Chapter 1



“Well, of course we should pursue it. We haven’t had a case in months, especially not one this big. Can you arrange it? Perfect. I’ll see you in the conference room tomorrow.” She hung up the phone and spun around to face the young man sitting on the other side of her desk. “Yes? What do you need?”

“Miss Whitney, Mr. Avox would like to see you in his office when you have a free moment.” said the young man. He looked a little young to be working for the company, but Whitney paid no mind to it. His hair looked unkempt, his skin a light pale. His big blue eyes looked nervous.

“Very well, young man. Tell Mr. Avox I will be down soon enough.” Whitney replied, “You may go now.” She glanced down at the messy pile of papers on her desk. The unsolved and failed cases all stared up at her, reminders of the fact she needed to solve a case soon, or she could be fired. Her newest case might be just what she needs. Her eyes drifted over to the golden engraved nameplate on the front of her desk. Whitney Conners, it read, Crime Solver and Detective, Mystery Solvers Inc. She filed the excess papers from her desk into the filing cabinet and tidied up her desk before going to see her boss, Mr. Avox. She went to the elevator hidden behind her computer desk. She placed her hand and the scanner before the computer let out its usual “access granted” beep. The microphone slid out of the wall, and Whitney bent down to speak into it, “To Mr. Avox”. The elevator door slid open, and she stepped in. Her elevator was one of the fastest in the building, so it didn’t take long to arrive at her boss’s floor. When the door re-opened, she stepped into the lobby but quickly proceeded to knock very lightly on the door of her boss. When no reply came, she poked her head in. “You wanted to see me, Mr. Avox?”

“Yes, Whitney. Please, come in, come in, sit anywhere you’d like!” Mr. Avox was grinning from ear-to-ear. Whitney couldn’t remember a time Mr. Avox ever smiled, especially not like this. She slumped down in the midnight blue bean bag on the floor. She tied her shiny black hair back from her face, exposing her beautiful emerald purple colored eyes. Whitney always seemed to noticed that people tended to focus more on her purple eyes than on any other feature of her body. Mr. Avox had a questionable look on his face, probably because she had chosen the beanbag over the plush seats he had scattered around his office. He however, did not hesitate but pressed on. “I’ve just gotten a call from your agent, and he has told me you’ve accepted a huge case. Is this true?” Mr. Avox asked excitedly.

“Yes sir. But might I ask what you called me down here for in the first place?” Whitney questioned.

“If you must know, I was going to ask you why you have had no cases lined up lately, but I see now that it doesn’t matter. This case is going to boost our company’s ratings though the roof! Would you care to explain to me in full detail everything you know about this case?” Mr. Avox almost screamed with utter joy.

“Well,” she began, but she stopped. Her eyes grew wide, and she lost the ability to see and hear. Oh no, she thought, Not a flashback, not here, she pleaded to no one. But it was too late. She was flung back in time to when she was in middle school…

~She could see herself. She was in the 9th grade, walking in the hallways with her best friend Aryoke. He had transferred to her school a few years before, and Whitney had loved his accent. He had a darker shade of skin than her, but she could barely call it tan. His dark brown hair hung neatly over his forehead but gradually got longer as it progressed to the back of his head. They were discussing one of their latest art projects. They had painted portraits of their partners, and naturally Whitney and Aryoke had chosen each other. “I can never get the colors of your eyes right. See, in this picture, the purple is too light. What do you think?”

Whiney gave a good-natured laugh and said it was perfect. She pulled out her portrait of him and commented how she had never quite gotten the color of his skin right. He laughed along with her as they walked to their math class. Whitney wondered where he had gone after graduation. She hadn’t seen him since then…~

“Whitney! Whitney!” She heard Mr. Avox calling. She fluttered her eyes as she regained consciousness and her senses. “Good God, you scared me! What happened?” He asked. Whitney didn’t know what to say. This has never happened in front of another person before. Maybe if she told him, he would understand. Or maybe he’d think she was crazy and fire her. She couldn’t stand to lose this job. She had been through too many lately. This is the job she liked, and wanted to keep. Whitney decided she was going to have to lie to her boss.

They sat there in silence for a few moments before she said, “I must have passed out. I haven’t had anything to drink since this morning.”

Mr. Avox stood from his kneeling position, and stepped over to his intercom system, “I need a glass of water in my room quickly.” He bent back down to Whitney’s level, a look of concern on his face. The young man from her room earlier walked in, and handed Mr. Avox the water. “Thank you David, that will be all."

David, Whitney thought, So that’s his name. She slowly sipped the water. After a few minutes of shock and silence, Whitney softly said, “Now, would you like to hear about the case?”

“Ah yes, the case!” Mr. Avox stood and clapped his hands once. “What can you tell me about it? I want to know everything!” Mr. Avox had that ear-to-ear grin again. Whitney couldn’t help but giggle to herself softly.

“Well,” she said, starting the same way as before…











Chapter 2




As Whitney walked into the conference room, she saw David spinning around in circles in one of the office chairs on the far side of the room. She smiled and rolled her eyes. “Hello,” she said. David jumped a foot.

“Whoa, I didn’t see you come in. I’m David.” David smiled.

“Yeah, Mr. Avox told me,” Whitney couldn’t help but notice he was looking at her eyes, just like everyone else. “I’m Whitney.”

He glanced away from her eyes and looked towards the open window, “You have beautiful eyes.”

Whitney blushed. She knew everyone adored her eyes, but no one had ever said it out loud. “Th-Thank you.” she stuttered.

Still glancing out the window, he smiled. Mr. Avox and her agent, Tom Wilkinson, came bursting through the door a few seconds later. “Hello, Hello, Hello!” Mr. Avox cried.

Whitney smiled in his direction, positive David was looking at her. She turned to Mr. Avox, “Good morning sir. How was your evening?”

Mr. Avox ignored her question and simply went on, “Now, let’s get a quick run-down of the case again before we begin our meeting.” He said with his serious, business-like tone.

“Well,” Whitney glanced away from Mr. Avox’s un-nerving gaze and folded her hands on the table, “Apparently there have been some kidnappings of people from ages 12- 25 in our area recently. The bodies turn up later, but they look misshapen and mutated, some dissembled, but all looked like they’ve been experimented on, or tortured. We’ve fingerprinted the bodies and tested for DNA, but no other DNA comes up except for the original owners. Whoever these people are, they’ve covered up their tracks quite well.” Whitney glanced back at Tom and Mr. Avox, who seemed to be pondering Whitney’s summary of the case.

After a few minutes of silence, Mr. Avox asked, “What will you need for this case? Any assistants? What gear will you need?”

“If it’s ok with you, I’d prefer if David accompanied me on this case. As for gear, I think we can just wing it.” Whitney smiled.

David switched glances between Whitney and Mr. Avox. He passed a thankful and friendly glance to Whitney and a hopeful glance towards Mr. Avox.

“But why would you want David? He’s just an intern,” Mr. Avox questioned, “Wouldn’t you want someone else? A little more qualified for the job?”

“Exactly. He’s an intern. And what better way to learn than by a hands-on experience in this field. I think he shall suit my needs just fine.” Whitney replied, not budging on the fact she wanted David.

Mr. Avox looked concerned, but didn’t hesitate at her decision, “Very well then. David shall be your assistant for this case, you both start Monday morning. Anything else?”

“No sir. A believe our meeting is adjourned then.” Whitney replied.

“Ok then. Good day to you all.” Mr. Avox stood and left the conference room. Tom stood, nodded in their direction, and left.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Whitney said to David, “Meet me in my office at 9 AM tomorrow.”

David smiled and nodded, “See you tomorrow then.”