"Are you okay?" Samantha asked as they got in the car to go to Kelly Carmichael's house.
"I'm fine," Danny replied in a short tone.
"I can understand that it would be hard to see her again. I know when you found her, she was in bad shape."
"It's not that. It's…it's nothing. It's just a waste of time and resources. Kelly Carmichael is no threat. I'm pretty sure you could handle bringing her in on your own."
"I think Jack just wants her to feel comfortable…to feel safe. And he probably just assumes that she would feel the safest with you…because you found her."
Danny looked to the road and shook his head pensively. "I don't think that matters anymore," he said as he started to drive toward the Carmichael residence.
They drove in relative silence. Samantha felt a little strange because usually Danny was more talkative…usually he talked too much. He was the one who didn't like uncomfortable silences. But she didn't push it. She just racked her brain trying to refresh her memory of the three year old case.
Danny pulled into the gate of the huge Hamptons estate. The Carmichaels were an old money New York family. Mr. Carmichael was a mogul in Manhattan real estate. Kelly Carmichael's last known address was with her parents.
After Samantha rang the doorbell, a maid answered the door. "Hi. We're with the FBI, and we are looking for Kelly Carmichael."
The maid inspected their badges thoroughly and then she responded, "She doesn't live here anymore. She moved out about a year ago."
"Do you have a current address for her?" Danny asked.
"No. I don't. Mrs. Carmichael doesn't give Kelly's address to anyone."
"Can we speak with Mrs. Carmichael?" Samantha asked.
"Please come in," she answered and then walked down the hall.
Danny and Samantha waited in the opulent foyer. "If she's moved out of her parent's house, maybe that means she been able to move on from the whole trauma," Samantha said as she surveyed their surroundings.
Danny nodded and then replied quietly. "It's too bad we have to drag her back in to it now."
A moment later, Mrs. Carmichael entered the foyer. "Beth says you are looking for Kelly. What's this about?"
Samantha noticed that Mrs. Carmichael's eyes went directly to Danny, and she had an almost angry tone.
Samantha started. "Mrs. Carmichael, we need to speak with Kelly right away. It's concerning her case."
"Kelly is finally getting her life on track. She is finally turning the corner. Why are you bothering her now?" Mrs. Carmichael asked as she continued to glare at Danny.
Samantha waited a beat for Danny to jump in, but he didn't say anything. So she continued. "We need to speak to her regarding a federal investigation. We can't give you specific details, but it is imperative that we speak to her."
Mrs. Carmichael finally looked at Samantha. "Can you assure me that she will be kept safe? Can you assure me that her privacy will not be compromised?"
"Yes, ma'am. We promise she will be safe with us," Samantha answered still bewildered by Danny's silence.
"She purchased a loft last year in Greenwich Village. The loft is actually in her father's name. All of her mail still comes here. Very few people know that she lives there, and we'd like to keep it that way," Mrs. Carmichael responded as she glanced at Danny again.
"We need the exact address," Danny finally said quietly.
Just as he spoke, Samantha's cell phone rang. "Excuse me," she said as she walked away.
Mrs. Carmichael walked over to a bureau, opened a drawer, and pulled out a pen and paper. She wrote down the address and handed it to Danny. "Do you really think you are helping Kelly by seeing her, Danny?"
"Mrs. Carmichael…"
"She is doing well now. She's happier than I've seen her in a long time."
"If there was some way we could do this without involving her, believe me, I wouldn't be here. But it's possible that another girl has been taken by the same man. Right now, Kelly is our only hope."
"That doesn't explain why you have to be the one to talk to her," she whispered.
Danny sighed and motioned toward Samantha. "I didn't have much of a choice, but I'll make sure that Agent Spade talks to her."
"Fair enough."
"Thank you, Mrs. Carmichael," Danny said curtly as he started to walk toward Samantha just as she was closing her phone. "I got the address. Let's go."
"Okay," she replied still a bit confused as he guided her out the door.
Once they settled back into the car and Danny was driving back to town, Samantha asked, "What was up with Mrs. Carmichael? She seemed almost angry with you."
"I think she is just upset that we have to involve her daughter in this," Danny replied.
"Yeah, I agree, but she seemed angry with you…specifically. That's ridiculous. If it weren't for you, her daughter would be dead."
"I don't know what to tell you. Rich people are a strange bunch," he replied with a shrug.
"I think it's good that she's finally on her own. I think that shows that she is recovering from everything that happened to her."
"I hope so," Danny said quietly almost to himself.
He and Samantha arrived in Greenwich Village and parked in front of a tall building. They walked in and showed their FBI credentials to a security guard in the lobby. He directed them to the elevator that would take them to the top floor. They rode up to the 10th floor, stepped out and knocked on the only door in the hallway. After a minute, the door was opened by a very tall, muscular man wearing a muscle shirt and jeans. "Can I help you?" he asked in a curious tone.
"Does Kelly Carmichael live here?" Danny asked surprised to see the man.
"Yes. She lives here. Who the hell are you?"
"Agents Taylor and Spade with the FBI. We need to speak with Ms. Carmichael," Danny continued.
"The FBI? Look, she's finally getting over all that. What do you need from her now?"
"That's something we need to speak with Ms. Carmichael about," Samantha said. "May we come in?"
"I guess. You've got the guns."
Danny eyed the man skeptically and asked, "Do you live here, Mr…"
"My name is Bobby…Bobby Willis. I live here occasionally when my latest and greatest hasn't worked out. But I work here everyday. I'm an artist. Let me see if I can't round up Kelly girl."
Danny and Samantha walked into a spacious loft that took up the entire 10th floor. Half of the loft looked like an art gallery. The other half was the living area. Reggie walked toward the living area and called out, "Angel face, you have company. The FBI is here." And in a tone that he thought Danny and Samantha couldn't hear, he said, "They don't look like FBI agents. They are both hot, hot, hot. Kind of like Barbie and her Latin lover Ken."
Samantha and Danny both chuckled at the dramatic tone of the obviously gay man. After a few moments, Kelly Carmichael hesitantly came out of the bedroom and walked toward them. She crossed her arms self-consciously before she asked in a small voice, "My mother told me you needed to speak with me. What's this about?"
As she approached them, Danny saw that she hadn't changed very much. Her streaky, blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her beautiful, blue eyes still had the haunted, frightened look that they had when he found her in that basement.
As Samantha started to talk, she noticed that Kelly completely avoided looking at Danny which was the exact opposite of her mother. "Kelly, we know that you've worked really hard to move on, and we don't want to bother you. But, we believe another young woman has gone missing. We believe that the man who took you is responsible."
"Her parents got a letter?" she asked as she didn't take her eyes off Samantha.
"Yes. This morning," Samantha replied.
Kelly sank into a chair and ran her hand over her face. "I thought…I thought he was gone. I thought I was safe."
"You are safe. We won't let anything happen to you," Danny said as he looked down at her with a concerned stare.
Kelly finally made eye contact with him as tears filled her eyes. "Don't make promises that you can't keep, Danny."
Samantha looked at the two of them with surprise. Danny was clearly uncomfortable, and Kelly had a sad, hurt tone.
"Kelly, we need you to come with us. You will be safe with us. You are our best hope of finding her," Samantha pleaded.
"What's her name?" Kelly asked.
"Candace Reynolds," Samantha answered.
"Where was she when she disappeared?"
"A nightclub called Light," she answered again.
"Wow…it's exactly the same. Part of me hoped…I hoped that he died," Kelly said quietly. And then after thinking for a few minutes, she said, "Let's go. I'm ready."
Kelly stood up and put on her jacket. When she grabbed her purse from the table, she called out to Bobby, "Bobby, I'm going with these agents. I'll call you later, okay?"
"OK, angel face. Take care of yourself," he replied.
Danny opened the door and they all walked out. When they were in the car, Samantha tried to make small talk with Kelly.
"Bobby seems entertaining. Have you known him long?"
"Since college…we were both Art majors. When I finally decided to move out of my parents place, I felt a little safer knowing that he would be around…at least some of the time."
"What are you doing now? Do you paint as well?"
Kelly laughed. "No…I was never very good at art. I just thought it was fun. I haven't been able…um...I don't really have a job. Sometimes, I help Bobby display his work in galleries, but that's it. Currently, I am living off my trust fund."
"Well if you have it, you might as well use it," Samantha as she smiled and glanced back at Kelly. When she looked at her, she noticed that Kelly's eyes were staring in Danny's direction. Samantha couldn't put her finger on it, but something was strange between them. And she didn't understand--because if she were Kelly, she would probably feel safest with the person who saved her and that was Danny.
When they returned to the office, they exited the elevator and Samantha guided Kelly into a conference room. Then she spoke to Danny outside the door. "I'm going to grab a copy of the case file. Do you want to talk to her while I…"
"No. I don't think I should talk to her," Danny replied. "She'll be more comfortable with you. I'll see if Viv is back. I'll have her bring the file to you."
"Danny – what the hell is going on? Why are both Kelly and Mrs. Carmichael uncomfortable around you?" Samantha said finally confronting him.
"It's…it's...I don't know, Samantha. Maybe it's because I found her and it brings back bad memories. I don't know."
Samantha looked him skeptically. He wasn't telling her something, but she didn't have time to deal with it. "Fine. I'll talk to her. Send Viv in if she is here," she answered completely frustrated.
Danny headed back to his desk to review the case files of the other missing girls. As he walked into the bullpen, he saw Vivian and Martin talking. "Hey. We found Kelly Carmichael. Sam is talking to her in the conference room. Viv, can you take Sam a copy of the case file and help with the interview?"
Vivian gave him a confused expression. "Danny…shouldn't you be doing the interview? You're the one whogot her to talk three years ago. She trusts you."
"I don't…I think she would be more comfortable talking to a woman. It's been a long time. I don't think she trusts any of us all that much at this point. She just wants to be left alone."
"You can't really blame her. This has to be tough…to know this guy is still out there," Martin said.
Vivian was still perplexed by Danny's rationale. He never shied away from these kinds of interviews. He always excelled at them. But she replied, "I'll take the file and surveillance photos to Samantha and see if she needs my help."
"Great. Thanks," Danny replied and then turned his attention to Martin. "What have we got on background?"
"Well, from what I've been reading, all these young women had certain commonalities. The obvious is that they all frequented clubs. But, I think it is also interesting that they all come from two parent homes. All the letters started with "Dear Mom and Dad." The theory at the time seemed to be that this guy sought out his victim in the club. But what if he planned it. What if he stalked them before he took them."
"Well, we had that theory back then, but there was no way to find out if it was true because the women died."
"But Kelly Carmichael didn't die. She's alive. Starting with Candace, I've started making a list of all the places she frequented…her bank, her gym, her grocery store. Then I think we should get Ms. Carmichael to review the lists. If we can find any commonality, then maybe we can isolate where this guy first saw them."
Danny tried to worked through Martin's theory by questioning it, so he asked, "Let's say he sees them at a gym…how does he know they go to clubs? How does he know that she is his type?"
"That's probably all a part of the game for him. He probably thinks he can pick these types of girls out of a lineup."
Danny nodded starting to agree. "Okay. Let's keep going with this list. We can get something to Kelly to review after Samantha finishes the interview."
As they pursued Martin's theory, Samantha entered the conference room to find Kelly sitting nervously at the table. She sat across from her and asked, "Before we get started, can I get you a drink…water…coffee?"
"No, thank you. Let's just get this over with," Kelly replied.
"Okay…first, I want you to take a look at these sketches," Samantha said as she handed her some papers. "Does he look familiar to you at all?"
Kelly surveyed the sketches and shook her head. "No, but he was wearing a disguise when I met him at the bar. I thought we established that three years ago?"
"We did. I just wanted to see if you recognized him."
Just as Samantha was going to continue, Vivian walked in and placed a file folder on the table. "Hi, Kelly. You're looking well."
"Agent Johnson," Kelly responded. She only encountered these agents for a few days three years ago, but Kelly never forgot them.
"I have a security photo from outside the nightclub. It's grainy, but can you tell me if he looks familiar to you?" Vivian asked as she took a seat next to Samantha.
Kelly looked at the photo. She saw the man holding the cab door for Candace as she slid in the seat. Tears filled Kelly's eyes as her heart went out to the missing girl. She had no idea what she was getting into when she got into that cab. "He doesn't look familiar. I'm sorry. I don't think I can help you," she said tearily.
Samantha started to speak, but then hesitated. She didn't want to put Kelly through this, but she didn't have a choice. "Kelly…you have to take us through what happened to you…step by step."
"No. Not again. I told Danny everything three years ago after he found me. I shouldn't have to…"
"No, you shouldn't have to, but this is the only way. There could have been something that you missed three years ago. The tiniest detail that you tell us about this man could help us find Candace," Vivian responded as sensitively as possible.