A/N: In this chapter, I give Samantha the last name 'Ziolkowski.' This was the last name of my sixth grade English teacher. She was one of the first to get me interested in writing. Wherever you are, thanks Mrs. Z!
Chapter Seven- Magnum's POV
I walked back to the main house and up to Sam's room, dreading the task that lay before me.
I couldn't stop thinking of how stupidly I had handled this case; I knew that if anything happened to Sam, I'd never be able to forgive myself.
I walked into her room and looked around. She hadn't brought much with her, only a backpack and a small handbag.
I carefully dumped the contents out onto the bed, and I began to look through them.
Among the typical cosmetics were a half a dozen well-worn books. I picked up the one closest to me and read the title: Of Mice and Men.
As I looked at the book in my hand, a distant memory sparked in the back of my mind. I couldn't quite grasp what that memory was, but my little voice told me that it was important for me to remember.
I set the book down and began to look through the rest of Sam's things, hoping that the memory would come to me later.
I looked in her wallet, hoping to find some form of identification that would help me track down her stepfather.
I pulled out her driver's license and looked at the address.
Grabbing a pen and a pad of paper off of the nightstand, I wrote down the address.
Realizing that I didn't know Sam's last name and that it would help me in my search, I looked back at her license.
Samantha Ziolkowski
When I read that name, I froze.
At that moment, the memory sparked by Of Mice and Men came to me.
Before Michelle, I had been in love with a woman named Lisa Ziolkowski.
We had been together for over a year when she became interested in another man. He was a real creep, and I was worried about her.
For about a month, she went out with both him and me, trying to choose between us.
When I voiced my concerns about this man to her, she attributed what I said about him as jealousy. Lisa said I was being petty, and she chose him over me.
I never saw her again; I was devastated.
Her favorite book had been Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. She reread it countless times and very frequently could be seen carrying around a tattered copy.
It could merely have been a coincidence that Lisa and Sam had the same last name, but something told me that it wasn't.
I reached over and picked up that worn book.
My hand trembled slightly as I opened the book to the inside cover.
There I found, in flowing cursive, the name Lisa Ziolkowski.
A/N: Of Mice and Men is a book by John Steinbeck. I would recommend it to anyone.