Author's Note: So since I stopped getting any reviews, I haven't felt very driven to write this, but I know Di still looks forward to this, so at least I'll keep writing for her, but then I might stop again.

Chapter 20: Lost and Found

Peter sat in the backseat of a car Piper and Willow had used before Micky and the others disappeared. William had told them not to use it unless they had to, and since they were headed to Arizona, they needed transport. None of them really said much the entire trip. They were all too worried about William. Piper drove them through the desert across the border into Arizona with Willow giving directions off a map. Her father had told her where he was going and she'd circled it on the map. It took nearly 6 hours, but they finally pulled off the main road. Another half an hour later, Willow instructed them to turn onto a dirt side road. They went a short distance up a hill and stopped when they noticed flashing lights at the bottom. There were at least half a dozen police cars parked at the bottom of the hill. Peter's heart sank.

"Oh God," Willow breathed.

"We have no idea what this is," Piper said opening the door and unbuckling. "It could be completely unrelated." The four of them got out of the vehicle and walked partway down the hill for a closer look. Along with the cop cars, there was a coroner's van and a crime scene unit. Peter's heart sank further.

"Oh God," Willow repeated.

"Just wait here," Piper said moving a little further down and ducking behind a rock outcrop. Peter wanted to go with her, but decided to listen to her. He watched as she sat behind the outcrop for a few minutes looking at the scene playing out in front of them. They were far enough away that if Peter, Davy and Willow stood still they wouldn't be seen by the officers below. Most of them were surrounding a hole in the ground, but Peter couldn't see what was in it. Finally, Piper moved away from the rock outcrop carefully and slowly, slipping through the shadows. She made her way to the coroner's van without being seen; everyone was too preoccupied with the hole in the ground. When she reached the back of the van, she leaned inside it. Peter couldn't tell what she was doing, but she quickly turned around and made her way back up to them.

"Let's go," she said when she got to them.

"What's going on?" Willow asked.

"They found a body buried in the dirt," Piper answered. "They're working to remove it and take it back to the morgue."

"A body?" Willow asked. "Did you see-"

"No," Piper answered before Willow could even get out the question. "I didn't see anything, but you and I both know the Templars don't bury Assassin's. They leave them out in the open for other Assassin's to find as a message. The chances of this being your dad are slim."

"So are we going to come back when the cops are gone and look for William?" Davy asked.

"No," Piper said. "He wouldn't be here with it crawling with cops like this. I happen to know the coroner though. We went to med school together. He's one of us. I left him a note to meet us at the motel we passed on the way in. We should get some rest tonight anyway."

"But-" Willow protested.

"There's nothing we can do here," Piper said. "He's not here and the chances of it being him in that hole are slim to none. Robert would leave him for us to find to send a message. Even if by some chance it is him, we can't get close enough without exposing ourselves and that puts us right in the line of fire. My friend can tell us exactly what happened when we meet with him."

"She's right," Davy said laying a hand on Willow's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Peter didn't know if it worked or not, but Willow did finally agree with Piper.

"Fine," Willow said and walked off toward the car.

"How will he know what room to meet us in?" Peter asked as the rest of them walked back toward the car, still careful not to be seen by the police in the distance.

"When I check us in, I'm gonna leave a spare key at the front desk for him," Piper answered. "I'll be the only one going into the office so they will think I'm alone in the room and meeting him. I can use a fake ID leaving no paper trail behind." Silence once again filled the car on the way back towards the town they'd driven through to get here. Piper pulled into a motel off the road and parked in the shadows. She told them to wait while she went inside. Moments later she re-emerged and walked towards a hotel room. Willow, Peter and Davy followed her, taking care not to be seen by the manager. Once inside the hotel room, they took turns taking showers. They didn't have any neighbors so they didn't have to worry about the noise of the water attracting attention to four people instead of one being in the room. Piper ran to a nearby store and picked up food for each of them to eat when they'd changed. Three hours after they arrived at the motel, a knock sounded on the door. Peter stiffened thinking maybe they'd been found out, but then a keycard was inserted in the door. Peter figured this must have been the coroner Piper mentioned, but wasn't too sure. When a tall black man walked in, Piper walked over and hugged him.

"Daryl," Piper said. "I've missed you."

"You too," Daryl answered.

"You made coroner?" Piper asked.

"Sorta," Daryl answered. "My internship. You?"

"I put it off for a bit," Piper said. "I've been on a mission."

"Is that why you were in the desert today?" Daryl asked.

"Not really," Piper said. "Sort of. Well, a different mission. Plans kinda changed last minute. I am in trouble and I need your help. What can you tell us about that body you found?"

"Bodies," Daryl corrected. "There were three of them."

"Three?" Willow asked.

"What do you need to know?" Daryl asked.

"Her father is missing and he was supposed to be there the other day," Piper said.

"Then none of the bodies belong to him," Daryl said. "Judging by the rate of decomposition, they have been buried at least 2 months."

"Thank God," Willow breathed heavily sitting down on the bed as if a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Then where is he?" Davy asked. "We didn't see any sign of him."

"Who's your father?" Daryl asked.

"His name is William Beckett," Willow said. "He's one of us. He came out here looking for some friends of ours."

"What if he found those bodies?" Davy said.

"It's possible," Daryl said. "The call was made anonymously. These bodies were buried. They only do that if they don't want anyone to know something; if they have something to hide."

"Exactly," Piper said. "So if he found those bodies, maybe Robert sent someone after him."

"Meaning we need to find William fast," Peter said.

"I still think he'd have said something to me," Willow said suddenly getting all the weight back she'd just shed.

"Have any Assassin's turned up dead in the last few days?" Piper asked.

"Not Assassin's," Daryl said. "But there have been a couple unidentified bodies."

"Unidentified?" Willow asked.

"We get several of them out here and in the city," Daryl said. "Hikers who get lost or homeless, drug addicts, you name it. Some get identified in a matter of days, some never do."

"And you have some right now?" Piper asked.

"A couple," Daryl answered.

"Wait, do we really think William is dead?" Davy asked.

"We don't know what we think," Piper answered. "But we have to check. We have to be sure."

"So what, we just take a trip down to the morgue and look at the dead bodies?" Davy asked.

"Do you have a picture of your father?" Daryl asked Willow.

"No," Willow said. "I-I didn't bring any. I didn't expect to have to go into hiding."

"Hiding?" Daryl asked.

"We were protecting our friends and were forced to go into hiding for a while," Piper explained. "Only that didn't work. He found them anyway. Now we have to find them. That's what William was trying to do."

"We haven't really had any activity in the area," Daryl said. "Not from them. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Piper asked.

"Well a couple months ago we got reports that there was some illegal digging taking place right where we found the bodies," Daryl said. "But I don't know why they'd bury someone there. Officer investigated the reports, but found nothing."

"I don't think they were digging there to bury something," Piper said. "They were searching for something buried out here. We know they found it."

"Ginny said that anyone who touches it dies," Peter said. "Maybe those three bodies were people who found it and touched it."

"Probably," Piper agreed.

"Huh?" Daryl asked.

"It's not important," Piper said. "Can I come see the bodies?"

"I can arrange that," Daryl said. "There's actually one in particular that might match him. Doesn't look like the normal John Doe's we get. And his prints didn't pop anything. He's about the right age, too."

"Ok, you guys stay here," Piper said solemnly.

"I'm going," Willow said.

"Willow, I-" Piper started but Willow cut her off.

"He's my father," Willow said. "I can handle this. We've been prepared to accept loss our entire lives. He deserves to have me be the one to identify him."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked with concern.

"Yes," Willow answered.

"We shouldn't split up," Piper said then turned to Daryl. "We'll follow you."

"Ok," Daryl said before turning. He glanced quickly at Willow with a small look of pity before walking outside. Piper and the others followed. The four of them got into their car and Daryl walked to his. They followed him about 20 miles into the heart of the city of Phoenix. By now everything was dark, but the city lights were bright. Peter wasn't really sure he wanted to go to the city morgue, but he knew they had to do this and they couldn't split up. When they pulled into a parking spot next to Daryl, Peter wasn't even sure he wanted to leave. He looked at Piper and Willow, however, and saw the pain on their faces. He knew they were each trying to stay strong, but they couldn't hide the fleeting moments of weakness. He wished they didn't think they had to be strong around them, but didn't really know what to say. Instead, he mustered up the courage to stick with them. He'd see this through in the hopes that he could somehow give them the strength they thought they needed. The four of them followed Daryl inside and stopped in the lobby.

"I can get you guys in to see the body, but we have to be quick," Daryl said. "No one's here this late except night staff, but I know how to work around them."

"Right," Piper said then looked at Peter and Davy. "You guys wait here."

"No, I'm going with," Davy said gripping Willow's hand in his supportively.

"Me too," Peter said. "We're in this together."

"Have you two ever even seen a dead body?" Piper asked.

"No, but we'll be ok," Peter said. "We want to support you two."

"They haven't seen a dead body?" Daryl asked.

"They aren't Assassin's," Piper explained. "They're best friends of my cousin. He's one of the friends of ours who were taken. They've been kinda thrown into this against their will. But they've chosen so far to see this through. To save their friends. They're trustworthy."

"Fair enough," Daryl said.

"How bad is the body?" Piper asked.

"It's in pretty good condition," Daryl answered. "I think they should be ok."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked Peter and Davy again.

"Yes," Davy answered. Daryl nodded and led the four of them to a back room. It was cold and two of the walls were lined with dozens of little steel doors. Daryl walked over to one and gripped the handle before looking at each of them.

"Last chance to back out," Daryl said. "You two don't have to be in here for this."

"I think I actually need to," Peter said. "I know you've told me stories about the things they've done and I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I haven't seen it for myself. I know they took Micky and the others and that's bad enough for me to want them to pay for it, but I think I need to see this."

"Open it," Davy said firmly.

"Are you ready?" Daryl asked Willow.

"Open it," Willow echoed. Davy still had a good grip on Willow's hand, offering his support. Daryl hesitated a moment and nodded before pulling open the little door. He reached inside and pulled out the drawer a little way. On a steel slab was a body with a sheet draped over it. Daryl carefully pulled the sheet back just far enough to reveal the man's face. Peter's heart sank and Willow gasped. It was her father. Before anyone could say anything, Willow turned and ran out of the room. Davy took off after her.

"I guess that means this is him?" Daryl said solemnly.

"Yes," Piper said. She looked sad, but was trying to keep her composure.

"How did he die?" Peter said staring down at the body. He looked like he was sleeping. Paler than usual but just sleeping.

"He was shot in the chest," Daryl answered. "Clean shot, through and through. It was fast. Right through the heart."

"Business," Piper said. "Didn't waste any time. So he must have found something they didn't want him to."

"Like those bodies?" Peter asked.

"Maybe," Piper said. "Where did you find his body?"

"In a motel in town," Daryl answered. "A maid went in to clean the room and found his body."

"Do you have his personal effects?" Piper asked.

"We have what was on his body, but the police would have gathered other items from his hotel," Daryl answered.

"Can I see what you have?" Piper asked.

"You can see it, but it's part of evidence in a homicide so I can't let you take it," Daryl said.

"That's fine," Piper said. "I'm just looking for a lead as to what he may have found that they didn't want anyone else to know about."

"I'll check the police file and see what else was taken into evidence," Daryl said walking over to a small filing cabinet and opening the drawer. "In the meantime, this is what was on his person."

"Thank you," Piper said taking a plastic bag from Daryl that he'd pulled out of the drawer. Peter stared at the body on the slab. He couldn't understand how he'd just spoken to this man a few weeks ago and now he was dead. No one would ever speak to him again.

"Should we go after Willow?" Peter asked when Daryl left the room.

"She needs to be alone," Piper said dumping the contents of the bag onto an examining table. "She'll be ok. Davy's with her, too. We need to focus on the task. It's possible he found a lead on where Micky is and if he did, we have to find it too. I'm not about to let him have died in vain."

"Right," Peter said. Piper sifted through the items on the table: William's wallet, some money, a wedding band, a few business cards and a slip of paper. Peter picked up the paper and looked at it while Piper looked through the business cards. There was a phone number written on it that Peter didn't recognize.

"What is it?" Piper asked.

"A phone number," Peter answered.

"Copy it down; we can call it later," Piper said. Peter grabbed a piece of paper off a nearby desk and copied the phone number.

"Anything in those cards?" Peter asked.

"Nothing jumping out, but we can make a list of them and investigate each one," Piper answered reaching out for the pen and paper Peter had just used. She wrote down several things on the paper and finished just as Daryl walked back in.

"They didn't really find anything other than a gun and a few knives," Daryl said. "They think maybe it was a turf war thing. Knowing the Templars, it'll probably stay that way. Unsolved gang hit or something. They won't put too much effort into solving it."

"So can we take that?" Peter asked pointing to the wedding ring on the table. "I know you said we can't take anything, but I think Willow deserves to have it."

"Things get lost in evidence all the time, right?" Piper asked.

"Not all the time," Daryl said.

"They do when Templars are involved," Piper said.

"True," Daryl said. "Fine. Take it. If it'll help her deal with this, then take it. I can't be tied to it. I won't get in trouble for it. A wedding ring isn't that important to solving a homicide anyway."

"Thanks, Daryl," Piper said.

"Is there anything else I can do?" Daryl asked.

"Do you know any of these people?" Piper asked handing him the business cards. "Any Templars or fellow Assassin's?"

"No," Daryl answered after flipping through them for a moment. "But I can check around. You gonna be at the hotel for awhile yet?"

"I think so," Piper answered.

"I'll check in when I can," Daryl said. "In the meantime, you should get some sleep."

"Thanks again," Piper said giving Daryl a hug.