Day 1
The chilling realization that her friend was in considerable danger, Diana didn't waste a moment to go to her own car and grab her phone to try and call the office receptionist to file a missing person's report and to gather a search party.
"Hello?" To her surprise, the voice that picked up the phone belonged to her boss, Chief. Blinking confusion away for a moment, Diana cleared her throat. "Chief, thank god I reached you, Daisy is missing. I just found her car in the parking lot and her keys!" She sounded panicked, barely able to keep her breathing steady.
"Ease up kiddo, that doesn't need to mean anything." Chief interjected on the other side of the line. He seemed as calm as ever, but Diana played that off as the older man just having much more experience in the field than she did.
"Well, she's not been seen since yesterday Chief, when I saw her at the office. I think something is wrong." Diana pushed, pausing only to look around the parking lot after she swore she saw some movement from the corner of her eye again.
Yet at the realization no one was there, she continued talking to Chief, who cleared his throat. "Alright, I'll come take a look and organize a search if it looks like ya say it does Diana. Just sit tight." And with that, the other hung up the phone.
Diana put her phone back into her pocket, and took the time to look around the car of her friend for any more clues she could share with her higher up in the mean time.
She had the distinct feeling she was being watched, but she didn't care. She had a gun on her and if anyone wanted to come mess with her that day, they would have to find out what would happen the hard way.
While looking, Diana noticed a sticker next to her friend's car, and kneeled down to pick it up. It seemed to be of a new type of shoe brand. Diana inspected it for just a moment until she heard the door to the office open and the familiar footsteps of her boss.
Stuffing the sticker into her pocket, forgetting about it she gave him a worried look. Though Chief only seemed a tiny bit annoyed by her request for help.
"So what's all this huffin' and puffin' about?" Asked Chief, coming up to Daisy's car as well, crossing his arms as he raised a stern eyebrow at Diana. She in turn, pointed at the car next to her, a look of frustration crossing her own face.
"This. This is Daisy's car, and she is nowhere in sight." Now Diana was growing more frustrated as Chief still seemed a little reserved and too calm given the information. "I thought her husband just picked her up cuz the car had trouble." Chief explained with a shrug.
Maybe he was still a little slow because of his earlier flu or something, Diana wondered as she looked down and pointed at the car keys. The detective hadn't touched them yet, since they could be considered evidence later on.
"She wouldn't have left those if it was car trouble, would she?" Diana asked, raising an eyebrow at Chief, who sighed deeply.
He was silent then, eying her, he hummed. "When's the last time ya had a good night sleep? Let alone a day off kiddo? Ya look like crap" The older man looked concerned in Diana's opinion.
Taking out her phone, she looked at it to confirm the date and time, only to see she had about 5 missed text messages from Jack and a missed call from him.
Not even bothering to open them, she had more important things to do anyway. Making eye contact with her boss again she shrugged. "It's been about two days since I had a full night sleep, why?"
Chief chuckled as he shook his head, in a fatherly manner, reaching a hand out to lay on her shoulder. "Ya need some rest kiddo, workin' too many nights can make ya go a little nutty, tell ya what. Yer gonna take the day off, and I'll go look for Dais alright?"
Chief's tone sounded serious but also, had the warm undertone she was so used to at this point. He really was like a father to her.
"I can help with that sea-" Before Diana could finish that sentence, the man interrupted her. "Do I have to put ya on leave Diana? Yer takin' a day off one way or another. Ya can come back tomorrow for yer evenin' shift. But ya need rest. I'm sure Dais will turn up soon, otherwise I'll go look for her, myself." Chief spoke in a stern voice, furrowing his eyebrows at her.
Diana couldn't help but remain silent at that, being suspended would be worse since, she would lose access to the police database. "Alright, I'll take the day off." The detective relented with a heavy sigh.
She could trust that Chief would take care of the case anyway, he was much more experienced than her and would do what she'd do anyway. "That's my girl, now go home will ya? I'll take it over from here." Diana nodded again, looking to the ground as she got into her car, turning the ignition on.
However, just before she closed the doors she noticed the hip new shoes her boss was wearing. "Nice shoes Chief, finally treated yourself?" Diana asked, and Chief just shook his head.
"Had to throw the old ones out. Had holes in 'em." Chief explained with a warm chuckle as Diana pulled the door of her car closed and drove off towards her small home. Watching the sun rise at the same time.
—————
/italic/ Flashback.
"Oh come on Didi, you should be in this picture too!" Daisy practically shouted as she tugged on her friends arm. Diana couldn't help but feel helpless as she was dragged towards the backyard of her friend's house.
"Dais, really, I don't need to be in this..." Diana protested, now realizing that her friend had set her up.
A day earlier, Daisy had asked Diana to put on a nice dress and do her hair for a special surprise she had in mind. Diana didn't know what her friend had in mind for a surprise but complied anyway as she did as asked.
Her hair was in a nice little bun, and she had put on a green dress to look nice in the summer weather. Yet when she arrived at Daisy's house, she realized why she was there.
And why she needed to look nice. Daisy was having a photo shoot of her little family. And apparently Diana needed to be in a picture as well.
"None sense! You need to be in this too! Look at you, all made up! Would be a waste to not have you be in a picture too!" Daisy protested, and was surprisingly strong, easily hauling Diana's ass closer to the big tree in the backyard which was being used as the background.
Daisy's husband was already there, waiting with little Hans in his arms. He gave Diana a sheepish smile, and mouthed a 'I'm sorry' when he saw the two approach.
Great... he was in on it....
"I don't like pictures Dais! I hated the one in the papers already after I caught that robber!" Diana complained half heartedly as her short friend finally stopped walking, and shoved Diana closer to the tree.
Daisy herself looked much better in pictures anyway, she had beautiful, blonde curly hair. Her eyes were bright blue and she had the sweetest smile.
What had convinced her that the much, darker and glum Diana belonged in the pictures, was beyond her.
"Well this one isn't going in the papers." Daisy pouted "This one is going in the family album! Come on Diana, please? I just want you in it too, since you're part of our little family too now!"
Gulping, Diana let out a very deep sigh and relented, "Fine." She admitted and stood next Daisy as she positioned herself next to her husband and baby. Shoving her hands in her pockets, the detective smiled, as best as she could while the camera man took the picture with a loud-
*SNAP*
———-
With a gasp, Diana snapped out of her thoughts, looking around her living room. When she had gotten home the morning before, she had tossed her shoes off, ate some left overs and sat down on the floor to watch some TV.
Realizing by the red in the sky, she must have fallen asleep since the sun was setting. Frowning Diana sat up, and stretched her aching limbs. "The floor is not a good place to sleep..." Diana grumbled to herself, getting up to grab some more food and something to drink.
The whole ordeal of the day and night before was still fresh on her mind, where could her friend be?
Diana had tried to call her when she got home as well, but she didn't pick up. Looking a her phone again, Daisy hadn't called her back either.
The only calls she had missed were from Jack. Which only elicited a huff from Diana. "Lozer..." she grumbled, realizing that the man must have been obsessed with her after their first meeting.
She'd have to set him straight at some point, since, this was getting to be a little out of hand if he continued this. A little creepy even.
After eating, and while still drinking her soda, Diana walked to her office on the only other floor of the house, and logged into the police database.
Maybe she could find something on the CCTV Tapes regarding her friend's disappearance.
Taking her time to log on and read the e-mails she had missed, Diana's eyes scanned over all the camera logs that had been collected over the last few days.
"This might take a while to sort out...." The detective mumbled as she set to work, her eye quickly glancing over the picture standing on her desk as well.
Showing herself, with her hands shoved in her jacket pockets that hid most of her dress, standing next to the happy family of Daisy, who couldn't have smiled bigger if she tried.
It motivated her to keep going.
After looking through a few tapes of that morning and seeing nothing, Diana went further back to that evening, just as Daisy's shift ended. "10:30..." Diana mumbled as she tried to find the tape of that moment.
Yet, when she searched for it, she couldn't find it anywhere. "Huh?" Diana frowned, looking at the lists and tapes again and again. But she still found nothing. That was strange.
How could a tape go missing? Did the camera just malfunction just as that happened? "Strange..." Diana grumbled, trying over and over for what felt like hours.
But when her watch showed it was 11:45, she gave up. She had to go ask the next morning. The receptionist at the office had to know more, didn't she?
Deciding this was enough for the night, and not wanting to upset Chief by staying on too long, she shut her computer off and undressed to her underwear, when she reached her bedroom. Plopping down onto her warm 2 person bed a, she got under the covers.
Maybe some more sleep, that was not on the floor, would help prepare her for the next day.
Looking at the wooden ceiling, and seeing the moon appear from the small window in her small bedroom, Diana tried to hold out hope her friend was out there somewhere. Drifting off to sleep thinking of her.