A/N: Here is the follow up chapter to yesterday's entry. Sometimes I may place an update daily (though this doesn't happen too often). Please be sure to check the previous chapter so you are sure you didn't skip anything.
Feel free to drop a PM or Review per your desire. Feedback is always welcome!
-Carly
-Chapter 11-
Callie lay upon the bed in the Gardenway Motel. The early morning sun sent scant traces of light around the heavy curtains. She looked into the rays as they cut into the darkened room. An abundance of dust could be seen floating through the air.
She felt his stocky arm around her frame. She smiled with contentment as she ran her hand along his arm. She soon felt his soft kisses against the back of her neck. She breathed deeply. A sweet smile creased her lips as she felt his touch. Callie shifted around to face her husband.
"I haven't waken up like this in a long time, sweetie." Chet smiled back to her.
"Makes two of us, Angel." Callie leaned forward and kissed him soundly.
"Almost feels like when we first got together." Chet looked around the room. What he could see of it.
"Well, I think I'd have preferred the deep woods in a Pennsylvania hollow compared to this room. But I have to agree. I don't think I have felt the energy like that from you since then. I am honored to have had the chance to relive that." Callie kissed him again.
"You seem a changed man. I can tell." She took a deep breath and placed her hand along his face. "But..." He held his finger up to her lips.
"Shhhh... let's not ruin the moment." He said with a note of apprehension. Callie looked into his eyes.
"I wasn't going to, babe. I just wanted to be honest and say I feel a lot of good things in my heart right now. But, I don't want to make any promises. It would be wrong of me to gush over and give us both some misguided ideas." Chet nodded with a smile and was quite relieved that Callie wasn't telling him that what they had done was a mistake and should only be a one-time event.
"I'm fine with that, Angel. Slow and steady win the race." Callie giggled.
"Well, I wouldn't call it a race. I just want to take things slow. I mean it has only been a week here. I have absolutely no regrets, baby. I just don't want us rushing into things. I mean life is, well, complicated." Chet nodded. He was a little anxious when he thought about it. But it was understandable.
"I understand, angel. I know it's not cut and dry." He took a breath and shifted his legs around and swung them over the edge of the bed. He paused and stretched. He then stood up and walked over to the window. He slid the curtain open slightly. A full beam of morning sun filled the area where their bed was. Callie looked down as the sun blinded her momentarily. She looked down at herself and swiftly flipped a sheet over her torso, quickly glancing up towards Chet. Her husband saw her look of concern and walked back over to her.
"What's wrong, baby? Are you alright?" Callie pressed her eyes closed for a moment and nodded rapidly.
"Uhm, yeah...yeah...I just..." She paused, looking back up to him briefly. Shame painted upon her face. Chet sat down on the bed next to her and ran his hand through her hair.
"What's wrong?" Callie meekly looked up into his eyes. Her eyes shifted down.
"I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable by it. I am sure it grosses you out." Chet looked thoughtful, but was quite unaware of what his wife was alluding to.
"I'm not sure I understand, angel." Callie had been holding the sheet up to her neck with both hands. She looked back up at him and exhaled slowly. She slowly lowered the sheet away from her body.
"I know it's not pretty." She said softly. Chet looked down. In the bright sunlight which illuminated the bed, he finally became aware. He looked over at Callie's torso. It had numerous scars from her surgeries and gunshot wounds. Chet closed his eyes then looked back at his wife. He smiled kindly at her. He bent over and kissed her. He then ran his fingers along her body. He leaned down and kissed the areas where she was scarred. He looked back at her.
"Angel, I still think you are the most beautiful woman I've ever known. And that includes every inch of you. Please don't feel ashamed. These scars represent a lot. They speak to your character and I find no shame in them. I have always loved you and these marks on your body will never change that." Callie began to shed tears at the words he spoke. She opened her arms and embraced him.
"Thank you. That means so much. I just thought they were always unsightly. I know they are battle scars and I earned them through my actions." She paused as they held each other. "I love you, too." She whispered in his ear.
They sat on the bed for some time. Just holding each other.
"You feel better?" He asked. Callie nodded and smiled.
"Thanks to you." Callie looked down at the disorder of sheets and blankets tossed about. "And I should add, thank you for last night."
"The feeling is mutual, angel." Chet said. They were interrupted by Callie's phone sounding a message alert. She rubbed her eyes for a moment.
"I guess that is our daughter texting. What time is it, babe?" Chet looked down at his watch.
"Just after 9. Yeah, guess Maddie is probably getting lonely if Jamie's parents left on time at 8." Callie shifted her body out of bed then reached over to pick up her phone. She looked down at it.
"Uhm, no. Not Maddie. I won't mention who though." Chet smirked.
"Your little friend, angel?" Callie looked at her husband and could tell he was not asking with any animosity.
"Maybe." She said with a smile. "I don't think I will text back and give her the blow by blow." Chet walked over and wrapped his arms around Callie's nude figure and kissed her.
"Yeah. She probably isn't too into anything that involves blowing." Callie rolled her eyes and half smiled, kissing him back.
"Be a good boy." Chet nodded and grinned.
"Sorry, babe. Cheap shot."
"You've been pretty good, so your entitled to a free cheap shot here and there. Excuse me while I slip back into last night's clothes. A shame we were so random about this or I would have packed a change." Chet nodded.
"Yep. Me, too!"
Callie disappeared into the bathroom while Chet quickly dressed. He sat down at the table and picked up his phone. He decided to tap out a message to Maddie letting her know that they would be over in a few. She no doubt would be up if she saw Jaime off earlier. He typed a quick note and sent it.
A few minutes later Callie came out of the bathroom.
"I better text Maddie." She said walking towards the bed.
"Already did, angel." Chet said looking up.
"Oh, good. Thanks." She looked down at her clothes and inhaled deeply. "Gross, I smell like a still blew up all over me. A nice mixture of bowling alley smoke mixed in for good measure."
"Well, you did pour a pretty full glass all over yourself last night. But, once we get Maddie, let's grab a coffee. That will put you in good spirits." Callie nodded.
"For sure. A good double cappuccino with extra vanilla will just hit the spot."
"Make that two!" Chet said perking up. He looked down at his phone. "I wonder if she went back to sleep after her friend left."
"Possible." Callie said and she dug through her purse to find her brush. "If I know teen girls they were probably up most of the night talking." A thought crossed her mind and she looked anxiously at Chet. "God, I hope these walls aren't thin. No offence hun, but I had forgotten how noisy we are when we make love. I mean compared to..." Callie bit her lip. Chet looked at her and began to chuckle.
"Compared to girl on girl experience, babe?" Callie reddened slightly with embarrassment. Then a smile creased her lips and her eyes shifted to avoid contact with his.
"Yeah, something like that. Depends on which girl we are talking about." Chet raised an eyebrow.
"Well, maybe you will fill me in sometime."
"Sure you want to hear about that, babe?" She said with a wink. She continued to run her brush through her hair, then looked in the mirror. Her makeup was nonexistent and at this point, and her hair was still looking a bit wild without any product to put in it. She ran her fingers through her hair, then finally gave up. "Ah, fuck it." she said dismissively. "We are already on the other side of the tracks." She looked at Chet. "Ready, babe?" Her husband turned slightly and slapped her backside.
"Ready and willing." He grinned. Callie raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but we are going out the door. Not back into that lovely bed. Now let's go grab our kid from hers before she needs shots to get rid of whatever you catch rolling around in those sheets all night."
"And you were so worried I'd be the snob." Chet laughed. Callie shrugged.
"Guess this place has always given me the creeps. Never came here growing up."
"Can't say I have either. But, how often do you stay at a motel in your own hometown?"
"Not often. And if I had to, it would have never been here. My dad always equated this area as an area of sin."
"I don't doubt it. A lot of it going on around here I suspect. Let's blow this pop stand."
The pair exited their room and were greeted by the full light of day. Even though it was clouding up, it was a huge difference compared to the murky darkness of the room, even with the curtain open.
Chet knocked firmly on room 122. They stood in front of the door waiting. A full two minutes passed. Chat knocked louder.
"Hey, Maddie! It's dad. Wake up sleepy head!" He called towards the door. He took out his phone and checked the texts. "Must still be sleeping. She hasn't read the message." Callie looked around the area thinking maybe their daughter was already awake and outside. No one was in their immediate area. She stepped forward and banged on the door herself.
"Maddie! It's mom! Shake a leg, girl. We want to go." They stood in front of the door for another three minutes. After repeated attempts at knocking and trying the door knob, Chet shrugged.
"I'm going to go grab a duplicate key." Callie nodded a bit pensively.
"Yes. Please." Chet broke into a light jog towards the motel office. Within five minutes he had returned with a copy of the room key. He looked at Callie who was clearly nervous. He inserted the key and turned the knob.
They were greeted by the sight of an empty room. Other than some mussed up blankets and a soda bottle and glassed on the nearby table, there was no evidence of anyone.
"Wonder if she went up to Jaime's parent's room." Callie mused. "I know she said they were leaving at eight. But sometimes things happen."
"Let's go to the office and check and see which room they are in." Chet directed. Callie nodded and they left the room.
Chet and Callie stood in the small motel office while a young Indian woman looked down at her computer screen.
"What was their last name, sir?" Chet and Callie both turned red with embarrassment. It had not occurred to them to ask Jaime her last name. Chet tossed his arms up.
"I'm afraid we don't know that. But it was a man and woman. They had a 16-year-old daughter with dark hair and sort of a round face and eyes." The woman shook her head.
"I am not familiar with anyone like that, sir. Please wait a moment and I will check with the person who was on duty last night." Chet exhaled slowly and glanced nervously at Callie.
"Yes, please." The woman picked up a phone and started speaking in a foreign language which Callie deduced could have been Hindi. The woman put down the phone and held up her finger. "Wait a moment, please." After what seemed forever, a rear service door opened and a man, who also appeared to be Indian walked in. Chet perked up as he recognized him as the one who rented him the two rooms the night before. He and the woman spoke for a few moments. He turned to Chet and Callie.
"You say you are looking for a couple and their daughter who rented a room yesterday?" Chet and Callie both nodded.
"Yes!" Callie said, finding her voice. The man gave them a shrug.
"I was on duty since 10AM yesterday, and no couple that had a teenage daughter checked in." The words gave both Callie and Chet a sinking feeling. Callie pulled out her phone and quickly pulled up the photo of Jaime and Maddie that she took the night before. She showed the two motel employees the picture.
"It was this girl. The one with the dark hair! She said that her parents and her checked in yesterday after driving much of the day. That they had a room upstairs." The man shook his head.
"No, I do not recognize her. In fact, the only couples that checked in yesterday that had rooms upstairs were two elderly couples that were traveling together." He looked down at the computer screen and exchanged some words with the woman. He looked up to Callie. "They both checked out this morning. They stopped by to check out and get their room receipt. They also asked where they could go for breakfast." The woman next to him nodded.
"There was absolutely no girl with them. I saw them leave as they pulled up in front of the office when they picked up their receipt."
"last night, we may have had 6 rooms upstairs occupied. It was a slow night." The man added.
"How about lower level? Any couples with kids?" Chet asked. The man shook his head.
"No, sir. Either single people or truck drivers. No couples downstairs except for you and your wife and daughter. Weekdays are usually slow." Callie looked at Chet with wide eyes. She was visibly trembling.
"Let's check the bowling alley. Maybe she went back there!" Before Chet could reply, the motel manager shook her head.
"Miss... bowling alley doesn't open until 2PM." Chet and Callie both looked visibly shaken. Chet swallowed hard and looked back at the motel employees.
"You are sure you did not see this girl?!" They were taken aback by Chet's demeanor.
"Sir. We are certain. Are you sure she or her family was staying here? There is another motel down the service road about half a mile." Chet shook his head. He was clearly agitated.
"No, it was this one! The girl told us that her parents checked in here yesterday after traveling from Boston. They were tired and needed to rest. They let their daughter go over to the bowling alley." The motel woman held up her hand.
"Sir, we are trying to help you. But, have you maybe considered that this young woman was not being truthful with you?" Callie who no longer had the ability to remain composed shot a look at her.
"Yes, we have considered it right now! It is becoming quite apparent that this young woman was far less than honest with us!" She looked at Chet. "Call Frank! Call him now! We need his help and the police!" Chet nodded affirmatively.
"Yes. Of course." He took out a business card and handed it to the motel manager. "We are calling a detective with the Bayport Police we know. If you think of anything else please, my cell number is there. I will be going back to room 122 and we will wait for our detective friend." She took the card and nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Chet and Callie rushed out of the office. Chet had already dialed Frank's number. He paused outside the front of the motel and held the phone up to his ear.
"Frank? It's Chet. Callie and I are at the Gardenway motel. We came here with Maddie last night. And this morning she is missing! We need your help!" Chet paused as he listened. "Frank, save the twenty questions for when you get here. Callie and I need you here like an hour ago. Room 122. Please hurry!" A moment later he disconnected and looked at Callie. "He's on his way. He is sending a couple backup units as well. He said not to enter the room or let a maid near it!" He and Callie jogged back towards the room to ensure it stayed secure.
"Good!" They stood outside of room 122 and looked at each other pensively. Callie's face clouded and tears fell along her cheek. Chet held her close.
"It's going to be ok, babe. There are a lot of feasible possibilities here." Callie buried her face in Chet's shirt and started crying freely.
"Our baby! Not our baby! Tell me she's safe!"
"She's going to be fine, babe. I know it." Chet soothed as they waited. Within five minutes they heard a siren in the distance. A minute later an unmarked police sedan entered the parking area are high speed and came to a stop before the couple. Frank Hardy jumped out. Other sirens could be heard in the distance. Frank looked pleadingly at the couple.
"Callie, Chet. Please...Please...I need to hear the story, start to finish." He did his best to indulge Callie's uncontrolled crying. He looked at Callie with a kind smile. "Cal... how about you take a seat in my car while Chet fills me in?" Callie looked up to Frank, quite bleary eyed. She was clearly in shock. She nodded. Frank took her hand and gently guided Callie to the back seat of his car. He looked down at her. "I'm going to get the story from Chet and make sure we get you some help." Callie nodded blankly as tears flowed down her face. Frank smiled to her and turned around. He pulled a pocket radio out. "I need a medic outside room 122 at Gardenway ASAP." he placed the radio back in his belt and approached Chet.
Chet Morton was clearly distressed, but holding it together as best he could.
"Ok, Chet. I am going to give these officers arriving some direction and I'll be right with you." Chet gulped hard and nodded slightly. Frank turned to an officer who just arrived on scene. "I need full forensics in room..." He glanced at Chet. "She was staying in room 122 you said?" Chet nodded.
"Yeah. Cal and I were in 121 and Maddie and her friend were in 122." Frank turned back to the officer.
"Room 122 is the crime scene. Set the parameter and I need an initial forensics report in 30 minutes or less. Pull out all the stops. The old man is already in route. Also, when an EMT arrives, have them tend to Mrs. Morton in the back of my unit. She is in shock." The uniformed officer nodded and ran off to address the support units that just arrived.
Frank walked back over to Chet. He placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and took a deep breath.
"Ok, brother. I need every detail." Chet nodded and did his best to recount the events of the family from yesterday afternoon forward.
Thirty minutes later Chief Ezra Collig arrived on scene. He walked over to the grouping off several officers that were coming and going from room 122. The grizzled veteran of the Bayport Police Department stood before Frank with a somber tone.
"Frank me lad, give it to me is short strokes. The FBI will be here any time now!" He snapped. Though he knew this was a very personal matter to Frank, it was important to have as much information as quickly as possible.
"Yes, sir. Chet just finished briefing me and forensics should have early preliminaries shortly." They were interrupted by the arrival of two black sedans. A black man wearing a grey suit jumped out and walked over.
"Morning Frank...Chief. What have we got?" Frank looked over.
"Morning Briggs, I was just about to brief the chief if you'd care to join."
"Of course." The three went into a huddle.
Chet sat on a nearby bench, waiting for the paramedics to finish with Callie. He took out his phone and placed it to his ear.
"Iola? It's Chet. Callie and I need you."
Frank's initial briefing to Chief Collig and Agent Briggs had gone on about twenty minutes.
"Do we have any idea what this girl looks like?" Collig asked. Sounds like she was fishing for the perp. Would be good if we could have some footage from the exterior cameras either here or at the bowling alley." Frank grunted.
"Good luck getting anything from this dump. Those cameras look ancient and are pretty sparse." Briggs nodded.
"We might have better luck from the bowling alley. I know they have some cameras inside."
A moment later they were interrupted by an officer. He ran up to the chief.
"Chief, we have preliminaries from forensics. Mathews has something for you!" The chief nodded.
"Good. thank you." The chief, Frank and Agent Briggs headed over to the area outside of room 122. There were some tables set up inside the area of the parking lot that was cordoned off. "Mathews!" the chief barked. An officer wearing white coveralls turned. He had a plastic credential hanging on a lanyard from his neck.
"Chief, got something interesting." He turned and gestured to the three and pointed down.
"What have we got?" Frank asked quickly. Mathews held up a cell phone. "We just pulled this from between the beds. We dusted it and charged it. Can dad ID it?" Frank looked over his shoulder towards the bench.
"Chet, can I have a minute?" He yelled over. Chet, visibly distressed looked up. He nodded and rose to his feet. Frank gestured for an officer to let him pass into the secured area. Chet walked over to the group.
"Yeah?" He asked. Frank studied his friend's face. Chet had clearly been crying and looked very stressed.
"Yeah, Chet. We pulled this phone from the room. Is it Maddie's?" He asked, gesturing towards a phone that Mathews held in a gloved hand. Chet looked down. He shook his head.
"No. Not Maddies. She has an iPhone." He said quietly.
"Power it up!" Collig snapped. Mathews nodded and activated the phone.
"Cheap disposable phone. Probably belonged to the bait subject." a few moments later the phone came to life. Mathews went to the photo gallery in hopes of seeing if the subject had taken any pictures. To his relief there were photos! Mathews brought up the most recent photo. A selfie with two girls. He enlarged it and turned it for the others to see. Frank's eyes lit up.
"Bingo!" Frank exclaimed. "That's Maddie!... And what the Hell..." All three law enforcement officers looked stunned when they saw the photo of the girl with Maddie. They all looked at each other knowingly.
"Do we have prints to confirm?" Mathews nodded.
"We pulled prints off this phone, as well as the glasses and soda bottles in the room." He turned and saw a uniformed officer approaching them with a folder. "This may well be the validation."
"Those prints come back, McShane?" Collig asked. The officer nodded affirmatively as he approached. He took a printout from the folder and handed it to him.
"Yes, sir! Prints come back with a positive ID on Jaime Lynn Baylor. Age 16. She and her younger sister Jesse were abducted about 4 months ago!" The chief looked up.
"Yeah. We just figured that out." he said pointing down at the phone Mathews was holding.
"The perp is using her for baiting? That takes guts!" Briggs whistled low and shook his head.
Chet had been quiet up to this point. He looked at Frank.
"Let me get this straight. This Jaime Lynn Baylor was abducted herself just a few months ago? And she is now helping kidnapping others?" Frank sighed.
"Chet, if you want my best guess, I can speculate that this creep is using her to befriend other vulnerable girls to get them to a location where it is easy to pluck them."
"But how can she do that? Shouldn't she be escaping?! She had plenty of chances last night to call the cops. Even if the guy was outside." Agent Briggs looked at Chet.
"In this case, the creep has leverage. When he took Jaime, he snagged her little sister too. So, it's reasonable to believe that he is holding sister somewhere and threatening Jamie with risking her wellbeing if she doesn't play ball." Frank and Collig both nodded soberly at Chet.
"The kid didn't have a choice, Chet. If Jaime didn't do as she was told, her sister Jesse was likely as good as dead." Chet held a hand up to his head in an attempt to absorb it all.
Mathews had been examining the phone contents and he held it up for the other officers.
"Look at this chat log. It's the only chat log on the phone. From what I can determine, it looks like Jaime would send the perp photos of girls in the bowling alley. Then the creep would reply with pretty much only emojis, which by the way will infinitely frustrate our linguistics people from developing much of a profile from this. Looks like she sent about ten pictures. After all but the last, the replies were Thumbs Down symbols or Angry faces. But when she sent over a picture of Miss. Morton, he sent, uhm, these emojis. Frank and the others looked down at the screen which showed the thumbs up, drooling happy face and heart. Chet's jaw tightened and his fists clenched. Frank placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Chet, why don't you go and fill in Cal about this. Though you might want to omit that which you have learned from that creep's last text." Chet took a breath and exhaled slowly. He finally nodded.
"Ok, Frank. Let me know what else comes to light. I will be with Cal." Frank nodded and patted his friend's back as he slowly turned. After he walked away, Mathews pointed to a glass on the table.
"We think that she poured a sedative in Miss. Morton's glass. We found a small vial on the floor and sent it to the lab to determine what was used. Well will then match it against residue from the glass." He then took the camera and went back into the gallery. "If you look here we have some additional photos of Miss. Morton sitting at a table inside the room." He flipped through a series of photos. "As you can see, these give some pretty clear indication that she was under the influence. Judging by her animated expressions and pupils, she was likely given a pretty decent sedative." Frank looked down at the photos.
"Cigarettes? Maddie doesn't smoke. Let's contact the Baylors with the news and ask them if she has a history of smoking. Not that it will mean much if they say no." He looked up at Mathews. "Any other substances detected?" Mathews shook his head.
"Just soda and water at this point. We will have the sedative pinpointed by sundown. But if you are asking if there was any indication of alcohol, no. At least not in room 122. Mom and dad on the other hand..." He looked over to Frank.
"You have other info?"
"A mostly empty fifth of Bushmills Irish whiskey. A couple extra-large empty bottles of Corona Extra. The ENT says momma smells like she went swimming in a barrel of whiskey. They had to adjust the sedative they gave her so it wouldn't interact with what they suspect was an elevated blood alcohol."
"Did we do a test?" Collig inquired. Frank's eyes widened.
"Is that really necessary?" Collig shot him a glance.
"S.O.P. Frank, you know that."
"No test thus far." Mathews spoke up. Melanie said momma resisted and since they didn't have a direct order or support to get one, she just skipped it to ensure Mrs. Morton didn't become any further agitated. Collig grunted.
"I suppose we can assume that she had a healthy amount last night. Do we have any text or call history?"
"Not from Callie's phone." Frank said. "We haven't asked. But Chet showed me his phone which shows one text back and forth between Maddie and dad shortly after check-in. Chet had checked in to make sure Maddie was ok and if she needed anything. She promptly replied she was fine and that dad could go to bed." Collig nodded.
"Ok, then see if you can get Callie to show you her phone, Frank. As long as we can establish the child wasn't expressing a need for her parents or any alarm, we can at least avoid any action suggesting negligence." Frank didn't look happy about the request. Collig looked at him over his spectacles. "Frank, me boy, you do know that Callie is licensed again and has a state and federal ticket. It's just a matter of time before grief turns to her entering this whole ugly thing as a licensed detective. In order for her to do that without any shadow or cloud hanging over her, we need to ensure that we followed our S.O.P so she is clear and clean to do her thing." Frank nodded.
"I understand, Chief. And you are correct. Callie won't play the victim for long and she will be out there knocking doors in." The chief grunted.
"Just keep her out of trouble. Also, make a copy of all the evidence and casebook for her. I might as well beat her to the chase. I know I don't have to give her anything due to the conflict of her being the victim's parent. But, I also know if I don't give it up she will just have your dad insist." Frank nodded and gave a wry smile.
"Yeah. Path of least resistance is the only way to go there." Collig took a deep breath and looked firmly at Frank.
"This is number 3 in our fair city. And we must do our process even if the bastard has left our jurisdiction. Make sure we have a full chain of evidence and records. You can bet that the Baylor family will making their inquiries as well. So be prepared!" Frank nodded.
"Yes, Chief."
Callie, Chet and Iola sat inside of Callie's parked SUV, which was still parked at the bowling alley. Callie and Iola sat in the back seat. Chet was sitting in the front passenger seat with his back to the door watching them. Iola was holding a very shaken Callie. Iola had been sitting with Cal, comforting her for at least half an hour since she arrived on the scene.
"We are going to get her back." She soothed. Iola looked over to Chet.
"So, they positively identified the other girl as also being a kidnap victim?" Chet nodded.
"Yeah. Uhm, they ran her prints to confirm. But apparently she dropped or left her phone in the room. It had some photos on it. Some of them were selfies with Jaime and Maddie. Once Frank, Collig and I guess the FBI agent saw them, they all instantly recognized her." Callie pulled her hands away from her weepy eyes and looked at Chet.
"You see! I told you I recognized her! I must have seen her picture on TV, or in some law enforcement email I got. It just didn't register last night." Callie started breathing heavier again. Iola ran her hand along her back.
"It's ok...It's ok." Callie pushed Iola's arm away.
"It's Not fucking OK! My baby got taken because her mom was stupid enough to go get drunk and laid. I wasn't where I was supposed to be! Quit trying pacify me! Leave me alone, damn it!" Callie began crying again. Iola swallowed hard, then nodded.
"Ok, Cal." She said softly. "Chet and I will go for a walk." She gestured towards her brother that they should give Cal some time." Chet nodded and the two got out of the car. Iola and Chet started walking away.
"Bro... you know I am as sorry as can be. Maddie is like a daughter to me, too. So, I am feeling this all so much right now." Chet turned to her. He had a glazed expression painted over him. One which suggested fear, regret and helplessness. Iola wrapped her arms around him. This seemed to allow him a release as tears fell down his cheeks and he hugged his sister.
"I can't lose her, sis... I just found her again." He buried his head in her shoulder and freely cried. Iola ran her hand along his back.
"I know. But it will be alright. I know it will. Just let it out, baby. This needs to happen. Get it all out. Because you are going to need to take that next big step." Chet sniffled and pulled his head up and looked at her.
"What do you me...mean?" He stuttered. Iola took a breath.
"You are going to need to use resources that go outside of the police and FBI to find Maddie. Resources that are not bound by laws and limitations." Chet blinked repeatedly, trying to see through his teary eyes.
"You want me to hire mercenaries?" Iola bit her lip.
"Uhm, no. That would not be the first line of action we should use." She gestured back towards Callie's car. "Once your wife gets through this initial shock, she is going to be understandably pissed. Much as I suspect you will be. There will be no stopping Cal from wanting to spearhead this investigation. But she is going to lack perspective. So, I suggest a backup." Chet took a deep breath and looked at his sister.
"Fenton?" Iola nodded.
"Fenton. Get him on the case and Cal can go off with her guns ablaze if she wants. If you want as well, as I suspect you aren't going to sit on the sidelines." Chet nodded firmly.
"Yea...yeah. I'm not sitting this one out." Iola held up a finger.
"Just don't take it personal when Frank and the FBI tell you that's exactly what you should do. Sit it out." She paused. "You know they don't want you hurt. Or gumming up their investigation." Chet looked irritated.
"They need to remember that I used to be among them and have a good track record." Iola nodded slowly.
"I can't deny that. But what they are going to point out, is that you haven't had an active ticket or solved a crime since...well...when you actually worked for a living." Chet shot her a look. Iola gave a quick shrug. "Bro, it's true! Calm it down." He nodded and put his arm around her.
"Ok, I got it."
"You need to gather as much info as you can if you or Cal are going to take this on. I know that you two are not going to just let this sit in Fenton's charge and sit around waiting. And I don't blame you. I just need you to go back there and talk with Frank and whoever else and get more information. That is what will help us get Maddie back safe." Chet nodded. He took several slow, deep breaths, attempting to focus and regain composure. Iola ran her hand up Chet's arm. "And please, don't let Cal get to you on this. I know you guys are just trying to test the waters and find that place you both had once upon a time. And no doubt Callie is going to aim a lot of anger at you because you were there with her. She will see you as the bad guy perhaps. She will eventually soften up and understand that in reality, neither of you could have really seen it coming. So self-blaming isn't going to do anything but waste valuable time. So, my best advice is to take it with a grain of salt and let it roll off your back. And remember neither one of you are to blame for this." Chet looked at his sister pleadingly.
"Then why the Hell does it feel so much like I am to blame? I was literally outwitted by a 16-year-old." Iola shook her head.
"Bro. You can Not blame that kid. You need to remember that she was every bit a victim in this as you or Cal. She herself was taken along with her sister. I remember reading about it. This sicko who is pulling the strings is the one to keep a focus on. So, do your best to remember that this Jaime girl was just an unwilling tool for this nutcase to do his thing. That kid needs every bit as much of rescuing as Maddie. Also remember that there are other girls involved here. Other victims. Other families of victims that are pulling their hair out right now. So, do not get rash with any decisions, because they may have major consequences."
"So, what that means is definitely no mercenaries?" Iola shook her head.
"That would be a no, hun." She said flatly. Iola pointed back towards the motel. "Stay calm and focused and let's get back over there and get some intel."
Frank looked down at some copies that the forensics team had captured off the exterior cameras. He looked up at the uniformed officer and shook his head.
"This is the best we got? All I see is a blurry shadow!"
"Yes, sir. The camera for this side of the unit was stationed about 135 feet away. It was also a unit that dated back nearly twenty years. Even enhanced resolution didn't help much. But we have what may likely be a van pull up in front of room 122 at approximately 11:29PM last night. No way to identify the size or gender of the person since there was very low illumination on that end of the building. We have the vehicle pulling back out again at 11:41PM."
"Do we have any other cameras picking this supposed van up as it leaves the area?" Frank asked.
"No, sir. The suspect apparently knew the placement of what few cameras there were and avoided them. We are currently checking nearby businesses and residents to determine if any security camera footage caught the suspect incidentally." Frank exhaled slowly. He looked over at the interstate which was elevated in the area of the motel.
"Focus your search on the quickest route from this parking lot to the nearest onramp in both directions. Unfortunately, we do not have any ramp cams along this area of the corridor." The uniformed officer nodded.
"Yes, sir." he said and rushed off. Frank looked grimly down at the images from the motel cameras.
"Useless." He muttered to himself. He spied Iola and Chet walking up. He tried to appear less stressed.
"Hey, Frank. How are things going here?" Iola asked. Frank sighed and pulled out the camera photos from the motel cameras. He showed them to the pair.
"We just got the camera footage from the motel cams. As suspected the cameras are grossly outdated and all we can get from them is a likely van appearing around 11:30 and then leaving about ten minutes later."
"So, uhm, that's when it happened?" Chet asked a bit blankly. Frank nodded.
"Nothing is written in stone yet. But we figure that was it. No other appearances from any vehicles or forms near that area." He looked down at the pictures in the folder. He pulled one out, and showed it to them. "Looks like you guys walking from the office to the rooms about an hour before. As you can see, even these photos captured of you that are much closer to the cameras are still grainy as Hell. We can pretty much ID you out about thirty feet or so." He shook his head. "There really should be a law requiring certain businesses to upgrade their cameras regularly." Chet grunted.
"Good luck getting that legislation passed." Frank nodded.
"Yeah, I know." A moment later, officer Mathews walked up to Frank.
"Detective, we got a kickback on the vial."
"Vial?" Chet asked. Mathews looked at Frank to determine if it was acceptable to talk in front of them. Frank gave a short nod.
"Yes, sir. We found a small glass vial near the table inside the room. We had speculated that it may have contained a substance in which the bait subject used to render the victim subject unconscious." Chet closed his eyes.
"You know, they have names!" He snapped. Frank cleared his throat and gestured towards Mathews.
"He's right, Bill. Minimize the shop talk, please." Office Mathews nodded.
"I'm sorry. Uhm, a lab report came back indicating that the vial contained GHB."
"What's that?" Iola asked. Frank looked down uncomfortably.
"It stands for Gamma-hydroxybutyrate. It's a known date rape drug. In the correct dosage it can knock you out for about 3-4 hours. takes about 10-20 minutes to take effect. The photos Jaime took seem to indicate a presence of a substance."
"Which photos?" Chet asked quickly. Frank gestured to Mathews, who in turn handed him the bagged cell phone. Frank took it out and pulled up the photo gallery. He showed Chet and Iola about half a dozen photos of Maddie sitting at the table inside room 122. She had various animated expressions on her face. He pupils indicated that she was apparently under the influence. Chet closed his eyes tightly after viewing the images. He exhaled slowly in an attempt to control his growing anxiety.
"Frank, Cal and I will need a copy of everything on that phone." Frank nodded.
"Yeah, Chet. The chief anticipated as much, so all evidence is being copied for you guys to, uhm, do what you need with." Chet and Iola detected a bit of hesitancy from Frank. Likely he would have preferred that Callie and Chet distance themselves from any active investigation attempts. But knew that this was unlikely. Especially when Callie overcame her initial shock.
"What else is going on?" Iola questioned.
"We have officers checking any and all possible cameras from here to the interstate on ramps."
"Are we assuming they left town and only checking that area?" Frank cleared his throat.
"Well, Iola, we are just going by probability scores at the moment. If this is the same character who did the job at the truck stop, we have every reason to believe he was only up here shopping and took the victim out of town." He paused. "But, we are of course going to investigate other possibilities." Iola rolled her eyes.
"Well I damn well hope you are! This is my niece we are talking about, Detective Hardy!" She snapped at him.
Frank was taken aback by Iola's expressed anger. She had almost always been a very calm and controlled woman. Even in very stressful times. He figured there was a reason behind it. He could guess what that was.
"I guess you have talked to Joe." Iola's eyes shifted back and forth. Unsure of why Frank had asked that.
"What's your point, Frank?" She asked irritably. Frank gave a brief shrug.
"I just figured with that, and then this happening, you were stressed by the double whammy of it all coming down at once." Iola seemed completely bewildered by what Frank had said. Clearly, he knew something which she didn't. Something he assumed that his brother, her husband, had since told her.
"Frank? Just what are you talking about?!" Iola's lip quivered in uncertainty as she looked pleadingly at him.
