I felt my heart pounding in my throat as I ran throughout Methuen Park looking for Zara. I had trusted her to stay in the park until I fucking came back for her, and now Jayson and I were stuck looking around town for her. I mean, she was a capable woman. But daddy wouldn't know that, would he? No. She probably just didn't want to be home. Though, I didn't fully understand that logic, because everyone in Methuen wanted to be at the Desrosiers Estate. Everyone, that is, except for one of the Desrosiers daughters. I loved my little sister about as much as I loved breathing. I did. Really. But she had the street capability of Paris Hilton. She was smart, don't get me wrong, but when it came to associating with people, she got lost. She was in this fantasy world where…she was convinced that vampires and werewolves, ghosts and spirits existed. It was insane. So, we'd lost three or four maids over the past year, that could be coincidence. Right? That didn't mean that there was a curse on the estate.

I sighed and walked up to Jayson. "I'm sorry, baby. I know you don't want to spend your Friday looking for my little sister. But daddy is freaking out and he really wants her home…I promise, I'll make it up to you…" I told my fiancé, noticing the evident annoyance on his face. It wasn't my fault that Zara had run off. But, the annoyance was directed toward me, as ever. Sometimes I wondered why I was with the man, but he worked in the law firm representing daddy, and he wouldn't have me with anyone else, so long as he was breathing. No way. And if I wanted my inheritance, I had to stay with Jayson Prescott.

Jayson shifted from foot to foot like an impatient five year old. It was annoying how immature he was. How could an idiot like that have graduated law school? Really? "Do we really care whether Zara makes it home or not? Really? I mean, she is a big girl…" he scoffed. He and Zara always had shouting matches. Zara thought she was protecting me, but no. It caused stupid, unnecessary arguments between Jay and I, and they really, really weren't worth it. Though seeing him be talked down to by a twenty-two-year-old was always fun.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Yes. I'd like to know where my sister is, Jay, baby. So, can we get moving before she's the top story on the six o'clock news?" I asked him, taking a few steps backward, away from him, hoping he'd follow. I swear by God, sometimes I felt like I was in a Disney Princess movie, when it came to Zara. She always ran off at the most inconvenient times, and came home with some crazy adventure to tell us about. Well, tell me about, because daddy wouldn't hear it. Some of the things she came up with were pretty good, though. I could see her as being a fantasy writer.

Jayson wasn't moving though. "Can I just go home, Lainey? Please? I don't wanna stay here. It's hot out and I'm really tired…I'd really like to--"

I huffed out an annoyed sigh. "FINE! Fine. Fucking go. I'll find a way home, okay? Go relax and I'll look for my fucking sister. Just leave…" I commanded, and watched as he…actually did. What an asshole. I turned around and stomped off. "Zara?!" I shouted through the park. "ZARA PRISCILLA DESROSIERS, WHERE IN THE HELL ARE YOU?" I looked around, then turned around and walked backward a few steps. "IF THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR GAMES I SWEAR TO GOD I AM GOING TO FLIP OUT, Z!" I was about to turn around, when I felt a harsh bump against my back, and would up in the grass. "Seriously, can you fucking watch where you're going?" I asked as I rolled over onto my back and looked up at the person…the man who knocked me over.

He looked at me and chuckled a little. As if this was amusing. "Sorry. I just…heard you calling to someone and thought I'd try to help. Rick Astley. Private Investigator…" he told me, offering a hand to help me from the floor.

I raised an eyebrow and took his hand, catapulting off the ground. "Rick Astley? As in, like, the eighties singer? Hi. Elaine Desrosiers. Call me Laine…" I half-smiled. Though I was still slightly amused by the name, I needed the help, since Jay had just left my high and dry, and daddy refused to lend a hand. He called it teaching Zara a lesson. I called it idiocy. I looked at Detective Astley and smiled. "Yeah, actually, I could use the help. My little sister. Well, not little; she's twenty-two. She's gone missing. She…looks like me, except her hair is longer and she is shorter. She's younger, too. Zara Desrosiers…"

He thought for a second and shrugged his shoulders. "When and where did you see her last?" he asked with a concerned look on his face. And in that second, I was eternally grateful that I had…bumped into him. "And what was she wearing…" he pulled a small notebook from his back pocket and scribbled something down.

I looked toward the dance club across the street. "I went into Nitro, and she didn't want to come, but we agreed to meet up outside of the club at one a.m.," I remembered the scenario. "She said she was going to hang around in the park. She was wearing a pink, spaghetti strapped shirt and a denim jacket with light blue jeans. And high heels. I waited outside the club at one and she wasn't there. I waited until three…" I sighed. "She does this a lot, Detective Astley. She thinks that things like zombies and vampires and werewolves exist. And she makes up these stories…" I shook my head. "She's not crazy. Really. She's a really sweet person and she's…I'm just worried."

He shook his head and his hazel-green eyes showed a deep, compassionate look. "It's okay, Laine. And call me De--Rick. If she thinks that these things exist…and she comes up with stories about them, maybe a wise place to start looking would be the woods? It was a fool moon last night and werewolves do come out on full moons…" he paused. "…or so they say."

De--Rick? De…was Rick his real name? I raised an eyebrow and ran a hand through my hair. I was about to ask, when he interjected with his, very good, point. "I'd like to come with you, if I could. But…if I could get a ride to my place to change out of this…club getup, I'd be grateful for that, too. I'll pay you handsomely…" I pleaded with my eyes. That was a good thing that came along with the Desrosiers charm. The ability to talk almost anyone into almost anything.

Rick nodded and brushed a hand over his hair. He looked like something was worrying him, too. Was he that worried about Zara? Because really, someone that passionate about their job deserved a promotion. He looked at me and smiled. "No extra charge. I want to help you find your sister, okay? Just…don't go spreading it around town."

I nodded my head and smiled sweetly at him. Well there. A PI who wasn't an absolute sleaze. Maybe I'd have to hire him once again, if the need ever arose. "I won't…" I laughed a little and followed him to his car. A nice, black Chevy Impala. Too bad I was already engaged, because if I pulled up in that car, daddy might just change his mind about Jay. PI's made decent money, right? That was daddy's stipulation. Me? I didn't care. Heart and brain were what got me. And apparently, this guy had them both. Go figure. I got into the passenger's seat of the Impala and looked over at him as he got into the driver's seat. "Nice ride. Costly, too…"

He looked at me with a proud grin on his face. "Thanks. It was a gift from my dad, actually. You know…the fatherly rite of passage car thing…" he ran his hand over the dashboard, then put the key into the ignition. "I like to think I maintain it quite well…" he turned the key over.

I shrugged my shoulders and listened carefully to the car as it started. "Sounds like a bit of carburetor trouble to me, though. I mean…hear that noise?" I asked, as both Rick and I went silent. "That's the carburetor, all right. It'd suck if that blew on you…" I shrugged my shoulders and laughed lightly. "None of my business, but…you know."

He looked slightly annoyed, but like he was trying to hide it. Most guys didn't like to be corrected, or told what was what by women when it came to cars, anyway. It was completely understandable, though, because I wouldn't want Rick to tell me that my clothes didn't exactly compliment my eyes as much as I wanted them to. "I'll look into that," he simply said.

Well, at least he wasn't a male chauvinist about it. You may be asking why I knew about cars. Well, I used to have an old beat up Jaguar, and I worked with a mechanic, my boyfriend at the time, to fix it. I learned all the noises that cars should and shouldn't make, and how to fix them when they started making said noises. "Sooner than later, probably. It sounds kind of serious. I'm just saying…trying to save you money in the future."

He nodded his head and half-smiled, and turned the radio on. No sooner had the dial turned, than I wanted to hit myself in the head with a lead pipe. Seventies and eighties rock. Nothing modern. The whole way to my house, we listened to Skynard, Zepplin and Motorhead. And I wanted to punch the window out of the gorgeous car. But I didn't. Instead, I practically jumped out when we stopped. "You're welcome to come in for a quick lunch if you'd like. We're gonna have kind of a busy afternoon, you know?"

He smiled and got out of the car, shutting the door behind him. "I think I might. Thank you, Laine…" he said as he followed me into the house, and as soon as I opened the door, we were face-to-face with my father, and…Zara was standing over his shoulder? With a guy who looked like he'd just faced the wrath of Kahn. Yeah, that was my father's wrath, all right. "When did you get home?!" I asked Zara.

The guy with her stood up when he saw Rick. "Dean? Dude I'm so glad to--"

I whirled around. "Dean? But…" I raised an eyebrow and looked at Rick. "No…" I narrowed my eyes. "Rick fucking Astley my ass. I can't believe I fell for that shit!" I brushed past daddy and into the house, storming up the stairs and looking down, just in time to see daddy push the kid Zara was with out the door. Zara seemed torn up about it, but really.

I heard her crying out for him not to do it, and then I heard her shout, "If he has to go, I'm fucking leaving too!"

Shock befell my face as I walked back down a couple of steps, and heard daddy say, "Fine then. I'm sick and tired of your antics, anyway, Zara Priscilla. Get out of this house, do you understand? Wait outside. I'll have Elaine get your things," he shouted in his gruff voice. I'd heard him threaten things like that before. But…this time, both he and Zara sounded serious. And it became all the more real when he came to the stairs and looked up at me. "Elaine, go get some of Zara's things, please. As many as you can put into a small duffel…" I opened my mouth to object, but he glared up at me. "I have had enough of my name being tarnished by my 'I see ghosts' daughter. Now, do it, or suffer the same fate, Elaine Ophelia."

I turned around and walked toward Zara's room. Zara…had done some stupid things in her lifetime. Really stupid. But this…had to be the worst. I took a small duffel from her closet and started putting clothes into it, then a couple of pairs of flats, some hair ties, a toothbrush, and a giant wad of money from her jewelry box, since I knew daddy wouldn't. I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from her desk and scribbled her a quick note, to let her know that I was thinking of ways to get her out of this, then started toward the stairs. I…needed to get her out of this, but…daddy wasn't going to budge. He was just too stubborn. Yes, Zara had really done it this time…