Life is Better

Chapter Twenty Four - Investigation

"So, what do we have?" I asked. "David's files, Nathan's phone and Frank's code book" Chloe replied. "Then let's get to searching" Max said. "I'll take Frank's clues" I said and grabbed the notebook. "Frank sure loves his dogs" I said since all the clients had dog breeds for their names. "And I have no idea what Nathan's PIN could be" Max said. "Try his birthday. Boys are never that creative" I said. "And that would be?" She asked. "August 29th" I told her.

"Here. Nathan is Rott" I told them. I put the code book down and looked for all the deals Frank had with Nathan the week of the party. There were three pages with his name on it. One deal was on September 30th at 10 PM at Blackwell. On October 4th at 5:40 PM at Blackwell and at 11 PM at the boarddocks.

Next I started on David's clues. A lot of files and even more photos of different people, including Kate, Max and Nathan.

Okay, what's Nate's license plate. There was a photo with Nathan in his car and something that was noticeable about it, was a piece of tap. Then there was another photo of a red SUV with tap on it. It must be SXFTNDR. I took the paper with the coordinates of Nathan's car and went to Chloe "Can you check out if they lead to an actual address?" I asked her. "Rachel here we come" She said and took them from me and started looking them up in the internet.

After we got all clues together, Max and I looked at them closely. About 10 minutes later we had the right clues together or the ones we hoped would. "Chloe, this has to be it" Max said and gave the clues to Chloe, who started looking them up. "Nope... Nothing, girls. There's nothing here. Just some shitty old barn..." Chloe said. "Find out who the barn belongs to" I said. "I'm on this, hold on" Chloe said and started looking for the the owner of the barn.

"Somebody named- Harry Aaron Prescott" Chloe said and looked at us. "A Prescott? Could have figured that out by myself" I said and backed away from them. "Should we call the police?" Max asked. "Are you serious?! No fucking way! They're the Prescott's pets. They would never do anything against them!" I said, turning back to them.

"That is so messed up" Max said. "As you've noticed, this whole town is messed up. We can't trust anybody. Except each other. So we have to go out to that farmhouse by ourselves" Chloe said and we nod agreeing. "I was afraid you'd say that. We could call Warren, since he kicked Nathan's ass..." Max said. "Hell no! He isn't though enough for this kind of thing" I said. "It's just the three of us. Nobody else. And I'm not scared at all. You have the power" Chloe added.

"I feel like we're this close to finding Rachel... We have to find her" Chloe said. "We will. But remember, my power isn't infinite. We still have to be careful" Max said and I nod agreeing "Do you hear, Chloe?" Max asked, but Chloe was already out the door. "Let's go, Super Max" I said and we followed her.

Chloe was already sitting in the drivers seat, while I climbed in and Max climbed in after me. My sister started the car and drove off.

"Holy shit, this is scary" Max said. "I know, but we're here. Let's find the best way in" Chloe said. "Luckily I have slept in old barns before" I said and walked towards it. "Do I want to know why?" Chloe asked. "After Frank left me and went back to Arcadia, I was kind of homeless" I said. "What!?" She asked shocked. "Wasn't as bad as it sounds. I met so many great people, you wouldn't believe it" I said to her, not even feeling bad about my past. Yes, I was homeless and yes, I slept in old abandoned houses and barns, but I also found a lot of friends, that I have till this day.

"Whoa, check this out. Fresh tire tracks" Max said, kneeing in front of them. "Dude, somebody was just here" Chloe said. "That means there has to be a way in" I said, looking around. "But where?" Max asked. "Well, there are windows up there" I said, pointing towards them. "Are you sporty in any kind of way?" Chloe asked. "No, unfortunately not" I said. "So there is no way you'll get in there without breaking your bones" Chloe said.

"Then let's find a backdoor" I said and started walking around. "Hey Max, help me over here" I said and we moved something that looked like it was for a roof. "And there it is" I said and climbed through, while Max called for Chloe. "Wow..."

"Hey, check out that old chest!" Chloe called and opened it. "A little louder, Chloe" Max said to her. "This is ancient" Max said as we looked inside the chest. "Jackpot. Old shit" Chloe said. "Take a closer look, Chloe" I said. "Harry Aaron Prescott and family donate new library to Arcadia Bay..." She read "Prescott Industries celebrate grand opening... The Prescotts bring bomb shelter boom to town"

"Nice scrapbook. You search for more clues and we'll scope out the area" Max said and both of us agreed. I started looking around, kicking the straw aside until I found something interesting. "Hey Max" I called and she walked over. "Look, it looks like a hidden entrance" "But it's looked" Max replied. "How about we attach something to it and get it open like that?" I asked her. "But what?" She asked. "That rope" I said and got it and attached it to the door in the ground.

"It leads up there" Max said. "Then get up there" I said. "Hey Chloe, can you give us a lift" Max said. "Of course" She said and helped both of us up. "Okay, how do we get up there?" She asked. "How about the motor?" I asked. "Okay, get out of the way" Max said and I obeyed, while Max pulled it down. Both of us climbed up. "There is the other end of the rope" I said. "And how do we get that thing open without tearing our flesh off?" She asked. "Get that motor back up" I said and this time she obeyed. We then attached the rope to the motor and pushed it off the platform, causing the lock downstairs to break.

"Bam!" I said and jumped onto the lower platform, then down onto the ground. Max and I hurried over to the door. "Chloe, get over here!" I said and the three of us opened it.

It revealed stairs. Man, this was creepy. "What is this?" Max asked. "Jackpot" Chloe said. "Do I even need to say how weird this is?" Max asked. "You just did" Chloe said. "Even I think this is creepy" I said and walked over to the stairs. "Who builds this kind of place?" Chloe asked. "A Prescott, that's who" I said and started walking down the stairs. Both girls followed me.

We were now standing in front of a security door. "I don't  have a good feeling at all" I said to my sister and her best friend. "Neither do I" Chloe said.