Duskwood Mysteries

Part 24

"That's good news," I exclaimed. They both gave me a dirty look. "What?" I asked. "How is it good news?" Richy asked. "Because I can finally ask him why he called me." I said. "He probably wanted to ask you out." Richy said. "I am not surprised. After all he was very curious about knowing where you were from and if you were single." Jake said smugly. I rolled my eyes, "I don't think that was a priority for him since he was going to jail. I honestly feel Phil knows something and he wanted to tell me that. That's why he called." Richy groaned. "Do you guys think he is a suspect?" I asked. "No he is not," Jake said. "We ruled him out. During Hannah's disappearance he was at his bar so atleast he didn't kidnap her." "So why not ask him. I think he has something to say." I said. Jake and Richy looked at each other. "Alright but I don't like this," Jake said. "I can keep an eye out when she is talking to him," Richy offered. Jake nodded, "Ok that seems reasonable. You can go to see Phil later. Wanna know about what I found out on Madruga?"

"Yes," I said. "Ok I am pretty sure it should come as no surprise that Madruga was convicted of Jennifer's murder. That seemed to be the obvious link between them. Based on the report I read Madruga was driving into Duskwood and ran over Jennifer killing her. He also confessed to it and that's why he was sentenced to prison." Jake said. "Seems pretty straightforward," Richy said. "Ok if that's the case then why did Hannah meet Madruga? And why did she get Jennifer's bracelet? And why did she meet Iris?" I asked. "Maybe Madruga told her something? We should talk to him." Richy said. "That's not possible. Madruga was transferred recently to a prison across the country." Jake said. "That's weird. Why?" I asked. "Apparently he had some altercation with an inmate as per the report. So talking to Madruga is out of the question." Jake said. "All of this is so shady." Richy said. I could here the shuffling of some papers and I saw a printer was churning out some prints. "Whats that for?" I asked. "Oh I'm making physical copies of things that we found. I figured that working digitally may not be wise given the situation. He picked a few papers and handed it to us. "Madruga's report."

I looked at the pages and I saw a lot of the things on the report was redacted, "What is this?" I asked. "I could get the sealed file but this was the only thing they had on the case." Jake said. "Is this normal?" Richy asked. "I don't know honestly. But it seems like too much to hide about a hit and run. Could be that they just didn't file this properly." Jake said. "It still doesn't make sense. I can understand if this was a public record, but this is the official transcript, right?" I asked. "A lot of things are questionable on this but there is one thing, Madruga confessed to running her over." Jake said. "What if he lied?" I asked. "And how does Hannah fit into this?" Richy said. Jake groaned, "I don't know. When I found the record, I thought there would be a huge clue to find Hannah but the only thing suspicious about Madruga's case is the way his report is filed." "Do you think Hannah had something to do with Jennifer's death?" Richy asked. Silence. It was a valid question. I had a feeling that maybe the audio clip we had of Hannah and Dr. Ulric could have been a guilt trip about her involvement in Jennifer's murder. "That's a possibility," Jake said. I looked at him. His eyes looked as if he was in pain. "Right now nothing is off the table. We have to be ready to accept anything." I put my hand on his shoulder, "Jake... I really think we should wait to get more information." He sighed, "I always had this thing in my head that maybe Hannah got mixed up with something wrong and worse she did something wrong. What if that's true?" "Hey I don't think we should jump to any conclusions right now. For us Hannah is still missing. We should give her the benefit of the doubt." Richy said.

"Let's follow up on Phil," I said "I feel he is the best lead we have." Richy nodded, "I agree. Jake?" "As long as Richy stays close I am okay with it." Jake said. "Alright so lets head back to Duskwood. Where will Phil be?" I asked. "Aurora of course. He must have lost some business so he will try recuperating." Richy said. "So lets go then." I said. Jake grabbed my hand, "Stay safe please." I nodded. "Don't worry I'll be there." Richy said. "I am referring to her staying away from you." Jake growled. I looked from Jake to Richy. "What did I miss?" I asked. "I think he is referring to the creative solution back at the hospital." Richy said. "Oh." I blushed. "Next time, keep your tongue to yourself." Jake said angrily. "If you remember, there were 2 people involved in this. Both consenting adults. And I took charge of a situation. Can't blame me for that" Richy countered winking at him. "I hope you know we have other priorities right now." Jake said. "Really? Then why were you two at a B&B and not this safe house? Where did you priorities disappear then?" Richy snapped. "Okay both of you enough. Stop fighting like dogs. We have work to do. Let's go Richy." I said walking out. Richy followed me out. We sat in the car. I started driving.

"What do you see in him?" Richy asked. "And I should answer that because...?" I said. "I'm curious. Are you two together?" He asked. I didn't answer. "Is that a no?" He pressed. "Richy can we not talk about this right now?" I said. He giggled. "Whats so funny?" I asked. "Nothing. For a guy who is so calm, composed, and calculative, not making a move seems very absurd." Richy said. "How did you know?" I asked. "I didn't until the moment you said it. Just a wild guess." He smirked. "You seem to be confused." He continued. I flinched and then said, "Not at all." "You hesitated." He said. I stayed silent focusing on the road. "You shouldn't have been mad at him you know? About hiding his plans with my disappearance." He said. "Are you serious? You were just.." I said. "I know what I said. But I don't think you understand. Lying and hiding things is in his job description. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that he didn't tell you. That's his life. That's not going to change. He is not a bad guy at heart, just broods a lot. And I see the thrill in being with someone like that. Full of mysteries. Always on the run." Richy said. "What's your point?" I asked. "Just that it may all seem exciting right now but is this the life you want? Lying, hiding, being on the run, not trusting anyone? Isn't the alternative better?" he asked. "Which is?" I asked. "Me of course. I'm an open book." He said winking. I rolled my eyes, "Funny." "I'm not joking Jade. Think about it." Richy said. Maybe I should I thought to myself.