Liz had barely slept, maybe a few hours at best. She was on a cot in the police precinct in a small room designed for officers to sleep when they were working long hours. She yawned and stretched, climbing out of the uncomfortable position she had scrunched into trying to fit her legs into the short metal framed bed. Mike was still snoring on another side of the room, towel over his face to keep the light out. She didn’t bother to wake him because she wanted to make the coffee first. Mike was not a friendly man without his coffee, which is saying a lot since Mike at his best still would never win a congeniality contest.
She fiddled with the machine out in the open room of the precinct and banged on it to make it work. She heard a stir coming from the front door where the desk sergeant would be and figured she would go satisfy her curiosity while she was waiting for the coffee to brew. She walked up front and through the doors that led to the front lobby, then stopped in her tracks as she recognized the duo arguing at the counter.
“Derrick? Annie?” Liz asked, immediately recognizing Annie from having met her at the hospital two months ago after the attack. She walked over to them, glancing down at her watch. It was almost eight in the morning on a Saturday so she wasn’t sure why they would be there.
“Detective Snow! Thank you! We were just telling this guy here to let us see you and he said you weren’t here and only worked the day shift. See, she is right there!” Annie obstinately said to the sergeant who put his hands up in defense.
“They are all yours, Snow.” He told her and walked away, clearly irritated.
“I usually only work days but stayed the night because we are really working very hard on your sister’s case. Do you guys want to come on back to my desk?” She asked them, motioning to the doors she had just come from.
“No, Liz, you don’t understand. Kate is missing.” Derrick spoke up, his voice clearly fraught with worry. Liz immediately perked up.
“What do you mean?” Her eyes widened and her pulse quickened as she looked at the two.
“I mean that she and Uncle Lenny were supposed to meet us at Union Station this morning to pick us up.” Annie explained, dramatically flailing her arms.
“Yeah, I was in New York for a business meeting yesterday and Annie is visiting for the weekend so I escorted her down. All four of us were going to have breakfast together but Kate and Lenny never showed.” Derrick chimed in.
“We called both of their phones a million times and even Lenny’s assistant, Frank. Nothing, no answer!” Annie said, hysterically.
“Wait, Lenny has an assistant named Frank? Your uncle does?” Liz interrupted them, her detective brain immediately going on high alert.
“Yes, but none of them answered the phone and we went to Kate’s apartment and there was no answer on the door and neither of us have a key because she is moving out.” Annie was rambling now.
“Okay, okay. Let me go grab my partner and we will go to Kate’s apartment and figure this out, okay? I will put out a missing persons report and we will find them in no time, okay? Let’s just everybody calm down. Now why don’t you wait on those chairs while I get Detective McCraig and I will be right back.” Liz motioned to a row of chairs against the wall of the lobby. The duo walked over there, clearly both still panicking.
Liz walked briskly towards the doors, not too fast to cause them alarm. The moment she was on the other side she broke into a run and dashed over to the room Mike was sleeping in, and slammed on the lights causing several officers to groan in complaints.
“Mike! Mike! Get the fuck up!” She grabbed him and shook him. He bounced out of bed so fast, immediately alert, that you would never have guessed he was just sleeping.
“It’s Frank! Francis is Frank! Remember Craig said he had a girl’s name or a saint, Francis! Lenny, Kate’s uncle, has an assistant named Frank! All of them are missing now! Let’s go!” Liz said, throwing her jacket on and heading out the door. He was quick behind her.
“What do you mean they are all missing?” Mike bellowed, shocked.
“I mean Kate, Lenny, and Frank. They are missing! We need to go check Kate’s apartment now. We can radio in the missing persons report while we are driving. Let’s go!” Liz shouted, several steps ahead of him.
~~~~
The squad car screeched to a halt in front of Kate’s building and four frenzied people clamored out. Derrick and Annie were less than a step behind the detectives as everyone climbed up the front steps. The car wasn’t even properly parked and the front wheel was halfway up on the curb.