Note: Now that Lucky Rabbit's Foot is finished, I can focus on my other stories, including this one. Before we move on, I want to say something to two recent reviewers:
Joel-Robert-Dayton: You have a good guess for who the culprit could be, even if it might not turn out to be him. I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story.
vincentberkan: Like I said to Joel, you have a good guess on who the culprit is. While it might turn out to be someone else, I hope that it doesn't deter you from reading the rest of the story. Also, I pretty much revealed in the previous chapter that the culprit is from Rhode Island, so that might make you rethink your guess.
Okay, now it's time for chapter thirteen.
Chapter 13: Bert Calls Ralph
The search for Arnold Layne had been proven to be a false lead. Despite what was revealed, there appeared to be no sign of Ralph's old pen pal.
"We've looked everywhere and we haven't found this Arnold person yet!" Cyril shouted.
"Maybe he didn't come to the Evergreen Forest after all, Pop." Cedric suggested.
"That still doesn't explain why some random creep would come here from Rhode Island and start raping random women!" Cyril said.
"Did Arnold have any friends who shared his interests, Ralph?" Melissa asked.
"No," Ralph answered, "he didn't really have friends when he was growing up."
"Arnold or not," George said, "this rapist is still on the loose and he might strike again. All we need is to look for someone wearing a gray mask and denim clothing."
"And then we can make the buckaroo squeal like a pig!" Mr. Knox chuckled.
"Then we can't give up on the search now!" Captain Pepper spoke, "We need to keep moving until we find the monster prowling the Evergreen Forest and capture him!"
"Let's go, gentlemen and Melissa!" Cyril raised his rifle in the air.
"But before we can move on, can I call my house?" George asked.
"Sure." Cedric said.
"I see nothing wrong with that." Cyril smiled.
The group went to the Blue Spruce Café, where they were greeted by Schaefer.
"How's the manhunt going?" The sheepdog asked.
"So far, we've only found the culprit once." George said.
"Cedric and I fought him off, but we're still looking for this violent pervert!" Cyril said.
"Well," Schaefer said, "come on in. You guys must be exhausted."
As soon as the group entered the building, the phone started to ring.
"Hello, this is the Blue Spruce Café." Schaefer picked up the phone, "Ralph, it's for you."
Ralph took the phone and spoke into it, "Hello?"
"It's me." Bert's voice came out of the line.
"Did you propose?" Ralph asked.
"Yes," Bert's voice said, "but we decided to wait for a while. That's not why I'm calling you."
"Why are you calling?" The raccoon spoke into the phone.
"I got a letter from your old pen pal!" Bert's voice stated, "He's married and he has three kids! Also, he lives in Flint, Michigan! He even said that he grew out of those disturbing fantasies he had back then!"
"That's interesting." Ralph's eyes widened.
"And Lisa's doing fine," Bert spoke through the line, "if you're wondering."
"I got to go." Ralph said.
"Okay, I'll tell Lisa everyone said 'hi'!" Bert cheerfully said prior to hanging up.
Melissa and Cedric walked near Ralph.
"What's wrong?" Melissa asked.
"Arnold is married and he lives in Flint, Michigan." Ralph answered.
"Then that means he isn't in the Evergreen Forest." Cedric said.
"But that doesn't change the fact that there's still a rapist on the loose." Cyril said.
"How's Lisa?" George asked.
"Bert told me that she's okay." Ralph answered.
"Should we continue the manhunt?" Melissa asked.
"Actually," Captain Pepper said, "it would be better for us to take a break. We'll resume the manhunt in a few minutes."
"I wonder if you ever caught anyone before you came here." Cyril grumbled.
"I caught plenty of perps before I moved to the Evergreen Forest," the canine said, "so you can guarantee that I will help all of you catch the crook who is plaguing the Evergreen Forest! In fact, I might even get employed in the FBI for my efforts!"
Meanwhile, Bentley and Annie walked down to Mr. Willow's store. The two young raccoons had decided to buy some sodas at the place. Once they got there, they met up with Mr. Willow.
"Hi kids." Mr. Willow greeted.
"Hi Mr. Willow!" Bentley and Annie chorused.
"I heard about what happened to your sister." The polar bear looked at Bentley, "My condolences are with you."
"It's okay," the young raccoon said, "Lisa's feeling better now."
"And Bentley just had a therapy session." Annie noted.
"I take it that you saw Dr. O'Donnell?" Mr. Willow asked.
"Yeah," Bentley blushed, "she's a nice lady."
All of a sudden, a skunk came through the door. He was wearing an orange t-shirt, jeans, and black shoes. In addition, he was holding his hand over his shoulder.
"Hello there, Mac." Mr. Willow greeted.
"Hi." The skunk groaned.
"Kids," the polar bear gestured towards him, "I would like you to meet someone who just moved to the Evergreen Forest. This is Mack Phillips."
"Nice to meet you." Annie said.
"Charmed, I'm sure." Mack said.
"What happened to your arm?" Mr. Willow asked.
"What do you mean?" The skunk asked.
"He means that it looks like you got hurt." Bentley said.
"Oh," the skunk looked at his arm, "I just got into an accident on my way here."
"Do you need to go to a doctor?" Annie asked.
"I'll be fine," Mack looked at Bentley, "I want to talk to you."
"Okay." Bentley said as he walked to another part of the store with Mack.
The two went to the back of the store. Once there, they sat down on the floor.
"These last few weeks have been crazy, haven't they?" Mack asked.
"It's also been awful." Bentley sighed, "After all, my older sister got raped and the culprit is still on the loose."
"I've heard about that," the skunk said, "but I wish that I was there so that I could save her. Same with all the girls who were assaulted by the culprit."
"A lot of us are like that." The raccoon said, "Although, Bert went into a violent rage and said that he wanted to kill the guy when he found him."
"Did he really?" Mack couldn't help but chuckle.
"You bet he did!" Bentley burst out laughing with Mack following suit. After a minute of laughing, the two settled down.
"Is your sister home?" Mack asked.
"Yes," Bentley answered, "but she hasn't really come out of her room all day."
"Mind if I go see her?" The skunk asked.
"Sure," the young raccoon said, " I don't think that anyone would mind if someone visited Lisa."
"Thanks, I'll make her feel better." Mack smiled.
Note: Do you see where this is going? Bentley, I wouldn't tell someone you just met about your sister if I were you. However, it makes the story more interesting if there are more plot twists. What did you guys think about this chapter? Let me know when you leave a review or give a constructive criticism. Until next time guys, peace!