AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 12
Much to Isabella’s disappointment, the kiss she had longed for would have to wait. She noticed a familiar police car the moment they turned around the corner. Liam saw it too.
“Did they finally catch him?” Unable to keep still, her hands were twitching nervously.
“God, I hope so. Although I would hate to see you move out again,” Liam said, without a smile. Isabella got out of the car but didn’t see Jerry anywhere. Liam was right behind her, opening the front door to the apartment complex’s entrance hall to find Jerry leaning against the wall next to Liam’s apartment door. He was about to light a cigarette, even though it was a no smoking zone, but decided to tuck it away when he saw them coming.
“Isabella!” He acted as if he was deeply surprised to see her here. “How kind of you to fit me into your busy schedule,” Jerry stated sarcastically. Isabella rushed over to him in embarrassment.
“Jerry, I am so terribly sorry, did you wait long?” Liam opened the door and before he could even get in, Jerry took the freedom to do so first.
“After you, Jerry,” Liam stretched his arm out in a welcoming but sarcastic gesture. Jerry walked over to the table and leaned against it, crossing his arms to his chest.
“Why would you be sorry? It’s only been like the fourth time this day alone that I've stopped by wondering where the hell you were without letting me know what’s going on. Luckily it’s not like I would have better things to do…”
A flush creeped across her cheeks as her lips turned into a grimace. He had every right to be upset. She should have at least notified him of her whereabouts.
“I am incredibly, sorry. I really am. I should have telephoned you. Today was just…” Her gaze momentarily shifted to Liam. “I was incredibly busy.”
“I can see that,” he said, studying her outfit.
“Were you able find out more about this Ghost guy?” Liam joined the conversation.
“No. To be honest, at this point I’m more than puzzled.” Jerry scratched his head. He stopped and wrinkled his forehead. “However, I did receive a very interesting call from a man who lives on 5thStreet. Said a British woman and a tall man asked to view his doorbell footage? You wouldn’t happen to know something about that, would you?” Jerry exchanged a darting gaze with both of them.This was not good, Isabella thought to herself, lowering her head and biting her lip. Liam stood next to her, placing a supporting hand on her shoulder.
“Do we need a lawyer?” he asked in a calm but unwelcoming voice. Jerry threw his hands in the air, before pulling out a chair to sit down.
“Oh Jesus! Do you think I'd come here by myself waiting for an hour if you needed a lawyer?” Liam seemed to think about it for a second, but then finally nodded. Isabella could feel her body relax, forcing out a deep breath.
“So, we are not in trouble?” Her gaze was focused in anticipation.
“If I thought that either of you were capable of murder or kidnapping, I wouldn't be sitting here in this weird, empty looking apartment talking to the two of you.” Jerry could be a bit rough, but Isabella owed him a great deal. He was watching out for her, now more than ever. “However,” his tone changed into a low voice which neither Isabelle nor Liam liked. “I saw the footage of the video, and it's very serious. Especially since the red-haired woman had been reported missing since the day of the accident.”
“What?” they both shouted. Liam threw a hand to his head, nearly slapping it, while Isabella jerked back with her hands to her chest. They had been so busy, neither of them had really thought a great deal about what had happened to the woman in the footage. But then, neither of them really suspected that anything in fact did happen to the woman in the footage. Isabella’s best guess was that she had run off in fear after she saw Isabella appear out of nowhere in a period dress.
“We have nothing to do with her kidnapping, or murder, or running away, or whatever it is,” Liam spoke in a firm voice. His nostrils flared under glaring eyes. Isabella on the other hand wasn’t so sure about that any longer. Was it possible that she had something to do with this woman’s disappearance? Was she the very reason for a life vanishing into thin air? She felt a chill creeping through her chest, making her sick to her stomach. Everything had changed once again, swinging the pendulum from a ray of sunshine to unpredictably worse. Stumbling over to the table, she managed to sit down next to Jerry just in time before her legs collapsed under her. Both men noticed her severe distress, staring at her as if they were waiting for her to speak. Isabella shook her head in disbelief. “Who is she?” her voice trembled.
“Her name is Emma Washington. She was a PhD student here at UPenn. She disappeared the night of your accident. Her mother filed a missing person report pretty much the next day.” Isabella was in shock.
“This is all my fault.” Her head crumpled onto her hand, smothering her face. Liam rushed over to her, kneeling down to grab her hand.
“No it’s not. Don’t say that. There's more to the story, isn’t there Jerry?” He threw Jerry a piercing stare. Jerry pressed his lips together in a show of respect.
“I have to say, the military has trained you well in reading people...” Isabella frowned at Jerry, sending him a dazed look. Jerry tried to compose himself. “Honestly, none of this makes any sense. I shouldn’t even be telling you this. But then, I told you way too much already.”
“What is it?” Isabella asked, finally finding her voice.
“Well…” Jerry started scratching his head again. “You see, this case is really quite unusual. Emma Washington no longer counts as a missing person, and yet she has never been found.” Isabella and Liam wrinkled their foreheads in confusion.
“I’m not a cop, but that doesn’t make any sense,” Liam said, gently stroking Isabella’s hand with his thumb. Even under such terrible circumstances, his touch gave her a warm tingle in her stomach.
“And I'm a cop and it doesn’t make sense to me either. All I know is that, about a week after Emma’s mother filed a missing case report, she showed up with some crazy letter that was supposedly from Emma. It talked about starting over, and not to worry about her any longer.” Relief struck Isabella as if she had been hit by lightning. This woman, Emma, she was still alive!
“What's so unusual about that?” Isabella asked inquisitively with hope written all over her face. Jerry took a deep breath as if he needed strength for what he was about to say next.
“I'll tell you what’s so crazy about all of that. We had the letter tested and it came back as her handwriting…”Thank God!
“So, she's okay then? If the letter came from her, then the case was solved, right?” Liam asked, struggling to make sense of all of this.
