"What happened to all the evidence?" Andrew asked, sitting down with a loud *thud.* Nichole and Ethan slowly sat, trying to make sense of all of this. Where was the evidence? Was there any in the first place? "What was in there, Andrew?" Ethan asked.
"Photos of the car, a piece of cloth we found caught in the frame of the car. A few letters that Michelle had. Everything that pointed to some unknown place where we could go to find some answers! And that was years ago!" Andrew practically exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. He clenched them into fists and slammed them into the table. "What are we going to do now!" he yelled.
"The Nine..." Nichole whispered, lost in thought. Ethan and Andrew looked at her with confusion. Nichole continued to put together her thoughts aloud. "Michelle said something about that. The Nine- was a group of people. Of nine people that had something in common."
"Well, the three of us and six others went to Michelle's party." Andrew said.
"The Nine! That was it. Besides us, who was an- honored guest at that party?" Nichole asked.
"I remember Mr. Cuthrell and Mr. Wiley were. They were her two favorite teachers at South High." Ethan answered.
"Michelle introduced me to her closest cousins Katie and Matt." Andrew added.
"And Michelle and I were friends with Stacey, Samantha, and Renee." Nichole said, counting on her fingers. "That mades nine."
"But what is the evidence?" Ethan asked.
The trio thought for a moment. There had to be something that they were missing. Nichole was the first to speak up. "What do we all have that connects us to Michelle?" she thought aloud. There was more silence as thoughts moved fluidly through their minds. Finally, Ethan remembered something.
"Did Michelle give a gift to each of us on the day of her birthday?" he asked. Andrew and Nichole nodded. "Then maybe those gifts are the evidence."
"That sounds about right." Andrew concluded, "So what do we do now?"
"Contact the other six. Tell them to meet us in- Pueblo. On the riverwalk, near the newest bridge. Ask them to bring their gift from Michelle." Nichole said, rising. "We don't have much time."
"Photos of the car, a piece of cloth we found caught in the frame of the car. A few letters that Michelle had. Everything that pointed to some unknown place where we could go to find some answers! And that was years ago!" Andrew practically exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. He clenched them into fists and slammed them into the table. "What are we going to do now!" he yelled.
"The Nine..." Nichole whispered, lost in thought. Ethan and Andrew looked at her with confusion. Nichole continued to put together her thoughts aloud. "Michelle said something about that. The Nine- was a group of people. Of nine people that had something in common."
"Well, the three of us and six others went to Michelle's party." Andrew said.
"The Nine! That was it. Besides us, who was an- honored guest at that party?" Nichole asked.
"I remember Mr. Cuthrell and Mr. Wiley were. They were her two favorite teachers at South High." Ethan answered.
"Michelle introduced me to her closest cousins Katie and Matt." Andrew added.
"And Michelle and I were friends with Stacey, Samantha, and Renee." Nichole said, counting on her fingers. "That mades nine."
"But what is the evidence?" Ethan asked.
The trio thought for a moment. There had to be something that they were missing. Nichole was the first to speak up. "What do we all have that connects us to Michelle?" she thought aloud. There was more silence as thoughts moved fluidly through their minds. Finally, Ethan remembered something.
"Did Michelle give a gift to each of us on the day of her birthday?" he asked. Andrew and Nichole nodded. "Then maybe those gifts are the evidence."
"That sounds about right." Andrew concluded, "So what do we do now?"
"Contact the other six. Tell them to meet us in- Pueblo. On the riverwalk, near the newest bridge. Ask them to bring their gift from Michelle." Nichole said, rising. "We don't have much time."
