Ties and Spies 2 (Gallagher Girls)

Chapter 9 - Mystery

"Oh my freaking god," Macey muttered as they stood before the dead body.

"This is fresh blood," Zach observed, "Couldn't have been more than an hour or so ago."

"Hello!" Dempsey yelled into the space of the mansion.

"It's empty," Kat shook her head.

"Look at this," Zach offered, kneeling closer to the body.

"These are stab wounds, and there's a huge bruise on their forehead. This wasn't a clean shot, this was a brutal killing. Nadine do you really think your Aunt is capable of something like this?"

Nadine sucked in her breath and shook her head.

"I don't think so."

"Whoever this guy is, he had a team. Something tells me he didn't do the dirty work himself," Hale pointed out.

"And for him to just leave the body here, he doesn't seem too worried about being caught," Bex started pacing around the body.

"How old does he look to you guys?" Macey pointed at the dead man.

"Mid-30s, maybe" Zach shrugged.

The man had on black slacks, a white button up shirt with a black blazer, and black dress shoes.

"Chances are he has a wife and young kids," Kat concluded.

"Do you think they're still alive?" Nadine asked quietly.

"Of course they're still alive," Macey pouted, "They have to be."

"Let's look around the house," Zach commanded.

In a little over 15 minutes the teenagers had split up and looked through the large mansion finding almost nothing of use to them.

"There's no evidence of a struggle. Nothing. Everything looks...normal." Bex shook her head in surprise.

"Actually, I found something," Kat held up a small piece of paper.

Hale immediately grabbed it out of her hand and started reading off of it.

"I can't read this," Hale groaned. 

"I can," Nadine offered.

Hale handed the small paper to Nadine and she glanced over it.

"It's an invitation to a ball that is being held tomorrow night. Over a dozen pieces of art will be showcased."

"That seems like an event Julia would attend. Especially if she's still in Minsk," Zach said.

"Wow another ball," Bex smirked.

"The last one was...interesting." Hale stole a glance at Macey who immediately blushed.

Bex noticed the look between the two of them and felt like an idiot. She had been seconds away from falling into Hale's trap. She would have ruined her friendship with Macey all for him. Bex shook her head and smiled at the ground. She was good at dodging bullets.

"How are we going to get into this ball?" Macey asked.

"Simple. We use the name Malashonak." Dempsey smiled.

"Not bad, Demps," Zach said, patting him on the back.

"We need clothes,” Macey countered.

"It's only eight o'clock," Hale looked down at his watch, "I'm sure a few places are still open."

"Why does this keep getting more complicated," Kat sighed.

"Tell me about it," Zach shrugged.

note: no one really reads this fanfiction anymore, so i think i'll be ending it fairly soon