Chapter 2: A Lead & Another Shocking Discovery

A.N. Sorry the previous chapter was so short. To make up for it, I'll be trying to make the rest of the chapters, this one included, longer than that.

Forensic analysis of the body Bailey and his friends had found in the woods confirmed that it was indeed twenty-four-year-old Amar Achaval, and Amar's autopsy revealed that he had died after being shot in the aorta, based on a gunshot wound in the center of his chest, and based on the condition of the body, the time of death was ruled to have been sometime the night before Bailey and his friends found Amar's body. At the Stilton residence, the family was having breakfast and chatting happily with one another, but Chloe and Zoey were eating in absolute silence. This caused concern in their father, Brendan.

"Girls, is anything wrong?" he inquired.

"Yeah, you girls haven't said a word since you came home yesterday." added Rachel, their mother. "Are either of you sick? Should we call the doctor?"

"No doctor can cure how we're feeling." Chloe finally managed to utter.

Both parents were very concerned for their daughters. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Come in!" Brendan said.

The door opened and in walked Detective Washington. "Good morning." he greeted. "I'm detective Andrew Washington with the local police department. I need to speak with you when you're done eating."

"Alright." said Brendan.

Soon, the Stiltons were done eating and were conversing with Detective Washington in the living room. Mrs. Stilton had made some coffee for the adults while the twins had hot chocolate.

"Are Chloe and Zoey in any trouble?" Rachel worried.

"No, not at all." replied Detective Washington. "In fact, I wanted to ask you something. Does the name "Amar Achaval" ring a bell to either of you?"

"Yes, he's my PA. answered Brendan. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but he was murdered two nights ago." Detective Washington confessed. "I'm so sorry."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Stilton were shocked at this announcement.

"What?!" gasped Brendan.

"How?!" shrieked Rachel. "And why?!"

"That's what we're trying to find out." said Detective Washington. "How long have you known Amar?"

"He first came to America from India on a student visa." explained Brendan. "He was an exchange student at the local high school, and we were his host family. He liked the experience so much that he decided to move here after graduation, and he passed the citizenship test with ease. When he did move back, I hired him as my personal assistant."

"Was he any trouble?" Detective Washington asked.

"No." answered Rachel. "He was very well-mannered, and he treated us like family. He even took the twins to school for us and helped us around the house."

"And he was funny, too." added Zoey.

"He was like a brother to us." Chloe put in. "I just can't believe he's gone."

"Don't worry, we will do what it takes to find the person responsible." promised Detective Washington. "In the meantime, if you have any leads, here's my number."

Detective Washington gave Brendan a card with the telephone number of the local police department and left, and arrangements were made to have Amar's body buried in a local cemetary after his funeral with the consent of his parents, who were still living in India, and they agreed, and Brendan agreed to send them money for a plane ticket for them to fly to America for the funeral. Just as Brendanwas hanging up the phone with Mr. Achaval, there was a knock at the door. When Mrs. Stilton opened the door, she was greeted by Bailey.

"Hello, Bailey." she smiled.

"Hello, Mrs. Stilton." Bailey repeated. "Are Chloe and Zoey here?"

"Yes, they are." came Rachel's cordial reply.

Rachel called Chloe and Zoey to the door.

"What's up, Bailey?" Zoey asked.

"The others and I are gonna go to the mall and hang out." answered Bailey. "Wanna come with?"

"Sure, I guess." said Chloe.

"Yeah, we could use something to take our minds off this." agreed Zoey.

After saying goodbye to their parents, Chloe and Zoey left with Bailey, and soon met up with Sarah, Molly, Alma, and Nani at the mall. Their plan, like Bailey had said, was to just hang out, do a little shopping, and have lunch in the food court. Foretunately for all of them, Sarah's parents, being the richest in the state, had given them more than enough money to spend on this mall outing. Their first stop was the FYE store, where they bought a LEGO Star Wars Resistance A-Wing Starfighter set for Bailey, a Queen 40th Anniversary Collector's Box Set for Sarah, a Wonder Woman Geeki Tiki tumbler for Alma, Fine Line, the second studio album by Harry Styles of One Direction for both Chloe and Zoey, The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection on DVD for Molly, and a white faux fur pom knit beanie for Nani. Sarah had also bought a copy of Charley Pride's 1980 album There's a Little Bit of Hank in Me. After FYE, they all had a large pepperoni pizza from Papa John's in the food court. After lunch, they spent some time in the arcade, and pooled in their tickets to pay for a 380-count bucket of Dubble Bubble bubble gum, then they went to the candy shop, where they bought a box of Dots for Bailey, an 8-ounce bag of Hershey's Drops for Sarah, a box of Bottle Caps for Molly, a 7-ounce bag of Lifesavers Gummies for Alma, a blue raspberry and red cherry World's Largest Gummy Worm for Zoey and Chloe, and a Lindt white chocolate bar for Nani. Their final stop was Juju 66, where they all got small smoothies, with Bailey getting a mango smoothie, Sarah getting a papaya smoothie, Molly and Alma both getting honeydew smoothies, the twins getting banana smoothies, and Nani getting a watermelon slush smoothie. Just as Sarah was paying for the smoothies, Molly's cell phone rang, and when she answered, it was Detective Washington. The two had a brief conversation, then hung up.

"Who was that, Molly?" Nani questioned as she sipped her smoothie.

"Uncle Andy." answered Molly. "He wants us to come to the station right away. They've gotta break."

Everyone's eyes widened at this revelation.

"Well, what're we waiting for?" Sarah pondered out loud. "Let's go over there!"

Soon, they arrived at the station and went to see Detective Washington in his office.

"So, what's up, Uncle Andy?" Molly asked.

Detective Washington then placed two evidence bags on his desk. In the first was a Desert Eagle L5 semi-automatic pistol. In the second was an expanded .357 Magnum bullet.

"Your friend Will found this pistol buried under a pile of rocks and this bullet at the base of a tree with a metal detector." explained Detective Washington. "Ballistics testing showed that this was the weapon used in the murder of Amar Achaval."

Detective Washington then showed the kids photos of the results of the ballistic markings of the bullet that killed Amar and the one that was fired as part of the ballistics testing, and it was a perfect match. When Zoey and Chloe took a look at the pistol, a wave of surprise and shock washed over them.

"Hey, Zoey, doesn't Dad have a gun that looks like that?" Chloe gasped.

"Yeah, he does." confirmed Zoey.

Just then, an officer poked his head in.

"Detective, there's someone here who claims he's had a weapon stolen." the officer reported. "His name's Brendan Stilton."

"Hey, that's our dad!" Zoey cried out loud.

"Do you want me to send him in, sir?" the officer questioned.

Detective Washington nodded.

"Send him in, Cunliffe." came his reply.

"Yes, sir." said Cunliffe.

Soon, Brendan was in the office.

"Mr. Stilton, do you recognize this pistol?" Detective Washington questioned as he held up the bag with the gun inside.

Brendan was elated.

"Yes, that's my gun!" Brendan proclaimed.

"Great." said Detective Washington. "Well, if that's okay with you, we'd like to keep it here as evidence."

"Fine by me." nodded Brendan.

"Thank you." thanked Detective Washington.

Just then, Zoey had a thought.

"Dad, would it be okay if me and Chloe went with you back home?" she inquired. "I wanna check something out."

"Of course." answered Brendan.

"And I'll have a CSI squad go with you." offered Detective Washington.

"Sounds good to me." said Brendan.

Soon, Brendan, Chloe, Zoey, and a squad of Crime Scene Investigation officers were at the Stilton house. Rachel was still at work. The CSI team searched the residence for signs of forced entry, but there were none to be found.

"I think whoever stole the gun has been here before." one of the officers hypothesized.

"Where was the weapon stolen from?" questioned another.

"I'll show you." said Brendan.

Brendan led them upstairs to his and Rachel's bedroom, where he showed them a drawer that had a keyhole in it.

"This is where I normally keep it." Brendan explained. "Only two people have the key to this drawer; me and my wife."

"Yeah, and Mom's key is a copy." added Chloe.

One of the CSI officers took a photograph of the open safe.

"Well, that's all the evidence we can gather right now." said the officer. "Let us know when you have more information for us."

"Will do." promised Brendan.

The CSI team then left the house, and Brendan looked at his daughters.

"What do you girls say to dinner at Olive Garden?" he proposed.

"Sure." confirmed the twins.

Later that night, after their meal at Olive Garden, Chloe and Zoey were getting ready for bed.

"Hey, Zoey, can I tell you something?" Chloe asked.

"Sure." smiled Zoey. "What is it?"

"Well, since Dad said that only he and Mom have keys to that drawer, I can't help but feel that it was either Mom or Dad that killed Amar." Chloe confided.

Zoey was startled at this confession.

"You don't think that's true, do you?" she inquired.

"I hope not." replied Chloe, whose eyes then caught a glimpse at the time on the clock. "Well, we better get to sleep. It's almost 11."

"Right." agreed Zoey. "Goodnight, sis."

"Goodnight." repeated Chloe.

As the two girls fell asleep that night, their minds were tangled with thoughts of one of their own parents being a cold-blooded killer.

End of Chapter 2