CHAPTER THREE

"Have you found any clues on Beck and Cat yet?" Tori asked, sitting on David and Holly's bed.

"We found their phones," David said. "They were in the street. Broken."

"How do you know they were theirs?"

"I had their parents identify them. And Cat's the only person I know with a puppy phone case."

"Anything else?"

"Not yet. We're going to search more in the area their phones were found. Ask around, maybe someone noticed something."

"If they did, wouldn't they have reported it?"

"Not if they didn't know they were taken. This leads us in the direction that they were kidnapped. Now we just have to find out who took them and where they took them."

"Do you think it was more than one person?"

"It had to be at least two. Maybe three. One person couldn't have gotten them both. The mastermind had at least one assistant."

"Assistant," Holly scoffed. "There aren't lawyers we're talking about, they're kidnappers. Criminals."

"People at school keep saying they ran away," Tori said.

"Well, they didn't," David said. "They were taken. Don't go around telling people details. We're going to get the information out within the week. We just have to wait on the fingerprints to come back."

"My prints might be on Cat's. I used her phone to find an app for her. And I'm sure Jade's are on Beck's. Maybe Cat's too."

"You could be called in for questioning. Depends on what Chief says and wants to do."

"What do I tell them?"

"The truth. You can't lie about evidence."

Tori nodded. "Okay."

"Why don't you get to bed, honey?" Holly said, running her hand through tori's hair. "You have school tomorrow."

"Okay... Good night. I love you guys."

"Hey," Tori said, stopping at Jade's locker.

"What do you and your monster bag want?" Jade asked, closing her locker.

"I like my bag," Tori said defensively. "You might expect a call to go to the LAPD for questioning."

"What? Why?"

"If they find your fingerprints on Beck's phone."

"They found his phone?"

"Both of their phones. They're broken. they're dusting for prints so if yours are on Beck's or Cat's, they'll probably call you in for questioning. It's just protocol."

"Great. Police make me nervous."

"Just tell them the truth. It doesn't mean you had anything to do with their disappearance, but they'll still want to know why your prints are on their phones. Dad says it depends on what the Chief wants to do."

"Alright. thanks for the heads up. I'm going to Cat's after school to talk to April and Tara. Wanna go?"

"I can't. I'm helping my mom get the guest bedroom rearranged. Call me and let me know how it goes, though."

"What's up?" Andre asked as he, Robbie and Trina walked up to them.

"Talking about Cat and Beck," Tori said.

"Any news?"

"The police found their phones."

"Do we think they could have run away?"

"No," Robbie said. "Cat would never run off."

"She would if things were bad at home," Jade said. "She didn't say anything, but that doesn't mean she wasn't having a hard time."

"But what if they left together on purpose?" Trina asked. "Like, to be together."

"No. He thinks of her as a sister. they wouldn't do that."

"Nothing suggests they're into each other like that either," Robbie said. "I would know."

"Sleeping with her doesn't mean she's into you, Puppet Boy. It's sex."

"I didn't say that. I just said I would know."

The bell rang and Jade gathered her things together. "I'm going to April's. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bitch," Jade said as she was hit in the head with a pillow.

"You're a bitch," April said. "You scared me and almost made me pee my pants."

"I don't control your incontinence or your scaribility."

"That's not a word."

"All words weren't words until they were words."

April was silent for a few seconds. "I hate that. I hate that so much."

"Hey Jadey," Tara said as she walked into the living room.

"Hi," Jade said. "I wanted to talk to you guys about Cat."

"What about her?"

"Well, I know the police found hers and Beck's phones, so it leads to them being kidnapped. But I've been wondering how things have been at home."

"Things have been good. Why?"

"Because part of me is starting to think that maybe she was having a hard time and maybe she planned to run away."

"She didn't plan this," April said. "Some sick bastard took her."

"April. Calm down," Tara said.

"No, I'm sick of people blaming Catey for this."

"I'm not blaming her," Jade said. "I'm just wondering if she was planning on leaving and maybe that's when she was taken."

"I don't know so, honey," Tara said. "They were taken at the same time. They were on their way to school together."

"It doesn't make sense, either," April said. "If she was running away, she wouldn't have walked with Beck. You're just starting to believe the rumors."

"No one knows the truth," Jade said. "That's why I'm asking."

"Well, the answer is 'no.'"

"She's run away before."

"Yeah, to the treehouse at the old baseball field. Where she knew someone would find her."

"Calm down," Tara said. "We're all worried."

"It just scares me," Jade said. "I know how she gets sometimes."

"I know. She was okay. Her depression hasn't been acting up. I thought about that too, but when David said their phones were found, I knew it wasn't a possibility that she ran away."

"She was kidnapped," April said. "I'm sick of talking about it. It's all I hear at school, it's all that plays on TV, I'm tired of it!" She snapped before rushing out of the room.

"I didn't mean to upset her," Jade said.

"I know. She's taking it harder than anyone. Cat and Beck will be okay," Tara said. "They'll find them. They have to."