A/N: A shout out to Cinderella1268. Thanks for the review. Hope this chapter is a little less ulcer-causing. ;)
Chapter 10
Elliot pounded his fist on the desk. Every lead that came in had been bogus and it had been almost twelve hours since he'd last heard from the kidnappers. He was trying to stop himself from thinking like a logical cop would but the thought that his eldest daughter could be dead. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up.
"We'll find her," Fin said reassuringly as he set a container of Chinese takeout down on the detective's desk.
"I was sure that whoever had her would let her go after Kathy made her plea. Why is this guy doing this?" Elliot asked.
"Pretty stupid to kidnap a cop's kid. Does this have something to do with that phone number you wanted me to run earlier?" Fin pressed. Elliot looked around and saw that Carisi and Rollins were occupied with phone calls.
"You have to keep this quiet," the former Marine said before jerking his head toward the interrogation room. The two slipped away and Elliot filled him in on everything.
"These guys really have it out for Baby Girl," Fin said. Elliot was about to say something else when Tucker busted into the room.
"Stabler! Out here now!" Elliot rolled his eyes and followed the IAB Lieutenant. Fin came after them, his thoughts a jumbled mess.
"Maureen!" Elliot shouted. Rollins had been comforting the girl but she left the blonde and ran to her father.
"Daddy!" She hadn't called him that in a long time but given the circumstances it was great to hear it as he pulled her into a hug.
"Oh sweetheart. How'd you get here? Are you ok?" Elliot asked.
"He just dropped me off. Told me to hand you this message," Maureen pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Elliot who then yelled for someone to get CSU over here on the double. Fin called for an ambulance to come and take Maureen to the hospital so she could be checked out. Tucker took the letter with a gloved hand from Elliot and the detective was told to go with his daughter to the hospital. Rollins offered to pick up Kathy and escort her to the hospital and Tucker agreed before ordering Carisi to head back over to the safe house to watch Michelle Simmons. She hadn't been left alone but it was definitely preferable that she have a friendly face to see.
"What are we looking for?" The CSU tech, Marty, asked Tucker who had pulled him into Olivia's office.
"Fingerprints and I want the handwriting analyzed. This could be our only clue to figuring out who took Maureen," Tucker told him.
"You got it," Marty began dusting for prints and quickly picked up quite a few good looking ones.
"Ok now we have to open it, so I need you to let go," the tech spoke up. Tucker nodded and Marty carefully unstuck the sealed envelope flap. Cautiously, he looked at the contents.
"No foreign powders or substances. I'm going to remove the letter and read it," Marty said. Tucker wanted to stop him but he knew it would raise more suspicions.
"Well played Detective Stabler but this isn't the only trick up my sleeve. Ask Maureen about her bruises. Be in touch," the CSU tech frowned, not sure of the meaning, but Tucker had a pretty good idea and quickly phoned Rollins. He told her to collect any evidence she could while at the hospital. Marty took the letter away to do further testing and Tucker then called Fin into Olivia's office and said,
"I need everything you have on the Herd family. They just moved to the top of the suspect list."
"Why what happened?" Fin asked. The Lieutenant quickly explained what the note said and his inferences to what it meant.
"You think their dad assaulted Maureen?" The newly appointed Sergeant gave him a look.
"My guess is that he didn't but wanted Stabler to think he did. This guy taught his sons how to stalk their prey and do all sorts of nasty things to them. I want to know where the mother is and I want to know just how long the father's rap sheet is. This takes top priority. My guess is that they have done a lot of things they've been getting away with for years," Tucker explained. Fin nodded and then left the office to get to work.
To Be Continued…