by Mitch Goth
The home of Marilyn and Charles Phillipa had grown over the last several days from a quiet, upper-middle class household into nothing short of a media circus. The disappearance of the well-meaning, pretty, suburban girl known as Rain Phillipa was exactly what every news outlet in the area was looking for. They were all ready and willing to turn Rain into an oblivious runaway starlet.
There were news vans and reporters hovering around the home at all hours of the day and night. So many clogged the area that the police were now sitting in the neighborhood at all times too, waiting for their chances to shoo away pesky newsmen.
A silver lining the Phillipa's as well as the authorities found in the overwhelming media attention was a massive influx of volunteer help and tips coming from every corner of the greater Kansas City area. Many were obvious nonsense or simply led nowhere, but in that sea of uselessness sat a few worthy points of investigation. Some claimed seeing a blonde girl hanging around a large gothic manor in the city, while others swore on their graves to have seen her frolicking about a rooftop rave in the past few days.
Slowly but surely, the police were beginning to hone into Rain's suspected location. Every time something new that made sense came through the tip line, it was the familiar sergeant who'd deliver the news to the eager and distraught family. Today was no different.
The sergeant, Sgt. Leyland, had developed a report with Rain's parents in the past few days. It was nearly impossible to not befriend them in someway as he was always at their door with some new information or to keep control over the hordes of reporters. But this time was different, this time he wore a small smile on his face. Pride filled his mind.
Charles answered the door seconds after the first knock, Marilyn was right behind him. They invited Leyland into the living room and sat silently, waiting for a new tip, or perhaps a solid answer as to where their daughter had gone to.
"We've got something new," Leyland began, sipping at coffee Marilyn offered him, as she did whenever he came to the house.
"A tip? A sighting?" Charles wondered excitedly.
"Did you find her?" Marilyn spoke in high optimism, seeing his smile as a very good sign.
"Not yet," Leyland shook his head, grin still on him, "but we got something big all the same. You remember all the sightings we got out of the city? The rave and that mansion?" They both nodded. "Well, we were waiting for more information to come in before we were going to pursue them. We were waiting for proof she was there."
"Were?" Charles noticed Leyland's odd wording. "You got something?"
"I did," the sergeant nodded, reaching into his breast pocket and retrieving a small picture and handing it to them.
Charles and Marilyn instantly recognized the face in the picture. It was Rain alright, it was their daughter. The photo was grainy and dark, but they could tell all the same. The photo was obviously taken with a phone, and through a car window. Their daughter was in the passenger seat of a silver car in the next lane.
"Where was this? When?" Charles shot questions at the sergeant.
"It was taken around two o'clock this morning," Leyland explained. "The person recognized her off pictures in the paper and snapped this picture in downtown Kansas City."
"So we know she's in the city, now what?" Marilyn asked, elatedly looking at the picture. "Can you get her now?"
"We've increased our chances for sure," Leyland said. "But we really can't guarantee anything until we have her. I'm sorry I can't give anything else."
"Don't be," Charles stopped him, a wide smile on his face, "this is great."
"So what do you do now?" Marilyn inquired.
"We're going to head out to check out those other leads in the city," Leyland replied. "Hopefully they'll lead somewhere. For all we know, they might just lead us directly to Rain. But, trust me, this is a fantastic sign. She's not all the way lost now, really just misplaced in one area, if that makes any sense."
"Is there anything else we can do?" Charles finally looked away from the picture to look at the sergeant. "Can we help look? Is there anything that you need?"
"I think we're good on our end, but thank you though."
"What about the press?"
"Yeah," Marilyn nodded in agreement, "what do we tell them? They're not going to stand for nothing for very long. And if it weren't for them this picture wouldn't be here. They're obviously helping a little."
"I think, at this point, its up to your own discretion," Leyland said. "I would say to hold off, just in case Rain sees the report and gets out of the city."
"But they've helped before," Marilyn pointed out. "They helped get that picture."
"And if Rain was paying attention to the news, wouldn't she have left already," Charles added. "That stuff has been out there for a while."
"Like I said, its up to you," Leyland got up from his seat, "I'm just here to offer suggestions more than anything when it comes to the press."
"Where are you off to?" Charles wondered.
"Chase some leads," the sergeant answered before giving them a wave and heading out the door.
Now alone, Charles turned to his wife, ready to address the other problem that was facing them. He already had an answer in his mind, and he could see in her look that she did too.
"Should we talk to the press?" he asked her.
"I think we should," she nodded. "It could lead to more help, more pictures, more information. Now that people can know where she is, they could keep their eyes out more. And like you said, if she was paying any attention to the news in the city she would've left already. You heard Leyland, that picture is only a few hours old."
"Yeah," he agreed, "I think it'll do some good."
"So how do we do it?"
"They're probably still hovering in our front yard," he pointed out. "All we really need to do is go outside and tell them. We shouldn't be straight about it, in case Rain does get scared off. We should just say we suspect she's in Kansas City and that people in the city should keep their eyes peeled, nothing really solid."
"That sounds good, yeah," Marilyn replied nervously. She never liked limelight, she hated it now. She could see Charles felt the same way. But they both knew that, for their daughter's sake, they had to get all the tips and help they could. The press was the best way to get it.
"Okay," Charles stood up, helping his wife up, "let's tell them."
With that they headed for their door, knowing a circus was awaiting them on the other side. They prepared themselves for the confusing gibberish the reporters would send their way, but they knew it was a necessary evil. For Rain's sake, they stepped outside.
23
