Orphaned Mystery: Case Unsolved

Chapter 8

12th January 2021, Tuesday

9:00 am

Marie-Lou's home for the homeless
Jackie gasped as his eyes fluttered awake. He quickly turned his head sideways, getting a better bearing of his surroundings. He was still being carried by Mason, who was walking inside home to his bedroom. Jackie sighed in relief and put his chin on his older brother's shoulder.
When Jackie was told that Mason was the murderer, he didn't believe it. It can't have been him – Mason was as excited as Jackie was for the reveal. But when Mason himself agreed, he felt too hurt and too betrayed to do anything. He wanted to follow Logan and run away back home with him.
After the rain died own a little, they all piled in the car again. Jackie wished Mr Sherlock and Mr Martin a goodnight before letting Wendy take him away. As soon as YODA vanished out of sight behind him, Jackie started crying. It wasn't fair. Something wasn't right. It couldn't have been Mason – he wasn't evil.
'Hey, Jackie. Don't cry. Its fine' Wendy spoke softly, her eyes also filling with tears. She brought in Ashley and him close to a hug. Jackie shook his head and kept bawling. He remembered how Logan and Lucas used to call him baby because of his habit of crying, but he didn't care. First it was his parents. Then Freddie had died. Then Lucas went missing. Now Mason was also gone. How many more people will he lose?
He shouldn't have thought that.
Sniffling, they all went inside, Marie-Lou waiting by the doorstep with an umbrella so that they wouldn't get wet. She was also crying. Jackie silently wished that Marie-Lou would never leave him. He knew that she wouldn't. She wouldn't betrayed him like the others did.
The door to Logan's room was locked. No sound came from it. Maybe he was sleeping. Jackie took a step towards the room when Wendy stopped him.
'Let me go talk to him first, OK?' she asked.
'OK' Jackie followed Ashley to her room, not wanting to be alone at the moment.
Ashley was getting her hair dried with a towel. She lent him a spare one, and he did the same with his hair. He knew that people didn't understand why he grew it – he himself didn't know. It just felt right to have locks to tie and do different things with. Jackie sat on her bed and watched his sister get on the beam and do some stunts. Whenever Ashley had a hard time, gymnastics always made her feel better – whether it was on the mat or on the beam. Wendy and Mason did the same thing – ice skating or doing taekwondo whenever they were stressed. Jackie wished he had a special talent like Ashley, Wendy, and Mason.
Thinking about his brother made him tear up again. Ashley hopped off the beam and sat down beside him. She put her arm around him and gave him a hug. It was a well-known fact in the house that hugs from shy Ashley were the best hugs. Even the twins accepted it.
The silent moment was shattered by a scream from next door. Ashley and Jackie gave a glance to one another before running out of the room towards the source of the scream. It was Wendy. She was standing in front of Logan's open door with her hand over her mouth. If no one counted Wendy as pale before, she was definitely pale now. She looked ready to faint on the spot. Ashley went next to her and gave out a squeal too. Sounds of footsteps became louder by the second – Marie-Lou was coming too. Curious, Jackie moved towards the door. The sight that awaited him was sure to scar him for life. Wendy covered his eyes at the last second, but Jackie had already seen enough to know what was going on.
Logan was lying on the floor, his eyes were closed and the color from his entire body was drained. He looked paler than Wendy. His bucket hat was flung aside near the door. A huge stain of red ruined his favorite white t-shirt. Tears traced down his eyes. A pool of blood made its way from the back of his head. Even eight year old Jackie knew what was going on – Logan was dead, just like Freddie.
Marie-Lou had come in to the scene. Tears flowed down from her eyes faster than the rain that had started again. Thunder boomed to make the moment even scarier. Jackie whimpered. He wanted Mason to come back. He hated storms.
'Children, wait here please. Wendy, take Jackie and Ashley upstairs to your room. I'll be gone for a while. I left my phone in the car. I will go call Sherlock and tell him what has happened. Clear?' Jackie admired how stable she sounded during situations like these. Wendy nodded, took a hold of Ashley and Jackie's hand, and led them to her room.
The three stared at nothing for an eternity. A flash of lightning forced Jackie to hide under Wendy's blankets. Wendy lifted one side of it and smiled at him.
'Hey, you OK?' she asked. Ashley had fallen asleep from all the excitement. Jackie shook his head.
Wendy carried Ashley and placed her in a sleeping position on the beanbag. She hopped on bed and got under the covers next to him.
'You do know what this means right?' she asked.
'No' was Jackie's only reply.
'It means that Mason is innocent. He was taken away when Logan left, remember?'
'So he'll come back and fight storms for us?' even dead bodies didn't scare him as much as bad weather. Wendy laughed and ruffled his long hair.
'Yeah. He'll probably do that'
Jackie closed his eyes in relief and fell asleep, dreaming about how his brother will return.
Ever since Mason was released, Jackie was determined not to leave him. He already lost all three of his brothers. He needed Mason to stay by him.
Mason dragged himself up to his room, looking ready to pass out. The sleep in the car was obviously not enough for him. Jackie followed his big brother. He had no more desire to sleep in his room. What if someone came and killed him?
'Jackie, what are you doing here? This isn't your room' Mason asked, slightly irritated. He rarely let anyone inside.
'I don't want my room. What if someone came and killed me too?' Jackie answered truthfully. Mason sighed and raised an eyebrow, his expression softening. Jackie knew people described him as intimidating and scary, but to him, his older brother was nothing but a sweet and tall teddy bear who knew awesome moves. He had no idea why the twins picked on him so much, or why Ashley was so paranoid around him.
'You aren't moving, aren't you?'
'Nope' Jackie put on puppy eyes. It always worked on everyone.
Mason muttered something about closing the door and flopped down sideways, veiling himself in his covers. Jackie smirked, closed the door, and jumped on the bed, getting on Mason's back. His brother didn't even budge and kept snoring lightly. Jackie rested his head and drifted into sleep too, happy to finally be with his favorite brother.