A man sat watching television. A comedy show was on but he did not smile. He felt someone watching him. The back of his neck prickled. He stood up and walked to the window. Nobody was there. However, a tell-tale sign of stepped-on grasses let him know someone's outside. His dog awoke and went to its master from the sofa, as if comforting him. The man shut his eyes and grimaced. The time must have come.
***************************************************
Jimmy and the gang's school, Mawfer School was having a cultural musical play. Everybody was busily preparing. The M-gang was chosen as its committee much to everyone's chagrin. However, Daphne, being weak, and John, having charmed the teacher again, were not in the committee.
"Jeez, this thing is real heavy,"Jimmy grumbled as she carried a cardboard of a tree.
"I need some help too. Minnie, can you you help me take some tape? We are running out here," Tina asked.
Minnie quickly went to grab some tape. She saw Nick who was doing some computer work on the music for the play.
"Going smooth?" Minnie asked Nick softly.
"Yeah. Except for some songs,"Nick replied without looking up. Then he mumbled softly,"stupid play."
Minnie smiled and hurried back to Tina.
"Hey, need some help?" Daphne asked as she came into the great hall to her friends.
"Daphne! Sure! Can you help me push that stupid tree? I can't move it! It's like it's stuck!" Jimmy sighed, putting away one strand of hair from her forehead.
Daphne nodded but before she could help, a voice said, "here, I will help."
Daphne whirled around and blushed. Her major crush helped Jimmy pushed the tree.
Robert, a handsome young man with black hair, slight brown highlights, and disconcerting warm brown eyes, was in Jimmy and the gang's class. He was helpful and kind, especially assisting Daphne a couple of times. He turned to Daphne after pushing the tree. "You shouldn't try to do any labour. You are still weak from a relapse last month, isn't it? We most definitely wouldn't want you to be sick again." He smiled and said, "after all, you have to watch us in the play."
Daphne blushed furiously and turned away. Robert was the lead man in the play. Jimmy spoke out loud, "oh dear, I am so sorry, Daphne! How selfish of me not to consider your situation!"
Daphne said softly,"it's all right, Jimmy. I am better today."
Minnie saw how awkward Daphne looked between Robert and the apologizing Jimmy and said, "Daphne, why don't you help us do some light work? We do need extra help in taping the stage decorations."
Daphne looked at Minnie gratefully. "Sure. I don't mind."
Then they all set to work. John was ambling to the great hall to see how his friends are faring when he saw a shadow disappearing. He shrugged, thinking it was his imagination. Little did he know that someone was steadily watching Robert from the window.
"How are you all?" John said cheerfully.
Jimmy scowled. "Why don't you just take your butt out here and go to your new girlfriend or something? We don't need you here."
John placed a hand over his chest and grinned. "Oh, I am hurt."
Tina scowled along with Jimmy, which was unusual. "Cut out your joke, John. We are way too busy. Help or get lost."
John backed up on Tina's serious tone. "Whoa, whoa, calm down. I didn't say I won't help, did I? But, I only help part-time." He grinned.
Robert smacked his back. "Good, man. I know you wouldn't let these ladies down."
John grinned even wider. "Why, if it isn't the Good Smaritarian. I would have guessed you are helping out too."
John and Robert were best friends. Both of them also dated some cheerleaders due to their good look and interest in football.
Tina, Minnie and Jimmy had already ignored them, getting to work. The play was coming soon.
*************************************************************
Three weeks later, there was a crowd gathering in the great hall to see the play. Robert and the rest of the cast were preparing backstage. The M-gang was in the back row, fidgeting, except John.
"Oh no, did I tape the cloud firmly? What if it fall?" Jimmy said in horror and was worried.
"Did I placed in the nails wrongly? What if it tripped someone?" Tina was worried too.
"I might have taped the sign too loosely," Daphne trembled in anxiety.
"Jeez, can you all stop worrying? I want to enjoy the play in peace, you know." John sighed and rolled his eyes in frustration.
Nick walked over to them. He sagged down onto the chair in relief."You seem so tired. Are you okay?" Minnie asked.
"Yah. The music is not only diffcult to find, they are so hard to complie." Nick sighed. "I'm glad that is over."
"Oh even the technology genius will say such a thing," Jimmy teased. Nick glared at her.
Tom came in. He had bought a ticket. "Hi, had a hard time?"He asked sympathically. Jimmy moaned letting him know the extent of the hard work. Tom chuckled, "I see. Good job then, everyone."
Tina and Minnie beamed with joy. Daphne smiled at his praise. John just rolled his eyes. Nick turned to his laptop for some peace. Meanwhile on backstage, something was going to happen.
********************************************
'Why don't you go away? I don't want to see you here!" Robert whispered to a man furiously.
"You think I want to be here? A few weeks ago, that person came to look for me! I can't go on like this, jerking at every shadow! Why can't you give me some money?!" The man hugged his head and cried, shaking his head.
"Listen. Why don't you go away now and I will contact you later? The play is starting," Robert said calmly. The man shone his eyes hopefully and scrambled out. Robert sighed at his bad luck and went away to prepare. No one knew that they were watched.
***************************************************
The play was a success and to everyone's relief, nothing fell down. The M-gang toasted one another with cold drinks.
"Whew, I am glad that's over! Remind me never to take up this kind of job!" Jimmy sagged down her chair. Tina and Minnie smiled in agreement. John shook his head in amusement.
"By the way, where's Daphne?"Tom asked.
Nick looked up from his laptop. "She said she got something on today."
Minnie smiled secretively. A few days ago, Daphne had confided in her about her crush. She was doubtlessly searching for Robert.
She was right. Daphne went to the backstage nervously. She had a pair of free tickets to an amusement park and wanted to ask Robert but was afraid to be rejected.The backstage was eerily silent. Everyone had quickly left home. Robert had mentioned to John that he was going to remain until quite late as the costumes were tedious to undress. He refused any help. Daphne thought this was a good time to ask him out.
Unfortunately, Daphne did not expect murder. Which was what happened. Robert laid on a pool of blood still as a stone. Another man laid similarly but with a knife in his gut. Daphne screamed in horror and fright.
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The M-gang learned that Daphne was sent to the hospital in shock. She had fainted. They also found out about the murder. The M-gang rushed to the hospital to check on Daphne. They were still reeling from shock at the murder. Jimmy was the first to burst through the door. She stopped abruptly, seeing Daphne, and became anxious.
Daphne was pale as a ghost. She was lying very still on her bed, a pained and worried look on her face. Her mother was peeling an apple and looking at her time and again nervously. The girls all rushed to Daphne's side.
Daphne asked them in a soft and weak voice, "is Robert alright? Issss heee de-" Daphne stuttered and could not continue.
Minnie said first. "The police said Robert suffered from concussion. He is not dead and has a high chance of surviving."
Daphne breathed out a sigh of relief and she relaxed. Her cheek gained some colour back. Minnie looked at Tina and Jimmy in sadness. They knew there was more. After saying good-bye, they left, promising to bring more details on Robert.
"Shouldn't we tell her Robert is suspected of murder?" Jimmy whispered.
"No!" Minnie shook her head frantically and exclaimed loudly, which was unusual. Tina backed her up. "Daphne is already suffering from shock. If she know Robert, her friend, is suspected, she might get a heart relapse."
Tom agreed. "We will tell her when she's better." Nick felt bad for Daphne and resolved to find out more from Mark.
*******************************************
A woman yawned and looked at the clock. She thought, "he's so late." She looked at the boring show on television and yawned again, wishing he would be faster. The door knocked. She thought irritatingly, "finally." She opened the door with a whoosh and before she could react, she fell down to the floor with her mouth open in shock. Blood flowed out from her body. Her neck was silted. The killer walked calmly to the kitchen, washing off the blood and put it in the knife stack. He went upstairs and grabbed clothes to change. He knew the house well. He left, shutting the door with his gloved hands. He dumped his bloody clothes inside a plastic bag in a trash bin far away from the neighbourhood. He knew no one would go into the house for a long while. His revenge was done.
*********************************************
Daphne was let out of the hospital after one night of observation. The next late morning at home, she heard an interesting detail.
Her father exclaimed at the table. "Isn't this the murder at Daphne's school play? What kind of name is Derisk Mersley? His parents must be mad."
Daphne's mother was going to hush him, thinking of Daphne's shock, but stopped as his words sank in. "Hmm.....Derisk? Where do I hear that name before?"
Daphne snapped to attention at her mother's words. "Mom, you know him?"
Her mother turned around, a thoughtful expression on her face. "No, no, I had heard it. Now where do i hear it.....?"
Daphne resumed eating her food, waiting impatiently. She nearly choked when her mother shouted suddenly."Aha! It was Gloria Dameu."
"Huh?"
"Did you remember that I attended a party over at Mrs. Washley's house? Gloria was a newcomer to the neighbourhood and she announced she wasn't going to stay here for long. Almost smugly, I say. She said she was waiting for her husband to get some money so that they could emigrate. I disliked her on the spot. She's too vain to my liking. She kept showing her diamond wedding ring."
Daphne pondered. "Has she left yet?"
"Oh no. From the last I heard she's still staying five houses down our street."
The phone rang. It was Minnie calling to say there's an urgent meeting for M-gang.Daphne rushed to the clubhouse. Everyone was frowning and looking unease.
"What happened?" Daphne asked anxiously. Minnie refused to look at her eyes. Tina looked at the ground, shuffling her feet. Jimmy pretended to fiddle with her shoes laces on her sneakers.
"Oh for heaven's sake, let's tell her the truth! We can't keep this from her forever, you know?" John burst out.
Tom coughed and turned to Daphne. "Daphne, listen calmly. We can't keep this from you any longer because we really need your help. Robert was suspected of killing Derisk and this morning we got news that he was arrested for murder."
Daphne absorbed the information slowly. When it fully sank into her mind, her knees buckled and John and Tom helped her to a chair. Minnie, Tina and Jimmy looked at her in anxiety and fear.
Daphne finally spoke, drained and weak, "What do you need from me?"
"We need to ask you questions. And I am afraid the police will be coming to see you as well. Mark has warned me to warn you. Your mother had asked them to give you some time to recover because of your heart," Nick said, sympathically.
Daphne was then interrogated but she could only remember a bit. She was asked to go home to rest. On the way home, she remembered about Gloria and decided to pay a visit. She went to the house her mother had said.
On the door steps, Daphne sniffed. There was a kind of rotten smell coming from inside. She slightly gagged and wondered briefly why Gloria had not done anything to remove it. She knocked on the door and found to her surprise and astoinishment, the door opened a bit. Daphne tried to push it further, calling out, but it was blocked by something inside. The rotten smell was much heavier and Daphne tried not to breathe too much. Finally, she succeeded in pushing the door open. However, what laid before her was not pleasant. Daphne dashed out and vomitted on the grasses.
*********************************************
The police came and interrogated Daphne. The M-gang knew of this and rushed to see her. Daphne did not faint but was slightly hyperventilating. Her face was, if possible, paler than before. Minnie and Tina tried to console and comfort her. Her parents were dismayed at another murder seen by Daphne. The police was told about Gloria's relationship with Derisk, her husband.
********************************************
"Why did the police think it's Robert?" Jimmy asked at the clubhouse before the second murder.
Nick replied, "Mark said his fingerprints were on the knife and they also find out that he ahd an altercation with the victim over money."
"Money?" John asked in astonishment just as Tom asked "Isn't he hit?"
Nick said the police found that Robert was indeed hit on his head but they think it was the victim who struggled and hit him accidentally. The victim's fingerprints were found on the gold figure sculpture. Robert had seemed to owe Derisk money, as overheard by one of the students in the backstage before the play. Only Derisk's driver license with his name was found to identify him. The police was still searching for his relative and address until Daphne called.
******************************************
"Oh yeah why does Daphne go to see Robert?" Jimmy suddenly asked, back at the clubhouse.
"She said she got some project diffculties," Minnie lied. Robert was in Daphne's group project. Tina knew by instinct her sister had lied. She raised an eyebrow and Minnie grinned sheepishly, shaking her head to indicate later. Then, Tina's eyes shone with realisation. She grinned at Minnie and nodded her head to show understanding.
No one noticed their exchange, being busy with the murder. Nick was searching the computer for information. Jimmy, not the romantic kind, accepted the explaination easily and set her thinking cap on the murder.
Nick yelled after a while. "Eeruka! I find it!"
Everyone scrambled to their feet to see. It was part of an old cut-off newspaper.
It read: " A family was murdered. The only survival was a child called Robert Ashton. An eyewitness called Derisk Kinhun accused Luke Fano of letting the murderer go deliberately as well as giving information for money. Luke Fano was jailed for ten years."
Tina spoke first. "Is that Robert? His surname is different."
"He must have been later adopted," Minnie surmised.
"Then, is the killer Luke?" Tom asked thoughtfully.
"Where is he? Has he been freed?" Jimmy asked.
"And how do we gather evidence against him?" John stomped his feet in frustration.
******************************************
It's all that girl's fault! If she hadn't tell the police about Gloria, I can leave the country before the police suspected me! At this rate, Robert will get free. She kept interfering! I will kill her if my plan fails!
Luke clenched his hands into fists.
*****************************************
Daphne laid down bonelessly in her bed. After much persuasion, she had gotten her parents' help to let her talk to Robert. Robert was in despair. His face had changed dramatically, making Daphne's heart ache. Robert had told her the truth. As a little child, he was playing hide and seek when he watched his family being killed mercilessly. He was then adopted by a rich family. He could not, did not want to remember the awful memory but Derisk came to him suddenly. Derisk knew Luke was released and stalking him. Derisk wanted money to flee. Robert agreed reluctantly at the outrageous amount of money asked at the backstage when he was hit on the head. Then he could not remember anything else.
Robert's eyes gleamed with hope at Gloria's death, making Daphne determined to find Luke. Daphne slept fitlessly. She had a dream.
That was when she discovered her gift.
*************************************
The next day, Daphne sneaked to the backstage. She went over to the corner near the blood that was there originally, trying not to shudder. She finally saw it.
Then, everything went black.
**************************************
"Did you see Daphne?" Jimmy asked John and Nick.
"No, we are in the third floor not second."
"We hadn't seen her the entire day after the break. She's not in her class either," Tina explained.
Minnie spoke softly, "her parents said she didn't come home either. The neighbours didn't see her."
"I got a hunch something's wrong," Jimmy said, frowning in worry.
"Maybe she went home and the neighbours didn't see," John said reasonably.
"Let's check it out," Nick suggested.
Nobody was at home. It was dark.
"Now what?" Tina was getting increasingly worried.
Everyone was stumped.
*********************************
Daphne awoke to a dark room. She had diffculty breathing and realized she was gagged and tied. She was in an enclosed room with charcoal burning.
*********************************
Mark was noticed of Daphne's disappearance but he could not do anything until twenty-fours hours were gone. He could not find Luke's whereabouts either.
The M-gang decided to go to the first scene of crime for clues.
"Hey, look! Is that red tie from our play? It don't look familiar. And is that blood?" Jimmy asked excitedly.
Tom used a pen to poke it and noticed the name of Herling S.
"I think we got our first clue." Tom put the tie inside his plastic bag.
John and Nick went to research on the name while Tom went to the police with the tie. Tina, Minnie and Jimmy went to Gloria's house. The girls were rumbling in the grasses outside for clues since the house was locked.
"Ooh, look! A tie pin!" Tina exclaimed triumphantly, holding out a tiny thing.
"I also found something. A sticker!" Jimmy examined it critically.
"What sticker?" Tina asked stumbling toward Jimmy.
"Umm...it read....Mo..i.u..n....Moiuns?" Jimmy scratched her head. "Never heard of it before."
"I know what it is, " Minnie scrambled to her feet. "Hurry, I know where Luke is! We need to go there fast."
After thirty minutes of taxi, they got off at a town. Moiuns Fair was taking place there.
"I should have asked. Shouldn't we tell and wait for the others first?" Jimmy asked doubtfully.
"We don't have time. If what I am thinking is true, Daphne is in serious trouble now." Minnie looked around.
"I will call Tom and the rest, " Tina promised, quickly opening her phone.
They asked around for twenty minutes and successfully got news that a man with Luke's description stayed at the priest's house. They went to knock the door and got a horrible shock, regretting their stupid action.
*****************************************************
Daphne was in a coma in the hospital. She had survived the ordeal but got a terrible heart relapse. Her parents were staying overnight in anxiety. Robert was grateful and in huge remorseat her illness. The M-gang was resting in their homes in exhaustion, after Daphne's parents promised to inform them about her condition.The next three days were a wreck for all of them. Daphne finally became conscious. She returned to school, to everyone's relief, after two weeks of stay. She also confessed to Robert and they became a couple.
**************************************************
Jimmy, Tina and Minnie yelled in shock as Luke in priest wear opened the door. Luke, in fast action, tried to grab them. He only grabbed Minnie. Jimmy and Tina struggled with him to free her and escaped.
Suddenly, a police siren sounded and the squad cars stopped in front of the house. Although Luke panicked and tried to run, Jimmy successfully tripped him with her foot and in which got a bruise. Luke was arrested. Daphne was found in dangerous state inside Luke's room and was rushed to hospital.Nick, John and Tom hurried over to their friends. They had already found out Luke's location even before the girls called. Tom was with the police when they got the news about Luke from an informer. Nick had researched on the Internet and found out that the tie was only sold in a shop in Gio Town where the Moiuns Fair was held. They heard the sirens and tried to follow it on inspiration.
Daphne had unconsciously saw the shiny gleam from the tie pin on the floor before passing out. And her dream showed it to her. Luke had seen that he had lost his tie pin and crept to the backstage and saw Daphne with the tie pin. The tie pin was only sold in Gio Town and the only clue to his location. He had also accidentally dropped his tie in a hurry the first time and wanted to search for it as well when Daphne showed up. He had no choice but to drag the unconscious Daphne away first. It was a miracle no one saw him. The security was away on break.He could not kill Daphne in the backstage where it will be suspicious and may set Robert free. He decided to suffocate her in his room instead. It will be less messy and easy to clean.
The real priest had needed to go out of town and trusting Luke, he had let him be a temporary priest and stayed in his house. He gave him the tie pin, three of them, and the tie.
Luke detested Robert's family. His father, a lawyer, had accused Luke's innocent mother to death. Thus, he had no regret in giving the information. Unfortunately, while he was jailed, Luke's father died in loniness and his wife commit suicide, along with his baby. His wife was insulted and humilated by neighbours for Luke's crime. He could not forgive Derisk for making him go to jail. He also wanted Robert to be his scrapegoat as well. He also could not forgive Gloria for being the one who insulted his wife most and even married Derisk.
The M-gang gathered together in the clubhouse, along with Robert. Robert was a new member of the M-gang. They had bought ice-cream and soft drinks for celebration to Daphne's safety and the case solved.However, one person was distant.
*****************************
Daphne slept peacefully. She was glad that her subconscious had told her in her dream what to look for to save Robert.
A crow cracked, as if knowing trouble still laid ahead.
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THE END
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