EMPTY HOUSE

Three cars drove at a high speed, and they parked in front of Sharon Rain's house.

"Get him!" Gareth barked, and two armed men came out of the car. They trotted towards the entrance, and to their shock, the kitchen door was wide open. Who leaves their doors open in the night? One of the men pushed it further and entered, searching every corner for any form of human life.

He gave an order for two of the men to go and search upstairs, and after a short while they were back downstairs, reporting that Jeremy was not there.

The leader of the team ran to advice Gareth; "the house is empty, boss!"

"What? Somebody warned him! Who gave him a warning?" Gareth asked, feeling like he was going to burst from fury. Who warned Jeremy? How did the person know that they were after him?

Gareth marched into the house and combed it out room by room, corner by corner, and still he found no-one.

"Does this mean we have a mole within the Pinkerton staff?" he asked, blazing with anger. Gareth hated defeat.

"We're going back home, all the staff must wake up now and we need to find out who the mole is!"

Upon Gareth's orders, two of the cars were flying back to the mansion, while one remained parked in a hidden corner, watching out in case Jeremy decided to come back home.

Gareth quickly updated lady Pinkerton, and an alarm was rung, waking up all the employees at the Pinkerton mansion. Since they already knew the different alarm sounds and what each meant, they all ran from the staff quotas to the basement and assembled at the place which they secretly called the torture area.

Gareth walked in, his face looking as scary as ever, his nostrils flaring in the uttermost rage, and his voice almost chocking; for he was extremely angry.

"Who is Tessa's friend?" he asked, and everyone remained silent.

"I have just asked a question!" he growled, his booming voice echoing in the whole basement.

"It's….it's Jessica," one chef stammered.

"Jessica, come forward!" Gareth's voice screeched, scaring everyone to death.

Jessica, who was already standing in the front row, took two steps forward, and fell down on her knees.

"I did not do anything wrong, sir Gareth. Trust me, I have not done anything wrong," she cried in great pain.

"Where is Tessa? Tell me her day's plans!"

"Tessa, as far as I know, is off duty today. As per where she is or what her plans are; I honestly do not know, sir Gareth," Jessica pleaded.

Gareth scrutinized the girl before silently walking among the staff, looking closely at each and every one of them.

"Check her phone!" he screamed. "Check for messages and calls to Tessa!"

Jessica stated that her phone was in her room, and a bodyguard was instructed to go and collect it.

"In fact;" Gareth called out after the bodyguard, "collect all the phones and bring them here!"

Everyone quickly updated where their phone ones. Almost all of them were in open places anyway, so it was not too much work for the bodyguard. Also, a few of the staff members had carried their phones along when they went to the torture area.

The bodyguard nodded his head and disappeared into the darkness, headed to the staff quotas.

He came back with the phones, and five men were assigned to unlock all phones and check for anyone who had either sent a message, made or received a call from Tessa within the last twenty-four hours.

"Start with Jessica's phone" Gareth shrieked at the top of his lungs, and the phone was checked.

"Nothing, sir. Jessica hasn't made or received a call from Tessa in the last six days."

Gareth angrily shook his head and threw an order: "get my laptop! This will take too much time! Get my laptop now! I will find out if anyone spoke to Tessa or this man Jeremy! If anyone did, please come forth now and confess, before find it out myself!"

When the laptop came, Gareth's fingers angrily typed away, and he barked off one more time:

"I am about to find out if anyone had any communication with either Tessa or this man called Jeremy! One last chance I am giving you, if you confess now, I will lighten your punishment. Tell me now; did anyone get in touch with these people?"

Immediately Gareth received a phone call and he answered it,

"Could it be Kiara herself who made the call?" it was lady Pinkerton asking.

"No. I have scanned her phone. My assumption is she used someone's phone, and within the next two minutes I will have found out who it is," Gareth assured the lady.

He went back to typing furiously when one maid, a tall girl with short brown hair and large, fearful eyes, came forward and went on her knees:

"Sir Gareth, it was my phone. I went in to check on ma'am Kiara, and she asked to use my phone. I swear on my life, sir Gareth, I don't know anything about why she called Tessa; but she used my phone."

Gareth stopped typing and looked at the girl.

"Show her all the phones and let her identify her phone now!" he said.

The girl, with hands shaking, went through the phones and picked out hers.

"Unlock it!" Gareth ordered.

He went through the phone and sure enough, there was a call made to Tessa, and soon after that one, another one made to Jeremy. Gareth already knew Jeremy's number; for he knew very well to keep his enemies' information at hand, and to update it as well.

"Everyone is dismissed; we will stay with this one…what's your name?" he asked the girl.

"My name…my name is…"

"Just spit it out!"

"Rosaline! My name is Rosaline, sir!" the girl said.

"Right, Rosaline, come with me, you shall talk!"

"Sir please, I don't know anything. Ma'am Kiara was the one who made the calls, you may even ask her. Please do ask her…"

Gareth ignored the cries as he continued walking, the bodyguards following him.

When they were seated in a room, Gareth excused himself and called lady Pinkerton.

"Yes, Gareth?" she responded.

"Lady Pinkerton, the girl Kiara is the one who alerted Jeremy!"

"How so? You said her phone never called out."

"She used a maid's phone."

"What shall we do with her, then?" the lady's voice was icy cold and menacing.

"Leave her to me, lady Pinkerton." Gareth's voice was equally icy.

"No Gareth; I want to be involved in everything. I want her alive. Vincent Lisandro still needs her. So don't do anything to harm her in any way, unless if I give you the authority to do so. For the sake of the child, she shall live."

"Yes, lady Pinkerton."

***

On the other side of town, Jacob and Nesisa welcomed Jeremy into their home. The young man was a mess, looking seriously confused, and on the verge of tears.

"You're a man, Jeremy! Don't cry!" Jacob pulled his brother and hugged him.

"We have to get you out of here within the next one hour. It's obvious that Gareth knows about me, and he will track you down to this house." Jacob spoke while pulling his phone out.

"Where shall I go, brother? I'm sorry to include you in this mess, please help me, brother!" he cried.

"The attic! Let him go in the attic! That place hasn't been used in years! It's dark and dusty as hell, and no one would suspect that anyone is in there!" Nesisa suggested.

"What…what if…what if Gareth and his men come here?" Jeremy looked at Nesisa, fear written all over his face.

"We will have to make sure that we don't clean the attic. Keep it dirty as it is, with dust and spider webs, and then when someone comes, once they peep in, they will be convinced that no one can stay in such a place." The young lady explained.

Jacob looked at his brother and felt sorry for him.

"For how long will he stay in the attic? The Pinkertons will continue to look for him until they can have his head on a platter. And with the dust, he will be sneezing…"

"Sneezing should be the last thing on your mind now, Jacob! Your brother's life is the most important thing at this moment, and we have to do our best. As it is, the attic is our only option. He should hide right in the corner. It's dark, dusty and smelly in there. So we leave it like that. If Gareth comes and peeps, he won't even feel the need to get in. He will believe that no-one can stay in such a place."

"Oh, ok. If you say so." Jacob hesitated.

"And let me say this now; mum should never be told about this! This is a secret between the three of us. If mum ever gets to know, if Gareth scares her with a gun; she will talk!"

"Yes, I agree." Jacob said.

"Now off you go, Jacob. I will make sure you have food up there. No phone. I will give you a torch, which unfortunately, you cannot use at night. And while you are up there, keep your ears alert. If you hear any sounds or any noise of any sort, switch off that torch and crawl into that corner. Under no circumstances shall you make a sound. Go!"

Jeremy nodded and ran up. He entered, and immediately sneezed multiple times, as the dust greeted him. With Nesisa's help, he put down a foam rubber and blankets in a corner; that was all he needed.

He and Jacob had to come up with codes for when he needed to use the bathroom, but generally, he did not need to leave the attic until the dust settled. But with the Pinkertons, who knew when the dust was going to settle; if ever? Were they the kind of people to ever forget? Forgiving seemed impossible with them. How about forgetting? Sounds impossible as well.

The rays of the sun brightened the place, and slowly, Jeremy began to see around him. He had not slept a wink, and he pulled his satchel closer to him. With tears running, the young man took out his diary, and held a pen in his hands.

The tears fell on the book, dampening it, but at that moment he cared not about the book getting wet. He made his entry:

Letters to Kiara

Letter 105

If, six months ago; someone had told me that one day I would find myself running at night, and locked up in a dirty, old attic, in order to save my life, I would not have believed them. I would have thought the person was mad.

I don't know what to say, Kiara. I don't know what to say to you today.

Did it have to come to this? Who would have ever known that we would come to this?

Now I am in the attic, in the face of death. What can Jacob and Nesisa do, should Gareth walk in through their door right now?

I am done, Kiara; I am a dead man.

I don't know how many days, or hours…or maybe minutes…I have left.

When I die; when I leave the face of this earth, the one true memory you can hold of me is that I loved you, Kiara.

I love you with my entire being and soul.

Forever yours, JRR