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Chapter 3 - Deputy Directors Office, Washington. July 2004.
"Jack, do come in, sorry if I kept you waiting." Victor Fitzgerald didn't offer either man a handshake or a smile and Danny could feel resentment pouring out of every pore. But Victor was a professional. He bade the two agents follow him into his large, well furnished office.
"Please, sit." He motioned to two soft leather armchairs. Jack however stayed standing and Danny chose merely to perch on the arm of one the chairs, a move which he knew would irritate the Deputy Director and which perhaps subconsciously he made for that very reason.
"I take it you have news of my son?" For a moment Victor's expression almost softened, but only for the briefest of seconds.
"No." Jack scrubbed his hand over his face wearily. He had tried to sleep on the plane from New York, they both had, but Jack couldn't get that picture on Sam's computer screen out of his head, nor the accompanying news story.
"But we do have some information that we think might be connected." He added. "I know you and Martin met for breakfast a couple of months back."
"I try to meet up with my son whenever I'm in New York" Victor Fitzgerald's manner was brusque. "What's your point Agent Malone."
Agent Malone. Not 'Jack' anymore. Jack cleared his throat slightly before continuing.
"Did you and Martin talk about anything in particular that day?" he continued after slight pause.
"I really can't remember; as you said it was a few months ago, I assume we talked as normal about work, Martin's mother and sister, plans for the holidays. I don't think we spoke for more than half an hour, I had a lot of meetings that day and had to be back in Washington for a charity ball that night.
"I thought that charity began at home?" The words were out of Danny Taylor's mouth almost before he could stop himself.
"Excuse me Agent Taylor?" Victor whipped around and glowered at the younger detective. "And what may I ask are you implying in that statement?"
"Danny! Leave it." Jack's tone was harsh but his eyes implied so much more. 'I know, I want to strangle the bd too, but we have to do it this way.' He turned his attention back to Victor.
"Look, we know Victor. We found the newspaper article, it took quite a while, but we did. I am sorry to bring this up again after all these years but I think that's the reason the Martin disappeared, something to do with that time, with what happened."
Victor Fitzgerald paled just a little, but his voice remained icy. "Senior Supervisory Agent Malone" he began. "I would advise you to tread very carefully. You are not aware of all the facts, and it was a long time ago, I fail to understand how this can relate to my son's disappearance. After all, he was only 7 when………when that happened. He received the best medical treatment and counseling that money could buy at the time, and has recovered fully from those particular………………….incidents."
"Incidents?" Jack Malone could no longer prevent his voice from rising. "Incidents? My God! Your 7 year old son is kidnapped and buried in a cellar for almost 4 months, and is released only to find that his mother has committed suicide thinking that her only son was dead? It's a little bit more than just an incident don't you think?"
Even as he spoke the words, Jack could feel his hands shaking and could see Danny lowering his head in disgust.
"Perhaps I should explain." Victor Fitzgerald sat down heavily on his chair and after a moment's pause, Jack motioned for he and Danny to do the same.
"It was a very traumatic time for us all." Victor began. "We were absolutely terrified that our son was dead, we heard nothing from his captors for quite a long time, and naturally I had the best men available on the case. But my wife was never very strong unfortunately, she was on tablets from a heart conditions and in her distress, she took too many. That is all, the papers tried to say it was suicide, but that wasn't the case"
Both agents could see this was bringing back some painful memories for Victor Fitzgerald, but still his tone of voice never changed, and his defiant stance never altered.
"It was an unfortunate incident for everyone involved and if I could turn back the clock I would do some things differently, but it happened, I don't see how it can be connected to Martin's disappearance now."
"Well, if you'd taken the time to find out, you'd have seen that the main suspect in your son's kidnapping case was released two weeks ago." Danny Taylor's tone, though guarded, was unmistakably sarcastic.
"Maybe you would like to tell us the whole story?"
Jack turned to face Victor, making direct eye contact with his superior. For a moment it seemed that Victor was going to close up, to dismiss the two agents. An almost imperceptable stand off took place between the two men, the deputy director one side, Jack on the other. Neither man spoke. Finally Danny stood up and made for the door, his supressed anger threatening to get the better of him.
"Agent Taylor, wait" Victor spoke, but this time his voice was different, softer, almost….defeated. "Perhaps I do owe you an explanation, if it will help find my son."
Danny paused at the door and turned before speaking. "You know what, you owe it to Martin. I just hope it's not too late."