Blood and Snow

Chapter Nine

Richard walked up to Lillian's workplace, a frozen hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts in one hand, with a bag of donuts in the other. Looking at the building's title above the front entrance, he sighed and began climbing up the stairs. Reaching the heavy glass doors, he placed the bag of donuts in the crook of his elbow, using the hand that once held it to open the door. He opened it just wide enough for him to slip inside. Once he slipped into the building, he walked to the front desk.

"Hello," greeted the secretary, "May I help you officer?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm looking for my sister, can you tell me where her office is? Her name is Lillian Foxxe." Richard responded politely. The secretary nodded, "Of course! You'll want to walk down that hallway-" she stuck a thumb at a corridor to the left of her, "and look to your right, her office is room number 113."

"Alright, Thank you, ma'am."

"Anytime."

Richard walked down the hallway, then stopped in front of the door to room 113. He knocked on it, then, hearing a "come in", he opened the door and walked inside. Closing the door behind him with his foot, he smiled at Lillian, "Hey, sis."

Lillian was slumped over her desk, watching the news on a television that was mounted on the wall across from her desk. She looked like she had been crying for hours, a tissue box was perched on the side of her desk. "Hey..." she responded miserably. Richard's smile fell and he pulled a chair up to her desk using his free hand. "Hey," he said in a low, calm voice, "You know I'll be here for you, right? I've got your back."

Lillian nodded as he sat down in the chair. Richard gave her a small smile, "Look what I brought you."

He set the frozen hot chocolate and the donuts beside her, earning a smile from his sister, "Thanks, Richie... but I don't know if I can eat right now..."

She looked back up at the TV, Richard following her gaze. The news station switched from the weatherman to a woman in front of a large, red wall with white rectangles of different sizes along the sides. The woman began speaking as Lillian turned up the volume.

"Thank you, John." She said in a loud, clear voice, "And now, we have Scott City's first missing person report in over a decade."

A well drawn, colored sketch of Belle's face came on screen. Richard remembered watching the sketch artist make it last night. He didn't get home until one in the morning, he was too busy overseeing the report. "We have a twenty-nine year old lawyer who recently disappeared from the city's streets on the night of December 12th. She is identified as a female, and her name is Belle Dance. She's approximately six feet in height and has purple-blue hair with pink eyes. She was last seen wearing a semi-formal grey dress top, with black skinny jeans and a white trench coat. If you have any information or video evidence of her abduction or whereabouts, please call Scott City's police department as soon as possible..."

Richard's attention was taken away from the television when he heard Lillian sniffle. He turned to look at her with a sorrowful face, "It's okay Lillian, we will find her, over half of the SCPD are working on Belle's case."

Lillian took a tissue and padded away the tears, speaking as they continued to role down her cheeks, "Even if you do find her, who's going to guarantee that she'll still be alive?"

Richard paused, looking at Lillian's state of despair, 'Those two really are close... Or were... Lillian's right... It's been three days... Belle could already be dead...'

He sighed, then pulled his sister into a hug as she started sobbing, "It's all my fault, Richie! I'm the one who let her walk alone!"

All Richard could do was pat Lillian's back as she all but screamed into his shoulder, "I could have prevented this! I should have walked with her that night! It's all my fault!"