November 24th

Nicki was again dressed in black. Since Jamie had died, she liked to keep to the dark, low-key colors, which helped not to be noticed by teachers or people in general. They all wanted to know how she was doing, how she felt. Didn't they get it? Her life was crappy enough without their constant reminders that everything had taken a turn for the worst. Sometimes Nicki went outside but returned before she reached school, making sure that her mum didn't notice that she was skipping classes. Today, she'd made it through the lessons, though. It hadn't even been too bad, people had kept their distance and the walk home had had a calming effect on her nerves. When she reached Reagan Manor, like she called it, she was even humming quietly.

She sang, grabbing a letter from the porch and opening it on her way in. It was addressed to the whole Reagan family, who she was a part of, so hopefully the adults wouldn't mind. Probably just insurance stuff anyways. Her fingers touched a single, hard sheet of paper, glossy on one side.

"What is...?", she murmured, a bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. Why would somebody send a photo? Advertisement? Carefully, she plucked the content from the envelope and looked at the picture. Then she screamed from the top of her lungs. Nicki didn't let go of the sheet, although she wished she'd never seen what was on it. She couldn't stop screaming.

Suddenly Danny was beside her, pulling her into his arms and gently taking the photograph from her. His eyes widened when he held the picture up behind her back, his grip around her tightening.

"Where did you get that?"

"I - It was lying in front of the door", Nicki stammered, tears in her eyes. "Was that, is that a picture of Uncle Jamie? I mean, b-before he died?"

"I don't know. Could have been photo-shopped", Danny answered truthfully while he placed his niece on the couch. Then he called Frank, Henry, Linda and Erin downstairs. They had to see this, no matter how painful the picture might be. Danny examined it again, bothered by one fact: although the car was a wreck and Jamie was clearly hurt, his body was not burned yet. Did that mean there was a witness? Somebody who'd seen the accident but had for some reason not tried to help?

"Has to be a forgery", Henry said, following the same line of thought his grandson had. They both paused, though, when Frank turned the photo around.

"Do you still wonder what would have been if? Whether you could have saved him? Does it still hurt?", Linda read aloud, shaking hands crossed in front of her chest. Danny looked proud that her voiced didn't waver even though Nicki knew Linda's self-control was fragile at best. Danny had told her in confidence that he often woke up to his wife stroking his hair and whispering that he should never leave her side again. All because Jamie had passed away. All because Jamie... Nicki pulled out a Kleenex and wiped her eyes, determined not to cry and interrupt anything.

"Is that a fingerprint down there?", she asked instead, pointing at a smudge directly beneath the writing.

"Yeah, looks like blood", Danny stated.

"Blood?"

"Yes, Nicki."

"Maybe it's from the man that took the photo?"

"Or it's Jamie's", Frank suggested morosely. The implications of that idea weighted down on the family, making them even more depressed and angry. Nicki didn't understand what they others were thinking, but she had a different idea.

"What if...", she slowly said, capturing all the attention in the room, probably because nobody had heard her speak so much in a while. Or they are not used to me participating in the important discussions, she thought and allowed herself the tiniest of smiles. "What if that blood is indeed from Uncle Jamie? They wouldn't put it there without a reason, right? What if..." She could hardly say it, so impossible was it, "What if Jamie is not dead but kidnapped?" Silence. Heads being shaken. Sympathy.

"Nicki..."

"No, it makes sense, actually", Danny interrupted before her mother could crush her dreams. Nicki looked up, surprised. It had been too much to hope, but if her Uncle believed it, maybe there was a hint of a possibility.

"Her reasoning is faultless. The picture, the writing, the blood... come on, Dad, Grandpa, what would we think if it were any other case?"

"I checked the report three times, I even talked to the coroner. Sorry, kiddo, but your brother is gone", Henry replied darkly, but Nicki and Danny weren't convinced. After a moment of consideration, Frank joined in.

"Somewhere along the chain of evidence the dental records must have been tampered with. It's highly unlikely, but not entirely impossible. The real question is what we do with this information."

"What info?", a high voice asked. A small head appeared in the door, gawking. Nicki put down the picture, but it was already too late, the damage was done. Jack's eyes widened in surprise, then a shout escaped his lips.

"Uncle Jamie!"

"Jack, it wasn't, it was just a picture", Linda tried, making a step towards her son, who evaded her arms with the effortless grace of years of practice.

"He's dead, and someone took a picture of it? He..." Jack was getting all green, his little hands pressed to his mouth. Suddenly, he made a run for the door and vanished onto the street. Linda started to follow, but Nicki held her back.

"It's my mess, I'll clean it up. I'll find him", she said, leaving the house and scanning the street. Strangely enough, her cousin was nowhere to be seen. Nicki groaned inwardly, hopping down the stairs and calling Jack's name. No answer. He wasn't hiding in the garage either, or anywhere behind the parked cars. How would Linda take it if she had to tell her that Jack had disappeared after all that had happened to Jamie?

"Worst timing ever", she muttered, aimlessly walking down the road. Maybe he'd gone to visit his friend a few blocks down? Just when she had decided to check, Sean's voice broke through her thoughts.

"He's not at Tim's. He's in his castle."

"His what?"

"The castle. It's in Mrs. Marple's spruce."

"Thanks, Sean, I owe you", Nicki said and smiled at the youngest Reagan, who nodded in return. Then she walked over to the neighbor and crouched down next to the tree. Sean was right, she could see two feet dangling out of a platform between the branches.

"Jack? May I come up?" Jack whispered something, which Nicki took as an invitation. She climbed up about two meters, until her head was the same height as her cousin's.

"Linda is right, you know? It was just a picture. A bad, terrible joke from someone at your Dad's work", she explained soft-spokenly. Lying didn't come easy to her, but telling a ten-year-old about her theory and then disappointing his hopes again would have been far crueler.

"I..."

"Sorry, what did you say?", Nicki asked, reaching out to carefully pat his back. Jack slid over to her side, relaxing in her embrace. His glasses were dirty, as were his hands and feet. He wasn't even wearing shoes, Nicki noticed.

"Yesterday I dreamed that Jamie was still alive. That he was sending me a message with the Morse-code he taught me", Jack told her earnestly, "the light was blinking S-O-S a lot, but I didn't get the rest, it was just too fast."

"Oh, Jack." She didn't know what to answer, but as it turned out, she didn't need to say anything. After a minute of awkward silence, Jack shrugged in a way that reminded his cousin a lot of Danny. Focusing on the important matters.

"We better get back before Mum goes crazy", he said, grabbed a think branch and swung himself to the ground, grunting when his socks landed on the damp ground. Nicki smiled.

"Next time you return to your castle, Sire, please bring shoes or your Mum really will go crazy."

"Sure." Without another word, they interlaced their fingers and returned to the house. Jack went upstairs, not protesting at all while Nicki sat down on the couch again. They had obviously examined the photograph in the meantime, because now it was carelessly placed on the table, whereas the envelope was cut open. It revealed another content, a small black USB-drive that had been stuck in a corner. Somehow Nicki did not want to know what was on it.

"He send that too?", she inquired, just to be certain. Henry nodded. Danny opened his laptop and without further delay, plucked in the drive. It rattled and a loading bar appeared, slightly old fashioned in its coloring.

"Looks like there is some sort of program in the auto-start", Nicki offered. The monitor turned black - a virus? - but then a line of words ran through the field of view.

"Wanna find out what really happened to your beloved Jamison? Assemble the family and press Enter", Frank read, shooting an almost nervous glance at the other Reagans. He didn't like the turns this day had taken, but if there was any chance the road might lead to his son, he would have to risk it.

"Ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be", Linda answered, inching closer to Danny, who kissed her on the top of her head. The whole family seemed to take in a deep breath, then Frank pushed the button.