Sitting quietly in her room at her desk Janey Doe, a 16-year-old girl, painted with a delicate hand. There was a slight rapping on her door; she couldn't hear it with her headphones on. The door opened and woman poked her head in.
"Janey?"
The girl pulled her headphones off.
"How are you doing?" the woman asked.
"I'm fine!" Janey answered with obvious annoyance.
"You know I have to ask?"
"Whatever," she tried to get back to her painting.
"Well, if you ever need to talk…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you're here right?" she spat with sarcasm.
The woman got up and left. Sometime in the night the girl vanished.
FBI HQ, Manhattan Two Hours Missing 8:05 Am
Martin walked into the office early that morning with a slight spring in his step; he and Samantha had spent a romantic night curled up in a blanket on her couch. He was happy, rested and ready to take on the day!
"Hey," he greeted Danny happily as he walked into the bullpen.
"Hey," Danny looked at him. "You're in a good mood this morning," he smirked.
"Yeah?" Martin sat down at his desk.
"You have a good night or something?" Danny inquired, grinning broadly now. He knew of Martin's and Sam's relationship.
Martin merely smiled and turned on his computer.
Danny was still grinning when Samantha walked in a few moments later.
"'Morning, guys!" she sounded as happy as Martin did.
"'Morning," they answered her.
She and Martin made eye contact for a moment before she sat down at her desk.
They sat quietly working for only a short time before Jack walked into the bullpen.
"Look alive, guys! We've got a missing girl in the Lower East Side, looks like a kidnapping," he sat down at the table, where the others jointed him.
"Her name's Janey Doe, she's 16, orphaned and living at a group home. The home reported her missing at six this morning; they called the police 'cause they found her room torn apart and blood everywhere. Sam, I want you to look into the staff," he handed her a large file. "Danny you're going to liaise with the local PD, Martin come with me we're going to the group home." Jack stood up and started out of the office, Martin on his heels, leaving the other two to go about their tasks.
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When Jack and Martin arrived at the group home they were met by the supervisor that called in the disappearance.
"I wouldn't be so worried, but her room was such a mess and there was blood all over the place," the woman fretted as she lead them to the missing girl's room.
"Were you the last one to see her?" Jack asked of her.
"No, I work the morning shift, but I can get you the address and home phone number of our night shift supervisor who checked on Janey last night."
"That'd be great, thanks," Jack said.
"What can you tell us about her, Ma'am?" Martin asked.
"Well, she's quiet, a bit of a loner, angry, depressed."
"Angry, depressed why?" Jack questioned.
"She was found when she was six wondering the streets. No one, not even Janey, knows why. Or who or where her family is. All she wants is to be a part of a family and she doesn't have anyone," the woman explained.
"So she's lonely?" Jack asked.
"Yes, quite."
"Why isn't she in a foster home?" Jack inquired.
"She's been in several, all over the city, but she always blows out."
"'Blows out', what do you mean, exactly?" Martin questioned.
"You know, disrespects her foster parents, runs away, shoplifts, skips school, things like that," the woman told him.
"So she's just too much for her foster parents to handle?" Jack queried.
"Something like that, yes," she stopped. "Here's her room."
"Would you check it out? I still have a few more questions," Jack said to Martin.
"Yeah," Martin replied stepping into the girl's room.
The place was a mess alright. There was a bed, a small desk, a chair and a dresser. The mattress had been pulled off the bed, blankets everywhere, the desk looked as though someone had knocked all it's contents on to the floor, the chair was upturned, and clothes had been ripped violently from the dresser and thrown around the room. The window was broken, the floor was littered with glass and there was a trail of blood leading to or from the window.
Martin walked cautiously towards the window while slipping gloves onto his hands. There were bars on the window, but as Martin inspected them he found that two were loose enough to move, leaving a hole big enough to crawl through.
Upon further inspection of the room Martin found a notebook with the girl's name sketched in it multiple times, it was odd though because the first name 'Janey' was always followed by a different last name, none of which were 'Doe'.
Martin walked out of the room to show Jack what he'd found.
"Can you think of anyone who'd want to hurt her?" Jack asked the supervisor.
"No, I really can't."
Jack looked over at Martin understanding that he wanted something, but continued with his line of questioning.
"No, enemies? Gangs she was involved in?"
"No, nothing like that, Janey is too smart to get involved with a gang," the woman was cretin.
"Okay, thanks," Jack looked at Martin. "What've you got?"
Martin handed him the notebook.
Jack looked it over. "None of the last names are the same," he passed the book to the woman. "Can you explain that?"
"Well, 'Doe' isn't her real last name-"
"Then what is?" Jack asked before she could continue.
"No one knows," she paused as Jack gave her a quizzical look. "When she was found on the streets all she knew was her first name, so she was like a 'Jane Doe', and it just happens that her real first name is 'Janey'."
"I see, well, thank you. I think that's all we need right now, but if you think of anything else, you give us call," Jack handed her a business card.
"Okay, I will," she took it and walked away.
Jack and Martin continued to search the room, "It looks like somebody was looking for something," Jack stated.
"Yeah," Martin agreed, "but what… and did they find it?"
"Good question."
They found nothing of great interest and couldn't tell if anything had been taken, so Jack took a sample of the blood and the notebook and headed back to the office, telling Martin to talk to the other kids.
Martin interviewed all 23 other kids who lived in the same section as Janey and didn't find one who was friends with her, or even any who knew her very well. Some didn't even know her by name; it wasn't until Martin showed them her picture that they even knew who he was talking about. His interviews with the staff were much the same; if they knew her at all it wasn't very well.
A frustrated and slightly discouraged Martin started back to the office with nothing good to report.
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FBI HQ Three and a Half Hours Missing 9:35 Am
Martin walked back in the bullpen sometime later and headed right for the table where the others were sitting.
Jack looked up at him as he threw his coat on the back of his chair and sat down. "Find out anything?"
"Yeah, this girl doesn't have any friends," he said bitterly.
"Well, the supervisor said she was a loner," Jack reminded him, looking at the younger agent.
"Yeah, I guess," he answered softly, looking down.
"What did you get from the local PD, Danny?" Jack continued.
"Well, they canvassed the area," Danny eyes lingered on Martin for a moment more before looking at his boss. "And they find a hole cut in the fence line near the road. Looks like someone knew what they were doing."
"Yes," Jack agreed, "but the question is why?"
Danny shrugged.
"Sam?"
"Well, all the currant staff look clean enough, but there were two who quit and one who was 'let go' since Janey has been there. The two quit for personal reasons…" she paused, looking through her files.
"And the one who was 'let go'?"
"Well, the supervisor I spoke to said it was because he was coming in late, missing sifts," she shrugged. "No other reasons."
"Okay, we've to get on this, we need to find out everything we can about this girl, hunt down her old foster parents, old hang outs-" Jack started.
"I don't get it?" Martin interrupted.
Jack looked at the distracted young agent for a moment. "Don't get what?" he asked.
"Why would anyone kidnap this kid? She has no family to pay ransom, no money of her own, it doesn't make any sense."
"Maybe she knew something that somebody didn't want getting out, a dirty secret or something?" Danny suggested.
"Maybe," Jack agreed, "maybe she is or was involved in a gang or maybe she just ran away. That's what we have to find out, so let's get on it!" he glanced at Martin, who didn't meet his gaze. "I've got a list of her pervious foster homes. Danny, I want you to check out her old neighborhoods and see what you can find out on the street. Sam, Martin, you two are going to talk to her old foster parents, I'm going to talk to the woman who saw her last." Jack stood and they all headed out to their assignments.
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Lower East Side, Manhattan Four Hours Missing 10:00 AM
Samantha was driving, headed to Janey's last foster home, the Parker's, Martin had been very quiet and distracted, she was hoping he'd talk to her, but he hadn't.
"Martin?"
"Hmm?" he looked at her.
"You okay?"
"I…uh," he looked into Sam's worried eyes and sighed. "It's just hit a little close to home, you know?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well…I-I know what its like," he hesitated.
She waited quietly for him to continue.
"Being lonely growing up," he was looking out the window.
Sam put her hand on his thigh and petted softly, he turned to look at her and smiled placing his hand over hers and squeezed gently.
They'd arrived, Sam parked the car.
"I can't imagine what this girl's had to go through though," Martin said as they got out of the car.
They walked up to the apartment where Janey's old foster parents lived and knocked on the door. A woman in her late forties opened the door with the chain still on.
"Can I help you?" she peered through the opening.
Martin and Sam showed her their ID's. "I'm Special Agent Fitzgerald and this is Special Agent Spade, we're with the FBI and we'd like to talk to you about Janey Doe," Martin said.
The woman looked at the young pair for a moment then closed the door to take off the chain and then opened it wide to let them in. She led them to the living room while shooing kids to their rooms and calling for her husband.
"Please have a seat," she said politely, indicating a near by sofa, the two agents sat. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, thank you," they said.
A man walked into the room and looked at the two sitting on the couch. "What's going on?" he asked his wife.
"They're with the FBI; they want to talk to us about Janey Doe."
"What has Janey done that's got the feds involved?" the man asked.
"Nothing," Martin answered. "She's missing and we're trying to find her."
"Missing?"
"Yes, sir," Samantha said. "We were hoping you could tell us about her."
"Okay," he and his wife sat down across from the two agents. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," Martin replied quickly.
"What is she like, did she have many friends, and did she cause any trouble? That kind of thing," Sam elaborated.
"Keep to herself, you know, stayed in her room a lot. She didn't talk to us or the other kids very much," he stopped and thought a moment.
"Did she cause any trouble?" Martin questioned.
"No, more than any other, not until the end."
"What happened?" Samantha asked.
"She had a major blow out…and just because of dinner…" Mrs. Parker said.
Flashback
There was a knock on the bedroom door. Mrs. Parker stuck her head in. "Janey? Dinner's ready."
"I'm not hungry!"
"Come on Janey, you haven't eaten in dinner with us in days, why don't you come and have a nice family dinner with us?"
The girl stood up so fast, with such force that she knocked the chair she'd been sitting in over. She whipped around holding a small knife in her hand, blood running down her arms from several long thin cuts.
"You are NOT my family!" she yelled pointing the knife at Mrs. Parker. "I have no family! Just leave me the hell alone!" Janey pushed passed the foster mom and ran out the door.
End Flashback
Martin seemed little shocked by the story and sat quietly staring at his notepad.
"How did she get the cuts on her arms?" Sam began.
"She'd cut herself," Mr. Parker said simply.
"Why?" Samantha was quick to ask.
"She's what's called a 'cutter', she cuts herself when something bad happens in her life," Mrs. Parker explained.
"Why?" Martin spoke up, but didn't look up.
"Well, we're told that with some kids physical pain is easier to deal with than emotional," their host stated. "So they cut themselves to block out the emotional pain."
"When did this happen?" Sam questioned.
"About three months ago, she was taken out of our house and sent to that group home where they could keep an eye on her," the woman told her. "And so they could make sure she was taking her pills."
Martin looked up at the couple for the first time, "Pills?"
"Anti-depressants."
"Do you think that Janey might do something to really hurt herself?" Martin had to ask.
"You mean like suicide?" Mr. Parker sounded surprised.
"Yeah," Martin nodded.
"I don't think so, but I wouldn't put it passed her, that kid's got a lot of problems."
"Do you have any idea why Janey had cut herself that day?" Samantha inquired of the two.
"You know, that's really bugged me ever since she left. She had been doing so well, she was happier, doing better in school and then all of a sudden she relapses, but I can't figure out why," Mrs. Parker told them.
"There were no signs?" the female agent asked.
"Nope, just all of a sudden."
"Do you know of any places that Janey like to hang out?" Martin changed the subject.
"I thought there was this old abandoned building somewhere around here, but I don't know exactly where it is," the foster dad said. "There was this group of kids she'd hung out with there, but I don't know anything about them either, sorry."
"Well, thank you for taking the time to talk to us," Sam stood, and then looked at Martin who also got up. They all shook hands and then Samantha and Martin headed back to their car.
"If this girl's suicidal we've got to find her before she does something stupid," Martin said.
"Yeah, no kidding," Sam agreed, pulling out her cell phone. "I think we should call Danny and see if he got anything those other kids," she found the speed dial for his number and called it.
"Taylor."
"Danny, its Sam."
"Hey, what's up?"
"We just got done with Janey's last foster parents and the said that there was a group of kids that she would hang out with around here."
"Yeah, I found 'em."
"Really? That's great!"
Samantha and Martin had reached the car; Martin was looking at her, hoping they got a break in the case.
"Yeah, but they say that they haven't seen her."
"Her foster parents said that there was an old abandoned building that they used to hang out in, but didn't know where it was, you want to ask those kids about it?"
"Yeah, let me get back to you."
"Okay, great," she hung up the phone and told Martin the just of what Danny had said. They headed back to the office.
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FBI HQ Five Hours Missing 11:00 Am
Martin and Samantha met back up with Jack at the office, Danny was still checking on the old building.
"What'd you find?" Jack asked them as they sat down.
Samantha told him what they'd learned while Martin added points here and there; this case was getting to him.
"What about you?" Sam questioned Jack.
"Nothing very helpful. The woman said that Janey was a little mouthy, but that wasn't unusual and didn't seem out of sorts."
Just then Samantha's cell phone rang.
"Spade."
"Hey, it's me."
"Hey, what did you find?"
"Well, I found the building and there's nothing here, it doesn't look like anyone was here lately."
"The kids give you anything?"
"Not really, they didn't really know her very well."
"Okay."
"How's Marty? He seemed a little upset earlier."
"Um, okay…"
"Is he there with you?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, well, keep an eye on him."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
"Well?" Jack said as she hung up the phone.
"The building was empty and looked like it been that way for a long time. The other kids didn't have much either."
"Okay, Sam I want you to do a back ground check on the Parkers-" Jack was interrupted by Martin's cell phone this time.
"Fitzgerald… Un-huh… Right… Thank you," Martin hung up the phone. "That was the group home; they found something they think we should see."
"Okay, Martin go check it out, I'm going to check hospitals and morgs."
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Lower East Side, Manhattan Six Hours Missing 12:09 PM
Martin headed back to the group home and hunted down the employee who called, it was a man who worked in the office, and Martin had interviewed him earlier.
"What did you find?" Martin asked the man.
"Well, after you left I got to thinking and I remembered that I had found something about two months ago about that girl, Janey."
"Okay, go on."
"I was filing and I found these checks."
"Checks?"
"Yeah, they were written off as donations but, they were really meant for that little girl."
"How you figure that?" Martin raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I found this note with the first check," he handed a piece of paper to Martin.
It reads:
To whom it concern:
This money is for the sole use of the child by the name of, Janey, admitted on this day, to be used by the care provider for needs only.
It was unsigned.
"What was your name again?" the man asked Martin, looking at him funny.
"Fitzgerald," he looked at the man for a moment before his mouth asked the question his eyes already had. "Why?"
"Well, here look for yourself," he handed Martin the checks.
Martin looked them over and his heart skipped a beat when he read the signature.
To Be Continued…