The Crimson Murder (The Greystone Family Detective) [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter 16

Gracie's head buzzed, she looked to Tyler, who was playing with his cellphone. Gracie sighed, rubbing her temples.

"You okay?" Tyler asked, not even caring to look up from his phone. Gracie smiled, fixing her hair.

"Yeah," she whispered, taking a pen, she doodled a picture, not very good though. It was meant to be Tyler, though it looked more like horse.

"Do you like it? It's you," Gracie asked. A loud beeping sounded from the phone. Gracie answered it, her small smile flattened.

"What? You're serious? You know who did it? Then why are you- okay, okay, we'll be right there. Bye," Gracie said, she rolled her eyes, walking to the door.

"Tyler!" She shouted, grabbing Tyler's attention. He put his phone in his pocket, walking to Gracie's side. She smirked, opening the door.

"Jackson killed Luke. Because he dropped some doughnuts. But, they want us to write some stuff and shit, I guess. We should get food?" Gracie sounded confused, she shrugged.

They got to the black van, walking in. Gracie drove to a police station. The two enjoyed the comfortable silence, it was a long drive to the police station.

Once they got to their destination, the two adults went into the big building, Gracie tiredly dragged her feet. Tyler continued with the stupid phone, bumping into a few things.

"Oh, you're here!" Elizabeth smiled, moving her hat so the two adult could see her brown eyes for the first time ever. "I really didn't need you to come. I just wanted to see you."

Elizabeth flushed slightly, pressing her hand against her cheek. She walked away, into the office. She returned a few minutes, handing a folder to Tyler. She quickly walked away, bumping into a chair on her way back to the office.

"Well, that was weird, right?" Gracie giggled, she pulled her jacket down, looking up at Alec, who had finally​looked up from his phone.

"Sure," he grumbled, he walked away, leaving a confused Gracie. She raced to him, gripping his arm.

"Shouldn't we stay, we could help," Gracie insisted, pulling him like a small child down to the office. He rolled his eyes. "C'mon!"

"Grace!" He said, glaring down at her. She confidently glared back, though his stares hurt her feelings much more than they were supposed to.

"Gracie. Not Grace," she growled, getting on her tippy-toes. She crossed her arms over her chest. She turned on her heels, stomping back to Elizabeth's office.

"Ugh, damn it, Gracie," Tyler whined, walking to the office. He pulled the door open, showing the two girls chatting. He slumped over.

"Hey, Gracie," he mocked, "I'm sorry."

"Sometimes, I hate you. But, we have a lot more paperwork, thank you," she handed him a tall stack of papers, she glanced back at Elizabeth. "Hurry up!"

He growled, angrily stomping to a another desk, beginning to do his work. He wrote Elizabeth Brown on each paper, the hours seemed to drone on. Soon enough, he was finished. Well, he had one more page to go. He looked at it.

'Name: Margret Write, Red Dress Girl'

And the rest was ripped off. He knew all the paperwork the police got, had to go through the M.O.A. He slid the slip of crisp paper into his pocket. Gracie and Elizabeth hadn't noticed, wrapping of their conversation.

"Can we go now?" He asked, stumbling to the door. Gracie bid her farewell, following her husband outside. 

He pulled the paper out. "Look what I found, babe," he handed her it, she took it, holding it up so she could read it. "You're welcome."

"It literally just says her name," she snorted, crumbling it and skillfully throwing it into a recycling bin. Tyler stood there in awe, his face twisted into a frown.

"Jerk," he growled, tugging on his tie. He briskly walked away, getting to the van. He slammed open a door, plopping down into his seat. Gracie leisurely walked to the car, her own pace was slow.

"Hehe," she giggled, leaning in and kissing him. She parted and put the radio on. The loud music boomed, startling Tyler, he jerked back, laughing at himself as he relaxed.

"That terrified me," he joked flying down the road (not actually flying). He pulled into the parking lot of the M.O.A. He yanked the door open, stepping onto the wet pavement.

"Mmm, I'm tired," halfway through the sentence, Tyler was on his phone. He walked past her, shoving her with his side.

"Sorry," Tyler cackled. He ran into the building, sat in a chair, and blocked off the world. He didn't pay attention when Gracie walked in. He didn't respond. He sat still.

'Hunter:
Wouldn't you try and look for her in MiddleWay?'

He paused and stared at the text, his heart ached. His mother died in MiddleWay. His breath hitched, and he weezed. Gracie turned to him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, watching him choke on his own words. He shook his head, motioning for her to stop. But she didn't.

"Should I call a doctor?" She asked, he placed his head on the table, covering it with his arms. Gracie frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I feel fine," he hissed at the sudden contact, she pulled her hand away, frowning at him. She fixed her long coat, sitting at her computer.

"Alright," she sighed, typing in the long password. She paused, turning to Tyler. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He looked up, his sunglasses reflected the lights. He just nodded, turning back down to the desk. She grabbed his phone.

"Wouldn't you try and look for her in MiddleWay? What's so wrong about-"

"She died there," he whispered, turning to look at his wife, who gave him a sad smile.

MiddleWay wasn't the safest place. There was a murder almost everyday. It was common to see robberies and murders. That's how his mother died. He almost died, of heart break.

He remembered it so clearly:

A young Tyler followed his mom. He had just gotten out of school and his mother's​ car broke down, but she didn't know how to fix it. It was cold, snow drifted down on them like sugar. Her skirt blew in the wind, along with her long hair.

"How much longer?" He asked, holding her hand. She gave a happy smile, clenching his hand tightly, pulling him to her side.

"About...24 minutes," she said, checking her phone. It was much less than she had said. A loud bang came from behind him. But his mother fell in front of him.

"MOM!?" Blood oozed from her bullet wound. He look around, a panic look on his face. Suddenly, his arm was grabbed and he was pulled into an apartment.

Someone wiped his tears, he looked up. He saw a tall woman. She had red hair and freckles danced across her face. She hugged him. She called the police.

They came and "saved" the day.