The Road Home
Chapter 3 Gathering the Team
Cheryl Loomis was sitting in the food court at the mall, just finishing her Café Mocha. Amy and Tina walked in and sat down at a nearby table. They were discussing which food option they were interested in for lunch. Cheryl looked at the two ladies and her heart took a swan dive off the high tower. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. 'That looks like the young woman I'm looking for' she thinks! She pulls out her phone and double checks the picture she is using for her project. It is her! OMG! She sends a TXT to her dad, Rick:
C: I think I see her!
R: your missing person?
C: YES OMG
R: calm down, observe and take notes as I taught U. Maybe a picture or 2. Pretend selfie?
R: do NOT stare at her. License plate?
C: OK, L8R
She pulls out a small note pad and pen and pretends to doodle. All the while taking notes on what she observes. Her deputy sheriff father has taken her under his wing over the years, knowing of her interest in law enforcement. Rick knows there are safer occupations, but he sees her intense interest and rather than fighting it, he does what he can to shape her experience in a positive way. He knows from personal experience that a well-trained officer is a safer officer. He will do what he can to ensure his daughter's safety in her chosen career.
When Rick gets home, Cheryl tells him about the encounter at the mall. They go over her notes and she shows him her pictures. She did follow the two ladies out to the parking lot, being careful not to be recognized as a 'tail', and she got 2 pix of the license plate on their car. Rick went into the den, started up his computer which accessed the sheriff's office and ran the plate. It came back Tina Jackson – RN. He googled her and found that she was an ICU nurse at one of Great Falls hospitals.
"Cheryl, I bet Tina took care of Amy at the hospital, and when discharge time came she volunteered to care for Amy for a spell. What do you think?"
"Sounds logical, dad. Why don't you google Amy Johnson?"
"Good idea," he said. Nothing except a SSN & Montana driver's license. "Hm, any driving record?" Nothing in the county or state databases. This must be a new identity created just for her. Do you know this Tina Jackson, Cheryl?"
"No I don't, dad. What else can we find out about Amy Johnson?"
Rick looks for a police report in the time frame when the young woman surfaced. He finds what was reported: the rural farm, the man's body, the woman was found by a hunter in his deer blind, the evidence of a fight between the woman and her captor, evidence of her being a captive almost 4 years. By the end Rick & Cheryl are shocked beyond belief! Tears stream down their faces.
"OMG, she deserves all the help we can give her," Rick chokes out.
"Yes," Cheryl whispers through her tears. "Dad?"
"Yes, sweetheart."
"What are you thinking?"
"Well, from what I have read, and the 2 cases we have had with the sheriff's office I've found that it is best if we can just assist the person to find themselves more or less on their own."
"You mean we do NOTHING?" Cheryl exclaims.
"No, no, honey. What we can do is drop bread crumbs. Lay out a trail for them to follow . . . leading them back to the people and places that mean the most to them. All the while watching over them to make sure they are safe. Do you get what I am saying?" Rick posits.
"Yeah, I get it. So where do we start?"
"I think I will go talk to this Amy Jackson, see what she's like. Evaluate her possible interest in being on a team trying to help Amy."
"Dad, is that all you're going to evaluate?" She winks. "I did notice that she didn't have a wedding ring."
"CHERYL ELIZABETH! Mind your manners, young lady!"
"I am, daddy-o." Cheryl giggles.
"Ok, for my part I am going to call Detective Barnhart of the LAPD. I told you about him; he's the only response, so far, to my project. He asked me to call him if anything new came up. He said this case was "near and dear to my heart". I don't know what the connection is but it sounds personal. Girlfriend, maybe?"
"You do that, I'm going to take a ride. Back in a couple hours,"
"Or days," she mutters.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, dad. Nothing at all." She smiles.
Cheryl sends a TXT:
C: Detective, Cheryl here. Good news, call ASAP.
B: off in 2 h, will call.
Oh, dad may be back then – or not.
Rick gets Tina's address off her DL. He pulls up in front of the modest, 2-story older home. 'Looks comfy'. He walks up onto the front porch and knocks . . . he suddenly remembers he still has his uniform on. 'Oh well' he sighs.
The young woman known as Amy Johnson comes to the door. She speaks to Rick through the screen door, making no attempt to invite him inside. 'I am sure she's hesitant, why shouldn't she be'.
Hello officer, what can I do for you?"
"Ah, is Tina Jackson in tonight?"
"No, she's working swing at the hospital."
"Oh, I see. Well, I am deputy sheriff Rick Loomis and I need to ask her some questions. Routine stuff, she's not in trouble. May I ask your name?"
"Amy."
"Last name?"
"Why do you need to know that?" Amy takes a step back, preparing to close the inner door, with a frown on her face.
Rick holds up his hands showing no aggression. "No need, sorry to have bothered you. I'll try another time. Nice to meet you, Amy." He turns and leaves. 'This is going to be trickier than I thought.
Rick got home before Matt called back. Cheryl had TXT pix to Matt, the license plate and 2 of the ladies. She labeled the ladies pix as to date/time/place. Dad told her how his call had gone – it didn't! They waited for Matt's call.
30 minutes past Matt getting off work he and Sylvia called Cheryl's cell phone. Both sides put their phones on speaker, Matt informed everyone that the call would be recorded and introductions were made. Cheryl told about her mall experience, Rick told of his meeting Amy and her almost scared demeanor. Matt told the group more about his friendship with Marty, Marty's relationship with Kensi and the lengths went to in hopes of finding her. Rick then related all the evidence found at the rural farmhouse where Kensi was held captive, the man's body and his new-found identity and the new identity (Amy Johnson). The group agreed that until her memories were more or less restored that they would refer to her as Amy Johnson – to minimize slip ups.
Rick reiterated the philosophy of dropping bread crumbs, and everyone agreed that this was a good strategy to start with.
Matt suggested bringing Hetty on-board. He explained who she was, the value she would bring to their effort, and the contacts she could call on when and if needed. He explained that Hetty was the one person who could be involved w/o her entire team stomping all over the landscape. Everyone cringed, and chuckled at that.
Rick suggested a video conference call of those on this call + Hetty to get themselves organized and avoid stepping on each other's toes. All agreed. Matt and Rick would coordinate that.
In the meantime, Rick would try again to make contact with Tina. Cheryl giggled; Rick glared. If possible, it would be good to have Tina on the video call. They adjourned; Matt agreed to get each participant a typed copy of the transcript of the call.
Matt talked to Lt Bates, explained the situation and got Hetty's #. He didn't want to alert Marty, yet. He called.
"This is Hetty, to whom am I speaking, please?"
"Hetty, this Det Matt Barnhart LAPD, a close friend of Marty Deeks."
"Yes, Detective. I remember you; we have worked together in the past. What can I do for you?"
Matt explained the situation in full, it took almost 30 minutes. As he was talking he emailed her a file he had prepared with all the documentation including all the pictures. He invited her to join the video call, and the team. He paused to allow her to respond.
Several moments of silence.
"You realize, Detective, that since Kensi is a missing NCIS Special Agent, I could thank you and take over the investigation."
"With all due respect, Kensi is a dearly departed NCIS Special Agent. I was there when you buried her. I sincerely hope you won't do that, ma'am. There is a broad team already involved, doing great work. In my mind they deserve to remain involved and be rewarded, at least emotionally, for a job well done. Among other things, many will learn of and from you; enhancing their work going forward."
"Very well said, Detective. I will be honored to join the video call and participate on the team. My I ask you some questions?"
"Surely."