Note: Sorry again about the wait for a new update. Hopefully, I can get a few more chapters written this weekend.
Jack and the rest of the team minus Danny took seats around the conference table. Jack rubbed his eyes as he tried to gather his thoughts on what they should do next. It was getting late in the day. They could probably only work for a few more hours before going home to start fresh in the morning. Samantha looked at Jack with concern as he sat there. She knew he was torn between wanting to help Danny find his wife and being realistic. They all wanted to bring Kathryn back to Danny, but knew there was only so much they could do if she didn't want to be found. Samantha decided to help Jack get focused. "We still haven't gotten the Forensics report back on Danny's apartment. Do you want me to follow up on that?" asked Samantha.
Jack looked up at Samantha and nodded appreciatively. "Yeah...uh...find out what the hold-up is and what they found. Martin, I'd like you to stay on the black van. Ty was trying to locate the owner. That's the best lead we have right now. Viv, follow up on the Sylvia Marquez angle. I know that you and Samantha talked to her, but she still has the best motive. If she had help, then she definitely could be involved. I'm going to follow up with NYPD, and see if they have any Jane Does that have turned up. Let's work these angles for a few more hours, and then start fresh in the morning. I know I'll have to face Van Doren tomorrow to see how much longer we can work on this."
"Do you think she will let us? I mean with the recording of Kathryn's voice and the e-mail...we don't have any signs of foul play yet," remarked Martin.
"I don't know. I've read that e-mail a hundred times. I don't know if it is the conviction of Kathryn's mother or what, but I'm starting to question the e-mail as well. Something doesn't sound right in it, but I can't put my finger on it. And it isn't just that she doesn't mention her son. It's something else," Jack said pensively as he tried to rack his brain.
"Well something has to turn up soon. Let's get started," Viv said as she rose from the table.
While the team continued to search, Danny made it back to the apartment. Maggie went back to her house to fill in Kathryn's father and get some sleep. Danny tried to put Kathryn out of his mind as he and Michael ate dinner. He tried to act as normal as possible for Michael's sake. He gave Michael his bath and then put him down for the night. He walked into the bedroom and stood in the doorway. The Forensics team stripped the sheets from the bed. He didn't have the energy to re-make the bed, and truly he didn't want to sleep in it without Kathryn anyway.
Instead of going straight to sleep, he decided to take a shower. As he walked into the bathroom, he was again struck by so many reminders of Kathryn. Her perfumes and lotions lined the counter next to the sink. He picked up the lotion that she used on her body right after she got out of the shower. It smelled fresh and clean...just like her. He looked in the mirror and saw Kathryn applying the lotion to her shoulders and arms. When he put the lotion down, she disappeared from the mirror. Danny put his hands down on the counter and beared down as he closed his eyes and let a few tears escape. He was literally aching for her. It wasn't a physical ache. It was in his heart.
He slowly undressed and stepped into the hot shower. The hot water beat down on his face and shoulders. Instead of driving thoughts of Kathryn away, more memories flooded his mind. He remembered shortly after they first started dating. He surprised her by stepping into the shower with her one morning. She was so embarrassed to stand in front of him without clothes on yet they had just spent the night before making love. Kathryn insisted to him that it was different because the lights were out when they were in bed. Danny always teased her about her modesty and told her she had a beautiful body, but she still insisted on wearing his old t-shirts to bed. Danny made it his personal mission to get her out of the t-shirts whenever possible and make her more comfortable with her body around him, and he succeeded even though sometimes he could still make her blush.
After Danny finished his shower, he dressed and then went out to the living room and laid down on the couch. He thought about calling Samantha or Martin to find out if they knew anything more, but he knew they would call if they had anything. So he just laid there and tried to will himself to sleep. He still wanted a drink. He knew that would help him sleep, but he also knew that would be the end for him. His mind continued to race with thoughts of Kathryn. He kept reliving their last week together. Trying to remember if he noticed the black van or anything else out of the ordinary. But he couldn't remember. At some point, Danny closed his eyes and eventually he started to drift off into a deep albeit restless sleep. It was the first time he had slept in almost two whole days.
As Danny finally slept, the team followed the various leads. Martin was in the Tech room with Ty reviewing parking security decals for various parking garages in the city. There were literally hundreds of them. They were comparing the decal from the black van. Finally after a couple of hours of looking, Martin called out, "I got it. Here it is. This is from a garage at 136th and Holden. Please tell me that garage just serves one building."
"Let me check," Ty responded. "136th and Holden...yep that garage is for employees who work in the AJ Sampson building."
"OK. Good. What businesses are in that building?"
"Hang on. I'm printing the list."
Martin stood up and walked over to the printer. He pulled the list off the printer. "OK...this isn't bad...about 25 businesses in the Sampson building. There is an account firm, stocks and bonds, law....here we go...."
"What is it?" asked Ty as he watched Martin read down the list.
"A private investigation and security firm called Jamison and Associates. That's fits, right? I mean a PI would use an unmarked black van for surveillance."
"And the van was parked outside their building everyday. It makes sense," Ty responded.
"Thanks for your help. I'm going to run this down," Martin said as he walked out of the office.
While Martin followed the PI lead, Samantha entered Jack's office to fill him in on the Forensics report. "Jack, you're going to find this interesting," Samantha said as she walked in the office and sat down. "Forensics didn't find any unusual prints or blood in the apartment, but they did find a strange set of footprints in the walk-in closet in the bedroom. There were fresh impressions in the carpet. The shoe size was smaller than Danny's but much larger than Kathryn's. Now, I noticed there was an overnight bag missing from the closet, and there was the open drawer in the bedroom...so maybe someone got in there and took the bag and clothes to make it look like she left."
"How did this person get in the apartment?"
"Well if someone abducted Kathryn before noon, there would have been plenty of time to use her key to gain access to the apartment before Danny got back."
"Yeah but noone heard or saw anyone go in that apartment. Viv talked to the neighbor, Mrs. Kopecki, who can apparently hear everything going on in their apartment, and she didn't hear anything after Kathryn left. And everyone was accounted for that entered the building through the front door with the security camera."
"Maybe I should talked to Mrs. Kopeckie again? Maybe she didn't remember something."
"That's a good idea. I'll go with you," Jack said as he stood up.
At the Sampson building, Martin rode up in the elevator to the PI's office. He called before he left to make sure the Mr. Jamison was still there since it was already after 9 p.m. He entered the office and started to call out since there was no receptionist in the small waiting area. "Mr. Jamison...Mr. Jamison..."
A older man in his early fifties walked out of the back office. "Agent Fitzgerald?"
"Yes. I'm Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald with the FBI. I have a few questions for you."
"Shoot," Walter Jamison said as he sat down in a chair.
Martin sat down across from him and pulled out picture of Kathryn. "Have you seen this woman before?"
Walter took the picture and studied it for a moment, then he looked up at Martin with a guilty expression. "Yeah...I've seen her. That's Kathryn Taylor."
Martin wasn't prepared for such a quick admission. "When did you see her last?"
"Two days ago...she went into her father's Web publishing company."
"So you were following her?" Martin asked.
"Yeah...I've...uh...been following her off and on for about two years," Walter said with slight hesitation.