Duskwood Mysteries

Part 37

Jake's POV

I stared at the spot where she had been standing. Her statements reverberated through my mind, "I am out...That's the deal," I couldn't pick the courage to tell her to stop. Would she stop though? Of course, she would. I had hurt her. A lot. More than I could ever imagine. All for no reason. I knew that Jade did not have anything to do with Hannah's kidnapping but logic prevailed. As the time passed by and we were no closer to finding Hannah, I seriously started getting even more paranoid. What if the person I trusted the most was betraying me? An incident that shook me to the core was Jade getting marked. Threats on the phone and messages wasn't very scary as I had thought that the kidnapper didn't know who or where she was. But that marking was proof that he/she knew who Jade was and where she was. He/she could reach her anytime. Richy was there at the time but what if she is all alone the next time?

Why did Hannah have Jade's number? Was she telling the truth? And if she was then she is in grave danger. I had to do something. Accusing, threatening and blackmailing her seemed to be a good plan. If she was involved in Hannah's kidnapping, she would give something away and if not then she would definitely walk away from this. I knew she was doing everything for me. I had hurt her once again and I guess it was for the best. Angry footsteps alerted me. Richy stood in front of me, "She just left. I hope you are happy now?" I didn't answer. "Jake, what the fuck. Are you just going to sit here? Stop her for Christ's sake." Richy yelled. "I am not going to stop her. She made a choice. And I think you should respect that." I said. "That's bullshit. What the hell is going on with you?" Richy said. "Nothing. I am ok with her leaving. We have what we need from her." I said dryly. "Seriously? That's all she is to you? A pawn to do your grunt work?" Richy asked.

"I don't understand. Are you asking this? Or are you confirming this? I am pretty sure you know the answer," I said. "You are so full of it. Did you lose your marbles somewhere?" Richy snapped. "Ok, I think you have a hard time understanding this, so I will tell you this one last time. All I care about is finding Hannah, no one and nothing else matters. If Jade wants to leave, she can leave, and I don't need her anymore. And that applies to you as well. Door is right there." I said stubbornly. Richy gave me an exasperated look, "You are disgusting. All this while I thought you were really a stand-up guy, and were just doing this out of desperation. But Dan was right, you are an emotionless freak with no soul. And I cant stand by such a person no matter how noble the cause is." "Sorry to disappoint," I snapped. Richy just grunted and stomped outside the house, slamming the door. I sighed. I was alone. Good. Now I wouldn't put anyone else in danger.

The next few hours I pored over the information on the drive. There was so much information about the case compared to the report that I dug up. I had to give credit to Jade's dad. He was an exceptional lawyer. He had arguments, theories, detailed notes of the Madruga case. I was listening to his recordings and surprisingly it seemed like he was answering my questions directly or indirectly. Some were shocking, some were very useful and some just raised more questions. Time and time again I found my mind drifting to Jade. It had been happening a lot. Initially I didn't mind as it made me happy, then they started making me anxious and right now it just made me utterly sad. It was really difficult to refrain from talking to her, texting her or maybe meet her. I tried shrugging it off. A buzz from my phone alerted me.

Private conversation between Richy and Jade

Richy: Jade. Can we talk please?

Richy: I don't like the way you left.

Richy: I know I said that we should have told Johnson and distanced ourselves from this but you convinced me to give it a shot.

Richy: And now you run away?

Richy: Why do you let him affect you so much?

Richy: I left too. I really thought he was just desperate to find Hannah. But I feel that there is something fundamentally wrong with him and I can't help a person like that.

Richy: Come on Jade. You are not even going to respond?

Normally, Richy texting Jade would have annoyed me but now I just felt sad. Jade hadn't responded. I silently wished she did. I wish I could say something to her. A few minutes passed and nothing. Angrily, I threw my phone away. Unfortunately, it just landed on the couch in one piece. Damn I could do nothing right. I sighed and went back to the notes hoping I would get a new lead to follow.

Richy's POV

I was back at my home, pacing back and forth, fuming over the recent developments. I cursed Jake. I hope he dies painfully. But hopefully after he finds Hannah. But once he does, I hope he burns in hell. I had texted Jade, but she hadn't responded. Okay maybe she was driving, but she always responded. Maybe she would respond once she got home. I was getting frustrated with every passing minute. Then guilt found me. I had left Jake to handle things by himself but then maybe my help would have sped the process of finding Hannah. Crap. I felt myself in a turmoil. Jade was really into Jake, but the bastard wasn't even man enough to be with her and trust her. I was wishing for Jade to text me. Should I go after her and maybe try convincing her to come back? No. I don't think that would be healthy given that the jerk Jake would never relent. I knew she would immediately come back if Jake asked her. It hurt me that he had such control over her but then I got it too. I would do the same for Jade. I would never say no to her. An hour or two passed. That's it. I need to follow her. Convince her to come back. I quickly grabbed my keys, when I heard a knock on the door. I opened the door and a cop was standing there. "Good afternoon officer, how can I help?" I said out of reflex. The cops looked at me and said, "Richard Davis. You are under arrest for perjury." "What?" I exclaimed. "Cooperate and follow us. Turn around." He said. I turned around and the cop placed handcuffs on my wrist. They walked me towards the cop car and put me in the back seat. No no no. This was bad. This was very bad indeed.