"Well, Mr. Wilson, this certainly is a mystery, and it doesn't look as though there is really very much to go on."
David shook his head sadly. "No. But we have to find out what happened to her, Mr. Peterson. Her family is going through hell."
"I hesitate to bring it up, but it must be said. You realize of course, there is a chance we may find out she is dead."
"I know, but it would be better to know. It's the not knowing that tears at you; keeps you awake at night."
"I understand." The detective nodded compassionately. "And I hope we can help you."
"Does that mean you'll take the case?"
"Yes, though I can't guarantee we'll come up with any more than the police, we'll do our best. I'll have someone up there tomorrow to do some poking around."
"Thank you, Mr. Peterson." said David as they shook hands. "You are our last resort."
"In my profession, I usually am." reflected the detective out loud. "Well, good-bye Mr. Wilson, we'll be in touch."
That night, Ben Peterson thought about his newest case. He'd decided to handle it himself. Everything about it just didn't make any sense, and it peaked his interest. On the surface it sounded like a runaway. It happened more often than people realized. A person thinks he just can't handle the pressures of his life any more and takes off, but from what Wilson told him, this woman did not fit the usual pattern. It seemed as though her life had just become less stressful-moving back to her home town, working in the family business, a new relationship with no obvious problems, and from all he'd heard, David Wilson was a good, honest man. The story around town was that the death of his son set off a mid-life crises that sent him searching for happiness in a small country town. And it seemed as though he'd found it, ... for a while.
OK, so if she wasn't a runaway, what then? Kidnapping? But, why? There was no motive. A ransom note was never found, they were never contacted for money. Rape and murder? Could be, but there was no evidence of a struggle. Wilson said it was if she pulled the car over to the side of the road, got out of the car, and just disappeared.
Well, he needed more to go on. Tomorrow he'd drive up to Vermont and start asking questions. It had been a while since he'd been in the field, and it felt good. It got the juices flowing again. He'd been handling too many divorce cases over the past few years, and too much paperwork. Yes, he was glad he was going to take this case. If nothing else, he felt this case was going to prove interesting. Sometimes you just got a feeling.