Looking For Lacey

The Rumours

Evie-Jane

"Move!" Some girl crashes past me and I go flying backwards and slam into the drinks fountain.

"Owww." The back of my head throbs, and my spine aches from the forceful push and the angle in which I hit the metal object. Groaning, I heave myself up and bend over the fountain, the cool liquid catches me by surprise as it filters down my throat.

"Are you alright?" My head turns to see a familiar face, although I can't quite place the girl.

"Yeah, just got a fright is all." She gives me a small smile and her eyes flicker to the fountain and back to my face. "Oh sorry! Did you want me to move?"

"Well I came over for a drink, but got a little side-tracked watching kamikaze woman knocking you all over the place." I chuckle at that. "I'm Nicole by the way, but you can call me Nikki."

"Evie-Jane, you can call me Evie." I smile at her and we suddenly burst out laughing. "Are you new here?"

"Yes... We just moved here last week." She chokes and composes herself from the laughter.

"Same. Hey! I just realised someting!" Her eyes shoot up to me, like golden orbs. "You live across the street from me!"

"That I do, I was waiting for you to figure it out." Nicole and I talk for most of the lunch, mainly about how hard it is to be in a new school.

"Well I lived in Brisbane, I went to a private school there, we had an apartment in the city."

"You're so lucky! I have no experience with cities or small towns, so I'm completely out of it."

"Where'd you move from?"

"Well I lived down south in New South Wales, so all of this is really new to me."

"Really? Where about's?"

"Byron Bay."

"I went there once with my cousin Lacey on a road trip. It was really great fun."

"Yeah, it was nice. We were in the sort of dwindling on being a small city type part."

"Cool."

-:-:-:-

"Hey honey, how was it?"

"Pretty good. I met the girl across the street."

"The Petersen's? I work with Mrs Petersen in at the bank, she's lovely."

"Yeah, their daughter's name is Nicole."

"Is she nice?"

"Really nice actually. They just moved from Brisbane."

"You know their relatives were the ones we got the house from."

"Really?"

"Yes. Mr Creek, he worked at the bank, but they moved away around September last year. When I got transferred it was a recommendation I contact him. That's why we got the house so quickly."

"Oh." How ironic. Everyone seems to be connected.

"Anyway Liz, Nicole's mum, invited me for drinks. We're going in about an hour. If you want you can invite Nicole over?"

"That's okay, I have loads of homework to catch up on. Have a good time." And I have some investigating to do. The name 'Lacey Creek' rings a bell, but I can't quite place it. I think it has something to do with the rumours I've heard. Not sure though.

But there's only one way to find out. My trusted friend, Google.

-:-:-:-

"Honey I'm- Evie?"

"You didn't tell me the reason we moved into this house is because two kids went missing." Mum stops, her jaw agape.

"Well no. I was waiting for you to figure it out."

"Why not? I probably sound like a complete bitch now. It was Nicole's cousin you know. And I sleep in a dead girls room."

"Honey! Look I'm sure if you just told her the truth she understand. I only really heard the full story earlier when Liz told me about it. I didn't know she was still missing. I had no idea."

"And her little brother too." I pull out the printe off article.

"Lacey and Matthew Creek went missing on April 7th 2013. A search zone of 25 kilometres around the town was set up, without even a sign of the siblings. Friends, family and town members were all interviewed, but nothing came of their information. The two were last seen at Anna's diner, a regular stop for the Creek family.

They were at the 15th birthday celebration of Lacey's boyfriend, and haven't been seen since. No new evidence has been found, leading police and investigators to believe that they wondered astray and were bitten by a snake, or kidnapped and brutally murdered. Mr Ronald Burbage, an investigator hired by the parents, tells a reporter of his findings.

'Gone. Just gone. Disappeared off the [expletive] face of the earth if you ask me. No sign of a struggle, no evidence 'would suggest they run away, nothin'. The girls bike still at their place where it was left that afternoon. They didn'a have no luggage with 'em, no bags, nothin'. Just gone.' Mr. And Mrs. Peter and Megan Creek informed police that everything had been fine that morning, they'd gone to school the same way. Lacey's English and homeroom teacher Petricia Gray reports that neither of the students showed any behaviour out of the ordinary, and that both were fine and helpful souls.

The investigation closed after three months, and Mr. and Mrs. Creek relocated after six months, before their daughters fifteenth birthday in mid September.

No one knows what happened to the Creek children. It remains a mystery to all."

"My goodness." Mum squawks at me.

"When I thought they were missing, I thought gone for a few days, a week maybe. The parents decided to relocate afterwards, but here could I imagine this! That's awful." It also means te rumours I heard were true.

_________

Ooooh mystery! Tell me what you all thought. Good, bad, terrible? I love hearing your opinions!

So we meet Nicole, and get an insight of what happened ten and a half months ago. And who would've thought that they were cousins!

Typos? Please let me know.

Love you all

~

Maia