Beth's Old Sweet Shoppe

Chapter 17:

Chapter 17:

It was hard leaving Beth there yesterday, but he had too. This morning, he helped Hershel out with his farming duties and is now heading to the station. His mind plays across why Beth can't orgasm and feels like shit for finishing yesterday. He should've just layed with her. No sex, no awkward conversation with her and no one feeling crummy. Pulling into the station, he gets out of his truck and walks in to find everyone scattered and frantic.

"What's going on?" Daryl asks Rick.

"Someone came in last night and kidnapped her..."

"Her?" Then it hits him. Pushing passed Rick, Daryl races down the hallway and throws open the door to her room. Inside investigators are searching for clues and he backs to the wall an druns his hands through his hair and he can't stop shaking his head.

Racing back out to the office, Daryl passes Rick and bumps into the Governor, who seems calm and level headed.

"Where ya going in such a hurry Officer Dixon?" Brian asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Beth...how could she go missing from the fucking police station!" He yells and everyone stops. "Right under yer noses and none of you fucking saw someone taking her?"

"It seems you need to calm down Mr. Dixon."

"What the fuck do you know!" Daryl grabs Brian by his collar of his shirt and two other officers pulls Daryl off of him.

"I think you need to calm down Officer. If you can't, I'm going to have to hold you in contempt." Pulling free of the officers, Daryl pushes passed them and heads out to this truck. How was this possible? How on Earth does someone come in and just take a girl?

Driving through town he goes to the library and logs onto a computer. Making sure no one is watching, he logs onto the Camera files and goes through last nights footage from right outside the station. At first he sees nothing, but soon, he finds two people carrying out Beth, without a struggle, to a black cadillac and places her in the back seat. When the car does a u-turn, Daryl notices a white cross painted in the back window. He freezes the view and snaps a picture of the car, but can't enhance it enought to get the licenses plate. With what he has, Daryl wipes the hard-drive of the computer and then leaves.

The whole day he tries to find the car, but it's nearly impossible. When he asks people about it, no one knows anything about it. When he makes his way back to Hershel's farm, the whole family knows and is upset. They look at him and he frowns because he has failed them. He was her protector and now she's just gone.

"I'll find her. I swear to God, I will." He says with a shaky voice and Hershel looks down at the picture in his hand.

"What's that?"

"It's the cas a lead on car that took Beth...no one has a lead on who owns the car or where it went."

"That's the old Lerner Funeral home hearst." Hershel says looking at the car and Daryl raises his eyebrows. "You mean no one could identify this?"

"No. Everyone I asked said they never saw it before. Is the Lerner Funeral home still running?"

"No. Richard Lerner died alone with his wife in a car accident. The only one left is Dawn Lerner. Leiutenant a town over for their police station." Hershel hands Daryl back the picture and Daryl feels the information piecing slowly back together.

"Who in town personally knows Dawn?"

"Well, Gareth knew her back in the day. Used to date. The Governor, Andrea..." Daryl cuts him off.

"Wait, Brian Houstan. He knows Dawn."

"Yeah, dated her before she left a few years after she broke up with Gareth."

"Why did she break up with Gareth?"

"Well they were supposed to get married, but she lost the baby they were having and that broke his whole family. So when she left him, she started dating Brian, then left...never sold her father's place though..."

"Glenn, I'm gonna need you to come with me. Do you know where the funeral home is?"

"Yeah..."

"Hershel, I'm getting Beth back. Don't you worry." Pulling Glenn out the door and getting into his truck, Glenn leads him to the funeral home and when they get there, they stake the place out.

"What are we waiting for exactly?" Glenn nervously asks. He's never really talked to Daryl, let alone not be intimidated by him.

"Waiting for Lerner to return. I feel like she got a free pass from Brian to waltz in and take Beth with the help Gareth's brother."

"Why though?"

"Because. Governor knew Gareth was beating Beth, because he knew that Gareth was suffering with issues after losing the baby and Dawn, so he cute him a deal by swiping his records, canceling his court orders, and now that he's gone, his family is suffering with the loss of him that to keep his mother from burning or vandelizing more things in town to draw attention, Brian had Lerner and someone else take Beth out for whatever sick game they have planned."

"How do you know all this?"

"Over in Macon I used to be a Hacker Detective. I can hack into pretty much anything to get information I need at any time. That's how I found the burn files on Gareth and also the birth certificate to Brian Houstan, who is actually Brian Bane."

"Bane? He's related to Gareth?"

"His oldest brother."

"Holy Shit. How didnt' anyone know that?"

"He's very good at keeping the people brainwashed with fun and just the right amount of tradgey. But if I can help it, I'll get Beth back and kick him out of this town."

"You know... yer like a modern Indiana Jones." Looking at Glenn, Daryl smiles and seriously stares ahead.

"Then let's keep our eyes out Short Round."

"Really? Cause I'm Asian. Huh... figures." Glenn sighs and they continue to keep watch.

After what seems like hours, and the sun already set, the see the black hearst pull in and watch as a woman gets out and walks inside the funeral home.

"Here we go." Daryl says.