Innocence Forsaken

Ch 19. Bell

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you." K said with a scowl on his face, as he pulled himself up to see above the counter.
"It's important to have your health and safety ratings on display or--"
"Do you sell pancakes?" Far said, cutting K off from his sentence. He looked towards the busy salesman and grinned.
"No." The salesman replied, with a drag to his voice and a slight roll to his eyes.
"You should start selling them." Far said, pushing himself annoyingly close to the man
K grabbed his coffee off the counter, and dragged himself down the street with heavy feet.
Far crunched his way through the snow like a small child, stomping his feet as he followed K like a dog. He pulled down the sides of his snowman jumper and shivered a little.
"How can a place not sell pancakes?" He whined.
K shrugged his shoulders a little.
"What's up?" Far asked, his usual excited tone faded into a more sincere one.
"Something confused me."
Far tilted his head a little, and blinked, hiding a small shine in his eyes.
"Susanna said something." He paused for a second. "Not to mess with Eve-Anne."
He took a sip from his coffee.
"It wasn't a moment of anger, more like fear." He continued.
"Maybe her intelligence?" Far questioned.
"No, why would she be so scared?" He took another sip from his coffee. "Anyway, we don't have examples of practical intelligence, only high grades. We can't use that as a basis to work from."
K turned around. Far was gone, and looking through a shop window a couple of feet away. He glared at a small metallic bell with a shine in his eyes.
"I was talking to you." K said, crossing his arms, and nipped his lip slightly.
"I know." Far's face was pressed up against the glass, and his voice muffled.
"Buy it if it's so important." He rolled his eyes a little.
Far nodded, and skipped inside the shop, a wide grin plastered over his face.
K leant on the wall next to the shop's door and looked at his phone. Quickly, he scanned photos of the various letters received
"K?"
"Jessica?" He replied, "Aren't you meant to be in school?"
He quickly put his phone away.
"You're sciving?"
"No, snow day." She replied, "Have you seen Eve-Anne?"
K looked at her again, "I haven't, but if you find her we need her for an interview."
Jessica rubbed the underneath of her nose, and sucked in the side of her cheek a little.
"What's she done now?" Jessica paused, her hands tensing a little. "It's not Molly, is it?"
K furrowed his eyebrows a little.
"Molly?" He paused, "Who's Molly?"
Jessica froze, the blood drained out of her face quickly, and she stared at him.
"Forget I said anything." She waved her hand dismissively, but stiffly.
"No, what do you mean?"
Jessica looked over to the door, as Far fought the door handle to let him out.
The door flung open, and he fell out, falling headfirst into the snow.
"I got it!" He raised his arm and shook the metallic item as it made a dinging noise in response.
"I need to know, Jessica." K stepped forward, and over Far. "It's important."
Jessica breathed heavily, the air in front of her tainted with steam.
"Stuff happened, okay?" Jessica growled, "She ended up in the hospital because of Eve-Anne, and, I mean, I thought that she'd report it sooner or later."
"What did she do?" His voice seemed bigger than usual, his normally soft tone overtaken by an air of sterness.
"I wasn't there so--"
K looked at her and frowned. 
"I-I don't know." She stuttered. "You don't have to interrogate me."
"No, I'm sorry." He said, with a monotonous voice, as he shrugged his shoulders instinctively.
Jessica raised an eyebrow, "If it's so important, why don't you go and ask her yourself?"
"I... guess I could," K said, an unsure tone gracing his voice. "But it would be easier for you to tell me.
Far turned around in the snow. His hair was striking, with small crystals of snow caught in his tangled hair.
He brushed the snow off of the thin layer of hair above his upper lip, and his bland expression warped into a twisted grin.
K reached out to help his friend up and Far gripped his hand, using it to pull himself off the soft floor. Far shook his new bell a little as thanks. The sound was a mix between an eerie echo, and joyful little jingle, somehow. It's harsh sound resonated across the street, causing a dog to bark, and tug on its owner's lead.
Out of Far's pocket fell a little note, as he jumped a little. Again, he smiled slightly maliciously.
"What is that?" K asked, nodding towards the piece of paper. His hair got caught in the violent wind, and he swept his arm over his head, with a scowl.
"Oh, the man in the shop gave it to me! In case I need some flowers, I think."
K picked the paper up, curiosity gracing his eyes, and Jessica looked over him to take a look. It was an envelope that wasn't addressed to anyone, just had a swirly symbol on the front. Something struck familiar to him though on the back, the wax used to seal the thin piece of paper inside like a prison.
He flicked open the letter. Inside sat the pretty calligraphy similar to the last letter he read. The ink was fading from the paper, leaving the end of the letter nearly unreadable.
"12 Cross Street," K muttered and looked in the direction of their potential clue.