Riddles

Chapter Four

Her dad was still unsuspecting, which was fine by all accounts. He just seemed more depressed and probably thought that Roxxie was dead, whereas Cassie knew, in fact, that she was very much alive, but possibly being kept as a hostage. Hopefully, though, when she gets found, he’ll thank her.

She hadn’t heard from Richard since he had mentioned Roxxie’s disappearance, but she supposed that wasn’t too unusual considering he was a very busy policeman and couldn’t give Roxxie lifts to work anymore.

After the final week of school, in which nothing took place (nothing productive, anyway, apart from watching films), Cassie finally remembered about the note. The stress and hustle and bustle of school had kept her mind off it for a while, but then it popped into her mind when she was emptying the dishwasher on the weekend. She nearly dropped the ceramic bowl she was holding. Cassie realised that she felt obliged to do it and felt guilty that she had forgotten because of school work. She believed that finding Roxxie would aid her father and deprive him of his state of misery, and it would make her less anxious and help her to stop worrying- her anxiety had led to a sleeping disorder. It seemed she was always exhausted and went to bed early, but woke up in the middle of the night in fear of something bad happening to Roxxie. Then, when her mind was finally at ease, she’d fall back to sleep, only to wake up a couple of hours later. It was amazing how she managed to stay awake all day, every day.

Once she had finished emptying the dishwasher, she hung up the tea towel, went upstairs and opened the curtains to let in mid-morning sunshine, and sat at her desk. ‘Behind the clouds it’s lovely,’ the note said. Those words sounded familiar. She racked her brain in search of what they were when she realised they were lyrics from Random Firl by Late of the Pier. That had to mean something; of course it did, otherwise what was the point in putting it there? But what could it mean? A flood of frustration overwhelmed Cassie and an uncontrollable amount of tears fell from her eyes. She didn’t know why exactly, but she was crying. The emotions flowed through her body; confusion, worry, anger, fear, a bundle of things she had been experiencing since Roxanne had disappeared. There must have been an escape somewhere, some place where Roxxie would be and somewhere Cassie could escape all the negative feelings that were coursing through her veins, being pumped round her body like blood. She was sick and tired and confused and just wanted her sister to return, instead of Cassie having to solve vague riddles until she finally found her.

She was glad the school term was over, at least. People hadn’t really mentioned her sister, as most had been afraid to ask. Hopefully before the next term started, her sister would be home, safe.

Cassie was upset as she was practically all alone in the house (her father’s presence was almost not worth mentioning); she had always wanted to have more siblings, like maybe a little brother, but her mum had died before any of this was possible, and it was highly unlikely that her father would be able to move on so soon after her demise.

Cassandra decided not to bother with the note for the rest of the day, and left her own note for her dad as she was meeting up with some friends at the cinema. She had only met them in the last couple of months of her being at school, and they seemed nice enough, so she tagged along. There were four of them; Vicky, Kate, Maria and Lisa. They provided a girly distraction from her problems, and they seemed trustworthy, so it was fine.

They went shopping for the first half-hour or so and then waited in line for tickets for what felt like forever, until they finally saw the film.

It was dark outside once the film had finished and Cassie realised that walking home in what she was wearing was not the most safe and sensible option. There were all sorts of creepy characters out there. She was getting the shivers as the other four girls were waiting for their rides home. A few vehicles pulled up in front of the cinema and the doors opened on two of them. Vicky suddenly said “Oh, I was gonna car share with Maria today, is that alright, Cassie?”

“Yeah, whatever, I don’t mind,” Cassie replied, forcing a smile which probably resembled a grimace. “See you later, then!” Maria said and Vicky waved goodbye as their car departed. Then Kate left with her dad, and Lisa got a ride of her boyfriend’s motorcycle. Great, she thought, I’m probably stuck now. I’ll call a cab. She rummaged through her bag, rearranging the insides. She checked it again. Her phone wasn’t there. What? She had definitely put it in there earlier, so why wasn’t it there now? Had she dropped it?

It was rather late now, and she was worried she wouldn’t be home by her curfew. Her dad might think she was in the same situation as Roxxie, whatever that situation was.

Just when she thought she was in trouble, she saw someone she recognised pull up to the kerb. It was Richard! He opened the door and ushered her inside. “You must have been freezing! Why did you go out wearing clothes like that?”

“I went out with some friends to see a film. By the way, why are you here? Did you know I was here?”

“Oh, I was just checking the area.” His phone beeped. “Oh, I also bought some coffee. Want some?” She could see the steam rising from two paper cups in the holder near the glove box. She was still chilly, even though he had the heater on its highest setting. “Yeah, why not? I’ll pay you back.” She smiled, picked up the cup and took a couple of nervous sips. The warm brew scalded her tongue a little, but heat flooded through her, so she relaxed a little. She was about to continue talking, but then she just felt so sleepy…