The real question, I reflected, was where to start looking. Truthfully, I wasn’t entirely comfortable rifling through a stranger’s personal effects. Afterall, if Mia showed up in the doorway 20 minutes from now, back from her pleasant weekend away, this was going to be pretty difficult to explain. So, I decided to start with the more innocuous areas, be minimally invasive until I could decide if digging deeper was really necessary. With that in mind, I rose from the desk and surveyed the room. One thing I already knew about Mia was that she was a neat and orderly person, someone who liked everything in its place. That was helpful, actually, because it should make it more obvious if anything was out of place. I crossed to the closet and flung the doors open, revealing the rows of clothing inside. Not much seemed to be missing, no large gaps in the line of neatly hung outfits and only one empty hangar and a single empty spot in the shoe tree. Going up on my toes, I checked the closet shelf and found a complete set of luggage and an overnight bag resting undisturbed. Closing the door, I crossed to the dresser and opened a drawer. It was more of the same, the drawers were basically full, seemingly missing only the few outfits that were in the laundry hamper next to the bed. Rounding the bed, I found the door to the connecting bathroom was open, so I peered inside and saw a toothbrush in the holder by the sink. Everything was where it should be. I frowned. Wherever she was, it didn’t look like Mia had packed for a long trip. I reminded myself not to jump to conclusions. It didn’t necessarily mean anything. Her decision could have been spur of the moment, and you can buy a toothbrush anywhere. Still, it was probably worth a deeper look. I decided that the desk was next best place to search, so I opened drawers until I located where she kept her personal papers. Her passport, SIN card and birth certificate were all carefully stored in a folder, along with her banking paperwork. That ruled out an impromptu international trip, she would have had to come back for the passport. Leafing through the rest of the documents in the folder, I found a stack of recent receipts, perhaps she checked them against her credit card before disposing of them. Plucking them from the folder, I began to leaf through them. The one on top was a gasoline bill, and I winced as I saw the total. When had prices gotten so high? I suppose I hadn’t been driving since my car was totaled several months ago, so I hadn’t been paying much attention. Well, worldwide upheaval did have a way of spiking prices. Interesting, but not much help; I moved on. The next few receipts were for fast food, and based on the odd hours of purchase I imagined Mia often stopped in on her way home from her long nursing shifts. This didn’t tell me much, either. I doubted she’d been at the McDonald’s this whole time. I was considering moving on from the receipts, when one in the pile caught my eye. It was from a pharmacy, for the balance due on a prescription she had apparently picked up the day before she disappeared. A prescription for insulin. I plucked the receipt from the pile and tucked it in my pocket, then went back to searching the room in earnest.

It was an hour or so before I was satisfied that there was nothing else to be found among Mia’s belongings, and I headed back to the kitchen. Apparently, the dishes had been completed some time ago, because the room was empty and so was the sink, dishes sitting neatly in the drying rack. I would need to find Simon and Carissa eventually, but since I was already here, I decided to open the fridge and see what I could find. I was just returning the carefully labelled containers of leftovers to their proper places when I heard the sound of footsteps behind me.

“Did you need something?”

I turned to find Carissa standing behind me, her expression stuck between annoyance and concern. Since I was a stranger rifling through her fridge, that made a certain amount of sense. I finished returning the container of pasta salad to its place and closed the door.

“No, I was just checking something,” I smiled in a way that I hoped was reassuring. “Could I ask you a question?”

“Of course. Anything.”

“Was Mia diabetic?”

Carissa’s eyes widened with surprise,

“Yes, how did you know?”

“I found a few things in her room,” I shrugged. “Does she need insulin? Does she manage it well?”

“Of course, she is very careful. Mia usually injects her insulin every night. Why, what did you find?” she wrung her hands anxiously.

“Oh, nothing. These are just standard background questions, that’s all. Now, where is Simon?”

“He’s back in my room, follow me.”

Simon rose as we entered, I could see him searching my face with his gaze, looking for some clue of what I had found. He wasn’t going to get it, just yet.

“Alright, Simon, it’s time we were on our way,” I kept my expression neutral.

“What do you mean?” he cocked his head.

“You remember our arrangement, right?” I raised my eyebrow.

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“You’re leaving?” Carissa asked. “Already?”

“Yes.”

“But what about Mia? Did you learn anything?” she was nearly pleading.

“I can’t make any conclusive statements, right now,” I said carefully. “There are a few things I need to look into first, but I can’t do that from here. So, if I find anything out for sure, I will have Simon let you know. Now, let’s go, Simon.”

Simon gave Carissa an apologetic look,

“I’ll be back as soon as I can be, but I did promise…”

She nodded, setting her jaw,

“It’s alright. Thank you, for coming by. It was… it was nice to meet you.”

It was a kind lie and I did appreciate her effort.

“Thank you for the tea,” I attempted a brief smile, and then turned and headed for the door.

I was already waiting by the car by the time Simon hurried out, still pulling on one of his shoes.

“What is the hurry, Ray?” he asked, fumbling for his car keys and unlocking the doors.

I slid into the passenger seat,

“No hurry, I am just ready to get home.”

Simon climbed behind the wheel and started the car, pulling out onto the road. After a moment of driving in silence, he turned to me,

“You think something is really wrong, don’t you?”

“What makes you say that?” I turned away, looking out the window.

“Well, for starters, you put away the flask.”

I shook my head,

“Now you start paying attention.”

“What do you mean ‘now’?”

“Just that it seems like you spent considerable time in that house, and you never noticed the tension between the two women, or how Mia felt?”

“I told you I was…”

“Distracted. I know. And you were never interested in Mia?”

“No, of course not!” he seemed genuinely taken aback that I would even ask. “I am strictly monogamous. Once I am committed to someone, I would never look at another woman that way.”

“Is that typical of ubarae?”

“Well, some of my kind can be more flexible, if that is what their partner wants, but none of us would ever cheat. To hurt our partner, well it would be like doing the same to ourselves. But what does any of this have to do with Mia’s disappearance?”

“It has to do with her state of mind. She was jealous of your relationship with Carissa, and I suspect she was trying to find something similar for herself.”

“How was she trying to do that?”

I sighed,

“I found a Facebook page open on her computer. It was a private group for a newly opened nightclub downtown called Synergy. Very exclusive, open only to those who have been invited to the group by existing members.”

“Ok, so she was going out to a nightclub, that isn’t exactly suspicious.”

“Maybe not, but this club has a unique gimmick. They pitch themself as a place for humans to meet and match with ubarae.”

“What?”

“Well, it makes sense, in a way. There are plenty of humans who are interested in that sort of thing.”

“And plenty that would storm the place with pitchforks!”

“True enough. I suspect that’s why they are trying to keep it private, but it is still a risk. And it isn’t the only one.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that there doesn’t seem to be anyone screening the ubarae who are invited to this club. Places like this, they are classic hunting grounds for Rogues, and these days there isn’t much oversight.”

Simon bit his lip,

“I didn’t even think of that. Still, there is no reason to assume that is what happened to Mia. Rogues are rare, what are the odds?”

“I don’t know, Simon. From what I found, she was heading to that club the night she disappeared, and I didn’t find any indication that she was planning to go on a trip.”

“Maybe she met someone at the club, and she is just with them? If she has been fighting with Carissa, that could explain why she didn’t let her know.”

“It could. But there is more thing. She filled her insulin prescription the day before she went missing. I checked the fridge, and it is all still there. There certainly isn’t enough missing to cover the time she’s been gone, and unlike a toothbrush, it wouldn’t be easy for her to just get more. I doubt she would want to be without it, certainly not for days. Wherever she is, I don’t think she is there willingly.”

Simon’s face grew pale,

“So, what do we do?”

“We? Nothing. I am going to go home and get a shower and a quick nap.”

“Shouldn’t we at least go to the cops?”

“The cops already have this case, and we haven’t found anything definitive enough to change their minds about it.”

“So, you are just going to do nothing?”

“Did I say that?”

“You said you were going home for a nap!”

“Yeah, because no self-respecting nightclub opens at 2 in the afternoon, does it?” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll head over there around 8, and ask some questions, see if I can find anyone who saw her there that night, then figure out what to do next from there.”

“Well, you certainly aren’t going alone,” Simon protested.

“Going with a date isn’t exactly the look I am going for.”

“How about a chauffeur, then? You still don’t have a car, so you can at least let me drive you there. I’ll keep my distance, but I won’t take no for an answer.”

I sighed. He had a point, I could call for a ride share service, but it would be easier this way. Especially since this was going to turn into a drawn-out argument, otherwise. One that I didn’t have the energy for. I really did need to some sleep if I was going to stay up tonight.

“Alright, fine. Come by my place just before 8, we’ll head over together.”

“Good.”

Simon pulled the car up at a curb and I opened the door to get out.

“Just one last thing,” he stopped me before I could close it behind me. “Why didn’t you tell Carissa any of this?”

“I can’t be certain I am right, and I didn’t want to cause her any distress, if it turns out I am just being paranoid.”

Simon nodded thoughtfully,

“Alright, I won’t say anything yet, either then. See you tonight, Ray.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t be late.”

With that, I turned and headed into the building.