User blog:Metool Bard/Fanfiction: Missing Linc (Chapter 17)

Chapter 17: Confrontation: Lindsey Sweetwater
It didn’t take long for us to find Sweetwater. All I had to do was follow the scent of strong perfume and talcum powder, and the trail led us right to her. Man, Charles’s bloodhound lessons have really paid off. We ended up cornering her in a broom closet.

“Give it up, Lindsey!” Lola barked, banging on the closet door. “There’s no use hiding!”

The door opened, revealing Lindsey’s angry eyes. “You’re the one who should be hiding, Loud! Hiding in shame!”

“Why? Because of your lies?” I said, folding my arms. “Yeah, that ain’t gonna happen.”

Lindsey scoffed. “As if a pageant pauper like you would understand. It’s all about showmanship, sweetie. If you can convince enough people that something’s true, then it is true.”

I might not be an egghead like Lisa, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.

“Oh. The look on your face tells me that you don’t believe me,” said Lindsey, stepping out of the shadows. “Well, I still think Lola’s the one who kidnapped her own brother. Go ahead. Try to prove me wrong.”

Lola tensed up, looking like she was ready to kick Lindsey’s teeth in. Honestly, I kinda wanna see that. But I don’t think Lindsey is gonna talk to us if she’s busy picking her teeth up off the floor. I sighed and placed a hand on Lola’s shoulder.

“I know you better than that, Lols,” I said. “Don’t worry, we can take her.”  I turned back to Lindsey and nodded. “Challenge accepted.”

Lindsey’s eyes went wide for a moment, but she then sneered. “Very well, pageant pauper. Prepare to see just how evil your sister really is.”

Does she honestly think that she knows my own twin sister better than me? Or is she just gonna make it sound like she does and try to trick me? Either way, I’m not falling for it. If anyone should be hiding in shame, it’s her. And I know just how to expose her for the lying snake she is.

Argument: It was Lola

“It’s obvious to anyone with a brain that this has to do with that comic book movie,” said Lindsey. “Lola here heard about it, and she felt she was being robbed of the spotlight. So, she kidnapped the writer so that she could force him to make her the star. Look how she soaked up all the attention when she came in here this morning. If she really cared about her brother, she wouldn’t act like that. And c’mon, are you saying you wouldn’t put that past her?”

Already, I see what she’s trying to do. Despite all of her pageant victories, Lola’s reputation isn’t all that great. Everyone who knows Lola knows this. But what Lindsey doesn’t know is that there’s more to Lola than just a bratty monster. She can talk all she wants, but I have actual proof. I shouldn’t play my cards just yet, though. I think we can get more information out of her.

“So, you knew about the Full House Gang movie,” I said.

“Well, of course,” said Lindsey, flicking her hair. “I always keep tabs on my rivals. It was obviously gonna come up on my radar.”

“Funny. Because Lana and I have never heard of it until today,” said Lola.

Lindsey snickered. “You really think I’m gonna buy that, Loud? How could you not have heard of it? It was the talk of the school for a while. Granted, it was all just rumors, but even so.”

“So you set all this up based on a rumor?” I asked.

Lindsey raised an eyebrow at me. “Set what up?”

“Don’t play dumb. I think you know what,” I snarled.

Lindsey let out a laugh. “Oh, please. You’re bluffing. You couldn’t possibly have anything on me.”

Um, exactly who’s bluffing right now? She couldn’t have forgotten what happened in the dressing room. I think it’s time I remind her.

“Then what do you call this?” I asked, taking out the note I found in her diary.

Lindsey’s eyes went wide. “Th-that could mean anything.”

“Really? Then how about we show it to the others and see what they think?” I said with a sneer.

“Um, kinda out of the loop here, Lana,” said Lola. “What is that?”

“This is the reason Lindsey Sweetwater locked me in the dressing room while I was snooping around,” I explained. “Here, read it.”

Lola read the note. I could see the angry vein in her head bulge as she looked up at Lindsey. She had that menacing grin plastered on her face. Y’know the one, the one which says “You just made Lola mad. Ya shouldn’t’ve did that.”  Lindsey turned completely pale and started sweating bullets.

“Care to explain this, Sweetwater?” Lola said darkly.

“Th-that’s not mine!” Lindsey stammered. “S-someone’s trying to frame me!”

“Oh, like you were trying to frame Lola just now?” I asked.

“W-well, I… um…  Tch~!”

Lindsey stamped her foot and snorted angrily. I think she’s starting to realize that she can’t talk her way out of this.

“I figured you were up to something the moment Lincoln disappeared,” said Lola. “I think it’s time you fessed up.”

“B-but I didn’t do anything!” Lindsey screamed. “I don’t even know where he is!”

“That doesn’t matter right now,” I said. “You still threw together this whole scheme to ruin Lola’s life. You have to know something.”

Lindsey took in a deep breath and let it out in a strained sigh. She then scoffed. “And what if I do? You can’t make me talk.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” said Lola, rolling up her sleeves. “Did you just say ‘please beat me up, Lola Loud?’”

Lindsey sneered. “Oh, dear. Is the Queen of Diamonds getting all huffy? It’s quite unladylike to engage in fisticuffs.”

I had to smirk at Lola. “See, Lola? This is why I should be the Bad Cop. She’s not gonna object to me hitting her.”

Lola pouted. “Oh, shut up, you.”

“As hilarious as all this is, can I go now?” asked Lindsey. “I think we’re done here.”

She tried to leave, but I quickly blocked her escape.

“Not so fast,” I said, cracking my knuckles. “There has to be more to this, and you’re gonna spill the beans. Otherwise, I know some worms who would just love to get into those curls in your hair.”

Lindsey gasped. “Y-you wouldn’t dare!”

“Wanna try me?”

Lindsey looked between me and Lola, sweat dripping from her brow. Of course, I wasn’t really gonna put worms in her hair. I didn’t have any on me. But she doesn’t need to know that.

“Okay, fine!” said Lindsey. “I’ll tell you what I know, but I promise it’s not going to help you.”

“Let us be the judge of that, Sweetwater,” said Lola. “And do try to stick to the truth this time, would you? You really don’t want to make me MAD~!”

Sounds to me like Lola’s pretty mad already. I mean, I don’t blame her; I’m mad, too. Time to see just how much Lindsey knows about this whole thing.

Testimony: What I Know

“Like I said, I learned about this Full House Gang movie simply by keeping my ear to the ground,” said Lindsey. “All I did was take advantage of Lincoln’s disappearance and set up my plan to ruin Lola’s life. I had nothing to do with the kidnapping itself. The note clearly says someone else got him, so there’s no reason to bust my chops over it. Now leave me alone. You’ve humiliated me enough.”

That sounds kinda broken to me. I think she’s still lying, but I’m not quite sure how to prove it. I think I’ll let Lola take the lead on this one.

“So you just happened to learn about this movie by chance, huh?” Lola mused.

“Of course. It was the talk of the school all week,” said Lindsey.

“But you said those were just rumors,” I said. “How’d you know they were true?”

Lindsey shrugged. “Woman’s intuition. Something you’ll never have, pageant pauper.”

Oh, she did not just go there! I was about to sock her in the face, but Lola held me back.

“Relax. I got this,” she said. She then cleared her throat. “Y’know, Lindsey. Winston just told me that he’s a huge Ace Savvy fan.”

“Is he? Huh,” Lindsey mused. “Never thought a cute boy like him would be such a nerd.”

Now it was my turn to hold Lola back. Sheesh, Lindsey really knows how to push our buttons. We’re never gonna get anywhere if she keeps riling us up like this.

“Remember, not worth it,” I said.

Lola sighed. “Right. Sorry.”  She took a moment to compose herself before continuing. “Anyway, Winston told me something interesting. He said you were the one who posted the trailer onto the pageant forums before he could get the chance.”

“Well, of course I did,” said Lindsey, flicking her hair. “It was all part of my plan to take you down once and for all.”

Well, at least she’s admitting it now. But how does that help? Lola frowned and started pacing.

“See, that’s what bugs me,” she mused. “Even if your ‘woman’s intuition’ told you that the rumors were true, how did you know what channel would be showing the trailer?”

Lindsey blinked. “What kind of question is that? The rumors said it would…”

“Drop the act, Sweetwater,” Lola interrupted. “You’re not stupid. You know better than to trust some wild rumors, even if they would lead to my undoing. No, you needed a guarantee that this was legit. And you could’ve only gotten that information before the trailer aired.”

Lindsey scoffed. “Alright then. If you’re so smart, where did I get that information?”

“Well, that’s easy,” said Lola. “It’s the same people who wrote the note Lana found in your diary.”

“Oh, like that narrows it down,” said Lindsey, rolling her eyes. “You have no idea who those people could be, and I’m not gonna tell you.”

Lola smiled a wicked smile. “I might not know, but I know someone who does.”

“Alright, I’ll nibble. Who?”

“The janitor at our school.”

“Eep~!”

The color drained from Lindsey’s face entirely. Looks like Lola’s onto something. Maybe she did do some sleuthing, after all.

“See, Roxanne told me you had an interesting adventure yesterday,” said Lola. “You managed to pull a couple of boys into a broom closet. But you were sloppy, and the janitor caught you red-handed.”

“S-so?” Lindsey squeaked. “Th-that could’ve been about anything! I do that all the time!”

“I know you do,” said Lola. She walked up to Lindsey and looked her right in the eye. “But you’re usually not that careless about it. You should’ve known the janitor was gonna catch you if you tried to pull that at school. There’s only one reason you would take the risk.”

“Wh-what’s that?”

“Those boys were never gonna come to the pageant hall, and you knew it. You had to get them at school.”

Lindsey huffed. “Th-that’s just outrageous. Why would I do something like that?”

“Same reason you do anything else,” said Lola with a sneer. “You had dirt on them.”

“Nngh~! Curse you, Loud!”

Lindsey stomped her foot and glared at us. Wow, and here I thought Lola didn’t do any work at all. Heh, shows what I know.

“I think I know what’s going on here,” said Lola.

“You do?” I asked.

“Stop me if something sounds wrong, Lana,” said Lola, clearing her throat. “Lindsey Sweetwater had some major dirt on two boys at our school. She took them aside to confront them about it. Of course, we don’t know exactly what happened in that closet, but part of it had to be confirming the rumors about the Full House Gang movie. That’s when Lindsey came up with her scheme.”

She turned to Lindsey and pointed a finger at her. “You told them to kidnap Lincoln, or else you’d spill the beans on their secret. They tried to do what you asked, but someone else beat them to it. Of course, you didn’t care. As long as Lincoln was gone, you could use his disappearance to lure me into a trap where you would ruin my reputation in front of all of my friends! Well, Sweetwater?! Care to deny it?!”

Lindsey sputtered angrily, her face turning bright red. Suddenly, she shrieked and started stomping her feet in anger.

“It’s not fair~!” she whined. “I planned everything so perfectly! I was finally gonna beat you, and I was gonna make it last! But your stupid pageant pauper of a sister had to go and ruin everything! Why does she even stand up for you?! You don’t deserve it, Lola Loud! You don’t deserve anything! It’s! Not! FAAAAAAAIR~!”

And she keeps saying Lola’s the bad guy here. I know Lola has done some pretty nasty stuff, but forcing kids into kidnapping someone? That’s a line she wouldn’t cross. And even if she did, she’d probably regret it afterwards.

“What was that you were saying about this information not being helpful?” said Lola knowingly. “Oh, right. It was just another lie. Liar liar, pants on fire~.”

“So how about you start telling us the truth?” I said, pounding my fist into my palm, “Or am I gonna have to mess up that pretty face of yours?”

“Y-you’re not getting anything else outta me, Loud,” Lindsey snarled.

Lola smiled her menacing smile. “We’ll just see about that.”

Lindsey flinched away from Lola, whimpering all the while. I think now that we exposed her, she’s just too scared of us to talk. I’m starting to see why we need a Good Cop here. And I doubt Lola’s gonna want to be the Good Cop after what Lindsey tried to do. Ah, dang it. Fine.

“Listen, Sweetwater. You know what happens when you make Lola mad,” I said. “I can’t exactly hold her back, so you should probably give us something we can use.”

“P-Papa Wheelie and Flat Tire!” Lindsey blurted out.

Both of us blinked. “Um, what?”

“Th-their names are Papa Wheelie and Flat Tire,” said Lindsey. “I overheard them talking about how they were gonna be movie stars. They didn’t look the part at all, so I kept listening. Turns out someone was offering them parts in a movie if they could steal something from Royal Woods Middle School.”

Whoa. Now that is some juicy dirt. Speaking of which, it’s getting pretty close to lunchtime. Let’s wrap this up.

“What’d they steal?” Lola asked.

Lindsey sneered. “Sowwy~. I promised them I wouldn’t tattle if Lincoln was taken out of the picture. I’m not the kind of girl who would break a promise like that.”

No, you’re just the kind of girl who would say and do anything if it means hurting Lola. Seriously, don’t give us that crud. We know better.

“Well, how’s this for a promise?” said Lola, leaning in close. “You tell us what they stole, or I’ll tell everyone you wet the bed at Roxanne’s last slumber party.”

“That’s a lie! Nothing but a slanderous rumor!” Lindsey barked. “And anyway, it was at Ariel’s slumber part—”

I had to laugh. Lindsey’s blush resurfaced in full force while Lola just raised an eyebrow and smirked. Man, she’s good.

“Alright, alright!” said Lindsey. “They stole football signals. Don’t ask me what those are; I don’t know or care. All I know is that it was important enough for me to blackmail them.”

“And let me guess. They told you about the Full House Gang movie, too?” I said.

“Y-yeah. That’s how I came up with the idea,” said Lindsey. She then glowered at me. “And I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for your meddling. You’re gonna pay for this insult, pageant pau—”

“Call her that again. I dare you.”

Lindsey squeaked and shrunk away from Lola. She slowly picked herself up and narrowed her eyes.

“You haven’t heard the last of me, Loud,” she said. “I’ll take you down one day. Mark my words.”

“I won’t be holding my breath,” said Lola. She then winked at Lindsey. “Adieu~.”

Lindsey stomped off in a huff.

“You sure we can just let her go like that?” I asked.

Lola shrugged. “She’s powerless now, and we got what we needed from her.”  She then frowned. “But it turns out we shouldn’t have come here at all. She set this trap for me, and I fell for it. I’m so sorry about this, Lana. I shouldn’t have made this about me.”

See, that’s the thing about Lola. Sure, she can be mean and nasty, but deep down, she still cares about other people. She just has a hard time showing it. That’s why no matter how much we fight, I can never stay mad at her forever. She’ll always be my twin sister, and I’ll never stop loving her no matter what. I walked over and gave her a hug.

“It’s okay, Lola. At least we found something,” I said.

“What, you mean Lindsey’s scheme to destroy me?” asked Lola.

“More than that,” I said, furrowing my brow. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Lincoln disappeared the same night that movie got announced. And do you remember how Sweetwater said that the guys Lindsey blackmailed stole football signals?”

Lola gasped. “Y-you don’t think Lynn is involved in all this, do you?”

“All I’m saying is that maybe Lucy’s spirit friends were onto something,” I said with a sigh. “But there’s not much we can do about that now. We should head back home and see what the others came up with.”

“You mean now?” said Lola. “But I don’t think…”

A car horn outside interrupted her train of thought. We turned to see the pageant princesses walking up to us.

“Some old fellow outside is looking for you, Lola,” said Chinah. “He seems a bit old for a chauffeur, and his car doesn’t look the part at all. But I suppose you have to start somewhere.”

Lola blinked in confusion before giving me a look.

“I dunno what to tell ya, Lola. These girls are just weird,” I said with a shrug.

“You know we can hear you, right?” said Claudette, raising an eyebrow.

Oh. Oops. “U-uh, no offense, of course.”

Lola sighed and rolled her eyes. “We’d better get going. Adieu, my lovelies.”  She then blew a kiss at Winston. “Adieu, my King of Diamonds.”

Oh, brother. I really hope Lincoln doesn’t end up writing that into the Full House Gang. Comic books shouldn’t have mushy stuff like that.

“Adieu, my fair Queen of Diamonds. And I do hope Lincoln is found soon,” said Winston with a wave.

Lola smiled. “Thanks. That really means a lot to us.”

Can’t say I disagree. But even though we stopped Sweetwater’s little scheme, we’re no closer to finding Lincoln. Let’s hope one of the others were luckier…

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