“What difficulty?” I asked taking the phone from Evelyn to speak better.
“Umm…. I just got the weirdest message from Adrian.”
“What`d he say?”
“Well… he told me to stay away from the mystery that we are trying to solve if I don’t want to get hurt.”
Evelyn and I exchanged glares. Did Adrian really men any of these threats he kept warning us about? Or does he have any idea of who killed his father and is trying to give us a clue about it? It didn’t really make sense.
“You know what?” I replied, “Just come over immediately and we would talk about it.”
“Yeah girl, we are REALLY running out of time,” Evelyn added.
“Running out of time to do what exactly. I really don’t under…..” (Evelyn ended the call though.)
“Ok! Let’s just wait for her to come over then we tell her everything.”
“Tell her what?” Vivienne asked in a confused tone.
Evelyn and I exchanged glances the second time that day.
“Ugh! This is going to be tough.” I thought “Normally, Iris takes up this very difficult responsibility. And for the first time, she comes late. Sheesh!”
“Umm… look why don’t we talk about this when Iris comes so we can do it for once? Ok?”
Approximately ten minutes later, a scared-looking Iris was seen rounding the corner on her bike.
“It`s about time already, we have been waiting for like forever,” I said.
“Ok guys, start talking. Now!” Iris commanded as she parked her bike.
I told the story of how Adrian confronted me. When I was done, a blanket of silence was spread over us. I started biting my nails in thought.
“Now what?” Vivienne asked. I watched her as she started to hyperventilate.
“Relax! I know what you are already thinking, but I have a different approach.” I comforted “we can’t give in now.”
“So why was this meeting called if I may ask?” Iris said blowing bubble gum.
“We are going to search the mansion again. BUT this time, we are searching in broad daylight.” I said as I held my finger up to prevent Vivienne from interrupting me.
“It sounds better than going in the dark.” Iris pointed out “BUT, this whole Adrian shit is really freaking me out.”
“Look, guys, I am totally working on it.” I convinced desperately “I am pretty sure he is just shaken from the whole incident and all. Adrian will come around.”
“And if he doesn’t, and he carries out those threats?” Vivienne asks
“No, he wouldn’t. I know Adrian. He is just too innocent to do such.” My voice replied.
“Ok girls! Enough talking and more action ‘Cause we are out of time already.” Evelyn warned.
We got busy with planning our next search. This time, it would be a vice-versa of the previous one. I decided this in consideration of Vivienne who was already shaken up by the weird messages Adrian sent. Evelyn and Iris were equipped with torches and camera. And least I forget, the most important of all: Hairpins. The ultimate master-key.
After watching Vivienne and Evelyn sneak into the house, Vivienne and I got to work. To be very honest, I knew most of the action was inside the mansion and that is where I actually wanted to be though. But on the other hand, I definitely have had enough of seeing the smith’s mansion. Even the trees and shrubs began to scare me to the core.
Have you ever had a feeling when you are so terrified that you don’t know what to do at a particular time? If you have, then you would be able to relate to what is about to happen at this point. If you haven’t, well, read on; after all, you read to gain more knowledge. Anyway, while viv and I were checking for footprints, we heard something that left me blood curdled for a whole minute.
A scream.
A cold and frightening scream that seemed to echo through the whole mansion. A high-pitched one in fact.
And it sounded like….. Oh no! It can’t be!
I stood up from my kneeling position on the ground and my eyes met Vivienne’s.
“Is that?” Vivienne asked. Her eyes widened like that of a scared puppy.
“Iris!”
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