“No!” the woman screamed. “She can’t be gone, she just can’t!”

“Are you really going to try talking to her?” Trouble asked Holly, raising his eyebrow sceptically. They, along with the woman’s husband, were standing in the overly white hallway of a hospital, outside a glass window that showed a beautiful view of a hysterical mother, screaming for her only child to come back. The woman’s child, a pretty, dark-haired elf, had been kidnapped earlier that evening, soon after she had been born. Minutes later, the LEP had been alerted to a missing child, and had come to try and find out what had happened, but it was like the kidnapper and the child had both disappeared; Nobody had seen the kidnapper enter or exit the building. In fact, the only person to have seen them at all was the mother herself, but she wasn’t exactly in the most fit state to speak.

“She’s the only witness we’ve got. Besides, she might have a clue that could lead us straight to her daughter.” Holly watched as the woman shrieked again, clawing at her blankets. It was hard to believe that, moments ago, this had been a smiling, extraordinarily happy elf. Holly took a deep breath, and pushed open the door. “Well,” she said, trying to sound confident, but failing miserably. “Here goes nothing.” She entered the room.

The woman fell silent the moment Holly walked through the door. “Have you found her?” the woman whispered. “Have you found my baby?”

Holly felt like she was going to choke on her own heart. Who was she kidding? She had never been very good at witness interrogation. She was far too sensitive to the case. “No, Mrs. Rolland, we haven’t found her yet.” When the woman’s hopeful face fell, she added, “But we’re working on it. Don’t worry.” She cleared her throat and continued. “Now, umm, Mrs. Rolland, You’re the only one who, ummm, happened to see the kidnapper, right?” Holly stumbled over her own words.

Mrs. Rolland looked at her very seriously. “Yes, I was.”

“Well, ummm, did you recognize them, or could you describe them?” Holly spoke more quickly now, trying to get all of her words out.

Mrs. Rolland paused for a moment. “Yes. I did recognize them” She didn’t elaborate.

“Really?” Holly tried to mask her excitement, and, again, failed miserably. “Who were they? Who did they remind you of?”

She gave Holly a small pitying smile, and said simply, “It was her father.”