Sorry about the loooong delay, I just got back from a long vacation, I went to Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara etc...) And it was awesome! Went to universal studios Japan and everything! Now I'm updating stories! School begins in a couple weeks so...I'll be around more often now.

Warnings: None

Disclaimer in chapter 1

Enjoy!

Gone Missing

Chapter 3

Declarations

"I'm riding with you to the Plums," Lester said to Carlos, as the man made his way to the elevator, "I know what's going to happen to you, when you get that woman alone, there needs to be a voice of reason there with you."

"I would never harm a woman," Carlos said, as they climbed into the black Rangeman SUV,"You know me, Santos."

"I know, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't mentally torture her," Lester said, earning a snort from Carlos, "See, I know you, cuz, now, let's get going, Tank said he'll talk to Amtrak to get the security videos and Hector will take a look at them."

"Call Hector and see if he can get any information from Stephanie's phone," Carlos said to Lester, earning a thumbs up from the man, "We might need more man power, so contact Rangeman Boston, since that Rangeman is closer to where Stephanie was supposed to be this last weekend."

Ram and Vince had arrive back at Rangman, an hour ago, reporting to Carlos that Helen Plum had shouted and made a scene before slamming the door on their faces. Frank Plum had not been there at the time, his cab wasn't there which meant he was out working. Carlos wasn't about to let any more time be wasted, after Ram and Vince reported in, Carlos was had made some calls and was now driving down the streets of Trenton to the Plum house. By the time he pulled up to the duplex, Lester had given orders to Rangeman Boston to get information on the New England Amtrak stations and to search the area in which Stephanie was supposed to be in.

"No bodily harm," Lester reminded Carlos as they got out the SUV, "No mental torture either."

Carlos grunted and made his way up the stairs and in front of the Plum's front door. He didn't even have to knock, because the door was wrenched open and Stephanie's mother, Helen, appeared, hissing, "I already told you thugs to stop harassing me about Stephanie! I'm not doing anything you tell me to do!"

Carlos placed his boot in between the doorway and the door, as Helen tried to shut the door. He trained his chocolate brown eyes on the woman in front of him and said, in a dark voice, "We're going to have a talk about Stephanie, Helen, and you're going to listen."

Carlos pushed his way into the house, followed by Lester. Helen let out a shriek and said, "I'll call the police, if you don't go!"

"Why haven't you filed a missing person's report on Stephanie?" Carlos asked, ignoring the woman's screams, "She's been missing for nearly three days, and you've yet to call the police."

"She went out of town on a damn trip," Helen said, crossing her arms, "She'll be back soon!"

"A trip she went on four days ago," Carlos said, watching Helen's facial expression, "Lula told us-"

"That Ex-prostitute," Helen spat out, crossing herself and looking up to the ceiling, "Why me?! Why couldn't I have a normal daughter?! Why couldn't Stephanie be more like her older sister, my perfect-"

"Your daughter is missing and all you care about is your image?!" Lester asked, his eyes dark with rage, "For Christ's sake, woman, Stephanie could be dead out there!"

"Good," Helen said, softly, looking at the men, "Then that embarrassment of a child won't bother me again, no more calls from neighbors and friends and no more of you thugs! That ungrateful bitch! I tried to make sure she had the perfect like, but what do I get in return?! Nothing but trouble! She would rather spend time with thugs and murderers than make a home cooked meal! I spent most of her life trying to make her into a marriageable woman but she was ungrateful. I hope she never comes back, so I won't have to deal with the heartache she brings me!"

Lester took a step back from Helen, his fists clenched tightly and his frame shaking. He wanted to punch that woman's face so badly, he couldn't believe what she said about Stephanie, their Stephanie, the best thing to have happened to them. Lester had never wanted to break someone in two so badly before. Lester turned to Carlos and found the man looking at Helen, with an unreadable expression. He was like a statue, his eyes never leaving Helen's face and his body stiff. Lester was terrified that Carlos would kill the woman in front of them right here and now.

"You will file the missing person's report and you'll do it now," Carlos said softly, taking out his phone, "We can do this the hard way or the easy way."

"You two can go to-" Helen started but was stopped by a low, "If Helen won't do it, I will."

The three standing in the middle of the cramp living room turned to see Frank Plum standing in the entry way, his blue eyes on Helen's frame. Frank walked past Helen and took Carlos's phone, dialing Trenton PD's number and filing the report as soon as he got on the phone with a cop. When Frank got off the phone, he turned to Helen and said, "You've been lying to us all for the last three days, I asked you to file the report the moment we found out that Stephanie didn't return home!"

"Frank-" Helen started but the man cut her off.

"And now, I get home to hear that not only did you not file the report, but you've written off our daughter as if it was nothing! I don't care if you don't like her, Helen, but she's my flesh and blood, and I will see to it that she comes home! An ungrateful bitch?! Stephanie is anything but that! She's bent over backwards for you, marrying that piece of shit, Dickie and listening to your advice to sign a prenuptial. He screwed her over and you knew it, but you didn't care because she embarrassed you. All those times you've berated her over the years…god, am I that stupid? Well no more, she's not your burden anymore, I'd rather her spend time with crooks and thieves than be exposed to your hatred. These men in front of you, they're not thugs, they're good men, who are looking out for the best interest of my child."

Frank turned to Carlos and Lester and said, "Gentleman, excuse my wife, but if you need anything, come to me, I'll see to it that you get whatever you need."

"Thank you," Carlos said, earning a head nod from Frank, "We'll find Stephanie and return her home."

"Good, you better," Frank said, before turning to Helen, "You and I are going to have a long talk once they're gone."

Lester gave Frank what information they had collected as of yet before Carlos and Lester left the house. Lester turned to Carlos and asked, "You think she made Stephanie disappear?"

"Doubt it," Carlos said, starting the SUV up, "Helen Plum would rather iron her hands flat than soil her reputation by killing someone, she may be a bitch, but she's no killer…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Daisy, we're almost out of food," Heidi said, turning to the puppy and giving her a look, "You're down to one last can of food and a bag of kibble and I'm down to three eggs and two slices of bread, we need to go grocery shopping."

Daisy turned to lay on her stomach, looking up at Heidi and wagging her tail. Heidi rolled her eyes and said, "I know, you can't understand me, but, we have a problem, our guest, I can't leave her here alone, and I don't want to call Brittany, unless it's an emergency, we're on our own."

Heidi opened the last can of dog food and placed the contents in Daisy's ornate dog bowl. She popped the last of the bread in the toaster and whipped up an omelet with the last of the eggs. Heidi turned her head down the hallway and then looked at the monitor that was linked to her guest's life support system. She could hardly believe that she had found this poor woman almost a week ago. Ever since then, the woman had been in a coma, with little brain activity and no signs of waking up soon. Heidi was grateful that the woman wasn't brain dead, there had been several times in which the brain monitor had flat lined, but thankfully, her guest was a fighter and the brain monitor would pick up a signal.

Heidi plated her meal and sat down at the small kitchen bar to eat. As she did, she looked out at the river and frowned. Who tried to kill the woman? Where did she come from? Was anyone looking for her? Did they even miss her? Those were all questions that Heidi wanted an answer to. She found the name of the small river behind her house and found that it span through several states, from Maine and all the way down to North Carolina. She kept daily tabs on the news outlets, hoping for someone to flash a picture of the woman on the news and state her name, but no one had done so. Maybe she was a victim of a solicitation gone wrong. Maybe she was a homeless woman.

Heidi ran a hand over her chest and closed her eyes. Well, if she was any of those, she would take her in. The poor woman would be dealing with brain damage and from where the damage was located at, it would mess with her memories, her motor skills and possibly her speech.

"Which is why I wish this area had a grocery delivery system!" Heidi sighed, laying her head on the counter and looking over to Daisy, "We're going to starve, that's all there is to it."

Daisy looked up from her meal and then went back to eating from her bowl, ignoring the knock that came from the front door. Heidi slid off the bar stool and walked over to the door and looked out the side window to see Diesel, her neighbor, standing there, dressed in a coat, a scarf, rugged blue jeans and scuffed boots. Heidi turned to Daisy and said, "I think our problem is solved!"

Heidi opened the door saying, "Diesel! What are you doing out in this weather?! There's a blizzard going on outside, come in and get warm."

"I wanted to check up on you, and see how you were doing," Diesel said, shaking snow out of his hair and accepting the tea towel Heidi gave to him, "You've been here for nearly a week, haven't heard from you."

"Oh, well, haven't had a reason to bother you," Heidi said, watching the man slip off his coat, "Daisy and I are fine up here, except…not to sound like a pain in the ass, but can you help me out?"

Diesel looked over to Heidi and leaned against the kitchen counter, a small smile on his face, "What, you need for me to chop some wood for you, or fix a leaky pipe? I'm not that good at fixing pipes, but I can chop wood for you."

"No…I uh….have a guest, and my guest can't be left alone right now," Heidi said, going over to the coffee maker and pouring a cup of coffee for Diesel, "I was wondering, if you could go into town for me, and buy me some supplies, I'll give you money, of course, and pay you for your services."

"You don't need to pay me for your services," Diesel said, waving his hand, "That's what neighbors do for one another, though you can pay me back, by letting Daisy come over to my place and let her play with my dog, Fred. They're around the same age, so they should be fast friends."

"Alright, deal," Heidi said, walking over to a cabinet and taking out a pad of paper and a pen, "Let me just whip up a quick list, I need a lot, you can take my credit card too."

"Are you a doctor?" Diesel asked Heidi, suddenly, making the woman look up from her shopping list, "I see a medical satchel on the side table, so, you're a doctor?"

"I am, I'm a jack of all trade doctor," Heidi said, as she wrote her list, "Any aliment or issue, and I know what to do, if it doesn't require cancer treatment, I work at this….place….I'm the company doctor and surgeon. I hope they're not too lost without me."

Diesel nodded his head and said, "I feel ya, sounds like my job, always out and on the go, if I leave for a bit, things never get done, I'm gone for a while now, and I hope the place isn't in shambles."

Heidi put the final item down her grocery list and gave it to Diesel saying, "Thank you so much, for doing this, I was down to the bottom of the barrel and I'm too afraid to leave my guest alone."

"No problem," Diesel said, reading the list, "Doritos….what kind of doctor are you? These will send you into an early grave."

"I know, but I love them," Heidi said as Diesel finished his coffee and put his coat back on, "Do be safe out there, alright?"

Diesel gave Heidi a wink and said, "Don't worry about me, Kitten, I'll be just fine. See you in an hour or so."

Diesel wrapped his scarf around his neck and headed out the door, closing it with a loud thump. Heidi turned to Daisy and said, "See, thank goodness for good neighbors, right?"

Daisy ignored Heidi's declaration in lieu of finishing her meal. Heidi walked over to her computer and pulled up the maps she had download from an online atlas. She had to figure out where the woman in her house came from and why she was left for dead.

"What did you do, Jane Doe, to warrant such an attack like that?" Heidi whispered, scrolling through maps, "Who would want you dead and why do it in such an extreme way?"

TBC….

And the plot thickens! Please leave a review! Tell me what you think about the story now.