the detectives sent to a patch of trees and boggy undergrowth near the seattle airport's runways guessed it was her. they would soon be proved correct. nine days to find her, the answer to where. another seven years still ahead to answer the questions of all homicides, who, and why. but we have to go back, before the crime scene photos and the medical examiners' findings, before she became those chilly words, "the victim." to find the dearly loved person named nici. nici pietz, wife and daughter, sister and friend. >> she seemed to be able to uplift people in ways that none of us knew how to do. >> she had a way to make you smile. she had a way to let you know that everything was going to be okay. >> gayle was her mother. >> nici was sunshine. she was the kind of person that when she walked in a room, the room lit up. >> gayle raised nici and her sister, tanya, in the suburbs of seattle. there were carefree days at the nearby lake. >> is nici your annoying kid sister or was she a pretty cool kid? >> she was a very annoying kid sister. mom insisted on dressing us alike. >> in high school,