Bye Bye Baby
A/N : As promised here is the second chapter for today but again like yesterday please make sure you have read the chapter I posted this morning before this one as it was again updated within the 24 hour time period where chapters seen to sneak in unnoticed.. Thanks for the continuing feedback and comments :-D
Chapter 7
Steve held Brigitte protectively as he walked ahead of his captors and out the front door, still feeling shaky from his near death experience only minutes before. As he stepped over the threshold, Damacov followed him and the barrel of the Makarov prodded his lower back causing him to stop walking momentarily. A menacing voice whispered over his left shoulder.
"Don't try anything or I will gladly use this Keller. Is that clear?"
"Perfectly ..." Steve spat back, suddenly finding himself despising the man who had now become more personally known to him than the vicious and violent character he had read about or heard about from witnesses and fellow officers back at Bryant Street before.
As he went to move again, the door of the next house opened and to Steve's horror Mrs. Donnelly, with curlers in her hair and in a long, pink dressing gown appeared on her doorstep, holding the heavy gown around her neck with an aged, fragile hand.
"Steve? Steve ... is that you?" she stammered.
Again the menacing voice spoke in his ear, the Makarov pistol now pressing uncomfortably and roughly into his back.
"Get rid of her Keller ... or else I WILL ..."
Steve knew that he meant every word and so trying to keep his voice sounding normal, which in his current circumstances wasn't an easy thing to do, he spoke in his usual friendly manner.
"Yes, Mrs. Donnelly ... It's Steve ... Everything's alright ..."
He realized the irony in his words as things were currently about as far from alright as they could be, but he couldn't let this maniac kill Mike's elderly neighbor so he knew he had to be as convincing as he could manage ... However perhaps he could inadvertently try and leave further clues to his captors in his words if he was very careful.
"Steve, I heard shouting and a baby crying ... What on earth is going on?"
"Typical Mrs. Donnelly" , Steve thought fondly. "She always has to know everything that goes on around her, and would hate to think for one minute she was missing any excitement although if she only knew the actual truth of what was really happening,he figured that this was one excitement she could literally live without." The gun pressing further into his back brought him from his thoughts as an unpleasant reminder that he had to answer the woman.
"We have a case of an abandoned baby, Mrs. Donnelly. Child Services here and I are just bringing her down to their Offices over at Lombard and The Embarcadero. Sorry for disturbing you ..."
Steve hoped that Mrs. Donnelly with her talent for gleaning information would pick up on the bizarre address he had given her and tell Mike but he also hoped that Damacov hadn't also picked up the clue he had just given. With his keen hearing, Steve heard the hammer of the pistol going back and knew that Damacov HAD heard it and he knew he had to quickly put distance between them and Mrs. Donnelly before she became their latest victim.
"You better head back inside Mrs. Donnelly ... It's quite chilly tonight ..."
To his further horror, instead of heeding his heartfelt plea, she came a little bit further out of her door, screwing her eyes up as she did to make out the scene in front of her in the darkness, the light from her door just barely illuminating Steve and the baby in his arms but noting that behind him and beside him now stood in silhouette several other men that to Mrs. Donnelly did not fit her description of people she would expect to work for Child Services. She sensed an urgency or panic from the young man she had come to know as her neighbor's partner and his usual laid back and happy go lucky demeanor was most definitely lacking. As she peered at him she was sure she saw a nasty bruise on his left cheek and became increasingly uneasy. Her gaze then fell to the tiny baby he was holding in his arms. It wasn't a usual look for the young Inspector and he seemed to be holding her very protectively.
"The poor baby! What kind of a mother would leave such a precious child behind like that? " she stated as her heart went out to the infant but not one to back away from situations, she risked her next question "Steve, what happened to your face?"
As she spoke, Steve felt the pistol retreat from his back and feared the worst. He moved further sideways in front of Damacov in case the removed gun was intended for another purpose and cursed the fact that he had forgotten that a bruise was more than likely visible considering the pain that was currently throbbing through his jaw. He stammered this time, his worry over what was about to happen taking over his voice.
"Just in the line of duty stuff ... that's all Mrs. Donnelly ... Nothing to worry about ... Now I really must INSIST you go back inside. I really don't want to feel responsible for you getting a ... a chill ..."
Although he said the word "chill" , the word "bullet " came to his mind and as he spoke, his eyes pleaded with the older woman to listen to him and his demeanor and his expression thankfully did get through to her. In actual fact the elderly neighbor got a distinct chill down her spine at his heartfelt words and facial expression. She retreated back towards her door hurriedly, calling out as she went.
"Very well, Goodnight Steve."
Steve almost audibly sighed with relief as she disappeared back inside and he heard her lock and bolt her door from the inside as she did. Again he heard the hammer on the gun being secured as it poked him in the back again and one of the henchmen grabbed his arm roughly to encourage him to continue down the steps. He hurried down them almost swept along by the muscled presence now surrounding him but he kept a watchful eye behind him too to make sure that none of them were attempting to gain access to Mrs. Donnelly's house. They had to have gleaned that she had been suspicious of them but hopefully the fact that in the darkness Steve would have been the only one even partially visible to her, would spare her a worse fate.
As they reached the cars down on the street, he noted that all men appeared to be still present and so felt relieved. Brigitte was fidgeting again, obviously picking up on his anxiety as he was bundled unceremoniously onto the back seat of the black sedan and Dmitriy sat in beside him on one side and Mikhail sat in on the other, their bulky frames effectively pinning Steve in the middle. Steve felt claustrophobic as he tried to adjust his position a little. Mikhail snaked his left arm behind Steve's shoulders unnervingly and Damacov sat into the front passenger seat and then the driver also got in. Damacov turned to look back at his prisoner and laughed that maniacal laugh again briefly before his expression turned serious once more.
"I really do hope you are not going to be difficult Mr. Keller. Did you really think I would not notice the clue you tried to slip to that old lady back there about the boundaries of my territory? You could have gotten her killed you know? I still haven't paid you back for lying to me either ... Dmitriy ..."
Steve began to feel sick again as at the mention of his henchman's name the hand behind his back came around and clasped around his mouth viciously, effectively silencing him. There was very little struggle room and anyway with Brigitte in his arms he didn't have much choice but to accept whatever fate this lunatic was going to inflict on him for now. Although he was trying his best to be brave, as Dmitriy grinned broadly and produced a small pocket hunting knife, Steve's basic instincts took over and he panicked slightly, tensing up as his heart raced uncontrollably. He remembered that some of the corpses that Homicide had investigated, the ones that Damacov had been suspected of, were missing fingers and so he feared that perhaps he too was going to pay the worst price for his transgressions. He heard Damacov laugh again at his panicked reaction and then heard the voice he had come to despise callously speaking to him in a low and heartless tone.
"Mr. Keller, if you truly wish to protect that small defenseless baby in your arms I suggest you do NOT struggle and remain very still. You wouldn't want Dmitriy's hand to slip and cut her ... well WOULD YOU?"
Steve hated the fact that he was right. So he stayed tensed up, pulling the baby closer to him as much for his own comfort as hers and closed his eyes as he waited for one of his hands to be grabbed and tortured at any second. The laughter began again and when nothing happened Steve opened his eyes but unfortunately just in time to see Dmitriy drive the small knife down into his left thigh, leaving it in up to the hilt. Steve felt the knife hit bone and suppressed the intense scream that longed to be released. The mere whimper that escaped despite his best efforts was muffled by the large hand that remained over his mouth the whole time. The pain seared through his leg, increasing in intensity and he fought the urge to throw up, suddenly glad that his stomach was empty and that he hadn't partaken of Jeannie's meatloaf earlier. His head spun momentarily and his world stood still as the more intense pain throbbed mercilessly, robbing his breath before it finally abated back a little. He waited with equal horror for the knife to be withdrawn but instead Damacov's evil sounding voice broke the silence again eerily.
"Mr. Keller ... Do not mess with me again ... Let this be a painful lesson for you. That knife will remain in your leg as a reminder of the price of your disobedience. You will bleed slowly while it remains in your leg but I wouldn't pull it out if I were you or else you will bleed out quicker and you will die quicker, that is ... unless it is a fate that you would prefer ... "
The evil laugh followed, echoed by the other men in the car before he finally continued .." As it is, it will suffice in slowing you down should you get any crazy notions of attempting to escape ... "
Then turning to the driver he spoke in Russian and the car started up.
Steve felt the area around the knife becoming slick with blood and he tried to get better control of his breathing which had become erratic after the shock of the knife wound. He had to stay lucid and strong for Brigitte's sake as well as his own. As the car drove off, Steve risked one more glance back at Mike's house and prayed that he had left enough clues for Mike to be able to find them.
Meanwhile on Mission Street approx an hour and a half earlier ...
Mike pulled in outside the Mission Hostel, a homeless shelter run by a dear friend of his, Kathy Glenn. Her husband Terry Glenn had been a Sergeant at Bryant Street and a good friend of Mike's before he had been cruelly shot down and killed while on a call out fifteen years before. Mike and Helen had often socialized with them and they had stood by and supported Kathy after the incident when she had been widowed and left with two children to raise on her own. Kathy was a strong woman and had done an excellent job of raising her children and as soon as her kids went to college and left home, Kathy found a new calling here at the Mission Hostel. She even lived there most of the time and her help of the homeless was an inspiration to all who knew her.
Mike headed up the steps and rang the doorbell. Although it was a quarter past midnight, Mike knew that there were always night staff on duty in case a homeless person needed assistance throughout the night. Not long after he rang, a grey haired man opened the door but looked surprised to see Mike on the door step instead of a person seeking a bed for the night.
"Lieutenant ... I wasn't expecting to see you this evening. Please come in ..."
The grey haired man stepped aside to allow Mike to enter, then as he did he closed the heavy door behind him.
"Forgive me for calling so late Pat, but I was wondering would Kathy be here by any chance? I urgently need to speak with her."
"Well yes she is but I think she headed off to bed a short while ago. If you'd like to take a seat I'll go and tell her you're here."
"Thanks Pat, I'd appreciate that. Like I said I wouldn't normally disturb her but this could be a matter of life or death ..."
The older man looked rattled by Mike's statement and hurried off towards a corridor at the back of the front desk. Mike didn't feel like sitting so he chose to pace the lobby instead. He felt very bad for leaving Steve with the baby knowing how ill at ease the young man had been and was determined to find Laura as quickly as he could so that he could get back to him. In actual fact, nothing about this whole sorry situation sat right with him so he was pleased that just then he heard hurried footsteps heading towards him from behind. Looking behind him he saw Kathy approach, pulling a heavy dressing gown around her as she did.
She was a woman in her middle fifties, her hair of shoulder length cascaded around her shoulders, slightly tousled from her rude awakening. Mike smiled as he watched her approach. He hadn't seen her since the time he had brought the girl he was looking for to her and he admired the woman immensely. She had an outward elegance even adorned in a heavy dressing gown and a heart of gold to go with it. She looked concerned but yet smiled when she saw Mike. She hurried forward and took both his hands in hers.
"Mike, I must admit that it's good to see you. You know you don't call to see me as often as I'd like you to but ... Pat tells me this isn't a social call. How can I help you?"
"It's good to see you too Kathy and you're right we should meet up more often but this time I need your help with something, something very important. Do you remember the young girl that me and Jeannie brought you about five months back? She was expecting a baby and her name was Laura? I never got her second name."
Kathy's face fell and she sat down heavily on a couch by the wall.
"Yes, yes of course I do. Laura Reynolds. She's a sweet girl. She's in some sort of trouble isn't she? I was afraid that's what this was going to be about. She came back here late last night but Pat here said she left again shortly after and we haven't seen her since. Oh it's not the first time she's been missing overnight but well, this time I had a bad feeling about her. She had a baby girl just two months ago you know? Such a pretty little thing ... She called her Brigitte. I had hoped she'd just breeze back in and have a good explanation for her absence but ... oh Mike ... What's happened?"
"She's missing. It looks like she witnessed a murder, possibly two and she's gone into hiding."
Kathy covered her mouth with her hand and gasped.
"Oh no ...The poor girl. And she has the baby with her Mike!"
Mike placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder where she sat.
"No ... no she doesn't. She left the baby on my doorstep earlier this evening with a note saying that she was in trouble and needed me to take care of the baby for her. She was probably afraid to leave her with you as it would be the first place the men who are most probably looking for her would look."
"You think she's in grave danger don't you? Do you know who is after her Mike?"
"I'm afraid not. That's why I have to find her first. Kathy do you have any idea where she might go if she couldn't come here?"
Kathy looked down at her lap and seemed thoughtful. After several seconds she looked back up.
"She doesn't really have anyone else to go to here Mike. Any of her friends were from here in this Hostel or other homeless people on the streets as far as I could tell Mike."
"You said she had other friends on the streets Kathy. Did she ever mention a young girl by the name of Susan Randall?"
"Yes, she mentioned a girl named Susan to me recently but by all accounts she had a severe drug problem. She met her at the soup kitchen I think but I run a clean shelter here Mike, strictly no drug use, so I explained that I couldn't take her in but I told her about an acquaintance of mine who runs a drug rehab clinic over on Montgomery Street and told her to bring her to her, that she could help her. Why? ... Do you think she could be with that girl?"
Mike shook his head sadly.
"No, I'm afraid Susan was one of the murder victims we found ..."
Again Kathy gasped and her eyes teared up.
"Is ... that the murder Laura witnessed?"
Mike sat down beside her on the couch and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Yes, we think so ... Listen Kathy, did she ever mention a favorite place she used to sleep rough in? "
Kathy tried to recall their many conversations and thought for several seconds before she finally smiled and looked back at Mike enthusiastically.
"Wait a minute! There was a place. She often told me about a spot in the Golden Gate Park that she used to sleep rough in before you found her and brought her here. It was down by the lake, an abandoned storage shed of some sort. She used to say it was at least warm and dry rather than sleeping outside. Oh Mike please find her before something bad happens to her " Kathy pleaded as she grabbed Mike's hand.
Mike smiled and hugged her to him briefly before releasing her and speaking softly.
"Now, now don't worry. I will ... thanks for the help. Listen Kathy ... men might come asking about Laura. Be careful who you let in. We don't know yet who exactly we're dealing with but they've murdered twice as far as we can tell so they're dangerous and are willing to cover their tracks at any cost. If you see anyone or anything else suspicious you call Bryant Street straight away and let us know, alright? And please be careful ... "
"Oh dear ..."
Pat's voice joined the conversation as Mike and Kathy looked at him curiously.
"They've already been here. A man came about ten o'clock this evening looking for Laura ..."
Mike's face fell as he stood up and headed quickly for the desk where Pat was standing closely followed by Kathy.
"What did he look like Pat? Can you describe him?"
"Oh, he was about six feet tall, bulky in stature, dark hair and he spoke with an accent."
"An accent? You mean a foreign accent?"
"Yes, Russian I think ... "
"Pat, what did you tell him?"
"Well, I didn't have anything to tell him. I merely said that she hadn't been here since last night and that I didn't know where she was ... but ... then I saw him talking to Patricia ... and she ... she left with him."
Mike looked back at Kathy and before he even had to ask she explained.
"She's another resident here at the hostel. A young girl around Laura's age. They got along very well."
Mike had a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.
"He left with her? Have you seen this Patricia since?"
Pat shook his head and flustered ...
"No ... I don't think so but well they're of age. I can't stop them going off with people if they want to ... "
Mike scowled at the grey haired man as Kathy took off behind the two men shouting back as she did. " I'll check Patricia's room ..."
Minutes later Kathy came hurrying down the staircase, tears visible in her eyes and worry audible in her voice.
"Mike, she's not there and the other girls haven't seen her since earlier ... Oh my God, do you think they've taken her against her will?"
Mike started pacing again, the situation worsening by the hour. He seemed to be thinking of what to do next and then turned to Kathy as she joined him again.
"Would she know about Laura's spot in the Golden Gate Park?"
"Possibly ... Laura confided in her a lot. They were best friends here at the hostel."
"That means they could already be on her trail. May I use your phone please?"
"Of course ..."
Mike picked up the phone on the desk still glaring at the grey haired man behind the desk who seemed to wither slightly under the glare.
"Norm? Yes it's Mike. Listen I'm going to need some back up. I need you and Bill to head over to the Golden Gate Park and meet me over there. We're looking for a witness but it looks like we're not the only ones. Also I need you to send a car over to The Mission Hostel on Mission Street to get a description of a man seen possibly abducting a young girl here at ten o'clock this evening. Put out a missing person's bulletin on the girl in question too. Have you got all that? Ok, see you soon."
Mike hung up and spoke urgently to Kathy.
"I have to go but do me a favor will you? Lock that door and don't open it again until the police get here and until we have these guys under lock and key will you, please? I have enough to worry about without having to worry about you too. Ok?"
Kathy smiled at his concern and hugged him once more.
"Ok Mike, I will. But you be careful too alright?"
Mike grinned.
"Hey, careful is my middle name. Didn't you know that?"
"Mike? ... What about the baby?"
"Don't worry. My partner is watching her until Child Services collect her. She's safe for now but don't worry as soon as I find Laura, I'll get them reunited. I better go. Thanks again. I'll keep you posted.
" Take care Mike. Good luck!" Kathy called after him as she watched him hurry out the door and down the steps to his car before closing the door again and locking it up tight.
