[The Wattys 2021 Shortlisted Finalist]
One case, two detectives, three friends, and a thousand emotions.
Sometimes nothing is a coincidence, but then again, everything is.
After the mysterious deaths of Amyra Valdez's eldest Uncle followed by her...
Jonas landed on his knees while I landed on my butt. Ouch, my butt. Thanks to the soft bush underneath that we didn't fracture our bones.
Before I could kill him, he whispered, "They're coming," pointing towards the left.
We hastily crouched into a position where we were completely shrouded by the dense bushes. I recognized the two people as the same guards who had followed us to the restaurant.
After they both departed, too busy in their chit-chatting to notice that two intruders had sneaked into their province, I led the way to the garage. It was just a few steps away from us and luckily, the shutter was not put down today. I wonder why?
We both got up and cautiously tiptoed towards our destination, keeping our eyes and ears open every single moment to sniff any sort of danger. Two cars shrouded by protective covers were parked in the massive garage, half of which was empty. They must be Pappa and Uncle Dave's cars because I saw the other two cars outside while entering.
"Do you realize that your garage is bigger than our house?" Jonas commented, awe-struck by the vastness of the garage.
I gave a weak smile. Only if the hearts of the people in this major mansion were not minor.
Jonas walked up and lifted the covers of both the cars a little to reveal their nameplates.
"Which one?"
"The Audi A7," I muttered as I moved my hand across my Pappa's Mercedes-Benz.
The reminiscences of Pappa taking me on a long drive on his new Mercedes-Benz flashed in front of my eyes; it seemed just like yesterday.
"Amy, someone's coming," Jonas warned me in a low volume, bringing me back to reality.
Before I could take any action, he pulled me towards the back of the Audi A7, concealing both of us from outside view. I peeked through a corner to have a look at the approaching figure. It was Uncle Nick.
"We have to remove the car from here as soon as possible. I need the evidence with me before they get into Josh's hands," he spoke in a hushed voice to someone; wait no, he was speaking over the phone.
He was glancing sideways every second, probably to make sure no one was watching or hearing him.
So, was it Uncle Nick-?
"We need to be alert. Meet me on 7th, 9 pm sharp. Bursshire Forest."
Who was he talking to?
Uncle Nick strode away after disconnecting the call. I was paralyzed by the sudden upheaval. Jonas opened his mouth to say something, but maybe realized it was better to leave me alone. He slinked towards Uncle Dave's car and began his work.
It made sense, I thought. The property would have gone to Uncle Nick's name after Uncle Dave and Pappa's deaths, and when he saw my name on the will, he planned on removing me from his way too. Now he was preparing to erase the evidence as well.
But I wouldn't let him. Somewhere in my heart, I still didn't want to believe it was him, but if it was indeed him, then I was ready too. Maybe I needed to wait till the 7th of August to find out.
"Amy," Jonas whispered about five times before I finally responded.
"Did you find anything?" I crept towards him to see what he had found.
"Look, the wire connecting the brake pad has been impaired," he stated while bending down and examining the car from below.
That was it! This was the evidence we were looking for. Uncle Dave's mysterious car crash with a tree was not an accident, it was planned. Someone had damaged the wire connecting the brake pad. It was a murder.
"We have the evidence as long as this car is here."
As I opened my mouth to reply, I was interrupted by the sound of more approaching footsteps. Who could it be now? We returned to our hiding position, and I tried to have a look through the corner once more in an attempt of recognizing the approaching figure.
It was Uncle Josh. He was not alone though.
I couldn't manage to see the other person with him, but the voice seemed very familiar. As their footsteps began to fade away, we got up to make our way out before anyone else approached. We were just about to step out of the garage when-
A strong palm crashed against my mouth with such a force that I was slammed against the wall. I could sense that I was not the only one, Jonas was pinned against the wall as well. My eyes widened at the sight of the person to whom the hand belonged to.
It was Xaviers.
"What do you two think you're doing here?" he whispered, but the strict tone was still there.
"Do you realize what will happen if either Mr. Joseph or Mr. Nicholas spots you two here?" he continued with his palms still against our mouths, not letting us utter a word.
"Get out of here, quick. Right now!" he ordered, letting us catch our breaths as he removed his hands away.
"And you both silly heads decided to get in here using a rope, did you even plan on how you're going to get out?
Jonas and I stared at each other. We hadn't thought about that.
"But Xav Bro, how do you know-"
"You can't escape a detective's eyes," Xaviers answered with a known aura before Jonas could complete his question.
So it was him I saw watching us earlier.
"Use the back door, I'll distract Mr. Joseph and the guards," he commanded, lending out a key from his pocket.
So it was him talking to Uncle Josh just now.
I opened my mouth to ask what he was doing here but felt it was best to leave now. Xaviers went back to Uncle Josh and muttered something about getting inside the house as we both watched them carefully from a corner of the garage, making sure Uncle Josh's eyes didn't fall upon us. Xaviers glanced back at us one last time, indicating that the way was clear before they both disappeared out of sight.
The lock opened right at the first try. How did Xaviers have the right key to the back door?
We both carefully sneaked out of the threatening territory of the mansion, attaining the rope on our way, in order not to leave any evidence behind. I checked back one last time to make sure no one was following us as Jonas started the bike.
The events of the past few hours seemed to be on replay mode in my mind without a stop option as we made our way through the Roman streets. There were too many questions revolving around my head, the answers to which I did not know. I was already escaping from my own house for the second time. I couldn't but just wonder where this case was going to take me.
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