Gillian had left the little boy in the care of the specialist pediatrician once he had settled enough to reluctantly allow it. She promised him that she would return to see him later, but she knew that he didn't really believe her. He was beyond frightened. Overwhelmed by the reality of a world he had never dreamed existed, and the sudden absence of everyone he had ever known. Gillian leaving, given that she had been his bridge to this new world, had set him into a panic. He had looked around the small room for somewhere to hide at first, and she returned to him and held his tiny shoulders and told him that he was safe. That the doctor and the two social workers were there to help him and he could trust them. She prayed it was true. She couldn't stay beside him forever.
Having gotten him to the point that he trusted her, a complete stranger, and allowed himself to be taken here, she had to then accept the next step in the process. Holding on any longer, he may have become too dependant upon her. Leaving him after he became too attached would have caused a regression. It was difficult to leave him frightened and betrayed, but she knew that it was the only time to do it. She would return later to show him that her word was good, and to allow him to see that there was permanency with people. That sometimes people in this world would leave and you could see them again. Since all this began, everyone who left his basement home had not returned. His mother, who he would never see again, Amy, and his brother. All the good people in his life, gone from him. Gillian hated to put him through another test, but she had no choice.
While she was at the hospital, she went to check up on the baby. He was being treated for an array of problems. His birth had been traumatic, and he was malnourished. In his short life he had nothing but the bare minimum of care afforded him. But he was strong, and he was in good hands now, and it looked like he would be ok. They would treat him for several weeks in the neo natal unit in the hospital before looking for somewhere to place him along with his older brother. Gillian advocated that separating them would be extremely traumatic for the older boy, and it seemed that nobody was keen to fight her on that. But things sometimes didn't work out that way, and she found herself preoccupied with concerns for their future. The advantage was that the high-profile nature of his case left the authorities and the hospital unwilling to take any chances. They would be as concerned with the public image they would face as much as for the welfare of those involved.
Satisfied that the baby was in good hands and good health, Gillian then made her way to the private room in the ward where Amy Hamilton was being kept. Amy and her parents had calmed significantly in the time they had spent here recovering from their ordeal. Gillian arriving by herself, no cops and no Cal seemed to help too. She was just stopping in to check on her, out of genuine concern. She wanted to update her too on the status of the case. Wanted to reassure her that the Morris brothers were in custody. She didn't know how much Amy knew about the house and what was going on there, but she did feel that she had a right to hear it. She wanted to assure her that the children were safe and being taken care of.
As it turned out, Gillian showing up to update them was exactly what Amy needed to feel comfortable to finally talk about what had happened to her. She told Gillian, her parents listening close by, everything.
Caleb had grabbed her at the bus stop. He had dragged her down the quiet street and put her in the back of the SUV. He had then driven her straight to the house. Charlie was nowhere to be seen when they arrived. She struggled with him as much as she could, but he was strong. He brought her to the basement and told her that she would be the children's new mother. He explained that their mother had died, and they needed a new mom to take care of them. Amy had screamed and cried so much that eventually Caleb returned and fed and changed the children himself, clearly unfamiliar with the tasks but clumsily doing his best. He tried to leave her again in the basement, and she screamed and screamed and pounded on the door. Not long after, a different man appeared. Charlie. He dragged her up the stairs, yelling at Caleb the whole time. Charlie brought her kicking and screaming into the attic at the top of the house, a dirty and dusty dark old space. He said that she was less likely to be heard from outside there. She stayed there for hours in the darkness of the attic, crying and terrified. She had no idea how long she was there. When she heard movement in the early hours of the morning, she cracked open the hatch leading to the attic and saw Caleb dressed to go out. She snuck her way out of the attic and when she saw Caleb leave the house without locking the door behind her, she followed shortly after. She ran, and she hid, and eventually made her way to where she could hear heavy traffic in the daylight hours. And then she was found.
After divulging her story, Amy sobbed tears of relief and apology.
"I'm so sorry!"
"What for? Amy, you did amazing. You did everything you could, and you're here. And you're safe. You should be so proud of yourself," Gillian soothed, as she leaned towards her from the chair beside the bed.
"I left them! I left those little kids. I left them all alone!"
"You saved them. The baby is in a neo natal ward right now. The little boy is being checked over as we speak. Because you got free, we found them. You were spotted running down the street by an eyewitness, and she called it in. That led us to them. You saved those children, Amy."
Gillian meant every word, and it seemed to have some effect. Amy didn't believe the words, but she believed Gillian's sincerity. Julia looked at her like she had just saved her daughter from drowning, and even Kyle looked at her with gratitude. Gillian ran her hand along Amy's forearm in a comforting move before standing and excusing herself, wishing them well as she did.
Gillian hung up the phone from Cal as she approached the room where she had left the little boy earlier. Satisfied for the moment that she had provided all the useful information that she could to help them to break their suspects, her focus returned to the survivors of this mess.
She entered the room with a knock, poking her head through the door carefully to begin with. The doctor waved her inside and she stepped fully into the room, smiling her most child friendly smile.
The boy looked up and his first expression was excitement and happiness. He seemed to remember then that he was upset with her, and he transformed his face into a comical grimace. It screamed 'you left me and they stuck needles in me'. She had her work cut out for her to earn his forgiveness. But she needed his trust if they were going to help him, and if he was going to help them. She hated to think of any child in those terms, but the fact was that the more evidence they had against Charlie and Caleb, the better the chance of getting them put away.
"Charlie told us that you took the girl."
Shame.
"The girl is at the hospital now. She's talking. Told us everything we need. She said you took her too."
Shame, but confusion and indignation too, in quick succession. He was convinced that he had done the right thing.
"Why don't you tell us your version, Caleb."
"My client has been advised not to provide any comment at this time, detective."
"Ok. We're preparing a file of evidence. We'll present it to you, along with Charlie's statement on what happened, and we'll see how you feel then."
"Is she ok?"
"What?"
"The girl. You said she's at the hospital. Is she ok?"
"She's upset, Caleb. Really badly upset. And she's scared. Because a bad guy took her and tried to keep her prisoner and she doesn't understand why."
Caleb was silent for a long moment. They could see the cogs turning as he wrestled with his own mind, wanting to speak but fearing what would happen if he did.
"They needed a new mom."
"What happened to their mom?"
"The baby. The baby hurt her when it came out, and she got sick."
"Who's the baby's father, Caleb?"
"Charlie. I think."
"And the older boy?"
"I don't know. Maybe me. Maybe Charlie… Charlie made me…"
"Did you kidnap Claudia, Caleb? Like you did Amy?"
"No. Charlie wanted me to have her. I liked her and he took her. But then Charlie wanted her to be his girlfriend too. So… she was. Then the baby came. The first baby, I mean."
Behind the glass, Ria Torres felt nauseous. These kinds of cases never got easier, but this one was particularly horrifying. She looked around the room at her companions. Mark was wide eyed, looking like he wanted to run. Even Lightman was finding it difficult to hide his disgust at the brothers.
