The Journey to Duskwood

Chapter 4

  For a while, the conversations at our table drift from favorite colors to how many pets we had growing up, to if we'd ever get a tattoo in a weird spot. Finally, however, our conversation turns to a more serious topic.

Dan speaks up about it first. "Well, as much fun as all this talk about pets and tattoos has been, I think it's time we discussed the elephant in the room."

Jessy looks shocked and somewhat disgusted. "Seriously, Dan? Flora just got here!" She turns to me before asking, "Would you rather wait until tomorrow to talk about all this? I know it's been a long day for you."

I shrug, somewhat indifferent. If I'm honest, part of me doesn't want to face reality and talk about this just yet. But the other part of me has too many questions that need answering. "It's okay, Jess. It was going to come up sooner or later - might as well get rolling with it."

  She looks somewhat disappointed, but I have the feeling it's more than just for me. This whole situation has taken quite the toll on everyone. Jessy, though, I think is the most sensitive of the group. I imagine everything has hit her harder in some way.

I place my arm around her and give a gentle squeeze. "We'll be alright. If it becomes too much, we can always take a break." She nods and rests her head on my shoulder.

"Where do we even start?" Lilly asks. She hasn't said very much tonight. I don't blame her, though. According to Cleo, she planned on staying with Hannah tonight, but Hannah convinced her to come. I suppose she's needing to be with Thomas to explain and process everything.

"I mean, we can just start where we left off?" Dan answers. "It isn't like none of us knows what happened."

"What did happen after Alan rescued Hannah?" I question. This has been bugging me since Alan video called me in the mine a few nights ago.

Cleo responds this time, "Wait, you don't know?" Everyone looks at me expectantly.

I shake my head, growing a bit angry thatAlan never even bothered to get back in touch with me. "No... after Alan found Hannah and Richy called me to explain everything, no one said anything else to me. At the time, I was just so relieved that Hannah was found, but I was in shock over what Richy had told me." I suppose I am partially toblame, though, seeing as I didn't reach out to him either. I just figured thatsince he's the chief of police, he would've done it himself.

Before continuing, I take another sip of my drink, which was starting to become watered down. "I assumed Richy was taken into custody, based off his confession. And then, honestly, I was so worried about Jake being found that I couldn't really focus on all this anymore."

  I'd actually had a few thoughts about what happened to Richy, but I had also been too scared at the time to ask. Jessy's face, however, tells me everything. That what I suspected might have happened really did.

"Alan really didn't tell you?" Cleo asks.

I shake my head again. "No, I guess he got caught up in everything else, especially with the FBI there, that he forgot to fill me in. Or maybe he just expected someone else to do it."

  A deafening silence fills the air for a few moments, and it tells me all I need to know. I know what happened — maybe not the details, but the silence speaks for itself. All of a sudden, it's broken by Jessy's cries.

"Oh, Flora," she chokes out. "He's... Richy is... gone." A sob finally breaks free, and Jessy breaks down into tears.

  My heart truly hurts for her. Richy meant the world to her and now he's gone. I can't help but think back to when I first thought he died — before we knew he was the one behind it all.