The Arabesque Machine

Nicolette:
"Alison!" I hugged her tightly. "I thought you were on holiday in England? Or, well someone said that." My smile grew wider as relief flooded through me. Good, I wasn't the only one here. The opera house was creepy when empty.

Kayleb: "Where have you been?" I asked Nicolette. "You've been gone a while!"

Alison smiled "Well sort of but I wanted to still be in the oprea house!"

Nicolette:
I frowned at Kayleb's question and thought hard. "You know... I really don't know. I remember talking to you... then nothing. It's as if the last few days have been completely wiped from my memory." A cold dread filled me when I thought about that. Two days of my life, gone.

Kayleb: I frowned. "So you didn't go somewhere...?"

Nicolette:
"I... I don't know. I could have, maybe. But I don't remember anything." Hot, scared tears starting boiling up before I could stop them. Wiping furiously at my eyes, I bit my lip, thinking hard, trying to remember.

Alison hugged her again. "Sh..." She whispered "Your alright..."

Nicolette:
I hugged her back, grateful for the presence of my friends. "Oh! I was meaning to ask you, what is that large puddle of blood doing in the Director's room? Is she alright?"

Alison looked at her and shook her head. "No my dear friend... she is dead."

Nicolette:
"D-dead?" I stammered, my knees going slightly weak. "But... but how? And..." I stopped, fingering the gear in my pocket. Nodding to myself, I pulled it out and showed the others. "I found this in the blood. I don't know what it is, but there's a strange marking, see?"

Alison took it and nodded. "I agree but... I dont think that the murder left it or if he or she did then well we will have to find were this gear came from."

Nicolette:
I nodded fervently. "We've got to find out who killed her. Did you two call the police?"

(sorry on the iPad right now, can't really type)

Kayleb: "Yeah, we did earlier."

Nicolette:
"What did they say? An autopsy? Anything?"

"Nothing so far... My dear friend come and sit down with us and lets try to keep from getting scared at least for now." Alison suggested.

Nicolette:
I brightened a little as an idea popped into my head. "I know! Why don't we all go shopping? That'll take a few hours, we can pick up any groceries we need, we can all get less-blood-covered clothing, and it'll take our mind off of this problem. How's that sound?"

"I like that idea and i am not the kind of girl to go shopping alot." Alison said with a smile.

Nicolette:
I clapped my hands together and stood a little straighter. "Alright, let's all get dressed for an outing and meet back here in... say, an hour?"

Kayleb: "Ew...shopping..."

Nicolette:
I had to stand on my tip toes, but I reached up and ruffled his hair. "Aww, don't worry. We'll go to some men's shops too."

Kayleb: I sighed. "Fine, then."

Nicolette:
I smiled, and fifteen minutes later found us all back in the front hall with hats, coats, and gloves. "Shall we?"

(I might be able to really bring in my guy now)

Kayleb: "Fine."

()

(blah... had alot to read XD)

Alison followed silently. Her mind was racing. A murder oh the joy. She thought angerly.