'I'll be patrolling the area. If either of you think of anything else, please call me.' The Deputy handed them both a card, tipped his hat, and left.

'Fuck, I need a drink,' Laura announced, making her way back to the kitchen.

'I'll take a glass if you're offering,' Jess said.

'Not like you to self medicate.'

'These aren't exactly normal circumstances.'

Laura poured two glasses and handed one to Jess. 'What do you think happened to her? Charity doesn't seem the type to just pick up and leave.'

'No. And you heard what the Deputy said, all her clothes are still here, and her suitcase. If she left, wouldn't she take her stuff with her?'

'I know I would,' Laura admitted.

'Do you think someone took her?' whispered Jess.

Laura tapped at her glass. 'But why would they? Her parents aren't wealthy. It doesn't make sense.'

'When do kidnappings ever make sense?'

'But it's Charity. I mean, I just can't see her being kidnapped.'

'The cops don't seem to know what to think,' Jess said.

'Christ, I don't.' Laura let out a shaky laugh.

'You didn't tell me she was going to the party?'

'I just forgot. With you getting arrested, it slipped my mind.' Laura looked away, running her finger over the rim of her glass.

'But she hates parties? She must have had a reason to go. Did she say why? Maybe she was meeting someone?'

'She wouldn't say,' mumbled Laura.

'Well, did she say anything?'

'Jess, I don't know,' Laura exploded.

Jess grimaced. 'Sorry Lau, I didn't mean to interrogate you. I know you told the Deputy everything. I just want to understand.'

Laura picked up the bottle and topped them up, spilling a little with her shaking hands. 'She seemed eager to go. Almost smug. Like I told the Deputy. But you're sure you didn't see her?'

Jess took a big swig of her drink and pressed a hand to a temple. She could practically feel a headache forming and the heavy liquor wouldn't help, but still she took another sip.

'I swear I didn't. But why would she want to go to the party?' pondered Jess.

'I don't know. I thought it was weird, but I had an essay due. I didn't take that much notice,' Laura said in a small voice.

Jess patted her on the back. 'Don't. We'll find her.'

'I feel guilty. I should have been paying more attention.'

'You had stuff going on. We all have stuff going on. We can't be responsible for everyone else's movements.'

'I know.' Laura took a sip of her drink, but her forehead was still creased with worry. 'Hey, do you think your sister saw anything?'

Jess lifted her head at Laura's sudden question.

'She was outside in that RV, right? So she may have seen Charity leaving this morning.'

'I'm not sure she would have seen anything,' Jess said, not willing to say that her sister had likely had a distraction that would have kept her from noticing a lone girl leaving the house.

'Isn't it worth a call? What if she did see something?' Laura urged.

Jess would have given anything not to call her sister, but Laura was insistent, so she pulled out her phone and dialled. Her sister answered after only half a ring.

'Jesse? Jesse? Is everything okay? Are you okay?'

Jess cleared her throat. 'I'm okay,' she said. She could hear her sister's relief over the other line and frowned, wondering what had got her sister so rattled.

'Good. Then why are you calling?' her sister asked lightly, though Jess was sure there was something else in her voice.

'I'm just calling to ask if you saw someone leaving the house early this morning?'

'Why are you asking Jesse?'

'No one has seen one of my housemates since this morning, and she didn't turn up to class.'

'She's missing?'

'The cops aren't sure. They're trying to figure out what happened after I saw her this morning.'

'You were the last to see her?' Ash pressed.

'Yes, but-.'

'I'll be over in twenty minutes.'

Jess opened her mouth to say that would be a bad idea, but the sound of the dial tone stopped her. Her sister had just hung up on her.

'So? Did she see anything?' Laura asked, as Jess pocketed her phone.

'She didn't say.'

'What do you mean? What did she say?'

'That she'll be here in twenty minutes.'

The two girls stared at each other before Laura took off to look out of the living room windows.

'What are you doing?' Jess asked, following her at a more leisurely rate.

'I'm waiting to see this mysterious sister of yours.'

Jess hung her head. Mysterious was one of describing her sister, but she could think of a few other words that would fit, and none of them would mix well with a sorority house in Texas.

***

Knocking sounded on the door after fifteen minutes, and Laura rushed to open it, her face falling when Pastor Jim stood on the threshold.

'Mr Artridge?' she asked.

'We just got back from the station. We're going to join the search and wanted to say thank you for what you're doing.'

'It's no problem,' Jess said awkwardly.

'It means a lot to us,' Pastor Jim said.

'We'll do whatever we can,' Laura said.

'I appreciate that. You girls stay safe.' His smile was small and didn't last more than a second as he turned and headed back to where his wife was waiting in the car.

He pulled out of the drive just as a long, old, cherry red muscle car pulled up to the curb.

The girls watched as the Pastor's face went from mournful to livid as he drove past it, before he drove down the street and out of sight.

'Who's car is that?' Laura asked.

But Jess didn't bother answering as her sister stepped out of the vehicle and locked the door. She'd changed out of her bell bottom jeans and into a pair of stripy leggings with high waisted short shorts, but she still wore her tie dye t-shirt.

'Hey, Jesse,' she yelled as she made her way up the drive, her sunny smile just a tad too forced.

'What was that all about?' demanded Jess.

'What was all what about?' Ash asked.

'Whatever that was with Pastor Jim. And don't deny it. He practically tried to burn you alive with his eyes.'

Ash's smile disappeared, and she shrugged her shoulders. 'Me and the good pastor have had a few run-ins in the past.'

'Run-ins?' Laura queried, drawing Ash's attention away from her sister.

'Nothing worth worrying over.' Ash waved off their concerns, her smile returning. 'So you must be one of my sister's friends. I'm Ash.'

'Laura,' Laura said.

'Nice to meet you, Laura. So can I come in?'

Jess and Laura looked at each other before stepping back, realising that they'd been blocking the entrance.

Ash whistled as she took in the bottom floor, poking her head into some of the rooms. 'This is fancy.' But her eyes were hard as she looked around.

'What's that thing you're driving?' Jess thumbed back towards the door.

Ash grinned. 'She's a beaut, ain't she?'

'She's something alright.' Laura rolled her eyes at Jess.

'Where'd you get her?' Jess asked.

'Not afraid I hot-wired her, are you?'

Laura laughed, but Jess just kept watching her sister.

'My client's husband used to own that car. Cherished the thing. She keeps it in tiptop condition in his memory, and she's letting me borrow it whilst I'm in town,' Ash explained, her grin stretching as Jess' frown deepened.

'It doesn't exactly blend in,' said Jess.

'What about me says "blend in"?'

'She does have a point Jess,' Laura said with amusement as Ash winked at her and tossed her brown wavy hair over her shoulder, jostling her enormous peace sign earrings.

'Just wondering if you really need the attention,' Jess said with gritted teeth.

Her sister waved off her concern and headed towards the living room.

'So I'm guessing it's Pastor Jim's daughter that's missing?'

'Charity,' Laura supplied.

'Do you know her?' Jess observed her sister.

'Saw her in church a couple of times, but didn't really get to know her.'

'And you didn't see her leave the house this morning?' Laura asked.

Ash stopped her snooping and turned back to Laura and Jess. 'I didn't see her leave. Saw a few others. First one was just after seven. Tall girl. Thin. Ginger hair.'

'That's Tasha,' Jess said.

'So where did you see her, Jesse?' Ash asked, her face becoming serious for the first time since she stepped into the house.

'I don't see why-.'

'If you saw her somewhere, then maybe we'll find some answers as to where she is,' Ash interrupted her.

'The police already searched her room,' interjected Laura.

Jess wanted to strangle her friend as her sister headed towards the stairs.

'Bedrooms this way?' Ash pointed upwards.

'She's the first bedroom you come to on the second floor,' Laura answered.

Jess cursed as her sister flew up the stairs.

'Why'd you tell her that?'

'Cause she asked.'

'And the cops said not to go in,' Jess reminded her.

'Oh shit.' Laura took off after her sister.

'Yeah, oh shit is right,' Jess muttered, taking two steps at a time.

The two girls found Ash stood on the door threshold deep in thought.

'The cops said we can't go in there,' Laura pointed out.

Ash blinked and then smiled at them. 'But there're no cops here now.'

'But I think they locked it.'

Ash rummaged in her pockets and pulled out a small package, which made Jess sigh.

'Locked doors tend to not be a problem for me.' Ash flashed a smile before sliding the metal sticks out of the package and getting on her knees to look at the door.

'She's not really going to pick the lock, right?' Laura asked just as the door sprang inward.

'Sometimes it's better not to ask questions you don't want the answers to,' responded Jess.

Ash stood up grinning as she pulled out a pair of ladies' driving gloves.

'What are those for?' Laura asked.

'You two live here, so it wouldn't be surprising if the police found your fingerprints in her room. Mine, however, could lead to some awkward questions.'

Laura just stared at Ash as she moved into the room cautiously.

'You think the police will look that hard at her room?' Laura looked around.

'Not particularly. No furniture overturned. Nothing missing. If she is missing, then the likelihood is she was snatched from somewhere other than this room. But it's better to be careful. So Jesse, what did you see?'

Jess hung back by the door, scowling. 'I saw her sitting on her bed.'

'With the lights off?' Ash turned back to look at her.

'Yeah.'

Ash nodded absentmindedly. 'And what was she doing?'

'She was just sitting there,' Jess said with frustration, stepping into the room in a rush. 'She was sitting on the bed looking at her headboard.'

Ash ignored her sister's stormy expression and sat on the bed. She turned towards the headboard and studied what Charity might have seen, but a blank wall stared back at her. The window was on the other end of the room, so nothing outside would have caught her attention.

'Where's the other bed? I thought you always had to share?' she asked, not taking her eyes away from the headboard.

'We usually do, but Charity's dad pitched a fit when he realised she'd be sharing a room. Mira is supposed to have this room since she's the sorority mother, but she gave it up for Charity,' Laura explained.

'So no roommate then,' Ash said to herself. 'What about a boyfriend or girlfriend?'

'Charity wasn't into that sort of thing. Her dad would have killed her,' Jess said.

Ash lifted the stuffed teddy bear from the bed and brushed back its threadbare fur. Its glass eyes stared back at her unseeing, but it would have been the only thing that Charity could have been looking at. She glanced behind her to see Laura and Jess having a tense, whispered conversation and took her opportunity.

She slipped a glove off and touched the fur once more.

A few seconds later, she winced and placed the teddy back.

'You okay, Ash?' Jess watched her sister's screwed up face in concern.

'Headache. I really should start drinking more water,' Ash joked, but it didn't reach her eyes. With nimble fingers, she secured her glove before the other two could notice.

'Can we go now? There's nothing in here,' Laura said, holding her arms.

'You're right,' Ash said, standing from the bed. 'There's hardly anything in here. She doesn't have many personal items, does she?'

'Your point?' Laura frowned.

'How often does her family visit? Do they ever come to her room?'

'What does it matter?' exploded Laura. 'We shouldn't be in here. Imagine how much trouble we could get in if the cops found out.'

Jess grabbed her shoulders. 'Lau, calm down.'

'Calm down? We're practically breaking the law.'

'Why don't you go downstairs and have a drink? Call in with Mira and see what they've found out,' Jess said, though Laura didn't look convinced. 'We'll be down in five minutes.'

'Promise?'

'Promise.'

Laura still looked concerned, but she slowly made her way downstairs, throwing nervous looks back at Jess and Ash.

'Nicely handled,' commended Ash.

'She's a law student. Going against police commands is difficult for her,' Jess defended her friend.

'For most people, it usually is.' Ash shared a look with her sister, which Jess pretended not to see.

'You really think there could be something here that the cops missed?'

'I'm not sure,' Ash said. 'There's something important in here. I can practically feel it.'

'Where?'

Ash stood by the bed and looked around. The police would have searched the wardrobes and all the draws. It's possible that they missed something, but they weren't complete idiots, and she knew that the Deputy was far from a fool.

What she and her sister were looking for wasn't going to be found in the usual places.

'You didn't answer my questions earlier.'

Jess sighed. 'Her family comes every Saturday.'

'And do they come into her room?'

'Pastor Jim comes up to check that she isn't being corrupted.' Jess noticed her sister's sudden grin. 'What's got you so happy?'

'Tell me something. If you knew your father was a man like Pastor Jim, who regularly checks on you. Would you hide anything that he would disapprove of?'

'Well...yeah.'

'And it wouldn't be in any old hiding place, like a wardrobe or cupboard?'

'Probably not,' Jess admitted, finally understanding what her sister did.

Ash didn't reply. Instead, she started walking round the room, trying to imagine where she would have hid something. After passing the bed for the fifth time, she heard the soft creaking of a floorboard.

She fell to her hands and knees and pulled back the tatty rug.

Jess knelt down next to her. 'What you thinking?' she asked.

Ash ran her fingers over the floor, wishing that she could take her gloves off but not daring to with her sister so close. Besides, she had a feeling that this would be particularly important to the police, and so she was keeping her fingerprints far away.

But she didn't need her particular gift to see the marks on one floorboard. She pressed down hard on one side and the other rose just a fraction, displaying more of the marks. She let the floorboard fall back into place and placed her hand under the bed, searching along the frame until she came to the thing she was expecting.

Her smile was triumphant as she withdrew a small, flat head screwdriver.

'How did you know that was there?' Jess gasped.

'Because every time she plied the floorboard up, it caused marks along the side. If she was regularly lifting this up and down, then the tool she used had to be close to hand. Couldn't be running down to the kitchen every time she wanted to get at what she hid. She wasn't particularly trusting of you.'

Jess didn't respond, but watched as her sister jimmied the floorboard up and levered it out of the floor with the screwdriver. The hole it left was about five inches across and a quarter metre long, but thick slats broke up the space underneath, meaning there wasn't a vast space to hide anything.

Ash carefully pulled out a box with a book on top. The dust was thick where she lifted it up, but there wasn't a speck on either object.

'Diary,' Ash said, lifting the book and handing it to Jess.

'It's padlocked,' Jess said in disbelief.

'That girl has some serious trust issues.' Ash shook her head and lifted the lid on the small box, her heart falling when she spotted what was inside.

'What is it?' Jess asked, noticing her sister's mood change.

Her sister lifted out a lacy babydoll dress. 'You don't buy something like this unless you're buying it for someone to see.'

Jess took the lingerie and just stared at it. The little black number was so at odds with her idea of Charity that she dropped it to the floor, feeling her skin crawl. For a few quick seconds, she'd been excited at what her sister had found, but now she just felt sick.

'There's photos in the box.'

Jess looked up as her sister's voice wavered. 'What do you mean?' She pulled the box towards her, but Ash stopped her.

'Jesse, don't.'

'I want to-'

'They're naked photos.'

Jess' hand fell away from the box like it had been burnt.

'They're a bunch of naked photos of Charity.'

'Why would she take naked photos of herself and keep them?'

'I don't think she took them herself,' Ash said.

Jess' head snapped up. 'Someone else took those photos?'

Ash picked up the lingerie and put them back in the box, and stood.

'Jesse, listen to me. This needs to go to the police. You need to hand it in, and you and that friend of yours are going to lie through your teeth about how you came about them. Do you understand?'

'Ash, I'm not sure-.'

'I'm sorry, Jesse, but this could be related to why your friend is missing. And the diary could be important.'

'Then we should open it.'

But Ash pulled the diary further from Jess' grasp.

'I think we've invaded her privacy enough.' Ash's mouth set into a grim line. 'Take it to the police. Let them do their jobs.'

'Let them do their jobs? Since when do you trust the police?'

'Since a girl that lives in the same house as my little sister has gone missing,' she snapped.

Jess gritted her teeth. 'Fine. What do you suggest we say?'

And Jess listened as her sister outlined the next steps she'd have to take. When Ash was finished explaining, the two girls stood and headed downstairs, leaving the bedroom unlocked.

'If the police ask, I came by because you felt scared. Don't be afraid to put on the waterworks. Most grown men can't stand a woman crying,' Ash said.

'I know what to do,' Jess replied, looking far from tearful.

Ash stared at her sister, hearing Laura moving around in the next room. Before Jess could react, she pulled her into a tight hug.

'Be safe, Jesse,' Ash said. 'I'll be by for brunch tomorrow like we planned. You can tell me about everything then. Trust me, it's better if I'm not involved in this.'

'And why is that?'

'I'll explain soon, okay, I promise.'

Jess watched her sister get into her cherry red car and drive off.

'What have you got there?' Laura asked as Jess headed to the kitchen.

'Sorry Lau, but I'm about to make you do something you're going to hate.' Her mouth twitched as she took in her friend's troubled expression. 'We have to lie to the police.'