Orphaned Mystery: Case Unsolved

Chapter 9 (Continued)

13th January 2021, Wednesday

12:30 am

Warehouse
'What?' all four of them exclaimed. Wendy dropped the dagger from her hand, her face paler than ever before. Mason looked like he was punched in the stomach a billion times, green and ready to pass out. Jackie held on to Mason's jacket and stared at Freddie open-mouthed.
As for Ashley, she didn't know what to feel. Marie-Lou, the one who looked after them for five years, the one who gave her a home when no one else did, was Freddie's ally.
It just wasn't possible.
'Why? How?' Mason sat down on one of the barrels, apparently unable to stand at the moment.
'Imagine my reaction when she suddenly started blackmailing me with my parents and you guys on the line' Freddie looked at the rest with sympathy.
'That's impossible. You're lying' Ashley spoke in outrage.
'You are able to digest the fact that I can kill but not Marie-Lou?' Freddie asked.
He made a point.
'Proof?' Jackie asked from a fallen barrel.
'Check the back of her neck, right below her left ear. You'll see a scar there. She got that from me when I tried running away from her the first day she asked about it'
'OK, fine. Assume we believe you, but that doesn't change anything. How are we going to catch her in the act? Are you really just going to leave us like that?' Wendy argued.
'She is meeting me on the night of 15th – about the same time as now, 12 o'clock or something. You can catch her then – at the alleyway near that market... do you know the place?' Freddie looked around. Mason was barely breathing.
'I do. Before meeting Wendy' he admitted. 'Can take you'
'So that's settled then. We meet at the alley at 15th to catch Marie-Lou. You have to make her confess everything, Freddie' Wendy decided.
'I-'
'For the twins?'
'F-For... the twins'
'Can we go home now?' Jackie urged.
Ashley looked at her watch. It had been an hour since they had been out. They still had enough time to reach home without causing any suspicion. She looked at her siblings, who nodded. Then she looked at Freddie, who suddenly seemed lost in his own world.
'Freddie?'
'Uh, what?' Freddie focused on her. Ashley pointed to the door. Freddie's shoulders slumped, but he nodded. The five of them hugged, and Ashley knew that their problems would end soon.
Ashley, Wendy, Mason, and Jackie walked all the way home, Jackie now snoring on Mason's back. Her older brother looked just as tired. Ashley knew he took sleep very seriously. She went up to him.
'Enjoyed your slumber party?' she asked, yawning.
'Could have been worse. I guess I enjoyed it' Mason answered in Italian. He looked down at her. 'I have a question, Ash'
Ashley frowned. 'Uh, sure'
'When you jumped out of the window, after I caught you, you backed away from me. Do I scare you?' Mason's tone was sincerely hurt – slightly embarrassed.
Ashley started screaming inside. How was she going to explain all this? The way Mason was looking at her made her feel queasy inside. Her vision dimmed and her head spun, the same way it did before she started having a...
Oh no.
Ashley stumbled backwards. She managed to catch Mason's shocked expression before her world went dark.