“Chief, how do you report a missing person?” I asked. “Talk to someone at the front desk, or talk to Roy.” “He said to talk to you.” “Me? Why?” “Because it’s one of my online friends, Froggy. She’s the one Mitch looked into.” “Why do you think she’s missing?” “She’s normally in chat every day. She hasn’t been on since shortly after Mitch looked into her.” “Maybe he scared her off.” “She was on since. I don’t know that she made the connection. And she was involved with one of the other chatters. He has her number and called her. She isn’t answering or returning his calls.” “Did he go check on her?” “He doesn’t know where she lives.” “I’ll ask Mitch to drive by her place, but beyond that, there isn’t much we can do unless there are signs of foul play or someone who knows her makes a report.” “I know her.” “In real life, Sean. I’m sorry. Look at it this way, maybe she just needed a break, or she’s having money trouble and shut off her internet. Mitch will go by her house and check things out.” I sighed. “One piece of good news, Princess is also cleared. Her and Flower’s stories check out. Both have alibis for at least two of the murders.” “I’m glad to hear that, but we still don’t know who the killer is.” “Is pessimism an elf thing? Or just a hobby? We have a growing list of who it’s not. Process of elimination.” “I guess.” I went back to my desk to work on the crime scenes. The murderer was keeping me busy. Given a choice, I’d rather be bored. Mitch stopped by my desk a little later. “I wanted to let you know I went passed Froggy’s place. There was no sign of foul play. The mail is piling up, and her car is gone. She probably went on a trip and didn’t tell anyone in the chat because it’s stupid to tell people you don’t know that your house is going to be empty for several days.” I frowned as something came back to me. “One of the ideas for hiding a body was to leave it in the trunk of the victim’s car and leave it in an airport parking lot.” “The nearest airport is two hours away.” “What about the train station?” “It’s a stretch.” “I know you can’t tell me who she is, but if you can tell me what kind of car she drives, I can look for one like it, and if I find one, you can check if the plate matches.” “I shouldn’t. Besides, you’re so old you probably wouldn’t know a Town and Country from a Town Car.” “I used to be a chauffeur. I drove a Town Car.” “A red one?” “Black.” “See, you wouldn’t know it if you saw it.” “You’re probably right, but I may still drive around.” “I think you’re wasting your time, but you’re a good friend.” “It’s not about being a friend. It’s about taking care of others.” “Good luck.” *** Two parking lots serviced the train station and one for the bus. I figured I’d check that one too. It wasn’t that big. I found two red minivans at the bus station, but neither were Town and Country vans. At the first lot for the train station, I found three vans to check. The first two I could see into easily, and there were no bodies. The third had a blanket covering a pile of stuff. I called Mitch and read him the number from the plate. It didn’t match. At the last lot, I found two vans that I needed to call him for. Neither was Froggy’s van. I relaxed a little. Maybe Mitch was right, and she was on vacation. I went home and logged into the chat room while I made dinner. Maybe she’d be back on soon.