Chapter 26:
"Look," Natalia said, talking to her sister. "I need you to take care of Andria for a while. I need to get back to work."
"But it's so soon," her younger sister said. "You weren't supposed to come back until six weeks later."
"But we have a case," Natalia said. "And it involves my friend child so I need to be there. I can't just sit by and watch this on the news. I NEED to be a work. Our team is the best and with three people out of six that are out of work, it's not going to work. I'm going back." Natalia handed Andria to her younger sister.
"Okay, good luck. I hope everything turns out okay."
Natalia looked back and smiled. She jumped back in her car and headed towards CSI. It had now been four hours since the whole shoot out and kidnapping happened. Ryan called and reported that Eric was in a wheelchair and Calleigh was now under sedation for having a panic attack. That only left him and Horatio working. She knew she had to come back and do her job.
She pulled in the parking lot of CSI and got out. Ryan had been waiting for her at the door and rushed out to her side when he saw her step out the car.
CSI had become a media circus and the media was talking to anyone coming in or out of the building. They swarmed Natalia's car and flooded her mind with questions. She pushed them away and began making her way inside.
"Hey back up, BACK UP," Ryan said, pushing them away and coming to Natalia's rescue.
"Hey don't make the mistake so many others do," a reporter said.
Ryan ignored them and helped Natalia inside. Once they were inside, security closed and locked the door.
"I can't believe this," Natalia said, looking at the clock. It was now a little passed 7:00pm. "I can't believe this happened."
"Horatio went to the scene and gathered the spent bullets. There were a lot. "Bullets recovered from Calleigh and two other victims were registered to Robert Bentley. The bullets recovered from Eric were registered to Joshua Owens, Calleigh's ex."
"Isn't he dead?" Natalia asked.
"Yes, but that just tells you that he plays a real connection to this kidnapping. My guess is it's someone in his family that set this up."
"The mom," Natalia said. "Two weeks ago, she came inside of CSI and snapped out on Calleigh. She was saying stuff like 'Calleigh had him killed' and all that. But she never shown interest in the child. I think she set the whole thing up." Natalia said, becoming angry.
"Well that's a motive. I'll tell Horatio and he can have her picked up in Louisiana. She's going to be charged with aggravated kidnap."
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Calleigh slowly started to wake up when she noticed she had a visitor. Her eyes were still groggily and she noticed that it was her father. She blinked a little harder and he came into clear focus.
"Lambchop, you're up," he said happily.
Calleigh turned her head in the opposite direction of him. "What are you doing here?" her voice was even and dry.
"I came to check on you," he said drunkenly. "I heard the radio say that you were shot. So I had to come and check up on my little girl."
Calleigh looked around the room and noticed that she'd been admitted. She was no longer in the E.R but now in an actually hospital room. Layla, she thought. Her little girl, her daughter was still missing.
"So how are you doing?"
"You did this to me," Calleigh said darkly.
Her father looked at her shockingly. "I did not," he said. "I didn't shoot you."
Calleigh rolled her eyes and turned towards the window as a tear fell out her eye. It was silent for a few more seconds and her dad spoke up.
"Why do you think I shot you?"
"I DON'T THINK YOU SHOT ME!" Calleigh said. "However this is your fault why I'm lying here. You told Joshua where I lived and he came looking for me. That's why Layla's gone now."
"If Joshua didn't know where you lived, you would be worried about Layla, now would you? No. Because you would have never known she existed."
"Dad, how am I not going to know she existed when she came out of me?" Calleigh yelled.
"Well before the last few months, did you care where she was? Come on Calleigh, it's been years, not months but years and you never once seen her until two months ago. And she never seen your face until recently. So if I never told Joshua where you live you wouldn't even know her now."
Calleigh started crying and it was the first time that her father saw tears coming out of her eyes.
"Lambchop, I'm so sorry." He tried to grab her hand but she jerked it back and let out a small cry as she drew back too quickly and it was the same arm that was injured.
"Don't," Calleigh said.
He looked at her. "Calleigh, I hope you're not mad at me. I told Joshua where to find you for the best. I thought that you two would end up together and you would come back to Louisiana and you two would raise Layla together. I didn't know it would end up like this."
"I'm not going back to that hell hole," Calleigh yelled. "I told you when I was 18 and graduated high school that I wasn't coming back home. And when I graduated college and got the job at CSI here in Florida, I said I definitely would not be coming back. So what made you assume that I would come back?"
"You and Joshua were probably on this game. You probably set him up to say that he was dead so that automatically child services would bring her to my door."
"It sounds like you're mad," her dad said. "You don't really love Layla, do you?"
"Get the hell out of my room!" Calleigh yelled. "How dare you come in here and tell me something like that. I love Layla with all of my heart. It's your fault why she's kidnapped."
"Calleigh you have got to stop blaming other people for the things that you do." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a flask. He opened it and took a swig. "All I can say is good luck on finding her and I hope you feel better." He patted her leg and then proceeded to leaving the room, but first he bumped in the door and then he left.
A tear fell from her eye and she called the nurse. When the nurse came, Calleigh started talking.
"I want to go home, pull this stuff out of me and send me home now," Calleigh yelled.
"But the doctor-"
"I don't care what the doctor says, I want to go home. I have a daughter missing and I need to find her."
"Okay, I'll be right back." The nurse left out the room. She came back about five minutes later with the doctor.
"Ms. Duquesne, I hear that you want to leave."
"Yes I do," Calleigh answered as if she was a child. "I need to find my daughter."
"Understandable. But you have to understand if we discharge you, the hospital cannot be held responsible for anything. You simply refuse to be here to be taken care of."
"I'll come back. I just...well right now, my daughter needs me to find her."
"I wouldn't go out in the field so fast though," the doctor stated. "Your fetus suffered a blow..."
Calleigh's heart dropped in her stomach. "Is the baby okay?"
"It's fine for now, but another attack similar to the one you received early will threaten a miscarriage. In addition, you've been diagnosed with a Panic Disorder. Stress that leads to the panic attacks eventually have an effect on the fetus. Ms. Duquesne, another stress attack can also lead to a miscarriage. Are you still ready to be discharged?"
Calleigh closed her eyes and shook her head no. Then tears came out of her eyes. "Both of my children lives are in danger," she mumbled quietly. Her body began to shake.
"Take it easy, the doctor said, taking out his stethoscope and checking her vitals.
Tears began to flow out of her eyes and he knew that she was heading into another panic attack. Nurse, get me a dose of Diazepam." The nurse ran out quickly and came back about a minute later with the medicine and she grabbed a needle from the medicine cabinet in the room. The doctor grabbed the needle and stuck it in the bottle and drew a dose of medication. He stuck the needle in Calleigh's body and watched as she slowly eased off her attack.
"Calleigh, you're going to lose the baby if you don't calm down," the doctor scolded gently. "We need you to rest right now."
Calleigh cried softly. Her life was now no longer in her hands. She closed her eyes and drifted away to sleep.
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"Officer, what did you find?" Horatio asked.
"We came to the gas station as soon as we got the call. The gas station attendant said he saw this van pull in but it never left. Witnesses say the saw two men and a child heading north on Madison."
"Okay, get the dogs on foot and put the birds in the air," Horatio said. He went to his Hummer and came back holding a baggy. He almost had tears in his eyes when he looked at the little white sweater that Layla left in his office.
Twenty minutes later, the K9 truck pulled in front of the Hummer and the officers came out, holding the dogs. The officer explained to Horatio how the dogs are trained and how they're noses work. Horatio handed the officer the baggy and the officer took out the sweater and let the dog sniff it. The next thing, the dog went flying north.
Horatio looked in the sky and saw three police choppers, one that was already north, one that was going east, and the other standing still, looking intently at the movement of the dog. Horatio starting running with the dogs and the officer.
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"Pick that child up, the pepper sprayed man said. "I'm not going to jail."
"No way, they're not going to find my fingerprints on her," The man said.
"If you didn't know, they will. And who says they will find her?"
The were running through the alley and suddenly the chopper ahead appeared.
The other man looked behind him and noticed the chopper was gaining up on them.
"I'm not going back to jail," the man said. He dropped Layla's hand and started running faster. "Oh no you don't," the pepper-sprayed man said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the gun and shot the man down.
Layla screamed.
"You shut up or you'll be next. But hey look at it like this, now you've seen two people get shot. Do you want to end up like them?"
Layla shook her head no.
"Then you better stop crying and cooperate with me." He grabbed her by her jacket and started running, making Layla trip and fall because she couldn't keep up. What's worse is she fell by the newly fresh body that her kidnapper just killed.
Layla wanted to scream but she fought back the urge.
Then police cars parked down the other side of the alley. The man turned around and police were at the other end. He was trapped.
"We have you surrounded," the voice boomed from the helicopters. "Leave the child alone and get down to the ground."
Horatio's hummer crept up along side the police car and Horatio got out quietly. He drew his gun and when he was up close to the man, he began talking. "If I were you, I'll get down on the ground now. MOVE!!"
The man slowly dropped to the ground and the other police officers rushed to Horatio side, arresting the man.
Layla looked at Horatio and he had a smile on his face. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," Layla said sadly. "Is mommy dead?"
"No she's not," Horatio said. "She's fine and she's just waiting to see you. So how about we take a ride in this car and go see her?"
"Okay," Layla said. She looked back and saw the man being dragged away towards the police car.