Refuge

Chapter 25

*Ella* .

I tapped my fingers gently against the dinner table before fiddling with the wine cups. I manages to check the time three times in the last minute, somehow impatient.

"Ella?" a cracked voice came close.

I looked up at who I assumed was Luke.
"Mr Zoden..." I prayed I was right and not corrected.

"Luke, please" he shook my hand as I stood.

"Please, sit" I pointed at the seat ahead of me.

As Luke took his seat, the waitress arrived and we ordered nothing but a coffee, for the night.
"I got your email and when you asked to see me about a murder case, I was rather surprised"

"Why?" I said, scanning his face as I imagined a late 40's man but he arrived as a late 60's.

"Well I stopped working straight after the last case of Mrs Hutson, my contract had come to an end" be laughed, short of old breath as he sipped his coffee.

"About that..." I cleared my throat, "I'm in college" I lied "And we're told to study a case for my legal subject. A case, sort of difficult to put together. One of the students suggested the case about Mrs Hutson and dared me to go for it, so I did"

"That's brave of you" he sweetly, fell for my lie.

"I've already submitted to my teacher that this is the case I'm taking, but I'm stuck. I've searched the entire net, and only came across a paragraph of your knowledge"

"Well" Luke seemed a little weird, curling into a shell. "The Mrs Hutson case was big for a couple years, maybe a decade. The internet, papers and televisions had it all. Though after a while, something happened and everything was cleared. You're lucky enough to find a few words about the case"

It was obvious that while Josh was growing up the case was still on. Though once he was old enough and achieved what he has now, he was the one that wiped the net clean.

"Can you help me Luke?" I leaned in, lowering my voice. "I really don't want to fail my class, I don't have time to do another semester just because I couldn't hand in one assignment" I lied.

"I-"

"Please" I gulped, acting innocent. "I just need a few details. What happened? Why and where. Those little things"

Luke gulped and looked down at his fingers as he twiddled them in front of him.
"Well, I guess I could"

"Thank you" I smiled, sitting up straight as I grabbed my notepad from beside me, having it on the table way before Luke had arrived.

As I was about to ask Luke to begin, the restaurant blacked out.

I frowned as chatter and whispers began.
The customers were frightened as the waitress had tried to calm everyone down, telling us it was being checked out.

"Luke?" I whispered within the dark, only seeing black figures. "Luke?" I said again.

Suddenly hands wrapped around me and someones palm covered my mouth. Lifting me off the chair, I was dragged somewhere within the dark.
A pair of my red heels coming off somewhere as my black dress exposed my legs whilst I was kicking nothing but air.

I tried to scream as my heart rate increased but it was useless.

A car door opened, I was pushed in as I hit a cold hard surface like ground. The door shut quickly once I sat up before the car drove off.

"Ella" A familiar voice appears.

Then a light came on, discovering I was in the back of a mini van.