"You sure you are up for it Samantha? Seriously...you just got up a week ago." Mona's voice comes through my cell. "Being in the UK, on a mission, alone. Where are you anyway?"
"Sitting in a place called Timberyard." I say as I pull out the files for the case I am working on and adjust my glasses. It seems there have been a rash of disappearances dating back to the early 1900s. All of them happening in the Epping Woods.
"Isn't your mission is Essex? Why are you in London?"
"How did you know that it's in Essex and that I am in London? Wait. You tracking my phone?"
Mona sighs. "Yes. We are worried about you here. Gotta keep tabs. None of us is pleased that you went alone."
"I know but the girls just started their training and after what they went through in Rosewood...I wasn't willing to throw them on the frontline like that again." I open up the most recent file. "Besides...this might be a waste of time and I didn't want to drag y'all across the pond for a wild goose chase."
"Samantha…" I hate when she uses my full name. "...why did you take this mission anyway?"
I sigh. "I thought you knew everything Mona."
"You been hush hush about it. All I know is that you are going to Epping Woods. A supposedly haunted place. You just don't rush into things unless it was important. Now spill."
I look up from the file I was reading and a woman suddenly got interested in her coffee. The woman next to her, a blonde simply smiles at me. "Don't mind her. She's just being nosey."
"Rosie!" The brunette blushes and shields her eyes with her left hand, ducking her head. "Is she still looking at us?"
"Yes Rose. She is still looking at you." Rosie sighs. "Hi. I'm Rosie. This is my girlfriend Rose. Sorry about her." She leans in and stage whispers. "She's a bit like that."
"Rosie!" Rose blushes again.
"Sam? Samantha?!" Mona voice booms through my cell.
"Sorry. I have to take this." I stand up and head for the door to step outside. "Okay Mona...I will tell you why I am here…"
Rose P.O.V.
We watch her walk outside to finish her phone call. As soon she steps out, I get up and sit where she was seating, scanning her files. "Rose! What the fuck are you doing?" Rosie says.
"Fucking hell. How does she get anything done?" My OCD takes over and I start to organize her files. "Hey. Why do you think she is going to Essex? I mean that whole "mission" thing sounds funny." I start to read some of the files she got.
"Rose!" Rosie snatches the paper from me. "You can't just read people stuff. You would think you learned your lesson after the dairy incident."
"First off…" I point at her. "We agreed to never bring that up again. Second off...look at this." I show her one of the files.
Rosie scans the paper then places down on the table. "So what? She is doing research on Epping Woods."
"Epping Woods Rosie...Epping Woods! One of the most haunted woods on the planet. Why would some American…"
"American? You sure? She has a bit of an English accent."
"Yes Rosie. She's American. Hey...she said something about Rosewood." I take out my mobile and begin to google Rosewood.
"Rose. Please get up from the seat before she comes back." Rosie pulls on my jumper.
"Rosie! Look! Rosewood, PA. She's from America. Told ya!"
"Yes you did. Now get the fuck up!" She tugs harder on my jumper.
"Oh shit! Look at this! People were killed in Rosewood two weeks ago." Rosie stops tugging on me and just looks at me. "According to the government, something was released in the air and that's how the people died but look at these pictures." There were pics of the damage to the area and it look like a bloody warzone. "No way that something in the air caused that kind of damage. Now that girl said something about putting the girls on the frontline. That's military talk. Rosie...I think she is US Army or something." Rosie stares at me then smacks me on the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"
"For being an idiot. She can't be military. Look at her!" Rosie points to her. She is pacing while talking on her mobile. "She looks like a primary student!"
"You know Americans….train them young." Rosie stands there, gobsmacked. "What? Was that racist?" Rosie just shakes her head and is about to leave when I check my mobile and stop her in her tracks. "Rosie! This! Look at this! Its a chatroom that talks about what went down in Rosewood. Look at some of these comments. Stuff about demons being responsible for what happened there. Can't tell me something isn't off about that chick. I sensed it the moment she walked into the shop." Rosie sighs and looks at the window. Her eyes open up wide. "What?"
"She's not there. The girl! She's gone!" She points and I look. I had to do a double take. She was gone.
I stand up. "Where did she go?" That's when I heard a clicking sound. I turn around and Rosie is tense, slowly raising her hands in the air as if she was giving up.
"Don't move…" I heard the tone of the girl. She sounds rather mad and have a gun pointed right at the back of Rosie's head.
I put my hands up in air. "Please don't hurt her." I look at the barista who is an old man by the name of Gus. "Just don't stand there! Call the police!"
Gus simply smiles at me. "Word of advice love. Never mess with a hunter's stuff. Samantha. No need to have a gun to the girl's head. They are good customers. Rose is just a nosy git."
"Hey!" I say, taking a step forward and instantly took a step back as she points the gun at me with narrowed eyes.
"Samantha...for christ sake lass. She is no harm to you." Gus says, probably exasperated by the whole situation.
Samantha looks at Gus while keeping the gun trained on me. Rosie still standing there, scared. "Rosie. Its okay. We are going to get out of this alive."
Samantha sighs. "Save the drama. I'm not going to kill you." She puts down the gun. "Why was you reading my files? Your mum ever teach you to mind yours?"
"I don't know. Did your mum ever teach you not to put guns at people?" I cross my arms.
"Only when nosy people stick their noses in business that doesn't belong to them. Bet you the kind of person that reads someone else's diary."
Rosie, who was scared one minute, starts to laugh. "You have no idea."
"That was one time!" I huff and stomp my foot.
Samantha puts her gun away and cross her arms. "Still haven't gotten an answer from you. Why was you reading my files?" She looks at them. "Did you organize them? By date and year?"
"Yes. You are messy. I mean, seriously? Who is that messy? Anyway, to answer your question...I overheard you say Rosewood. Is it the same Rosewood that got "attacked" two weeks ago? Heard you say something about the frontline."
Samantha unfolds her arms and sighs. "You overheard that eh. What else did you hear in your eavesdropping?"
"Nothing really. Was talking to a Mona and that she knows everything. Also I googled Rosewood. Some people think it was attacked by demons. Now you are here, heading to Essex, to the Epping Woods. Epping Woods….a haunted place. Ton of files on people that disappear from there, never to be seen again. I put two and two together. So how are you? Gus says you are a hunter. You hunt demons for the US Army? You a modern day Buffy? Hmm?" Samantha stares at me for a minute and simply smiles with a bit of a smirk. Me and Rosie exchange confused looks. "Something funny?"
Samantha puts a hand to her chin. "Gus...you can cancel my ride to Essex. Just got a new one." She smiles at me.
"You sure Sam? Not sure if it's a good idea to take two people that have no idea what…" Samantha holds up a hand to stop Gus from talking.
"I'm sure. Something tells me this one…" She points at me. "...will come in handy and I can tell that Rosie has a handle on her so she is just as important."
"We haven't agree to anything." I huff.
"Fine. Don't go. But if I know anything, you have OCD and something tells me that you have the urge to know what is going on. Only way you will know what's going on is if you drive me down to Essex, to a certain spot." She crosses the arm and does a pose that tells me that the ball is in our court.
"You always wanted to be a PI Rose. This is your chance to prove that you can actually do it. Besides...she has my interest and I haven't been to Essex in awhile. Could be fun." Rosie says as she starts to gather her things. I see Samantha having a victorious smirk on her face. I was about to say something but Rosie cuts me off. "Well come on Rose. Get the files and lets go." She gives me a peck on the cheek and walks out the shop.
"Yeah Rose...let's go." Samantha smiles and laughs, patting me on the shoulder before exiting the shop herself.
I just stand there, confused to what just happened. "She holds us up and now she is basically kidnapping us."
"It's not kidnapping if you are willing to go." Gus says with a laugh. "Don't keep them waiting now." I start to gather the files, making sure they are in order. As I am about to leave the shop, Gus offers one last piece of advice. "Good luck and be careful." All I can do is nod and leave the shop.
