Almost

7.

I woke up at the sound of my ringing alarm. I immediately got out of my bed and stepped in the shower. Then after having a nice bath and brushing my teeth, I came out fully clothed in my new uniform. Clare also got up after a while when I was tying my hair into a nice plaid as it was mandatory to do so as instructed in "How maids should dress here." Then Clare too, was ready and we decided to do our planned jobs.

We were putting microphones in their designated places, CCTV cameras here and there around the house and attached chips to some things we needed to track. It was rather astounding that they didn't have such security devices earlier. Then we started with our regular jobs and when the woman was out for her work, we inspected her room and placed two mini cameras as well as a microphone in her room hoping that she wouldn't find them out.

When we were leaving the room, I saw a chit under her bed. I opened it, thinking I would find a clue. It was written in red, "Kill him or witness your own demise."

Him? Charles? Yes that's Charles of course as she considers him as a peril. I further looked for any information about from whom it was, but all in vain. It was important than anything to save Charles from this group of murderers as he was the only witness of the earlier murder. I checked my phone... she's going to be here anytime. I shoved the chit under the bed where it was before and ran down the stairs till I saw Clare already making tea for our mistress.

I got to work and cleaned the floor and the huge bookshelf in the library next to the living room. I found a few good books which I'll probably take with me after I solve this issue. Then by dusting off the dust on my uniform I stood near the sofa with a tray filled with snacks and a cup of tea. Ah, there she comes. She looked at me and then at the tray and took her cup of tea and sat down, elegantly. I placed the tray on the center table with a fake smile on my face. I left her in her own world and returned to the library to clean the remaining bookshelf.

Can't believe it's so dusty in this library, like someone hasn't stepped in since a long ago. Soon I finished with my part and I found that something was coming out of a drawer under the shelf. I stepped forward to look what it is. It was seemingly a letter, peculiarly stiff paper and oh, the same red ink, but with a stamp this time. It would help me to find who the sender was and is.

I glanced over at the woman and saw that she was reading a fashion magazine. I quickly pulled the letter out and kept it in my pocket. I looked if I could find anything more in the drawer, but found it locked. Another suspicious thing, good to look when she's asleep. And by that, I left the room and walked past the living room and into the kitchen.

We had fun cooking and cleaning up again. "Ma'am your favorite lasagna is ready" I mimicked in a high pitched voice, dramatically. Everyone chuckled at that and I went to serve her. Other things were already arranged neatly on the table by Avery, my newly-made friend. I gave her a thumbs up and she smiled and nodded at that. As you might know, we already added some Zaleplon in her dish and Charles had another menu to eat. Wait! Where is he? She's behind this? I'm so gonna kill her.

I immediately dropped the thought there and tried to tell myself that he must be fine. After a few long minutes she arrived and ate her lunch. She ordered us something but cancelled it and went up to her room, to sleep. Zaleplon is working...I thought and cleaned up the leftovers and then the dishes.

Now it was time to crack open a lock in the library, and so I did in a span of seconds. Hairpin magic...I found one more letter and a photo, a well-framed photo. It was our witch and her husband by her side and Dean in between them, all were smiling widely looking straight into the camera lens. Maybe she kept it here because it reminded her of her past love, memories and much more things. Then I opened the letter which I had found at first, it was crumpled at the edges showing that she really wanted to fit the exposed part back in the drawer but failed.

I began reading it. "To, Mrs. Jones. You're welcome to join our group, The Squad directed and controlled by Mr. Coleman. Thanks and regards, signature of Mr. J.R. Coleman and it ended. I took the another and opened it and saw the same red ink but a different message, "You've been signed up for the plan of Mr. Jones's homicide. The deadline for this task is the Saturday of next week. You'll be awarded with 60% of his belongings as per the previous deal. Love and regards, signature of Mr J. R. Coleman and it finished there too. Seems like the director was interested in Mrs. Jones a.k.a. our witch. I took the picture of everything from that drawer which was suspicious and left for my room.

Again I arrived in the familiar servants' quarters and entered my room. I was surprised to see Clare awake and shooting me a grin when I came in. "Whatcha got?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing much but it can help." I answered and showed her the pics I had captured earlier.

"Cool, we got her name and it can help us and oh, we got the organization's name too. It's a good catch."

"Yeah, I know but we need Charles as he is the one who has a friend in the police here."

"Why do we need him to contact his friend?" she quizzed.

"Oh that's why I was worried that how you can be so good in my area. It's because we can't get outta this house unless we have her permission."

"Oh and the one who has permission is Charles and he's again the one who'll help us lawfully."

"Correct. Now, did you call him or did he?" I pry.

"No, not heard from him since morning."

"Any idea where he might be?"

"No, sorry." she apologized.

"Uh.." I said irritatingly and pulled out my phone and called him. Ring ring ring "He's not getting it" I said hanging off.

"It's precarious" she muttered.

"I know!" I exclaimed, fear racing in my blood.

Silence spread over and night fell at the windows, but yet no response from Charles. I was worried and was starting to create a plan-B. But after some noticeable minutes, my phone buzzed.

I jumped and took it from its previous position, on the table. A message from an unknown number, "Don't worry, he's safe. Care 'bout your life now. -JRC."

I bit my lip and my face went pale. He...they knew we're up to something. Holy shit. I looked up at Clare who was anxious to hear what the message was and I shook my head in annoyance. She got up and left before patting me on the back.

Not a few seconds had passed, she came in and pulled me out of our room and soon we were in the kitchen. I tilted my head up and I was astonished to see the dreadful sight I was looking at. No. No. You can't do this, you bloody witch.

***