Chapter 14

Toby's POV:

"Look, Spence" I said pointing to the woman who walked into the lunch room. She looked around her, as in to see if someone was following her, before she went inside.

"That was Melissa, even in black clothes I would recognize her anywhere" She said after she observed her for a little moment.

"So what do we do now? It looks like Melissa has to do the dirty work and Alex is nowhere in sight" I said, looking at her.

"It's probably the best to wait, until she comes out. We can follow her then. Because it's crowded right now, no one can see we are following her, including herself" She answered me, while she slipped her cell phone out of her purse. According to the plan, Spencer probably send Aria a text with her plans, so they wouldn't interfere in our chase. We both looked at them and we saw a slight nod coming from the couple. They were going to stay on the bench and walk into the lunch room again to see if there were any leads there. After a few minutes, Melissa came back out. She looked around her again, hesitating a little, before she walked towards the main entrance. Slowly, Spencer and I started to follow her, making sure there were a few people in front of us, who would block her sight on us. We passed Aria and Ezra and continued from there on. It looked like she was going to quit the train station. The kidnapper was probably still outside. She passed a lot of people, not bothering to look behind her again. She walked very fast, almost too fast for Spencer to keep up. Suddenly, Melissa stood still, because her cell phone rang.

"What do we do now?" I asked my wife. She thought for a little while, before she found us a hiding spot behind a huge plant. She led us behind it, so we could still see Melissa through the leaves. Just when we were safely behind it, Melissa turned around to look at the exact spot we were standing just mere seconds ago.

"That was close" Spencer said, her eyes still locked on Melissa. Melissa mumbled something to the person she was speaking to. It looked like she was getting angry, or that the person on the other side of the phone didn't believe her. She hung up the phone angrily and continued her way to the entrance. Spencer and I continued our chase after her. The hall surrounded us with more and more people. They all walked up against us. Spencer and I deserved a lot of angry looks from the people we bumped into and it took us longer before we arrived at the entrance. When we were finally there, Melissa was nowhere in side. We had lost her and our chance at finding the kidnapper before the meet.

"What do we do now? I asked her, the same question I asked her just a few minutes ago.

"For the first time in my life, I have absolutely no clue" She said while she wrapped her arms around me. My arms found a way around her as well, and I stroke her back in comforting manner. Placing a few kisses on the top of her head, I started thinking. There were two things we could really do. Go back to Aria and Ezra to tell them that we failed and see if they got something. Or we could find some stuff out about Melissa. There might be some signs or notes or anything at all that could lead us to the kidnapper.

"What about we go back to your parent's house? To the barn?" I suggested. Spencer took a step back, a confused look spread all over her beautiful face.

"She might have left something for anyone to find out how she was kidnapped herself, or where she has been hiding last night" I said.

"That would be something for Melissa to do. You're probably right, but first I'll just text Aria to see if they found anything. And it's nearing three 'o clock as well" She said, grabbing her phone out of her purse. The message was send in no time and we stepped outside, so we could see if there was any sight of Melissa there. Unfortunately, Melissa was nowhere to be seen, just like we had thought. Spencer jumped back when she felt her phone buzz in her purse, but soon reinstated herself when she realized it was just her phone.

"They haven't found anything either. They think it's a good idea as well for us to go home and see if we can find anything. Aria says they can handle the meet by themselves" She said summarizing Aria's text.

"As long as Ezra is by her side, I think they will get through it, because Aria isn't as stable as she looks like right now. She is a wreck and I can't blame her" I said, worrying myself over one of my best friends.

"I know, she is so vulnerable and fragile right now, but she has Ezra. And I think it's better for the four of us to split up. We can find out a lot more if we are in two groups" She said, taking my hand as she led us to our car. When we arrived by our car, there was yet again a note attached to our wiper. I removed it quickly and spread it out for us. But it wasn't a note, it was a picture. Just like Aria and Ezra had received one this morning. The picture was taken in the toy store. The two of us held the envelope with the money. All this time, I had kept the money in the safe in our bedroom, because we both weren't sure why we had received it in the first place. We hadn't told Aria and Ezra about it either.

"What is so important about this money?" I asked Spence, but from the look she shot me, she was just as confused as I was.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure we're going to figure out soon" She said and she walked to her side of the car. After I did the same thing as she did, we both buckled ourselves and I drove off. It wasn't a long drive to Spencer's parents' house, but there was some traffic along the way so it took us a little longer to get there. We made small talk during our drive, both of us avoiding yesterday's and today's events as a subject. We arrived at the Hastings' home at exactly three 'o clock. The meet was right now.

"Please let this meet go well, please let Alex be safe in his parents arms again" Spencer prayed before she got out of the car.

"I hope so too, Spence. I hope so too" I said, following her towards the house.

"Where do we start?" She asked me when we were in the backyard, both obviously doubting where we should go look first.

"Where was Melissa yesterday?" I replied her with a question.

"She was at the office in the morning, but she went home early, so she could pack before she went on the business trip" She answered.

"Her clothes are in the barn, so then let's just start there, if there is nothing there, we can always decide whether we check the house out as well or not" I said before we both walked to the barn. Spencer unlocked the door with her key. We both took a huge breath, before we went inside. Spencer opened the door for us to enter. The hall looked quite normal, Melissa's jackets and rain boots neatly lined next to each other, color wise. Spencer's hand fumbled its way into mine as we continued our way to the kitchen. Melissa had left some leftovers on the counter that she was probably going to eat. Her table was already served as well, what was odd though, there were two plates, instead of one. Melissa had always lived by herself after Ian committed suicide. Right after Ian's death, she had a miscarriage, so she also lost her baby. She never got over neither of their deaths. The only happiness in her life was Lizzy, the dog she bought exactly a year after Ian's death. Speaking of which, where's the small yet cute dog?

"Spence, where's Lizzy?" I asked her. Not long after I said Lizzy's name, she walked up to us sleepily.

"Come here, Lizzy" Spencer demanded Melissa's dog, and she did what she was told to do. Spencer stroke her back.

"Do you think she needs a walk?" I asked her.

"She's probably here for a whole day by herself, so I think she does" She answered me.

"Okay, here's the deal. I'll take Lizzy outside for a little bit and you go find something to eat for her" I suggested which Spencer answered with a nod. Just when I opened the front door, Lizzy got outside as fast as she possibly could. She rolled in the red leaves in the back of the yard and got comfortable there for a little bit. After Lizzy's need was over, I took her back inside.

"Spencer, where are you?" I yelled through the house, because she wasn't in the kitchen anymore.

"In here" She yelled from the room linked to the kitchen, Melissa's bedroom. I followed her voice to the room and found her on her knees, hands covering her mouth.

"My god, what happened in here?" I asked after I saw the battlefield myself.

I really hope everyone enjoyed this chapter - let me know what you think!