Hailey's POV

"What do you mean she's missing?" I asked, alarming everyone who was listening.

"She ran away in the middle of the night. She packed some stuff into her backpack and left," Caroline was making it hard for me to understand what she was saying since her words were overrun by her sobs.

I took a moment to comprehend everything I had just learned.

Charlie ran away in the middle of the night.

Now they can't find her.

Charlie was missing.

"I thought we were doing a good job," Caroline sobbed, "I thought she was happy with us."

Taking a deep breath, I tried to control my emotions as I gathered my thoughts.

"Are you at your house right now?" I asked and I only barely managed to hear Caroline's reply which was to confirm that she was. "Okay, stay there, I'm going to see if I can head over and I'll call you back."

Caroline acknowledged that she had heard and I hung up before briskly getting up.

"Who's missing?" Jay asked curiously.

I grimaced, "Charlie."

After getting the okay from Voight, Jay and I hopped into my car and were on our way to the address Caroline had texted me.

I still couldn't believe that Charlie had run away.

Sure, she didn't seem like the person who didn't have enough guts to do such a thing but I also didn't think she was the person who would actually do such a thing.

"Do you think she actually ran away?" Jay seemed skeptical for some reason.

I glanced over quickly, "Why? You don't think she ran away?"

"I don't know," Jay admitted, "Charlie just never came off as a teenager who would run away."

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement, "She didn't."

The address I was given by Caroline turned out to be a nice looking house on a nice street. Micheal and Caroline both came to meet Jay and me outside, both looking absolutely terrified.

"We've already notified the agency who have notified the police," Caroline started blabbering as soon as Jay and I approached the couple. "But I felt like I had to something more so I called you."

I nodded understandingly, "That's okay. Can you show me Charlie's room? Maybe my partner and I can find some kind of hint as to where she could be."

Micheal and Caroline nodded eagerly and they led us into the house, up the stairs, and down the hall.

"This is her room," Micheal pushed open the door slightly and Jay and I walked in.

The room was a little bit bigger than Charlie's previous room in the apartment. Her bed was in one corner, the covers made neatly with the two pillows stacked on top of each other. There was also a desk with a red lamp on it and in the corner opposite the bed, there was a laundry basket which had a few t-shirts in it.

"Do you know what she took with her?" Jay asked the couple.

Caroline seemed to be struggling not to cry, "It looks like some clothes, her phone and some money."

"Was it her money?" Jay raised an eyebrow.

Micheal nodded, "She mowed lawns over the summer."

I thought back to how Charlie had her partially unpacked room set up back at the apartment when she lived with her dad. I remembered how the only thing on her desk was the photo of her with her mom. The photo that had captured one of the last moments Charlie saw her mom alive.

"Did she used to have a picture frame on her desk?" I asked, running my fingers over the smooth surface of the desk.

"I think so," Micheal replied, "Why?"

I shook my head, "Just trying to get as much information as possible."

"You guys have another daughter right?" Jay asked.

Micheal and Caroline looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"Yes, Nicole," Micheal nodded.

"Was she close with Charlie?" Jay questioned.

Micheal nodded again, "I'd say they hit it off pretty well."

"Is she at school right now?"

"She is," Caroline replied and I was starting to understand what Jay was getting at. "Though she probably will be home soon. She walks home."

Since Nicole and Charlie went to the same school, if they were close, Nicole could probably give us a pretty good idea of what school was like for Charlie.

"What's the high school that Charlie and Nicole go to?" I asked.

Caroline told me the name of the high school but still had a confused look on her face.

"If you want to talk to Nicole she should be here soon," Micheal said to us, "It'll be faster just to wait for her."

I looked over at Jay who seemed to be thinking.

"We should drop by the school and talk to some of her teachers before they leave," Jay finally said and I nodded.

"And we can come back to talk to Nicole," I added.

With that plan in mind, Jay and I went back downstairs and outside to where our car was parked. While we drove to Charlie's high school, I wondered if there was something I was missing. Something that could tell us where Charlie went, or at least why she ran away.

When we got to the school that Charlie went to, we found a parking spot up front and got out. The high school seemed like your typical high school. It was pretty big and had two floors.

We went through front doors and easily followed the signs to find where the office was.

"Detective Upton with Chicago PD," I said, holding up my badge to show the secretary. "This is my partner Detective Halstead."

The secretary looked alarmed, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can actually," Jay replied, "Could you give us a list of all the teachers that taught Charlie Wilson."

"It doesn't look like we have a Charlie Wilson attending here," The secretary told us after he had typed into the computer.

I nodded, "Try Charlotte Wilson."

He smacked the keyboard a few times before nodding, "I can print you a list."

"That would be great," Jay said and the secretary nodded.

"Does this have anything to do with Charlotte running away?" He asked as he handed us the list of teachers.

"We're hoping to know a little more information," I kept it vague and then thanked him before leaving the office with Jay.

Jay sighed, "Alright, who's first on our list?"

"Gemma Duran," I read aloud, "She teaches Charlie math."

Jay nodded and we started navigating through the halls trying to find the grade nine math classroom. It wasn't too hard and when we found the right classroom, I peeked in just to make sure someone was actually in there.

"Can I help you?" A woman asked from her desk in the room who I resumed was Gemma Duran.

"Are you Gemma Duran?" Jay asked as we walked into the classroom.

The woman nodded, "I am, and you are..."

"Detective Halstead," Jay replied holding up his badge, "And this is my partner Detective Upton."

Gemma Duran nodded again, "Is this about Charlotte?"

"How'd you know?" I asked as Jay and I pulled up chairs to her desk.

"The school got a call this morning saying that Charlotte had run away and now they can't find her," Duran shrugged, "I figured at some point we would be questioned."

"Well, we just want to know what Charlie was like at school," Jay said.

A small smile formed on Duran's face.

"She was a really good student," Duran told us, "Charlotte had top marks, not just in my class. Her homework was always handed in on time too. She's a model student."

"Did she have any friends?" I asked.

Duran nodded, "She and Nicole seemed very close. Sometimes I'd see her talking with Lia and Courtney but I wouldn't say she was as close with them as she was with Nicole."

"What about Nicole? Did she have other friends?" Jay inquired.

"I don't know. Probably. Nicole is quite liked in her grade," Duran told us and I made sure to keep a note of that.

We asked some more questions and I learned that apparently Charlie didn't join any clubs or sports teams. It seemed like she went to school only to learn and kept herself out of the spotlight and drama.

Once we felt like we had asked enough questions, we both thanked Duran and stood up to leave.

As we walked down the hall, I looked down at the next teacher on the list.

"You know we can't take this on as a case right?" Jay asked me, "Not with the whole Tim Harris bust doing on."

I nodded, "I know. I never said I was taking this case to Caroline and Micheal. I just want to be as much help as possible to finding Charlie and as soon as possible. The faster we get her off the streets, the better."

Jay nodded and remained silent as we walked to the next classroom.