Chapter One - Into The Fire
Alex could never forget the smell of his house burning. Or the sight. Jack had been cooking chicken. And had fallen asleep. But Alex was sure it wasn't her fault, she would never do this on purpose. All around him the fire crackled, all sirens blared, the firemen shouted. Luckily Alex had completed a fire safety course recently so he was able to safely escape along with some of his precious things, his Nintendo Gameboy Colour, his Sony stereo and several items of clothing.
Jack had not been so lucky. She has suffered major burns. She was in hospital now, Alex had always had a fear of hospitals, they smelt too clean, had ugly fluorescent lights and Death lurked darkly.
Alex spent the night at the night at the police station after giving a statement on the fire. The more Alex thought the more suspicious he became…Jack never cooked chicken, it took too long to cook. And Jack wouldn't fall asleep and leave the oven on she was too careful.
Alex spent the next day with Jack, he brought her grapes and chocolates. Unfortunately she was still unconscious, she didn't her his luck. The devil's luck something he inherited from his father. He bit his nails anxiously. He read the newspaper to Jack and laughed at the story about a sheep whose fur hadn't been cut for six years. He felt instantly sickened with himself, how could he laugh at a time like this? His best friend lay next to him perhaps close to death and here he was giggling about a furry sheep.
"I'll find out who did this Jack!" He whispered, "I know it can't have been an accident."
He squeezed her hand and walked away. He headed back to his house. It was roped off but the structure still stood he couldn't tell if it was safe or not but his instincts urged him in. The kitchen was the worst affected area, the smell of smoke still lingered.
The other rooms were also bad and some furniture had been burnt to cinders. From what he could tell the upstairs had escaped the worst of it. Alex walked up the stairs. There was an almighty crash, Alex's left foot splintered the stairs. Luckily he was prepared and using some special SAS moves he escaped. He ran back to the kitchen, his pulse raced. He took a deep breath, and calmed himself down. He took one last look around. His investigation had brought him nothing. Perhaps it was just an accident?
He idly kicked a shard of glass…Hang on, there was glass inside the room? But surely the fire would have sent the glass outside? Alex's mind raced. Someone had thrown something into the house! Perhaps an explosive or a burning rag? Whatever it was there was no trace of it. He now knew it hadn't just been a fire. It has been an attempted murder, Alex would solve this if it was the last thing he did!
He went into the garden and peered at the kitchen window. They must be a clue out here! Something shiny caught his eye in the flowerbeds. He bent down and picked it up. It was a watch and it was running right on time. It had an expensive looking leather strap, the gold hands stretched proudly towards the numbers and the second hand ticked obediently. He turned it over, there was an inscription on the back;
'Lawrence Tchai
Love you always
Emma Dale'
Now Alex had a name. He pocketed the watch and ran to the local library and logged onto the computer and typed the name into Google and hit enter.
Lawrence Tchai, a man running a law firm on the outskirts of London. Now Alex had the name and the address. Who was this mysterious man? And why did he want Alex dead?
'Out of the frying pan' Alex thought 'and into the fire!'
AN - Please review, more will be coming soon. Some exciting new characters will be coming in Chapter Two. I really hope you all like it! Let me know. :D