Author's Note: Sorry about the long time between posts...I'm going to try to be much better about how long it takes me to post between chapters, but our internet has been down and having a ton of problems so I haven't really had a chance to update this story. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially the reviewer (I'm sorry I don't have your username handy at the moment, otherwise I would name you)who pointed out that I had typed Summer Roberts, because I definitely had meant to put Summer Cohen. Icorrected that a while ago, sometime after you pointed it out for me.Again, thank you to all reviewers, I love hearing your comments and suggestions. Please leave your reviews again for this chapter; it is a little slow, I think, it's not very exciting, but I think it was kind of a necessary filler chapter...things will get more exciting the next chapter, as Seth will be home with his family by then. Okay, enjoy this as much as is possible and please review! Thank you!
Callie
Chapter Three
Summer was sitting on the couch, her head in her hands, when the doorbell rang. It had been six minutes since her call to 911. Since then she had called only Marissa and Ryan and Kirsten and Sandy. She had told both couples to come over immediately and hadn't explained what had happened, just that she needed them to be there and that she'd explain everything once they arrived at her house.
Summer jumped up and ran to the front door. Flinging the door open, she was greeted by red and blue flashing lights, sirens, policemen, and police dogs on leashes in her front yard. "Summer Cohen?" a red headed man stepped forward and gazed at her intensely.
"Yes," Summer answered, wrapping her arms around herself. His intense gaze was making her feel very self-conscious. "Yes, that's me. I'm Summer." Summer paused for a moment before looking up at the man. "I'm babbling." Then Summer shook her head wildly and said, "Who cares about me, you're here to help Shannon."
"My name is Brad Prescott, I'm the inspector who has been assigned to your daughter's case. You and I should talk as soon as possible, but first of all, I need to know if there were any witnesses to the crime," Brad asked.
Summer nodded, stepping backwards and making room for Brad to come into the house. Brad signaled several policemen into the house and said, "Check all the rooms for an intruder, for the girl, or for the body. Be on the look out for any evidence." The policemen, which totaled at least twenty, were piling into the house and splitting up. More policemen were still outside standing by squat cars and searching the yard for clues with search dogs sniffing around.
Summer became very silent and still as all these people ran around her, searching her house and moving all their belongings around. She felt so overwhelmed. Shannon was gone, and there were more than two dozen people searching her property for possibly a body. A body of her little girl, her perfect angel, Shannon.
"Ms. Cohen?" Brad asked, searching her face for some sign of recognition that would show she could hear him.
Summer moved her head slowly so that her eyes could met Brad's. "Mrs. It's Mrs. Cohen."
"Okay, Mrs. Cohen. Now, let's get going so we can help your daughter. Were there any witnesses?" Brad asked.
"Yes, one of my other daughters witnessed…Shannon…being taken. She saw the whole thing, I believe," Summer said. I can't believe I'm telling an inspector that Kaylie witnessed her sister's kidnapping…I can't believe I'm even thinking the word 'kidnapping', Summer thought to herself, still feeling bewildered, out of place, and confused. Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?
"How many children do you have?" Brad asked, taking out a small pad of white paper from his pocket and a pen.
"Six," Summer answered. "Shannon, Courtney, Kaylie, Jake, Emily, and Ben." When Summer noticed Brad writing their names all down, she added, "They're ages eleven, eight, seven, five, four, and two, respectively."
"Okay," Brad said as he finished writing down all that information, "where are they? They need to be separated." Brad glanced back down at his notes. "Well, actually Jake, Emily, and Ben are all too young to be questioned…but Kaylie and Courtney will have to be separated from each other and you, both will have to be interrogated."
"They're all sitting in the dining room together…it's that way," Summer said pointing.
"Okay. I need to go get a statement from Kaylie and then we'll get the girls into separate cars to be taken to the police station to be formally interviewed by policemen and staff. While I do that, it would be a good idea for you to find some recent, close up if possible, pictures of Shannon for the newscasts and also some of her personal items and clothing so that the dogs can catch her scent better," Brad told her.
"Okay," Summer said although she did not move. She felt very unsure about leaving her children in the hands of a stranger, especially after the night they had just had. Summer was sure though that the night was far from over and that things would only get worse as the events progressed through the early morning. Summer nodded to the inspector just as a policeman popped his head into the house.
"Inspector? There's two couples and some kids here…they say Mrs. Cohen called them and told them to come here immediately, although she hadn't explained why," the policeman explained. "Should I let them in?"
"No, this is a crime scene," the inspector answered. "Tell them to wait outside and not to touch anything."
Summer shook her head. "No, let Sandy Cohen and Ryan Atwood in. They're both lawyers. My children and I have a right to a lawyer, don't we?" Summer asked the inspector as she turned to look at him.
"You're not being arrested. You don't need a lawyer," Brad explained exasperatedly.
"I may not need one, but I want them in here," Summer argued. "I, for one, do not want my girls being taken to some foreign police station alone, especially when they'll already be separated for God knows what reason." Summer turned to the policeman and said in her commanding voice, "Let them in."
The policeman turned to the red headed inspector and raised his eyebrows. Brad nodded his head curtly at the policeman to signal it was okay to let the men into the house. A moment later, Sandy Cohen and Ryan Atwood stepped into the foyer of the Cohen manor. The moment Sandy's eyes hit Summer's face, he knew something terrible had happened. He, of course, had already thought that by the policemen out front and the mysterious late night phone call, but he found the confirmation he needed in Summer's eyes.
"Summer, sweetie, what happened?" he asked stepping towards her and putting his hands firmly on her arms.
"Shannon was kidnapped from her bedroom. Kaylie witnessed it. They-" Summer said jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the inspector, "want to take Kaylie and Courtney to the police station for formal interrogating and want them to go separately."
"Okay, okay. Summer, listen to me. Everything is going to be fine, they are going to find Shannon. She's going to be fine, they'll find her," Sandy said not knowing who he was trying to convince more in that moment—Summer or himself. "I'll go with Kaylie to the police station and Ryan can go with Courtney to make sure they don't over do anything, and are asking appropriate things and stuff like that…Marissa can take Emily, Jake, and Ben back home with their kids…and Kirsten can help you here, with whatever you need," Sandy told her.
Summer nodded, feeling slightly better now that Sandy and Ryan were there. They had a plan now, something to do, some way of feeling as if they were making a difference in the case and that they were not helpless in all this. "Okay, okay, well, Kirsten can go up to Shannon's room and get some of her belongings out so the search dogs can pick up her scent. I also have to gather some recent and close up pictures of Shannon for the press and the Amber Alert," Summer told him, sniffling as she did so. She still couldn't believe this was happening, but with Sandy taking charge, she felt as though things might start to get rolling and maybe some progress would be made because of it.
Brad stepped forward. "One of my men has just informed me that as soon as you get us a recent picture of Shannon, the news stations will broadcast the information and an Amber Alert will go out immediately," Brad informed Summer and the growing extended family gathering in the foyer. "What that really means," Brad said taking in a deep breath here, "is that Shannon's case was just declared an official kidnapping. Based on the crime scene and evidence found here, we can say almost one hundred percent sure that she was taken against her will."
Summer was not sure how to respond to this, everything was happening so fast and she felt as though nothing was really being done. "I'm going to go find a picture for you," Summer announced as she turned away from the three men in the room and hurried up the stairs to study. She threw open the door, hurried to a large walk in closet in the room, and grabbed a box labeled 'Shannon Elizabeth'. She pulled off the lid and dumped the contents of the box onto the carpeted floor in the closet. Summer bent down and picked out five or six pictures of Shannon that were taken within the past six months and were fairly up close.
When she arrived back downstairs, she found Kirsten waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, Summer," Kirsten sighed as she saw her daughter-in-law. Kirsten wrapped her arms around Summer for a brief few moments, giving her a quick hug, knowing that they didn't even have time for that. "Emily, Jake, and Ben just went back to Marissa's house with her and the kids. Courtney already left for the police station with Ryan in the same car as her, and Kaylie just finished giving her statement to the police, with Sandy in the room. She'll be heading over to the police station for a formal interview soon. Sandy's going with her, of course." Kirsten looked down and noticed the pictures gathered in Summer's hands. "Oh," she said softly. "Let's go find Inspector Prescott and give him those so they can send out the Amber Alert and get her picture circulating."
Kirsten gently took Summer's hand in hers and guided her throughout the downstairs until they finally found Brad by the family room window, helping other policemen take down different measurements. "Inspector," Kirsten said as she gently took the pictures out of Summer's hands, "here are several pictures of Shannon."
Brad turned around. "Alright, thank you, I'll go send this out now." Brad took the pictures out of Kirsten's hands just a little too roughly and walked confidently out of the room. Kirsten couldn't help but roll her eyes. He had to be the least compassionate person she could think of to be doing the job he was.
Kirsten turned around and put on her brave face for Summer. "So…what time will Seth be here?" Kirsten asked as she came to the realization that she didn't know what else to ask.
Summer looked up at Kirsten with tearful eyes. "I…I haven't quite…gotten around…to, um, calling him yet," she answered in a whisper.
Kirsten blinked a few times and then said, "Excuse me? What did you just say?" Summer's tears poured silently down her face.
"I…I can't call him. How do I call him and tell him I lost our daughter? How do I call him and tell him that his daughter is gone? That she just disappeared from her bedroom, and that I'm not really sure what is going on? That I haven't a single clue about who took her or why?" Summer started sobbing harder. "I can't call him."
"Summer, you have to. You have to call and let him know what's going on. He is going to want to be here for you and the other children. No matter what happens with Shannon's case, you have five other children who are going to desperately need their mother and their father," Kirsten was begging Summer to call him. When Kirsten finished and realized that Summer still looked a bit unconvinced, she added, "Either you call him now or I will. I'll bet he'd rather hear it from you, but one way or another, he needs to know…so call him or I will. You choose."
Summer didn't say anything for a few moments and then said, "Okay. I'll call." Kirsten wrapped her arms around Summer and held her close for a moment. Then she backed away, retrieved a cordless phone, and handed it to Summer. Summer found the hotel number in the call history and hit 'Talk'.
"Sum, honey…you know I love you…but honestly…isn't it a bit earlier to be calling?" Seth answered somewhat groggily.
"Seth," Summer said. She could picture him sitting up immediately in bed, wondering what her tone was for, why she sounded so worried.
"Summer, what's wrong? Honey, what's wrong?" Seth asked, his voice filled with emotion and concern.
"Oh, God, Seth. It's Shannon. She…she, oh God, SETH, she-oh Seth, SHE was kidnapped. From her bedroom. By a man. Who had a knife. And a bat, apparently. There's blood everywhere, just everywhere. The police are all over the place, with blood hounds and-" Summer had started babbling as she sobbed heavily into the phone. Kirsten reached over and grabbed the phone from Summer. Perhaps letting Summer tell Seth hadn't been the best plan of them all.
"Sum, sweetie, go sit down on the couch," Kirsten said quickly, trying to sound calm. Summer was babbling, almost incoherently, something she had a tendency to do before her rage blackouts struck. Kirsten flagged down on of the policemen and told him to get her water ASAP before Kirsten brought the phone up to her ear. "Seth?" There was a long pause. "Yes, that's right…okay, I'll tell her…I love you, too. See you soon," Kirsten replied. She hung up the phone and turned to Summer. "He'll be here as soon as possible, he's making travel arrangements right now."
"Right," Summer mumbled from where she sat on the couch.
Kirsten ran a hand through her own blonde hair. "Summer, it's going to be oka-" Kirsten attempted to comfort her daughter-in-law, but was interrupted by a police officer.
"Mrs. Cohen, we have a few questions about what happened here tonight," the officer interrupted. Without giving Summer even a moment to respond, he continued speaking. "Shannon was eleven, correct?" he asked.
Summer's eyes flashed angrily as she suddenly found her strength and courage again. "Shannon is eleven. Present tense," Summer snapped.
The officer barely nodded before moving on. "Does Shannon have a boyfriend?" he asked in a bored tone.
"She's eleven. Eleven years old. Would you like me to spell that out for you?" Summer glared at the officer angrily.
"She's in junior high, correct? Statistics show that most people start dating in junior high these days," the officer explained in a dull voice. "I'm guessing by your response, no boyfriend. Or not that you know of, at least." The officer wrote down a few more things on his notepad while Summer turned and stared at Kirsten in disbelief. Is he seriously asking me these things? What in the world is he going to ask me next? Summer worried.
"What kind of kids does she hang out with?" the officer was now biting on the pen cap and looking extremely bored.
"Can I have someone else question me?" Summer asked Kirsten. "Someone who isn't completely incompetent? Do they maybe have someone who's half-incompetent? Like partially incompetent?"
Kirsten frowned. "I'll go find Inspector Prescott," Kirsten told Summer before walking into the next room.
"Well, thank God someone is doing something," Summer snapped. Summer sighed and moved her feet around on the carpet. She felt unbelievably restless. Nothing was being done. Questioning her wasn't going to help; Summer hadn't taken Shannon. As far as Summer knew, the kidnapper was no one she knew. As the officer continued to bother Summer with useless questions, she let her gaze drift to the window frame with the shattered glass.
Staring at the shattered glass, a realization hit her hard and painfully. Shannon was really gone. This was really happening. Someone really had taken her and the Cohens had no idea if they'd ever see her alive again. There were no guarantees that Summer would ever hug Shannon again or even hear her wonderful laugh. Or see her beautiful smile. Or watch her dance, ever so gracefully, in front of an audience.
There were no more guarantees. As far as Summer could see, Shannon's kidnapping was exactly like every other kidnapping you hear about on the news. Summer took this to mean that Shannon had the same chances those kids had. The odds were already looking slim in their favor and Summer didn't like it, not one bit. And with that thought in mind, she barfed on the police officer with the bored expression and dull tone standing in front of her, still asking countless and useless questions.