Bette sat at a table in the Planet nursing a black coffee that her sister had served her on the house. The detective opposite her had asked her numerous questions and it killed the brunette that she couldn't be more help.
"So just to confirm, you heard the scream and then you saw the car pulling away?"
"Yeah…it was so far away that I couldn't get a plate though"
"And you're sure it was Miss Kennard screaming?"
"Yeah I'm certain"
"Can you describe the car for me?"
"A dark SUV, I'm sorry I can't be more specific…I wasn't really paying attention, I was looking for Tina"
"That's understandable. Now I know this might be difficult for you, but is there anyone you can think of that might be involved in this?"
"Honestly? There's only one person that it could possibly be. Her ex fiance Henry Young…he threatened her the other day. They didn't exactly have the best of break ups"
Bette proceeded to give the detective the details of the past couple of weeks, not dwelling too much on her own relationship with Tina but making sure the man was aware of the situation.
"And do you have Mr Young's address Miss Porter?"
"Yeah of course"
The detective handed the brunette a piece of paper and she wrote down the address of the house that Tina and Henry used to share.
"Thanks. I'll head over there myself to check it out"
"Will you let me know the second you know something?"
"Of course. I have your number, I'll be in touch Miss Porter. And if you remember anything else, you have my card"
The second the detective left, Bette's head fell into her hands and she let go of the tears that she had been holding for the duration of their conversation. Kit came straight to her side and rubbed her back.
"It's gonna be ok baby sis" she soothed.
"I just…I need her back Kit. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to her"
"She'll be ok. Tina's a tough cookie and you know she can outsmart Henry"
The younger Porter had to let out a soft laugh "He is pretty dumb"
"Exactly. Now hows about we get you home and we'll wait for the nice detective to call"
"Don't tell me you fancy him…"
"I always did like a man in uniform"
Bette shook her head, despairing at her sister "What about this place?"
"The girls'll be fine, it's not like we're busy. Come on"
The two sisters made their way back to Bette's house. While Kit made her younger sister another coffee, this time with a shot of whiskey in it, Bette found the number for Tina's mother on her girlfriends cell phone and called her to let her know what had happened. The older woman had tried to insist that she come back to LA, but Bette assured her that there was nothing she could do and that she'd call her as soon as there was any news.
"You think we should tell the girls what's happened?" Kit asked as she put the Irish coffee down in front of her sister.
"I don't know, maybe. I don't want to worry them though"
"Baby sis, how would you react if one of them got kidnapped and no-one told you?"
"I'd hit the roof" Bette admitted.
"There you go. Come on, we'll share them out. I'll even be the one to call Alice"
"Thanks Kit" the younger Porter smiled genuinely at her sister.
As they gradually informed the rest of the gang, the enormity of the situation began to hit Bette. Tina had really been abducted. Most of the girls promised to come to the house as soon as they could get out of work, with the exception of Shane, who had some free time on her hands since the movie was finished and said she'd be right over.
Ten minutes later Shane had joined her friends in Bette's living room and they sat in silence. Bette had managed to stop crying for now, and the other women were concerned that anything they said might set her off again.
The uncomfortable silence was broken by the sound of Bette's cell phone ringing. She grabbed it and answered immediately.
"Hello?"
"Miss Porter, it's Detective Ramires"
"Please tell me you've found her"
"And you believe him?!" Bette asked incredulously.
"Well we were able to search the house as this is legally still Miss Kennard's address, and there's no sign that she's been here."
"Well search again! I know it's him, it has to be!"
"Also, Mr Young drives a red Lexus. Definitely not the car you saw fleeing the scene" Detective Williams continued.
"Obviously he borrowed a car or got someone helping him or something! I promise you, Henry's behind this. Please Detective, trust me on this one"
"We're certainly not discounting him Miss Porter, but you must appreciate that at this moment we have nothing to tie him to the abduction"
"So what are you gonna do?!"
"As we speak we're getting bodies out on the street spreading the word and getting Miss Kennard's description out there. We're hoping someone's seen either her or the car"
"And that's it?"
"I've left men outside the house to see if any sign of Miss Kennard materialises. I assure you Miss Porter, we've got a lot of manpower on this. We take abductions of this nature very seriously"
"Just find her Detective Ramires…there's a lot of people here who need her and I'll be on your ass every minute until you do"
"I don't doubt that Miss Porter. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the incident room. I'm going to send one of my Captains to your address shortly to stay with you and keep you updated on the situation, ok?"
"Ok. Thank you" Bette replied tersly, hanging up the phone.
"No sign at Henry's?" Shane asked as she watched her friend end the call.
"No. But I know he has something to do with this. You guys didn't see him the other day. He's an evil bastard and I wouldn't put anything past him"
"But if she's not at his house…"
"He must have had help. One of his jerk friends would have been more than willing I'm sure"
"What if it wasn't him? What if it was a stranger abduction…" Kit thought out loud.
"Kit!" Bette yelled "Don't even go there!"
It was a thought that Bette hadn't even let cross her mind, as the implications didn't bear thinking about. Although she was terrified, at least the thought of Henry having Tina provided some comfort as she didn't believe he was in it to kill her. A stranger? Well they were an unknown entity.
"I'm sorry baby sis" Kit apologised quietly.
"Fuck this, I need a hard drink" Bette pushed her coffee away and got to her feet.
"Bette…"
"Kit, leave it" the younger Porter glared at her sister.
"Porter come on" Shane got up, ever the voice of reason "you need to keep a clear head in case there's anything you can do to help"
Bette stared at her, the anger in her face disappating.
"Tina wouldn't want you getting wasted" Shane continued.
"Tina's not here" Bette said softly, a tear running down her cheek.
"I know" Shane stepped in, pulling her friend into a hug "But we all need to be strong for her ok? And that means staying off the hard liquor"
"Ok" Bette relented "I guess the Irish coffee'll have to do"
After a pause Kit dared to speak again "So what do the police want us to do?"
"Sit around here it would seem. Apparently they're sending over a Captain to keep us updated. I'm gonna go out of my mind"
"You can do it baby girl. You and Tina, you're two of the strongest women I know. And there's no way she'll stop fighting 'til she's back with you"
"She's a fighter isn't she?"
"Yeah she is" Shane said with a smile.
"I'm sorry for yelling Kit" Bette apologised.
"Don't even mention it. I'm immune to your yelling unlike the rest of the world so I'd rather you took your stress out on me"
"I'm not that bad"
"Seriously Porter…"
Bette turned to Shane "You too?"
"You have got quite a…ferocious bark"
"Are you likening me to a dog now?"
"Not my words"
"Let me guess…Alice?"
Shane's silence said it all.
"I'm gonna wring her neck when she gets here"
"Calm down baby sis, let's not start fighting our own eh?"
"Fine. But she can thank Tina for the fact that she's still breathing"
Kit patted her sister on the head before heading through to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She was trying to stay strong, trying not to panic in front of Bette, but inside she was filled with terror. Tina was like family to her, and the thought of losing her scared Kit almost much as it did her sister. But for Bette's sake, she knew she couldn't break down. They all had to hold themselves together and trust that the police would do their job and bring Tina home.
