Terrifying

Chapter 2

"HOUSTON." Jackie screamed in a trembling voice.

She scooped Jasmine up into her arms and sprinted towards the front of the store.

"Help, my baby's been kidnapped." She shouted.

An off duty police officer happened to be at the store. He told Jackie that he would make the store lock its doors and all she should do is call the police. She did and within minutes the store was swarmed by cops. Unfortunately whoever had taken Houston had already left the store, they hadn't locked it down fast enough.

"Oh God this is not happening, this is a dream, please let this be a dream." Jackie prayed as she shakily dialed Nick's number.

"Hey Hon." Nick said after looking at the caller I.D on his phone.

He was enjoying a quiet afternoon at home in front of the television after a long day at the lab.

"Nicky, somebody took Houston, he's gone." Jackie said, she was clearly hysterical. "What do you mean he's gone?" Nick asked as he leapt from the couch.

"I'm at the store, Jasmine wandered a couple steps ahead of me and grabbed something I didn't need so I put it back and when I turned back around he was gone. Please just hurry up and get here." she sobbed.

"What store are you at?" He asked, barely able to speak.

"Martins." She answered.

"I'll be right there." He said as he hung up the phone. He put his shoes on, grabbed his keys and then he was out the door.

While driving there Nick couldn't believe what he had just heard, he prayed that it was all just a big misunderstanding and Houston would be in Jackie's arms when he arrived at the store, but as he pulled into the parking lot and saw the red and blue flashes of the police cars lights his heart sank. He sprinted into the store and found Jackie, sobbing as she was being questioned by a police officer.

She had Jasmine in her arms and the poor child looked like she was confused and frightened. He ran over to them and wrapped Jackie in a hug.

"It's going to be alright, I'm going to call the team and we'll figure this all out, we'll find him." He said trying to make himself believe his own words.

He knew all too well how these types of cases often turned out, but he knew for Jackie's sake he had to keep it together and maintain a positive attitude. When the officer was done questioning her she immediately called all of her family and friends while Nick called Catherine and the rest of the team. Within minutes everyone showed up to help in anyway that they could, Catherine and all the other CSI'S were going to lead the investigation while Jackie's friends were going to help in the search.

"Jackie, would you be willing to come down to the station for questioning and to take a polygraph? It's just procedure, and you don't' have too but it'll look suspicious if you don't. In these types of cases, we have to clear the family first." Jim Brass asked her as he gently guided her away from everyone.

"Yes, I'll do it, I'll do anything, let's go." She said.

"Ok, and Nick and the rest of your family should do it too."

"They will." She assured him.

Soon Nick, Jackie, and her family members were headed to the station, Catherine took over the investigation while they were gone. She told Greg to find out if the store had surveillance camera's, unfortunately they didn't.

"Jackie, just so you know, I do not believe for one second you had anything at all to do with this, this is just a formality really." Brass told her once they had arrived at the lab. He was now taking her to the polygraph room.

"Thank you." She said quietly. In his career Brass had dealt with a lot of families that had had their children kidnapped but never before had he seen anyone so distraught as Jackie was. She looked to be in a state of confusion, as if in a daze. Brass stopped in the room that held the polygraph exam. The polygrapher was waiting for her.

"Hi Jackie, I'm Bill, I'll be administering your polygraph test."

Jackie nodded. Brass guided her to the chair, "it'll be ok." He said as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

He then turned and left the room. Bill got Jackie all hooked up to the machine and then began. He started with the basic questions

"Is your name really Jackie Stokes?"

"Yes." Jackie said.

"Are you the biological mother of the missing infant?"

"Yes."

He asked her a couple more basic questions before beginning the important ones.

"Did you have anything to do with your sons' disappearance?"

"No." She answered.

"Do you know who took your son?"

"No." Jackie said quietly as she struggled to hold back tears.

"Do you know where your son is?"

Jackie shook her head from side to side, tears were now streaming down her face and she was so upset that she couldn't even speak.

"I'm sorry I know this is very difficult but I need a verbal yes or no." Bill said.

"No." she squeaked.

That was the last question. Bill then unhooked her from the polygraph machine and led her out of the room, he felt horrible for this woman and he'd just met her. She was broken, completely broken, she had passed her polygraph with flying colors and it was obvious to him that she loved her child deeply.

"Mrs. Stokes, I truly hope you find your son and that he is safe and sound." He said once they were out in the hall.

She nodded, she couldn't speak.

He then turned and walked back into the polygraph room. Jackie collapsed in Nick's arms, he and the rest of her family had been waiting for her out in the hallway, they were waiting for their turn to take the polygraph. Nick held her tight and just let her sob into his shirt. After a few moments she looked at him, he had never seen her like this. The normal sparkle in her gorgeous green eyes was gone, her mascara was running down her usually happy face, and tears stained her cheeks. She looked like a zombie.

"What do we do now?" She asked Nick, her voice just a whisper. "When your mom is done with the polygraph, I want you and your mom to go home and make missing person posters and then plaster them all around the city, we need to get Houston's face out there."

Jackie nodded and then asked "What are you going to do?" "I'm going back to the store to help Catherine and the team with the investigation."

"Ok." She said quietly as she turned to her mother as a new set of tears threatened to pool from her eyes.

"Jackie, look at me baby." Nick said as he took her face in his hands.

She looked him in the eye.

"I need you to hang in there with me. You have to keep it together the best you can, Houston needs you right now, and you aren't going to be able to help him if you're hysterical. We'll get through this, I promise." He said as he once again wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Soon he was finished with his polygraph and was headed back to the store where the kidnapping had taken place while Jackie and her mother were headed home to make the missing person posters.

On the poster there was Houston's picture, the phone number that people should call if they see the baby, and a reward of $27,200 (every dime the Stokes' had in their savings account) for information leading to Houston's safe return. After the first poster had been made Jackie just stared at it in disbelief. She couldn't believe that her sweet little innocent baby boy was on a missing poster, but there was his picture. The picture showed a happy and smiling baby, dressed in an adorable outfit with bears on it, and he was holding his favorite blanket.

"Oh Houston, Mommy is so sorry, I love you so very much. We're coming baby, just hang on." Jackie said to the picture as tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Jackie wished so bad that the kidnapper had taken her instead, slit her throat, raped her, strangled her, anything, anything rather then what they had done.

"Jackie is the poster ready?" Her mother asked as she came into the room.

"Oh Sweetie." She said as she wrapped her in a hug after she saw the tears running down her face.

Her mom took the poster from her hand and after she saw the picture of her innocent and beloved grandson on the missing person poster she too began to cry.

"Let's go make the copies." Jackie said quietly.

So together the two women went to the nearest copy store. They made tons of copies of the posters and then distributed them throughout the entire city. Once they were finished they headed back to the store to rejoin Nick and the others.

When they got to the store Jackie had a great idea. One of Jackie's closest friends was a reporter for a local news station in Vegas, Jackie thought it would be great if Nick and herself could be on the news that night. That would be an excellent way to get Houston's face out in the public. Ashley was out with the other volunteers when Jackie got back to the store so Jackie immediately dialed her number. Ashley was more then happy to put her and Nick on the news. She immediately called a camera crew from the news station where she worked and they arrived there in no time. The interview was conducted in the back of the store so it would be quieter.

Nick and Jackie made a tearful and heartfelt plea for not only everyone to be on the lookout for their son but for the actual kidnapper to please return Houston unharmed. As soon as the interview was over Ashley promised Jackie that it would be on the news that night at 10:00 P.M. Nick and Jackie thanked Ashley and the rest of the news crew. Ashley, Jackie, and Nick were just about ready to go rejoin the others to help in the investigation when they heard the click of high heeled shoes on the tiled floor. They turned around and saw Catherine walking towards them.

Jackie did not like the troubled look on Catherine's face.

Catherine placed her hands on Jackie's shoulders as she looked at both her and Nick and said "Nick, Jackie, I'm so very sorry to have to tell you this, but an infant's body has just been found a couple blocks from here."

Everything went black for Jackie as she hit the floor.

To Be Continued…..