13 Chapter 12

It was dinner time at Charis Institute. This time, Ms. Jones and Detective Bassi joined them, keeping them from talking about the murders. But still, there was a simple thought that was running through the students' minds; who killed Jackie Clevona and left her here, out of everywhere?

"So, did you find anything new, detective?" Scarlett started the conversation.

"Well," Detective Bassi started, "Our current suspects are the maids you have gotten this month. The students had said that they look suspicious enough and that they don't know much about anything."

Ms. Jones' eyebrows furrowed, "There are a couple of new maids that arrived right before all this happened. Their names are Drea Burgess and...Victoria Collins."

Bassi's eyes widened as she stood up, "Is she still here?"

Ms. Jones nodded, "She works in the main building."

Detective Bassi excused herself from dinner and Ms. Jones followed her quickly. The students glanced at each other, as if asking the same thing, should we follow them?

Scarlett glanced between Lucifer, Isaac, and Caroline for a moment. But a moment is enough for her to stand up and run towards the direction the detective and her headmaster had run off to, with her friends following her lead, leaving the half-eaten food.

Once Scarlett and her friends made it out of the dormitory building, Detective Bassi and Ms. Jones had already alerted security, to prevent Victoria Collins to escape while they search for Victoria inside the building.

Caroline looked at Scarlett with worry, "What do we do?"

Scarlett inhaled a sharp breath and looked at Leonora, waiting for her to give out commands.

Leonora instantly got the message and quickly put a plan in motion, "Scarlett and Lucifer, go after Ms. Jones. Caroline, Natasha, ask the maids if they had seen Drea Burgess. Marcel, Dominique, Isaac, go to the forest and make sure she doesn't find a way out from there. Kaiden, Angelique, garden. Monique, Zach, and I will check the limos."

They all obeyed her, going off in different directions, to the main building, to the forest, to the garden, to the parking lot beside the school, back inside the dormitory building, everywhere they could cover.

____________________

"Ms. Jones, wait!" Scarlett called after the running woman who paid no mind to her.

"Ms. Jones!" Lucifer repeated, running in front of her and stopping her.

"Lucifer, we have to go," She said with a stern face.

"Ms. Jones, she might be armed," Lucifer said calmly.

Ms. Jones sighed as Scarlett caught up to them panting heavily.

"Scar, bring her inside. I'll go after the detective," He commanded, handing Ms. Jones to Scarlett.

She complied, bringing the headmaster inside the abandoned classroom as Lucifer ran off. She guided the elder woman to sit down and flicked on the lights.

The room lit up and a woman erupted from the shadows, a sinister smile on her lips. Scarlett knew the answer to that, her face had haunted her life ever since she was born, made her feel worthless even when she was a little girl.

"Who are you?" Scarlett asked, being fearless like her father had once taught her.

The woman laughed, as if mocking her, though she didn't feel offended, she felt chills all over her body. Like something is telling her to run, get out of here.

"Who are you?" Scarlett said, stronger this time, covering Ms. Jones' body with her own.

"Oh, please, Scarlett. Don't you remember me?" The woman said, her voice was icy and cold, but Scarlett recognized it. A voice that haunted nightmares she doesn't have anymore. A voice that could pierce her heart with the most hateful words.

Scarlett's eyes widened and she went pale as she looked at her, fear was sipping into Scarlett's eyes and the woman's, arrogance.

"Crystal."

____________________

"Detective! Detective, wait!" Lucifer caught up to her, turning her around.

"Lucifer, we need to find Victoria," Bassi objected.

"Do you even know how she looks like?"

Detective Bassi looked back, searching for Ms. Jones and she realized that she wasn't there.

Her head snapped back to him, "Do you?"

"Well, yes, but-" Lucifer staggered.

"Then we have to find her," She started speed-walking again.

Lucifer quickly caught up with her, "Alright, but we don't know where she is."

"Follow me."

____________________

Caroline and Natasha ran back inside the building, looking for one of the new maids, Drea Burgess. Running up to the 3rd floor, where the kitchen is, they find one of the maids that they grew up with.

"Madam Taylor! Have you seen Drea Burgess?" Caroline stopped.

Madam Taylor dropped the platter she was holding and her eyes widened, "Uh, the cook? She's in the kitchen."

"Thank you!" Caroline called, running towards the kitchen with Natasha by her side.

They pushed back the steel doors of the kitchen, looking around frantically for Drea Burgess.

"Drea Burgess? Are you in here?" Caroline called out.

A young woman emerged from behind the dishwasher, "Um, yes?"

"Are you Drea Burgess?" Natasha asked.

Drea nodded, "Yes, is something wrong?", she said, her voice quivering in fear.

"Do you know Victoria Collins?" Caroline asked calmly.

"Yes, she was employed with me."

"Tell us everything you know about her. Everything," Natasha demanded.

Drea nodded, "Alright, have a seat, please."

They sat down and waited for Drea to start speaking but she ran instead.

Natasha stood up abruptly and quickly ran to catch her. "That bitch!"

Caroline followed suit, though she is far slower than Natasha. She was already grasping Drea's arm, with a strength that will surely leave a mark.

"Stay here and answer our questions!" She demanded.

Drea nodded in fear, "Y-yes. A-al-alright."

"Why was she here?" Caroline heard Natasha ask, her voice still as strong.

"She needed a job," Drea answered curtly.

Caroline finally reached them as Natasha raised her eyebrow, "You're hiding something."

"N-no. I'm not," Drea said, trying to keep her stutters to a minimum and failing miserably.

"Were you helping her?"

"No, she didn't do anything. I-I didn't do anything."

"Okay, calm down. Let's just sit down and talk. And please don't run away this time," Caroline said.

They sat down on some chairs they found and Caroline immediately began talking. "Did she kill her?"

"Her sister? No, of course not," She answered.

"What do you know?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I don't, don't know anything."

"Yes, you do. Tell us," She insisted.

"I- ah- I, I," Drea sighed, "She was here for a job, like the rest of us. But then her sister called her and asked for a way in. She didn't want to do it, but her sister, she knew things about Vicky that she doesn't want anyone to know. I don't know much, but I know Vic wouldn't kill her."

"Not even in an accident?" Caroline asked softly, calming down like Drea.

"She told me she didn't see Alex that night."

"Alright, just come with us to give a statement to the police so you don't end up being a suspect," Caroline suggested.

Drea nodded, standing up with Natasha following closely behind, still holding her.

____________________

Marcel, Dominique, and Isaac strode through the sunlit forest. The sun was setting behind the lake as Isaac glanced at it, looking over to a canoe on the side of the lake.

"I can't believe she put us up to forest duty," Dominique complained.

"At least we're not the ones who gotta chase cars if she is taking off that way," Marcel argued, pointing to the direction of the parking lot.

Isaac stalked through the forest, leaving the two behind. Silenced and cold surrounded him, making him shiver though he wouldn't show it. Squinting his eyes at a moving figure behind one of the trees, he walked closer to it.

Closer. That thing is going farther as Isaac started running.

Closer. Closer.

As Isaac almost reached the figure, he tripped over something.

"Fuck!"

"Isaac, you alright?" He heard Marcel call.

Isaac steadied himself, looking down on the ground.

"Who's that?"

____________________