Author's Note: Wow! Thank you everyone for your kind reviews, all the follow/favorites, and for just reading this story. The response I have gotten is beyond anything I had imagined when I first started, so thanks again. Okay onto the chapter. It's shorter than I intended but I really wanted to focus on Carter next chapter so I cut off the end and you'll see what happens in the next update. With that said the next update may be a little ways off. I have the GRE for grad school coming up so a lot of my free time will be studying instead of writing unfortunately. So read and enjoy, and who knows maybe I'll cut out some time if those reviews keep rolling in. Happy reading.
"You're sure?" Elizabeth asked again, desperately hoping that this time the answer would be different.
The man looked up from his magazine and met her eyes for the first time before letting out a groan, his face showing he was annoyed with her.
"Look lady I don't know how many ways I gotta tell ya I ain't seen that girl before," he replied pushing the photo back across the counter.
Elizabeth stepped back and waited, watching as Agent Sands and some of his men finally made their way into the small main office of the motel. She wished she hadn't jumped out of the car so quickly, ignoring Sands' orders for her to stay put, because now she looked unprofessional. But it was her daughter, her little girl, and she needed to find her.
Agent Sands walked by giving her a slight look before making his way up to the counter. The man had gone back to reading and Sands slid another picture to him. Without taking his eyes off the article he began to speak.
"Again? The answer's the same, ain't never seen her."
"Look again," Sands said. The deeper voice startled him and looked up to see a new pair of eyes staring at him, these sterner, and more cold. The man nodded and picked up the photo.
It was different than the other one he had been shown. This one of an older woman, not the teenager he had expected to see once again. He held the photo closer and began to nod, slowly at first but more steady as he became surer. Elizabeth watched and moved closer, her heart rate quickening as she hoped he could give them some information.
"Ya, ya. I seen this one before, but she was blonde. Real pretty. Room 133 around back…" there was more on his tongue but Agent Sands cut him off.
"The key for the room, give it to me," he said sternly, jutting out his hand.
"Don't ya need like a warrant or something…"
"Now!" he boomed, slamming his hand down on the counter. The noise made the man jump and he scrambled to get the key card over to the agent.
"Just don't break anything…" he trailed off as he realized no one was listening and watched them race out of the office and down the hall.
Agent Sands lead the charge to the room. Four of his guys followed and Elizabeth brought up the rear. It killed her that she wasn't the one up front, that she wasn't calling the shots in the most important search of her life. All she wanted was to be the one that rescued Carter, the one Carter saw first, but she knew she was only there as a courtesy so she hung back.
133 finally came into view and Elizabeth wondered if Lori had requested a room near the back. It was secluded and dim, perfect for getting by unnoticed. The silver car sat in a parking spot not too far away and the sight of it made her go back to the previous day. If only she could have caught a glimpse of it, gotten a few details, maybe her daughter would be home safe already.
She shook the thought from her mind as Sands and his men took their spots around the door. A few hand signals were exchanged and before she could decipher what they meant, the key had been used to open the door and the men were already rushing inside. Elizabeth listened in agony as they shouted through the room.
"FBI! FBI!" came from each of them, all yelling at different times making the three letters sound like a jumbled mess. Then came silence and she felt like it went on forever before her heart dropped as a single word.
"Clear," Agent Sands yelled before making his way back outside. He pulled out his phone and made a call to someone she assumed was sitting in her living room. "Get me a team down here. I want that room turned over. I want to know if anyone saw something that can keep this lead alive."
The rest of the agents filed out and headed over to where Sands stood, awaiting more orders, and Elizabeth took the moment to slip into the room. She took a deep breath just before going in. It was harder this time. Knowing that Carter had been here, knowing they had been so close, knowing she was failing her again. But now she needed to focus, it was the only way she would her back.
Her eyes scanned the room as she tried to pick up the most obvious clues. There was a slight dip in the bed and the covers were ruffled so she made the assumption someone had been lying there. A picture of Carter passed out, drugged, popped into her head before she waved it away. One of the two chairs was tilted and pushed slightly away, making her think something had been set down on it. Not too much more stuck out. The room had been used as a point to quickly recoup and then get away, and Elizabeth feared they weren't going to get anything useful.
She continued to slowly walk through the room. It was dirty and dark, and she couldn't believe Carter had been forced to stay there. There was a filth to everything. Nothing remotely clean. A thin layer of dust and grime clung to everything possible, and that's when she noticed it. On the table, an area near the lamp that was lighter that the rest of it. A spot that hadn't been dirtied.
She moved towards the table, trying to keep her emotions in check but her heart continued to beat faster the closer she got. Her fingers were trembling as she reached out and carefully pulled out the paper. An initial wave of disappointment ran through her as she realized it was just and old gum wrapper, but then she flipped it over.
A small gasp escaped her lips as she read it over. It was simple but it was all she needed. Reassurance. She kept reading it over and over until the short sentences became jumbled around and her emotions started to get the best of her. I love you. Mom. Find me.
To steady herself her eyes lingered on that first word. Mom. She still wasn't used to hearing it come from Carter and that bothered her. Each time she heard it, she treasured the sound, treasured the thought that she had earned the title once again, but she shouldn't have lost it in the first place, and she wasn't going to lose it again.
A different team of agents began to make their way into the room and Elizabeth clutched the note tighter, not wanting to part with the small piece of paper that made her feel closer to her daughter. The paper that gave her hope and, if possible, extra drive to get her back. But an agent eventually made their way over and took it as evidence but not before she read it again.
I'm okay. Find me. I love you.
"I love you Carter and I will get you back. I promise," she whispered to herself and hoped that somehow Carter could hear it.
It was a typical morning. No drama or bickering, just them as a family. Taylor and Grant sat at the table with their breakfasts. Her Dad sat next to them and read the newspaper. Her Mom leaned against the counter, sipping her coffee and checking her emails. Carter watched them through the doorway for a moment before making her way in, heading directly for the pitcher of orange juice.
"Morning," Carter said to them all after taking a large gulp from her glass.
She stood there confused and stunned as they carried on as if they didn't hear her. And then it clicked and she started to chuckle, "Oh, really good one guys, but I'm not even late this morning."
Again she was ignored and her concern turned into actual fear.
"Hun are you working here today?" Elizabeth asked not looking up.
"No, I've got to meet with Toby to discuss a few things," he replied after folding up the paper. He looked at his watch and stood from the table. "And I've got to get going or I'm going to be late."
"We need to get moving also. Taylor, Grant you guys ready?" she asked them.
"Yeah," they replied in unison before grabbing their backpacks from the ground.
Carter tried to yell but suddenly couldn't speak. She tried to run after them but found herself stuck. Tears flooded her eyes as she watched each of them disappear out the door, one by one. Her Dad. Taylor. Grant. Her Mom. Each of them gone. She was alone, trapped, forced to be away from them. And then the door slammed shut and it went black.
Startled she sat up quickly, gasping for air as her heart beat out of her chest. It took her a moment to realize where she was. A car. Carter looked over to see Lori driving and everything crashed into her.
"You okay?" the woman asked her.
"Yeah," she replied with a nod and turned to face the passing landscape.
It was just a dream. A terrible dream. They weren't gone, but she was. How was it possible to escape one nightmare and yet be thrust into another? One she couldn't get out of by simply waking up, one far worse that that which just played in her head.
She needed some air, some space away from the woman next to her.
"I need to use the bathroom. Can we stop soon?"
Lori looked down at the dash, the needle beginning to get near empty and she wanted to stretch her legs as well so she nodded.
"Yeah a short break sounds good. We can grab some snacks before we hit the main leg of our trip."
Carter faced forward and her mind began to race. She wanted this to be the end of her trip, not the beginning and so she began to think. She only had until they reached the next gas station to plot and plan, it was possibly her only shot and she needed it to pay off.
