Chapter 7
The scavenger hunt soon began and everyone was looking around for the items Komo had either seen or hidden. Wooly was looking around near a pile of leaves when Rebecca tapped him on the shoulder, making him yelp and fall back into the leaves, making her giggle as she jumped in after him.
Wooly yelped as he tried to escape the leaves, feeling hands wrap around his waist and lift him out of the leaf pile. "You okay, Wooly?" Skylar asked as she set him down gently, plucking a few stray leaves carefully from the top of the young boy's head.
"Yes," he said. "Leaves used to stick to my wool all the time. I guess I forgot they won't stick to me anymore."
Riley chuckled before she saw Rebecca poke her head out. "Wooly!" Rebecca called out.
"He's not there," the detective said. "But I am."
She grinned and jumped in the leaf pile as Rebecca squealed and looked to escape, but Riley caught her, tickling the girl and making her laugh happily. Komo jumped in to 'rescue' the two from the leaf pile, only to let out a booming laugh as Riley and Rebecca decided to include him in the tickle torture.
Wooly jumped and hugged Skylar in fear at hearing the sound, to which she picked him up and hugged him soothingly. "It's okay. That was only Komo," she said, having heard him laugh before.
"It was?!" Wooly asked in surprise.
She chuckled. "Yes," she said. "It's okay. He surprised me too when I first heard him laugh like that."
The leaf pile disappeared and Komo stood up with Riley and Rebecca caught in his arms. "Goodness. Had I know the leaf pile would cause such hilarity, I would have chosen to make it a pile of feathers instead," the genie said.
Everyone laughed, though Komo noticed Wooly seemed to have been startled. "Are you alright, young one?" He asked.
"Y-Yeah," the boy said.
"He got a bit startled when you laughed," Skylar said gently.
"Oh," the genie said, looking sheepish. "Sorry about that, Wooly."
Rebecca looked up at her brother. "It's okay, Wooly," she said.
Riley noticed something on Wooly's shirt and gently plucked it off his shirt, gasping. "Wooly! You found the maple leaf!" She said.
"I did?" He asked, turning to see.
Skylar chuckled. "Guess that's why Komo put the leaf pile there," she said.
The genie chuckled. "I did," he said. "And Wooly did find the elusive leaf. There's still five hidden items and three more that I found in my trek."
"Let's keep going then," Riley said.
The rest of the hike was fun along with the kids finding the rest of the hidden items and the two women finding the other three items that Komo had found. By the time they reached the cabin again, their mysterious friend was there. "Hey, what's up?" Skylar asked.
The figure handed her a newspaper again, pointing to something on it and she opened it, starting to read. "The company responsible for The Amanda Show is working with the local law enforcement to catch the people responsible for destroying company property and embezzling funds. 'We will catch the person responsible and he will pay,' says the owner of the company. When asked about the child disappearances that were recently brought to media attention, the company owner refused to comment, seeming to get really mad when someone asked about Rebecca, the young girl who was the inspiration for The Amanda Show, stating that the girl was kidnapped and he believes that the person who kidnapped her is the same one responsible for the fire."
"Good grief," Riley said.
"They're really trying to get the spotlight off themselves," Komo said.
"Wait...why were the reporters asking about the missing children?" The detective asked.
Skylar looked up at their mystery friend, who nodded. She smiled. "Our mystery friend put the word out," she said before turning back to the trench coat-wearing person. "Do you still have the other evidence against the company?"
They nodded. "I think we'll need to release more of the evidence," Skylar continued. "But hold off on showing the Ace card. You still have it, right?"
They nodded again. "Okay, be careful out there," she said. "Catch you later."
The mystery person left and Skylar sighed, looking worried. "Skylar?" Riley asked.
The programmer turned to her friends and the kids. "This may not be as an open-and-shut case as we originally thought it would be," she admitted. "If the company is going so far as to try and come up with false charges against us and they get enough people on their side, then this is going to go downhill very fast."
Rebecca clung to Komo as she realized what that could mean and he hugged her comfortingly. "Don't worry, Rebecca. We won't let them get you and Wooly again," he said soothingly.
"But what if they get the police involved and take us away?" Wooly asked.
Riley fell into thought. "Hold on," she said. "Let me call up a friend of mine. I'm sure I can get him to stall everything for a bit."
"Your friend is in a high position of power?" Komo asked.
"Commissioner of the police department."
Skylar looked hopeful and nodded. "Okay, give him a call," she said. "Meanwhile, Komo and I will draw up alternate plans, just in case."
Riley knew was Skylar meant and nodded, not taking offense because she also knew how risky this was. "If he does agree, it could cost him everything," she said.
Rebecca and Wooly looked at her with teary eyes and the detective smiled gently. "But I'm sure he'll agree when he hears that it's to keep you two safe," she said reassuringly.
"In the meantime, let me get you kids set up with a movie," Komo said.
"Yeah!" Wooly and Rebecca agreed happily.
Fifteen minutes later, the two kids were watching a hilarious movie and eating some snacks while Komo and Skylar began drawing up alternate plans. "I don't like that we have to do this, Komo," she said. "We're playing with fire here."
"So is the company," Komo pointed out. "Only difference is we won't get burned if we keep playing our cards right. They've laid out all their cards."
"Thus giving themselves no escape," the programmer said, her eyes wide in realization. "They're so desperate to cover up the truth that they've left themselves wide open."
"Exactly," the genie said with a grin. "Which will make it easier for our mystery friend to gather more evidence, which I've got a feeling they are doing right now."
Skylar grinned. "Then let's not have this opportunity slip past us," she said as they both began drawing up plans again.
Riley called the Commissioner's personal number and he replied. "Riley?" He asked.
"Sir, I need a favor," she said. "One that is going to potentially cost us both our jobs if we're not careful."
The Commissioner was quiet. "What's this about, Riley?" He asked after a bit.
"It's about the company behind The Amanda Show."
He sat up more. "Something tells me you're going to tell me something that is going to sound almost too good to be true, but it's the truth," he said.
"Yes, sir," she said. "Are you ready?"
The Commissioner got a pen and paper ready. "I'm all ears."
Will the Commissioner be willing to help them out, despite it meaning he could lose his job? We shall see.
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GoldGuardian2418
