Kofy Richmond Mysteries

Chapter 4: The Roxord Alley Mystery Part I

Jordan Obeng

Even before this alarm went off, Jordan was already wide awake. What he had been doing all night cannot exactly be described as sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, they just opened to look at his third roommate. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Syeed. Somehow, he felt responsible for his roommate, and guilty that he had failed to protect him somehow.

Syeed was a tall and brave young man: the kind of man who made his own rules of life. That is probably why on the night earlier, he lost track of time while studying at the library. (Apparently, that can happen.) He only realised that fact when a spell of hunger fell on him. It wasn't even that late. The clock on his phone read 2323. That was only about twenty three minutes more than he had planned to spend studying.

He went off campus to his favorite spot to get a very late supper. In an attempt to beat time, he took a shortcut through Roxord Alley. When he exited the alley, he was without his phone and his laptop, and he had all those bruises on his face.

That is why Jordan's eyes were open till it was time for his morning jog. Somehow, Syeed's situation was not enough to make him skip it. He'd ran for about three miles when he stopped. Inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, he felt his heartbeat slowing down. Then, he had a thought that made him smile.

Kofy Richmond

I had no idea exactly what time it was, but I know for sure that it was very early. I had a very late night. Kai had decided to have a smoke so I couldn't be in the room for about half the night. When I returned, I also had to write up and mail an assignment paper on parent- child conflict. I had a total of not more than three hours of dreamless sleep.

That is why it was surprising that I was awake well before six o'clock. My eyes were locked on the ceiling as my thoughts drifted through stuff I don't even remember. Perhaps it was Kai's snoring that was keeping me awake.

None of that even mattered. Three annoying rhythmic knocks played on the door. I recognised the player instantly and I don't know why I got to the door so fast. Opening the door confirmed it was who I suspected was behind it.

"What?" I yelled.

Jordan's eyes widened in shock. "Good morning to you too."

I hadn't seen him since I helped him with Matthew and Kate's incident. It had been three weeks. He was sweating and a little out of breath. He had been jogging.

"Did your beard get bigger?" I asked.

"Yeah." He answered. "Facial hair does that sometimes."

I couldn't help but smile.

"I think we may have our next case." He said, surprisingly excited about it.

My response to it was rolling my eyes. I tried to close the door, but he stopped it. I raised my head and gave him a look that meant get out of here if you want to live.

"Trust me." He said, a lot of urgency in his eyes and his voice. "This is very urgent."

Quite honestly, I got scared. The emotion behind his words had an effect on me. But my mind was made up.

"Please leave!" I said. "I only helped your brother because we go way back. I am done with playing Veronica Mars. So stop texting me. It's kind of annoying."

With that, I shut the door loudly and jumped onto my bed.

Almost immediately, there was another knock on the door.

It was Zelda this time.

"What?!" I asked, less bluntly than I was with Jordan.

"I've been calling and texting you." She said.