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"No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently." Agnes De Mille

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Chapter 4

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Snow had started to fall as the bureau issue Ford Taurus sped along the expressway towards downtown Chicago. The icy white flakes hit the windshield and melted instantaneously into small droplets that ran down the glass like tears. Outside her steamy window Sam recognized the Blue Line train rocking alongside them in the center of the highway. She remembered it well. It was her ride away from her life and family in the mid-west towards a new future full of new possibilities.

Today marks her first return trip.

She moved her gaze to the window on her right; the cityscape a blur of granite and red brick buildings. Snow was slowly starting to blanket the ground and she sighed, briefly wishing that they had been sent to find a missing person in a warm tropical climate. It was as cold here as it was in New York.

She moved her eyes away from the window to watch Danny and Martin chatting in the front seat. She sat directly behind Martin and listened to their conversation about living in Chicago versus New York. In typical male fashion they were arguing over which city had a harsher winter and who could bear it better. As they talked she found herself studying Martin's face in the rearview mirror. She couldn't deny that he was a handsome man with his dark hair and chiseled features. He had an undeniably nice smile and boyish good looks but there was also something more about him that intrigued her. Despite his golden boy aura she could see that he had more going on underneath than he let on.

"So, Fitzgerald's an interesting last name, any relation to the Deputy Director?" Danny asked.

Sam's ears perked up at Danny's tone and she knew that he was baiting the agent. She watched Martin's reflection to try and gauge his reaction.

He worked his jaw before he answering, "He's my father."

"So the bureau is a family business. I guess you'll be working your way up the ladder to take your dad's job eventually." Danny challenged.

Sam knew what Danny was doing. He was always contentious when he thought someone was getting a free ride which is one of the reasons Jack gave her a direct order to make sure he played nice with the locals. It's not that he was a bad guy but he seemed to think the best way to judge someone's character was by seeing how they defended themselves against his criticisms. She had asked him about it once and he said his test was simple: If they pass, he was a friend for life. If they didn't, well, who needs someone like that for a friend anyway?

But they were here to work, not to make friends or enemies.

"So, Martin, we didn't have much time to get the full debriefing on your case." Sam interrupted quickly. "What can you tell us about Erica Mosconi?"

Martin glanced at her in the rearview mirror. His eyes darted towards Danny before meeting hers again. Judging by his eyes she knew that he knew that she was running interference.

Thankfully Martin went along. "She's a housewife and lives in Oak Park. Her husband is Dominic Mosconi – a computer engineer. They have two boys; a four year old and an eight-month old. She had just left her in-laws and was on her way to have dinner with her best friend, Christine Bremner. The restaurant is downtown but we found her car at a mini-mall parking lot six miles from the house."

She continued to study Martin's face in the mirror even though he was now focused on the road ahead, "We know that blood drops were found on the door, where there any other signs of foul play?"

"No." He replied with a quick glance at her. "So we are operating under the assumption that she might have been taken by someone she knew."

"Any chance she was having an affair and just took off?" Danny asked.

"We looked into it but so far there is nothing to indicate that she was seeing anybody." Martin replied as he clicked on the blinker to change lanes.

"What about the husband? Did he indicate that he was suspicious or concerned about the way she had been behaving lately?" Sam asked as she tried to concentrate on the case and not Martin's eyes that she noticed were a beautiful shade of blue.

"Not at all, he seems pretty devastated by her disappearance."

"What's his alibi?" Danny asked as he reached over to turn up the heater.

"He was in Las Vegas for a convention. It checked out." Martin replied.

Danny leaned back in his seat and said, "I think Sam and I should talk to him."

Martin nodded his head. "That's a good idea. I'd like to see if he knows anything about the woman known as Carmela Chicchini."

Danny waved him off. "We can cover it and let you know what we find out. I think it might be best if there are only two of us there; any more than that people tend to get nervous and clam up."

"Just the same, I should go too." Martin replied as he turned the car onto Dearbon Avenue. "Besides, you might need me to interpret."

"I speak Spanish and can understand some Italian. Sam knows French." Danny supplied. "What language does Mr. Mosconi speak?"

"Sign." Martin explained with a small grin before looking over at Danny and explaining, "He's deaf. But if you know how to sign then, sure, I'll just leave you to it."

"Oh." Danny answered as he turned to look out the window. "So, yeah, I guess you can come with us."

"Good idea." Martin replied with a little nod. He looked at Sam in the mirror with a victorious grin on his face.

She met his eyes and smiled in response knowing that Martin Fitzgerald had just won round one.