Jack returned to the office to find Samantha and Vivian in a flurry of activity especially considering it was two in the morning. "Anything new?" Jack asked as he walked into the bullpen.
"Yes, but first, tell us how Danny is doing?" asked Vivian.
"He is handling it better than I he has any right to. I think it helped that Kathryn's parents were there. He stayed strong for them."
"Well, I've been doing deep background on Kendall. You're going to find this interesting. Kendall married Meryl Whitney a year ago. They got married in a small ceremony two weeks after Danny and Kathryn got married. Nine months to the day they got married….they had a child. Now take a look at this," Vivian said as she handed Jack a photo. "It's Meryl Whitney Kendall. Look at her hair, her face….hell….she's even the same height as Kathryn. It's disturbing how much they look a like."
"Kendall married Meryl after Kathryn wasn't available anymore. He was trying to substitute for Kathryn. Maybe he was waiting for Kathryn to become completely available, but then she never did because she married Danny. And then eventually, the substitute wasn't good enough," Jack said as his mind raced with possibilities.
"I spoke to the secretary again. I don't know if it was the late hour or what, but she admitted that Kendall has a private entrance to his office. He could have left and returned without being seen, but she says that she did see him leave at noon for the lunch meeting. And we know he was at the Waldorf for lunch because we saw security video. So, I think he did it before noon. He grabbed her…maybe he drugged her…and then stashed her somewhere until he was done with work. We didn't talk to him until the next morning…that gave him plenty of time to…I don't even want to think about it," Samantha said as she closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Have we heard from Martin?" asked Jack.
"Yes. He called from Kendall's house. There hasn't been any movement since he saw Kendall enter the house around 11," replied Vivian.
Jack stood there and tried to put together all the pieces in his mind. Part of him thought that they should wait it out with Kendall, and eventually he would lead them to Kathryn. But what if Kendall was done with her, and she was dying or already dead.
"What else do we have on Kendall's background? Does he have a record or any old complaints against him?" Jack asked.
"Nothing. He's squeaky clean," Vivian replied.
Jack sighed. "Was Martin able to get anyone to identify him at the apartment building?"
"Yes. Everyone he showed the picture to recognized Kendall as the man who goes in and out of that apartment. He's definitely our guy, Jack." Samantha responded.
"Then I don't think we have a choice. We have to get a warrant to search his house and office. And bring him in for questioning. We can't wait anymore. Hell…she could be in his house for all we know."
Both Viv and Samantha nodded in agreement.
"Viv…wake up a judge. Get a warrant and then have a crime scene team meet us. Sam, let's go meet Martin at Kendall's home."
Viv picked up the phone as Samantha followed Jack out of the office.
An hour later, Jack, Martin and Samantha were waiting outside Kendall's house waiting for Jack's cell phone to ring. All three should have been extremely tired, but they were running on a nervous energy. Samantha jumped slightly at the shrill sound of Jack's cell phone. "Malone."
"Jack, we got it. We got the warrant. I'm headed over to Kendall's office now. A crime scene team is headed over to you," Viv said.
"Great. Thanks," Jack said and then hung up the phone. "We got it. Let's go. I'll talk to Kendall. You two start searching the house."
They all drew their guns as they approached the door, and then Jack rang the doorbell. After a few moments, the front porch light turned on as Kendall opened the door.
"Mr. Kendall, put your hands in the air and step back from the door," ordered Jack. "We have a warrant to search your house to investigate the disappearance of Kathryn Taylor."
Richard Kendall, a tall man in his mid-thirties with light brown hair, put his hands up and stepped away. "Whoa…whoa…what the hell is going on? I told you earlier…I don't know anything about Kathryn."
Jack, Martin and Samantha all entered the house. When they saw that Kendall wasn't armed, they put away their guns. "Yeah? Well you and I are going to talk about that while they search your house. Let's sit down."
Before Samantha left the room, she asked, "Mr. Kendall, where are your wife and daughter?"
"Uh…they are visiting her parents in Nantucket. They aren't here. Thank god…Meryl would be quite alarmed by this display."
"I bet she would," Samantha commented as she left the room.
"Where were you yesterday at 11 a.m.?" Jack asked.
"As I said earlier, I was in my office."
"You didn't leave out of your private office entrance?"
"No, I didn't," Kendall replied surprised that Jack knew about the entrance.
"Did anyone see you in your office? Your secretary says she didn't see you."
"I was alone doing paper work. That is not unusual, Agent Malone."
"Do you employ a private investigator, Mr. Kendall?"
"No, what on earth would I need a private investigator for?"
Jack laughed slightly and shook his head. "You are good, Mr. Kendall. I almost believe you and I know you are lying. How about Mrs. Kopeckie? She lives in Kathryn Taylor's apartment building. Do you know her?"
"This is ridiculous. Should I call my lawyer here? What are you accusing me of?"
"You have every right to an attorney, Mr. Kendall, but at this point, we are just talking. I just want to clear a few things up. That is all."
"I've never been in Kathryn's apartment building," Kendall replied tersely.
"OK…how about an apartment complex in New Jersey. Does that ring a bell?" Jack asked in an annoyed tone.
"No…"
"Well, they know you there, and so does Mrs. Kopeckie," Jack said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the sketch. "Are you going to continue to lie to me and tell me this isn't you?"
Richard took the sketched and glanced at it. "This could be anyone. I have one of those average faces, Agent Malone."
"Do you want to know what we found in that apartment in New Jersey?"
"Sure. Why not? I have nothing else better to do," Kendall said sarcastically.
"Some sick bastard put pictures up all over of Kathryn…from floor to ceiling. You want to know what we think of men who do things like that…men who become obsessed? They are weak, impotent men who can only get it up if they are in a fantasy…because they can't handle the real thing. You couldn't please Kathryn when you had her in the flesh so you spent the last five years fantasizing about her….until you just couldn't take it anymore," Jack said as he stared down Richard.
Richard broke from Jack's stare and looked at his feet. Then he started to laugh. "You are really off-base, Agent Malone. Kathryn and I had a good relationship with a healthy sex life, but it didn't work out. We've both moved on. I have a wife now and a beautiful daughter. Is it my fault that she left left her husband and child? Obviously, her husband was the one who couldn't satisfy her."
"Let's talk about your wife, Meryl, for a moment. Two years ago, her driver's license photo showed a plain looking young woman with brown hair and green eyes. I barely recognized her in her wedding photo…the blonde hair and blue contacts. Does Meryl know that she is Kathryn's replacement?"
"Who's the sick bastard now? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, Agent Malone."
Jack paused for a moment. Kendall wasn't going to be easy to break. Just as he was about to ask another question, Martin interrupted. "Jack."
"Don't go anywhere," Jack said as he rose and walked out to the foyer. "What do you got?"
"We just checked the trunk of his car. We found this stuck in the corner," Martin said as he held up a vintage, platinum locket on a long chain.
"Is it Kathryn's?"
Martin didn't answer. He just opened up the locket with his gloved hands to show two small pictures: one of Michael and one of Danny.
"Yes, but first, tell us how Danny is doing?" asked Vivian.
"He is handling it better than I he has any right to. I think it helped that Kathryn's parents were there. He stayed strong for them."
"Well, I've been doing deep background on Kendall. You're going to find this interesting. Kendall married Meryl Whitney a year ago. They got married in a small ceremony two weeks after Danny and Kathryn got married. Nine months to the day they got married….they had a child. Now take a look at this," Vivian said as she handed Jack a photo. "It's Meryl Whitney Kendall. Look at her hair, her face….hell….she's even the same height as Kathryn. It's disturbing how much they look a like."
"Kendall married Meryl after Kathryn wasn't available anymore. He was trying to substitute for Kathryn. Maybe he was waiting for Kathryn to become completely available, but then she never did because she married Danny. And then eventually, the substitute wasn't good enough," Jack said as his mind raced with possibilities.
"I spoke to the secretary again. I don't know if it was the late hour or what, but she admitted that Kendall has a private entrance to his office. He could have left and returned without being seen, but she says that she did see him leave at noon for the lunch meeting. And we know he was at the Waldorf for lunch because we saw security video. So, I think he did it before noon. He grabbed her…maybe he drugged her…and then stashed her somewhere until he was done with work. We didn't talk to him until the next morning…that gave him plenty of time to…I don't even want to think about it," Samantha said as she closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Have we heard from Martin?" asked Jack.
"Yes. He called from Kendall's house. There hasn't been any movement since he saw Kendall enter the house around 11," replied Vivian.
Jack stood there and tried to put together all the pieces in his mind. Part of him thought that they should wait it out with Kendall, and eventually he would lead them to Kathryn. But what if Kendall was done with her, and she was dying or already dead.
"What else do we have on Kendall's background? Does he have a record or any old complaints against him?" Jack asked.
"Nothing. He's squeaky clean," Vivian replied.
Jack sighed. "Was Martin able to get anyone to identify him at the apartment building?"
"Yes. Everyone he showed the picture to recognized Kendall as the man who goes in and out of that apartment. He's definitely our guy, Jack." Samantha responded.
"Then I don't think we have a choice. We have to get a warrant to search his house and office. And bring him in for questioning. We can't wait anymore. Hell…she could be in his house for all we know."
Both Viv and Samantha nodded in agreement.
"Viv…wake up a judge. Get a warrant and then have a crime scene team meet us. Sam, let's go meet Martin at Kendall's home."
Viv picked up the phone as Samantha followed Jack out of the office.
An hour later, Jack, Martin and Samantha were waiting outside Kendall's house waiting for Jack's cell phone to ring. All three should have been extremely tired, but they were running on a nervous energy. Samantha jumped slightly at the shrill sound of Jack's cell phone. "Malone."
"Jack, we got it. We got the warrant. I'm headed over to Kendall's office now. A crime scene team is headed over to you," Viv said.
"Great. Thanks," Jack said and then hung up the phone. "We got it. Let's go. I'll talk to Kendall. You two start searching the house."
They all drew their guns as they approached the door, and then Jack rang the doorbell. After a few moments, the front porch light turned on as Kendall opened the door.
"Mr. Kendall, put your hands in the air and step back from the door," ordered Jack. "We have a warrant to search your house to investigate the disappearance of Kathryn Taylor."
Richard Kendall, a tall man in his mid-thirties with light brown hair, put his hands up and stepped away. "Whoa…whoa…what the hell is going on? I told you earlier…I don't know anything about Kathryn."
Jack, Martin and Samantha all entered the house. When they saw that Kendall wasn't armed, they put away their guns. "Yeah? Well you and I are going to talk about that while they search your house. Let's sit down."
Before Samantha left the room, she asked, "Mr. Kendall, where are your wife and daughter?"
"Uh…they are visiting her parents in Nantucket. They aren't here. Thank god…Meryl would be quite alarmed by this display."
"I bet she would," Samantha commented as she left the room.
"Where were you yesterday at 11 a.m.?" Jack asked.
"As I said earlier, I was in my office."
"You didn't leave out of your private office entrance?"
"No, I didn't," Kendall replied surprised that Jack knew about the entrance.
"Did anyone see you in your office? Your secretary says she didn't see you."
"I was alone doing paper work. That is not unusual, Agent Malone."
"Do you employ a private investigator, Mr. Kendall?"
"No, what on earth would I need a private investigator for?"
Jack laughed slightly and shook his head. "You are good, Mr. Kendall. I almost believe you and I know you are lying. How about Mrs. Kopeckie? She lives in Kathryn Taylor's apartment building. Do you know her?"
"This is ridiculous. Should I call my lawyer here? What are you accusing me of?"
"You have every right to an attorney, Mr. Kendall, but at this point, we are just talking. I just want to clear a few things up. That is all."
"I've never been in Kathryn's apartment building," Kendall replied tersely.
"OK…how about an apartment complex in New Jersey. Does that ring a bell?" Jack asked in an annoyed tone.
"No…"
"Well, they know you there, and so does Mrs. Kopeckie," Jack said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the sketch. "Are you going to continue to lie to me and tell me this isn't you?"
Richard took the sketched and glanced at it. "This could be anyone. I have one of those average faces, Agent Malone."
"Do you want to know what we found in that apartment in New Jersey?"
"Sure. Why not? I have nothing else better to do," Kendall said sarcastically.
"Some sick bastard put pictures up all over of Kathryn…from floor to ceiling. You want to know what we think of men who do things like that…men who become obsessed? They are weak, impotent men who can only get it up if they are in a fantasy…because they can't handle the real thing. You couldn't please Kathryn when you had her in the flesh so you spent the last five years fantasizing about her….until you just couldn't take it anymore," Jack said as he stared down Richard.
Richard broke from Jack's stare and looked at his feet. Then he started to laugh. "You are really off-base, Agent Malone. Kathryn and I had a good relationship with a healthy sex life, but it didn't work out. We've both moved on. I have a wife now and a beautiful daughter. Is it my fault that she left left her husband and child? Obviously, her husband was the one who couldn't satisfy her."
"Let's talk about your wife, Meryl, for a moment. Two years ago, her driver's license photo showed a plain looking young woman with brown hair and green eyes. I barely recognized her in her wedding photo…the blonde hair and blue contacts. Does Meryl know that she is Kathryn's replacement?"
"Who's the sick bastard now? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, Agent Malone."
Jack paused for a moment. Kendall wasn't going to be easy to break. Just as he was about to ask another question, Martin interrupted. "Jack."
"Don't go anywhere," Jack said as he rose and walked out to the foyer. "What do you got?"
"We just checked the trunk of his car. We found this stuck in the corner," Martin said as he held up a vintage, platinum locket on a long chain.
"Is it Kathryn's?"
Martin didn't answer. He just opened up the locket with his gloved hands to show two small pictures: one of Michael and one of Danny.