Treasured (Book Two)

Chapter 11: Ellen

"What happened?" I asked. "While Stacy was doing some errands," Dad began. "I began seeing Ellen. We had a few laughs, drink wine, and watched a movie together."

"But when I woke up from the couch, she was gone. Then I heard a loud rustle in the trees. I thought it was some sort of burglar, so I grabbed the feather pen off of the table and went outside."

"I kept calling Ellen's name over again. I wanted to know where she had gone. Suddenly, I felt someone creeping behind me. That's when I stabbed the figure, but I heard a low moan. I turned on the lights and saw Ellen, her abdomen was bleeding."

"You panicked," I continued. "And you didn't want anyone to find out, so you laid her on the gazebo and ran back into the house." "What happened to your clothes?" Luke asked.

"I got rid of them," he answered slowly. "You could have called the police or the ambulance," I scolded. "I know," he said. "I have been thinking about it since the wedding. After the police was gone, I tried searching for her everywhere."

"Why?" I asked. "To make sure this wasn't real," he answered. "I checked the hospital beds, the police station, and practically everywhere. Until, I got a call from her."

"You got a call?" I asked. Dad nodded. "She told me that she escaped somewhere and she wanted to meet me."

"Did you ask her where she is?" I asked. "Yes, but she ignored the question." Dad said. "Call the police," Luke sighed. "Tell them what you did and why."

"I was going to turn myself in anyway," Dad shrugged, pulling the phone out of his pocket. He walked out of the house and closed the door behind him.

Stacy walked down the steps to see if Dad was gone. "Who gave you the one million check?" I asked quietly. Stacy didn't say anything. "Tell me," I begged. "I need to know the truth.

"You friend Madison gave me the check," Stacy said. "Madison?" I asked. Stacy nodded. "She overheard that there was a Flower Girl position and she tried convincing me to pick her."

"When I refused, Madison told me that she knew that I have a money problem and I couldn't get my debts on time. She wanted to be the Flower Girl and in return, she will give me a one million check."

"I immediately took the deal and used it to pay all of my debts, bills, and everything." "Especially bribing one of Mom's friends?" I asked. Stacy sighed. "I didn't know what came over me," she said.

All of a sudden, red and blue lights danced outside of the house. We walked out and saw Dad being shoved into the cop car. One of the officers spotted me and smiled.

"Thank you ma'am," he said. "For solving the case. I'll sign some papers and bail your mom out of jail, okay?" I nodded. "But officer," I explained. "Ellen is not dead."

The officer looked at me funny. "Are you sure?" "He will explain everything," Luke said, glaring at my dad. The officer shrugged and thanked us for our cooperation.

As soon as the police car disappeared, Stacy retreated to the house. We followed her back into the house, but she blocked our path. "Go back to San Francisco," she instructs. "Your parents might be looking for you."

She then slammed the door in our faces and locked it shut. We reluctantly got into the car and drove back home. As we got home from Los Angeles, Mom appeared on the front doorstep.

"Cole!" Mom beamed. I ran up to her and gave her a long hug. "Are you okay?" I asked. She nodded. "Thank you kids," she exclaimed. "The police bailed me out of jail without any charge."

"But the police are still looking for Ellen," I reminded her. "I know," Mom said. "Instead of moping around, why don't I make you some chocolate cake?"

"Can it be a brownie cake?" I asked hopefully. Mom smiled. "Luke, do you want some cake?" Luke blushed and nodded eagerly. As soon as we rushed home, we instantly out the ingredients of brownie cake.

After mixing the batter, I poured it into the cake pan and placed it in the oven. Mom turned the timer on and clapped her hands together.

Luke and I set the table and filled the glasses with milk. "Is the case over?" Luke asked. "It doesn't feel like it's over," I said. "Something is missing." "It is," Luke reminded. "The cops are looking for Ellen.

I sipped a little bit of milk then placed the glass on the table. "We should help the cops," I suggested. "You know-" "We are seventeen year olds," Luke said. "Who will believe us then?"

"That officer can help us," I said. "From the police station." "He thinks we're a nuisance," Luke explained. I raised my eyebrow. "His body language was off," he said. "He shifts his body either he has to go to the bathroom or he hates us."

"But we solved the case," I insisted. "He told me." "Did you see anything else that was wrong?" Luke asked. "Did his voice change?" I thought about it for a moment. The cop's voice was too low. I wondered if it was a cold. "Did he look at you?" Luke asked.

"He did look at me," I said truthfully.

"I am sorry for asking these questions," he said. "But take my advice, and don't trust anyone: friendly or non-friendly." I bit my lip as I spread the frosting across the cake as if it was a paintbrush.

I thought about what the officer said to me back at the police station. Is Luke telling the truth? Breaking my train of thoughts, Mom arrived the table with a steaming plate of chocolate cake and jars of chocolate frosting. She set the plate of the center of the table and handed us plastic knives.

We took the knives, scooped up the brown glob, then spread the frosting on the cake. After the jars were empty, Mom politely took them and placed them in the sink. I cut the chocolate cake into three big pieces and ran to the cupboard to get some plates. "Don't worry," Mom beamed. "I got this, you just sit with Luke."

I smiled then joined Luke at the table. He pressed his finger against the wood and studied it. I admit, Luke was a bit creepy, stoic, and weird, but deep down, I know that he was just looking out for me.

Maybe he was right, that cop was being a bit too nice. Maybe he did saw the news about us being held against our will by two psychopaths. Just then, I heard the house phone ringing in its holder.

Mom put the plates on the table then hurried to answer it. "Hello?" she asked. Her face instantly gone white. After a couple of nods, she slammed the phone back to its receiver. "What's wrong?" I asked. She took a deep breath and looked at me. "It's Stacy," she said. "She's in the hospital."