"Mrs. Malone?"
Marie inhaled shakily, looking up at the new voice. "Yes?"
Sam cut her cautious smile short, leaving just a hint of it on slightly upturned lips. "Hi, I'm Agent Spade. I know you've gone over what happened with the police, but I need to ask you a few questions."
"You work with my husband." Her tone, while not accusatory, still had a slight bite to it. Sam couldn't tell if it was her imagination or if the woman was trying to put pieces of a puzzle together.
"Yes, I do," she replied carefully. "Can you tell me what happened? From the beginning, when you came home."
Marie closed her eyes, her face hardening against a fresh wave of tears. "I. I picked her up at school at 2:30. We came straight home, we didn't stop anywhere at all. She had a snack, um, apple juice and graham crackers, and then she decided that she wanted to color, so. She loves to color, Agent Spade. She's really good. She stays in the lines, and she makes good crayon choices. God, she's." Marie wiped away her tears roughly, trying to compose herself. "She colored for half an hour, to about 3:45, I guess. And then she brought out her toys and started playing one of her make-believe games. I don't. I don't remember what she was playing."
"That's fine," Sam said, writing down 'School: 2:30 p.m. Home, snacked, and playing by 3:45' in her notebook. "What happened after that?"
Jack stepped slowly from the kitchen to the doorway, leaning against the frame, his eyes dark, his expression tight as he listened to his wife.
"Well, the mail usually comes at four. And Hanna loves to get the mail, it makes her feel like a big girl, and responsible."
"The mail came at four?"
"Yes. Around 4:15, actually, she was waiting for the truck to come and kept telling me that he was late."
"You have a male mail carrier?"
"Most of the time, yes."
"And do you have his name?"
Marie shook her head. "He delivers the mail. I don't talk to him very much."
"The post office should be able to tell us who has this route," Jack said, then fell silent at a pointed glance from Sam.
Just like him, she mused. He would try, but completely removing himself from this case was going to be harder than he thought. "When the mail came, what did Hanna do?"
"She told me when he was two houses away. I unlocked the door for her, and she went down the driveway to meet the truck, and then I heard Katie waking up upstairs--"
"Katie is your other daughter?"
"Yes." Marie exhaled, a new pain washing over her face as she recounted the events again. "I was away for a moment, no more, and she was gone. A car I've never seen before was driving off, but I didn't see the license number. Or the make. Just a blue sedan."
"So, I just want to clarify, she went down the driveway alone?"
"Yes."
"You walked away from her? You left her?" Jack snapped, moving from the doorway into the room.
"It's ten feet, Jack!" Marie responded angrily. "I didn't think there would be a problem!"
"You didn't think? Damn it, she's my daughter! She's six years old!"
"Do you think I don't know that? Christ, Jack, I have been here every day of her life. I know how old she is, I know her favorite color, I know if she likes peanuts in her chocolate chip cookies. You know she's six. And she's in kindergarten. Anything else?"
"Marie, damn it, I know more than that. But it's really fucking hard to know anything recent when you won't even let me in the house. 'Sorry, Jack, I don't want to see you anymore' is one hell of an invitation to see her."
"You could have called, you could have come over any time. I'm not going to stop you from seeing your children, Jack! It's not my fault you're too busy to spend time with them. Where the hell have you been?"
"I've been saving lives, Marie!" he yelled. "I've been finding people and I shouldn't have to get a call from you on my way home and hear that you lost my daughter!"
Sam sat back in the plush chair, eyes flickering between the two. The fight was a little too reminiscent of the last few months of her marriage, and certainly not productive for the investigation. It was uncomfortable, she felt like she was eavesdropping. "Um, would you two like some pri--"
"Right, you deserve the Father of the Year award. Jack, you're half her DNA, but that's it. So don't yell at me for Hanna being kidnapped, you weren't here. You never were, not when you lived here, and certainly not when you left."
"And look how helpful it is to be here," he snapped. "A lot of good it did Hanna to have her mother here."
Okay, this was not going to help. "Jack, can I talk to you?"
"What do you want?" He glared.
"Kitchen, let's go." Samantha got up and headed in the direction of the kitchen, but he was blocking her way. "Jack. Come on."
He raised an eyebrow, staring her down. Not moving a muscle. Damn him.
"Mr. Malone, will you please come to the kitchen so I can speak with you?"
"Yes, Agent Spade." He stepped aside, allowing her to walk into the kitchen, and followed her in, watching her spin around at the table to face him, her expression angry.
"What is your problem, Jack?" When he didn't answer, she continued, "Your daughter is missing. Do not make it worse for my witness."
"Your witness let a six-year-old girl out of her sight and into the hands of God knows who, Samantha. Don't talk to me about making worse for her." He gestured towards the living room. "She's a mother, she never should've let Hanna out of her sight."
Sam arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, well she did, Jack. And I'm sorry that it's your daughter, I'm sorry this is happening to you, but getting angry at Marie is not going to help find Hanna. You're going to compromise my investigation if I can't question her without you having an emotional outburst in the middle of it."
He listened to her without comment, then closed his eyes and nodded, his face losing some of the tension, and, she noted with some glee, he had the decency to look chagrined . "I'm sorry, Sam."
She reached out, touched his arm. Wanted to say something more than "Don't let it happen again", but couldn't. This was not the place, this was not the time. And she was relieved when he nodded and said, "I'll go upstairs and talk to Katie, she should be waking up soon."
"Thank you." Samantha watched him leave the room, his posture off. This was not the confident stride he generally had, but the walk of someone who'd lost everything. Which, she reflected, was true. He had.
But if she was going to get his confidence back, she'd have to finish questioning Marie. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and prepared to go back into the living room. I can do this. It's just another witness at just another scene. I can do this.
Staring at the coffee table, Marie didn't lift her eyes as Samantha sat down across from her for the second time. A moment passed, then two, before she realized that the other woman wasn't going to acknowledge her presence. "Mrs. Malone?"
A nod.
"Do you know of anyone who might want to..." This was always more difficult when the missing person was a child. It was impossible to come off as anything but cold. "...harm Hanna? Did she have any enemies?"
"Enemies? She's six, Agent Spade. I don't think someone stealing her Barbie is cause for concern." Her tone was harsh, biting.
"I know. I'm sorry. We just need to explore every possibility. Have you seen anyone suspicious around the house? Someone taking more walks past your house or strange telephone calls? Hangups?"
"Not at all. Everything's been normal."
"And Hanna's been acting okay? No symptoms of withdrawal or depression?"
The question brought fresh tears. "No. She's actually been happier than she'd been in a long time. Since the separation. That was hard on her. On both of the kids."
Marie didn't know. She couldn't know. So why did her gaze seem accusatory? Swallowing, Samantha realized continuing the questioning would only serve to stress the already fragile woman more. "I think that's about it for now. If you remember anything at all from this afternoon or any suspicious activity at all, will you please call me?" Reaching into her coat to pull out a card, she paused with a weak smile. "You know the number."
She nodded. Just then, a smaller version of Hanna appeared from the hallway and climbed onto her mother's lap. Marie swept the girl's brown hair back with her left hand while holding her tightly with her right.
Samantha smiled in spite of her spinning emotions. "Is this Katie?"
"Yes." The voice belonged not to Marie, but to Jack.
"She's beautiful. I haven't seen her since she was an infant." Jack had brought both daughters to work on one of his few days off. It was the first and last time she had seen them. Noticing Katie was eyeing her warily, she offered the little girl a small wave. She got a blink in response. Not being too adept in her interaction with small children, she considered that a success.
Jack crossed the room and stood close. Too close. Why did the room seem smaller? She took a step away. "I better go to the office."
"I'll ride with you."
Marie stood suddenly, Katie still clinging around her neck. Both agents watched as she climbed the stairs without a word. Was it Jack's coolness toward his wife, or was she angry because of her involvement? Samantha decided that the latter gave herself too much credit. "Danny and Martin will be here in a few minutes. Are you sure this wouldn't be a better place for you to be right now?"
"What, and stare at the walls? I can do that in my office." He must have realized he was shouting and lowered his voice. "I know my daughter. I'd be much more useful to you than I would be here."
She knew he would. She also knew not to question him about his obligations at home. "Okay, but this is my case. The moment you start getting too involved I'll have to treat you like every other parent." She spoke softly. This wasn't easy for either of them.
"I know." They stared at each other for a moment before she broke eye contact and moved past him into the foyer. Opening the door, she was barely outside when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned and was surprised when she found herself wrapped in a hug; Jack's hair brushing against her ear.
She held him for a moment, conflicted. He needed comfort and she wanted to give it to him. Marie needed comfort and no one was giving it to her.
"Jack, I know this is hard. It's also hard for Marie. You can't blame her. Not if you want to maintain any kind of objectivity."
He pulled away and met her eyes for a moment, then looked over her shoulder to an approaching Martin and Danny. "Let's go."
Seven hours missing. Their night had just begun.
Marie inhaled shakily, looking up at the new voice. "Yes?"
Sam cut her cautious smile short, leaving just a hint of it on slightly upturned lips. "Hi, I'm Agent Spade. I know you've gone over what happened with the police, but I need to ask you a few questions."
"You work with my husband." Her tone, while not accusatory, still had a slight bite to it. Sam couldn't tell if it was her imagination or if the woman was trying to put pieces of a puzzle together.
"Yes, I do," she replied carefully. "Can you tell me what happened? From the beginning, when you came home."
Marie closed her eyes, her face hardening against a fresh wave of tears. "I. I picked her up at school at 2:30. We came straight home, we didn't stop anywhere at all. She had a snack, um, apple juice and graham crackers, and then she decided that she wanted to color, so. She loves to color, Agent Spade. She's really good. She stays in the lines, and she makes good crayon choices. God, she's." Marie wiped away her tears roughly, trying to compose herself. "She colored for half an hour, to about 3:45, I guess. And then she brought out her toys and started playing one of her make-believe games. I don't. I don't remember what she was playing."
"That's fine," Sam said, writing down 'School: 2:30 p.m. Home, snacked, and playing by 3:45' in her notebook. "What happened after that?"
Jack stepped slowly from the kitchen to the doorway, leaning against the frame, his eyes dark, his expression tight as he listened to his wife.
"Well, the mail usually comes at four. And Hanna loves to get the mail, it makes her feel like a big girl, and responsible."
"The mail came at four?"
"Yes. Around 4:15, actually, she was waiting for the truck to come and kept telling me that he was late."
"You have a male mail carrier?"
"Most of the time, yes."
"And do you have his name?"
Marie shook her head. "He delivers the mail. I don't talk to him very much."
"The post office should be able to tell us who has this route," Jack said, then fell silent at a pointed glance from Sam.
Just like him, she mused. He would try, but completely removing himself from this case was going to be harder than he thought. "When the mail came, what did Hanna do?"
"She told me when he was two houses away. I unlocked the door for her, and she went down the driveway to meet the truck, and then I heard Katie waking up upstairs--"
"Katie is your other daughter?"
"Yes." Marie exhaled, a new pain washing over her face as she recounted the events again. "I was away for a moment, no more, and she was gone. A car I've never seen before was driving off, but I didn't see the license number. Or the make. Just a blue sedan."
"So, I just want to clarify, she went down the driveway alone?"
"Yes."
"You walked away from her? You left her?" Jack snapped, moving from the doorway into the room.
"It's ten feet, Jack!" Marie responded angrily. "I didn't think there would be a problem!"
"You didn't think? Damn it, she's my daughter! She's six years old!"
"Do you think I don't know that? Christ, Jack, I have been here every day of her life. I know how old she is, I know her favorite color, I know if she likes peanuts in her chocolate chip cookies. You know she's six. And she's in kindergarten. Anything else?"
"Marie, damn it, I know more than that. But it's really fucking hard to know anything recent when you won't even let me in the house. 'Sorry, Jack, I don't want to see you anymore' is one hell of an invitation to see her."
"You could have called, you could have come over any time. I'm not going to stop you from seeing your children, Jack! It's not my fault you're too busy to spend time with them. Where the hell have you been?"
"I've been saving lives, Marie!" he yelled. "I've been finding people and I shouldn't have to get a call from you on my way home and hear that you lost my daughter!"
Sam sat back in the plush chair, eyes flickering between the two. The fight was a little too reminiscent of the last few months of her marriage, and certainly not productive for the investigation. It was uncomfortable, she felt like she was eavesdropping. "Um, would you two like some pri--"
"Right, you deserve the Father of the Year award. Jack, you're half her DNA, but that's it. So don't yell at me for Hanna being kidnapped, you weren't here. You never were, not when you lived here, and certainly not when you left."
"And look how helpful it is to be here," he snapped. "A lot of good it did Hanna to have her mother here."
Okay, this was not going to help. "Jack, can I talk to you?"
"What do you want?" He glared.
"Kitchen, let's go." Samantha got up and headed in the direction of the kitchen, but he was blocking her way. "Jack. Come on."
He raised an eyebrow, staring her down. Not moving a muscle. Damn him.
"Mr. Malone, will you please come to the kitchen so I can speak with you?"
"Yes, Agent Spade." He stepped aside, allowing her to walk into the kitchen, and followed her in, watching her spin around at the table to face him, her expression angry.
"What is your problem, Jack?" When he didn't answer, she continued, "Your daughter is missing. Do not make it worse for my witness."
"Your witness let a six-year-old girl out of her sight and into the hands of God knows who, Samantha. Don't talk to me about making worse for her." He gestured towards the living room. "She's a mother, she never should've let Hanna out of her sight."
Sam arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, well she did, Jack. And I'm sorry that it's your daughter, I'm sorry this is happening to you, but getting angry at Marie is not going to help find Hanna. You're going to compromise my investigation if I can't question her without you having an emotional outburst in the middle of it."
He listened to her without comment, then closed his eyes and nodded, his face losing some of the tension, and, she noted with some glee, he had the decency to look chagrined . "I'm sorry, Sam."
She reached out, touched his arm. Wanted to say something more than "Don't let it happen again", but couldn't. This was not the place, this was not the time. And she was relieved when he nodded and said, "I'll go upstairs and talk to Katie, she should be waking up soon."
"Thank you." Samantha watched him leave the room, his posture off. This was not the confident stride he generally had, but the walk of someone who'd lost everything. Which, she reflected, was true. He had.
But if she was going to get his confidence back, she'd have to finish questioning Marie. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and prepared to go back into the living room. I can do this. It's just another witness at just another scene. I can do this.
Staring at the coffee table, Marie didn't lift her eyes as Samantha sat down across from her for the second time. A moment passed, then two, before she realized that the other woman wasn't going to acknowledge her presence. "Mrs. Malone?"
A nod.
"Do you know of anyone who might want to..." This was always more difficult when the missing person was a child. It was impossible to come off as anything but cold. "...harm Hanna? Did she have any enemies?"
"Enemies? She's six, Agent Spade. I don't think someone stealing her Barbie is cause for concern." Her tone was harsh, biting.
"I know. I'm sorry. We just need to explore every possibility. Have you seen anyone suspicious around the house? Someone taking more walks past your house or strange telephone calls? Hangups?"
"Not at all. Everything's been normal."
"And Hanna's been acting okay? No symptoms of withdrawal or depression?"
The question brought fresh tears. "No. She's actually been happier than she'd been in a long time. Since the separation. That was hard on her. On both of the kids."
Marie didn't know. She couldn't know. So why did her gaze seem accusatory? Swallowing, Samantha realized continuing the questioning would only serve to stress the already fragile woman more. "I think that's about it for now. If you remember anything at all from this afternoon or any suspicious activity at all, will you please call me?" Reaching into her coat to pull out a card, she paused with a weak smile. "You know the number."
She nodded. Just then, a smaller version of Hanna appeared from the hallway and climbed onto her mother's lap. Marie swept the girl's brown hair back with her left hand while holding her tightly with her right.
Samantha smiled in spite of her spinning emotions. "Is this Katie?"
"Yes." The voice belonged not to Marie, but to Jack.
"She's beautiful. I haven't seen her since she was an infant." Jack had brought both daughters to work on one of his few days off. It was the first and last time she had seen them. Noticing Katie was eyeing her warily, she offered the little girl a small wave. She got a blink in response. Not being too adept in her interaction with small children, she considered that a success.
Jack crossed the room and stood close. Too close. Why did the room seem smaller? She took a step away. "I better go to the office."
"I'll ride with you."
Marie stood suddenly, Katie still clinging around her neck. Both agents watched as she climbed the stairs without a word. Was it Jack's coolness toward his wife, or was she angry because of her involvement? Samantha decided that the latter gave herself too much credit. "Danny and Martin will be here in a few minutes. Are you sure this wouldn't be a better place for you to be right now?"
"What, and stare at the walls? I can do that in my office." He must have realized he was shouting and lowered his voice. "I know my daughter. I'd be much more useful to you than I would be here."
She knew he would. She also knew not to question him about his obligations at home. "Okay, but this is my case. The moment you start getting too involved I'll have to treat you like every other parent." She spoke softly. This wasn't easy for either of them.
"I know." They stared at each other for a moment before she broke eye contact and moved past him into the foyer. Opening the door, she was barely outside when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned and was surprised when she found herself wrapped in a hug; Jack's hair brushing against her ear.
She held him for a moment, conflicted. He needed comfort and she wanted to give it to him. Marie needed comfort and no one was giving it to her.
"Jack, I know this is hard. It's also hard for Marie. You can't blame her. Not if you want to maintain any kind of objectivity."
He pulled away and met her eyes for a moment, then looked over her shoulder to an approaching Martin and Danny. "Let's go."
Seven hours missing. Their night had just begun.
