Long Way Down, chapter four. Continued from chapter three.

Author's Note: Maple Street…you are amazing. I can't thank everyone enough for the incredibly kind feedback..you guys keep me going. Thanks also to my mom, who knows nothing about fanfic but still managed to help with this chapter immensely.

"Lincoln!"

Mel Cooper's voice sounded through the hallway, and as he entered the large room both Rhyme and Thom offered the slender, dark-haired technician genuine smiles.

"What are we working on today, Linc?"

Mel's gentle enthusiasm was palpable and catching.

"Girl went missing from Wellington College last night," Rhyme replied. "We've got dirt samples from each of the entrances and exits, as well as from the primary scene; an emergency call box. Thom here was kind enough to put up a map of the school, and label the entrances and exits. Primary scene's circled in red," Lincoln finished. Each sample was laid out across the worktable.

"I 'scoped the samples," Rhyme continued. "The dirt from the primary scene contains traces of gray dust. Looks like some kind of gravel or cement but I can't be sure. It's present in the samples from exit E-6, which is the closest exit to the call box, and exit E-3. That one's toward the southern end of campus."

Mel nodded, absorbing Rhyme's information.

"Then there's a footprint Amelia found about fourteen feet from the call box," the criminalist said. "I found traces of the same dust in the print sample."

"Size?" Mel asked as he loaded the chromatograph with dirt samples.

"Eleven," Thom answered. Working for Lincoln Rhyme meant the aide had learned his way around forensic equipment and picked up basic procedure.

After Mel finished loading the samples, Rhyme directed him to the silver CD player Sachs had discovered. Mel carefully examined the device, but found nothing other than a large thumbprint.

"Run it through AFIS," Lincoln instructed. "It's probably the girl's, but-"

"We have to be thorough. I know." A slight, teasing smile from Mel Cooper.

"Good." Lincoln Rhyme's voice was gruff, brisk, but tempered with a note of affection for the lab technician.

Scene's been exposed to the elements for too long.

As Rhyme looked around the worktable, he couldn't suppress the feeling of dismay that rose inside of him. Amelia Sachs was right. In the hours it had taken for Kerry Glenn to be reported missing, crucial evidence could have been blown away, removed or destroyed.

Science was patience, but there wasn't much Lincoln Rhyme hated more than waiting. And there wasn't much to do except wait.

"This it?" Amelia Sachs asked, sliding the dark vehicle to a stop in front of a large, red brick home. She turned to Samantha for confirmation, and the blonde agent glanced at a slip of paper before nodding mutely.

The shadow of an amused smile played at the corners of Amelia's lips as Jack and Samantha exchanged glances, and Samantha checked her watch.

"Less than an hour," she managed to comment as they left the vehicle behind. "Not bad."

"Would have been faster but I didn't know about the detour," Sachs responded mildly, following the agents up the walk to the Glenn's front door.

Jack rang the bell, and the wooden door was pulled open by a painfully thin, middle-aged woman with short, dark blonde hair and bloodshot green eyes. She was wrapped in an oversized purple sweatshirt, and her face registered quiet acknowledgement as she took in the three strangers standing on her porch.

"Mrs. Glenn? I'm Special Agent Malone. This is Special Agent Spade, and Officer Sachs."

"Please, come in. My husband is in the living room."

The three were led down a dark hallway into a large, expansively furnished room. Sitting stiffly on the edge of a brown leather chair was a slim, distinguished-looking man with close-cropped silver hair and deep-set dark eyes. He rose as the agents and Amelia entered the room.

"Patrick Glenn?"

The man nodded in response to Jack's query and, after introductions were made, Jack and Samantha settled on the sofa across from Patrick Glenn. Sachs took another seat, her quick blue eyes taking in their surroundings, mentally filing away anything she thought would be useful. Megan Glenn, Kerry's mother, stood uncertainly at the threshold of the room.

"Do you have any news?" Patrick Glenn's voice was sharp, demanding.

"Not yet, Mr. Glenn. We have a few questions for you and your wife."

The other man settled back, and his gaze was almost challenging in nature.

"According to Erin Spencer, Kerry's roommate, Kerry had a fight with you the night she disappeared. Could you tell us what that was about?" Jack pinned Patrick Glenn with a steady gaze of his own.

"I'm not sure how that's relevant," he responded acerbically.

"It will help us establish Kerry's mental state at the time of her disappearance," Samantha snapped. "Anything you tell us about your daughter is relevant."

"Kerry wanted to take an art class off campus. We felt it was best for her to concentrate solely on schoolwork, especially during her first year," was Patrick's reply.

"Anything else?" Jack pressed.

"Well--" Megan Glenn began to speak, but was cut off with an icy stare from her husband.

"No. It wasn't even a long conversation," Patrick finished.

"Erin Spencer told us Kerry was pretty angry afterward," Samantha recalled. "She also said Kerry told you she'd started working at a restaurant."

"We weren't happy about that, either," Patrick Glenn said. "It's important that Kerry does well in college."

Samantha looked first at Megan Glenn, then to Amelia Sachs, who was compulsively digging an index finger into the waves of her red hair, an unreadable expression on her face. Samantha then turned to Jack, meeting his eyes for the briefest of instants.

"Mrs. Glenn," Samantha began carefully. "Would you mind showing me Kerry's room?"

The older woman looked hesitant, especially when her husband gave an exasperated sigh. She nodded, though, and Samantha stood, motioning for Amelia to follow.

Trust the evidence, Sachs, not witnesses.

Try as he might, even stubborn Lincoln Rhyme could never fully eradicate the side of Amelia Sachs that would always be a people cop. Studying emotions, listening to stories, comparing witness accounts..

Oh Rhyme, I know people are fallible. I know evidence never lies or forgets. But sometimes you have to look farther. This is one of those times.

The three women reached a room at the far end of the upstairs hall, and Megan Glenn pushed the door open, allowing Samantha and Amelia to step in before her. Sachs recognized the look in Samantha Spade's eyes. It was the same look Lincoln Rhyme got when he was close, when he had almost figured out the puzzle a piece of evidence presented.

Looking around the spacious room, Samantha was surprised at how barren it felt. There was a double bed and a chest of drawers, but the walls were bare and no personal items adorned the nightstand or mirror.

"She must have taken a lot to college," Samantha commented off-handily, crossing to the other side of the room and opening the closet door.

"Yeah.." Mrs. Glenn's voice was quiet, hesitant, and Samantha figured a little push wouldn't hurt.

"Mrs. Glenn, anything you tell us will bring us closer to finding Kerry."

Sachs noted the soothing tone the other woman had taken, and watched as Megan Glenn opened one of her daughter's drawers, pulling out a red framed photograph. She showed it to Samantha and Amelia.

The picture was of three smiling teenagers. One girl had a round face full of freckles, wavy dark hair and blue eyes. She had her arm around a beaming Kerry Glenn, who was leaning against a taller boy with sunlit, curly blonde hair and eyes identical to the dark-haired girl's. Samantha was struck by the ease she saw in Kerry Glenn; missing from her eyes was the haunted, anguished look so evident in the snapshot from her dorm. Here, she was full of life, happiness, innocence.

"This is Lisa Gallen," Megan Glenn explained, pointing to the other girl. "She and Kerry were best friends since before they could walk." A shaky smile from the woman, before she continued. "And this is Lisa's brother, Jamie. The three of them were inseparable all through grade school and high school. Jamie is a year older than Kerry and Lisa," Mrs. Glenn continued.

Sachs and Samantha exchanged brief glances, both noting the past tense of the older woman's explanation.

"What happened, Mrs. Glenn?" Samantha's voice was barely a whisper.

"Kerry and Jamie started dating when Kerry was a sophomore in high school. It seemed perfect, you know? They'd known each other for so long, it was almost inevitable. But during Kerry's senior year, she got pregnant."

Revealing this seemed almost a physical blow for Mrs. Glenn, and Sachs and Samantha waited patiently for her to continue.

"At first, Patrick and I were furious. Kerry's so smart, and it was such a surprise. To be honest, I think she considered abortion in the beginning. But as time went on, Kerry and Jamie started getting kind of excited. Jamie transferred to a community college so he could be closer to her." Megan Glenn shook her head. "Patrick barely spoke to Kerry after he found out. Their relationship has never been great, and after that.." She trailed off, tears gathering in her eyes. "Kerry's labor was so hard." The tears began to fall. "She had a baby boy, but he was stillborn."

Samantha's eyes met Amelia's, and she was shocked to see moisture glistening in her steel blue orbs. The red haired woman turned away, and Samantha returned her gaze to Megan Glenn.

"After that..Kerry just shut down. She decided to attend Wellington instead of the community college with Jamie, and she severed all ties with the people here. Whenever we talk, it's always a fight. It's like she was trying to leave everything behind."

When you move..

"Mrs. Glenn, do you know where we can find Jamie and Lisa?" Samantha questioned gently.

"Yes, I'll be right back," the woman informed her, slipping out of the room.

"Everything okay?" Samantha asked Amelia Sachs cautiously. She couldn't quite read the other woman.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She offered Samantha a smile that appeared more than a little forced. "It's not what you're thinking," Amelia assured the agent.

At that moment, Megan Glenn re-entered the room, holding a piece of white paper.
"Here's the Gallen's address," she said, handing the paper to Samantha. "They only live a few blocks away."

"Thank you, Mrs. Glenn. For everything," Samantha's voice was earnest, and the older woman nodded.

"One more thing," she said as they left Kerry's bleak bedroom. "I know you probably think Patrick is a terrible father, but he loves Kerry." Megan Glenn seemed as if she was trying to convince herself of that fact. "He refuses to talk about her pregnancy. I think he'd rather pretend it never happened than have to deal with it. Still..he wants what's best for her."

Samantha nodded, patting Mrs. Glenn's shoulder gently, before turning and quietly walking down the stairs with Amelia Sachs.

The two women met Jack outside of the Glenn's house, a bit surprised at the disgusted look on his face.

"Guy's a bastard," Jack spat as they walked toward the vehicle. "Wouldn't tell me a damn thing unless I dragged it out of him. Even then, it was nothing helpful."
"I guess he didn't tell you Kerry was pregnant and had a stillbirth, huh?" Samantha squinted up at him.

"What?"

As Samantha began filling Jack in on Mrs. Glenn's story, Amelia Sachs's cell phone rang shrilly.

"Hello?"
"Sachs, it's me. Listen, the footprint you found? Size eleven. We found traces of cement dust in the dirt near the emergency box, at two of the exits and in the print impression. Mel also got a friction ridge from the CD player. Ran it through AFIS, came back Kerry Glenn. She's in the database for a speeding ticket from a few months ago." There was a touch of irony in Lincoln Rhyme's tone. "We're still waiting for DNA results from the hair tie."

"Great. Thanks, Rhyme. We'll be back soon."
"See you then, Sachs."

Amelia Sachs closed her phone, and realized Jack and Samantha were looking expectantly at her.

"Lincoln found traces of cement in the dirt sample taken from the emergency call box," Sachs explained as the three slid into the car. "It matches traces found at two of the exits and in the shoeprint I found. Size eleven, by the way. A fingerprint found on the CD player matches Kerry's. She's in the database; speeding ticket a few months ago."

"Speeding ticket, huh." Samantha smirked.

"Speaking of speeding," Jack began, glancing at Sachs. "Why do you?"

"Because when you move.." Sachs started the engine before continuing.

"When you move, they can't getcha."

TBC….