Jackie shook her friend.
“Sally! Your cell is ringing.”
“Sally, it’s dad, are you okay? I was waiting for you to call.”
“Hi dad, yes, I’m fine. I must have lost track of time, sorry. Dad this place is amazing, one surprise after another. We just arrived at the dining hall. You should see the food they have. This is a banquet, not dinner.”
Jason smiled to himself. He was happy for his daughter, and glad she was enjoying herself and also relieved she was alright.
“I’m happy for you. Now don’t go wandering off alone. Stay with Jackie at all times. Oh, and don’t forget this Sunday,” said Jason.
“Okay dad, don’t worry about me, I haven’t forgotten about mum.”
Jason and Sally made it a fact they went to visit Anne’s grave once a month.
Famished, they headed over to the buffet table. The last meal they ate was at breakfast time. Jackie helped herself to every kind of food she could fit on her plate. Sally was more careful. She chose the food she knew would agree with her, not wanting to make a scene by throwing up on herself. They looked for somewhere to sit, but the place was packed.
Sally said, “my god! Is it like this every night? Or were a lot of guests invited here today?”
Jackie thought she saw someone waving to them from one of the tables further down the hall.
She said, “look Sally, that guy is waving to us. I think there are a few empty seats at his table!”
Sally recognized who the guy was.
“That’s the guy who knocked on our door! Jackie, pretend we didn’t see him,” she said, looking the other way.
Jackie frowned. “Are you kidding? My arms are aching, and this plate is getting heavy.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have filled it so much then!”
“There isn’t anywhere else to sit. I’m going to sit down. You coming or not?”
Sally gave up, and followed her friend. They reached the table where Travis was preparing their seats. Sally straddled behind Jackie, not wanting Travis to see her blushing.
“Hi girls! Hope you don’t mind me waving out to you. I have two empty seats here, and I noticed you were looking for somewhere to sit.”
Jackie was the first to sit down. She sat opposite Travis, making sure Sally sat next to him. Sally knew what her friend was up to and gave her a scolding look.
“So what do you think of the school?” Asked Travis.
“This place is fabulous, there is so much to see, and the food is yummy,” said Jackie as she took a bite out of a huge roasted potato.
“Oh! By the way, we haven’t been properly introduced, since my friend here didn’t give us a chance.”
Sally could kill her right now.
Travis turned to Sally. “Hi, my name is Travis Malone, and you are…?”
He held out his hand for Sally to shake.
“Sally Mallock, and my ex-friend here is Jackie Parker,” she said.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The door burst open to Kate’s lab. Jason and Danny entered, anxious to see what she found out. Kate was busy searching on her computer, going through old newspaper clips. She called to Jason and Danny, beckoning them to see what she discovered.
“The writing is in an ancient Indian text. I have no idea how Sarah managed to read or write this language!” She said.
Danny interrupted.
“What does it mean then?”
“It seems to be a confession of some sort,” she answered.
Kate slowly reads out the few lines.
“He has taken their souls and will keep on doing so. He gets stronger from each one and must be stopped”.
She put down the diary.
“It seems this has been going on for some time,” said Kate.
“Okay.. okay, but why write in an ancient text?” Said Jason.
Kate answered, “to hide her confession from anyone reading her diary.”
“Well, whatever it means, she must have felt safer writing it down, hoping one day someone would understand it,” replied Jason.
“Is there anything else written in there?” Asked Danny.
“I found nothing significant, just her daily routine which seems normal to me,” answered Kate.
Jason reached for the diary. “I will go through it again. Maybe we missed something. Shall we call it a day? I’m beat and still have my report to write.”
The agents thanked Kate and left.
Dinner was almost over, and most of the students had left the hall. Travis and the two girls continued chatting.
“So how about I take both of you on a private tour around this magnificent place before we call it a night?” Offered Travis.
Sally and Jackie looked at each other and said, “thanks that would be great. Is it okay though to be prowling around this time of night? We don’t want you to get in any trouble with the Dean.”
Travis said, “the Deans a great guy, and it won’t be the first time.”
They all got up from the table.
“I need to use the restroom before we go,” said Sally.
“It’s the first door on the left. I’ll wait here for you,” he said.
They headed for the toilets, and when they were out of earshot.
Sally said, “you think it’s alright for us to be wandering off with this guy? We just met him.”
Jackie replied, “We’re at a school, and there are students everywhere. He seems to be a nice guy, and my god, he’s so gorgeous,” she said, giving Sally a nudge.
“Okay, but we stay together. Don’t you dare leave me alone with him,” said Sally.
They went back to the table where Travis was waiting.
He stood up, saying, “let the tour begin!”
Jason decided to give Kate a call at the lab after he finished his paperwork, to see if she was still working.
“Hi! It’s me, Jason. You’re working late tonight! Is everything alright?”
Kate looked at the time.
“I didn’t notice it was so late, and besides, I have no plans for the evening.”
Jason took a chance and said, “hey, how about we go out for a drink? I’m sure we both need one.”
Kate smiled at the thought.
“That sounds great. Where do have in mind?” She asked.
“Do you know the restaurant Blue Waters? They have a bar overlooking the beach.”
“Yes, I know the place. Meet you there in say, half an hour.”
Kate locked up the lab and hurried down to her car. She felt I bit nervous meeting Jason. The last time she met someone for a drink was over a year ago.
The bar had a few customers, mostly regular couples. Jason arrived first. He ordered a scotch while waiting for Kate to arrive. The bartender served Jason his drink, recognizing him from his past visits.
“Hi Jason! How are you doing? Been a while since I’ve seen you here.”
Jason shook his hand.
“Been busy with work. This case is getting us all worked up, thought a drink would clear my mind,” said Jason.
Just then, Kate walked in. Jason stood up offering her a stool next to his.
“A drink for the lovely lady?” Said the bartender.
“A rum and coke would do fine, thanks.”
“Nice place. I love the ocean view,” said Kate.
Jason said, “it’s hard to believe that girl was found dead in such a lovely place.”
Kate could see the concern in his eyes.
She asked him, “you have a daughter about the same age, Sally, is it?”
Jason faced Kate.
“Yes Sally. She’s all I got. When her mother left home, I became over protective towards her. I would blame myself if any harm came to her.”
Kate laid her hand on his knee.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure we will find out what’s going on.”