Polly's uncle was a dedicated man when it came to his job. And when it came to his most recent case, he was extremely dedicated.

He dealt with a lot death, and a lot of kidnapping. However, the story laid out in front of him was very different than what he'd been expecting. When he first stumbled upon the case of Elliott Cole, he imagined a typical case of an abused child. Polly's uncle had seen his fair share of abuse, and he was used to reading the triggers, the signs, and the reasoning. Most abuse cases were not all that hard to solve. Most came from family.

Polly's uncle, however, didn't know anything about their home life, or who their mother was. Her name, MARY COLE, stared back at him, but she didn't exist in the database. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew that most abusive cases came from parents. If this was true here, then it made sense that these boys had been abused by their mother.

He kicked his filing cabinet, angered and exhausted. Then, a knock came at his door.

"Come in."

The person behind the door was another detective. He was older than Polly's uncle, which was made noticeable from the greying hair and the aged wrinkles on his grave face. Polly's uncle immediately knew he had bad news.

"John, I found something interesting."

Polly's uncle, John, stood from his chair. "Linked to my case?"

The other detective rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe. This case was already assigned, but when I caught wind of it, I thought it could help us out."

John took the case from the older detective's hand. His eyes flitted over a missing child case that involved two missing children, both siblings. The thing that stood out to John was their location.

These two children, who were reported missing earlier in the week, disappeared from the same town that Elliott and his two brothers resided.

John didn't really see how the two cases could be related. His eyes met those of the older detective. "I'm assuming there's more?"

The other detective nodded. "Isn't there always? This is same family who called in about a break in a few weeks back."

"About the note in the child's bedroom saying that they'll be back. Well, do you think it means anything? Should we look into it?"

The older detective thumbed through another folder. "Well, I'd say so. That same family has another son, who is older, in high school. He's friends with Elliott."

John's neck snapped up at he looked at the older detective. "I'd say we go down and question the family. Maybe there's more, a clue of some sort."

The older detective was already shaking his head. "I'd agree with you, but it isn't our case. A detective's already on it, so we can ask him. I don't know if the cases are connected, but it's worth a try. Especially if we have nothing. I think it's slightly suspicious that two siblings of a boy who is friends with Elliott were kidnapped. If Elliott's mother wants her children back..."

John nodded, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. "We've certainly seen weirder methods when it comes to getting things. What is the detective's name? And how can we get that case?"

* * *

"Talk about busy!" Kenzie watched as people filtered in and out of the store. Polly was too busy looking at sketch pads to notice, thumbing through the different brands. Her mind was focused on the compact in her pocket, even though she didn't want to be thinking about it.

"Guess I'm not the only one looking for office supplies," Polly added, almost bitterly as another girl was beside her, thumbing through sketch pads as well. Usually Polly embraced other artists, but the girl beside her didn't look like an artist.

She looked like she enjoyed stealing art.

Polly reached for a leather bound book, but so did the girl. She grabbed it before Polly could, and snatched it. "Aha!"

"Hey," Polly grumbled, crossing her arms. "I need that."

The girl grinned at her, almost like a dog baring its teeth. "You snooze, you lose."

Polly rolled her eyes and turned back to the sketchbooks, resuming her search. One look at the price, and Polly knew she couldn't really afford the leather bound book, as much as she'd like it. It was pricey, and Polly knew she should stick to something cheaper.

"Aren't you gonna beg for it?" The girl asked, chomping on something. Kenzie assumed it was gum, and was immediately disgusted by the girl. Disgusted not by the gum, but because of who she was.

"Nancy, back off." Kenzie barked.

Nancy, who was donning a bob cut with her thin black hair, sneered at Kenzie. The two had never been friends, though it probably had more to do with who Nancy was rather than who Kenzie was. Nancy was the kind of girl who skipped classes to do drugs. She was one of the biggest dealers in town, which brought pride to the girl in platform shoes.

Nancy felt like she was important because of her status. Kenzie thought she was as bright as a burnt out lightbulb.

"I'm not going to beg because I don't need to." Polly said absentmindedly. She sometimes had violent thoughts, but Polly wasn't a violent person. Her shirts consisted of cute animals, which definitely proclaimed the sort of person she was.

Nancy flicked her hair over her shoulder, her sunken eyes small and beady. Polly felt like the look she was giving her was supposed to be intimidating, but Polly found that Nancy was far from intimidating.

"What are you two even doing here? Skipping school isn't your style, new girl. Neither is it yours, bubble gum."

Kenzie bristled at the name, mostly because it was a childhood nickname. A childhood where Kenzie and Nancy knew each other, and were close enough to give each other nicknames that symbolized their friendship.

That was before Nancy was obsessed with drugs and wearing clothes that screamed edgy.

Polly looked at Nancy from the corner of her eye, but didn't answer. This just made Nancy laugh, and she leaned back against the rack of sketchpads. "Where is Minny? Oh wait, I forgot. You two aren't friends anymore."

The dig was fired at Kenzie, but Polly was the one who flinched. Not because she thought it was about her, but because of what the statement meant.

Kenzie and Minny used to be friends?

Kenzie's temper flared, but she was a lady, and she knew better than to get herself dirty dealing with scum such as Nancy. Instead, she flicked her hair over her shoulder and smiled. "But how could you forget Nancy, when it was you who-"

Kenzie stopped abruptly when she remembered Polly was standing right there. And then, as swift as a puppet master, Kenzie switched masks. She yanked her old personality up and dropped down a new one, tugging at the strings until it danced for both Nancy and Polly.

"You know what? I think a better topic of conversation is when you got into drawing, Nancy. You weren't particularly talented as a kid."

Nancy let out a barking laugh that was not flattering. "Sort of like how you used to be a real person as a kid." Nancy shifted her attention to Polly. "Did you know that Kenzie here is really talented at pretending to be someone she isn't? I bet you anything that she's been lying to you this whole time. She isn't who you think she is."

Polly's grip on the sketchbook she was holding grew loose. "What are you talking about?"

It wasn't in Polly's nature to trust people she didn't know, but the chemistry between these two girls was deep, and she was smart enough to realize that the two had a history together. A history that Polly probably didn't want to get between.

"Nancy's really good at starting shit, so don't waste time listening to her. Now, scram Nancy. You aren't welcome here."

A grin curved over Nancy's face that was as dangerous as Doctor Higgins. "You can have the book, new girl. Just be careful of who you trust and what you tell people." And with that, Nancy walked out of the store, almost like she'd only been there to mess with Kenzie. And it left Polly feeling confused and on edge.

"Don't listen to her," Kenzie said in a distasteful tone. "She thrives on breaking up friendships." Just like she had done when we were kids.

Polly's fingers grasped the leather bound sketch book. She liked Kenzie a lot, but the chilling effect that Nancy's words had made Polly feel like she needed to be more careful. Someone was out there, looking for her, and Polly had no clue who it was.

The compact was burning in her pocket, reminding Polly of her dangerous situation. Someone was in her town, close enough to pluck her from her new life and drag her back to Hell. And for all Polly knew, that person could be Kenzie.  

* * *

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