"I just got into the car. I'm heading back to the office as soon as I hang up. It's snowing pretty bad."

"No kidding. I'll have Vivian look into it. Make your way back here, but be careful. The roads aren't looking too good."

"I noticed," I answer and hang up. I let out a breath, still curious why Van Doren called Jack into a meeting. I figure he'll tell me later, hopefully.

*****

An hour and a half later, I make my way into the Bureau, carrying the date book with me.

"What have you got there?" Vivian eyes me.

"Might be nothing," I shrug, flipping through the scribbled notes. "It was Kent's. His wife mentioned he always took it to work. Must have forgotten it this morning," I answer.

I head for the conference table, meeting Vivian beside it. We open the date planner, and I let out a sigh. "I don't even know what I'm looking for."

"Can you match any of it to his job?"

I flip through the small bound notebook, glancing through the information I've jotted down. "Nothing stands out." I chew on my bottom lip, concentrating as I flip from page to page.

"Sam?" I glance up, noticing Jack leaning on the desk. "When did you get back?"

I eye my watch, "Twenty minutes or so," I shrug. "I got this from the Collins home. I can't find anything that would explain his disappearance."

"How about Alyssa?"

"Nothing," I answer, shaking my head in disbelief.

"We need to find out who Alyssa is, and her connection to Kent. For all we know, she could be the reason he's disappeared."

"We don't have a last name," I remind him.

"Becky, Ally's mother, called in while you were out. I asked her a few more questions because she remembered that she saw her taking pictures of the property. The description she gave was vague, so we don't have much to go on."

"Pictures? A realtor perhaps?" I suggest.

"Or a stalker," Vivian adds.

"We know he was seen talking with Alyssa, but we don't know the details. For all we know, this could be an affair and he ran off."

"She claims to be happily married," I eye Jack.

"Yes, I know. I spoke with her. I also think she's a bit--" he pauses, eyeing me intently, trying to sum up his thoughts.

"She's in denial," I answer. He nods his head. "I've considered that. I also thought it was an affair." I show Jack the earring I recovered. "Ally claimed this was hers and she lost it when she sprained her wrist rollerblading. Apparently Kent helped bandage her wrist in the bathroom and it fell off in there."

Jack's cell phone rings and he reaches into his pocket, "Malone?" he answers. Vivian and I exchange glances as I feel Jack's gaze on me. "Nothing?" He lets out a breath. "It's snowing pretty bad up here. You might as well stay the night." He hangs up the phone.

"Danny?"

Jack nods his head. "The cousin saw him for Thanksgiving, but that was the last time they had contact. He claims Kent is happily married and if anyone took him, it had to be for ransom."

"They make a decent income, but they're pretty far in debt," Vivian tells us. "I did double-check some bank receipts and the bills were paid on time, but I still feel like we're missing something."

"You checked purchase receipts?"

"Yeah," Vivian laughs, "you name it, they have it."

I eye Jack, "You know their house was nice, but it wasn't that spectacular."

"Doesn't mean they're not in debt," he muses.

"What if this guy has another house? Maybe it would explain some of these receipts." I shift the papers around on the desk, pulling out the expensive electronics I saw listed earlier. "I was inside their home, and I certainly didn't see a plasma HDTV." I go through a few more. "These had to be delivered," I point out. "What was the address?"

Vivian glances through a folder of contents. "2314 Dakota Street."

"That's interesting," I muse. "How far is that from where we are?"

"Sam," Jack eyes me, "they're calling for a foot of snow. If this guy ran off to some other home of his, it's not our investigation."

"He has a point there," Vivian nods. "If we wait too much later, we might never get home."

"I'll look into it," I offer.

"Vivian, you can head on home."

"You sure?" she eyes Jack.

"Yeah. Hopefully, the snow will be cleaned up tomorrow for us to get in."

"If it's not, we could be losing this guy for good."

"I can drive up there," I reiterate.

"With what? Your car's at home." His eyes bore into mine as Vivian stands up, excuses herself from the conference table and packs her things.

"Jack, if we find this guy, at least we'll have some closure to this case. You know we need it solved, and it's not going to happen if we're snowed in tomorrow."

"Samantha, by the time we actually get there, we'll likely be snowed in and sleeping in the car."

"You don't think there are hotels around?"

"I'm not against looking for this guy," he addresses me, "I just think it's a wasted trip. Why don't we search up this guy's phone number? Give him a call and see if that solves the problem?"

"It's a cabin it the woods," I point out. "Since there aren't any bills, I'm assuming it's pretty basic-no electricity or running water."

"Or someone else is paying those. Besides, it's the middle of winter."

"It's a cabin, Jack. There's probably a wood-burning stove or some other source of heat."

"And you're positive it's a cabin?"

"Yes," I nod with a laugh. "I've been to Dakota Street. It's a drive from where we are, but there are plenty of places to stay overnight, on the main path."

"I hope you brought some warm clothes." He stands up, closes the files and takes them with him into his office, then slips on his coat. Once we're ready, we head down to the parking garage and to his car.

"Why'd Van Doren want to speak with you?" I eye him as we take a seat, out of view from the security cameras.

"She wanted an explanation for sending Martin on the seminar. I couldn't exactly tell her he lied about the Reyes incident," Jack pauses, "so I had some explaining and what not to do."

"What'd you tell her?"

"He was having trouble with the team, and I felt his performance would be better with some additional training." Jack's eyes glance towards me. "She knew there was more but didn't push it."

"So it didn't go too bad?"

"Well it depends," he shrugs.

"On what?"

"For me, it was fine. For you," he pauses, eyeing me as we carefully pull out onto the snow-covered streets.

"What, Jack?"

"She wants you to take a seminar in the spring."

"Jack," I groan.

"I tried explaining to her that you're more of an asset in the field than in a classroom. She told me to stop fucking around and to keep my agents in line."

"She knows about us?"

"She always has," Jack answers and glances my way.

Traffic seems to slow down and even with the heavy snowfall, we continue onward. Jack turns off the radio, carefully concentrating on the road, while I stare out into the white-blanket of the world.

"Which way do I go?"

"Make a right up here," I answer him. We carefully drive down the snow- covered path, turning the windshield wipers on high. I scan the addresses of cabins as we head down the road. "It should be on the left," I point out.

Jack turns into the correct address, his eyes meeting mine as we observe the lights on in the cabin.

"Someone's home," he comments, turning the car off and opening his car door. I step through the snow, feeling my body grow numb from the cold.

We ring the doorbell and hear footsteps before the door is pulled back.

"We're with the FBI--Agents Malone and Spade. Are you Alyssa?"

"Yes," she nods, opening the door wider, "Alyssa Valentino. Come inside," she tells us. I see a fire blazing in the fireplace and glance around at the luxurious cabin.

"We're looking into Kent Collins' disappearance," I tell her.

"How long has he been missing?" She takes a seat on the sofa, and we sit on a smaller couch across from her.

"Sixteen hours," Jack answers. "How do you know Kent?"

"We went to college together," she answers softly. "We keep in touch."

"Apparently, given the fact he bought you that beautiful television," I point out.

Her eyes glance from mine to Jack's.

"I don't know what to say."

"Where were you this morning around 6 a.m.?" My eyes meet hers.

"Sleeping."

"Is there anyone that can verify that?"

"No," she laughs and shakes her head. "I haven't seen Kent in over a week."

"He planning on leaving his family for you?"

"I doubt it." Her eyes look tired as she lets out a sigh.

"So he just makes expensive purchases and sends them your way? Or are we to take it you stole his credit card?"

"I didn't steal anything. He invested in this house," she nods and lets out a breath. "That's not a crime, is it?"

"You were having an affair with him?" Jack questions.

"It ended long ago."

"Why's that?" I inquire.

"He's got kids and a wife he cares deeply for," she answers. I feel Jack's eyes on me.

"So he bought you all these nice things out of guilt?"

"Something like that," she answers standing up slowly. "I've got a daughter, Chelsea."

"She's Kent's daughter?"

Alyssa nods gently. "Yes."

"Did he ever tell his wife?"

"No. She wouldn't believe him, even if he did."

"Why's that?" I question.

"I have no idea. Kent used to tell me that all the time. I gave up trying to pressure him to leave his wife. He loved her and I told him to do what made him happy and what he felt was right."

"And that was being with her?" Jack muses.

"I guess so. Then again, he did leave her--or disappear--whatever you want to call it."

"You think he ran away?" My eyes meet hers.

"No. He's not that type of person. He wouldn't leave his family. I can't say what happened to him. I just hope you'll find him and everything will be all right."

"If you hear from him or anything comes up," I hand her my card as we make our way outside and into the snow.

Jack starts the car, allowing it to warm up while I brush the newly laid snow from the windshield. Jack steps out from the car and helps me out so we can hurry on home.

We make our way down the snow-covered trail, carefully navigating along the road. "Jack," I glance towards him, as he concentrates furiously on the road. "Maybe we should stop for the night."

"I agree. I just haven't seen a place to do that."

"How can you see anything?" I point out, as the snow continues to fall at a steady rate. "Make a right at the next intersection."

"You know where we are?"

"I have an idea," I answer, pulling out my cell phone and dialing Kellar. "It's Samantha," I tell him.

"Hey, you finally called." I can hear the smile on his face and bite down on my lower lip.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"You know I'd do anything."

I can't help but laugh softly. "Yeah. I'm on a case with Jack and you've seen the weather," I comment. "I was wondering if we could use your cabin for the night."

"You're all the way up there?"

"Yeah," I let out a sigh. "There's not a hotel for miles and the roads are awful."

"If I do this for you, I want a date when you get home."

"I'll see if I can set you up with someone," I answer teasingly.

"No way. I want you, Samantha."

"I don't know that it's such a good idea," I answer, glancing towards Jack.

"Oh come on. We won't even call it a date. We'll just go out for drinks," he tells me. "For old time's sake?"

"Is the key where you left it?" I answer.

"Yeah," he laughs. "Use all the firewood you need; just do me a favor and lock up when you're done."

"Thanks."

"I expect a call when you get home."

"Don't wait by the phone," I tease and hang up. I feel Jack's eyes on me.

"Who was that?"

"You don't want to know," I answer. "I got us a cabin for the night, though. It won't be as upscale as the last place, but it's definitely shelter."