CHAPTER 59

   Carly watched as Kelley stood up to return the laptop from where she had taken it. She was whistling a victorious melody while grinning. She wished she could just smack it off her face. Dylan's grin had always been cute and sweet, this one was just stupid and annoying. At least she was glad her head wasn't being chopped off as she had first thought. In fact she had two days to either live or be murdered. She also gathered that Kelley and whatever bitch that was instructing her needed her to get to Dylan so she wasn't going to be killed. What she didn't understand was why they couldn't just get to her directly. It wasn't like Dylan had an army of bodyguards walking around with her. So this,was just like a game that needed to connect all the characters whereby the characters were all her former classmates; Emily, Dylan,Carl and her. Knowing that fact, she didn't get why Kelley was involved, she hadn't been in their life. Well, only Dylan's but hadn't she already done enough to Dylan for a whole lifetime? What more could she possibly want? To her, she didn't appear like the person to be ordered around, following instructions she wasn't a part of so there must have been something she wanted so bad to do that.

                  "Was it worth it?" she asked her. Kelley turned to her and gave her a puzzled look. "Killing Dylan's mother,was it worth it?"

   Instead of replying, Kelley started to laugh as if mocking her. She felt her anger rise inside her but she didn't let it consume her. She knew it wouldn't help with anything.

                  "How much lies has she been feeding you?" Kelley asked and walked closer to her. She sat on the table right in front of her so that her legs swayed next to her knees on both sides. "She thinks I murdered her mother and now you believe that too." She looked away as if disappointed or even hurt," That's tough."

    Carly didn't buy it. 

                    "Oh, really? After what happened between you and Dylan,I think it's pretty convincing that you had the motive to do that and for a sick reason because Dylan had just been doing her job and Wendy didn't deserve that."

                    "Her mother died long before she shot my sister. And well,I wasn't even out of prison as you already know,a just came out a week ago."

                  "She shot your sister?" Carly asked in surprise. Dylan had told her about the whole experience with Kelley in prison but she hadn't mentioned anything like this.

                "Oh, she didn't tell you about that?" Kelley asked turning back to her. "I see you haven't catched up on everything yet." She leaned forward closer to her but she didn't flinch. If there was one thing she was determined not to show was fear. She didn't even blink. "I didn't kill her mother and you are probably not going to believe me and I won't even try to convince you because well,my record contradicts that but I am no liar."

    Carly blinked and almost believed her but didn't want to give in to manipulation as she thought it was that.

                "Only a manipulator of the truth." Kelley stood up and walked to the far end of the room. She stood up too. "What really happened?"

                  "Like I said, I was in prison. I have no idea what happened."

               "But you knew what was going to happen."

               "Honestly no."

  Kelley didn't give her a chance to talk again. She turned and left the room, leaving her with nothing but couches and grilled windows to stare at. The door clicked behind her,a sign that she had been locked inside. She walked to one window and looked outside but her view went as far as to a wall. She was being held in a completely gated homestead and even the little hope she had that she would manage to escape died. The only way out of this was if Dylan would figure out what they had told her and follow through. What she prayed was for Dylan to be prepared because now she was pretty convinced they wanted to murder her. But what about her brother and Emily? Surely this wasn't going to be a classmates reunion. Did they want to get all of them in one room and kill them together? She wondered. She didn't want to continue with that line of thoughts so she shifted her mind back to the conversation she had just had with Kelley. Something told her that she was telling the truth even though she didn't want to believe that. If she was telling the truth,then who was it that had killed Wendy? Was it the same woman she had just passed on her way inside the house and who now wanted all of them. Maybe because she thought they knew her? There was another thing,all these people were the only ones she had interacted with in highschool. Well, except Taylor but who knew if she wasn't going through the same thing they were wherever she was? She figured this person must be someone who knew them and they also knew her.  A former classmate maybe? But which classmate could they have pissed off that much to come to this point? On her part, she couldn't remember a time she ever got on the wrong side with a classmate except for Emily who was already out of the list. She barely interacted with people and when she did,she had always been polite.  The only option she had now was to try and see if she could manage to recognize the person or look for a hint around the place. She didn't know how that would help her but she decided to try anyway.

  She walked looking at the shelves,the walls and anywhere she could think of but her search didn't add up to anything helpful. Or maybe it was because she didn't know what it was she was supposed to be looking at. She stopped and allowed herself to think. It was then that she remembered the laptop. She went to the door and listened through the keyhole but didn't hear anything. She returned back to the table and opened it. Unfortunately she needed a password to continue. ‘What did you expect, to find it left all ready for you to use?’ She sighed heavily then closed her eyes in disappointment.

                    "What are you doing?"

  She turned around sharply startled by the voice. It was a child's voice. She turned around and found a little curious girl about her son's age looking at her. She took a step towards her but the girl didn't move or show any fear. "Who are you?"

                   "I am just a visitor,"she replied in a low voice.

                     "My mom doesn't like people touching her laptop."

                    "Your mom? Is Kelley your mom?" she asked curiously but the girl didn't look anything like her. Those eyes though looked so much familiar. She just didn't have any recollection of where she knew them from.

                    "No, Kelley is my auntie."

                     "Who is your mom?" she asked but the girl went quiet as if that was something she had been sworn to secrecy about or maybe something she didn't want to talk about. "Do you know the password for the laptop?" she tried. "I just want to talk to my son. He is seven years old and he doesn't know where I am. He is probably scared." The girl didn't respond. "How old are you?"

                     "Ten."

                      "You get scared when your mom isn't around,right?" She shook her head sadly. Carly frowned not understanding why she had shaken her head. "You don't get scared?"

                      "I like it when my mom is not around. She says I am a big girl but she scares me. She also doesn't allow me to touch her laptop. I don't know the password. My auntie allows me to play games on her phone. I like her more."

                     "What's your mom's name?" she tried again but before the girl could answer her, Kelley entered into the room. She gave a look between them then headed forward.

                   "Ravenna,I told you not to get out of your bedroom! What are you doing here?" She gave her a warning look then whisked the girl away through another door she hadn't realized was there. 

                  "Sorry aunt K. I just wanted something to eat,I am hungry." She heard the girl say but didn't hear the rest of the conversation because Kelley banged the door closed in her face. She sighed. That had gone downhill really fast. She wasn't sure she would ever see the girl again. There was something going on, something big and she knew the girl probably knew something and that's why she had been taken away from her that first. Kelley was back within seconds. She expected her to hit her or tie her up again but she didn't. She didn't even mention what had just happened. In fact she appeared so calm about it.

                  "Hungry?" she asked her.

                   "The woman who was standing outside, who was she?" she asked but didn't expect to be given an answer. "Are you like her dog or servant who she keeps ordering around? Because well if that's so,then I'm really disappointed. You didn't seem like the person to take commands from people to me."

  Kelley grinned,"That's your type? Dominant people, people with power?"

                     "Uh-huh, that's a major turn on,"she lied to see her reaction.

Kelley looked at her intensely for a few seconds. She looked back at her from her position. She smiled,"Nice try Carly." She looked away and took some things from a fridge then headed to another room that was probably the kitchen. "I'm gonna go cook. Be back in a few." She winked then left. Carly sighed and walked back a the couch.

                        ★★★

    Dylan was going crazy on the other end in her apartment. She went to her bedroom and started turning everything upside down. The words,‘where it all began’ ran through her thoughts continuously. She had no idea what that meant. She had first met Kelley in prison, that's where she knew her first. She didn't possibly mean that because it yes,how was she supposed to go back there,and with Carl and Emily? Another question rose from that. What did the two have to do with all this? 

                "What are you looking for?" Kenny asked as he stood in the doorway. She turned to him.

                "I have to know where that call came from. I have to track it down."

                  "Dylan, that will probably not work. Who knows if the people who have her destroyed the phone after calling you?"

  She stood up and walked up to him,"You don't understand Kenny. That woman is an animal. I know all about her and she wouldn't hesitate to kill her. I have to try something, anything. She can't die. That woman is capable of doing anything. What if she-" she closed her eyes not wanting to utter the words. They were too painful to even think of. "I have to save her. For me,for her son,for her family."

                   "I know,"Kenny said with understanding. "I will help you. What were you looking for?"

She wiped away the tears from her face and tried to focus,"There's another phone I use for that. I remember putting it in one of the drawers but I can't find it." Kenny moved forward and looked in the same drawers again and produced it.

                 "Here," he said handing it to her. "I will do it. I promise you we are going to bring her back home. For now try to focus and work with me, okay?"

   She nodded then followed him out of the room and joined the others. Their hopes were however crushed immediately. Just as he had said, they couldn't locate it. 

                   "What now?" she asked rhetorically. None of them had any ideas. The only thing that was left at that moment was to follow what Kelley had said,try to figure out the puzzle and be ready for anything.

                   "Maybe all this isn't something to do with Kelley,"Emily said. They all turned to her. "Maybe this is about us. Think about it,why are we involved?I mean Carl and I. I received the note saying that payback is a bitch and we all think it came from the same person who sent the others to you. Kelley wouldn't tell me that, I don't know her and she doesn't know me."

                     "You are right. Where it all began is right where we met. Back in highschool."