Chapter 1: Hide 'n Seek
. . .
Jo's mobile phone buzzed twice in the darkness of the room. She groaned in her sleep and reluctantly opened her one eye, glancing at the clock. 2:36 am. It could mean only one thing – there was a dead body somewhere out there. Jo lifted up slightly, reached for the phone and read the address. Greenpoint Avenue. No more than 15 minutes from her place at this hour. She placed the phone down and let her head fall back on the pillow, silently telling herself that 3 minutes wouldn't make any difference. As soon as she closed her eyes, the phone started to ring. She didn't even have to check caller's ID to know who was calling. She answered it and murmured:
''Yeah, I got it, I got it.''
''That's good.'' Mac said in his nice, low voice. ''I had a strange feeling that you wouldn't wake up at all or read it and go back to sleep.'' He added with a hint of amusement.
''Who? Me?'' Jo asked. ''I'm already up and getting ready.'' She added, unaware that the corner of her lip went up in a smile.
''Right... You want me to call you again in 5 minutes?'' He asked with a clear chuckle now.
''No.'' She protested. ''I really am up.''
''OK, so see you there.'' He said and hung up.
Jo sighed and got up from the bed. How it was possible he knew her so well?
She quickly got dressed and left the apartment, arriving at the crime scene within 13 minutes. There was no chance to miss it, as there were three police cars, two ambulances standing in front of the house, and – of course – the Avalanche. She grabbed her kit from the passenger's seat and headed inside. She ducked under the yellow tape and entered the house. Mac was standing in the middle of the living room, studying the dead man lying on the floor. There were three bloody stains on his T-shirt. Three gunshots to the chest. Jo looked around and saw that the place was trashed.
''Robbery went wrong?'' She asked, forcing Mac to looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.
''I'm not sure.'' He sighed deeply. ''There is also a dead woman upstairs. She looks much worse...''
''So what are you thinking? That the valuables were only a nice addition?'' Jo asked as she put down her kit.
''It seems too cruel and too violent for a common burglary.'' Mac said. ''You want to take the bedroom or the living room?'' He asked.
''The living room is fine.''
''OK.'' Mac said and headed upstairs.
He walked into the bedroom and looked again at the woman's dead body. Her eyes were closed and there was blood that evidently traveled from her temple, gathering itself in a small pool on the bed sheets. Her right hand was probably broken as it was twisted at an odd angle. Her clothes were bloodied and torn, revealing her bruised body. It was clear she had put up one hell of a struggle. Yet she had lost. He sighed deeply. After many years of working in the field, Mac managed to allow apathy become a part of him. His job was to solve the case and move onto another. But every now and then, he got the feeling things were just so very unfair.
He moved to the side and opened his kit. Suddenly some barely audible noise caught his attention. It sounded like a quiet sniff and it came from somewhere behind him. He stood up and slowly turned around. He walked towards the closet and pulled the gun out of his holster. Then he put his hand on the knob and pulled the door open, not being even aware that he was holding his breath.
The terrible, high-pitched shriek pierced the air, causing Jo to drop the brush. She rose to her feet and rushed up the stairs, to the bedroom. She placed her hand on her gun, ready to pull it out at any moment. The first thing she saw was Mac on his knees in front of the closet. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight, but then she realized he was fine. He put his gun back into his holster and stretched his hands, like he wanted to reached for something in the closet. Only then Jo realized that the terrified scream was coming from inside the closet. She dropped to her knees as well and without even thinking she crawled inside the closet. For a moment, she couldn't see a thing in the darkness. Then she saw a pair of big, shiny eyes. She reached out blindly and gently pulled a small girl towards herself.
''Hey, it's OK.'' She said softly, but the screaming didn't stop. It seemed like it was coming out from the little body under the single breath. When the girl was finally out of it and she paused to take another one, Jo took her in her arms and rocked her gently.
''You're fine. We're not gonna hurt you.'' She told her in a calming voice. She heard the sudden intake of breath and she was sure the screaming would start again. But instead, the girl started to sob uncontrollably. Still holding her, Jo managed to move out from the closet. She sat on the floor in front of it and looked up at Mac. He smiled sadly at her and reached out his hand, wanting to stroke girl's hair, but she just jerked away. She clung even more to Jo and locked her tiny arms around her neck.
''I think someone should check on her.'' Mac said quietly and Jo nodded. He held Jo's elbow when she stood up with small difficulties. She cuddled girl's head against her chest, in order to prevent her from catching a glimpse of the woman's dead body stretched on the bed.
She walked down the stairs, through the hall and then outside the house. She moved to the ambulance and greeted a familiar looking young doctor.
''Could you check her for injuries?'' Jo asked.
''Sure.'' He answered with a smile. ''Hi, sweetie.'' He addressed the girl with a soft voice, but she didn't react, still clinging to Jo.
Jo sighed and gave the doctor a light smile. She entered the ambulance and sat down on the bed with the girl on her lap.
''Listen, honey. The doctor will only check if you're fine. It won't hurt and everything he will do to you, he will do to me first. OK?'' Jo asked, stroking girl's dark-brown hair. The girl turned her head and looked at her for the first time since they exited the house. Her eyes were big and blue. ''Will you do that for me?'' Jo asked again and she nodded slightly.
''OK.'' The doctor said. ''So...'' He smiled shyly at Jo and checked her head for injuries, being under girl's scrutiny. Then he moved to her and did the same. He pulled out the tiny flashlight and checked Jo's pupils. After showing the flashlight to the girl, he checked her pupils as well. He listened to Jo's heartbeat and breathing with the stethoscope, then he repeated his actions with the girl.
''Does anything hurt you?'' He asked the girl and she shook her head. Then he looked at Jo, whose eyes were fixed at him. ''She seems to be perfectly fine. The heart-rate is a little too fast, but it's normal considering... the circumstances.''
''Yeah...'' Jo whispered sadly. The girl laid her head back on Jo's shoulder and violently shivered.
''Oh!'' Jo gasped and looked at the doctor. He placed his hand on girl's forehead, checking for a fever again.
''She's just cold. I'll give you a blanket.'' He said as he pulled out a blanket from beneath the bed they were sitting on. ''Here.'' He said, clumsily placing it around Jo's back and she covered herself and the girl with it.
''Thanks a lot.''
''I'll be outside, if you need me.''
''OK.'' Jo said and he exited the ambulance. Jo looked down at the girl. Her eyes were open and she was staring in the space. ''Will you tell me your name?'' Jo asked, but she didn't answer. ''I have to call you somehow... How about Bertha?'' Jo offered with a a smirk.
''No.'' She protested strongly.
''No? You don't like it?''
''No.''
''So which name do you like?'' Jo asked, brushing a stray strand of her banks off her forehead.
''Mine.''
''Which is...?'' Jo asked encouragingly.
''Lily.''
''Oh, that's pretty. I wouldn't like to be called any other name if mine was that pretty. But it isn't...'' Jo sighed. Lily raised her head and looked at her.
''What is it?'' She asked, getting curious just as Jo had predicted.
''It's Josephine.'' She said and smiled seeing how Lily wrinkled her nose. ''I know, it's terrible. That's why everybody calls me Jo.''
''Jo?''
''Yes, Jo.''
Lily nodded and placed her head again on Jo's shoulder. Jo held Lily so close that she was able to feel how violently girl's little heart was pounding in her chest. But after a couple of minutes it started to slow down and finally Jo felt her body relaxed and it became heavy.
She looked at Lily's face and saw that she was asleep. She sighed lightly, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sadness. The poor kid had to be exhausted. They estimated the time of death of her father on 11 pm. 4 hours ago. The mother was alive approximately 2 hours longer. Jo swallowed hard, being more than aware what was the reason for it.
Lily must have hidden in the closet when everything had started and stayed there until Mac had found her. Jo couldn't even imagine how terrified she must have been, listening to her mother suffering and then being killed. She choked back a sob. Suddenly she heard some conversing voices outside.
''Where's Jo?'' Mac asked and the doctor told him she was inside the ambulance. He opened the door and climbed inside. He looked at the little girl sleeping in Jo's arms and she didn't even have to say anything. He sat down next to her and whispered in a low voice.
''Jo, we have a problem.'' She looked up at him andfelt a tear tickling her skin as it made its way down her cheek. She quickly caught it with the back of her hand and wiped it away.
''Yeah?'' She whispered back, her voice cracking.
Mac looked at her and smiled sadly.
''Her name is Lily.'' He said, pointing at the girl with his head and Jo smiled. ''She's 4.'' He paused and sighed deeply. ''She has an older brother. His name is Rick, he's 8 years old. We didn't find him anywhere in the house or around the area.''
''He's missing?'' Jo asked looking at Mac with her eyes wide open.
''It seems so.''
''Do you think... whoever did it... took the boy?'' She asked in disbelief. She was sure it couldn't get any worse. Clearly she was mistaken.
''We cannot rule out such possibility.''
. . .
For what seems like the hundredth time, Mac ran through all photos they took at the crime scene, still deceiving himself that he had missed something. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. He then glanced at Lily, who was sleeping on the couch, covered with Jo's coat. She was hugging a sadly looking, mottled gray bunny, that Jo had taken from her bedroom just before they left the crime scene.
Mac heard the door to his office being open as Sheldon made his entrance.
''Any luck in finding her relatives?'' Mac asked.
''Unfortunately not.'' Sheldon answered. ''Her mother lost her parents when she was a teenager. Her other grandparents are already dead, too. Both, her mother and her father were the only children, which means no aunts, uncles or cousins.''
''She doesn't have anybody.'' Mac sighed.
''Yeah... I've already called the social service, they will be here in... 10 minutes.'' Sheldon said as he checked his watch.
''I'll take her downstairs.'' Jo said somewhere behind Sheldon and he moved to the side, letting her into Mac's office.
''You sure?'' Mac asked.
''Yes, we've just finished processing the evidences, Danny is running the samples through the databases right now.''
Mac frowned. It wasn't what he was asking about. She moved to the couch and crouched beside it. She gently stroked Lily's cheek and whispered:
''Hey, Lily... wake up.'' The girl opened her eyes and looked at her, confused. ''We have to go downstairs.'' Jo added and picked her up from the couch. Then she grabbed the bunny and handed it to Lily. ''Here, your bunny.'' Jo said, smiling warmly at her.
''It's Mr. Whiskers.'' Lily corrected and Mac couldn't help but smile slightly.
''Oh, my bad... But we weren't introduced.'' Jo said with a smile, then looked directly at the bunny and added: ''Nice to meet you, Mr. Whiskers.'' She was about to leave Mac's office when he stopped her.
''Jo, wait, I'm going downstairs, too. I need to talk to Flack.''
''OK.'' She said and they headed to the elevator.
. . .
''Danny ran the bullets through the ballistics. The gun was registered to Terry Dribs. He matched the description of our witness. He has an older brother, Henry. He got released from a prison only two months ago, that's when those break-ins on the Greenpoint Avenue started.''
''Did you get any addresses?'' Mac asked.
''We did.'' Flack nodded. ''We went there with Jamie straight away, but the place was empty. Jamie stayed there with Adam and Lindsay. They're checking it for some clues.''
Mac looked on the other side of the hall, where Jo was standing. She was still holding Lily in her arms and talking to some lady, who worked for the social service.
''Do you think they took the boy for a ransom?'' Flack asked.
''I don't think so...'' Mac sighed. ''They killed his parents, there is nobody they could ask for the ransom.'' He wanted to add something more, but suddenly Lily's screaming got his attention. She was held by the woman from the social service, who was walking towards the exit. Jo stood in the middle of the hall, looking really miserable. As the distance between her and Lily was growing, Lily's screams were getting louder and louder. She was calling Jo's name, crying uncontrollably. Mac glanced at Jo. She turned back on the whole scene, covering her eyes with her hand. He was standing quite far away, yet he was able to see how her shoulders were trembling.
Lily was starting to fight to get free and the woman had trouble holding onto her. Suddenly, Lily slipped from her grip and landed on the floor. Mac rushed in her direction as he was sure she had hurt herself. The woman tried to pick her up again, but Lily was quicker. She stood up and jolted towards Jo, who turned around at the loud thud Lily had made while landing on the floor. Before she could do anything Lily bumped into her, almost knocking her over.
''Oh my God, are you all right?'' Jo asked, looking down at her, feeling how she hugged her legs tightly, almost painfully so.
''I don't want to go with her!'' She cried out brokenly.
''I know, honey...'' Jo whispered. ''Come here.'' She said, convincing her to let go of her legs and picking her up.
''Miss Danville, I'm really sorry, but she has to come with me.'' The woman from the social service said and Jo felt Lily lock her arms around her neck tighter and she started to cry again.
''I know, but maybe you could...'' She didn't finish as Mac cut her off.
''Is there a problem here...'' He glanced at the woman's name tag. ''… Sally?''
''Well, yes... I'm supposed to take this girl with me and Miss Danville...''
''It's Detective Danville, Sally.'' Mac corrected her, intimidated her on the spot.
''Oh, OK... So, Detective Danville impedes my work and...''
''I certainly do not!'' Jo protested. ''You were dragging her out from here like she was some puppy on a leash!'' With every word Jo uttered, getting more and more angry, Lily's was crying stronger, to the point she got a hiccup. ''Can't you see how upset she is? You didn't even try to soothe her!''
''It's not my job to soothe her!'' Sally retorted.
''Ladies, really, I think you both need to calm down.'' Mac told them, placing a hand on Jo's shoulder. ''Jo, why don't you give Lily something to drink and I'll talk to Sally.''
''Fine.'' Jo murmured and walked away.
She stood in front of the vending machine and she fished out a coin out of her pocket. Lily watched with curiosity what she was doing.
''Here.'' Jo gave her the coin. ''Put it in here.'' She showed her and Lily pushed the coin inside the slit. ''Now what do you want?''
''Soda!'' Lily decided without any hesitation.
''Oh, no, honey. Soda won't be good for a hiccup.'' Jo shook her head. ''You can chose between orange, apple and strawberry juice.''
''Strawberry.''
''Of course...'' Jo smirked. ''You want to push the button?'' She asked and Lily nodded. ''OK, so this one... and then this one.''
The bottle with juice made a lot of noise as it made its way down the machine. Jo looked at Lily, opening her eyes widely and gasping theatrically.
''Did you get scared?'' She asked and Lily shook her head. For the very first time, Lily smiled lightly at her. ''Ahh, you're the brave one. I got scared a little.'' Jo said, holding her tightly, as she bent down, reaching for the bottle.
''Don't be scared.'' Lily said and nuzzled Jo's cheek with hers. Jo couldn't help but smile. She was such a sweet kid. It was just horrible she was so suddenly thrown in the middle of the tragedy, but Jo knew very well it was just the beginning. Foster care, then foster family. One for life if she was lucky but if not... She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears.
She thought about Ellie. She thought about where her beloved daughter would have been if she hadn't decided to adopt her. There was so many times, when Ellie stayed cuddled to her while watching TV or simply was sitting across the table when they had dinner, when Jo was repeating thanks to fate for bringing Ellie to her life. If they didn't have each other, they would both be lost.
In that very moment, Jo silently prayed for Lily to have someone, who would take care of her.
Shaking her head slightly, like she wanted to silence those thoughts, she opened the bottle and handed it to Lily who was still hiccupping.
''Drink with small sips, honey.'' Jo said, helping her with holding the bottle as it seemed to be too big and too heavy for the small hands. She looked across the hall and saw how Sally turned around and headed towards the exit. Jo raised her eyebrows and then looked at Mac. He was walking towards them.
''What did you tell her?'' Jo asked, being completely surprised he managed to convinced Sally to leave without Lily.
''I told her it will be better for everyone if Lily stayed with you for tonight. For social service, as they would be dealing with her the whole night, trying to calm her down and stop her from crying. For Lily, because you are the one she feels safe with. And for you as well.'' He smiled at her.
''Thanks.'' Jo reciprocated his smile, taking the bottle from Lily as she seemed not to be thirsty anymore. ''Only for this one night?'' She asked, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.
''Until the family court decides where to place her, while she waits for adoption.''
''They have to do it within 72 hours.'' Jo sighed.
''Yup.'' He watched how Lily laid her head on Jo's shoulder and closed her eyes. ''Go home, Jo. She's exhausted. I'll call a cab for you.''
''Mac, I can go with my own car.'' Jo protested.
''Jo, you don't have a child seat or a booster seat in your car.'' He noted. She looked at him with her eyes wide open and then she smiled. God, he would be a wonderful father. He thinks about everything. She thought briefly.
''You're right.''
''Where's your jacket?'' Mac asked.
''Well... I put it somewhere...'' Jo said, trying to remember where exactly, but before she did Mac spotted it on the back of Flack's chair. He helped her put it on and she zipped up Lily's jumper and put a hood with small ears over her head.
''How cute is that...'' Mac said, looking at the girl and Jo smiled at him.
They left the precinct and Mac managed to stop the first cab he saw. As usual Jo wondered how he was doing it, as it always took her ages to do it on her own. He helped her get into the cab, holding the door open for her.
''I'll check on you in the morning, OK?'' He asked.
''Just not too early.'' Jo told him with a little smile.
''10 will be fine?''
''Yeah, it will be OK.''
''Take care.'' He said and closed the door. He watched how the cab drove away, disappearing around the corner. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. He was extremely tired, yet he refused to take even the shortest break. He needed to find Lily's brother first.
. . .
A/N First of all, for everyone who thinks that ''Wish You Were Here'' has to be already finished if I'm posting it - it isn't. Still two chapters to go.
But in the meantime I came up with an idea for a next story and the more I was thinking about it, the more I got tempted to actually write it. So here comes the first chapter. It's more like a teaser, but I think it gives an idea what the story will be about. Although whatever you think, believe me - it won't be that simple ;)
Many thanks to Jessica (csinyfan28) who read it, gave me a feedback and very carefully corrected my mistakes. You're the best, Hon! You're really a great help!
Any opinion about this first chapter will be priceless. Especially on the idea. So please, read and review!