They processed the place, but found nothing. She had taken the children and some of their clothes, but that was it. Nothing else was missing or out of place. There was nothing to find. She had left the tire iron she'd used to beat John Eames within an inch of his life, and they bagged and tagged it, but Goren knew it would tell them nothing they didn't already know. The local cops who responded had not passed another car leaving the development, which told Goren that either they had missed her, or she'd hung around waiting for them to arrive, to admire her handiwork. And he'd been too upset about John and the missing children to even think about looking for her.

He closed the front door and locked it as they left the house. He'd have to call someone in to clean the blood from the living room floor, and he prayed the children had not been witness to that part of the crime they had been drawn into. Deakins stopped at his car. "I had them issue an Amber Alert for the eastern seaboard. Border Patrol is on the alert as well. We'll find them, Bobby."

Goren just nodded. Deakins was worried about him. "You two go on over to the hospital. I'll meet you there."

"What are you gonna do, Cap?" Logan asked.

"I want to talk to a friend of mine, and I have to make sure the press gets pictures to go with the Amber Alert. I'll be along shortly."

They got into their cars and headed out of the development. Logan glanced at the passenger seat. One hand pressed against his mouth, Goren just stared out the window, still and quiet...a deadly combination where Goren was concerned. Logan was very worried. His children were missing, and that had to be doing something to him. He wished like hell he'd had a dad like Goren, and he bet Goren did, too. His kids were everything to him.

Quietly, he asked,"Do you think she'll hurt them?"

The lack of reaction to his question told him he'd been considering the same thing. "I have no idea. She killed her own little girl when she was just a little younger than Maggie. But she saved Gwen Chapel's life." He waved a hand in the air. "I don't know what the hell to think...except that she'd better not harm a hair on either of their heads. These are my kids, Mike. And you've seen her venom with me...and how it spills over to Eames...because of me. Now she's taken Maggie and Tom...because of me." He covered his face with his hands. "I...can't come out of this unscathed, Mike."

"What do you mean?"

"Eames..." His voice faltered, and he waited until he could speak without the tremor in his voice. "She'll blame me..."

"Oh, bullshit. She's not gonna blame you."

Goren turned to face him. "Yeah, she will."

This was so not going to turn out well. Before they had left the house, Logan had found him in Maggie's room. He was sitting on her bed, holding the rabbit Logan had given her two years ago. He looked up when Logan came into the room. "She's slept with this rabbit every night since the day you gave it to her. She said since you always called her bunny, she would always have you with her when she had her bunny." He wouldn't look up. "Now...she's all alone." Slowly he shook his head. "I can't do this, Mike. I...I can't lose her. I...can't..."

Logan sat down beside him. "You're not gonna lose her. We're gonna find her, Bobby. I swear to God we'll find her and Tommy...and then we'll send Wallace back to hell where she came from."

It was a promise he intended to keep. His mind was drawn back to the present when Goren's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and took a deep breath as he opened it. "Goren."

"Hello, Bobby."

Logan immediately knew who was on the phone by Goren's reaction. He pulled the car to the side of the road and leaned his head in closer to listen as Goren held the phone so he could hear. "What do you think you've accomplished, Nicole?"

"You should be thanking me for not killing your partner..oh, excuse me...your wife's daddy. He's a brave man, Bobby."

"I know he is."

"The daddy you wish you had."

"I want my children back."

"Oh, Bobby...you are hardly in a position to be making demands."

Goren swallowed hard. He was fighting hard to keep control, to not let her know what she was doing to him. "What do you want?"

"Want? I'm not sure I want anything except the thrill of the chase. I'll be in touch again. Good-bye, Bobby."

The line went dead and Goren snapped it closed. His knuckles were white. Logan shook his head slowly. "She's messing with you."

"She found it," he whispered. "My biggest weakness. She couldn't touch Eames...so she did the next best thing...or maybe the very worst thing...I thought she got me good with Croyden."

Logan leaned in close to him. "Don't lose it on me now, man. Your kids need you and, even more, your wife needs you. You are not gonna let them down...not if I have anything to say about it. Every mutt out there screws up, even Nicole Wallace. And when she does, we'll close the noose on her. Right?"

Goren rubbed his face and took a deep breath. "Right."

Logan pulled back onto the road and jammed on the accelerator. Softly, Goren said, "Last night, he was sleeping when we got home. He even smiles in his sleep, Mike. I...I don't want her to take that away from him. I-I want to hear my kids laugh again, and I don't want to see terror in their eyes."

Now Logan had no idea what to say.