Lifeless (Book II)

Detective Work

Chapter Seventeen

The faint music buzzing off the radio played while Alex and Max sat in the kitchen finally able to look through the information Hue had given to Max. Alex felt excitement well up in him as he reached into the large yellow envelope and began to look through the sheets. The first few pages gave away, bills, taxes, and mortgage. The next few gave out every address they had lived in up until the one home they were living in now.

"Max, this doesn't really help," Alex sighed dropping the pages on the table.

"Here we go, Grace's school records," Max suddenly said. Alex quickly rose off the table and went to stand next to Max. His eyes quickly absorbed the information in front of him.

"Wow, Grace was terrible in every subject as soon as she turned fifteen, and look here it says she was most likely to be nominated the worst inmate in the woman correctional facility." Max chuckled.

"You and I both know Max that Vicky was a smart girl, good grades and even graduated High School." Alex replied.

"So we have established that Grace and Vicky is the same person, and that the Holidays are hiding something."

"Is it possible that the woman who died in the wreck was the real Grace, did the Holiday's car jack Vicky?" Alex muttered pacing the kitchen.

"Could be, but let's not jump into conclusion. Let's keep digging." Max requested.

"How on earth did you get ahold of Hue?" Alex asked.

"He works as a journalist in the newspaper, he's harmless," Max replied.

Alex shuffled through a few papers finally landing on a small black and white picture of what looked like Vicky. He leaned in his nose almost brushing the paper.

"Something interesting?" Max asked arching an eyebrow.

"Look," Alex said handing Max the paper.

"What about it?"

"That looks just like Vicky, but that can't be, that girl has short hair, and looks to be about seventeen."

Max looked at the picture squinting his eyes as well trying to make out the thumb size picture.

"Search the rest of the papers to see if there is any more pictures there," Max replied.

Alex quickly shuffled through the papers stopping on a paper size color print picture of the Holiday family. His eyes quickly darted for Grace, whom stood holding her mother tightly in a hug. Alex felt his eyes grow wide and without a word he handed Max the picture.

"This defenatly isn't Vicky, this girl has green eyes, Alex," Max grinned.

"The real question here is what happen to this girl, was she the one to die in the car wreck?"

"I don't know, but we are going to figure that out for certain."

"What if we pay her old High School a visit, there is a list here that names off some of the friends she used to hang around with." Alex said.

"And where exactly did she go to school in?"

"East Valley High, it says here she dropped out at the age of sixteen."

"Any criminal records?"

Alex shuffled through the papers and then stopped on a few sheets that had a paper clip holding them together.

"Vandalism, assault, and battery." He read.

Max let out a whistle and rose from his chair dialing his phone.