''For the first time, I actually agree with him.'' Jason adds. ''Judging by the damages, it'll cost more money for you to repair him than it will when you buy a new car.''

Well shit.

''So my baby is gone?'' I blink. ''Just like that?''

''Unfortunately.''

''This fucking sucks.'' I pout.

''I understand.'' Jason motions towards the apartment. ''Let's go to the station.''

Theo lips fall into a thin line. ''She's coming with me.''

What about what I want?

''Will the both of you fucking quit it!'' I snap, losing my patience. ''My car tyres just got slashed along with a stupid note taped to the front of it and now my baby is incapacitated and may be taken to the scrapyard and the only thing you two can think about is playing who is the more dominant alpha male!''

I run my hands through my braids. ''For fucks sake, I don't have a car anymore to take me places and I can't get a new one because I don't have the money or insurance. To add more shit to the pile, the buses don't go all the way to Adelaide and the only thing you two can think about is arguing about something as inconsequential as who's driving me to the police station.''

''Princess, I-''

''Save it.'' I point to both of them. ''I don't want to hear anything because I'm pissed.'' My predicament is slightly depressing. ''But I'm not going to cry because I'm not the type to do that.''

Bad bitches don't cry.

''You two are going to listen to me and do things my way.''

''You,'' My tone is lethal as I point to him, daring him to disagree with my next instructions. ''You're going to the station with my sister.'' She doesn't really like staying home alone once it gets dark which is why she's mostly over at Brittany's house. ''She seems to like you and you did promise you'd give her a ride in your Veyron. Are we clear?''

''Crystal.''

''And Theo,'' I stare him down. ''We're riding together.'' We have shit we need to discuss.

They both look scared and I'm glad. It's just like Grandma Maggie says.

Show them who's boss and make them fall in line. If they don't shape in then they can shape out.

''Any objections?''

They shake their heads slowly in the negative.

''Wonderful.''

......................

The car ride is silent as Theo and I drive to the police station, my sister and Jason following closely from behind. Who knew that all it took was me yelling for Jason and Theo to cooperate with me. The night sky sweeps through me like a wave as we comb through the semi-busy streets and pass by the brightly lit shops and restaurants filled with people.

''You said we have stuff to discuss?'' Theo starts.

''You said you had info regarding my case,'' I press. ''Well I'm all ears.''

''So that's why you wanted to ride with me.'' His side profile reveals a hint of a smile. ''Here I was thinking you liked me.''

''You're hilarious,'' I deadpan. ''Spill.''

''So, the reason why I was MIA for a week was because Officer Louis, Detective Anderson and I had a closer look at the letter that was sent to you. I know we sent it too forensics and two handwriting experts but the Detective suggested that we do a further analysis before we ruled out anything."

''You're talking about the alleged letter by Bob?'

He nods. ''That one.'' He glances at me. ''Are you ready for what I'm about to tell you.''

At this stage in my life, nothing can shock me or strike me as surprising anymore. I found out that the guy I considered to be my boyfriend is somehow involved in the mafia, Jason is a gangleader, some psycho allegedly affiliated with Bob wants my head and he or she may or may not be holding him hostage.

''I'm ready,'' I sigh. ''I received the head of a dead skunk as a gift and now my tyres are slashed. Nothing can shock me anymore.''

''I'm sorry about the tyres,'' he says apologetically. ''I know how much Cameron meant to you.''

''Cameron was my baby,'' I shrug. ''But I guess I have to find a new one.'' A new one I didn't even plan for.

''I'll speak to Detective Anderson and we'd arrange for a temporary car to be brought to your residence on Monday.''

''You don't need to do that,'' I object. ''Seriously, I can arrange something with Paris and we'd figure it out.''

''I insist. You're still a victim and a witness in a high profile investigation,'' he points out. ''I would have said you'd ride with me but we haver to be discreet since you drop Sophie off in the mornings.''

''True and thank you,'' I answer warmly. ''I really appreciate it.''

''No problem.''

We make a left turn towards Norton Bridge. ''So, we combed through the evidences that we have thus far and detective Anderson stumbled upon a file that was buried under tons of paperwork.''

I nod and he continues. ''The file contained a sworn statement written by a woman and her handwriting matched the letter that you received in the mailbox.''

I blink in disbelief. ''Really?''

''Really.'' If the handwriting is a match to this woman then maybe she's the key to all our questions. ''At first I couldn't believe it, but then we had them examined by another set of handwriting experts and it was a match, an unmistakeable one.''

''Then that means she's the one who sent it and she's the key to all this.''

He sighs deeply. ''This is the part where it gets tricky. The woman's name is Avanla Maxwell and she was arrested on a misdemeanour charge five years ago.''

Avanla Maxwell? ''The name doesn't ring a bell.'' I've never heard of Avanla Maxwell before. To be honest, I've never met someone bearing the name Avanla before. It sounds like a rich kids' name or a British one.

''I thought as much. We searched our database for an Avanla, even going through cell phone records and phonebooks but we didn't find an Avanla. It's like she never existed. I don't know why she was never put into the system, but she wasn't. There was no picture of her taken and no fingerprints or DNA sample.'' He reduces the volume of the radio. ''She was arrested but was let go immediately as no charges were pressed, so that explains the reason why her picture wasn't taken.''

Great, another dead end. ''So what you're saying is Avanla Maxwell, whoever she is, wrote the letter and there's no record of her whatsoever. No pictures, no cell phone records, no nothing?''

He nods. ''Exactly.''

But why would Avanla Maxwell send me a fake note stating that Bob is okay? Is she holding him hostage? Do they know each other?

''Why would she send me a fake note?'' So many things are not adding up and this new twist to the mystery is taking us thirty steps back. ''I don't know her and I never heard of Bob saying he knew an Avanla." Then again, I never knew Bob as the type to have friends. He was a sociable guy but he didn't have friends. He was always cordial and diplomatic when handling people-it comes with the territory.

Bob hid a lot of things from me so I wouldn't be surprised if he knew an Avanla.

''I don't know why she would send a fake note to you and what her objective is, but trust me, I'll find out.'' he answers, his voice determined. I see the familiar glass, double doors of the police station and sigh, feeling even more confused and dissatisfied.

''We're here.''

I see Jason's Veyron pull up beside us and I brace myself for what I'm going to tell Officer Louis and Detective Anderson.

Slashed tyres and now an Avanla Maxwell is being added to the already fucked up mix. Unbuckling my seat belt, I let the cool air hit my face in full force and side step the car, staring straight ahead at the station.

I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing and being inside a police station.

''Mel,'' I hear my sister's voice call out as she rushes to my side. ''I took a ride in Jason's Veyron and it was so cool,'' she gushes. ''We were going so fast, like really fast,'' she explains animatedly. ''faster than Cameron's ever gone and Jason rolled down the windows and let the wind slap us in the face!''

She continues. ''Then he showed me the centre thingy with all the cool buttons.''

''That's great,'' I say with a small smile. ''Did you have fun?''

She nods vigorously. ''I did. I wish I could ride in it everyday.''

''I won't mind,'' Jason says, approaching us. ''I've never had a younger sibling before and you're definitely cool. It was fun riding with you and I'd love to do it again.'' They high-five each other. ''But ultimately the decision is left to your sister.''

Sophie gives me her signature pout, the one she sports anytime she wants something from me. ''Pretty please with ice-cream and syrup pancakes.''

''We'll talk about it later, I promise.'' I give her a look that tells her not to argue with me.

''Fine.''

Jason stares at me with concern. ''Are you okay, Princess? You seem troubled.''

There's trouble alright, but I have no idea who's staring the pot.

''I'm fine. I'm not a fan of police stations is all.''

This Friday is definitely one for the books.