Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
~Anonymous
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"I can't believe you'd risk your life to give us a ride," Jeff remarked from the back of the car. They were in a rental car which Calvin had booked for the day. Calvin was on the driver's seat, with Luis beside him giving directions. Michelle, Jeff and Marcus placed themselves on the backseat, with Jeff in the middle; not that he had wanted it. Michelle had already booked the window and the other two, being gentlemen, had to respect her decision and battle for the only remaining seat by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors. Jeff obviously lost and was forced to sit his loss in the middle, but that only made things worse because he kept talking all the way.
"Speaking of life, did you all watch the latest episode of—"
"Shut up Jeff!" everyone in the car roared unanimously. They had heard quite enough of Jeff for almost the whole journey and if they heard his voice any more, they were sure their ears would pop out and strangle Jeff themselves.
"Take the first left turn you see next," Luis pointed out to Calvin. Calvin nodded and slowed down the car, his eyes searching for the feeder road. They had been driving for the past thirty minutes; their journey taking them to the outskirts of Middlewood. They had all opened their windows, breathing in the fresh air which wasn't polluted by the ever-busy town centre. Middlewood was a hilly place, and therefore the place offered spectacular views of neighbouring places.
"This here?" Calvin asked as a left turn approached. Luis nodded and Calvin took a turn, the car entering a murram road. It was a bumpy ride the car moved across the uneven road; its balance unsteady. They were grateful when the car passed across a gate and the ranch finally came into view.
"Wow! It's even more beautiful than I imagined," Jeff remarked at the sight of the place.
Indeed, the ranch was a beautiful one. Fields of corn on either side of the road extended farther away than the human eyes could see. There was a combined harvester just beside the field, looking ready to harvest the ready wheat. Just beside the road on the right was a barn as huge as Solomon's Temple, and the kids guessed that it was where all the harvest was stored. There were some workers carrying sacks from the barn and placing them on a track that was outside, with a man who looked like the farm manager shouting undiscernible words in Spanish. He took notice of Luis in the car and waved vigorously at him. Luis was about to respond when one of the farmhands dropped a sack, diverting the farm manager's attention back to his Job. They sped past him and continued with their journey. On the left-hand side of the road, there was a huge paddock spanning over three acres. A huge herd of fat Friesian cattle was grazing on the thick grass.
"These cows are making me rethink my lactose intolerance," Calvin commented as they passed the paddock.
Their journey came to a halt in front of the ranch's main house. It was a grand mansion, with a blend of ancient and modern architecture. The exterior was built of fine wood, with Wisteria plants hanging their beautiful purple leaves from the walls. There were two large picture windows on the front side of the house which were doing a perfect job of allowing sunlight into the house. Two Border Collies lay on the front porch, sleeping their furs off. They, however, woke up at the sight of the car and started barking from where they were. The five alighted from the car, gaping at the view.
"Milo! Coco! Stop disturbing my niños, or you won't be getting milk today," Luis' grandmother appeared, shooing away the dogs which had been disturbing the teenagers. They ran from the five at the woman's appearance and went to sit back at the porch, their ears still high and alert.
"¡Hola!" she greeted them cheerfully, her Spanish accent thick. "My name is Isabella, and welcome to La Luz Del Sol ranch."
"That's Spanish for sunlight. You always get the best views of the sunrise and sunset from this ranch," Luis whispered to the others. He then turned to his grandmother.
"¡Hola Abuela! Where's Abuelo? Or has he gone for one of his excursiones again," Luis replied.
"Manuel with this farm," Isabella sighed. "The anciano has weak feet but he still insists on supervising the farm work himself. I fear that one day he'll not be able to handle it anymore and then boom! ¡Muerto!" she yelled out. She was quite old for her age, with the wrinkles on her face portraying it. However, her eyes showed a vibrance only seen in youth, and her body showed that it could handle more than what it seemed.
"Well come on in. A friend of mi Hijo is a friend of mine," she said and went ahead to open the door to open the house. Marcus and his friends were about to enter when Calvin excused himself.
"I don't think I'll be able to come in," he told Luis. "I think I may be nauseated from the ride here. I'd like to stay here and get a breath of fresh air please,"
"That's okay," Luis replied. "As long as you don't puke on the car, we don't want to be stranded here."
The four teens then marched into the house.
Just like everything in the ranch, the interior of the house was just as beautiful. Precious antique artefacts decorated the house, with camelback sofas providing comfort in the room. The walls were decorated with paintings of landscapes, adding an adventuristic atmosphere to the room.
"So how are your padres mijo?" Isabella asked, taking some herbs she had gathered to the kitchen. She then returned with a teapot and cups and placed them on the coffee table, pouring tea into the cups.
"They are fine. Just busy with work," Luis answered.
"Tell them that I have un problema with them. When was the last time your father came to check on his poor madre?" she asked Luis, her face quite stern. Luis kept quiet, and they all took their tea in silence. After a while, Luis' grandmother spoke again.
"You said on the phone that you wanted to speak with me. What is the matter?"
Luis looked at his three friends apprehensively. He then brought out the picture he had out of his pocket and handed it to his grandmother. Isabella took the photo, confused, but then the fright on her face was visible as she saw what the picture contained.
"¡¿De dónde sacaste esto?!" she asked, her hands shaking.
"We found it somewhere," Marcus took over. "We believe it may have something to do with the murder with one of our classmates," he nodded to Luis and he brought out the other sheet of paper, handing it to his grandmother.
"¡Oh Dios mío!" Isabella remarked, looking at what was written. She took her eyes back to the children. "I don't know anything about this."
"Please abuelita. We need you to remember. I think she might have been here when this building used to be a boarding house. Please, we need you to tell us something. Anything," Luis begged.
"I remember most of the things from when this house used to be Refugio Seguro, but I don't remember these two people. Perhaps they stayed here for a day or two and went away. We used to have many guests that time," she said, but from the expression of her face, Marcus knew that she was lying.
"I beg you. This picture is the key to finding who killed our classmate. Any information will be appreciated," Jeff spoke.
"I'm sorry niños. I don't know how to help you," Isabella said, placing the picture on the table. Michelle took the picture and cast a hopeless look upon it, but then her hopeless look turned into a shocked one.
"Oh my God!" she cried out, standing up so suddenly that she made the others jump in fright.
"What is it, Michelle?" Marcus asked.
"How did y'all not see this before," she questioned, pointing to the picture.
"See what?" Jeff tried to get a look at the picture.
"This boy. Isn't this boy Mr William?" she asked, her eyes at Luis' grandmother.
"What the fuck!" Jeff exclaimed, grabbing the picture to see it for himself.
"You're right Michelle. I'd never forget that head anywhere," he remarked, further surprising everyone.
"I knew I had seen that face somewhere," Marcus muttered.
"Abuela, is it true? Is the man in the picture William?" Luis asked his grandmother. She looked away, silent.
"Look," Marcus went and knelt beside her. "I understand that you may not want us to tell us anything, but please, just tell us whether this man really is William and I promise we will be out of your hair."
Luis' grandmother looked at them, her eyes clearly holding back the tears that were fighting to be released. She slowly nodded, confirming Michelle's theory. Marcus hurriedly stood up.
"Thank you, ma'am. We won't disturb you anymore. Have a nice day," he said and motioned for the others to leave him. They slowly left the living room, the revelation too shocking for them. Luis was about to leave the room when his grandmother called him back.
"Mijo, please tell me whatever you find, bueno?"
"Okay Abuelita," Luis replied and left the house.
The teens found Calvin outside, eagerly waiting for them.
"What happened?" he asked them.
"We found a new lead. We'll have to postpone that for tomorrow though, it's getting dark," Marcus replied, and they went to board the car.
"Oh, Calvin. Your shoes are dusty," Michelle spoke to Calvin.
"Yeah, right! I took a walk while you were in there, trying to get rid of the nausea," Calvin replied.
They all then boarded the car and left the ranch, unaware of Luis' grandmother watching them from the window, scared.
Scared that the sunlight was fading.
Scared that the truth was about to be revealed.
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Spanish Vocabulary:
Niños - Children
Hola - Hello
Abuela - Grandma
Abuelo - Grandfather
Excursiones - Trips
Anciano - Old Man
Muerto - Dead
Mi hijo - My son
Mijo - Son
Padres - Parents
Un problema - A problem
Madre - Mother
¡¿De dónde sacaste esto?! - Where did you get this from?
¡Oh Dios mío! - Oh my God!
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