Teen Detective Club

Diving Deeper

The Teen Detective Club convened in their attic headquarters the next afternoon, the weight of their suspicions about Mr. Finch thick in the air. Sunlight streamed through the single window, highlighting the scattered papers, open books, and remnants of their last brainstorming session. Jenna paced the small space, her arms crossed as she spoke.

"We need to dig into Mr. Finch's past," she began. "I can't shake the feeling that he's not telling us the whole truth about why he's so invested in the binding stone and the Talbot Manor."

Eli nodded, spinning a pencil between his fingers. "Agreed. The way he latched onto that stone like it was the answer to everything—it's just weird. And did you notice how vague he was about his own connection to the Talbot legend?"

"Exactly," Jenna replied. "I think we're dealing with more than just a historian who's too curious for his own good. If he knows more about the Talbots than he's letting on, we need to figure out what."

Lila leaned forward from her spot on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees. "Where do we start? It's not like he gave us a lot of personal details to go on."

Alex smirked from his seat at the desk, his laptop open in front of him. "Leave that part to me. If there's anything about Mr. Finch online, I'll find it."

Jenna gave him an appreciative nod. "Good. Lila and I can head to the library and check the town archives. Maybe there's something about the Talbot family that ties Finch to them. Eli, you can dig through our notes on the manor and see if there's anything we missed—anything that might point to why Finch is so determined to use the binding stone."

The team agreed, and within minutes, they split up to begin their investigation.

At the Library

Jenna and Lila arrived at the town library, a quiet, sprawling building with towering shelves and rows of tables. They made their way to the local history section, pulling out every book and file they could find about the Talbot family.

"I found something," Lila whispered, holding up an old newspaper clipping. The yellowed paper featured a grainy photograph of the Talbot Manor and the headline: Mystery Surrounds Disappearance of Talbot Family. She scanned the article, summarizing as she read. "It says the Talbots vanished without a trace in 1898. No signs of foul play, no evidence of where they went. Just... gone."

Jenna furrowed her brow. "We already knew that part. Look for anything about their connections—business partners, family feuds, anything that might give us a lead."

They continued combing through the archives, and after an hour of searching, Lila gasped. "Jenna, look at this." She held up another article, this one from 1905. The headline read: Town Historian Claims Talbot Estate Cursed.

Jenna scanned the article, her eyes widening as she read about a historian named Ezra Finch who had spent years researching the Talbot family. "Ezra Finch..." she murmured. "Do you think he's related to our Mr. Finch?"

"It's possible," Lila replied. "If he is, that would explain why he's so interested in the Talbots. Maybe it's a family obsession."

Jenna took a photo of the article with her phone. "Let's keep looking. There has to be more."

Meanwhile, at Headquarters

Back at the attic, Alex hunched over his laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard as he searched for information about Mr. Finch. After sifting through dozens of generic search results, he found a university profile listing Mr. Finch as a former professor of anthropology and folklore.

"Professor of folklore, huh?" Alex muttered. "That tracks."

He dug deeper, accessing old academic papers and obscure forums where Finch's name appeared. One post on a paranormal website caught his attention. The user claimed Finch had been dismissed from his position at the university under mysterious circumstances. Curious, Alex followed the trail, eventually finding a thread that mentioned Finch's supposed involvement in unethical experiments related to occult artifacts.

"That's not good..." Alex murmured, saving the links.

As he continued his search, a pattern began to emerge. Finch's name kept appearing in discussions about cursed objects, forbidden rituals, and unsolved mysteries involving disappearances. Alex's stomach tightened as he pieced it together. Finch wasn't just a historian—he was a man with a history of walking dangerous lines in pursuit of answers.

Piecing It Together

Later that evening, the group reconvened in the attic, their findings laid out on the table.

"Here's what we've got," Alex began, summarizing his discoveries. "Mr. Finch was a professor, but he was kicked out of academia for messing with things he shouldn't have. Occult artifacts, unethical rituals... the works. This isn't his first time dabbling in something dangerous."

Jenna added her findings from the library. "And we found evidence that someone named Ezra Finch—possibly his ancestor—was obsessed with the Talbot family and the manor. It's likely this fascination runs in the family."

Lila pointed to the newspaper articles. "The curse on the Talbot estate seems to be a big deal for the Finches. If Ezra spent his life researching it, maybe Mr. Finch is trying to finish what he started."

Eli frowned, rubbing his chin. "But what's his endgame? If the binding stone is as dangerous as it seems, why would he want to use it?"

"Maybe he thinks he can control it," Jenna suggested. "Or maybe he doesn't care about the risks. If his goal is to prove the curse is real—or break it—he might be willing to do whatever it takes."

"Either way," Alex said, "he's hiding something. We need to figure out what before we let him anywhere near that stone again."

A Startling Discovery

The group decided to investigate one last lead: Finch's own belongings. Jenna remembered seeing a bag Finch had brought with him to the manor, left in the corner of the library when they first arrived. If he had any personal notes or items that could shed light on his intentions, they needed to find them.

Under cover of darkness, they made their way back to the manor. The creaky front doors groaned as they pushed them open, the chill of the house enveloping them like a shroud. Moving silently, they crept to the library, their flashlights cutting through the gloom.

"There it is," Lila whispered, pointing to the bag.

Alex quickly unzipped it, rifling through its contents. Inside, they found a series of notebooks, each filled with detailed notes about the Talbot family and the binding stone. As Jenna flipped through one of the books, a loose photograph fell out. She picked it up, her heart skipping a beat.

The photo showed a young Mr. Finch standing in front of a crumbling estate with a group of people. Jenna recognized the building—it was another manor, similar in style to the Talbot house. Scribbled on the back of the photo were the words: Dunwich Estate, 1995. The first attempt.

"What does he mean, 'the first attempt'?" Eli asked, his voice tense.

Jenna's stomach sank as she pieced it together. "This isn't the first time he's tried to use a binding stone. He's done this before."

"And it didn't work," Lila added grimly, pointing to the other people in the photo. "Do you think... something happened to them?"

Before they could speculate further, a sound echoed through the house—footsteps. Heavy and deliberate, they were coming closer.

"We need to get out of here," Jenna hissed, stuffing the notebooks and photo into Alex's bag. They hurriedly exited the library, hearts pounding as they navigated the dark corridors.

Once outside, they regrouped at the edge of the property, their breaths visible in the cold night air.

"This changes everything," Jenna said, her voice firm. "Mr. Finch isn't just a historian with an unhealthy interest in the Talbots. He's dangerous. We need to figure out what happened at Dunwich Estate, and fast."