Title: "The Neurobiologist's Evanescence" - Chapter 11

Author's Note: This is now Day Seven of Amy's disappearance. And sorry, this is a shorter chapter. I thought about making it a part of Chapter 10, but it's a separate day and the word count was high enough to be its own chapter (in my opinion,) so I went ahead and separated them. Please forgive me. :)

Sheldon nervously sat in the driver's seat of Penny's car in a parking spot along the street just outside of Caltech. It was shortly after 5pm and he knew Kripke would be leaving work soon.

His drive over had been slow and cautious, as he familiarized himself with the feel of Penny's vehicle. He had practiced driving around the block a few times, going various speeds and making turns in different directions to reacquaint himself with the feel of driving. He still hated it. His nerves were already fried and the hard part hadn't even begun.

But he had to do this. For Amy.

Moments later, his heart rate spiked as he saw Kripke's car exit the Caltech parking lot. When Kripke got close, Sheldon turned his head away, looking the other direction so as not to be recognized. Sheldon was wearing a dark t-shirt, sunglasses, and an old baseball cap he had dug out of the back of his closet. Penny's windows were thankfully tinted pretty well in her company car, but he thought it was best to be extra cautious.

He waited as Kripke got pretty far ahead of him on the road, before he pulled out of the parking spot to follow him. Sheldon stayed back a good way, not wanting to tip Kripke off already. They didn't drive very far before Kripke pulled into an empty spot outside of his apartment complex. Sheldon drove past, turning his head as far as he dared in the other direction to hide his face. He watched in the side mirror as Kripke got out of his car and headed into the apartment building.

Sheldon circled the block quickly, then pulled into a parking lot the next block over. He could still see Kripke's car from this vantage point.

He waited. And he waited some more. He was starting to get antsy around the forty-five minute mark, when to his relief, he saw Kripke exit the building. Sheldon gripped the steering wheel and watched as Kripke got in his car and pulled out of his spot.

Sheldon gave himself some room, then pulled out of the parking lot behind Kripke. There was a car in between them and Sheldon hoped it would keep up with Kripke so he didn't get too far behind.

They drove for around seven minutes, before Kripke's turn signal came on. He pulled into a shopping center, so Sheldon went to the second entrance and pulled in to a spot in front of a Starbucks. He sat and watched as Kripke parked in front of a CVS Pharmacy. He got out of his car and went inside. Sheldon waited.

Eight minutes later, Kripke came out carrying a plastic bag and got back into his vehicle. When he pulled out of his spot, Sheldon followed slowly. Unfortunately, Kripke didn't go very far within the shopping center. He pulled into an In-N-Out Burger, getting in line for the drive-thru.

Sheldon didn't know what to do. He was worried if he stopped again, Kripke would become suspicious. He hesitated, trying to figure out the best course of action.

He decided to drive past the restaurant and go to the stop light. He waited his turn and then pulled straight ahead, going into the shopping center across the street. He drove around one of the buildings, then parked in an area that he thought looked inconspicuous. He waited there, watching as Kripke's car came around the side of the burger joint, still in line.

Sheldon watched as Kripke paid, then moved to the next window where he got a bag of food. He continued waiting as Kripke drove around and came to the same stoplight he had just been at a few minutes before.

Sheldon pulled out of his spot and onto the street to wait in line for the light, as well. Kripke was in the right turning lane and Sheldon was in the left turning lane, across the street from each other, several cars between them.

His heart was pounding. He knew he could very easily lose Kripke now if the light didn't turn in his favor. He held his breath, watching as Kripke's car started moving forward. His light was green.

Sheldon waited impatiently, his fingers strumming on the steering wheel with anxiety. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," he muttered, as Kripke pulled out onto the main road.

Sheldon kept his eyes glued to Kripke's car, not wanting to miss where he was going. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long for his own light to turn green and he pulled out onto the road several cars behind Kripke.

Suddenly, his heart leapt into his throat as a car horn blared next to him. He had been too busy watching Kripke's car that he had drifted into the other lane. He glanced over and saw the driver of the car he almost hit waving his middle finger at him and yelling. Sheldon shrugged and gave his best apologetic face, then turned back to the road, only to come to another stop. To his utter dismay, he was stuck at a traffic light that Kripke had made it through.

"Crap!" He exclaimed, straining in his seat to see if he could detect Kripke's car. He couldn't see it. "Oh no. No, no, no. C'mon!"

The light finally turned green and he started moving again. He could not see Kripke's car in front of him anywhere. He craned his neck, looking around, and just barely saw Kripke's car at the top of the on ramp to the 210, heading east.

He was in the wrong lane. Sheldon looked behind him and put on his blinker light, bravely inching over in front of the car behind him. It was the same car he had almost hit earlier. The driver laid on the horn, startling Sheldon, and gestured his hands wildly with an angry look on his face.

"Sorry!" Sheldon yelled. "I'm sorry! I need to be in this lane!"

He managed to get on the ramp, heading east, his heart pounding in his chest now. He was sweating and his hands were slick on the steering wheel. He let go, one hand at a time, to wipe them against his shirt. He sped up, merging onto the interstate, hoping against hope that he would catch up to Kripke's car.

He was so nervous that he was nauseous. He had never driven on the highway before and now did not seem like a great time to start. But it was what he had to do.

He still didn't see Kripke, so he increased his speed, going way further over the speed limit than he felt comfortable with. He was worried that Kripke had snuck off of another exit, but he couldn't think about that now. He had to try and catch up to him, holding onto hope that he was still on the main interstate.

As he passed each exit, he searched frantically for Kripke's vehicle. Finally, after a few minutes of driving, he saw Kripke way ahead of him, still going straight on the 210.

He sighed in relief, then pressed down a little harder on the gas pedal. He wanted to be closer, so he wouldn't lose Kripke again, but he had to be careful not to get too close.

A few minutes later, he finally caught up to Kripke, though he stayed several car lengths back and kept another car between them. They drove that way for nearly five miles, but then suddenly, at the last second, Kripke swerved and took an exit quickly. Sheldon barely had time to process before he got off the exit, as well. He tried to stay back, but soon he was inching up behind Kripke at the exit's stop light. He sank down low in his seat and tipped his baseball cap forward to shield his face. He could just barely see Kripke's bumper over the steering wheel.

Kripke let off the breaks and took a left hand turn. Sheldon did the same, as slowly as he could. He followed behind Kripke, trying to go slow, but Kripke wasn't moving very fast either, forcing Sheldon to get closer and closer to him.

Sheldon frowned. Something wasn't right.

When they were almost past the ramp to go west on the 210, Kripke swerved again, almost making a U-turn, his tires squealing as he peeled up the on ramp.

"Dammit!" Sheldon shouted, slapping his hand on the steering wheel. He had missed the turn.

Kripke was onto him.

He drove quickly to the next road, then turned around in a gas station parking lot, before heading back in the direction he came. He got onto the ramp to go west on the 210, then merged onto the highway. He drove as quickly as he dared, but he never caught sight of Kripke again.

He'd lost him.

When Sheldon made it back to Pasadena, he got off the exit, and then pulled over onto the berm. He got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, and proceeded to lose his lunch.

When he was done, he got back into the car, but didn't start it. He sat, thumping his head against the seat as sobs started to rip through his body. He gave in to the torrent of emotions, letting them roll through him. He had to get them out, had to release the pent up anger and sadness and fear, otherwise he felt he might actually spontaneously combust, no matter how impossible that might be.

He released a long, low moan of agony, similar to that of a wounded animal.

He'd failed. He'd failed her.

If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

Sheldon trudged up the stairs towards apartment 4A slowly. He was exhausted and spent from his crying jag, not to mention the stress of all the driving he had done. He wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed and sleep for days, but he knew he couldn't. He didn't have the luxury of time. He needed to figure out his next step.

When he reached his apartment door, he tried the handle, finding it unlocked, as he pushed his way into the living room. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed by noise, as the cacophony of his five friends reached his ears. They all stood up, talking over each other all at once, as they walked towards him with worried looks on their faces and questions on their tongues.

Sheldon's eyes widened and he held up both of his hands and shook his head. "Stop," he said. He didn't shout, but they all instantly stopped as soon as they heard him. Sheldon realized that Leonard must have given everyone the details of what had happened the day before with Kripke, which was perfectly fine with him. It was less information he had to go over again.

Finally, Leonard spoke. "Did you follow Kripke?"

Sheldon frowned and looked down at the floor. "Yes." He paused. "But I lost him."

"What happened?" Penny asked.

Sheldon pushed through the group of them and sat down in his spot with a loud sigh. He leaned back, resting against the couch and closing his eyes. He could feel all five pairs of eyes on him, but he took a moment to gather his bearings before speaking.

He opened his eyes, but didn't lift his head from the back of the couch. "I followed him from Caltech to his apartment. He was inside there for about forty-five minutes. Then I followed him to a CVS Pharmacy on Scully Boulevard. He went inside and made a purchase, then came back out and went to the In-N-Out Burger there in the same shopping complex. After that, I almost lost him when he got on the 210 and headed east. I just barely saw him and managed to get over in time to get on the ramp myself. After a few minutes, I caught up to him, but stayed back a little ways. Unfortunately, at some point, he must have figured out he was being followed, because he very quickly got off at the San Maria Valley exit. I barely made it off the exit myself and then I had to get directly behind him at the stop light. He turned left and I followed him and then when we almost got past the ramp for west 210, he pulled a fast U-turn and took off up the ramp. I had to turn around and by then, he was long gone."

"Damn," Leonard said despondently.

"Yeah." Sheldon closed his eyes again.

"I can't believe you drove on the highway," Penny muttered quietly.

His other friends murmured in agreement.

"It was incredibly nerve-wracking. I ended up throwing up when I got back to Pasadena."

"Please tell me you didn't toss your cookies in my car!" Penny exclaimed.

"No. I puked on the side of the road."

"Wow, Sheldon. That was really brave of you," Raj said in awe.

"Amy will be so proud of you," Bernadette said.

"We're proud of you," Leonard admitted. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, I don't plan on doing it ever again," Sheldon muttered. "Chasing Kripke was a good distraction, otherwise I might have done more than throw up, the way my stomach was churning."

Penny wrinkled her nose. "Ew."

"Yeah," he replied, then opened his eyes and pushed himself up on the couch. "I need to figure out what to do next. I need some proof, something tangible that I can show the detectives." Sheldon paused, biting his lower lip. "I… have an idea, but… it's… Well, let's just say, it's not legal."

"What is it?" Howard asked.

Sheldon frowned. "The thing is… in order to do this, I need help. Which means dragging you all into this."

"I'm in," Penny said without hesitation.

"Me too!" Howard replied enthusiastically.

"Howie…" Bernadette warned. "At least listen to what he has to say before just jumping on the bad boy bandwagon."

"Fine," Howard told her, then looked back at Sheldon. "What's your idea?"

"Actually… You're the one I need the most help from," Sheldon said quietly. He didn't expect Howard to want to help him like this and he definitely didn't think Bernadette would allow it.

"Oh." Howard sat back a bit. "What is it?"

"Before I tell you, I want you to know that I won't be angry or have any hard feelings if you say no."

Howard raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oooh-kay."

"As a matter of fact, there might be a way to work around it, without you having to actually do the illegal thing, but—"

"Sheldon, just spit it out!" Bernadette demanded.

Sheldon nodded. "Very well." He paused. "I want to hack into Kripke's bank account."

Howard smirked. "Piece of cake."

"Howie!" Bernadette exclaimed. "Can't you at least think about this first? About what you're agreeing to? If you get caught, you'll go to jail. You'll lose your job and everything you've worked towards your whole life. And this is to help Sheldon! He's treated you like crap since the day you met."

"Hey now—" Penny said, trying to come to Sheldon's defense. But Sheldon merely shrugged.

"No, she's right," he said. "I don't deserve to ask for a favor this huge. But… it's not for me. It's for Amy," he said quietly. "Plus, I think we can work around it. If Howard tells me how to do it, then I could be the one who actually does the hacking. And as long as all of you agree to never speak of his involvement, I will claim one hundred percent culpability if it ever comes down to it. And it will be believable, because it's my girlfriend who is missing and I'm a genius. If anyone could figure out how to hack, it would be me. It's believable and logical."

"But you can't lie," Leonard pointed out.

Sheldon straightened his spine and looked around at his friends. "Ryan Reynold's Green Lantern movie is the best movie of all time," he said with a completely straight face, no twitch in sight. "Oh, and… Amy and I have had coitus 322 times."

"Wow," Raj breathed out, his eyes wide.

"Impressive!" Howard exclaimed.

"But… How… How did you do that?" Leonard asked in shock.

Sheldon shrugged. "It's not so hard when I have it planned out in advance. It's the surprise factor that often trips me up. Besides, this is serious. I drove on the interstate today, for heaven's sake! All of it… is for Amy. I need to get her back. I have to," he said softly.

"Aww," Raj murmured, his eyes glassy as he pouted his lower lip slightly. "So romantic."

Howard looked at Bernadette with raised eyebrows. "I'm going to help him."

She frowned. "Howie…"

"It's the right thing to do, Bernie. Amy is our friend. Her life is in danger. If something happens to her and I could have prevented it… I'll blame myself for that for the rest of my life," he said softly.

Bernadette's eyes filled with tears. She knew he was right. She knew it was the right thing to do. So she nodded. "Okay." Then she turned to glare at Sheldon. "Promise you'll keep him out of it. Or so help me, I'll rip your ba—"

"I promise," Sheldon said quickly, not particularly wanting to hear the end of her threat. "I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. Ever. It's my idea. It will be my execution."

Bernadette and Sheldon nodded at each other, coming to a silent agreement that had Howard smiling gleefully. "Let's do this!" He exclaimed and rubbed his hands together in excitement. He hopped up off the couch and walked over to Sheldon's laptop, unplugging it from its docking station and bringing it over to his friend.

Then he sat down next to Sheldon and grinned. "Okay, so the first thing you're gonna want to do…"

"We're in!" Howard exclaimed. Everyone cheered.

"Okay, so what I want to do is pull the last six months of records from his account. We will each take a month and I want you to tally up how much Kripke spent on gas and food for your month. Only take out and restaurants, not groceries. At least for now. Would that be okay with everyone? If you're not comfortable, I can do it," Sheldon said.

"I'll do it," Bernadette said first. Everyone else nodded their agreement.

"If asked, I will say it was all me," Sheldon said.

"Works for me!" Penny said.

"Let me print out the last six months. I'm going to take the most recent month," Sheldon said.

Across the room, his printer whirred to life. He printed off statements from each month individually, then walked to the printer and grabbed the papers and some highlighters. He gave everyone two colors of markers and handed them each a month, and they all got to work.

It only took Sheldon a couple of minutes, due to the calculator in his head, along with his eidetic memory. When he finished, he walked up to the empty board and made seven columns. He wrote the month names at the top and on the last column, he wrote "Past Week," at the top. Then he wrote down the information for his month, separating out the sums for the past week. When he turned around, he saw all of his friends using their phones as calculators.

Leonard finished first. He quietly told Sheldon the month he had and what the numbers were for gas and food. Sheldon wrote them down. One by one, each of his friends gave him their information as they finished and Sheldon recorded it on the board. When they were finished, he stepped back and they all studied the board.

"Look at the gas. It's trending up," Leonard pointed out.

"What does that mean?" Penny asked.

"That means he's been prepping for this. He's been planning on abducting Amy for awhile," Sheldon replied, feeling a twist in his gut. "See how each month the gas amount goes up, then spikes even further in the last month?" He pointed at the board and trailed it from left to right over the numbers. "Wherever he took her, he's been going there more and more frequently, probably preparing the location for her arrival. Then look at this last week. If you multiply that number by four to get a whole month, you're looking at a dramatic increase."

"Because he's going there every day," Raj said.

"Yes," Sheldon replied. "Now, look at the food. It stays pretty much constant up until this last week. If you multiple that number by four, it basically doubles. Meaning he's buying food—"

"For two," Penny whispered.

Sheldon nodded at her in approval. "Exactly."

"Well, shit. He really did do this," Howard said in disbelief. "Wait. I want to check something. Hand me your papers."

Everyone passed him their papers and Howard went to Sheldon's desk for a black pen. He sat down there and started going through each paper, from oldest to newest. Sheldon wandered over to him and looked over his shoulder.

A few minutes later, Howard looked up at Sheldon. "See it?"

"Yes."

The two men turned around.

"I had the second most recent month and I thought it seemed strange how much cash Kripke was getting out at various ATM's. It just seemed a bit excessive for this day and age where you can just whip out your debit card to pay for everything," Howard said excitedly.

Sheldon walked up to the board and made a graph. He marked the months at the bottom and the dollar amounts on the side. "Give me the numbers, Howard."

Howard looked down at the papers in his hand, giving Sheldon the numbers for each month. The group watched as the line on the graph trended upwards in a fairly consistent line, each month higher than the last.

"He's using cash to make his purchases," Leonard said. "So they can't be traced."

"Then why didn't he use cash for food?" Penny asked. "That's kind of stupid."

"He's been using his debit card for food all along, so he probably thought it would be less suspicious if he continued that trend," Bernadette offered.

"Or he just didn't think about it at all," Sheldon replied.

"Wow. I can't believe how much you can learn from someone's bank account," Penny said. "I'm glad I'm not a suspect."

Leonard snorted. "Yeah, we wouldn't want people to know how much you spend on clothes and shoes."

Penny slapped his arm lightly. "Hey!"

He just grinned cheekily at her.

Penny turned back to Sheldon. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well..." Sheldon sat down in his spot and studied the board. "I need to figure out a way to get this information to the police without telling them how we obtained it."

"Could you send it anonymously?" Raj asked. "Like, put it in an envelope and drop it off somewhere for them?"

"Maybe," Sheldon replied. "I'm going to have to do some legal research."

He turned to look back at his friends. "So, who's hungry? I'm buying."

End Notes: Scully Boulevard is made up. San Maria Valley is made up - although it could be real. LOL. I just pulled it out of my… head, though. :D