” You say she went out when?”, the cop asked.
” I don’t really know when, but it was in the morning”, I said.
” What’s her name?”, he asked.
” Janet…. Janet Kelly”, I answered.
” And you say she went out with a guy?”, he asked.
” Yeah, her friend, though I think they’re secretly dating”, I said. He scribbled something down in a book.
” Any chance you know the name of the young man?”, he asked.
” I can’t really remember”, I said.
” Humph”, the cop sighed, ” Are you sure you even know anything about her other than her name and the fact that she’s your sister?”, he asked.
” Frankly speaking, no. She’s way too secretive about what goes on with her” , I replied.
” Alright, I’ll draft a report and we’ll begin our search in the morning okay?”, he said as he arranged the paperwork on his desk.
” Tomorrow? what if she gets hurt tonight?”, I asked.
” I’m sorry sir, but with the sparse info you’ve given me, there’s nothing we can do till tomorrow morning”, he said.
” Dammit!”, I cussed as I rammed my fist against the desk.
______________________________________________
*** At night, Tristan’s Villa***
The headlights went off as he turned off the engine. ” Alright, we’re here”, he said as he turned to look at me. I remained sulky, and ignored him. ” You’re still not gonna answer me?”, he asked. I remained silent.
” Humph”, he sighed, ” Alright then, let’s go inside. You’ll catch a cold”, he said as he got out of the car. Then he turned around over to my door and opened it for me.
” Alright get down”, he said. I got out of the car and began walking towards the gate.
” Get back here”, he said as he caught up to me and held my hands.
” Let go of me, jerk!”, I yelled at him.
” Calm down Jane, you’ll understand why I did all that when we get inside, okay? Trust me”, he said trying to look me in the eye.
” Fine!”, I said, yanking my hand out of his grip and walking away towards the house.
” Humph”, he sighed as he followed behind me.
______________________________________________
” Beep!… beep!… beep!” I heard as beeps of the heart rate monitor permeated the air. ” Urrghh!”, I groaned as I woke up.
” Maddie!”, I heard Justin’s voice call out to me. My eyes opened gradually, blinking rapidly as I tried to see clearly.
” It’s me, Justin”, he said as he stood right over me.
” Where am I?”, I asked.
” You’re at the hospital”, he said.
” Hospital? Why?”, I asked in a groany voice.
” You got shot, don’t you remember?”, he asked. Then I suddenly remembered Isabelle.
” Wait, where’s Isabelle?”, I asked as my eyes widened. ” Urrghh! Fuck!”, I exclaimed in pain as I tried to sit up.
” Don’t move. She’s at home in my room”, Justin said as he put me back down gently supporting my head, placing it on the pillow. I looked at him and smirked.
” You know what, Justin?”, I said.
” What is it?”, he asked curiously.
” I can see why my sister likes you so much”, I said.
” Really? How so?”, he asked as he sat on the chair beside my bed.
” I clearly misjudged you. You’re clearly nothing like your father”, I said, ” you truly do deserve my sister”, I added.
” Thanks, that means a lot coming from you”, he said.
” And what’s that supposed to mean?”, I asked with a smirk on my face.
” You know? I didn’t really expect something so touching, from you”, he said.
” And I didn’t really expect you to be so caring”, I said.
” Hmmmm, Touche”, he said which made both of us laugh.
” I wanna talk to Isabelle”, I said.
” She still hasn’t gotten her memory back though”, he said.
” Regardless, I just want to hear her voice again”, I said.
” Alright, wait here. I’ll go get a doctor and get you discharged from here, so you can come home, okay?”, he said as he stood up and walked towards the door. ” Don’t move, okay?”, he said before he shut the door.
” Funny guy”, I said with a smile as I closed my eyes.
______________________________________________
*** Raining at night, Greenhill county***
” Did you find them?”, mom asked anxiously as we walked in, quickly shutting the door, so the storm won’t get in.
” Not even a sign of them”, Dad said as he took off his coat and hat, squeezing the water out of them.
” Did you guys check the grocery store?”, Chanel asked.
” Yeah we did. Nothing there too”, I replied.
” We’ll just have to report this to the sheriff tomorrow. He’ll probably be able to do something about it”, Dad said, ” can we get a hot bath? we’re freezing. Ain’t that right, Jerry?”, Dad asked.
” You betcha”, I replied.
” You boys go get ready, I’ll get you some hot water right away”, Mom said as she rushed into the kitchen. As I walked to my room, I wondered how Janet and Isabelle were fairing in this gang-infested county.
______________________________________________
*** Tristan’s Villa***
” You said I would understand once I got inside and you still haven’t told me anything”, I complained.
” Humph!”, he sighed, ” Fine! come here”, he said as he pulled me by the hand to his room. He swung the door open and dragged me in.
” Stop it!”, I yelled.
” Now look at those damn pictures”, he said pointing at some portraits on the wall.
” It’s you and Isabelle”, I said as stared at them.
” Isabelle lives here, she’s my wife. Ya happy now?”, he said.
” You have a wife? when did you get married?”, I asked.
” It’s none of your business”, he said. ” Now you know why I’m searching for her”, he added. I suspected he might be lying, afterall he had always been the cunning type. But then again, I remembered Isabelle telling me that she had a rich husband who looked just like me. My eyes widened at the realization.
” That was you?!”, I exclaimed in surprise.
” What?”, he asked.
” Isabelle told me she had a husband who looked just like me. So that was you?”, I asked.
” Yeah, probably”, he said, ” so now quit bugging me and go have some sleep. It’s been a long day”, he added.
” But she also said that she ran away”, I said looking at him with a suspicious glare.
” What’s with the look?”, he asked.
” People don’t just run away from their husbands, you know? What did you do to her?!”, I asked.
” Geez, calm down for Pete’s sake. I’m way too tired for this. Go get some sleep and we’ll talk about it in the morning”, he said as he took off his shirt.
” You’re so annoying!”, I said as I stormed out of the room. Something wasn’t right about all this. I could feel it. He was hiding something and I was going to figure it out no matter how hard he tried to conceal it.
______________________________________________
*** Morning, Royal Resorts***
” How do I find her? where do I start?”, I pondered as I lay on my bed, with my hands behind my head. ” Maybe I should tell Tristan”, I thought.
” Dring! dring!!”, the phone rang. I jumped off the bed almost like a spring, then ran to the phone and picked it up.
” Hello?”, I answered.
” Hey”, the voice answered.
” Who is this, please?”, I asked.
” It’s me bonehead!”, the voice said. I recognized that rudeness immediately. ” It’s Janet!”, I thought.
” Janet!, is that you?”, I asked, my heart beating faster.
” Who else would it be?”, she asked rhetorically.
” Where in the world are you? I’ve been worried sick!”, I yelled.
” Geez! will you stop shouting. Urrghh! You’re so annoying”, she said.
” Okay fine, are you okay? where are you?”, I asked.
” I’m with Tristan”, she said.
” What!”, I yelled.
” It’s a long story. I wound up here yesterday by accident”, she said.
” Which of the houses is it? let me come pick you up” I said.
” Honestly, I can’t tell. I’ve never seen this one before”, she said.
” A new house?”, I muttered, ” that bastard is spending dad’s money”, I thought.
” Alright, hang in there. I’ll find you, okay?”, I said.
“Pffft”, she scoffed, ” he’s my brother too, you know?”, she said.
” Regardless, I don’t trust him. I’ll come get you soon”, I said.
” Alright, I’ll be waiting. Here’s boring anyway. Oh he’s coming! Later”, she said.
” Wait, let me talk to… beep!… beep!.. beep!”, she hung up.
” Damn you Tristan”, I muttered as I took my keys and left the hotel room.