🐺Wolf Creek:Volume One🐺

Chapter Twenty-Two: Stolen Files

          Acuna Manor was bustling with crowds draped in their finest. Dozens of cars idled through the property, spitting out guest by guest. People crowded the road, the stairs, and even the front yard. I nervously fiddled with my new dress as James and I walked hand and hand through the surprisingly empty foyer. It was a beautiful blue dress made out of ocean blue silk. It reminded me of James' eyes.

          "Don't be so nervous! You did great last time." James encouraged. He gave my hand an assuring squeeze. I smiled at him as I thought about how drastically different my reason for being nervous was than the one he thought. I wished so badly that I could just tell him. But I had no idea if he would believe me! Who wants to hear that their father is an evil psychopath that has teenage girls murdered?! Or nearly murdered...in my case...

          We made our way through the foyer doors and into the ball room. In an instant my phone started buzzing like crazy. I had put it on a more subtle tone for this particular occasion. I smiled innocently at James before digging my phone out of my clutch. He smiled sweetly at me, patiently waiting on me.

           "Yes?" I asked.

          "I'm in place. I found a spot at the edge of the hedge maze and cleared out some of the branches. My binoculars can fit through without anyone seeing me, and I can use my phone to zoom in on anything suspicious." Theo explained. I nodded, knowing he was watching us both from our hiding spot. I faked a sympathetic smile.

          "Alright, sounds good. I'm good. Gotta go. Love you!" I replied casually before hanging up and swiveling to James. "Gran was just checking up on me. She's been worried sick every time I go out now. She thinks I'm danger-prone." I said innocently. James laughed heartily. A few people cast glances in our direction, but James seemed unbothered as he lead me to a spot along the wall.

          My eyes darted around the room. No sign of Mr. Acuna...  I needed to think of a way to get by myself so that I could explore the manor. James had mentioned his father's office on my last visit. If my camera was going to be anywhere I was willing to bet it would be there. James was still

          "I need to use the restroom." I blurted out.

           "Okay! I'll go talk to Cecil for a bit. He hasn't been around much the past few days. Have fun!" James joked. I grinned at him before playfully twirling away a few feet. The skirt of my dress billowed our a little before twisting around my legs and going back to normal.

           James watched with a content smile as I pranced through the bathroom door. There weren't many people inside, but they seemed more interested in their own endeavors than mine. I counted to ten before peeking out the door. James had already disappeared into the ballroom crowd. I turned and scurried down the hallway, passing a group of girls and a kissing couple.

          I emerged from the hallway and into the foyer. No one was there at the moment. I took advantage of the emptiness by snatching up the front of my dress and sprinting up the stairs. If I had worn heels like the first party I would have fallen for sure, but thankfully I had a dress big enough that it covered my shoes. Instead of heels my black converse peeked out from under my dress and marched their way to the left hallway.

           The first door stretched from the ground to the ceiling in an oaken slab. I cautiously pried it open before peeking inside. A circular mattress stood firmly in the middle of the room. I stared in silence for a few moments-wondering what kind of psychopath didn't have their bed against at least one wall.

Not the office. After closing the door and looking further down the hallway I was able to spot two more doors. One was at the very end of the hallway, but there was one on the wall opposite me. It was on the library side, and so I figured it was a broom closet of some sort. I began to tip toe down the hallway.

I could hear shouting from inside the room. It was Mr. Acuna. He sounded like he was arguing with someone. Hearing no other voice I immediately assumed that he was on the phone. I continued to sneak forward. Suddenly heavy footsteps could be heard getting closer to the door. In an instant I sprinted to the broom closet and practically dove inside. With a click I yanked the door open, ducked inside, and closed the door behind me just as I heard the office door jar open.

Wham! The door rapped against the wall, and Mr. Acuna's heavy footsteps stomped past my door and down the stairs. I waited a few moments before peeking outside. No one was there. I quickly crept out and down to the office.

Once inside I took in my surroundings. An old fashioned wooden desk was centered in this room as well. It looked like something you would see in the White House or in a Victorian era home. A black chair and several tall, black filing cabinets accompanied it. Best to start with these...

I raised a hand to deftly pull out a drawer in the first filing cabinet. Birth certificates and various personal information riddled neat rows of matte black folders. Interesting, but not quite what I'm looking for. I moved onto the next filing cabinet and began to sort through papers. One in particular caught my eye.

The same name on the syringes form my pictures was neatly typed onto the first page of the file. Infexin. I snatched all of the papers out of it and began to hurriedly read through them. My eyebrows jumped. Infexin was a drug designed for endangered animals. Or rather for causing endangerment of animals...

          Mr. Acuna wasn't investing in the wolves for the town! He was testing it on wolves as a traceless poison to increase the endangerment in various species to make them worth more on the black market! I flipped to the next page. Lazarus. Another product in his business was a drug that brought animals heart rates down enough that they appeared dead, but eventually they would be back to normal. By the time they were being sold...

          Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Heavy footsteps and more angry voices were coming down the hallway. I quickly closed the filing cabinet and looked for somewhere to hide. Under the desk was the most obvious one, but it was the only one. I looked down at the bodice of my dress. My clutch was too obvious for the papers. I had never liked it when women in movies stuck items of importance down their shirts, but I currently had no choice. I had no pockets, and a need to hide the papers in case they found me.

          I stuffed the papers down my dress. Then I dove under the desk and yanked the chair back into place. WHAM! The door rattled against the wall again, and two sets of footsteps stride into the room. I pulled my hand away from the chair so as not to move it while they were in there with me. Clang! I jerked in surprise as one of the filing cabinets was ripped open. Pages flitted and whirred as they were inspected.

          "The file is gone. Our project has been compromised." Mr. Acuna hissed.

          "Who do you believe has them?" Cecil asked.

         "Who do you think, Cecil?!" Growled Mr. Acuna. "Who has been a pest since the beginning? Who had the pictures of the project in the first place? Whose vehicle did I have you crash?" I covered my mouth to hide the small gasp that left my lungs. The two men went silent for a few moments. I held my breath for what seemed like ages. My heart was pounding in my chest all the way up into my ears.

          "Kelsey Hayes." Mr. Acuna seethed. Find her, Cecil. Whatever you have to do-get those files." And with that they turned and left, slamming the door behind them. I lowered my hand from my face and sucked in a few deep breathes. I had always known their twisted ways, but now I had heard it out loud. There was no doubt now...I could never let them get the files back. I had to find a way to turn them into the authorities, and I had to get out of this house.