Lily rushed into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Her mind was absolutely racing, fighting with itself. It was all she could do not to run straight across the point toward Westhead, screaming out Grace's name each step of the way. The rational part of her mind understood how foolish that would be, but it didn't lessen the urge.
She let the hot water wake her body up and wash away her fatigue, then cut the heat to let the cold shock her system and give her an alertness she was going to need to stay focused. She heard a doorbell ring, and rushed out to grab the first pair of jeans and sweatshirt she could find, pulling them on as she went to the door. She looked out and saw a uniformed man on the doorstep. She opened it to speak to him.
"Miss Harris?" He asked as Lily pulled the door open. "I'm Officer Pelham. Detective Richards sent me to pick you up. Have you heard from him yet regarding why we're here?" Pelham spoke quietly and in an even tone that Lily recognized as a very professional technique to calm emotions and maintain control of a situation. She flashed a quick smile to indicate she understood and answered.
"I just spoke with Richards," she began. "Give me two minutes to get my boots on and I'll be ready to go. Would you like to wait inside?"
"I'll wait here, if you don't mind," he replied. "When you're ready to go..." his voice tailed off. Lily appreciated the space he was allowing, but understood very clearly the unspoken 'get your ass in gear.'
"I'll be right out," Lily promised, and closed the door. She was thankful for the brief exchange, which gave her a sense of the weather. She went back to finish dressing, pulling on a pair of thick socks and her boots. Then she grabbed a fleece-lined jacket and her phone on her way out the front door.
"Ready when you are," she called to Officer Pelham , who stood at the foot of the porch waiting. She locked the door, then joined him to walk to his car in the drive.
She climbed in the front seat with him, and he backed his unit around and pulled out carefully onto the deserted road. Lily checked her watch and saw it was 3:37 am. She admired Officer Pelham's calm as he pulled out and picked up speed. He was pushing what you could safely manage on these winding roads, but he was able to aggressively meet the challenge without appearing to be stressed.
He picked up his radio once they were off the side road and on the main road into town. He reported that he was in route with Lily, and gave an ETA. Other than that, he remained quiet. Lily appreciated the silence, it allowed her time to process what was happening.
She tried recalling what Detective Richards had told her. He mentioned that Grace was missing, and that her home had been broken into. Lily fought to control her breathing. He hadn't actually said very much, but she felt confident to believe that they knew more. It seemed like she was missing, but she must have left something to alert them to contact Lily. Her home had been broken into, but he'd mentioned nothing about signs of struggle or injury, so Lily decided to believe Grace was physically safe, at least, wherever she was.
The car ride seemed to pass in slow motion, but take no time either. They pulled into Grace's driveway and parked behind another cruiser. Lily got out of the car and took in the scene from their vantage point near the end of the driveway. There were two cruisers nearby, one just in front of Officer Pelham, and the other on the street near the mailbox.
A dark blue sedan was pulled up next to the garage, with a gray haired man standing next to it speaking to two uniformed policemen who nodded occasionally. Another uniform stood out to the right of the drive near the front door. She was chatting to an EMT next to the front door, which was standing wide open behind them. All of the lights were on in Grace's house, giving the whole scene a surreal cast.
