The Prom King: A Murder Mystery ✔

Chapter 18: The One that Got Away

Ethan and the other girl still hadn't seen us, and we used that time to start walking/running towards them.

"Do you know what you're going to ask them?" I asked Jonas as we ran.

"No clue."

At that moment, I felt my phone buzzing in my back pocket. I pulled it out and realized Dad was calling me.

"Hold on, Jonas. It's my dad."

I swiped the phone to answer.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hi, Johanna. Just calling to check up on you two. How are you guys?"

"I'm fine. Dad, I'm sorry, but do you think you could call a little later?"

"Um, yeah...but why?"

"We're going to talk to Ethan. There's some girl with him that might have some answers for us." The pair started to make a turn in the opposite direction, and their figures began growing smaller.

"Johanna, do not go near those two," he said.

"But, Dad, why?"

"Ethan or that 'mystery girl' could very well be your stalker. I don't want you having any contact with them until we get to the bottom this."

"Dad, there is literally a police officer just a few feet behind us!" I strained my neck to see Ethan and that girl continuing to get farther away.

"Johanna, I said no."

I groaned inwardly but decided to respect my dad's wishes.

"Ok, Dad," I said, my voice low.

"Thank you. I'll see you later tonight, okay?" Ethan and the other girl continued growing smaller and smaller.

"Yeah, see you," I replied, as I hung up the phone.

"My dad said not to go after them, Jonas." Jonas's face went from tense excitement to a relaxed disappointment.

"I guess he must have good reason. That's okay though. I have a backup plan."

"What's that?"

"I took a picture of her," he replied with a smile.

***

"This will be great, Jonas! By the way, when did you get a chance to take that picture?"

"While you were busy talking to your dad, I snapped a photo of her before the two of them turned around," Jonas replied.

"But here's the thing, Jonas. How is the picture going to help if we can't see her face?"

"I don't know. We'll figure it out later, Jo. Can't you feel that we're getting closer?"

"Definitely."

I felt my phone buzzing once again in my back pocket. Dad. I swiped the phone to answer.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Just wanted to update you about the car that was left in our driveway. We were able to locate the dealership it came from and the salesman who sold it. We're going now to talk to him."

"That's fantastic! Hey..." I said with a sly smile, "Could Jonas and I come with you? Please?"

He didn't answer for several moments. I heard a long sigh on his end.

"Fine, you can come along since you two saw the car first. But no interruptions during our talk with this guy, understood?"

"Understood, Dad. Thanks!"

***

Several minutes later, Jonas and I had walked back home, gotten into Jonas's car, and drove excitedly down to the dealership. I saw my dad's car pulling in into the parking lot the moment we got there. He and his partner came out of the car.

"Hey, Dad!" I exclaimed as I rushed over to him.

"Hey, kiddo," he replied, giving me a hug. "Let's go get this done."

We walked into the dealership, Jonas and I maintained serious expressions, but on the inside, both of us were fired up for this interview.

Dad and his partner Ian walked towards a staff lounge in the back of the building. As we entered, we saw a large young man seated at one of the tables inside. His smile said he was cool and collected, but I could tell that his eyes said otherwise. The man looked like he hadn't slept in days. Guilt, perhaps?

The man stood up to greet us.

"Hello, I'm Robert Thomas. Pleasure to meet you all," he said as he shook our hands.

"Nice to meet you as well, Robert," my dad began, "I wish we could meet under different circumstances. That, of course, leads us to why we're here. We need to speak with you about a Volkwagen Beetle that you sold recently."

"Of course, of course! What do you need from me?"

"We need to know who bought the car. Or if the car was meant to be a gift for someone else."

"Oh! Well, a young redhead girl came in to buy the car."

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the word redhead.

Robert continued, "She was 18, so I didn't see any issues with her buying the car. I'm fairly certain that she was buying it for herself."

"Can you describe this redhead for me, please?" Ian asked.

"Well, she had large green eyes, and she was sort of thin."

"What about height?"

"A little below average, I'd say."

"Do you know her name?" Dad asked.

I held my breath as I waited for the answer.

"Sophie Robinson."

A/N: So what did you all think of this chapter? I know, it's been A WHILE since the last time I updated this book. I'm sorry :( I'm trying to get my writing schedule back on track. Please, VOTE, COMMENT, AND SHARE this story. Also, if you haven't already checked out my poem collection Bliss, please do so and enjoy!

Till next time,

-shalom900