A/N - Apologies for the interlude in getting this chapter out. Work got kind of crazy and I had writers block over a change I made to chapter nine! Thanks, as always, to my beta for catching my errors :)
Thanks for reading along x
.oOo. Chapter Seven .oOo.
"Is Officer Jack Abrahams around please?" David asked as soon as they arrived at the 8th Precinct Police Station the next morning. It was just after six in the morning but both he and Chloe had been awake most of the night.
At around two in the morning, Chloe had gotten up and gone into the girls room. Something was playing on her mind and she couldn't shake the thought that there's been a shift in her internal matrix.
Upon seeing the picture of the child that David had shown her, Chloe had dropped everything she had in her hands to grab at the phone. She ignored the spilled salad items as she stared at the image on the screen, looking at it from all angles.
"It's not Kate." She said after a couple of minutes looking at the picture.
David looked over her shoulder as she pointed to the screen.
"See, this little girl… her hair is a lot longer than Katie's. That bunny she's holding looks loved and we don't have a toy like that. If this picture was taken today, she'd have had to have been out of my sight for at least two hours and we've not left the house today, at all. They helped bake some cookies, we did laundry and they played in the sandbox until we started dinner." Chloe explained, casually pointing to the discarded sand on the deck. "There is zero possibility that this little girl is Kate."
"But you have to admit that the similarity is striking."
"Aubrey, what do you think?" Chloe asked, showing Aubrey the picture.
"I agree, it's Kate's double. I guess it's true that every person has a doppelganger out there somewhere in the world." Aubrey agreed after a few moments. "The likeness is-"
Aubrey was cut off by Chloe's phone ringing.
"-Sorry." Chloe said, cancelling the call from the unknown number. This was her private phone that only a few people had the number for. She didn't give the number out to many people and wouldn't usually answer it if it was someone she didn't know.
The phone promptly rang again three more times in quick succession.
"Give it to me." Aubrey said, holding out her hand for the phone, which Chloe handed over. She answered the call. "Hello?"
Chloe and David could hear someone talking quietly in the phone's background.
"No, this is not her. I am her secretary." Aubrey said, giving a little wink.
Chloe smiled a little and bent down to start retrieving the dropped food.
"Yes, they are all at home." Aubrey said evenly. "I am with them all now."
David reached into the tall kitchen cupboard and pulled out a long handled broom and began helping Chloe clear up the mess.
"Sorry, who is calling again?" Aubrey said and waited for an answer. "Okay, well, keep me posted and I shall let Mr and Mrs Mitchem know. Thank you. Yes, goodbye."
Aubrey laid the phone down on the kitchen counter and shook herself a little.
"This day is getting weird now." She said. "That man was claiming to be a Los Angeles Police Officer and wanted to know if Katharine Mitchem was in your safekeeping."
"Was it Jack Abraham?" David asked.
"No, he said his name was Officer Ben Wesley."
"What else did he want?"
"He asked if you could take a recent picture of Kate and a family photo down to the 8th Precinct as they had a call about a kidnapping but as we were talking, the request got cancelled, or something and they are no longer looking at Kate as the intended target. It was all very confusing."
"I doubt it's anything to worry about." Chloe said, a short bubble of laughter erupting from her lips. "Kate and Alex are both fine. The security team would have alerted us to anyone suspicious around the house."
"I'm sorry I worried everyone." David said, stowing the brush and bucket back into the closet.
"No, not at all. I would have done the same if I'd seen that little girl." Chloe said, biting her lip slightly. "Anyway, we have a dinner to prepare and let's try to forget about this weirdness."
"What's the time?" David said, already looking at his watch. "A little after five. Well, I suggest I go and get showered and changed and then we'll have dinner."
"Sounds good." Chloe said, turning around to chop a few more vegetables to replace the ones that were now in the trash.
The rest of the evening was uneventful, and the girls went to bed without too much fuss, tired from their afternoon of playing and with their tummies full of homemade pizza. Chloe and Aubrey were in the lounge and David was in the kitchen on his phone when he announced he was going to bed. Aubrey left quite quickly after that, despite Chloe's protests that she should stay.
Chloe climbed the stairs to bed, but couldn't settle after she'd tucked the girls back in. Something was gnawing at her gut and she twisted and turned until about two in the morning when she decided to fix herself a snack and a drink, in the hope it would send her off to sleep.
She found David in the kitchen, back at his laptop.
"Hey."
"Hey. Sorry, did I wake you?" He asked.
"No, I couldn't sleep."
"Me neither."
"What are you looking at?" Chloe said, as she turned towards the snack cupboard and pulled on the handle.
"Nothing really." David sighed. "News mostly."
"Want anything?" Chloe said, looking at the basket of treats in front of her.
"Animal crackers?"
"Sure." Chloe said, tossing him a packet. "D, I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay?" David said, shutting the lid of his laptop down as Chloe took a seat next to him, leaning forward so her elbows were on the kitchen island.
"That little girl."
"Yeah?"
"There's something about her. I can't stop thinking about her."
"Me too." David admitted.
"Do you think my mom and dad lied to me about being an only child?" Chloe asked. "Do I have a sibling out there, living in Los Angeles, who has a kid that looks like our Kate?"
"Wow, didn't think you'd have said that."
"What did you think I was going to say?"
"I don't know." David grinned. "Not that."
"It's all I can think of. I'm not sure my parents would have done that. They took years to have me and would have told me if I'd had a sibling. I mean, my Aunt Emma has researched our family tree and something like that would have come out." Chloe said, rubbing her temples. "I'm clutching at straws, I guess."
"It doesn't seem like the thing your family would do. I mean, they are quiet people but good people and wouldn't lie to one another."
"I know. I just…" Chloe trailed off.
"What?"
"Okay, so hear me out."
David nodded and opened his packet of animal crackers.
"I was tucking the girls in before I went to bed. Kate was curled up in a little ball, arms full of teddies and dolls and Alex was sprawled out on her back, mouth open and snoring."
"Yeah?"
"I thought to myself as I shut the door just how different they are."
"They've always been that way."
"I know. That's my point."
"I'm not following."
"I'm not making much sense, that's why."
"Take your time."
"Okay, so the day of the accident in Flintstone." Chloe said, sitting upright and running her hands over her face. "There was a lot going on. You were hurt. Pete was hurt. I went into labour and had to have an emergency caesarean. And I was all by myself."
"Yes." David said simply. He didn't like reminders of that particular
"And I barely got a chance to hold the girls before they were taken away. I didn't even get a photo to show you until I was moved to Atlanta. And remember me telling you about that girl in the hospital, the one who had pulled me out of the car?"
"Vaguely, yes."
"She had a baby too that night. I think she had a little girl too and we saw each other in the NICU a few times."
"Sounds familiar."
"She had brown hair and brown eyes and was really small, from what I remember." Chloe said, her face screwing up a little as she tried to recall the girl who, at the time, had made quite an emotional impact on her.
"Right?"
"Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it." Chloe breathed out. "It got me thinking about all the other parents that were also in the NICU and how everyone looked different... blue yes, brown eyes, brown hair, blonde hair. What if someone did actually recognise me and think it would be a good idea to swap our babies around?"
"What?"
"What if someone knew who I was and wanted to keep our baby?"
"Why on earth would they want to do that?"
"I don't know? Maybe for the future? Like a ransom?"
"Chloe, you've said some pretty crazy things in the past but this one takes the biscuit."
"Think about it, D. Think about it. Everyone in your family is blonde. Everyone in my family is either a redhead or blonde. Where does Alex's brown hair come from?"
"You can't possibly think that our child could have been switched because she has a different hair colour to us. That's ridiculous. We've all got recessive genes in families. You're the one with the history major! You like history and from all the historical pictures of people you've seen in your life, are you actually telling me that you've never noticed a random hair colour in a family photograph or topic book. Come on?"
"I know… I hear myself say it, but we were told our girls were identical."
"Yes, but they also said that mistakes can happen when doing ultrasounds."
"But the 4D imaging we had-"
"-You know we couldn't see the second baby properly. Chloe, I know you desperately wanted two little girls who looked alike and were alike, but I love the fact that our girls are different. Kate is exactly like you, in her mannerisms and actions."
"Exactly and Alex is-"
"-Is different because she probably takes after someone in the family that we hardly know. Maybe one of my mom's brothers."
"I just-"
"-I know. But think about it. As soon as babies are born, they are tagged with a bracelet. The girls would have been tagged in the delivery room or the operating theatre and-"
"-They weren't tagged."
"Huh?"
"They weren't tagged." Chloe repeated. "They were delivered and taken away and then I was put under anaesthesia because the bleeding wouldn't stop. But I didn't get my tags until I was transferred over to the Children's Hospital in Atlanta."
"You never told me this!"
"I never had any reason to doubt it before but-"
"-But nothing. Alex is our daughter!" David shouted.
"Okay, okay, don't yell. You'll wake the girls up." Chloe said, laying a hand on his arm. "Just listen to me for a moment. Think about this rationally. There is a little girl who looks exactly like Kate out there. Do you admit that?"
"Yes, of course."
"And did you get a strange feeling when you saw her picture?"
"Yes." David said, narrowing his eyes. "I panicked."
"No, I mean, in your gut."
"Well yeah, I thought…"
"I got it too. I can't sleep because I keep thinking about that child. What if she is ours? And Alex really belongs to someone else?"
"Because this doesn't happen in real life."
"But it does happens."
"Maybe in your movie induced brain, it does." David snapped.
"Whichever brain it exists in, I'm just asking you to be open minded for a moment. Please. I know you don't want to consider it, but it is an option because anything is a possibility. Just because it sounds farfetched, doesn't mean it can't be real."
"When you say that though, it sounds like you are saying you don't love Alex."
"I don't love Alex?" Chloe repeated. "Are you for real?"
"I'm scared." David admitted.
"Of what?"
"That you are right."
"Oh."
David sighed and laid his head down on his folded arms on the kitchen island.
"It's late and we are going around in circles." David groaned. "Let's go to bed and we can talk more in the morning."
"But we need to-"
"-And if we need to, we'll go to the Police station in the morning and speak with Jack and see if there is anything he can suggest or tell us and we'll take it from there."
"But-"
"-It's three thirty in the morning." David said, getting up from his stool. He looked down at Chloe's despondent face and sighed. "I'll text Jack, okay. I'll ask him if there's anything going on or if are winding ourselves up about nothing. Deal?"
Chloe nodded and collected up their discard treat wrappers, watching David as he left the kitchen. She was annoyed by his lack of urgency about the whole thing but as she climbed the stairs back up to her bedroom, she realised that he had a point. Yesterday, the thought would never have crossed her mind that there was a possibility that there could be some truth to her musings.
Laughing quietly to herself, she made a mental note that it was probably time she booked a spa weekend with Aubrey and had a bit of time to relax. She'd been so busy lately, doing some reshoots for her latest film and with the girls being so energetic, she barely had time to unwind. Slipping back into bed, she pulled the blankets over her head and tried to push all the strange thoughts from her mind.
.oOo.
David shook Chloe awake just before five.
"Wha-" She said drowsily, her head pounding at the bright light in her bedroom.
"-Jack Abraham called. Get up."
"What's going on?"
"The girl from the park."
Chloe shook her head, trying to wake her muddled, sleepy brain. She raised herself up onto her elbows.
"They've run some sort of test on the woman who was claiming to be her mother."
"Okay?" Chloe said, pushing the blankets down and swinging her legs out of bed.
"The woman is not her mother."
"Not her mother?" Chloe repeated.
"We need to get to the police station. Get dressed."
"Why?"
"They want to talk to us about her."
"Do you believe me now?"
"Get dressed. We'll talk in the car." David bit, not answering her question.
"Call Stacie to look after the girls." Chloe said as she strode towards her dressing room to collect some clothes.
"It's five fucking am. She isn't going to be up yet, you stupid-"
"-David, take a breath." Chloe paused, immediately sensing one of David's meltdowns coming. Her heart was racing but knew she couldn't handle David losing control. He sat down on the small sofa in the bedroom and closed his eyes for a moment as Chloe quickly changed into jeans and a warm sweater. She was just slipping on some boots when she heard David speak again.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. We need someone to watch the girls. Stacie will get here quickly."
"Holly is closer."
Chloe visibly stiffened but she tried to school her facial expressions.
"I'm not comfortable with her being here."
"I'm calling her. She's two minutes away." David said, walking out of the bedroom.
Chloe said nothing as she popped open the girl's bedroom door. They were still fast asleep. She immediately felt grounded, just by looking at them.
"… yeah, sorry. I know it's early but I'll explain everything later, I swear." David spoke into the phone as he hurried down the stairs. "No, no, Chloe's fine. We just have to be somewhere and…"
The conversation trailed off as he went out of earshot. Chloe pulled the door shut again and quickly made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the sink drainer and quickly filled it with water, taking in a few big mouthfuls to calm herself, before offering the glass to David. He shook his head and finished up his call.
"She'll be here in a minute." David said.
"I'll wait in the car."
"Sure."
.oOo.
"Jack Abrahams?" David asked again as the desk sergeant walked up towards the counter.
"How can I help you today?"
"We need to speak with Officer Jack Abrahams please." David asked for the third time.
"In connection with what sir? Are you reporting a crime?"
"I hope not. Are you able to call him for us please? He is expecting us."
"Take a seat." The desk sergeant pointed towards a row of chairs towards the front door to the building. She finally looked at Chloe and her expression changed, clearly recognising her. "Unless you need to wait in a private room?"
"Chloe?" David asked. He forgot that Chloe was someone who was recognised on a daily basis.
"Yes please, thank you ma'am." Chloe said politely.
"No problem. Give me a minute." The sergeant reached for a set of keys on a hook under the front desk, before walking to the side door. "Follow me please."
David and Chloe followed the officer down a short hallway and turned left to a small bank of doors. She knocked a couple of times on the glass before jamming a key into the lock and opening it with a very loud click. She pushed open the door and switched on the light switch.
"Can I get you folks anything?" She asked, indicating for them to enter the room. "Coffee? Water?"
"Coffee would be great, thank you." Chloe said and David shook his head.
"No problem. I'll bring it back in a moment and I'll message Officer Abrahams now."
"Thanks." David said, making himself comfortable as possible on one of the hard plastic chairs in the room.
Chloe paced around the room for the next hour, reading the various posters and leaflets that adorned the walls and drinking so much bad coffee that she was starting to get the shakes. She fingered the small, obviously fake, potted plant that sat in the corner on a wobbly shelf before digging her hands into her pocket.
"Chloe? David? Hi, it's nice to see you again. So sorry you've had to wait so long. I got caught up in my supervisors office." Officer Jack said as he knocked on the door and walked into the room at the same time. He held his hand out to Chloe first who shook it in a friendly manner. Jack could see that Chloe looked as if she was about to fall apart at any moment. "Can I get you guys anything before we start?"
They both shook their heads to say no, thanks and Jack indicated one of the chairs in the room.
"Ma'am?" He said to Chloe. "Please."
"What's going on then Jack?" David asked, as Chloe and Jack both took a seat at the table.
"Well, folks, this is probably something and nothing but I thought it best to bring you into discuss this properly." Jack cleared his throat a couple of times before opening the packet that he'd brought in with him. "At approximately three o'clock yesterday afternoon, a unit was dispatched to Griffith Park Recreation Centre Playground where a member of the public had called with a concern over a small child, about three years old, who was being removed from the park against her will. My officers arrived at the park, interviewed the caller who said that the child was, and I quote, 'definitely Chloe Beale's daughter, I'd recognise her anywhere as I'm her biggest fan' and suggested that she'd been kidnapped."
David and Chloe side eyed each other but refrained from speaking.
"My officers further questioned the caller who was adamant that it wasn't a nanny or a babysitter who was with the child. My officers stopped the woman and the child a couple of blocks away and questioned them for a while."
"Sorry Jack to interrupt, but surely the little girl knew who her mother was?" Chloe queried.
"The child had been seen crying in the park and hadn't want to leave."
"That's typical child behaviour when they don't want to leave somewhere though, surely?" David asked.
"Right, but the caller had been concerned enough to phone the Police."
"Okay, sorry."
Jack shook his head as if to say that no apology was necessary.
"Upon seeing the child, one of the officers, Officer Watts, became concerned about the child's welfare and asked the mother why the child was distressed. The woman became agitated and to avoid the situation becoming out of control, the officers asked for her identification. She claimed she didn't have it with her as they'd just popped to the park for a few minutes before she had to go to work. The officers continued with their questions and the woman offered to show them her daughter's birth certificate which she had back in her apartment."
Jack paused for a moment as he turned the reports page over.
"The apartment didn't show signs of a typical family dwelling. Officer Watts told Officer Pelham privately that he also recognised the child as yours, Mrs Mitchem. He had seen your pictures together at a charity event over Christmas. The Homeless Kitchen one... he helped out with you in the kitchen, I believe. The birth certificate was from out of state and burnt in a few places. Officer Pelham was concerned that it was a forgery and asked the woman if she would accompany them to the Police station to get this all sorted out." Jack explained. "This distressed the young woman and she ended up in handcuffs for her own safety."
"She was cuffed in front of her child?" Chloe asked, her shock evident on her face.
"Yes. We are awaiting the full report from Officers Watts and Pelham but I know both these guys and they wouldn't have taken this decision lightly." Jack clarified. "The woman was brought into the station and Child Protective Services were called to take care of the child. The woman became extremely agitated and was left in an interview room to calm down before interviewing. Due to reasons beyond our control, she was there several hours before she was questioned. She was uncooperative and claimed we had made her potentially lose her job being held up by LAPD."
Jack turned another page of the report over.
"By this point, I had been assigned to the case and sent David a picture of the child and asked if Katharine was safely at home with you. We had not received a call about a potential kidnapping at this point but in the past, the parents of kidnapped children of… celebrity or notable statuses, are told not to inform the police if a ransom call is made soon after the child is taken."
"Oh God…" Chloe breathed out.
"You both confirmed that Katharine was in your sight safely at home and we then looked to release the accused without charge. According to this report, the woman was extremely distressed about being separated from her child and while not rude and abusive to the staff, there were high tensions. To clear the matter up, she agreed to take a DNA test to prove the child was hers."
"And?" Chloe asked.
"This is off the record, you understand?" Jack spoke clearly and Chloe and David both nodded.
"There was no DNA match. They were not related."
"So what does this mean?" David said, gripping Chloe's hand under the table.
"The accused was charged with kidnapping while I was off shift. When I came back in this morning, she was still here, I got caught up with the case and I am just in the process of getting her discharged now."
"But the child-"
"-She claims to have given birth to the child and has consented to all and every test to prove she is her mother. She said she has friends that can back up her story, she has pictures of the two of them from when the child was born. She explained in detail about the child being in the NICU and when we called the hospital, her story did check out."
"Where was the child born?" Chloe asked, desperately trying to stop her hands from shaking.
"Um…" Jack looked through the folder. "Atlanta, Georgia."
"Oh God… David!" Chloe squealed.
"Chloe, are you okay?" Jack asked.
"We had our girls in Atlanta." David explained. "Chloe had a theory in the night that somehow one of our twins was switched with this lady's daughter. I doubt many people know that our girls were born in Georgia so either this woman is making up this story or she switched one of our children. Maybe she was obsessed with Chloe and wanted our baby."
"Or maybe it's a genuine error and somehow the girls were accidently switched." Jack said as he sat back in his chair and looked between the two others in the room for the longest minute.
"Do you have pictures of both of your girls?" Jack finally asked and Chloe immediately reached into her purse for her phone. She quickly went to her pictures and turned the phone for Jack to see. "Can I borrow this for a few minutes?"
"Yes, of course."
"I'll be right back." Jack said and quickly left the room.
"What the hell is happening?" Chloe said, feeling overwhelmed.
"I'm not sure but I'm thinking your crazy ass theory isn't so crazy now." David mumbled. "I'm sorry I was so dismissive."
"I think we need to call our attorney." Chloe said, pausing when David nodded his agreement. "And probably my studio execs. Lilly would be good to deal with this."
"Why them?" David said, scrolling through his phone for Oliver Harris's number.
"Because I don't want this leaked out into the media before we figure out what is going on. Lilly covers my press releases, social media and interviews."
David nodded as he put the phone to his ear, placing a call to his attorney's office. He left a message with his secretary who promised she would speak with him the moment he was in the building. David then called Chloe's studio, speaking with one of the assistants, Lilly. He held the phone so close to his ear, unable to hear what was being said on the other end. Eventually he hung up, hoping that Lilly had heard his version of events.
"Can we call Aubrey as well?" Chloe whispered. She was trying to hold it together, but her head was pounding. David handed Chloe the phone and she placed a call to Aubrey's cell immediately.
"Aubrey Posen."
"Bree, it's Chloe. David and I are with the LAPD. Can you get down here?"
"What's happened?"
"I'll explain when you are here. It's the little girl from the park. There's been a potential development."
"I'm on my way." Aubrey said and hung up the phone. That was one thing Chloe loved about her best friend. There was never any need to give a detailed explanation if there wasn't time. She'd drop everything from Aubrey, and she knew her friend would do the same thing for her.
They sat in silence for the longest time, both staring at the door. An hour passed before they heard a knock on the door and the desk sergeant from earlier came into view.
"Mr and Mrs Mitchem, I have quite a few people in the lobby for you."
"Oh… yes, I'm sorry to-" David began.
"-No need to apologise. Office Abrahams has been caught up and has asked they be put into the large interview room. However, a Ms Posen is demanding to speak with you, and it would appear that she is not really willing to wait any longer. Does this person pose a threat to you?"
"No, she's my wife's best friend." David explained. "I'll come out and speak with her. Is she allowed back here?"
"Yes, of course."
"Clo, I'll be back with Aubrey in a minute. I'll explain it all to her, so you don't have to go through it again."
Chloe nodded weakly. All the adrenaline in her body had evaporated and she suddenly felt so very tired. David left the room with the officer, returning a few minutes later with Aubrey, who was dressed smartly in a suit with a pretty blue blouse underneath. Chloe suddenly remembered that her friend had had an important meeting that morning.
"Bree, your meeting…" She blurted out by way of greeting as Aubrey came around the table to give her a hug.
"Don't worry about it." Aubrey said, waving Chloe's concerns away with a wave of her hand. "David's just explained everything to me. So there's a chance the girl in the park could be your daughter?"
"We're not sure." Chloe said. "We don't really know what's happening right now."
"There's an army of people outside ready to help you understand." Aubrey said. "Have you eaten anything this morning?"
"No… I can't… no."
"Do you-"
"-Sorry folks, that took way longer than I thought it was going to." Jack said, entering the room. He spotted the newcomer immediately. "Oh, hi, I'm Officer Abraham."
"Aubrey Posen." Aubrey said, taking the hand that was offered to her.
"Can we talk privately?" Jack asked Chloe and David.
"You can speak in front of her." David said.
"Okay, so the accused has just been released from custody. We have collaborated her story with friends, colleagues and hospital records. We have no reason to keep her here any longer."
"But the DNA test?"
"Might not mean anything actually. I spoke to a couple of doctors." Jack said. "There could be a number of reasons why the DNA doesn't match up. She could have used an egg donor, she could have been a surrogate and the adoption went wrong and we, unfortunately, are unable to ask those questions without a subpoena."
"Then get one." David said, his voice rising angrily. Chloe laid a hand on his arm.
"These things take time to organise." Jack said gently. "Chloe, I have to ask this and I hope you are willing to share this information with me. We can step into another room if you need to."
"I keep no secrets from David or Aubrey."
"Okay, forgive my question but have you ever donated your eggs or been part of any fertility program?"
"No."
"Have you ever had an expired pregnancy?"
"No. I've only been pregnant once, with the twins."
"I'm sorry to have had to ask. We're trying to establish what has happened and have been in contact with the hospital in Flintstone, Georgia to release your hospital records. I'll need for you to sign some forms, if that's okay."
"Whatever you need." Chloe said.
"Are you thinking that the children could really have been switched?" Aubrey asked Jack.
"At the moment, we are investigating the possibility, yes."
"Where is the child at the moment?" Aubrey asked and Chloe blanched. She'd not thought to ask that question, still desperately trying to process everything.
"She's under the care of Child Protection Services at the moment."
"Are we able to see her?" Chloe asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. Although the likeliness between your daughter and the child is unmistakable, she'll be reunited with her mother at some point today."
"Which CPS office?" Aubrey asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say." Jack said, sliding a piece of paper towards Aubrey who pocketed the note without saying a word. "I'd suggest speaking with your legal team and see what they suggest but other than that, we'll be in touch with any news."
"This all sounds a little vague." David spoke out plainly.
"I appreciate that but, as a friend, I'm asking you to go home and get some rest and I'll be in touch with any developments." Jack said, reaching for the door handle. "You have my number and I can be reached at any time. I'm really glad I was put on this case and that you guys know me. We'll work it out, together."
.oOo.
Aubrey, Chloe and David stepped out into the morning sunshine four hours after arriving at the Police Station.
There was an air of uncertainty and confusion about them as they headed to their respective cars. Aubrey had admitted to them both, as soon as Jack had left the room, that he'd given her a note with the CPS office who currently had the little girl. He'd scrawled on the bottom that he would meet them there at ten o'clock.
"Let's go in my car." Aubrey said. "Leave yours here and we'll come back to it later.
"I feel a bit funny doing this." Chloe said as they got into Aubrey's car.
"Well, don't." David said simply, ending the conversation.
They drove towards Koreatown and the address that Jack had given them. There was an air of vagueness in the car.
"Chloe?" David asked, turning in the front seat.
"Yeah?"
"The woman you mentioned, from the hospital? The girl who had the baby the same day and the one you became friendly with."
"Yeah?"
"What was her name?"
"Why?"
"I'm just thinking about something."
"I don't remember. There was a lot going on." Chloe said.
"Do you have her number anywhere?"
"No, I didn't get it before she left the hospital. Why?"
"Just wondering if she'd know of anyone from the NICU that we could speak with to see if their kids are really their kids." David stated. "Or if she pinched my kid."
"She lived in California?" Aubrey asked, confused.
"No, she lived in Atlanta."
"But the child is here in California. So the chances are-"
"-But she was coming this way to work in Los Angeles." Chloe said, her eyes widening.
"She said that?" Aubrey asked.
"Yes, we had a long conversation about it. It was her plan but I don't know if she ever did it as we didn't keep in touch. The day she left was the day David said he wanted a divorce. I got really caught up with that and I've not thought about her in years." Chloe lied. She'd forgotten her name over the years and even what she really looked like but never how she'd made her feel.
David shifted uncomfortably in his seat for a while until Aubrey announced they'd arrived.
"Any clue where we go?" David asked as Aubrey found a parking spot a block away.
"I guess, reception and explain why we're here. Jack should already be there so hopefully he can let us see the little girl. Do we know her name?" Chloe mumbled as she slipped out of the car.
"Don't think we were told. I guess it's a privacy thing."
"I guess so."
They walked the block back towards the building, until Chloe suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She grabbed at David's hand to steady herself.
"What's wrong?" David said, running his arm around her waist and following her finger as she pointed up to a figure ahead.
"It's her!"
"Who?"
"The girl from the hospital in Flintstone. In front of Child Protective Services. It's her!"
.oOo.