Chapter 5 BOOK ONE: CHAPTER FIVE

Then it dawned to Stella that James had been bought. She was right afterall, she thought. Pete was the murderer. Her father's laptop was taken away. That meant that the mastermind was very close to her father. Stella then remembered Pete's words,

".....I want everything gone"

That meant that Pete had planned to kill the entire family including her and her sisters. They managed to escape death because the heavens were with them. How could he be so heartless! Stella thought. At that moment, she hated him. She wished she could strangle him to death. She would never let Pete go scot-free.

He must pay for her parent's death! Since the police were not trustworthy, she would get justice for her parents herself.

Then she saw the rest of the police men return to George. They shook their heads negatively, gesturing that they did not find his body. George sighed looking worried but Stella knew he was only acting.

They were just pretending so that neither her nor her sisters would find them suspicious. What a small world! Despite how stern her father was, Stella found him pitiful. First, he was betrayed by his best friend. Then his childhood friend was willing to cover it up. She had to learn from this, Stella told herself.

Aside from her siblings, no one else is to be trusted.

She saw George taking notes while James was calling someone, probably the forensic cleaners to take care of the dead bodies. George also brought out his phone to call someone else. Stella ignored them, knowing fully well they had everything planned.

She went to the living room to meet her sisters. Gloria was feeling better but was in a very dull mood. Maria stood up to meet her as soon as she arrived.

"How is everything going? Did you tell inspector James? What did he say? Did....."

"Maria lower your voice" Stella said cautiously, "the police have been bought, they are trying to cover up Uncle Pete's crime."

"But.....but....." Maria stammered, shocked and confused.

"Listen Maria, we must trust nobody but ourselves. We must not tell the police of our suspicions"

"Then what should we do? Does that mean mom and dad won't get justice?"

"Says who? Listen Maria, we still have one month before the next semester begins. That is enough time to bring uncle Pete down."

"And how are we going to do that? Besides won't uncle Pete try to kill us, the same way he kill our parents"

"I've thought about that and I've decided that we will move into uncle Pete's house. Uncle Pete cares about his reputation. He won't kill us if we live in his house. Moreover, it'll be easier for us to teach him a lesson that way." Stella explained.

"What you said makes sense. Alright, I'll listen to you".

Stella nodded and turned to look at Gloria who was sitting on the sofa, still sad. She decided to lighten up her mood by taking her to the garden. She should try to be a goody-goody sister for once, she told herself.

"Maria, I'll take Gloria to the garden" she said and turned to Gloria, "come with me"

Gloria did not resist. She stood up and followed Stella to the garden. Stella took her to the spot where she was with Miuky earlier that day. She picked up a flower and put it close to Gloria's nose.

"It scents nice...... right?" She asked, trying to sound cheerful but Gloria wasn't in the mood. She pushed the flower away.

"It doesn't.....it smells like blood. Please take it away" Gloria said, sounding irritated.

Stella guessed she wasn't a goody-goody sister afterall. She thought of what to say to make Gloria feel better.

"Don't worry Gloria, the murderer will be taught a lesson. It's only a matter of time."

"Don't try to fool me Stella, I think that the police are clueless. We won't be able to find the murderer" she sobbed.

That wasn't what Stella expected. She hadn't made Gloria feel better but instead she made her feel horrible. Perhaps telling Gloria the truth would be better. She needed to know she(Stella) is aware of who the murderer was.

"Gloria....."

"We should tell Uncle Pete about this. He's the only one that can help us" Gloria said and saw the appalling look on Stella's face.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked.

"No, not at all," Stella responded.

It would be better to tell Gloria some other time. Now was definitely the wrong time. The most important thing at that moment was to brighten Gloria's mood.

"You're right Gloria.... Uncle Pete is the only one we can trust." Stella agreed, "we are going to move into his house for the time-being" she added.

"Really?" Gloria asked eagerly and Stella nodded affirmatively. "That's great!"

Stella was glad to see the cheerful look on Gloria's face. It was worth lying for, Stella told herself.

"Let's go inside and inform the police" Stella said and Gloria agreed.

They went inside and found Maria talking to James. They moved closer to them to become part of the conversation....or maybe investigation.

"Thanks a lot sir" Stella heard Maria saying as she got to where they were.

"Hold on a sec" James said he went to meet George in Mark's room.

"What were you talking about?" Stella asked as soon as James was off their sight.

"He was asking me if I had any idea on who the murderer was," Maria said.

Stella scoffed, "Uncle Pete wants to know if we are suspicious of him or not"

"If that's the case, then he's never going to find out because I told the police nothing!" Maria said.

"Also, I told him that we trust Uncle Pete a lot and we want to stay at his house for the time being"

"Nice" Stella commended, "so what did he say"

"He did not disagree. He even volunteered to take us there. I think he went to Dad's room to inform Mr George about it. The forensic cleaners, medical examiners or whatever they are called would be here soon. I think he wants to tell Mr George to wait for them to arrive while he escorts us to Uncle Pete's house"

"Alright. Let's go pack our things"

***********

Pete could not fall asleep. He wondered if everything went as planned. Where did those girls disappear so late at night? He hoped the people he paid were equal to the task. He removed from his bed and started pacing to and fro.

His wife, Rose, was disturbed by his unsteady movements. She sat on the bed.

"Stop doing that Pete! David is going to handle everything so just calm down" she said.

"Didn't you hear what he said! He could not find the girls in the house. Where on earth did they go!" He retorted.

"Oh come on, we've called Inspector James and he promised to take care of it if the girls call him"

"But what if the girls don't call him? What if we get caught?"

"You know that it's not possible Pete. Apart from Inspector James, who else can they call? And besides, he is their father's childhood friend."

"You make everything sound so easy"

"Not really" Rose said as she stood up to meet him. "You are getting worried for no reason." She added as slowly made him sit.

"Listen, Mark's daughters trust us a lot. They would never think you are responsible for their parents death." She told him.

Although Pete looked calm, he was still worried. He looked at his phone expecting James to give him a call and inform him about what was going on. Soon, his phone started ringing. He hurriedly picked it up without checking for the caller.

"Hello" Pete said, trying to hide his worried tone.

"Sir it's me" David said.

"How is everything going?" Pete asked.

"I've spoken to inspector James. Don't worry sir, we have it all planned. Nothing will be linked to you." He assured Pete.

"Alright, alright. Well done." Pete said relieved as he cut the call.

"Everything is being taken care of," he told his wife.

"Didn't I tell you" Rose said cheerfully, "my children will never lose their father"

"Of course, I'm not Mark," he said, jokingly.

Pete smiled as he lay back in his bed. Everything happens for a reason, Pete thought. Since they refused to die, he would fool them and take the remaining properties in Stella's name.

He was able to easily take over Mark's company because he died without a will. Mark had disowned his son and had no one to hand over his company to. Before he could close his eyes, Bella, his first daughter, entered the room without knocking.

"Dad! Mom! The police are here!" She exclaimed.

Pete became alarmed, so was his wife. Rose looked at him in a way to ask him what went wrong. Pete, who was as clueless as she was, ignored her and went to the gate. On getting there, he saw the gateman talking to some police officers and his worries increased when he saw Mark's daughters with them.

What was going on? He wondered. Did inspector James betray him? But he paid him a lot of money. Was it David? Pete's guilty conscience wouldn't let him be. He slowly walked closer to them with a heavy heart.

"Excuse me inspector" Pete said trying to act brave and strong, "how may I help you"

James noticed his tense tone and chuckled. He is such a little kid. He explained everything to Pete and watched how his mood lightened up.

"The ladies trust you a lot and want to stay in your residence," James added.

"Oh I see... It's fine" Pete said but suddenly changed his expression, "I wonder who could do such a horrible thing to Mark. Inspector, if there's anything I can do to help please inform me"

Stella glared at him. What an act! You better enjoy your days Uncle Pete, because they are numbered. She saw the inspector nod in agreement before leaving. Pete sympathized with the girls and welcomed them into his house. He called three of his houseboys and ordered them to take their luggages in. They entered the parlor and saw Rose and Bella.

"This is my wife, Rose and my daughter, Bella " He introduced and the girls nodded.

"While this is Maria, Stella and Gloria" He said pointing to each of them as he called their names. " They will be living with us from now on," he added.

"So they are the ones that made the police disturb us this night" Bella said.

"Don't be rude Bella" Rose said.

"I'm only telling the truth, Mom. They could have come tomorrow morning. Did they have to disturb us tonight? '' she snubbed.

"Quiet Bella!" Pete scolded, "don't say such words to them. They just lost their parents."

"Whatever" Bella said as she moved to go to her room.

"Get back here!" Pete ordered. "Apologize to them"

"What!" Bella gasped, "why should I do that!"

Stella loved the scene she was watching. Father and daughter getting angry at each other. Perhaps adding fuel to the fire would make it more interesting.