Bill put a hand, meant as comfort, on Gary's shoulder.
"No, no I don't like that," Gary said, stepping away quickly in annoyance. He turned to Dr. Rosen. "I can't find them. They got lost of Parkers Street, because the camera's out. I reported it."
"Okay, thank you, Gary," Rosen smiled, turning to ask Rachel to go to the Bell house with him.
"They were headed east when they disappeared. Poof. Oh," Gary turned to Rachel, "don't go in my room. I don't like people in my room, except my mom." He nodded to her and then returned to the colors and shapes filling his vision. Rachel reached towards his shoulder, remembered Bill's earlier attempt, and retracted her hand, which was shaking slightly with pity for Gary. Then Dr. Rosen's hand was on the small of her back, guiding her towards the elevator, down the hall, and in the car.
"I just feel so bad, Dr. Rosen. Anyone but Gary," Rachel murmured, finally out of the reach of Gary's cameras inside and around the building.
"To tell you the truth, Rachel, I think we all feel worse for Gary then he feels. Distance yourself from this." He answered her next question, "And I know it's hard, but try to act as if it's another case. Except, one including no Alpha. Yet."
Rosen parked a block away-roadblocks had been placed there after Gary had found the attack-and him and Rachel walked towards the house slowly, allowing her to do a visual of the street and tire tracks, accompanied by the prying eyes hovering in neighbors' windows. They reached the car with the bloodstain, and Rachel peered at it, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"A positive," she murmured, matching it with Sandra Bell's blood type. "A little less than a liter of blood is hers, but there's a small bit of O negative. It must have come from one of the kidnappers."
"Yes, well, Sandra wouldn't have been one to go quietly," Dr. Rosen observed. "Is there enough to get DNA."
"Maybe, I'll have to bring it back and test it, but if you give me a suspect I can match it," Rachel said, standing up just as Rosen's phone rang.
"It's Gary," he told her before opening it, and Rachel concentrated on her hearing to recognize the halting voice.
"Doc-. Doctor Rosen, I found something. After they took my mom, someone went into my room. And people aren't allowed in my room. It's all messy now. Really, really gross, Dr. Rosen, and I'm angry about it. And he was wearing black, like the guys in the car, but there's a frame of his face on my camera. Okay. Bye."
"Wait, Gary!"
"Oh, now you can go in my room. But only for a few minutes. And don't touch anything. Bye." The line went dead, then the phone came back to life in Rosen's ear, causing a jump and Rachel to cover her ears. She was still on her hearing when the phone rang, much to loud compared to Gary's small voice. Her head rung like loud bells and she missed Nina's phone call.
"Rosen, the neighbors didn't see anything," Nina's voice sounded almost weary.
"You interviewed all of them?" Rosen was shocked.
"Yeah, me and Bill came a few minutes after you, and left Hicks to watch Gary. He's actually a lot nicer to him than to us, must be a dad thing."
"The neighbors..." Rosen redirected.
"Yeah, well they all have different stories, some even challenge the facts we give them. A crazy old woman said that her cats could sense the abduction."
"Maybe it's an Alpha-"
"I'm not too sure, Rosen," Nina laughed, sarcastically. "Then she asked Bill to stay with her, tried to kiss him, then told us that last year three of her cats were taken by aliens. Poof." The word reminded Rosen of Gary, and his smile dropped.
"Okay, Nina, thank you. You and Bill should come with us, we're going in Gary's house." They were there in just a few minutes, and Nina looked tired but persistent, maybe because of her strong will, but also maybe because of their youngest Alpha.
"Woah," whispered Rachel, astonished, as they opened the door, that someone's home could be so organized. Cereals were lined up with labels outward, milk was placed next to measuring cups, and Gary's organizational girds were placed everywhere. You could practically see the small family's routine for every morning as they walked up the stairs. First was Sandra's bedroom, they peeked in quietly to find things undisturbed but slightly more disorganized from the rest of the house due to Gary's lack of presence in the room. Next was a small bathroom, blue in color and spotless. Then, a door, slightly ajar, marked Gary's bedroom.
They opened the door to disaster.