Chapter four

Chapter 4

Inspector Davis looked at his son seated across from him and tried to muse his last words, "You want to help me expose Andrew for who he really is?"

Alex nodded and swallowed his whisky, "Eleanor was my sister, I would love to, in every way, get her justice."

His father leaned forward, "You have begun to act like your father, very good, although there's one problem." Alex raised his brow, as a sign his father had to continue.

Then the inspector did, "The person I was supposed to use to get to Andrew suddenly backed out."

Alex laughed, "I did not expect you to ask."

His father sighed, "Okay son, to tell you the truth, I threatened Daniella Mccurly that I would send her brother to jail for a crime he is running away from, a crime I know he did not commit, murder. But now, " he leaned backwards, "now, Daniella says she can't betray a friend that badly and she wouldn't do it. She told me she knows her brother is innocent and she would prove it to the police no matter how I try. So now, I do not know what to do."

Alex smirked,"Don't stress about his innocene or guilt, I know what to do." Alexander's plan made his father smile, how much he loved his son for being so...helpful.

***

Daniella forced the candy bar into her mouth as she closed the store. How glad Angus would be when he heard what happened today. Dashing into the house hopefully, she squeaked, "Angus! Angus!"

She checked around and couldn't find him,"Hmm, maybe he's not yet home. " Daniella waved the thought away and began chewing the next candy bar when she had another thought. Angus never mentioned going anywhere today. So where was he? Or did something come up?

Was there something that held him from reaching home? Was he in trouble with... Inspector Davis?

Her thoughts only went negative. She had angered Eleanor's father yesterday, she had turned him down. Did he consequently have something to do with Angus's disappearance? Then the phone rang, speak of the devil. The inspector simply said, "Next time be wise when you strike a deal with me."

Oh no! He did have something to do with her brother's disappearance. He hung up before she could plead with him. What did he do to Angus? Was he still alive?

It was all her fault. Even if Angus wasn't dead, he would soon be if she did not turn in another life. Oh it was Andrew they were talking about here! How she wished she could tell him. He might have an idea. But that man was watching her every move. She fell on the sofa in a pool of tears.

***

Jennifer drank lazily, preoccupied by the thought of the secret she'd kept for three long years."

Getting herself up from the sofa, she walked to the door to close it but stopped. The guilt killed her. She knew what had happened, but she chose to keep it to herself due to fear.

Eleanor had lost her life trying to tell the truth. Jennifer did not want that for herself, did she?

Sudden movements in her yard alarmed her. Who was prying around like that at this time of the night? She quickly shut the door and walked through the house to the back door. But the unknown person had already come through it. The same person who Andrew had told her was after his life, masked as usual, with a knife.

Jennifer walked back slowly, too afraid to run. Walking backwards made her trip and fall to the floor, "Who are you? What do you want?"

He replied, "My identity is none of your business. But as for what I want, I want you dead." Now, like anyone should, Jennifer summoned up some courage, got up and ran to the front door. He ran after her.

On reaching it, she remembered she had locked it. She quickly grabbed the key from her pocket but fear made her shiver and drop it. Turning around, she found him directly behind her. She screamed with shock, "What have I done?"

He replied warmly, knife in the air, "You have surprisingly kept the secret safe for three good years. However, you still pose a threat. You know what happened that night, don't you?"

She cried, "I promise, I won't tell anyone, your secret's safe with me."

He brought her closer to him, "I don't want it safe, I want it forgotten. I'm sorry it has to end this way sweetheart but I have to kill you and Andrew to make sure I'm safe. I haven't been so lucky with Andrew, but you, piece of cake."

He put his hand around her neck and caressed it, leaning himself on her, the wall directly behind her so she couldn't run, "Please, don't kill me."

Her words were simply gasps now because she knew he would surely kill her, she knew was just wasting her time.

Then his last words to her, "Shh, I promise, it wouldn't hurt. Just give it five seconds."

Then he hugged her and pushed the knife through her stomach.

* * *

The inspector hadn't called for days now, Angus still wasn't home. Daniella had consequently been away from the store since then.

She was returning from God knows where when she passed a space between two buildings beside her. She saw a dead body, a male dead body, with blood all over it. It was hidden beside a dumpster, the face not visible to her.

But one thing she knew was he was wearing her brother's clothes. Was it her brother, had they killed Angus? She gasped and approached it.

Closing her eyes, she turned the body around. When she was sure it was facing her, she opened her eyes slowly and...

Sighs and shame, it was not even a dead body, it was a mannequin. She laughed inside, still recovering from her fear.

Then finally, the old wizard called again, "Hah! Scared?What if it was really your brother? She gasped. He was always watching her. He did this!

He kept on annoying her, " You see Dani, Angus is very much alive. However, he wouldn't be for long if you don't behave. Andrew's worried about you not showing up at the store. He might visit. I need that evidence as soon as possible. I need my daughter's murderer to be punished, killed. I'm giving you one last chance to do this for me, understood?"

Dani sniffed helplessly, "Fine, " then lowered the phone shamefully. Was she really going to betray Andrew?

* * *

The sight of Jeniffer Marcello's body on the road alarmed everybody. Daniella made her way through the melee of curious residents. Jeniffer lay, striped naked, a knife through her stomach, her clothes stained with blood. What was going on? It revealed to her that Texas was a state filled with mysterious murders, or maybe just this estate.

She reached her home just to find Andrew leaning against the door post, "He killed Jennifer, didn't he?"

A little sign of tears was in his eyes. Who was this Jennifer to him? Daniella opened the door and let him in, "Nothing's balanced anymore, Eleanor was killed three years ago, mysteriously, someone's tryna kill you and now this Jennifer girl is dead."

"How'd you know about Eleanor?" Andrew asked inquisitively.

Daniella opened her room and faced him, "Mrs. Whittaker said she lived here before us, her painting's still here and she was raped and killed."

She began to cry. Unknown to her, Andrew needed consolation even more than she did, "She and I were together in high school, before she died."

Dani could see the tears he tried to hide. She knew what it meant to lose someone you loved much, "I'm sorry about that."

Andrew nodded, "What happened you were not at the store today, or yesterday?"

Daniella swallowed, she never thought of what to say, "Uhmm, I, well... Angus went off for a while and... He prefers to be present while the store is being run." He knew she was lying, making it obvious by the look he gave her, but she ignored it.

He continued, "Mom sent me here to check up on you, we are running out of groceries."

Daniella felt disappointed; he hadn't come out of his own choice, "I'd be there tomorrow."

Daniella remembered what she had to do, "I don't know a lot about you. I introduced myself the other day, don't you think it's your turn?"

Andrew tilted his head and narrowed his gaze; his what-are-you-talking-about look, "My name is Andrew Stephen." Dani slapped her forehead. This was going to be harder than she thought.