Bertelli Investigations Volume 1: Noteworthy Mysteries

Chapter 5

Tony and Tino were currently living in a huge, brick, house. It was designed in a cozy, homie, style. They had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms at their convenience, a beautiful kitchen/dining room, a large living room, a cinema, along with a good-sized room they made for an office that they had planned on turning into a full workout room after starting their business. It smelled like coffee throughout the home as the brothers brewed it often. With the mahogany wooden floors and the crème painted walls, it constantly gave off an autumn feeling. Although it looked like more of a country home, the Bertelli brothers lived in the middle of the city where they could hear a lot of traffic go by, just what they were used to and how they liked it.

The Bertelli brothers had just finished setting everything up in their old office, including a couple of laptops and some boards that had all of the evidence about the murder and also Tia's kidnapping. They were using the room as an office again until it's was safe to go back to their place of business they never even got to use yet. A whiteboard had evidence and a timeline written on it. They had copies of the killer's letter, as well as the old letter that was left when their sister went missing. They had pictures taken from the crime scene pinned on a bulletin board. And on the wall across from the boards to the left, was a blown-up picture of their dear sister Tia. She was 15 in the picture, the last school picture she would have taken. Her long, black, hair was straightened and partially put up in a ponytail. She wore a blue summer dress that was her favorite. Her lips were painted with pink lipstick, and she wore thick mascara and liquid eyeliner. Her ears had little heart shaped earrings in them, matching her heart shaped beauty mark by her eye. Her smile was so lovely and reminded them deeply of the kind of wonderful person their sister was. It showed her innocence and her beauty. They both adored that picture and often admired it, admiring Tia.

2 cups of coffee sat on a small wooden table between them, as they were sitting directly across from each other. Tino was studying the notes with his eyes bloodshot. Unlike his brother, Tino had sensitive eyes, and they often looked like he'd not blinked in hours by the time he was done.

"It must be time for a break. You look like you're high", Tony joked looking at his brother. He had his feet up on the table with his curly, long, hair down, and he was leaning back, looking at the evidence written down on the whiteboard.

"That's okay, I'm staying home," Tino replied, sipping on his coffee.

Tony picked up his cup of coffee that had 2 creams and 6 sugars in it and started sipping as he stared at the writing on the whiteboard. "So, we need to talk to the sister, Hannah Smith, again. We'll give her another day so she has more time to process this and can give us more clear information. We also need to talk to some people Tia used to know. It would be good to talk to Sammy again as well."

Sammy Jones. Tia's boyfriend of 1 year up until the time of her disappearance. He might have been attractive to Tia with his beautiful black skin and dreaded hair, but he wasn't exactly the best guy she could've gotten. He was a troubled kid at the time that came from a troubled home. He was usually getting in trouble for drinking and at times smoking. Nevertheless, he was a generally kind kid, despite having a smart mouth. Tia's parents never wanted her to see him, afraid of the influence that would rub off on their daughter that was kind and sweet. But as long as Tia wasn't drinking or getting into any other trouble, they allowed her to see him.

Tino put the notes down that he had been studying on for hours, rubbing his tired, red, eyes." We have talked to Sammy countless of times over the years. Why would we need to talk to him again? We can't afford to waste any time."

"We've always gotten his perspective and made sure he had nothing to do with her disappearance. But we've never actually asked him about anyone he knows. There is obviously a connection between Tia and Jade. Those notes weren't left by the same person without him knowing both of these girls."

"That's a good point." Tino replied, now taking a big drink of his coffee. "But do you really think this is necessary? "

"Yes, I definitely do," Tony stated bluntly.

Tino rolled his eyes. "Fine, we will interview him. But I never understood what she seen in Sammy though. Don't get me wrong, I like him. But he was always in trouble and hanging out with the wrong people."

"Yeah, but you know how Tia was. She seen the good in people. And he didn't treat her bad. Remember how he reacted  when she went missing? It was horrible. He had to have a psychiatrist for a couple years after that."

To this day, Sammy still isn't right. Between his home life and losing Tia, Sammy will always have mental anguish and will never get rid of his problems. Seeing a psychiatrist has helped him, but it doesn't fix what's happened.

Tino picked up the copies of the notes again, staring at them relentlessly." I want you to look at this Antonio. This is unreal."

Tony quickly took his feet off the table and hurried to the other side. Tino pointed to the way 'Don' was written in the first letter that was left when Tia disappeared. "Look at the way the n is basically a stick and then a hump."

Tino pointed to the way Don was spelled in the next note. "It's the same over here. And so are the Ds, the Os, the As, the Gs. Every letter is spelled the exact same way, right down to every swirl and mark."

"So, it really is the same person. It's not a hoax or a copycat," Tony said as he stared at the similarities between the letters.

"Unless that copycat can copy handwriting that well. But he would've had to seen the letter to start with," Tino mentioned.

"So, we know it's the same guy. We just have to make a connection," Tony said confidently. "But I don't think I know of anyone who writes like this, so it's probably nobody we know."

"We'll have to get handwriting samples from everyone that becomes a suspect."

Tino's phone started to ring, with the ringtone being the basic iPhone ringtone. The number didn't have a caller's name, but Tino decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello?"

A faint, familiar, voice was on the other end, clearly in distress. "Mr. Bertelli? It's me, Hannah Smith. I got your number from the police."

"Oh, Hannah yes. How are you doing?", Tino glanced up at Tony, letting him know it was Hannah, then put her on speaker. "Me and my brother are both here."

"I'm not really okay yet, but I guess it takes time. I called because there's something you need to know. I think I know who killed Jade."