I had just dropped Phil at Aurora. I thanked him for helping me out. He nodded and went to his bar. Since I was in Duskwood I decided to get some things done but I texted the boys before I could get started.
Group chat (Jake, Richy and Me)
Me: Hey guys. I just got back from the Hansons and dropped off Phil at Aurora.
Jake: That's good. Are you headed back now?
Richy: I hope he was on his best behaviour Jade.
Me: Yeah, he was, and no I am not on the way back yet. I thought I'll drop off this rental and pick my older rental from Tool Tastic.
Richy: Tool Tastic? Why?
Me: Slashed tires. Remember?
Richy: Oh I could have helped with that 😘
Jake: How could you? You were face down in the hospital at the time. 😒
Richy: Down Romeo 🐕
Jake: Shut up boy scout.
Me: Not now guys please. So, I got some information about Jennifer and Hannah.
Jake: That's great. Tell us.
Me: I will once I get the rental. Reconvene at the house?
Richy: Sure. Do you want to stop by my place and pick me up? 😉
Jake: I think it is better that we each have a car to drive. So, it will make sense if you get your car and drive out here.
Richy: Spoilsport Romeo
Jake: Don't start again.
Me: That makes sense. Ok ill drop this car at the service and pick the car from Tool Tastic and see you at the house.
Richy: Ill leave in a while then. Jade you wanna grab some lunch?
Jake: You can have lunch here, so please hurry and get here. Jade please hurry. I don't like you being in Duskwood more than required.
Me: Ok lunch at the house then. See you.
Richy: Why do you have to rain on my parade always Romeo? 😡
Jake: 😕 Don't know what you are talking about? 😎
I sighed. The car swap hardly took 20 minutes for which I was happy. Lilly had already instructed Tool Tastic that I would pick up the car and I was glad to get the car under Marina Sokolov returned. I got into the car under George's name and headed back to the house. My phone buzzed. It was a message from Jake. Weird it wasn't on the group chat but the private conversation.
Private conversation with Jake
Jake: Hey Jade.
Me: Yes, I'm on my way.
Jake: That's good. I need a favor.
Me: Shoot.
Jake: Can you pick me up at the Little Italy restaurant on the way to the house?
Me: Sure. Were you grabbing lunch?
Jake: Yes, I took a cab. Didn't want to be seen in the rental all the time but I don't want to take a cab back. The drivers seem very suspicious of me.
I laughed.
Me: I see. Sure, will do. 😋
Jake: What?
Me: Nothing. Maybe they wouldn't be if you don't wear the scarf or mask in public.
Jake: How can you say that? You know I suffer from hypothermia 😉
Me: Alright I get it. 😋See you soon.
Sometime later I was in front of the restaurant. I saw Jake as he waved at me and came rushing towards the car. He got into the car, "Its getting chilly out here." He mumbled. I was happy to see him and started driving towards the house. On the way, it started snowing lightly. It made me feel good. I liked the snow. I mean not the heavy snow or anything just the first few times that it happened. "Mind if we stop?" I asked. "For what?" Jake asked. "I just want to enjoy the snow." I said. His eyes seemed to be puzzled but he said, "Okay." We stopped at a road that was secluded so that we didn't bother any traffic. I got out of the car and welcomed the snow. The cold wind made it slightly unbearable, but I really liked the snow falling down. Jake stood close by, "I don't get it. What's so fascinating about the snow? It's cold and dull." He said. "Maybe you should get out more often." I said. "No thank you." He muttered. "Come on Jake. Live a little." I pressed. "No, its getting too cold. Let's go." He said grabbing my hand. I protested pulling my hand back. We were literally in a tug of war. Not that I would win. Jake had better strength, but I hoped since I protested, he would relent. He did not. The next moment I knew, Jake lifted me and was carrying me towards the car. "Hey that's not fair." I grumbled. He put me on the passenger's side and sat down at the driver's side. "You're such a child sometimes." He said. "And you are such a bad sport." I snapped back opening the door again to get out when Jake pulled me back closing the proximity between us. We locked eyes, my heart raced as I reached for the mask he was wearing. This time however he flinched and turned away. "I guess we better head back." He said starting the car. "Okay." I said utterly confused. "What's wrong?" I asked mustering some courage. "Nothing." He responded. "That didn't seem like nothing." I said. He sighed, "Can we talk about this once we get to the house?" "Okay," I said still puzzled.
We got to the house and Jake seemed to actively avoid talking altogether. "What's going on?" I asked. He didn't say anything. "Jake?" I yelled. He stopped in his tracks, "What?" he asked. "Did I do anything wrong?" I asked. "No, you didn't." he said. I was getting freaked out by the minute. I waited for an explanation. "Care to explain then?" I asked. He kept avoiding eye contact. I stood my ground and continued staring at him. He sighed, "No you didn't do anything wrong but there is something that you need to know. I need some honest answers from you and that can only start if I am honest too." "Okay," I said. "I am not Jake." He declared. I felt like I just got punched. "What do you mean by that?" I asked. "Jake is not my real name. It's just an alias I go by," he said. "Okay" I said. "That was your big revelation?" I asked. He looked at me. "I kinda assumed that may not be your name as you are very secretive about your identity." I said. And I actually had thought about it. He took a deep breath. "That's not all. I know how you feel about me, and I have known for a long time, but I have to be honest, my priority is to find Hannah. I don't want to be distracted." He said. "Okay I get that." I said. I don't think he heard me because he continued, "When Hannah went missing and I found your number, I did everything to find a link between you and Hannah, but I couldn't find it. Then I realized that maybe the link between you and Hannah is not a direct one and I had to talk to you to figure it out. So, I went along with whatever you said. Also telling you what you wanted to hear. Building trust, basically, hoping that you would say something or reveal something. But in the process, I started falling for you, caring for you, so much so that finding Hannah became secondary and protecting you became a primary motive. That is not good. But more importantly I forgot what I had to do whilst talking to you." "Finding why Hannah had my number?" I said in a monotone. My mind was processing everything in a slow motion. But just one word kept repeating in my head. Lies, lies, lies. He looked at me, "Yes. There is one thing that keeps haunting me Jade. What if you are involved in Hannah's kidnapping?" I stared at him not saying another word. "If I had found any link between you and Hannah, I would have let it go but Jade there isn't one. So, it is possible that you are hiding something." "You really think that? After all that I did to help you?" I asked.
"The kidnapper is cold, calculative and manipulative. So, it is easy for him/ her to pretend to be invested in finding Hannah and simultaneously steer the investigation in a different direction. You were happy to take charge of the investigation, when suggested. You didn't come to Duskwood when Cleo was threatened, nor when Dan met with an accident nor when Jessy was attacked. You came here when Richy disappeared. Is it possible that you already knew that it was fake, because you or the real kidnapper hadn't orchestrated it or asked someone to do it? Isn't it weird that you were the sole person to whom all the threats were disclosed to, or did you set it up so that only you get all the information?" he said. "How can you think that?" I said close to tears. "You pushed to meet Richy right after he was back. You pushed to meet Phil. You pushed to meet Iris. You placed yourself in a position among the group that they all trusted you and confided in you, including me. Did you already know what their weaknesses were? The Raven symbol was put on the windshield of your car when no one knew you were in Duskwood. That's very convenient. You probably did just enough to convince everyone, that you were one of them, yet you never got your hands dirty, but when something went awry, you jumped to the rescue." He said. He wasn't speculating anymore; he was accusing me. I was stunned and speechless. What was happening? How did I become the suspect and Jake of all people was accusing me?
"Jade, if you had anything and I mean anything to do with Hannah's disappearance you have to come clean now. If not, then you have to explain to me why she had your number. I don't believe it is a coincidence. Please I need to know Jade. This is killing me. I don't think I will be able to forgive myself if you had anything to do with what happens to Hannah and I let it happen because of a crush." He said. The opening of the front door surprised both of us. Richy walked in saying, "Sorry I'm late guys. Damn snow. I'm starving. What's for lunch Sub-Zero? Are you happy freezing the roads?" He looked at both of us and he had a quizzical expression on his face. "What's going on?" he asked. "Jake thinks that I kidnapped Hannah." I said blinking back tears. "What!? That's ridiculous." Richy said. He looked at Jake. "Where did you get that idiotic idea?" Richy asked. "It's not idiotic. We know nothing about her other than what's online. We don't know why Hannah sent her number. She claims to not know Hannah at all. Doesn't that seem odd to you?" Jake asked. Richy looked at me and then back to Jake, "No it doesn't seem odd to me because I don't think Jade is lying." Richy said. "I hate to say this, but I think you are thinking from the wrong body part Richy." He snapped. Each statement hit me like a blade. How could he say that? "Oh yeah. I'm not thinking from the wrong body part you freak. I trust her and she has done nothing to sabotage finding Hannah." Richy said angrily. "Of course, you would think that. If she is involved with the kidnapper she would be manipulative enough to make you believe that. Well, she did that to me too. Being sweet and flirtatious. Tell me Richy how did she convince you?" Jake said bitterly. Nothing was lost in translation. I knew very well what he was implying and I guess Richy got that too. "What the fuck are you saying?" Richy said, his voice reaching a high volume. "Enough." I screamed. I couldn't do it any longer. Everything that I had done until now to help him find Hannah was twisted into something else. The man I believed in blindly was doubting me all this while. Every word, every statement, every gesture he had said or made was a lie. I had to get out. I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door. "Where do you think you are going?" Richy asked.
"Far away from this mess. Don't you get it? All this is way above our heads Richy. This guy doesn't trust any of us, and I really, really tried to think this was because of the way he works, but I don't think he will ever trust anyone but himself. I am done with this. We can't help Hannah neither can we find her. We are not detectives. You guys are not the Hardy boys and I'm not Nancy Drew to solve this. This should be handled by professionals, by detectives, by the cops, FBI, CIA, by the Interpol hell it could even be the army for all I care but I cannot do that. Now this idiot will probably say I'm running away because I am guilty of something, but I am not going to dignify that with an explanation because I don't think he believes a word I say. Neither do I believe a word he says." I said sobbing. "Jade we have come so far. We found out a lot and I think we are close to finding Hannah. Don't leave now. And I am pretty sure Romeo is saying this because he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. You know how paranoid he is?" Richy said. More tears. "No Richy, this time I know him well enough to see that he believes what he is saying," I said putting my hand on the doorknob. That's when I heard a click and Jake said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you Jade." I turned around to see Jake pointing a gun at me.