Lily T.
Cathy carefully opened the envelope, unsuspecting of what could be inside. She read the letter cautiously, wanting to understand what David had written:
Dear Mom,
I don’t know how I got into this mess but I’d really like to get out of it in a peaceful manner and I need your help. It started at the office two weeks ago, when I was about to leave for the day. I was searching for a broom because I had spilled some crackers. Stumbling on what I had been told was a closet, I turned the knob and opened the door. To my surprise, it was nothing near a closet! On the inside, it seemed like it was a locked, secret passageway of some sort. I had only looked for a minute, though, because the office door was ajar and a group of people came by and demanded to know what I was looking at. Not wanting to have trouble, I said I did not know and they eventually insisted that I contact them and tell them where the passageway led to so they could explore it soon. Hoping they were forgetful folks, I agreed, and they gave me their contact information. Little did I know, they were greedy teens in a gang who’ve turned out to be people who could kill me. As I was leaving, I spotted something shiny under the welcome mat. I picked it up and realized it was a key! Thinking it was something important, I put it in my pocket so it wouldn’t be lost. A few days later, I secretly tried the key, just for fun. Amazingly, it opened the locked passageway! Looking like it was filled with treasure or something of value, I started to explore it. I was astonished at my discovery! I didn’t have much time to explore though, because one of the members from the gang called and demanded to know if I had found out where the passageway led yet. Now knowing that they’re not forgetful people, I had to promise that I would give them the key to the secret passageway today at the Culver Library, in the basement. I did not realize then that they were up to no good and were trying to trap me into something. Ever since I promised to give them the key, I have seen articles in the newspaper about a group lurking around town causing trouble. Police have sent information about them in the articles and the people I met seem just like them. I have devised a plan, but I need you to do some things for it to work. Here’s what I’ll need you to do:
· Call the police.
· Go to the Culver Library immediately after you call the police.
In the meantime, I’ll do my part at the library. Between us, this place is called the treasure trove. Please do this as quickly as possible. I am as worried as I’ll ever be in my whole life. This letter is also evidence, in case anything happens to me. Please save it.
Love you lots,
David
“I can’t imagine what could happen,” she thought. She quickly picked up the phone and called the police, worried of what might come about. “Didn’t David once have a friend working with the police department?” she wondered.
---
“Where could David be?” thought Richard as he searched the room for any evidence that David might be near. He had looked absolutely everywhere but could not find David. “This is not like him at all; he has never been late for anything and why in the world would he miss dinner?” he wondered. “Maybe Mrs. Cathy will know,” he supposed as he picked up the phone. “Now, what is their number?” he questioned aloud as he peered over David’s workspace searching for the number. Suddenly, he spotted something on David’s desk. It looked as if it was a key of some sort. “Have I seen that at the agency before? If so, why would David have the key?” Richard pondered. He started to inspect it when his thoughts were interrupted when he found the phone number. “Aha! 738-8375.”
---
“Why aren’t Cathy and the police here yet?” David wondered as he shook with fear. Being cornered in a basement with untrustworthy people was frightening.
“So David, when did you find the key?” questioned Harry. Harry was the second in charge of the gang. Being as scary and scruffy looking as a grizzly bear, David thought Harry could qualify to be the head of the group.
“I found it as I was leaving my office one day,” David stammered. “When are you going to do your exploring of the treasure- I mean the passageway?” David grimaced as he said the code word “treasure.” Between him and his family the place was called the treasure trove. He knew that if the teens found out he had a plan, they would do anything to alter it and lead it in the wrong direction.
“Huh. Vhat is this treasure? Have you already investigated your discovery?” Bo questioned. Bo wasn’t as frightening as Harry; actually, he was quite amusing to David, but he hesitated laughing with this group of people. It seemed that Bo was from Croatia because of his humorous and high-pitched Croatian accent. “Don’t you remember that part of the promise was not to search any farther vhen you found out vhat the place was? Do you?” David remembered that part very well; as clear as day. He had hoped that the gang didn’t remember that specific part; but of course, they did.
“You probably have a plan, don’t you? Well, why don’t you tell us this… plan,” Harry sneered. “Nothing you can’t tell us, right guys?”
“Yeah. Why don’t you tell us?” chimed the rest of the group.
“Will they ever come?” David wondered as he squirmed awkwardly. He started to wonder if Cathy even got the letter and read it.
“Don’t be shy. Tell us your plan,” they persisted. Right now, David thought those were probably the scariest words ever heard ringing in his ear. Finally, Harry spoke up agitated because no answer came out of David.
“Well, if you don’t tell us your plan I’ll call up the leader and we’ll come up with our own plan. But you don’t have much time to think about what you’re going to say. You better hurry.”
---
“Steve, have you seen my black shoes?”
“No dear. What do they look like?” questioned Steve.
“They’re as glossy as a new window pane. You can’t miss them.”
“Found them!”
“Great! Alright let’s go. Wait, the phone is ringing. I’ve got it. Hello?
“Hello Mrs. Cathy. It’s Richard.”
“Oh, hi Richard, how are you doing?”
“Actually, not so well. I can’t find David. I was calling to see if you might know where he is.”
“Oh, well uh, I have a letter from him telling me”-
“When did you get it?” Richard interrupted.
“Just today actually. I just read it about thirty minutes ago. Why do you ask?”
“Earlier today, I was waiting for the longest time for him to get to our room so we could go to dinner together but he didn’t come. Finally, I just went by myself.”
“He didn’t? That’s so unlike him,” replied Cathy.
“That’s what I thought. So what do you think we should do?”
“Well, he said to meet me at the Culver Library in his letter. He has been told by a gang to go there and then he’ll give them the key to a passageway in his office. Steve and I were about to leave when you called. I’m terrified of what could occur.”
“Mrs. Cathy, this is really weird, but there is a key on his desk that is not our dorm key. I’ve never seen it before except at work once which is extremely strange, because I didn’t bring it home.”
“Why would he leave the key at his desk?”
“It could possibly be he hesitated to give them the real key unlocking the passageway so he brought the dorm key instead. Eventually though, he’ll have to give them a key of some sort. Although being equally dangerous, it would probably be more treacherous if he gave them the dorm key instead of the key they want.”
“You’re probably right. Bring that key just in case. Are you coming to the library too?”
“Yes. I am but I need to take care of some things first.”
“Okay. See you there. Be quick,” commanded Cathy as she slipped on her shoes and headed quickly out the door as fast as a bullet, not even noticing that Steve did not accompany her.
---
“Hello Boss. Look I’ve got a problem. My friend, David Setter, has been wrangled into giving a key unlocking something in his office to a gang that is up to no good around town.”
“Which gang?” inquired a deep voice from the other end of the phone. This was John, Richard’s friend and boss from work.
“You know, the most active gang recently.”
“Ah yes. Go on.”
“He agreed to meet them at the Culver Library to give them the key. His mom is meeting us there and has a letter from David saying what this is all about.
“Make sure she saves that letter. It will be an article of evidence.”
“I’ll tell them that. I’m assuming that we’ll discuss how he got into this problem later at the library. Call up the team and gather up all the supplies because we don’t know what’s ahead of us. Make sure not to forget anything because remember Murphy’s Law is always at its best. You know the saying: ‘It’s better to have and not need than need and not have.’ Call up all the officials too. We might need them. Whenever you get to the library, tell the librarian why you’re there so you won’t frighten her. Lastly, I’ll ride in my own car immediately after we hang up. I want to be at the scene right away.”
“Okay, so meet at Culver Library, victim’s name is David Setter, the enemy is the RedNife Gang, bring all tools, supplies, et cetera, call the whole team, all the officials and you’re riding alone. Correct?”
“Correct boss. Do this as quickly as you can. See you soon. Thanks.”
“No problem Richard.”
---
“Please, whoever you are, don’t hurt me,” Steve begged as he faced the wall of the house. “I, I need to leave so I can see my son. He, he’s in danger and”-
“Stop stammering,” snapped a voice from behind. “It gets on my nerves when people stutter like that. You’re probably wondering why I’m here and who I am. I’m here to tell you that your son’s life is about to end. My gang is at the Culver Library right now forcing him to give them a key he found. Whether he gives them the key or not, he will be in trouble. Soon, you will be changed for life,” the voice cackled.
“What is going to happen to me?”
“You are going to come with me to my hideout and I will give you something to drink. It won’t hurt you, it’ll just,” the voice hesitated, “change you a bit. It will also make you a member of our group. But if you don’t come with me now, you’ll regret it,” threatened the man. He reached for his gun in his back pocket in order to warn Steve that he wasn’t joking. “Are you going to come with me, or not?”
“Okay,” replied Steve, unsure of what was going to happen. “I don’t want to hurt my son but I don’t have a choice,” he thought, uncertainly.
“Great. Now come with me.” Steve walked unsteadily with the man to his car. “Man, this guy looks strangely familiar. I know this guy from somewhere,” he thought. He went through his mind trying to come up with how he knew the man. Finally, he waved the thought off. “Maybe not. I’m probably just thinking weird stuff.”
---
Bo was outside keeping watch, making sure people looking for David were caught and didn’t enter the library. David was being held, kept in the grasp of Joe and Randy to make sure he didn’t escape. “Why isn’t he answering his phone!” exclaimed Harry. “I’ve been trying to call him for twenty minutes now and he still hasn’t picked up!” Being very agitated, he hurled his phone at the wall. Due to his careless aim, it grazed Cody’s cheek and rocketed to the floor.
“Man, how many times do I have to tell you!” scowled Cody.
“I know, I know, ‘Mind the Cod-ster’ but if you’ve been on the phone for this long with no one picking up, like me, you’d get pretty annoyed too.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but still, watch it with throwing things.” Harry strolled over to see what damage had been done to his phone. Luckily, its case had prevented most damage; but the screen was seriously cracked.
“Shoot! This was a new phone! Now the screen is ruined!”
“The phone will still work,” sniffed Cody “you’ll just have a broken screen. At least it wasn’t severely damaged to the point where the phone won’t work.”
“Oh yeah, leave it up to Cody and everything to be alright. I thought these phones had screen protectors.”
“They do but they’re for crumbs and to keep the phones clean. They can’t handle careless tosses across rooms and crashes on concrete floors. I wouldn’t expect that in a hundred years!”
“Hey! You’re acting like it’s my fault,” snapped Harry angrily.
“Oh yeah, I was the one who threw the phone and got impatient. Sorry,” replied Cody sarcastically. “As I remember carefully, you were the one who got impatient, edgy and irritated and threw the phone. Not to mention, hitting my cheek in the process. Yep, that was not me, all you. So, it is your fault.”
“Are you wanting to start a fight?”
“No, not necessarily. I’m just telling the truth to someone who has a very short memory,” replied Cody very calmly. David was unsure of what was going to happen but he was grateful for the extra time to think about how he was going to pull his plan off. All he needed was Cathy and the police to be there and then everything would be fine. Or so he thought. He had a feeling that something would go wrong with his plan one way or another; this group seemed pretty professional and could lead the plan in the wrong direction easily. Harry’s face was getting as red as a gala apple. He was pretty insulted having been called a person with a short memory. It looked as if he was going to hit Cody right in the nose. For sure, he would do it if he wanted to; he wasn’t scared to let a person know what he thought about what they said or did, even if they were friends. Suddenly, something started to make a noise. A loud, alarming sound pierced the calmness of the night. It echoed through the town like a fire truck and was not clearly heard in the basement. Bo suddenly raced in and announced that the police had finally come.
“Quick!” commanded Harry, “get the backpack and retrieve the book!”
“What does a book have to do with anything?” David thought. As he pondered how a book could be important, the gang rushed around frantically gathering the things they needed to defend themselves. Unfortunately, Joe and Randy had not budged and still had a tight grasp on David.
“The time has come!” thought David. “Now everything will be alright because the police are here and my mom will be here soon too.” Trying to be as positive as possible, he secretly smiled to himself. He prayed to God silently and pleaded for help. “Dear Lord, please help everyone to be safe while this problem is sorted out. Help the police to figure out the truth and accomplish what they need to accomplish. Soothe mom’s emotions and help to calm her nerves. Let her know I will be okay and I am thinking of her. Please let everything that happens turn out alright and be good in your ways. Calm our hearts during this time. Amen.” He quickly glanced around the room to find that everyone had left the basement. Except Joe and Randy.
“Oh, thank goodness we’re here,” thought Cathy as she peered around for David while all the police gathered their supplies to investigate. Shuttering nervously, she began to follow the police into the library. Many of the police grunted and grumbled as they entered the library. As they secretly asked the librarian where the basement was Cathy saw a blur of movement run past her. “He must be in a big hurry to be running that fast,” she quietly mumbled to herself. Suddenly she realized that Steve was not with her. “Where is Steve? I thought he said he would come with me. Maybe he changed his mind. He would have told me though. I wonder why- no, I probably didn’t hear him say he was going home. But why wouldn’t he want to check on his son? Maybe he was busy. He’ll most likely meet us here after he’s done.” All her thoughts were a blur as she and the police headed down the long, dimmed stairway.
---
As Richard pulled in the parking lot of the library a shiver went up his spine. He had never had a case where the victim was his friend. Richard hoped that David had not been injured yet by the gang. He started heading toward the door when he heard faint voices in a car. Even though he was not an eavesdropper, he listened to the conversation intently, wanting to hear the whole discussion. He pulled out his tape recorder and turned it on just in case the conversation was something he might need later. He caught a glimpse of the car’s license plate and figured out that the numbers on the plate resembled part of the gang’s information.
“That must be the gang chatting inside the car.” He whispered faintly. “I wonder if I should call the police, but I know that if I do, the people will see and speed away.” After pondering it for a moment, he had an idea. Quickly, he dialed 911 and told the person to send an unmarked police car to the Culver Library immediately. He told the person that whoever was in the unmarked car to tell them to arrest the people in the black truck with license number M27K-643R because they were the gang the police had been trying to arrest.
Suddenly he heard an alarming noise coming from the library. Although it was faint, he could hear it clearly. He raced for the door and barged in the library out of breath. As he started for the stairway he wondered if he would ever see his good friend David again. The person he always hung out with, his dinner buddy and the one he could always depend on, gone? How could Richard live and move on without David? Really, the answer to that question was: he couldn’t. Breathing hard, he plunged into the darkness of the stairway
---
Steve all of a sudden felt dizzy. His mind seemed to be spinning in circles. “What in the world is happening?” he thought faintly. Trying to make sense of what was happening and where he was, he looked up and tried to focus his eyes on something. That was impossible at the moment and he found himself just laying back down feeling helpless. Not one small thought flickered in his mind as to what he had done in the past two hours. His stomach churned as he urged to think hard about what was happening. He could hear a weak voice coming from another room but he couldn’t hear it clearly enough to understand what the voice was saying. Feeling weak and tired, he gently closed his eyes thinking maybe a nap could rejuvenate him. His hands fell to his sides as if he couldn’t hold them up anymore and his heart suddenly stopped beating. It was all because of the drink Mark gave him. Sadly, Steve had passed away.
---
“David? Are you alive? David, can you hear me?” Cathy shook David as she tried to get him up. The police and Cathy had found David in the basement tied up and knocked out. Fortunately, the gang had not been there to ambush them when they got there. However, they had not been caught. Officer Harold had untied and sliced all the ropes that David had been trapped in while the rest of the policemen searched for evidence. Cathy had showed the policemen the letter and told them everything she knew. Richard suddenly burst into the basement. “Has anything happened to him? Where is he? Is he alright?” Richard was exploding with questions and was acting like a mom of a child, eager to know what work they did that day. It was obvious that he was extremely worried for his friend. As Officer Harold told Richard the story of David being tied up and shoved in a corner, Richard’s face melted into a tears of relief. Cathy was still trying to get David to move when Richard told her that he had called his detective team to the library and he told an unmarked car to arrest the gang in the parking lot. Dreary-eyed David started to come to his senses while Cathy was giving the policemen and Richard an enormous hug. Mumbling, he wiggled his fingers and tried to focus his vision.
“Mom, Richard? Is anybody there?” Reaching his arm out, he touched Cathy’s pant leg softly and glanced around with his eyelids half closed. Cathy swiftly looked behind her to see if David was alive and squealed with joy.
“He’s alive! Oh, you’re not hurt are you? Oh, I’m so happy that, that you’re here with us.” Cathy’s excitement filled the room with rejoicing and praise. Her gentle voice soothed everyone’s hearts as everyone hugged and celebrated. Her emotions were joyful and thankful unlike the ones she had an hour ago. Worried. Anxious. Concerned. Those thoughts were long forgotten in her now joyous mind. Suddenly, there was a beeping noise coming from Richard’s pocket. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and answered the call.
“Hello? Yes this is Richard. Really? Yes! Uh, six, including the leader but he has never been found before. Not so! How? You did? That’s great! Oh, he was my roommate at college! Oh, sir if I had known, I would have told much earlier. Oh my. How terrible. I’m with his family right now, if you want me to, I’ll tell them. Okay. Thanks. Bye.” Richard looked at the group of people with unblinking eyes. “Alright, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the whole gang has been caught, even the leader. Surprisingly, it is Mark, David’s and my roommate in college.”
“Really?” exclaimed David, obviously shocked. “How could he?”
“I don’t know. There are just bad people in the world and you never know who is. He was found in his and his gang’s hideout on the corner of 64th street and Elm Boulevard.” Richard shifted his gaze to Cathy and David and his solemn expression face told that something bad had occurred. “The bad news is that Mark got ahold of Steve and tricked him into drinking a medicine that would make him forget what he did in the past two hours and it eventually killed him.”
Cathy was shaking nervously, on the verge of crying, “D-did it happen?” She gasped, waiting for the answer. Richard placed his hand to his heart gently and hesitated. Finally, after a long moment of waiting and stillness, he replied.
“Yes, sadly he did pass away.” He paused, waiting for any reply before proceeding. Cathy immediately exploded into tears, collapsing in sorrow on the floor while David burst into tears next to his mom, both of them in need of tissues and comfort. The police as well were trying to hold back the falling tears that were descending rapidly down their cheeks but eventually, they could hold them no longer. The tears fell and there wasn’t a dry eye in the basement. Even Richard wiped away a tear as he looked upon the sad family that had fallen to the floor. Soon the cement floor would be covered in salty tears shed by Steve’s loved ones. When the wailing and sadness had retreated a small bit, Richard suggested they pray, so they did.
“Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for our beloved friends here tonight in this basement that have saved lives and made people happier. Thank you for Officer Harold and his magnificent team of helpful and brave young men. Please bless Steve’s loved ones tonight and comfort them as they go through this hard time of sorrow. Please forgive David who wouldn’t have gotten out of this situation without your help and is very thankful but is extremely sorry for what he did that was not guided by your hand. Thank you for everything you gave us tonight; strength, bravery, and trust, these are the things you gave us tonight and we were grateful for them. As we go home, keep us safe, and when we rest, let it be peaceful. Calm Cathy and David’s hearts tonight and let them be at rest. We know that Steve is up with you in heaven Lord, looking down on us; tell him that we will always miss his joyful presence. Amen.” Officer Harold handed Cathy a tissue as she hesitantly stood up, afraid that she might collapse again. “I guess I better call my agency and tell them that everything’s okay,” Richard exclaimed. The group all walked out of the library in a huddled clump together. They all warmly hugged each other when they got outside. As Cathy got in her car, she longingly gazed at her diamond ring as it glistened in the moonlight.
“It’s okay Mom,” David comforted. “Dad will always be in your heart, and that’s what matters. He wouldn’t want you to be sad, now would he?”
“No, I guess you’re right. He wouldn’t want me to be sad. Let’s go home. It’s been a long day.” As they drove home, they quietly talked about what they thought Steve was doing up in heaven. Both David and Cathy were glad that this was all over and finally they could have one thing: peace.