Chapter Text
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Tick tick tock.
James listens to the sound of the clock on the wall, his eyes fixated on its hands. It’s late. He’s the last one left at the station, Lily had left about an hour ago. He had promised her not to stay up too late, that he would go home and rest. But time is ticking, the clock on the wall is a painful reminder of that.
A painful reminder that they need to hurry up and finish the case.
He glances down at the pictures on his desk. Molly Owens smiles back at him, her smile revealing a missing front tooth. She’s only 5 years old. 5 years old and missing. And they can’t seem to find her. James can’t seem to find her.
Sighing, he grabs his jacket from the back of his chair and turns off the desk lamp. The headlights from a passing car illuminates part of the room while simultaneously casting shadows on the walls. With one last look at the photo, he grabs his keys and leaves.
~
The pub is crowded and loud when James walks in. He nods to a few familiar faces as he makes his way over to the bar. He runs a hand through his wet hair, he really wished it would stop raining soon, and knows he probably looks like a mess. Sleep did not come easy these days. It’s not the first time a case had given him insomnia, and it probably won’t be the last.
The glass is placed in front of him as soon as he’s seated in his usual place. Sirius grins at him, until he sees the expression on his face. James avoids his eye, instead focusing on the drink and the song playing in the background. He recognizes it from one of his dad’s old records.
“Give me just a moment” Sirius says, eyeing James with a hint of worry. His facial expression changes as he turns to the next customer, serving them with a grin. Today his hair is tied into a ponytail, which swings from side to side when he moves behind the bar. His black shirt is unbuttoned at the top, revealing a bit of skin. The tattoos on his arms are visible thanks to the rolled up sleeves.
“Talk” Sirius demands, leaning closer to hear him over the chatter and laughter from a nearby table.
“It’s just the case.” James replies. Sirius knows what case he is talking about. The news of the missing girl had reached the public earlier this afternoon and the face of little Molly Owens had been plastered all over the papers.
“Still no breakthrough?”
James shakes his head. “It’s so frustrating. We've been working non-stop but seem to have hit a dead end.”
Sirius nods. “The news said there were no witnesses.”
“That’s true.” James agrees. The whole situation is strange to him. How does a little girl disappear into thin air?
Sirius looks like he wants to ask about their suspects, but refrains. Both of them know that James is not legally allowed to discuss such details with him. Best friend or not, the rules still apply. Most of the time.
“Are you sleeping?” Sirius wonders, inspecting his face. James shakes his head.
“Not since we got the call about Molly. I can’t seem to turn my mind off long enough to fall asleep.”
Sirius frowns. “Well, you better start sleeping soon or else I might have to come knock you out at bedtime.” he jokingly threatens.
“I’ll try my best. But honestly, I think the only thing that will help is solving this case. Finding Molly. Right now it feels like we need a miracle to find her.” He has worked long enough to know that time is of the essence in cases like these. The more time passes, the likelihood of them finding Molly alive decreases.
Sirius seems to mull the words over, but their conversation gets interrupted by a couple who wishes to order. He goes back to work while James down his drink, silently praying for something to lead them in the right direction.
~
“You look terrible” Lily greets the next morning, shaking some water off her wet umbrella. Despite James’ wishes, the rain had yet to stop. If anything it had increased, as if to spite him further.
“Good morning to you too” James replies, eyeing his partner. Lily doesn’t look like she has slept much either, judging by the dark circles under her eyes. She’s dressed in a cream coloured jumper today, her hair slightly frizzy from her walk to work.
Neither of them feel like talking, both sleepy and restless. It’s almost time for their morning meeting. James grabs the pictures and some notes from his desk, heading into the meeting room to get started. The last thing he wants now is to be late and get a lecture from McGonagall. Frank Longbottom gives him a tired smile as James enters. His usual coffee cup is empty in front of him. The cup was a gift from Lily two years ago, when she was Frank’s secret santa. The picture decorating it is of James and Lily, the partners doing a silly pose dressed in santa hats. Frank has his coffee in it every single day. Lily joins them a moment later, a cup of tea in her hand. By the scent of it, James suspects that it’s black with lemon.
Minerva McGonagall, or boss lady as they secretly call her, steps into the meeting room at exactly 8 AM. Like usual, her hair is tied in a tight knot at the back of her head and she’s holding a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. James knows she drinks it black.
“Good morning. I hope all of you are ready for another busy day.” she says, letting her eyes scan the people in the room. “Why don’t we start with what we know and work from there.” She adds, nodding for Lily to start.
“Our victim is Molly Owens, 5 years old. The mother, Allison Owens, reported her missing two days ago. She went missing during a visit to the local park. According to Mrs. Owens, Molly was heading for the swings. She heard commotion on the other side of the street, which caught her attention and made her turn away from Molly for a moment. When she looked back, the daughter was gone.”
“Despite the public space, we have no witnesses. According to Mrs. Owens, the only other people at the park during this time was a young woman with a laptop and a couple on a picnic. We questioned them and they all claimed they did not see Molly get abducted or disappear. We have no reason to suspect them at this point. We are still investigating the case as a possible kidnapping.” Lily says, not wanting to say what they're all thinking. That if more time passes, they might be dealing with a murder investigation. “The mother suspects her ex-husband, Molly’s father.” Lily says.
“However, the ex-husband Robert Owens, has an alibi for the disappearance as he is currently locked away in jail. According to his file, he was charged for assault and possession of drugs.”
Lily pauses to make sure everyone is still on board.
“Frank and I interviewed people at the park yesterday, but received little to no valuable information. However, a store assistant who works next to the park, confirms that she saw the mother and Molly together on the day of the disappearance. We also checked the security footage around the park, but they were down due to maintenance.”
Seems awfully convenient if you ask James.
“Thank you, Lily. And good work.” McGonagall nods, taking a sip of her coffee. She glances over to James.
“I was able to schedule a meeting with Molly’s kindergarten teacher later this afternoon.” James speaks up. “Lily and I will go together and hopefully find out more about Molly’s home situation.”
McGonagall nods approvingly. “Hopefully this will generate more clues.” James really hopes so.
“What else have we got?” she questions.
“I’m organizing a meeting with Robert Owens, to get his side of the story. Like Lily said, he has an alibi for the disappearance but he could still have valuable information.” Frank replies. “I’m just waiting for the warden to call me back.”
“Thank you, Frank. And good work everyone. Let’s not waste more time chatting now and get back to work.” she dismisses them, leaving for her own office down the hall.
~
It’s cloudy but thankfully does not rain when Lily and James arrive at Molly’s kindergarten. James steps out from the passenger seat and looks around. Lily usually insists on driving when they go somewhere together, claiming that she is the better driver of the two. James doesn’t want to admit to her that she is right.
The building is surrounded by a white fence, probably to keep the children from running into the parking lot and into moving traffic down the road. Lily opens the gate and walks in first. There seems to be no one outside, the set of swings empty. There is a pair of slides to the left as well as a big sandbox. James spots a few tractors and cars half buried in the sand.
After locating the principal, they’re shown to Molly’s classroom. The wooden door is closed and decorated with multiple drawings of flowers, cars, people and animals. Lily knocks on the door, waiting until footsteps can be heard from the other side.
“Can I help you?” a tall man with slightly messy hair opens the door. James shows him his badge.
“Mr. Lupin? We’re from the police. I’m detective Potter and this is detective Evans.” he gestures to Lily. “We have a few questions regarding Molly Owens”. The man, known as Remus Lupin, gets a sad expression on his face.
“Oh, right. Let me just tell my coworker to look after the kids for a bit and then we can talk.” He disappears into the room again, returning a short while later.
“We can talk in my office.” He suggests, showing them to a room on the other side of the building. James notes that the building seems old, but in good condition. Mr. Lupin’s office is fairly tidy, with the exception of the stacks of papers on his desk and plenty of empty coffee cups. Mr. Lupin takes a seat behind his desk and gestures for Lily and James to sit. James thinks the man seems kind, his eyes sad but warm. He’s dressed in a colorful orange sweater that looks almost a size too big on him.
“How long have you been Molly Owens’ teacher?” Lily asks, looking at him.
“Since she enrolled. This was her second year here.” James takes his small notepad out of the inner pocket of his jacket, scribbling the information down.
“How would you describe Molly? Does she get along with other kids?” Lily tilts her head slightly, a habit James has seen her do plenty of times by now. Mr. Lupin smiles slightly.
“Molly is a bright girl. She’s smart for her age and liked by many. She is quite the extrovert and likes to be the center of attention.”
“What about the day she went missing? What can you tell us about that?” James asks. Mr. Lupin nods.
“She was here as usual during the morning. Just like any regular day. Her mother picked her up around 2 PM.”
“Did everything seem okay with her mother?”
“Yeah I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. We didn’t chat long as they were going to leave for the park. Molly had talked about it all morning and was quite excited.” Mr. Lupin adds the last part with a sad smile.
“What did you do after Molly had left?” Lily continues, meeting his eye. Mr. Lupin raises an eyebrow at the question, seemingly a bit surprised.
“Well, I still had kids here that were waiting for their parents to pick them up. They played inside while I supervised.”
“And how long did you stay at work that day?”
“I…I think the last parent picked their child up at 3.30 PM. After that I finished some paper work and prepared a bit for next day’s activities. I think it was around 4.30 PM when I left.”
“Was there anyone else in the building who can confirm this?”
“Mrs. Spencer was here. She works with the younger children. She left at the same time as I did.” Mr. Lupin corrects the collar of his jumper, seemingly a bit on edge.
“What can you tell us about her father?” Lily wonders, as James turns to another page in his small notebook.
“Not much. From what I’ve heard he has no contact with Molly or her mother and is serving time in prison. I have never met the guy. Molly’s mother has full custody. ” This is in line with their previous knowledge.
“Can you think of anyone who would want to cause Molly harm?” she continues and Mr. Lupin shakes his head.
“I can’t think of anyone who would be so cruel. Especially not to Molly.” Mr. Lupin frowns, as if the thought was completely unthinkable.
“You mentioned that your coworker looks after the children now. Did Molly have any other teachers besides you? Did you notice anyone acting strange around her?” James lifts his pen as he waits for his answer. Mr. Lupin looks perplexed, but thinks about it for a moment. He shakes his head.
“I was, well I am, Molly’s primary teacher. I haven’t noticed any strange behavior from any of the other staff members or anything like that. Molly was just like any of the kids here.”
Lily gives James a look. She seems to think this is a dead end too.
“Did Molly have a best friend or someone she spent a lot of time with here?” James flips the page again. The small smile returns to Mr. Lupin’s face.
“Oh yes. Her best friend’s name is Emily. Both of them are in my class.”
“Do you mind giving us the phone number to her parents? We’d like to talk to Emily.”
“Of course not” Mr. Lupin opens a drawer in his desk, taking out a list of what seems to be contact information to all of the parents.
“Actually, do you mind if we get a copy of that? Maybe another parent will know something.”
~
“So, what do you think about Mr. Lupin?” James asks as the two of them head back to the car. The wind has picked up again, the clouds looking awfully dark. James hides his shaking hands inside the pockets of his jacket.
“Well, I think he seems like a genuine guy. Doesn’t seem like someone who would abduct a child, so I’d rule him off the list of suspects.”
“He also has an alibi. There is no way he could have been at the park during the time of Molly’s disappearance.”
Lily hums in agreement. “We should talk to Mrs. Spencer to be sure.” She glances down at the copy of the parents’ contact information.
“Besides, this list might actually give us something.”
James really hopes so.