Chapter Three
*
18 HOURS MISSING
Jack walked through the entry doors to the Missing Persons level of the FBI building with a dishevelled man handcuffed to Danny behind him. Samantha rose from her seat and walked towards her superior. "That the guy?"
Jack nodded, "We're gonna have to wait for a positive from Rae Jenkins but he matches the arists impression." He told her, indicating to Danny for where to take the man. "You wanna sit in on this?" He asked her.
Samantha just nodded and they towards the room where the mystery man was being sat down. He briefed her quickly, "He claims he doesn't speak English too well, but its a cover. He knows every word we say. But he claims he doesn't know who the hell Thea is."
Sam snorted derisively, "Except that he was spotted at her school. Bastard."
Jack stopped dead and turned to Sam, "Are you getting too involved in this?"
"What do you mean?" She said incredulously. "This is our guy. He can tell us where Thea is."
"We don't know that. This whole thing could be entirely innocent and I don't want you jeopardising our investigation because you've become close to the family, OK?" He reprimanded her harshly. Too harshly, he said to himself mentally. He could tell as Samantha tried to regain her confidence.
"If you don't think I can be trusted on this case then maybe I shouldn't be working on it."
"Samantha-" He said, quietening his voice significantly, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just our priority is getting Thea back safely not trying to prove this guy is guilty."
Sam nodded and followed him into the room, quietly seething. In a way, she knew he was right. He could tell that she was getting too close to the family to be able to look at the case objectively. But she desperately wanted to stay on this case...
The pair sat down and Jack quickly told Danny to meet Martin and go back to the school and find Rae Jenkins. The man, who had called himself "Ivan" looked nervous at their presence. Jack decided to approach this interview head on. "Why were you at Elspeth Moore High School two weeks ago?" He asked.
Ivan visibly squirmed. Jack held out a picture of a smiling Thea in her yearbook photo. "Do you recognise this girl?" Ivan shook his head. "That's funny 'cause you were looking for her. You asked for her by name."
"Lies." He said in a heavy Russian accent. He tried to avoid eye contact with either Samantha or Jack.
"We have two witnesses who place you at the school..." Samantha said, "And you're still denying that you were there?"
He looked around the room nervously, wondering if any of the mirrored panels concealed the witnesses that Samantha spoke of. "I haven't done anything wrong."
"Then tell us who you are and why you were at the school?" Samantha pressed urgently. "Every minute you spend avoiding our questions is another minute that we lose looking for her."
Ivan looked down into his lap guiltily. "Dusha. Dusha Stamarowski." He said simply. Jack and Samantha looked at each other, unsure of what the man was saying. Ivan noticed their eye contact and confusion so he elaborated. "Theadora Maxwell..." He said with a derisive tone, "...is Dusha Stamarowski. My daughter."
Samantha and Jack looked at each other in shock. "You're telling us that Thea is your biological daughter?"
Ivan nodded, "Not that she cared."
Jack scowled in realisation, "You went to the school to talk to her, didn't you?"
Ivan looked up at him, genuine disappointment in his eyes. "My wife begged me. For years to find her. We thought that she would come back to us and we could be a family."
"Instead..." Samantha interrupted, "She rejected you and your wife."
"She didn't want to know us. She told us that she had a different family and as far as she cared, we were non-existent to her." Ivan said seething.
"So you got angry." Jack said matter of factly. "Did you follow her home from school? Lead her down an alley? Did you try and convince her to leave the Maxwells? Wasn't she listening to reason? Did you get so angry..." Jack rose from his seat, leaning over to within mere inches of Ivan's face. "Did you get so angry that you wanted to kill her? Did you kill her Ivan? Did you?"
During Jack's interrogation, Ivan's face crumped further and further into despair as the accusations flew at him. "No!" He shouted, tears starting to run down her face. "Whatever she said, she would always be my daughter. Nothing could change that!"
Jack sat back down in his seat, not fully convinced by Ivan's protestations. "Do you have an alibi for yesterday night?"
Ivan nodded enthusiastically, "I was at the Caplinsk bar with my wife....thirty people must have seen me there." He said looking nervously at Jack. "Do you really think I had something to do with her disappearance?"
Jack decided to answer honestly, "Yes."
*
They exited the briefing room, leaving Ivan with an attorney that he requested after Jack's last words. Sam walked to her regular seat at her desk, sighing. "I just don't think he's telling us the truth. The Caplinsk bar's Russian...he could probably get half of them to lie for him no problem."
Jack shook his head. "Maybe he's covering for his wife. He didn't seem to be too insistent on finding his daughter until his wife pestered him enough."
"True." Sam conceded before Vivienne entered with a frown.
"Turn on the TV." She ordered and Danny who was trawling through suspect files wheeled it out and pressed the "ON" button. On the screen was a picture of a familar newscaster and a photo of Theadora in the top right hand corner. The four remained silent as the news anchor spoke...
"A New York teenager disappeared yesterday after walking home from school. Currently there are no witnesses but sources say that a ransom, to her wealthy financier parents, could come in at any moment but there is no definitite answer as to whether this would lead to her release..." The TV was then turned off and Jack turned to his officers.
"Someone call the Maxwells....I don't want them seeing things like this." He complained rubbing his hand over his face. "Scare mongering isn't going to do anyone any good."
"What do you want to do?" Samantha asked.
"I want you and Danny to go back to the house...ask Grace some more questions. See if the older brother's jetted in yet."
"Thinking they know more about this than they let on?" Danny asked.
"Definitely." He said watching Ivan be dragged back downstairs. "Definitely."
*
I hate this chaper - The next should be better!
*
18 HOURS MISSING
Jack walked through the entry doors to the Missing Persons level of the FBI building with a dishevelled man handcuffed to Danny behind him. Samantha rose from her seat and walked towards her superior. "That the guy?"
Jack nodded, "We're gonna have to wait for a positive from Rae Jenkins but he matches the arists impression." He told her, indicating to Danny for where to take the man. "You wanna sit in on this?" He asked her.
Samantha just nodded and they towards the room where the mystery man was being sat down. He briefed her quickly, "He claims he doesn't speak English too well, but its a cover. He knows every word we say. But he claims he doesn't know who the hell Thea is."
Sam snorted derisively, "Except that he was spotted at her school. Bastard."
Jack stopped dead and turned to Sam, "Are you getting too involved in this?"
"What do you mean?" She said incredulously. "This is our guy. He can tell us where Thea is."
"We don't know that. This whole thing could be entirely innocent and I don't want you jeopardising our investigation because you've become close to the family, OK?" He reprimanded her harshly. Too harshly, he said to himself mentally. He could tell as Samantha tried to regain her confidence.
"If you don't think I can be trusted on this case then maybe I shouldn't be working on it."
"Samantha-" He said, quietening his voice significantly, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just our priority is getting Thea back safely not trying to prove this guy is guilty."
Sam nodded and followed him into the room, quietly seething. In a way, she knew he was right. He could tell that she was getting too close to the family to be able to look at the case objectively. But she desperately wanted to stay on this case...
The pair sat down and Jack quickly told Danny to meet Martin and go back to the school and find Rae Jenkins. The man, who had called himself "Ivan" looked nervous at their presence. Jack decided to approach this interview head on. "Why were you at Elspeth Moore High School two weeks ago?" He asked.
Ivan visibly squirmed. Jack held out a picture of a smiling Thea in her yearbook photo. "Do you recognise this girl?" Ivan shook his head. "That's funny 'cause you were looking for her. You asked for her by name."
"Lies." He said in a heavy Russian accent. He tried to avoid eye contact with either Samantha or Jack.
"We have two witnesses who place you at the school..." Samantha said, "And you're still denying that you were there?"
He looked around the room nervously, wondering if any of the mirrored panels concealed the witnesses that Samantha spoke of. "I haven't done anything wrong."
"Then tell us who you are and why you were at the school?" Samantha pressed urgently. "Every minute you spend avoiding our questions is another minute that we lose looking for her."
Ivan looked down into his lap guiltily. "Dusha. Dusha Stamarowski." He said simply. Jack and Samantha looked at each other, unsure of what the man was saying. Ivan noticed their eye contact and confusion so he elaborated. "Theadora Maxwell..." He said with a derisive tone, "...is Dusha Stamarowski. My daughter."
Samantha and Jack looked at each other in shock. "You're telling us that Thea is your biological daughter?"
Ivan nodded, "Not that she cared."
Jack scowled in realisation, "You went to the school to talk to her, didn't you?"
Ivan looked up at him, genuine disappointment in his eyes. "My wife begged me. For years to find her. We thought that she would come back to us and we could be a family."
"Instead..." Samantha interrupted, "She rejected you and your wife."
"She didn't want to know us. She told us that she had a different family and as far as she cared, we were non-existent to her." Ivan said seething.
"So you got angry." Jack said matter of factly. "Did you follow her home from school? Lead her down an alley? Did you try and convince her to leave the Maxwells? Wasn't she listening to reason? Did you get so angry..." Jack rose from his seat, leaning over to within mere inches of Ivan's face. "Did you get so angry that you wanted to kill her? Did you kill her Ivan? Did you?"
During Jack's interrogation, Ivan's face crumped further and further into despair as the accusations flew at him. "No!" He shouted, tears starting to run down her face. "Whatever she said, she would always be my daughter. Nothing could change that!"
Jack sat back down in his seat, not fully convinced by Ivan's protestations. "Do you have an alibi for yesterday night?"
Ivan nodded enthusiastically, "I was at the Caplinsk bar with my wife....thirty people must have seen me there." He said looking nervously at Jack. "Do you really think I had something to do with her disappearance?"
Jack decided to answer honestly, "Yes."
*
They exited the briefing room, leaving Ivan with an attorney that he requested after Jack's last words. Sam walked to her regular seat at her desk, sighing. "I just don't think he's telling us the truth. The Caplinsk bar's Russian...he could probably get half of them to lie for him no problem."
Jack shook his head. "Maybe he's covering for his wife. He didn't seem to be too insistent on finding his daughter until his wife pestered him enough."
"True." Sam conceded before Vivienne entered with a frown.
"Turn on the TV." She ordered and Danny who was trawling through suspect files wheeled it out and pressed the "ON" button. On the screen was a picture of a familar newscaster and a photo of Theadora in the top right hand corner. The four remained silent as the news anchor spoke...
"A New York teenager disappeared yesterday after walking home from school. Currently there are no witnesses but sources say that a ransom, to her wealthy financier parents, could come in at any moment but there is no definitite answer as to whether this would lead to her release..." The TV was then turned off and Jack turned to his officers.
"Someone call the Maxwells....I don't want them seeing things like this." He complained rubbing his hand over his face. "Scare mongering isn't going to do anyone any good."
"What do you want to do?" Samantha asked.
"I want you and Danny to go back to the house...ask Grace some more questions. See if the older brother's jetted in yet."
"Thinking they know more about this than they let on?" Danny asked.
"Definitely." He said watching Ivan be dragged back downstairs. "Definitely."
*
I hate this chaper - The next should be better!