May 15, 8:00 A.M. Wright and Co. Law Offices

Phoenix closed the case record. "I guess that is the end," he said.

Maya wondered, "Nick, when do you think that Detective Gumshoe and the police department will find Pearly? I mean, it's almost been a day. I'm sure the department has at least one lead by now."

The attorney sighed, "Some people go missing for months, or even years. We don't even know if Pearl is still alive."

Maya gasped, "But Nick! She has to be alive! There is no way that she could be dead!"

Phoenix reminded her, "Not all missing people are found in once piece."

She groaned, "Come on, Nick! You've just gotta believe that she is somewhere, and she is somehow living! Just give me a chance!"

Phoenix admitted, "I don't think it is likely that Pearl is not with us. I mean, who would want her dead, anyway?"

May 15, 8:03 A.M. Remnants of the Los Angeles Police Department

Detective Gumshoe sat in an office chair as snow flurries bombarded his trenchcoat. He was still at a loss to where Pearl might be. Although he had a TV bulletin and had signs plastered all over the city, no leads had come in.

He thought, "Every hour, the chance of her being found alive decreases. Somebody's gotta know where she is!"

Suddenly, his cell phone began ringing. He reached for it, and noticed that the number was not in his contacts, although he answered it anyway. He just hoped that it wasn't another call from the Mad Bomber.

"Hello? This is Dick Gumshoe."

"Yes. Do you happen to be affiliated with the LAPD?"

"Well, yes I do, pal."

"All right. I have some evidence that maybe could come in handy."

"Well, first of all, who are you?"

"Do you not recognize my voice, Detective?"

At that moment, Gumshoe froze. He tensed up, hoping that whoever was on the other end was not going to alert him of another bomb threat against some place.

"Well, not really."

"You know, I have a little too much of something."

"Yes?"

"And I have a rather gregarious personality, Detective. *giggle* *gasp*"

"Let me guess... does your name happen to start with an 'E'?"

"Yes."

"Are you Ema Skye?"

"How did you guess?"

"You are the only person I know with a name that starts with an 'E'."

"I recently heard that Pearl Fey has gone missing. Maybe, if she had been injured, and she had been cut, blood could have spilled onto the ground."

"Ema, it sounds to me like you are convinced that Pearl has been murdered."

"I doubt she has, Detective. You should find the extra bottles of luminol in the filing cabinet in your office."

"Filing cabinet? I hope that it wasn't destroyed by the bombing of the precinct!"

"Trust me... you'll find it. Anyways, it was nice to speak with you. Goodbye."

Gumshoe turned around, spotting a severely damaged cabinet, but was still intact. He opened the top drawer, and took out the bottle of luminol, which was unscathed by the blast. He then ventured out, thinking of where blood might be.

"If the perp got into a struggle with her, he probably cleaned her up afterwards to avoid detection. It seems like the first place I should search would be a garbage dumpster."

He spotted one nearby, and headed towards it, spraying the luminol around the edges and inside.

A bluish glow immediately surfaced. Gumshoe shook in fear, hoping not to find a dead body inside the dumpster. Luckily, there wasn't.

Instead, there were some rags covered in the blue tinge that the outside was covered in. He looked at the tag, which read: POLARIS BANDAGE CO.

Gumshoe thought, "This is a surgical bandage. I'll have to figure out who purchased these rags, and then the kidnapper will lead me right to him!"