The next morning, Sheldon called his contact at the Valkyrie Falls police department, Henry Everett. Everett was a detective and a long-term friend to Sheldon; over the years, the private investigator had helped out the police here and there and could always rely on Henry to tell him some of the police's internal matters in return.

"Henry, I need some information concerning the Holden kidnapping case," Sheldon said after some inquiring after the detective's family. "As I heard, you guys have no leads?"

"No, unfortunately," Henry grumbled. "It's a nasty case. But how on Wyndrah do you know about this? Aravin Holden wanted no press and absolute confidentiality."

Sheldon smiled. "Let's just say my clients also expect that confidentiality from me. I want to find this kid as much as you do, so let's just work together. If I need any police backup, I'll call. I'm sure as hell won't look for a fight when I'm outmatched."

"Alright," Henry gave in. "What do you know already?" After Sheldon told him, the detective continued, "No fingerprints anywhere, and no footprints since the grass was very dry. Disabling the alarm system was a professional job, so we're not looking for any amateurs. The tranquillizer dart the dog was shot with was a self-made one, not one used at zoos and the like, so that's a dead end, too."

"What about Aravin Holden? How did he took all this?" Sheldon asked.

"I was one of the officers who interviewed him about the circumstances. He was as cool and polite as you please, no emotions at all." Henry paused. "He behaved as if the missing kid wasn't his business at all."

"Really? I thought the little guy is his son? Shouldn't he be worried?" Sheldon furrowed his brows.

"I have no idea, Sheldon. The ones worried at the Sheldon estate were the staff; a housemaid, a butler, and a cook. And Mr. Holden's... lover, for lack of a better term."

"Hold on," the investigator interrupted. "What do you mean?"

He could almost see how Henry shrugged a bit helplessly. "Well, it he were a woman, I'd call him Holden's mistress. He's the little boy's father, that much is clear from the resemblance between him and the child. Poor thing was totally devastated, begging us to find the kid, while Holden was just standing there. You should have seen the look an his face, almost disgusted. He finally shoved his lover out of the room like one would do with a hysteric child and calmly answered the rest of our questions. I got the sneaking suspicion his primary concern was the breach of security in his estate."

Slowly, a picture of what was really going on was forming in Sheldon's mind, and he didn't like it at all. "Do you have the lover's name?"

"Yes, it's Cerise. We were given no last name, which is a bit strange considering that in this country lashran have been using surnames for hundreds of years. But he didn't have a Nandar accent either."

Cerise... a nice name, albeit a strange one, Sheldon decided. "Anything else you can tell me?"

"No, not really. So far there hasn't been a ransom demand although the Holdens could pay this country's debt on their own," Henry answered.

"Thanks. I'll call you when I have any news."

"Same here. Good luck!"

Sheldon put down his phone and started to type the new information in his computer. Aravin Holden's general indifference to his son's disappearance was unsettling and made two conclusions very easy: either Holden somehow knew that his son was in no danger, or the boy wasn't his son at all. Those theories would both make a lot of sense, but either of them would prove Aravin to be a total bastard. And the way he obviously treated his lover wasn't indicating anything different.

But why had Cerise lied to Sheldon, telling him that Aravin Holden was his mate? Was the young lifebearer ashamed of his position as a kept lover? Or was his emotional commitment this deep? Did Aravin promise to bond him someday?

A lot of questions, but Sheldon filed them away for later. Now he wanted to concentrate on another aspect of the kidnapping case: finding out who had been hired to kidnap Fyn. In Valkyrie Falls, there was only a limited number of notorious burglars who could do a job this good, and Sheldon had a contact to one of them – in fact, he had hired those housebreakers a few times himself to locate incriminating evidence for the police to find later.

But first, Sheldon needed another coffee. He had slept only three hours this night, and considering his initial lack of sleep after the last case, he now felt truly weary. He also needed a shower and fresh clothes since he had fallen asleep in his office last night and was still wearing his rumpled suit from the day before. Sheldon decided to go home and freshen up right after he had called his contact.

A velvety voice answered after the third ring. "Sheldon, darling, I haven't heard from you in ages!"

"I had a lot to do, Cat. So the police didn't catch you yet?" Sheldon greeted the female burglar.

Cat laughed. "Me? Never! What can I do for you? Any delicious little files you want found?"

"Not this time. I want to know if any of you guys helped with a kidnapping a week ago."

The woman made a disgusted sound. "Honey, we are artists, veritable ghosts. None of us would stoop so low as to harm anyone, let alone kidnap somebody. We have a code of honor, you see."

Sheldon was somehow relieved to hear that. Although he and Cat stood on opposite sides of the law, he knew that she and her burglar friends were no cold-blooded criminals. "Do you have any idea who could do something like that?" he asked. "A security system was disabled, no clues, nothing. It was the work of a pro."

Cat was silent for a minute. "Sheldon, sweetheart, the only ones I can think of are the guys from organised crime. And they are really dangerous."

Organised crime... Sheldon groaned inwardly. So far he had been able to avoid them, but this time it looked as if he had to deal with them after all. "Any more clues you could give me?" he asked.

"No, darling. And I wouldn't stick my neck out too far if I were you. I don't want to read about your untimely demise in the newspapers," Cat replied. "Be careful, Sheldon, honey."

The investigator thanked her and said goodbye. "Damn," he grumbled to himself. "And I was the one to hope for a challenging case. Seems I've got one."

Sheldon hesitated for a moment, then he picked up his cell phone again and started to type a message to Cee, asking him for a meeting this evening.

Half an hour later Sheldon was at home, had freshened up and was cooking a proper meal. He couldn't think straight on an empty stomach, and there was a lot to think about. The hint concerning organised crime was the biggest problem. If the reason for kidnapping Fyn wasn't money, then it had to be blackmail. Was Aravin Holden somehow involved with the organised crime? Or had an offer been made he had declined? And how much knew Cerise about all this?

The last question would hopefully be answered in a few hours when Sheldon met with the lifebearer again. In the meantime, he would take an extended break and try to think of something different than his case.

But Sheldon was a person with a one-track mind. He couldn't simply distract himself this easily although he tried his best while eating and trying to sleep a bit afterward. He finally gave up after a few hours of dozing off and waking up again and returned to his office.

To his surprise, Cerise was already waiting for him. He stood in the hallway in front of Sheldon's office door, wearing his dark coat and hat again and looking nervous. He visibly jumped when he heard Sheldon's footsteps, but calmed down when he recognized the investigator.

"You're a bit early," Sheldon greeted him. "I hope you haven't been waiting long?"

"No. You're not busy now?" Cerise asked hopefully.

Sheldon took his key out of his pocket and unlocked his office door. "Please come in. And no, I have time for you. Would you like a coffee?"

"No, thank you." Cerise sat down on the chair and took off his hat, absently rubbing at his temple and mussing his hair in the process. "Do you have any news?"

Sheldon made himself a cup of coffee and then sat down behind his desk. In the cold light of the lamp overhead, Cerise looked very pale and had even deeper shadows under his eyes. Obviously he had been sleeping even less than Sheldon himself.

"There are some hints that the organised crime might be responsible for kidnapping Fyn," the investigator began, watching his client closely for his reaction.

He was rewarded with a shocked look. "What?"

"It's still not confirmed, but I'd like to know if Aravin might have been threatened by them. Our you, for that matter."

Cerise shook his head. "I don't think so. That is, I know very little of my mate's business. You're not planning on asking him personally, are you?" he asked in alarm.

"I have connections to the police, and they will do the questioning," Sheldon reassured his client. "Is there any other reason for the kidnapping you could think of?"

"I would have told you if I knew anything," Cerise replied, insecurity in his voice.

Once again Sheldon had the feeling that the pretty lifebearer wasn't telling the whole truth. So he asked his next question. "Concerning Aravin Holden... he isn't Fyn's sire, is he?"

Whatever control Cerise had over his features, it was slipping now. His eyes, wide and bright like tropical lakes, grew even larger in surprise as he put a hand over his mouth. After a moment, he had recovered from his shock. "Of course he is," he answered far too quickly. "What on Wyndrah gave you that strange idea? Aravin's my mate, and of course Fyn is our son!"

Sheldon sighed. "As I said, I have contacts to the police, and they told me your are not Holden's bondmate – at least not in the official sense. And you're not wearing any bonding bracelets. So please stop this nonsense. It's not my place to judge your private life, but I heard that Holden didn't seem to be concerned in the least about Fyn's disappearance. What kind of parent would stay calm in a situation like this?"

Cerise was silent, just rubbing his fingers over his temple again and looking incredibly miserable. Sheldon felt sorry for him, but he had to know the truth.

When the young lifebearer looked at the investigator again, Sheldon saw tears in his eyes.

"You're right," Cerise whispered. "Aravin's not the father. And Forests help me if anyone ever finds out the truth."

Sheldon got up from his office chair and walked around the desk to crouch down next to Cerise. "Can you tell me the whole story from the beginning?" he asked softly. "Nothing of this will ever leave this room, I swear. You can trust me."

To be continued...