Mystery Hunt (Complete - Under Major Editing)

25. The Bait

"He left early in the morning," Clive says. James wasn't in the house and Dylan was worried. It so happened that James's father had finally succumbed to his prolonged illness and breathed his last yesterday night. James had got a call and he booked the earliest flight. Clive got his message and he informed everyone.

"I hope he is okay," William says. He was worried too. He knew James was far away from his dad, and not being able to be with him on his last days would be so heartbreaking.

Dylan eats his breakfast in silence and everyone is still lazing around. Today was a Sunday, a rest day for all.

"Why don't we go to that pub you went to last time?" Clive asks Noah.

"Good idea. I haven't had a beer in a long time. I wonder how the local beer tastes. How is it?" David questions Noah.

"Oh, I just had a soda. Let's go there this evening then." Noah says after clearing his dishes. Dylan was a bit confused as to why Noah wasn't scared of everyone going to the pub. Or was Noah really in the pub that night?

William and Noah go for some grocery shopping to the nearby market and the others helped in cleaning the house. You would imagine seven boys living in the same place to be very dirty but Dylan was actually a stickler for cleanliness. He would urge everyone to clean up their rooms every two days even if they are tired.

He finally plops onto his bed, tired after cleaning James's room and looks through his phone. He thinks of texting James.

"Hey! I hope you are feeling okay. I am so sorry to hear about your dad." Dylan types.

"Thanks, Dylan. I reached an hour ago. Not feeling good though. :(" Pat comes James's reply.

"It will be okay James. We all are here for you. :)"

"I really wish you were here. <3"

The small heart makes Dylan feel giddy but he composes himself and replies,

"You could have told me. I would have come with you."

"It was all very sudden. I mean....he was healthy when I was leaving and the next I thing hear......"There is a long pause before the next message comes. "The funeral rites are over."

"I understand James. You can stay there as long as you want. We will understand. :)"

"No, I actually want to come back. It feels weird at home. It feels empty without him calling out for me, throwing tantrums at the servants....it all feels so empty...."

"You can let it all out, James...just let it out..." Dylan could empathize with him. He doesn't remember much about his parents apart from that they died in a fire. He was always very close to Noah. He was his only family left. And he couldn't imagine if something happened to him.

"Can I call you?" comes James's reply.

Dylan dials his number and James picks up in the first ring.

"Hi" Dylan starts.

"Hey....I don't have much time so I'll just make it quick. Everything here is very weird." James speaks in a very hushed tone.

"It's okay James. It's okay to feel this way. You just lost your dad." Dylan assures him.

"No, I am not talking about that. That is just something emotional and I will overcome it. But everything here feels weird. And it's my instincts speaking." James keeps speaking in his unclear voice.

"What do you mean?" Dylan asks confused.

"I mean I don't know......dad left me a letter but it doesn't sound like him. The staff has also changed a lot. There are more servants now. I couldn't find one familiar face around here. The letter is just weird. He said some stuff which he wouldn't normally say. No! Actually I can guarantee he never talks like this. This...this is not him!" James tries to explain.

"Okay okay...breathe James...breathe. Don't panic. You must be overthinking stuff. When people are on their death bed, they usually aren't themselves anymore. And in your dad's case, he was already battling a prolonged disease. Maybe he just penned down his emotions for you. And about the staff, you mentioned that your dad lived alone with you and a few servants. Maybe after you went, he needed more hands to help him." Dylan assures him. He just thinks it is James's emotional mind speaking.

"Maybe....our servant told me the same thing ....I'll look into this later. I got to go now, bye...." And beep. James had cut the call.

Dylan just sighs and keeps his phone down. Sleep slowly came over his tired eyes.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Ayo! Noah is here aye!" The bartender screams on the top of his voice and everyone cheers around him. They all went to the pub as decided. The walk did not seem tiring at all as all their attention was on the beautiful scenery and breeze. Though Dylan's mind was on James's well being.

Noah smiles at him and waves at everyone.

"I see you brought your friends." The bartender gives him a drink. Noah introduces everyone.

"The drinks are on the house!" The bartender smiles at Logan.

David couldn't be less happy. He chugged his second glass of beer already and Clive was having a hard time helping him stand up on his feet.

"I....." David burps on Clive's face and continues, "I want washroom... to go....."

Clive helps him to get up by putting his arm around his shoulder. "Okay come...I'll take you."

"I love you so fucking much, you know that?" David is cute when he drunk talks.

"Yeah yeah... we will see if you remember this tomorrow." And tries to take his tumbling boyfriend to the washroom.

"Well, I see you made a lot of friends," Dylan says bitterly, sipping his drink.

"I have always been good at socializing. Didn't you know that?" Sass was dripping from Noah's mouth and he couldn't care less.

All will be good in some time.

Some kids come up to their table asking for their autographs. They were astonished to see that they could reach even the remote places with their small YouTube channel.

"They recognized me the second I entered this bar." Noah beams with pride.

"Do they know why we are here?" William asks.

"No. I told them we are taking a small break." Noah gets up to go to the washroom, "Now if you will excuse me, I have to go to the toilet."

"Where is Logan?" Dylan asks. It's been almost 15 minutes that he went to the bathroom and he wasn't back yet.

"I dun know man...come Dylan.... I saw a karaoke there....let's singggggg." It seemed the drinks were doing their magic on William.

"No man, you go and outshine us all." Dylan jokes and William smiles with his cheeks spread wide. He stumbles a little on the way but thankfully goes up to the machine without causing much destruction.

It was now just Dylan sitting alone at the bar with his drink. The bartender notices him and initiates a conversation.

"You are Noah's brother right?" He asks cleaning the counter.

"Yeah. The vibe here is so nice. I guess the renovation went well." Dylan says nonchalantly.

"What renovation?" the bartender asks in confusion but later reveals, "Aah, that was done months ago. But the kids have already overused it." he points at the karaoke. "But I didn't see you all very recently."

"I heard about it from someone." Dylan goes back to his drink without thinking much about it. The pub was now echoing with William's slurred singing and it was weird but the locals were enjoying it. They were swaying their hands and even singing along.

"You know," The bartender leans towards Dylan, "You are very different from your brother. I mean he is so lively and energetic and you are so quiet and reserved. We just met him today and he already feels like family."

"Yeah, ...we are pretty different...wait...what did you say?" Has the drink started affecting Dylan's mind or was he hearing stuff?

"What?" The bartender asks.

"You said you met Noah today." Dylan points out.