Haley was gone. Kidnapped. Maybe dead already.

Abby couldn't …

She just sat there, numb, while Lydia was holding her in her arms. It was not possible. Rick wouldn't do that. He wouldn't go that far. He couldn't.

A part of her still hoped that Haley would just pop up from somewhere. Maybe she had crawled under the buffet table and had fallen asleep under there and the ten people who had lifted the table cloth and had crawled under there in search for her had somehow missed her. A part of her was clinging to that thought.

But the bigger part knew that Haley was not here. That Rick had taken her. How and when he'd done it was a mystery to her, though.

"I told her to stay away from him," Abby said, anger building up in her. "I told her to not let him take her. To fight tooth and nail to not let him take her." She clenched her fists. "I told her."

"I know." Lydia cupped the side of her face. "She would never just leave with him. She's too smart for that."

"Why can't they find her, then?"

"Everybody is looking for her," Lydia assured her but that was just an empty phrase, they both knew it. "They haven't found her phone, maybe she still has it."

The police had asked about that and they were now trying to locate the phone.

"Why isn't anybody telling me something?" Abby let out a pained noise. "Why can't they just tell me where she is?"

Lydia didn't have an answer to that and just tightened her hold on her. Breaking down into sobs, Abby sagged into her.

"I want my baby back."

Around them, people were leaving. Abby watched Stiles and Derek saying goodbye to their friends and families. Boyd and Erica were hovering in the background, not ready to leave just yet but they didn't seem to know how to approach Abby either. Abby didn't want them to come over. She could see the pity in their eyes from here, she didn't need to hear more empty phrases.

Who did approach her, however, was Peter.

"I need to borrow your phone for a moment," he said, holding out his hand as if that was a normal request which he expected to be obliged.

"Leave her alone," Lydia snapped at him but he just looked at her, hand still held out for the phone.

"I might be able to help," he said and caught Abby's eye with a hard look. He'd said the same thing earlier but that had been when they'd still been talking about stalking. Things had escalated since then. "Time is of essence. Your phone please."

Lydia was about to get up to give him a piece of her mind but Abby held her back. She handed over her phone.

"I just need your and Haley's number," Peter explained while he looked through her contacts. He did a few things before he gave it back to her. "I'll be in touch."

With that, he turned on his heel and left.

"What does he think he can do?" Lydia muttered after him while Abby checked her phone. He'd added himself to her contacts and had sent Haley's number to himself.

"Do you know him?" Abby asked. From their conversation earlier she believed him that he was able to do something. At least she wanted to believe him.

"Derek's uncle," Lydia said. "I met him once at the gallery when Derek had his exhibition. I think he's doing something with financials."

That was not what Abby had expected. She'd kind of hoped for a mafia boss but this wasn't a Hollywood movie.

Eventually, Boyd and Erica did come over to offer their comfort but Abby didn't want their comfort. She wanted Haley back and that was the one thing they couldn't give her.

"Call if you need anything," Erica said more to Lydia than to Abby and then she was dragging Boyd away from them.

The DJ was packing up, same for the servers and when Abby looked up the next time, the room was almost empty. Stiles and Derek were still there, they were talking to John. Josh and Melissa were standing at the side, both looking tired and at a loss on what to do now. Abby knew that feeling.

She had the urge to go out there and to look for Haley herself but she didn't even know where to start looking.

"Mrs. Carter?" Another officer approached her. A woman in her forties, maybe early fifties, who was the one in charge around here, that much Abby had gathered. "I'm Inspector Morgan."

"Any news?" Abby asked but her expression alone told her that there was no news.

The inspector talked to them for quite a while but Abby barely registered anything she was saying. Lydia answered most of the questions.

"You should go home," Inspector Morgan said. "I'll call you as soon as I have any new information."

Abby didn't want to leave. Haley might come back here. It was a stupid thought but she couldn't help it.

John came over and he was telling her the same thing, that she should go home. The police would trace her phone in case the kidnapper called but they could do that more comfortably at home.

Abby still didn't like it but she let Lydia escort her out.

Stiles and Derek came over but there was nothing they could say so they just said goodbye awkwardly and then Abby was in the back of a police car with Lydia. The two officers in the front would stay with them at Lydia's place in case Rick called. They were talking about "the kidnapper" but Abby knew that it was Rick, why not put a name to him?

At least so far nobody had suggested that Abby should rest or sleep. As if she would be able to sleep anytime soon. When they arrived at Lydia's place, the first thing Lydia did was to get a huge pot of coffee going. Abby loved her for that.

The officers made her put her phone on the table, to prevent her from talking to the kidnapper alone, she guessed, but so far her phone had stayed silent anyway. She had given them Rick's contact info but at the moment it looked like he'd ditched his phone. They were unable to locate it.

Abby hadn't pegged him for being smart enough for that. Maybe he'd switched to a different phone by now, she wouldn't know. After he'd called her to fly out to see that lawyer, he'd never called her again.

That had come as kind of a surprise for her and now for the police as well because it was standard stalker routine to call the victim at random times but Rick had never done that. He'd always been more of a lurker, making sure that she saw him down the street or in a crowd.

Abby couldn't stand the strangers around her and retreated to the guest room which was kind of Haley's by now. Her things were still lying around. The clothes she'd worn before she'd changed into the dress for the wedding, her drawing supplies, and school books. Abby sat down on the bed and reached for the shirt Haley had left there.

Abby broke down with a wounded cry. She just sat there, the shirt clutched in her fists and let out the cries and sobs she hadn't been able to let out earlier.

She didn't know for how long she sat there, shaking with her sobs and just crying for her baby girl to come back. Eventually, she sank to the side, she didn't have the energy left to stay upright, and buried her face in the pillow that still smelled of Haley. Not that she was able to smell anything, her nose was congested and her face smeared with snot and tears.

"Here." Suddenly Lydia was there. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, offering a tissue.

Abby blew her nose before she rolled to her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Any news?" She asked, her voice a toneless rasp.

"Not yet."

"What does he want?" Abby asked. "He can have the money, he can have everything. Why isn't he calling?"

"I don't know." Lydia took her hand in hers. "Do you want to freshen up? Change into something more comfortable?"

Abby's initial reaction was no, she didn't want to freshen up or do anything except for just lying here but then she noticed that she was still wearing her dress.

With her shifting around it wasn't sitting properly any longer, she felt her left boob peeking out in ways it shouldn't peek out and the skirt part didn't feel right either. And she didn't even want to know what crying had done to her make-up. Not that she cared. But Lydia coaxed her to go and wash her face while she would find something more comfortable for her to wear. Lydia had already changed into a sweatshirt and loose pants and Abby could see the appeal.

She didn't look in the mirror when she washed her face but she did feel better after the cold water. She stripped out of her dress and put on the things Lydia had set out for her but it was mechanical at best and once she was done with that, she didn't know what to do next. What was one supposed to do when their child had been kidnapped?

She went back to Haley's room and stretched out on the bed again. She didn't sleep, she was just staring at the ceiling for hours.

Rick hadn't called by morning and by now Abby was convinced that he wouldn't call. She didn't know what to do with that thought.

Inspector Morgan came by around nine.

"We basically know what happened," she said once they had gathered around the kitchen table. Under the table Abby was clinging to Lydia's hand, she didn't want to hear this.

"Shortly after eleven last night, Talia and Andrew Hale left the party. According to Andrew, his wife was drunk and didn't want to leave and in the struggle, she dropped her purse. Haley picked it up and followed them outside."

"And Talia was complaining about her manners." Abby barked out a bitter laugh.

"There is a camera in the parking lot," Inspector Morgan continued. "Haley followed them outside and waited with them until their taxi arrived."

"Why would she do that?" Lydia asked the question on Abby's mind. "Talia has insulted her and she doesn't like the idea of Abby and me being together, why would Haley stay with them?"

"Talia says that she can't remember much but according to Andrew she was rambling on about that Haley should always love her mom and things like that." The inspector shifted in her seat. "Talia and her son had an argument earlier which was the reason they left early. So she was kind of projecting that on Haley. Haley might not have known how to get out of the situation."

Abby didn't know Talia but she had gotten the impression that she had a dominant personality, it made sense.

"What happened then?" Lydia asked.

"A taxi picked up the Hales, we're still looking for the driver, but Haley did not get into the car with them," Inspector Morgan said. "For whatever reason, she didn't go back inside either."

"Whatever Talia has said to her, it might have upset her," Abby mused. "She's a very sensitive girl. After what has happened to her …" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"Where did she go?" Lydia asked. "She knows about Rick, she wouldn't just wander off."

"She didn't." Now the Inspector looked rather uncomfortable but she collected herself after a minute. "She stepped around the corner when you came back to the front of the building with Peter Hale. We assume that she didn't want you to see her."

Abby closed her eyes, this was not true.

"There a man, our working theory is that we're talking about Rick Carter here, grabbed her from behind and dragged her into the side-alley. With what you've told us earlier we think that he'd been watching the building for a while probably the whole evening. We doubt that he'd planned to kidnap Haley but when she was right there … " The inspector made a helpless gesture.

"What happened then? Where did he bring her?" Lydia demanded to know but the Inspector didn't have an answer to that.

"There isn't a camera in that alley." She shook her head. "We're searching for his car and there are people currently going through the footage of every camera in the area but it takes time."

"We don't have time."