The Fox and the Sleuth Amanda was sure she was onto something. Professor Ellis had been acting strange for the past week. She had initially encouraged Amanda's investigation into who had been skimming from the St. Hilda's budget but later when Amanda had tried to update her, Ellis dismissed Amanda's concerns as groundless. The professor had been distracted during classes, checking her cellphone, and always leaving right after class rather than waiting around to talk with the students. Something was up and Amanda Jones was determined to find out. She had managed to follow Professor Ellis after class. The professor had gone to the old pre-Revolutionary church on the outskirts of town. Stashing her bike away Amanda proceeded to sneak towards the building. She was still dressed in her school uniform the white blouse, blue sweater vest, brown plaid skirt. Amanda as usual had her legs dressed in brown tights and blue & white trainers. Pressing against a stone wall, Amanda took a relaxing breath as her heart beat faster. The young woman was feeling the usual rush of excitement tinged with nervousness as she investigated a crime. Deep down she wanted to believe Professor Ellis couldn't be involved with stealing from St. Hilda's but her mind told her people did all sorts of things for money. Amanda moved down the wall heading for an open window frame. The glass and metal framing had been lost to time providing a perfect entrance. Hopping up on her trainers, Amanda scanned the room for any signs of life. The debris from outside that had blown in through the open frame, leaves, small twigs, and some garbage, hadn't been disturbed. Gently taking a step down Amanda moved quietly towards an old weathered door. Hiding against the stone wall next to the door she carefully peaked around the corner. Holes in the door allowed Amanda to see out into the hallway. The small church wouldn't have many back rooms to hide in so Amanda knew she needed to be careful. Her caution was rewarded as another door opened and Amanda heard people approaching. Staying out of sight she heard voices ones she recognized. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" a female voice asked. "Yep, we've got this all in the bag. The Fox has the professor wrapped around her fingers." Another girl answered. There were a few more voices praising their apparent leader, 'The Fox'. Amanda wasn't sure who they were talking about but she recognized several of the voices. They all were members of the St. Hilda cheerleading squad. Senior students like Amanda none of them were very good in their classes. It baffled Amanda how they could waste their parents' money by doing so poorly in school. Now though she wondered what they were up too. How did these cheerleaders tie in with Professor Ellis and the missing money from the budget? Amanda's mind put the questions aside as she saw the last of the girls pass. Waiting for a few minutes to make sure no one else was coming; Amanda then crept out of her hiding spot. All the girls had headed to the center of the church. Amanda knew she couldn't just walk into the room without being spotted. Waiting outside the door that lead from the backrooms to the interior, Amanda looked for a way to sneak into the room. After a few minutes of searching she found it. There was an old crawl space just big enough for her to fit. Bending down to peer into it Amanda was rewarded with the sight of cobwebs and inky blackness. With her cellphone glowing to lead the way, Amanda crawled into the spot. Thankfully except for the cobwebs the space was pretty clean. Amanda still brushed webbing from her brunette bob as she managed to crawl to an exit. It was covered by an old metal grate but Amanda could see through it well enough to see Professor Ellis & the cheerleaders. Quickly she pulled out her phone to record everything. It turned out the professor was being blackmailed! The girls had made it look like the teacher was skimming from the school and now were hanging it over Professor Ellis's head. Unless she gave them passing grades the professor would go down for the theft. Amanda smirked as she recorded everything though. 'With this recording I'll clear Professor Ellis and see those girls all get expelled', Amanda thought as she crawled back out from the space. As she worked backwards Amanda was suddenly yanked out of the crawl space as somebody grabbed her stocking ankles and dragged her out. Caught off guard she was confused as she slid out into the hallway. Holding onto her ankles was another girl, dressed just like Amanda. There were a few differences, the short cut blonde hair being the most obvious. Amanda also noted though how her blouse was unbuttoned further down than her own, and that her skirt was hiked up or cut shorter. The blonde's own tights showed off their darker thigh tops as a result of the short skirt. "Well look who've got here, the infamous Amanda Jones." She smirked. Her blue eyes looked down at Amanda with a mix of malice and appreciation. It frustrated Amanda that she didn't know who she was. "Yeah and she's getting out of here!" Amanda tried to kick her captor but the blonde was strong. She held onto the stuggling limbs and smirked after Amanda gave up her attack. Dropping Amanda's legs she quickly stopped Amanda from sitting up by straddling her chest and pinning the sleuth to the ground. "I don't think so." She grinned pulling something from behind her back, a white cloth. Before Amanda could argue the blonde forced the cloth over Amanda's lovely lips and cute nose. The sleuth's eyes widened in shock, as she smelled a sweet sticky scent, which began robbing Amanda of her strength. As she weakened Amanda felt the blonde press her hand down tighter, "I don't know what you heard but I assure you, nobody is ever going to know." Amanda cried out in protest but her cries were muffled by the chloroform soaked cloth. Her long tights clad legs squirmed trying to get the attacking student off her. However the blonde's hold was too secure, straddling across Amanda's waist while her one hand clamped the cloth down and the other arm pinned Amanda to the ground. The sleuth's struggles were tapering off though as the sleepy scent did its work. Amanda's blue eyes wavered in their sockets as her eye lids began to drupe. Her long legs slowed, the rubber soles of her trainers no longer skidding against the floor. Amanda's limbs which had grabbed at the attacker now fell to her sides, one landing bent by her head. A soft sigh left Amanda's lips as her head began to tilt to the side. The blonde looked on enjoying the sight of the pretty brunette as she scrummed to the chloroform. Even after Amanda's head on come to rest on its left side, she left the cloth in place for a moment. With a smile she told the now sleeping Amanda, "Nap time." "Rachel, what the hell?" one of the cheerleaders said as they filed into the hallway from the door. Another exclaimed, "Amanda Jones? Crap that snoop is onto us!" Rachel, the blonde who had knocked out the sleuth looked to the gang, "Relax. I spotted her tailing our good professor. Figured it was a good idea to make sure Ellis hadn't gotten any help. Guess Amanda stumbled onto our little plan." "What do we do?" one of the cheerleaders asked. "Take her back to school." Rachel picked the cellphone from the sleeping Amanda's waist band. As she called up the video footage she ordered, "Get the car. We'll load her up and bring her back to her room. She left her bike out front; I'm sure a room key for her room is with it." Another of the girls though was worried, "But she saw everything!" Rachel Fox recent transfer to St. Hilda's smiled like her namesake, "And what proof will she have?" as she deleted the video, Rachel then pocketed the phone. The other girls went to do as Rachel instructed. They didn't have any choice as Rachel had easily dominated the group of weak minded girls. Alone with their prisoner, she leaned against the wall looking down at Amanda. "You've got spirit girl." She knelt next to the sleeping Amanda, brushing her cheek with her hand, "I won this round but maybe next time you'll get lucky." Standing again she went to go supervise the girls as they got the car and Amanda's stuff. Rachel walked away leaving Amanda to her slumber on the floor. The brunette sleuth was out cold but her dreams were of a blonde mystery girl who had gotten the better of the student sleuth.