Isobel Asks The Internet

XIX - The Hedge Maze

An important local landmark was DESTROYED by my worst enemy! How can I ensure that she is punished for her actions?

Hey everyone!

So, the other day I was sitting at my desk at work, trying to source a contractor to install a contemporary installation for the laundry detergent aisle (I want to encourage customers to make inspired choices) when I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door and was SO shocked to see Zelda-Mae standing outside my office! Zelda-Mae is Debra's sister who she betrayed to help us rescue Katie from being kidnapped. I hadn't heard anything from her since then, and I had assumed that she had been driven out of town by Debra's infamous tactics of intimidation. 

It turns out that Zelda-Mae was forced to move out of her parents' house as they sided with Debra over the kidnapping, and they now HATE her! When she got kicked out, she had to move into a women's shelter as she had nowhere else to go. After she told me this, she said that someone turned up at the women's shelter who I needed to talk to. I had no idea who she meant, and I waited in baited breath as Zelda-Mae went to fetch the mystery woman.

My (internal) jaw SLAMMED onto the tasteful marble floor of my office, as Zelda-Mae walked in with Emma!

Emma had been missing ever since Rhonda had impersonated her at Mallory's restaurant, prior to being killed in a mysterious car accident a while back. Although she seemed to have disappeared without a trace, it was clear that she had been kidnapped by Rhonda. To be honest, I didn't know Emma AT ALL but I knew that Zelda-Mae was right to bring her to my office. 

I interrogated Emma about her experiences, and it turns out that my suspicions were correct; she had been kidnapped by Rhonda. One day, she was walking to work when Rhonda drove up to her and asked her for directions to the local library. The roads nearby to the library are SO complex and only experienced drivers such as myself should attempt to give directions to it. Because of this, Rhonda would have known that Emma would get into the car and attempt to direct her from the passenger seat. That's exactly what Emma did, and Rhonda instantly sped off towards the motorway. They drove for a large amount of time, and Rhonda drugged her while she was browsing the meal deal selection in a motorway service station! The next thing she knew, she was alone on an island in the middle of SUCH a deep lake. 

What Rhonda did not know is that Emma was part of the university swimming club (although, they didn't realise she was missing so she had since been kicked out for low attendance) and she was locally recognised for her long distance breast-stroke. She was able to swim across the lake, but on the other side was just a forest. It took her a long time to make her way out of the woods (she was wearing heels), and she survived by eating fruit from the trees. She later realised that it was actually just a HUGE orchard. After this, she managed to make it to a nearby town, where the inhabitants helped her by pointing out where the ticket machine was at the local train station. When she finally made it back into town, the lease had expired on her flat, and the landlord had repossessed all of her belongings! Because of this, she had to go to the women's shelter where she met up with Zelda-Mae.

Although Emma's story was harrowing, I was not shocked to hear that Rhonda had done something like this. The first thing I did after hearing her story was to tell her that Rhonda had since passed from this world. I thought that Emma would be pleased to hear this, however she just looked troubled, so I asked her what was wrong. She said that she needed to tell us something about Rhonda, but needed somewhere private. After the scandal with Angelica, I did not trust the privacy of my office, so I booked us a table for later that evening at the restaurant she worked at before being kidnapped and invited Mallory to come along (she also works at the restaurant).

We reconvened later at Mallory's restaurant, and ordered fondue to share, as we wanted to celebrate Emma's return. While we were plunging defrosted crudités into the bubbling font of cheese, Emma turned to the rest of us and blurted out that she thought Rhonda had been pregnant when she kidnapped her. I dropped my spear of radicchio in SHOCK. I could not comprehend how Rhonda could have been pregnant, although it did explain why she had been so angry at us all of the time.