Hi everyone and thanks again for all of your reviews! I have never had this many reviews on one story before. You guys are the greatest! Thanks, too, to those of you who have recently gone back and read some of my old stories and reviewed those. I like some of my old stories better than I like this one, so it's really gratifying to get reviews on those stories.
Chapter 11
Michelle stood at the end of the sliding board and cheered as two and a half year old Conner Antonio Almeida slid down all by himself for the first time. He was a happy-go-lucky little boy who was constantly smiling. Tony and Michelle couldn't have asked for a child with a better disposition. He was a handsome child, too. A mixture of his parents good looks, with the exotic look of a child of mixed race. His skin was a light olive and his hair was black and curly. His mother's Asian heritage was vaguely evident around his eyes and in his fine lips.
"Good job, Conner!" she said as she clapped her hands. "You even climbed up all by yourself. That was great!"
Conner barely heard her as he ran back to the ladder smiling brightly all the way and waited his turn to climb up again. It was a pleasant fall afternoon and the playground was crowded with neighborhood children. Michelle glanced into the stroller at her three month old daughter Chelsea Elizabeth who was beginning to fuss. Chelsea had a far less pleasant disposition than her older brother but despite that, she was the apple of her father's eye. At three months, she was already her daddy's girl.
"What's the matter, Chels?" Michelle asked her as she lifted her up into her arms. "Are you getting hungry? As soon as your brother comes down the slide, I'll feed you."
"Watch, Mommy," Conner called to Michelle from the top. "Watch me slide!" He slid to the bottom and jumped to his feet. "Again?" he asked.
"How about if we sit on the bench and have a snack. Then you can slide again." Michelle suggested.
"I wanna slide!" he told her emphatically.
"I know, but your sister's hungry."
"She's always hungry," he said with a pout.
"I know it seems that way. Come on. I'll read you a story."
Michelle took Conner's hand and led the way to a bench a short distance away but somewhat secluded from the rest of the playground. She sat on the bench and pulled a blanket from her bag. She discreetly draped it over her shoulder and opened her blouse to nurse her daughter.
"Okay, Conner, there are snacks and drinks in the bag. Pick out what you'd like."
Conner dug in the diaper bag for a few moments then held up a small box of raisins and grape juice.
Michelle awkwardly opened the juice with one hand while she held the baby with the other. "Which book would you like to read?"
"Dinosaur book!" Conner said triumphantly once he found it.
The book was his favorite and Michelle and Tony had both read it so many times that they had memorized it. Michelle rolled her eyes and smiled, "Ok, the dinosaur book. Climb up here." She reached out and helped her son onto the bench. He settled in beside her with his snack while Michelle read the book to him.
The last three years of their lives had been unbelievably happy. The Monday after Tony and Michelle reconciled, they went to a nearby courthouse at lunch time and got a marriage license. Then on Friday afternoon, they were married by the Justice of the Peace while Jack and Audrey looked on. They spent the weekend in a harbor-side hotel in nearby Baltimore. In many ways, it was more special to both of them than their first wedding, which had been a big production in a church with friends and family and a huge reception afterward.
Michelle became pregnant almost immediately. She thought it likely that their son had been conceived on that first Saturday night they spent together. When she awoke that Sunday morning, she had a low grade ache in her pelvis like she had every month that let her know she was ovulating. She smiled as she looked at Tony, who was still sleeping, and hoped that one of his precious sperm had found its mark. Tony began to stretch and soon was awake and smiling at her.
"You're smiling," he said as he kissed her cheek and began stroking her body. He was quickly becoming aroused.
"I think I better warn you," she said with a mixture of humor and seriousness in her voice, "I think I'm ovulating."
He looked at her trying to gage her feelings about what she just said. "You're telling me that last night, ah, we might have…" the sentence trailed off.
"Yeah," she said with a shy smile.
"If that happened would you be happy about it?" Tony asked her.
She nodded and smiled. "Very."
He was visibly relieved at her response. "Good, then maybe we should do it again just to make sure."
Michelle laughed. "Really? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. Let me prove it to you," he said as he climbed on top of her again.
She and Tony were deliriously happy about the baby. Her previous miscarriage made Michelle wary for the first few months, but once she passed the point at which she lost her first child, she breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of her pregnancy would have been uneventful if she hadn't been involved in a car accident several weeks before the baby was due. The accident wasn't terribly serious and her injuries were minor, but the stress caused Michelle to go into labor early. Conner was born six weeks prematurely. He was a little small at first, but he was healthy and grew quickly. Just over two years later they added Chelsea to their family and had already decided that when she was a year old, they would start trying for a third child. Michelle was nearing 40 and they didn't want to wait much longer.
Tony was quickly moving up through the ranks at NSA. His promotions and increase in pay allowed Michelle to quit working at the CIA and stay home with their children. She found a part time job teaching a couple of computer courses three evenings a week at a nearby community college. After the hell they had suffered through when they were married the first time and all of the pain they felt during their long separation, their happiness now seemed magnified a hundred fold.
Michelle had just finished reading the dinosaur book for the second time when Conner's three year old playmate Stephanie came running over to the bench.
"Conner, wanna go on the slide?" she asked.
"Chelsea will be finished eating in a few minutes, Steph, and then Conner can come back to the slide." Michelle told her.
Stephanie's mother Amy, who was also pushing a stroller, caught up with her. "We can see the sliding board from here, Michelle. They'll be fine."
Michelle estimated the distance from the bench to the sliding board and looked at Amy. "I don't usually let Conner go that far by himself."
Amy rolled her eyes. "You worked for the CIA too long. It's a neighborhood playground, Michelle. You know everybody here. Maddy and Liz are over there watching their kids; they'll keep an eye on Conner and Stephanie."
Tony was constantly cautioning Michelle against being too over protective with Conner. Maybe Amy was right, the sliding board wasn't all that far away.
"Okay," she said reluctantly, "but you two stay together and you can only go on the sliding board. I can't see you if you go to the swings."
Conner and Stephanie agreed and ran off toward the sliding board. Amy sat down on the bench with Michelle to talk. They chatted while they watched Conner and Stephanie fly time after time down the sliding board.
"Don't they ever get tired of it?" Michelle asked with amusement.
"I'm tired just watching them," Amy replied.
Chelsea finally finished eating. Michelle buttoned her blouse and packed the blanket and book in the diaper bag. She lifted Chelsea up to her shoulder and patted her on the back to encourage a burp. As she did so, she looked toward the sliding board to check on Conner. She watched as a little boy from down the street came down the slide followed by Taylor, a little girl from across the street. Stephanie came down next. Michelle waited expecting Conner to be next and was surprised when another little head popped up over the top of the ladder and sat down on the sliding board. Michelle continued to watch assuming that Conner would be next when the boy from down the street slid down again.
"Amy, do you see Conner?" Michelle asked trying to sound nonchalant.
The late afternoon air had turned cool and Amy was busy putting a sweatshirt on her own baby. She looked up. "No, but Steph is over there. I'm sure he's close by."
Michelle stood up with Chelsea in her arms and walked quickly toward the sliding board. "Conner!" she shouted. "Conner Almeida, where are you?" She could feel her heart beginning to pound in her throat. "Conner, if you're hiding you need to come out now."
Michelle ran behind the sliding board. "Stephanie," she called the three year old, "where is Conner?"
"He's playing with the little doggie," Stephanie answered.
"What doggie, Steph?" Michelle asked her.
"Over there," Stephanie pointed but there was no one there. "He was over there playing with a little white doggie." She started toward the sliding board but Michelle stopped her.
"Was the doggie alone or was there a person with it?" Michelle asked her trying to stay calm.
"There was a lady with yellow hair. It was her doggie and she said Conner could pet him. She said the doggie didn't like little girls so I should stay away 'cause he might bite me."
Michelle could feel panic about to overtake her as she asked the other mothers if they had seen anything. No one had. She ran to the spot where Stephanie told her that Conner was playing with the dog. It was at the far end of the playground near the exit gate. Michelle called his name repeatedly and stepped out of the gate so that she could see up and down the street. There was no one near and no cars were moving.
Amy and another mother were now helping her look for Conner. "We've looked all over the playground, Michelle. I don't think he's here," Amy said. Fear and regret at talking Michelle into letting Conner go to the sliding board by himself were evident in her eyes.
Michelle pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911. She clutched Chelsea to her as if she feared that she, too, could disappear. "Answer, please answer," she begged as the phone rang. As soon as the line clicked open she frantically began to tell her story. "My son is missing. I'm at the playground at the corner of 9th Avenue and Willow Drive. I think he may have wandered off with a woman who had a dog. We've looked all around and I can't find him. Please send the police now. I'm afraid he's been kidnapped," Michelle was crying now and Amy was trying in vain to console her.
The 911 operator took more information from her and assured Michelle that the police were on their way. Some of the mothers with older children started canvassing the neighborhood in hopes of finding Conner. Amy led her back into the playground and sat her on a bench. Michelle knew she had to call Tony but didn't know how to tell him that she had allowed Conner out of her sight and now he was missing.
"Mr. Almeida's office," Becky answered.
"Becky, it's Michelle Almeida. I need to talk to Tony right now."
"He can't be disturbed right now. He's downstairs in a meeting, Mrs. Almeida. I can have him call you as soon as he's finished."
"This is an emergency, Becky. I have to talk to him right now," Michelle demanded.
"Hold on. I'll try and get in touch with him," Becky told her. She buzzed the intercom in the third floor conference room. "Mr. Almeida," she said.
Tony was in a high level meeting with the Director of NSA, the head of Homeland Security and the National Security Advisor. Becky knew better than to disturb him in a meeting this important. Annoyed, he reached over and touched the intercom button to respond. "Becky, I'll be finished in about 15 minutes. I'll get back to you then."
"Mr. Almeida, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have your wife on line two. She says it's an emergency."
"An emergency? Put her through." Tony looked at the others sitting around the table. "Excuse me, Gentlemen," he said to them as he picked up the phone. "Michelle, what's wrong."
Michelle was sobbing almost hysterically by the time Tony got on the phone. "My God, Michelle! What's wrong? Calm down, Honey." Tony listened as Michelle tried to explain what was happening. He closed his eyes horrified that their son was missing. "Ok, the police are on their way. Try and stay calm, Honey. We'll find him. I'll be there as soon as I can." Tony was almost in shock and felt like everything was moving in slow motion. He hung up the phone and tried to stand up, not sure if his legs would hold him. "I'm sorry, Gentlemen, I have to leave."
The NSA Director knew how cool Tony normally was under pressure. The news he had just been given had left Tony as out of control as the director had ever seen him. He reached over and touched Tony's arm. "Tony, let me have one of our people take you home."
Tony swallowed hard. "Thank you, sir, I'd appreciate that." He closed his eyes again and shook his head. "My wife had our children at a neighborhood playground and now our son is missing. Michelle thinks he was kidnapped."
While Michelle was talking to the police that had arrived at the playground and Tony was on his way to the scene, Conner was sitting happily in a car seat in the back of a black Toyota sedan eating a strawberry ice cream cone. His mother never let him eat ice cream in the car. He liked the nice lady who let him play with her dog and bought him ice cream. Now she was taking him for a ride.
"Are you having fun, Conner?" the lady asked him.
Conner nodded eagerly as he licked the dripping ice cream cone.
"Good, we'll be home soon and then we can play," she told him.
"Okay," he answered between licks.
Tony arrived at the playground, which was now surrounded by crime scene tape, and identified himself as Conner's father. Once they verified his identification, he ducked under the tape and was led onto the playground and to the bench where Michelle sat fearfully clutching their sleeping infant daughter.
"Oh, Tony!" she sobbed as soon as she saw him. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have been watching him closer. I looked away and…"
"Shhh," Tony hushed her gently as he put his arms around her. "You're a good mother, Michelle. This isn't your fault. Try and pull yourself together. Tell me what the police have found."
Michelle led Tony over to Lieutenant Mike Landsman, the officer in charge of the investigation. Landsman confirmed what Tony feared. They had no real leads and little to go on. The only person who could even identify the woman with the dog was a three year old child. Stephanie was intelligent and particularly verbal for her age, but that still didn't make her a good witness. All Stephanie could tell them was that the woman had "yellow hair." She couldn't remember any other details. She had paid much more attention to the dog and when the police showed her pictures of different breeds of dogs, she quickly picked out a West Highland terrier. The police were already talking to local pet stores, animal shelters and vets' offices hoping to possibly identify the owner. It was a long shot, but it was all they had right now. An older woman in the neighborhood remembered seeing a black sedan pull away from the playground around the time in question, but she didn't know a make or model and, in point of fact, it may have had nothing to do with Conner's disappearance.
Lt. Landsman assured Tony and Michelle that the police would continue to canvas the neighborhood in hopes that Conner had simply wandered off. Neither Tony nor Michelle believed that was the case. Conner was very attached to Michelle and neither of them could imagine him going very far away from her. He told them that they would have bloodhounds in the area soon in hopes of picking up the boy's scent. He suggested that Tony and Michelle go home. He would personally make sure that they were given regular updates.
Neither spoke as they walked home from the playground. It was only a couple of blocks from their house. How could this have happened so near their home? The silence at home was unbearable. They were so used to Conner's constant chatter that Tony finally had to put on some music just to create some noise. Michelle refused to put Chelsea down. She carried her as she paced from room to room and finally into Conner's room where she sat on the bed and cried.
She had been crying for a long time when she heard the doorbell ring. Michelle and Tony both flew to the door hoping that the police had brought Conner home. Lt. Landsman stood alone at the door. He knew what they were hoping for and he was sorry to disappoint them.
"Mr. & Mrs. Almeida," he addressed them, "I'm sorry I don't have any new information. I was reading over your statements and something you said concerns me. Could I come in and discuss it?"
Tony nodded and led Landsman into the living room. Neither he nor Michelle spoke.
Landsman continued, "I understand from the statements that you gave one of my officers that you both used to work for the CIA in counter terrorism."
"That's right," Tony answered.
"We're concerned, Mr. & Mrs. Almeida, that this was not a random kidnapping. We're concerned that this may be related to a case that you were involved in when you worked for the CIA. We've requested information regarding cases where one or the other of you was instrumental in apprehending the suspect. The problem is that at this moment, the CIA is being less than helpful. All of the information we're requesting is classified and they're reluctant to release it to us. They said that they will have someone look into it for us but wouldn't agree to any time table. I was hoping that you might know someone who could expedite this for us.
"Who have you been dealing with at CTU?" Tony asked.
"The Special Agent in Charge, a woman named Erin Driscoll," Landsman replied.
"Maybe Chloe or Curtis would do it for us," Michelle suggested.
"They can't do it on their own. They need Driscoll's authorization. We need someone above Driscoll to authorize it," Tony said
Michelle nodded. "Let me have your phone."
"Who are you calling?"
"Bill Buchanan," she told him. Then into the phone, "Yes, this is Michelle Almeida. I'd like to speak to Bill Buchanan." She was silent for a moment while the call was transferred.
"Michelle, it's good to hear from you," Buchanan said. "How have you been?"
Michelle quickly brought Bill up to speed on what had occurred. "So what I'm asking, Bill, is that you authorize CTU to reopen those files and share their information with the local police here in Maryland."
"Michelle, we're talking dozens and dozens of cases. I understand how important this is to you. I'm a parent now, too, so I understand how frightening this must be for you. But this could involve hundreds of man hours. If you could narrow it down to some likely cases, I could have Chloe review them and release the pertinent information to the local authorities. Do you have anyone in particular that you suspect?"
"Not off the top of my head, Bill. Let me ask Tony." Michelle covered the receiver and asked Tony the same question. He immediately nodded his head.
"Jane Saunders," he said without hesitation. "I essentially kidnapped her and tried to exchange her for you. I could tell at the time that she hated me. This must be how she decided to get back at me."
"Bill," Michele said uncovering the phone, "Tony thinks that Jane Saunders might be involved. She's the daughter of Stephen Saunders. Can you have Chloe look into her whereabouts?"
"I'll do that and I'll have Chloe get back to you. I'll also have her search the records for any cases in which you or your family was threatened and she can follow up on those, too. I wish I could do more, but I'm sure you understand, Michelle, this is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"I understand, Bill. Any help you can give us is appreciated." They said their goodbyes and Michelle hung up. "They're going to take a look at Jane Saunders and Chloe will get back to us," she shrugged. "I guess it's something." Tears dripped slowly from her eyes and a sob escaped from her throat.
"Let me know when you get any information from CTU," Landsman instructed them as he stood to leave. "I've called the FBI. I'd like their missing children's taskforce to get involved. You should hear from them later tonight or tomorrow morning after they've reviewed the case. Your boss called me from NSA, Mr. Almeida. I assured him that we were doing everything possible to find your son."
"We know you are, lieutenant," Tony told him as he walked Landsman to the door.
Tony returned to the sofa where Michelle was sitting with Chelsea. He put his arm around her and she shifted the baby so that they could cradle her between them. Chelsea stretched and yawned and she wrapped her tiny fingers around Tony's much larger one. Her parents watched her in silence.
"She's too little to understand what's going on," Michelle whispered trying hard not to cry.
"She's lucky," Tony replied never taking his eyes off of their daughter.
"She could grow up and never even remember Conner," Michelle said. This time she couldn't control her tears.
"Don't say that, Michelle," Tony admonished her quietly as he pulled her face against his neck. "Don't say that, Sweetheart. We'll get him back. We can't give up on him." Now Tony was crying, too. He wondered where his son was. Was he hungry or cold? Was he hurt or scared? Conner hated the dark. He just hoped that whoever had him kept a nightlight on for him. He prayed that whoever had him would take care of him. He desperately feared having to identify his son's body. Please, God, he begged silently, don't let them hurt him. Please don't let them hurt him.
Less than 20 miles away in a secluded house, Conner was playing on the floor with the white dog, whose name was Scooter, and some building blocks. He and the nice lady were building a skyscraper and playing a game. She was pretending to be his mommy and that his name was Carlos. Conner liked the game; it was fun. They played for a long time before Conner started to get sleepy. The nice lady gave him a bath, but it wasn't like when his mother gave him a bath. She dressed him in new pajamas. They weren't his Elmo pajamas, but they were nice. Then she sat him on the sofa to read him a story.
"Dinosaur book," Conner told her.
"I don't have your dinosaur book, Carlos," she told him. "Let's read one of these new books."
"I want dinosaur! Daddy reads my dinosaur book before bed." Conner looked around him as if he suddenly realized that his parents weren't there. "Where's my Daddy?" He jumped off the sofa and started to look around the house. "Daddy, Daddy," he called. Scooter followed close behind.
"Daddy's not here right now, Carlos," the woman told him.
"Where's my Mommy?" Conner questioned.
"She's not here either, Honey. You know they're pretty busy taking care of Chelsea and they asked me to take care of you for a while. They just don't have time for a little boy and I do. I wanted a little boy. Okay? So, you're going to live with me."
None of that was okay with Conner. For the first time he started to look scared and he started to cry. "I want my Mommy! I want my Daddy!" he wailed.
The lady picked him up and rocked him. He cried for a long time until he finally fell asleep in her arms. She carried him to bed and tucked him in hoping that he would sleep thought the night. Kids were way too much trouble. She wondered why anyone would have one. Oh, well, she had already hired a full time babysitter to take care of the little rugrat. So she really wouldn't have to deal with him very much. She had to admit, he was a cute little guy. He looked a lot like Tony, so he couldn't help but be handsome. Of course, he looked a little like Michelle, too, but that probably couldn't be helped. Her thoughts were distracted when her phone rang. She followed the sound and found the phone in the kitchen.
"Hello," she said.
"Abby, it's Doug Nelson," said the voice. Nelson was the Special Agent in Charge of the Baltimore office of the FBI.
"Doug? What can I do for you?" she asked.
"I need a favor, Abby. Our office is investigating a child abduction and I was hoping you could help us."
"I guess you haven't heard the news, Doug. I don't work for the FBI anymore and even when I did, I worked out of Washington. Today was my last day. I took a job in Miami. I'll be working in a private practice with a group of clinical psychologists."
"I know that, Abby, but this would be a favor to me. The missing kid's father is a bigwig at NSA and they're putting a lot of pressure on me to find the boy. You're the best profiler that the missing children's taskforce ever had. I just want you to talk to the family and look at the case and tell me what you think. I'll pay you as a consultant at top dollar, Abby. I really need your help right now."
Abby sighed, "Alright, I'll do it. Can it wait until tomorrow morning? I have a house guest right now and I hate to leave."
"Sure, you can do it first thing in the morning." Doug agreed. He started to outline the details of the case. Abby took down the information as if she knew nothing about it. She acted shocked when she heard Tony's name. "Don't you watch the news, Abby?" Doug asked. "This kid's picture is on every channel. How do you know the father?"
"I stopped watching the news years ago. It's too depressing," Abby said nonchalantly. "And if you must know, I was engaged to Tony Almeida," she added.
"I'm sorry. I had no idea. I hope this isn't too awkward for you."
"Don't worry about it. I'll stop by the Washington office in the morning and put together a profile."
"You need to talk to the family," Doug told her.
"Why? Haven't your people already done that?"
"Yes, but I want you to talk to them. I want the NSA director to know that we're doing everything possible to find this kid. Come on, Abby, you know you can't do an adequate job without seeing the scene and talking to the family. I know I've put you in a bad position, but…"
"Forget it," she interrupted. "You're right, I need to talk to them. I'll go over in the morning."
"Thanks, Abby," Doug said. "I owe you big time."
"No problem," Abby said as she hung up the phone.
This was a wrinkle that she had never imagined. Oh, well, she would just have to deal with it. She would put in a few hours of time and produce a plausible report. It was so easy that she could do it in her sleep and it would lead them away from her. She would give the police a profile of a despondent Hispanic woman whose son had died. The woman kidnapped Conner to replace her own son. They would be tracking down empty leads for weeks while she was living in Miami with Conner.
She called the babysitter, Octavia, and told her to be there first thing tomorrow morning. Octavia would do whatever Abby told her. She was an illegal alien from Columbia. She was wanted there in connection with the murder of a judge. The FBI had already arrested her boyfriend and deported him. He implicated her, but she had been able to avoid detection. Actually, Abby knew exactly where she was and was helping her maintain cover. She needed Octavia for the plan she had been hatching for months, ever since she ran into Tony and Michelle last spring.
She hadn't thought much about Tony for the last year or two. In truth, their relationship had deteriorated so badly during its last few months that it was almost a relief to have it over. She was seriously dating a college professor and they were beginning to talk about marriage. She saw Tony that day walking near the Tidal Basin viewing the cherry blossoms near the same spot where he had proposed to her. He was carrying his son and holding hands with a very pregnant Michelle. He never saw her. He was talking to Michelle and laughing. He dropped her hand for a moment and put his hand on her belly. Abby didn't know why, but seeing him, seeing them as a family, triggered something in her. She wasn't sure what is was or why it happened, but it gnawed at her and kept her awake at night. She started focusing on the little boy. Either he was awfully big for his age or he was older than she was guessing he should be. Abby finally decided to look at vital statistics and find his birth date. She soon found the date. It was only about seven and a half months after she and Tony had split up. She continued looking through the vital statistics records and quickly located Tony and Michelle's marriage certificate and checked the date.
"You bastard!" she shouted into the empty room around her. "You son of a bitch! You got married less than a week after we broke up and your baby was born seven months later! You were cheating on me! Michelle was pregnant before we ever broke up. You bastard!" she railed angrily not knowing, of course, that Conner had been born prematurely.
The idea that Tony was cheating on her unleashed a hate in her that she hadn't thought possible. She decided after weeks of sleepless nights that she had to get back at him. He made a fool of her and she couldn't let him get away with it. She had to hit him where it hurt the most. In her rage, she considered killing him but she wanted to hurt him directly. Killing him was too easy. Killing Michelle was a possibility. Killing his pregnant wife would definitely hurt him. That would serve him right for cheating on her and thinking that she would never find out. But, no, she wanted to hurt Michelle, too. She wanted both of them to hurt. Kidnapping their child would devastate both of them. Soon her eerie plan was taking shape. She followed Michelle every chance she got and learned her routines. She quickly decided that the playground where they spent nearly every afternoon would be the best place to nab the child. The plan had gone off without a hitch until now. Abby assured herself that this was a minor problem. Yes, a minor problem, she thought as she poured herself a gin and tonic and made her way toward her bedroom.
