Chapter Four: Go finding this guy!
After they had consulted each other what to do next, Dog, Beth and Tim went to the SUV's on the parking lot and got in the car. They drove off and turned towards the beach. That's where they decided to search for the wrong Leland first. They hoped, that they could find at least a clue. Maybe someone had see him and could tell them something, so they hoped. They drove in silence until Tim stopped the car on the parking lot near the beach. They jumped out of the car. They parted from each other and went their own ways. Beth had made a wanted poster for Leland which she was showing the people who were on her side of the beach. Each person she had asked, shook their head and said that they hadn't see him. Frustrated, she went forwards.
Dog and Tim had the same result no one had seen the wrong Leland Chapman.
But then after half an hour, Beth who wanted to go back and give up, was stopped by a older man.
"Excuse me Ma'am!", he said.
Beth turned around and looked questioningly at him.
"Yes, can I help you?", she asked him.
"No, I think I can Help YOU!", he said, shacking his head.
"And how do you think that?", she asked and raised an eyebrow.
"I've seen him, yesterday!", he said grinning.
Now he had her attention completely.
"Where did you see him?", she asked him impatiently.
"In the North, near the jungle. There is an old mansion. The last inhabitant moved out forty years ago, since then nobody has moved in there. If your lucky, you'll find there what you're looking for.", the man said, turning around and vanished before Beth could asked him, where exactly the mansion stood.
Beth turned around and ran back to her husband.
"Big Daddy!", she yelled.
Dog turned around to see his wife running straight towards him. She stopped right in front of him and was very agitated.
"An old man came to me and told me, that he had seen him yesterday. According to his statement, he went to an old mansion in the northern jungle.", she told him with tears in her eyes.
"And where exactly?", he asked.
"That's the problem, before I had a chance to ask him, he vanished." ,she said distraught.
"F*ck. The jungle is too big!", he rumbled.
"I know Big Daddy. But also I know, that we will find him, when we are willing to!", she tried to calm him.
Dog nodded and went to find Tim. After he had found Tim and told him what had happened, they went back to the car and drove off. They drove to the North in hope to find the next clue. Dog, who sat in the front beside Tim, had a map on his lap. He navigated his brother through the traffic to the outside of the city. Now they were on a lonely street. Around the street were only trees, palms, bushes and any sorts of flowers and no houses were anywhere in sight.
Time went by and they hadn't found anything, not any clue, just nothing, only the pure nature. Beth looked nervous out of the window. She feared for her step-son. Deep in her heart she had doubted that her step-son had done such horrible things, but because of the evidence she didn't know what to think about it. They had to find something to prove, that Leland was in fact innocent. But how could they do it?
Meanwhile at Dog's house
Meredith was in the guest room packing her things after all she had to go back home to her mother to help her out. Lyssa had put the kids in their beds and now she was standing in the doorway and looked sadly at her new friend.
"Do you really have to go?", she pleaded with her to stay.
"Unfortunately yes. My mom needs my help. Now I have been away for two long days and that was far too long. I'm sorry Lyssa but I'll promise you that we stay in touch, okay?", she said, looking hopefully at her.
"Sure, I'll call you when something new happens and when everything will be the same, then we go out to the new club down in town!", Lyssa said happily.
Meredith nodded her head yes and smiled. Finishing her packing, she went to Lyssa and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you for everything! Please give my thanks to your Dad and the rest!", she pleaded.
Lyssa nodded her head yes and hugged her back. When they separated Lyssa and Meredith went down into the living room. There Meredith picked up the phone and ordered a cab. After that they went outside and waited together for the cab to arrive. They waited in silence. You could see, that both were sad about the fact that Meredith had to head home. They were both close to tears.
When the cab arrived they hugged goodbye and Meredith got, with a heavy heart, in the cab.
Before Lyssa went back in the house she waved after her new friend until she couldn't see her anymore.
Ten minutes later
Meredith arrived at her home. She got out of the cab, grabbed her things and paid the cabdriver before she went to the apartment house where she lived with her mother. She walked up the stairs and went to their apartment. Now she stood in front of the door and had to assert that she had forgotten her keys two days ago. Muttering she knocked on the door and waited patiently because she knew that her mother wasn't so fast. A few minutes later the door opened. A woman in her forties with short, curly black hair and green eyes sitting in a wheel chair opened the door sadly. But as she saw that her daughter had come back she smiled happily.
"Meredith your back!", she said happily but without reproach.
"Hi Mom!", she said happy too.
She dropped her things on the floor, closed the door behind her and finally hugged her beloved mother tightly.
"Where have you been?", her mother asked after a while.
"I was worried about you!"
"I'm so sorry Mom, but Dog the bounty hunter called when you were asleep.", she told her.
"Dog? Why? What happened? Did you do something wrong?", she asked her daughter worriedly.
"No mom. It was because of Steven."
"The son of a b*itch. What did he do this time?"
"I don't know mom. But Dog asked me to find him. I called Steven and we arranged a meeting. On the beach Dog and his posse caught him and brought him back to prison!", she told her.
"Good, good that's where he belongs." her mother said and rolled along the floor to the living room.
Meredith followed her and sat down on her favourite armchair.
"And now, please tell me, why you didn't come earlier?", she asked her daughter.
"After the capture of Steven, we went back to the office. As we arrived the police was there waiting for them. It turned out, that they were searching for Leland the third son of Dog. He was accused of murder. So Dog, Beth and Tim drove off to the police department to watch the tape of the jewellery store. Duane Lee and I stayed behind in the office. A few minutes later, Leland came into the office. I could hide but Duane Lee was shot in the stomach...." she told her mother drowned in tears.
Her mother rolled towards her and put her hands on her knees.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. A horrible thing you had to go through. Tell me, how is Duane Lee doing?"
"Better. But as we went to the hospital Duane Lee told his father, that this guy who looked like Leland wasn't the real Leland. Now they are searching for this guy and Leland.", she announced to her.
"I hope that they will make it through!", her mum said aggrieved.
"I hope so too!", Meredith said sadly and nestled to her mother.
Somewhere in the middle of nowhere
The three Chapman's drove the lonely street for an hour but couldn't find anything. They were frustrated and wanted nothing more but to head home and eat and drink something. But they couldn't do it. They know, that that was their chance to prove the innocence of Leland.
But the street ended and they had to stop the car. They got out of the SUV and stood there, looking straight into a closed wilderness.
"What now?", Beth asked sceptically.
"I don't know Beth, I don't know!", Tim said dumbfounded.
"Big Daddy, what do you say?", Beth asked Dog but she didn't get an answer.
Dog went forwards to the thicket and hadn't heard, what Beth had asked him. His instinct called him to go forward. He went without knowing why and where he was going.
"Hey Duane, where are you going?", Tim yelled after him.
"I don't know Tim, but I know that I have to listen to what my instincts tells me!", Dog yelled back.
Beth shrugged and followed her husband. Tim shook his head unbelievingly.
"Him and his instincts!", he mumbled, following his brother as they leaped in the dark.
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