"Where are they?"

Sam smiled lazily, leaning back in her chair "wouldn't you like to know"

Lisa sighed, rubbing her forehead. She had been at this for five hours and she was exhausted. What pissed her off even more was that Sam didn't seem to be breaking a sweat. She was relaxed, like she didn't have a care in the world, like she wasn't looking at a ten-year prison sentence if she was lucky.

"Lis, why don't you just let this go?" Sam was no longer smiling, "this doesn't even involve you"

"I'm a police officer" Lisa said, exasperated, "this most definitely does involve me"

"Yeah, but you've never handled missing persons cases before"

"I don't want you to go to jail, Sam, I know they're alive because you're not a killer and if you tell me where they are right now, you can get a reduced sentence for your cooperation"

Sam scoffed, "I don't need you to save me, thank you very much"

"They're innocent people, why are you doing this?"

She hesitated for a minute and then stood up, "if I'm not being charged with anything, I think I can leave"

Lisa gripped the edges of the table, "you know they'll find something soon and this offer won't last that long"

Sam was silent for a minute, then she met Lisa's gaze, "come with me."

                                                                       ****************

"Are you insane?" Max looked at her incredulously, "she could kidnap you too, or worse, kill you."

Lisa tucked her gun and badge in her pocket, "Sam's not dumb enough to kill me when there are over ten witnesses who saw me leave with her." She paused, "she might be leading me to where she's possibly kept them"

"If they're not dead already" Max muttered,

Lisa shook her head, "I know Sam, she wouldn't do something like that"

Max watched her go, side by side with Sam who turned and gave him a wink before disappearing through the door.

Lisa fastened her seatbelt, frowning as Sam didn't do the same. She stared pointedly at her till she put the seatbelt on, gracing her with a dirty look.

Sam drove slowly, and Lisa wasn't sure if she was trying to annoy her, or she had a newfound respect for safety. Definitely option one, she thought, gazing out the window, well two can play at that game.

"I got rid of them" Sam said suddenly, her attention still focused on the road.

"No, you didn't" Lisa said, shifting in her seat, "you don't have the stomach for killing, stop lying to me and just tell me the truth"

"It is the truth" Sam said, softly, "but you have to understand I just wanted to help people"

"You... you just confessed to five murders, how is that helping people? I can't believe..." Lisa took a deep breath, "stop the car"

Sam hit the accelerator, "before you arrest me, there's something you should see"

Lisa felt the gun strapped to her side, "stop the car. Now"

Sam didn't flinch, "if you shoot me, you'll never have all the answers" her voice softened, "and you'll find that dealing with the repercussions of shooting a friend isn't something they cover in the academy"

Lisa dropped her hand, "we're not friends and apparently I don't know you as well as I thought I did"

The ride was a silent one and Lisa found herself feeling grateful when they finally stopped in front of a farmhouse. She blinked. She recognized the place; it was the house of one of the missing people.

There was a woman sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch. The mother of one of the victims.

Lisa turned to Sam "what kind of sick joke is this? You killed her daughter and now you want to taunt her with it?"

Sam didn't reply. She just made her way to the front porch with Lisa following close behind, gun in hand.

Mrs. Wilton's eyes lit up as she recognized Sam. Her face broke into a wide smile, "you came"

Sam smiled back, "of course, I promised I would be here, and I never ever break my promises"

Mrs. Wilton was about to say something when she caught sight of Lisa behind Sam. She stopped, looking cautious.

"Mrs. Wilton, I'm sure we'll have some news about Katie soon" Lisa said, breaking the silence.

She forced a smile, "I know you'll do everything you can to find her"

She turned back to Sam, "do you want some lemonade?"

"Sure" Sam said, before Lisa could say no.

A few minutes later, they were sitting inside eating lemonade and cookies and chatting with Mrs. Wilton, or at least Sam was.

The last time Lisa was here was when she was interviewing Katie's mom to figure out if she had any clues to who had taken Katie. She had been distraught and worried, telling them about a guy who had been stalking her daughter and now here she was, eating cookies with her daughter's murderer. To be fair, Lisa was pretty sure Mrs. Wilton had no idea that Sam was the one responsible for putting her through what had been a hellish week.

She watched as Sam laughed and joked with Katie's mother. Lisa had been friends with her for two years and right now she felt like she didn't know her at all. She'd always known that Sam wasn't the type of person to remain on the straight and narrow for long. But she'd also known that she was a good person. Lisa shook her head, turns out she wasn't a great judge of character.

When she tuned back into the conversation, she realized Sam was getting ready to leave. At the door Mrs. Wilton handed Sam a gift-wrapped box and hugged her. Sam returned the hug and whispered something to her before waving her goodbye and walking to the car.

Lisa got in, "I need to see the bodies"

Sam handed her the box, "open it"

"I'm not playing games anymore, take me to where you buried them"

"I will" Sam relaxed in her seat, "open it first"

Lisa unwrapped the box, realising that she, too, was willing to stall for time. She knew when she found the bodies, it would be over. She'd always valued and cherished her friendship with Sam. Sam, who would show up at the bar at 3:30 to pick her up if she was too drunk to drive. Sam, who would tease her about her dating choices but take her out for a night of fun to distract her from a messy breakup. Sam, who was there for her, no matter what.

She sighed involuntarily as she removed the last of the wrapping paper. The box inside was a simple black one and inside was a silver pendant with a picture of a young girl inside. She looked up, "this is..."

"It's Katie's" Sam started the car, "I told her I would get it for her"

"Wait, she's not..."

"On paper, she's going to be a missing person forever" Sam turned to Lisa, " but as of now, she's on a flight to Australia, with a new identity and a chance to have a proper life, without having to look over her shoulder every minute she's outside. Without having to close her curtains every night and check for cameras. Without having to hear someone tell her that she'll be taken seriously only once he hurts her."

She took a breath, "and Robin, he's going to Spain, where he doesn't have to live in fear every day of his life because he had the courage to blow the whistle on his company and save innocent people"

Lisa swallowed, "why didn't you tell me this?"

Sam chuckled without humor, "you're an officer of the law and I respect your decision to give everything to uphold it but sometimes the law isn't enough, and I know that first-hand"

"So, Mrs. Wilton knows?"

"I told her two days after I helped Katie escape, she'll probably go to visit her in Australia once she's settled"

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I trust you, I just need you to trust me too"

Lisa looked out of the window as they drove past green fields "there's a guy on the street, they call him 'The artist', he's really good at forging documents"

Prompt retrieved from Wednesday Writing Prompts