Present Day

The drive stretched on, as the silence hung between them. Daniel had picked her up an hour ago and they traveled what seemed forever down familiar streets, alleyways, and finally the library. All ended with the same outcome─ no Lain. Truthfully, she had been both relieved and curious when no one else had come with him. It wasn’t much of a search party, but she did know Lain. Hopefully it was enough to help find her. They sat in the Richardson library parking lot before Daniel turned to Celeste. “We’ve been searching for a while now, how about we take a quick break,” he said. She looked over at him and feigned a smile.

“I guess a little coffee or tea might do the trick,” she agreed. “I’m fading fast.” Celeste directed him to a small café next to Highway 75 where she could grab one of her favorite drinks. The closer they got the better her usual cafe vanilla milk tea with coffee jelly sounded. She giggled when they arrived. Daniel looked really uncomfortable as he approached the counter. Most of the people inside were either Vietnamese or Chinese. He raised an eyebrow at the menu and turned to her.

“So, do they have regular coffee here?” He asked. She laughed and nodded, “Yes, but you really should try the hot teas or Boba tea. They’re great.” The poor thing looked petrified. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stick to what I know,” Daniel answered.

“Your loss,” she said, turning to the girl at the register. She ordered for the both of them, then thanked the girl behind the counter in Mandarin.

“Don’t worry,” Celeste whispered, leaning close to him, “They do see white people here on occasion.” Daniel turned scarlet and grabbed his coffee. The girl behind the counter smiled and winked at him before he hurried out. Celeste punched the fat straw through the top of the lid and then walked to the door. She let out a few last chuckles, then composed herself as she pushed open the door. Daniel scowled at her from the sidewalk─ his face still a slight pink. He looked so cute she wanted to pinch his cheeks.

“Did you two have a good laugh?” He grumbled. Her smile quickly faded as she realized that she had upset him. She started to say something when her phone rang. Celeste gave him an apologetic look before reaching into her purse. “I’m sorry, I need to take this─ my boyfriend is probably worried.” She missed the confusion across Daniel’s face as she turned her back and put the phone to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey.” She recognized John’s worried voice immediately. “Where are you?” He breathed. “Oh hey,” she answered, “I’m so sorry! I forgot to call and tell you what’s going on. Lain is missing and I am helping the police look for her.” She paused and listened as John’s silence lasted for several seconds too long.

A loud click from the other end startled her and she stared at the phone confused. She tried calling back many times, but was greeted by voicemail instead. He must have turned off his phone after he hung up. Resigned, she placed it back in her purse and turned toward the car. So much for talking about what happened earlier, she thought.

“We ready to go now?” Celeste looked up at Daniel’s words. He was leaning against the car waiting on her. She nodded before answering, “Sure, let’s go. I know of a few more places Lain could be.”

* * *

The headlights bounced off of the swings as they pulled into the empty lot. A flood of bright invaded her eyes and she turned away, shielding them with her hand. She must have voiced her protest because Daniel quickly switched them off. Heights Park greeted her on the right and she had to fight back tears. This was her and Lain’s retreat. They had first bonded here months ago when Celeste had taken her on as a student. It had taken a solid two weeks of trying to convince Lain’s foster family to let Celeste teach her. Even then, they always tried to come up with excuses not to let Lain go. They finally caved when Celeste bought Lain a yearly bus pass. She used to pick the girl up from home or school, but it only seemed to aggravate the family and rewarded Lain with extra beatings instead.

She couldn’t understand why Child Protective Services hadn't done something about it. How many times had Celeste taken Lain to the building after she had been beaten? The answer was always the same? unless it could be proven they couldn’t do anything about it. Lain’s aunt and uncle had been crafty, and blamed it on school bullying.

Since that was becoming an unfortunate weekly occurrence, the woods became Celeste and Lain’s retreat. It was in a small wooded area, but it did have its charms. They would sit and conjure up tales of heroes and epic battles. Or talk about the grand castles, and ancient gods. Lain was just like her in almost every way? insatiable with knowledge, and devouring anything she could about everything. To think that something awful had happened to that amazing little girl, was more than she could take. Lain had to be here, she just─ had to.

"Sorry about the brights,” Daniel said. “I noticed you flinched earlier when they hit the sign, “he finished as he pulled into the parking space. Celeste pushed her thoughts aside and responded, "Oh, it’s okay. I'm just very sensitive to bright light─ always have been.”

Feeling guilty, she turned to him, “Listen, I wanted to apologize for earlier. hat lady behind the counter didn't say anything about you. I just thanked her in Chinese.” When he remained quiet, she hastily added, “Dad teases me all the time and I─”

"What─ that? Seriously, don't worry about it.” He removed his seat belt, turning toward her. “Compared to the boys at the office you're a walk in the park─ if you'll forgive the pun," he chuckled opening the door. She broke out into a relieved grin, “Consider it forgotten.”

Celeste beamed at his back, thankful for his cheery disposition. Not many people handled a stab at their pride that well. Just as he was about to get out, he stopped and turned to her. “Oh, listen. I want you to stick as close as possible to me. I don't want to scare you, but with what's been going on in the area we need to be cautious." Celeste was stunned for a moment before it clicked─ the murders. “I thought there weren’t any in this area,” she said.

"Well, not exactly here, but definitely nearby. They’ve also gotten more frequent over the last couple of weeks.” He paused, searching her eyes as if debating on telling her something. She grew impatient at his hesitation and crossed her arms. It was just like a guy to try and protect her, she knew she appeared fragile, but she was a lot stronger than people thought.

“What is it?” she asked. He sat quietly, his eyes darting to the floor. She could see the gears turning in his head, and it seriously was pissing her off. She suddenly exploded at his hesitation, “Do me a favor, and stop holding things back from me. I need to know what to prepare myself for.” She stared expectantly at him. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, his voice came out low, “I didn’t want to have to tell you this, and I must ask that you keep it a secret.” He paused before adding, “Can you do that for me?” She nodded. He sighed and looked outside at the fields, “So far we’ve found thirteen bodies in the area that are connected to this guy.”

She gaped at him, unable to process what he just said. Thirteen… it was worse than she could have ever imagined. Lain could be the next. She was quiet for a moment, letting it all sink in. Then something clicked. Celeste looked over at Daniel, her eyes lighting up.

“Wait, the killer's usual M.O. is women between the ages of eighteen to twenty-five, in good shape, and dark haired. Lain doesn’t fit any of those.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I see someone has done her homework.”

She looked at him like he was mentally slow, “It's all over the news. How could anyone not know that?” She childishly stuck out her tongue at him. He laughed scratching the back of his head, “Alright, you got me. I assumed you got your news from Twitter like everyone else.” She was on him in seconds, “So, you assumed I’m an idiot that bought the first thing that I read?” his eyes grew wide for a second and then he laughed heartily. “Damn, woman. I’d love to shake the hand of the lady that raised you─ she did a good job.” Daniel instantly realized he’d said something wrong as the color drained from her face. “Oh Jesus, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Celeste quickly cut him off, “it’s okay, it happened nearly ten years ago. Really, I hardly remember anything.” She swiped at tears before they ran down her face, turning toward the window.

“You don’t look like you hardly remember.” His face looked like he had just kicked a puppy. “I feel like a total dick. I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. I’m sorry.” His apology touched her. Daniel was going out of his way to comfort her. She turned to him and smiled, “it’s okay, thank you for caring.” Celeste laughed, wiping at her face. “Sorry for being so weepy.” Daniel gave her a stern look and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t apologize for your feelings.” He shook her gently, looking into her eyes, “Take it from someone that chose to hold it in for years─ it’s not a healthy way to live.” Patting her shoulder, he stepped out of the car and shut the door. She watched him as he walked around and opened her door. His gait was calm. He walked like a man in control of his world.

The door opened and he leaned down, offering his hand. She gladly took it. “Thanks for the kind words” she said looking up at him as she got out. “It’s hard always trying to be tough.” Chuckling, he shut the door behind them and walked beside her, “now that, I can really understand.” He paused next to the swing set and turned to Celeste. “Oh, to answer your question from earlier yes, that had crossed my mind. I hope for all our sake's that you are right and this guy has had nothing to do with Lain’s disappearance.”

* * *