Shelter
by: Mariel
Chapter 5
29 HOURS MISSING 1:30 p.m.
Jack and Samantha sat in the Smiths' neat, comfortable home doing their best to cover their surprise.
"I'm sorry," David Smith repeated. "Our oldest daughter took the message and didn't catch the name of the child you wanted to talk to us about," he explained. "If we'd known, we could have saved you the trip here. We had someone with us the weekend you're talking about, but it was a little boy." He glanced at his wife. "Brian, was his name, right?" At his wife's nod, he turned back to look at the two agents. "I don't think we've ever had an Emma stay with us. Not for a long time, anyways. I'm sorry we can't help you, but we don't know anything about her at all."
Samantha checked the list that Nancy Shelby had written for her. "I'm sorry. I don't know what could have happened. It's definitely your name Mrs. Shelby gave us. There must be some mistake somewhere."
David rose and went to a large writing desk beside the door leading to the hallway. Opening it up, he removed a file folder and returned with it in his hand. He sat down, then removed several forms from it. Passing them to Samantha, he said, "Here's the paperwork concerning that week and a few of the ones before and since then. There was no Emma," he said.
Samantha glanced at the names and dates and then passed everything to Jack for him to see. "We're sorry for interrupting your afternoon," she told the Smiths. She looked at Jack and raised an eyebrow. When he looked up from the documents and nodded slightly, she began their goodbyes.
Once the front door of the Smith home had closed behind them and they were out on the sidewalk, Samantha consulted her notepad and then flipped open her cell phone. She waited a moment, then said to Jack, "There's no answer at Nancy's office."
"She only came in to speak with us. She said she was out in the field today. You have her cell phone number with you?"
Samantha looked through the pages of her notepad. Finally, she nodded. "Yup. Let me give it a try." Again, she waited for a moment, then looked at him and said, "All I get is her voice mail."
"Leave a message," Jack told her. "Tell her we want her to phone us as soon as possible. It's probably only a paper snafau, but we've got to speak to whoever actually had Emma with them that weekend."
While Samantha did as he asked, they continued to walk towards their parked car. Jack looked at his watch and frowned. Thirty hours missing, and they had this mess to sort out. That critical 48 hour mark was fast approaching. He quickened his pace, calculating how long it would take to get to the Newells' home.
* * *
3:00 p.m. Sitting with Samantha in the small living room of Lyle and Kendra Newell's apartment, Jack worked to keep his expression neutral. "Emma Matthews didn't spend several days with you about three weeks ago?" he asked. "Her caseworker gave your name as her most recent foster parents."
Kendra and Lyle both shook their heads. "We had a little girl here, yes - but she was eight, and her name was Paula," Lyle said. "I'm sorry. I should have called you back when I got the message, but I thought someone has simply called the wrong number or read the wrong name."
Looking at the agents and then at her husband, Kendra Newell rose. "I've got the papers in the kitchen. Let me get them for you. Just a minute."
In a short moment, she was back, proffering several documents. A quick glance at them proved that the Newells were right. A Paula Johanson had stayed with them for three days. Another look, and Jack saw that Emma's name did not appear on any of the forms Kendra had given him.
"We're sorry to have bothered you," Jack apologised, now wondering if this was something more sinister than a paper mistake. He sent a glance in Samantha's direction and saw his concern reflected in her eyes.
* * *
Walking to their car, Samantha took her cell phone away from her ear and said, "Nancy Shelby's still not answering her phone."
Rising suspicion made Jack's response clipped. "She'd better show up soon. She has some answering to do." Reaching the car, he looked over its roof at her. "Let's head back to speak to Diana Ramsey again. Her husband might be home now, and if they had Emma for six months, they must have gotten to know Nancy, too. They may know something. He shook his head as he opened his car door. "We're missing something somewhere."
She looked at him sharply as she slid into her seat, following his thoughts easily. "So we add Nancy to our list of suspects. Are we taking the Ramseys' off?"
He turned the key in the ignition. "They're all suspects: the father, the Ramseys, and now, so is Nancy Shelby. I want you to call Vivian. She and Pete can have a look into Nancy's life. Get them to call Social Services and speak to her supervisor, too. Something's not right here."
Samantha nodded and speed-dialled Vivian's phone. While she waited for it to ring, she asked, "Do you want me to call the Ramseys to let them know we're on the way?"
"Let's surprise them," Jack replied, lapsing into silence as he concentrated on the traffic.
After she had spoken with Vivian, Samantha sighed and looked out the passenger window. It had gotten colder, and the first, tiny snowflakes of winter had begun to fall. She hoped Emma wasn't outside somewhere.
***
THIRTY-TWO HOURS MISSING 4:30 p.m.
As they walked to the Ramseys' door, both Samantha and Jack noticed a black sedan parked discreetly across the street and one house down. Through the darkly tinted windows, they could just barely make out the form of someone sitting behind the wheel. Without looking at it directly, Jack commented. "It didn't take them long to get someone here."
Reaching the front door, he paused before knocking. "Do me a favour, and while we're in here, see if you can manage to take a look around."
Samantha nodded, understanding what he wanted. "We need to phone Danny again, too," she reminded him. "He hasn't called, and he wasn't answering his cell." She knew it was likely his blasted cell battery dying again, but it still wasn't like him not to call in.
"It's likely his battery," Jack said, reflecting her thoughts, "He's gotta go down and get a new one. This one is driving everyone nuts. We'll call the office when we're finished here to see if he's left a message." He paused. While running over the questions he would have to ask once inside, he unconsciously noted the way a few, small snowflakes clung persistently to her hair. Resisting the urge to reach out and brush them away, he smiled as her eyes touched his, and asked, "Ready?"
At her nod, he raised his hand to knock on the door.
* * *
"Her caseworker is wonderful," Diana told them. "She really put an effort into seeing that Emma was doing okay, that she didn't feel as though she'd just been dropped here. She commented more than once how happy she was that Emma was doing so well, and about how pleased she was with the way Emma was adapting to being away from her mother for such a long period of time."
"She came to visit often?" Jack asked, covering his surprise.
Diana nodded and looked at her husband. "You were here some of the times I wasn't, but I'd guess at least once, sometimes twice a week, wouldn't you, hon?" she asked him.
Keith Ramsey had arrived home to find his wife and the two agents drinking coffee at the kitchen table. After greeting Samantha and Jack, he had poured a cup of coffee for himself and joined them. The contrast between wife and husband was remarkable: Keith, Jack estimated, was about six foot three in height, large featured, and ponderous in his movements. His wife was at least a foot shorter, petite, and filled with nervous energy. Both, however, were open and friendly and willing to talk.
Keith nodded his dark-haired head at his wife's question. Wrapping large hands around his mug of coffee, he rested his thick forearms on the table and said in a gravelly-sounding voice, "It was good to see someone so caring. Sometimes I feel as though these kids are just case files to the workers looking after them. I know it's because of the numbers of kids they have to be responsible for, and I know it must be a really depressing job at times, but still...it's nice to see someone who hasn't had the hope kicked out of them. She really puts everything she's got into caring for these kids."
"So it's unusual to have that much contact between caseworker and child?" Samantha asked.
"I'd say so, yes," he said, nodding. "Most of the time, they're only here to drop the child off and to pick them up when the stay is over. We don't usually see them in between, unless it's an extended stay. They call, of course, but that's all. There wouldn't be enough hours in a day to do more than that, considering how many kids they have on their workload."
"But she did more than that for Emma."
Diana nodded. Dark eyes glowing, she smiled as she said, "She was like a favourite aunt, or something. Emma loved it when she visited. She'd run and get her brush." She paused, then explained, "Emma loved doing people's hair. She said she was going to be a hairdresser when she grew up, and never tired of practicing on anyone who would let her! She loved doing Brenda's hair, especially, because it was so long."
Samantha blinked. "Brenda?"
Diana nodded, uncertain of why Samantha asked.
Samantha frowned and shot a quick look at Jack. "I'm sorry," she finally said, "I thought you were talking about Nancy Shelby."
Now it was Diana's turn to look confused. "No, Brenda Hood was the caseworker who came out. She was wonderful. She and Emma got along like a house on fire, and I really think it was because they had such a good relationship that Emma coped so well with all the changes happening to her. Brenda seemed to be the one stable thing in her life, the one person who was always there for her."
Jack and Samantha looked at one another.
"Brenda Hood is the one who takes Nancy's cases when she's away," Samantha reminded him.
Jack nodded, remembering what Nancy had said in the office. "We need to look at her file," he said. Brenda had obviously had contact with Emma prior to the sabbatical. They looked at one another, wondering if this was a lead or just another dead end.
***
THIRTY-THREE HOURS MISSING 6:00 p.m.
Jack's cell phone rang. Glad he'd asked Samantha to drive, he reached for it and said a quick "Malone" into the receiver. He listened a moment, then said, "You need to get a new phone, Danny. First thing tomorrow. I mean it." After listening a while more, he said, "Good. Now I need you for something else: I want you to take a look at a woman by the name of Brenda Hood. Works for Social Services; covered for Nancy Shelby while she was on sabbatical. I need anything you can give me. Address, phone number, friends. She may know something." He listened for another moment, then said, "Yeah, I think we can sit back on that for now. If we haven't found Emma by the time the father returns, we can interview him at home ourselves." He knew it was unlikely the father was involved, given the information Danny had just given him. Tracing showed he had circumvented the city. He wouldn't have had the time to leave his truck, find transportation into town, take Emma, get back to the truck and still keep on schedule he had kept. Jack looked at his watch. After giving Danny background details on what they'd discovered, he ordered, "Tell Viv and Pete I'm still waiting for information on Nancy Shelby. I want you to bring in Brenda Hood. I want to talk to her tonight."
Jack put his phone away and sat back. He looked at his watch, then turned his eyes towards Samantha, watching her as she drove them back to the office. Feeling more regret than he liked to admit, he told her, "Looks like we'll have to cancel dinner."
She turned her head and held his gaze. "I take rain checks, if you give them."
He felt something inside him relax. Smiling slightly, he told her, "I do." He wanted to thank her for understanding, but knew it was unnecessary. Of course she understood - she was as wrapped up in this as he. Looking out the window, he realised with a start that he needed to let his wife know he'd be later than expected. He considered calling immediately, then pushed the idea aside, deciding to wait until he got back to the office. Maria would be upset, and he liked to keep his marital difficulties private.
The ring of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts again. He spoke only a few words, then flipped it closed and turned to Samantha. "That was Vivian. Nancy Shelby was at an early morning meeting with her supervisor the morning of Emma's disappearance. There's no way she could have taken her."
Samantha nodded and drove them towards the office in silence. Mentally, she removed Nancy from the suspect list and bumped Brenda Hood up a notch. The light, cold snow continued to fall, and again the worry that Emma might be outside flitted across her mind. A sense of urgency made her press down on the accellerator just a little harder.
End Chapter 5 Shelter
29 HOURS MISSING 1:30 p.m.
Jack and Samantha sat in the Smiths' neat, comfortable home doing their best to cover their surprise.
"I'm sorry," David Smith repeated. "Our oldest daughter took the message and didn't catch the name of the child you wanted to talk to us about," he explained. "If we'd known, we could have saved you the trip here. We had someone with us the weekend you're talking about, but it was a little boy." He glanced at his wife. "Brian, was his name, right?" At his wife's nod, he turned back to look at the two agents. "I don't think we've ever had an Emma stay with us. Not for a long time, anyways. I'm sorry we can't help you, but we don't know anything about her at all."
Samantha checked the list that Nancy Shelby had written for her. "I'm sorry. I don't know what could have happened. It's definitely your name Mrs. Shelby gave us. There must be some mistake somewhere."
David rose and went to a large writing desk beside the door leading to the hallway. Opening it up, he removed a file folder and returned with it in his hand. He sat down, then removed several forms from it. Passing them to Samantha, he said, "Here's the paperwork concerning that week and a few of the ones before and since then. There was no Emma," he said.
Samantha glanced at the names and dates and then passed everything to Jack for him to see. "We're sorry for interrupting your afternoon," she told the Smiths. She looked at Jack and raised an eyebrow. When he looked up from the documents and nodded slightly, she began their goodbyes.
Once the front door of the Smith home had closed behind them and they were out on the sidewalk, Samantha consulted her notepad and then flipped open her cell phone. She waited a moment, then said to Jack, "There's no answer at Nancy's office."
"She only came in to speak with us. She said she was out in the field today. You have her cell phone number with you?"
Samantha looked through the pages of her notepad. Finally, she nodded. "Yup. Let me give it a try." Again, she waited for a moment, then looked at him and said, "All I get is her voice mail."
"Leave a message," Jack told her. "Tell her we want her to phone us as soon as possible. It's probably only a paper snafau, but we've got to speak to whoever actually had Emma with them that weekend."
While Samantha did as he asked, they continued to walk towards their parked car. Jack looked at his watch and frowned. Thirty hours missing, and they had this mess to sort out. That critical 48 hour mark was fast approaching. He quickened his pace, calculating how long it would take to get to the Newells' home.
* * *
3:00 p.m. Sitting with Samantha in the small living room of Lyle and Kendra Newell's apartment, Jack worked to keep his expression neutral. "Emma Matthews didn't spend several days with you about three weeks ago?" he asked. "Her caseworker gave your name as her most recent foster parents."
Kendra and Lyle both shook their heads. "We had a little girl here, yes - but she was eight, and her name was Paula," Lyle said. "I'm sorry. I should have called you back when I got the message, but I thought someone has simply called the wrong number or read the wrong name."
Looking at the agents and then at her husband, Kendra Newell rose. "I've got the papers in the kitchen. Let me get them for you. Just a minute."
In a short moment, she was back, proffering several documents. A quick glance at them proved that the Newells were right. A Paula Johanson had stayed with them for three days. Another look, and Jack saw that Emma's name did not appear on any of the forms Kendra had given him.
"We're sorry to have bothered you," Jack apologised, now wondering if this was something more sinister than a paper mistake. He sent a glance in Samantha's direction and saw his concern reflected in her eyes.
* * *
Walking to their car, Samantha took her cell phone away from her ear and said, "Nancy Shelby's still not answering her phone."
Rising suspicion made Jack's response clipped. "She'd better show up soon. She has some answering to do." Reaching the car, he looked over its roof at her. "Let's head back to speak to Diana Ramsey again. Her husband might be home now, and if they had Emma for six months, they must have gotten to know Nancy, too. They may know something. He shook his head as he opened his car door. "We're missing something somewhere."
She looked at him sharply as she slid into her seat, following his thoughts easily. "So we add Nancy to our list of suspects. Are we taking the Ramseys' off?"
He turned the key in the ignition. "They're all suspects: the father, the Ramseys, and now, so is Nancy Shelby. I want you to call Vivian. She and Pete can have a look into Nancy's life. Get them to call Social Services and speak to her supervisor, too. Something's not right here."
Samantha nodded and speed-dialled Vivian's phone. While she waited for it to ring, she asked, "Do you want me to call the Ramseys to let them know we're on the way?"
"Let's surprise them," Jack replied, lapsing into silence as he concentrated on the traffic.
After she had spoken with Vivian, Samantha sighed and looked out the passenger window. It had gotten colder, and the first, tiny snowflakes of winter had begun to fall. She hoped Emma wasn't outside somewhere.
***
THIRTY-TWO HOURS MISSING 4:30 p.m.
As they walked to the Ramseys' door, both Samantha and Jack noticed a black sedan parked discreetly across the street and one house down. Through the darkly tinted windows, they could just barely make out the form of someone sitting behind the wheel. Without looking at it directly, Jack commented. "It didn't take them long to get someone here."
Reaching the front door, he paused before knocking. "Do me a favour, and while we're in here, see if you can manage to take a look around."
Samantha nodded, understanding what he wanted. "We need to phone Danny again, too," she reminded him. "He hasn't called, and he wasn't answering his cell." She knew it was likely his blasted cell battery dying again, but it still wasn't like him not to call in.
"It's likely his battery," Jack said, reflecting her thoughts, "He's gotta go down and get a new one. This one is driving everyone nuts. We'll call the office when we're finished here to see if he's left a message." He paused. While running over the questions he would have to ask once inside, he unconsciously noted the way a few, small snowflakes clung persistently to her hair. Resisting the urge to reach out and brush them away, he smiled as her eyes touched his, and asked, "Ready?"
At her nod, he raised his hand to knock on the door.
* * *
"Her caseworker is wonderful," Diana told them. "She really put an effort into seeing that Emma was doing okay, that she didn't feel as though she'd just been dropped here. She commented more than once how happy she was that Emma was doing so well, and about how pleased she was with the way Emma was adapting to being away from her mother for such a long period of time."
"She came to visit often?" Jack asked, covering his surprise.
Diana nodded and looked at her husband. "You were here some of the times I wasn't, but I'd guess at least once, sometimes twice a week, wouldn't you, hon?" she asked him.
Keith Ramsey had arrived home to find his wife and the two agents drinking coffee at the kitchen table. After greeting Samantha and Jack, he had poured a cup of coffee for himself and joined them. The contrast between wife and husband was remarkable: Keith, Jack estimated, was about six foot three in height, large featured, and ponderous in his movements. His wife was at least a foot shorter, petite, and filled with nervous energy. Both, however, were open and friendly and willing to talk.
Keith nodded his dark-haired head at his wife's question. Wrapping large hands around his mug of coffee, he rested his thick forearms on the table and said in a gravelly-sounding voice, "It was good to see someone so caring. Sometimes I feel as though these kids are just case files to the workers looking after them. I know it's because of the numbers of kids they have to be responsible for, and I know it must be a really depressing job at times, but still...it's nice to see someone who hasn't had the hope kicked out of them. She really puts everything she's got into caring for these kids."
"So it's unusual to have that much contact between caseworker and child?" Samantha asked.
"I'd say so, yes," he said, nodding. "Most of the time, they're only here to drop the child off and to pick them up when the stay is over. We don't usually see them in between, unless it's an extended stay. They call, of course, but that's all. There wouldn't be enough hours in a day to do more than that, considering how many kids they have on their workload."
"But she did more than that for Emma."
Diana nodded. Dark eyes glowing, she smiled as she said, "She was like a favourite aunt, or something. Emma loved it when she visited. She'd run and get her brush." She paused, then explained, "Emma loved doing people's hair. She said she was going to be a hairdresser when she grew up, and never tired of practicing on anyone who would let her! She loved doing Brenda's hair, especially, because it was so long."
Samantha blinked. "Brenda?"
Diana nodded, uncertain of why Samantha asked.
Samantha frowned and shot a quick look at Jack. "I'm sorry," she finally said, "I thought you were talking about Nancy Shelby."
Now it was Diana's turn to look confused. "No, Brenda Hood was the caseworker who came out. She was wonderful. She and Emma got along like a house on fire, and I really think it was because they had such a good relationship that Emma coped so well with all the changes happening to her. Brenda seemed to be the one stable thing in her life, the one person who was always there for her."
Jack and Samantha looked at one another.
"Brenda Hood is the one who takes Nancy's cases when she's away," Samantha reminded him.
Jack nodded, remembering what Nancy had said in the office. "We need to look at her file," he said. Brenda had obviously had contact with Emma prior to the sabbatical. They looked at one another, wondering if this was a lead or just another dead end.
***
THIRTY-THREE HOURS MISSING 6:00 p.m.
Jack's cell phone rang. Glad he'd asked Samantha to drive, he reached for it and said a quick "Malone" into the receiver. He listened a moment, then said, "You need to get a new phone, Danny. First thing tomorrow. I mean it." After listening a while more, he said, "Good. Now I need you for something else: I want you to take a look at a woman by the name of Brenda Hood. Works for Social Services; covered for Nancy Shelby while she was on sabbatical. I need anything you can give me. Address, phone number, friends. She may know something." He listened for another moment, then said, "Yeah, I think we can sit back on that for now. If we haven't found Emma by the time the father returns, we can interview him at home ourselves." He knew it was unlikely the father was involved, given the information Danny had just given him. Tracing showed he had circumvented the city. He wouldn't have had the time to leave his truck, find transportation into town, take Emma, get back to the truck and still keep on schedule he had kept. Jack looked at his watch. After giving Danny background details on what they'd discovered, he ordered, "Tell Viv and Pete I'm still waiting for information on Nancy Shelby. I want you to bring in Brenda Hood. I want to talk to her tonight."
Jack put his phone away and sat back. He looked at his watch, then turned his eyes towards Samantha, watching her as she drove them back to the office. Feeling more regret than he liked to admit, he told her, "Looks like we'll have to cancel dinner."
She turned her head and held his gaze. "I take rain checks, if you give them."
He felt something inside him relax. Smiling slightly, he told her, "I do." He wanted to thank her for understanding, but knew it was unnecessary. Of course she understood - she was as wrapped up in this as he. Looking out the window, he realised with a start that he needed to let his wife know he'd be later than expected. He considered calling immediately, then pushed the idea aside, deciding to wait until he got back to the office. Maria would be upset, and he liked to keep his marital difficulties private.
The ring of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts again. He spoke only a few words, then flipped it closed and turned to Samantha. "That was Vivian. Nancy Shelby was at an early morning meeting with her supervisor the morning of Emma's disappearance. There's no way she could have taken her."
Samantha nodded and drove them towards the office in silence. Mentally, she removed Nancy from the suspect list and bumped Brenda Hood up a notch. The light, cold snow continued to fall, and again the worry that Emma might be outside flitted across her mind. A sense of urgency made her press down on the accellerator just a little harder.
End Chapter 5 Shelter