Chapter 5:
When she returned to the home, Eddie could see the strain of the last 24 hours weighing heavily on the faces of Emelia's family. The priest she had seen earlier was sitting on the couch, praying the rosary with Rosa and her daughter. Gloria was an absolute mess. The beads hung loosely in her hands in direct contrast to the tight grip and fervor with which Rosa held hers. Gil Garcia was clearly exhausted and alternating between pacing and wringing his hands. He watched the women sitting with their spiritual advisor protectively. When Eddie approached the family, the Reagan she decided to emulate this time was Henry. "Have you eaten anything?" she gently asked Gilberto.
Eddie headed to the kitchen when she realized they hadn't. Quickly surveying the contents of their refrigerator, she gathered some fruit, cheese and then reached for a box of crackers on the counter. Quickly assembling a plate for them to pick from, Eddie carried it to the table and placed it in front of him. She sat down across from him and motioned for him to eat something. He limply grabbed a slice of cheese from the dish and gestured towards his wife.
"She doesn't stop crying all night. Without Emelia she is lost." His voice began breaking as he spoke the final word. "Officer, what is happened to mi hija? Is she still alive?"
Eddie decided to ignore his questions and instead decided to give him a chance to do something. "Gil, I want you to make a list for us. Anyone and I mean anyone, who might be upset with one of you, or paid too much attention to Emelia or even who might just be trouble. Make the list and we might be able to find out who took your daughter and where she is. Turning to the women who were done praying with their pastor, she sympathetically said her goodbye for the evening. We're leaving, but we're not stopping our search. We have some things to look into and we will let you know if anything comes up. Try to get some rest. We need you clear headed if we have questions for you about anything.
Eddie felt a heavy blanket of sadness covering her as she climbed into her police vehicle to go. She knew the detectives had the name of the person who rented the maroon sedan, but she could only pray that it would help them find the little girl. She couldn't wait to see her own child, and if she hurried, she would get to spend some time with her before bedtime. She was wasted no time changing back at the station and getting back into her own car. Quickly texting Jamie to let him know she was on her way home, Eddie tried to put the events of the day behind her.
When she arrived home and walked down the hallway towards their apartment, Eddie saw the little wooden 4 wheeled ride on that they had received for Ellie as a gift from friends. It was parked outside their door where Jamie and the baby must have forgotten it. The small decorative stand outside the door held a half gallon jug with what looked sweet tea. Eddie guessed that Jamie must have had his hands full with the baby and whatever he had procured for dinner. She grabbed the tea and opened the front door.
Jamie and the baby were happily setting out a Cajun meal that they had run out and picked up once they knew Eddie was on her way. The foil containers of Crawfish Monica and Jambalaya were on the table with a large dish of the barbecue shrimp that was Eddie's favorite. Seeing their faces smiling at her, anticipating her reaction, she felt so loved.
After eating, Eddie took the baby, who was covered in creamy sauce from the Crawfish Monica, into the bathroom to bathe her while Jamie cleaned up. Once the baby had played with Eddie and had a few bedtime stories, she fell asleep in her arms. As Eddie laid her in the toddler's bed, she made a silent promise to protect her from anything like what Emelia and her family were going through.
Once Eddie came back out of Ellie's bedroom, she saw that Jamie had cleaned up the dinner dishes and was pouring them each a glass of white wine. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her head against his back.
"Hey there." he replied grabbing her wrapped hands with his own.
"Hey yourself" she responded.
"Sounds like you had another long day. Still no word on the little girl?" Jamie inquired.
"No," she sadly responded. "But we've got some solid leads. Detectives are following up on them now. I'm waiting to hear what I'm doing tomorrow? Maybe they'll be lucky and find her tonight."
"Well it sounds like there's nothing we can do to help, except just wait and see if you're needed. Let's relax and try to get some rest. If they don't find her tonight, they might need you with fresh eyes on it tomorrow."
That was exactly what Eddie needed to hear. It was like pure logic that give her permission to rest and recharge. Eddie accepted the glass from him and curled up next to her husband on the couch. One hour into watching Bridesmaids and they were both falling asleep despite the movie being a guilty pleasure for both of them. They decided to head to bed and watch the rest another time.
Meanwhile, Detectives Petersen and Gregory were about to pick up the man who had rented the maroon sedan which had sped away from the scene of the kidnapping. They were just waiting for a search warrant for his residence before going in. They sat in their car outside of the small but meticulously maintained home in a residential neighborhood. It looked like a young, up and coming family might live there, not a kidnapper and hopefully his victim. The two detectives were not deterred by that fact, in truth they had learned the hard way that looks can be very deceiving. Moments after the text came through that authorized a complete search of the premises, the two detectives jumped from their unmarked car and alerted the patrol vehicles parked out of view that they were headed in.
