The Attic
By Faith Farrell
March 28th, 2011.
Mallory Garrell was a very outgoing, sweet, and beautiful 14 year old girl. She had flowing blond hair, and bright blue eyes. She went to Malibu Jr. High. Mal (as her friends call her.) was in grade 8. She had a lot of friends. In fact, she was one of the most popular girls in school. She was on almost every team and club in the school. Everyone knew around town, but no one knew what would happen to her next.
"Mom, it's time for basketball practice! Can you drive me down?" asked Mal. "Sorry, your Great Aunt Gladys is coming over for a visit." replied Mallory's Mother. "Okay the, I guess I'll have to ride my bike…" She grabbed her helmet and her favorite pair of sun glasses. She would need them. It was a very hot and sunny day in Malibu. Good thing her school was only about 2 blocks away. If it were any farther she would probably collapse of a heat stroke.
"Wow! Great practice girls," praised Coach Ray. "Especially you Mallory! Great lay-ups!" "Thanks Coach." replied Mallory. All of the team walked out side. "See you later Mal!" said Mal's best friend Leah. "Bye!" Mallory hopped onto her pink bike with streamers. She has always begged her parents to buy her a new one, but they always said that she didn't ride the one she has now enough. She speeded up and made a left turn on Pleasant Ave. She made another turn on Oak St. 'SCREEEEE' her bike flipped over and she scraped her knees and elbows. "OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!" she yelped. A mysterious looking black van pulled up along the curb. "Are you okay little one?" the strange man asked. He had old tattered jeans, and a really dirty grey hoodie. He had a short grey beard and long grey hair also. "I'm fine." replied Mal in a shivery voice. Mal noticed that one of his eyes were blue, and the other green. "No, no, no. Let me drive you home, your scraped up pretty bad. "No, I'm going home on my bike." She tried as quickly as possible to grab her bike and drive home, but it was too late.
"Hey Amy, we have a missing girl last seen at Malibu Jr. High." explained Greg. "When was this Greg?" asked Amy. Amy had long red hair. She was very tall. She was the head investigator at MDA (Malibu Detective Agency). She was very smart; she could solve crimes at the age of 11. "This occurred yesterday at around 5:30pm when she finished basketball practice." said Greg. "Any neighbors notice anything suspicious?" asked Amy. "Not so far." replied Greg. Greg had short black hair. He always seemed to wear his sleek black sunglasses. "Well, let's head down to the crime scene." said Amy. They hopped into the shiny white police car, and drove off.
"They found a pink bike and a pair of sunglasses." said Greg. "Did they find any DNA on any of the items?" asked Amy. "No, only the girls," replied Greg. "By the way, here is the file I meant to give you. It is all of the information you will need on Mallory Garrell." "Thanks Greg." said Amy. "OVER HERE GUYS!" shouted out Ty. He was one of the other investigators. Amy and Greg quickly fled to where Ty was located. Ty had beautiful bronze skin. He had short black hair and always seemed to cover it with a red, worn out 'Red Sox' ball cap. "Mrs. Carol they owner of the corner store across the street, claims to have some security camera footage of a mysterious van and a girl that appears to be Mallory." explained Ty adjusting his worn hat. He pulled a laptop out of his dark grey backpack. They closely watched the video. It was the worst video they had ever seen. Chills sent up their spines as they watched the girl being thrown in the trunk of the van. Than it struck her.
"Can you zoom in to the man's back pocket Ty?" asked Amy. "Sure, It looks like a pamphlet." said Ty. "It is a pamphlet to the Super 8 Bowling Lanes. I bet they went there to meet a partner of some sort." explained Amy. "We'd better get down there quick." said Ty.
"Excuse me? Have you seen this man?" Greg pulled out a photo. The photo wasn't very clear. It was taken from the video clip. "Actually, I have. He left about an hour ago. He had a cup of coffee with another man," the blond woman said. "If I do believe, they left a bag here. It is in the lost and found if you would like to take a look." "That would be great thanks." replied Greg. The lady pulled out a big box. "Here it is." The lady passed the bag to the officer. "If you don't mind me asking, what is this all about?" asked the woman. "A kidnapping." said Greg. "Oh my, that's serious. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul." she said. "AMY! I FOUND A HOTEL ROOM KEY!" Greg shouted across the bowling alley to Amy who was interviewing other workers. 'Wow, this guy is really careless.' Amy thought. The two hopped in their car and pulled away.
The team pulled into a dirty looking hotel. "This doesn't look like a hotel at all." Amy said.They approached the mysterious looking building. The front desk had a strange looking man. "Hello, how can I help you?" said the clerk in an irritating voice. "Is there a man in room 467?" asked Amy. "I'm sorry I cannot tell you any of our guest's personal information. "said the strange clerk. Greg pulled out a little wallet with his photo in it. "MDA." "Oh, why didn't you just say so." said the clerk. "The man that is room 467 is George Mackenzie, but the person that paid for the room is named Ray Richards." he explained. "Isn't Ray Richards the basketball coach?" Amy asked Greg. "Yeah, it is. Maybe Ray paid George Mackenzie to kidnap her," "So he wouldn't get caught!" interrupted Amy. "Thanks, you were a big help." Greg thanked the clerk. The two ran to the car and sped off.
"Yeah, Ty? I think we found our guy. Do you know they address for Ray Richards? Okay, get some more officers for back up. Okay, call the parents too. Thanks Ty." Amy closed her cell phone. "395 Keller Lane." said Amy. Greg turned on the sirens, and went about 200 km per hour. They arrived soon after.
Amy and Greg opened the door of they red brick house. "POLICE! Give us the girl and no one gets hurt!" Greg shouted. A man in a blue sweat suit came around the corner. "What's going on?" asked Ray. "You know exactly what's going on." said Amy. "WE HAVE HIM!" screamed Amy over her shoulder. She was pointing a gun. "Where is she Ray?" asked Greg. "We know you have her." "And we also know you paid George Mackenzie to kidnap her." explained Amy. "What are you talking about?" replied Ray Richards. Then she saw it. A piece of insulation sticking out of the entrance to the attic. "Check the attic Greg." said Amy. "Why?" replied Greg. "Just do it. " demanded Amy. He climbed up into the small entrance "She's up here!" shouted Greg in relief. She had tape over her mouth and her arms and legs were tied.
"Thank you so much for saving my baby girl!" said Mal's mother. "Thank you for saving me." said Mal. "No problem. Just doing my job." replied Amy.