Chapter 11
Gillian blinked in the early morning light and a small smile came to her face when she felt Cal's arms around her holding her tightly.
She slipped from the bed and chanced a glance back at him. His face looked at peace and she caressed his cheek before she slipped from his room.
She took a quick shower then headed out. Her plans were to head over to Zoe's office and start going over all the information with fresh eyes.
She was surprised when she met Loker and Torres in the lobby. "You two are up early..."
Loker shrugged. "I was going to head across the street and start reviewing the evidence again."
Torres nodded. "Fresh eyes, fresh outlook."
Gillian nodded knowingly. "Great minds think alike."
Loker shrugged. "Have you uh…seen Lightman yet?"
"Nope, how about you?" Gillian lied easily.
Torres frowned as she tried to figure out the micro expression that had flashed on Gillian's face. "Um…no."
Gillian walked towards the door. "He'll show up when he's ready. I saw a bakery down the block; I'm dying for a chocolate donut. I'll bring some back and some good coffee and meet you up in the lab."
She left and Loker looked at Torres. "Did she just lie about seeing Lightman?"
"I…don't know…do you think they're…"
Loker shuddered at the thought. "I don't know…"
The two walked across the street and began to work.
Gillian came in a short time later with muffins and donuts and they all became immersed in their work.
Two hours later, Cal walked in the door of the lab with a tray of fresh coffee. He set it down then eyed the plate of doughnuts and grabbed a cinnamon roll and started to chomp on it.
He cast a pensive glance at Gillian and when he gauged her mood and saw only acceptance, he grinned, "Mornin' Darling!"
Gillian smiled at his improved mood. "Glad you decided to join us."
Cal pretended to ignore her. "Loker, can you bring up the part when Emily says, I love you Dad…"
"Good Morning to you too….and sure…." Loker said as he shook his head with acceptance that Lightman was back to his old self.
Torres was surprised the old Lightman was back as well. "I take it you slept well?"
"Like a baby," Cal said as he bit off another large piece of muffin. "Thanks for asking," he garbled with his mouth full.
"I love you, Dad!"
"I love you, Dad!"
"I love you, Dad!"
"I love you, Dad!"
"Át's enough, can you remove Em's voice?"
Loker raised his brows at the unusual request but did as he was asked.
"What is that caterwauling in the background?!" Cal asked, his face distorted with disgust.
Loker turned it up then slowly smiled. "That's the new band Emily's been listening too."
"Did they perform here yesterday?" Gillian asked with confusion.
Torres shook her head abruptly. "No, they couldn't, they're a garage band…right now they literally just play in people's garages."
Loker's hands flew over his keyboard. "But with the help of the internet, these guys are able to get more exposure than ever before."
Cal stepped forward. "Are you telling me that the only way for that music to be playing in the background is…"
Loker interrupted him as his hands flew across the keyboard. "…if they've given Emily access to a computer," he said as he turned the monitor for all to see.
Cal waved his hands at the screen. "What's this?"
"Emily's twitter page."
Torres leaned in closer and pointed to the time stamp. "She posted this in the middle of the night."
"Tired, gonna hit the hay soon…wish Miss Ellie was here with me…"
Zoe walked in the door followed by a tall sandy blond haired guy in a suit.
"Sorry I'm late I had to pick up Roger at the airport."
"Yeah, well while you were off again, we found out that Emily was able to go on her Twitter account." Cal accused.
"What did she say?"
Loker showed her the message.
"Tired, gonna hit the hay soon…wish Miss Ellie was here with me…"
"And what does this one mean?" Zoe asked as Roger put a hand on her back.
Cal rolled his eyes at Roger's possessiveness and walked away.
Gillian cleared her throat and smiled weakly. "We think it's another clue to her whereabouts."
Torres sighed. "She wants to hit the hay so it's a safe bet she's being held somewhere near the animals."
"Yeah, but which ones?" Roger asked. "The animals are usually spread out over several acres."
Loker looked at him and smiled. "That's where the Miss Ellie clue comes in."
Gillian leaned forward in her seat. "Miss Ellie was one of Emily's favorite stuffed animals growing up."
Zoe held her hand to her head as she fought for the memory. "Miss Ellie? I remember her talking about her but she had like seventeen on her bed every night. Which one was Miss Ellie?"
Cal looked at her like with disgust. "Do you even know you have a daughter?"
"Are you serious? I've been in law school, Cal! Who the hell would remember the name of seventeen different stuffed animals?" Zoe asked as she looked at the others in the room.
"Miss Ellie is the name for Ellie the elephant," Cal replied smugly.
Zoe threw her hands in the air. "Of course, the one with the purple and pink polka dots that the other elephants wouldn't play with because they thought she had the chicken pox."
Loker raised his brows and made a face. "Sounds like the writers of kid's books do some serious acid."
"Can you and Torres get over to the circus and snoop around the animal tents?" Cal asked Gillian.
Zoe looked down at her watch. "We have one more hour."
The phone suddenly rang and the group jumped.
Zoe walked over and waited for Loker to turn on his equipment before she picked it up. "Hello."
"Mom!"
"Emily?!"
"Mom, I need to talk to Dad."
"Are you all right?!"
"Yes, I love you and I'm fine, really, but I need to talk to Dad. Do you know where he is?"
Cal could hear her excited voice over the phone and took the receiver awa from Zoe. "I'm right here, Luv. Where are you, Em? Did you get away?"
"She's here with us, Dr. Lightman."
Cal frowned and wondered at this strange new set of events.
"Dad, can you listen to me for a second?"
"Of course, Em, I'll listen."
"Okay, so last night I was watching tv when theses guys started talking. They said that Mom's helping to put some guy named Sonny in jail."
"At's right, Em."
"He killed a judge and his family," Zoe explained.
"No, Dad, he didn't. They know who did it but it wasn't this Sonny guy."
Zoe shook her head disgustedly. "They're lying, Em."
Emily ignored her mother's outburst. "No, Dad they're not. They didn't move their shoulders, or twitch their mouths; they didn't make fists or do that little thing with that muscle between the eyebrows, nothing!"
Loker and Torres both looked at Cal uncertainly as he looked at Foster for her opinion.
Gillian shrugged. "Emily's been around this her whole life, Cal. She could be right."
Loker nodded. "She's been playing with those computer tests since she was ten."
"Oh for Pete's sakes," Zoe said disgustedly. "Just so you know, we do have evidence saying otherwise…"
Cal made an instant decision. "The Lightman Group will help you anyway we can. But my daughter and I switch places. She goes free or we won't help. Is it a deal?"
"Dad, I want to help too!" Emily called out.
"You already have, kid!" the voice chuckled indulgently. "Okay, it's not quite what we had planned but yeah, Lightman, it's a deal."
"I'll be by the elephant tent in an hour." Cal said.
The voice chuckled knowingly. "We moved last night after I heard Emily's message. You've got a smart kid."
"Yeah, she's a keeper."
"I'll send a car for you in twenty minutes. You can come with one of your team members.
"I'm coming too!" Zoe called out.
The caller ignored her. "Lightman, if your ex wife shows up, I'll put a bullet in her head. Whoever you bring with you can make sure your daughter gets back safely."
"I'm bringing Eli Loker," Cal announced firmly.
"It's your call," the voice said before he hung up.
Tears fell freely from Zoe's as she looked at Cal. "I want to go."
Cal looked at her and knew she was hurting as much as he was. "You can't they'll kill you and Emily needs a mum."
"Why not me?" Gillian asked indignantly.
Cal sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Because The Lightman Group has just offered to help this guy find out who really killed the judge and his family. You're the other owner of The Lightman Group, I need you to help if this starts to go bad and Torres here is allergic to hay."
"How did you know that?" Torres frowned.
"Because in October, you broke out in hives when we investigated that horse farm."
Loker rolled his eyes. "So I get picked last again."
"What are you in second grade?!" Lightman shot him a look that showed differently. "Actually, if you must know, Loker, I picked you first, because you know the city and how to maneuver around it. I have no idea what these blokes are planning but if I can get Emily out of their hands I need you to get her to safety."
Loker lowered his eyes. "Oh."
"Now if we're done with me giving you compliments maybe we can get ready to be picked up," Cal said as he walked away and grabbed another coffee.
Loker dug through his pockets and counted his money. "I need to get some cash just in case…"
Gillian ran to her purse and dug out money. "That should be enough right?"
"Yeah, especially if she's only by the United Center."
Cal frowned as he handed him some money as well. "At's all I got, take this in case she's hungry or something."
Zoe stepped forward and stood in front of Cal. "I'll give him money, keep yours…you may need it for yourself."
Cal shook his head and looked towards Gillian. "If we can't help them prove this Sonny's innocence, I don't think I'll be coming back."
"Don't say that!" Zoe gasped.
Cal looked at her angrily and stepped into her personal space. "Do you honestly think that after I've seen their faces and can identify them that they're going to let me walk out of their alive? You can't be that thick!"
The room fell silent as each of them realized the truth behind his statement.
Cal frowned at them collectively then tapped Loker's arm. "Let's go."
"Cal?!"
He started to walk away but turned at Gillian's voice.
She looked at him lovingly but knew that professionally he would disapprove of her showing emotions so she frowned and schooled her features again. "Be careful."
"I will, Luv," he said as he reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
The others in the room pretended to ignore the gesture as he turned and walked out the door.
