Jonathan laced his fingers through Jennifer's, and they followed Stanley to the lectern.
Lt. Gray was right behind them.
"Thank you all for coming. I am Jonathan Hart, CEO and founder/owner of Hart Industries. Also here with me today, is my wife, the most beautiful woman in any room, Jennifer, and our good friend Lt. Gray of the LAPD. So, the reason I have called all of you here today, is that almost 6 months ago, Jennifer and I were blessed beyond measure to become parents to the best kids ever created, our son Jagger and our daughter Jessalynn. And we now have proof that they are the best kids, because someone came into our home, breached our space, and our trust, and has kidnapped our daughter Jessalynn."
Jennifer held up a picture of Jessalynn.
The press went crazy with the flashbulbs.
Jonathan gave them a moment to take their pictures and then continued.
"Jessalynn is 6 months old, weighs 15 pounds, and has red hair, that so far is a little bit curly. She was last seen wearing a pink and white polka dotted pair of pajamas, and she had a pacifier, called a lovie with her. It's the kind with a stuffed animal attached. Hers has a big multicolored butterfly attached to it. She loves that thing and will pitch the biggest fit if you try and take it from her. We don't know who has her, but all we ask is that you contact us, and let us make arrangements with you to not only have you give Jessalynn back to us, but to get you the help you need. We aren't interested in putting anyone in prison for life or pursuing the death penalty against you or anything like that. We just want our daughter back, and for you to get the help you need. Now, Lt. Gray is going to fill you in on some other developments."
Jennifer and Jonathan stepped back, and Lt. Gray stepped up.
"We aren't positive as of yet, if these people are related to this case, but we are interested in speaking with a Tucker Collins. He is a fugitive, out of the state of New York, and is believed to be somewhere in the state of California. He might have some visible injuries, and he should be considered armed and dangerous. Also, we would like to speak with Misty Campbell, from Los Angeles. She took a interest in Jessalynn when Jessalynn was a patient at Los Angeles Community Hospital recently, and we would like to ask her a few questions. Just questions, that's all. If you know the whereabouts of either of these people, please call us. Misty isn't considered to be dangerous, but it's better to be cautious, so we are asking everyone to call us, and to not approach either of these individuals".
He turned to Jennifer and Jonathan again.
"Anything else you want to say?"
Jennifer stepped up.
"Please, if you have my child, please don't hurt her. She loves just about anyone, she has always been very sweet and loveable and huggable. Please, just love her. Don't hurt her. And please, bring her home so we can love her".
"If you have any info, please call us here at Hart Industries. We are going to set up a hotline, that will be staffed 24/7, and we will investigate every tip, no matter how big or small. All calls will be kept as confidential as they can be. Whomever calls in the tip that leads us to the kidnapper and to the return of our daughter will get a reward of $100,000. Please, help us find her. She means the world to us".
They thanked everyone for coming, and then headed back behind the curtain.
Lt. Gray walked them to the car where Jack was waiting.
"Jennifer, Jonathan, I'll be in touch. As soon as I hear anything, I'll be in touch".
"Thank you".
Jonathan and Stanley spoke briefly about the hotline.
"Let me get her home, and then I'll come back tonight and oversee it for a bit".
"Yes, Mr. Hart. I'll stay here till you get back".
"Thank you, Stanley".
***Willow Pond***
Jennifer, Jonathan and Jack came inside, and found Rachel, Marnie, Max and Jagger in the living room.
Jagger smiled really big when he saw his parents.
Jennifer went to him and took him from Rachel.
"Hi buddy. Momma missed you".
She sat down and gave him tons of kisses.
"We watched the press conference. You guys were great".
"I don't know about that, I just hope it works".
Rachel went and sat by Jack, and cuddled up to him.
"Jonathan, I've been thinking. If we can find out who did this, I have a buddy with a fighter jet. As soon as you two get the baby back, just say the word and I'll call him up and borrow the damn thing and bomb the hell out of-"
"No thanks, buddy. We don't want to kill him, we want to help them".
"Honey, that sounds incredibly violent".
"Sometimes you have to be violent to help out your friends".
"Jennifer, Jonathan, can I make you two anything to eat?"
"No thank you, I'm not hungry".
"Darling, you haven't eaten all day. Now come on, you gotta keep your strength up".
"I'm fine, Jonathan".
He chose not to press the issue.
"I tell you what. Aunt Marnie and I will go make dinner for everyone, guaranteed to satisfy everyone's taste buds".
"Thanks, Max".
For the next couple of hours, everyone tried to act as normal as possible, and Jennifer acted like a robot. She was only focused on Jagger, and nothing else. She barely let anyone else do anything for him.
When she took him upstairs for his bath, Rachel took that moment to talk to Jonathan.
"I'm worried about Jennifer".
"Yeah, me too. At this point, I'm just doing everything I can to not upset her. Now listen, I am going to go back to the office for a bit and oversee the hotline where the tips are coming in. So, it might be a good idea if you and Jack waited to leave till after that. And of course, you don't have to leave if you don't want to, you two are always welcome here".
"Thanks".
Rachel went and filled Jack in on the plan, while Jonathan walked over and spoke with Aunt Marnie.
"Aunt Marnie, I called the airline and canceled your ticket. As soon as we find Jessalynn, if you still want to go home, I'll book you a flight then or fly you home myself".
"Thank you, Jonathan. I feel so responsible, but I do want to stay till it's resolved".
"You are welcome to stay as long as you want, Aunt Marnie, and I promise you, this wasn't your fault".
Jonathan headed upstairs to check on Jennifer and the baby.
He found them in the bathroom. Jagger was splashing away in the bathtub, and Jennifer was sitting on the side just watching him.
"Darling, I'm going to head to the office and relieve Stanley and oversee the hotline for a little bit. Are you going to be ok?"
"We'll be fine. It's almost bedtime for him, but he's having the best time just splashing and splashing".
Jonathan kneeled down next to the tub.
"Bye buddy. Daddy has to go to work. Can you give me a 5 before I go?"
He held his hand out to Jagger and Jagger happily slapped hi couple of times.
"Bye darling, I love you. If you need me, call the office".
She leaned up and kissed him a few times.
"I love you too", she said with her eyes full of tears.
"We are going to find her, darling. We will".
They shared a hug and then he left.
***Hart Industries***
Jonathan walked into the building and found Stanley.
"Hey, sorry it took me so long. Any updates?"
"We've had a few phone calls. Mostly about the baby, not that many about Tucker Collins".
"I see. Well, like I said before, I want every lead investigated, no matter how insignificant it might seem. I want to find my daughter just as much as I want to find Tucker Collins".
"Yes, sir".
"You can go home, Stanley. I'll cover this for a while. And I'm going to take some time off until we find Jessalynn. Are you good to run things for a bit?"
"Yes sir, whatever you need".
"Thank you, Stanley, you're one in a million".
Jonathan stayed at the office till almost midnight. No new leads of any real significance came in, so he prepared to head home.
Danny, one of the hotline workers came up to him.
"Mr. Hart, this isn't making sense to me. You're a wealthy man, everyone knows you are very charitable, but nobody has contacted you about a ransom".
"I know. That's the part that scares me. To me, that means that whomever has Jessalynn isn't planning on letting her go".
***Across town, in a seedy motel****
"Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don't sing, Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring".
As the rocking chair moved back and forth, the baby slowly drifted off to sleep.
"That's a girl….that's a good, good, girl. Sweet dreams, my love".
Suddenly, a man bursts into the room.
"Are you still playing with her? I told you to be ready".
"Shhh….you're going to wake her up. I can't just leave her here, what kind of mommy would I be if I did that?"
"Jesus Christ, I knew this was a bad idea. Fine. We'll go when she wakes up".
The man sat down and turned on the tv, and sat really close to him.
'Still no word on the location of the missing baby of Jonathan and Jennifer Hart. Investigators are still searching for the missing 6 month old, who was kidnapped from their home in Bel Air two days ago'. A picture of Jessalynn flashed across the screen, along with the number for the tipline.
"Damn it! Now there's no way we can go to Mexico now, not with everyone and their brother looking for the kid!"
"Well how was I to know they were going to hold a press conference and ask everyone to look for her? You're the one that said nobody would know she was missing!"
"That's because YOU were supposed to take her from the hospital, and then go back and tell the mom she died! You messed up the plan! That's why we had to take her from the house!"
"So far, I can tell I've made two huge mistakes. And those would be having the unfortunate luck of being Buck's daughter, and listening and trusting you when you said you could get us out of this mess. Now what are we going to do?"
"WE aren't going to do anything. I'M going to Mexico. And if you're smart, you'll call the Hart's, and ask for a hefty ransom, and do whatever you have to in order to keep from getting caught".
He picked up his suitcase, and stormed out of the hotel room, leaving the woman and the baby behind.
She laid down on the bed for about an hour, contemplating her options.
When Jessalynn woke up, she picked her up and comforted her.
"It's ok. Mama Misty is here…..and she will always be here with you".
***Hart Industries***
Jonathan was in his office, trying to focus on paperwork, but finding it hard to concentrate.
"Mr. Hart, we just got a lead that I think you might be interested in. A husband and wife couple who were staying in the Triple Cactus Hotel, just called in. They said they think the man who is Tucker Collins has been staying in room 119. And he's been staying there with a lady and a baby who looks just like Jessalynn. And, they also said the man and the woman had an argument, and the man said he was going to Mexico. I called the local police, and asked them to go to the hotel and stakeout room 119, and I also called the border patrol and asked them to be on the lookout for Tucker Collins. The police said if you are interested in going to the hotel, to meet them there in 20".
"Thanks Danny. I'm on my way. And if Jennifer calls, tell her I'm meeting with the FBI and don't give her any details about the tip. And no press".
"You got it, Mr. Hart. I sincerely hope you find her".
"Me too".
Jonathan headed to the car, and as he pulled out of the parking garage, he called Max's private line.
"Hello?"
"Hey Max, it's me. Listen, I don't want Jennifer to know just yet, but I need to let someone know. We got a tip on the hotline about Jessalynn. So, I'm headed there to check it out. If Jennifer asks, tell her I am meeting with the FBI and I will call her when I'm finished. And do whatever you can to try and keep her off the phone. I asked for no press on this, so I doubt she'll see anything on the news about it. Just keep her calm, will ya Max?"
"I'll do my best, Mr. H. Good luck, hope you can find our princess".
"Me too, Max. Me too".