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Part 11 : A Good Father
Bailey called Grace and John in their rooms, while Sam got dressed. He rapidly explained them the situation. Then he grabbed a shirt and trousers and put them on. They all gathered in the hall of the hotel. Bailey handed the car keys to John. He had slept less than an hour and was much too excited to concentrate on the driving.
In the car, Bailey called the CPD headquarters. Baldwin was not there but he managed to convince the officer in charge to give him his personal phone number. He called him at home and told him about the last developments of the case. "Jerry, I know what time it is, but I absolutely need you to get a warrant. Wake up a judge and get me that thing signed OK ... We're on our way to Carlson Creek ... Sure, we could use some support, but, please, only unmarked police cars, and no siren ... Jerry, this is not a first for me ... Yes, we'll be as cautious as mice ... See you there."
It was 5:45 when John parked the car in Delaware street. Legally speaking, they had to wait until six ... and till the warrant was signed by a judge. From where they were, they could see Miller's house. It was a little suburban house, with a little garden and a white fence. "John, go and have a look at the back." Bailey said.
" Bailey, it is not isolated enough." Sam started. "The neighbors certainly know him. How could he explain the fact that he suddenly brings two children home. I don't know, but ...
- He's not there." Bailey interrupted.
Grace had a look at her two colleagues. Obviously, there was something more to this case they both knew, and were not ready to share.
" John ?" Bailey asked in his walkie-talkie "Did you see something ?
- No. All is calm on my side.
- Is there a back door.
- Yes. On what seems to be the kitchen.
- OK. Stay there. Just in case."
" Let's go, girls" he added for Grace and Sam. The three of them stepped out of the car and headed at the Miller's house. Bailey checked his gun on the way, and then put it back in its holster. They went straightforward to the door and Bailey knocked at it. Sam had a look at her watch. It was 6:12. Bailey knocked again after a while, louder this time. It still took about thirty seconds before the door finally opened. An old woman appeared; she was wearing a robe and had obviously been sleeping when the VCTF agents arrived.
" Good morning" Bailey started, almost embarrassed "Is this Dr Marcus Miller's place ?
- Yes" the lady replied, "Dr Miller is my son. And he lives here. Who are you ?
- Sorry to bother you so early Mrs. Miller. I'm special agent Malone, from the FBI. And here are agents Waters and Alvarez. We'd like to talk to your son.
- Marcus is not here. What is all this about.
- We'd be glad to tell you, Mrs. Miller." Sam said "But it might take a little time ... It may be preferable to talk inside.
Joanna Miller started being worried, like any good citizen would have been seeing law enforcement officers at six in the morning.
" Did anything happen to Marcus ?" she asked hesitantly.
" We don't know yet." Bailey answered. "May we come in ?"
She drew aside to let them in. The three agents followed her to the lounge. "Please sit down." she said, showing them an old couch. They settled in.
" Would you like some coffee, or tea ?
- No thanks." Bailey answered. "Mrs. Miller, do you know where your son currently is ?
- He is in Memphis, he is acting as a replacement for an old friend of his.
- And do you know the name of this friend ?" Sam continued.
- Yes, he wrote it in my address book, along with his phone number"
She got up and went to the sideboard. She opened a drawer and took a little notepad from it. She turned a few pages while returning to the sofa. " Here it is." she said "Doctor Angus McIntire." She handed the little book to Bailey, who took note of the name, address and phone number. He got up and went a little further. He took out his phone and called George in Atlanta.
" How long has your son been away, Mrs. Miller ?" Sam asked.
- About two weeks. I've answered your questions. Tell me what happened now. Why are you looking for my son ?"
Her voice was full of anxiety. Bailey stared at Sam. Here came the tough part. He was sorry to let her do it, but he absolutely had to get information about this doctor McIntire in Memphis. Sam drew a long breath and was about to answer the old lady, but Grace unexpectedly relieved her of the burden.
" We just want to ask him a few question, Mrs. Miller." she started. "You've probably heard of these two children who have disappeared lately ... one is the son of a senator ... They reported it on TV ...". The woman nodded. "Well, we have found out that your son knew both of the kids. We are interrogating all people who saw the children recently. To see if they have noticed anything unusual.
- Mrs. Miller," Sam asked, "Did you notice anything particular in Marcus behavior before he left ?
- No. Of course not. You don't imagine that Marcus could have anything to do with all this, do you ?
- We don't know, Mrs. Miller." Grace went on. "For the moment, we are trying to gather as much information as we can. I'm sure you can understand how worried the parents of these children are right now. You are a mother too.
- And I know my son. He could never do any harm to a human being. Even less to a child. He is a doctor. He devotes is life to helping people. How could you think, even for one minute, that Marcus could be involved in such a thing ...
- We do not think the kidnapper actually wants to hurt the children." Sam said. She paused for a moment. "The loss of their son must have been a tragedy for Marcus and his wife. One can never really go beyond such a pain, can one ?
- Marcus loved Bobby more than anything in the world. But that doesn't mean ..."
Tears came up to the old lady's eyes. Bailey had finished his conversation with George and was returning to the couch. He sat next to Mrs. Miller and took her hand in his. He gave her a little time to recover before he started again.
" Mrs. Miller," he said "I know how difficult it can be for you." Sam and Grace knew he was sincere. He sure had experimented difficult moments with his daughter lately. He went on : "But we have to help this children, haven't we ?
- Marcus is sometimes perturbed, but I'm sure he wouldn't do such a thing.
- Mrs. Miller, doctor McIntire died three months ago from a heart attack. I don't know where Marcus is, but I know he is not in Memphis."
She was no more holding back her tears, now. She suddenly looked much older.
" Your son needs help, Mrs. Miller." Sam said softly. "We do not believe he think he's doing something wrong. We are certain he has no intention hurting Tony and Sandy." Sam was deliberately calling the children by their names. The three agents were careful not to mention the murder of Tony's baby-sitter.
" We have to find him." Bailey said. " To make him realize Sandy and Tony are not his own children, and that they have to be returned to their families." The desperate look of the old woman was breaking Bailey's heart. Grace noticed it. She did not need to be a doctor to see he was exhausted and close to a breakdown. Moreover, not so long ago, did he have to convince his own daughter to surrender to the police. His situation then was not so much different from the one of Mrs. Miller now. She tried to take over from him.
" Mrs. Miller, we know he kept you out of this, but do you have any idea where your son could hide ? Does he have a place of his own, somewhere where he would feel safe ?" The woman shook her head.
" Sooner or later we will find him." Sam went on. "And the sooner, the better. We don't know where he's gonna stop. He may have planned to take other children." Sam knew it was not very likely, but she had to give a good reason to Miller's mother to betray her son. "We must stop him before he worsen the situation."
" I don't know where he is. He told me he was in Memphis, I believed him." The mother was loosing her calm. "He lives here. This is where he feels safe. He is a good man. I don't believe you. My son would never have done such a thing. He's probably gone to his ex-wife, and he did not tell me for he didn't want me to worry. That's all.
- Then, we'll have to check it." Bailey said. He was still holding the old woman's hands. "If we find your son there, then we'll disappear from your life. Where does his ex-wife live ? Do you have her address ?
- Not exactly. We didn't ... She left Marcus after Bobby died. All I know is that she lives in Baltimore." Bailey fluttered. Sam looked at him. His ex-wife too lived in Baltimore.
" What is her first name ?" he asked.
" Angela. Angela Rinaldi-Miller."
The door bell rang. Bailey got up and went to the door. He needed to move. He opened. Baldwin was there with John. He pulled out the warrant from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to Bailey.
" Jerry, at last !" Bailey said. The detective gave a wry smile.
" If you figure out it's easy to get a judge sign this god damned paper at six in the morning ! What's up ?
- Miller is not here. We did not manage getting much from his mother. Here is the name of his ex-wife. Bailey showed his notebook to the detective. "She is in Baltimore. Could you check that for me ?
- Sure. No address ?
- No. I can give a call to the local Bureau if you prefer.
- Won't be necessary. I know a few cops there. I'll give them a call."
" Mrs. Miller," Bailey said when he returned to the lounge, "This is detective Jerry Baldwin. He's going to check if your son is in Baltimore. Meantime, we are going to look at the house. Here is a warrant.". She took the paper, but did not react. She looked as if she had been anesthetized. Baldwin started giving his phone calls, while the four FBI agents parted to search the house. John went to the garage, Grace started with the lounge, and Sam and Bailey climbed the stairs to inspect the first floor.
The Millers' house was small. There were only two bedrooms upstairs. Sam followed Bailey in Marcus Miller's room. She should have started searching the other one, but she felt Bailey was rather shaken, and she didn't want to let him alone. She put her hand on his shoulder and caressed his back lightly. He didn't keep her from doing it, which surprised her. Bailey did not like mixing personal feelings with the job. But now, he apparently had nothing against a little support. He sat on the bed and opened the drawer of the bedside table. He started emptying it. Sam went to search the large wardrobe. She opened it and lifted the various piles of linen. But she did not find anything.
None of them spoke a single word. The search. did not take them more than twenty minutes. "Pretty unlikely he hid something in his mother's room, right ?" Sam said. Bailey agreed. Then they went to the little bathroom at the end of the corridor. In one of the corner was a cupboard full of towels. Sam opened it and began pushing the towels out. When she turned back, she saw Bailey bent over the washbasin. His hands were trembling.
Without saying a word, she went to him and took him in her arms. His head rested heavily on her shoulder. They were so close she could feel his heart beat in his chest. They stayed like this for a couple of minutes. Then Bailey calmed down a bit and slowly withdrew from Sam's embrace. His eyes were red. He sniffed, then turned on the taps and put water on his face.
" Are you all right ?" Sam asked .
" Yes. I'm sorry Sam. I can't help it. All these things come back up to the surface, and ...
- It's normal Bailey. You're a human being, not a robot. You didn't sleep last night. You need a break.
- I'm OK now." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Let's go back to work."
Sam returned to the cupboard and Bailey opened the bathroom cabinet. He pulled out everything, and did not find anything. For the sake of conscience, he passed his hand on the top of the cabinet. His fingers touched something which felt like an envelope. But it was glued on the piece of furniture. He pulled a stool and climbed on it. Sam got closer. Bailey delicately unstick the envelope, got down from his roost, and opened it.
" Oh, Sam !" he said. And he handed her the picture. It was a school picture. It was Tony Walsh school class picture. When Sam took it, Bailey saw the address of the little boy written on the back of it. "Look behind." he said. She turned the card. "I think we've got what we came here for." she answered.
They rapidly finished to inspect the bathroom, and went down to join the others. John and Baldwin were in the living room with Mrs. Miller. The CPD detective was on the phone, while John was searching the place.
" Where is Grace ?" Bailey asked.
" In the kitchen." John answered.
- Did you get anything ?
- Not yet."
Baldwin ended his conversation. "Malone," he said "Baltimore sent two officers to Mrs. Rinaldi. She has not seen her ex-husband for three months. From what they told me, she did not seem eager to see him again. But he called her about six weeks ago. She told them that Miller sounded rather perturbed." Bailey nodded, then went to Mrs. Miller. She was sitting on a chair at the dining table.
" Mrs. Miller," he started "Have you ever seen this photograph before ?". She lifted her face to him. She had cried but looked calm now. She took the picture Bailey was handing to her.
" No." she answered. She gave back the photograph. "The little boy in the first row, third one from left ... This is the child you are looking for, isn't it ?". Bailey nodded. She went on : "He looks like Bobby, just before he ...
- Sam," Bailey said, "I'm sure Mrs. Miller could use a glass of water."
Sam went to the kitchen and came back with the water. Bailey sat on the chair next to the woman. He waited till she had drunk.
" We need your help. We don't know where Marcus is, but we know the kids are with him. Mrs. Miller, you're a mother, and I'm a father. We both have an idea of what the parents are enduring right now. I'm aware it's not easy, but if you know where they are, you must tell us ... before anything worse happens." Joanna Miller had stopped fighting and tears were freely rolling on her cheeks.
" He has a house," she was speaking slowly. "In Chicago, in the South. He inherited it from his father. This is where he took refuge after Bobby's death. It is his secret shelter. It might be the place you're looking for. The address is 911, Welmington Road. Are you going to kill him ?
- Not unless we are forced to. We'll try our best to avoid this. I can promise you that.
- This young woman," she added, "the baby-sitter, did Marcus kill her ?
- We believe he did."
Bailey stood up. "John," he said "go and get Grace. We're leaving.".
" Mrs. Miller," Baldwin added, "I will let officer Newton, over there, stay with you. Just ask him if you need anything.
- Thanks."
The voice of the old woman stopped them at the door.
" Agent Malone." Bailey turned back. "Marcus was a good father, you know. I don't think he can do any harm to these children. But please, don't let my son kill again.
- I won't." Bailey simply answered. And they left.
To be continued ... R&R, Thanks.
Absolut.
