Chapter 17: Deception
Just over an hour later, the three of them emerged from the office and Jodie turned to the couple beside her.
"Well, after speaking with the two of you, I can definitely say that I feel confident recommending you as adoptive parents." Sue grasped Jack's arm, her eyes lighting up. "Now, I still have to speak with my colleagues and go over your case with them, but I don't think you have a thing to worry about," Jodie said to the now-beaming pair.
"Thank-you so much for seeing us, Jodie," Jack told her. "When do you think you'll have news for us?"
"I'll speak with my colleagues later today and we'll make our decision in the next day or two. You'll know as soon as I do," Jodie promised.
"We appreciate that," Sue said gratefully.
"Well, you appear to have a very stable marriage and are obviously very much in love," Jodie observed. "I have no doubt that you have a lot of love to give to a child as well." Sue gazed into Jack's dark eyes, at a loss for words. Out of all the undercover situations that she'd been involved in, she'd never been in one that wreaked havoc with her emotions like this one was. Her mind had suddenly gone blank and she was thankful that she wasn't in this alone.
"That's all we really want. Sue and I are very happy already but we know that a child to love would make our lives more complete," Jack replied, smiling softly at the look in Sue's eyes. He could tell she was deeply moved by this whole situation but was trying desperately not to show her true emotions in front of Jodie. When they had first gone undercover, they had both been concerned that they wouldn't be able to pull it off. Now Jack was thinking that it was going a little too well. Obviously Sue was also having trouble keeping her heart out of the situation. Jodie cleared her throat and Jack nodded in her direction so that Sue would know she was about to speak.
"I want you both to know that I'll do everything I can to make that happen for you. I really need to get to another appointment right now, but I'll be in touch," Jodie told them. "Let me show you out."
"Actually, would you mind telling me where to find the ladies' room?" Sue asked. Jodie nodded.
"Certainly. Just go down that hallway," Jodie told her, pointing. "Go around the corner and it's the third door on the left."
Thank you, Sue signed.
"Is that the sign for thank you?" Jodie asked her. Sue nodded. "How do you sign, 'you're welcome'?" Smiling, Sue formed her right hand into a flat five, holding it in front of the middle of her chest. She then arced it slightly downward and drew it to the top of her stomach. Jodie mimicked the sign, doing it a couple of times before Sue nodded that she had it right. "It was really great to meet the two of you; you'll be hearing from me soon," Jodie assured them with a smile. She went back into her office, closing the door, and Sue turned to Jack.
"I'm just going to go and find the bathroom; I'll be right back."
"I'll be here," Jack told her, squeezing her hand. Sue smiled nervously at him and started down the hallway Jodie had pointed out.
Wandering through the halls of the agency, Sue studied the various works of art that hung on the walls. Lucy would like some of these, she thought to herself. Most of them were quite abstract, not Sue's taste at all. She was trying to appear casual in case someone who worked there spotted her, but so far she hadn't seen a single soul. If anyone approached her and asked her what she was doing, she would claim to be lost. At this point, she had turned so many corners since she had passed by the ladies' room that she truly felt lost. She'd been paying attention to the room numbers, though, and was confident she'd be able to find her way back without difficulty.
Sue yearned to be done with this case and back in her comfort zone. It wasn't just the fact that she and Jack had to pretend to be a married couple deeply in love, while at the same time keeping their real feelings at bay. She was tired of hiding her feelings for him; it was becoming more and more difficult, living in such close quarters. There was also this case, which was breaking her heart. Her emotions had been on a roller-coaster ride, and Sue had to admit that it was leaving her feeling drained. All she felt like doing right now was going home, curling up in her bed and taking a nice long nap. Sue's mind began to wander even further from her task and she forced herself to concentrate.
It felt like she'd been walking for miles, and Sue began to lose some of the hope she'd felt when she'd first left Jack. Aside from the pictures on the walls, every hallway was exactly the same as the one before it. Other than being numbered, the doors she had passed were all nondescript and she had no way of discerning which ones were offices and which ones might be file-rooms. She felt frustrated and decided that she might as well try to find her way back. Just as she was about to head in the opposite direction, she saw a door at the end of the hallway with a small windowpane on the top of it. Sue walked over to it and stood on her tiptoes, peering through the window. She could see a stairwell leading down and reached for the doorknob, feeling her heart skip a beat as the door opened easily. Finally, she was making some progress!
Sue looked behind her to make sure that no one was coming, and stepped through the open door. She carefully pulled the heavy door closed behind her, hoping that any noise she was making wasn't enough to attract attention. Her heart thudded in her chest as she made her way down the stairwell. When Sue reached the bottom, she only hesitated for a moment before slowly opening the door in front of her, revealing a long hallway. At the end of it was another door with a big sign that read EMPLOYEES ONLY. Sue strongly suspected that going through that doorway would reveal some of the answers they were looking for. There was also a strong possibility that she would be discovered the moment she did. Taking a deep breath, Sue reached for the door handle and stepped into the other room. She looked around in surprise at the sight in front of her, but before she could do anything more, a strong pair of arms gripped her by the shoulders.
Sue spun around and found herself face to face with a short bearded man wearing a white doctor's coat. He appeared none too pleased to find her there, and while he wasn't very large, his grip on her shoulders had been strong. "I said, what are you doing in here?" he asked her. Sue was glad that his beard wasn't heavy. If she hadn't been able to read his lips then she would have really been in trouble.
"I'm sorry, but if you were speaking to me before, I didn't hear you. I'm deaf," Sue told him, hoping her voice didn't sound shaky. He had beady little eyes that seemed to bore into her very soul, and his anger at finding her there was very apparent.
"Then how do you know what I'm saying?" he demanded, looking at her suspiciously.
"I read lips," Sue explained quietly.
"Why are you in here?" he asked again. Taking her by the arm, he escorted her back into the hallway and up the stairs. Sue noticed he handled her gently and didn't appear to be angry anymore. The apprehension and fear she'd been feeling were slowly replaced by curiosity.
"My husband and I were here for an interview today," Sue explained. "I needed to use the ladies' room. I guess I got a little lost," she admitted sheepishly.
"That's an understatement. Why did you come downstairs?" the man wanted to know.
"I thought maybe it would lead outside. That would be easier than finding my way back through the maze of hallways. I never expected an adoption agency would be so large," Sue commented.
"Well, there's a lot that goes on with the process of adoption, and we handle a large number of them. I'm Dr. Marsh by the way, but you can call me John." He stopped and extended his hand to her.
Sue reached out to shake his hand. "I'm Sue Hudson," she replied. "I must admit, I'm kind of surprised that they have a doctor on the premises. I felt like I'd stepped into a hospital back there."
"Well, some of the children who are adopted come from foster homes; others are abandoned. We need to check them over and make sure they're healthy before they're eligible for adoption through this agency," John told her.
"That's good to know," Sue said with a smile as they stepped out of the stairwell and re-entered the main floor of the agency. "My husband and I are hoping to become adoptive parents soon and we certainly want our baby to be healthy."
"Of course," John agreed. "And you have nothing to worry about, Sue. Every baby that is adopted through this agency is checked over by me personally," he assured her, flashing her a smile. There was something very phony about this man, right down to his cheesy grin. He seemed harmless enough, but there was something in his eyes that made her feel he was less than genuine in his concern for the children. She was sure he was hiding something and wished she knew what it was. He made her feel very uneasy and was now eyeing her in a way that made her skin crawl. When he spoke to her, his eyes rarely rested on her face.
"I'm glad to know that," she replied. "I'm sure I can find my way back from here. I know my husband must be wondering where I am."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Definitely. Thanks for helping me, though. And I'm sorry to have disturbed you." All Sue wanted right now was to get as far away from this man as possible.
"No, no. You didn't disturb me at all. You turned out to be a welcome distraction, Sue," John assured her, smiling again. "Good luck with your adoption. Hopefully I'll see you again very soon." Sue nodded at him and quickly walked away, feeling his eyes on her as she did.
When Sue rounded the corner she was surprised to see Jack waiting right where she'd left him with Ronna standing beside him. "There you are! I was starting to get worried," he said, coming over and putting his arm around her. "I looked around for you myself but I couldn't find you anywhere."
"I got a little lost," Sue admitted, looking embarrassed. "There are a lot of corridors in this place!" she said with a laugh. She basked in the feeling of Jack's arm around her waist. His comfortable presence made her feel safe and helped her get her mind off the creepy way Dr. Marsh had been looking at her.
"Well you're right about that," Ronna agreed. "We were about ready to send out a search party for you," she joked. Sue smiled, wondering if Ronna was involved in the kidnapping scheme or if she was innocent in all of this. Unlike the good doctor, Ronna seemed very sincere. Then again, so many seemingly good people were involved in this mess. Nothing would surprise Sue at this point.
"Luckily that wasn't necessary," Sue said with a smile. "Are you ready to go?" she asked Jack.
"I'd say we've been here long enough, wouldn't you, sweetie?" Jack replied, grinning at her.
"Sure, rub it in!" Sue playfully swatted him in the chest and then turned to Ronna. "He thinks he's a comedian," she said with an affectionate smile at Jack. After saying goodbye to Ronna, Jack and Sue left the agency. They waited until they'd gotten into the car before they turned to each other, both eager to know what the other had found out.
"A quick search revealed the fact that Dr. John Marsh does not exist," Tara announced to the team, minus D, gathered in the bullpen. "However, on a hunch, Sue and I went through pictures of all of the doctors who work at the same hospital as Mary Ryan," she said, sharing a smile with Sue. "And Sue has identified the man she saw as one Dr. John Lee."
"What kind of incriminating information have you been able to uncover on Dr. Lee?" Myles asked. "Please tell me this is a break."
"We can't say that yet, I'm afraid," Tara replied. "Right now we've got no proof that he's involved in any way with illegal adoptions, let alone the kidnappings themselves."
"The fact that he's using an alias pretty much tells us he's guilty of something," Sue commented. "Plus, he just gave me the creeps," she added with a shiver, remembering the way the doctor had looked at her in the hall.
"If only that would hold up in court," Myles retorted wryly, leaning back in his chair with his hands laced together behind his head. "It's just too bad neither of you found any incriminating paperwork. Any documentation at all would have been helpful," he repeated, resting his eyes on Jack. "At least Sue ran into the doctor, which is something."
Thank you, M-Y-L-E-S, Sue signed with a smile. Myles smiled back at her, giving her a small nod.
"Well, I'm sorry to have disappointed you, Myles," Jack said sarcastically. "I had every intention of looking around but I hadn't made it very far before Ronna tracked me down. There wasn't much I could do at that point," Jack protested.
"Yes, apparently Ronna has her eye on my husband. She'll be thrilled to know our marriage is a fraud," Sue said, winking at Jack who shook his head at her. "If she doesn't end up in jail when this is all over maybe you two could go out sometime." She laughed at Jack's exasperated expression.
Bobby waved to get Sue's attention. "Tsk, tsk Sparky!" he chided his good friend. "The least you could do is wait until this marriage is over before you start looking for other women." Sue continued to laugh, looking over at Jack again, who simply rolled his eyes.
"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," Jack told him. "Now, Sue, you and I should get going. We've got to speak with Maura before Mary and Sam get home from work. Hopefully she'll be able to give us more information on the adoptions of Kyle and Kevin. If we can get proof that those boys were kidnapped, it'll be enough for a warrant for Sam and Mary's arrest." Sue nodded her agreement.
"That would be great. I'm sure our application for adoption will be approved, but if we could just get a confession from Mary it would be a lot faster," she reasoned.
"So, should we be shopping for pink or blue?" Bobby asked them teasingly.
"Pink or blue?" Sue asked him in confusion. She glanced at Jack for clarification; seeing the amused expression on his face, she realized what Bobby was trying to say. She looked at him in amused disbelief but decided to play along. "If you really feel the need to shop for baby things, why not stick with white, or green? That way it's gender-neutral," she retorted cheekily. Bobby roared with laughter.
"We'll be sure to keep you posted," Jack said with a mischievous grin.
"Thanks Sparky. Uncle Crash is eager to start spoiling your little rugrat," Bobby replied, seeming to enjoy the game he was playing. Sue laughed, looking at Jack with wide eyes.
"It's okay, honey. We won't be leaving our little rugrat with Uncle Crash anytime soon," Jack reassured her.
"I think everyone's losing their grip on reality," Myles interjected. "Let's not forget that we're trying to find kidnapped babies here."
"Lighten up, Myles," Lucy told him, her voice surprisingly gentle. "Bobby was just having some fun."
"Myles is right, though. We have to get to the bottom of this before the kidnappers strike again," Sue said. No one could disagree with that. "You ready to go?" she asked Jack. He nodded and the two of them bid the rest of the group farewell before leaving the bullpen together.