Blood and Snow

Chapter Thirteen

[Day Six]

Lillian was trying to work in her office when she received a call from her brother. "You have reached the Almighty Foxxe," she answered, "State your business or perish."

"We found something."

Lillian stood up quickly, pushing her chair back. She rushed over to the coatrack and snatched her jacket from it, "What did you find?"

"A security camera from a pizzeria in the old downtown," Richard said, sounding confident, "The owner contacted us this morning, he said that it caught Belle's abduction."

Lillian put her jacket on and rushed out of her office, "Have you watched it yet?"

"No, I just got the footage. I knew you'd want to see it, I'm pulling into the parking lot of your workplace right now."

"Okay, thank you, Richie! I'll see you in a minute!" Lillian nearly yelled, hanging up the phone. She nearly flew past the secretary, "I'm going on my lunch break!"

The secretary looked startled, but nodded and went back to her computer. Lillian burst through the front entrance and spotted her brother's police cruiser. She took off down the steps and went over to the passenger side, opening the door and jumping in. She turned to her brother with a large smile, "Heya, Richie!"

Richard smiled back, "Hey."

He put the car in drive and left the parking lot. He talked to Lillian, keeping his eyes on the road. "I had some officers prepare one of the rooms for a viewing. I also told them you'd be there, so they had to make it look good."

Lillian gave a small chuckle, "At this point, I don't care about what someone's room looks like. I just want to know what happened to my friend."

Richard nodded. "The shop owner said that the video was... concerning... but at least we know how she was taken, and, maybe, who took her."

Lillian nodded, looking out the window the rest of the way to the police department.

}—————{

"We're all set up, chief."

"Thanks, Ricardo."

Lillian looked around the room, it was a decent size, with a table in the middle. On the right wall was a large, high-quality television screen. There were five other officers in the room, including Ricardo. She didn't pay attention to much else as she sat down and focused on the blank screen. Richard took notice of this and gestured for the others to sit down. While the other officers took their seats, Richard sat by Lillian and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Lillian looked at her brother with a slightly confused look.

"Like I said in the car," he said, "The pizzeria owner told me that the video was concerning, but Belle was still alive when she was taken. So try not to throw insults at a TV screen, alright?"

"No promises." Lillian stated in a monotone voice. The two looked at the screen when the video became to play. Richard looked at one of the officers. The officer had a laptop in front of them, presumably, with the security camera footage inside. "Charlie," he said to her, "the owner said that it happened approximately at seven in the evening."

Charlie nodded and fast forwarded the video, stopping at six-fifty-five. Nothing happen for the first fifteen or so minutes. Then, at seven-twelve, Belle walked on screen. She looked a bit frustrated. Lillian tried to squash the feeling of dread building in her stomach, keeping in mind that this wasn't something good. Two figures started creeping up behind her. They were both wearing masks, and the taller one had a baseball bat in his— they both looked like males— hands. Belle stopped for a moment, then turned around as the man swung at her head. The bat connected with her right temple with such a force that it made Belle take a few steps back, her hands flying to her head. She slowly fell to the ground. The shorter masked person started to freak out at the taller one, stomping and raising his hands in the air. The other one merely passed him the bat and bent down to pick up Belle. The shorter one held the bat in one hand and helped the taller one pick her friend up. Once she was off the ground, the taller one threw Belle over his shoulders and the two masked figures walked off screen.

The screen went black.

Lillian covered her mouth and closed her eyes.

}—————{

[Day Seven]

Belle and Happy were sitting in the dining hall. Belle had a coffee mug in her hands, drinking from it as she talked to her friend. "Y'know," Happy said, "I didn't really take you for the coffee type."

"I drink it every once in a while, if that helps." Belle mused, "But I didn't think you'd have coffee here."

Happy nodded, "Mason drinks coffee a lot, believe it or not. He just doesn't drink it around other people unless he's comfortable with them, which is weird if you ask me."

Belle nodded, then looked at the old television screen in the corner of the dining hall. Apparently it was there so that Happy could watch cartoons whenever she wanted, but for now, it was on the main news channel. 'Speaking of news...' Belle thought with an emotion that she can't identify. The screen went from a commercial about holiday dinners to a woman standing in front of a large, red screen with white rectangles. "Now, with today's weather out of the way, we bring you this week's tragic news." She said.

Belle's smile dropped as she focused on the screen. "A few days ago, Officer Dunn from the neighboring city of Aftonville was murdered in cold blood. 'It was a truly horrific scene to walk into,' says the chief of Aftonville PD, 'Seeing on of your comrade torn to pieces is something out of a nightmare.' Officer Dunn's funeral will be attended in a few days by his family and the AVPD."

Belle looked away from the screen, hearing a sigh from Happy. Happy looked at Belle's expression, "That was Baron..."

"Oh... That's..."

"Not alright?"

Belle nodded, looking back at the screen. A colored sketch of Belle then came on screen, "And now, the missing case from Scott City. Seven days ago, on the night of December 12th, a female lawyer by the name of Belle Dance has been reported missing. Police have yet to find a lead, as it seems that no one has a clue where to find her."

Belle slouched in her seat. Happy put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance and gave her a small smile. "Last night, thought, the SCPD managed to get ahold of a video surveillance tape that captures the moment the young lawyer was taken."

A picture of Flynn and Tyreke with their masks on appeared on screen next to the sketch of Belle. "Two figures wearing animal masks were confirmed to have been the ones who abducted the young woman. It has been a full week since she has been taken, however... the police and Scott City's Office of Law have become concerned about Miss Dance's health and state of mind, as it is reported that she has suffered trauma before, and may not be able to handle it again."

Belle felt Happy's grip loosen on her shoulder and shifted uncomfortably, 'Please don't ask...'

To Belle's relief, Happy gave Belle a we'll-talk-about-that-later face and stood up. "Hey, I have to go do something. I'll be right back, okay?"

Belle looked at her with a small smile, "Okay, I'll just..." Belle looked at the coffee mug in her hands, "... sit here and finish my coffee."

Happy nodded and walked out of the dining hall.