Detective Jason Barlow is was a sturdy man, built like a barrel and with a look that would make anyone intimidated. He was used to being put on cases of domestic investigations, which included missing children. Most of the missing cases didn't end well, but Barlow always started out with a positive attitude and the fight to bring the kids home – he had a soft spot for children, as he didn't have any.

It was exactly seven seventeen when he got the call. A fifteen-year-old girl named Sarah had gone missing, possibly a kidnapping case, as she was last seen in her room and there was no way she could have sneaked past her parents. He had been eating a bagel at the moment when he answered the phone, but as soon as he got the gist of the situation, the bagel was left on the table and Jason Barlow was in his car, ready to drive down to the station where he was to meet Brandi and Paul, concerned parents of Sarah.

By seven forty-two the three of them were in a secure conference room, proper papers already filled out and filed. Barlow sat across the table from them, hands folded on the surface. They sat for a moment in silence as he looked at the couple, taking in their postures and emotions, how they seemed to feel about the situation, without saying a word. He was the one to break the silence.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hanson," he started, looking first at Paul, then at Brandi. "I'm going to have to ask you a few questions and I need you to answer them as best you can. Will you do that for me?"

Both of them nodded excitedly and he forced a smile. "Alright. When did you last see Sarah?"

"I didn't see her at all last night. I came home from Philadelphia and Brandi told me she was in a bad mood and had already went to bed. I didn't want to wake her."

Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise, looking at Brandi. "That's true?" He asked.

"Yes, that's true. I told him she had already went to bed. I came home and went to talk to her around eight o'clock last night. She got upset at me and ordered me out, and I assumed she went back to bed."

Barlow frowned. "Why did she order you out?"

"Well, I'm her stepmother and she hates it when I'm in her room."

Barlow could not believe that. "There has to be something else." He said, prompting her on.

"No, there's nothing else…nothing I can remember…" A look of confusion crossed her features as she began to doubt herself. "Should there have been something else?" she looked up at Barlow innocently.

"Well, in most cases, the parents might notice an odd behavior from their child before they disappear, unless it's a kidnapping." He explained. "I'm not entirely sure this is a kidnap case yet, and if there's something, even something small, that she did yesterday, it could help me find out. Can you tell me every single thing that went on last night when you went to talk to her?"

Brandi furrowed her brow, obviously thinking hard about it. "Let's see…" she mused. "I went into her room, found her in her bed, under all the sheets. I sat down at her bureau and I told her about Toby's progress with his speech therapy. She replied snarkily, but that's not unusual for her…" she paused.

"What happened next?" Paul prompted gently, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"I took the book out that we bought her and I put it on her desk… oh yes, and then I saw she had an interesting new toy and I picked it up and I asked her what it was. Then she got angry and threw me out of the room." Brandi looked up at Barlow with questioning eyes that seemed to ask 'was that enough? Did I do it right?'

Barlow had a look of deep thought upon his face. "A new toy you say…" he murmured. "Could you describe this item in detail for me?"

Brandi nodded quickly. "Oh, yes, it was a peculiar little thing. A little glass ball that was about this big." She cupped her hands into a circular shape, as if the ball were between her palms. "It looked kind of dirty, I think, but it was pretty. Just a little paper weight or maybe a giant marble. I don't know what the kids are into these days." She sighed.

Barlow nodded his head slowly, still thinking. "And she never had this before?"

"No, not that I know of. It was new." Brandi replied.

"Was it in her room this morning?" he asked suddenly.

"No, now that you mention it, I remember it wasn't." Brandi replied, shocked at the discovery. "Does that mean something?"

Barlow sighed slowly, then inhaled deeply through his nose. "It might…" he looked at the table, then up at Paul. "I've seen this type of thing before. Mysterious gifts appear that the child cherishes and after a while the child disappears. Sometimes, the gift disappears with it, along with items of clothing or of importance."

"Yes, Sarah took her scrapbook and her diary with her." Paul said, frowning. "What are you getting at here?"

"I think this might have been a kidnapping." Barlow said quietly and Brandi gasped. "One that Sarah voluntarily went into. Someone has been giving her things, earning her trust, then getting her to go away with them. It's a story I've heard a thousand times, but it's one that can end well if we play our cards right."

Paul had a look of pain upon his face, and it was obvious he was holding back his horror, his fear for his daughter. He made a small choking sound in the back of his throat, then spoke, "I want to bring Sarah home."

Barlow nodded slowly, sadly, looking down on the table. "So do I… so do I…" he said quietly.

Brandi appeared to have lost her voice, but with the terrible news Paul seemed to have gained his. "What do we have to do?"