Cry For Help by Clara Lewis (year 7 reading list TXT) 📗

“Emily!” a voice called out, “are you done with your little tantrum?”

Evelynn had heard that voice before. She sat up straight, ignoring the pain that shot through her brow. The door opened, revealing a silhouette of a woman. Evelynn squinted and brought her hand up to block the light that seared her eyes.

The woman spoke again.

“When I ask a question, I expect an answer Emily.”

Evelynn blinked twice in confusion. She wasn’t Emily.

“I’m not Emily. Who are you?” she called out.

The woman’s stance changed. Clearly, she wasn’t happy with Evelynn’s response.

“I see you haven’t learned your lesson,” she said, her voice losing all warmth.

The woman turned around and left, slamming the door behind her hard enough for Evelynn to flinch. Surrounded by darkness once again, Evelynn sighed and leaned on the wall. She closed her eyes, determined to concentrate on where she had heard that voice before.

She was tired though. It had started to get cold and Evelynn felt disgusted when she thought of the state her clothes must be in. In an effort to stay warm, Evelynn kept her knees up and hugged her legs.

She tried to prod her memory again. This time, instead of silence, Evelynn started to remember.

Chapter 2

24 hours ago:

Evelynn got up from bed and yawned. Her phone had been ringing nonstop for the past fifteen minutes. At first, she just thought she could ignore it and hopefully the person on the other end of the line would get the hint.

That wasn’t the case though. Whoever it was calling her, they were unyielding. As soon as her phone directed them to voicemail, they were calling again within a few seconds.

Evelynn sighed and answered the call.

“Evelynn speaking,” she greeted, “how may I help you?”

“We need your help.”

Of course, they did. Her entire career was built on that. Evelynn looked at the clock once again and frowned slightly. It was only two in the morning. However, she couldn’t just brush them off; it wouldn’t be polite.

Evelynn took a deep breath and got out of bed. She walked to the window and looked over the city lights.

“I understand,” Evelynn began, “what can I do for you?”

The woman let out a shaky breath. She sounded nervous but also relieved that Evelynn had answered the phone and that she was willing to help. Evelynn suddenly felt guilty for being as annoyed as she was when her sleep had been interrupted.

“My daughter was murdered. I—we need your help to find her killer.”

Evelynn shook her head as if the caller could see her. That was a job for the police, right? The woman sensed her hesitation. Before Evelynn could protest, the woman cut her off.

“If it’s money you’re worried about, we’ll pay for the expense of getting here and anything else. The fee doesn’t matter, we can pay double if you want,” she rambled.

“Have the police been notified?” Evelynn inquired.

“Yes.”

The woman’s voice had gotten quiet and Evelynn’s heart twinged. She had honestly sounded so desperate, and to hear her give up abruptly wrung Evelynn’s heart. Evelynn kept the phone to her ear as she walked away from the window.

The woman didn’t hang up and neither did Evelynn. She placed her phone on the bed and put the caller on speakerphone. Still the woman said nothing, but Evelynn could hear a shaky breath every once in a while.

Evelynn walked to her closet and pulled out a piece of luggage. It still had the tag on it. She started grabbing clothes and stuffed them into her luggage. After a long while, she decided that keeping the woman on the phone while she packed her things would only aggravate the woman’s anxiety.

“I’ll do it,” Evelynn finally said.

“Really? You’re really going to help us?”

Her relief was apparent. Through her words, Evelynn could tell that the woman had smiled. However, Evelynn didn’t notice that she too, had smiled.

The woman, who later introduced herself as Astrid Dunn, sent Evelynn the details she needed. Evelynn’s eyes widened as she realized just how far she would have to travel. The town was all the way across the country.

That explained why she’d gotten those phone calls so early in the morning.

Beaumont. Evelynn had heard a lot about this town. Walking through the town would be like stepping into a period drama. That’s what made it into such a popular tourist destination. As Evelynn looked up the town, she found another reason for why it was famous.

Over the course of a few decades, girls had gone missing. At first, everyone was involved in the search. After all, it was a close-knit type of town where everyone knows everyone. However, over a certain period of time, people began to doubt. These girls would never be found; not alive, at least.

And that’s what happened. After everybody had given up on looking for these girls, they showed up in various places around town. No town was perfect. Even Beaumont had abandoned, rotting buildings and sewage tunnels that ran underground. The woods surrounding the town had plenty of ditches.

That was where they found the girls, beaten and malnourished.

“Okay,” Evelynn said as she closed her laptop, “that’s enough for today.”

The flight was comfortable enough, but she wasn’t prepared for the four-hour bus ride to the town. When Evelynn had arrived there, she was absolutely exhausted. As she got down, she caught her reflection in the bus windows. Embarrassed, she put her hand up to her hair and attempted to smooth it down.

“Ms. Prescott?”

Astrid’s voice was barely audible among the sounds of the chaos surrounding the bus station. Evelynn made her way over to Astrid. She held her hand out.

Evelynn shook Astrid’s hand, glad to have finally met her. Astrid’s smile was warm, and anyone could clearly see that she was happy that Evelynn was finally here. However, Evelynn couldn’t ignore that this woman was just as exhausted as her, if not more. Her eyes had dark circles under them. She was losing sleep.

“Would it be all right if we