The Road to Quinn Lake (book 1)

Chapter 6

     The note read: Dear Emma,
     I hear that people have said some things they shouldn't have. Yes, I still like you. My dear, you should know that no one is going to be able to find me. It's like a game of hide and seek, but you better make sure that you play the game by my rules or else. I won't just come after you, so that little boyfriend of yours better watch his back too. I should of killed him when I had the chance. Have fun playing!

     The house was in complete silence as everyone thought about the spiral of events. No one knew what to do and found themselves pacing or just standing in complete shock. Though everyone was in their own mind, but they worried most about how calm looking Emma was. They couldn't tell weather she was about to cry, scream, or if she was going to continue staring into space. Luke's face was as pale a ghost and you could see the pain in his eyes as he looked at Emma. "What do we do next?" Luke finally broke the silence. Everyone looked around at each other waiting for a solution. 

     " He has to be somewhere near here because he threw the brick through the window." The main investigator said still looking for other suggestions. " Someone else could of thrown the brick through the window for him" said another officer.  " Like who?" Emma asked in a whisper. Her hope had ran out long ago and she was still stuck how something like this would happen. " Some friends or something." Someone had to be driving the truck through the woods for him that night." answered the investigator. " I want people looking everywhere for him. Send a message to our search team please." He nodded at the others. " Emma, I'm going to need you to go into the woods by the lake and show us to the best of your ability where the truck came from and where it went."

      " She's not doing that!" Her dad said angrily "Yes I am, dad. I need to do this." Emma said looking toward the police car outside. " We leave in ten minutes." called the investigator. " You guys, I'll be fine. I promise that I'll be okay you just have to trust me." Emma looked straight into Luke's eyes. His green eyes turned light with tears and he gave her a tight hug whispering " I know you'll be fine. You know I just worry so much about you." " I know you do... but you and me both know that I need to do this." She whispered back. "I'll be back soon." Emma called to her parents as she stepped back to leave. With that she left not knowing what to think about what was happening. 

     " Why do you think your parents didn't want you to go?" The investigator asked looking toward her with the sympathetic look on his face. Everyone looked at her with that same face. " Well, let's start with the fact that we are going to the same place I disappeared a year ago. Also, the fact that the person that did it are still running around trying to mess with me and the people around me." She said sarcastically. "Yeah, I just wanted to start a conversation." He said trying to focus on the dirt road they turned on. "Here we are." She took a deep breath as she opened to door. This path was her hiding place; It was practically her life. 

     That night so long ago came in a sudden flashback. First she was a normal teenage girl, then in a blink of an eye she was someone she didn't even recognize. It was home to many great memories and times she would never forget. When she was younger Brandon, her brother, and her would play hide and seek here, have picnics, and so much more. He went to college and left her behind two months before the kidnapping. Emma tripped over a rock and broke her many thoughts. "You okay?" The investigator called to her. "Yeah, I was just thinking." She replied with a sigh. "About what?" He asked stopping to look at her. "My brother." She looking down at her feet. "What about your brother?" "You know he didn't come home once while you were gone." ,He replied sitting on a rock motioning for her to sit down across from him. "Really?" Emma asked as she sat down. " He called once and said that he was to busy to come home. I find that really hard to believe. If my sister went missing, I would drop everything to come home." ,He said completely confused.

    " Are you implying that he had something to do with it?" ,Emma replied getting a bit defensive. " You said that someone whispered ' I'm sorry' in your ear, right?" He asked and Emma finally realized he might be right. " Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. Besides, we should probably go do what we came here for." She wasn't sure how to shake the suddenly feeling of her own brother having something to do with all of this. They continued to walk until they got to the massive rock that used to hold all of her secrets. Emma explained the whole story again, but what really caught her eye was that there was fresh tire marks in the forest.  "Do you see those?" She finally asked after awhile. "Yeah, that was the same place the truck originally pulled up right?" He asked trying to tack pictures of the marks." Yeah it is, but who would know that route except for the person who drove the truck?" She asked out loud, but she really knew the answer. " That would be the only person." He sighed and started back to the car. " I'm going to set cameras up over here, so we can catch whoever did it." 

   " Did you always want to be an investigator?" Emma asked catching up to him. " No, but how is this relevant to anything we were talking about?" ,He said shaking off the question. " You ask me questions about my life all the time, so I decided to ask some about you." ,She replied picking up one of the cameras. " Fine, I went to school to be a doctor and my second year of college I decided that I wanted to save life's in a different way." He paused for a long time. " What do you want to be when you grow up?" He asked.

      " I want to be a normal person again. I just want to be happy." Emma replied as he finished set up the cameras. " Well I think that after we put whoever did this in jail then you will be at least somewhat happy again." He said while brushing off his hands. "I think we are done here." They both walked to the car not sure what to say to one another. When they got back to the house Emma's parents and Luke were standing outside. Emma got out thanking him and he left. "What happened?" ,Her dad asked. " We set up cameras." She just wanted to go upstairs and stay there forever. " Did Brandon ever come home when I was gone?" Her mom and dad just looked at each other. 

    " No, he didn't. He said he was too busy to come home." Her mom's voice cracked as she said it. " Do you think he could have been a part of it?" Emma looked down ashamed of what she had said. " He is still a suspect. Emma, he is actually coming home tomorrow." Everyone in the room felt the same pain. Luke walked over to her and put his arm around her waist; He kissed her head softly. They walked inside and Emma instantly started shaking thinking about her brother. 

The next morning...

Emma awoke seeing Luke slowly open his eyes on the other side of the room. " Are you ready for tomorrow?" , He asked as if he was talking to Emma and himself. Luke had never cared for Brandon even when him and Emma were just friends. Emma had to admit that her brother was aggressive and hard to get along with. She missed to old him. " No, because if I know my brother we are going to have a lot of problems." She said as if it was a fact. " Emma, your brother will be here in an hour." Her mom said peaking in at Emma and Luke hugging. "Mom, does he have to come home?" Emma said as quiet as can be. "Yes, unfortunately he does." ,Knowing everyone was afraid to see him made things so much worst. They talked in whispers until they heard a truck pull up. 

       They all walked down stairs and tried to smile. "Hey guys!",Brandon acted so causal. He then went to give everyone a hug. Emma just let him hug her without doing anything back. He also glared at Luke as if he was the worst person in the world.  "What's up?",Brandon asked Emma as he sat down.

 " Nothing really." She replied shrugging off the question. "  I guess a lot has happened to you considering you couldn't come home when I went missing." Emma couldn't stop it from coming out ;she wanted the truth. "Em, I'm sorry." Forced tears coming down his face. "I just couldn't imagine this house without you; it was too much for me." He again went for a hug. " Your full of crap you know that! If you went missing, I would be here right by mom and dad's side!" She burst into tears. Emma's mom ran in as fast as she could. "I think she is just tired." Her mom answered and lead Emma up the stairs. "You need to fix this, Brandon." Emma's mom said in a soft voice. " You hurt all of us and especially Emma when you didn't come home. Can you just tell me the real reason why you didn't come home?" Her mom begged. 

      " I had stuff to take care of. Mom, you know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt her right?" Brandon sat down on the chair and put his head in his hands. "Brandon, right now you are in the middle of a police investigation. They know you are the one who knows that path. " Just talk to the police." She said.