New York, New York

A thought of those ridiculous handmade signs of "Don't text and walk!" carelessly glued on the aisles of his high school popped into his head as people bumped each other on the street, more interested on what their screens were displaying than apologizing to their equally distracted victims.

He held a crumbled piece of paper on his fist with a detailed list of his destinations. The handwriting was Zay's who had stayed late the night before investigating the items in the blonde girl's purse. Lucas had hoped that they could just use whatever DNA or fingerprint was left in the chewed up pencil or the lipgloss to find out who she was and where she lived, but his plan was destroyed when Zay told him that he couldn't perform a DNA test without the Captain's approval and he would need evidence for that, because as of now it just looked like Lucas had stolen that purse. So between the two, they had crafted a list of places that may offer some information on who the girl was and what happened to her.

Lucas pulled the handles of the purse closer to his neck as he checked the traffic to cross the street. It was a good thing that he lived in New York in a very progressive time, there would've been thrice as many stares to a man holding a purse around his shoulder even a decade earlier.

As he approached the place his heart sank at the sight of a woman handing out coupons on the street to anyone that passed by. He looked around in the bag and saw the same piece of paper, 15% off your first class if you present this coupon, Lucas quickly put it away and started walking again determined on not letting this first failure discourage him, he knew that this was the less probable clue. He passed the yoga studio and headed on the next stop.

He was thinking of this list as the savior of the situation, but it was nothing but a paper with three addresses. Only three clues. From all the things in the bag, they had discarded most of the items except for the coupon which honestly was there just because they couldn't loose anything by checking the place out. Who knew that girls carry around so much trash in their purses, certainly not Zay or Lucas. Excepting the DNA on them, the pencil and the lipgloss were useless, just like the granola bar and the miniature hand sanitizer. Inside was a receipt for a double espresso and a bagel, a pair of broken headphones, a key with a little lightning drawn over it. Lucas' face lit up when he found the key as if he had a treasure chest in front of him, but the reality was that it was completely useless unless he knew which door it was supposed to open. She also kept a lighter, sunscreen and some crumbs at the bottom of the purse. But most importantly the next two items had landed them two more locations, the first was an old edition of "Five weeks in a balloon" by Jules Verne which had a stamp of a vintage book store in the city; the other was the most promising clue, it was an address itself written in a piece of paper that was kept between the pages of the book.

Lucas was a little sceptical about the last place because who would keep their own address written on a piece of paper, he had also noticed that she had a pretty bad handwriting which made him smile, it made total sense when he saw it, like he just knew she had written the note herself.

He could see the bookstore immediately after he turned around the corner, they had a few displays with books outside of the store being watched by one of the clerks. Lucas approached him, as he took the book out of the purse.

"Excuse me, hi!" He said. "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Sure, what do you need?" The man replied with a smile.

"I have this book that someone left on the subway and I wanted to return it, it had your stamp on the inside. Well, the store's stamp." He clarified, showing him the sticker.

"Yes, that's ours." He took a good look at Lucas and sighed. "Come inside, we'll check the system."

Lucas's face lit up with hope as he followed Andrew (or at least that's what the tag said). He placed the books he was holding before over the counter and asked for the girl's book, as he typed the number he looked at Lucas with a knowing smile.

"So... who's the girl?" He asked him.

"How did you know?" Lucas asked back, very surprised.

"Well, people in this city don't go to all this trouble to return a book unless it's for sex." He answered, closing the book and pressing enter.

"Uh..." He didn't know what to say. "I don't... know her, well... not really." He scratched the back of his head, the clerk laughed.

"It's okay man, you're doing a good thing. But I'm afraid I can't help you, she must've paid in cash." Lucas took the book back and put it away on the purse very disappointed, he had actually thought that there was a shot here. "I'm sorry, I hope you find her."

"Yeah, me too." He gave him a half smile. "Thanks for the help."

"Sure, no problem. Good luck!"

With that he exited the store to visit one last place. He couldn't describe how sad he felt, like he had disappointed her because he couldn't find her. Zay was right, he could've run after her, he could've easily caught up to her if he hadn't been so stupid. He let out a big sigh just as his phone started to ring, it was Zay.

"Hey man! How's it going? Have you found anything?" Zay bombarded him with a lot of questions. "At what place are you?"

"Relax dude, I haven't found anything useful. I just walked out of the second place, I was on my way to the last address."

"That sucks, but we knew they were all very long shots." His friend said.

"Yeah, I know, I just... hoped. I don't know–" Lucas stopped at the subway entrance. "– that there be something."

"Hey, c'mon, you still have one more place on the list. Who knows, right?" Zay tried to comfort him. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'm good. I'll still see you for lunch." He answered.

"Alright, call me if the place seems sketchy." The call ended as the train arrived, Lucas ran down to catch it, barely getting in before the doors closed.

He wasn't ready to give up if the clue didn't pan out. As he sat in his usual spot, he couldn't stop thinking about this girl, he knew he liked her, which was insane, he didn't know her. He just couldn't let go of the feeling that she was in trouble, there was something so terrifying in her eyes when she ran away, he had to find her.

When he arrived at the building it seemed like a normal apartment complex which made him smile. He buzzed the number 4B and waited.

"Hello?" A woman suddenly asked.

His heart stopped

"Are you here for the visit?" She said he didn't think it was her voice behind the speaker. "Hello?"

"Hi, sorry! Yes, yes I'm here for the visit." He quickly answered, the door was unlocked and he went inside.

"Hi, please come in. I'm Vicky Stanton." Said the middle aged woman who opened the door. "There are some pamphlets in that table and cookies in the kitchen. If you have any questions please let me know." The woman ushered him inside and placed a pamphlet on his hands before she returned to a couple that was standing by a window.

He walked around the empty apartment, checked every room for any signs that his mystery girl used to live here, but there was none. Whoever lived here had moved out completely and left but a few hangers in the closet.

"How do you like the view?" Vicky entered the room, it seemed like her other clients had left them alone. "If you don't like sunsets, 5A is also available so you can catch the sunrise instead."

"Do you know anything about the previous owner?" He asked.

"Of course, the couple that used to live here had the apartment for a few years, they just moved out to Jersey."

Could she be talking about her and her fiance, she didn't seem like the Jersey type.

"Do you know why they left?" He wondered.

"I think they moved in with one of their kids, I'm guessing to take care of them, I couldn't tell you exactly." She smiled. "Do you have any more questions?"

Thank God, he thought.

"Yes, actually. I'm looking for one of your clients, she is small, around my age, blonde hair, blue eyes. I think she may have called you about this place." Lucas asked.

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot reveal any information about my other clients to you." Her expression changed from friendly to preoccupied.

"Please, I think she might be in danger." He begged her, she looked at him and sighed.

"I can't help you, if her life is at stake then I suggest you go to the police." Vicky stated, obviously suspicious about Lucas' behavior.

It is quite difficult to get help from the cops when you don't even know the name of the person you lost. Besides, he had already involved the police when he called Zay.

He was done. No more clues, no more addresses. They had ran out of items that could help. He didn't want to give up on her, but he was feeling very hopeless at the moment. He thanked Vicky for her time and exited the building holding the purse in one hand. He couldn't explain the pain he felt, he had failed her. He called Zay and then ordered an Uber to the place where they were having lunch, he didn't feel like walking. They sat by the window with their $1 pizza as he told his best friend everything that happened that morning.

"I'm sorry man." Zay told him. "What are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know–" He replied, playing with the olives he had left on his dish. "– I guess I'll keep sitting in the same spot in case she comes back."

"You did what you could. And I know that you're thinking that you could've done more." He added as Lucas was opening his mouth to speak, he closed it immediately. "But please try not to torture yourself about it."

He nodded.

They grabbed some ice cream sandwiches on their walk back to Zay's car, he had bought an extra one for his partner Claire who was waiting for him on a bench next to the patrol.

"Hey, you didn't tell me you were having lunch with your boyfriend." She quipped, Zay faked a laugh as he tossed her the ice cream.

"Hey Claire."

"Hi Lucas, it's good to see you." She said. "I love your purse."

Lucas smiled at the comment knowing that she wanted an explanation, but he didn't quite know how to tell her the story of how he had practically stolen a purse.

"Thanks, just got it." He simply told her.

"It's very fancy, not what I would expect from a guy like you." Zay laughed too at her remark. "Is it real?"

They both lifted their eyes to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.

"I was just wondering if it's a fake or not, the real ones are very expensive." She explained. Zay and Lucas looked at each other and back to Claire.

"Could you tell if it's real?" Zay asked, taking the purse from Lucas and giving it to his partner.

"Uh... I mean, I'm no expert." She started.

"But?.." They both said.

She grabbed the bag and inspected both sides.

"Well, these are usually made from one single leather strip. So you can see how the logo is upright in one side and upside down on the other. Like this one." She showed them the purse, she was right. "I'm guessing this is real."

They both screamed in excitement and hugged each other as they celebrated, Claire was startled by the sudden burst of joy.

"There must be a store on 5th." Lucas said, his hands on Zay's shoulders.

"You have to go." He replied.

"I have to go." He nodded, he took the purse from Claire's hands and ran away from them.

"What the fuck just happened?" She asked him with a concerned face.

"I'll tell you later." Zay told her, a smile still on his face.

A new hope washed over Lucas as he made his way to the store. How could they have missed the biggest clue, they had emptied the contents of the purse and put it aside, as it was only the vessel in which she carried her stuff, at least that's how they saw it.

"Excuse me, miss?" He asked the first worker he saw.

"Yes, sir, how can I help you?"

Lucas had already thought of a story to explain how he had definitely not stolen a bag that costs thousands of dollars. He told her that a costumer had left the bag at his restaurant but he had no way of contacting her, so this was kind of his last resort. She looked a little suspicious when his "costumer" hadn't left her wallet inside the purse with the rest of her belongings. He had only counted with a limited time to think of the story, it couldn't have been perfect. And hesitantly, the worker explained how they actually had no way of tracing down the buyer.

"Didn't you find anything among her stuff?" She asked, taking a look inside the bag.

"No." He replied sadly.

"What about the tag pocket?" He lifted his eyes to her, she could tell that he had no idea what she was talking about. "These big purses have a small pocket, a little hidden pouch, to keep a tag just in case something like this happens."

She turned the flashlight from her phone on and showed Lucas a small zipper on the wall of the bag. He was shocked. When he had gotten home that afternoon he emptied the items on his couch, checked that there was nothing else left in there and tossed the purse aside. It had never occurred to him that the bag itself could contain so much information.

He opened the pouch and found a presentation card inside, it was for an art gallery in the city. He had a new clue, he thanked the clerk for her help and stepped out. He had a feeling that he was finally going somewhere.

"She has this big blonde hair, very beautiful, she also has the bluest eyes. She might look very small but she is very dangerous, I've heard her mad on the phone and you wouldn't want to be on the other side of that call." Lucas laughed to himself. "She spends a lot of time surrounded by art, you know, reading, listening to music, drawing. She can sing too."

This time, when Lucas described the girl to the man behind the front desk at the gallery, he didn't look absolutely lost. Instead, he smiled and nodded and Lucas' heart skipped a beat.

"I know exactly who you're talking about." He said.

"You do?" It didn't feel real, to finally find out who was the girl he had been chasing. Of all the things he had done this felt like the biggest invasion of privacy, learning her name from a stranger and not from her.

"She is an artist, we display her pieces here. Are you interested in her work?" He asked, taking a post it and writing something in it.

"Yes, I have something that belongs to her and I just want to return it." He answered.

"Well, her name is Maya Hart." The man placed the note on the counter in front of Lucas. "I don't know her living address, but her art studio is in this building, third floor I believe, you can try your luck there."

Lucas couldn't thank the worker enough for his help. He texted Zay that he might have a lead and that he would call him after he checked it out.

Maya Hart. Beautiful.

His hopes were up. The position of the building revealed that this was the place she was returning from every day, giving the station she got on. Even if she wasn't at the studio, he now had her name and he could ask Zay to run her name and pull up her file. Lucas wasn't asking for a reunion or anything like that, he just wanted to return her stuff and make sure she was okay, that was all that mattered to him. He didn't need to see her on the subway anymore as long as he knew that she would be okay.

He didn't have the number of the apartment, but turned out he wouldn't need it. The door he was standing in front of had sparks coming out of the handle, he knew exactly what to do. He knocked and when there was no response he took the key with the lightning keychain and unlocked it. There was no resistance, no alarm, no sound, nothing.

The studio was empty.