Missing

By the time that Ray had finished typing all the handwritten notes into the computer, Abel was still not finished going back over the pictures and list of items found at the scene. The annoyed look on his face made it clear that he wasn't finding what he was looking for.

"Is something missing?" he asked his partner as he began to look over the photos himself. There had to be near fifty taken of the scene. Some of the body, others of items in the area and the rooms they had been trashed.

"I wouldn't say anything is missing, rather I think what we are trying to find was not caught in any of these photos or on this list either because it was hidden in plain sight or some place that wasn't examined because it seemed of no consequence." Abel replied as he leaned back in his chair while looking over all the photos. Ray was going to say something else when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in." Ray told whoever was on the other side of the door.

"Sorry to invade again, sirs." The young officer apologized as he spoke from where he stood right outside the door.

"I just thought that I should inform that we are having difficulties locating Ace." the man seemed slightly nervous when he said this and he was probably right to be based upon the piercing look Abel fixed him with.

"You mean to tell me that you lost him?" he clarified causing the other to become even more nervous due to the tone of his voice.

"No. Er... rather, we don't know where to find him. He hasn't shown up to work since yesterday and the address he used for work and that we have on file appears to be a fake one or at least one he hasn't used in quite some time." Abel turned to look at Ray after he heard this.

"You mentioned before that you knew him because he was in the station a lot when he was younger. Do you know if he has a different address." Ray shook his head.

"I said I knew him, not that I actually every brought him in or worked with him. Harold would be the best person to ask for that kind of information." He replied as he stood up from his desk. This was something he didn't mind bothering the older cop for since he was the one who usually got saddled with working with the younger troublemakers and was rather efficient at it as well.

"Harold hasn't come in today, sir. I believe he called this morning to take the day off since he hasn't taken a break in a while." The young officer's word stopped Ray before he reached the door. Of course Harold did, he was probably still hungover from how much he had drank the night before.

"Isn't there anyone else that we can ask about this who is in today?" Abel interjected beginning to get impatient. He didn't want Ace to slip through their fingers if there was even the slightest chance that he was connected to the drugs that Victoria had been taking.

"Don't worry. I have his phone number so I will just give him a call. He won't mind since it's me and there have been plenty of times in the past where he called me on my day off to ask favors." Ray assured his partner as he picked up his phone off his desk and got ready to head out of his office. The station was beginning to get noisier as it got closer to midday making him feel that his best bet for calling would be to do it outside where it would be less noisy.

Abel decided to follow after his partner though he wasn't certain that the other noticed he was tailing him. He didn't think that Ray was incapable of making the call, he just wanted to be there to hear what the answer was rather than waiting for the other to come back and tell him. Plus he needed an excuse to get out of the office and stretch his feet since he was beginning to get impatient again.

This would be the perfect time for Prose to decide to reactive itself and help him, but still so far he was having no luck in getting the other to respond to him no matter he did. Honestly, if there was too much more of a delay and the option presented itself, he was going to reject this thing because he might as well not have it in the first place if it wasn't going to actually do anything to benefit him as the initial promise and assurance had been.

Ray stepped outside of the station and over to where an umbrella patio table had been placed. He had no intention of sitting down but he wanted someplace to stand that would be in the shade. He wasn't surprised when it took a few rings for Harold to answer or when he heard how tired the other's voice sounded.

"I know you're on your day off and still probably resting from last night, but I need to ask a favor of you. Do you remember Ace Hedgings?" He waited for the response from the other before he continued speaking.

"Yeah him, the one you had a really hard time getting to stay straight and out of the office. Do you know if he lived anywhere else aside from the address that we have on file? It's not confirmed that he's done anything yet, we're just trying to find him since he does have a connection to this case but the address he has on file seems like it hasn't be used for years." Ray nodded his head as he listened to what the other was telling him. He had to strain his ears because the other's voice wasn't easy to understand as he was perhaps still either hungover or getting over being buzzed.

"Bottom draw of your desk? But if he's not there, you don't have any other ideas of where he might be?" Ray ran a hand through his hair as he continued to listen.

"Alright, thanks. I'll let you know how it goes or update you when you get back in tomorrow. Take the day off and rest for once." He told his older companion before he ended the call. Turning around he was surprised to see that Abel was standing behind him.

"You could let someone know that you're following them otherwise they're going to mistake you for some kind of stalker." Ray warned his partner.

"I would've told you but you were on the phone and I didn't want to interrupt your call. It sounds like you got some information that might be helpful?" He asked cutting straight to the point.

"Yeah, Harold said he should have a file in one of the bottom draws of his desk. It's where he kept the extra information he found out some of the kids who were frequent visitors. He was often tasked with keep an eye on them and finding out their real address or state of living if it seemed like they were lying or might be in danger." Ray replied as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Before you get ahead of yourself though, I'll look through his desk because I know where it's likely to be. Plus Harold is particular about who he lets touch his things." He told the other as he headed back into the station ahead of him.