Bobby and Alex noticed a small female child being brought into the station. She had a high ponytail on, which swayed from side to side as she walked. Her t-shirt had a cute penguin on it. She had on a short navy pleated skirt with black leggings underneath and over them was a pair of brown fuzzy boots. Her backpack matched her t-shirt. She was left with Mike Logan and Megan Wheeler.
"Sweetie, what can you tell me about your mommy? What's her name?" Megan asked.
"Mom. She's like a bigger me. Her hair is black and her skin is like me. I remember because yesterday she was holding my arm with hers and telling me we were the same color."
"When did you last see your mom?"
"When I went to bed. We were watching Finding Nemo in my room and I fell asleep. When I woke up, she was gone."
"How did you know it was an emergency? How did you know to call 911?"
"She's never gone. She said if things feel wrong, to call the police. Mom never leaves me. Did something bad happen to my mom? When is she coming home?"
Megan only looked at the girl, wild-eyed, unsure what to say to her. The child looked like she was about to start crying so Mike distracted her. "Hey, do you recognize this guy?" he handed her a small clear cage with a white dwarf hamster inside.
"Oh, Sora!" She took the cage from him and stared at the hamster.
"That's a nice name. Where did you come up with it?"
"My mom plays Kingdom Hearts. I like Sora so I call him Sora."
"Does Sora bite?"
"No, he just tastes you, like this," the girl clicked her teeth together softly.
"Honey, did your mom ever have anyone come to the house? Like your dad or your grandma?"
"I don't have a dad. We go to people's houses but nobody ever visits us. My mom doesn't like visitors. She says they make messes and don't clean up after themselves and she doesn't like to clean messes."
"Who did your mom visit most often?"
"We see Grandma and go to the jail where my Uncle Julio lives. I'm not supposed to go in there though."
Mike tapped the girl's shoulder to get her attention, "is your last name Cortez?"
"Yeah. Frankie Cortez," she looked into the top of the cage at her hamster.
"Goren and Eames worked that case four years ago. Cortez arranged a hit on a teacher who was friends with his little sister, Izzy. Is that your mom's name?"
Frankie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."
"Who do we leave her with?" Megan asked.
"They'll get the grandma to come pick her up. Until then, we leave her here with Eames. Maybe Uncle Julio knows who might have something against his sister."
Julio was hardly keen on even talking to Mike or Megan but then again, he had not heard about what happened to his sister. "I don't know what you guys want me to tell you," he sighed. "I haven't seen her in a month and she doesn't exactly give me a play-by-play of her plans for the month."
"When did she usually visit you?" Megan asked.
"The fifth of every month at three, right after school gets out."
"She's supposed to be by today?"
"Yeah. Why do you care?"
"She's missing. Your niece, Frankie, woke up this morning and her mom was gone."
Julio held his chest and leaned back, looking sick. "Struggle?"
"No."
"And Frankie, she's okay?"
"She's fine."
"Good… good. You know, Izzy only wanted to do right by her kid. She tried everything to move out of her shitty apartment and into a house for Frankie but every time, they'd give it to someone else or make some bullshit excuse for why they didn't want to rent to her. I don't know why. She's a kindergarten teacher for Christ's sake. Maybe it was just bad luck but Izzy… made a deal with my father-in-law. If he would offer her his influence, she'd offer herself as an alibi in court for his men when they needed it. It didn't sound dangerous but I did warn her."
"Did she ever name anyone specifically that she was afraid of?"
"Never."
"One more thing before we go. Frankie's birth certificate says unknown father. Did the guy ever know he had a child?"
"No. Izzy didn't want him to know even after my mom begged her to make the douche pay for the kid. I think she's too proud to accept anyone's help, even though she obviously needs it."
"You knew him?"
Julio chuckled, "knew him? He's the one that put my ass in here. Trust me, I don't hold that against him, just the fact that he knocked up my little sister." Megan and Mike stood completely dumbfounded. "I've never seen anyone so surprised to hear anything. Do me a favor: when you see him again, tell him I said," he flipped them off.
Neither one of them said anything to each other until they got to the car. "Do we… tell him?" Megan whispered.
"I have no idea."
Frankie had issues with sitting in one place, especially when that place was as boring as the station. When she finally saw her grandma walk in, she jumped from her seat. "Hey, there's my girl."
"Grandma!" Frankie tried to run to her but she nearly tripped over her own feet.
"I told ya not to run. Ya drag yer feet just like yer motha."
"Sorry."
"I also told ya never to be sorry."
"Oh yeah. Sorry," Frankie looked at the floor and laughed. "Are we going to your house?"
"I don't know. Are we?" her grandma asked Alex, who had followed Frankie.
"You're Tobin Cortez?"
"My family's neva had great taste in names for the ladies. I prefer Tobi."
"Well, I just need you to sign a couple things before I can release her to you." The paperwork was far more extensive than she had expected so Frankie had to wait again. She was sitting at Alex's desk, with her feet up on the edge of the chair, reading The Velveteen Rabbit. It would have been fine had Bobby not just returned to his desk.
"The… rabbit could not cl…aim to be a model of any...thing, for he didn't know that real rabbits ex…ist…ed." He was afraid he would have a breakdown if he had to listen to anymore of her broken reading.
"You know, if you read in your head, you could focus better," he told her.
"But if I read in my head I don't mess up. Mom says we have to learn from our mistakes so she tells me to read out loud so I can hear my mistakes and fix them."
Seeing that she was about to go back to reading, he stopped her, "what book is that?"
"It's The Velveteen Rabbit."
"Can I see it?" Frankie really did not want to hand her book over. It was the only new book she had and it was her favorite because it was big and had colorful pictures.
"Okay but don't mess it up."
"Okay." He was sure to flip the pages carefully because he could feel her watching him. "How old are you?"
"I'm…" She stopped and counted out her fingers. Bobby noticed she was a wearing a necklace he had seen before: a thin silver chain with a single fire opal. Frankie held up one hand with all fingers except the thumb extended, "this many."
"Four? Isn't this book a little hard for you?"
"A little but I like the pictures most. It's my favorite. I like Where the Wild Things Are and Corduroy too. I just started at school to know how to read more better."
"Where did you get this book from?"
"Mom got it at the book store. I used to have one that was ugly with torn pages that my mom brought from the school where she works."
"Frankie," her grandma called her. "Come 'ere baby. Let's go home." Completely forgetting her book, Frankie grabbed the hamster cage and quickly followed Tobi's instruction.
"Hey," Bobby held the book out to Frankie. She was about to go get it when Tobi pulled her back. She snatched the book from him quickly and grabbed Frankie's free hand to lead her out.
In the parking lot, they saw Mike and Megan just returning. "Hi," Frankie said quickly when she recognized them.
"Frankie, geez, quit talkin' to everybody."
"You're Tobin Cortez?" Mike asked.
"Tobi. Ya go see my son?"
"Yeah. He said Izzy had an agreement with his father-in-law."
"Joe? I told her that if she needed money she should just take the bastard for all he's worth."
"You mean Frankie's…"
"Yeah, her dad."
"You know who he is?"
"Unfortunately, I do. He's the bastard that put my boy away. Just saw the prick."
"Who else knows who the father is?"
"Just me, my boy and her mom. She didn't tell anyone because she neva wanted him findin' out."
"Do you know why?"
"Yeah, she's proud as fuck. She wants to be able to raise Frankie on her own with no money or help that she didn't earn herself. Normally, I'd be all for that but Izzy's got a baby to look afta. This is just the opposite of what she'd normally do."
"What would she normally do?"
"She would'a found another job. She would'a done right. This ain't like her. I don't know why she did this."
Megan checked her cell phone as she and Mike walked back into the station. "It's three fifteen. Did you get a call from the prison?"
"Nothing. Assuming whoever took her, also took her to the prison, why? What would they hope to achieve that way?" Mike questioned her.
"Using her as leverage over Julio?"
"Why leave the kid? Why not just take both?"
"Don't underestimate a protective mother. They probably didn't want Izzy angry with them and I imagine it would only be by her request that Frankie would be left behind."
"She never separated from the kid before. Why now?"
"Either she was expecting to come back right away or she was going somewhere she didn't want her daughter following."
Tobi got a call while taking Frankie to her house. "Where's yer ass at? Yer freakin' me the hell out," Tobi snapped at Izzy.
"Mom, just listen for a second. Do you have Frankie yet?"
"Yeah, I'm taking her to my house now."
"Don't."
"What the fuck? They know where I fuckin' live too?"
"No, just… I don't want to risk it. Take Frankie back to the station."
"Wha- no! The hell am I supposed to say?"
"Then take her somewhere else. Take her out to eat or something but don't take her home. Not to mine or yours until I get back."
"And when exactly is that going to be, huh?"
"I don't know."
"Are ya fuckin' kiddin' me?! The hell did ya get us into?"
"I already said I didn't do this. Look, I'll call you later."
Tobi placed her phone back in her lap and she seemed in deep thought when she stopped at a red light. "Guess where were goin', Frankie. What's the coolest house in the world?"
Frankie gasped, excited, "Marcello's house in Long Beach Island?!"
"Marcello's house in Long Beach Island."
"Aww, sweet! I'm totally going to beat that pinball game this time!"
Tobi explained what was happening with Izzy and Frankie to the youngest of her kids, Marcello. "I don't understand why you didn't just leave Frankie with her dad. He's a cop, right?"
"Because this could be used as an excuse to take Frankie from us. All of us. Sayin' that my girl ain't fit to be a mom. We can't lose Frankie. Yer brotha went and got himself locked up just so I could have a grandbaby. We're keepin' Frankie as far away from that guy as humanly possible 'til ya sista comes back home."
"Alright. I just… hope she knows what she's doing."
Mike and Megan were going over what they had, trying to find out if there was anyone else they could talk to who might know where Izzy was. Alex and Bobby were now helping them as well, eager to get the little girl back to her mom, especially after hearing it was Izzy missing. "Are you sure she doesn't have any more family?" Megan asked Mike.
"Her dad's dead and there's her mom and Julio. She has another brother, Rorik, but he lives in California."
"Actually," Alex walked into the room with them, "I got suspicious when the grandma first opened her mouth so I looked into Jersey's records and it turns out Tobi and her late husband had a house in Long Beach Island they visited while living in Greenport. They never sold it and their youngest child, Marcello moved in over five years ago."
Early the next morning, Tobi took Frankie out of the house, which proved a good call since Bobby and Alex showed up at Marcello's house not long after she left. "Is there anywhere you don't go?" he sighed after answering the door.
"Not really, no. You knew we'd come?"
"Sort of. My sister's missing, of course you'd come looking for her," he said to Bobby.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Wow… you really have no idea? I'll spare you confusion. Everyone in this family knows about you and my sister. My mom said she was betraying us by screwing the guy who put Julio away." Bobby could feel Alex looking at him and he tried not to smile.
"Where is your mom now?" Alex finally asked Marcello.
"Home? She's watching Frankie so I doubt she'd be anywhere else."
"But she is. We already checked her house."
"Then I don't know where she is."
"I know she's here," Bobby admitted. "But why'd she come all the way down here to stay with you?"
"She has Frankie. Kid likes my house."
"That's it? Are you sure she's not worried someone might be waiting for her at her own house? Maybe looking for Frankie."
"Only someone suicidal would hurt Frankie. Izzy would've gone fucking mental."
"What about the girl's father?"
Marcello fought a smile even though he wanted to laugh. He reminded himself that they could lose Frankie if Bobby found out. "Her dad… doesn't even know about her."
"Are you sure?"
"Oh, I'm absolutely positive."
"Mm hmm. Can we come in?"
"No."
"Well, I didn't think you'd want us asking about the arrangement your sister made with Joe Moretti out here but if you're fine with it, I am." Marcello rolled his eyes as he walked into his house and left the door open for them. Bobby went to an end table beside the couch and picked up Frankie's book. "This is how I knew she was here. She had this at the station." He picked up a framed photo of her and Izzy, who looked just as he remembered her. He wondered if he looked the same as when he had last seen Izzy. Marcello snatched the picture from him and put it down on another end table. "She just give you that? It's the only frame here that isn't dusty."
"I got it in the mail a week ago. Look, my mom wouldn't have come here unless she needed to. She's worried they want Frankie too."
"Why would they?"
"They want to be sure my sister cooperates."
"With what?"
"I don't know. Even if it is true what Julio says about her working with that asshole, she wouldn't have told me or my mom about it." Marcello noticed his mom had left her phone on the couch and he picked it up quickly.
"Has Izzy been calling that phone?" asked Bobby.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Marcello scoffed. "But hey, I know you didn't really come here just to make sure my sister was okay."
"Oh, right, because you know me so well, don't you?"
"I don't need to know you. I just need to know my sister and what happened between you two."
"Since we're so close why don't you enlighten me as to why I came here?"
"You came to get an answer as to why, one day, she just cut you off. She stopped seeing you and accepting your calls and it's just been eating away at you. Can't say I'm surprised. It was a pretty messed up thing to do but Izzy wasn't too happy about it either."
"Are you going to tell me?"
"Nope. You can ask when you find her." Marcello handed him the cell phone. "You didn't get that from me. She'll call it again soon."
Waiting for the phone to ring was painfully slow and silent. Neither Bobby or Alex wanted to say anything to each other. When the phone finally did make a sound, it was a relief for both of them. "Where are you?" he asked instantly.
For a moment there was no response but he heard the familiar sound of her swift breathing when nervous. "Is Frankie still okay?" she finally said.
"Honestly, I don't know. I can't find your mom."
"Don't look for me and leave my mom alone. You asking around isn't helping. Just back off and I'll be back home tomorrow afternoon and this'll all be over and you'll never have to hear about me again."
"I never made that request."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Did you like the necklace I sent you?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have still have it?"
"Yes. You know, I didn't want to do what I did. It's just that…" Bobby could hear someone else come into the room and Izzy's voice suddenly sounded far.
"I was just checking on my baby," she apparently answered a question. "You made me drop my phone, asswipe. You going to pick that up?"
"Don't take an attitude with me, bitch. The only reason I've been putting up with your shit is because Julio would flip inside out if I kicked your ass and then dad would chew me out if your brother left Anita."
"Is that right? I forgot what a favor you were doing for me by keeping me chained up here right across the street from that old theater. Just for the record, what's your last name, Ritchie?"
"What're you…?" The phone rattled as Ritchie picked it up. "Who the hell is this?" Bobby only listened to his voice, already knowing who he was and where he would be able to find Izzy. "Oh, okay." Ritchie grabbed a fistful of Izzy's hair and pulled her off the chair she was sitting on. Only rustling could be heard since Izzy refused to make a sound. "Hey, Dad, Anita's sacrificial lamb decided to get smart." He hung up the phone and pocketed it. She slipped repeatedly, trying to catch her footing as Ritchie dragged her through the hallway. Her feet were chained together so tight, they were asleep.
"Here, make yourself comfortable." She was pushed across a room and fell onto her side, right in front of a couch. "Dad, she was on her phone with someone other than Tobi." He threw the phone to Joe, standing behind a desk.
"So, where's Tobi now?" Joe asked her, looking down at the phone.
"Go fuck yourself," Izzy rolled her eyes.
"Not really the answer I was hoping for."
"Too bad."
Joe walked out from behind the desk, approaching her. "All we want is for your brother to come home and then you can have your life and your kid back."
"My brother can burn in hell."
"Well, your mom was right. So much for loyalty to the family." He smacked the back of her head.
"My brother betrayed me first. You know that and do you really think I'd be stupid enough to believe you'd just hand Frankie back to me? Oh sure you will, in exchange for my soul."
"Yours? Probably not. Bobby's? Most certainly."
"Knock yourself out. See if I care. Like he's ever done anything for me."
"Good point. Which makes me curious as to why the fuck you're protecting him." He poked her shoulder twice and she tried to scratch him.
"Ugh, she like an animal," he told Ritchie.
"I think you already know the answer to that."
"I have my theory but I want you to tell me."
"He's Frankie's father. I assumed you knew. Why else would you be spending so much time looking for her? If you had her, well, logic says the father would come running and he's what you're after."
"It wasn't my idea to get the kid. None of this was my idea."
The office door opened and Izzy's sister-in-law, Anita, came in. "Why am I not surprised?" Izzy yawned. Izzy hated everything about her: her fake two inch nails, her overdramatic make up, her clothes and the pompous way she twisted her hair up in a ridiculous bun. As far as she was concerned, Anita could just as well be Cruella DeVille or the Bride of Frankenstein.
"Aw, look at you," Anita teased her. "You look a mess. Yeah, sorry about Frankie but I wasn't sure how the detective felt about you after you cut him off so suddenly. Taking her was the only way to make sure he came. I even sent him a copy of the paternity test just to be certain he knows the facts." Izzy's stomach tightened as she was not sure she was ready for Bobby to know. "You remember how Tobi bullied you into taking his DNA off the cup to make sure you could use it against him if you had to? That was by my request." Izzy only remembered feeling low when her mother made her get the test done. Anita sighed and sat on the couch in front of her. "I don't know why you're so mad at me. I'm only trying to help your brother."
"I bet you didn't tell him I'd be here in chains and you'd be hunting Frankie."
"Then he wouldn't have told the police working with us was your idea."
"What?! You idiot! They'll take Frankie away and give her to her dad!"
"Look, this isn't personal but I'd be lying if I said I cared."
"You really think Julio's going to stay with you knowing what you did? He might be your husband but he's my big brother first."
"Yeah, sure whatever."
"Anita," Ritchie called her, "she told the detective where she was. He's still in Jersey but should only be a couple of hours."
"Are we sure he's coming even though it's just her?"
"Oh, trust me, after the way she screwed him over, he's going to want her alive to get some answers."
"Go die," Izzy grumbled.
"After you."
Anita stood in the room with Izzy, holding a gun on her even though she was fast asleep against the couch. She wanted to be able to deal with things on her own and allowed her father and brother to go, only keeping four guards up front. She was nearly asleep when she heard one of the doors to the room open. Both Anita and Izzy perked up, looking around quickly to find it was the balcony door, where Bobby was standing.
Anita looked confused, "… are you Spider-man or something?"
"You have a ladder at the back of the building," he informed her. "Did you really think I'd come in from the front? No wonder your father never mentions having a daughter."
"Very funny." He sat in Joe's office chair and pushed himself around in it. "Don't touch his things." Bobby placed hands on the armrests and rubbed them. "Stop it!"
"Oh okay," he got out of the chair and sat on the desk.
"Why'd you come here if you weren't even going to hear me out?"
"I came for her," he pointed at Izzy. "You okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. My feet are probably purple and I have a gun in my face but I'm doing just great."
"Why do you have to be smart about it?" He seemed happy just to see her, regardless of what she had to say. He could not bring himself to stop smiling.
"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Her voice was highly sarcastic and taunting but she was equally as happy to see him. "I'm not nearly as smart as you, so I must need your help, right?"
"What's with the attitude?"
"I don't have an attitude. Excuse me if being a hostage hasn't put me in the best of moods," she scoffed.
"I don't mind. You're funny when you're mad. I see you've managed to keep your pride and dignity even as a hostage."
"I won't beg for anything. Not even my life."
"That's not how I remember it."
"Oh wow. Curse these infernal chains," she chuckled.
"You look good."
"Considering this is the worst I've looked in a while, thanks. I always did like that blue suit on you. You look good with some color."
"Really? I wasn't sure because-"
"Stop talking!" Anita screamed suddenly.
"Before you waste anymore of your breath, you're not shooting anyone like that. Not me and not her. I'm not sure if you're stupid or if you think I'm stupid. Have you done this before?"
"What's makes you so sure I haven't?"
"I'll show you." He approached her and held his hand out for her gun.
"No."
"If you had done this before, you'd know you're supposed to injure the hostage if I don't think you're capable. Go ahead, try it," he suggested.
"Oh, woe is me," Izzy sighed, "that I should meet my end at the hands of this moron."
"You saw the gun too?" he asked her.
"Yeah, it's kind of sad," she admitted.
"Just try it, Anita," Bobby repeated. "How am I supposed to take your seriously if you won't even wound your hostage? So Julio will be mad that his niece gets taken away from his family and his little sister, who he ended up in jail for in the first place, has a hole in her foot and you'll go to jail for it because there's no way you could shoot us both with that unsteady hand. You couldn't do it if you really did want to. This whole thing would've been a fine idea had you let someone more capable handle it. Here." He took the gun from her and she did not bother saying anything or even reacting. "Here's your problem," he pointed it at the floor and pulled the trigger twice to the sound of two small clicks. "Safety's on. You, get up," Bobby pulled Izzy up off the floor and without even letting her know, he shot the lock off her chains. She only stared at him, a look that said, what's wrong with you? "What? I wouldn't have missed."
"Oh, well, I feel much better now."
"Can we disagree when we get out of here?"
"Fine but don't think I won't remember."
"Yeah, yeah. Clear!"
Mike and Alex were right outside the office door but Izzy hardly paid them any mind when she heard Frankie's voice. Even as she went to see her, she was panicking about what, if anything, she would tell Bobby about Frankie.
"Mom!" Frankie called her. Megan was holding her hand. "Can I go see my mom?"
"Of course."
Though Izzy's legs were still just waking up, she picked up Frankie and held her, afraid she might never get to hold her again. Tobi approached her as well. "Mom, it was Anita's fault. I didn't have anything to do with any of this shit."
"Oh, I know. Ya think I don't know my own kid? Yer no where near as dumb as yer brotha."
"Um, thanks?"
"That said, ya handle yer own business from now on. Gettin' involved only gets me a damn headache and costs a fortune in gas," Tobi scoffed, walking away as Bobby approached them.
Izzy stood back up, not letting go of Frankie's hand. "I suppose I should count myself fortunate Anita was behind everything. Made it all a bit less risky. Regardless, thank you for helping my family."
Bobby shrugged, "you don't need to thank me. It's what a father should do."
Izzy choked on her own breath. "You knew?"
He only nodded, "still doesn't explain cutting me off though."
"Saying it out loud feels stupid now but I was really just afraid to tell you I was pregnant. I didn't want you to think I was trying to trap you. My mom kept telling me to make you pay child support and that it was my fault I got stuck with a baby because I didn't defend my brother and because I was sleeping with the enemy. My whole family turned on me because of you until she was born. I didn't think you'd want any part of that. Letting you go felt like the kindest thing to do at the time. I died a little bit more every time you came by or called me and I had to ignore it. There was one time that my hand was on the doorknob but by the time I decided to open it, you were gone. I don't know if that makes any sense to you."
"No, I get it. You thought that by holding me responsible, you'd be punishing me because your family led you to believe being stuck with our child, was a bad thing."
"That was… really simple but it's… right. In any case, I stopped taking my mom's advice once Frankie was born. By then, I was just afraid to face you with her."
"Did I ever say anything to suggest I wouldn't want a child? I would've stayed. Here, you had me thinking I'd done something wrong. Tearing my hair out over what I could've done to make you hate me so much. You're sure you have nothing against me?"
Izzy gave him a sympathetic look, "I could never. I still love you."
"That's a relief because my feelings haven't changed either. Do you think we could maybe start over?"
"Yes. Don't have a heart attack." He laughed, remembering she had told him that when he first asked her out. "Now it's my turn to ask you something."
"Fair enough."
"How did you know Frankie was yours?"
Bobby touched the necklace Frankie was wearing. "The necklace I sent you in the mail. I saw it on her when she was first brought to the station. At first I didn't know where I recognized it but it came back to me once I heard you were the one missing. Then there's that." He pointed at Frankie, giving him a bizarre sideways look up. "You don't inherit those mannerisms from just anyone."