THE MURDER NEXTDOOR

chapter:17

Kale woke up from a nightmare. His heart beating furiously as sweat dripped from his heated body.

His breaths were heavy as he tried to calm himself down. It's not real. He kept reminding himself.

He looked around as if to reattach himself with reality. Though his reality wasn't looking too good.

He was in one the old beds in the Cinnamon's house. Maybe Samuel's, he didn't know. The sheets were supposed to be blue but they were a moldy gray with green dumb patches that he was trying to avoid. Now the whole bed was moist thanks to his sweating.

The room was still creepy as hell, with it's squeaky doors and rattling windows, welcoming the midnight chill with open arms.

But it was better than the basement. It was better than the rats. Plus it would be the last place people looking for him would look.

He had to stay there a little while longer. Until it was time. What ever that meant.

Meanwhile, Willowdon's Scooby gang was more puzzled than ever. Far more clueless than when they began.

Samuel might not have been their bad guy after all. It looked like they were looking for a she. None of them had a clue to where this mystery was headed, but at least they had a new clue. A name. Barbra Harper.

After snooping around in her dad's office, Sophie found a file. Dating a few months before Charles's arrest. A grim record of missing persons, mostly children and murder cases, mostly adults.
Willowdon's Crisis it was titled.

Barbra Harper was one of the few survivers and a key witness. She was bound to have ground breaking information that could crack open their mystery.

"That's great," Bexie said, keeping her head down as she finished her chocolate milkshake. They were at the Crimson Ginger. Danny was there too. June was going to join them later. "where is she now?"

"H. O. S. W." Sophie answered, not even trying to hid her disappointment.

"How the hell are we getting in there," Danny asked, while trying to swallow a large chunk of ketchup drowned burger.

"Oh, getting in won't be a problem. It's Barbra am worried about."

"Why? " Bexie asked, shaking the empty glass. 

"It's  the H. O. S. W. " Sophie stated plainly. H. O. S. W , stood for House Of Sweet Woes, Willowdon's mental hospital. "people in there _ are not _ normal..."

"Well duh, it's an asylum," Danny couldn't help himself.

"No you don't get it, people there aren't your normal version of insane," she paused, looking for words to use and finding none. We'll be lucky if she remembers anything at all."

"But she's the only lead we got, we have to try," Danny said.

"Danny is right," Bexie flinched from a weird taste in her mouth as she said those odd words,"we have to give it a try. "

Bexie and Sophie grabbed their bags and stood to leave.

"Now?" Danny asked, all confused. Bexie and Sophie tossed a glare at him.

"Yes, now," and they responded in perfect sync. Bexie almost said "jinx," when she felt a tingling buzz on her skin as they shared a joyful stare with Sophie.

"What about June," Danny interrupted.

"June isn't coming," Sophie said with a long face," she has a few things she needs to unpack. "

"We will catch her up,  if we find anything," Bexie assured.

"But I haven't finished my burger yet."