"Turner, we've gone over everything already. You saw the note. Maybe he really did just run away."

I turned around quickly and glared at my partner. "What are you saying, John? Are you giving up on him? Because that's not what we do. We're the people that keep looking after everyone else has lost all hope. I won't stop searching for him until Captain forces me to stop. Are you with me?"

John looked away, his face turning every shade of red. "Of course."

"Good."

Poor kid. He wouldn't make it very far if he didn't learn to focus on the case at hand. He'd be a much better cop if he focused on the victim instead of the glory.

"So let's get back to it, kid. There has to be something we haven't gone over."

"But we have gone over everything," he wined.

"Then we'll go over it again! What did forensics turn up?"

He picked up a folder from his desk and flipped through it, looking for the correct paperwork. "Nothing. The room was immaculate."

"And the note?" I ran my hand over my forehead and into my hair. There had to be something.

"You were right that the handwriting wasn't his, but we don't know who it does belong to."

"Teachers?"

"All said he was a decent kid. No major change in his behavior. Usually kept to himself."

"Friends?"

He sighed. "I just said he usually kept to himself."

I snatched the folder from his hands with a quick glare of disdain. There he goes again, not paying attention to the victim. "Really? That's not what I remember him saying when we talked to him last."

I flipped through the papers to find my notes from that day.

"Well-"

"Aha! Adam McAllister. If Raiden cared enough to keep a picture of the two of them, he must have meant something to him. Right, John?"

"Right..." he mumbled.

I picked up the phone book from the desk and threw it into his lap. It landed with a dull thud and he wrapped his hands around it. "Find his address," I ordered.

He knew he was on thin ice with me and did as he was told without complaint. It was a nice change of pace for him.

I took a few steps towards the table with the coffee. One perk of seniority is being able to pick where your desk is located. And then locating said desk right between the coffee station and the bathroom. Good times.

"Turner?" John questioned.

"Yeah?"

"There are six different McAllister households in town."

I was able to fix an entire cup of coffee to my specifications and take a couple sips before I realized he didn't know what to do with that information. When I turned back towards him, he didn't look any closer to realizing it, though I gave him a couple more seconds to think.

"...Well then you'd better start making some calls."

That seemed to snap him back into place. "Oh! Right! On it." He looked down at the numbers of the page with a sort of disgust as if he didn't think he was expected to have to do that.

I sighed and sat down across from him with my drink and half the numbers. I picked up the phone and dialed the first number to have pity on him.

Millennials...

~~~

"Are you sure this is the house?" I glanced over at John, who gave me a curt nod. It wasn't that I didn't believe him. I'd just wanted to double check. "Okay. You do the honors."

He stepped forward and rang the doorbell twice. He backed up a step and held his hands in front of him, gentlemanly.

I surveyed the perimeter and noted the spacing between all of the houses on the street. By the time I was done, the door creaked open and a petite, archaically dressed woman took its place.

"Hello, Ma'am," John started. "I am Officer John, and this is my partner, Officer Turner." I nodded politely at the mention of my name. "We spoke on the phone earlier about your son, Adam?"

Her face brightened immediately and she stepped back. "Oh! Of course! Please, come in. We've been expecting you."

We followed her inside the house and into the den.

"Sit! Make yourself at home! I made some sweet tea and cookies. I made chocolate chip, peanut butter, and sugar because I didn't know which you'd prefer. They're on the table if you'd like some. Excuse me for a moment while I go grab my son for you."

When she was out of the room, John grabbed a handful of cookies. I took one to be polite and took a small bite.

I heard her call up the stairs, "Adam, sweetie! The police are here! They want to talk to you!"

"Coming!"

Thunderous steps echoed through the stairs into the room. A young boy around Raiden's age appeared at the bottom of the stairs next to Mrs. McAllister. They both joined us back in the den.

I handed my barely touched cookie to John (who seemed more than happy to receive it) and stood to shake the boy's hand.

"Hello, young man. You must be Adam. I'm Officer Turner and this is my partner, Officer John. So, it's my understanding that you and Raiden are close?"

"Oh, yes," he answered immediately. "We're best friends. I just can't believe he ran away like that..."

"So he didn't tell you anything about planning to leave?"

"No. I hadn't seen him for a couple of days, actually." He walked over and took a seat on the sofa. I sat down near him. "He seemed fine. Looked like he had a clear head."

"Hm. So, do you know where he might have gone?"

He sighed and looked away with teary eyes. "No. I'm so sorry. I've just been so worried since he went missing... Do you think he's alright?"

The boys eyes held a genuine fear and I knew he was worried for his friend. I could only try to reassure him. "I'm sure he'll be fine. We'll find him eventually."

He sniffed, wiped at the corners of his eyes, and smiled. "I hope so."

"Did he have any other friends you're aware of?"

"No. Well, not friends, really. He had a boyfriend he seemed to always talk about." He smiled. "Raiden always seemed so happy talking about him. If he ended up with him, I'm sure he's really happy."

I nodded reassuringly. "There's just one more thing. If we can get a written statement from both of you, we'll be out of your hair."

"Yeah, sure. Of course. Anything to help."

They both took a paper from me and wrote down a couple of sentences before returning them. "Thank you both for your cooperation. You've been greatly helpful."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a business card. A card identical to the one I'd given Raiden. I handed it to Adam and told him to call me if anything new came to him. He assured me he would and John and I concluded our visit.

Once we were back in the squad car, John turned towards me.

"Dead end. Now do we give up? Even his best friend thinks he ran away."

I glared at him as I tuned the engine on. "Are you sure you're cut out for this job? I just told you that we don't give up until we're forced to."

"But there's nothing left to investigate!" he exclaimed.

"There's two things left. We need to identify Raiden's online boyfriend," I held up the statement sheets, "and check the new handwriting samples against the note."

He looked away and I sighed, backing out of the driveway.

I'll make a police officer out of him yet.

Then we'll find Raiden as a team.