AN: I couldn't wait to post this, so I promise to thank everyone who reviewed in the next chapter AN.

Disclaimer: If I owned Instant Star, Jude and Tommy would be married, Stuart and Victoria would still be together, Georgia and E.J. would be back, and Sadie would be toying with Kwest's and Liam's affections (I know Liam's evil, but you gotta love that accent ;o)! Everyone wants Kwest and Sadie to hook up, but if Sadie were to hook up with Liam, she'd have power over Jude, Kwest – who had to hand in his studio budget for Liam to approve, and even Tommy, who Liam pulled rank on over Jude's studio time a couple of episodes ago). Does anyone think that in Season 3, Tommy will regret leaving, and come back with his ex-niece to try and win Jude back? And do you think Jude will take him back? OK, I'm done rambling now. As always, I hope you like it!

Chapter 12: The Search Is On

Tommy, Kwest, and Lisa all piled into Kwest's car, despite Tommy complaining that his Viper would get there faster. Kwest patiently pointed out that the Viper was a two-seater, and that Lisa wanted to help. Lisa was flattered, but remained silent as Kwest stepped on the gas.

A half hour later, they arrived at the police station. They got out of the car, made a beeline for the entrance, and waited at the receptionist's desk.

A young woman in her early 30s was sitting there, and she looked up as they came in.

"Can I help you with something?" the receptionist asked politely.

"We're here to see Andrew," Tommy said.

"What are your names?" the receptionist asked. The three of them gave their names, and the woman wrote them down. "It'll be just a few minutes," she said, as she pressed a few buttons on the intercom and spoke into it.

For a few minutes, no one could speak. Finally, the receptionist called out, "He just got here, and should be here in a minute."

They thanked her, and sure enough, Andrew came in shortly.

"Do you have the note?" he asked.

Tommy nodded, then reached into his pocket for it.

"Don't touch it," Andrew warned. "We want to check for prints, any distinguishing features on there, any details you might have missed." He led them to the crime lab, where people were busy looking at slides under a microscope.

"Wow," was all Lisa could say. She scanned the room, taking in all the sights before her.

Some of the people glared at them, because they were disturbing their concentration. Others shhed them, then went back to their work.

Andrew took a seat further away from them, and got out the needed materials.

"What's this do?" Kwest wondered, pointing at the bottle in front of him.

"It helps to enhance fingerprints on something, like a piece of glass, a picture like the one you have, anything at all. Put these on," he instructed, throwing each of them a pair of latex gloves.

Tommy looked grossed out as he snapped the gloves on. "These make me want to hurl," he whispered to Kwest. Kwest laughed, despite people looking them and glaring again.

"Why is that?" Lisa summoned up enough courage to ask him.

"The smell of rubber, a doctor's office, needles…" Tommy looked repulsed.

"Aww, poor baby," Kwest mocked. "Are you a widdle scared of the big mean doctor?"

He laughed, then Tommy shoved him.

"Hey!" Kwest said, almost falling out of his chair.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to work here," Andrew said sharply.

"Sorry," Kwest and Tommy replied, as Lisa quickly muffled her laughter.

A few minutes passed. "See anything yet?" Tommy was never patient, except for when it came to Jude.

"Got it," Andrew said, carefully putting the prints he'd gotten off the picture into a sealed plastic bag. He labeled it, then said, "Let's blow this picture up. Maybe we can see something that we missed."

They headed off into the dark room, where Andrew made them wait outside.

After a while, Andrew re-emerged and ushered them inside. "Do you recognize anything?" Andrew asked.

"No," Kwest said, searching the picture for clues.

"Don't think so," Tommy said. Then his eyes froze on something. "Wait a minute, does that look like the number 125 to you?"

The four of them squinted at the picture. "Yeah, it does," Andrew agreed. "Now the question is, is that a house number, an apartment number, a hotel room number…"

"It's a house number, definitely," Kwest suddenly said.

"How do you know?" Lisa asked, awestruck that Kwest could be so intelligent.

"See right here? Where the candle's by the window? We know it's taken sometime during the day, because the sun is just coming out. And it's just light enough to see a shadow of something going by, maybe a car, truck, or van. Whatever it is, it's got a blue streak. Right, Andrew?" Kwest said, thankful that he'd read enough mysteries to help them through this one.

"I think you're right, Kwest. I'll look up all the addresses in this area, and if I don't find a 125 anywhere, I'll start making the search area bigger. Why don't you guys wait here, and I'll get some food delivered?"

"Thanks, Andrew," Tommy said, just as his stomach growled. Kwest and Lisa laughed at him, and he protested, "I can't help it, Jude and I used to eat every hour together when we were working on her songs." Then they all turned somber for a moment, and Kwest said, "Let's do this for Jude, OK?"

"Count me in," Lisa offered. "Tommy?"

"Me too," Tommy said, worry laced through his voice.

"Don't worry, Tommy, I'll get her back for you," Andrew said firmly, determination evident in his statement. "In the meantime, what'll it be?"

Kwest and Lisa said, "Pizza!" while Tommy said, "Linguini with mussels!"

"Too bad, man, you're outnumbered." Kwest laughed, then told Andrew what toppings he wanted. Lisa chimed in, and before he left, Andrew whispered to Tommy, "Don't worry, I'll have someone get it for you."

After Andrew left, Tommy turned to Kwest. "What do you think she's going through right now?"

"Don't know, man. Could be anything." Noticing the look on his best friend's face, Kwest reassured him. "It's just like Andrew said, man. Don't worry, we'll get this person. Whoever he is."

"Or she," added Lisa.

--

Meanwhile, Jude was lying in a dark room. Suddenly, the door was flung open, and her captor entered.

"Who's the Instant Star now?" the person taunted.

Jude struggled to speak, but her words were lost in the gag around her mouth.

The person strode over, and slapped her across the face. "What was that, Jude? I can't understand what you're saying. You should really speak up more, otherwise you won't make any sense."

The person laughed, and walked out, after having enough fun with her. Jude slid down, calling out to no one in particular, "Help me!" Tears slid down her face, and she collapsed in defeat.