Chapter 24:

Helga hurried home, hoping Arnold would be there waiting for her. She had to tell him everything before it was too late. There he was. It was surreal to look at him at the moment. He looked like a corn haired angel sitting on the couch watching football. She examined the way his eyelashes draped over his blue eyes. She looked at the way his lips pursed when he was relaxed and how his bare arms rested against the upholstery of the couch.

"Um, hi Helga. What are you staring at?"

His voice startled Helga. She was so into looking at him she forgot that it wasn't a moment frozen in time. He was gorgeous and she was so flawed. How could she ever begin to explain that she was sorry, that she didn't belong to Sid and that she always knew it was him from the beginning.

"Oh, um I wanted to talk to you." She could tell Arnold was caught off guard. Her heart was beating a hundred miles per minute. How was she supposed to go about this? Criminey, why did she suck so much at adulting and feeling things.

"Well what is it Helga?"

"Well um, uh… some guy called the other day. Called himself a shark or something."

Between snakes and sharks she was just about sick of all of these animal code names.

Arnold nodded and gave her a soft, "Oh."

The silence was killing her. Her head was pounding at a thousand beats per minute. How was she supposed to begin to tell Arnold that her love for him burned hotter than the heat of a hundred suns?

She just laughed awkwardly and snorted loudly. Criminey, she SNORTED. How sexy was that Helga? Great way to get a man by laughing uncomfortably at him.

Arnold blinked hard before saying, "Is everything alright Helga? Um, that noise you just made was...weird."

"I DIDN'T SLEEP WITH SID!" She blurted out and quickly clasped her hands over her face. Her face was probably so red it looked like she had the worst sunburn of her life.

"That's um...great I guess." He was silent for a minute then went on, "Me and Lila haven't done anything either, if that counts for anything. I think she's messing with her ex."

And finally the saint falls from her freaking pedestal! It took him long enough! Anyone could read through her Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes act like a new E.L. James novel.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out. She seemed perfect." Helga attempted to console Arnold, only to be responded to with a loud sigh.

"I think she's in trouble Helga. I feel it. I don't know what to do."

She thought back to the conversation she had with Frankie G. A fish always rotted from the head down. If Eugene didn't have enough balls to kill Rhonda then it had to be Lila. She was the only one innocent enough and creepy enough to commit cold blooded murder and get away with it.

"Oh can it Arnold! If she's in trouble she got herself there."

She was tired of his, his Arnold-ness. He never failed to see the good in people, even if they were a psychopathic, beautiful, murderous, seductress. It infuriated her how naive he was. He looked at everything through rose-colored glasses but when it came to Helga he was so critical.

"Why do you hate her so much?"

Was he kidding her right now?

"Because you can't see through her bullshit and think past your dick to see she's playing you Arnold. She just wants to know what we know about Rhonda. How can you not see that?"

"Even if that is the truth that's only one reason. You have always not liked her ever since we were kids. What's the problem?"

"I don't like her because she has you and always has and always will, okay? Is that good enough for you?"

"Helga-"

"Save it. I have to go." Helga turned to walk away but Arnold grabbed her by her arms.

Arnold leaned in close to her face and said, "No, no more running Helga."

Helga held her breath and counted to three. Unexpectedly, his hand drifted to her hip. It settled there and pulled her closer. She inhaled sharply. She was against his warm chest, chiseled to perfection. Must he be so perfect? She splayed her hand against it, intending to push him away, but instead she left it there. His breathing quickened as did hers. He began nuzzling her neck with delicate kisses. So faint, they were whispers. She urged herself to push away, but couldn't. Her limp body began to tremble uncontrollably. His head was angled slightly to the side as his lips came closer and closer to hers. She was surprised to find her own lips parted. Their breaths mingled. Her heart fluttered inside her chest. At first, it was a delicate butterfly of a kiss. Then his arms encircled her. Their lips met and dance together slowly. As if they were taking a minute to get to know each other. As if they couldn't believe it was happening.

Arnold pulled back but kept his hands on either of her cheeks. Too overwhelmed to speak they both stared at each other until their was an all too familiar knock at the door. It knocked them out of whatever moment this was.

"I'll get it." Arnold rushed to get the door.

Those stupid freckles and that perfect hair. That did it. She was the worst cock block of all time. She needed a piece of her mind. Arnold invited her of course and the moment she sat her skin tight wearing, plastic smile having body down on the couch she was going to lose it.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Helga protested. Of all the times she hated this girl she had never been more upset to see her than now. "Who let the murderer in?"

"HELGA!" Arnold yelled.

"Whatever are you talking about Helga? I never killed anyone. That's a bold accusation coming from someone like yourself."

"Someone like myself? You mean someone who sees how manipulative you are! Stop pretending now. i talked to Frankie and he told me that you were the one who killed Rhonda!"

Okay, that was a stretch. He didn't exactly say that but screw it. If it got a confession out of it her outburst was worth it. From the look on her face she was shaken up. She was gritting her teeth which meant Helga hit a hard enough nerve that she was pissed off.

"Helga, you can't accuse her of such a thing. Who is Frankie anyway?"

Lila said in a deadpanned voice, "Frankie is the father of Rhonda Wellington Lloyd's unborn child."

Arnold in shocked said,"WHAT? That isn't possible. She was going to marry Eugene."

"Criminey,Eugene is gay! He couldn't lay a girl if he tried. She went to Frankie because he could never satisfy her."

Helga had cracked her persona but she still smiled like nothing happened. Lila went on to say in her nicest voice possible, "I think you've said enough Helga. I have come to speak to Arnold so if you ever be so kind as to leave that would be nice."

"No Lila she's staying. Is this all true? Did you know Rhonda was cheating on Eugene?"

"Yes. Everything is true Arnold."

"You still didn't answer my question. Who is this Frankie guy? Oh God, did i do this? I gave her the number of Frankie G. He's a lawyer. How did he get involved in this mess?"

"Even I don't know that. Fess up Lila."

"She was going to ruin everything! She wanted out of the relationship with Eugene. She wanted to leave but certain legal precedings wouldn't allow her too. Plus, it would completely ruin Eugene's image. She was going to talk and tell everyone Eugene was gay. She decided she was going to sue Horowitz Inc for doing bad business, for bribing her, and for forcing her into an unhappy relationship."

She went on, "I had to stop her. I had to get rid of Frankie so I paid him off and told him if he didn't go threw with the case Horowitz Inc. would pay him a pretty penny. Frankie wouldn't leave he was in love with Rhonda and the two of them wanted to elope. I turned to Rhonda. She needed to be engaged to Eugene or Frankie would turn up dead. Of course she agreed to the engagement and Frankie was gone."

"Did you kill her Lila?"

Silence set in. You could hear a pin drop.

~/~

Sid and Harold were called into the station late that night. The Sergeant made it seem urgent when he sent the call out. Sid was busy catching up on Grey's Anatomy on Netflix when he had to rush to put on his uniform and head down to the station.

Sid and Harold met the Sergeant in his office. The two men sat down, anticipating a scolding.

"I got tip tonight on the Lloyd case boys. It's a file containing information Rhonda had collected to build a case against Horowitz Inc." He produced a yellow envelope and slid it across the desk to the other men. "Take a good look."

Sid and Harold scanned the paperwork. It was an expense report detailing that 5 million dollars had been moved from an off-shore account in Europe. Other papers documented a similar pattern of moving money around. The numbers didn't add up either. If the average income for the company was 2.5 million how did they suddenly have 5 million dollars to move around?

Harold asked, "I don't understand. Why would they move that much money?"

"Look at the other papers boys."

The next sheet had a warehouse number written in pink ink. Under it were photographs of large wooden crates which were supposedly in that same warehouse.

"Who sent these tips boss?" Sid was curious. His wheels were turning. He had to figure this out.

Sergeant Bergman answered quickly, "Frankie George. He wants to remain anonymous. He said he feels guilty. He said this is what Rhonda would have wanted. She wanted to expose the truth about everything then he sent over all of this paperwork Rhonda had given him days before she died."

Harold stated, "I still don't get it. What was Eugene doing with all this money?"

Sid replied, "Who knows? Let's get to this warehouse Harold. We'll find some answers there."

The Sergeant advised, "Noted. Be careful gentlemen. Who knows what can be there? Call if you need back up."

The two men got into the cop car, wondering what secrets they were about to uncover.

~/~

Lila's words cut through the uncomfortable silence, "No, of course not. I saw her the night she died at the hotel. I begged her to stop and that we could work things out but he turned me away. i tried to protect her." Tears ran down her pale face, "I really tried."

Helga yelled out, "Stop what? Stop with the cryptic bullshit."

Lila was hysterical. She was crying so hard that her eyes were red. "That's why I came here. Arnold isn't safe. Neither of you are safe. Stop digging before you end up like Rhonda. The shark is coming if you don't stop. I don't want anyone else hurt. Please."

Who the fuck was this shark and why was he so dangerous?

~/~

Sid and Harold drove in silence for most of the trip to the warehouse on the edge of town. The factory district was nearly empty, except for the Yahoo sodas being produced in town. It was quiet, almost too quiet. Besides the sound of the radio nothing could be heard driving up to the warehouse. Something just wasn't sitting right with Sid.

He just had to say something, "Remember that girl that was found dead in the bath tub with her dog?"

Harold made a right turn and then replied, "Patricia Coleman? What about her?"

"I don't know. She was only 23. She was young like Rhonda. She had a connection to Frankie G like Rhonda."

"Could be a coincidence. We can't assume Frankie has something to do with these girls' murders. There's no DNA evidence linking him anywhere near either of the women the night they died."

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that whoever is doing this might be trying to hit Frankie where it hurts. He is responsible for 85% of criminal convictions in the city. And Phoebe! Phoebe Heyerdahl, who we went to school with. Helga told me someone killed her pet too. She works with Frankie too. This isn't a coincidence Sid. Anyone who is remotely close to Frankie G. end up dead. Why?"

"I'm sure we'll find out." Harold stopped the car in front of the warehouse. Warehouse #41.

Sid had a bad feeling about this. He got out of the car and immediately pulled out his gun. There was no way in hell he was going in unarmed to some seedy warehouse on the shitty side of town.

Harold stood behind Sid with his gun locked and loaded in hand, "Whatever we see in here we cover each other no matter what happens."

Sid nodded and yelled out, "Let's do this!"

Sid thrusted the door open and hoped that he would be able to stomach whatever secrets the warehouse held.

~/~

Helga was fed up and wanted to know what was wrong. What was truth? She was tired of chasing the truth about Rhonda.

"I'm tired of this animal talk. What are you talking about?"

"I,I tried to warn you both. There's a war coming in Hillwood. No one is going to be safe now." With that statement Lila stormed out of the apartment in complete tears.

If a war was coming and if they really weren't safe Helga would be prepared. She wasn't one to go down without a fight.

Author's Note: I apologize for the long break. School happened but I'm almost finished this semester now. I hope you all like this chapter. What do you all think will happen next?