CHAPTER FIVE

"Mommy..." April whimpered, patting Tara on the arm as she slept.

"Hm," Tara mumbled.

"Can I sleep with you?"

"Get in."

April crawled into her mother's bed, snuggling up to her under the covers as she sniffled.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Tara asked.

April nodded. "She was decapitated," she sobbed.

"Calm down, it's okay," her mother said, kissing her head. "It was just a dream honey." That's what she told herself the night David confirmed Bradley's death... and cause of death.

"I want her to come home. I'm scared she'll never be found or be found dead in the worst of ways."

"David has his team looking for her and Beck non-stop. they will be found eventually, honey. We just have to hope for the best."

"I can't. I can feel that something is wrong."

"If you can feel something then she's alive. With as strong a connection you guys have; you'd know if she was dead."

"Sometimes I feel like she is..."

"We won't know until she's found. We have to stay positive and not give up on her."

"I'll never give up on her... but if she's dead, I... I don't know what I'd do, Mommy..."

"Maybe we should get you into therapy again. Are you having thoughts again?"

April nodded. "All the time."

"Well then we need to make an appointment. If they do find Cat and she didn't make it... I can't handle losing both of my babies, April..." Tara's voice cracked.

"I don't know what to do, Mommy," April sobbed.

"Breathe... Just breathe for now."

David cleared his throat as he walked up to a podium. He called for a town meeting and was pleasantly surprised at the turn out. "Excuse me, if I can have everyone's attention," he said.

The murmuring stopped after a few seconds and everyone turned their attention to David.

"Thank you. I'm Officer David Vega with the Missing Persons Unit of the LAPD. Our most recent case is the disappearance of Beck Oliver, a 17-year-old male and Caterina Valentine, a 16-year-old female. they were walking to school together at approximately 7:20 in the morning on September 1st. We've found their wallets and cell phones, but no other personal belongings. Evidence suggests that they were kidnapped and that there are at least 2 people involved. I'm holding this town meeting in hopes of starting a community search party."

"Did these kids know each other?" Someone asked.

"Yes. They're friends."

"I'll bet they ran off together," another person said.

"They wouldn't have done that," Jade said. "They're friends. They weren't in like with each other."

"How do we know they didn't ditch their stuff to run off and be together?"

"Because that's stupid, like your suggestions."

"Jadelyn, sit down," Grace said.

"My sister didn't run away," April said. "She was kidnapped. These things have been discussed already."

"Where would we look for them?" Another person asked. "Would they be together or on their own?"

"Hopefully together," David said. "We're looking everywhere in the city. With more people looking for them, it would help find them quicker."

"How do we know it's not just a lost cause?" Someone else asked.

"No one is a lost cause. These kids are my daughters' friends. I know them well. Neither of them would have run away. Our main goal is to find them, regardless of the outcome. If anyone finds any clues, we'd appreciate it being reported to the LAPD. that goes for anything. Clothing, any personal items, any chunks of hair. Anything you feel is suspicious. We'd rather it be a false alarm than something be overlooked."

"Will we get pictures of them, so we know what they look like?" someone asked.

"Yes. the last we knew, Cat had bright red hair, but it could be a different color by now. Beck has black hair. All the information you need is in the packets we'll be handing out. If you're able to help look for them, you can sign up at the back table. thank you all for coming."

"What do we have?" David asked as he got out of his patrol car.

"We found a body," an officer said. "We don't know if it's her or not, but she has red hair. Her face is disfigured."

"Take me to her."

the officer led David into the woods a bit past the tree line, to a body that was laying haphazardly on the ground. "This is where we found her. Her face is so messed up we can't tell."

David sighed and knelt to get a better look. "I'm not sure... the hair doesn't look quite right, and she looks a little too tall. Let's get an M.E. out here and the body to the morgue. I'll call Cat's mom to come in and identify her," he said. "Please don't be you, kiddo," he whispered.

"Tara, April, over here," David said, gesturing them to follow him as he walked by them. He hated that they got to this point. He hated it more than anything. Tara had already lost one child, and it ruined her. He knew if this girl was Cat, it would break her and April.

April sniffled, holding Tara's hand as they followed David down a hall and eventually into a cold room. She figured it was the morgue since there were so many metal drawers in the wall.

There was obviously a body on a slab in front of the medical examiner, but it was covered by a sheet. April hoped and prayed that it wasn't her sister.

"Alright..." David sighed. "I wanna brace you. We don't know that this is Cat. You know if I knew I'd tell you. This girl was found in the woods and her face is disfigured beyond recognition. I personally don't see any distinguishing marks that says this is her, but maybe there's something you recognize that I wouldn't know."

"Just show me," Tara said. "I need to know."

"Go ahead."

The medical examiner pulled the sheet down, revealing the body's disfigured face, which made the Valentine women sob.

"Oh my god, who would do this..." April's voice cracked.

"I can't tell," Tara said. "I don't know if it's her or not."

"The hair is the wrong color," April said. "Can you pull the sheet all the way off? I know some marks."

"She's naked," the medical examiner said.

"I'm a girl, I have the same body parts. Move the sheet," she snapped.

"Take the sheet off," David said.

Once the sheet was off, April looked the body up and down, shaking her head.

"It's not her," April said.

"How can you even tell? She's so disfigured there are no face details," Tara sniffled.

"Catey has a birthmark near her bikini line, scars on her stomach, and a tattoo on her thigh. Plus, her boobs are smaller. This isn't Catey."

"She got a tattoo?"

"We have matching tattoos on our thighs."

"Who let you get tattoos?"

"Jade's brother did it for us."

"You're 16, that's illegal."

"Is it confirmed that this isn't the missing girl?" the medical examiner asked.

"It's not Cat Valentine," David said, gesturing for the girls to follow him out of the morgue.

As soon as they were out of the room, Tara hugged David with a sob.

"Thank you," Tara said. "For everything. I know that wasn't my girl, but she's someone's baby, and once she's identified, her mom won't have to worry where she is anymore. I hope that for myself one day."

"I won't stop looking for her. You know that. I promise you and Todd will see your little girl again."

"I know. If Bradley was still here... he'd be thanking you too."

"Who's Bradley?" April asked.

"We'll talk at home."

"Just so you know," David said. "If that had been Cat, you'd be a grandmother."

"What?" Tara asked.

"She's pregnant. We thought she had some bloating, but it turned out she's pregnant. The M.E. found a 23-week-old fetus during the autopsy."

"My god... that poor little girl."

"They're together, at least," April said.

"David, if she's identified, please tell the family we're thinking of them."

"I will," David said. "My team is out with search parties right now, so hopefully we'll find something on Cat and Beck soon."

"I just want those kids found."

"Me too. We'll find them. I promise."