A.N.: Sorry for the long wait. But as I haven't been home for the past two weeks – I didn't

really have the time. However I hope you enjoy it. Pleas R+R.

Chapter 5:

Three names – that was all they got, three names of people that were potential friends of Miranda Thomas. Three students at her school she had had contact with – and of course the woman her mother had been talking about, the woman that had driven her to school. But they hadn't found her by now – Martin and Vivian were still doing research on her.

For now they had started at Miranda's High School and their searching results had been pretty discouraging. Two of the students in connection with Miranda were girls, the third one was a boy – a boy who Miranda had seemed to have a crush on – but he wasn't present at school today – his class was out for an excursion for the day and they wouldn't be back till the evening. But it was better than nothing – though it was pretty close to nothing...

Sam and Danny were about to start their interviews with the two remaining girls – their best lead at a time right now. The principal's office had given them the classroom numbers of the two young women – Anmary Dale and Violet Shavers - and they were on their way to question them right now. They had started with Anmary; who was in her math course right now.

They were lucky to catch up to the classroom just as the bell ran and break began. Therefor they didn't need to disturb the whole class and drew atention to themselves. They just asked the first girl coming out of the room for Anmary, who pointed at her, without even asking any further questions.

The young woman had their back on them and was slightly bowed over her desk. It seemed like she was closely scaning through or reading something lying on it, but they couldn't see it. She wasn't very tall, about 1,6 meters and extremely thin. With shoulderlong darkbrown hair and a pretty dark skin colour – like she just had been for holidays, lying in the sun for several weeks. She probably came from a family with parents of different colour.

As the went close to her and addressed her, the girl seemed to wince slightly for she hadn't even detected them before, packing her things slowly and seeming somehow deeply lost in thought for no obvious reason. As she turned quickly, she tried a smile and gave them a startled look.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Agent Taylor, this is Agent Spade – we're with the FBI – we would like to ask you a few things about Miranda Thomas. Her class teacher told us, that you know her?"

"No, not really – I mean I know her name and I know what she looks like – we're in the literature club together, but it's not like I know her well. I actually barely know more than her name... Is she in any trouble?"

"She went missing yesterday morning."

"Oh, I'm... sorry to hear that. But I don't think I can help you much. We really haven't been close. We once did a homework together which had to be done in pairs. But we didn't really talk about anything else than that homework and she never stayed any longer than for the time we needed to finish this up. We didn't get close. We just did that work and afterwards we didn't become friends or something..."

"So – you have no idea what might have happened to her?"

"No, not the slightest, I'm sorry. She really did't tell me anything personal – she hardly told me anything after all..."

"Well thanks than Annmary..."

She nodded slightly and quickly fetched her things to hurry out of the room, leaving the two agents behind, who exchanged thoughtful looks. This hadn't started out very well, not well after all. They really had hoped to get some useful information, but they obviously were just discouraged some more. Danny was the one getting it to a point and still having some hope.

"Let's just hope we'll be more lucky with that other girl."

Sam just gave him a nod without saying anything – she didn't like the proceeding of this investigation. It actually made her feel pretty sad to find out about the lack of social life Miranda Thomas was having. They crossed the floor and went up the floor to the Physics classroom, catching up with the class of the second girl just as the bell rang again.

"Violet Shavers?"

Samantha called out to keep the girl from getting inside. One of the young women, standing in a crowd of 5 other girls, who were giggling, turned around and looked at them. She was tall, with a well curved body, blonde and with deep blue eyes - the perfect modell for the homecoming queen at the end of the high school year. Probably she actually was, or had been last year. She seemed pretty popular and pretty superficial at first view, not a person who actually got to do anything with Miranda – according to what they had just heard from Anmary...

"Yeah? Who are you?"

"We are with the FBI, we would like to question you about Miranda Thomas. Do you know her?

"The little psycho girl? I'm glad I don't got anything to do with her...? What about her – why's the FBI interested in her?"

Sam felt already tensed when the teenage girl anounced her first question, that first four words. She just couldn't understand the emotionlessness and – well – hatred in the younger woman's voice. She didn't get how anyone could be so harsh about another person, especially if not knowing her that well. She one's again realized, that there seemed to be something about Miranda that startled people and scared them away. She couldn't keep her own voice from getting harsh as she went on questioning the girl now.

"She disappeared this morning... Why are you calling her this – psycho?"

"Because she is! She's strange you know – closed in and stuff. I don't like her that much, I never did – actually. Most of us didn't want to have anything to do with her, almost everybody to my knowledge and the major part probably would feel pretty glad about knowing, that the school just lost the strangest part it ever had..."

Sam exchanged a short gaze with Danny and saw exactly the same feeling on his face, that she had right now. Where did the girl take that audacity from? She actually hadn't known Miranda after all and still she was talking about her like she had a right to do so. It seemed like she didn't have any feeling of empathy...

"But her class teacher told us, that he had seen you and Miranda together at the school yard several times?"

"That was not because we were on friendly terms or something... To tell you the truth – I believed she actually was interested in my boyfriend – Lukas Wilson – that's why I talked to her. I mean – not that there had been any need – I logically knew she was no harm, no competition for me, but I just wanted to make sure that she understood. And as she didn't stop looking out for him I talked to her several other times..."

"And you didn't know her any closer, except for the troubles you had with her?

"Look – I didn't know her and I didn't want to know her, okay!"

Danny tried a smile and an expression of understanding, although it was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He was absolutely not feeling like it – he couldn't understand that girl, her emotions, her attitude, her words. How could someone feel so hard about a person he barely knew, have so many prejudices about her? What had Miranda done wrong? What was her offence? But he actually didn't mean to disturb the girl – offending her wouldn't change anything about Miranda's disapearance. The girl seemed to grow nervous right now, for none of the two agents said a word to her. But her voice still had the same slightly offending tone in her as she asked right now.

"May I leave then?"

As Danny nodded – still without saying a word - the girl turned away, still that slightly disgusted and annoyed look on her face, like Miranda was the last thing she wanted to think about – the most uninteresting, boring, unworthy thing to waste a thought at – not even for a second. Danny waited some seconds before he turned to look at Samantha.

„It seems like the poor girl didn't have any friends at all…"

She gave him a thoughtful look for some silent moments before she answered. There was no need to say anything after all, but she felt uncomfortable to just end the conversation like this. It was that sad and heartbreaking – the situation about that lonely teenage girl – that she felt like she needed to say something important, something grave to at least get some proper emotion to the girls fate. But there wasn't anything coming to her mind, not a single word – just some trivial lines...

"Seems like it..."