After having already seen more dead bodies in the last week than ever before in her life, Riley knew visiting a morgue full of them would be less than pleasant. 

Normally she would take a moment, a breath of fresh air. But now she simply turns her brain off and bursts in. Attempting to deal with all the emotions building up has already taken too much out of her, she decides, so it's time to ignore them. Or she'll never get through this. 

The cold white walls in this place remind her of the morning in the hospital after they found Carrie. The bad feeling she had that morning, a feeling she hasn't lost since. The man behind the counter is busily typing on his computer as she approaches. 'Hi, I'm looking for Dr. Morley, the medical examiner.' 

'Do you have an appointment?' 

'No, I was just...' 

'I'm sorry, you can't see the doctor without an appointment.' After quickly shutting her down he looks back at his computer, resuming his work, as if she'd never even been there. 

About to give up as she turns around, she spins back and looks at the man once more. 'Could I just use your bathroom real quick?' 

He looks at her, clearly annoyed. 'The exit is right there, I suggest you leave through it.'

Back outside she turns into the alley on the left side of the building. She can't give up now, there's got to be a way in. 

Behind the building she spots an ambulance. As she carefully peers around the corner she sees two paramedics entering the morgue through a back door, carrying a stretcher. After waiting a few minutes they come back out. Keeping one eye on the slowly closing door, she watches the paramedics get back in the ambulance with the other. 

As soon as they pull the car door shut, she runs for the back door. She manages to grab it just in time, right before it would have fallen to a close. 

Once inside she carefully treads down the hallway until she's suddenly halted by the wall of refrigerators in the room in front of her. With her eyes glued to the wall she slowly pushes through the glass doors. On both sides of her she sees empty metal slabs. This place is as cold and depressing as she had imagined. The idea of possibly ending up here makes her feel more anxious than ever. 

'What are you doing in here?' 

With an anxious jump and a quick spin she finds a woman standing behind her. The long white coat she's wearing bears a name tag that tells Riley this is the medical examiner. 'You can't be in here, you have to leave.' 

As she grabs Riley's arm to pull her away Riley stops her. 'Wait, Dr. Morley. I need to talk to you, my name is Riley Clemens and I...' 

Abruptly releasing Riley's arm the doctor interrupts her. 'Riley Clemens, you're Carrie Clemens' sister.' 

Surprised Riley looks at her distraught face. 'Yes, I am. How do you know me?' 

'I'm the one who found your sister on that highway two months ago.'

Five minutes later Riley is sitting in Dr. Morley's office, cradling a cup of coffee in her hands. The doctor is sitting across the desk, attempting to show her a comforting smile.

'How is your sister?'

'She's... still recovering. She was institutionalized, she's been having a hard time.'

'I understand. I can't imagine what she must have gone through, it's just terrible... But, what brings you here?'

'I've been investigating my sister's kidnapping as well as the murders at my school. I've received threats and I believe I'm being targeted. I need to find out who's behind all this, or neither I nor my friends will be safe.'

'That's quite a task to take on.'

'I'm afraid I don't have much of a choice. And I really need to ask you some questions. About my sister and the other victims. I understand you're the one who did the autopsies.'

'I am, but I'm not sure what I can tell you that will help. Frankly, I'm stumped. These murders... I don't quite understand them.'

'I need to know about the poison that killed them.'

'It's not really poison. It's more like a drug, judging from the symptoms it produces. The problem however is that when the substance enters the blood-work it dissolves entirely. It practically disappears, making it entirely untraceable. I've never seen anything like it. Which leads me to believe that it's something new.'

'Can you tell me what it does?'

'Other than produce a glowing green effect in the victim's irises... Only that if enough is admitted, it is fatal. And taking your sister's situation into account, it is highly probable that taking the right amount causes amnesia.'

'If my sister was given the same substance as the other victims, why aren't her eyes glowing green?'

'It's only a temporary effect, the murder victims' eyes have since turned back to their natural color as well.'

'Do you think there's a way to reverse the effects of the drug? With my sister, I mean.'

'I can't say anything for certain without knowing what the drug is made of, and I can't figure that out without having a sample.'

As Riley takes a sip of her coffee she processes the new information. Her eye falls on an open file on the desk and she reads part of it before even realizing. Something stands out to her, like she's seen it before. 'That name, who's file is this?' 

'A young girl who died two months ago, why? Did you know her?' 

'I don't think so, but that name... I think I've seen it somewhere before.' She tries to remember, but the information is just out of reach.

'How did she die?'

'She was shot, found in an alley. It's tragic, she was only 18 years old.'

'Do you know who did it?'

'No, it's another mystery. Why are you asking all this?'

'I... I think due to recent events I may have developed some kind of morbid curiosity. I'm sorry for prying. Thank you for answering my questions, I should go now.'

Once she's back in her car, she closes her eyes, digging through her memories, trying to find the information she's looking for. That name... where did she see it? It takes a few minutes, but then in an instant the memory surfaces. She grabs her phone and dials Grayson's number. 'I need you to meet me at Norwell, we have to talk to Carrie.'

∾

'This better be good, it's incredibly risky for me to be back here.' Riley is leaning against the wall by the entrance, fumbling with her phone as Grayson gets out of his car. She's been waiting for a while. 'I think I found something, I'm just not sure what it means yet.' 

They walk inside together, it's already getting dark, they're just in time for the evening visiting hours. The nurse behind the counter smiles when she sees them. 'Evening Riley, back so soon? I see you've found your mystery guy.' 

Smiling back, Riley attempts to act normal. 'I did. Old family friend as it turns out.' 

Once they turn the corner and head for Carrie's room Grayson leans over. 'Try saying as little as possible when it comes to me.' He whispers. 

'I thought 'old family friend' would be vague enough.' Riley counters defensively. 

'It's still too close to the truth.'

'I'm sorry, I'm not very good at lying. I usually try to avoid it.' Her clear irritation makes Grayson second guess his decision to help. He's put her in a position she shouldn't be in by having her keep his secret. But sharing this with her can't help but make him feel less alone, for the first time in eight years. 

The door to Carrie's room is open and they spot her right away, sitting by the window with her notebook. 'Hey Care, I'm back.' Riley settles in the other chair as she inspects her sister. 

Carrie looks from Riley to Grayson, seeming glad to see him. 'Hello, nice to see you again.' She speaks calmly as she observes Grayson. Looking obviously uncomfortable he keeps a distance as he closes the door. 

'Care, do you think I could take a look at your notebook?' 

Carrie seems surprised by the request. 'Why?' 

'I'm looking for something. A name, I think I saw you write it a while back.' 

'Maybe I can help you find it, what was the name?' 

'Amber Brenning.' At the mention of the name Carrie's friendly expression vanishes. She begins to feel distressed, and Riley picks up on it. 'You know the name.' 

Carrie starts quickly flipping through the pages of her notebook until she finds what she's looking for, then turns it over to Riley. The two pages shown are covered in the name Amber Brenning, repeated over and over again. Shocked Riley gazes up at her sister.  'Care, why did you write this name?' 

Hesitating for a moment, Carrie stares at the pages, her expression saddening. 'I... I don't know. It's like it's burned into my brain, I can't get it out.' 

'You mean... you remember it? From before you...?' Riley is afraid to finish her sentence, still avoiding the words 'kidnapped' and 'amnesia' like the plague. 

Carrie won't look at either of them anymore, she crosses her arms as she casts her eyes to the ground. 'I don't know, I really don't.' 

Feeling both dazed and concerned Riley looks from Carrie to Grayson, who shares her expression. 'Just... give us a minute, okay?' She tells Carrie as she gets up and moves out to the hallway. As she closes the door she turns Grayson.

'Who is this Amber Brenning?' Grayson asks insistently.

'A murder victim. An eighteen year old girl who was killed two months ago, right around the time Carrie went missing. Why would Carrie remember that, of all things?'

Grayson paces through the hallway, taking a moment to think. 'Maybe she just saw it in a newspaper or something?' He finally suggests.

'No... that can't be all there is to it. This has to mean something.'

'Alright, then we need to find out more about this dead girl.'

Back at the car a while later, not quite ready to go home and face the millions of questions Bryn and Sofia will have for her, Riley lingers as she looks over her shoulder at Grayson about to leave. 'Grayson?' He turns back and they face each other.

'Why did you visit my sister in the first place?'

'If you really want to know... I came to apologize.'

'For kidnapping her?'

'Yeah. My usual victims aren't exactly capable of accepting an apology afterwards. But Carrie... I guess with knowing that she was stuck in here, and the historical content and all.'

'So you do actually feel guilt.'

'Just because I'm a bad guy doesn't mean I don't feel, Riley.'

'You said something before... about remembering me.' Riley carefully starts.

'You were young, I don't expect you to remember me from before everything happened. But I remember you. You were going to change the world, become a journalist and write about the truth. Expose all the corruption.'

She can't help smiling at the memory of a younger, more innocent self. 'I still want to do that. But my parents don't exactly condone those ambitions.'

'Well, my parents never agreed with me, I survived.'

He opens his car door, signaling an end to the conversation. 'So, tomorrow we look into Amber Brenning?' He inquires. 

'Actually, no. I'm leaving town for the weekend. As much as I want to solve this as quickly as possible, I have to remember I still have a life outside of all this.' As she announces her plans she spies genuine understanding in Grayson. 'Alright.' 

As he drives off she still can't seem to abandon the parking lot just yet. She finds herself unable to read him. At first he seemed like a jackass, who just wanted to scare her and didn't care about the bad things he did. But now he's helping, and he's showing another side of himself, one that cares. He's certainly not what she thought a murderer would be like. He's wrong though, she does remember him. It's been coming back to her.

May, 2010

Now enjoying the view of lighthouse, perched on the cliff in the distance, makes her glad she snuck away. The party in full swing up at the Chandler mansion is just an excuse for the parents to talk business. Riley never enjoys coming out to these kinds of events, but she does like seeing all the different places. And when this mansion turned out to be right by the beach she couldn't resist slipping away to gaze at the ocean. 

As she settles in the sand and grabs her diary she begins penning down everything she saw in Seattle yesterday. The fancy looking buildings and the Space Needle, but also the homeless people in the streets and the run down houses in the neighborhoods her father sped through as quickly as he could. Sometimes she wonders if he even still sees it, or if he's simply turned a blind eye to the poor working men of this country.

Coming September she'll start at Carlton Prep in New York. Carrie has almost finished her first year already. Through her Riley has met a few other kids, like Bryn Hanley, Aaron Rowe and Milo Chandler. Now admitting to her diary how nervous she is, she wishes she'll become good friends with them. 

'Hey, you lost?' 

Unprepared for the sudden company, she drops her diary in shock. Looking up at the person hovering over her, she recognizes the face. 'Grayson, hey... I eh...' '

Snuck off?' He lands next to her in the sand as he smiles. 'Don't worry, I won't tell.' He winks at her, making her smile back.

'What you got there?'

'My notebook.'

'Ah, are you a writer?'

'Not yet, but I will be. I'm going to be a journalist.'

'Really, what are you going to write about when you're a journalist?'

'All the bad things happening in the world.'

'So light reading material then?' They both smile. She hasn't really talked much with him before, but he always seems nice. He's constantly teasing Milo, but in a doting older brother kind of way. He's like Carrie, a fun older sibling.

'So what are you doing out here? Do you not like parties either?' Riley asks.

'My parents usually make me vacate the house when they throw big shindigs like this. I don't exactly fit the perfect Chandler image.'

'Milo said you get in trouble a lot.'

'That's true. I guess I haven't really found my way yet. I'm not sure what I want to do with my life.'

'What do you mean? Aren't you going to take over your family's company?'

'I don't think I'm really cut out to be like my father. I see what you see, all the bad stuff happening around us. I can't lie about it like my parents do.'

'Maybe you should become a journalist too.'

He laughs, it's a nice laugh, the kind of laugh that makes you laugh. 'I've never been much of a writer.'

'Something else then... a police officer.'

'Maybe, who knows... Now, let's get you back up there. Before your parents find out you're gone.'