After school and their club meeting, Dean and the others opened the cafe and got busy serving customers. The door chimed, and two intimidating men walked in—the same ones who'd been with Zack before. They sat down at a table right in front of the cash register and openly stared at Bianca.
Alison, who was observing everything and sensed something was off, went behind the counter to tell Dean. Recognizing the two men, Dean immediately pulled Claire and Ruby aside so they wouldn't serve them. He then walked out from behind the counter, a notepad in his apron pocket.
"What can I get for you?" Dean asked, intentionally standing to block their view of Bianca.
The two men looked at him. "Two black coffees," one of them said.
As Dean wrote down the order, he noticed what looked like a photo tucked into the other man's jacket pocket. He went back behind the counter, handed the order to Lily, and pulled Claire aside to whisper.
"Claire, please use your see-through vision to look at what's in the pocket of the guy facing the cash register," Dean said.
"Okay, just a sec," Claire replied, glancing at the man.
Dean looked at Alison, who was standing by the register with Bianca. He nodded, and Alison nodded back.
"Bianca, they're watching you. Just act normal so they don't get suspicious," Alison said in their heads.
"Oh, okay, I get it," Bianca replied.
After Lily made the coffees, Ruby brought them over. The men drank their coffee but kept looking at their phones and occasionally glancing at Bianca. Claire took a step back and leaned over to Dean.
"The photo in his pocket is an old one of Bianca, back when she still had red hair. There are two other photos, too," Claire said.
"Two more photos?" Dean asked.
"Yeah… one of Janet, and another of Brandon, you remember him, right?" Claire answered, glancing at Bianca.
"Hmm, I see. But what about Janet?" Dean asked.
Claire shrugged, raising her shoulders to show she didn't know.
"Who's Janet?" Ruby asked in their heads.
"You don't know her because you weren't here when she came. She was a reporter who came here sometimes and always had her camera with her," Bianca replied in their heads.
"Yeah, that's right. Why would they be looking for her?" Claire asked in her head.
"I think I have an idea," Alison said.
"Tell us," Dean said.
"Janet's apartment is nearby, in the same building where Brandon's body was found. I happened to give her permission to write a story about it since she lived there. They're probably looking for her because of that," Alison said.
"But why are they staring at Bianca like that?" Ruby asked.
"Because I'm the reason Brandon is dead. We're the ones who killed him," Bianca replied.
"Oh, right. So, what should we do about them?" Ruby asked.
"Let's just see what they do for now. If they try anything, we'll step in, right, Dean?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, for now, just let them be," Dean answered.
"They might be people from Brandon's dad," Alison said. "I heard he owns a big casino in an entertainment city in another state."
"Hmm, that's possible. And they must be connected to Zack, since they came in with him last Saturday," Dean added.
Suddenly, one of the men's phones rang. He picked it up from the table and answered.
"You found your kid, boss?... Okay, boss... We're on our way now," the man said into the phone.
The two men stood up, left money on the table, and the bell chimed as they left the cafe.
"I was listening to their conversation with my hearing," Bianca said.
"Okay, what'd you hear?" Dean asked.
"'We found Heather. She's in the boss' hotel lobby. We're going back home now.' That's what he said," Bianca replied.
"Heather? Wait a minute. Was the guy on the phone Zack?" Dean asked.
"It seems so… and it's pretty clear he works for Brandon's dad. We can assume they're heading back to that entertainment city since he mentioned boss' hotel lobby, which is obviously a fancy hotel and casino there and going back home," Alison replied.
"Hmm… the question is, how did Heather's body get all the way over there?" Claire asked.
"That's the mystery," Alison said.
"NS said he put her body in the usual spot, but he also said someone moved her body. Maybe someone moved her body there," Dean said.
"I guess so. Moving a dead body all the way there definitely isn't easy," Ruby said.
"You're right, and they couldn't have just used a delivery service either," Bianca added.
"As long as this doesn't involve us, we'll just focus on this cafe's customers," Dean said.
"Okay. I've been focused this whole time, you guys have been the ones talking," Lily said.
"Sorry," Dean, Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Alison all said.
After that, they all got lost in their own thoughts while still serving customers on autopilot. About an hour later, when the cafe was a little quieter, the bell on the door chimed. They all looked up to see Janet walk in. Janet saw Dean behind the counter and went right up to him.
"Hey," Janet said.
"Oh, hey. Haven't seen you in a while," Dean said with a smile.
Janet looked around and saw Claire cleaning a table, Bianca putting money in the cash register, Alison helping Ruby move a table, and Lily standing next to Dean grinding coffee beans.
"Looks like you've got more girls working here," Janet teased.
"Not really," Dean replied casually.
Trek, Dean placed a cup of cappuccino on the counter for Janet. After that, they started chatting. Meanwhile, Ruby glanced at Janet at the counter.
"Is that Janet?" Ruby asked Alison.
"Yep, that's her… what a weird coincidence," Alison answered.
"Weird how?" Ruby asked.
"Those guys came in, left because they found Heather, and suddenly, Janet, the person they were looking for, shows up. My gut tells me there's more than just a coincidence," Alison said.
"Hmm, you might be right," Ruby said, pushing up her glasses.
Claire, Bianca, Ruby, Alison, and even Lily all glanced at Janet, who was sitting at the counter chatting with Dean. Janet picked up her cup and took a sip. Suddenly, she looked down at the coffee cup she was holding with both hands.
"Dean, did you know that Natalie was found dead in that burned-down warehouse last Saturday night?" Janet asked suddenly.
"Huh? No, really?" Dean said, pretending to be shocked and keeping his expression steady.
"I called her, but she didn't answer. So I called her dad, and it turns out he was at the scene when they put out the fire and brought Natalie's body out," Janet said.
Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily all immediately looked at Alison, who put a finger to her lips to signal them to stay quiet. Dean went quiet and poured some coffee. Janet watched his face, leaning her cheek on her hand and holding her cup. She then put the cup down, stood up, and reached out to hold Dean's hand.
"You must be so sad to hear that. I'm sorry for telling you so directly," Janet said.
"Yeah, she was like a big sister to me. Aren't you sad?" Dean asked, faking sadness while staying composed.
"Me? Of course, I am, but maybe not like you. I'm sad because I lost a news source. She was a huge help as an informant… now I have to find a new one," Janet said.
"Huh, that's all? She wasn't a friend?" Dean asked.
"Nope, it would've been tough being her friend. She was so awkward and way too serious. But still, it's a shame to lose someone so competent… as an informant. Sorry for being so blunt," Janet replied.
Crack! Dean looked over to see Alison's hand crushing the edge of the table she was lifting. She turned her head toward Janet, her face a mix of a smile and pure rage. She had clearly heard everything Janet said about her. Ruby quickly told Alison to put the table down, then looked at the damage and shook her head.