"What are you saying?" Claire couldn't believe what Sarah just said. "Did you open it?"
"No, it's sealed. He told me to not touch it and give it you only," Sarah replied.
Mr. Hoover could see the uneasiness in his daughter's eyes. He took a step towards her and said, "Are you okay, daughter?"
She nodded as she was on the call. She replied to Sarah, "I can't leave my home as you know, it's dangerous."
"Okay, I will come there. Don't worry, you just take care. I will bring the carton as well."
"Thanks, baby. Okay bye." Claire cut the call.
Francis took the cell phone back as she handed it to him and asked," What did she say?"
"Nothing, she was just asking about me. If I am okay or not," She replied, without looking into his eyes. She was a bad liar and her father knew it. But he chose not to dig much as she was already stressed.
"Okay, you should take a shower now. I will keep the breakfast ready," He said.
She smiled and hugged him. She knew that if nobody cared about her in the world, he would care about her.
He smiled with watery eyes, separated himself from her and said in a low voice, "Okay, go and rest. I will call you once the food is ready."
She nodded with a smile and walked upstairs.
She closed the door from inside and lied on the bed, thinking about those haunting eyes again. She was not able to forget them.
She had lied to the police after seeing the man in the police station. The man who looked like a character from one of Alex's plays, Harvey Scooter. She was now sure that the masked killer was no one other than Alex.
Why did he come to the police station? Was it to scare her, so that she won't open her mouth? If this was the case, then he was successful in it. But why was he dressed as a character? There was no way to know the answer at the moment.
She didn't know when she dozed off while thinking about it.
After a while, she heard the doorbell ring. She sat up from the bed as her father called, "Claire! Sarah is here!"
She opened the door and went downstairs. They both hugged each other after Sarah put the large carton sealed with a red tape on the floor.
"I am feeling so relieved that you are okay," Sarah said, putting her hands on Claire's shoulder. Claire smiled and nodded.
Sarah was in her twenties too. She was a skinny girl and was a bit shorter than Claire. She had short hair with length up to her jaws and had bangs. Her white-ish skin and high cheekbones were giving her quite a cute look. She was wearing a pink top under a green overcoat with black jeans.
"What's in this box, daughter?" Mr. Hoover asked, noticing the carton she put on the floor.
Sarah looked at Claire to know if she should tell him or not and got the answer when Claire nodded sideways, which meant no.
"Uncle, they are just some old stuff which I kept with me as a memory from my college days," Sarah said, with an awkward laugh. "We decided to take a look at them to refresh our memories."
"Ah," Mr. Hoover nodded and believed what she told.
"Come," Claire signalled Sarah to come upstairs with the box.
Sarah picked it up and walked upstairs. Noticing that it was a bit difficult for her to carry the box upstairs, Francis said, "Should I carry it, daughter?"
"No, uncle. Thank you, I can carry it," Sarah replied and went upstairs with Claire.
While this all was going on, a shady figure was keeping an eye on the house from behind a wall at a turning outside. He saw Sarah going inside the house with a carton box in her hands.
The man was none other than Detective Sam, who found Claire suspicious for some reason. He decided to keep an eye on her as he doubted that she knew something.
It was also for her safety. If he notices someone suspicious approaching her, he might do something before it's too late as the person might be the killer.
He received a phone call. It from his higher-ups again. He picked it up and said, "Yes, sir."
"What happened, Sam? Did you find anything?" The boss asked in a rushed voice.
"No, sir. Not yet, but we are investigating," Sam replied, leaning his back against the wall.
"Why is it taking so late, idiots?" The boss shouted. "The other team was better than you!"
"Sir, we are investiga…" Sam tried to explain but his boss didn't let him speak.
"The politicians are pressuring me to catch the masked killer. Should I withdraw from this case and give it to the previous team? Or would you find a clue and at least give me something which I can show my higher-ups?"
"Sir, I will tell you if I find something. I am currently on someone's trail who might be crucial to this case," Sam said.
"I don't have time, Sam. Do whatever you want, but bring me something of value," The boss said and cut the call.
Sam looked at the screen after removing the phone from his ear and muttered, "F***ing idiot… Do you think investigating is an easy task?"
Meanwhile, the girls were ready to open Pandora's chest. They didn't know what was in there.
Claire cut the tape from the middle from a knife and opened the box.
"What?" Sarah uttered as she picked up a bunch of papers with something scribbled on it. "Aren't these…"
"The plays Alex wrote," Claire said, picking up another bunch of papers pinned together.
They both were confused after looking at the carton full of pinned pages.
Claire didn't know why Alex gave the box to Sarah. Why did he want her to open it? What was he trying to tell? Many questions were rising in her mind but she didn't know the answers yet again.