Killian

I looked around. Every corner. Every room. Even all the available restrooms. Still no sign of Emma. I asked a dozen of waiters and guests if they seen her, but none of them knew where or who she is.

Milah was by the bar. I quickly went over to her. "Milah. Have you seen Emma?"

She took a long sip of her drink and shook her head.

"Oh god, Milah I can't find her anywhere."

She placed her glass down and licked her lips. "Killian, I'm sure she's just fine. Relax, order a drink."

"Milah how can I be fine?! It's past midnight for god's sake...Oh where is that woman?..."

"Who would know, Killian? Who would at this right moment would know where your girl is?..."

~ After the party, I spent the entire night talking with the police to find Emma. Milah didn't bother to help and left the party early to get all the rest she needs for tomorrow. I called Marjorie to watch over Henry for the night till morning. The last thing I want is for that poor kid to worry over his mother again.

The policeman scribbled down so far what I know. "Do you have any pictures of her?"

I pulled out my phone and turned it on. The background showed the picture of Henry and Emma and me together back at the seafood restaurant.

He took the phone from my hands. "I'll print this picture out for for my boys back there, before we start searching...So are you sure no one knows if she left the building?"

"I'm not so sure about that. You would have to ask one of my employees. I was with the guests most of the times, so I wasn't really aware of where she was."

The policeman nodded and scribbled something down again on his notepad. "Well, that's all I need, Mr. Jones."

"Please find her. I can't bear the possible thought of her being hurt...or possibly dead."

"We will do our best. Now will you excuse me?" The policeman turned around and joined a group of other policemen to share the information he collected so far.

I felt so miserable but decided to make myself useful by gathering some information also from the employees. Many of my employees were questioned by the police. Many of their answers were either "I don't know" or "I just served the drinks and collected the guests' coats".

I stopped behind the front desk and dialed Jefferson's number on the telephone. No answer. I dialed again for a second time. Still no answer. I dialed again for a third time. There was still no answer. Before I hung up, I left a message.

"This is Jefferson Stan. I'm not here right now. I'll call you back when I get the chance. [beep]"

"Jefferson, this is Killian. Hey, man...I'm really worried like hell right now. Emma is missing and its really driving me nuts. Please call me man if she's with you...I really want her to be with me. So I can be reassured again that she's right beside me, not somewhere else that I don't know of. Please call me Jefferson. Goodbye."

I hung up the telephone.

One of my bartenders was behind a fountain that's close to the front desk, a policeman came up to him and started to question him.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since the beginning of the ball."

The policeman showed the screen of my phone to him. "Do you recognize this woman?"

"Yes."

"How?" He opened his notepad and started to write some things down.

"She ordered two bottles of whiskey without glasses. And she just left."

"Glasses? Was she with someone?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She was with this guy with a silver suit and he wore this golden mask."

Silver suit? Golden mask? Could he be talking about Jefferson?! I went over to the bartender. "Did you say a man with a golden mask and a silver suit?"

He nodded. "Yes sir."

"Do you know where they were heading?"

The policeman cleared his throat. "Mr. Jones, I believe I'll do the questioning."

I ignored him. "Answer my question."

The bartender scratched his head and thought for a moment. "...Well, I'm not very sure. But I knew she looked very upset, I hesitated a little to hand her those two whiskey bottles..But, now I think of it, I think she and the guy with the golden mask were heading up in the roof. Cuz I saw them leave the room to the back door next to the locked storage room, covered behind the drapes. All there is in that room is the bathroom and an emergency door that has a stairway up to the roof."

I nodded. I took my phone from the policeman's hands and slipped it inside my left breast pocket. "Officer, I'm terribly sorry but I think all this is a false alarm...I know where Emma is..Will you excuse me? I have a little hangover party to crash."