• Mary could here the sound of an engine from where she sat, chained to the metal chair. She knew it was him. That he was back. She hoped he was angry this time. She hoped that he would be easier to provoke.
    “Are you still here?” Freddie called, knowing that his boss never left the office before the janitor.
    “I’m just finishing some paperwork.” Freddie redirected his steps to the reception, following the sound of the sheriff’s voice, which led him to the sheriff’s office. The door stood ajar, but Freddie knocked anyway. The sheriff opened the door, startling Freddie. “I was just about to leave. Was there anything you needed?”
    “No,” said Freddie, falling into step behind the sheriff “I was just wondering if you were still here.”
    “Okay. You need a ride?” he asked. He knew Freddie had recently been through a divorce, but not if he had kept his car.
    Freddie realised why the sheriff would think he needed a ride, “No, she didn’t get my car. It’s about the only thing she didn’t get.”
    “Alright. It’s your day off tomorrow, right?” He knew it was, but was hoping his best detective had forgotten.
    “Yeah, I’m visiting my parents. Why?”
    “It’s the Mary Thorner case. We need everyone we can get at the moment. Not that it’s going to make much of a difference. We have no new leads, and unless somebody comes forward with a ransom demand, we have nothing.”
    Mary Thorner had been reported missing eight days ago, when her husband had returned from the grocery store to be greeted by an empty house. He had rang several of her friends first, but when they told him they hadn’t seen her, he panicked, and decided to drive round town looking for her himself, instead of ringing the police there and then. When he did eventually ring, he had already asked everyone he knew for her whereabouts, but not one person had seen her since the couples’ wedding, five days ago. He told the police he realised his mistake, and had been blaming himself for them not being able to find her sooner ever since. Eight days, and every lead the police had had already gone cold. Eight days.