Carolyn was at her desk on her phone. She had a brief couple of minutes for personal time, and she needed it. She spoke quietly with her head down. "...I understand that, but you aren't listening to me. I can't just come out there in the middle of a case...you're being reckless, just like always..."

Mike walked over to his desk and watched his partner, who was obviously getting very annoyed with whomever she was on the phone with. If anyone knew Barek's annoyed tone, Mike sure did. She glanced up at him and quickly ended her phone call.

"Anything?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Everything okay?"

"Fine."

"You sure? You've been acting a little off the past few days."

"Logan, what does the LUDs report say?"

"Ericson got a call from a Guy Torres right before he jumped up and left the office." Mike sat down in his chair.

"And who's Torres?" She leaned over her desk and looked at the paper he handed her.

"Guy Torres, 34, works for Ericson's wife. She's the head manager of a beauty salon. Torres has no record."

"Let's go see why he called his boss' wife, then," she said. He nodded and stood up, pulling on his jacket. Her phone rang. "Go on, I'll meet you at the car in a minute." He stared at her for a beat, then shrugged and walked away. She picked up her phone. "Barek."

"We weren't done talking."

"No, I think we were. And I think if you don't stop calling me while I'm at work-"

"Car, don't do this to me. This is me. You don't have to be all tough-girl cop like that."

"I'm not 'being' anything. I'm telling you that I am at work and I don't have time for this. I am not coming to D.C. today. I am not coming to D.C. tomorrow. Leave me alone." She slammed down the phone as Eames walked by.

"You okay?" Eames asked her.

"Uhh, yea." Carolyn stood up and shrugged into her jacket. She seemed lost in thought and distracted. "Yea, fine. I gotta catch up to Logan." She headed out the building to the car and found here partner leaning against the hood with his sunglasses on and arms crossed.

"Are we ready?" He asked with a hint of a smile. She didn't reply, she went to the passenger door. "Right, no nothing is wrong with you today." He got in the drivers seat and she sat beside him.

"Mike, please, just let it go," she said softly and turned to look out the window as he pulled into the street.

He glanced at her, actually concerned now. "Yea. Okay."

"So, Guy, how well did you know your boss?" Carolyn asked the man sitting before her. The three had gathered in the back office of the salon. Guy Torres was short, Hispanic, and looked like an underwear model.

"I've worked here for two years, and she's been in charge the whole time."

"Did you have any relations with her outside of the salon?"

"We were friends, yes. Sometimes we would go out for drinks or dinner. We're a tight knit group here, sometimes we all go out together," Torres said.

"Did Mrs. Ericson seem to have any problems at home that you knew of?" Mike asked.

"Aside from a crazy husband?"

"Tell us about that," Mike nodded.

"Not much to tell. Anytime he came up here or called, he was all angry and fussing at her. He always accused her of cheating and trying to take his kids away."

"Was she cheating?" Carolyn asked.

Torres smiled at her. "You mean was I sleeping with her? No, I wasn't." His eyes flickered to Logan. "If it means anything to you, your partner here is more my type."

Carolyn hid a smile as Mike shifted uncomfortably in his seat and cleared his throat several times. "Okay, I get your point," she said. "Then what reason did you have for called Mr. Ericson yesterday?"

Guy raised his eyes and sighed. "Of course you would know that. Like I said, Ronnie was a jerk and Alice was my friend. Ally was pregnant and apparently Ronnie's been calling her a whore and slut, saying that it wasn't his kid and who was she screwing around with. He wouldn't believe her that it was his kid."

"And it was his? As far as you know?" Mike asked.

"Yes. Ally would never cheat on him. She was completely in love with him. She was real happy about the new kid, too. Thought maybe it would bring her family back together."

"So you called her husband?"

"I was setting him straight. I told him that she wasn't cheating on him and to cut her some slack. Then he started yelling at me asking me if it was my kid. I told him I didn't sleep with women and he didn't listen. He just kept screaming at me. So I hung up on him. It wasn't worth getting him more angry with Ally."

"How was Alice's mood yesterday?" Carolyn asked.

"She didn't come in. She called and said that the youngest was sick and she had to stay home."

"And have you seen the two missing kids at all?"

"No. I keep expecting Ryan to show up though. He hangs out here a lot after school so he doesn't have to go home before him mom does."

"If they show, call us." Barek handed him her card.

"It's horrible what happened," Guy said softly. "Ally and the kids..." he shook his head.

"Do you have any thoughts on where else Ryan may go?"

"No."

"Okay, thank you Guy." Carolyn stood and shook the man's hand. Mike followed. Carolyn's cell rang and she glanced at the caller ID and ignored it.

The two stood outside the salon. "Now what?" Mike asked.

"I say we-," her cell rang again. She looked down at it and Mike saw her grimace. "Hold on." She walked down the street a bit and answered her phone. "You need to stop calling me." Mike, out of concern, was eavesdropping. He watched her pace in circles. "No! I don't care." She stopped and her head dropped, she stared at the ground still trying to keep her voice down. "That's a laugh...yea you know what? If you care so much then leave me alone...don't start. I mean what I said...you don't quit this shit and I will call them." She hung up and walked back over. She looked up at him. "What?"

"Someone harassing you?"

"I got it." She headed for the car and he grabbed her arm.

"Barek. What's going on?"

"Nothing I can't handle. Let's go to Ryan's school again."

Mike rolled his eyes, but dropped it and followed her. He let her drive this time.

When they got to the school they were directed to the counselor's office. They sat in the small waiting room and watched all the kids passing them by.

"I can't even remember High School," he muttered.

"Yea that was what, forty years ago?" She teased.

"Not quite," he smirked. He let the silence resume for a moment but then spoke up. "Barek, if you need help with anything...let me know."

"I appreciate it, but like I said I've got it under control."

"No offense, but your cell has been ringing all day. I wouldn't say that's control."

"And no offense, but it's none of your business," she retorted.

"Detectives?" A voice said. They looked up and saw a woman, maybe in her early 30s, standing before them. They both stood. "I'm Rena Oriya," she said as she shook their hands. "I'm Ryan's counselor. Come in my office, please."

The three sat in the cramped office. "Is there anything you can share with us about Ryan's home life?" Barek asked.

"I don't know for sure."

"What do you think?" Logan asked.

"I think Ryan is a very troubled young man. He's smart and kind, and he has a heavy weight that he seems to carry. Some days he would come here just to talk about his classes or to tell me stories of his younger siblings. I think most times he just needed a friend, a bit of good attention."

"Was his father violent towards him or his sisters and his brother? His mother?" Barek led.

"I never noticed any marks on Ryan and he never said anything, but I think there was something going on. I couldn't do anything, not without him telling me something concrete. I wish I had though, then maybe-,"

"You couldn't have known," Carolyn assured. "Did you ever meet with his parents?"

"Yes. I asked them both in two weeks ago. One of Ryan's teachers found him crying behind the dumpsters after school. He said he was just tired and stressed. He mentioned something about his sisters, but nothing to go on. His mother didn't say much, but she seemed concerned. Mr. Ericson acted like it was nothing. He said he couldn't help that his son was a wimp."

"Do you have any idea where Ryan might be hiding?" Logan asked.

"There's a playground. He takes the kids there to play some days. They really like it."