Secrets of the Space Necklace: Part Four

     The wind! Chloe couldn’t believe what she had just heard; the crash they heard was definitely NOT the wind howling outside!

     “I’m scared,” Clara moaned as she buried her head in one of the soft pillows that lay on the couch she was sitting on.

     Chloe shivered. Everyone was scared in the dark. Vincent’s teeth were chattering, and Tina had a hard grip on Chloe’s arm. Chloe didn’t mind the grip, since it helped her locate Tina very easily. After Miss Van Sparkleton lit the lantern, she turned to Chloe and Tina.

     “I think you two should follow me upstairs,” she instructed. “Vincent can stay here with Clara.”

     Tina and Chloe nodded as they followed Miss Van Sparkleton upstairs. Both girls could feel a knot in their stomachs. What if the intruder was downstairs?

     “I think one of us should stay downstairs with Vincent,” Chloe whispered to Tina. ”I’m sure the intruder is downstairs.”

     “Fine, I’ll go,” Tina sighed, as she carefully made her way down the stairs. She was gripping the railing very hard, so she wouldn’t slip and fall down the stairs.

     “Wait!” Chloe called softly to Tina. She then took off her pink gown and handed it to Tina. “Can you take it with you? I know this silly thing will make me slip, I know it!”

     “Okay,” Tina said, as she grabbed Chloe’s dress and walked down the stairs.

     Chloe ran more quickly up the stairs. She tried to be cautious, since the stairs were made out of white marble. Slowly, Chloe made her way to a dark room. She looked around. She couldn’t see Miss Van Sparkleton’s lantern light. Where was she?

     “Ouch,” Chloe cried softly. She tried not to yell loudly, since she feared the intruder was probably still in the house. From the dim light of the room’s window, Chloe could see what she stubbed her toe into. It was Miss Van Sparkleton’s lantern! But what was it doing here? And where was Miss Van Sparkleton?

     Chloe picked up the lantern, and flicked the switch on it. It lit up the whole room, and Chloe could see it was a bedroom.

     “How odd,” Chloe said as she entered the room. The room had pink walls and a lavender coloured carpet. The bed was a bright pink canopy bed, with a silk covers and matching pink pillows on it. As Chloe made her way around the room, she saw a picture frame on a blue table that was placed by the bed.

     “Who are they?” Chloe asked herself. The photo had three happy Grundos on it. One of them was obviously Gorix. But who were the other two? Chloe stared hard at the picture. One Grundo was purple, while the other one was green.

     Chloe then studied the rest of the room very carefully. The bed looked very neat, as of no one had slept in it in ages. The table, which had the framed photo, was very dusty. It seemed like no one had even visited the room. The curtains were neat, the dressers were also dusty and the vanity was just as filthy.

     “Achoo!” Chloe sneezed loudly. She then covered her mouth and stared around, hoping no one heard her. Just then, she heard footsteps approaching the room she was in.

     “Who’s there?” Chloe called out, not caring anymore if anyone had found her. She then placed the frame back on the blue table and began to walk towards the door. Shivers started to rush through her spine. Her legs were wobbling as she let the room. She then looked down the hall, hoping Miss Van Sparkleton will approach her and tell her to leave.

     “Chloe?” a voice whispered. The whisper soon started to get louder and louder. “Chloe, where are you?”

     “Who’s there?” Chloe asked back. She then gave a huge sigh of relief as she saw Tina approaching her.

     “Nice lantern,” Tina said. “Thanks to that, I was able to find you! Where did you find it?”

     “I found it in this weird bedroom,” Chloe explained. “It’s the same lantern that Miss Van Sparkleton used just a moment ago. How’s everything downstairs?”

     “Okay,” Tina said with a worried sigh. “Vincent was trying to get to the library. But when he got there, the necklace was gone! I told Vincent to leave the library, in case the intruder found him. He nodded and we both left. Clara was taking a nap when I checked on her. The storm was over by the time Vincent told me to go fetch you. He said we should go home.”

     “But what about Miss Van Sparkleton,” Chloe asked. “Did you guys see her?”

     Tina shook her head. “Nope, we thought she was still upstairs with you. We didn’t see the intruder, but we both thought they were still inside. Vincent suggested that the intruder kidnapped Miss Van Sparkleton, but then I reminded him that she was upstairs with you.”

     “Well, not anymore,” Chloe sighed. “How’s my dress?”

     “It’s okay,” Tina said as both girls headed downstairs. “I placed your dress on a sofa chair in the parlour. So far: the only thing missing is that necklace.”

     And Miss Van Sparkleton, Chloe thought as she guided Tina and herself down the stairs with her lantern. Miss Van Sparkleton’s disappearance didn’t make any sense to her. She wondered why her lantern was found in that bedroom. She also wanted to know what happened to the mysterious necklace. Did someone take it?

     As the girls stepped on the tiled floor, they then headed to the parlour. As soon as they approached Vincent, Chloe felt someone tapping her shoulder.

     “What is it, Tina?” Chloe asked. Tina shook her head furiously, as if to say that she wasn’t tapping her shoulder.

     Chloe immediately turned around, only to see a figure by the front door. The figure was hard to see, but Chloe could see it was a Grundo. As Chloe looked harder, she could see the Grundo was wearing a black sweater.

     “Who are you?” Chloe called, but the figure then bolted out of the house. Chloe and the others remained as still as stone. Who was the intruder?

     Chloe sighed as she looked around the parlour for clues. Nothing was out of place. Nothing was missing, and Miss Van Sparkleton wasn’t in the parlour with them.

     “Chloe,” Tina gasped, as she pointed to a sofa cushion. Chloe turned to see Tina, who had a worried look on her face.

     “Oh, Chloe, your dress is gone!” Tina shrieked. Chloe gasped.

     “Are you sure you left it there?” Chloe asked.

     “Positive. I had put your dress there when Vincent told me he wanted to check out the library,” Tina explained, her voice trembling. “I guess the intruder stole it while I went upstairs!”

     “Are you sure?” Chloe asked. She then turned to Vincent and asked him, “Did you see anything?”

     Vincent sighed and shook his head. “After Tina went upstairs, I decided to take a nap here,” he explained. “I guess whoever took your dress stole it while Clara and I were napping.”

     “Maybe Miss Van Sparkleton took it and hid it,” Tina suggested. “It makes sense. After all, the dress is very valuable.”

     Doubt it, Chloe thought to herself. She knew that Miss Van Sparkleton wouldn’t ‘protect’ her pink dress from an intruder. Since the events from last week’s tea, Chloe knew something was up with Miss Van Sparkleton. From first glace, Chloe knew she wanted the dress. But could she really take the dress right now? It made perfect sense: Miss Van Sparkleton steals the dress during the dark, but what about the intruder? Chloe wanted to know who the mysterious Grundo was, and also hoped that Miss Van Sparkleton didn’t find the necklace they found in her library. Maybe she took the necklace as well?

     “Are you okay, Chloe?” Tina asked suddenly. Chloe was shocked, but she knew that her sister was just wondering if she was okay.

     “I’m fine,” Chloe said as she nodded. She then sighed and asked, “What are we going to tell Mom? We can’t just tell her my dress was stolen, right?”

     “I think we can,” Tina told Chloe. But she then bit her bottom lip, thinking hard about the excuse they’ll have to make about Chloe’s missing dress.

     “I’m still wondering about what happened to the necklace,” Vincent confessed. “I was hoping that maybe we can de-code it.”

     “Maybe it wasn’t stolen after all,” Chloe said. She then held the lantern in front of her and pointed it to the library. “Let’s check, anyways. I’m sure the necklace is still there.”

     Vincent and Tina nodded as the three-some walked towards the library. Once inside, they approached the table. And sure enough, the necklace was missing.

     “So it was stolen,” Vincent declared. “But who would-” He then stopped talking. “Do you guys hear that?”

     Chloe and Tina shook their heads. But then they could hear a faint tune coming from the corner. Chloe then shone the lantern at the corner, and was surprised to find a little music box there.

To be continued...