Chapter 5

Samantha stared out the window on the way back to the office. Both she and Martin knew this was going to be the hardest thing they would ever do but after 8 years they needed answers.

"You ok?" Martin asked as they pulled up at a traffic light.

"I'm fine." She replied smiling weakly.

"Come on Sam." He said putting his hand over hers.

"It's just been so long without a word and I don't know if I'm ready to hear. I mean we both know what everyone thinks."

Before he could reply the lights changed and he drove around the corner into the parking garage. He shut off the engine after parking but neither of them moved to get out of the car.

"They think she's dead." He said sadly.

"I've seen a lot of parents who convince themselves that everything will be alright, that their child will come back safe. I never thought I'd be one of them."

"Not every case has a happy ending...but some do. Do you think she's dead?"

"No, I don't. Call me crazy but I just know...I would know."

"Hold on to that, we're gonna need to stay strong for her."

"You ready?" She asked squeezing his hand.

"Yeah." He replied kissing the back of her hand.

When Martin and Sam arrived from lunch Elena was in the bullpen writing up the timeline of Aimee's disappearance. Sam shivered inwardly as she looked at her daughter's photo on the board. It was all too real.

"Danny and Vivian are headed up to South Albany. They're checking out the van and the surrounding area. How are you two doing?"

"We're ok thanks. What are we doing?"

"I'm trying to find a link that'll lead us to our suspect. We've got all the files." She replied pointing to boxes stacked up by the table.

"I'll get started on these." Martin said picking up a box.

Sam leant against the table and looked at both the pictures on the board. The girls both looked the same; blonde hair, blue eyes and wide smiles.

"They look so similar, I don't think this could have been a random kidnapping." She said.

"They're too old for adoption so whoever took them wanted to keep them."

Sam sighed; she knew the road Elena was going down. If it was any other case she would consider the same but the thought that a paedophile snatched her daughter was stomach wrenching.

"The kiddie shrink talked to Becky. It doesn't look like she was molested in any way." Elena said hoping to put Sam's mind at rest slightly.

"Becky's parents; the mother was a lawyer and the father was a surgeon right."

"Yeah that's right."

"And it was the grandmother who looked after her when they were at work."

"It doesn't make sense. Why after all this time? This is the only other kidnapping that fits; why would they go after another girl now?"

"I have no idea; maybe they were waiting until the case had been closed...Hang on a minute. Do you have the info on Whitehurst?"

Elena looked puzzled and handed her the papers.

"He had one brother who is deceased, grew up in Queens and was never married. Why would he want the girls?"

"Maybe he was lonely."

"I just think there's something else." Sam said scanning the papers.

Martin had looked up from what he was doing and shared a knowing glance with Elena. He watched her expression change as she came across what she was looking for. Without saying a word she went over to her desk and typed a name into her computer.

"The girlfriend." He heard her mutter.

He and Elena both walked across to her desk.

"The girlfriend Julie Reeves; he kidnapped them for her."

"She have any priors?"

"Couple of convictions for petty theft when she was a teenager but nothing since then." Her face turned pale when she pulled up her medical records.

"Are you guys seeing this?"

"Yeah, she miscarried 8 and a half years ago."