TST #2

If you haven't read the part 1 of the story, I recommend you to go and read the first part of the story, so you get the idea of what just happened in the first part.

Enjoy!!

Part 2

Mabel

I turned around to see who was there. And, guess what, it was the last person I wanted to talk to at the time. Ericson Relish.

“Me,” Eric said proudly, a sly grin on his face.

Faith and I gave him a death stare.

Mr. Campbell slapped him on the back playfully and began complimenting him, saying, "His grace, Prince of Kylan, will soon graduate from the University of Manchester. Can you guess what his bachelor's degree was?”

Faith asked, uninterested, "What? Being flirtatious and abusive to girls?”

Mrs Campbell glared at her.

“It was in the field of criminology. In addition, he is looking for a position as a detective sergeant at CID. As a result, he is good at finding culprits and is the ideal person for the job,” he continued, ignoring Faith's comment.

“Oh, Uncle Frank, please refer to me as ‘Eric’. I despise formality,” he admitted humbly.

“Oh, father, come on. After what he did to Mabel, you can't let him solve the case. This jerk only knows how to misbehave and abuse girls,” Faith retorted.

“Faith!?” Mrs Campbell scowled at her.

“Faith, everyone makes mistakes. He apologised to me for his behaviour toward Amabel. He is even ready to apologise to her. Right, Eric?” Mr. Campbell elaborated.

“Yeah, uncle,” Eric said as he began to approach me.

No matter how many times I told myself not to avoid his gaze and to not move back, nervously, I did it. Why am I such a freak? Being nervous all the time and not knowing to handle situations.

He took my hand in his and kissed it softly before muttering, "I'm sorry,"

“You should be,” I said, clearing my throat. "However, I forgive you.”

He smirked and sat beside me on another rotating chair.

“Now, let's talk about the deal. Eric, do you say yes or no?” Faith inquired, her hands crossed.

“Yes, but I have a condition,” Eric explained.

"And what will it be?" Faith inquired bluntly.

“If I solve the case and find the painting and the culprit... Anyways, I'm confident it will happen,” he boasted.

“Would you just say that already?” I complained, irritated.

“If I solve it, Amabel Pierce will be mine. You're going to have to marry me,”

My pupils dilated. Who the hell does he think he is?! Choosing how I want my life to go and who I want to marry!

“That's not even fair! You may be a prince, but that does not give you the right to choose her life partner, and she will never be yours!” Faith was fuming in anger.

Faith looked at me, a worried expression on my face, and I was completely taken aback by what Eric had just said.

"A deal is a deal. Faith, you've already said yes,” he defended himself.

 Faith

“Yeah, before I knew what it would cost!” I shouted.

Eric strode towards me and grabbed my waist. “Darling girl, don’t fret.” He leaned towards me and I kicked him in the shin in disgust.

“Not only are you an abusive idiot, you’re a disgusting jerk. You say you love my friend and go on to try and kiss me?” I looked up at him.

Eric leaned into my ear and caressed my cheek slowly. “You know sweet, I do love Amabel. But she doesn’t have the money and the looks that you do.” He kissed me and I fell backwards, stunned.

“You...You...” I stammered.

Eric tightened his grip on my waist. “The deal is now, that if I win, I get Mabel and Faith. One of them can be my wife and the other will be my...maid.” 

“I bet your maid will have something else going on with the prince. Forcefully, may I add.” I clutched Mabel’s shoulder and leaned into her. We sat down on the nearest couch and I shivered. I didn’t like the kiss, but I liked it was with a boy...? Maybe I’m pan? 

Not the time Faith. I told myself. You can figure out your sexuality later. 

I stared at Mabel who was looking at Eric fearfully. I pulled her close, like she was a little girl I needed to protect. She squeezed my hand tight.

“No way.” I whispered. “Eric, we’re eighteen. We’re too young for this. And we wouldn’t want you to be our first love.”

Eric sat next to Mabel. “Whatever do you mean Faith? My heart belongs to Mabel.” Eric kissed Mabel passionately on the lips.

“Is no one seeing this?!” I threw my hands up into the air.

Mother and the guests turned around. “Sorry darling? What’s happening?”

“Aargh!” I exclaimed.

Mabel smiled at Eric and grabbed his face. “You know...maybe you’re not so bad.”

“That’s right baby.” Eric went in for another, but before he could, Mabel smashed his face into the couch and he yelped in surprise.

“You’re horrible. Faith!” She grunted.

“On it!” I grinned. I got up from the couch and walked away from the seat. Then, I sprinted towards the couch at top speed and jumped onto Eric’s back angrily.

“Deal. But you might want to see a doctor about that.” 

And I might too, I thought, rubbing my back.

Mabel

Before Faith and I could get into a detailed hollywood-style fight scene, Mr and Mrs Campbell pulled us away from Eric.

“Hey, hey, hey, kids. Stop quarreling,” Mrs Campbell exclaimed.

I was about to leave, feeling exhausted. I don’t wanna be here anymore, it’s because of Faith that I decided to come here in the first place.

“Okay, before you go. Remember you both have fourteen days that is two weeks to solve the case,” Mr Campbell reminded us.

I grabbed my stuff and walked into the dressing room to change into something more comfortable, a white t-shirt, blue checkered jacket, and sweatpants. Putting up my hair in a messy bun, I entered the great hall to say that I’m leaving.

“Get ready to ring the wedding bells in 2 weeks, Uncle Frank and Aunt Hailey. You’ll have the painting back on 8th July and Mabel and I will get married on the same day,” He said, feeling confident about himself.

Several oohs and aws can be heard from the crowd.

Before I could leave the mansion, 

“Wait for a sec, princess,”

I turned around and glared at him, “Be ready to be Mrs Relish and the future queen,” Eric said, winking at me.

I ignored him and rolled my eyes in disgust, “I’m leaving.”

“Mabel!” I heard Faith call out just after I exited the mansion.

Third Person POV

The doorbell rang thrice in row, which made Mabel’s dad, Liam feel like the person at the door is pretty impatient and if he didn’t go over and open the door right now, they would probably bring the Hulk over and make him blast the door.

“Coming!” He yelled out, as he washed his hands.

He ran to the hallway to get the door. He opened the door to be met with-

“Hey, May! What’s up? I thought you had planned to stay at Faith’s,” Liam asked his daughter, Mabel who was looking all upset and angry. He was the only one who called her ‘May’.

Mabel just shot a glare at him and walked away.

“You okay, Mabes?” He asked as he followed Mabel into the kitchen. She opened up the refrigerator and looked in. She grabbed a water bottle and gulped some ice cold water.

“I’m okay. Just don’t come over to my room for a couple hours, okay?” She mumbled, sadness lingering in her words.

“Hun, I know that something’s not okay, but I won’t force you to tell me the matter. When you feel like telling me it, you know where to find me,” Liam said, sad that Mabel was feeling upset.  

“Sure, dad,” Mabel mumbled before going up the stairs.

Liam was about to make Pizza, Mabel’s favourite food, hoping that could cheer her up. But that's when music began blasting out through her room, almost cracking the glass vase on the ground floor. Mabel was also singing along to the spanish song, Dos Veces which was blasting through her bluetooth speakers.

“Turn down the volume, Mabel! Both of our eardrums will blast, kid!” Liam shouted out and the volume was turned down.

He sighed in relief and began grating cheddar cheese.

The door-bell rang again and this time he didn’t wait for the third ring. He rushed to the door and opened it.

“Oh, hey, Faith!” Liam greeted Faith who was panting like a lot as if she ran all the way from her mansion to Mabel’s apartment.

“Uncle...Liam, Where’s...Mabel?” She made out these words as she tried to stop herself from panting.

“Oh, Mabel’s upstairs,” He continued. “Anyways, what’s up with her? She seems upset,”

Faith stuttered, as she entered the cozy, homely apartment, playing with her red hair, “Oh, it’s nothing,”

“Nothing, uh? Kid, please tell me what’s wrong. She only does this when she is either ecstatic or extremely sad or angry,” He crossed his arms and explained, referring to Mabel singing along to Spanish songs loudly. “I don’t think she is ecstatic, right now.”

Faith

“Just tense...” I said slowly.

“It’s Dos Veces, Faith,” Liam’s eyes widened. “She only brings out Dos Veces when it’s bad.”

“A painting got stolen. That’s all I’m telling you,” I tilted my head to the side and smiled. Then I dashed down the hall and slammed Mabel’s door shut.

“Good afternoon to you too.” Mabel rolled her eyes. I ignored her and flopped onto her bed. The bedspread was navy blue, and weirdly soft. I fingered the fluffy blanket that I had landed on lovingly. It was so smooth.

“This blanket.” I said, “This blanket is my true love,” I laughed.

“Well, I hope you’re happy together, but we have other things to do.” Mabel chuckled. “What’s the first step to solving a mystery?” She asked.

I kicked my combat boots off and they skidded across the floor, coming to a stop at a Nancy Drew book. “Let’s have a look!” I picked it up and flipped through the pages till I found what Nancy did first.

“Checked CCTV...”

“Done,” Mabel nodded.

“Question the victim...”

“Let’s do that. What else?” Mabel asked.

“Interview the possible suspects!” I exclaimed.

“Alright. Let’s go talk to your mother!”

“Amabel! Faith! Come in, come in!” Mother ushered us inside hurriedly.

“I was just making some tea for Eric. Eric darling, come say hi!” Mother bustled into the kitchen and someone walked out. 

“Eric,” I growled.

Eric held his hands in the air innocently, “I’m not here to fight Faith. I came here to interview your mother.” 

Mabel took a sharp breath.

“Actually, we came to interview her. So you should probably leave,” I smiled.

“But I was here first,” He frowned. Then he looked at Mabel and smiled softly, “Hello there darling.”

Mabel scoffed, “You sound like a six year old.” 

Mother walked out with the tea and placed it on the coffee table. “Now now, why can’t you both interview me?”

“No!” Mabel and I shouted in unison. 

Mother jumped at the noise and smoothed back her blonde hair. 

“Flip a coin?” I asked.

“HEADS!” Eric screamed and we all looked at each other. 

“Alright,” I sighed. I flipped the coin and it flew up into the air, and came right back down. Facing upwards was....

“Tails!” I said in glee. “Bye bye, Prince Posh!” Eric stormed out the door with a bang.

“How...?” Mabel murmured.

“Double tails.” I flipped the coin in my fingers. “Everyone assumes it’s a double heads,” I chuckled.

Mabel 

“Wow, I had no idea my best friend was this smart! ” I pretended to be surprised.

“Hey, that hurt!" Faith put her hand on her chest and gasped, pretending to be hurt. We then burst into fits of laughter.

“Okay, let’s start then, Faith,” I said, taking up a notepad and a pen to jot down the notes.

“Who all came to the ball? ” I inquired, rapidly tapping the tip of my pen on the notepad.

“Almost a hundred people from different parts of the US and also outside the US. Here you go, the guest list,” she said, handing over two stapled papers.

“Thank you,” I said after briefly scanning the list. There were almost a hundred people, and narrowing down the possible suspects will take a long time.

“What makes someone want to steal the painting?” Faith inquired, despite the fact that she was well aware of the answer.

“Our ancestor painted the painting. He was one of the greatest painters in history. However, he was not as well-known as Leonardo Da Vinci or Vincent Van Gogh; Not that he was alive in their time. He was one of history's most underrated artists. And this was one of his best works to date. Mrs. Campbell explained, looking at me with hopeful eyes, “it's quite valuable.”

“Does that mean that only people close to the Campbell family were aware of him and the painting?” I inquired.

Mrs. Campbell nodded and said, "Exactly, Amabel."

“So, the culprit is someone who is close to the Campbell Family and knows them well. The person is well-versed in paintings, admires them, and may even be a fan of...uh...”

Faith finished my sentence, "Nixon Campbell."

Mrs Campbell nodded, agreeing with my conclusion.

I jotted down my findings about the culprit.

“What's the next question?” Mrs. Campbell inquired.

“Well, that's all the questions we have right now. We'll come over if we need more answers, Mrs. Campbell,” I told her, trying to be professional.

“Of course, hun. You're welcome at any time,” Mrs. Campbell said as we exited the mansion and walked down the street.

“So, where are we going next?” Faith inquired, her gaze fixed on her smartwatch. 

I paused for a moment before responding, "I know someone who can help us right now."

“Your father?” She inquired.

“No, it's too complicated to tell him right now,” I explained.

“How about we go for a ride outside the city?” As I started walking, I said.

Faith gave me a puzzled look and stood still. But when she didn't see me stop and look around for her, she began to walk, attempting to catch up with me.

“Hey, hey, girl, slow down!” She yelled.

I softly chuckled as I watched her run and catch up to me.

"You run like a cheetah!" she said.

“Where are we going?” She inquired, intrigued.

“You'll see,” I walked downstairs to the Underway Subway Station.

“Um, I’d like to meet someone who is a student here,” I told the receptionist who was sitting on the enquiry desk of the Campus. She smiled sweetly at us. She had a badge on her coat which said, N. Smith, Receptionist, University of California, Berkeley.

“Which department?”

“Psychology. Undergraduate. Senior,”

“Name?”

“Charlie, Charlie Coleman,”

“Ooh, our Chuck’s got a visitor,” I heard someone whistle cheerfully. 

Faith and I turned around to see a girl and a boy who was a couple years older than us, right in front of us. They were in jerseys and the girl was smiling, bouncing the basketball she had in her hand.

The boy placed his hand on my shoulder, but moved his hand away when he saw me flinch.

“Don’t worry, we’re Charlie’s roommates. We’ll take you to him,” The boy said, trying to calm me down.

“You can trust us, kid,” The brown-haired girl swayed her ponytail and said.

I squeezed Faith’s hand. We followed them upstairs, probably to the dorms. 

“By the way, my name is Alyssa,” The girl or Alyssa said.

“And, I’m Matthew. What’s your name, blondie?” He asked, referring to me.

I chuckled at the name Matthew just gave me, “Amabel, but, everyone calls me ‘Mabel’,”

“But, I’ll call you ‘Blondie’. It fits you more,” He said, winking playfully as I watched Alyssa roll her eyes in the corner of my eyes.

“What’s your name?” Alyssa asked Faith who was walking beside me, saying nothing.

“My name is Faith,” Faith said and smiled at both Alyssa and Matthew.

We stopped simultaneously in front of a dorm door, which I guess was Charlie’s.

Faith

Alyssa knocked on the door and a voice called out, “No Darcy, I’m not going out with you!”

I tried to keep in my snicker, but it came out anyway.

Matthew smirked, “But Charlie,” He begged in a high-pitched voice. “I love you so much that I could just kiss you on the face!” The door swung open to reveal a very annoyed looking Charlie.

“Hah-” Charlie looked at us.

“Hey Charlie,” I smiled.

“Mabel...Faith....” He walked towards us and squeezed us tight. “You’ve grown!”

“We’re only three years younger than you,” I grumbled. He ruffled my hair playfully. “And I’m at Uni. I guess that’s what happens,” He sighed.

“So Mabel...Why are you here?” He asked. I looked at Alyssa and Matthew and Alyssa nodded. “Matthew? Can you fix my...mini fridge?” 

Matthew frowned, “But I don’t know h-” Before he could finish his sentence, Alyssa dragged him away.

“Can we come inside?” Mabel looked at Charlie hopefully.

“Sure...?” And at that remark, we all barged into Charlie’s room.

Charlie stared at us from his bed and I spun around in his swivel chair, my fingers pressed together like a villain from a cartoon.

“Charles Colemanana.” I bit my fist.

“Just because when I was ten I slipped on a banana peel, that does not mean you can call me that.” Charlie grumbled.

“No way Colemanana,” I smirked.

Mabel rolled her eyes, “Anyway....” “We’re solving a mystery and want your help.”

“I study Psychology Mabes,” Charlie pursed his lips. “Not Criminal Psychology.”

“I know Charlie, but do you know anything about it?” Mabel asked.

Charlie paused.

“C’mon Colemanana,” I grinned.

“A little bit...” He grimaced.

“Tell us what you know.” I cracked my knuckles.

Mabel

I sat down on the bed beside Charlie, who was deep in thoughts. Charlie and I haven't seen each other in a long time, and it feels great to see him again.

“Okay, there is something. If you figure that out, you can solve even the most complicated mystery,” He told us.

“What’s that?” I ask, brimming over with curiosity.

Faith looked as curious as I was.

“It’s that...even the hardest mysteries and the smartest criminal leave a loophole. If you can figure that out, solving mysteries is like a piece of cake,” He explained.

“Really?” I asked, surprised.

“Yep, hundred percent sure,” Charlie nodded.

“Colemanana, where did you learn all this?” Faith added, cheekily.

Charlie and I rolled our eyes at the same time.

“My original plan after high school was to pursue an undergraduate degree in Criminology. However, my GPA was lower than the required minimum. So I decided to major in Psychology, my second favourite subject. For college, I’ve even written a research paper on Criminal Psychology,” He told her.

“What’s the decision? Will you help us solve the mystery?” I asked with puppy dog eyes. I knew that he can't resist my puppy dog eyes.

He shuffled my hair and smiled at me, “Anything for my blondie and her red-headed bestie,”

“So, what exactly is this mystery? A murder? Theft? What exactly happened which made-”

The door creaked and we all turned our heads to the side at the same time.

“Oh, hey, sorry to disturb you guys,” Alyssa peeked into the room.

“No, it’s fine. We’re done anyways,” I told her, glancing at Charlie and Faith.

“See, I told you,” Matthew too peeked his head in, placing his head above Alyssa's.

“Every Friday night, we go to this awesome tavern nearby, Neon Tavern. Almost all the students and professors here go there. So, are you two coming with us, blondie and Faith?” Matthew continued.

“Why not, I’ll come. But, don’t force me to drink, please. I don’t drink,” I said, emphasizing on the word ‘drink’.

“No, we won’t,” Charlie reassured me.

“I’m in!” Faith exclaimed.

“Well, then, let’s go!” Matthew exclaimed happily.

Faith

I threw my head backwards hysterically, “no more jokes. Matthew, please!” 

Mabel chuckled and grinned happily. She looked around for a waitress, hoping to get more food. But she froze and grabbed my arm.

“Faith,” 

I turned around from my lemonade and nodded. 

“E-Eric. It’s Eric,” She pointed at a man with well done hair swigging a glass of whiskey. He had quite obviously had a bit too much to drink because he grabbed our waitress and kissed her. I don’t think she cared though. She just ran off with him into a secluded booth in the back.

A very confused man who was sitting with him before that grabbed his hat and a badge on the table.

My eyes locked onto the badge and I gasped, “He’s cheating!”

Mabel gagged at the sight of Eric and our waitress kissing in the booth. “Yeah, on his other thirty thousand girlfriends,” She rolled her eyes.

“No, Mabel. That’s a detective from the local police department!” I got up from my chair and walked over to the detective.

“Excuse me, but was that man talking to you about...I don’t know...A missing painting stolen at a masquerade party hosted by the Campbells?” I asked.

The detective glared at Eric, “Yes.”

“Great. Well give him this from Faith Campbell and ‘Babygirl’” I wrote something down on my notepad and ripped out the page. 

“Ok...?” I went over to our table and hugged Charlie. “Thank you, but we must leave.” I grabbed Mabel by the wrist and we ran off to my car.

Mabel looked at me and I grabbed the papers mother gave us. 

“Mabes, we need to get cracking.” I looked down the list. 

“How?” She asked.

I grabbed my phone and looked up Nixon Campbell. “Research. I mean, it’s not like we know him at all. Tons of people could resent him for heaps of reasons.”

“That’s true Faith, but for all we know, there could be three Nixon Campbells out there. Your mother even said that he wasn’t well known.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why are you so smart?” I groaned and set my phone down.

Mabel flipped her hair sarcastically, “thank you!” She looked at me. “Faith, it’s a good idea. But we should specify it a bit....” 

“Nixon Campbell-Smith?” I asked. “Divorce.” I explained to Mabel.

Mabel’s eyes lit up at my idea, “perfect!” “What does it say?”

I scrolled down the Britannica page, skimming the paragraphs for important information. I stopped at “Later Career” 

Fear raced through my chest, “woah....”

“What is it?!” Mabel exclaimed.

Mabel

I grabbed the phone from her hands and went through the Britannica page, “Nixon Campbell was once arrested for false fraud in the art industry. The criminal refused to be named or interviewed anywhere, but he said this: "I swear on my life, Sir Campbell should be arrested. Not just for fraud."” 

I bit my nails, anxiously, in deep thoughts, “I thought this mystery would get easier and easier as we investigate, but, seems like it’s getting more and more complicated, Faith,”

We both sat down on a bench on the side-walk. I ran my eyes over the notes about the culprit. 

“Don’t stress out, Mabes. I’m sure you can do this. We will definitely solve the mystery,” Faith placed her hand on my shoulder, trying to reassure me.

I nodded and smiled softly at her.

“Woah, wait. Got another clue!” I exclaimed happily and noted my findings.

“What’s the clue?” Faith asked, brimming with curiosity.

“According to the Britannica article, what I can infer is that they might a few people who was jealous of him and wanted his career and legacy to be ruined,”

“Mhmm…” Faith hummed in approval.

“So, the culprit might be the criminal who made the fake claim that Mr. Campbell is a fraud, right?”

“Or might be someone who is close to the criminal, like children, grandchildren, siblings or someone like that,”

“True,” I agreed with her and added that in my note.

“So, is there any way we could get more details about this criminal? Or how about we sneak into the police-” She was cut off by my phone chiming loudly. I picked it up. It was a text from dad.

Hi, honey. Where are you right now? Hope you both are doing alright?  

“Hey, how about we go straight-forward on this?” I told Faith, taking my eyes off the phone.

Faith raised her eyebrows, confused.

“Did you just forget the fact that my dad’s a cop? We can ask him,” I told her.

“But, you said things are a bit complicated to tell him, right?” Faith asked, confused.

“We don’t have to tell the whole thing. Just ask about the part we wanna know about, Faith,” I told her.

Faith let out a deep sigh, “Okay, let’s do this,”

“Hey, Faith and May! Come in. I thought you’d never come,” Dad greeted us, cheerfully. We walked into the house. 

He wrapped me in a tight bear hug and stroked my hair, lovingly. I melted into the hug as Faith made her way towards the living room.

Serena’s and Andrei Banuta’s ‘Mon Ami’ was blasting through the speakers in the living room. 

I pulled away and joined Faith. 

“I’ve made Pizza for you, guys,” Dad told us.

We both sat down on the dining table. He arranged the plates on the table in front of us and placed slices of Pizza on our plate.

“Thanks!” Faith said.

I was pretty hungry because I had hardly any food from the tavern. So, I began to dig in without bothering anyone around.

Seeing me eat so fast, Faith and Dad both laughed at me.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Nothing,” Faith said, trying to hold back her laughter.

“So, where were you guys at?” My dad asked taking a seat across from where I sat.

Faith

“We were just hanging out with Charlie, Mr Pierce,” I smiled.

“Sweet boy,” Mr Pierce said, waving his pizza in my direction. “Where were you?” 

Mabel paled and I laughed. “Just at the local student tavern.”

“No drinks?” He asked.

“No,” I shook my head. “But we are eighteen so we will eventually.” I straightened my flowery blazer and cleared my throat. Mabel looked at me and nodded.

“Dad, we...uh...Have a question for you.” Mabel asked nervously.

“Mmhm?” Mr Pierce looked up.

“Can we come to your work tomorrow?” She blurted. I looked at her, confused as to why that would help us. We’d be in a cop car half the day, squished between robbers and carjackers. Mabel looked at me and made a face that said: Don’t worry. 

“Mabel, I’m on a security shift tomorrow at the station. It’s not going to be fun. I just have to go into the archive and find some files, look at cameras and be the typical cop who eats donuts,” Mr Pierce sighed.

“We can look at the files! We can be your assistants!” Mabel grinned.

Mr Pierce stopped for a moment and cocked his head to the side. “Alright.” “Tomorrow you’ll be my assistants!”

I looked in the mirror and smoothed out my black pants. My red hair was let loose, and looked quite bad after my many attempts to straighten it. I decided to start brushing it out when Mabel knocked on the door.

“Mabel!” I grunted, pulling on the brush. “Give me one second.”

Mabel looked me up and down, “why do you look so....Fancy?” She asked. Unlike me, Mabel was wearing a navy sweater dress and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail with a braid on the side. 

I tugged on my blue t-shirt. “Mabes, I’m wearing work pants and a t-shirt. That’s not fancy.” I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

“Still!” Mabel exclaimed, motioning to my open closet, “Since when did you have this many dresses?” She asked.

“Actually, half of them are just pretty jumpsuits.” I pulled a leg out to show her.

“Well...Whatever!” Mabel exclaimed, “¡Vamos!” 

Great, now she’s talking in spanish.