Lucas sat in his car, still unsure as he stared across the street at the large brick building. He played with the keys in the ignition, silently debating whether or not to get out of that car and do what he had planned to do all along. But what if it was the wrong choice? That factor still gnawed at him. Then he asked himself what if it wasn't and that was all it took for him not to get out and run full speed to that front entrance. But before he did, he took out his cell and dialed a familiar number.

"Luke?" she answered anxiously before he could even get a word out.

"Hey, Hales, it's me. What's up?"

"Nothing. How are you? Where are you? Did you do it yet?"

"No", he sighed. "But I am here though. I was just calling to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I wanted to hear what you and Nathan had to say again."

"Nathan's not here right now but you already know how I feel. Lucas, you need to do this, you have to do this. It is the right thing. I mean, better safe than sorry. You have to…for Peyton."

He closed his eyes. He knew she was right.

"Yeah. I guess it won't hurt to talk to somebody. Maybe they can help and clear all this right up especially if it's just a big misunderstanding like I'm sure it is. I mean, Peyton is probably fine."

"Of course she is", Haley forced a tight smile, trying to convince herself as well as Lucas. "Just go in and talk to them and call us back as soon as you know something, okay?"

"Sure thing", he nodded, ending the call with the press of a button.

Sighing, Lucas gathered all the information he had compiled in an envelope as he opened the door and walked across the street. The station hummed with the buzz of officers and other people as he took a deep breath and approached the front desk of the Tree Hill Police Department.

"Can I help you, son?" a big bellied officer asked him.

"Yes sir. Um, my name is Lucas Scott and I need to speak to someone. It's pretty important. I, I think one of my friends is missing."

The officer immediately noticed the concern in the young man's blue eyes.

"Missing person, eh? Wait, right here."

The wait turned out to be well over an hour. Finally a no nonsense looking woman with pulled back brown hair and a gun strapped securely to her waist, approached him.

"Lucas Scott?"

"Yes, ma'am", he stood.

She looked him up and down.

"Come with me."

He followed her into the back into a crammed office in the corner. She closed the door and took a seat behind the desk.

"Uh, thank you for seeing me. I know you must be pretty busy but I need to find my friend."

"Detective Katie Shelton", she introduced herself with a firm handshake. "You say you have a friend that may or may not be missing. Tell me what's going on and we'll see what we can do."

She took out a notepad and pen as Lucas began to explain.

"Her name is Peyton, Peyton Sawyer and she's a really good friend of mine. We graduated a few weeks ago from Tree Hill High School. Peyton had an internship scheduled at a big record company in L.A. and she never made it out there. I've tried calling her phone and everything and it goes straight to voicemail. Now the mailbox is full. No one has seen or heard from her and I'm starting to get worried."

"How old is Miss Sawyer?"

"She's 18."

"Any family?"

"Both her mothers are dead and…"

"Both?" the detective questioned.

"She's adopted. Her mother was killed in a car accident nine years ago. Last year Peyton's birth mother, Ellie, came back into her life but she died of cancer a few months ago."

"And a father?"

"Larry Sawyer. He and Peyton are pretty close. He owns Sawyer Dredging and his boat has been out to sea since graduation."

"When was Miss Sawyer last seen?"

"Ten days ago, the night before she was due to fly out. I guess I was the last person to see her. She came over to say good bye", he let the detective read the flight information. "But Peyton never got on that plane. Her dad asked me to check on the house and stuff, which I've been doing. Peyton was supposed to leave her car in the driveway but I found it on the curb with the keys locked inside. Her bedroom window was left open and I found the luggage she had packed for her trip. It was right in her room beside the bed. It's like she never made it home that night."

"What was your relationship with Miss Sawyer?"

Lucas shrugged.

"We're friends."

"Any romantic or sexual involvement?"

"What?"

"I have to ask, Mr. Scott."

He took a deep breath.

"A long time ago there were feelings but we never really acted on it."

"And you were the last person to see her?"

"I guess. I mean, I've tried to talk to everyone we knew."

"Do you have any idea what may have happened to her?"

"No. No, I don't."

"Do you know where she is? Did you do something to her?"

Lucas frowned.

"Do something to her? Wait, lady, what the hell are you talking about? Are you suggesting…"

"I'm just trying to get the facts, see where we stand in this case if it even is a case at all."

"Look, there was nothing going on between Peyton and me. She is my friend, a good friend and I care a lot about her. No one has heard from her in a week and a half and none of this feels right. She is a person and she is missing and I don't know, I thought maybe the Missing Persons Bureau from the Police Department would be able to help me."

The detective ignored his sarcasm.

"Give me some background info. What's your friend like?"

"She's great", he shrugged. "Really quiet at first but once you get to know her, you can't get her to shut up. And she's really funny. And she's sweet. Peyton has a great heart. She's been through a lot so it's like she constantly has her guard up but sometimes that can be a good thing. It keeps her street smart."

"You say she has been through a lot. Obviously it's a terrible tragedy losing two mothers. What other things has Miss Sawyer had to deal with?"

"She has trust issues. I know she misses her father a lot."

"He's out to sea quite a bit?"

"Sometimes but he has cut back."

"What about friends?"

"Peyton has lots of friends. She's very popular. She was a cheerleader but I know a lot of time she feels lonely."

"Who is her closest friend?"

"It used to be Brooke Davis."

"Used to be?"

Lucas sighed.

"They, um, they sort of fell out…over me."

"I see", she raised an eyebrow. "And boyfriends? Besides you?"

He rolled his eyes.

"I told you I'm not her boyfriend. Peyton hasn't dated in a while. She used to go out with this guy, Jake Jagielski. They were pretty tight but he and his little girl had to move away to Savannah. Peyton visited them in Georgia but I guess they couldn't work it out. It's sad but she never really explained why."

"Anything else about her personality, her…"

"She has a website and a Podcast on it...Punk N Disorderly."

The detective made a brief note.

"Any other incidents or problems? Self mutilation? Eating disorders? Sexuality conflicts? Drugs…"

"In junior year, there was a problem, if you want to call it that. It turns out one of our friends was a lesbian. She came on to Peyton or whatever. Peyton's not gay but she's not homophobic either. She tried to help the girl and encourage her to come out. Anyway, a rumor got started that it was Peyton and someone wrote the word dyke on her locker at school. Peyt had a hard time with it then but that was a long time ago."

"And drugs?"

He bit his lip.

"I…"

"You have to be truthful, Mr. Scott."

"Peyton was depressed for a while. She kind of got lost like everybody does. This older sleazebag took advantage of her and she tried coke a few times. After that, she cleaned up her act and got herself together. She isn't on anything now and hasn't been in a while. And as far as incidents, um, she was involved in that school shooting. She was the victim Jimmy Edwards shot in the leg."

"I remember that. Okay…and this father, Larry Sawyer, why has he not reported his daughter as missing?"

"Larry is out to sea but he is very concerned. He didn't want to jump the gun because Peyton asked him not to call her. She wanted to do the whole L.A. thing on her own. So she said she'd call him when she was ready."

"It was an internship, you say?"

"Yes. Peyton is an artist and she booked a lot of bands for that club in town, Tric. So she scored an internship this summer."

"Was she excited?"

"Of course she was but she was really nervous, too. This meant a whole lot to Peyton. She really wanted to do well."

The detective nodded.

"Alright. Well, I think I have all I need for now. Thank you very much for your time coming in today."

"What happens now?" he asked.

"We'll review it and see what happens."

Lucas did not understand.

"See what happens? What do you mean? Don't Missing Persons cases get the most attention, the most priority? You're gonna do something, right? Are you gonna put it in the paper and the news? You have to put a bunch of cops on this right away."

"If this were a Missing Persons case where we felt the person missing was in danger, say being held against their will and or if their life was threatened or we suspected foul play, then yes."

"But what about Peyton?"

"Mr. Scott, can I be honest with you?"

"Please."

"I've been with this unit for 11 years. I've seen a lot of these cases. I appreciate you looking for your friend but right away it's pretty easy to weed out what needs our attention and what doesn't."

"And you're saying Peyton doesn't?"

"I can only look at the facts. I have an 18 year old legal adult who has been through a lot in her life. Depression, substance abuse, dealing with the death of two mothers, dealing with an absentee father, dealing with losing her best friend, having lots of angst in the relationship department and then as if that isn't bad enough, she takes some disgruntled kid's bullet and nearly bleeds to death. I see it all the time."

"See what?"

"I'll just tell you what I think. Miss Sawyer is a scared, overwhelmed, confused person right now and who the hell could blame her? She gets this new opportunity and it probably was just too much, drove her right over the edge. Telling her father not to call her, the not answering of the phone, leaving things in disarray…they're all classic signs."

"Of what?"

"Mr. Scott, give it time. People run away all the time. When your friend is ready to be found, she'll come back."

Lucas stood, blazing with anger.

"So that's it? That's all you have to say?"

"We will look into matters, however…"

"However, my ass! Excuse my language, Detective but that is bullshit! A girl is missing! No one has heard from her and even you have to admit, there are some pretty weird circumstances. And you won't even take the time to try to help? Why? Because you past experiences say this is a runaway. No disrespect intended, but right now I don't give a crap about your experiences. This is my experience and my gut tells me something is wrong. I know Peyton didn't run away."

"Calm down, Mr. Scott. Here. Fill this out. Give me a brief physical description of Miss Sawyer and what you last saw her wearing. I'll put it in the system and see what we come up with."

Lucas hurriedly scribbled down everything he knew.

"Thank you for your time, Detective", he muttered sarcastically.

"I'm sure she'll turn up, Mr. Scott. I have other cases on higher priority but I assure you in the meantime, I will look into this and do what I can."

Lucas just shook his head.

"Whatever. She might not be one of your priorities but she sure as hell is on the top of mine. If you won't find her, Detective Shelton, I will."

With that, envelope in hand, he stormed out of the police station in a frustrated fury, so angry he didn't even realize it when he barreled body first into another person.

"Lucas?"

He looked up.

"Larry? You're back? I, I thought you'd be out another few days."

Larry Sawyer rubbed the new stubble on his unshaven chin.

"I couldn't stay away, son, not a minute longer. I had to come back and check on my girl."

"What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. I came down here to officially report Peyton missing."

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Don't bother. I already did and they don't give a damn. Apparently Peyton fits the description of someone who ran away on their own."

"I don't buy that, Luke", Larry shook his head. "Something isn't right with my little girl. I can feel it."

"Unfortunately, I can too."

"Those incompetent bastards", Larry snarled, looking straight ahead. "We've already wasted enough time. If they won't listen on their own, I'll make them listen!"

"Don't", Lucas pleaded, physically restraining the distraught father. "I know what I believe and you know what you believe. We're the ones that care about Peyton most in the world. If the cops want to be jackholes, screw them."

Larry looked around, fighting back tears.

"So what do we do, Luke?"

"Simple", he nodded. "We find Peyton."