Disclaimer: This is an original story based upon the characters of Gilmore Girls. No profit will be made from this story and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: I'm back! My trip was fun and I hope you all had a great holiday season. Thank you for your reviews on the last chapter. I hope you like this next chapter. Just like I am not a romance writer by trade, I am also not a crime story/mystery story by trade and I sincerely hope this chapter is somewhat believable. Also, this chapter is a little bit more scary so this chapter gets bumped up to a PG-13. That having been said, enjoy the next installment!
I had seen an episode of Law and Order once when I was home sick in bed. The only reason I had watched it was because of Jerry Orbach. I had always thought he was good looking. Now, as we walked into the Hartford police station it reminded me of that show. It was a nice place with mahogany colored walls and a few bouquets of flowers on desks. Police officers hurried in and out of the building and a few others dressed in white shirts, black slacks and black suspenders who seemed to be the ones in charge, were hovering over others. One saw us walk in and came up to us.
"Mr. and Mrs. Danes, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore—thank you for coming," he said. "I'm Detective Stevens. Please come with me," he said leading us down the hall.
"Have you found our daughter?" Luke asked anxiously.
"No," the detective said, "But we have a very strong lead," he said as he lead us down the hall and into a room with a glass display. Now it really did feel like Law and Order.
"Mrs. Gilmore, I understand that you watched the security tape that had Ms. Kelly on it, taking your stroller."
"Yes," I nodded.
"Did you get a good look at her face?"
"Yes, I had the security man pause the tape for me."
"We have already interviewed the security guard that helped you that day. He has come in and identified the woman he saw. I need you to do the same. A line up of woman will come out and I need you to take your time and tell us which one of the women was the one you saw that day."
I nodded slowly swallowing hard. He pressed a button on an intercom and said, "Bring them in."
Five women walked in slowly, all dressed in orange jumpsuits. They were all blondes and had ponytails in their hair.
"Turn around slowly," he said into the intercom and they all obliged. I watched each of them, trying to recall that moment in my mind that I had seen that face on the camera.
"Four," I whispered at first and then said it again louder. "Number four,"
"Are you sure?" he asked.
I took another minute to be sure—yes, it was her. I was certain.
"Yes, it's number four." I said.
"You are done," he said and I watched as they turned and walked away. Suddenly number four turned and looked at me. That look—it was filled with such hatred. I had never seen someone look at me like that before. It took my breath away. She seemed to hold me with those eyes. The policeman seemed to notice it and told her to turn her head forward. She looked at me for one more minute and then all of a sudden spit on the ground. The policeman gave her a slight shove and told her to move. Suddenly she stopped and turned around towards me again. "Children are an heritage unto the Lord!" she shouted and I could hear her through the glass. "They shall not be left with the corrupt!" Two policemen grabbed her and took her out of the area. I couldn't take my eyes off of the glass. It was like she still had power over me. Richard put a hand on my shoulder and I jumped. I had forgotten there were other people in the room.
"Mrs. Gilmore, I don't have to tell you that number four was the woman the security guard identified as well. She was arrested in Boston last night on charges of kidnapping. You most likely had an idea but I am here to tell you that the incident in the mall was not a case of a mistaken stroller. It was an attempt at kidnapping your granddaughter. Yesterday in Boston a young girl, three year old Brittany Smith, was taken from the Valley Road mall. It was very busy, and she was separated from her mother. The mother realized it after a few minutes but it was too late. Brittany was nowhere to be found."
"Oh my," I breathed.
"There was a woman who had been coming into the mall who had heard Brittany screaming as she was being taken out to the car. She asked the woman who was carrying Brittany if there was anything she could do to help but there she received no answer. It was moments later that she walked into the mall and heard what was happening. She was able to give the police a description of the woman and of the car. By the time they got out to the parking lot she was gone. They were able to track the car and followed it for about a mile before it finally pulled over. The woman you just identified—April Kelly, was inside. Right away she started yelling what you just heard now. They arrested her but Brittany was nowhere to be found."
"So, are you thinking that this chick kidnapped Alicia too?" Luke asked.
"She was trying to kidnap her that day in the mall," I said suddenly, it all sinking in. "That's what she was doing. The stroller was a ruse—in case she had gotten caught."
The policeman nodded, and Luke suddenly pounded the desk, "So, you know who kidnapped her—where is she? Where is my daughter?"
"It's not that simple," he said and motioned us out of the room and down the hall. There was something he wasn't telling us—something big. He led us into an office and motioned for us to sit down. He locked the door and then sat down on a chair next to us.
"What I am about to tell you can't leave this room," he said and we all shifted in our seats nervously. He turned and brought something from off of his desk that was place in a zip log bag. "My name is Michael Stevens, I am a detective for the FBI. I was brought in on this case and the Smith case yesterday. I flew in from California."
Suddenly a new fear settled in the pit of my stomach. Why was this a federal case? Why were they bringing in someone from California?
He then showed us what was in the bag. "This was delivered to Mr. and Mrs. Smith late last night."
It was the note—the same note we had received when Lorelai was kidnapped, the same note Luke and Lorelai had received in Alicia's crib.
He only gave us a moment to digest that new piece of information before he went on. "Again, I would like to stress that this information is not to leave this room. I have been on assignment for over thirty years. There are very few people who know about this and it is vital that we keep it that way. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked his desk drawer. Inside was a black box with a lock on it. "Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore you indicated in your statement that you believed that there was a connection between your daughter's kidnapping and your granddaughters. You were right." Slowly he opened the box.
"Dear God," Richard shuddered.
Inside there were at least forty notes written just the same as the others.
"What does this mean?" Luke asked. "Who is this—that April woman can't be more than thirty, thirty five years old!"
"She is a part of a group called The Children for Christ. It's a cult that has far as we can tell was started in the sixties. I've been on the trail of them for years. They don't believe in living in houses, they live in the outdoors. They don't believe in having any worldly possessions. They believe in condemning the rich. They think that children born to rich people are suffering and it is their duty to remove them from their parents. We believe that is what happened to Alicia and to Lorelai years ago in France. I did not know about your daughter's kidnapping until yesterday when I talked to the police officer, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore, but I am certain the same group was behind it."
It felt like electricity was surging through me. We weren't the victims of a woman who had gone mad over the loss of her child. We were victims of a top secret cult kidnapping. I could hardly breathe as I looked over at Lorelai and Luke as they digested the news. Richard reached over and grabbed my hand and I knew he was thinking the same thing. It was us—it was our fault. Our daughter and her husband weren't the rich ones, we were.
"Why haven't you been able to find these people?" Richard asked in a low voice. "How is it that one woman is caught so easily but you can't destroy the cult?"
"That's the difficult thing Mr. Gilmore. We are dealing with extremely intelligent people. Think about it—the attempt at kidnapping Alicia in the mall. They had to know what type of stroller Alicia had so they could have a duplicate ready. The same thing happened in New York about a week ago. Think about your daughter's kidnapping. I don't think it was random. Someone knew your were there in Paris and at that park. They are extremely intelligent and are very evasive. That's why we feel we can't let the press know about this. They might disappear off the face of the earth."
"So why was the Kelly woman caught so easily?" I asked.
"To give us a diversion," he answered. "She's a martyr, she's sacrificing herself to the cause. She won't give us anything."
Suddenly he leaned forward and took Lorelai's hands in his. "Mr. and Mrs. Danes, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore, Lorelai's kidnapping is the forty-third case I have heard in the past thirty years. Her case turned out for the better. We can always hope for the same for Alicia. You should know however, that out of the forty-three cases I have heard about and been involved in, only six children have ever been found."
"No...No!" Lorelai cried and buried her head in Luke's shoulder.
"We're doing everything we can," the detective said. "Please, go back to your home and get some rest. We'll call you as soon as we know something."
Luke nodded and stood up slowly, with Lorelai still clinging to him. Detective Stevens opened the door and Richard put his hand on Lorelai's back and helped lead her out of the room. For some reason I could not leave. I knew there was something more. Something that he wasn't telling us. Evidently Richard knew it too because as soon as he had lead Lorelai down the hall he turned back towards the detective.
"What is it that you're not telling us?" Richard asked, taking my hand.
"Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore," he started, shutting the door again. "I sincerely hope that this will be a success story but the odds against it are very slim. We have no idea what has happened to the other thirty six children over the years. We have no idea if they are taken into the cult, or..." he stopped and Richard and I sucked in a deep breath.
No nightmare could compare with the terror I felt right at that moment.
He didn't have to say the word, and truth to tell, I don't think I could have heard the word out loud. He gave us a minute to digest that and then went on. "Three years ago, we caught another martyr, another diversion. She said in her statement that the children deserved to be relieved of the suffering caused by their rich parents and it was their duty to God to fulfill that—even if it meant sending them to Christ themselves."
Suddenly I fell against Richard and he wrapped a protective arm around me.
"We are doing every thing we can," he said again. "I will contact you as soon as we know something more. We will continue to question Ms. Kelly and see what we can get out of her."
"Thank you," Richard whispered as he helped me out to the car.
We were silent on the way home, Richard and I said nothing about the last part of our conversation with the detective. We had hoped for answers and instead we only were more confused. Why us? Why out of all the rich people in the world had we been singled out? Why Alicia? Why was Alicia one of the forty-three children? How did Lorraine fit into all of this if she still did? Lorraine was rich herself, came from an affluent family. It was impossible to think that she had something to do with these people.
It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when we got back to the house. Rory had stayed behind in case the kidnappers had tried to call, and though there were police guards outside the house, we all breathed a sigh of relief to see Rory at the door. "Anything?" she asked and we all shook out heads. We were all exhausted. Richard and I slowly climbed up the stairs behind Lorelai and Luke and collapsed in the guest bed without taking our coats off. It took only moments until I was asleep.
I was at the park, it was storming. Lorelai was running away from me. "Lorelai look at me, come to Mommy! Please come to Mommy!" I was screaming, running after her. She was running up the hill, and I couldn't catch her. Why couldn't I catch her. She was standing on a cliff now, looking down below.
"Stop Lorelai!" I yelled. "Stop right there!"
She turned back and looked at me, then she took a step and tumbled over the edge. "No!" I screamed. "No!" I collapsed on the hill and sobbed. It was then I heard her voice. "Mommy!" she was crying. "want Mommy!"
"Lorelai!" I cried out. "I'm here! I'm right here!" The sound of her crying for me got louder and louder until it was deafening. I covered my ears and cried out to the sky. "She's my daughter! She's my baby! She's mine! Please don't hurt her! Please don't hurt my baby!" I saw it then. I was watching the three of us have the picnic and again I saw it—the face behind the tree, a dark shadow watching. It was Lorraine. I was certain.
Suddenly I sat up and again it felt like I had been drowning. "Lorelai!" I cried out. "I want my baby!" I screamed. Richard sat up and took me in his arms but I thrashed out of them.
"Leave me alone!" I screamed. "I want my baby! Give me my baby!"
I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was gasping for every breath of air.
"Emily!" Richard was yelling but it felt like it was a million miles away. "Emily, wake up! It's the dream!" he yelled again.
Seconds later the door opened and Lorelai came in.
"Mom—I'm here, I'm right here," she said, trying to get close enough to me. She moved in closer and cupped her hands around my face. "Mom—Mommy, look at me. I'm right here!" she yelled. Suddenly I snapped out of it, looked at her and broke down sobbing. She took me in her arms and started crying herself. Her own baby was gone this time and all she could do was be my baby and hold me until I stopped crying. Finally after what seemed to be hours, I stopped crying and got a hold of myself. Breathing heavily I sat up.
"You okay?" Lorelai asked.
I nodded. Luke, Lorelai, Richard and Rory were all hovering over me.
"She was there," I said again after I had gathered my composure. "I am certain of it. She was watching us. She was there."