The Wilders' went on a shopping spree and rested up before seeing Vernik late the next morning. Edvan was in a bad mood, however, because his favorite red-haired flower girl was nowhere to be seen. In fact, it had been a couple of days since he had last seen her, and he had never even gotten to give her a talk.
Through bleery eyes and aching heads they listened as the older man put to repairing a fishing net and told his story. "My daughter, Vera, and I lived near here on the second floor of some nearby apartments. Every so often I would leave her alone at night to go and finish up some of my work here. I don't sleep much and wake up often in the middle of the night. So, one night I found I couldn't rest, told her that I was going to go to work, kissed her goodbye, and that was the last I saw her. My workers, Ponch, Tucker, and Mario live below us but had heard nothing as it was late and they were asleep after a hard day of work." At this point Vernik sighed and the strength left his shoulders. "I've accepted that she is dead, and I'm done with tears. The lock on the door to our home had been jimmied and there were spots of blood in her room. Whoever had taken her had not been gentle, and I doubt that she found any peace afterwards. I don't care about the details of her abduction or to know how she died. I just want to know who did this and see them slain so this never happens again."
