_Be the one or we are in trouble

It appeared that Vidal had informed the others about her going to the house next door for inspection. Farris had already left and it turned out that Luna and Amadio accompanied him just like the last time they went.

She was stuck with this group who would rather tear each other's ears apart with nagging instead of doing the actual work.

Her sister was different though. Always so rational and logical, that Gizem. Occasionally, Rune was always proud of her but secretly.

" I saw the mud inside the house. Its texture matched the one from the garden," she said to Vidal.

The other three who either had their hands crossed over their chest or on their waist looked lost by what she said.

" What mud?" Calliope blurted.

Vidal didn't seem too excited about talking to the others. His guilt was eating him up and he felt out of place perhaps.

Rune decided to be the speaker at this gathering. " We found a hole drilled right under the garden's fence and guess where it leads to?"

" The house next door. We are not morons Rune." August scoffed.

Oh, please.

Rune rolled her eyes and continued. " Well, we kind of saw a girl come out of the house next door, and coupled with the hole we found, our suspicion sprawled up. I went to the house to investigate who she is and that's when I found the same mud in their house as if someone who has stepped on it while doing whatever it was by that hole and gotten it smeared into the house unaware."

" You did all this behind us? What happened to family?!" Calliope hollered.

Was that really necessary now?

" So, the boy next door knows something?" Gizem tilted her head.

Rune shook her impulsively. " No, no. Asher is cool. I'm suspecting the new girl in his house"

" She could be his sister" Calliope shrugged.

August added to Rune's surprise. Those two never agree on a subject. " Or a cousin of his"

" No, she's not. She claims she is a hired help. Says Asher's brother hired her to help him out with things in the house because of his defect." She explained.

" Why can't the brother help him out himself?" Calliope blurted again.

Again, another unnecessary question.

Rune sighed and decided to reply anyway. If she didn't, Calliope might think she was jealous of the sudden closeness between her and Gizem, and thus, started ignoring her. " According to her, the brother won't be home for a while. He is busy with work."

" I say we bring the suspect here and interrogate her ourselves." August declared.

Arrgh, his stupid rash decisions again!

" No, August. We won't do that" She stated firmly. " For one, we might be wrong about her after all. I don't want any issues with the human cops again."

" No, August is right" She heard the quiet Vidal say.

August, on hearing his name come out of Vidal's mouth, sneered and twitched his nose cynically.

Oh, those two!

She shouldn't laugh, it was almost a sin to laugh in this mess they were in.

" If the girl is indeed Catherine, we can't take any more chances. Let's just get her here and investigate it. I bet it's her. Let's just do it. Fender clock is ticking faster than our slow steps" Vidal finished, visibly shaken.

He was extra sensitive to this topic, Rune noted. It was guilt though. Of what he did to her, the woman who loved him.

Rune was still pondering on how irrational that decision might turn out to be when she heard her sister's voice. " Let's do it. We can't take any more chances. And Vidal is right, Fender has little time left."

Calliope clasped her hand in support. " I'm glad Luna and Farris are not here. Those two would have polluted the fun. Let's go for it!"

Rune was skeptical. She wasn't so sure about this plan of theirs. " I don't think we should do this in their absence. Farris will be mad" she reasoned.

" No Rune dear. Farris will be overjoyed with relief when he comes home and finds the problem solved by us." August countered her.

Well, if they were doing this, they better solve the problem. If it turned out the other way around... Oh, she doesn't even want to think about that too at all.

" You guys give me a minute. I will go bring her." Given announced and was about to move away when Rune ran to block her from moving forward.

" No" she spreads her hand out in the air. " If we are doing this, we will do it right. It's the middle of the evening. Who knows who could be watching us from behind their blinds?" she pointed in the direction of the old woman's house. " Old Mrs. John?" she raised a rhetoric.

Gizem was bored, she planted her fist on her waist. " So, what do you suggest then?" her face was lined with an impatient frown.

Not sure of herself or her plan, she tucked at the hem of her sweatshirt. " I will go over and bring her here civilly." she declared.

There was silence for a while until August clapped his hands. " Well then, get to it!" he snapped.

" Right!" Rune chanted before she walked out of the door and back to the house next door.

She had to hold herself to breathe well at the nervousness she felt about what they were about to do.

So many what-ifs were going on in her mind. What if Kate wasn't the chameleon, how do they explain the situation afterward?

" Come on Rune, she's definitely the one. If she isn't, she might know something because all evidence points to that house and there's no suspicious one there except for her." She was affirming to herself as she stood in front of the door ready to press the bell.

" Did you forget something?"Kate blurted as her round face followed the opening of the door.

By jones, the girl had no manners at all!

Rune forced a smile. " Actually, no. There is some new nail polish I just got delivered. I don't know if you would like to see, or maybe pick one or two for yourself." She said but when the girl had an indifferent look on her face still, " Girly girl vibes"' she winked.

To hell, she hoped she did it right. She had no idea about the trend or new style young girls use now. She only said that because of a scene she saw in the movie.

Kate curled her lips then ever so slowly. " You mean come to your house? The fancy house?" A big grin settled on her face.

Thank God!

" Yes. Yes, yes" Rune smiled, not surprised at her expertise in lying.

Kate turned her head back to into the house. " I will be out for a while LSR" she announced.

" Who cares?!" Asher grumbled from inside. " And it's Asher, not LSR!"

Kate would never shut up when she feels attacked. Rune had noticed that about the girl.

" Tell Duncan that first before you tell me you bully!" She hollered and smiled at Rune afterward.

" Let's go" she nodded.

Why did she appear so excited?

If she was the chameleon, should her guard not be up instead of looking so excited?

As she herded Kate into their house, she prayed silently that they were right about her.