Careful, Chapter 4
Notes: So much thanks for all the wonderful feedback, and thanks as always to the amazing Maple Street.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Banneker."
Vivian hung up the phone, and left her cubicle to retrieve the fax Daniel Banneker was sending. The document contained the names of all the men who had been working Sunday night, their phone numbers and, as an afterthought, Vivian had asked for a time clock to be included. Other than that, though, Daniel Banneker hadn't been much help; he'd spent most of Sunday night inside the auxiliary gym, unable to see anything happening outside.
As Vivian waited for Daniel Banneker's fax to finish, Samantha and Jack left their conference room and made their way over to her. Jack's face was grim, and Samantha looked just as tense.
"What's wrong?"
"Looks like a trip to Chicago is necessary, after all. Mara Jennings, Jayne Blessing's best friend? She just told us that Darien's father has been in contact with her for the past two weeks, and he's been rather adamant about seeing her." Samantha continued to fill Vivian in on their conversation with Mara Jennings, while Jack talked to Van Doren and the Chicago PD, and made arrangements for their flight.
"So he just called her, out of the blue?" Vivian asked as she picked up the fax.
"Apparently, yeah. Last Thursday was the last time they spoke, but that's when he got really intense about seeing her." Samantha nodded to the paper Vivian was holding. "What's that?"
"Oh, the men working on the gym Sunday night. Daniel Banneker says he didn't say anything, but he was inside the whole time."
Jack returned as Samantha and Vivian were going over the list.
"Sam, you ready? We should be back by this afternoon."
A nod, as Samantha gathered the remains of her things.
"Viv, you've got everything under control here, right?" It wasn't so much a question as a statement. Jack trusted Vivian completely, and, more often than not, thought she would be better at running the unit than he was.
"Sure."
"As soon as Martin and Danny get back, tackle that list..hey, run the names through the system first, okay? Daniel Banneker too. We'll call as soon as we have something."
Vivian nodded. "I'll do the same."
Jack pulled out his phone as he and Samantha made their way to the ground floor. He spoke briefly with Danny, before hanging up.
"They're still checking out the route..Danny said he'll call when they're finished."
The pair exited the building, and slid into Jack's car. Samantha glanced at the clock, which read 8:58.
"You think he took her back to Chicago?" Samantha wondered as they began the short drive to the airport.
A shrug from Jack. "If he did take her, there's a number of ways this could play out. Maybe he took her back to Chicago, but it would probably have to be by car; I can't see him getting her on a plane."
"Unless she went willingly, which I don't think is the case here," Samantha commented.
"Right. But it's a pretty long drive back to Chicago, especially with a hostile, terrified sixteen year old in the car."
"Yeah, well, he probably found a way to shut her up," Samantha pointed out, her voice slightly bitter.
Jack gave Samantha a sideways glance before continuing. "But maybe he didn't go back to Chicago at all. Hell, they could still be here in New York. I called their house before we left the unit, but there was no answer. Doesn't necessarily mean anything, though."
Samantha frowned in concentration. By now, Jack was pulling into the entrance of the airport.
"Jayne Blessing said that David remarried, right?"
"Yup." Jack confirmed her question as they walked inside. "The Chicago PD is on alert, in case we need them, and they'll have a car waiting for us at the airport," he informed Samantha as they walked through the chilled terminal to their plane. Neither paid much attention to their surroundings, their entire focus was on each other and the case. Once boarded, they continued running through possible scenarios, preparing as much as possible for whatever would be found in Chicago. The flight passed quickly, and soon the plane was touching down and rolling to a stop.
"You ready?" Jack touched Samantha's shoulder lightly.
"Sure." With that, they left the plane behind and stepped together into Chicago.
For the second time that day, Danny parked in Brennamen High School's crowded lot. Martin had phoned earlier to let those in charge at Brennamen know that he and Danny would be returning, and so they walked directly to the back of school, where the new auxiliary gym was being built. Both men were silent for a few moments as they looked around. The addition was a decent size and, from the outside, looked to be about three quarters finished. Slowly, Danny walked from one end to the other, his eyes trained on the street and sidewalk across from the auxiliary gym, half hidden by the gym itself and a small line of trees.
"Vantage point isn't so great," he commented to Martin, who nodded in agreement. The street was visible from the auxiliary gym, but only a few yards of it. Together, they walked to the entrance of the main gym.
"If she walked this way-"
"-which she had to," Martin pointed out.
"-then anyone working on the auxiliary gym would be able to see her leaving the gym.." Danny trailed off as they made their way across the back parking lot and to the other side of the street.
"And up until about here," Martin finished, looking back across the street. The auxiliary gym was now almost completely blocked from their view by the school and main gym.
"Right."
Martin pulled the map from his pocket, and opened it. The route was short and straightforward, and the men soon had it memorized.
"Guess we better get started," Danny commented, and they began walking. For awhile, there was nothing but bright homes on either side of the walk, but as they continued, a small path caught Danny's eye.
"Hey, look at this."
It was a small alleyway, open to the street but closed on the opposite side by the back of what looked like an old barn, and surrounded on the right and left by two houses, each with a fence and a line of rather overgrown bushes. The alley was narrow, but wide and long enough to hold at least two cars.
"Streetlights are only on that side of the street," Martin pointed out, nodding across the road.
"Bet it gets dark in here at night, even if the sun is just going down," Danny said in reply.
"Like around eight o'clock?"
"You got it."
"If she was walking along here, not really paying attention.."
"Someone could hide against one of these fences and be almost completely out of view," Danny finished Martin's thought.
"Exactly."
A thorough search showed that nothing had been left behind in the alleyway and, after taking a few pictures, Martin and Danny continued along Darien's route, but found no other areas in which someone could have hidden to surprise Darien.
Quickly, they made their way back to the school, and, with a final look around the auxiliary gym, left Brennamen for the unit.
Flanked by two members of the Chicago PD, Samantha and Jack rolled up silently in front of a modest home on the fringe of the city. Checking the address, Samantha nodded to Jack, and he slid the car into park. The agents left their vehicle and made their way up the short walkway, motioning for the other officers to remain in their car for the time being. Samantha rang the doorbell when they approached, and it was opened by a tall woman with curly blonde hair.
"Can I help you?" The woman appeared very perplexed.
"Catherine Blessing?" When she nodded, Jack continued. "I'm Agent Malone, and this is Agent Spade, of the FBI. We need to speak with your husband immediately."
"David? He's not here right now. What's this about?"
"Where is he, Mrs. Blessing?" Samantha's voice was calm but insistent.
"At work. He just got back an hour or so ago from a business trip to Philadelphia, and he went to the office right from the airport."
Jack didn't have to look at Samantha to know what she was thinking.
"We'll need his business address, ma'am."
Still very confused, Catherine Blessing nevertheless nodded and disappeared into her house, returning to the door with a small white business card.
"Please, tell me what's going on," she entreated from the doorway after handing them the card.
"Your husband's daughter is missing."
Catherine Blessing's face turned white, and for a second Samantha thought she was going to pass out. "Chel--oh, no. Darien?"
The agents nodded, and the other woman seemed to recover, if only slightly.
"You don't think..." she trailed off as she realized exactly what they thought.
"Thank you for your help, Mrs. Blessing." Jack was firm but gentle, and the woman nodded, still slightly dazed, before closing her front door.
"Business trip?" Samantha's voice was hard as they returned to the cars.
"Guess we'll see."
Jack showed the members of Chicago's police department the card, and they agreed to lead the way to David Blessing's office.
The office was less than fifteen minutes away from the Blessing's home, and soon the cars were pulling up in front of a small building, dwarfed by the skyscrapers that surrounded it but very distinguished-looking itself. Again, Jack motioned for the officers to stay behind as he and Samantha stepped through a pair of wooden doors into a bright lobby.
"I'm Agent Malone, and this is Agent Spade of the FBI. We need to speak to David Blessing immediately," Jack instructed the receptionist who, sensing their urgency, nodded and led them up a short flight of stairs and into a rather spacious office.
A tall, slightly rumpled man looked up from a mass of paperwork at their arrival. Jack introduced himself and Samantha again, and the man's dark eyes widened in surprise.
"Can I help you?"
"We hope so." Samantha's voice was ice cold. "Darien has been missing since eight o'clock last night. Anything you'd like to tell us about that?"
"Darien is missing?" David Blessing's voice was incredulous.
"Yeah, she is, Mr. Blessing. According to your wife, you were in Philadelphia last night. Can anyone vouch for that?" Jack stepped in, hoping to pacify Samantha, who was almost trembling in anger.
"Oh..God, yeah..my business partner, Jake Buchanan. We were in Philadelphia together since Saturday. He's in the office right next door." A beat. "Why?"
"Because we're finding it a little too coincidental that Darien disappeared just two weeks after you resumed contact with her, that's why." Samantha's eyes glittered dangerously, pinning David Blessing to his seat.
The man's shoulders slumped. "I'm telling you, I had nothing to do with this. I've been in Philadelphia all weekend. Besides, I would never.." his voice broke.
"Never what?"
"Never hurt Darien! God, we were just starting to talk again..it had been so long.."
"And why is that, Mr. Blessing? Because you ignored her for eight years?" Samantha's voice had dropped to barely above a whisper, but her words still cut as deeply as if she had shouted them. Jack knew she was close, close to crossing a line he would need to pull her back from, but for now he let her flirt with that line, let her work David Blessing over.
When he didn't answer Samantha's question, she spoke again. "Did you feel rejected, Mr. Blessing, because the daughter you walked out on didn't want to see you? Thought maybe you'd show up anyway, but she didn't want anything to do with-"
Mr. Blessing stood, cutting Samantha off. She rose as well, meeting his eyes.
"I," he started, slowly and deliberately, "was a horrible father to Darien. I admit that. But I would never hurt her. I had nothing to do with her disappearance. Nothing. My business partner will tell you that I was in Philadelphia all weekend. I can give you the number of the man who ran the conference we were attending, if you'd like, and he can vouch for me as well."
Jack could feel the anger coming off Samantha in waves.
"Mr. Blessing, why did you contact Darien two weeks ago?" Jack quietly voiced his question, and both Samantha and David Blessing sat down.
David Blessing pointed to a framed photograph on his desk, in which a young girl with curly blonde hair and dark brown eyes sat, grinning, on a tire swing.
"My daughter, Chelsea. She turned six about a month ago. I left..when Darien was only two years older than Chelsea is now. She reminds me more of Darien every day, and finally I couldn't take it anymore. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wanted so badly to talk to her. When she said she'd call once a week..I couldn't ask for more than that."
"Apparently you did ask for more than that, Mr. Blessing. According to Mara Jennings, you insisted upon seeing Darien, and she became very upset."
David Blessing raked a hand through his hair before answering. "I know." His voice was quiet, subdued. "I wanted to stop in New York on the way to Philadelphia, visit for a little while. She refused, and pretty much hung up on me. It was stupid to even ask that of her, I know. Too much, way too soon. For me too, probably."
"What about Jayne? Were you aware that she had no idea you were speaking to Darien?" Samantha's tone was clipped.
"Yes, but Darien insisted she was going to tell her. She wanted to do it, but I would have called Jayne myself if Darien hadn't said she wanted to tell her."
"Okay. We need the number of the man in charge of your conference, and your flight information, as well." Jack stood and, though resigned, Samantha followed suit.
David Blessing gave them the necessary information before returning to his desk. He sat, unmoving, a blank, lost look on his face as they left his office. His alibi was quickly solidified by Jake Buchanan, and further verified by the flight information and the man whose conference David Blessing had attended.
Samantha didn't speak on the brief ride to the airport. When they had boarded the plane for their return trip, however, Jack couldn't stand the silence any longer.
"You okay?"
It was a long moment before Samantha turned away from the small window, and met his concerned gaze.
"I was so sure.." She broke off, shaking her head. "It just seemed to fall so perfectly into place, you know? Eight years, Jack. Eight years, and she disappears two weeks after he calls her up."
"It was an extremely plausible scenario," Jack agreed.
"I just..I hate being so wrong. I hate this feeling of failure, and I especially hate that she's still out there, somewhere."
"Sam, you weren't wrong. It was a lead, and we went with it. We."
"Yeah, but I insisted..I thought it had to be him. From the moment Mara Jennings told us he had called Darien, I was convinced. I was too sure to consider anything else."
"Samantha. I need you on this, okay? I need you clear and focused, because we're going to find her."
A moment, then, "Do you know the first time someone told me that I was smart, and meant it? That someone really needed me for my mind, not to look pretty or be tough, but because I was intelligent and capable?"
Jack wasn't sure where she was going, but he shrugged. "No, why?"
"You should. It was you." She glanced out the window once more before continuing. "After our second case together, I remember, I thought it was luck when I found that cell phone match. But you..you told me it was hard work, intuition and brains." A small smile crept onto her face. "You meant it, too. Thank you, Jack. I'll never forget that."
Jack was about to refute her, to tell her that surely others had recognized her deep intelligence before him, but the raw honesty in her eyes stopped him. He settled instead for gently, softly, lacing their fingers together, and her smile grew. After a few moments, she spoke again.
"God, I'm sorry. I don't know where the hell that bout of insecurity came from," Samantha shook her head, but she didn't let go of his hand.
"S'okay. You alright now?" A twinge of concern remained in his voice.
"Yeah. We're gonna find her, Jack." Samantha rested back against her seat. Another silence fell over them, but this time it didn't bother Jack at all.