A Ship Without Sails

Chapter 30

Five days later, Sunday, November 2nd, Daisy was officially located. She was living at one of her friend's houses, partying and skipping school. Shayna had sworn she had caught glimpses of her sister on the back of her friend's motorcycle the night after her disappearance, and smoking behind the 7/11 a few nights after that.

The Blackburns got the notification of Daisy being found in the late afternoon of Sunday. The weather had suddenly turned chilly when November began, and the family had been huddled around the kitchen table sipping tea and coffee when Astrid had pulled into the driveway, Julia following.

"We found her!" Astrid announced, her trench coat billowing out behind her. Julia tightened the black wool belt on her scarlet dress coat to match her tight, thin-lipped smile.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Mrs. Blackburn gasped, tears springing to her eyes. Mr. Blackburn's hands were shaking when he set his coffee mug down. "Where is she?" he asked.

"She's living at her friend's place, over in south Arlington, over Route 50. I'm afraid she's not in very good shape. We haven't sent any police over yet, but as soon as I'm done here, I'll get a squad of cars to get her. She's been drinking and smoking, possibly stealing. She's obviously skipping school." Astrid sighed. Julia still looked stricken as she warned them, "I really don't know how she's going to handle this. She'll need extensive therapy,"

"Whatever it takes to get my sister back," Shayna said determinedly. Julia's smile turned into a real one. "That's the spirit. How about," she nodded to Shayna's parents, "I'll take you down to the hospital to wait for Daisy. There, you can fill out all the necessary paperwork and such."

"I want to go, too," Shayna protested, but Astrid spoke over her. "Shayna, you'll come with me to get Daisy." Shayna was more than satisfied with that.

Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn went in Julia's car and sped off to the hospital. Shayna was eager to get to Daisy, but as she we hobbling out the door, Astrid stopped her.

"Look, I know you want things to be okay with Daisy. But... I'm not sure how her mentality is going to be at this point." Astrid had taken off her sunglasses and looked into Shayna's amber eyes with her deep blue ones. "I just need you to be prepared to let her go if we have to."

Shayna wasn't exactly sure what Astrid meant, but she nodded. Astrid continued to hold her gaze a second longer, then opened the car doors and helped Shayna climb in.

A few minutes later, Astrid pulled over and parked on the street. She checked her phone, then turned to Shayna. "If you want to run away, you can," she said. Then she got out of the car and slipped her sunglasses back on. "Well, get out if you're going to come," she muttered when Shayna stayed put in the passenger seat.

Together, they rang the doorbell. After a few minutes, a tired-looking teen guy opened the door, wearing only sweatpants. His hair was long and greasy, his face sunken and gray. He, along with the inside of the house, smelled horribly of cigarette smoke and alcohol. Astrid cleared her throat and said, "Blake Curtis?"

"Whaddaya here for?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He stared bleakly at Shayna and Astrid, like he hadn't seen a real person or sunlight in ages.

"I am Astrid Thorn, forensic investigator for the local police department. I'm here for a girl named Daisy Blackburn." Astrid brought out her badge and held it in front of the boy's face. Then she tucked in back into a pocket of her trench coat and pushed her sunglasses higher up her nose.

"Look, I don't know where she went. She and Ray, Meg, and Miles went out a while ago," Blake said. "Man, they took my bike and all the beer. I'm out of cigarettes, too, this is the worst." He closed the door.

"I demand you open this door!" Astrid shouted, knocking again. "Not only do you have Ms. Blackburn, you have illegal possession of alcohol!"

The door reopened. "I don't know where they went, okay? And I'm 21, it's not my fault they took it," Blake argued. "They'll probably be back to crash here later."

This time, when the door slammed, Astrid stepped off the porch and went back to her car, Shayna following. Once they were in the car, Astrid slumped in her seat. Her glasses fell off and she rumpled her hair. Shayna had never seen the forensic officer look so ragged.

"This is the most messed up case I've worked on so far," Astrid murmured. She sounded utterly defeated.

"We're so close," Shayna reminded her encouragingly. "We'll get her."

Hours passed by and the sun was setting when the growling of a motorcycle grew louder. Astrid and Shayna turned to look behind them, through the back window of the car, to see. They were horrified.

"Oh my god, that's Daisy!" Shayna gasped. On the motorcycle was four teenagers, one of which was Daisy. All of them were shrieking wildly while the bike increased it's speed.

"They're going to get themselves killed," Astrid said angrily. She pushed Shayna out of the car, then got out herself. They ran onto the yard of Blake's house, where Astrid called 911, watching the motorcycle get closer, the yelling louder. Daisy and her friends were clearly intoxicated.

"It's going to hit your car!" Shayna exclaimed as the bike picked up even more speed. Then it began to slow. Halfway down the block, they were going at an almost normal pace. Shayna felt the tension leave her shoulders, and she allowed herself a small smile. It was going to be okay. Daisy would soon be back with her.

Then everything went wrong.