Burn the Evidence #ONC2023

5| she's a detective

"HERE YOU GO, sweetie," Beatrice, my waitress, said, setting my large chocolate shake in front of me.

The shake was in an old fashioned glass cup; the whipped cream piled high. And the crowning glory, a maraschino cherry, crowned the top of the whipped cream tower.

The pure sugar was exactly what I needed.

"Thank you so much," I said, but I didn't look back at Beatrice. This milkshake had all my attention.

The chocolate was silky, the whipped cream divine. The entire confection took about half an hour for me to finish; enough time for me to write a series of questions I wanted to ask Don and Shelby respectively and download a new recording app.

If I was going to actually do this, I was going to do it right.

I blocked the number that the threat came from. I decided that I wouldn't allow myself to be under fire from an anonymous kidnapper.

I finished my shake, tipped Beatrice, and paid at the counter. The diner was old fashioned; all pink counters and teal booths. The floor was a chrome tile, reflecting the light from the bar LED strips that hung from the ceiling.

This place was also known as Ruby's Diner, the perfect place to hang out when you just wanted to have good food and a lot of fun.

I couldn't count the amount of times Melody and I had come here to cry over boys, girls, and life. There was no where else that captured the timeless safe feeling like Ruby's.

It was also colorful in the way the rest of the town wasn't: boldly, unapologetically.

I walked out to my car, checking the road to make sure no one was coming before crossing.

My neck prickled again, feeling eyes I couldn't see.

I sighed. This was making me way too jumpy. How would the person even know my name? It's not like I said it on the phone with Jamie, and I never texted it either.

They couldn't find me.

I released a breath. Everything was going to be fine.

When I got home, Kamron Richard's car was in my usual spot, so I just parked on the street. I was a little mad that he had taken my spot instead of just walking over here (he only lived a couple houses down) but maybe he was returning something for my dad.

Sure enough, when I walked into the living room, Kamron and my dad were sitting on the worn couch, blueprints for the shed Kamron wanted to build laid out in front of them. My dad was pretty handy- both my parents were- so Kamron had been coming to them for advice about building the shed according to city code.

Needless to say, there were a lot of hoops to jump through before he could even think about starting to build.

"Hey Kamron! I didn't know you were coming over today," I said, setting my bag discreetly on the nearby counter top. Our kitchen and living room were basically connected, allowing me set my bag down and step into view smoothly.

"What's up, Ava! Yeah, sorry I took your spot. Your dad said you wouldn't be home and I think I'm going to be able to start building soon." Kamron craned his neck to see me, my position behind the couch making it hard to have a real conversation. I moved into the sitting area.

"That's great! I'll let you two get to it. I'm just here for a second, anyways. I have somewhere to be."

Somewhere as in Shelby's house. I know I promised Luke we'd do everything together, but on the ride home I realized something.

Whoever Jamie's kidnapper was could easily make Luke and I disappear. Heck, he had done it with Jamie and Tyler for ten years.

I didn't want Luke to get caught up in this mess because I dragged him into it. I would never be able to forgive myself if something went sideways and I had to start investigating his disappearance.