Chapter Five
|Beautiful|

"You are not beautiful. Look at you. You are nothing compared to her! Get out of my sight," the boy said while facing the woman.

The woman's delicate fingers had curled into a fist. She looked at the girl he was pointing at.

There, in the far table of the shop, Elizabeth was sitting with her friend, Marina. They seemed to be chatting.

The woman's blood boiled in anger as she saw Elizabeth. He had his finger pointed to her.

She stood up from the chair and walked towards Elizabeth.

Both Elizabeth and Marina smiled as they saw her coming towards them. Before they could've said anything, the woman plunged a fork sitting on the table right into Elizabeth's throat.

The searing sensation of pain struck fear in Elizabeth's heart. Her breathing grew erratic as blood oozed from her throat. Marina shrieked loudly, horrified.

The woman laughed evilly as she saw Elizabeth dying in front of her eyes.

A gasp escaped Elizabeth's lips.

Her eyes opened slightly. Where was she?

As she finally opened her eyes, incidents of last night flashed by in her memory.

Her head was throbbing. She felt a burning sensation in her throat. She tried to speak, but no words came out.

She grabbed the doorknob and tried to stand up, but failed miserably. Her foot caught on something and with a loud thud, she fell on the floor.

A misty haze of white surrounded her vision. She was unable to see anything. She tried to stand once again, but there was no strength left within her body.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she struggled to hold on to the last of her conscience.

Detective Alex Ricosta ordered a cup of coffee.

A soft yawn escaped his lips. He was studying the case of Madeline Denver who was found dead in her room by her parents. She had been stabbed in the heart.

Detective Mary handed him the background files of Madeline Denver.

He opened the file, looking through the list of persons associated to Miss Denver. It was then that a certain name caught his attention.

Elizabeth Scottson.

The girl whom he had met on the bus. The same mysterious yet so appealing girl whom he had mistaken for a trouble maker.

He had pulled her background files too, to find any helpful information about her, but there was nothing else. She was just another one of those ordinary highschool girls.

As he looked at her name in Miss Denver's file, his brow creased with surprise. He knew that Elizabeth was not normal, he had felt it when he was talking to her on the bus.

She knew many things. Detective Alex wondered for a moment if Elizabeth was behind all this.

He shrugged the thought away. The killer was a man and he knew that. Yet, he was unable to shake off her image. Her words were playing over and over in his mind.

Something about this case was missing and Elizabeth was his only hope at finding it out. He rushed out of the office before his coffee even arrived.

He opened the door to his car and drove off to Elizabeth's house. He needed answers and only she could provide them.

A large Victorian house greeted his eyes as he pulled up at her address. He turned off his car and got out.

He climbed the steps to the porch and rang the bell. A subtle chime filled the air. After a few seconds, the door was opened. A middle-aged woman stood at the entrance.

She was wearing an apron around her waist, but she didn't fail to look beautiful even in those simple clothes she was wearing.

Detective Alex didn't fail to notice the striking similarity between her and Elizabeth. They were both alike with their beautiful features and petite frames.

"Who are you?" she asked him gently.

"I'm Detective Alex Ricosta. I've come to see Miss Scottson. Is she home?" he asked her.

At the mention of Elizabeth's name, her mother's eyes suddenly grew dark.

"That I'm not aware of, but I'll check. Come inside please."

She made Detective Ricosta sit on the couch while she went to Elizabeth's room to check on her.

Alex thought about how uncaring her mother was. She didn't know where her daughter was at all.

She returned from her room and offered him a glass of water.

"I'm sorry, but Elizabeth isn't home," said the lady.

Knowing well that Elizabeth's mother was of no use to him, he decided to leave. He picked up his keys from the coffee table.

When he reached the door, he heard a strange noise coming from somewhere. He stopped midway in turning the doorknob. He looked around.

The noise was faint as if someone was trying to knock on the door but didn't have the strength to do so. His eyes roamed around, locking on the source of the sound. He walked past the woman in front of him. It felt like there was no time for etiquette anymore.

A very confused Mrs.Scottson looked at Detective Alex, not appealed by his sudden reaction. She followed his gait regardless.

As he stepped in front of Mr. Scottson's room, her hand involuntarily reached for his. She pulled his hand away, stopping him from opening the door.

Detective Alex yanked his hand away from her, turning the doorknob quickly before Mrs. Scottson could retort.

The door made a creaking noise as he opened it. Detective Alex chose to enter the room despite Mrs. Scottson's protests.

The detective gasped in shock.

He ran over to Elizabeth, placing his hands under her head. She was lying on the floor, barely conscious. He picked her up in his arms and put her on the bed.

When Mrs. Scottson saw Detective Alex carrying Elizabeth, she ran to her side.

"Water," Elizabeth murmured. Her voice was so dry that for a moment, no one understood what she was trying to say.

Listening to her hoarse voice, Detective Alex ran to the kitchen to fetch water.

He made Elizabeth drink the water. All the while, he noticed the raged expression on Mrs. Scottson's face.

He knew she was angry. What he didn't understand was what was making her so angry all of a sudden.

Elizabeth noticed her too and caught her breath. She gripped Detective Alex's arm tightly.

Detective Alex was beyond convinced that something was wrong with Elizabeth and her mother.

After Elizabeth was recovered from her state, he asked her about what happened. It was a hard task but he managed to send Mrs. Scottson out of the room.

Once they were alone, Elizabeth started describing what had happened in a frenzy. She told him everything. From how she had gone to his dad's study to how someone locked her from the outside.

After getting all the necessary information, Detective Alex Ricosta bid her farewell.

As he walked back to his car, he couldn't help but think that somehow Mrs. Scottson was behind all of it. It was all so possible that it didn't fail to get noticed.

A man was leaning against the hood of his car, eyeing the Victorian house carefully.

He had seen the Detective leave. Now that he was sure they were alone, he had got out of his car.

As he looked at the house, a sudden urge went through his body. He couldn't wait. It was time to make an appearance, whether someone liked it or not.

He left his car and walked the steps of the house. It was all his after all. She was his.

Alex hadn't mentioned anything about Madeline since there was so much going on in the Scottson household already. He couldn't bear to add to Elizabeth's misfortune. He wondered what kind of life the girl led, abandoned by her father, scorned by her mother.

A sudden ring brought him back to reality. It was his phone.

He checked the caller Id. It was Detective Parker. He wondered why she was calling him.

He picked up the phone, realizing that it must have been urgent.

"I need you at the Avalon apartments, Mayfair, second street. We've found a dead body inside room 21," said Mary.

"Details Detective."

"The name's Jessica Miles. Skin decayed. Smells awful. Looks like the crime took place three days ago. Her neighbors were on a trip and when they came back, they smelled something foul coming from her room. So they decided to check. When they found the girl's dead body, they immediately contacted the police."

"I'll be there within the hour," said detective Ricosta as he got in his car, driving full-throttle towards Avalon apartments.

1448 words

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Question Time

Q.1 Who do you think is the man in the car?

Q.2 Who locked Elizabeth?

Q.3 What will happen now?