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10

"I just noticed something."

"What?" Archie turned, his eyebrows raised to Hazel's sudden voice which was particularly breathy in her realisation.

She stopped, sat up and turned around to face the two men with her notebook in hand.

"This Interview," She said, showing them the interview with Amelia Karr, "The date was the 4th of June, two days after Jason Burr was reported missing. Towards the end of the interview, she says, 'I've been calling him nonstop but since this morning, my calls stopped going through, now I only go to voicemail.'"

She turned again, searching through the file before bringing out a familiar photo. A cracked screen on a black broken phone. Now that she was looking at it, it seemed like a pretty low cost phone, likely a hand-me-down of an earlier make. Definitely not a recent phone of 2018. And, if Jason Barber was as well off as he was, it was unlikely he wouldn't have the newest phone, or close to at least. This was out of date by at least three years.

"The back of this photo has the date it was found. The 2nd of June, the day they started searching. She couldn't have been calling nonstop, the phone was found broken on the 2nd and she claims her calls were still going through on the 4th."

She scrunched her nose, taking a moment to think while Archie stood up and rounded the table to get a better look at the picture.

"You think she could be lying?" Archie said, leaning over her shoulder and holding the photo under his hand, squinting at it hard with a frown on his lips.

"She could be. Maybe that's not his phone, maybe he had two phones, maybe she lied. But either way, there's something dodgy there and I don't trust it. While you're at the police station, check and see if there's anything about Amelia Karr."

"Alright," he agreed without question. He took her pen, using it for only a moment to write down everything he needed to and then placed it back down on her file while he stepped back, glanced to the clock then to the door. "I'll go now, I have something to do on the way, but I'll call you as soon as I get anything."

"Okay dokay," she nodded in agreement. "Don't die!"

"I'm not you," he scoffed, knowing that nobody but Hazel White would find themselves in so much danger that a warning like that felt needed. It was a known fact that trouble attracted trouble, and she lived to prove that. "Seriously though, be careful. I'll see you in a bit."

"Buh bye!"

And he was gone, lifting his things while Hazel dropped the file into her bag and packed up her work, deciding to keep her notebook on hand for any notes she might need to take.

"That felt alarmingly genuine," Stewart faltered as the door shut. "Should I be worried about you spontaneously dying?"

"Maybe," she said while moving to help him put food on display at the counter, "I've died once before. I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again- actually, I'm certain I will die, just hopefully not soon."

"You died-" He cut himself short as something clicked. "The lake incident?"

"You know about it?"

"Roderick told me a while back." He widened his eyes, "what happened?"

"Ah, y'know," she sunk a little, barely noticing the approaching figures in the door. "It was actually- I- y'know..."

She stopped, shaking her head. She couldn't get her words out.

"It was-"

The door opened.

They stopped, watching as the group of five walked in, all wide awake and ready to skip another day of school. It seemed that after the previous day, Ryan had decided to wrap his ankle. He still limped when he walked but he was better than he was.