Sweet Sweet Murder

Chapter Four

Hazel's POV

     It had been five days since anyone had heard from Imogen. I never even got a call from her that night she left with Brad. Haven and Rudy texted me asking to meet up. We were all worried about her. They also hadn't heard from her. We decided to meet up at a nearby Tim Hortons. It was was a cloudy and gloomy afternoon. The weather had taken a turn for the worse since Imogen disappeared. Storm after storm and intense humidity all day and night. It was almost as if it was an omen.

     "Five days..." Haven sighed.

     "I really hope she's okay."

     Haven was what most people would call "alternative". Her dark red hair fell right above her shoulders. She has several piercings, and a few tattoos. However, her cloudy blue eyes were her most prominent feature. Vanessa and her friends love to pick on Haven but she tends to get them back whenever she can. Haven can have a pretty mean temper though. When she's mad she gets very emotional, but other than that she's usually cool and collected. But not as much as her boyfriend Rudy.

     "I can't believe it's taking this long" Rudy added.

     "Brad had to have done something to her to scare her away from everyone for so long."

     Rudy is a whizz with computers. His jet black hair sits right above his ears, His chocolate brown eyes were dark, but still shown enough to display his emotions. Brad and Jude love to try and prank him. However, he never really let it get to him. He likes to think he's laid back but he can go off when the right buttons are pushed. The way he dresses people assume that he's the bad boy type. Although that assumption doesn't really fit him, he doesn't bother to let anyone know.

     "I'm sure it was Brad! He did something to her and drove her off!" Haven said angrily. This wasn't one of her cool and collected moments.

     "He probably tried taking advantage of her and I bet she would have let him too!" Haven was gripping the edge of her chair tightly. Her knuckles turning white.

     "Haven, relax. You'll just go off on anyone if you keep thinking like that." Rudy said trying to calm her.

     "Right now we should focus on trying to see if she left any clues on where she could be"

     "Did either of you get any weird texts or calls from her lately?"

     "I didn't hear anything weird from her. I actually didn't even talk to her the day she went missing." Said Haven.

     "Yeah, I didn't hear anything weird too. She seemed perfectly normal when we were hanging out." I added.

     "I mean, I brought up how she should give Vanessa another chance and she might lay off her a bit. It clearly upset her but I didn't think it was that bad."

     "You know how she gets about Vanessa and her friends, especially Brad." Replied Rudy.

     "You really shouldn't have done that." There was a small bit of irritation in his voice.

     "Didn't we talk about leaving her be with Brad?" Questioned Haven.

     "She clearly didn't care enough about herself when it came to him."

     "But if he really did do something to her, I'll kill him before he even understands why." The anger in her voice was clear and only intensified when the topic focused in on Brad.

     "But would he really do anything to her?" I questioned.

     "Sure, he's an asshole but I feel like he would never intentionally hurt her."

     "That's because you've always had a soft spot for Vanessa, Quinn, and her friends." Commented Rudy.

     "What does Quinn have to do with this?" I replied irritated now.

     "Hey, don't shoot the messenger. I was just pointing out what Haven and I thought was clear!" Rudy said trying to defend himself.

     "Wait what? That's not how I said it!" Haven quickly added. Rudy gave Haven a look that clearly conveyed the emotion of "Really..?".

     I couldn't help but chuckle at them. While sometimes they did irritate me, they were a cute couple and two of my best friends. I wouldn't trade them for anything. We sat in Tim Horton's for a while, just chatting and trying to have a good time with each others company. However, I can't shake the sense of dread I am feeling.

     "I heard that the police talked to Brad." Began Haven.

     "He said the two of them drove around for a bit but she wanted to get out of his car at one point. He said that she felt sick and would walk the rest of the way home."

     "How did you hear that?" I asked her.

     "I saw someone share his post on Facebook where he defended himself." Haven said.

     "That's a load of bullshit!" Rudy said loudly.

     "He's got to be hiding something, I just know it! But of course Vanessa and their little gang are covering for him saying he went with them after he left her in the middle of nowhere probably!"

     "We can't be sure what happened. We just need to wait and see what the police find.

     Those words must have been the key to Pandora's Box. We've been sitting inside Tim Hortons for awhile now. The sense of dread was all over me. I could feel something was about to happen, something terrible. Just then my phone began to ring. I almost ignored it but something was telling me to look at it. It was Imogen's mom!

     "Hello!? You told me you'd call as soon as you got an update." I said panicked.

     "Did they find her? Is she okay? Did they not find her yet? Did they find a clue?"

     My questions were shot off fast and nearly incomprehensible. I could feel the worst about to come. I don't want to hear her answer. I just know it'll be bad news.

     "Hazel..." Her mom began to say but stopped to sob.

     "They found her dead."

     My phone dropped from my hands. My whole world had just come crashing down suddenly. No way..No way Imogen was dead. I just saw her less than a week ago. We were just together.. I tried to speak but the words wouldn't leave my mouth. Thankfully Tim Hortons was nearly empty, but even then the few other people there began to look over and stare. I looked up to Haven and Rudy. They knew too. If they didn't hear Imogen's mom say it over the phone, my reaction gave it away. Rudy began to tear up while Haven clenched her fist, tears running down her face.

     "Those bastards...what did they do." She quietly said.