Danny and Kathryn were standing in the doorway of Michael's room watching him sleep. Kathryn leaned back into Danny's chest as he held her around her waist. "He looks so much like you when he sleeps. He's got that goofy little grin and everything. It must be genetic or something," she said as she turned around to face him. When she looked up into his eyes, he leaned down and kissed her softly. Then he took her took her by the hand and led her into the bedroom.
There was a slow song playing on the radio. He took her in his arms and they danced. She leaned against him allowing Danny to support her body with his arms. He pulled her as close as possible and whispered, "I love you" in her ear.
After a few moments she became restless in his arms. She quickly pushed him away. "No you don't. You don't love me. If you really loved me then you would find me. If you really loved me then you wouldn't have doubted that I was missing. Do you want to know what is happening to me? I'm dying, Danny. I'm going to die because you can't find me. You're too late," she screamed as she started to run for the door.
Before she could reach the door, Danny grabbed her arm. "Wait...," he said desperately but she just faded away into the darkness.
The next thing Danny knew he was running. He didn't know where he was or where he was running to, but he had to find her. There wasn't any time. She was dying. Then he started to hear her voice. She was calling his name and pleading with him to find her. "He's hurting me, Danny. Please find me." The words kept coming. There was a terror in her voice he had never heard before.
The sound of her voice led him to a patch of freshly turned soil. It looked like someone had just been buried. Her voice was coming from deep under the soil. He started to dig with his hands. He was digging and digging...trying to get her out as her voice continued through his head. And then he heard the ringing...high pitched ringing that was drowning out her voice. He couldn't hear her anymore. He could only hear the ringing...over and over and over.
Danny shot up and looked around his living room in a cold sweat. He couldn't catch his breath. He looked around the room hoping to see her, or to hear her voice, but he only heard the ring of his cell phone. "What?" he answered breathlessly.
"Danny? It's Jack. Are you OK?"
"I'm...uh...I don't know. I was sleeping...I guess. What's going on? Have you found her?"
"No, but we do have a pretty good lead. Danny, I want you to listen to me. You have to stay where you are and let us take care of this. I want to be honest with you, but if I can't trust that you will stay there then I can't tell you anything. Do you understand?"
Danny tried to take a couple of deep breaths. He rubbed his eyes and tried to concentrate on Jack's words. "Just tell me what is going on. I'll do whatever you want me to do."
"We traced the van to a PI. Someone has been having Kathryn followed off and on for the last two years. The PI has never seen the man who is paying him to do this. The PI drops off the photos at an apartment building in New Jersey and then he picks up the money. We couldn't trace his phone, so we are headed out to this apartment building to check it out."
"Photos? Someone is paying this PI to take photos of Kathryn....for two years. What the hell? I would have noticed. I would have..."
"Not necessarily. The PI uses a telephoto lens. He was extra careful when you were around Kathryn. And it wasn't all the time. It's been every couple of months."
"Who...who would do this? I don't understand, Jack."
"Probably, some sort of stalker. It could be someone she's prosecuted, or just somone who saw her and became infatuated. You know how this works, Danny. Whoever it is...they have a lot of money to burn on this. We are headed out there now. And there is one more thing..." Jack said hesitantly.
"What is it?" Danny asked wearily.
"Mrs. Kopeckie, your neighbor, is working with a sketch artist right now. She's been letting a bogus exterminator in her bedroom. We think that he used her apartment to gain access to your place. That's why the piece of luggage was missing. What we don't know is whether this stalker hired someone else to do it or did it himself. We know it wasn't the PI. We are close Danny. We are going to find her," Jack said hopefully.
"Call me as soon as you know anything else," Danny said quietly.
"I will. I promise. Just stay put."
When Jack hung up the phone, Vivian asked, "How did he take it?"
"I don't know. I don't know if I should have told him or not. He's just going to stress over this now."
"He was already doing that, Jack. It's better to keep him informed."
Jack just nodded as they followed Martin, Samantha, and Jamison to the apartment building.
After about twenty more minutes of driving, they pulled into a large commercial apartment complex. They parked in front of a bank of mailboxes. They all exited the cars, and Jamison said, "It's #52 but he's probably already picked up the latest pictures." He then handed Martin the key. Martin took the key and opened the mailbox using latex gloves.
"Nothing," he called out. "How do we find out what apartment this box goes to?"
"I'm on it," Samantha said, "We need to talk to an apartment manager. There is one on-site in apartment 3911D. It's late...so hopefully he or she is home sleeping." They got back in the cars and drove around until they found 3911D.
Samantha went up to the door and knocked. A wearing-looking young woman opened the door as Samantha flashed her badge. Jack looked on from the car as the woman brought a long list to the door. Samantha wrote down some information, and took a key from the woman. Then she came back to the cars. "The mailbox is for apartment 2206C. It right up the road here. The renter's name is Brian Reynolds. She says she has no idea who he is. She's never seen the tenant who lives there."
"OK...let's go," Jack said as they continued to drive to 2206C.
When they drove up to the dark apartment building, they all exited the cars except for Jamison. They quietly walked up to the door and drew their guns. Martin had a heavy-duty flashlight. Samantha put the key in the door and Jack called out, "FBI." And then they all entered the dark apartment. VIvian quickly searched for a light switch but couldn't find one. Martin dashed through the apartment to make sure no one was in there. Jack pulled out his small flashlight and turned it on to look for a lamp.
Martin came back into the main room, and called out, "Clear. There's noone back there."
"Where are the damn lights in this place?" Jack asked in exasperation as Samantha finally found a light switch in the kitchen.
When she hit it, they all took a few seconds to adjust their eyes. And then they all became overwhelmed as they looked at the walls in the apartment. The walls were covered floor to ceiling with pictures of Kathryn. Some of them were blown up. There were pictures of her outside the DA's office, her home, the grocery store...everywhere. There were pictures with her and Danny both and many with Michael. There was barely any blank wall space. They walked around the apartment in disbelief as they all put on latex gloves.
Samantha walked backed into the bedroom and gasped, "Oh my god."
Jack quickly followed. "What is it?"
Samantha covered her mouth as she looked at large photos of Kathryn and Danny. They were embracing and kissing, but in each photo Danny's face was marked out in bright red paint. "This is sick. Their whole life together, and it hasn't been theirs. This man has been with them the whole time." She then walked over and looked through a box on the bed. "He's definitely been in their apartment. There are earrings, her lingerie, a t-shirt..."
"Trophies...he's collecting things of hers to try to make up for not having her. I guess the trophies weren't enough," Jack said quietly.
"Guys, come take a look at this," Viv called out. She was standing in front of the wall in the living room. "These are old photos. Look...it's her college graduation...school dances...even the wedding she called off. This person has been in her life for a while or he somehow has access to original photos. These aren't copies."
"So, it's probably not someone she prosecuted. We are going to have to question her parents more thoroughly. It's got to be someone in her past," Jack said.
Martin came in from the kitchen. "I...uh...I found a digital video camera in the kitchen. He has a USB cable...so he may have uploaded something from the camera to a laptop maybe? I don't see a computer here. He did tell Jamison that he wanted him to put a camera in their apartment," Martin said in an uncomfortable tone.
"Is the footage still on the camera?" Viv asked.
"I don't know. I didn't want to be the one to look," Martin replied.
"I'll check it out. We need to know what he has one way or the other," Viv said as she went to the kitchen. She turned the camera's power on and looked at the playback display as she rewinded the camera. "It's not in their apartment," she called out. "It shows Danny and Kathryn outside an office building in Manhattan sitting on a park bench. It looks like it is fairly recent."
"OK...Martin call a crime scene team...get them out here ASAP. You coordinate with them here and talk to the neighbors. See if you can get a description of this guy. Viv and Sam, come back to office with me and let's bring that video camera with us. Hopefully, Mrs. Kopeckie has a good sketch for us."
Jack didn't call Danny to tell him about the pictures. He just wasn't sure if Danny could handle anymore bad news. Jack worried because now he knew that Kathryn was in the hands of someone who has been obsessed with her for a very long time. And he couldn't imagine anything more dangerous.
After they got back to the office, Samantha went to follow up on the sketch and Vivian brought Jamison to conference room and asked him to wait until they were sure he wasn't involved. Jack went into his office to start the process of documenting what they just witnessed in that apartment. As he sat in front of his computer still reeling from all the photos in the apartment, Samantha burst into the office with the sketch in hand. "Jack...you won't believe this. We know this guy."
There was a slow song playing on the radio. He took her in his arms and they danced. She leaned against him allowing Danny to support her body with his arms. He pulled her as close as possible and whispered, "I love you" in her ear.
After a few moments she became restless in his arms. She quickly pushed him away. "No you don't. You don't love me. If you really loved me then you would find me. If you really loved me then you wouldn't have doubted that I was missing. Do you want to know what is happening to me? I'm dying, Danny. I'm going to die because you can't find me. You're too late," she screamed as she started to run for the door.
Before she could reach the door, Danny grabbed her arm. "Wait...," he said desperately but she just faded away into the darkness.
The next thing Danny knew he was running. He didn't know where he was or where he was running to, but he had to find her. There wasn't any time. She was dying. Then he started to hear her voice. She was calling his name and pleading with him to find her. "He's hurting me, Danny. Please find me." The words kept coming. There was a terror in her voice he had never heard before.
The sound of her voice led him to a patch of freshly turned soil. It looked like someone had just been buried. Her voice was coming from deep under the soil. He started to dig with his hands. He was digging and digging...trying to get her out as her voice continued through his head. And then he heard the ringing...high pitched ringing that was drowning out her voice. He couldn't hear her anymore. He could only hear the ringing...over and over and over.
Danny shot up and looked around his living room in a cold sweat. He couldn't catch his breath. He looked around the room hoping to see her, or to hear her voice, but he only heard the ring of his cell phone. "What?" he answered breathlessly.
"Danny? It's Jack. Are you OK?"
"I'm...uh...I don't know. I was sleeping...I guess. What's going on? Have you found her?"
"No, but we do have a pretty good lead. Danny, I want you to listen to me. You have to stay where you are and let us take care of this. I want to be honest with you, but if I can't trust that you will stay there then I can't tell you anything. Do you understand?"
Danny tried to take a couple of deep breaths. He rubbed his eyes and tried to concentrate on Jack's words. "Just tell me what is going on. I'll do whatever you want me to do."
"We traced the van to a PI. Someone has been having Kathryn followed off and on for the last two years. The PI has never seen the man who is paying him to do this. The PI drops off the photos at an apartment building in New Jersey and then he picks up the money. We couldn't trace his phone, so we are headed out to this apartment building to check it out."
"Photos? Someone is paying this PI to take photos of Kathryn....for two years. What the hell? I would have noticed. I would have..."
"Not necessarily. The PI uses a telephoto lens. He was extra careful when you were around Kathryn. And it wasn't all the time. It's been every couple of months."
"Who...who would do this? I don't understand, Jack."
"Probably, some sort of stalker. It could be someone she's prosecuted, or just somone who saw her and became infatuated. You know how this works, Danny. Whoever it is...they have a lot of money to burn on this. We are headed out there now. And there is one more thing..." Jack said hesitantly.
"What is it?" Danny asked wearily.
"Mrs. Kopeckie, your neighbor, is working with a sketch artist right now. She's been letting a bogus exterminator in her bedroom. We think that he used her apartment to gain access to your place. That's why the piece of luggage was missing. What we don't know is whether this stalker hired someone else to do it or did it himself. We know it wasn't the PI. We are close Danny. We are going to find her," Jack said hopefully.
"Call me as soon as you know anything else," Danny said quietly.
"I will. I promise. Just stay put."
When Jack hung up the phone, Vivian asked, "How did he take it?"
"I don't know. I don't know if I should have told him or not. He's just going to stress over this now."
"He was already doing that, Jack. It's better to keep him informed."
Jack just nodded as they followed Martin, Samantha, and Jamison to the apartment building.
After about twenty more minutes of driving, they pulled into a large commercial apartment complex. They parked in front of a bank of mailboxes. They all exited the cars, and Jamison said, "It's #52 but he's probably already picked up the latest pictures." He then handed Martin the key. Martin took the key and opened the mailbox using latex gloves.
"Nothing," he called out. "How do we find out what apartment this box goes to?"
"I'm on it," Samantha said, "We need to talk to an apartment manager. There is one on-site in apartment 3911D. It's late...so hopefully he or she is home sleeping." They got back in the cars and drove around until they found 3911D.
Samantha went up to the door and knocked. A wearing-looking young woman opened the door as Samantha flashed her badge. Jack looked on from the car as the woman brought a long list to the door. Samantha wrote down some information, and took a key from the woman. Then she came back to the cars. "The mailbox is for apartment 2206C. It right up the road here. The renter's name is Brian Reynolds. She says she has no idea who he is. She's never seen the tenant who lives there."
"OK...let's go," Jack said as they continued to drive to 2206C.
When they drove up to the dark apartment building, they all exited the cars except for Jamison. They quietly walked up to the door and drew their guns. Martin had a heavy-duty flashlight. Samantha put the key in the door and Jack called out, "FBI." And then they all entered the dark apartment. VIvian quickly searched for a light switch but couldn't find one. Martin dashed through the apartment to make sure no one was in there. Jack pulled out his small flashlight and turned it on to look for a lamp.
Martin came back into the main room, and called out, "Clear. There's noone back there."
"Where are the damn lights in this place?" Jack asked in exasperation as Samantha finally found a light switch in the kitchen.
When she hit it, they all took a few seconds to adjust their eyes. And then they all became overwhelmed as they looked at the walls in the apartment. The walls were covered floor to ceiling with pictures of Kathryn. Some of them were blown up. There were pictures of her outside the DA's office, her home, the grocery store...everywhere. There were pictures with her and Danny both and many with Michael. There was barely any blank wall space. They walked around the apartment in disbelief as they all put on latex gloves.
Samantha walked backed into the bedroom and gasped, "Oh my god."
Jack quickly followed. "What is it?"
Samantha covered her mouth as she looked at large photos of Kathryn and Danny. They were embracing and kissing, but in each photo Danny's face was marked out in bright red paint. "This is sick. Their whole life together, and it hasn't been theirs. This man has been with them the whole time." She then walked over and looked through a box on the bed. "He's definitely been in their apartment. There are earrings, her lingerie, a t-shirt..."
"Trophies...he's collecting things of hers to try to make up for not having her. I guess the trophies weren't enough," Jack said quietly.
"Guys, come take a look at this," Viv called out. She was standing in front of the wall in the living room. "These are old photos. Look...it's her college graduation...school dances...even the wedding she called off. This person has been in her life for a while or he somehow has access to original photos. These aren't copies."
"So, it's probably not someone she prosecuted. We are going to have to question her parents more thoroughly. It's got to be someone in her past," Jack said.
Martin came in from the kitchen. "I...uh...I found a digital video camera in the kitchen. He has a USB cable...so he may have uploaded something from the camera to a laptop maybe? I don't see a computer here. He did tell Jamison that he wanted him to put a camera in their apartment," Martin said in an uncomfortable tone.
"Is the footage still on the camera?" Viv asked.
"I don't know. I didn't want to be the one to look," Martin replied.
"I'll check it out. We need to know what he has one way or the other," Viv said as she went to the kitchen. She turned the camera's power on and looked at the playback display as she rewinded the camera. "It's not in their apartment," she called out. "It shows Danny and Kathryn outside an office building in Manhattan sitting on a park bench. It looks like it is fairly recent."
"OK...Martin call a crime scene team...get them out here ASAP. You coordinate with them here and talk to the neighbors. See if you can get a description of this guy. Viv and Sam, come back to office with me and let's bring that video camera with us. Hopefully, Mrs. Kopeckie has a good sketch for us."
Jack didn't call Danny to tell him about the pictures. He just wasn't sure if Danny could handle anymore bad news. Jack worried because now he knew that Kathryn was in the hands of someone who has been obsessed with her for a very long time. And he couldn't imagine anything more dangerous.
After they got back to the office, Samantha went to follow up on the sketch and Vivian brought Jamison to conference room and asked him to wait until they were sure he wasn't involved. Jack went into his office to start the process of documenting what they just witnessed in that apartment. As he sat in front of his computer still reeling from all the photos in the apartment, Samantha burst into the office with the sketch in hand. "Jack...you won't believe this. We know this guy."