"I want to thank you again for letting us do this," Rick told his friend Officer Ted Fields. "I know the police aren't supposed to do anything unless its been 24 hours ..."
"You don't have to thank me. I'm glad to help you out, Rick," Ted said. He looked over at the sketch of the girl. With Susanne's description, they nearly had an actual face to go off of. But even at this point, there was something familiar about that face. Like he had seen it before. Then, after more detail was added, it dawned on him. "I know her," he said.
"You do?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, but this can't be the girl you saw," Ted said. He turned around the sketch so the Turners could see the face.
"No, that's her," Susanne said. "I remember."
"But it can't be."
"Why not?" Rick asked.
"Because she's dead. She's been dead for three years."
"What? That can't be. She ... she talked to me. Are you saying I saw a ghost?"
"Or you fabricated her," Ted said.
"Hey, my wife isn't a liar," Rick snapped.
"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that maybe you imagined her. Maybe you saw her face somewhere else, like in the newspaper or on the internet or something and just imagined that she was in your house."
"I know what I saw. I didn't imagine it," Susanne said, standing up. She came here to get answers to her daughter's disappearance, not to get accused of being crazy.
"What's the girl's name?" Rick asked.
"Sydney Williams." He paused. "Didn't you say that Lisa was looking around at yard sales?"
"Yes," Rick said. "What does that have to do with ..."
"Sydney's mother was having a yard sale. From what I heard, she was selling off a bunch of her daughter's old stuff."
"So? What does that have to do with Lisa?"
"I don't know. I just thought it was an odd connection," Ted said. "I mean, your daughter might have gone to Mrs. Williams' yard sale and your wife claims to have seen Mrs. Williams' dead daughter."
"So what are you saying? That this dead girl came back from the afterlife to give my wife a message or something?"
Ted shrugged. "How should I know? I'm just saying that it's an interesting connection." He shook his head. "But it probably doesn't mean anything. Sorry that I couldn't be of more help."
"Just keep looking for my daughter. That's all the help we'll need."
"Of course, but the department can't do anything official until after the 24-hour period."
Rick nodded, then escorted his wife out of the police station.
