The One That Got Away
Jess drove the children to daycare that morning. She'd learned how to "zone out" so she didn't have to listen to the crying and fits.
Zachary wasn't saying anything. He was still sobbing, but had calmed down from the way he was when Nicole strapped him screaming into the car seat.
Nathan kicked the driver's seat violently. "I hate you, Mommy. I hate you so much! And I hate Joe and Daddy and Madison and Zachary and Heather and Nicole and Antonio."
"We hate you more!" Joe yelled.
"No you don't."
"Yes we do."
"Shut up!" Madison screamed. She grabbed the hair of the brother closest to her and pulled with one hand and scratched Joe's face with the other.
Joe hit her stomach with the side of his fist and both were crying.
Nathan and Zachary were silent now.
Heather just sat astounded at them all.
Jess parked the car and went through the same routine. As soon as the van was turned off anybody who was crying stopped and Nathan who was usually screaming obscenities or sitting in silent rage would burst into tears and Jess—Nicole, Antonio, or Nathan would have to drag him to the class room.
xxxxx
They finally made it into the building. Zachary, Joe, Heather, and Madison walked compliantly ahead of Jess to the room. Nathan screamed and fought as his mother dragged him by the arm.
The Halls could always hear the Massey/Cortez kids coming towards the class and Deborah would greet them at the door. Like clock work, at the sight of Deborah Hall, Nathan would silence and stop fighting immediately.
"Good morning, Mrs, Massey."
"It is now." She looked down at her now completely composed son.
Deborah gently took Nathan's hand and he and the others went in the room.
"I'm supposed to go to the big kids' room today," Heather reminded Jess again.
"I know, Sweetheart. Remember when we were getting in the van and you made your mommy tell me twelve times? Antonio will be here around four today."
"All right." Deborah smiled sweetly and closed the door.
Jess brought Heather to Mrs. Pierson's room.
xxxxx
Brooke called Jess into her office as soon as she got in.
"This tape was sent into the L.A. office yesterday and viewed this morning. It didn't take long for the agents to identify the child in the tape and figure out it was your case." Brooke turned the T.V. on where the tape was paused.
Jess saw a blond haired eight-year-old girl looking into the camera from a bed she was sitting on. "Who is it?"
"Bailey Ella Hughes."
"Oh my God. Do we know where she is?"
"No."
"The agents have already watched this video several times. They can't make out the location or the I.D. of the man in the video."
"I don't see a man."
"He's setting the camera now. He comes in in a few seconds. I don't think watching this will help you find her, but you can if you want to. I'd advise against it."
"This is a pornography tape, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"I need to see it."
"Why?"
"I've been looking for this girl for four years, Brooke. This will give me the vision I need to find her."
"Okay." She handed Jess the remote.
"You're staying?"
"You're not seeing this alone."
xxxxx
Brooke was able to keep the media and the Hughes family from finding out about the tape, to keep the kidnapper from panicking and to protect the family from another possible failed search.
At noon Nicole arrived.
"You're finished with the waiting lists already? I thought it would take at least a couple of days."
"Probably would have, but I found an opening. They wouldn't hold it, so I'm paying them for a child that isn't even there, but at least I don't have to worry about it anymore."
"I have good news of my own, sorta. I got a lead on the Bailey Hughes case."
"Get out of here."
"I'm on my way to New Jersey now. Somebody sent in a tape of her and it took a while because he wiped it, but forensics found partial prints on the tape. Steve Martinez, arrested for rape and homicide, never convicted."
xxxxx
Nicole banged on the door. "Steve Martinez, open up!"
As soon as he opened the door, he was arrested and brought to the nearest field office.
Nicole held up a still photo made out of a close up of Bailey's face on the tape. "You sent this tape."
"Yes."
"Tell us where she is?"
"If I knew I wouldn't have had to send you the tape. I would have brought her to the police."
"Because you're such a good Samaritan."
"I've done a lot of shit in my life, but I am no baby raper."
"Where did you find the tape?" Jess asked.
"Last Friday a friend of mine had a party at his bar, actually it's his dad's and it's closed down, but we still hang out there. I saw the tape on the shelf in the back room when I went to get some more liquor."
"Why did you take it?"
"Brady has a room in the back where he makes videos of girls..adult girls as far as I knew. I thought that's what this was."
Nicole gave him a pen and a post-it. "The addresses of the bar and Brady's home."
"Don't leave the area."
xxxxx
Nicole went to arrest Brady and Jess got a warrant to search the the bar. There was a room and it was the one from the video. There was a camera, but no tapes found. The forensics were called in right away.
xxxxx
Brady lawyered up as soon as he was brought in and he wasn't talking.
"Are your agents tossing his place?" Jess asked the S.A.C.
"Yeah."
"Nicole, Bailey is out there somewhere. We need to find her. We have to come up with a game plan now."
"A deal?"
"What if he's the one who took her?"
"I don't think he is. This whole things looks like a child sex ring to me. He ordered her to be brought to him, but he didn't take her. And we still need to know who the guy in the video is."
Nicole and Jess joined Brady and his attorney.
"We have a deal for you, Brady. Here it is. You tell us where Bailey is and you'll be charged with Child Endangerment instead of Soliciting Child Prostitution."
"Take it," the lawyer said.
"Dan has her. His number is in my apartment. In my desk drawer."
"Who is the guy in the video with Bailey?"
"I don't know his name."
"You can be charged with two counts of Child Endangerment."
"I swear! He heard somewhere that I make videos and he offered me a crap load of money to get him a girl seven or eight years old, so I called Dan and Dan set the whole thing up. He dropped by my apartment and I gave him the keys to the bar. He must have taken the kid and met the guy there."
"How'd you know Dan sold children?"
"Some of the guys I know are into that. That's how I met Dan."
"Call him. Tell him to bring Bailey back for you. Make it sound real."
"He won't believe it. He knows I'm not into kids."
"Then say it's for a customer."
xxxxx
Brooke was waiting when Nicole and Jess got back to California. "How did it go?"
"We know who has Bailey. But he's in Cambodia."
"Why?"
"It's a child sex ring. They travel all over the world," Nicole explained. "We made a deal with the guy who made the arrangements for the man in the video to set up Dan—he's the man who has Bailey—and he took the bait. He said he would get in touch with Brady when he gets back to the states."
"How long will that be?"
"He said a few weeks."
"Which is too long," Jess said. "I'm going to Cambodia."
"That's a terrible idea," Nicole replied.
"In this case, it's a good one," Brooke said. "We don't have any time to lose."
Nicole looked at her supervisor shocked. "You can't be serious."
"I'm not waiting a month to save her, Nicole. Who knows that she'll even survive that long?"
"She's lasted four years. Those people want her alive."
"Until they don't. Until she gives them too much trouble or contracts some deadly disease. No. I'm bringing her home."
"This will never work. How will you find her?"
"With Antonio."
"Antonio?"
"I'll need a man to be my eyes and ears and pose as a customer."
"You want my husband to go undercover as a pedophile."
"It's the only way."
"She's right," Brooke interjected. "The Bureau would never allow me to send anybody over there under these circumstances, but if Jess goes on her own time and brings somebody who isn't an agent, the Bureau's hands are clean."
xxxxx
Antonio met Jess at the house after agreeing to her plan. Nicole hovered over Jess as she packed, trying to talk her out of it.
"Even if I weren't pregnant, I would never do this."
"I know. But you're not me."
"How are you going to find her? Where will you even start?"
"Dan told Brady he was in Sisophon. We'll look there and surrounding areas."
"For how long?"
"Until we find her or Dan comes back to the U.S."
"What about the kids?"
"You and Nathan can handle it."
The next day Antonio and Jess got vaccinated and got on a plane to Cambodia.