Caught

Chapter 17: The Talk

As soon as we got into the living room, I jumped on the couch, got out my phone, then punched in Madison's phone number. "Hello?" Madison asked. I took a deep breath then answered her response.

Luke, however, was getting a water bottle from the fridge then unscrewed the cap. "Cole?" Madison shrieked. "How did you get my phone number?"  Would it be wrong to tell her that I rummaged through her cell phone after cheerleadering practice?

"Look Madison," I began. "I am very sorry that I freaked out on you at the prom." "My friend is dead, Mommy Dearest slapped me, and now, you have my phone number for some bizarre reason?"

"Look," I insisted. "Before you go King Kong on me, there are some questions that need to be answered." "Okay Detective," Madison sighed. "What do you want to know?" "What happened after you and Kimberly got inside the school?" I asked.

"How do you-" Madison started to say. "Just answer the question," I interrupted. "We were invited to some party," Madison explained. "Kimberly and I didn't know who gave us the invitations, it was sent anonymously by someone."

"I thought it was a secret admirer, so I recruited Kimberly to the mall to buy some accessories and dresses." "Kimberly didn't want to go, didn't she?" I asked calmly.

"The crybaby wanted to stay home and watch television," Madison groaned. "That girl needs a break after those freaks kidnapped us from the bus." I raised my eyebrow.

"You guys made up?" I asked in wonder. "Don't play dramatic, Ms. Hyde." she groaned. "Yes, after months of begging, I decided to forgive her."

"As soon as we got inside the school, there were red paper arrows on the floor, so we followed them until we reached into the boiler room." "Exactly, who left the arrows?" I questioned.

"I had no idea," Madison said with a sigh. "You and Luke are the Sherlocks, figure it out." "Continue the story," I insisted. "As we got into the boiler room, the place was packed with kids.

There were people we already knew, like the jocks and cheerleaders, but the weirdest thing was no one actually knew how my "secret admirer" has their cell phone numbers or even had the money to buy all the beverages, snacks, decoration, and music."

"We danced until one a.m. in the morning. Everyone started to leave except Kimberly and me. We were having so much fun until Amy and Julie jumpscared us."

"Nothing was weird between you guys," I explained very slowly. "You just have been invited by someone and partied in the boiler room." "Pretty much," she replied.

Before Amy and Julie arrived, they wore black clothes. Was it for a prank or was it something else? "Did every popular kid get an invite?" I asked. "Yeah," she answered. "Except you, Luke, Julie, Amy, and the other losers."

Well, me, Luke, and the others I understand, but why not Julie and Amy? "Can I hang up on you, Detective?" Madison asked impatiently. After a long sigh, I said yes then turned off my phone. "What did Madison say?" Luke asked after taking a sip of water.

"Madison is telling the truth," I answered. "She didn't kill Kimberly. Instead, she was recruited to a party in the boiler room. The cool kids were invited, not the losers." Luke rolled his eyes. "Not surprising," he muttered. "Amy and Julie were also the ones who didn't got invited," I stated. "Which is weird, because the last time I checked, they were the cool kids."

"Maybe I can talk to them and see if they have a different story." Luke shrugged then replied that he is going to the hospital and see if he could find something else on the body. "I think I am going to do it on the weekends," Luke said. He drained his water bottle then tossed it in the trashcan.

He gave me a two fingered salute then left the house. As soon as Luke left, I took my shower, changed into my red tank top and gym shorts then went on to the computer. Thanks to Luke's teachings, I easily got the footage of what happened last Tuesday, the day of Kimberly's death.

When the bell rang for dismissal, everyone was out of the school, except for Kim, Amy, and Julie. Cranning my neck, I couldn't see them anywhere, especially the one in the halls, cafeteria, or even in the gymnasium. "Where could they be?" I said to myself.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," I said. It was Mom, carrying a vase full of fresh flowers. She looked like she was going to scream. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Cole," Mom said. "I overheard you and Luke talking about finding Kimberly's killer." She set the vase on my desk then crossed her arms. It became a pain that I need to tell her the truth.

"Yes," I said truthfully. "We are." "Why couldn't you two just talk to the police?" Mom asked. "Because the police hates our guts mostly." I answered sarcastically. "What about Jason?" Mom said sternly. "He is a nice boy and he's around your age."

It has been two hours since I have talked to Jason and yet, I felt like screaming at Mom. "I rather stick to what I think it is the right thing to do." I said coldly.

"Doing illegal methods?" Mom guessed. "I know you two are doing bad things and you need to leave it to the police-" "Why?" I demanded. "Because we're only teenagers or because people keep harassing us for things that we love doing, solving mysteries and saving lives."

"There are some girls your age," Mom began. "You never hang out with Madison and the girls-" "I never wanted to hang out with them, Mom!"  I screamed. "I wanted to know if any of them killed Kimberly in cold blood!"

Mom stared at me for a moment. It was the first time that I have hidden something from her without looking in the eye. "You never liked being a cheerleader?" Mom said slowly.

I nodded. "This was all just some ruse, so I can find her and bring her home to her family. Until, she ended up dead in the boiler room."

Mom grabbed a chair from the closet then sat down next to me. "Why didn't you tell me this?" she asked. "Maybe it's because you wanted me to have girlfriends, who treat like crap."

"Even if I did tell you, you would never believe me." She ruffled my hair then sighed. "I'm sorry Cole," she apologized. "You two have been through something so traumatic, first the mansion, and the suicide, I was starting to get worried about you."

"Would it be nice if you go see a counselor?" Mom asked hopefully. "No," I said firmly. "I am not crazy." She gave me a doubtful look. "You need to talk to someone-" "Mom," I interrupted. "I have homework to do," I insisted. "As soon as I am finished, I am going to find the jerk who killed Kimberly and put him in jail."

Mom nodded very slowly, taking the vase with her. She got up from her seat then closed the door behind me.