Shadows In Durango

"My father seems to think that she just felt dizzy or something and asked him for help... before she collapsed." |

state, continuing to pace with my brows pulling together in deep thought.

| felt as though there was ssecret code to crack, as though we were missing skey information...

"Wait what?! What do you mean she collapsed?! What did | miss? Did you find something?!" Emma panics,

reminding us both that she had been asleep this whole tuntil now.

Crap... maybe we shouldn't have spoke about this in front of her. She could do without the extra worry over her

friend.

Sighing, Reid quickly turns to look down at her. "Yeah they found scamera footage from around town. One

was Sofia walking, the other was at a cafe and the last was her walking not far from your place before a guy in a

silver car pulls up..." Reid trails off, as Emma's eyes grow wider by the second.

"W-What?! A guy? Do you know what he looks like? What happened next?!" Emma rambles, her gaze darting

between us both as I leave it to Reid to explain.

"Yeah... but the way she stops when he pulls up, it's almost as if she recognises him at first, as if she is nervous

on what to do next. That's what | gathered from it anyway. But the worst part is, Sofia seems to take a dizzy turn

when he climbs out of the car and she collapses on the pavement." Reid tells her, as Emma's eyes begin to build

with water.

"S-So he just took her after that?" Emma confirms her suspicions as Reid only nods which causes for her to gasp

in horror, beginning to cry.

Hearing it out loud all over again was hurtful, tugging at my heart strings since Sofia could very well be in

terrible danger right now and nobody even knew where she was...

Emma quickly wipes her tears away, shaking her head as if trying to force herself to think straight. "I need to see

the footage," she says, her voice shaky but determined.

| glance at Reid, and he nods, moving to pull it up on his phone. "It's not easy to watch," he warns, handing it

over to her reluctantly.

Emma's hands tremble as she takes the phone, her wide eyes glued down to the screen.

The silence in the room stretches, thick and heavy as Emma watches the video, her breath catching as she

reaches the part where Sofia collapses.

"Oh my God..." she whispers, her voice barely audible.

Her hand goes to her mouth, but then suddenly, she freezes, her eyes narrowing. "Wait..."

My pulse quickens as | stop pacing. "What?"

Emma looks up at me, her face pale but her expression sharp. "She toldsomething the other day... the

reason why she was upset that day at school but didn't want to tell any of you... | can't believe | didn't think to

say this sooner! Oh my God!" Emma begins to babble, her face contorting in horror as if the pieces of the jigsaw

were finally starting to click.

"What the fuck is it?!" I rush her, needing to know if she had any information that would help us to solve this.

"A-At school, when she went to do her storage room duties, somebody else was in there that she didn't expect to

see." She starts, before I cut her off and grow increasingly impatient.

"Who the fuck was it?!" | demand sharply, as Reid givesa look to say 'watch it' which | completely ignore.

"A guy called Asher, or Ashton maybe? | think it was Ashton... but to cut to the chase, he's her dick ex-boyfriend

from back home... she was really upset because apparently he's just moved in to town and lives with his

grandmother now, so what if he's the one behind all of this? That could explain why she seemed to know the

person who pulled up in the car, couldn't it?!" Emma poses the new information as | can't begin to process what

she was even saying.

Why didn't Sofia tellthis right away?! It wasn't exactly small information?! She knew | was keeping her safe!

"Wait, I'm sure Daryl was put in charge of showing the new kid around at the start of the week - said it was a guy

and that he seemed pretty decent... it's maybe worth calling to see if it's the sguy?!" Reid suddenly adds, as

| move quickly towards my trashed desk to grab my phone and notes feeling frantic.

Sofia had toldabout her ex and about how he worked under her father for st- ultimately treating her

like shit as a result of that too.

The fact that he was now in town and had run in to her at school, before she goes missing isn't a fucking

coincidence is it?!

My jaw tightens. "I need to know where he lives? What else do you know about him?" | ask Emma, my tone

desperate as | write down everything she had shared so far to avoid missing out on any details.

Emma shakes her head frantically. "I don't know much, just that Sofia was really shaken up with seeing him. She

didn't want to tell anyone because she felt like you already had a lot going on, she didn't want to pile that on

top. | really thought she might have skipped town, | can't believe I didn't think of him being behind this sooner!"

Emma suddenly sobs, blaming herself as Reid moves to comfort her.

This wasn't her fault, although I did wish she would have shared this major news with us sooner, but at least she

had told us about it now...

| pick up my phone, doing what Reid suggested as | call Daryl without even questioning the choice, hoping that it

would lead to more information about Ashton.

Daryl and | weren't exactly on good terms, but right now, he could be the key to getting Sofia back hand

safe... or so | hoped.

The phone rings endlessly, every second stretching out like torture until Daryl finally answers. His voice is thick,

probably from lack of sleep. "Vincent? What the hell do you want now? | told you that I didn't find anything else

at the cafe..." "I don't have tfor your attitude, Daryl," | snap, pacing again. "The new kid you showed around

earlier this week - was his nAshton?"

Daryl is quiet for a moment, as if trying to recall. "Yeah, Ashton something. Why?" He tests, not understanding

where this was going.

My grip tightens on the phone. "Did he mention where he was staying in town? Give you any details at all?" |

push on, before hearing him sigh heavily.

"Just said he was an army kid, that's why he moved school at eighteen. But why do you care? The guy seemed

normal enough." He retorts, as my muscles tighten at his words.

"Normal enough?" | bark out a laugh, my patience long gone. "That 'normal' guy is Sofia's ex from back home,

and | now believe that he's took her. As for the whole army kid story, that's all bullshit, he told Sofia he lives with

his grandmother in town but whether that's even true we don't know. | need his fucking address, Daryl." | state

the facts, as silence fills the line next.

There's a pause on the other end, and | can hear Daryl fumbling with something.

"Shit... fuck, I didn't know, he didn't exactly say much. | mean, he was kind of quiet, but I'll swing by the school

and see if the buildings still open today, maybe | can go in and sneak his file?" Daryl offers, his tone shifting to

one of concern next. Tis running out...