The Writers' Circle

Chapter 1: The Beginning

I'm in a dark office. The walls are blank. There are two windows on the back wall with the shades pulled down in to slits. In the middle of the room sits a plain desk with an ordinary office chair. The only light source in the room is the laptop on the desk giving off an eerie glow on the walls.  In the back corner of the room is a small, crumpled sheet of paper. I pick it up and put it in my pocket. I turn toward the computer. It is on with a screen asking for a user name and password. I stare down at it.  My hair, a golden brown color, is very long, and a strand falls in my face. I'm dressed in a black overcoat, black pants and a black shirt. As I stand in the middle of the room looking at the computer I think back to the day it all started..

My name is Alex Caster. I am a 23 year old college student. I am studying Journalism at West Field College. I was in my dorm studying for an exam coming up when an envelope was slipped under my door. Inside was an old newspaper article about an accident five years ago. A fourteen year old was killed. My blood froze. No one knew. Five years ago, my sister was killed. I was trying to forget. It was over, done with. No one could know. My blood was pounding in my ears as panic washed over me.  I finally calmed down and examined the envelope. There was nothing to show who had pushed it under my door or why.  I locked it and the article in a drawer. The only other item in the drawer was a box of Keely's stuff. I went back to studying, trying to forget the memories that article had brought back.

Five years ago, my fourteen year old sister Keely Caster was riding her bike home from the movies. As she was crossing Highman's Bridge, she was hit by a drunk driver. She was knocked through the guardrail and into the water. The current washed her down stream. Her body was never found. I was in bed when the police arrived with the news that shattered my life.

I shook myself out of my trance. It had been five years since that day and was best forgotten. No one knew about Keely and I won't tell anyone. There was nothing I could do. It's over with. Or so I told myself. I looked at the clock and was surprised to find it was midnight. I turned off my lamp and tried to go to sleep. Shortly after I fell asleep, a familiar nightmare came:

It's dark. Two shadows are standing a short distance away.
"Give me the papers." a gruff voice demanded.
"NO!"  A young girl shouted 
"Have it your way, Girl." the first voice snarled.
BANG!!!!!!!!! 

I woke up sweating. The dreams started shortly after Keely's death. It was always the same. The two shadows arguing, the loud bang and then I wake up. I hadn't had it for a month.  I got myself a glass of water and tried to figure out what the dream meant. A gruff man and a young girl fight over some papers, then bang. I sat back in bed and before I knew it I was asleep.

The next morning I decided that I had over reacted to the article. So what if someone knew about Keely. It meant nothing. I had breakfast and headed to class. The time flew by and I quickly forgot about last night's events. At lunch however, an unexpected surprise brought it all back. On my dresser in my dorm was a funeral bouquet. The card said: "Gone and Forgotten."

I started to shake. What was going on? Who is doing this? I reached for the note, when there was a knock at the door.

"Alex, you there?"  The door opened and in walked Jeff. Jeff Rogers, he's popular and friendly and handsome in an all-American way. He is 6' 2", strong and fit, with light brown hair and gorgeous baby blue eyes. His crooked smile and great laugh had swept me off my feet the first time I met him---Not that he knew it. 

I've always been kind of shy. I'm a loner. I never had what you'd call a true friend. There were people I hung out with, I never said no when asked to join a group, but I quickly grew annoyed by the stupid questions or would be left out of the conversation and would fall into my own little world and ignore the world around me. That's how I discovered my love to write. In my world, I would create stories in my mind and eventually put them on paper. In that world existed my second self, my other life where I wasn't afraid of people. 

When I met Jeff I used the same whatever you want attitude I had used with people my whole life. He slowly broke under my shell and we became friends.or as much of a friend I could ever be. He still doesn't know who I really am but we spend time together while I try to gather the courage to tell him how I really feel.

It wasn't unusual for him to stop by during lunch but he couldn't have picked a worse time. First there was the funeral bouquet sitting out in plain sight on my desk and then there was that hideous note clearly legible in the middle of the flowers and finally there was me standing dumb in the middle of the room in shock.  

"Alex, are you alright?" he asked, the concern showing in his eyes.

I nearly melted on the spot. He is so sweet. "I..I...I'm fine," I stammered, clearly anything but fine as I shook leaning on the desk chair. 

He walked over to me and asked "What's wrong? What's with the flowers?"

Feeling him standing beside me, my blood warmed. "It's nothing," I insisted, "It's just a sick joke."

I could tell from his face he wasn't buying it. "Really, Jeff," I said quietly, "It doesn't mean anything." Looking into his eyes I wanted to believe what I was saying but somehow, in my heart, I knew it was a big fat lie. 
 
Chapter 2: Secrets

I went through the rest of the day fairly well. I keep seeing Jeff casting me worried looks. For about the millionth time I wished I wasn't so shy, that I could have the courage to show him the real me. But I've been pretending so long, I just don't know how.

When I got back to the dorm, I just couldn't sit still. I kept thinking about the strange things that had been happening. I walked over to the drawer and took out the box of Keely's stuff. I hadn't looked in that box in years. I dusted of the cover and opened it. Inside were Keely's favorite doll, her jewelry box, her swimming metal, a small photo album, and her diary. 

I picked up the doll. I had given it to Keely for her 6th birthday. It had curly blonde hair with a pink ribbon and blue eyes that closed when you laid her flat. I remembered how happy Keely had been when she opened that present. She threw her arms around me and yelled "This is the best birthday gift ever!" 

Next I picked up her swimming metal. I remembered the day she had won it. It had been a week before she died. She had swum in the 400 meter free stroke. She was so excited. She had achieved her personal best score. She never had a chance to get a better score.

I flipped through the photo album. It brought back a lot of old memories. Unlike me, Keely was very popular and had tons of pictures with her friends. 

Finally I picked up her diary. I had never read it. It had hurt too much to look at her things after her death. I didn't want to read about the things she had planned but never got to do.  It had a red velvet cover with the word Diary written in pretty gold script. It had a small padlock on the side to keep out intruders. I took the key and opened it up. I flipped through the pages where she complained about Mom and school and talked about her friends. Finally I reached May 11, the day of the swim meet. She wrote about how much she loved swimming and how happy she was that she won. She wrote, "Sis and I had a huge party at Pizza Place to celebrate my new record. I can't wait until the next meet." She never participated in another meet. With a heavy heart I flipped to the next page.and it was blank!!! I flipped back sure I must have just flipped too many pages. But.I hadn't. It went from the swim meet to a blank page. I knew that couldn't be right. Keely wrote in her diary every day without fail. There should be entries up to the day she died, but there wasn't. That's when I noticed the ripped edges in the binding. Someone had torn out the pages from the swim meet up to the day she died. It didn't make sense. The only person who could have ripped out those pages was Keely. But why would she rip pages out of her own diary and where would she put them! It made sense that if she did rip them out it happened the day of the murder or there would be an entry for that day. Suddenly an upsetting thought occurred to me! Was Keely's death an accident?!

It was all too much. The note, the flowers, the missing pages, I just couldn't handle it. I dropped the diary and fell onto my bed as the world faded into blackness.

When I came to, I sat up and tried to figure everything out logically. So Keely had ripped out pages from her diary that happened to be around the time of her death. That didn't mean it had anything to do with her death. Maybe she just wrote something embarrassing and wanted to destroy those pages. It didn't mean that her death wasn't an accident, and as for the note and the flowers, maybe someone had found the article and realized it was my sister and thought it would be funny to slip it under the door and drop off those flowers. It could all be nothing.

That's when I noticed the jewelry box. It was the only thing I hadn't looked over. I picked it up and opened it. Inside was Keely's favorite jewelry. Her daisy earrings, her sun necklace, her locket, her valentine earrings, and her lucky charm bracelet. I was just about to close it when my hand rubbed a rough spot on the box and a secret drawer popped open. For the 3rd time that day I was shocked. Keely had never mentioned a secret compartment. I looked inside and I found a bunch of papers. The first few of them looked like insurance papers. It had the list of house values and how much insurance they had and the name of the business that insured them. I couldn't understand how my 14 year-old sister had managed to get a hold of insurance papers like that. After the insurance papers was a newspaper article. The headline was Series of Fires Claim Lives.  I scanned the article. It was about a bunch of house fires. The last fire had claimed the life of the Rosenstein family. I looked at the date. It was dated 3 days before Keely died! 

I remember those fires. Twelve fires in twelve different neighbors all started by different means. The first eleven houses were empty. In the 12th house a family of four had been sleeping there. All were killed. The only connection between the 12 house fires were that none of them could be saved. 

After the article was a bunch of legal looking documents. I look at them and recognized them as insurance papers. This girl I knew, Carla, she had a fire in her garage. These looked like the papers her parents had to fill out. There was proof of loss papers for about 10 million dollars in damages total! There were also transcripts of examinations under oath and 12 Origin and Cause reports! Origin and Cause reports are filled out by fire marshals to prove how and where the fire started. In all 12 reports the cause was arson! These were the original Origin and Cause reports and should be in a file at an insurance company-not my sister's jewelry box. The next set of papers was photocopies of Origin and Cause that were presumably in a file at an insurance company. As I compared the Origin and Cause reports I realized that they were about the same 12 fires! The only difference between them was where the originals claimed the cause was arsons the photocopies each had different types of accidents and electrical problems.

I stared at all the documents for a few minutes, when finally it clicked. The reason the original Origin and Cause reports were not in a file at an insurance company was because they had been switched with the originals of the altered Origin and Cause reports that I had the photocopies of. I had stumbled across insurance fraud! The proof of loss and examination under oath transcripts were probably from the same fires. The owner had collected 10 million dollars for burning down buildings that he owned. Then something else hit me. There were 12 Origin and Cause reports, which meant 12 fires. Could they have been the 12 fires in the news article!? If they were the person behind them was responsible for more than insurance fraud---he was responsible for MURDER!!!!

I slid to my seat. That was when I remembered where I found these papers! Did Keely know? Did she know what these papers meant? How on earth did she, a fourteen-year-old, get a hold of these? My head was swimming with these thoughts when I noticed some more papers in the back of the drawer. They looked familiar. I picked them up and realized they were the missing pages of Keely's diary!

I carefully unfolded them and read them. There were 7 entries, from May12 to May 18, the day she died. They said:
Dear Diary,											           May 12
	Today was great. My friend hung a poster on my locker to congratulate me on the meet yesterday. I got an A on my math test, the one I was sure I'd fail, and Mr. Rufentiner gave us a free day in English. When I got home Mom was in a good mood and not freaking out like usual. Sis made my favorite meal for supper and helped me with my history. After homework and supper,  I went to Stacy's. We planned our science project and watched Freaky Friday. Then we went to Stacy's dad place. When we got there he was with a client. Mr. Tesntost is an insurance underwriter. We were picking out cool outfits from her "Seventeen" magazine when the client left. He looked like a really slick business man. He was really tall with dark hair. The tall, dark and handsome type to a T. His blue suit was total designer label and his wristwatch was a solid gold Rolex. This guy just screamed money. Even his briefcase was one of those expensive leather kinds. Mr. Moneyman was sure in a hurry because he crashed right into me! The guy didn't even apologize. I realized later that when he crashed into me he dropped some of his papers. I'm keeping them in my jewelry box. He was so mean maybe I just won't give them back. That would get even with him. 

Dear Diary,										                     May 13
	Today I took a look at those papers Mr. Moneyman dropped. They are insurance papers. Mr. Tesntost showed Stacy and me what he does. These papers are part of the investigation an insurance company does after a fire. Some of these should be only in the possession of the insurance company or Mr. Tesntost. That made me wonder why Mr. Moneyman had them. He must have stolen them from Mr. Tesntost when he wasn't looking, but why would he do such a thing. I'm going to go to the library and study up on insurance law.

Dear Diary,											           May 14
	I went to library but I didn't learn much. I looked again at the papers. I noticed that half of the Origin and Cause reports were photocopies and half were originals. I compared the photocopies with the originals and I found out that they were almost identical. They had the same houses, same owners and same origins; the only difference was that the original cause had been arson and the photocopies just about everything EXCEPT arson. The reason for Mr. Moneyman to take those papers was to cover up arson! He switched the real Origin and Cause reports for the fake ones. He was in such a hurry to dispose of the evidence he crashed into me and dropped both the real reports and the photocopies of the fakes in my lap, along with other incriminating evidence. Tomorrow I am going over to Stacy's dad's place and try to find out who owns those buildings. 

Dear Diary,											           May 15  
	I got the list of who insured each of the houses and how much they insured them for. Each one is owned by a different business. I searched for all of them on the computer and discovered that the CEO of all of them was one J. D. Graftin, my Mr. Moneyman. I was right about him being rich-now he's even richer. I've added the list to my jewelry box.

Dear Diary,											           May 16
	Mr. Moneyman has made another appearance. Stacy told me that he stopped at her dad's and was asking about the papers. He didn't tell Mr. Tesntost what those papers were of course but Stacy said he was real anxious to get them back, I bet. He doesn't want anyone to know he committed insurance fraud. I think that tomorrow I will take everything to Mr. Tesntost. I'll let him deal with Mr. Moneyman. 

Dear Diary,											           May 17 
	Today I had to do a current event project for history. Can you believe the irony? Anyway I was looking through the stacks of papers to find something fast. That's when I saw Monday's paper. I don't usually read the paper so I wouldn't have noticed but it was about a series of fires. Twelve houses burnt down. The first eleven were empty but the final one had a family in it. That...That monster.he.he killed them. He's not just part of an insurance fraud.he's a MURDERER! All the houses were owned by businesses who were renting them out. The first eleven hadn't been rented yet, but the 12th was rented out. The family had arrived early and that killed them. He won't get away with it. I have proof. 

Dear Diary,											           May 18
	I've been thinking about what to do about Mr. Moneyman. I've been thinking about it so much I've become paranoid. On my way home from school I could have sworn someone was following me. Of course no one was there. I was going to tell Sis about what I had discovered but Mom was having a bad day and was screaming at Alex that dad was coming back. I figured it wouldn't be a good time to bring it up. I'm going to the movies with Tess and Alisha and I'll tell her when I get back. She can help me tell the police. It's a good thing I have those papers. From what I have learned about Graftin he is a very powerful guy. The police would never believe me without them. No matter what happens, I need to protect those papers or he will never pay for what he's done. He can never know I had them. I'm going to hide these diary pages with the newspaper clipping and insurance papers. I'm glad that I'm going to tell Alex. She'll know what to do.


I stood staring at those papers.  She never had the chance to tell me. I couldn't believe it. My little sister had stumbled upon an insurance fraud and murder. And she knew who was responsible. She was killed before she had a chance to tell anyone. Once again I wondered if her death was an accident. She was dealing with a murderer. If he figured out that she had taken the papers..

All of a sudden, a wave of sleepiness rolled over me like a two hundred pound bus. I could barely think straight. I decided to figure out what to do in the morning. I got in bed, rolled over and was fast asleep.

I was in the kitchen. My head was pounding. Mom had been exceptionally bad tonight. She was shrieking that Dad would be home any minute and that I better behave. It was late. Keely was out with her friends and I was so tired I couldn't take it any more. "Shut up," I scream, " Dad's dead. He has been for years. HE'S NOT COMING BACK!" 
"No!!!!!!!!" she shrieked, "That's no way to talk about your father. He'll be back soon. You behave yourself young lady." She began throwing things at me. "Talk like that and you're not part of this family!" she yelled between throws.
"Fine!" I shouted, "Fine! I'm through! I'm done with this family!" I ran out the door sobbing. I ran towards Highman's Bridge.

Choking, tossing wildly, I woke up. I went over to the sink and splashed myself with cold water. I hadn't remembered that before. The night Keely died I had a fight with Mom and left the house and went towards Highman's Bridge and...did what? What did I do that night?! I can't remember! All I remember of that day was getting home from school and the next thing I remember is being awakened by the police to tell me my sister was dead. What happened that night? I franticly tried to recall something that happened that night other than my dream----and I couldn't. That made no sense. Why was I blocking it out?

I looked at the clock. It was after 3 a.m.. I decided to wait to try to figure things out until a more reasonable time. I fell asleep in seconds. This time, no dreams.
 
Chapter 3: Know the Enemy

I woke to knocking at the door. I groaned and got up. That's when it hit me, all that had happened last night---or rather this morning. I didn't know what to do. The knocking continued. I threw on some clothes and answered the door. It was Jeff. 

"Hey." He said it easy with his sweet grin. "You looked upset yesterday, so I thought I'd stop by to see how you were doing." He looked at me and I felt my heart stop. "Did I wake you?"

"It's ok," I managed to say, "It's time I got moving."

"Is everything alright?" he asked, concerned, "You seem kind of tense."

"I'm just tired, that's all. Too many late nights. I." What was I suppose to say? That I just found out that my sister had stumbled across murder. That I couldn't remember where I was the night she died. Yeah, that would go over smooth.

"Alex." He stared into my eyes. I looked away. "I'm here for you. You know that right?" 

I hate myself for it. I started to cry. I turned around. He put his arm around me and held me close. I took in the smell of him. He was so strong. It unnerved me. I pulled away. "What is it?" he whispered. "You don't have to carry on by yourself you know."

"Jeff." I murmured. I looked into those beautiful blue eyes. I wished I did know, wished to the very soul of my being. I took a deep breath to steady myself. I wanted to tell him, to trust him but I didn't know how! It was infuriating! "I don't know what to say." I finally said truthfully.

"Say 'You, Jeff, are the greatest most awesome person on earth and I'm in awe to be in your presence.'" He mocked, smiling, letting me off. The corners of my mouth twitched.

"You, Jeff, are the greatest most awesome person on earth and I'm in awe to be in your presence." I mimicked. He laughed. If only he knew I meant it. 

We talked for several more minutes then Jeff had to leave and I was alone. Again. For about the millionth time, I asked myself if he could be more perfect or if I make a bigger idiot of myself. If I had any friends I'm sure they would tell me to go for it and to stop holding back.but I can't. Sometimes I want to kick myself.

I shook myself. There were more important matters than my personal problems. I needed to find out more about Keely's Mr. Moneyman. She wrote his name was J. D. Graftin. I needed to know more about him if I was to confront him about what I found-and to find out if he had anything to do with Keely's death.  "That's ridiculous,"  I said to myself. Keely was hit by a drunk driver.but they never did find her body. The timing was convenient-just when she was going to the police, she turns up dead. But the bridge's rail had definitely been driven through and Keely's DNA was found on the edge. I didn't know what to think. I decided I needed more information. 

I looked up J. D. Graftin on the internet. I found that he was a very famous individual. He was the CEO of fifteen businesses, twelve of which he used on his insurance forms. By using different businesses he kept people from getting too suspicious about the business that kept having buildings burnt down. I found a picture of him and immediately figured out what Keely meant by the tall, dark, and handsome type. He is 6' 5" and built, he obviously works out. His hair is black as night and his eyes are dark and piercing. I shivered just looking at the picture. He was the suit and tie type; He looked just like the stereo type rich, successful businessman. Even in picture he displayed an air of cruelty and arrogance.

I discovered he had an office both in my hometown of Clearwater and also, I noted with surprise, here in Calver Heights. I made a note of the address. I didn't have nearly enough information to figure anything out. And I couldn't go to the police, Graftin would deny it and he would know that I knew. I need more information before I can even think about going to the police. If Graftin found out I knew what he did I could end up meeting with an "accident" like Keely. I shook my head trying to shake loose the ridiculous notion that Keely's death was intentional, but the nagging feeling remained.

I decided it was time for a break. I headed to a pizza place a few blocks away. When I arrived, who was there but Jeff. "What!? Is he everywhere!?" I thought exasperated but I went over to talk to him. "Hey," I said. His face lit up and my heart flip-flopped. He was so gorgeous there had to be a law against it.

"Hey yourself," He said grinning.

I had just pulled myself together when the grin undid me. To keep him from noticing my knees going weak, I said, "I thought it was time for a pizza break. Looks like we had the same idea."

He laughed. "Looks like. Why don't you join me and my pizza so my pizza doesn't get lonely?"

Laughing I agreed. It felt so good to relax. We spent the next hour talking and laughing and eating pizza. I had almost for gotten about Graftin. Before I knew it, it was dark. "I should probably be getting home," I said reluctantly.

"I'll walk you home. You shouldn't be out by yourself this late." He said.

I protested but he insisted. Secretly I was delighted to be walking with him. We arrived at my doorstep almost too soon. I started to say bye when he said, "What's that?" pointing at a doll leaning against my door. It was six inches tall with green eyes and a brown ponytail. It was an exact miniature of Keely, right down to the number of freckles. At its feet was a card shaped like a gravestone. On the card it said, "EVERY SECRET COMES IN TWO, ONE FOR ME AND ONE FOR YOU."
  
Chapter 4: A Friend to Lean On

The world blurred. I swayed and felt Jeff grab me. I heard him murmur, "Breathe, that's it, take deep breaths. Everything will be ok." Hearing his voice soothed me and calmed me down.  

"Alex, what's going on?" He demanded. "Those flowers yesterday, this doll today. If it's a joke, it's not funny. What's this about? Who's behind it?"

I broke. I couldn't do it any more. I couldn't carry on alone. I needed help. I'm a wreck. I motioned him to come in. I picked up the doll and note and went inside. Jeff followed bemused. I put the doll on the desk and motioned for Jeff to sit down. I walked over to a drawer and pulled out a picture and gave it to Jeff. 

It was a picture of three girls. In the middle was a thirty-some woman with soft green eyes and blonde hair down to the floor. On the right was an 18-year-old girl with golden brown hair half way down her back with a loose strand covering her face, her deep brown eyes looking shy. To the left stood a laughing 14-year-old with sparkling green eyes that seemed to be saying "I'm invincible." With her brown hair tied back in a ponytail and her freckled face, she seemed ready to take on the world.

Jeff looked from the picture to the doll to me with a look of confusion. "The doll." he said slowly, looking at the 14-year-old in the picture. I motion for him to turn the picture over. On the back it said, "From left to right: me (Keely), Mom, and Sis (Alex)." 

Jeff looked up, puzzled. "I didn't know you had a sister. Why did someone send you a doll of her?" he asked, bewildered.

"Keely died five years ago." I said blankly. It was the first time I had spoke aloud about Keely since her death.

"Oh," was all he said, sympathy joining the confusion in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"She went to the movies with some friends. She was biking across Highman's bridge on her way home when she was hit by a drunk driver. She was knocked through the rail. Neither the driver nor her body was ever found." I started crying. Jeff got up and put his arm around me and comforted me. It was such a relief to talk about it. To have someone listen. I told how mom wasn't the same after dad died. I told him how much worse she had become since Keely died. I told him about the news clipping. I told him everything except what I had found in her Jewelry box and the dreams I'd been having. It was so good to have it off my chest. For the first time in my life I had someone I could confide in. 

Finally Jeff asked, "Why would someone do this to you now? Who knows about Keely?"

"That's what I've been asking myself," I told him. "I haven't told anyone about Keely. No one should know who she is and even if someone did find out why do this!" I asked frustrated. "There is just no logical explanation."

"Maybe it's like you said, just a sick joke." Jeff suggested.

"Maybe, if it was just one thing, but three! That's taking a joke a bit far, don't you think."

I turned around and found myself looking in a mirror. The face looking back at me was frazzled and pale. My cheeks looked sunken and my brown eyes stared back at me, tired and frustrated. I thought about everything I learned since I found that news article under my door. The more I thought the less sense it made. Keely didn't tell anyone about finding those papers. She didn't even tell me! The only person who knows about those papers and could figure out Keely had them was Graftin. If Graftin killed Keely to keep her quiet, there is no way that five years later he would try to make me find them. He'd want those papers hidden forever. But then why would some one send me all this stuff. That last note, it said "Every secret comes in twos". One might take that to mean Keely had another secret and the sender of this stuff wanted me to figure it out. But if that is the case, what other secret could Keely be keeping and why did this mysterious person wait five years before contacting me.  I knew I needed more info before I could figure anything out.

"Hello. Earth to Alex."

I jumped. I had forgotten about Jeff. What could I tell him?! I didn't want him to know about the insurance papers; that would put him in danger, too. He'll want to know who sent these things and why and I don't have a clue to tell him!

I looked into those deep blue eyes and felt like I could melt away. Finally I said, "I've looked over all of her stuff. I haven't found a single secret that this could refer to." Well that was true; there was no secret that this note could be referring to. Just another major secret. What else could Keely be hiding!

"You looked over everything," he asked.

"Well everything I have of hers. I took some of her favorite things when I came here. Mom might have some more of her stuff but I doubt there is anything there."

"Still we should check it out. Someone has a reason for doing this. We just have to find it." 

"Go to MOM'S!" I exclaimed going pale. I haven't spoken to Mom since Keely died. It was the last straw in our relationship. I soon left to start to work to pay for college. I still write but she never responds. She's not quite right in the head. I had explained this to Jeff less then five minutes ago! Surly he can't think that I can just go home and look over Keely's stuff. I would have to see mom!

The horror I felt must have shown because Jeff said, "Come on Alex, it can't be that bad."

"You haven't met my mother," I informed him. 

"It's about time I did." He said as if he were serious; he could be serious, could he?!!!!!! He couldn't mean he wanted to meet Mom.

"No. No way. You can't be serious!!!!!!" I freaked. 

"I am serious." He said calmly. "I think you're making too big of deal out of this. She can't be half as bad as you make her out to be." 

I flashed back to my dream where I ran out because of her. Jeff didn't know what he was getting into.

"Fine, come, but don't say I didn't warn you. She hasn't been right since Dad died. Keely's death only made things worse. Keely was always her favorite. Keely didn't question her when she refused to accept reality. Whenever mom got bad Keely would just go to a friend's house. I was the one who had to bring her back to the truth."

"Why didn't you go to a friend's?" he asked.

I laughed. He honestly thought that I had friends to go to. I never told him he was my first friend and I didn't intend to tell him now. He wouldn't understand. No one ever did. I just said, "Some one had to bring her back to reality. I just happened to be there. She never liked being brought out of her world." 

He left it at that.  We set off for "home".
 
Chapter 5: Mother's

Alex, where have you been!" demanded a small woman in the kitchen. Her blonde hair was in a braid down to the floor, she glared at me with her green eyes, "You father will be home any minute." Then she noticed Jeff.  "Who is that boy? You never mentioned you had company. Wait till your father hears about this." She said shaking her finger.

"Sorry Mother," I said with a strained voice.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me.  You behave yourself." She ordered.  

I heard her mumble "Just wait till your father hears about this."  I rolled my eyes. I hadn't been back a full minute and she was already driving me nuts.

She turned back to the stove muttering something about Dad wanting his supper on time. I motioned for Jeff to follow me.

"What was that?!" Jeff exclaimed, looking a little dazed.

"Welcome home." I said sarcastically. "I warned you." I reminded him.

"I thought you said your dad was dead?" He questioned confused.

"He is." I told him. "He died when I was 6. Car Crash." 

"But your mom." He said still not understanding.

"I told you she hasn't been right since Dad died. She still thinks he's coming back. Like I said she refuses to accept reality. Come on. Keely's room is this way."

We entered Keely's room. It was hard for me to enter it. Except for the few things I took, the room hadn't changed a bit. It looked like Keely would be coming back any minute.  I turned to Jeff, "So, where do you think we should start."

"Well, where would a fourteen-year-old girl hide something?" He wondered.

"In a secret draw in her jewelry box," I thought but didn't say. I looked over on the dresser. "That's odd."

"What?" questioned Jeff as he turned to look at me. 

I motioned to the trophies and medals on Keely's dresser. There was a good number of them. "These are out of order."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked puzzled.

"Keely always kept her trophies and medals in categories. Gymnastics, Volleyball, Basketball, Softball, Swimming, in that order. She then had each group organized in the order she got them.  See here, they're all mixed together, the softball trophy she won in 6th grade is beside the gymnastics medal she got in 3rd which is by her 7th grade basketball trophy. It's all mixed up." I told him baffled.

"Maybe your mom moved them?" He suggested.

"No, she never messes with Keely's things. That wouldn't have changed after Keely died." I was sure about that.  I looked closely around the room and found several other things out of order. I began to wonder. Did Graftin search Keely's room for the papers? I felt unsettled. "Come on, there's nothing here." I said as I began to back out of the room.

"Alex?" Jeff asked uncertainly. "What's wrong? This is more than a little disorganization."

I shook my head. "This is Keely's room, her stuff. I can just see her bursting in any minute telling me to guess what Greta the Gossip had to say today."

"You two were really close." Jeff said softly.

"She was my little sister." I whispered. I realized I was crying. I leaned against the door frame with my head bowed and my arms crossed over my chest as silent tears ran down my face. 

Jeff brushed the tears of my cheeks. "Let's go home." He said gently taking my hand and leading me out.

"Hold on," I said suddenly. If they had searched Keely's room, had they searched mine as well? The day after I got the news about Keely, I left home and got a job at McDonald's and worked there until the fall when I started at a community college on the other side of the state.  After two years there I got a scholarship for West Field and decided to study Journalism there. I haven't stepped foot in my room since the day I packed. 

"What is it?" Jeff asked shaking me out of my trance. I seem to be fading out on him a lot lately.

"I want to see my room." I told him.

His grin was so big and so fast it nearly knocked me over. Had I almost forgotten how cute he was? Strike that, I'm remembering now! He has the most awesome smile. 

"This should be interesting." He laughed. "Now what does your childhood room look like?"

I blushed. "It's over there." I pointed to the door next to Keely's.

"Well let's see then," He said pushing open the door. "Wow." His eyes went big. I smiled.

"So what do you think?" I asked, joining him. The expression on his face was priceless.

"You lived in a library." He said, staring at all the bookshelves covering the walls.

I grinned.  "I like to read," was all I said.

I surveyed my old room. There was one window on the wall across from me that was directly over my bed. The covers were a pale blue but the pillow case was red. My head rest was covered with books. On the wall to my right was a small closet with a few clothing articles still in it. On the floor was a bunch of notebooks and papers and some artwork. The rest of the wall space was covered by bookshelves and every shelf was overflowing with books. There was a clock and a lamp lost somewhere in the pile of books. At the foot of my bed was an instrument case and beside it was a pile of music books and a notebook. The carpet was a soft green color. I remember all the time I spent in this room. My Dad had made some of the bookshelves when I was real little, just learning how to read. The books I had all bought or had been gifts; Birthday, Christmas, if you didn't know what to get me, you got me a book.

Jeff walked over to the closet. "What's all this?" he asked, gesturing to the notebooks and artwork at the bottom.

"Nothing," I said a little too quickly.

He picked up and opened one of the notebooks. "Shouting, screaming; heart's desperate pleading; What is freedom; What is trust; Standing here; never leaving; Shall I ever know." He looked at me. I was bright red. "Did you write this?" Jeff asked. I couldn't look him in the eye. "You did, didn't you?" he insisted. He flipped through some more of my notebooks. "This is really good stuff," Jeff said.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes I just liked to write stuff down. I like to write, too." 

"You're good at it. No wonder you're taking Journalism. You'll make a terrific writer." He declared. He picked up one of my paintings. "You paint?" Jeff said surprised.

"I like all sorts of crafts but I'm not very good at it." I told him.

"Stop being so modest. This is pretty good." Jeff claimed.

He kept exploring my room. Finally he stopped in front of the instrument case. Jeff opened it and said, "You are just full of surprises, aren't you. I never knew you played the trumpet!"

"And the piano," I told him. "I don't have much time for them at college though."

I knelt down beside him and flipped through the music and pulled out Ode to Joy. I put it up on a bookshelf and pulled out my old trumpet. I played it, trying to recall everything I had learned in high school. When I finished, Jeff was clapping. 

"That was.loud," Jeff decided.

I laughed. "I know. That's why I love the trumpet. It is so my anti-personality. The director always described the trumpet as loud, boastful, and arrogant. Three things I never was. It was fun to be so different." 

I had forgotten how great playing the trumpet made me feel. For the first time in what felt like years, I relaxed completely. When I play the trumpet, for just a little while, I am better than anyone. Nothing and No one can bother me.  I began playing around on the trumpet. I pick up the notebook in the pile with all the music and started to write notes down.

"What are you doing?" Jeff asked curious.

"Nothing," I said uncomfortably.

"Are you writing a song?" Jeff asked.

"Not really. Sort of.  I'm horrible at actually writing down songs, but I like to mess around and write down notes. Even if they make no sense the next time I read them." I confessed.

"I'm glad we came here. I've learned so much more about you. There's so much I didn't know before." Jeff told me. I blushed. "Now that we're done here, let's vamoose," he suggested. I agreed. Nothing was out of place. If anyone had searched my room, they would have seen I didn't have much hiding space. I hid everything in my mind and in my writing. 

I smiled. "Ya, let's go home."
 
Chapter 6: Accident or Murder?

Thanks for the ride," I said as I got out of Jeff's car at the dorm. The trip to Mom's wasn't the complete disaster I thought it would be. We managed to get past Mom without her blowing up. All in all, it wasn't that bad and I did find out someone had searched Keely's room. What that meant, I have no idea but it is something I didn't know before. 

"No problem. Why don't I go up with you? Just to make sure everything is alright." Jeff suggested.

"OK," I decided. What could it hurt? I smiled at him. He has been such a good sport these last couple of days, helping me out. I was reminded what a great guy he is. A brain, a heart, and good looks; what more could a girl ask for?

We headed up to my door. This time there wasn't anything leaning against it. I opened the door. I looked around but didn't see anything out of place-or anything new added.

I turned to Jeff. "Doesn't look like the joker stopped by today." Jeff nod and started to leave as I began to close my door. That's when I saw it. The bracelet. Jeff must have heard me gasp because he turned back around and asked what was wrong.

I point and he came in. On the back of my door was taped a bracelet and a note. The bracelet was a simple silver chain bracelet but in the middle was a silver plate and on it was inscribe Keely. The note was a simple post-it. On it was written only three words. "He likes souvenirs." 

I felt my legs give under me. Jeff caught me before I hit the floor. "Dad gave her that bracelet the day before he died. She never took it off. That should be at the bottom of Crystal Creek!" I gasped disbelieving. Who could have gotten a hold of that bracelet? 'He likes souvenirs.' No, No! It couldn't be! It can't mean that Keely was MURDERED! I couldn't breathe. My breath came out rapid and wheezing. Faintly I heard Jeff talking to me. JEFF! I tried to focus. I saw Jeff blurrily fade in and out. There appeared to be more than one of him. He was holding me tight. I heard his calm voice and felt myself calm down. My breathing returned to normal and I felt better. Only my heart was still racing, but I could tell if that was from the bracelet or proximity to Jeff.

When I was finally seeing straight, Jeff helped me over to my bed. I sat down and shook my head. "I can't believe it." I told Jeff. "I just cannot believe it."

"How do you think someone came in possession of this bracelet?" Jeff asked me.

"There is only one way. Someone took it off her after she died. Dad gave it to her just before he died. She would never take it off. It's all she had of him." I told him.

"But you said that Keely was knocked it to the water. The police never found her. Plus the bracelet shows no sign of water damage. It could never have been in the water for any long length of time." Jeff argued.

"You read the note. It was taken as a souvenir. Keely's body was never found. No proof of how she died. Someone could have easily killed her and then set it up as an 'accident'." I was certain now. Keely's death was no accident.

"Why?" was all Jeff said.

I was silent. Why indeed. I was sure it had something to do with Graftin and his fraud but was such an elaborate cover up. "That," I said to Jeff, "is the million dollar question."


Jeff eventually left after I assured him for the millionth time I was alright.  I crawled into bed and tumbled into an uneasy sleep.

Bang!
"Shoot man! What ya shoot 'er for!?" shrieked a man with a high pitched voice.
"She was an inconvenience. Inconveniences are dealt with. She would have talked. Now she won't." explained a large man with a gruff voice. He and the man with the squeaky voice now stood side by side looking down at a lump on the ground. 
"Search her," ordered the man with the gruff voice. The man with the squeak voice leaned towards the lump.

I bolted straight up. What on earth. I tried to recall the face of the men in my dream but they were just blurry shadows. What was going on. First the man and girl fighting, then mom and me fighting, now a squeaky man and the man from my first dream arguing over an "inconvenience". What ever that is. What was that lump they were standing around? 

As I puzzled over all this, I could feel my eyelids pull closed. I am so tired. I can't think. I'll figure this out in the morning. Yawning, I fell back to sleep.
 
Chapter 7: The Meaning of Dreams

The sun was shining brightly in my room. Too bright. I groaned and rolled over. I saw the clock on my dress. It said 12:15. 12:15! I am so tired. How can it be 12:15? I stretch, starting to get up. Then I remembered the dream-or rather dreams. What has been going on lately?!?! I am positive that the second voice in my dream last night was the same one as the man arguing in the one with the two shadows fighting. And the beginning Bang! in my dream.could it be the same Bang! that ended my other dream. This is so confusing!!!

After a few minutes, I finally decided to forget it-for now. All it was doing was giving me a headache and more questions than answers. Eventually my thoughts started drifting towards Jeff. He is the best! I wonder where he is? Why didn't he stop by before this? You'd think he'd check in till this thing was solved. Unless he did and I slept through it. Why didn't he wake me up?

Worried now, I started to reach for the phone-then stopped. I didn't want to look like I had been waiting all morning for him to stop by. There was a perfectly logical explanation. I just didn't know it quite yet.

I got up and dressed.  I wore a red T-shirt, blue jeans, a jean jacket, and a silver key necklace. I thought I looked O.K. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. My heart fluttered. "Come in." Jeff walked in looking as good as I've seen him. He was dressed casual but that just completed his charm. 

"Hey there sleepy head. I came earlier but you were so tired I didn't want to wake you. You have been through a lot the last few days." Jeff just stood there with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall all casual. OK. It is official. Jeff Rogers is the most handsome, charming guy I have ever known. I don't know what I was worrying about-Jeff's the greatest. Now if only I could figure out my dreams. Despite my decision to forget about them, I couldn't stop thing about them.

"Is anything wrong?" Jeff asked, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Why do think anything's wrong?" I asked innocently.

"You're play with your hair." He pointed. 

Sure enough, I kept twisting it in my hands. I hadn't even noticed. I sometimes mess around with my long hair when I'm deep in thought.

"I had a dream," I admitted.

"A dream? About what?" Jeff wanted to know.

I told him what I remembered from last night and about the girl and the man arguing in my other dream.

After a few minutes of silence, Jeff finally said, "Wow. What do you think is going on about them?"

"I think he killed her. The girl. In my dreams." I responded automatically without think. I gasped at what I just said. I hadn't even realized that I had been considering that. But once I said it I knew it was true. The man I had been dreaming about killed the girl in my first dream. That bang was, in fact, a gunshot. "Maybe in the second dream the killer was explaining to his partner why he killed her? She was an inconvenience?"

"But why would you dream about such things? What triggered it? Who are the people in your dreams?" Jeff asked.

"I.I don't know," I said slowly. But that was wrong. I did know. I just couldn't remember. I couldn't put my finger on it but I knew I knew them. I knew why and what, I just couldn't remember. I strained to remember but all I got was a head ache.

"It's ok," Jeff promised. "We will figure it out. Don't worry yourself."

I felt much better. I didn't know why until I realized Jeff said we. I wasn't alone anymore. It was a great feeling. I smiled a grateful smile at Jeff. He is my rock, for that alone I'd be eternally grateful.

"Why don't we talk a walk? Relax a little," Jeff suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea!" I said. Spending time with Jeff-count me in! 

We went to the grassy spot in the center of the campus known as West Field Meadow. There are a There is a Larger tree growing on the far side of the meadow and a picnic table in the shade of the tree. Some people are play Frisbee, some are sitting around with there friends and some people, like me and Jeff, are just walking around.

We walked toward the tree. About half way there-out of nowhere-a red-headed freshman appeared and crashed right into me! "I'm sorry. I wasn't watching were I was going," he said. He was about 6 foot, kind of gangly. He looked really young. He had curly red-orange hair and bright blue eyes. There was something in those eyes I couldn't quite read. All in all, if I were so hung up on Jeff, I would call him cute-in a boyish sort of way. He held out his hand to me and helped me up. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he asked, "Are you all right?"

Before I could answer, Jeff asked angrily, "Why weren't you paying attention? Who are you?"  I put me a restraining arm on him. I was shocked at the way Jeff was acting. Sure the guy knocked me over but it was an accident. I mean he's just a kid. There was just something about him that made me feel sorry for him. 

"I'm really sorry," the boy said. "I was thinking and forgot there were people around for a second. My name is Ty. I'm 19. I just stared West Field this year."

I felt a pang in my heart. Keely would have been 19 if she had lived. "Its fine," I reassured him. "My name's Alex. This is my friend Jeff."

"Nice to meet. I probably should get on my way. Bye." He said hurrying off.

I turned on Jeff. "Why did you yell at him like that? It was an accident."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you. There's something off about that kid. It looked like he came at you on purpose." Jeff said suspiciously.

"Now why would he do that? You're over reacting. I'm fine. Let's go home."

 "I still think he's up to something," Jeff grumbled but didn't say anymore. We walked back to the dorm. As we were walking I felt as if there was somebody staring at me but there was no one. Was there?
 
Chapter 8: Kayla Alert

We were almost to the dorm when I realized I was starving. It was supper time and I hadn't even had lunch!  I noticed Ice Kool, a diner and ice cream place. It is a major college hangout but I usually avoid it, too many people-most of them "Populars", but I was so hungry I decided to stop anyway.

Jeff saw me stop. "What's up?"

"I'm going to stop for some grub. You want to join me?"

"Great idea!" Jeff seemed to have forgotten the park incident.

We had just sat down when I realized that coming here was a bad idea. "Woo hoo, Jeff. Is that you? It is great to see you!" said a perky blonde as she slid into the seat right next to Jeff-ignoring me. Her name is Kayla Althfelt. She and I went high school together. She was the Prom Queen. I don't know exactly what about me rubs her the wrong way but she has never liked me-but she does like Jeff. She wants him to be her boyfriend. One of the few things we agree on is the Jeff is the most handsome guy in school. She is always trying to flirt with him. It makes me sick. What's worse is Jeff doesn't realize what a fake she is!

"Hello Kayla," I said warily.

She flicked a glance at me. "Hello" she said haughtily looking at me like I was a slug. "So Jeff," she exclaimed, tossing her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder, flirting with Jeff, turning her back on me. "What are you doing here?!" she asked playfully pulling out all the stops.

"Alex and I stopped by to grab some supper." Jeff answered, not noticing her moves. 

"Oh," she said, her expression dimming a bit. I shot her a triumphant smile. She glared at me and purposely turned towards Jeff. "I got I job up at Sunset Interactive." Kayla stated pompously.

"Mm," Jeff acknowledged, biting into his sandwich. Sunset Interactive sounded familiar to me. I am sure I heard it somewhere recently but for the life of me I couldn't remember where.

Determined to get Jeff's attention, Kayla kept talking. "They give out free sports equipment to low-income families with children." At that Jeff turned to her. Jeff loves kids. He hopes to coach underprivileged children in sports. He is currently working on his education degree to teach 3rd or 4th grade elementary. 

Realizing she had Jeff's full attention, Kayla continued, "I am the secretary for the head honcho, Jacob Graftin," she told him smugly. I felt as if all the air had been punched out of me. I remembered where I had heard Sunset Interactive before-it is one of the companies J. D. Graftin is CEO of! The one with headquarters right here in Calver Heights! Kayla is working for that murderer! What's going on here?

Smirking at my stunned looked, Kayla to Jeff about all of her duties as secretary. She told him how she help with getting all the toy and sports stuff to the kids who needed it. She pulled out some papers from her purse. "Here are some picture of what we're doing." She show him pictures of kids in raggedy clothing grinning from ear to ear holding balls from Sunset Interactive's new sport program. There were newspaper articles interviewing the families receiving the stuff. One news article caught my eye. I snatched out of the pile. "Where did you get this?" I demanded holding the article on Keely's death.
She examined the article. "It was on Jake's desk. It must have gotten in the pile on accident." She shrugged it off.

"We really got to be going," Jeff said, grabbing the bill. Jeff paid as we hurried out of there. Could Kayla have been the one sending me all the horrible pranks? She had a copy of the article. We went to high school together but we didn't really hang out. I'm not sure she even knew I had a sister.

"Are you all right," Jeff asked thoughtfully, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I looked at him gratefully. "Thanks for getting me out of there."

"Why would this Graftin fellow have an article about your sister? Especially five years after it was written. What would it matter to him?" Jeff wondered

"Why indeed." I echoed. Jeff had a point. Even if he knew that Keely knew about the fires, why would he keep an article on her death for five years? It just doesn't make sense. It's over with. If Keely's death was an accident what would it matter to him? "Unless it wasn't an accident," a little voice in my head nagged. "He could be keeping it to remind himself that he got away with murder and no one is the wiser," the voice whispered. I shook my head to dispel these crazy notions. "Her death was an accident, an accident," I tried to convince myself. "Just because you don't want to believe some drunk hit her is no reason to jump to murder," I scolded myself. 

So deep in thought I almost didn't notice when we reached my dorm. Jeff walked me up to my door. I stepped inside. "It look's like my 'friend' didn't stop by today." I told him.

"That's good," Jeff said. "If you find anything tomorrow, come find me. I'll stop by as often as I can between classes." He looked me straight in the eyes, "Remember you're not alone in this." I felt all soft inside. It felt so good not to be alone anymore. Soon I might even tell him about the stuff in the jewelry box.but not yet. I need to think on it a bit more. Graftin is a powerful man. I'll bet that whoever is sending me this stuff is connected to him in some way. What is going on?