Eloise grabbed the letters, her hands shaking.
Sebastian was standing right beside her, observing the whole situation, although he had a concerning look on him, he was both concerned and confused.
Eloise opened the first letter.
"What does it say?" asked sebastion.
Eloise handed him the letter.
Dear Ellie:
"I know the situation is hard for you to grasp, but know he isn't the one worthy of your trust, please don't tell him anything. You. Must. Not. Trust. Him."
"Hmm... looks like this person doesn't really like me, but little does he know.. the feelings are mutual," said sebastian with a smile.
Meanwhile Eloise had opened the other letter.
"Eloise Run!"
"Well this is weird, the letters always start with 'Dear Ellie' seems like he really wanted to make a point."
"Or he was in hurry, because he came prepared with only one letter to drop off, but saw me here and decided to add one extra to keep me away from you so that it's easier for him to manipulate you, but saw us coming down, he went short on time so he forgot his manners," said sebastian in a beat.
"Yeah, you're probably right, he does hate you, i mean i can't really blame him now can i?"
"You're funny," said sebastian in a sarcastic tone.
"I think first thing in the morning we should start with installing some cctv cameras around the house, especially in the basement, the back door, then we can have a look at the letters," said Eloise.
==========================
The cameras were all installed, and the letters were all placed on the living room table.
"Do you notice the difference? the first two letters have a PS note with them, the other two don't. you said that the PS note is what your father used to say to you, so he was trying impersonate him and you almost fell for that, and he knew, the last two letters were somewhat in hurry because he also knew i was there, he's obsessively observing you, he's even observing your feelings. Now remind me where you found these letters?" Asked sebastian.
"The first one on my table in my study, the second in my office hidden behind the painting, the third outside your house, on your window."
"This is mad, are you sure you don't wanna involve the police? Because not is he only observing you he's also following you everywhere, you can get hurt," he was actually very much worried.
"That's why i asked you to solve this mystery with me, besides going to the police would do us no good, i would still be in the position to get hurt, only the chances will get higher, i've already pissed him by tellling you, we need a plan, we need to lure him in, then we'll catch him."
"And how do you suppose we do that?"
"We've already installed hidden cameras all over the house, all i need is to stay in the house, i'm sure he'll come by to drop another letter and when he does, if not able to catch him, we'll atleast get a picture, till then we need to make a suspect list."
"Ahh.. you mean suspect list(s)?" sebastian squinted his eyes.
"What do you mean?" Eloise was clueless.
"Well.. the guy is framing me, also he mudered your father, so he might hate me and your father" *he emphasised on and*
"Or *emphasising on or* he's just obsessed with me, i mean think about it, we made a suspect list 2 years ago too, nobody hates my father enough to kill him, and when he was alive he was that one person i was the most close with, after his death though i got closer to you *she looked at him, then looked away almost immediately* so he decided to clear you out of the picture as well."
"As creepy as it out sounds but it's no mystery that he wants me completely alone," continued Eloise.
"If what you just said had not made complete sense, i would've assumed that you're a narcissist."
He sat down on the couch, with both of his hands covering his face and said:
"What you said is a clear cut possibility, but we should still make an enemy list, from scratch, so that we don't miss out."
"you're right, i guess. Let's start with the family."
=========================
They were both standing infront of a building that seemed like a college building.
"So.. are you sure we'll find this fredrick guy here?" asked sebastian.
"Yes! Either here or at his home which by the way is our next stop," she completed her sentence and started walking inside.
"So why is he on top of our suspect list again?"
"Because he was obsessed with me back in college, he was caught stalking me, he even broke into my dorm room and hacked my computer so that he could see me through the camera..."
"See.. you? Through-the- what?"
Sebastian couldn't believe his ears.
Eloise ignored his response and continued talking.
"So when i found out, I told dad, he had him arrested, he was kicked out of college, and his family was disappointed, he became quite the talk of the town you know, but because his family was crazy rich and had contacts, they bailed him out, and they fled him out of the country."
Eloise stopped walking, seeing her stop, sebastian did too, she looked around, there were multiple corridors ahead all leading to different ways, she stopped a student, smiled and asked about fredrick, the girl told her about his office.
"But if he was, kicked out and he moved out why would he come back?" Sebastian stopped and turned completely towards Eloise.
Eloise looked him in the eye and said "Exactly."
Eloise turned to walk again, but sebastian grabbed her arm.
"And what exactly, are you planning to do? Ask him? *hey have you happened to kill my father? Also are you the one sending me those letters?* he tried mimicking her. And he would gladly confess everything because he still thinks you're his one true love?"
"Listen Eloise, if he IS the killer then it's too dangerous to just walk in," he said in a very serious tone.
"I know.. Sebs. We're not going to just walk in, we'll just ask couple of questions here find out about his address, we'll look at the time he comes in and leaves so that we could search his house," she explained softly.
"Okay, but wait how did you find out he was working here?"
Eloise pressed her lips, "It's a long story."
"Eloise. Stop. What are you not telling me?"
"He may have texted me two years ago, about dad, telling me how sorry he was to hear about him and that he was still single and waiting for me and i can always visit him here, or just text him whenever i need him, i left him on seen back then, but i texted him now and he didn't respond, so here we are."
"So you didn't even know if he would still be here after two years, Eloise this is not how we're supposed to do this you're being rational, we cannot just make a move in the air witout thinking, and if you really want me to be included, then you just atleast discuss it all with me before implying it... "
He was going to continue but Eloise suddenly grabbed him and rushed towards the empty classroom, now they were hiding inside.
"What are you doing?" Asked Sebastian with a subtle yell.
"That's fredrick!" They both peeked ouside.
"Great! now we can go into his office,"
"But before we go, i have to say, i'm sorry for not telling you everything before, i know we were supposed to stay at home and wait for the letter, but i just can't wait anymore, okay? We have to hurry, we cannot just sit around and wait for him to make a move, because what if his next move is to kill me or you? And yes i don't know what i'm doing, but we can't let him win, *Eloise took a deep breath and asked* do you get me?"
"Ofcourse, now let's go before he comes back."
=====================
They were both standing in his office.
"Hurry! check the drawers, there must be a mail a notice or something that has his address on it, i'll check the laptop, said Eloise in lower but rushed voice."
Sebastian was checking everything very smoothly, he was going through everything fast but without making a mess, Eloise couldn't help but notice.
"No password? Bingo!" Exclaimed Eloise to herself.
They were both in the middle of investigation when Sebastian heard footsteps, he was about to alarm Eloise when in a second, the door rushed open with a voice,
"Who is in my office?" Fredrick demanded, his jaw clenched and his voice sharp with suspicion.
But the moment his eyes met Eloise, his jaw slackened slightly, face calmed and eyes squinted with confusion.
"Eloise?"