Chapter Two: Loyal Friend

19 Hours Missing:

"So, Kevin, you and Natalie are pretty close?" Martin asked the teenage boy sitting down in front of him. He and Samantha were at the church where Natalie had attended since she could walk, interviewing the kids in the youth program.

"Kind of," Kevin replied unhelpfully.

Samantha gave him a look and Kevin sighed before elaborating.

"I mean, we talked sometimes and stuff, but it's not like I knew any of her secrets."

"What was her relationship like with all of the other kids here?" Samantha asked.

"Pretty good, I guess. No one disliked Natalie. She's kind of quiet, but we all like her. She's pretty funny if you catch her in the right mood."

"What about the relationship between her and Heather?"

"What about Heather?"

"Heather was the last person to see Natalie before she disappeared."

Kevin looked rather disturbed by this news. "Really?"

"Yeah. Now, answer the question. What was the relationship like between Natalie and Heather?"

"Well... during elementary school, you could hardly tell the two apart. And you couldn't separate them either. They were like sisters. They looked like sisters. They acted like sisters. They were best friends. They were both smart. They were both the nicest kids you'd ever met."

"Yet we've heard that Heather seemed to have taken a dive into the deep end. Any idea what that's about?"

"Heather went to a pretty rough public school after elementary school. Natalie went to a really good private school. I guess they just... followed their own crowd."

"And what about recently? Any arguments... conversations that you've heard between the two of them?"

Kevin frowned thoughtfully as he tried to think. "Well... yes, actually. It was a few days ago. On Sunday."

"What happened?" Martin asked, pen ready to take any notes.

"We were all waiting around for Sunday school to start, right over there," Kevin pointed to a side corridor off to the side of the room where they were sitting. "And it looked like Heather and Natalie were fighting..."

"Did you hear what about?"

"It sounded like it was about a guy..."

"I can't believe you're still going to see him!" Natalie whispered loudly as she rounded on Heather as the pair walked down the hall. "After everything he's done!"

"Oh, come on. He's changed." Heather said, blowing off Natalie's remark.

"He hasn't, and you know it, Heather," Natalie said seriously. "He's still into the drugs and the drinking and the sex--"

"So what? I won't do the drugs. Besides, if he's with me, it means he's not getting high at someone else's house."

"And he'll be bringing drugs to you instead. Heather, think about this."

"I have, Natalie!" Heather said, raising her voice for the first time in the conversation. Her eyes flashed angrily. "You can't tell me what to do. And I'm not going to listen to you."

"But Heather... I'm just trying to look out for you..."

"I don't need someone to look after me, Natalie," she said fiercely.

"And do you have any idea who they were talking about?" Samantha asked.

Kevin shook his head. "No one's into drugs here."

Samantha raised an eyebrow as if to question his statement. He understood and replied earnestly. "Really. I'd tell you."

"You went to school with her then?" Martin changed the subject.

"What? Oh, uh, yeah," Kevin said, turning to Martin, looking relieved for the change of subject. "Through most of elementary school. She was really smart, even back then. But you can kind of just tell she is also. She's always just been... intimidating almost. Sometimes you don't want to talk to her because you're afraid of saying something stupid, and then she'll just—"

"How long have you liked her?" Martin asked suddenly.

Kevin faltered, but the look on his face gave him dead away. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"How long... have you liked her," Martin repeated, more slowly.

"How... why would you say—"

"Believe me, I know what it's like when you're afraid of saying something stupid in front of a girl, especially if you like her."

Kevin looked from Martin to Samantha and back to Martin before he knew he was caught.

"A couple of months," he said quietly.

"Mmhmm... and does she know?" Samantha asked.

"I... I'm not sure."

"Anyone else know?"

There was a brief pause before Kevin answered.

"My ex-girlfriend."

Samantha and Martin exchanged a quick look.

"Her name is..."

"Trisha. Weaver."

"Alright, thanks for you time, Kevin," Martin said, standing up as Samantha did the same.

"Wait, you don't think Trisha had anything to do with this do you?" Kevin asked quickly.

"You never know," Samantha said as she opened the door and left.

---

"Mrs. Birch, can you describe the friendship between Natalie and Heather for me?" Vivian asked as she and the Birches were seated around their living room. Danny was questioning Heather in the next room.

"Well, Natalie has always been there for Heather through her... her hard times…"

"What hard times, Mrs. Birch?" Vivian asked.

Mrs. Birch looked at her husband for a moment. He nodded and she continued on.

"She, uh… she got into drugs. Smoking. Alcohol. Sex. The whole nine yards."

"And do you have any reason to believe that Heather… introduced Natalie to drugs or alcohol?" Vivian asked, opening her pad of paper.

Mrs. Birch shook her head and replied firmly. "No. Natalie has always been Heather's… stabilizing rock. Sometimes when she wouldn't listen to us, she'd listen to Natalie."

"Mmm…" Vivian said thoughtfully. "And how is Heather's behavior now?"

"Better," Mr. Birch said. "She's in control now. She actually stays around and talks to the family. She's not doing drugs, she's not stealing. She's almost back to normal."

"And what triggered that change?"

"She went into therapy several months ago. There were some things that her doctor prescribed for her, and they've worked. Quite well."

"So there hasn't been anything lately in her behavior that would suggest that she's getting into trouble again?"

Both of the parents thought about it for several seconds, but then shook their heads. "No. Nothing we can think of. She's been going out with Natalie a lot lately to go to movies or dinner, but that's it. And with Natalie, she never causes any trouble."

"Ok, well, thank you very much for your time," Vivian said, standing up. "If you hear anything..."

The Birches simply nodded.

---

"So what time did you see Natalie leave your house?" Danny asked, leaning forward in his chair, observing Heather. She was sixteen as well, but couldn't have been any different than the description he had heard about Natalie. Heather's hair was a brilliantly fake blonde, cut very short and jagged. She wore extraordinarily short shorts and a tight black shirt displaying the name of some band Danny had never heard of.

"It was about 9:30... 9:45. Why?" she asked defensively.

"Because she's missing. That's why," Danny said, observing the girl with dislike. "And what did you two do that night?"

"We went to the movies," Heather said, looking almost bored as she picked at a hangnail on her left hand. "And then we went to Sonic afterwards to get a drink. Natalie always gets a chocolate shake."

"And there was nothing unusual in her behavior that night?"

"Like what?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

"Like anything."

Heather thought for a few seconds. "No. Not really."

"And there was no one suspicious hanging around? No one following you?"

A muscle in Heather's bottom jaw twitched. "No."

"No one at all."

"I said, no."

Danny raised his eyebrow at her as he started to dislike the girl less and less. "You don't seem particularly worried. Or interested."

"She'll turn up eventually," Heather said carelessly. "I mean, she's probably in the library or something. She's read more books than I can name."

"I don't doubt it," Danny said to himself as he stood up. "Well, if you hear anything from her, please let us or your parents know."

"Sure."

A/N: Thanks to all of the lovely comments so far. It really makes writing this story worth while. You know the pace of the show: investigation starts with questions, and questions lead to actions. The pace really begins to pick up in the next chapter. And you're always welcome to share your own thoughts for what's going on in the story, comment on characters' reactions or anything else. Writing is interactive. Thank you again for the support. Oh, and I won't be able to post for the next week or so because I'm going on a trip before school starts. But, I'll post first thing when I get back.

--Laura