Previous chapters of the Vista Falls story:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

How should the story continue? Voting is open on the current chapter!

Last time, Ward and Rick—in looking for Mia Duomo—stumbled upon a woman’s purse. They concluded that the purse was not Mia’s, but might hold some clue as to who had made Mia scream and where she had gone. They decided that they had to open the purse to decide to whom it belonged. Ward opened the purse and glanced at what was inside. Rick suggested they look in the enclosed wallet for some form of identification. Before they could, however, they were interrupted by a woman—Vivian Crane, the painter—who insisted that the purse belonged to her and should be returned immediately. What did they do? Here’s what you decided.

Chapter 11: Bad Reception
By Joseph Crisalli

“Just what do you think you’re doing with my purse?” The woman asked.

“We found it.” Ward blushed. “We just wanted to see who it belonged to.”

“It’s mine.” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Vivian Crane—the artist. You know, the painter whose work is going to be exhibited next week in the gallery upstairs?”

“Oh.” Ward nodded.

“So, can I have my purse?” Vivian Crane asked.

“Ward, give her the purse.” Rick hissed.

Ward wasn’t too eager to hand over the bag. There was something about Miss Crane that made him not trust her. Perhaps it was the fact that when they first saw her she appeared to be arguing with Miss Duomo. Or, perhaps it was the strange, angry look in her eyes. Maybe it wasn’t even her purse.

“Ward…” Rick repeated.

“I’m sorry, Miss Crane.” Ward said. “But, I’m going to have to check the I.D. in this purse to see if it really belongs to you.”

“You’re not serious.” The woman frowned.

“I am,” Ward nodded.

“Very well.” Vivian Crane snorted. “Go ahead. You’ll find my driver’s license in the front pocket of the wallet. With it, you’ll find a bunch of credit cards.”

Ward opened the wallet and looked at the identification. “Vivian Crane.” Ward read aloud. The photograph was also of Miss Crane.

Rick looked over Ward’s shoulder, squinted and looked at Miss Crane.

“Well, then?” Miss Crane held out her hand and tapped her foot on the floor impatiently.

Ward put the wallet back in the purse and handed it to Vivian Crane.

“Again, I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure we were giving the purse to the right person.” Ward smiled.

“I suppose that was the right thing to do. After all, you don’t know me.” Vivian Crane said stiffly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.”

“Wait!” Rick said. “We’re looking for someone. Her name is Mia…”

“That Mia Duomo?” Vivian Crane frowned again. “I haven’t seen her since I was upstairs.” With that, Miss Crane hurried away.

“That was awkward.” Ward sighed.

“Yes, it was.” Rick shrugged. “But, not as awkward as the fact that the credit cards in her wallet had a different name on them.”

“What?” Ward asked.

“Yeah, when I looked at her driver’s license, I saw that the credit cards said, ‘Rebecca Anderson’ not ‘Vivian Crane.’” Rick explained.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Ward said, his eyes wide.

“Because, she was so angry and I saw that the I.D. cards matched.” Rick argued.

“There’s something funny there.” Ward squinted. “Did you notice her shoes?”

“No. What about them?” Rick asked.

“White paint. She had paint on her shoes. I think she’s involved with whatever is going on here.” Ward frowned.

“I agree.” Rick began, but before he could finish, he heard someone calling from them from the floor above.

“Ward!” Mr. Dinello shouted. “Rick?”

“We’re down here.” Ward called up the staircase.

“Come up here right now!” Mr. Dinello commanded. “The ambulance is here!”

The two boys hurried up the stairs. On their way, they passed Mr. and Mrs. DeLorca’s grown son, Eben, who was also looking for Mia Duomo.

“At least he’s looking for Miss Duomo.” Rick said quickly.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they first saw Mr. Dinello who was clearly upset.

“Don’t we have enough to worry about right now without the two of you sneaking off?” Mr. Dinello asked angrily.

“Sorry, Mr. D.” Rick said.

Mr. Dinello shook his head. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, you need to go support your friends. Vera is being taken to the hospital. I think Lucy and Kate could use your friendship.”

“Yes, sir.” Ward said. He and Rick went over to walk with the others who were following Vera as she was carried out on a stretcher.

“Any idea what’s wrong?” Ward asked Lucy.

“They don’t know yet.” Lucy said, her voice shaking.

“Where’s that painting of Vera?” Rick whispered to Delia.

“Mr. Dinello gave it to Mr. and Mrs. DeLorca to hold on to.” Delia answered.

Rick looked over his shoulder and saw Mr. Dinello thanking the DeLorca’s for their help. He then hurried to join the others.

“Where’s Mr. Jaquith?” Rick asked Mr. Dinello.

“He’s gone downstairs in the main elevator.” Mr. Dinello answered. “I asked him to tell Sam and Jenny what is going on.”

“Oh.” Ward nodded.

“We’ll ride behind the ambulance in my car.” Mr. Dinello said. “We’ll meet Vera’s and Lucy’s parents at the hospital.”

“This turned out to be a sad day.” Kate sniffed. “I hope at least Mr. and Mrs. Colbert are happy.”

At that very moment, Mr. Jaquith wheeled his chair into the wedding reception. He saw Sam and Jenny Colbert dancing together on the dance floor—looking happy and healthy. Jenny looked so beautiful in her white gown and Sam looked so handsome in his best uniform that Mr. Jaquith hated to bring any sadness into their most special of days. Still, he knew he had to tell them what was happening.

When they stopped dancing, he rolled toward them.

“Claude!” Chief Colbert said happily. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“I am, but…” Mr. Jaquith began.

“Something’s wrong.” Jenny said quickly. “What is it?”

“I’m sorry to tell you this,” Mr. Jaquith began. He told them about the strange painting they found, about being stuck in the elevator, about the painting of Vera, about Vera’s heart and what they had learned from the DeLorcas.

“Oh dear.” Jenny sighed.

“We’re not very good police officers, are we?” Chief Colbert asked his wife. “All of this happening at our own wedding reception and we don’t even notice it.”

“You did have other things on your mind.” Mr. Jaquith smiled.

“So, Vera’s gone to the hospital?” Jenny asked.

“Yes.” Mr. Jaquith nodded.

“And, while the DeLorcas have the painting of Vera, the one of us is still missing?” Chief Colbert asked.

“Well, then, we can’t have all of our friends here. Something dangerous may be happening.” Jenny Colbert said.

“You’re right.” Chief Colbert nodded. “We need to stop the party right away.”

“Oh, no.” Mr. Jaquith said. “No, not your wedding reception.”

“What else can we do?” Chief Colbert asked.

What should Sam and Jenny Colbert do?

Stop the reception?
Help investigate, but let the party go on without them?
Go back to their party and let the others investigate?

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