"Woah, woah, woah, wait-" Midnight says, dropping my empty cup to the floor where it clangs loudly, causing me to noticeably cringe.

She strolls up to Suzannah, her eyes narrowed, eyebrows angled. "What do you mean, supposed to?" she asks, angry, her eyes intense as she stares her down. The way her make-up has pooled and slipped down her face, Suzannah looks a little like a melted ice-cream cake.

"What are you saying, Midnight?" asks Kitty, turning away from the fire, her face still illuminated by the golden flames; their shadows dancing across her cheeks.

"I-I'm saying..." Midnight stammers, lost for words, "I'm saying maybe the Evanses had something to do with Aster's disappearance!" she accuses.

Fox looks thoughtful. "Did you? Do you know what happened to Aster?"

Suzannah Evans starts to cry again, her words choked by gasps and pants, "No, no, I did but I don't know what went wrong!"

My eyebrows come together like two furry caterpillars meeting at a point, "What do you mean?"

Suzannah brings the handkerchief scrunched between her perfectly manicured fingers closer towards her face, and down again, when it rests; lifeless and limp in her lap.

She sighs slowly, so slowly a yoga teacher would approve. "Aster's a smart girl. I know it." she pauses, looking off into space whilst we all sit, confused. Suzannah rests her gaze down again, "But the past few years her grades were really dropping."

Kitty nods silently to confirm this.

Suzannah sighs again, "It's Evans family tradition to go to a good college, and Aster's grades would never get her there."

We all pause, dreading what Aster's mother will reveal next. My jaw clenches, silently hoping she won't reveal what I'm speculating.

Suzannah stiffens, embarrassed, and revealing her mistake. "We thought if Aster was kidnapped, she would be eligible to apply for the Troubled Students Program." her gaze disconnects from her surroundings. "Who wouldn't accept a poor innocent girl who was kidnapped for three weeks and kept in a log cabin? It'd be all over the news; coverage everywhere, it'd been impossible to deny her a place in the finest college!"

Kitty looks off into space into the crackling fire. I can tell she's upset, by the way her eyes aren't focused; staring blankly into the dancing flames which lick at the air with vigour.

Suzannah, between sobs, continues her story. "Aster agreed...it was the only way... She was only supposed to be gone for three weeks... - but it's been a month!"

I feel sick; my stomach churns. Now we know foul play was definitely involved. What had made their plan turn sour.

Fox got angry; frowning; his face screwed up with anger. "So this whole time; it's all been a joke to you? That night. when it happened, and Mom and I came to you in sobs...when you and Elsie and Lian were so beside yourselves...that was all a lie?"

Suzannah shifts uncomfortably. "It was what was best."

Kitty, too, now turns to glare at Suzannah over her shoulder. When she speaks up, her voice is soft; weak and hurt. "Did Elsie know?"

Suzannah looks down; ashamed. "No, she didn't. We didn't want her to tell everyone. Besides, she's far too young to understand these things!"

Kitty's voice raises, talking between her tightly bared teeth. "You. Monster."

Awkwardly, I shuffle over to Kitty and wrap her in an awakward-half hug; my arm around her as she sobs.

"What was your original plan?" Midnight asks, trying to crack inside Suzannah's mind.

Suzannah's jaw clenches before replying. "She was kept in a log cabin. She was supposed to come  back two days before the commemoration service."

Mustering all my courage, I pipe up, "Did she know all of this?"

"All of it," Suzannah answers, ashamed, "she knew it would be best. She even insisted on wearing a stupid dress she found in a thrift store. Some dead old granny's probably."

"Like in "Lucy's Demise"," I mutter.

Kitty nods, "Aster was always very theatrical. Very clever; she'd often reference and refer to things she'd read; not that anyone else understood."

"Maybe she wanted someone to find out..." Midnight ponders, "she wanted to be noticed and people to ask why; maybe she planned someone to find "Lucy's Demise" on her bedside table."

I nod, it all coming together now. "Of course!  A help signal..."

"Where was the cabin in the woods?" Fox asks, becoming protective; from the idea that Aster could have been saved.

"Deep in," Suzannah answers, bitterly, "Somewhere no-one would ever find it."

Midnight freezes, "Like near the blood in the woods."

"Maybe her captor killed her," I chip in, "if no-one would find the deep dark place in the woods..."

Suzannah shakes her head, "Her captor wouldn't have killed her. He just wouldn't've."

Kitty's eyebrows tighten, lost in deep concentration. "Whatever do you mean? How on Earth can you be so sure?"

Suzannah pauses. "I know he wouldn't because we know him."

Parts of the puzzle comes into play and our minds are all bubbling with questions.

In an instant, Elsie comes bounding down the stairs; her long blonde hair tied into two ponytails. She's sporting a pink T-shirt and leggings; covered with shin pads and elbow pads; with a shiny pink helmet on her head.

"Mommy! Mommy!" she calls, "Can we please go bike riding?"

"Not today, Hon," Suzannah says, not even turning to look at her daughter. "Mommy's busy." she says, and we all watch Elsie's beaming face dull.

"Oh." Elsie utters, "I just remember Aster used to like to bike ride. I thought maybe we could still think of her."

Suzannah continues to ignore Elsie, but I, on the other hand am overwhelmed with grief. I remember when my older brother passed away. He was sick; looking limp and grey in bed. His eyes had lost their happy shine, and he held my hand for the last time. "I'll miss you," he said, as he was dying; and that we always stay with me, as long as I live.

Here's Elsie; so young and impressionable, without a clue what's happened to her sister, or the fact it was all her parent's fault. I remember her speech on the day of the commemoration; the one that left my eyes flooded with tears. She loves Aster. And she'll never know what happened; just so easily pushed aside and ignored.

As Elsie still stands there; helmet dangling from her fingertips, Suzannah pauses. "I'll be there in a minute. Maybe we can do something else."

She ushers us all out the door, before whispering, "I know the captor wouldn't hurt her because he was Daryl Deramaine."