19

~ Ellie ~

“Try to eat, Ells. You haven't touched anything since you got home. Do you love my cooking?” Aria complained.

“Stop, Aria. Let me collect myself after what happened. You would also act like this if you were in my position.” I said as I sat up and stretched. “I’m upset about this situation, how women disappear randomly, how no traces are left behind. Who is this person??” I questioned myself. Somehow my whole body got up and went to the kitchen to eat.

“That’s what Kevin wants to know as well. You can help solve this case because of your high IQ.” Aria stated. I only have hunches on this stuff, and half of the time, they are wrong or slightly right. But, honestly, I did find leads for them, as they should go to the bar for answers.

THE BAR!! That's it!! They haven't checked out the bar since they interrogated the workers. That's their lead!! I jumped and grabbed Aria by the shoulders. She got scared and agreed to my excitement, then asked about what had happened. When I told her about Brad, she knew who he was. He is everywhere in that bar, and she gets creeped out by him.

“Did you know about the event that happened a couple of days ago?” I asked curiously.

Of course, she knew. She is friends with the owner. “Brad is the owner's close friend and helps when needed. The event was for ladies only. 12-3 am, the women will get free drinks. I was hoping to go but couldn’t make it on time.” She slightly chuckled.

My mind was racing, and my body was out of the kitchen. I went to grab Kevin so we could go to the lounge. He had a concerned look on his face until I told him the reason. Without hesitation, he quickly snatched his things, and we headed towards the car. I felt like this city is a military camp with all these officers. Aria patted my shoulder to point out the bar. We rushed in, scaring the manager who was cleaning. He shot his head up to see us standing there. “Aria?? When did you get here?”

“Doesn’t matter. This detective needs to ask you some questions. Is that okay?” Aria moved to the side to reveal Kevin.

"If you don't mind, if I interview you about the events happening here?" Kevin asked him nicely.

"Yeah, sure," the manager replied.

~ Kevin ~

I took the manager to the backroom for privacy, but the girls came along. He gestured to a chair, and just like that, the interview began. “I will mention names; if you know them, then tell me. Please answer honestly as you can. Ready?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Due to some witnesses, Bailey Hudson was seen here a couple of days ago, the day of her disappearance. Do you know that name by any chance?” I said.

“I do. That’s Henry’s beautiful wife, the guy who worked at Bang-Leaf theater. He is a regular here, and he always talks about her. She was with friends during the event.”

I peeked off to Ellie, who was facing Aria. She had an expression on her face that made me worried. I mentioned Brad to him. Brad talked to Bailey before she left the bar. "Have you seen this guy before or even know him?"

“Yeah. That’s a good friend of mine. He talks to everybody who walks in.”

“Is this the same Brad Fowler who works as Henry’s assistant at the theater?” Ellie stepped in. My face froze for a minute. What did she mean by Henry’s assistant? Isn’t his name Josh? Ellie showed a picture of Brad to confirm it. That wasn’t the same guy who walked into my office. He looked different from the image. What is going on here? I turned to my girlfriend in disbelief.

“Henry always talked about his assistant helping him out with work. Nobody had seen him before because he had never been around. Brad was always the background person. I was there but never saw it.” Ellie stated.

“Has Henry introduced him as his assistant when y’all talk or by his name?” I asked.

“Ummm. When we first met, Henry introduced him by his name. However, he began to say, "my assistant.”

“Brad wasn’t the one that came to my office that day. It was a different guy who said he was Henry’s assistant. I never knew he had one, which is why I’m confused. Is it really Brad Fowler?” I curiously asked.

“I got his file that he filled out the day he got hired. I bet you Brad Fowler is the name that pops up.”

What the fuck is happening right now? My mind is about to explode with this new information. All this time, I thought this Josh dude was the person. But Brad is the actual person I need to talk to, or was it Brad that I was talking to that day? Who the hell are we dealing with?? I asked more questions about Bailey. The manager said he didn’t see anything else that night.

We thanked the manager for his cooperation and left. Ellie was stressed out of her mind, and so was I. “Who is this guy!” she shouted. Aria took her in her arms to calm her down. Ellie was already at that point of freaking out. I grabbed my girlfriend from Aria and hugged her tight.

“It’s going to be okay. We are going to catch this guy. We need those files, Ells.” I kissed her on the top of her forehead. We went back home in fear.