Dara handed her mother a bag of day old bread. They had decided to come to the park and feed the pigeons. Their walk through the park had been filled with silence. Each woman deep in her own thoughts.

“Honey, wait a minute,” Carrie said, placing a hand on her daughter. “We have to go back to your place.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Dara asked.

“We’ve been out for hours. What if Dawn called? She’d get your machine again.”

“Mama, it’s okay,” Dara said, rubbing Carrie’s hand. “I had the telephone company forward all my calls to my cell phone. If she calls, we won’t miss it.”

“Let’s sit for a little bit,” Carrie suggested.

They looked around and found a bench which overlooked the kiddie playground. There were quite a few children out, playing and running around. They laughed and screamed, clearly having the time of their young lives.

“Now, that we’re alone, I thought that we could talk,” Dara said, quietly to her mother.

“Sure. What’s wrong?”

“I want to know why Dawn left. They real reason, and not the story you and Daddy told Alex.”

“That wasn’t a story. They argued and Dawn ran away. The end,” Carrie replied.

“I don’t think so. She wouldn’t just leave like that. We’re not best friends, but I think I know my sister better than that. She wouldn’t just run away and not call you or me.”

“Well, that’s what happened.”

“Well…what were they fighting about?” Dara questioned.

“They were fighting!” she said, defensively. “They’ve always argued. It didn’t matter the topic. You know how they are…like oil and water.”

“You weren’t there, were you? Does Daddy have you lying for him?”

“Of course not!” Carrie said, emphatically. “I would never lie for him nor anyone else. Especially not, where my child is concerned.”

“Well, were you there or not?” Dara asked, impatiently. She was positive her mother was indeed hiding something. Dara wasn’t going to stop until she found out what it was.

“Don’t take that tone with me, Dara Louise Jensen,” Carrie replied.

“My tone? My 17-year-old sister…your daughter…is out there, God knows where, and you’re concerned about my tone?” Dara took a breath to calm herself. “Mama, would you please answer the question?” Dara asked, in a calmer voice. “Were you there when she left? Do you know why she left?”

“I was there when she left. I told you that I was,” Carrie answered. “But, I don’t know why they were fighting or why she left. By the time I came home, the argument was over. Robert was gone, and Dawn was too busy, packing her things. I tried to talk to her, but she was too angry. She said she had to get out and then, she flew out the door. I didn’t think she meant permanently.”

Carrie began to cry. “I should have insisted we talked it out, but I thought she was coming right back. She’d always storm out, but she always came back home, too.”

With tears in her eyes, Dara embraced her mother. When her father returned, he had a lot of explaining to do, she promised herself.

“That guy over there says that he knows something about Miss Jensen’s sister,” the rookie officer said to Alex who was going over his notes in the interrogation room.

Alex ran his fingers through his hair. He’d been questioning people all afternoon regarding Dawn’s disappearance. Several people had seen her using the pay phone, but none of them knew anything. Alex hoped that all of that was about to change.

“Which guy?” he asked.

“The one in the dingy, white tee shirt and jeans. He says his name is Arnold.”

“Okay. Bring him in.” Alex stood and poured himself a cup of coffee. This guy had better not be one of those crazies, he thought. He wanted to be able to give Dara something more than ‘We’re doing our best’ when he spoke with her later. Mentally, he crossed his fingers.

The rookie brought Arnold into the interrogation room and closed the door as he left. Alex motioned to the man to take a seat.

“Would you like some coffee?” Alex offered.

“No thanks. I just want to do my civic duty and get on out of here. If it’s all the same to you,” answered Arnold.

Alex took a good look at the man. He seemed older, but Alex guessed that he was about forty years old. His clothes were dirty. He had a dark tan and his blonde hair was shoulder-length. He didn’t smell too bad, so maybe he wasn’t homeless. He probably stayed at a shelter, thought Alex.

“Okay.” Alex took a seat across from the man. “Tell me what you know.”

“Is there some kind of re-ward for helping to find this little gal? Not that I’m here for that, of course. Just asking, is all.”

“Not that I know of,” Alex replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look if you don’t have any information, don’t waste my time.”

“No, sir! I got some info on that little gal. Yes, sir. I sure do.”

“And what is that information?” asked Alex, as patiently as he could.

“I saw her getting into one of those expensive cars. I sure did,” Arnold replied, nodding his head.

“What kind of car? What did it look like?”

“It was a black, Jaguar. It sure was. One of those sporty ones, too. All nice, black and shiny,” he grinned, revealing yellow teeth.

“Okay. Did you see anything else? Were you able to get the license tag or maybe see who was driving?”

“I couldn’t see no numbers on account of my eyes. I can’t read no numbers in the dark, but I did see the driver. I sure did,” he nodded.

“Well…?” Alex asked, on the verge of wanting to strangle him.

“Well, what?” Arnold asked, confused.

“What did the driver look like, Mr. Arnold? Can you give me a description of the driver?”

“You don’t have to get nasty about it. I was about to tell you anyways. Geez!” he replied, folding his arms across his chest.

“Please do,” Alex said, as patiently as possible.

“Well, he was a young fella. He had dark hair. Kinda tall. A real good looking boy,” he answered with another grin.

“Would you wait while I call the sketch artist in here?” Alex asked, as he grabbed the telephone.

“Don’t need no sketchy artist. Here is he right here,” Arnold said, pointing to the front page of today’s newspaper. The headline read ‘Cassadine Heads to Trial’ with a photo of Nikolas and Stefan underneath.

“That’s the boy, right here. Nick Cassidy. That’s him. Yes, sir.”

Stefan strode into the library, where Alexis waited for him.

“I apologize for the interruption. The telephone call required my immediate attention,” he replied.

“I thought you were speaking to Nikolas. Have you spoken to him?” she asked.

“No, I haven’t. You needn’t worry. He and Miss Jensen haven’t left the Island,” he said as he poured himself a glass of water.

Alexis rose to stand beside her brother. “What do you intend to do? I wouldn’t be surprised if Dara was behind all of this. Doesn’t it appear rather odd that the ADA’s younger sister would disappear and then all of a sudden turn up here?”

Stefan smiled. “You give Miss Jensen too much credit. She may be angry with you regarding the Jones trial; however, I doubt if she would use her sister to incriminate me.”

“But…” Alexis began.

Stefan ceased her words with a raise hand. “Miss Jensen believes in my guilt. She would not risk the life of her sister to prove it. Besides, according to an anonymous source, there may be more to the Jensen family troubles than meets the eye. In answer to your question, I intend to wait.”

Chapter Thirteen