Missing

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A/N:

Chapter 7 (A Child's Father)

Tori made her way to the faculty building on the university that Sinjin was teaching at, and with her was Beck and Victoria. Jade was busy and Beck just got off work, so he volunteered to tag along when Tori mentioned wanting to have somebody there to keep Victoria busy when she talked to Sinjin, on the offhand chance that Sinjin or his girlfriend rejected the idea of his having a daughter.

"We're hoping what, Juliet isn't here?"

"Yes Beck." She opened the door and held it so he and Victoria could enter. "And Juliet is her middle name. Do you remember those Northridge girls way back in high school that owned the karaoke place?" He raised an eyebrow and scratched his chin beard.

"Vaguely."

"Haley Ferguson and Tara Ganz. It's Haley Juliet Ferguson." His jaw dropped and Victoria turned her head up to him. "Those are the girls that tried to ban Cat and Jade from the karaoke place, and I disguised myself so I'd be picked when they made some sort of bet."

"I can't believe Sinjin's dating her." He looked to Victoria with a frown. "Victoria, it would appear the man that may or may not be your father is dating a mean-spirited woman from our past." Victoria yelped and Tori rolled her eyes.

"You're joking, but don't tell her that!" Tori knelt down to eye level and smiled sweetly as she brushed the girl's hair back. "Don't worry sweetheart, Sinjin is a very nice man. All you need to worry about is him, if he is your dad. We don't know for sure if he is your daddy or not, and that's why we are collecting his DNA. Okay? Do you understand?"

Victoria's head rolled to the right and she started to nod. Tori stood up with a heavy sigh and motioned Beck to start walking.

Arriving at Sinjin's office, they found the man sitting at his desk and surrounded by boxes full of books. He was hunched over the paper, his gaze was fixated madly on what he was writing.

Tori crossed her arms and studied him, sliding her eyes along his long curly blonde hair and his thick moustache. He was wearing a brown sports jacket and brown slacks. He appeared far too busy to look up from his desk, and his forehead had two stress lines across his forehead.

She peered down to Victoria. The young girl was gazing at him with wondrous curiosity. Tori felt a sudden wave of guilt and gave the girl a gentle squeeze on her hand, earning an eager look from her. "Victoria, would you be okay waiting with Mr. Oliver in the hallway?" Victoria looked to Beck and hesitated briefly before leaving with him.

Tori walked forward and set the portable DNA kit down on Sinjin's desk. The man raised his head from the paper and furrowed his brow.

"Tori, hello. You didn't call, and I'm a busy trying to grade these essays before the end of the semester."

"You've got time." She flashed her badge and Sinjin leaned back in his chair. "I'm reworking my sister's case. I need a sample of your DNA as well." Sinjin's eyes fell to the portable machine she had and his eyebrows tucked up beneath his curly bangs.

"I will be more than happy to help. Have you found a new lead on Trina's disappearance?"

"I think so." She took a seat and watched as he set the pen down and folded his hands together. He looked into her eyes and the corners of his lips curved up. His shoulders were relaxed and he bore no sign of anxiety. When she looked to his hands, the sight of a gold band around his ring finger made her catch her breath. "I um, I can't go over the case exactly, but I'd like to ask you a few questions. Just to get a sense of what Trina's day was like when she disappeared. I know you two were together that morning, did she seem temperamental at all that day?"

"Not that I can recall." Tori's eyes shot back from the ring on his finger and she crossed her legs. His fingers separated and his mouth fell into a frown. "We talked about our engagement and whether we were truly ready because both of us were still dealing with college."

"Okay. Of course, around the time of her disappearance, you were with your sister?"

"Helping her with a science project, yes." Courtney confirmed this back then, and she'd also inquired of the girl over the phone earlier in the day. So far, Sinjin's story was consistent with his statement years ago.

She always was told by her father, and by those who were a sort of mentor to her, that a person always remembers the truth. A person caught in a lie will change their stories so many times because they cannot remember a lie as well as the truth, but she never once accused Sinjin of any involvement in Trina's disappearance.

"You talked about your engagement? Anything else?"

"Well." He curled his fingers inward and his lips closed together. He looked up to the left, recalling the conversation the two of them had. "I remember she did seem upset about something, but wouldn't say what. She didn't seem all that angry, though."

"What was she asking about?"

"Kids." Tori's heart stopped and her eyes slid to the door. Could Trina have suspected she was pregnant at the time? There was never any evidence found to indicate she would have suspected or known. "I said I wasn't ready for children, and I didn't want any while I was working on a degree." He rubbed his neck and let out a deep exhale. "Probably a mistake on my part, because she just grew silent and left without saying anything. It was the last time I saw her that day…"

"I see. Can I go ahead and get your DNA? I brought this kit from the lab." He nodded and let her collect the sample she needed. It was just a simple swab of his cheek, the results should come by quickly based on what she was looking for. "What are you packing for?"

"An archeological expedition." He looked towards the boxes with a frown and closed his eyes. "I've been hired as the resident professor, we'll be travelling the globe for about five, six years." His lips curved up momentarily and his hand swept through his hair. "You told me I needed to move on, live my life, and I guess I should thank you for that."

Her stomach twisted and she felt a rush of anger and desire to scream that she'd been wrong. As tears came to her eyes, she cleared her throat and pointed to his ring. "What's that, by the way? Will Haley be joining you?"

"She's insisted she comes along, so yes. And this is an engagement ring." Paralysis struck her body like a shot of lightning, her lips parted and she struggled to form a sentence. "Haley wants an Egyptian wedding." His eyebrows moved in and pushed up a wrinkle. "I um, it's really difficult for me, but I've given it some serious thought. I feel like this is what Trina would want for me."

"When do you leave?"

"End of the summer term." This was only a few weeks away, which made things hellish for her. She couldn't bring herself to tell him Trina might be alive, even when she didn't know for sure. Now, she questioned whether or not to tell him he could very well be a father.

Knowing Haley, there wasn't a chance in hell she'd let him have any time with his daughter. Still, she had to think on it. "Is this something you want? The trip?" If he knew he had a daughter, he might not leave, but then Haley would start shit that everybody knew she would. The girl wasn't as bad as Holly had been to Trina growing up, but she was still terrible. "And Haley?"

He curled a finger over his lips and chuckled softly. "She might want the trip more than I do. I'm looking forward to the career move, but she's already started planning every little detail of what we'll do in our free time."

"For the next five years?"

"Crazy. She's crazy."

"Just be careful, Sinjin…" The kit let out a chime, signaling the DNA had been compared. She took a deep breath and set the box in her lap and planted a hand firmly on the top. "I know I told you to move on, but I very well could be wrong. I mean, what would you do-"

A shrill voice stung her ear and made her flinch. "Hello." She turned her head and saw a tall woman entering the room. Her sandy brown hair framed her face and fell over her shoulders, she was thin and had frown lines protruding from her lips. "Who's child is this outside?"

Beck and Victoria poked their heads in and Haley's hand slid away from her hip to point at the two. "This is a university, we do not have time for little brats making noise in the hallways." Tori clenched her teeth and shot up from the chair while Sinjin merely bowed and shook his head.

"Haley, Tori is here on police business."

"I'm sure."

Tori narrowed her eyes and stormed for the woman, growling under her breath as their eyes connected. "I know you did not say those words about that girl."

"I said what I meant. Children are nothing but insolent distractions." Tori clenched her fist, resisting the impulse to strike Haley. Sinjin stood up and narrowed his eyes at the woman, but he didn't get a chance to speak.

Tori spun directly around and motioned towards the woman. "And this is the woman you want to marry now? How could you go from Trina to this?" Haley scoffed and put her hand to her chest, but Tori cut the woman off before she had a chance to shoot off another smart remark. "And don't think for a moment I care if I've offended you in some way. My sister will always have been more of a woman than you."

"So much for professionalism."

"Oh ho, don't even get me started." She laughed and brushed past the woman, storming out of the room. For the moment, she was done with Sinjin. He called out, asking about the results of the DNA scan, but she brushed him off. "Have a good time abroad, Sinjin."

When she stopped in the hallway, she turned around and her heart sank in her despair and sorrow when she saw Sinjin and Victoria looking directly at one another. His eyebrows rose and he asked the child's age, but it was Beck who answered that she was eight years old.

Victoria looked up to her with sad eyes that melted her heart. Haley scoffed again and slammed the office door, causing the young girl to scream and cry. Immediately Tori hugged her and tried to calm her.

"It's okay Victoria, it'll be okay." She whispered softly and ran her fingers through the girl's hair. She began to sing a gentle lullaby, one that she heard Trina sing to her when they were young children. A song she'd been taught by her grandmother, one lullaby sung by Celine Dion.

"My precious one, my cherished one, my weary one it's time to go to sleep." Tears clung to her eyelids as the girl's trembling began to slow. "Just bow your head and give your cares to me. Just close your eyes and fall into the sweetest dream, cause in my loving arms you're safe as you will ever be, so hush my dear and sleep…"

Victoria put her head to Tori's chest and Tori inhaled sharply. "In your dreams, you'll ride on angel's wings. Dance with the stars and touch the face of god, and if you should awake, I'll send you back to sleep. My precious one, my tiny one…" The child ceased her trembling and closed her hands around Tori's shirt.

Behind her, Beck picked up the DNA kit. She looked to him with slight disapproval. "Beck, you shouldn't mess with that. You're a security guard, not a homicide detective."

"Yeah, but you weren't checking for a murder."

She closed her eyes and felt the girl's arms wrap tightly around her. "I know, and I know what the results are going to say." She had a feeling they were positive, and now she was lost as to what to do. "There's no way that woman in there would ever let him-and if Trina's still alive…if we can find her…that woman will be too much."

Beck opened the box and stared at the results from the analysis. His hands began to shake and frown lines embedded in his cheeks. "I-I couldn't help but to overhear, he said he was going away for several years."

"That's right." She stood up and let Victoria's hand close around hers. "Right now, I have no idea what to tell him." Tori grabbed the kit from him and looked towards Victoria with a smile, watching as the girl wiped her eyes. "That woman has no right to talk about this sweet angel, Trina's baby girl."

"No she doesn't."

"Let's go. I have more work to do." She ran her hand through Victoria's hair. "You did nothing wrong little one. I'm sorry you had to see that. Aunt Tori's here for you." Victoria leaned her head against Tori's leg and closed her eyes. The child's body relaxed and she smiled softly. "We're going to find your momma, don't you worry."

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