I am so sorry for the break in posting this chapter. Thank you for being patient, I should be able to post a little more frequently now. Thank you so, so much for reading and following along and especially for the great comments, thoughts, and ideas keep them coming! That Elaine Peck is one rotten egg! Enjoy. xx

"You don't understand, she would not have just left without telling me. Oliver, you have to believe me. " Gail kicks the hard plastic chair in front of her as it goes sailing across the room ricocheting around like the small silver ball in a pinball machine.

Oliver places his hands on her shoulders, guiding her to the remaining chair on the other side of his desk, "Darlin, you have to calm down if we are doing to figure this out, this is not helping."

Gail sits down in the chair pulling her legs up and into her chest; the exhaustion wraps itself around the cop like a cloak of weariness that has settled into every inch of her. She looks off into the distance, letting the recap whirl around uncontained in her mind before shaking her head and pulling herself back into the moment. "Oliver, my mother is behind this, I know it. She has outdone herself this time and I will find out exactly what happened if it kills me."

Oliver sets a hot cup of coffee down in the blonde's favorite mug with the word DAD boldly written across it. He takes a sip of his own coffee, "Gail let's start at the beginning, okay? When did you last see Holly?"

Grasping the mug, finding a bit of comfort in the warming sensation seeping through her fingers, the cop lets out an exasperated sigh, she didn't even know she was holding, "The last time I saw her was just before you and I met up at the courthouse. We were at her place, Holly asked if I wanted her to come with me to the trial and I said no because I knew she had her first session with Dr. Jackson and I wanted to be nothing but encouraging that Holly keep the appointment because she had been reluctant to go talk with someone about what she has been through."

"Did she seem off, or not acting like herself in any manner?"

"No she seemed fine, she might have been a little nervous but certainly not acting like she was going to bolt and run. That's my department in case you did not get that memo."

Oliver heart breaks a little to see Gail in this condition, he reaches for a thick green hardback notepad and begins making notes, "Okay so I am going to call in a favor to buddy of mine, see if we can track any credit card activity, or if she has withdrawn any money in the last 24 hours. Gail, do you really think your mother is involved in Holly leaving?"

Blue eyes reach out to the man across the table like a vice grip, Gail holds Oliver's gaze and confidently spits the venomous words, "With every fiber of my being, I know she is behind this whole damn fiasco."

Standing from his chair, walking to the window that overlooks the busy operations that buzz about the 15th precinct, he closes his eyes for a long moment, "I believe you, and we will find her Gail, I promise."

"Ha! You can't promise me that, you have no idea what power my mom has in this town, in this country. She gets what she wants when she wants it and that is the end of discussion, she will cut down and toss aside anyone who gets in her way. Just look at me, one swift tug and toss when she realized it was Steve not Gail who would be her golden child when it came to following in her footsteps. She is evil Oliver, mark my words she is behind this."

The pristine silver BMW roared into the parking lot, coasting easily into a spot close to the door, soon well-appointed Italian leather shoes touched down on asphalt quickly making their way to the lobby. A hasty knock on the mahogany door startled Holly as she was seated at the desk in her room. Eyes wide as the high pitched beep indicated clearance before someone turned the handle to let themselves into the space.

"Hello, Dr. Stewart I am hoping these accommodations are meeting all your needs."

The bile starts its ascent up into Holly's throat. "It's fine. Why are you here and when can I go back home?"

Taking a seat in the leather Queen Anne styled chair opposite the desk, "That my dear is why I am here. I don't think Dr. Jackson explained everything to you, but I am here to clear everything up for you. I have a, shall we say, proposition for you."

"I am not interested."

Crossing her legs and leaning forward, "This is not a suggestion Dr. Stewart I will be very clear with my words, you have two options. Option number one is that you will take the check in the envelope I am about to hand you, a very generous amount might I add. If Gail was still dating some of the pond scum men she has crawled into bed with, it would not cost me nearly as much, but you, you doctor are a bit of a different matter altogether for many reasons. There is a plane ticket and a job waiting for you, we will take care of all the odds and ends for you here. So incredibly easy really, you will cash the check and start your new life and that life will be far away from Toronto and even farther away from my daughter. Option number two is not as nice; you will force me to do something unthinkable that will ruin your life."

"You can't BUY me, Mrs. Peck!"

"It's Superintendent Peck to you, and darling I already have."

Holly rises from the desk, not sure what to do with the anger that is raging inside of her, "I won't do it. You can't make me leave my job, my home…Gail, I will not leave Gail. This was supposed to be temporary just until the trial was over, until I was feeling more like myself. I love your daughter."

Elaine Peck is done with the conversation and the negotiation that comes with it, the Superintendent's body language and tone adjusts until both become somewhat frightening to experience, "Sit down now!"

Holly's body reacts and she does just as she is told.

Her voice becomes sheer hatred twisted tight against the slippery skin of vengeance, "I was hoping we didn't have to go down this route, I was hoping that no one would need to rip the Band-Aid off the very ugly eyesores of your past, but Dr. Stewart you have left me no choice."

"What the hell are you talking about, I have nothing to hide, nothing from my…."

"Taylor Hill"

There is total silence.

Elaine continues shaking her head, "Sweet and innocent Taylor….Oh my what a tragedy that was"

Holly's face turns into a panicked place of pain, every ounce of color drips from her face replaced by fear and disbelief, swallowing hard, and she runs for the bathroom slamming the door behind her.

Elaine Peck lets a smile spread slowly and sinisterly across her mouth at the sound of Dr. Holly Stewart in the ornately designed bathroom, standing on the imported Spanish marble floor, vomiting up the shameful sins of her past.

Traci slides into the seat next to Gail at the Penny, "Hey, how you holding up?" Gail finishes the remaining whiskey in her glass and pushes it forward nodding for another to the bartender. She is already drunk, already past any attempt to keep her walls up and intact, the border patrol long ago left their station and her heart feels like it's been left wide open.

"Why can't I ever have a happy ending? What kind of cosmic fuck did I cause in a past life, how pissed off could I possibly make the universe simply by existing that time after time I get stomped on, kicked down, left alone. Even when I try to make it right, it ends the same fucking way." Gail turns to Traci, looking like she has been crying for a hundred years, the burning red outline of her eyes travels so much deeper, and the pain that illuminates from Gail Peck in this moment is on display for the whole world to see. Just like the lone ice cube at the depths of the blonde's glass, she has perhaps hit rock bottom.

"Come here." In any other moment but this one, what played out would simply not have happened. Gail dissolves into Traci's arms, and the hard durable wood, the old calloused bark of her solid ground cracks wide open. Gail cries and sobs uncontrollably, shaken to the core until she is exhausted. Traci smooths her hair and offering up a smile, "You can sleep over at my place tonight, let's get out of here." Despite everything that has happened between them, despite the awful connection they share in the death of Jerry, Traci remains Gail's saving grace in those rare times she needs a friend.

"What do you mean you have nothing?" Oliver Shaw barks into the phone.

"I ran everything Oliver, no credit card or bank activity, she has not been in contact with work, her cell phone has made no outgoing calls and has not connected to any of the incoming ones. She has not been admitted to any hospital in Toronto or all of Canada for that matter and she did not check into a hotel or rent a car under her name. I even called my sources at immigration and she has not left the country. She literally has fallen off the goddam face of the earth Oliver. I wish I had better news for you pal."

"Dammit. Listen, thanks buddy and please let me know if anything happens to surface, okay?"

"Will do, I hope something breaks soon and you find this girl, Ollie, it's not sounding good."

The man hangs up the phone as two glasses clink together, laughter erupts in the room, "It's not sounding good." More laughter spills from Elaine Peck's mouth before she takes a long slow sip from her glass. "Oliver Shaw is nothing more than the walking, talking Barney Fife of 15 division, he has a better chance of finding a head of hair in a broom closet than he does of finding Holly Stewart."