CHAPTER FIVE

Nannie's ghost

-------------------------------------------Chapter Five--------------------------------------------------------

Emma gasped as she kept the receiver and returned to the table speechless. Robert observed her expression and stopped his mouth from asking her who was on the line.

“I have to go home...” excused Emma without finishing her dinner and got up to leave.
“So soon…I thought you were going to stay over”

“Sorry…I just remembered I had something important to do,” she fretted trying to keep her cool and left within minutes.

“What got into her?” asked David curiously.

Robert shook his head lightly while deeming up something in his mind and suddenly punched David in the stomach from under.

He yelped out and Robert quickly blurted, “Not that cramp again is it?” as David held onto his abdomen as Mr. and Mrs. Quinn watched them in surprise.

“Come on David I’ll take you home,” Robert insisted and got up to leave at once creating such a rush that his parents didn’t have time to think on what was going on.

“What cramp?” bellowed David the minute they stepped outside and Robert hushed him up as his mother came outside to check.

“I’ll be right back,” he called back as they kept walking.

“What was all that?” asked David again letting go Robert’s hand

Robert calmed him down and apologized for giving him a surprise attack for he did all that just to get out of the house.

“We have to go to Emma’s place right now…..something’s up with her,”

“What do you mean?”

“Can we just walk…I’ll tell when we get there,”

Emma’s father answered the door and told the boys that she was asleep but Robert didn’t believe his words for he knew Emma never slept past ten.

They turned around to leave but sneaked to the back after Emma’s father shut the door.

“You’re insane,” suggested David who was starting feel fatigue, “you heard the man, she’s asleep.”

“All you have to say is no, if you don’t want to help me.”

David gave into his words and decided to help him after all. Robert threw stones onto the window above but Emma didn’t answer so he made David climb up and knock onto the window but unfortunately her father happened to open it and David fell down in to some bushes and Robert quickly hid.

“Who’s there?” he called out angrily and slammed the window shut.

Five minutes later Robert whispered to David to see if he is alright.

“Are you happy now?” David yelled back at him as he got out of the bushes with bruises all over his hands.

Robert looked at him ashamed and then offered to walk him home but David refused to and left the very minute as Robert watched on.

He waited for awhile roaming the darkened streets wondering who could have spoken to Emma and where Rachel could have been. It was closing to midnight and he knew very well that his parents get worried sick even if he gets a minute late, being the only child has its ups and downs as well.  He phoned his parents to inform them that he won’t be home for the night and headed straight to David’s house.

The house was all lightened up. He called out for David but he didn’t answer back. He looked over at Rachel’s house but there seemed to be no one. He knocked on the door again and found out that it was unlocked so he crept in.

A kettle was steaming out in the kitchen and the table was set for two, above he heard shower turned on and the TV was blaring in the living room.

“David,” Robert called again and went upstairs.

David was in the washroom when Robert walked into his room. Clothes were tossed all over the place with pieces of paper littered on the floor.

Robert crept into a cupboard quickly when the shower went off. David stepped outside in a towel, his white skin was jaded with burnt marks and fresh wounds from tonight’s incident.

Robert stood breathlessly as he observed David take a seat on his bed and applying a cream onto his burnt marks and then he was more stunned and his mouth dropped opened when someone knocked at the door and walked in with a glass and gently stroked his hair.

“Emma…” whispered Robert to himself

Robert observed their behavior in bewilderment and soon enough morning fell. He managed to escape before dawn and headed straight home and locked himself in his room.

The doorbell rang twice after Robert’s parents left the house in the morning but he didn’t open the door when he saw Emma and David from his window. They waited for thirty minutes or so before leaving for school.

Robert purposely skipped the first three lessons’ of the day so he could meet up Emma and David in Miss Claire’s class but things didn’t work out the way he had planned.

He was caught up principle Gordon and he took Robert into his office.

“Take a seat,” said Gordon and Robert sat down uninterestingly

Gordon cleared his voice and took a seat himself and put on his serious look.

“Mr. Quinn we have a serious situation….,” he started, “Rachel Ruthford has gone missing, and her sister came in this morning. Do you know anything or any place Rachel place could be…I mean….after all you are good friends with her…,”

Robert kept looking down as he played with his fingers.

“I’m not aware of anything,” he said finally and left the room without listening to Gordon who called him back as the conversation was not over.

He met Emma halfway up the stairs and stopped her. She came down at once and knowing what Robert was going to ask her she pulled him to a corner.

“Before you say anything take a look at this,” she said and handed him a newspaper.

“What this all about,” he asked her after taking a glance at the paper and she insisted him on reading it again and carefully this time.

“Some one had tried to kill Mr. Reynolds’s last night and according to their description I’m summoning it to be Rachel.”

“You’re not making any sense,”

“It was Rachel who phoned me last night...she was trying to tell me something and then all of sudden I heard her threatening some one and that person screamed…”

Robert shook his head in disbelief, “but where did you go last night….I knew something was up, so I came after you but your father said you were asleep?”

“I was about to go in search of Rachel but my father caught me roaming about and took me home,”

“Is that it? Were you at home the whole night?”

Emma paused, “I’m getting late…see you afterschool,” she mused in quickly and took off leaving Robert in more suspicion.

Robert quietly headed towards the library and pulled out the news article and continued to read it but was interrupted by Claire Dunstan.

“I suppose you are to be in class at this time,” said Claire Dunstan arousing Robert’s concentration towards her as she came towards him and sat down.

“What’s the matter?” she asked him but because he didn’t answer she grabbed the paper from him and took a look herself and got a fright.

“Bryan….,” She suddenly pronounced.

Robert got a surprise when he heard the name Bryan and asked her if it was Bryan Reynolds’s and she said yes.

“But that is Dan Reynolds’s…our previous Biology teacher,” Robert said

“That can’t be…this is Bryan,” said a startled Claire unable to believe what Robert was saying.

“Is he your….” Started Robert trying to get information out of Claire

“He is a friend whom I’ve known for so long…it was he who gave me this necklace to remember him,” she said with a tear in her eye.”

Claire gave out a deep sigh and tucked the paper into a book and ordered Robert to go to the class whilst she came back ten minutes later.

Emma kept starring at Robert when he walked in to the class and he sat next to her.

“I know your secret,” he whispered into Emma’s ear

“What secret?” she asked him suddenly and he gave her cunning smile.

Emma took in a deep breath as felt a slight pressure rising within her and turned back into her books as Claire continued with her lesson whilst Robert kept starring at her making her uneasy.

Emma rushed out off the class the second the bell rang.

“Did Emma tell you?” asked David

“Tell me what?”

“About the call she got last night from Rachel….she needs our help”

“Where is she now?”

“Most probably under custody…not sure but am bound to find out tonight,”

“Well, I’m sorry won’t make it…I’m having a headache, think I’ll go home and have some rest,”

David shrugged in agreement and asked for the box and its items from Robert and he asked him to come to his place by evening to get it, though he really had it in his bag.

As afterschool came by Robert followed behind Claire all the way to the hospital.

 

 

      

Author's Note

Thanks to all those who read and review:-)

Reviews

[EMF]

Beyond a little punctuation, (but this form a guy who overpunctuates everything - so feel free to ignore) absolutley superb. You never fail to amaze and please.

[Leslie Philibert]

Good writing, and a good story.I would perhaps use a few more commas to slow down the text, but apart from that perfect ! Well done.

[Coyote Poetry]

A lot of questions and mystery open up in this chapter. I like the desire to know the truth and trying to understand the odd actions of others in this chapter. A excellent chapter.
Coyote