Evolution (Evolution Series Book 1)

by Kelly Carrero

  ***

  We dropped Ben off at his car then drove back to mine, hoping that my mum would be there. I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw her car parked in the driveway. She was probably ducking in to grab something before heading out again, otherwise she would have parked in the garage.

  I knew we wouldn’t have long to get anything out of her, but we had to try.

  As we made our way to the front door, Mum came rushing out with her shoes in one hand, her laptop in the other, and her laptop bag slung over her shoulder. Talk about sudden departures.

  “You’re seriously leaving again?” It was as if she’d heard Aiden’s car pull up and grabbed her things without actually having time to put her shoes on or her laptop in the bag, all in a mad dash to get out of the house without seeing me.

  “Sorry. The boss wants me back ASAP.” She stopped quickly to give me a kiss on the cheek before rushing to her car.

  “Mum,” I called, but she ignored me. “Just stop for a minute!”

  She threw her things in the backseat of her car. I was sick of her avoiding me. I needed to know what she knew.

  Mum stopped what she was doing and let out a heavy sigh. She looked at me without saying a word. Her face was so full of pain that I almost felt guilty for speaking to her like that. Maybe she knew something I wasn’t ready to hear. I hoped not.

  “Look, I know you’re busy, but I really need to know if you know anything about Chelsea.”

  She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it.

  “Please, Mum,” I begged.

  She thought about it for a minute before conceding. “The police aren’t one hundred percent sure that the two disappearances are connected. But if they are, then they are worried that the kidnapper may be a serial killer…”

  I gasped in horror, thinking that a body had been found.

  “Not that anyone’s body has been found,” she continued.

  I let out a sigh of relief. I don’t know what I would have done if she had told me that they had found Chelsea’s body.

  “What about Ben?” Aiden asked.

  “The police still consider him a prime suspect, but I don’t believe he did it.” She opened the driver’s door. “That’s what I’m working on. I know he didn’t do it, and I’m trying to find the person who did take Chelsea.”

  I smiled at her. “Thanks, Mum.”

  “We will find her.” She hopped into her car and started the engine.

  “Oh, just one more thing,” I said, knocking on her window.

  “Yeah?” She rolled the window down.

  “Do you know who told the police Ben was with Chelsea the night she disappeared?”

  “Sorry, I don’t know.” She quickly looked away. She was lying, but I wasn’t about to call her on it. “I gotta go. I’ll call you when I can.” She reversed down the driveway.

  “Did you find out anything?” I asked Aiden, wrapping my arms around his waist.

  Mum beeped twice before driving off down the road.

  He put one arm around me and ran the other through his hair. “Her thoughts were all over the place again. As soon as she started with one thought, she quickly changed to another. And the only thought that actually stayed with her was how worried she was about you.”

  “Me?” I asked, surprised.

  “Yeah. But the really strange thing is how she kept praying I wouldn’t leave you alone.”

  I scrunched up my nose in confusion. Why would she be so worried about me being alone, yet running away from me every chance she had? “Well, one thing is for sure; that woman is not acting normal. She is definitely hiding something.”

  “You got that right.”

  We headed into the house.

  Chapter 11