Duskwood Mysteries

Part 31

"Jake what's wrong with you? Put down that gun." Richy screamed. I stood there frozen not believing what I was seeing. "You can't leave, Jade until you tell me how Hannah had your number." Jake said. His eyes were ice cold. "So, you are going to shoot me now?" I asked. "No Jade I could never do that, but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot Mr Boy Scout here," he said pointing the gun at Richy. "How far off in space are you? You don't trust me that's fine but Richy was helping you all this while." I said. "I know. But I don't think you would want him hurt now would you because of your stupidity?" Jake asked. "Jake what the hell are you doing? You are blackmailing her?" Richy yelled. I gulped "Okay. I'll stay. You don't have to hurt him." I said defeatedly. I dropped my bag and sat on the couch. He motioned to Richy who did the same. Jake sat down too. I didn't know who this person was anymore. "You know I don't actually like to be violent, but it seems like you guys work better this way. Now, Richy and Jade let me tell you that you don't have to fear the gun because what I can do is worse." Jake slammed a bunch of pictures on the coffee table. I could see Richy in it working on cars, driving in some cars, talking to a guy, etc. I was puzzled but I could see the color drain from Richy's face. "How do you have these?" Richy asked. "I like having leverage on people. Quite a nice side hustle you've got there. I wonder what the police might have to say about you stealing cars. Now in the light of not being violent, how about some motivation? You guys help me find a connection between Jade and Hannah and then you both are free to go. I will forget the existence of these pictures. Jade if you even try something, these pictures become tomorrow's headline and Richy spends years in prison. Let me also remind you that I know where you live and what you do so you can't hide anywhere. Think of it when you plan to run away or do anything unpleasant. Now let's start. Jade I need you to tell me everything that happened at the Hansons." Jake said in a tone that scarred my soul. Who are you? My heart screamed. Tears burned in my eyes.

Slowly I told everything, missing no detail. Jake's eyes remained expressionless. I also told about the conversation I had with Phil after visiting Iris. Tears didn't stop. For a tiny moment I saw Jake's eyes soften but it quickly changed back to the ice-cold expression. Richy put his arm around me consoling me. He literally challenged Jake, "Shoot me if you want. I don't care." "Don't tempt me." Jake snapped. I was trying my best to keep myself composed. I wanted so badly to show that what Jake said didn't affect me but it didn't work. "Did she mention which friend had gifted her the bracelet?" Jake asked. His tone was now very calm and soothing. I did not trust it a bit. "No," I said. "Go on." Jake pushed. "I know you have something on your mind about this." "That bracelet was not a gift from Jenny's friend." I said. "Why do you say so?" Jake asked. "The bracelet had emeralds on it, it was expensive, and it was inscribed. Either Jenny's friend was a rich socialite, or I think it was a guy, a rich guy who gifted it to her. I think it was her boyfriend or someone she was in love with." I said. I couldn't afford to look Jake in the eyes. "I wonder if it could be Madruga?" Richy said gritting his teeth. "I doubt it. I don't think Madruga had the income to buy an expensive bracelet," Jake said. "If it was her boyfriend then I think they must have had a falling out as she stopped wearing the bracelet." I said re purposing what Iris has postulated. "So why did Hannah get the bracelet from the pawn store?" Richy asked. "The bracelet is key to what happened to Jenny. Maybe it was not just an accident maybe Madruga did something worse? Any idea why Jenny came to Duskwood?" Jake said. "No could be she was just there for fun." I said. "If Madruga did do something bad to Jenny then maybe Hannah saw something?" Richy offered. Jake was looking at his laptop, "Based on what Phil told about this lover's lane, it seems to be quite a distance from the spot of the accident." "So what? Hannah had a car. Maybe she saw something when she was driving by?" Richy said. "What time did the accident happen?" I asked. "9:45 pm" Jake said. "Phil said he met Hannah at 5 pm. Maybe he left after a few minutes or so. Iris said that Jenny had come home at around 3 and left from there at around 3:30pm. Assuming she left for Duskwood she would be in Duskwood maybe in 20-25 minutes top. So, if Hannah saw something happen to Jenny on her way to or from Lover's Lane, then Madruga ran her over 4 hours later. What happened in that much time?" I asked.

"Something doesn't add up. We know where Hannah was, we know where the accident happened and when it happened but nothing else." Jake said. Richy groaned, "This sucks. The only new thing we know is that Hannah was probably driving distance from where Jenny's accident happened." During the course of the discussion, we were back into the same rhythm. I stood up from the couch. "I need a break." I said. Jake nodded. Jake and I shared a look as I walked past him. He didn't say a word. Richy stood up and followed me as well. I went into one of rooms and headed straight for the bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face probably trying to wake myself up from this nightmare. After a while I walked back into the room and saw Richy sitting on the armchair. I sat on the bed and he sat next to me. "I won't ask if you are ok because I know you are not ok. But I'm here if you need me." I did not answer, just crashed on the bed. Not knowing what to do next, Richy did the same.

"I never thought the things would escalate to this. I should have understood when I saw the gun he had in his bag," he said. "You knew that?" I asked. "Yes, I thought you did too." Richy said. "No, I did not," I said. I did not know what to do with that information. I didn't know what to do with any information anymore. "Can you believe we are hostages?" Richy said trying to start a conversation. "I am a hostage. You are just a scapegoat." I said. "I have been called a lot of things; scapegoat is new." He said lightly. "Really? What's the worst you've been called?" I asked. I didn't want to talk about the situation at hand so anything else was a welcome change. "My grandfather used to call me a chipmunk. I know it doesn't sound bad but apparently I was the runt in the family." I scoffed, "What's the best you've been called?" "Sir, by you this morning." He said giggling. "Never got that much respect from anyone." "You probably deserve more. You seem to be the glue that keeps the group together." I said. "I'm tired of being that." Richy said. "Why did you steal?" I asked. "I was desperate at the time. Things were difficult at home and we needed the money. I know it was wrong. I really feel bad about it. But it was something I did when I was at rock bottom." Richy said sadly. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that." I said. "I've been trying to be a better guy ever since," he said. I smiled slowly. Well, atleast he was remorseful. "Why did you not vote when Lilly wanted to kick me out?" I asked out of the blue. He didn't say anything for some time. "I didn't want to piss off anyone. Neither you nor Lilly. She wanted to desperately find Hannah and you desperately wanted to help. You were both right. I couldn't choose between two rights. And.." he said "I wasn't the most objective person at the time." "Why do you say that?" I asked. "If Jake hadn't intervened, I would have voted for you to stay." Richy said. "I still don't get the not being objective part." I said. He sighed, "I think my vote would have been very much influenced by my feelings towards you. I didn't think that was right." "How is it that you believe me? What Jake said sounds plausible you know. If I was in your place, I would have given it a thought." I said facing him. I didn't know why I said it. Maybe I felt hopeless. Lilly had this doubt before and I was sure at some point the others might have had that doubt too. I didn't know what I was doing. Was I trying to alienate myself from everyone? He turned to look at me. His dark eyes locked with mine. I waited for him to say something, but I felt that he was thinking really hard. I was surprised to see that he closed the distance between us and kissed me, placing his hand on my cheek. Not like the way in the hospital. It was tender and comforting. Surprisingly, I kissed him back. He pulled away after a few moments and kissed my forehead, "I don't think anyone, or anything can convince me that you have done something wrong Jade. I have seen you get concerned for Hannah, for Thomas, for Cleo, for Jessy, hell even for Dan and Phil and that idiot Jake and for me. No one can lie about that. Now I may be wrong, and you might be one hell of an actress but until I see it myself, I won't believe it." After everything that had happened that day, I was genuinely comforted in knowing this. Maybe I had some hope after all.