The Prom King: A Murder Mystery ✔

Chapter 15: Unknown Number

Jonas and I thought about our conversation with Ethan. The only sound that rang through my head was that sneeze...that high-pitched sneeze.

"Jonas, that sneeze had to have come from a girl. It was way too high to be a guy."

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe Sophie?"

"There's a pretty good chance of that. She has been pretty upset with us lately, and she would be in the right place at the right time as Ethan's girlfriend."

"Exactly! But what about his hesitance to say that Sophie was his prom date?" he asked.

"Maybe he knows that Sophie was flirting with Chase at prom and was embarrassed to admit that he was her date that night."

"Eh, I don't know. I feel like if he was that embarrassed about it, he would have broken up with her."

"True, true. We can't really know for sure who was listening in because we don't know all the girls that Ethan knows."

Jonas sighed. "Well, that doesn't help much."

"I think that we need a break. Do you mind taking me home?"

"Not at all. Let's go," he replied with a smirk on his face. I couldn't help but think that there was more to his grin than friendship, but I couldn't think about that right now. Romance was too much for me to handle right now, but it looked like Jonas could handle it just fine.

***

We pulled up to my house several minutes later, and I scrunched my eyebrows at what I saw in my driveway.

A car.

A Volkswagen beetle.

A red Volkswagen beetle with a big white bow.

As soon as Jonas's car was parked, I jumped out of the car with a squeal and took a better look at the car. Jonas got out of the car as well, confused.

"Is this car yours?" he asked.

"It's gotta be! It's got a bow, and it's in my driveway! Jonas, I HAVE A CAR!!!"

I jumped up and down with joy, while Jonas watched my rare spectacle of over-the-top happiness.

"You okay there, Jo?" he asked.

"I'm more than okay, Jonas! I am wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" I rushed over to give him a hug, and after a few seconds, I realized that I was starting to lose control of my emotions. I immediately let him go. "Sorry...I'll calm down now," I said with slight embarrassment.

"Don't mention it. Hey, did you see the note?"

"What note?"

"There's a note with the bow. You didn't see it while you were jumping over the moon."

I ignored his last comment and walked over to the car. There was a typed note attached to the bow.

Enjoy the ride.

"That's it? It doesn't even say who sent it?" Jonas exclaimed.

"Jonas, obviously my dad bought it for me. He doesn't need to sign the card for me to know that it was from him."

"All right, if you say so."

I opened the car door using the keys that were attached to the note.

"I have a car, Jonas," I whispered.

"Yeah, I guess you won't be needing a ride to school anymore," he said softly. "Johanna, we--"

Suddenly, my phone rang. Unknown number.

"Should I answer it?" I asked.

"You've got nothing to lose. If it's a salesman, just hang up."

"Ok," I replied, as I pressed the answer button.

"Hello?" I asked.

"What do you think of the car?" an unfamiliar voice said. A deep voice, you know, the Darth Vader kind. My heart began pumping rapidly.

"Who is this?"

"Don't worry about that," the voice replied. "I just wanted to tell you and Jonas something."

I immediately put the phone on speaker and motioned for Jonas to come over.

"How do you know Jonas? How did you get this number?" I asked.

"That's not important. You know, that scholarship wasn't easy to get. It's hard to give a rich kid a full-ride to Stanford." I glanced wide-eyed at Jonas. His face turned pale.

"The car was way easier. It's all worth it as long as you do me a favor."

"W-what's that?" I said, clearing my throat.

"Stop investigating the death of Chase Adams. If not, well, you might end up like him."

Call ended.