Chapter 14

We were just executing our deft plans for preparing the search party. I had made a detour to buy a cake and teabags as gifts, per proper etiquette when we imposed on Mrs. Pierce’s hospitality.

Her house was larger than I expected, and as the housemaid led us to an anteroom, I observed its classical type of interior design. It was obvious that Mrs. Pierce was well off and she had pointed out such notion even on our first meeting with her nosy friends.

This time, I didn’t bother wearing any dress. My attire was casual enough as it was.

Upon seeing me with Samantha’s friends and sister, Mrs. Pierce had seemed to be shocked and mildly irritated, and I was yet to know why.

When we were all seated inside the living room, we had discussed the details of the search and formally requested for her assistance. However, Mrs. Pierce seemed apathetic during our discussion.

“The forest is quite large, don’t you think? And who knows, she may not even be in the forest,” Mrs. Pierce stated, her face a mask of sincerity.

“We know, but it’s still worth a try,” Kassy answered back, clearly losing her patience.

“Didn’t the police already searched the forest? It’s their job and we shouldn’t be meddling with their business. Civilians can’t just interfere with the investigation.”

Seated on the sofa next to me, Suzy, having finally lost her temper, shot up from her position. “We can’t just give up on my sister!”

“Suzy, sit down,” Pamela murmured soothingly beside her, trying to pull her back down by her left hand.

“No! I have had enough of this!”

The tension in the air was rising. It was clear to me that a fight was about to ensue and I had to find a way to prevent it from escalating further.

“Do you think you can’t just talk back to me like this?” Mrs. Pierce retorted with a furious scowl, her face flushed in anger. “You are the one asking for my help. This is my home and I am older than you. Remember that, young lady!”

“Mrs. Pierce,” I spoke calmly, trying to divert her attention toward me. When she turned to look at me, she blinked back from her scowl as if waking from a bestial mode. “I think we should take a short break? Can you please help me to your kitchen? I’d like to serve you some tea that I brought, and slice the cake.”

Clearing her throat, Mrs. Pierce then stood up and asked me to follow her. She didn’t mind granting my request in a heartbeat. It seemed that she was quite embarrassed by her outburst as well and would gladly leave the room to ease some tension in her system.

In the kitchen, I tried making small talk with her while boiling water and slicing the cake. As an attempt to lighten the mood, I began with a compliment.

“I was glad that I came in Sylvan. People here are all so nice and hospitable. Even though I am not from around here, the residents are so welcoming to me, and a lot of them went out of their way just so I could enjoy much of my vacation.”

“I’m pleased to hear that.” Mrs. Pierce was wearing a tight-lipped smile. She was clearly faking it. “How are you with them, if I may ask?”

I feigned innocence. “You mean Samantha’s friends?”

“Yes. They are quite the rebellious bunch.”

Rebellious? How so?

“It’s just that, they made me feel very welcomed during my first few days here. And when I heard that their friend was missing, I wanted to lend a hand immediately.”

I told Mrs. Pierce that I was also planning to invest on real estate which is exactly what her job was. Even though I was still in college, I had more than enough money to make an investment, which I got from bounties and private investigation rewards. “Perhaps half a million should be enough? I was planning to leave the hotel anyway. I think I’ll be staying here for a while, so I want an apartment of my own and make some investment income while I’m at it.”

I was carefully presenting all the pros and benefits of helping us, of helping me. I couldn’t just casually mention these things when my companions were around, but being alone with my current target, allows me to play dirty without mercy.

“I can help you with that then!” Mrs. Pierce’s eyes sparkled with interest, pun intended. “My husband works with real estate. You can invest in our business if you want.”

“That’s wonderful,” I remarked, before quickly shifting gear. “But I actually came here for two reasons. The investment was another thing, but I really was looking forward to your help with our search party. It may sound ridiculous and impossible to gather up such a large search, but I’m still hopeful. It was my idea, after all.”

The look of utter surprise and uneasiness crinkled Mrs. Pierce’s powdered face. I was leaving her no choice, but to accept both ends of the sword. Take one, take all.

“R-really?” she stuttered, looking flustered and all as I poured boiled water to our cups. “I didn’t know that at all.”

I nodded solemnly. “I was quite aware of the pros and cons, and took a lot of thinking about it. We all care for Samantha, even though I haven’t met her before, I feel like we could’ve become close friends. The chances of us finding Samantha in the forest is very slim, but as long as there is a ray of hope, I think it’s still worth a try. I’m not just all about business and money. It may cost me some dollars and labor, but I think Samantha’s life is much more important than my convenience and wealth. Don’t you think so, Mrs. Pierce?”

“Y-yes. Of course! It would be preposterous to think otherwise.”

I gave her a pleased smile which showed off my front teeth. It was practiced, so my smile could never come as fake to anyone. “Then, I take it that you would help us?”

Looking flushed, the middle-aged woman before me was no longer as composed and self-assured as she was ten minutes ago. I was backing her up to a corner until she complies. There was nowhere to escape.

Mrs. Pierce laughed nervously while I continued to slice up the cake, allowing her some room to breathe. The last thing I wanted was to have her collapse under the pressure. I can be very persuasive if I wanted to be, even Mikee knows that.

“Well… I suppose I can help with gathering up volunteers. It is my job as an upstanding citizen and member of the committee. The police should need all the help they can get.”

Ah, she was sucking up her own words from earlier. Now, for the killer blow.

“That’s wonderful, Mrs. Pierce. With your help, I think we can be successful! Besides, I’ve read the newspaper this morning. The mayor and vice-mayor are giving out a hefty reward for whoever finds Samantha. The money could go to charity if we manage to find Samantha and split the amount. Isn’t that wonderful?”

My method is quite brutal, yes. But you know what they say, desperate times, call for desperate measures. I’m willing to use any means possible to reach my objective. There is just too much to be done. Sometimes, I just have to manipulate people into helping me, if the ends justified the means.

To Kassandra, Pamela and Suzy’s surprise, when we got back, Mrs. Pierce had changed her mind and was already willing to help. I managed to convince her to eat her own words in a matter of minutes. We hardly had anything to do left since she volunteered to do everything else for the preparation. It went too smooth, that my companions even threw me a suspecting look.

After consuming our afternoon tea, we headed over to Suzy’s place to meet up with the rest. Her blue and white-themed house had two floors, a small garden, and it was built close to the forest.

I still had other things to take care of, but right now, socializing with Samantha’s friends and sister was an opportunity dangling right in front of me. I ought to grab it and take advantage of the situation.

“What happened back there?” Pamela purred beside me in the kitchen. I was cooking cod fish tacos with Pamela while Kassy and Suzy were frying up marinated chicken and rinsing rice to be put in the slow cooker.

I paused from chopping the cod to give Pam’s smiling face my own puzzled expression. “What do you mean?”

I could hear Kassy and Suzy’s conversation in the background, along with the subtle sizzling sound the cooking oil made as they fried the chicken.

“Obviously, Mrs. Pierce wasn’t willin’ to help us earlier ‘cause she thought it was a stupid idea. But after your short tour with her to the kitchen, she just happens to change her mind in a matter of minutes. What’d you do?” Pamela was giving me a lopsided smile which boosted her confident air and innate beauty.

“I didn’t exactly do anything, more like talk if you ask me.” I shrugged as if it was nothing. “The atmosphere in Mrs. Pierce’s living room was getting thicker which clouded her better judgment and empathy to our request. That’s why I brought her to the kitchen where women, especially housewives like her, often find solace. Once she relaxed, I was able to make the appeal to her and she listened.”

“Wow, that was surprisingly… clever of you.” Pamela was done chopping the rest of the ingredients and was facing me fully now, with a look akin to that of reverential respect. “You’re perceptive.”

“Don’t tell anyone else though.” I put a finger against my lips, flashing her a tight-lipped smile. I was fine with playing pretend, so it would brew speculations if my persona was thought to be wise by someone else in the group. If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to play dumb or stupid anymore.

Damien arrived at exactly 4:15. He apologize for being MIA before sitting alone on the sofa by the living room. He looked like a depressed high schooler, with his lean figure, pale features and sulking face.

I wondered why he didn’t just take a leave for the day to help us form the search party. And I wondered why nobody was talking about it or even suggested it. Did he look more depressed than usual because he felt like he was being left out?

I wouldn’t be surprised if he forgot about our appointment tomorrow. Damien’s head looks like it could be in the clouds and his eyes had no semblance of focus nor fire in them.

Roman and Keith arrived shortly after Damien did. The two were quiet when they entered.

Roman was sociable with us though. He even helped us clean up the kitchen after we were done preparing our supper. But Keith, on the other hand, seemed so closed off. He disappeared into the house shortly after getting a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Suzy, may I use your restroom?” I asked Suzy who was now preparing the plates on the table.

“Fourth door to the left,” she said curtly. Somehow, I felt enmity radiating off of her ever since Keith and Roman arrived.

I headed to the restroom and came across a half-closed door. I caught a glimpse inside and paused out of curiosity. It was a bedroom in blue and gray theme. My eyes immediately took in the large shelf collection of books, different Rubik’s cubes and fidget spinners. There was also a recently booted computer, a single bed, laptop, some jerseys, caps and…

I jumped in surprise upon seeing someone suddenly appearing in front of me. The man was shirtless, and given he was six inches taller than me, his chest was the first thing that came into my view. It was when I looked up to meet the man’s eyes, that I realized it was Keith.

Tilting his head down, his face remained blank and just a few inches from mine, when I tilted my head up to meet his cold eyes. He was leaning one arm against the doorframe to hide his room from my view.

“I’m sorry, Keith. The door was half-closed. I didn’t mean to look－”

Before I could finish, the brat took a step back and closed the door to my face.

I was dumbfounded, irritated and curious at the same time. Dumbfounded because he’s so different from when we first met, like a sudden switch had caused him to do a 180 personality shift. Irritated because he doesn’t seem to know that I was older than him and therefore, demanded some sort of respect at least. It’s just by a few months, but still, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m his senior. And lastly, I was curious as to why he was acting like that. Is it like a phase or something?

I sighed and left for the restroom to relieve myself. After washing my hands, I checked my phone for any response from Mikee. I still got nothing from him.

Instead, I received an anonymous text message.

It only said, ‘Hello, Milady.’