New York: 5 Days after Termination Day
"You can't be serious!" Marshall screamed into the phone making Ted and Lily exchange worried looks.
"That's the biggest bullshit I've ever heard!" He was still screaming.
"What happened?" Lily asked.
"Hold on James, I got to tell the others what just happened." Marshall told James before turning to Lily and Ted, "The detectives are going to stop investigating."
"WHAT?" Lily asked shocked.
"How can they do that? They are still missing!" Ted asked, just as furious as Lily.
"They think Robin killed Barney!" Marshall said, "she would never do that. How can they even suggest something like that? Are they out of their minds?"
"Technically they aren't stopping the investigation, they are just shifting gears." James explained.
"It's still the same, I mean two people are missing!" Marshall couldn't believe it, "and to imply she'd killed him, did you tell him that she loves him? You don't kill the love of your life!"
"Of course I did, but apparently it's much easier to listen to some mystery witness telling them the whole relationship wasn't real, and that Barney got violent before."
"Violent? What the f…! Someone said that Barney manhandled Robin?" Marshall felt the rage flush through his veins; "there will be a murder when I find out who said these things about Barney."
"Marshall, calm down. We have to think this through, I mean the turn of events is very convenient for whoever took them." James pointed out.
"You think the real kidnappers are behind this?" Marshall seemed surprised.
"I'd make sense, right? The cops think Robin killed Barney, all you got to do now is make her death look like a suicide, and voilà; the whole thing becomes a tragic love story, rather than a murder case."
Marshall turned to Lily and Ted. "James is right, their kidnapper must have made those accusations, it's the only thing that makes sense. Who would be a credible witness, yet have reasons to make them disappear?"
"Well it must be someone from their personal environment, right? I mean…we were so focused on Barney's job that we never even considered that this had nothing to do with it." Lily realized.
Ted just nodded.
"But who?" Marshall asked.
"Robin's dad maybe? He'd be a credible source of information, but might have ample reasons to kill them."
"Oh come on Lily, her dad wouldn't kill her." Ted interjected.
"James? We will think about who it could have been, okay?"
"Okay. And maybe try to talk to Bilson, Barney's boss, tomorrow too. He might know more."
Vancouver: 6 Days after Termination Day
James checked the alarm clock for the sixth time this hour, 3:42 am. He couldn't get back to sleep, and time was definitively going by extra slow right now.
The events of the day were keeping him up, who was that mysterious witness?
He had already decided to talk to detective Keller again, there was simply no way that either Robin or Barney had injured the other.
Bringing Barney's letters into the investigation would change everything, but it would also open a whole can of worms. And James wasn't an idiot, UltraCell wouldn't stand idly by, and let him make accusations against them. They had ways to deal with the cops, and the government, and to make sure that no-one asked the wrong questions.
James tossed around for a few seconds, trying to find a comfortable position.
And all the sudden a thought popped into his head, and he sat up abruptly. The witness must be someone who was credible, who knew things about Barney, and Robin that an acquaintance wouldn't. Who knew that they got married right after Robin's arrest, and before her hearing.
James had never heard the full story of what had happened the night Robin was arrested, but hadn't the detective mentioned that she had threatened to kill someone with an unregistered gun?
Maybe this had nothing to do with Barney's job after all, maybe this mess started way earlier.
So Robin had threatened to kill someone, and subsequently got arrested. The question was who she'd held at gunpoint that night. Someone from her past? Someone who waited all these months until no-one would suspect that this was connected to the incident 14 months ago?
Someone who would make a credible witness when coming forward?
James turned on the light, and grabbed his cell phone. He should have pried the story out of Barney, he should have asked him what Robin had been arrested for that would have revoked her visa so quickly.
But Barney had always said that this wasn't his secret to share, that this was personal.
Personal.
James dialed Marshall's number, hoping that he knew more about that faithful November night that had changed everything.
"Did you find them?" Marshall asked dozily.
"No, but I think I know who the mysterious witness is. Remember how Robin got arrested, and Barney and her got married so she could stay in the country."
"Of course, yes."
"Barney never told me what Robin was arrested for, he always said that it was personal. Well the detective said that Robin was arrested because she threatened to kill someone, and for possession of an unregistered firearm."
"So?" Marshall yawned.
"The witness has to be someone trustworthy, right? And Barney said it was personal back then."
"You think Robin tried to kill a family member or so, and he or she is now out for revenge?" Marshall asked.
"It would make sense, right? Do you know more about that night?"
"No, neither one of them ever really talked to us about it. Just that Robin was arrested, and that she sought out Barney for help." Marshall remembered.
"This could be something, right? I mean even if that person isn't the kidnapper, we could at least discredit this ridiculous thesis if we can debunk the source of the information."
"Okay, I'll see if Lily or Ted know more."
"And I will ask Katy, she hung out a lot with Barney and Robin these last few days, maybe they talked about it, who knows." James had already gotten out of bed.
New York: 6 Days after Termination Day
The phone conversation had woken Lily up as well, and she had gone into the bathroom while Marshall was still talking.
He heard how she turned the shower on when he stepped into the hallway, and decided to wait until she was done.
Not really knowing what to do with himself, he ended up getting the paper, and started reading it.
The cover story was about many killed, and wounded in two bombings in Baghdad. He started to flip through the paper until something caught his eyes, and he stopped.
Host of NYN and Husband Missing in Vancouver
Robin Stinson, host of the popular lifestyle magazine 'New York Neighborhoods', and her husband Barney Stinson were reported missing by friends and family following a visit to Vancouver last week. As of now there are no information on the specific circumstances of their disappearance, although foul play is presumed. All further production of NYN, which was supposed to start filming again this week, is stopped.