THE STARKS ALLEY

42

"You've been grumpy since Kristie moved out," Leila, Kristie's mom said, "You knew she'd eventually go despite what happened to her."

"She's always been hard headed. You know she gets that from you, right?" Kristie's dad said.

"And that explains why I bought back that dog after you told me not to," she said as the doorbell rang, "That must be them actually." She opened to find Mr. Lowski and Lindsey the fully grown dog.

"If I knew you lived this far I would have charged you for the delivery," he said, handing Lindsey over to Leila.

"The money you charged for the dog is inclusive of the delivery and you know that you over-pricing mammal!" She then shut the door in his face, "Can you believe that guy?"

"What I can't believe is how big this dog has grown! I forgot all about her." Kristie's dad took Lindsey into his arms, "What have they been feeding you? You've gotten big and heavy." He was happy to see Lindsey again.

"I was going to take her to Kristie today and I think you should come to break the ice between you two." They both left for Kristie's new apartment but she wasn't home. They only found a girl by her door trying to keep three cats inside.

"You can't have that dog on this floor," she said, with a cat in her arms.

"This must be the wrong apartment." Kristie's dad said.

"Do you know Kristie?" Leila asked.

"She's my roommate, ma'am," the girl answered.

"I've been here before and I didn't see you." Leila pointed out.

"Now you see me, don't you?" The girl answered. The cats were hissing at Lindsey and she growled right back at them, "Your presence is making my cats uncomfortable. I suggest you leave before I let them loose."

"You are not very nice young lady," Leila said, leaving.

"Without assholes like me the world would be boring and you know it!" She shouted across the hall, smiling and waving at them.

"I knew she wasn't being completely honest with us when she suddenly moved out," Kristie's dad said, banging the door of his car after he got in.

"I'm sure she's nicer than she seems, Herbert."

"I've seen girls like her, they were supposed to be boys but something went wrong."

"You're not implying that Kristie's... Herbert!"

"We should have been more keen after their breakup with Dale. I knew it!"

"Our daughter is not dating women! You would know that if you paid more attention!"

"Either way, there is something we do not know and she isn't answering her phone."

"Let's just go back home and wait. She will reach out eventually. You know how busy she gets at The Starks Alley." Upon getting home, they fed Lindsey and made some tea for themselves. That is when Kristie arrived.

"You're just in time for a cup of tea darling," her mother said excitedly.

"I heard you came by my apartment earlier," Kristie said.

"Yeah. Then we found your girlfriend there and she had quite the rotten mouth," her dad said.

"Girlfriend? She's not my..."

"How come we didn't know about her until just now?"

"I'm a big girl. I do what I want," she said firmly, "I came here because the hospital called Kelsie to tell me you called so many times. I left my phone there."

"You fell sick?"

"No, I'm fine. Is there an emergency?"

"We just wanted to surprise you with her," Kristie's mom said, bringing Lindsey into the living room.

"Lindsey!!!" Kristie cried as she knelt and hugged Lindsey. She almost didn't recognize her because of her bigger size but when Lindsey responded cheerfully to her hug, she knew she was the one. Kristie looked at Lindsey for a while and she swore she could see Lindsey herself in the dog's eyes. She shed a tear and quickly wiped it off as she stood.

"Kelsie is waiting for me outside. I'll come back for her as soon as I can." She then left.

"I can't believe she's back with that girl, after all the trauma she caused her."

"True love knows no boundaries, Herbert. Otherwise I wouldn't be here after the trauma I caused you," she then sipped her tea.

Kelsie and Kristie were on their way to the precinct to meet the detectives. Kelsie was on to something and she needed answers. Ty was in the back seat with candy he'd taken from the receptionist's desk at the hospital when she wasn't looking. Kelsie didn't even park the car well when they got there. She even forgot to close her door when she got out. She marched straight into the precinct where the detectives were and she was breathing fire.

"So when were you gonna announce it? Huh?" She asked Detective Kala.

"What are you talking about?" She was obviously confused.

"You know who is behind all this, don't you?" Kelsie shouted.

"Hey calm down. We're all working together on this case," Detective Jones said.

"Are we, sir?"

"Let's go to a more private place, don't you agree?" Detectives Jones guided them to an office and closed it.

"You knew Kent knew everything... everything! From Mr. Haymahn being my dad to him hiding Monic in his house to Kristie's kidnaping."

"And how exactly can you explain that?" Detective Kala asked.

"The house Monic used to live in was way out of her league and the girl was jobless. She was always around to push me around and make me cry," Kristie pointed out, "Someone else was involved."

"And the fact that Monic was living with Mr. Haymahn in Kent's apartments shows that Kent was the one hiding Monic all along," Ty said, "How else does Mr. Haymahn know Monic except through Kent?"

"And I'm guessing you already knew this because you're not writing anything down and you're not surprised. Kent put you up to this didn't he?" Kelsie asked impatiently, "I knew you have seen the title deeds of the apartments Mr. Haymahn used to live in and the mansion Kristie was in."

ARE THESE JUST SPECULATIONS?