Hi and thanks again to everyone for your reviews. There were several issues/questions brought up in the chapter 11 reviews that I wanted to take a second to address.

Anisha – I hate to break it to you, but Nina's dead. No, Abby isn't working with her. This story follows 24 cannon until episode 4x21 so Nina is not only dead on the show but in this story, too.

Dessler – thanks for the compliment but in truth, I'm not that good at writing fluff. My only real fluff story was "First Date". As far as I am concerned, the best T/M fluff on this site is written by AlmeidaFluff. If you haven't read it yet, please do. It's wonderful stuff.

AliciaFB and Dazzi – sorry that I didn't include a family reaction to the T/M reunion. Frankly, it didn't even cross my mind to do so. I assumed that both families would be happy since Michelle's family didn't like Bill and Tony's family wasn't crazy about Abby.

JimKeller24 – if you are looking for a story about T/M family life, try my story "Undercover". It deals a lot with their family life.

Amy – I've never seen "Deep End of the Ocean" so I'm not sure what it was about. Keep reading and let me know if I somehow duplicate that story line. If I do, it was unintentional.

Laurie – you asked me which of my stories was my favorite. I had to think about it, but I think my absolute favorite is "Undercover". It had a main story line and a couple of subplots that make it more professional than my other stories. I also really like "Escape to Argentina", "Carnival Town" and "Come Away With Me". Thanks for asking.

Chapter 12: Suspicions

It was fast approaching midnight and Tony and Michelle were facing a long sleepless night. Tony's parents were able to book a flight out of Chicago and were due to arrive in an hour. Michelle's mother and her brother, Danny, were taking a redeye from LA to Washington and would arrive in the morning. Lt. Landsman had called about a half hour earlier to check in. He didn't have any news and wondered if they had heard from CTU. Tony said that they expected to hear something any minute and he would let Landsman know as soon as they had any information.

The phone rang and Tony answered it anxiously.

"Hello," he said.

"Tony, it's Chloe. How are you guys holding up?"

"Not great, Chloe. I'm hoping you have some information for us."

"It sure is bad luck. You guys finally get your lives back together and your son is kidnapped." Chloe had a way of stating the obvious that no one else could get away with, yet from Chloe it was simply expected.

"Yeah, right," Tony answered impatiently. "Chloe what do you have on Jane Saunders?"

"From what I can tell, she's not your kidnapper."

"What do you mean?"

"She's a graduate student at Pepperdine University. She's working on a master's degree in education. I've reviewed all of the flight manifests in the past few days and as far as I can tell, she hasn't left the area. She couldn't have been in the Baltimore-Washington area today to kidnap your son."

"She could have paid someone to do it," Tony suggested.

"I thought of that. I reviewed all of her bank and credit card records. It looks to me like she's your average starving graduate student. She has bank accounts that total a little less than a thousand dollars. Her credit cards all have balances on them, but nothing out of the ordinary. She hasn't made any unusual transactions in the last several months."

"Are you sure her father didn't leave her any money in off shore or Swiss accounts?"

"Not as far as I can tell. When her father died, all of his assets were confiscated by the government. She inherited nothing from her father. Like I said before, she looks like a starving grad student. She rents a house with four other people and drives an eight year old car. If her father had left her an off shore account she would be spending the money on something and I could track it. I'm sorry, Tony. Believe me, I was hoping that I'd find something but nothing here leads me to believe that she's the culprit. Is there anyone else that you think might want to hurt either you or Michelle this way?"

"I can't think of anybody off hand. Did you review any of the death threats that either of us received while we were at CTU?"

"I did. There were four of them between you. All four are in prison and have no ties to the east coast. I called the prisons. I'm getting a list of their phone calls and visitors for the last six months to see if I can find anything. I hope this helps, Tony."

"So do I," Tony agreed. "Thanks for your help, Chloe. Michelle and I really appreciate it." They disconnected and Tony looked at Michelle who could tell by the tenor of the call that Chloe hadn't been able to give him any information that would lead them to find Conner.

Morning came far too fast for Abby's taste. She had never been a morning person so she was particularly unhappy when Conner was up by 6 o'clock. He and Scooter were running around the house playing. Scooter barked happily enjoying his new friend.

Conner ran into her bedroom with Scooter in tow. "Wake up!" he said to Abby. "I'll be Carlos again. You be Mommy. Okay? Later, can I go back home. I miss my real Mommy."

Abby forced herself to smile at him. She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face to revive herself. Octavia would be here in an hour and then she could deal with this little bundle of energy. She took Conner downstairs and gave him Cheerios for breakfast. He seemed happy enough with that although he wouldn't let her put the milk on them. He preferred to eat them dry and wash them down with milk. And he kept asking for something he called a "sippy cup". She had no idea what that was so she gave him his milk in a small mug. He liked that but he made a mess. She wasn't sure why kids had to be so difficult.

Octavia arrived at 7 on the dot. Abby had told her that she was adopting a little boy and she needed a live in nanny to move to Miami with her. Octavia thought it odd that an FBI agent would be willing to harbor an illegal alien and fugitive and use her as a nanny but she figured that Abby was just trying to be cheap and didn't want to pay the going rate for a live in nanny. Octavia didn't really care what Abby's motives were. She just wanted out of Washington and what better place than Miami. She would blend right in there.

"Okay, here's the deal," Abby told her. "I got called into the office unexpectedly. I need you to watch Carlos. He's still in his pajamas but there are clothes upstairs for him. Get him dressed. I want you to keep him inside and play with him. I want him tired when I get home. He's got a lot of energy and I still have a lot of packing to do so I don't have time to deal with him tonight."

Conner heard the voices and followed them into the kitchen. "Mommy," he said. "Let's play."

"This is your new friend Octavia," Abby told him in her sweetest, most motherly voice. "I have to go to work today, but Octavia is going to play with you all day. You be good for her, okay."

Octavia recognized Conner from his pictures on the news. She had watched his parent's impassioned pleas for his safe return. "Go play for a couple of minutes, Carlos. I'll be right there," Octavia told him. She looked at Abby through narrowed eyes. "I thought you said you adopted him. I saw him on the news; he was kidnapped."

"Maybe he was, but you aren't in a position to tell anyone. If you do, you'll go to prison. Not only are you wanted in Columbia, but you're an accessory after the fact in his disappearance. So now you're wanted in two countries," Abby said with a malicious smirk. She turned and made her way upstairs so that she could get dressed and ready to go. She had to look especially good today when she met with Tony.

Abby stood in front of her closet deciding what to wear. It was an easy choice. She had a sleek black skirt that she wore with a tight fitting black sleeveless, mock turtleneck. The combination accentuated her already stunning figure. It was a figure that hadn't been distorted by two pregnancies like Michelle's had, Abby reminded herself. She would cover it with a black tweed blazer. Around her neck she would wear the necklace that she had had made from the engagement ring Tony gave her. She would pull her hair up and wear diamond stud earrings. It gave her an elegant, understated look that she liked when she stepped in front of the mirror.

Forty-five minutes later she was ringing the Almeida's doorbell. Tony's mother, Erica, answered. "Hello, Erica," Abby said.

Erica was shocked to see her almost-daughter-in-law standing at the door. "Abby, what a surprise," Erica said as she collected her wits.

"Unfortunately, this isn't a social call. I'm investigating your grandson's disappearance for the FBI."

"Where are my manners?" Erica said politely. "Come in. I'll get Tony. Michelle's feeding the baby right now." Erica led Abby into the living room and ran upstairs to get Tony.

Tony descended the steps a few seconds later. "Abby, it's good to see you. I had no idea you were on the case," he told her.

"I'm doing it as a favor to the SAC in the Baltimore office. I'm not with the FBI any more. I'm in the process of moving to Miami to work with a group of psychologists in a private practice."

"That's great," Tony said numbly. "Thanks for helping out here before you leave." He motioned to the chair she had been sitting in. "Why don't you sit down and I'll answer any questions you have. Michelle will be down in a few minutes. I'm sure you've read the police report."

"No, I prefer not to read their report. I like to get the information from family and witnesses." They sat down and Abby opened up a laptop. Tony immediately noticed the diamond and ruby necklace she wore and recognized the stones as belonging to the engagement ring he had given her.

"It's pretty simple. Michelle had the kids at the playground. Conner was playing with one of his friends on the sliding board. Michelle was distracted by the baby and looked away. According to Conner's friend a blond woman with a dog called Conner over. She was definitely interested in Conner and not in the other child and told the other child to stay back because the dog might bite. The other child went back to the sliding board. When Michelle looked up again, Conner was gone. All of the adults and children at the playground were questioned. No one other than Conner's playmate saw anything. A lady across the street saw a black sedan leave the scene around the time in question. She's a nice lady, but she's about 80 and I'm not sure that she's a reliable witness. We have no other leads."

"How old is Conner's playmate?"

"Three," Tony answered.

"Could the child give you a better description of the woman?"

"No," Tony said shaking his head.

"Do you have a description of the dog?"

"The police think it was a West Highland terrier."

Abby shook her head. "Tony, this isn't much to go on."

"I know, but it's all we've got." He admitted. Tony looked up as Michelle descended the stairs holding Chelsea. She and Abby exchanged awkward greetings as Erica took Chelsea from Michelle's arms.

"I was just going over the timeline for Abby," Tony told her.

Michelle nodded and looked at Abby. "I was in the room at the top of the stairs, so I could pretty much hear your conversation."

"Was there anything you wanted to add?" Abby asked her.

"Not really. Tony told you everything we know. The police think it's possible that Conner's kidnapping is somehow related to one of the cases we worked on while we were with CTU. We have someone at CTU looking at some of our old cases to see if they can connect them to Conner's disappearance."

"Have they come up with anything?"

"Nothing yet," Tony told her.

"To tell you the truth, I think they're barking up the wrong tree. I've profiled child abductions around the country and I doubt that this is retaliation by a terrorist. I think it's a lot simpler than that. Conner was clearly singled out on the playground. So someone wanted a Hispanic male child between two and three years old. More than likely, the abductor is a Hispanic woman whose own son has died. The death may or may not have been recent, but the child was either Conner's age when he died or would he around Conner's age now. She took Conner to replace her own child. If it's any comfort to you, she won't hurt him. In the meantime, I'll recommend to the police that they review death certificates on Hispanic male children that would be about Conner's age and then question the mothers. She can't keep him hidden for long. Soon her family or friends are going to see him and figure it out. Conner's picture has been all over the news. I know you want him back now, but this type of abduction is usually resolved in a couple of weeks and the child is rarely harmed."

"I'd like to think your theory is correct, Abby, but how do you explain a witness describing the abductor as blond? I don't know a whole lot of blond Hispanic women," Tony queried her.

"Tony, your witness is a three year old girl. We can't put a whole lot of weight on her testimony," Abby rebutted. "You know full week that eyewitness identification is rarely reliable. In this case we're putting our trust a three year old girl. On top of that, we've got an 80 year old woman telling us the get away car is a black Toyota and we're taking it as gospel."

"A black sedan," Tony corrected. "She didn't identify it as a Toyota."

Abby looked over her notes, "Your right. She didn't identify the make. My mistake, but you get my point."

"Your point is well taken," Tony told her, "and I'm happy to have the police investigate your theory that the kidnapper is Hispanic, but I don't want them to abandon the only lead we have. Talk to the witnesses before you make a decision, Abby. The three year old is very articulate. You might find her pretty reliable."

"I'm not sure either of the witnesses are worth my time. I'll read the police report," she told him.

"Abby, you're brushing these witnesses off like they don't exist. At least take a few minutes and talk to them," Tony pleaded. "Our child's life is at stake here."

Abby softened, "Let me read the police report and then I'll make a decision as to whether or not to talk to them. Okay?"

"Fine," Tony said with a hint of exasperation in his voice. He was going to talk to Lt. Landsman about Abby's report. She clearly intended to do as little as possible. He understood her apathy or even dislike toward he and Michelle, but there was a child at stake here. He didn't understand why she couldn't put her personal feelings aside.

Michelle was thinking the same thing and couldn't keep it in any longer. "Look, Abby, I understand how you must feel about me, about both of us, but our son was kidnapped. He's innocent, Abby. He can't help who his parents are. I'd like to think the agent assigned to the case could forget that she doesn't like the parents and concentrate on finding the child. Please, I'm begging you. If you can't give this case your undivided and unbiased attention, then have the FBI put someone else on it."

Abby's eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you suggesting that I'm not being professional?"

"I'm suggesting that you're willing to gloss over the details and put out a report quickly so you don't have to interact with us any more," Michelle told her matching Abby's cold tone.

The doorbell rang startling all of them.

"I'll get it," Erica called from the next room. She started for the door still holding Chelsea.

"Erica! No," Michelle cried as she jumped from the chair. "Please don't take Chelsea near the door," she said anxiously. She looked around and realized how ridiculous that sounded. "I'm sorry," Michelle whispered as he voice broke with emotion. "I'm so afraid of losing her."

"Oh, Honey," Erica said soothingly, "Chelsea is safe. I'll stay here; you go get the door. It's probably your mother and Danny."

Michelle nodded, her eyes filled with tears as she walked to the door. Erica was right, it was Michelle's family. They entered the house and exchanged tearful greetings with her. As they did, Abby closed her laptop and stood up.

"I'll get out of your way. I know this is an emotional time for you," she told Tony. "The police will have my report this afternoon. I'm sure they'll go over it with you. I hope they find your son, Tony. I've seen other parents go through this and I know that it's hell. You just have to hope for the best."

Abby said a quick goodbye to Michelle and Erica but didn't wait to be introduced to Michelle's family. She walked quickly to the FBI staff car that she borrowed this morning. She couldn't take the chance of anyone recognizing her black Toyota Camry. As she started the car and pulled away from the curb, she smiled inwardly. She thought she handled it well. She could have been a little softer, perhaps, but overall, it went well. Tony definitely noticed her necklace. She saw his eyes drift down to it and settle there for a moment. To her dismay, he didn't let his eyes drift any further downward but instead raised them and methodically related the events of the past day. Oh, well, Abby hadn't expected him to notice her; he had too much on his mind. She had been upset when Doug Nelson called her and asked her to take this case, but now she was glad she agreed. It was fun to watch what she had done to Tony and Michelle. Mission accomplished. She wanted to hurt them and she had hurt them to the core. Just to watch Michelle jump when Erica took the baby near the door was priceless!

Tony stood on the porch and watched Abby drive away. The interview with Abby left Tony unsettled. Something about it wasn't right. True, it was awkward to be near her, but it was more than just that. She expressed her concern, but it didn't seem real. It felt contrived as if she enjoyed seeing him in so much pain. She got awfully defensive when Michelle suggested that she wasn't doing a thorough job. He tried to shrug it off. Maybe he was just imagining things. He hadn't slept in over 24 hours now and he was exhausted. He went inside hoping to get some rest. He knew he would be able to think more clearly after some rest.

Inside of the house felt like constant motion to Tony. His parents and his in-laws were all there. Everyone was worried and on edge and he knew that they would soon be getting on each other's nerves. Tony found Michelle in the family room with both mothers rehashing the story of Conner's kidnapping for the hundredth time. He couldn't bear to listen to it again. Chelsea was asleep in Michelle's arms.

"Here, Sweetheart," Tony said leaning over Michelle. "I'll take Chelsea upstairs. She can sleep in the bassinette in our room and I'll lie down on the bed. That way she won't be alone in the room."

Michelle agreed and Tony took the baby upstairs. He tenderly placed her in the bassinette and made sure she was covered with a light blanket. He had been vaguely annoyed by Michelle's insistence that Chelsea not be left alone in a room even when she was asleep but after kicking off his shoes and lying down on the bed several feet from the bassinette, Tony realized that he, too, feared for their daughter's safety. He got back up and moved the bassinette closer. This way, if he lay on his side, he could keep one hand on the bassinette. He was amazed at how much better it made him feel.

Tony was so tired that it only took him a few minutes to fall asleep. He awoke about an hour and a half later, his arm numb from the position it was in on the edge of the bassinette. He winced as he moved his arm to rest it on the bed. At the same time he peeked over the side of the bassinette to make sure that Chelsea was safe. She was sleeping peacefully and Tony drew a sigh of relief.

Now that he was awake, he doubted that he would go back to sleep. He rolled over on his back and stared at the ceiling. He started replaying his earlier conversation with Abby in his mind. It still felt wrong and he didn't know why. He kept hearing her say the abductor is a Hispanic woman. He had argued the point. How do you explain a witness describing the abductor as blond? He had asked her. She had answered him sharply: Tony, your witness is a three year old girl. In his mind he heard it over and over again: a three year old girl, a three year old girl, a three year old GIRL!

Abby had referred to the witness as a girl. He had never described the child as a girl. He had referred to her as a playmate, a friend, a child, but never as a girl or by her first name. Why would Abby have assumed that Conner's playmate was a girl? Most people would automatically assume that a little boy's playmate was another boy. The witness's age and sex were included in the police report but she told him that she hadn't read the report. Tony realized of course that Abby had a 50:50 chance of guessing the witness's sex correctly. But something else was bothering him.

Abby told him from the beginning that she didn't like to read police reports, that she liked to interview witnesses herself. Then she turned around and all but refused to interview the witnesses calling it a waste of her time.

Tony sat up on the bed trying to make sense of everything. The conversation continued to swirl in his brain. He suddenly remembered the conversation regarding the kidnapper's vehicle. We've got an 80 year old woman telling us the get away car is a black Toyota. She said to him. He had corrected her: A black sedan. She didn't identify it as a Toyota. You're right. She didn't identify the make. My mistake, but you get my point. She had quickly countered and changed the subject.

Why would Abby have specifically mentioned a Toyota? As he had previously noted, she had a 50 percent chance of guessing the witness's sex right but there were dozens of car models. Why did "Toyota" so quickly roll off of her tongue? He thought back about the car Abby was driving when she left their home. It was unmarked but was quite obviously an FBI staff car. Why would Abby have taken the time to stop at either the Washington or Baltimore office, drop off her car and get a staff car? It would have been easier to use her own. Since she no longer worked for the FBI, he had to assume that she was being paid as a consultant. She would have been paid for her mileage if she submitted it with her bill.

All of the sudden nothing made sense to him. There were too many unanswered questions. Tony stood up from the bed and found his cell phone on the dresser. He dialed the number for CTU-Los Angeles and asked for Chloe O'Brien.

"Hey, Tony," she said. "I'm looking into a couple of other possible suspects right now."

"Thanks, Chloe," he told her. "I had someone else that I want you to look at."

"Give me the name," Chloe instructed.

"The name is Abigail Marie Clark," Tony said.

"Abigail Marie Clark? That name isn't anywhere in your file. Where did you come up with that one?"

"She's a former FBI profiler who I was engaged to before Michelle and I remarried."

"You broke up with her three years ago and now you think she kidnapped your son?"

"I don't know what to think, but she's acting suspiciously. Do me a favor and check with the Maryland motor vehicle administration and see what make and model of car is registered in her name. If she drives a black Toyota sedan, I'll be even more suspicious than I am right now."

"That'll take me a few minutes. Give me her date of birth."

Tony rattled off her date of birth and her address from three years ago. Chloe thanked him and said she'd be back to him as soon as possible. Tony lay back down on the bed. His heart was beating a mile a minute. It was almost a half hour before she called back.

"I got the information that you wanted. I'm sorry that it took so long. I ended up digging through some things other than her car registration. You were right about the car. It's a black Toyota Camry, but it's registered in Virginia, not Maryland. Clark's current address is in Virginia. The address you gave me was actually two addresses ago. She left that apartment and bought a condo in Washington with a man named Matthew Waters. He's a history professor at Georgetown. They must have broken up, because they sold that in early summer and she moved into her current address. It's a rental property."

"How do you know that Abby moved there by herself? She and Waters could have moved there together."

Chloe continued. "Waters turned around and bought a less expensive place outside was Washington. His name is the only one on the closing documents," Chloe paused. "I also did a quick check of her credit cards and bank statements. Nothing really jumped out at me. She pays the same bills the rest of us do. You know rent, utilities, credit card, that kind of stuff.

"Can you tell me if she paid rent for next month?"

Tony could hear Chloe tapping on the keyboard. "It doesn't look like it. All of the checks to her landlord clear the bank around the 25th of each month. Today is the 29th and nothing has cleared. So based on this, she's not planning to stay another month."

"Has she made any credit card purchases that seemed unusual?" Tony asked.

"One purchase stood out. She spent over $400 less than a week ago at 'Toys R Us'. Among the purchases, she bought a child's car seat, a stroller, a bunch of clothes, some toys and children's DVDs and books. Single women without kids don't spend that much in a toy store. You might go in and buy a gift for someone, but $400 is a hefty gift even for a family member.

"Yeah, I agree," Tony told her. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, one other transaction caught my eye. It was a $575 check to Littlevale Kennel in Frederick, Maryland. It's a breeder that specializes in small dogs."

"What kind of dogs, Chloe?"

"I went to their website. It looks like they have Scottish terriers, Cairn terriers, and West Highland terriers."

Tony was literally shaking at this point; he could barely keep his voice calm. "Can you tell what kind of dog she bought?"

"No, I can't even tell if she actually bought a dog. She made a check out to the Kennel; I don't know what it was for."

"Give me Abby's current address and the license number on her car." Tony told her.

Chloe gave Tony the information he needed. "I sure hope this helps, Tony. You and Michelle must be a wreck by now."

"That's an understatement," he told her. "I think you've helped a lot. I'll let you know if I need anything else. If you find anything more, call me on my cell. I'm not ready for Michelle to hear any of this. It might not mean a thing and I don't want to get her hopes up."

They disconnected and Tony set his phone back on the dresser. His mind was spinning out of control. He had to slow himself down and think about how to proceed. He was now certain that Abby was the kidnapper but he had to figure out how to prove it.