Checkmate

By Lily Evans and Matt Lee

Chapter 4

"How— how did this happen?" Ken asked. Izzy shook his head, unable to answer. "Now what genius?"

"Joe had a brother," Izzy answered, it wasn't supposed to be a comical remark.

"Izzy, Matt can't get to Jim," Ken told him. "I mean, he's in Africa."

"I know, I know," Izzy told him. "I still think it has to do with the relationship thing."

Ken bent down and began examining the body. He pulled himself back up a moment later, a piece of paper clutched in his hand.

"Don't tell me—"

"Yes," Ken handed him the piece of paper. Izzy looked at it. Like all the other clues, it said "Kheckmat".

"That is the strangest clue I've ever seen," Izzy told him, getting frustrated. "He knows we know it's him, so why is he still leaving the clue?"

"I don't know, Izzy," Ken said. "I just don't know—"

~*~

Ken was examining the computer room for any other stray clues when someone entered that he didn't see. He picked up a different piece of paper that he hadn't seen before under one of the computers — a photograph. Ken gasped and turned around just in time to see a knife plunge into his heart. He gave a small sputter and fell to the ground. On the ground next to him, the murderer left the same clue, but the photograph was destroyed.

~*~

"Now what?"

"I don't know, Mimi, don't bug me, I'm thinking," Izzy told her.

"Ken didn't have a brother who is still alive," she said. "Unless Matt was just trying to finish the job that the car that killed his brother started."

"He knew something."

"What? Hmm? What did he know?"

"I don't know Mimi!" he yelled, losing his patience. "I'm not a genius, if I knew what he did, I'd be dead, too."

She sighed and nodded, knowing he was right. They were now examining in shifts since Ken died. It was after his funeral and Mimi kept asking the same question over and over again and Izzy was losing it. He wanted his friends back, he wanted everything to be right again, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He had to face it, like everyone else.

Jim had immediately flown down to Japan for Joe's funeral and spent most of the time at his parent's house and hiding his face. Yolie was completely distressed about Ken's death. She wasn't even going outside much anymore.

Sora wasn't even looking Matt in the face anymore. She didn't answer his calls, she wouldn't talk to him. Izzy was convinced that if she kept going on like that Matt was going to find out what she knew and she would wind up just like the others— dead.

To Be Continued…

Matt: That was short but the rest of the chapters will be longer, we promise.

Lily: That chapter caused me A LOT of pain.

Matt: Not me.

Lily: Shut up.

Matt: Maybe we'll all get more attention now?

Lily: Not likely. Review please!