Beloved (Book Five)

Chapter 11: The Welcomed Visitor

The next morning, I woke up very excited. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, took a long shower, and then ate a banana for breakfast.

I received straight As from my college courses. I arrived to every class on time, studied my hardest, and in my free time, I read books, write to my mom, and Skype Seth and Ben.

As I logged on to Seth's laptop, I found him in my old bedroom, playing on his Nintendo, and eating potato chips. I sighed as I saw the crumbs showering on my old mattress. When Seth caught my eye, he smirked then walked over to my old desk.

" 'Sup Cole?" Seth purred. I rolled my eyes at the flirt. Even though he was eighteen, Seth still acted as if he was a kid. His red hair now reached down to his neck, small red facial hair appeared above his upper lips, and he had a golden earring wedged inside his left earlobe. He wore a black t-shirt, long black jeans, and sneakers.

"Hey Seth," I sighed. He scratched his small beard then looked at me. "How are you doing in Princeton? I heard that there were two murders."

"I'm doing fine," I shrugged. "How are things with you and Mom?" "Pretty cool," Seth shrugged. "I take care of the groceries and the chores, but sometimes she helps me cook." "How is Mom?" I asked urgently. "Is she doing okay?" Seth nodded.

"She says that she misses you," Seth responded. "Tell her that I miss her back," I insisted. "Will do," Seth promised. "I heard that you and Ben broke up. Are you okay?" I caught myself turning red.

"Everything's going well," I lied. "Are you sure? Because Ben is moping around, like an old man." Seth snickered. I didn't say anything else.

"You know," Seth added. "Since you are back on the market, I was wondering-" "The answer is no," I interrupted sharply. He gave me a puppy pout. "I am a year older than you," I reminded him. "Will you at least find a girl around your age?"

Seth stuck his tongue at me. "I'll talk to you soon," I promised. "Please don't do anything stupid, for me and your brother's sake?" "Okay," he answered. "Adios." "You too," I answered back.

As soon as I signed out, I logged onto Ben's Skype. My computer screen had the footage of Ben doing his homework. When he glances at me, he smiled. "Hey Cole," Ben greeted. "Hey Ben," I greeted back. "How is Rebecca holding up?" he asked.

I turned my head to Madison, texting solemnly to herself then back to the screen. "She's doing okay," I answered unsurely. "Sometime next weekend, her family is attending to Marie's funeral."

I bit my lip then toyed with my hair. Ben asked me something that made the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "Other than the murders," Ben began. "How are you doing?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I never expected this to happen." Ben scratched his head then stared at me. "I'll say," Ben snorted. "Do you need anything from me?" I shook my head then smiled.

"You know I love you, right?" Ben reminded. "As a friend or more than a friend?" I asked using a teasing voice. "We'll see," he smirked. "I'll talk to you sometime," I sighed. "Right now, I better start finding the killer. Rebecca hired me to solve her older sister's murder."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ben sighed. "I talk to you later." Immediately after I had signed out of Skype, I picked up the photos on the desk drawer and studied them. One of the photos, shows a young man with wavy brown hair, a mole near his mouth, and brown eyes.

Under the picture was a name that I easily recognized. Ace Jordan, I mumbled. He was at the Frat party, maybe I can talk to him see if he can give me something.

I snatched my backpack that was sitting next to my bed, stuffed the papers into my bag, and fumbled in my jeans pocket to make sure my key card is still there.

But as I opened the door, a young woman was standing in front of the doorway. She had dirty blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a red t-shirt, jeans, and black boots. Her arms were filled with heavy luggage, but I can easily see the outlines of a police badge in her pocket. My guess is that is she is an undercover cop, trying to find the same thing what I was looking for, to catch the murderer.

"Hello," I said hesitantly. "Sorry," the woman chuckled. "My name is Claire Danes, I am new here." "Same here," I chuckled back. "My name is Cole Porter." We both shook hands firmly. "Where is room 222?" Claire asked reluctantly. "It's right next to me," I answered.

She slapped her head in frustration. "Sorry," Claire repeated. "I just get so confused sometimes." Is she really saying that? Or is she trying to keep a eye on me? "I hope we meet each other again soon." Claire replied. "Me too," I said. I am convinced that she is a rookie cop like Jason, but a bit older than Seth. Great, that's what I need: being besties with a cop.

"Have fun in Princeton," I beamed. "I am sure you will have a great time." "Thanks," Claire said. "I am looking forward to it." We gave each other fake smiles then parted our ways. As soon as I closed the door, I felt like burying my face into a pillow and scream until I couldn't breathe.

Instead, I just hoisted my backpack walked out of my dorm room. As I closed the door, I glanced at Claire's room. She was unzipping her bags and putting her things inside her drawers and closet.

As soon as she put her things away, she placed her badge on the desktop then pulled out a walkie-talkie from her red leather purse.

Claire checked to make sure that no one is watching and turned on the device. Static poured out of the walkie talkie like a PDA speaker. Rolling her eyes, she lowered the volume then pressed the cold texture against her ear.

"I'm in," she replied in an urgent tone.