Kate’s hand froze mid air, a cookie hovering just inches away from her lips. Ben shifted in his chair, turning his attention to Officer Briggs.

“One of our officers took a call this morning just before his shift finished. Daisy Langdale called and said her friend, Alice Draper, was supposed to arrive last night. Apparently the girl called Daisy just before midnight because she got lost, but then never arrived. The description is matching our girl. There was no car where the body was found though…”

“We need to talk to Miss Langdale,” Ben said as he stood up and grabbed his jacket.

“I’ll show you the way,” Officer Briggs said as she marched down the corridor, not waiting for an answer.

Kate, never the one to let things to waste stuffed the whole cookie in her mouth with a few bites and rushed after her colleagues.

The red house with the lavender bushes sat on a quiet street, bright against the sparkling snow. Officer Briggs was out of the car as soon as Kate stopped by the sidewalk. She ran up the stairs and was already knocking on the door by the time Kate and Ben caught up with her.

A few moments later the door opened, and the small face turned visibly paler.

“Oh, no…” the girl said and covered her mouth with a shaking hand.

“Daisy, this is Detective Petersen and Detective Robbins,” the officer said. “May we come in?”

The girl opened the door wider and they followed her to a spacious kitchen.

“Miss Langdale, you made a call this morning about your friend,” Ben said and the girl nodded, looking at him with huge eyes. “I’m afraid we might have some bad news. We found a body earlier today, and it looks like she could be the girl you were looking for.”

For a moment Daisy just stood there, staring at Ben. Then she took a tentative step towards him, her hands groping the air. “No… no…” she said over and over again.

“You need to come with us and identify her,” Kate said. Daisy looked at her through teary eyes, took another step towards Ben. Her eyes rolled into her head and suddenly she was falling. Ben jumped forward and grabbed her before she hit the floor.

“Kate, get some water,” Ben said, while Officer Briggs motioned towards the sofa in the corner of the room. He carefully lowered the girl down and patted her face. When her eyes seemed focused again, Kate shoved a glass of water right in front of her nose.

“I’m ok… really… it’s just… I can’t believe this is happening,” she said, pushing away the offered drink, her eyes darting around the faces looming over her.

“Take your time, Daisy,” Officer Briggs said, gently stroking the gir’s hair. “We wait until you are ready.”

“No,” she said and shook her head. “I want to get over with it. It might not even be her… Right?” She searched their faces desperately and started to cry again.

*

One look at Daisy’s face as the sheets were lifted from the lifeless body was enough. There was no question in Kate’s mind that the girl on the table was indeed Alice Draper. Ben and Officer Briggs took upon themselves the task of notifying the girl’s family, while Kate phoned Officer Simmons with the description of the missing car. Ben returned after ten minutes looking tired and tense. Kate raised a questioning eyebrow and he just shook his head. There was no need for explanation.

Now, back at the warm kitchen, Daisy sat at the table, wiping her face with a crumpled tissue, while Officer Briggs was busy making coffee.

“Tell us what happened,” Ben said, his voice quiet. He squeezed Daisy’s hand and she looked grateful for his comfort.

“Alice called last night, just before midnight. She said she got lost. Her phone went flat so she was calling me from a gas station in Silverthorne, about forty minutes from here. Apparently she didn’t know about the diverted traffic and ended up there. So I gave her directions. I was really tired and I… I fell asleep on the couch… When I woke up it was almost seven a.m. and she was not here.”

Another sob choked her voice and Officer Briggs gave her a brief hug before placing a cup of coffee in front of her. Kate didn’t feel like drinking but took the cup anyway.

“So I called the police… you know, to see if there was an accident, or if they know something… and here you are.”

She buried her face in her hands tears were falling freely in her lap.

“Were you old friends?” Ben said.

“We went to school together,” Daisy said and managed a thin smile. “Then about a year and a half ago they moved down south and my family came to Pine Creek. This was meant to be the first time we’ve met since then. I told her not to drive during the night… but she didn’t want to waste the day, and said she wants to come right after work. She was so bad with maps, even with the GPS…”

“Who knew she was going to spend the weekend with you?” Kate asked.

Daisy seemed to consider the question. “Well, I guess her family, my parents, my brother Anthony – he picked up my cell when she called and she told him actually -, maybe some of her colleagues.”

“What about friends?”

“What about them?” Daisy asked with confusion in her eyes.

“Do you know Alice’s friends?”

Daisy shook her head. “Not really. I mean since I moved here we haven’t even met. I know she had kept in touch with most of our high school friends for a while. I still see some of them, you know, we all went to Montclair College. But not Alice. She said school can wait… She wanted to live a bit before going back to study. She started working, but still hung out with us sometimes. Then they moved down south. Since then I have no idea with whom she’d been spending her time really… As far as I know she hadn’t talked to our other friends either. Well, not after the first few months or so. They said she just stopped responding whenever they tried to contact her.”

“Did anyone say why?” Kate asked.

“They had no idea…”

“But she kept in touch with you.” Ben said.

“We are… I mean were… friends since we were little,” Daisy said and her voice wavered. “We never really stopped talking.”

“What about your brother? ”

Daisy looked up with surprise in her eyes. “My brother? Well… we all used to be quite close back then. But I don’t think she spoke to him recently. You know, apart from last week when she called me and Anthony picked up the phone.”

Ben looked at his watch, then shot a glance at Kate.

“We need to leave now. But we will probably be around for a few more days. If you remember anything Alice said that might be important, please call us.”

“Does…” Daisy swallowed hard. “Does her family know yet?”

Ben nodded. “I told them after you identified her.”

Daisy nodded and the tears started flowing once more.

*

The police station was buzzing with excitement when the three of them got back from Daisy’s house. Officer Simmons nearly tripped over the rubbish bin as he scrambled out from behind the front desk. “They found it!”

“Who? And found what?” Kate asked, and couldn’t help but feel the excitement herself.

The officer took a big breath. “The vehicle. Alice Draper’s car, that is. Aruna’s team is working on it. One of our patrol officers spotted it in the parking lot not far from the train station. There’s also a pay phone there, but it’s broken. She probably stopped there, thinking she can call her friend again, and then…”

“That was quick!” Kate remarked.

Ben nodded. “Good job, officer.”

The officer beamed at him. “I also prepared an office for you, Sir!”

“I’ll show you to it,” Officer Briggs said, and with a light touch to the detectives’ elbows she led them down a dimly lit corridor.