She is not bad

Chapter 69 : Separation

Hopper decided to take care of Jane's disappearance with Joyce. The Police station barely took him seriously when he expounded the case, so he told them he would work on his own for this to convince them to let him do. The couple contacted in the first place Jane's closest friends, Medhi, Melissa, and Mallory. They wanted to participate at the investigation, but Joyce and Hopper told them they would just slow the search. But they asked them to stay alert. They could hear something or see something that Hopper and Joyce had missed. They didn't call the friends she had in school, to be sure they wouldn't hide her from the Police.

Hopper and Joyce returned at Cassandra's. They wanted to try to think like Jane, to know where she could have gone and why she was gone. They analyzed the room and the garden, and followed the footprints that Jane let on the grass. It didn't really help them to find a clue, but Cassandra gave them the addresses of places she used to go. They began with the squat, but she wasn't there, and those who were here didn't know who Jane was. So, they decided to go to the bar "The Dirty Men". They asked some customers if they had seen Jane, but they all shook their heads to say no. They went to the backstage where the strippers were getting ready.

- "Do you know her?" Hopper asked, showing a picture of Jane.

- "Yes, of course I know her! We all know her! She is our sunshine!" a girl answered.

- "She disappeared, right?" another girl said.

- "Yes. Have you seen her lately?"

- "Nope. We don't spend much time with her. She was coming here to see Mallory or to bang Loren."

- "Is Loren here?" Joyce asked.

The two girls showed a blonde girl with their fingers. The two adults nodded to thank them before approaching the girl who was putting some make-up.

- "You're here for Jane?" Loren asked, seeing them in her mirror.

- "Yes. Did she come here two nights ago?" Hopper said.

- "I wish she did. But no. I haven't seen her for a while! Mallory is not working here anymore; she doesn't really have real reasons to come back here," she explained with a light disappointed tone.

- "Do you have an idea of a place where she could have gone?"

- "No...Last time I saw her, she created a big fight in the bar. I think Mallory told me that she spent the night at a friend's apartment...Um, the annoying redhead?"

- "Max?" Joyce frowned.

- "Probably. Maybe she went there to hide."

- "Yes, maybe. Thank you for your help," Hopper said.

The two adults were about to leave when Loren grabbed the man's arm to stop them.

- "You won't send her again in prison, right? Mallory told me how she was and what they did to her...It's awful, especially when we know she was innocent."

- "We just wanna take her back home, that's all," Joyce reassured.

- "Okay...She is fragile, you know. She acts tough because she is scared that people could bully her, but she is not a bad person."

- "We know that," she smiled.

Loren nodded before letting them go. They left the bar, knowing they would learn nothing, and decided to check Max's apartment, even if they had a low hope to find Jane there. When they knocked at the door, they were surprised to see Gary open the door instead of the redhead.

- "Oh, hi, Ms. Byers," Gary smiled. "Is there a problem?"

- "Um, is Max here?"

- "Max! This is for you!"