A Mystery Novel

~ČĤÁPŤĔŔ 17~

Jacob groans for the umpteenth time, struggling with the cast on his

"Do you mind?" Xander asks.

"I'm in so much pain."

"And whose fault is that?" He asks.

"I didn't even want to go," Jacob says exasperatedly.

"But you did, so you can't really blame us."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

The doorbell rings.

"I'll get it," Jacqueline says, walking to the front door.

"Where is he?" Savannah pushes Jacqueline aside as she rushes in, "where's that idiot?"

"Savannah?"

"Where the hell have you been?!" Miley asks, "I sent you over a million texts! Jacob broke his neck, did you know that?"

"Yes"

"Do why are you just coming now?"

"I was thinking."

"For a week?"

"Yes! For a week. I just didn't understand why you guys are still hanging out with her?"Savannah points at Jacqueline.

The sound of phones beeping interrupts their conversation, fortunately. They check their phones, the mystery person sent them a video.

"Ugh, not this again." Tyler says in an annoyed tone.

The setting in the video looks like an electronics store. Xandra's there, examining phone samples, her everlasting smile present on her face. Someone comes into view but only their back is showing. Its a girl, that's all they can tell from the long ponytail.

The girl's full body isn't in view but she seemed to say something which made Xandra to raise her head to look at her. The smile disappears from her face and she glares at the girl. That's where the video ends.

After that, a message from the mystery texter comes in.

'Alex is alive.'

"You have got to be kidding me." Xander sighs.

"This has been a joke from the beginning!" Miley says, exasperatedly, "first he tells us Xandra was murdered then he tells us she's alive? This doesn't make any sense!"

"Maybe if we can figure out who the person in the video is.......it could lead us somewhere." Tyler says.

"How are we going to do that? What if we've never even seen this girl? What if its someone only Xandra knows? What if this store isn't even in this town? What do we do then? Watch every surveillance tape from every electronic store in the country?" Miley rants.

"It....it was just a suggestion." Tyler says

Xander suddenly stands up and goes up the stairs but the others are too busy watching the video over and over again to notice.

He comes back a few minutes later with an ugly sweater.

"Found it!" He yells.

"Found what?" Jacob asks

"As much as I want Alex to be alive, I think this guy's lying. That video is from a few years ago. The sweater Alex is wearing is right here, my grandma knitted so there's no way she could have gotten another one. Plus, if the video is from the present, she would look older, she looks exactly as I remember her."