“Yes. She has her best friend Becca, but we know her parents and we called there earlier. Becca was already in bed. I mean, it’s a school night, neither of the girls would try to have a sleep over on a school night!”
“Not to be disrespectful, but did Becca’s parents actually check the room to ensure Becca was sleeping? Just to make sure there wasn’t a mix up of some sort and maybe she is there?” Atlas asked.
Lynn nodded frantically. “They even woke Becca up! They’re worried too.”
“Okay, can you go over your daughters running route with me?” Naya slid in the chair next to Lynn and pulled up a map on her phone.
“That’s the thing,” Lynn lamented. “Roger and I are both runners ourselves, and it isn’t safe to run the same path every night, so we’ve always instilled that knowledge in her. So other than her starting and ending here, Julia was instructed to always switch up her routine. She could have been running any route, there’s endless possibilities.”
They were certainly right about that if that was the case, they would have to formulate a plan. “Does she have any favorite routes, maybe?” Naya asked.
Atlas was listening to the exchange from behind Naya and Lynn.
“Well, she would run on busier streets at night, they’re more well-lit and safer. During the day she would often run by the creek, but because she left so late tonight since she had a lot of homework, I can’t imagine she would run out that way where it would be empty, or on any unlit roads.”
Naya turned her head and she and Atlas locked eyes, Atlas swiftly stepped from the room to make some calls and see what they could do about getting an Amber alert out. Julia was technically eighteen, but because she was still in high school and lived with her parents, they might be able to push the envelope on the timelines.
“Does Julia have a car?” Naya inquired as she turned back to Lynn.
For the first time, Roger spoke up before his wife could “Yes, she has a black Jetta. It’s in the driveway.”
“Does she use the car to go out often?” Naya continued taking notes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Challenged Lynn.
“I’m sorry, let me clarify . Would Julia often use the car to meet up with friends? Or do they usually pick her up?”
“Oh , well, most of kids in this neighborhood have cars by Julia’s age, so I suppose both? But I’ve been trying to tell you detective, my daughter doesn’t go out much. She’s really focused on trying to get a scholarship for college for cross country. When she does go out, it’s on Saturdays and it’s usually with Becca. They usually go to the mall.”
Naya conceded, she wished Atlas wasn’t on the phone as he would know more about the area than she did to ask more about the possible routes the girl would have taken. “Can you show me your daughters’ room?”
Lynn assented and grabbing another tissue she stood from her chair and lead Naya to the stairs. “Do you think someone… grabbed her?”
Naya took a deep breath, trying to stay calm and broached the subject delicately. “Well first, Mrs. Charles, we must evaluate all possibilities, such as that your daughter simply forgot to communicate with you that she is with a friend or at some sort of event. Then there is also the possibility that she simply fell and twisted her ankle or something of that nature and her phone is dead ---”
“That would never happen! Julia was addicted to her phone. She never let the battery get below twenty percent. And she certainly wouldn’t go running with it below half! She wouldn’t be able to listen to her music then...”
Naya smiled, keeping her tone understanding she continued. “Yes, I understand that, but we still have to make sure. And then yes, we will also look at the possibility that perhaps someone picked her up.” Lynn looked at her with terrified eyes and Naya quickly tried to reassure her. “That doesn’t have to be anything malicious, there’s a possibility that someone she knew saw her running and maybe they offered her a ride or something.” She knew it was a stretch, but she was trying to not scare the poor woman, she was already a wreck.
Lynn opened the first door in the hallway to reveal a lavender walled room. Clothes littered the floor and the walls were covered with band posters and several pictures of two teenage girls, who Naya assumed was Julia and her friend Becca.
Naya slipped on a pair of vinyl gloves she took from her pocket and began to search for anything that might give her an idea where Julia was.
Nothing seemed out of place. The room was a mess, but the normal type of messy that came with being a teenager. A laptop was plugged in and sitting on the nightstand, a phone charger sat empty next to it. A bookbag was tossed across the bed. It certainly looked like Julia had planned to come back.
“What are you looking for exactly?” Lynn protested, a note of suspicion in her tone.
Naya shrugged. “Just making sure everything is in order.” She slid open the top drawer on the nightstand and combed through a hodgepodge of nail polish, hair ties, and notepads. There was nothing of interest. “What did your daughter normally take running with her?”
“Her phone and headphones, she for sure wouldn’t leave without those. And she would slip her ID and credit card in her fanny pack. Yeah, she ran with a fanny pack to carry her water bottles and gels.”
“Do you see any of those items here?” Naya motioned to the room.
Lynn glanced around, clearly looking in
