Colonel Beck glanced at Heather's empty desk and had to hide a smile. It really wouldn't do for his staff to think he was glad she was sick. But he was happy anyway; even without any medical confirmation, he cherished his suspicions. The timing might not be convenient, but somehow he was warming to the idea. And he thought Heather was, too, based on a couple of comments she'd said before he'd left. Another couple of hours and he'd go check up on her on his lunch break. He was working his way through a stack of status reports when the radio on his desk crackled.
"Colonel Beck! Come in please." The voice was urgent.
"Yes?"
"Someone's taken Miss Lisinski."
Beck paled, frozen by the news.
"Sir? Are you there?"
It took a few seconds to recover his voice.
"Yes, I'm here."
A few more seconds passed.
"Sir, perhaps we should secure the area and gather evidence?" the voice on the radio suggested.
"Yes. Yes, of course. I'll be right over."
He drove up to Heather's place. He found his men talking to a nervous little girl holding a mewling kitten. The door was ajar; he was suddenly afraid to go in. He knew he had to keep his composure, not give away the secret they'd kept for the past few months. He didn't know if he could do that. Well, he was here now. It would look odd if he didn't review the scene. He took a deep breath and walked over to the lieutenant.
"Status report."
"The scene is secure. It appears that they used the child and the kitten to gain access."
"The kitten?"
"Elly found the kitten with a broken leg not far from here. She says a man suggested she take the kitten to Miss Lisinski. It was a setup – once the door was open, a masked man came out from behind the corner of the building and grabbed her from behind."
"Does she remember what the man who talked to her looked like?"
"No, she's still in shock – we had to drag her out of the closet. And, honestly, I don't think she was really paying attention to him – not with the kitten in her arms."
"Of course. When was this?"
"About half an hour ago."
"Any other leads?"
"Not yet."
Beck nodded, dismissing the soldier. He looked at the door once more. Well, here goes. He walked over to the door. There was a shoe at the entrance and an overturned umbrella stand, which caused a bitter smile. She would put up a fight. He went inside, which was undisturbed. There was a bowl of soup on the table, which Gail had probably brought over. He noticed that they had been playing scrabble, although – hmmm, that wasn't right. The words were all parallel. He walked over to the table to get a better look.
They were names, divided into columns. Boys' names on the left, girls' on the right.
His composure broke. This was too much. He turned on his heel and strode to the bathroom, where he could break down in private. He sat on the edge of the tub, head in his hands, and cried quietly.
Several minutes later, he heard a knock on the door. Capt Dunne's voice spoke.
"Sir? Are you ok?"
No.
"Yes. What do you need?"
"Nothing, sir, just wanted to check on you." The concern in her voice was obvious. "I know you two are close."
You have no idea.
"Just give me a minute, ok?"
"Yes, sir."
He tried to clear his thoughts. It wasn't easy. I really should tell someone. I can't oversee this investigation. I can't even think straight. He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Captain." He called quietly. He knew she'd still be standing by the door.
"Sir?"
"Come in." She did. "Close the door." She looked at him, saw where the tears had fallen. He saw her face soften in sympathy. "I need you to oversee this investigation. I can't. But I need it to look like I'm still in charge, simply delegating it."
"Sir?"
"Did you see the scrabble board?"
She was surprised at the non-sequitor.
"Yes."
"Those are baby names." She paused, putting two and two together.
Whoa.
"Sir – I didn't know you'd –"
"You weren't supposed to. I was afraid that the ASA would use her against me if they knew, like before." His voice was bitter. "Didn't seem to do much good, did it? All that worry over the ASA, and I let Constantino's men take her."
"I hope they still don't know, that they just took her because she works in the office, because she was the easiest to go after. I don't want them to hurt her to get to me. I don't want them to know how much power they have over me right now. And I sure as hell don't want them to find out that she could be…"
"You don't know?"
He shook his head.
"Mrs. Green came by, took a sample…but no results yet."
He finished, burying his face in his hands. The sight tore at Captain Dunne's heart. Déjà vu all over again, she thought to herself. Poor bastard falls in love and this happens.
"We'll find her, sir. I promise."