One after Another

Chapter 8 : It does not exist!

"WHAT THE HELL!" He yelled, massaging his stomach which was kicked.

Natalie's eyes widened with surprise. She stared at the broad shoulders and the toned but defined back. It was shielding her from the furious man in front of her. Kenneth had come to her rescue. He tucked his dominant hand against his chin and got into a fighting stance. His face showed nothing but pure determination and anger. His bright blue eyes pierced at the man in front of him like sharp ice. The stepfather cowered under his gaze, clutching his fists.

Kenneth looked at Natalie and didn't care about the abusive man. He reached out his hand to pat her shoulder. But he hesitated and retracted his hand with a sigh.

"Are you ok?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Natalie parted his lips. The stepfather went behind her back and shoved her forward before she could say anything. She let out a tiny 'ow' before falling onto Kenneth. He had no time to react either. He felt a hand grabbing his shoulder and her head crashing against his chest, pushing him backward. They both fell to the ground. He subconsciously pushed Natalie away, only to find his hands an inch away from her breast. It caused an obvious bulge in Kenneth's trousers. Natalie turned her head the other way and rolled off his body. Kenneth blushed at how intimate they were just now. He cleared his throat and stood up, wiping the dirt off his clothes.

The cops were holding the stepfather with his hands on his back. He was trembling with anger, trying to wiggle out of the cops' grip.

"THEY FUCKING BURNT MY SHED DOWN! WHY AREN'T YOU ARRESTING THEM? ARREST THEM!"

"Dirt is on the front porch, yet there was nothing on the shed floor. They did not go in and murder your son. There were no traces of lighter on them, nor anywhere else either. Various signs and evidence showed they did not burn your shed down." A cop said calmly, looking at the stepfather.

The deduction dissatisfied the stepfather. "I DON'T CARE! I KNOW IT! THEY BURNT DOWN MY SHED!"

"You pathetic piece of scumbag, all you care about is your shed. You didn't even mention your son at all," Natalie spat venomous words at the ungrateful stepfather.

The cops led the stepfather away. But he still didn't stop yanking or thrashing. Natalie stared at the ground as the police dealt with the insane man. There were tiny pieces of the glass window on the ground. She bent down to check the segments, and she asked the investigator a question.

"Are there bigger window glass pieces inside the shed?"

"There are around a dozen large pieces of glass inside. How did you know?"

Natalie did not answer him, instead, she turned to Kenneth.

"Is it possible for you to climb onto the window along the pipe?"

He looked at the window several heads above him. "It should be possible. Why do you ask?"

Ali said, "You two said you saw a black hood! It doesn't require a window to enter!

"It's fake." Natalie took a deep breath. "We only saw a black hood, no scythe, no skeleton, but a black hood only."

Ali looked like she was about to cry. Kenneth gaped.

She continued, "Those sizable pieces of the glass window were inside the shed because someone smashed it on the outside. When we video called Patrick, he said that the window was locked, that's why he was sweating. It means——"

"It means that the murderer broke the window between after we called him and when we arrived," Kenneth said.

Natalie nodded. "He or she had to do that to create an escape route. When we arrived, the murderer was still in there. He or she had to stay there to manipulate the black hood and faked that it was the Grim Reaper who killed Patrick."

"Wait... how did the murderer know we thought about the Grim Reaper?" Ali asked with a slightly shaky voice.

"He, they or she must have followed us ever since we went into the hallway." Natalie's voice shook a bit.

"All this time, we thought it was a curse. But then about Joyce? Her room was completely locked!" Kenneth gaped.

"I haven't figured it out yet. But let's see if there are any clues here first." Natalie walked away with her hands in her pocket.

"Umm... shouldn't we inform the police?" Kenneth asked.

Ali stared at the back view of the walking Natalie before answering Kenneth, "No. It started at school, so let's end it there."

.............................................

Author's note: What do you think of Kenneth and Natalie's relationship? This is kinda short, yes I know. Anyways thanks so much for reading and don't forget to Vote and Comment!