Minnie sat in front of her mirror, pressing her lips together as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She felt terrible for how things had gone with Mickey yesterday. Of course she knew that it wasn't him… she had wanted to apologize for sounding like she was accusing him right away. But the sight of his turned back had been too much to take, along with the fear that he would reject her. The fact that she hadn't been brave enough to face that made her feel even worse.

Glancing at the now empty box on her bureau, the tears threatened again. It made no sense… why would someone take that and only that? She let out a quiet sigh and laced her fingers, resting her chin on them. As much as it broke her heart to think it, she had to face the fact that the odds were she would never see it again. Whoever stole it probably had sold it by now. A few tears escaped as she closed her eyes.

I'm sorry, Mother.

Suddenly, a knock came at her door. Clearing her throat, she turned from her mirror.

"Come in."

Her father stepped inside, and she was startled to see the grim look on his face.

"Father? What…"

Crossing the room, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Something happened last night."

Minnie blinked, frowning.

"What?"

Her father let out a heavy sigh.

"The police came by this morning. I'm afraid… Mickey is missing."

Minnie's heart immediately skipped a beat. Her mouth opened and closed, but she couldn't form words. Her father gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"The other tenant of his apartment said he was gone when he returned from work late last night. He reported it right away this morning… they're looking now."

Minnie pressed a hand to her chest over her pounding heart.

"Do… do they have any idea what might have happened to him?"

Marcus sighed.

"They said there were signs of a struggle. From the look of it, someone took him by force."

A cold, tight grip of fear closed around Minnie's heart.

"Wh… what?"

What would anyone want with Mickey? How could he get into this kind of trouble? What did whoever took him want? It couldn't be anything good, she knew that much.

"The police are looking now," Marcus said in a gentle tone. "They're pretty sure whoever did it didn't go far."

Minnie looked up with a slight twinge of hope.

"Really?"

Marcus gave her an encouraging smile, but she could still see the concern in his eyes.

"Yes, they'll find him."

Rubbing her arms, Minnie turned and walked to the window, gazing out. Her father patted her shoulder.

"They'll find him," he repeated. Taking a deep breath, Minnie sighed and nodded. Then another thought came to her and she looked at her father with a hopeful look.

"Is there anything I can do? Help them look?"

Marcus' reply was gentle but disheartening.

"It's best to let the professionals handle it. Try not to worry too much, they know what they're doing."

With a disappointed sigh, Minnie looked back outside.

"Yes…" she murmured. "Yes, I suppose that's best."

After another gentle pat on her shoulder, her father left the room and closed the door quietly behind him. Minnie continued to stare out the window, her thoughts swirling with anxiety. What if Mickey got hurt before they found him? She bit her lip as a lump rose in her throat. She didn't even want to consider worse. Walking back to her bureau, Minnie sank down in the chair and her eyes moved to the empty box that had contained her mother's necklace. Finally, she blinked back the tears and stood, feeling too enclosed in her room.

She found herself wandering downstairs and out to the garden. The chilly autumn weather was taking most of its beauty, but there were still some slightly withered flowers, including some of her mother's. Kneeling, Minnie reached out and fingered one of the petals only to have it fall off. As she gazed at it, memories of her and Mickey's time here filled her mind and a lump rose in her throat again. Swallowing hard, she shook her head and rose to her feet. But she still couldn't make herself leave and stood in silence, the chill in the air seeming to seep into her heart. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps broke into her disheartened reverie. She turned to see Clarabelle rushing toward her with a tense look, and alarm immediately filled her.

"Clarabelle, what's wrong?"

The words seemed to come in a rush from the cow.

"There's someone here, one of the other maids. Her name's Grace, I think."

The memory of her conversation with Grace immediately came back to Minnie, but her jaw went slack at what Clarabelle said next.

"She just told Mr. Mouse that she has an idea what happened to Mickey."

"W-what?" Minnie stammered.

"She isn't positive," Clarabelle said quickly. "She's just suspicious of someone she's seeing"

The shock quickly wore off, and Minnie rushed toward the house with Clarabelle close behind. When she reached her father's office, she heard voices behind it. Not bothering to knock, she pushed the door open. Grace and her father looked at her in surprise, but she ignored their looks.

"What do you know?" she demanded anxiously. "Who do you think did it?"

Grace looked at her feet with unease, but before she could reply Marcus stood and walked around the desk.

"She just told me that she knows who took your necklace."

Minnie blinked, confused now.

"She… but what does that have to do with…"

Grace looked up again, looking almost ashamed.

"It's my boyfriend, Harold Beagle," she said. "I was at his place this morning, and I saw the necklace. When I came here to tell you, I heard about what happened to Mickey and I… well, I think he might have had something to do with it too."

By now Minnie was completely baffled. As far as she knew, Mickey didn't even know this Harold. Why would he have something to do with this?

"Well, you see, he… he works for Mortimer Rodawn. He said his boss was complaining that you were seeing someone else.

Hearing that, the pieces clicked together, and Minnie felt her hands tighten into fists as boiling anger rose in her.

"That… that horrid… I told him I wanted nothing to do with him! If he's hurt Mickey, I'll…"

Her father quickly moved in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's all right, I'll contact the police right away. If he had something to do with it, they'll find out."

Minnie looked at him, her heart pounding.

"But if he…"

"It'll be fine," Marcus soothed. "I'll hurry to the station now."

After taking a moment to throw on his coat, her father hurried out. Minnie's anxiety was interrupted by Grace's guilty voice.

"I'm so sorry… I told Harold about your necklace after we talked at your friend's wedding, and he must have told Mortimer. If I had any idea, I wouldn't have…"

Minnie waved a hand, only half listening.

"No, no… it's all right." She began pacing. "But if he does something to Mickey…"

In another rush of anger, she hurried toward the door herself, only to be stopped by Clarabelle.

"Wait, you're not going there yourself, are you?"

Minnie tried to pull her arm away.

"He's going to hurt Mickey! Maybe he already has! I have to stop…"

Clarabelle wasn't budging.

"The police can stop him! They know how to handle this kind of thing."

Minnie set her jaw and gave Clarabelle an obstinate look.

"Clarabelle, I don't want to have to order you to let me go, but I will."

The cow stared at her for a few moments, then let out an irritated huff and shook her head.

"Stubborn mouse. Take after your ma."

Despite herself, Minnie felt a smile creep onto her face. Finally, Clarabelle sighed and let go of her arm.

"But you watch yourself, understand? Don't go getting yourself in a mess you can't get outta, or your father'll never forgive me."

Minnie nodded, her face determined.

"I'll be fine."