*********Manchester, United Kingdom*********

<>

Theodore Stonehill, the 54-year-old private investigator who is the founder and namesake of the Stonehill Detective Agency, sat in his office chair. He took a sip of his coffee, and stared at the door expectantly.

After another minute, the door opened and a brown-haired young man entered the room. He wore a grey jacket over a black turtleneck, and held a black briefcase in his hand.

"Apologies, Mr. Stonehill. The barista took a little longer than I expected," he said in between breaths.

"It's fine, Arthur. Sit down," Theodore smiled.

Arthur Callum was one of the best detectives in the agency, only surpassed by Theodore Stonehill and his secretary Azalea Crowley. At 23, he's solved countless homicide and arson cases in England and France.

"So, what's the assignment?" Arthur asked.

Theodore straightened in his chair, and adjusted his tie. "A 17-year-old girl by the name of Abigail Hartrand went missing last night in Duke's Lake. Her mother, Evelyn, went directly to me and hasn't reported it to the police."

"Duke's Lake?" Arthur recalled. "Isn't that the site of the homicides last month? What was it again?"

Theodore nodded. "The Woodskiff family was killed by the 15-year-old son using a kitchen knife. The son went missing after the murder. A week later, his body was found in an abandoned house's basement. He died of cyanide poisoning, but no bottle has been found anywhere in the house. Even after three weeks of searching, no leads have turned up," he recounted.

"Duke's Lake has become quite the hotspot lately," Arthur commented. "But doesn't Azalea live there? Why not send her?"

"Azalea's been on maternity leave since yesterday. She gave birth to a baby boy two days ago."

"Ah, I'll pay her a visit as soon as I can then. Do they have any flats there?"

Theodore lifted the case file within a folder and handed a set of house keys to Arthur. "No need. Azalea rented a house next to hers during the Woodskiff investigation. It's only a few blocks away from the Hartrands' house."

"Thank you, sir. If you'll excuse me, I'll return to my flat, pack my bags, and inform my roommate."

"Understood," Theodore said. "And say hello to that boy for me."

Arthur smiled and left the room. Theodore sighed and raised his legs on the table. He picked up his phone and dialled a number.

"You've been calling me relentlessly for the past few days. Who the hell are you?" he said angrily into the phone.

The reply from the other side sent shivers up his spine. He hung up and tried to pick up his cup of coffee, but his shaking hand dropped the now-warm liquid onto his pants. Cursing, he wiped down his legs with a handkerchief.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the area where the coffee spilled. He grunted in pain and held his leg. It felt like a bullet pierced through his shin. He tried to scream for help, but no sound came out his mouth. His muscles were now locked in place.

"Someone...agh...please...," he managed to say, but it was inaudible to anyone outside the room. He sat helplessly in his chair, having to endure the ripping agony. He felt his consciousness slipping, and fainted in his chair.

But as quickly as the pain came, it went. Theodore Stonehill's eyes opened, but they were blank and emotionless. As if nothing happened, he stood up and calmly walked out the door. The other employees turned their heads as he left with bewildered expressions, but none dared to ask him what was wrong.

<<7:52 A.M.>>

Akio Fujimori was playing video games on his phone with his body sprawled on the couch. He was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Hey, Akio," Arthur greeted as he walked in.

"Arthur, finally! Caleb stopped by around half an hour after you left. He dropped this off," Akio said. He pointed to a paper bag on the kitchen counter.

Arthur raised an eyebrow and placed his briefcase on the floor. He opened the paper bag, and inside was a box of chocolates and a note.

[Hey, bro! Bought a box of chocolates last night, but the cashier gave me an extra one for some reason. I decided to give it to you and Akio instead. Wanna go hangout sometime? Sam and Samantha are coming home from America next week, remember?"

P.S. Sorry for yesterday! I'll buy you another shirt when we hang out.]

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Arthur opened the box and sniffed it. "Milk chocolate, huh? Tell him I said thanks, Akio."

"Why not tell him yourself?"

Arthur sat on a stool and looked at Akio. "Mr. Stonehill—he says hello, by the way—is sending me to Duke's Lake to investigate a missing person case. A teenage girl disappeared last night."

"Oh, damn," Akio gasped. "So, do you need me to stay here and take care of the flat for you?"

"If you want to, you can invite Caleb to use my room until I come back. You should take advantage of your time with him before he goes back to London, you know."

Akio's eyes widened, and he averted his gaze. "Y—Yeah sure, I'll invite him over."

Arthur smirked. "Have fun. Just don't mess up the place, alright?"

"You have nothing to worry about," he winked. "Yeah, so I'll leave you to pack your stuff. Need any help?"

"I'm fine. You should call Caleb now, so he can come sooner."

"Yeah, sure," Akio said. He picked up his phone from the couch and disappeared into his room.

Akio tried to be indifferent, but Arthur could tell that his roommate was ecstatic. Akio's had a crush on Caleb Bennett—his colleague and lab partner—since the start of the year. Arthur can't blame him, though. Caleb was extremely attractive and nice, and he was the star of the swimming team.

Arthur packed two weeks' worth of clothes and supplies into his luggage. When he came across his mother's photo, he sighed and caressed the frame.

His mother, Mary, was his best friend for all of his childhood. His father, William, was a drunkard and was barely home. And the times he was, he terrorised both of them through numerous verbal and physical abuse. Arthur's elementary school tried to report his father to the police, but William was able to bribe them with his wealth.

When Arthur was 15, he found his mother hanging in her bedroom closet. William was nowhere within the proximity, so the police were quick to rule it as a suicide. But Arthur was not convinced by the conclusion.

At 20, when he was accepted by the Stonehill Detective Agency, his first case was the death of Mary Callum. With the help of Theodore, Arthur was able to get William to admit to murdering his wife. William Callum was given a life sentence, but he died of a stroke at 49 after only 6 months.

He rubbed tears out of his eyes and placed the picture frame inside. He then entered the bathroom and stood under the steaming shower, contemplating the plan of his investigation.

"Hey, Arthur? Are you about to come out?" he heard Akio's voice suddenly call out from behind the bathroom door, followed by a series of knocks. He stepped out of the shower and put a towel around his waist.

"Yeah, what is it?" Arthur asked, emerging from the bathroom.

"Yeah, um, your phone has been ringing for the past 10 minutes. I looked at the caller's name, but it seems that it's a new number."

As Akio finished talking, the phone rang again. Arthur brushed past his roommate and picked up the phone. He was right, it was an unknown number. He accepted the call and put it on speaker for Akio to hear.

"Who is this?" Arthur asked, but there was no reply. He glanced at Akio, who shrugged.

"If you're not going to say anything, I'll just hang u—"

~Arthur.

A woman's voice rang out. Both Arthur and Akio recognized the voice immediately, and they looked at each other with confused expressions.

"Azalea?" he said.

~Hi, Arthur. Are you on your way to Duke's Lake?

"No, actually, I just came out of the shower."

~Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just wondering when you'd arrive.

"Don't worry, I don't mind. But why are you calling from a new number?"

~This is my husband's number. You've met Gabriel, haven't you? During that party a few months ago.

Arthur's mind flashed back to Theodore's 54th birthday. There was a huge banquet with both the detective agency and the police force, and he saw Azalea with a tall, handsome man in a police uniform.

"He was a cop, right?"

~Yes, yes, he was! But I'll have you know, he became the sheriff of Duke's Lake last week! So he'll be working with you on this case.

"Congratulations to him, but...I thought that Mrs. Hartrand never told this to the police?"

~She hasn't, but word gets around pretty fast.

He heard a faint chuckle from her as she said that. But suddenly, a feeling tapped the back of his head. He kept his voice low, and whispered into the phone.

"Akio said that you've been calling me for the past 10 minutes. If it's just to check up on my location, why the persistent calls?"

~Huh? What do you mean? This is the first time I've tried to reach you. Maybe someone else was calling you, and that's who Akio heard? Oh, by the way, hello Akio!

"Hey, Azalea," Akio greeted. "I don't know—I just checked who was calling you right before I knocked on the door, as I was about to grab a snack. But I heard your faint ringtone from within my room for longer than that."

~That's strange. Well, I'll let you go. See you later, Arthur.

"Yeah, I'll stop by after I talk to Mrs. Hartrand. I'll come to the house around 3 P.M.?"

~Sounds great!

Azalea said goodbye and hung up. Arthur quickly checked for any missed calls, but there was nothing.

"You're sure that someone's been calling me for 10 minutes?" he asked Akio.

"I'm not crazy. Your ringtone is as easily identifiable as a cat's meow. There's no mistake."

"Did you touch my phone while I was in the shower?"

Akio raised up his hands defensively. "Of course not! I know how possessive you are of that thing. Plus, mine's better anyway."

Arthur glared at him because of the last comment. "Maybe it's the phone's fault. It shouldn't be a big deal."

Akio, who still had his hands up, proceeded to shield his own eyes.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked.

"Put on some clothes, man. I'll get envious," Akio laughed, his eyes still covered.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Arthur smiled. He went back into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later, in a brown suit and tie.

"I guess this is goodbye for now," Akio said. Before he could react, Arthur was wrapped in a hug.

"What's gotten into you?" Arthur strained, suffocated by Akio's arms.

Akio pulled away and exaggerated a frown. "I'll miss you."

Arthur playfully punched his roommate's chest. "Stop doing that. You know you're happy that I'm gone, because you can bring him over?"

Akio didn't respond, but Arthur saw a slight smile form on his lips.

"Alright, I should be back in a week or two. I'll call you when I'm settled," Arthur said, patting Akio's shoulder.

"Yeah, Caleb should be here in an hour."

Arthur smirked and walked out the door, carrying his suitcase and luggage. He put the luggage in the trunk, and entered his car. He rested his arm on the steering wheel. The mysterious calls still tugged on his mind.

"If Akio isn't crazy, then why are there no trace of any missed calls?" he whispered to himself.

He decided to brush it off for the time being. He started the car, pulled out the driveway, and started driving south to the small town in the shadow of the hills.