centerChapter 1 /center
Mickey smiled as he walked up the front walk to Minnie's purple house, whistling away through the fact that he actually remembered a date before it was too late and wanted to surprise his girl with a bouquet of flowers he had behind his back.
He pushed the doorbell before fixing his bow tie. He looked back up, expecting her to open the door only to be staring at it. "Minnie?" Mickey asked, knocking his fist on the door a little. He figured she was in the shower and went ahead to try the door handle. Finding it unlocked, he opened the door, dropping his flowers behind him at what he saw.
Her living room was upturned, insides of the sofa and pillows scattered through-out the room. "Minnie?!" Mickey asked, worried as he walked in, careful to not step on anything. "Minnie?!"
Mickey started up the stairs, as he thought,i I hope she's up there and maybe she's just sick and can't clean up the house at the moment. /i
"Minnie? You up here?" Mickey called out, hoping to hear something respond as he rushed through her room, only to find the same scene as downstairs. The house was ransacked. A whimpering sound caught his attention to her bed as he noticed a lump shivering. "Minnie? It's me, Mickey. You ok?" Mickey asked, going over to the bed. He lifted up the covers only to see a black and white cat. "Figaro, where's Minnie?"
The cat looked up at him as if he had no idea what Mickey was talking about before curling up and going to sleep.
"I gotta get help." Mickey determined as he turned to rush out of her room and down the stairs. "Who knows what happened to her. She could've gotten kidnapped-! Pete!"
Mickey slammed the front door behind himself and rushed over to Pete, the formally peg-legged.
Mickey got to the man's house and banged on the door as loud as he could until the side of his glove was torn by the wood.
"Will you quit that racket!" Pete called out before opening the door. "What?"
"What have you done to Minnie?" Mickey demanded to know.
"Minnie, I haven't seen her since last weekend." Pete said, annoyed at the mouse.
Mickey closed his eyes. He was tired of Pete's lies and before either one knew what had happened, Mickey had kicked out Pete's faux leg, forcing him to the ground.
"Why you little-" Pete started as Mickey put a foot on his chest.
"Where is Minnie?" Mickey asked, his voice taking on a new level of menace.
"I don't know, get off of me, you twerp." Pete said, rolling over so he could get out from under the mouse. "What'd she do, run away from you?"
Mickey felt his eyes tearing up as he realized Pete really didn't know anything about Minnie's disappearance. He closed his eyes as he turned around to leave. He stopped at the edge of the porch, keeping himself faced away, and threatened, "If I find out you had something to do with her disappearance, you'll wish you had never lived past your Peg-Leg Pete title."
Mickey found himself running faster than he knew he was capable, heading straight for the police department to get a search team out hunting for her. His mind started to run through a list of people he could remember trying to take her in the past but none fit the MO. She had never been forced out of her house like that. It was like the person who had kidnapped her was looking for something as well.
Mickey rushed into the police department and went straight towards the man behind the counter and the only person in there at the time, Police Chief O'Hara.
"Mickey." O'Hara said, seeing the young mouse as he stopped in front of the desk.
"Chief, Minnie's gone missing! We've gotta get everyone together and go out looking for her!" Mickey demanded, his voice hoarse from lack of oxygen.
Chief O'Hara's face dropped at Mickey's words. He lowered his pen and stood up. "Mickey, come with me."
"What?" Mickey asked, not understanding why they weren't heading out to look for his girl as he followed his friend behind doors that lead deeper inside the building.
"Mickey, when was the last time you saw Minnie?" the chief asked, trying not to look at the mouse as he lead through the maze of corridors, heading to an all mettle door.
"Yesterday, about dinner time." Mickey informed. "Why aren'-"
"Mickey, we found someone last night around ten." the chief interupted, sounding like he was fighting back tears as he placed a hand on the metal door. He looked down at his friend and continued, "We haven't been able to identify her, so for the moment we've been calling her a Jane Dow. I'm hoping after you take a look she still will be a Jane Dow."
Mickey felt his face grow hotter as his feelings rushed around in his mind. He followed his friend into the morgue, seeing only one table in use. They went over to the table and O'Hara put a hand on the cloth. He turned to the mouse and warned, "We found her covered in cuts like she had been in a bad fight."
"I... I want to see." Mickey said, forcing himself to stand tall, hoping the figure under the cloth would be someone else.
O'Hara pulled back the cloth covering the body to show Mickey a mouse of black fur that was stained crimson red from the numerous cuts covering her face.
Mickey stepped back, a hand instantly covering his mouth at the sight of the female lying in front of him. He couldn't look any longer, turning his head as he felt his stomach turn. "I can't tell." Mickey admitted as O'Hara covered her up again.
"Can you get us something of her's that would have her DNA?" O'Hara asked. "A comb, tooth brush."
"Yes, I'll be right back!" Mickey said, hope alive in his voice as he rushed out of the room.
"Put it in a zip-lock bag!" O'Hara called towards the mouse.
Mickey nodded his head, knowing his friend couldn't see him, but prayed that there was some way that girl wasn't Minnie.
