Sam looked up at the house in awe. Well, it was less of a house and more of a mansion. They had been contacted by Joanne Richmond, who said her seventeen-year-old daughter had gone missing. Jack, who stood beside her, pressed the ornately decorated doorbell.

'Nice place, eh?' he muttered to Sam.

'You can say that again,' she said in awe.

The door was answered but a tall, blonde haired woman. She wore a red cashmere sweater with black pants, and diamonds sparkled around her neck and on her fingers. The only imperfection about her appearance was her swollen red eyes, which she was dabbing with a handkerchief.

Jack held out his badge.

'This is Agent Spade and I'm Agent Malone of the missing persons department,' he told her.

'Oh yes, please do come in,' the woman said. She led them to a lavishly decorated living room. They all sat down.

'When was the last time you saw your daughter Mrs. Richmond?' Sam asked.

'Oh, it's Joanne dear,' the woman said quickly. 'Well, my husband has a little cottage out in the country...Melissa went up there last Wednesday for a few days to relax. She's been very stressed out with exams. Well anyway, she said she'd be back three days ago; Friday. When she didn't come home, I tried her mobile but she didn't answer. So I went out there. She knows I worry a lot about her and she's always back when she says she'll be so I was worried about her. When I got there, her car was there but the place...it was...it was empty,' she started sobbing.

Sam put a comforting hand on Joanne's shoulder.

'Does Melissa have a boyfriend or any close friends who she might have gone to stay with?' Jack asked.

Joanne shook her head. 'She doesn't have a boyfriend, and I tried all of her friends. Besides, she definitely would have called me if she'd gone to stay with someone else.'

'Do you have any idea who might want to take your daughter?' Sam asked.

'Well, that's the thing. I have a pretty good idea who it could be,' Joanne said. She paused.

'Go on,' Jack encouraged.

'Will Holmes. He and Paul-my husband are...well I suppose you could say enemies. They own rival companies. But it goes deeper than that. They were friends at school and they had a major fallout. Things have been building up since then really. They're always trying to get at each other...I'm afraid this is Will trying to get at Paul.'

'Do you really think this man would kidnap your daughter to get at your husband?' Sam asked a little sceptically.

'You don't know this man...he's capable of anything,' Joanne said, her voice cracking on the word "anything".

'Where is your husband?' Jack asked.

'He went away on business the day after Melissa went out to the cottage,' Joanne told him. 'I haven't been able to contact him, his phone has been switched off.'

Jack nodded. 'Do you think you could show us Melissa's bedroom?'

'Of course,' Joanne said, getting to her feet. She led them through the spacious house to Melissa's room. It was very large, and had a beautiful view from the window. Apart from the expensive entertainment system and computer, it looked like the bedroom of a typical teenager. School books littered around, revision notes and photographs on the walls.

Jack picked up a framed photograph off her dresser. It showed two pretty, smiling girls.

'Is this Melissa?' he asked Joanne, pointing to the girl who resembled her mother.

Joanne nodded. 'The other girl is Alice Westwood, her best friend.'

Just then, a large, balding man walked in.

'What's going on here?' he asked.

'Paul,' Joanne exclaimed. She threw her arms around her husband. 'I'm so glad you're home. Melissa's gone!'

'I know, I got your messages,' Paul told her. 'I came back as soon as I could. Who are these people dear?'

'I'm Agent Malone, this is Agent Spade,' Jack told him. 'We're looking into your daughter's disappearance.'

'Could I have a word with out outside dear?' Paul asked his wife.

'Of course,' the tearful woman said.

'What do you think?' Sam asked Jack as they stepped out of the room.

Jack put a finger to his lips. They could hear Paul talking quietly, but as his voice got louder and more agitated, they could make out what he was saying.

'...You could have waited for me to get back before calling the police! You know how I feel...'

'But I was worried!' Joanne said, sounding upset. 'Melissa was gone, I couldn't contact you, I didn't know what to do!'

'But you know how I feel about police! Dragging up the past again, I don't want all that again, dammit!' Paul said angrily.

'Our daughter is gone Paul! I didn't know what else to do!' They could hear Joanne crying.

'You're right,' Paul gave in. 'What's done is done. Come on.'

The couple waked back into the room.

'So. How are you planning to get our daughter back?' Paul asked.

'Well if Mrs. Richmond could help Agent Spade find a recent photograph of Melissa, I'd like to talk to you in private, if that's alright,' Jack told him.

Paul nodded. 'You can come down to my study.'

'Your wife thought that a man named Will Holmes might be involved in your daughter's disappearance,' Jack said, cutting to the chase, as they sat in Paul's dimly lit study.

Paul was silent for a moment as a lit a cigarette. He exhaled smoke with a sigh before talking.

'I suppose she could be right. Will and I have a long history. It's not good. But I can't see him kidnapping my daughter.'

'Well your wife seemed pretty convinced,' Jack told him. 'Do you have any other idea about where she might have gone?'

Paul shrugged. 'She's a teenage girl. Don't they all go through rebellious phases? Maybe she's with a boy from school.' He took a long drag from his cigarette.

'From what your wife said about your daughter, that doesn't sound like something your daughter would do,' Jack pointed out.

'Well maybe Joanne doesn't know as much about her daughter as she thinks,' Paul snapped.

'What do you mean?' Jack asked.

'Nothing,' Paul said quickly. 'I just mean...girls of her age, their parents think they know everything about them, and where they are all the time is, but the truth is, they probably don't.'

'And why would you think that of your daughter?' Jack asked. What was this man not telling him?

'No particular reason,' Paul said. 'I just don't put Melissa up on a pedestal like Joanne does. She thinks she's this perfect, angelic little girl who can do no wrong. But our daughter is human, just like everyone else.'

'So do you think your daughter could have run away? Are you saying you think she felt pressurised by her mother?' Jack probed.

Paul laughed. 'Run away is something Melissa wouldn't do. No, she's got it too good here. She likes money, my girl. She likes this lifestyle.'

'I see,' Jack nodded.

'No, go talk to that Alice. She'll know where Melissa is, you mark my words,' Paul nodded, stubbing out his cigarette into a glass ashtray.

'Right. I'll let you know if we make any progress,' Jack said, getting to his feet.

'You can see yourself out,' Paul said, turning away.