"Hey, Jamie, we found Stephanie's body. The son of a bitch is going after little girls. We need to get him before he can do it again." The urgency in Danny's voice caused Jamie to run toward his patrol car.
"Eddie, we gotta go. They found that little girl's body and Danny wants our help." They sped off toward Danny's station.
Meanwhile, Linda was busy picking up Jenny from Kindergarten.
"Mama, can we get some ice cream on the way home? Please? Pleeeasee?"
"No Jen, we gotta get the boys and I told Aunt Erin that she and Nikki could come over and eat dinner with us tonight. We gotta get the house cleaned and start cooking."
"But it would only take a second. And Pops gave me $5 for helping him make Sunday dinner. So I have my own money!" Jenny pleaded.
"No, you have Pop's money. He shouldn't be spoiling you like this."
"Well, I'm his Jenny beanie. Just look at this face" Jenny flashes her biggest smile with all her pearly baby teeth showing with her hands resting under her chin, framing her face. Her big green eyes and long eyelashes were staring up at Linda.
Linda couldn't help but smile. "As irresistible as you look right now, the answer is no." Jenny pouted and her curly brown hair bounced as she jumped in place a few times. "What would Daddy think about this tantrum, Jennifer?"
He would say, "C'mon, Linda, give my little princess what she wants," Jenny said in her fake deep voice.
"Hahaha oh he would, huh?"
"Yeah, but don't tell him I said that. You can just take my word for it." Jenny beamed at her mother with that same adorable smile.
Linda started tickling her mischievous daughter and they continued walking home.
Jamie and Eddie arrive at Danny's station.
"So here's the cell phone dump from the phone found at the scene of the crime. We are having the tech guy look at it now and he's going to try to get a location on where this guy has been making calls."
Baez enters the room with a piece of paper. "Says here a tower dinged close to St. Michael's elementary school about 20 min before the phone and body were found. You know it?"
"Yeah, that's where my daughter goes to school. Looks like he's casing the school to find his next victim. I need to call Linda and make sure she's got Jenny. Eddie and Jamie, go sit on the school and see what you can find."
Linda and Jeni are approaching the food court promenade when she got the call.
"Hey Linda, did you pick up Jeni yet?" in a nervous tone.
"Yeah she's right here. What's going on Danny?" she asked skeptically. She turned her back to Jenny to get some privacy and avoid alarming her daughter.
"I can't talk about it right now, but I'm glad she's safe with you."
"Okay honey, I'll see you later tonight then. Jenny and I are on our way home to make dinner." She turned back to where Jenny was waiting to find she wasn't there.
"Wait where'd she go? JEN? JEN?" Linda looks up and down the sidewalk frantically. She looked into the street and asked around for a little girl in a catholic school uniform.
"Linda?! What's going on? Where's Jenny?! Linda!"
"I don't know, Danny. She was right here! I only turned my back for a second! I don't understand how she could have disappeared so quickly JENNY! JENNIFER!"
"Linda, keep looking, we need to find her." He hangs up his cell.
"Baez, it's Jenny. If he took her I swear to God I'm gonna kill him with my bare hands."
Baez gives him a look of distress. "I'll call Eddie and tell her and Jamie to head over to Linda and help with the search. She's a curious kid, maybe she just wandered off"
Tears were welling in Danny's eyes. "What if he's got her Maria? He knows I'm the detective on this case." He kicked over his chair.
"You can't think like that Danny. But either way, we need to catch this son of a bitch before he can do any more damage."
Eddie hangs up the phone. She didn't know how to break the news to Jamie. "Jamie, we have to go pick up Linda from 4th street promenade."
"What do you mean?"
"Jenny's missing. Linda says she was there and they were walking home but then she was gone."
"Oh my God, we were too late." As he was saying this, Jamie was already tearing out of the school parking lot with the sirens blaring.
Linda's panic was quickly turning to despair after looking for 20 minutes with no sight or witness to tell her where her little girl went. She broke down in heavy sobs when Jamie pulled up with Eddie along with another squad car.
"Linda, we're gonna find her. This is Danny's baby we're talking about. If someone took her, we're gonna find the bastard and he's gonna pay." Eddie tried to be as convincing and reassuring as possible.
Jamie stood silent with a look of deep thought. "Rigetti, take Linda to the station to wait."
"No, I can't leave… its all my fault… it's all my fault" between sobs.
"Linda, we're gonna get her back but you need to be somewhere with family where you can try to relax. I called Grandpa. He's waiting for you at Dad's."
She looked at him reluctantly. "Jamie, you gotta find her, you have to. I can't go on if…"
"I know Linda, just head to dad's and try to relax. We'll call you as soon as we get any new information." Linda leaves and Jamie turns back to Eddie.
"Alright, Eddie, this is my baby niece. Let's find her and bring her home safe and sound."
Danny and Baez picked up a perp that fit the description. He was waiting in the interrogation room.
"You sure you're in the right state of mind for this partner?" Baez asks in a concerned tone.
"Nope, not at all. I'm going in." Baez follows closely behind.
One step into the room and Danny couldn't hold back. He lunged toward the perp. Baez never got the chance to try and restrain him. Like that would have been possible anyway. He had his hands gripping the pervert's throat and started screaming "WHAT'D YOU DO, you disgusting animal?! Where's my baby? What'd you do with her?!"
The perp's eyes were bugging out of his head as he struggled against the thick hands around his neck, gasping for air. "I…I can't…" among heavy troubled breathing.
Baez finally got the frantic father off the criminal. More heavy breathing. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about. You have a daughter? How old? My favorite age is 4 or 5. Too bad I never got my chance with her." A sly smile slowly spread across his face." Or maybe I will after I get off for police brutality."
Danny lunged again with fire in his eyes. He was going to kill him right there if he had the chance. Luckily, Baez had enough foresight this time keep him back. She pushed him out of the door and locked him out so she could finish the interrogation without having to worry about Danny murdering the suspect.
"We've been looking and questioning people for an hour now. Let's stop in that froyo place so we can question people in there."
"I know you, Janko. Can't you stop eating until after we find Jenny?"
"Relax, Reagan. That's not what I was thinking. If Jenny wasn't taken, where would she wander off to? If she's anything like I was at her age, she's getting a double scoop of rocky road right now." Jamie gives her a look of slight annoyance. "Well it's worth a shot."
They walked in and started asking around. They finally got to the shop owner. "Oh yeah, bright eyes. Mint choc chip in a cone. She was here. Said her mom was waiting outside so I wasn't too alarmed that she was alone. Everything okay?"
"When she left here, where'd she go?" said Jamie quickly, ignoring the question that was asked of him.
"Come to think of it, I don't think I ever saw her leave." The shop owner looks around quizzically. Jamie and Eddie start pushing through the crowd. "JENNY? JEN?" No sight of her.
Jamie ran back out in the promenade to look around. But Eddie noticed a long line for the ladies room and stayed back. It hadn't moved since they first walked in "I mean I know there's always a line for the ladies room but still, I wonder…"
"Excuse me, coming through."
"This person has been in there for forever!" Eddie heard a women exclaim in an annoyed tone.
"I think I hear some whimpering coming from in there. Sounds like a little girl," said another.
Eddie knocked heavily on the door. "Jenny?"
"Who's asking?" Jenny managed to sniffle out.
"Jenny, it's officer Janko. I'm your Uncle Jamie's partner. Why don't you open the door so we can talk?"
"Oh, I remember you. You're the pretty one. I want you to be his girlfriend, ya know."
Eddie giggles as Jenny lets her in. "I'm scared."
"We can walk out together. Your family is real worried about you ya know? Lets find your Uncle Jamie."
"JAMIE! She's here I found her in the bathroom!" Jamie didn't waste any time in scooping her up in a big hug and looking her over to see if she was hurt.
He finally put her down. "Eddie, call Linda and let her know we found her. You sure know how to make us all sick with worry, munchkin."
"I'm sorry. I just got scared when I didn't see Mama so I hid. She must be so mad at me."
Jamie takes out his phone and dials Danny "Hey Danny, we got her. She just got a little hungry and stopped for some ice cream. She was never taken at all." The sigh of relief that Detective Reagan exhaled could be felt by all those around him.
"Thank the Lord. I almost killed this perp trying to find her. What happened?"
"Still getting the full story but I know she's sorry for wandering away from Linda."
"Oh she's gonna be sorry, alright. I'm gonna hug her. I'm gonna kiss her. Then I'm gonna spank her little butt until it's blue."
"Danny…"
"That's being generous. You'll understand one day when you have kids. Alright bring my little trouble maker back home to me."
Everyone was waiting at Pop's house for Jenny's return. The little tyke couldn't help but feel nervous as she slowly walked up the porch steps. "C'mon already, munchkin. Everyone will be so happy to see you, I promise." Her uncle attempted to reassure her.
She may have only been 5, but she was a precocious little girl. She knew her dad was protective and she must have upset him when she disappeared. She also knew he was strict. He was the best daddy in the world and she was definitely a spoiled daddy's girl sometimes, but he didn't like it when she didn't listen to Mama.
One step in the door and she was already in her loving mother's arms. She could see the tears in her mom's eyes. "I'm sorry I made you cry, Mama. I didn't mean to."
"I'm just happy to have to back, baby girl" She kissed her head. "But don't you EVER do anything like that to me ever again."
She placed her little feet back on the floor. She had a lot more family members to get reacquainted with. She started to feel overwhelmed. The family could sense that so they just gave her gentle smiles and quick hugs.
She looked up and locked eyes with her father. He looked exhausted. His brow was furrowed and he had bags under his eyes. Maybe the bags were from crying like Mama? She wasn't sure. She walked toward him reluctantly. It was like her feet were stuck in mud. It was taking her an eternity to walk herself over to him. She just felt so guilty.
Danny was mad but more than anything he felt relief. He opened up his stoic face into a smile, got down on one knee and opened his arms to his baby. Jenny felt reassured enough to run to him and leap into his arms. He had her in his famous bear hug. It was her favorite kind of hug. She never wanted him to let her go. In this particular case, her motive of wanting a longer hug was a little different. She knew that when it was over she would have to face the music.
He gave her a long kiss on her forehead and landed 2 big kisses on her cheek. He put her down. Oh no.
He stooped down to her eye level. She had the cutest, most pathetic "I'm sorry daddy" look on her face. Her big green eyes and puppy dog lip melted his heart. "How am I ever going to punish this child?" He thought to himself. All he wanted to do in that moment was hold her and never let her go.
"We need to have a talk, young lady. Go upstairs and wait for me there." She raised her eyebrows. Whenever her father "talked" in private to one of her brothers, they always came back out with sad faces and sore bottoms. She contemplated a funny rebuttal that was able to get her out of trouble in the past. But she read the situation and knew this time was different. So she simply responded with "Yes, sir" and she started walking gloomily again toward the stairs. Danny followed with a stern yet gentle look on his face.
"Jen, it's time for dinner!" She could hear her mom calling for her. She was trying to get it together so her family didn't know she was crying. She wanted to be a tough Reagan too.
She walked toward her spot at the table. "Dang, dad, you must have been really mad at Jen" Jack said.
"Oh, stop. We just had a … conversation"
"The kind of conversation that makes it hard to sit comfortably..." Her other brother chimed in.
"Boys, mind your own business," Frank responded quickly.
"What's a conversation?" the little voice piped in. "Just means we had a talk, baby," Danny explained.
"Oh.. yes we did talk. And then he…well didn't talk. And I'm sorry to everybody for making you feel bad. Daddy told me how it feels when you love somebody and think you might not ever see them again. I'd be mad at you guys if you did that too"
"Smart kid you got there," Nikki said.
"I still want my turn with her," Pops said, rolling up his sleeves.
Jenny's eyes got big but then relaxed them and smiled. "That just means you love me. That's why daddy spanked me. When you love someone you don't want them to get hurt so I had to learn what happens when I don't listen to Mama. " She grabbed his hands and looked deep into his eyes. Then took a quick step back "But can I have a break til tomorrow? I'm a little sore"
The family laughed.
"Don't worry, kiddo, you're too cute for me to spank right now"
Jeni walked to her seat and stared at her chair. "Daddy?"
"What, honey? We all appreciate your apology but it's time to eat now."
"It's just I can't reach when I stand up but it hurts to sit"
He gave her a pitiful but warning look.
"Okay, sorry" She sat down and winced. The boys giggled.