Chapter 10

Bert was bouncing off the walls with excitement. Tomorrow is going to be the day that he is going to meet his daughter for the first time. Parlayed with Lisa coming home, this is going to be a weekend that even a trip to a peanut butter factory couldn't beat.

Just as he was about to finish typing his weekly column for the Standard, the phone rang. "Evergreen Standard, Bert Raccoon here."

"Hi Bert, how's the paper treating you?" asked Zoey. Zoey was the constable of the small police force in the Evergreen Forest, just moving to the Forest last year. She originally dreaded the change coming from Vancouver; but the community embraced her due to her friendly, no-nonsense approach.

Bert usually didn't talk to Zoey much outside the Blue Spruce, so he knew something was up. "Oh, I'm almost done for the day," said Bert. "Been a slow day at the cop shop?"

"A little busier today, since I got some bad news," Zoey paused before she continued. "I just received a missing person's report across my desk for Lisa Raccoon."

Bert's mind went numb. There was a long pause on the phone.

"Bert, are you still there?" asked Zoey.

"Yeah, I'm here," Bert mumbled faintly. "How, how did this happen?"

"It says here that she has been missing since Saturday night. She is an adult, so that's why it's taken this long for this situation to become an active case."

Bert's mind sounded with alarm bells right then and there, thinking back to his experiences of the last couple of weeks. "I think I know who might have abducted my girlfriend."

"Who?" asked Zoey, surprised. "I didn't think she had any enemies."

"None that I know of, just an ex-lover," said Bert. "I would start looking into David Blackmask."

"Well, it's one place to start. Why do you think it was him?" questioned Zoey.

"I think he still has feelings for her. They were high school sweethearts. Also a few weeks ago when I visited Lisa, I found a roofie capsule beside her drink on the dresser; she and David were the only people in the room that night," said Bert. "I am around her enough to know she doesn't use drugs."

"Okay Bert, I'll start with that. Just don't do anything rash," suggested Zoey before she hung up, knowing Bert just like his close friends do that he was impulsive in hairy situations.

But Bert knew that he couldn't stand pat. He had to go to the source and find out what happened to his treasured beauty.

Bert burst into the Raccoondominium at full speed, losing his footing coming through the door. The result was a nasty tumble into the kitchen.

"Are you alright Bert?" asked Melissa.

Bert rubbed his elbow. "I'm fine, but I don't know about Lisa."

"You mean she feels your boo-boos too?" asked Ralph jokingly from the couch.

"This isn't a laughing matter," replied Bert, picking himself off the floor. "Lisa has been missing since last Saturday."

"That's horrible!" cried Melissa. "Do they have any leads? Where are they going to start?"

"I think I have an idea. But it's just a hunch," said Bert, fuming. "I think it's her old boyfriend, David. I can't do this alone; I need your help to find her."

"Of course, Bert," said Ralph. "What's your plan of attack?"

And with that, Ralph was making phone calls to the rest of the gang about what to do next.

The gang split into two groups; so they could start tracking David and talk to Delilah at the same time. Since they knew Delilah better, Bert, George, and Bentley went to the city, and the rest of the gang divided up to look all over the Forest. Schaeffer and Zoey went door to door to spread the word as fast as possible about the missing raccoon.

When Bert arrived at Delilah's, he saw Cynthia playing house with an old shack built of particle board on the front lawn. He wanted to play with her so badly, but he had no time to waste.

"Who are you?" asked Cynthia, baffled looking through the cut out window of her playhouse.

"I'm your d...I'm a friend of your mom's," replied Bert, awkwardly. "We are here to visit her."

Bert stormed into the house. "Delilah! We gotta talk, NOW!"

"Bert, what's wrong?" asked Delilah. "You know I'm coming to the Forest tomorrow like I promised."

"Something else has come up that you gotta know about," said Bert. "I think your brother kidnapped Lisa."

Delilah looked puzzled. "That's awful, but what makes you think that my brother did it? How long has she been gone?"

"Almost a week now," said Bert. "I think he still has feelings for her."

"That's total nonsense," cried Delilah. "David came to the house here two days ago."

Bert and George looked at each other and frowned. "Bert is just making assumptions, since we have nothing to go on. Maybe you can call your brother and ask him if he's seen her," asked George. "We have to start somewhere."

"Okay. You know I'll do anything to help," said Delilah. She went and called David's. She came back shaking her head. "No answer."

"What are we going to do now?" asked George. "I hope the others have come up with something."

Delilah's face turned into a look of fear. She knew where Lisa was; but she would never tell a soul. Besides, Bert could never find out the master plan that she and her brother were cooking up, her daughter's well being depended on it.

Ralph and Melissa, Cedric and Sophia, and Cyril with the pigs split up to search the Forest for Lisa. Nicole stayed at home in hopes that her daughter might call to say she's alright. They searched high and low, with no sign of her. But there was one spot that they hadn't looked yet, but they would have to call it a night. Searching in this place would be far too dangerous after dark.

The sullen gang met up at George and Nicole's to check-in. Delilah decided to come back with the other group to the Forest, as it was a free ride to the Forest anyways.

Before Bert, George, and Bentley left the city, they finally got a chance to meet Cynthia. Delilah was worried about David being found, but she had to put on a brave face for her daughter.

"Cynthia, could you come in here for a minute?" called out Delilah from the kitchen window.

"But mom, I want to keep playing with the horsey," protested Cynthia, riding a broom stick with a plush horse head on the end.

"You can do that later, honey. Remember I told you that we were going on a trip tomorrow to see your daddy?" asked Delilah. "Well, we are going to go tonight."

"Oh goody!" screamed Cynthia, dropping her make believe horse. She ran to the door and scurried to her room, before her mother could tell her another word.

"I think now is a good time," said Delilah, as she waved Bert into the bedroom with her.

Bert and Delilah walked down the hall to the youngster's bedroom, noticing Cynthia grabbing her pink suitcase from her closet. "Cynthia, there is someone here who would like to meet you."

Cynthia looked up, noticing her mother and a male raccoon with a letter 'B' sweater standing beside each other inside her bedroom door. "I saw him before. He's your friend, right?"

"He is, my darling. This friend is also your daddy."

Cynthia looked up and down her father bewildered. Bert knelt down, smiled and opened his arms.

"Daddy! I have been wishing for you for a long time!" Cynthia ran over and hugged her father. George couldn't help it looking inside the door; he had a tear in his eye.

"You know, kiddo, you have a lot of imagination," said Bert. "Just like me."

They hugged for a minute, and then they got packing to go to the Forest. "Now you get to see my home," said Bert as he helped his daughter load up her bright pink suitcase. "There are lots of open places and trees to play in. You'll love it."

"You're the best, daddy," said Cynthia with her eyes glowing. "Let's go!"

"Wow, it's got a nice ring to it," said Bert looking back at Delilah. Delilah smiled back, but her mind was racing a million miles an hour praying that her brother would hold up his end of the bargain.