Leave No Trace

Chapter Four

Nolan

"Found something!" She pulled her camera aside, as Danielson rushed over.

"What did you find?"

"That." Nolan pointed to the army bag lying on the ground, slightly damp from the wet air. She took a picture of it, before asking. "Kind of ironic don't you think?"

"What's ironic?"

"This is called Peace Park," she gestured to the empty park around them. They were a few steps from a war memorial, the Canadian flag snapping in the breeze.

"So?" he asked, confused.

She rolled her eyes, "So, it's called Peace Park, and a girl was abducted here."

He looked over at the bandshell, empty for the coming winter, then glanced over at the plaza a few hundred feet away. The closest building to the park was the local Beer Store, and over by the bandshell was a grove of pine trees. The ground was littered with pine cones, but Mike tried to focus on the bag in front of him. Using his gloved hand, he bent over, and picked it up, opening it. "Bag of Skittles, and a thing of Twizzlers." He said. "Not much in here. No iPod, no headphones... a lanyard with a key... Two gift cards.... And a wallet. But it corresponds with what her parents told us. She was out buying birthday presents for her friends."

"We should look in the wallet."

He handed it to her, and she flipped it open, and the first thing she saw was like a slap to the face. A student card: Allison Perry, the same picture the Perrys had given Mike staring up from the card. She sighed, and showed him, "It's hers."

"We should also look for prints. See if our abductor touched it. Of course, we would need prints from Allison Perry for comparison."

"I know, I know." She said, annoyed. "I have done this before."

"Whatever." He grabbed an evidence bag from his pocket. "So what did you think of Mira?"

"She seemed closed off, but she's observant."

"You got her to basically admit she hits Allison for fun."

"It's not for fun." She reminded him, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Still!" He said, annoyed. "What did you think?"

"Seems to have an interest in enlisting. Seems to know Allison incredibly well.... And she'd make a good soldier."

"Your observing skills are coming along."

"That's funny, Mr. Less-Experienced," She snorted. "She's our insight- our window to Allison's mind."

"You think she could have been involved in it?" Danielson's voice was quiet.

"Mira?" She looked up. "I honestly doubt it. For all her neutral coolness, I can't see how she'd be involved. That and she's still a teen. She's smart... but... I doubt it, Danielson.'

"Now see, there's where you could be mistaken." He pointed out. "You never know who will be involved at times like this."

"What?" She asked. "You think her best friend did something? It's unlikely."

"But- not impossible." Danielson pointed out. "It's not at all impossible."

She sighed. "I refuse to accept it."

"You have no idea, the weird shit I've seen on this job, and if you're wondering, I have seen friends murder each other before. The fact that these two were having issues-."