The next day


    Trevor went to the living room to see Misty having her morning coffee. "Yo, selfish bitch."


    She drank her coffee slowly and finished it while Trevor was standing there in that awkward silence. "Yo, sceptical asshole," she smiled at him brightly.


    "Rude."


    "You were the one who started it."


    "I was just stating facts, you refused to help me after all."


    "So do I. Also, just because I said I can''t do it, doesn''t mean I mean it. It''s just that I have other things to worry about right now."


    "The kidnapper?"


    "N... I mean yes."


    "Don''t sweat it, take it easy. We don''t have people to protect right now, so we can do it at a much slower pace."


    "Hmm." The room went quiet for a few seconds.


    "Hey Misty, want to go on a stroll?"


    "That''s weird of you to ask."


    "Don''t misunderstand, I just want to take a walk with my friend."


    "You are being weirdly nice to me all of a sudden."


    "Does that mean you don''t want to come?"


    "No, I am coming."


    They got out of the house and started walking along the footpath. "By the way, you don''t have to think about any ideas for me anymore."


    "Why not?"


    "It''s because of what you said last night, I want to make a plan myself. Well, I mean you should still think of some way but no need to rush. What if I couldn''t think of anything? What if my second plan failed too? Give your current goal of catching their leader the priority. Oh, speaking of the leader, how''s your plan going?"


    "Things aren''t really going my way, but it will be okay."


    He smiled. "Yeah, you will be fine, Watson."


    She smiled back. "You will succeed too and why are you calling me by your name, is this the opposite day or something?"


    "Watson? If anything I will be Sherlock and you will be Watson."


    "I don''t think Sherlock will go waltzing towards Watson for help and then later complain about it."


    He chuckled. "Remember that day I told you that I have my own reason to investigate with you. I know it''s childish but it''s because of my deep love for detective books."


    Trevor''s phone started ringing, he took the call and walked a bit forward to talk. Misty stopped walking and stared at him. ''I''m glad that you still have a childish dream after everything that''s happened,'' she thought.


    He hung up the call and came back to her. "Misty, we have to go back. It was Evelyn, she said that they are going to look into something. Let''s hurry back, I want to spy on them."


    "You go back alone, I am going to the lake to cool off my mind."


    "Okay then, bye."


    Trevor came back home and got ready, he went back outside and saw Evelyn and Tony waiting for him there. "So, what''s the plan today?" said Trevor.


    "We are going to spy on Mr.Scott today," said Evelyn.


    "Why?"


    "Maybe the second kidnapper will show up to his house? What if they are working together?"


    "Look Evelyn, this second kidnapper isn''t that much of a big deal. Also, if you are saying that this second kidnapper is working with them, won''t that mean that this person is harmless and is trying to bait the kidnapper into showing themself?" said Trevor.


    "That''s right, I have thought about it too, but what if these two, including Mr.scott, are really dangerous and will do anything to catch the culprit?" she said.


    "Hmm, seems like a problem for the real kidnapper."


    ''That''s right too, this person is most likely harmless to others but what if they are dangerous for the boss? But I can''t tell them that it''s my reason here,'' she thought. "No! He could be a danger to anyone. Some people get too determined for their goals sometimes," said Evelyn.


    "I think the discussion is done here, let''s get in the car," said Tony.


    After reaching his house, they parked the car somewhere far away from the house so that he wouldn''t notice it. Mr.Scott was staring at his newly renovated house, staying still, mesmerised by its beauty, after a while he went inside. "He''s going inside, we won''t be able to see him from here," said Tony.


    "Our primary goal is to check if he goes somewhere sketchy or if someone sketchy is visiting him. As long as We can still see the entrances/exits of his house, it will be fine," said Evelyn. After a couple of hours he left his house. "Guys I am going after him. It''s suspicious to go in groups so you guys stay here and check if somebody''s visiting his house," Evelyn got out of the car and followed him.


    Scott came back after half an hour so did Evelyn. "Got any leads?" said Tony.


    "No, he... just went to get the groceries. What about you?"


    "Nobody came here."


    "You are just wasting our time, you know?" said Trevor. Evelyn ignored his words and got inside the car.


    At the house


    Meera was sitting on the bed thinking about something. Vishnu came to the room with a bowl in his hands. "What are you reflecting about?"


    Meera snapped out of it. "Oh, nothing."


    Vishnu sat on the chair beside her bed. "Here is your food."


    Meera looked at Vishnu for a good second. "Why are you doing this?"


    "Hm? You mean serving you food? Since you are not well you can''t take it yourself so I thought to help you."If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "It''s not like I can''t move at all. Others understand this, but you are helping me on your own."


    Vishnu was quiet for a few seconds. "There are two reasons, but before that I want to ask you a question. Have you forgotten about me?" She was shocked to hear this question.


    She gave him a light smile. "Of course I haven''t, you are my favourite patient of all time."


    "So you do remember me, then why are you ignoring me?"


    "I thought you were going to give me your reasoning for helping me, and I haven''t heard it yet."


    Vishnu sighed. "Yeah right, one reason is because I want to repay you for helping me get rid of my depression. Two is.... well..... I have noticed that you aren''t eating well. You would skip breakfast, lunch,dinner, everything, you''d only eat enough to live, but not enough to live healthy."


    "You know, it''s my job to help people with mental illness, you don''t have to pay me back."


    "Tell me what''s up? Why aren''t you eating well?"


    She took a deep breath in. "I still trust you the same as I did before, so I want to tell you a secret. Promise me you will forever keep it a secret."


    "What is it?"


    "It''s about Annie."


    "Annie? What is it about her?" he went into deep thoughts. "Don''t tell me that she really did push you back then."


    "That''s not..."


    "You promised me, so keep it a secret, okay?"


    "I never promised you, I just asked you, but I will try to keep it a secret for a while..." he gave her a smile, "for your sake."


    Meera was flustered hearing this but she shook it off. "Vishnu, it was fun hearing you speak all those years ago." She pulled her face closer to him. "Speak to me."


    Vishnu''s face turned red. "Th..That''s what I was doing all this time, what do you want me to talk about right now?"


    She got all cheerful all of a sudden. "Like how your life has changed, your current goals, etc."


    He frowned. "Up until this point it wasn''t so good, but recently things started to get better. I''m at the top career wise, horrible things are finally starting to disappear from my life and now I even got new friends. About my goal..." he looked up towards the ceiling, "As I said, things are starting to get better for me, but all these years I never felt complete peace or true happiness. I just want to live a peaceful life, I . . . just want to be happy."


    "That''s sad," said Catherine.


    "Where did you come from?! Also it''s not sad, things are getting better so I''m sure once this kidnapper stuff is over I can find peace and happiness," said Vishnu.


    "You are so weird Cathy, how do you keep on appearing out of nowhere," said Meera.


    "I was here for a while, and I wasn''t even trying to hide myself. It''s just that you didn''t notice me because you were busy flirting."


    "Shut up. Anyways, why are you here?" said Meera.


    "I just wanted to check up on my sick friend."


    "I have a feeling that you have ulterior motives," Meera squinted her eyes, "tell me what''s up, Cathy."


    "You are cheeky. You told me that you are a psychologist. I don''t know why you are hiding this from everyone but that''s not the matter here. Tell me..." her carefree face turned dead serious now, "was Annie one of your old patients?"


    "Yes."


    "Okay," Catherine walked towards the door.


    "Hey wait, don''t you want to know why she was my patient?"


    Catherine stopped and looked back. "No, I just wanted to know this."


    "Still, since you know this much I am going to say it. She was suffering from anxiety disorder." Catherine left without saying anything.


    Cheng was sitting outside and admiring nature, then he saw Satoshi coming outside and unlocking his car. He called out to him. "Big bro, I will join you with your investigations today."


    "Hm?"


    "You seemed to be uninterested in this back when it all started, but lately you have been going out alone a lot. You are investigating alone as well, I want to see what you are up to."


    "Who told you I was investigating? I was just going out for some fresh air."


    "All these days?"


    "All these days."


    Catherine saw these two talking with each other and approached them. Cheng held his chin by his hands, "suspicious."


    "What''s suspicious?" said Catherine. Cheng explained the situation to her. Catherine looked at Satoshi, Satoshi moved his eyes away from her when their eyes met, she looked away after a while as well.


    "I don''t know what''s going on but anyway since you are saying you are going out for some fresh air, I will join too," said Cheng.


    "No, you can''t. I want some time alone."


    "You are enjoying your leisure time while everyone else is working their ass off for a thing that concerns you too."


    "Shut up! Some people have their own problems to deal with and they don''t even have anyone they could rely on. They are forced to fix all that by themselves!"


    Cheng was surprised and felt bad. "What''s up Satoshi? Whatever your problem is, you ca-"


    Catherine cut him off. "Don''t Cheng, just leave him alone for a while." Satoshi got in the car and left.


    "That''s so unlike you, Catherine," they heard a voice from behind. They looked back to see Misty leaning on a tree beside her.


    "You were listening in? How long were you here?" said Cheng.


    "Probably like one or two minutes. Anyways, what happened Catherine?" She slowly pulled herself away from the tree and stood straight. "Normally you''d be the one who will bug others, suspect people like him, or be there for your friends when they need you. That didn''t happen here, for some reason." ''Why am I acting like she and I have been friends for ages?''


    Catherine smiled and looked straight into Misty''s eyes. "It''s because I understood that''s what he needs right now, dear. I also think that there''s somebody else who needs that right now."


    "I see," Misty turned around and went inside the house.


    Mary, Alex and Akbar are cooking in the kitchen. "Catherine has been acting weird lately," said Akbar.


    "Hm? Why do you think that?" said Mary.


    "She randomly does and asks whatever shit that comes to her mind. It''s kind of annoying."


    "Really? I didn''t know."


    "That''s because you are dumb."


    "You are forgetting what this thing I am using to chop these onions is."


    "I have been thinking about it. Do you think this kidnapper is on their move to do something? Is he behind his new victims?" said Alex.


    "Maybe, who knows?" said Mary. The kitchen went quiet for a while.


    "I don''t think so, right now they are vulnerable and are most likely afraid to do unnecessary actions," said Akbar.


    "But I think they are onto something. Just you wait, we will surely get news like that soon," said Alex.


    "Hmm, I wonder," said Akbar.


    "How are things going for you, Akbar? I thought you were investigating stuff by staying indoors."


    "W..well, I am trying my best, you know."


    "Right. Don''t you think Misty has been acting suspicious lately. What do you think? What if she is related to some crimes?" said Alex.


    "Some?"


    "I mean she could be hiding things from us, you know, especially since she has a police Uncle."


    "Now that you are putting it this way. I am also starting to suspect her," said Akbar.


    "You guys are suspecting her for no reason. Seems like something''s bugging her," said Mary.


    Catherine ran from across the kitchen and took Mary''s hands. "Are you... are you alright, Mary? You are saying a logical thing for once!"


    "Where''d the knife go now?" Mary released her hands from Catherine''s, "but really, it''s true that I am the dumbest in our group. However, I can definitely feel it when something''s wrong with somebody I care about."


    Catherine smiled. "Of course Mary, I know you are that kind of a person. I was just messing around."


    Mary noticed that Catherine was wearing gym clothes. "There isn''t any equipment here."


    "Oh that''s fine, I am going for a jog. I am starting to get rusty, so it''s important."


    Ralph and Vincent were sitting in a small food vendor. "Hey Vincent, I have been wanting to ask you this for a while. Why... did you scam people back then?"


    "That''s a dumb question. I obviously did it for money, nothing more, nothing less."


    "You seemed pretty dumb at first glance, but you are a pro scammer. Are you perhaps the kidnapper and are manipulating me into believing that you are actually my foe."


    Vincent scoffed. "You think I will actually tell you the truth if I am in fact the kidnapper?"


    "Vincent, Do you regret doing that all those years ago?"


    "No, not at all. Not one bit."


    ''This guy is... hard to predict,'' Ralph thought.


    "But don''t worry, I won''t betray you. You are quite interesting and I love working with interesting guys like you."


    "That''s what I thought, but..." said Ralph. ''Ever since that case file came...'' Ralph thought.


    "Not only that, we have been investigating together for quite a while now to such an extent that I could call you my partner in crime? I can''t betray my partner after all," said Vincent.


    Evening


    Satoshi came back home now, he was about to enter the house when Misty confronted him. “What''s up, Satoshi, you are hiding a lot of things from us these days,” she stiffened her eyes.


    “Whatever that means,” he said.


    She smiled softly. “You can talk to us if something''s bothering you, you know.”


    “Of Course I can,” he reciprocated with a slight smile, which faded before it even appeared, “but you know, I can''t tell you what''s bugging me right now. If things don''t end up like how I want it to be, the first person who I will inform will be you.”


    “Promise?”


    “Yeah, promise.”


    “By the way,” she grinned at him,” just because I am talking to you this way, don''t think you are on clear. I still suspect everyone and that includes you.”


    “Oh I see, you are trying to find someone to frame and since I am acting suspicious I am easy to frame,” he grinned back.


    “Right, we will find out in a few days.”


    “I don''t think you can find the culprit that fast, you are as slow as a sloth,” said Satoshi.


    Misty gave him an angry frown, “we will find out real quick!” She ran back inside. “I am to blame for showing concern for you.”


    Satoshi stood there and smiled to himself. “Guess things will get better.”