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, after seeing the upsetting painting of Vera, the teens, Mr. Jaquith and Mr. Dinello were relieved when the elevator doors finally opened. They shouted for help when they saw Mr. and Mrs. DeLorca and Mia Duomo. Mr. and Mrs. DeLorca hurried to them and called an ambulance for Vera who was still unconscious on the floor of the elevator. The DeLorcas said that they, too, had been following tracks left being in white paint after finding the same frightening painting of Sam and Jenny Colbert. While the DeLorcas were talking about the picture of the Colberts, they realized that the painting had gone missing again along with Mia Duomo and an artist that was visiting the museum. As Mrs. DeLorca offered to let Lucy use her phone to call her parents, they heard a terrifying scream from the floor below which they immediately recognized as Mia Duomo. What happened next? Here’s what you decided.

Chapter 9: A Brand New Bag
By Joseph Crisalli

Mrs. DeLorca took a deep breath. “I’m sure she’s fine. Right now, we have to make sure that Vera is safe. Her breathing sounds steady. When the ambulance arrives, we’ll find out for certain what happened. For now, would you like to call your mother?”

Lucy nodded.

“You can use my phone.” Mrs. DeLorca said.

However, before Mrs. DeLorca could hand the phone to Lucy, they heard a terrible scream coming from the floor below them.

“Oh!” Mrs. DeLorca exclaimed. “That’s Mia!”

“Something is jolly well wrong.” Mr. DeLorca took his wife’s arm in his hand.

Ward and Rick looked at one another.

“We have to help Miss Duomo.” Rick whispered.

“But, I don’t want to leave Vera.” Ward sighed. “Besides, Mr. Dinello would never let us go.”

“We can sneak off. He won’t know.” Rick argued.

Ward took a deep breath. He knew that they could get into a lot of trouble by sneaking off on their own. Still, he was afraid that Miss Duomo might be hurt.

“All right,” Ward whispered. “Come on.”

Ward and Rick backed away from the crowd and crept along the side of the corridor so that they were hidden behind the row of tall, stone columns that lined the side nearest to the stairs.

They could hear Mr. DeLorca calling his son, Eben.

As quietly as they could, Ward and Rick sharply turned the corner and went down the staircase from which they had heard Mia’s scream.

Back upstairs, Mr. DeLorca instructed Eben—who was at the wedding reception—to go investigate Mia’s scream.

Mrs. DeLorca handed her cell phone to Lucy who called her mother.

“Mom,” Lucy said quickly. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but something’s wrong with Vera. She passed out. She was upset.” There was a long pause. “Don’t cry. None of that is important now.” Lucy looked very upset. “We’re still at the museum, but an ambulance is coming right now.”

“Tell her to meet you at the hospital.” Mrs. DeLorca whispered.

“Mom, Mrs. DeLorca says you should meet us at the hospital.” Lucy said. “I know. I’m sorry. It’ll be okay. I love you, too.”

Lucy hung up the phone, “I told her it’ll be okay. But, I don’t know if it’ll be okay.”

“Lucy, none of us knows that anything will be okay.” Mrs. DeLorca smiled. “But, we have to have faith that it will be.”

“Maybe we should pray.” Delia said. “Would that be all right?”

“Yes, Dee, it would.” Mr. Jaquith said. “I think we should pray right now.”

Meanwhile, Rick and Ward had gone halfway down the staircase when they saw a woman’s handbag on one of the steps.

Ward picked up the red purse and studied it.

“Is this Mia Duomo’s.” Ward asked.

“I didn’t notice.” Rick shook his head.

“It can’t be. Miss Duomo was wearing a green dress. My mom always says that because Miss Duomo used to be a model, she makes sure she dresses perfectly. I don’t think a woman would carry a red purse with a bright green dress—especially someone as fashion-conscious as Mia Duomo.” Ward answered.

Rick shrugged. “It just looks like a bag to me. If it’s not Mia Duomo’s, maybe it belongs to whoever made her scream.”

“And whoever left those high-heeled footprints behind.” Ward added.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Rick said. “We have to open it.”

“But, it’s not ours.” Ward’s eyes widened.

“It’s the only way.” Rick shook his head.

What should they do?

Open the purse?
Bring it to Mr. Dinello?
Put it back on the steps and keep looking for Mia?

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