âTurn around, go back,â Benjamin said.
âFirst, tell me whatâs going on.â
âItâs that guy, Diesel Parker, the one you asked me about last time. He was the one who hurt Emma.â
âDiesel Parker!â Emmeline and Abel exclaimed in unison.
âYes, heâs right by the roadside.â
âIâve finally caught him!â Abel clenched his teeth and turned the car around.
âAbel, what are you doing? Why do you care about him? Itâs been so long.â Emmeline worried, but Abel had. already turned the car around.
Sure enough, there was a burly man by the roadside, shirtless with his clothes draped over his shoulder, humming a tune. It really was Diesel.
âYouâre wearing your uniform,â Abel reminded Benjamin.
Thatâs an easy fix,â Benjamin replied, unbuttoning his shirt and baring his arms.
Abel quickly parked the car without killing the engine and said to Emmeline, âStay in the car.â
Then, he and Benjamin stormed toward Diesel, grabbed the shirt on his shoulders, wrapped it around his head, and unleashed a furious barrage of punches..
Diesel howled in pain and fell to the ground, soon becoming motionless. In just a minute, the fight was over.
Abel and Benjamin quickly got back into the car and raced away, covering a hundred yards in an instant, turning a corner in the darkness.
Emmeline was filled with a mix of shock and anxiety. âYou two, that was quite brutal!â
âSome things need to be handled that way.â Benjamin smiled. âIf you canât deal with someone officially, you do it privately.â
âWith how you two beat him up, he wonât die, will he? He lay motionless in the end,â Emmeline expressed her concern.
âDonât worry, weâve all been through fights,â Benjamin reassured her. âWe know how to handle things.â
âOh, come to think of it,â Emmeline added. âI saw Diesel in the community garden a few days ago.â
âWhat was he doing there?â Abel said. âAre you sure you didnât mistake someone else for him?â
âNo, it was him. He was acting suspiciously under the magnolia tree with our vice principalâ
âDiesel was apprehended again a few days ago,â Benjamin mentioned. âIt was an unregistered large truck, supposedly for hauling soil for the school. The Third Division seized it.â
âCould it be hauling soil for our school? Emmeline asked. âWeâre undergoing field renovations.â
âThey do this kind of work every day,â Benjamin explained. âIt could be for anyone.â
After dropping Benjamin at the entrance of the auto repair shop, Abel drove Emmeline back to Altney Steel.
On the way, he pulled the car to the side and turned off the engine.
âWhatâs wrong?â Emmeline asked. âHas the alcohol kicked in?â
âI didnât drink much at all, and I still have to drive,â Abel replied. âCome sit in front; you might get carsick in the back.â
With that, Emmeline moved to the front passenger seat.
Both of them remained silent, simply enjoying each otherâs company on the serene night.
The moments in the night were beautiful.
Abel extended his arm, pulling Emmeline into his embrace, and kissed her on the head.
In his deep gaze, there was a melancholy that she couldnât see.
Returning to Altney Steel, he dropped Emmeline off at the community gate, watching her turn the corner disappear on the other side of the road.
Abel lit a cigarette in the car, smoked it in silence, and then started the car.
To avoid causing any trouble, he didnât accompany Emmeline home.
Just a few minutes into the drive, Emmelineâs phone call came in, and Abel had a foreboding feeling.
âEmma?â
âAbel!â Emmelineâs voice trembled. âHurry back, Mom is missing!â
âWhat?â Abel exclaimed in shock, then quickly turned the car around.
Instantly, he turned back around and rushed upstairs to find the front door was open.
âWhat happened?â
âDad just got back from searching and said Mom is missing. Itâs been hours!â
âUncle Maxwell, what happened?â
Maxwell said anxiously, âI came home from work, and dinner was on the table, but your Aunt Kimberly wasnât home. I thought she had gone out, but she still hadnât returned after I finished dinner. I asked a few neighbors, and they all said they hadnât seen her. I searched the entire community, but there was no sign of her.
âWhere could Aunt Kimberly have gone?â
âAbel, Kimberly isnât in a good mental state; Iâm afraid something might happen to her.â
âStop talking; letâs go find Mom,â Emmeline said, crying âUncle Maxwell, you stay home and wait. Maybe Aunt Kimberly will come back. Emma and I will go out to look for her.â
Abel grabbed Emmaâs hand and hurriedly descended the stairs.
âAbel, Mom canât be in trouble. She canât be in trouble. Emmeline cried, repeating it over and over.
âDonât worry. Sheâll be fine,â Abel reassured her.
But in reality, his heart was also filled with anxiety.
Where should he search when they hadnât a clue?