"We called Uncle Marcus," Marley said. "The crazy thing is, he told us that he does not have any kids."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiawTKYoc5N
How was that even possible?
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkx9pUR7WH
"Really?" I said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNDXVKGJ7W
"Yeah. It leaves the question as to why Dad would even lie about Kayla being our cousin?" Naomi said. "I mean, who really was that girl in our house?"
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03xBOjGg0Y
"This doesn't make any sense," Marley shook her head.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfFmqyrmE7
"So if your Uncle Marcus never had a daughter, where did your dad leave to drop off whoever that was that night? Why would he bring a random girl into your home?" I said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSafjAUjr6
They both agreed.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoKI7KZHhM
"We have a big hole now," Marley said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthY7PwsvAZ
"I know," I said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtZbswHpF3
The three of us heard a car honk.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLPdA74YK7
"Hey! You guys need a ride?" It was Mom. She had pulled up close to the curb. The three of us had been walking home back from school.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzp9gblLa7
"Sure. You guys need a ride home?" I said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWJw6DmIdG
Marley and Naomi looked at each other.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrbNOTmVgZ
"Uh no we're..." Naomi said but Marley interrupted.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAtnX8s7Mr
"Yes Please! It's hot out here!"
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0xvErrMIP
"That's true," Naomi responded.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMr2Tzc0Hbx
"Okay hop in!" Mom said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiC4YuOBEj
Mom looked at me with wide eyes; I knew what she was thinking.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRJ15caW0U
"They're gorgeous," Mom whispered.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTIB5o5lR9
"Mom please..."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtoQDGpe8H
"I know. I know," she said, raising her hands.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMT94Qfbi0
I could feel my cheeks turning red from her comment. Though I was sure I looked nervous around Marley, I was determined for Mom to not find out I had a thing for her.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgJFwRZrqf
The three of them were all chatting about the town. Mom offered them to come over to have dinner with us, and they gladly accepted. Later, after dropping off Marley and Naomi, James called to tell me about some good news; Space Tiers to be exact.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5ImoHeabc
"The conference is going to be held there in Arizona this summer!" James said excitedly.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAZ8zLL7g2
"John Rudy....? Put on a conference?"
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOQVgaWbZJ
"I was surprised too when I heard the news. The invitation just showed up out of nowhere! Did you get one?" he asked.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7LAX9vhy7
"No. Don't you think it's a bit odd, they would send an invitation to your house? How do they know where you live?"
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsHFPn2jvt
"True, I don't know. Maybe the conference is some kind of private meeting, where the fans meet the author."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4YzRrHFiH
The odd thing was, both James and I knew it wasn't like John Rudy to put on a conference.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUsTVxDFL3
John Rudy was the author of the novel "Space Tiers" and known to be a very shy individual. He also had been James's and I favorite writer of all time. We both had read "Space Tiers" when we were younger.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNj98skYBu
It was a book about a foreign species named "The Tier Travelers", who traveled from planet to planet and universe to universe collecting rocks and materials. In the book they were captured and imprisoned to be tortured. Yeah, the story didn't have a happy ending but overall the novel was a 10/10.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIKPpR41rN
Marley and Naomi arrived for dinner later that afternoon.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbXZ2nWiqd
I decided to check the mail before heading back inside and I found an invitation to the Space Tiers conference just like James.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GmHphJTF0
"You're invited to meet the author John Rudy, July 28! Don't be late. Address 8820, Search Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85005." Next to the announcement, was the picture of John. The scrawny white man was holding a copy of the book and smiling for the picture. Below it was a little note. "Bring your book!".
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51LSYKOxKT
How did they get my address? I thought.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhXUZL38t4
When I walked back into the house, I saw Mom and Dad were chatting with Marley and Naomi.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFV6NtYHcse
"I can't get over how much you two look familiar?" Dad said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvR0kNRFsvl
"They're Mrs. Susan's granddaughters," Mom responded.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyF2ckabiAs
"That explains it! I grew up with your father and your mother."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUTfvxLRkV
"Really?" Naomi said. "That's cool, you must be Nathan Harris?"
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEiB8GZji4
"No, Ivan. Nathan is my brother."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2O7ts89Sq
"Our parents always mentioned how you guys grew up together and used to play basketball."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVWiWHhYzq
"They did? Really?"
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpn3WaC2m7N
The two of them nodded.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPu0hHVgbmI
"I'm so sorry about what happened to your parents. Your father was a good guy. You're mother too, she was great."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5clvsbhQI
Time came around for dinner. Mom had made spaghetti with a side salad.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOriKYtf8I
Everyone started to dig in, Marley was the only one to pray before eating.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnjh457xMy
"So how does it feel to be back in Desertville, Mr. Harris?" Marley said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqwAwVAjJd
"I hate it and I love it. I love it because of all the memories I have growing up here, and I hate it because of the heat!"
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oyyUt424U
Everyone chuckled.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qvCBKCilm
After dinner Marley, Naomi and I went to hang out in my room.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbcNdcayX3
"I definitely need another slice of your Mom's Strawberry Cassava cake. It's so good!" Naomi said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeX7PKoYR4E
"If she would add that to the menu at the diner, everyone would love it!" Marley said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJ7heKRZMC
"Yeah, but I don't think she's going to want to change jobs anytime soon." I said. "My parents work for the T.S.I."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfLFbhAzx7
"Really?"
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDK7mdyXx3
"Yeah. That's why I'm also very curious to know about the T.S.I." I got up and shut the door. "I was researching and I found that lady Dr. Maddison, the one who sent the letter to your father. She is one of the leads at T.S.I. Her full name is Rebecca Maddison."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7VzGzwQn0
I pulled up a picture of her and other T.S.I employees on my computer.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80LOXJiP6J
"The other two people are Dr. Henry Collins and Dr. Michael Richardson. These three are the heads of the T.S.I."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovVH4Wgzup
"What's with all these Doctors?" Marley said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Lgc9GeXjS
"They're probably scientists. I don't know. This whole organization is weird. Really makes me think of what my parents are up to."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vH2AqYncC
"Same with our dad. But our dad never really mentioned work, like ever. If he was just mining what was the big deal?" Naomi said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5zSedi41Z
"The question is, what was he mining?" I said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAh2lzQppF
"Our uncle also mentioned something about our mom," Marley said. "When I asked him about the call they had the night our dad disappeared, he said that never happened. Then he shared the reason he thought that our mom had been admitted to the mental ward was probably due to the T.S.I."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PuqhIvMLt
"We did not believe him at first until I remembered that after our dad had disappeared we were on the run, with our mom." Naomi said. "We slept in motels. One day we went to a water park. Marley and I were playing, and our mom told us she'd be right back. When she came back, she looked like she was out of it. She wasn't the same, she seemed dazed. I just remember calling her name so many times but she didn't respond," a tear fell out of her eye and she wiped it quickly. "Then I saw in the distance some guys in black suits getting into a black SUV. It was weird. But now that I think about it, it looked like they were FBI or something. Obviously, those guys weren't there with their families. We had to call for an ambulance to take her to the hospital. That's when they admitted her and sent us to live with our grandparents."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uRL653QN4
"I bet they were T.S.I." I said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEn6Yg5zS60
"Yeah, probably." Naomi said. "I think they were watching us. It all makes sense now. If Dr. Maddison was the one who sent the threat letter to our father, then it makes sense as to why our father disappeared. Maybe it really wasn't Uncle Marcus that mom had talked to over the phone that night. Maybe it was really the T.S.I pretending to be Uncle Marcus. Uncle Marcus told us that the T.S.I has tech like that to hack into phones, listen in on conversations, and even mimic voices."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1zxJAUEyI
"How would he know that?" I asked.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNv6yvuOmbX
"He works for them too."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDz8PgL4a1g
"Seems like everyone does."
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQJke9uzyR
"Maybe Mom knew something was wrong and that we were in danger. Maybe she knew we were being watched. They must of found us that day at the waterpark and did something to scramble her brain because she knew too much," Marley said.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9aL0W9KEE
The T.S.I had now become villains in our eyes. Murderers even. What were they hiding that they didn't want people to find out? What did Joseph take that belonged to them? What was so 'Top Secret' that they would go as far as to kill or to even put someone in a psych ward to keep their secrets from being uncovered?
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWfolC1vgW
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gFJRSj7Rq
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkbfdcFsBC
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqBkRyG1Cq
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhvuOgCEFF
Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading this far into my story! How did you love Part 1 of Benjamin Harris & The Many Mysteries? If you did not know already, it is a published novel that is available on Amazon and my website zarielpate.com! Please watch this video and find links in the description!
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPxAXWg8Ep

159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPWnHw3HH4
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeR3b1PlBaf
然後按「加至主畫面」