"Let's face it," Molly announced as she paced around the room, "We've all been avoiding some difficult conversations."

Mr. Bingo shook his head. "Not quite sure what are you referring to, Molly." He said and gave a small grin.

"First," Molly started, "I am grateful that you guys accompanied me when I was stressed about my parents, that's commendable."

"But, since there's no pressing matters at the moment..." She trailed off, unsure how to frame it. 

She knew she had to let them go back to their work. Its been memorable to have them around, but their lives are just as important.

"You want to let us go?" Miguel suggested. When Molly nodded her head silently, a sadness overcame him. "But, this was just the beginning."

"I know," Molly said, "You both have your own life. For me, I will find something to do by the end of this week but I cannot always hold on to you."

She gauges their expression– Mr. Bingo is really trying to contemplate over the possibility and Miguel is thinking of ways to stop this from happening. They had grown a close bond and it was going to be difficult to say goodbye.

"Or..." Miguel expressed, "We could just form a team."

Molly pinched her forehead, "We already are."

"But, not officially." He explained further, "Sure, we worked together but what if we found a way to always work together?"

"What do you mean?" Mr. Bingo asked.

"An official team. It doesn't have to be fancy or anything, just a detective team that works together and solves cases."

"That's enlightening..." Mr. Bingo responded. He still couldn't piece the puzzle together though.

"Let me guess," Molly tried, "The three of us form an official team and solve cases. But what about your jobs and family? You cannot just drop everything just because of me."

"Or we can," Mr. Bingo said confidently, "I am more than happy to leave my job and work here, if it means I always have some exciting adventures."

They looked at him, knowing a twist was coming, "And a bag of Bingo chips."

Molly chuckled and shook her head. Miguel was unfazed.

"Fine," Miguel stated, "I am down too."

"But—" Molly started but he quickly cut her off.

"I am not exactly leaving my job." He reassured her, "I am just making my life more private. I am still going to be linked to the Chicago police department and answerable when I need to be but we can also have our own private detective firm where we work on the cases that don't necessarily involve reporting to anyone else."

"You already are a private detective, Miguel." She narrowed her eyes at him, "Working undercover on cases and being the one to solve them."

"Who said I couldn't make it extra private?" he responded with a sly grin.

"For once you said something useful." Mr. Bingo teased.

"I always say something useful!" He protested but Molly was quick to intervene.

"Let's not fight now," She said, clicking the soft pad of her heels across the floor as she paced, "If this idea works, what do we even name it?"

"Bingo!" Mr. Bingo exclaimed, giving the flashiest grin possible.

Molly rolled her eyes in exasperation and Miguel chuckled in the background.

"Don't tell me now you're planning something like 'The Bingo Pirates', that'd be absurd." Molly quipped.

"I was just planning #teambingo but you have an even better idea!"

"What would the tagline even be?" She asked, seriously contemplating his trail of thoughts.

"The Bingo Pirates: When you need a mystery solved, we're there with chips and dips."Molly looked at Miguel, he just shrugged in his seat. He didn't seem to have any troubles with this idea.

"See?" Mr. Bingo elaborated, "I always have the best ideas!" He said while fanning his shirt and Molly rolled her eyes.

"No one would ever take us seriously!" She complained.

"But on the bright side," Miguel explained, "It could also be a good cover up. We could just say we have a knack for solving mysteries, its not like we're actually doing something illegal."

"Dear, this thing can have too many legal consequences."

"Then the ship drowns together." Mr. Bingo stated, his tone more serious than before.

Molly contemplated on the plan.

'It could work though,' She thought to herself, 'They've already proved that they can work efficiently together and maybe this is a good excuse to stay close together and just enjoy each other's company while also solving cases.'

"We don't take any controversial cases," Miguel said, cutting through her thoughts, "And we try to stay low."

"But, its eventually going to come out." Molly explained.

"Isn't there a way to legalize this?" Mr. Bingo asked.

Molly shook her head, "If anything, it'd only jeopardize Miguel's position here. And I don't want him to leave his career, which has a lot of potential to be washed away like it meant nothing."

"We could always give an excuse," Miguel tried, "I will try talking to my seniors that I have a case but don't want to involve the department."

"Something like an NGO?" Molly asked.

"Yes, exactly." Miguel explained, "It'd have been troublesome if we were trying to make a profit out of it, but we aren't."

"If none of us are earning, how are we to lead our lives?" She countered.

"IPOs" Mr. Bingo suggested on a whim, making Molly's eyes go wider.

Miguel playfully wrapped his wrists around his friend's neck, shaking it with enthusiasm, "I say off with his head, Molly! Let's bury him right here."

Molly held back her stifle; She appreciated his enthusiasm but they needed him, that was for sure. Mr. Bingo just sat there, his head tossing back and forth as Miguel was shaking it. He didn't have much room for protest.

"Okay, let's hear him out," Molly said, "If its really bad, I'll volunteer the weapons and the shovel."

Mr. Bingo's eyes widened at the realization. He had to come up with an idea real quick. Then it hit him.

"What's your sister doing majors in?" he directed his question to Molly.

"Oh," She said, confused where this was leading, "Vision Arts."

"And your dad?"

"Mate, are you trying to pull out her entire family history?" Miguel asked, equally confused on where this was going.

"Hear me out!" Mr. Bingo protested, "I am trying to connect the dots here."

"He's an assistant at a pharmaceutical industry."

"A pharmacist?" Mr. Bingo asked, trying to clarify the details.

"Not exactly. Their company prepares these medicines from scratch. Its supposed to be organic. So far there's not been any complaints about it either."

Mr. Bingo nodded, trying to connect the dots.

"I say we involve them both in," he said at last, "Sean could be the guardian of this whole project, Julia could launch an art museum if she's into it and we could just join under the guise of 'supporting partners' while the real business is us. Maybe them too, it could be a double win."

"A simple tear down would have us in hot waters, ma chére." Molly argued. It seemed like a good idea, but it would take a lot from everyone.

"We could have a discussion though," Miguel suggested, "Maybe if everyone agreed, it might even work."

Mr. Bingo smiled, relieved with the fact that he wasn't going to be buried anytime soon but also about the team, he was more than happy to put everything he had just to make this work. The three of them would be perfect and the art undercover would add a family business touch– he only hoped things would work out in their favor.

※※※

"Oh ho, ho! That's the most fantastic idea I have ever heard." Sean expressed as they were sitting around the table for dinner.

"I am down for an Art Museum idea too," Julia spoke while she nibbled on her rice.

Today Selene prepared one-pot Mediterranean Eggplant Rice which was packed with the summer flavors of the Mediterranean: eggplant, oregano, garlic, and basil. She always found ways to make dishes from all different cultures.

"I have never tasted something so good before." Mr. Bingo praised. The dish created a unique blend of flavors that left a tantalizing taste on your tongue even long after you had it.

"You should see her," Molly said with a proud smile, "She comes up with such diversity of foods, you'd be left wondering if you ever had such tastes before."

"Oh hush, you!" Her mom said as a blush formed on her cheeks.

Molly smiled at her mom before ultimately giving her a side hug.

"Its so good I can't even speak." Miguel said as he paused his bite midway but immediately took it after speaking.

"This is all great, but we need to talk about the logistics of it. How will we set this up without attracting attention to what we're really doing?" Molly posed the question that was weighing her down. She knew too well than to take such risks.

"Its simple really," Sean explained, "We are doing the business, your team is also doing something to contribute, not necessarily in a direct sense, but contributing members. And Miguel's still in his role, which means it'd be your source for the cases you need. He leads the cases while you both," He said while pointing between her and Mr. Bingo, "will be 'friends' who are trying to help him with any information he might need."

"Think of it in the sense of friends being friends, as long as Miguel adheres to his NDA and keeps the communication channels discrete, it shouldn't cause many issues." Julia said.

Something still felt off about this setup and Molly couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. But for now, she decided to eat her food and discuss it with her teammates later.

※※※

"That worked, at last!" Miguel said as he fisted his hands into air.

"It did! I knew it was going to work out." Mr. Bingo said with a smile.

"Be grateful that you aren't buried yet."

"Fine, but you need to be less enthusiastic about it."

Mr. Bingo replied with a cheeky grin and when he noticed Molly's troubled expressions, he asked about it.

"It could most definitely work out, since we're operating unofficially, but..." She trailed off, unable to put her worries into words.

"What worries you Molly?" Miguel asked her, worry creasing his face.

She gave it a thought. She didn't doubt her family and teammates not being able to make this plan a success, she doubted herself.

"I feel too corrupted to continue what my heart yearns." She paused, a frown forming on her lips, "I worry I won't be able to lead like Lisa did."

"Oh dear," Mr. Bingo said as he scooted closer to her seat and caressed her arms, "You really are analyzing too much into this. I helped you the last time remember? And so did Miguel. No one questioned anything. Its quite common." He paused, gauging her expressions, "As for your leadership, I wouldn't have come up to you if I didn't believe in you."

"You messed it up badly, though." She expressed.

"I could show the actual texts I had sent if that'd make things better." He expressed, clearly regretting his past actions.

"What happened the last time?" Miguel asked, curious about the scenario.

A simple cross-check of text conversations stunned each of them. The change was really obvious.

Molly's Phone

Mr. Bingo: You don't know what you're getting into, are you?

Me: What do you mean?

Mr. Bingo: Nothing. If I were you, I would shake my head and pretend this never happened.

Me: Who even are you?

Mr. Bingo: Just a well-wisher.

Me: If you really were my well-wisher, you'd help me, dumb head.

Mr. Bingo: Hey, hey, easy there, chipmunk. No need to get mad at me. I am just warning you. Stay out of this.

Me: First, don't ever call me chipmunk. And second of all, what if I don't stay out of this?

Mr. Bingo: Unless you want to be that old man in Cabin 7, you might want to consider your stakes, lady.

Me: Wait, how do you... Hmm, you're on the same train as me. Why don't you show yourself?

Mr. Bingo: Bingo!

Mr. Bingo: And no, I cannot reveal myself, got too many secrets to keep. But if you do insist on going ahead with this investigation, maybe I could provide some help.

Me: Okay, mister bingo, what do you know?

Mr. Bingo: The victim is Dane Wade, age 37. He has two kids - Paige and Nicole. His wife divorced him three years ago, so he got custody of the kids. He works as a drug dealer to make ends meet. The rest of his family is in Houston, Texas.

Me: How do you know so much about him?

Mr. Bingo: "Time is running out, detective. If you're determined to get into this, it's up to you. But once you get in, there's no turning back."

Me: Bold of you to assume I would quit.

Mr. Bingo: That's what I thought. Good day, detective. See you soon.

Mr. Bingo's Phone

Me: Hey, I needed help, if you'd be down for it?
Molly Rayne: What do you mean?
Me: I have a suspicion that someone on the train is more than they seem.
Molly Rayne: What's it about?
Me: I don't wish to reveal my identity yet, but if my suspicions were correct, I would warn you that the type of people you're dealing with are really dangerous.
Molly Rayne: If you claim to be my well wisher, then, help me!
Me: Hey, hey, easy there, chipmunk. No need to get mad at me.
Molly Rayne: First, don't ever call me chipmunk. What did you want to say?
Me: I know the person who died in Cabin 7
Molly Rayne: Wait, how do you... Hmm, you're on the same train as me. Why don't you show yourself?
Me: Not yet, but I will, soon. If you do insist on going ahead with this investigation, maybe I could provide some help.
Molly Rayne: Okay, mister bingo, what do you know?
Me: The victim is Dane Wade, age 37. He has two kids - Paige and Nicole. His wife divorced him three years ago, so he got custody of the kids. He works as a lawyer to make ends meet. The rest of his family is in Houston, Texas.
Molly Rayne: How do you know so much about him?
Me: Please, we can deal with that later. I need to find out who did this.
Molly Rayne: Alright, let's get to this.
Me: Thank you, detective, really means a lot.

Mr. Bingo said at last, "I was always thrown off a bit by your harsh responses when I was just trying to help, but, this really sets things in perspective. And this isn't the only message exchange that's tampered, and its clearly obvious."

Molly took her time to investigate the texts and was surprised to see how the exchanges actually were and how they had been changed. Everything clicked into place, until...

"Then why did you justify lying about swapping "lawyer" for "drug dealer"?" She asked.

"From the way it was going, I figured this could be the case, I couldn't see much on my side though but now that the air is clearing up, maybe the case was indeed not completely solved."

"What do we do now? I am not even working anymore." She said as she scratched her head.

"And going back would only raise more suspicions." Miguel added.

"Exactly. And when I finally got to talk to you when I was abducted, that was the beginning of the things that were starting to clear up." Mr. Bingo explained himself.

"How did you still manage to have your phone when you were abducted?!" He asked.

"Gary, he wasn't thinking straight." Mr. Bingo said easily, "I did hear a fight going down between him and Aron about it though. If they attempted to take it later, they'd have exposed their identities, which they eventually did but their main motif was to get you there."

"That does explain a lot of things." Molly said after much thought, "But who changed the texts?"

"Auth-" Miguel began but I immediately punched his shoulders.

"Ow!" He said as he rubbed his shoulders.

"Who are you talking to?" Mr. Bingo asked.

"Huh, I could've sworn she was right here—" He began, becoming more confused than before, "Alright, there's an obvious case of text tampering here. My main suspicion would be Kyle, but he's already behind the bars. Do you think he could've been the one?"

"There's only one way to find out."

※※※

a/n: wew, that was an intense chapter! i was already thinking of the text-tampering angle in book 1- BTTM but since i couldn't, i found an opportunity to include it here.

the stakes got higher than a game of Jenga, and its going to take everything in them to grapple with the consequences of their plan.

i couldn't help but push the fourth wall break either, Miguel is too much of a tease xD

but i am happy for how this is turning out, yay!

hope you're having fun reading it.

with loads of cats and purrs,Sara <3