With a few hours of sleep, Jane headed back downstairs from Maura's bedroom and got in her car, driving to the station to pick up Frost on the way. Korsak had called; a tip came just a few minutes before. A woman claimed to have an ID of the man in the photo that the BPD released to the public. It was the only hunch they had gotten, and Jane didn't want to waste a single moments hesitation.

She left Maura asleep. It seemed cruel to wake her. They spent most of the night lying in somewhat of a haze; too tired to talk, but their minds too alert to sleep. Maura had drifted off sometime before Jane, her head having fallen onto Jane's shoulder. When Korsak had called, Maura had barely even budged. Jane slipped from the bed and down the steps as quietly as she could. She knew she would get a call from Maura eventually, chastising her for not waking her up, but Jane didn't care much.

Frost slid into the car a little clumsily, tipping two coffees into the cup holders and lugging his bag in with him, nestling it between his feet.

"Get any sleep?" he asked.

"Barely." Jane reached for a coffee and took a sip, trying to masquerade her grimace with a smile. Frost never did get her order right. "Thanks."

The car ride was short and quiet. Frost read out directions from the GPS and Jane followed them silently, making turns when it was necessary and sometimes fiddling with the radio out of habit. They pulled up to an older apartment complex and parked. Rusted iron porch railings hugged the crumbling cement steps up towards the main door. Two brown haired, sun kissed little girls were perched on the steps with chalk in their hands. They wore matching summer dresses – pink with white flowers – but one looked older than the other. Each had the same wide, curiosity stricken eyes as Jane and Frost exited the car.

Frost and Jane smiled at them as they made their way into the building, but neither smiled back. The older girl raised an eyebrow, a faded scar becoming more visible when she did so, and slid her hand protectively over the other little girl's.

The hallway was dimly lit. It was nicer inside than it had looked outside, Jane noted, but it still wasn't the classiest of sorts; the wallpaper was old and peeling and the carpet was stained in some places, but a few well placed welcome mats took care of the largest spots. They came across apartment six with little hassle and Jane, one hand on her gun, pounded on the door with her other.

"Boston Police," she yelled. "Open up please."

The door swung open in the very next second. A frazzled woman stood in front of them, in her arms a small toddler no older than one or two with thin locks of dark, curly light brown hair slipping from underneath a towel. Her skin was fairer than the woman's but her cheeks were dotted with the same light brown freckles.

"May I help you?" she asked, her forehead crinkling as she looked between the two detectives.

"James White lives here?"

The woman's face immediately soured. "Not anymore."

"May we come in?"

"What is this about?"

"We have reason to believe that James White has been involved in a kidnapping of a young girl." The woman stumbled back a little and held her daughter closer. "May we please come inside and talk?" Jane asked again. With a nod, the woman moved to the side so Jane and Frost could enter. She took the toddler in her arms and walked across the room to a play pen, setting her down inside and handing her a stuffed toy. She came back to Jane and Frost and extended a hand.

"Delia Castrelo."

"Detective Jane Rizzoli. This is my partner, Detective Barry Frost. You say James White lived here?"

"Yes."

"What's your relation to Mr. White?"

"I...I'm his ex-wife. Or, well, we're separated. We have three children together." She looked over to where the toddler was sitting. "That's our youngest, Carmen. Adriana and Alicia are outside playing. You said a kidnapping? You must have the wrong man, detectives."

"Where is your ex-husband now?"

"The last I heard he was staying with some friends in Bay Village on Arlington Street. I think I still have their address around here somewhere. I... why do you think it's James? He isn't the greatest man I've ever know, but I can't ever see him taking a child."

Frost set his bag down on the couch and dug through it until he found the photo of Caidence that he was looking for. "Have you ever seen this girl before?" Delia stared long and hard at the photo, then shook her head. Frost pulled out the surveillance photo of what they suspected to be James White. "Could this be your husband?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "Maybe, I can't be sure. It's not very clear. It could be, I guess. About his height, maybe..." she faltered and tore her eyes away from the photo. "But I don't know the little girl."

"You said James was staying with friends?" asked Frost, pulling the photo away.

"Tony and Noelle Kinlan." she said promptly. "I told them, I told them that taking him in was a bad idea. They told James that he could stay there for as long as he was clean, but I told them that he was never clean."

Jane wrote down their names and looked back up at Delia. "He had a problem with drugs?"

"Not when I married him, that's for sure." she grumbled. "I married a good man, a good father, but I haven't seen him since the day I kicked him out and neither have my girls. They deserve more than a strung out coke addict for a father." A tear ran down her cheek. "We've never been perfect parents, but we had love enough for all three of them to make up for all the things they deserved but we couldn't give them. Their own rooms, a nicer home. More money. But love was enough for me and them, but James didn't think so. He wanted more money. It became an obsession. That's when he got into drugs, and..." she took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Are you familiar with the names Caitlyn Ford? Charles Ford? Aiden Barker?"

Delia frowned and shook her head. "They don't sound familiar."

"Take a look at her photo once more," Jane grabbed Caidence's photo from Frost. "Are you sure you've never seen her? Maybe heard your husband say her name? Caidence?"

"I'm sorry, detective. I – "

The door behind them sprung open and the two little girls from the porch flew in, running towards their mother's side and seeming to notice Jane and Frost after they got there. They eyed them both suspiciously, clinging onto their mother's arms a little bit tighter. The older girl looked to Jane's hands and saw the picture. She tilted her head to the side a bit and, while chewing her bottom lip, mumbled: "Hey, I've seen her before."

Jane's head snapped up and over to Frost, who looked just as wide-eyed and surprised and Jane was sure she looked herself.

"You've seen this little girl before?" Jane asked her. The girl nodded shyly. Delia hugged her tighter.

"Mi hija," whispered Delia. "Tell them. It's okay. This little girl is missing and her parents miss her very much." The girl hesitated. "Por favor, mi hija. For mommy."

Jane leaned forward. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Adriana." she said quietly.

"What about you?" Jane turned to the other girl.

"Alicia."

"This little girl's name is Caidence." she bent down to Adriana and Alicia's level and held the photo upright. "You said you've seen her before. Did you talk to her?"

"No." replied Adriana.

"Did you see her with someone?" A tiny nod. "Who?" Both of the girls looked at each other. "Is it someone that you know?" Another nod. Jane looked up at Frost, who nodded, an urge to continue. "Was it your daddy?" There was a moments pause, but Jane saw it – one last tiny nod coming from Adriana. Her heart beat quickened. "Where?"

"At the zoo."

"You were at the zoo with your daddy?"

Adriana looked nervously at her mother. "Yes."

Delia looked enraged. "When?" she asked, exasperated. "Yesterday?"

"Grammy White called daddy and said that we were there. I'm sorry, Mama. I know you said daddy was away and we couldn't see him, but he said we were going to the zoo, and I miss him so much." Delia's expression softened and she squeezed her daughter's hands.

"It's okay, mi hija. You told the truth, that's all that matters." Delia turned to Jane and Frost. "I had them at their grandparents yesterday while I worked, I didn't know – "

Jane held up a hand. "It's okay, Ms. Castrelo. It's just important that we know what your daughters know now. Adriana, Alicia, can you tell me what happened when you saw Caidence? Did your daddy introduce you to her?"

"No," said Adriana thoughtfully. "We never spoke to her. Daddy said she was tired."

"Tired?"

"She was sleeping in the wagon under our blanket. Daddy said we had to be real quiet and not disturb her, 'cause she was tired and he needed to bring her home to her real family because they missed her." she explained, her voice a little bit lighter now that she knew she wasn't in trouble. "Did she get home to her family?"

Jane's heart sunk. "We, uh," she looked up at Frost for help, but he seemed to be struggling just as much as she. " – we're helping get her back to her family," stammered Jane. "Could you tell us a lil' bit more? Where did you guys go after the zoo?"

"Daddy drove us home to Grammy's house. Caidence stayed asleep when we got there, so daddy left her in the car while he went inside with us. Then he left. He told me and Ali not to tell no one about the little girl, 'cause he said he wanted it to be a surprise." she turned to her mother and frowned. "Is dad gonna be mad that I told? I broke a promise."

"No, honey. This was a promise that's okay to be broken."

"Adriana," Jane tapped the girl on the shoulder to bring her attention back. "Was... I, I don't want you to be scared, but was Caidence... could you tell if her chest was moving up and down like yours and mine? Was she breathing?"

Adriana's eyes went owl wide. "Why wouldn't she be breathing?"

"It's just a question." Jane said quickly. "It's important, though. Can you think real hard for me?"

"I – I don't know..." she stuttered with a shaky breath. "Mama, did daddy do something wrong?"

Jane stood and gave an aching look to Frost. More than one little girl would be hurt in this whole ordeal – four in total, all completely innocent. It pained Jane to look at the three little browned eyed girls. Alicia was turned into her mother's side, her face buried in shyness and what Jane assumed was worry. Adriana was looking expectantly at her mother, waiting for an answer that Delia didn't know how to give. After a long few minutes of silence, Jane cleared her throat and asked Delia for the address of where James was supposedly staying and a recent photo of the man.

Frost and Jane took off shortly after, their silence speaking louder than what their words could. Half-way to the apartment, Jane picked up her phone to call Korsak and fill him in, her mind unable to erase the face of the four little girls.

"That was Jane." said Korsak as he tossed his phone back on his desk. "Said White wasn't there, but talked to the ex-wife. Guy's got three kids, all little girls." he sighed. "Little girl said that they were at the zoo and James did have Caidence. Told the kids she was asleep at that he was bringing her home to the dad."

Maura and Frankie were crowded around the desk. Jane thought she had been quiet when she slipped from Maura's bed, but Jane Rizzoli was anything but quiet and she certainly wasn't very subtle. Maura woke just after Jane had tugged on both of her work boots, but remained still until she was sure Jane was out the front door. She knew that Jane would try and convince her that she needn't come into the office, that she could have her day off to lounge and have the birthday Jane thought Maura deserved, but Maura already felt too emotionally invested in the case of the lost little girl to let Jane stop her. She showered and changed into something comfortable, then ate a quick breakfast and made her way out to the department.

"He's a father?" asked Maura, scrunching her forehead in thought. "That seems so strange, doesn't it? A father abducting a child? You said ex-wife, correct?" Korsak nodded. "Does he have rights over his children?"

"Jane said the mom hasn't allowed him to see the kids since their separation. Cokehead."

"Hmm," Maura hummed. "It could very well be that Aiden Barker hired James White to abduct his daughter, but there could be another theory."

Korsak leaned forward. "Hit me, doc."

Maura paused and looked at Korsak with trepidation. "I would never hit you, Sergeant Korsak."

"Maura, it's a – " began Frankie, but then he shook his head and waved for her to continue on with whatever she was about to say. "You know what, nevermind. Just... keep going."

"Well," Maura said slowly. "It could be that James White has formed some kind of psychology attachment to Caidence Barker. Perhaps he has been following her or Aiden for quite some time. He has been taken away from his own children and he knows how that feels. He has felt the pain of a parent being separated from his child. It could be that he was trying to inflict that pain on someone else to make himself feel less alone."

"Nah, nah, nah." Frankie stood from where he was leaning against a desk. "The kid said that White kept saying he was taking Caidence home to her real family. Why would he say that?"

"To pacify his children? How else would you explain to three little girls why you're suddenly carrying another child and bringing her home with them, a child they had never met?"

Korsak interrupted Frankie and Maura's debate with a knock on the desk. "Just looked up James White's record. On probation for drug charges, no surprise there." he scrolled down the page some more. "Other than that, he's clean. Up until two years ago, James White was a blue collar factory worker with three kids and a wife."

"And now he's a cokehead with an ex-wife and child support." Frankie snorted. "I'll never understand how someone can turn to drugs. I mean, he had it pretty good, you know? Wife and kids, that's better than most. Even with a lousy job – "

"Many drug users start using solely for a recreational purpose. The addiction comes much later. It's a subtle fight between the mind and the substance, and soon it is a full out war. It could have been because he wanted to feel good or because he was self-medicating, whether because he had an undiagnosed mental or physical health problem or because he was trying to block out a memory or simply to try something new." said Maura. "You can't categorize all drug users into one giant pool, Frankie. He could be rich and living in a palace and still have a problem."

"Still don't get it." grumbled Frankie. "You'd think he would want to be there for his kids, y'know?"

Korsak pointed at Frankie. "We aren't here about his drug use, Frankie. You can't fixate on one thing about a suspect. You wanna make detective, you'd be wise to remember that. You look at every inch of a suspect's history and past, because everything matters, but you glue yourself on one little detail, your whole case will fall apart around you." Frankie nodded curtly and sank down in a chair. "No ransom calls at the Ford's house, so he doesn't want money. We called in Caitlyn and Charles Ford to talk again."

"You don't really think they had anything to do with it, do you?"

"When one parent is suspected of custodial abduction, we have to look at both. I looked into White's financials and it doesn't look like he's been getting any money into the account. Got a grand total of twenty bucks in checking, even less in savings. Figure if Aiden Barker hired him, there'd be a money trace, right?"

"But if Barker didn't hire him, why'd he do it?" asked Frankie.

"Could'a been a random snag, I guess."

"It doesn't feel like that, though." said Maura. "If White said he was bringing her to her true family, and Aiden hired him, why wouldn't he just leave Caidence with him? Aiden could have taken Caidence himself. What is White's motive?"

"Guess we'll find out when Jane brings him in. Let's hope that he's at the place his ex-wife said he was at." Korsak looked back down at the notes he took from Jane's phone call. "Hey, Maura? What kind of drugs could sedate a person?"

"Benzodiazepines like diazepam, midazolam, nitrazepam. Some people use herbal sedatives and then there are nonbenzodiasepines and antihistamines. Why?"

"'Cause Jane said that the girl said Caidence was sleeping when James brought her back to them."

"A small dose of anything could knock a child of Caidence's size right out."

"Is it safe?"

Maura hesitated. "In the hands of professionals, sure." she folded her arms across her stomach. "But any kind of drug given improperly can be dangerous, especially to a child. If he did dose her to keep her quiet, it could have been anything from a pill to an injection or something oral. Given that he only had a few seconds to take her and walk away, and from what we saw on the video, I would say it's likely he injected her with something. Which, if that's the case... it would be very ease for her to give her too much." Both Frankie and Korsak sighed at the thought. "Korsak, can we view the surveillance from the North Exit again."

Korsak fumbled through the stack of videos and popped it in. "What are we looking for?"

"Jane said that Caidence was in the wagon, covered by a blanket. We've been looking for a lone man carrying a girl, or dragging a girl along. We weren't looking for a family at the zoo." Korsak gave Maura a smile and then slapped Frankie on the arm.

"Better be careful, Frankie. Maura here might make detective before you do." he jested. They settled in front of the screen and watched as the video feed moved along. Fifteen minutes had gone by when Frankie nudged Korsak, leaping forward in his seat and pointing wildly at the screen.

Korsak and Maura saw it at the same time as Frankie.

"Korsak!"

"I see it."

"Oh my God."

"Call Jane!"

There was no mistake – James White had looked directly up at the cameras, one hand wrapped securely through the handle of the wagon and his other hand holding the hand of a toddler. Two older girls strutted along side the wagon.

What haunted the three the most were the faded strands of blonde hair slipping from beneath a blanket.

A sprinkle of rain began just as Jane and Frost pulled down the street towards the Kinlan's apartment. Jane tugged her coat tighter around her as the two walked up the steps, scowling slightly. If there was one thing she hated more than snow, it was rain. She wasn't normally the type of woman to care if her hair got messy, but rain caused more havoc on her curls than she could possibly stand.

"Apartment 7." Frost pointed towards a green door with a gold number seven stuck to the front, just above a peep hole. He stepped in front of Jane and knocked. The next moment the door swung open.

Noelle Kinlan reminded Jane strongly of the kind of housewives that she watched growing up on television – the patterned flower dress, hair pulled back into a tight bun and an apron tied tightly around her waist. She smiled at them, her two, plump red lips separating in a smile and revealing stunningly white teeth. Wiping her hands on her apron, she looked Jane and Frost over, and her smile faded as her eyes settled on Frost's gun on his waist and Jane's badge just visible through her jacket.

"Tony?" she called out behind her. A man stepped from the side and looked at the detectives, a placid smile on his face.

"Is there something we can help you with?" asked Tony.

"Detective Barry Frost, my partner Jane Rizzoli. Is there a James White living at this residence?"

"What has he done now?" growled Noelle, ripping the apron from her person and tossing it behind her on a kitchen chair. Tony sighed and made room for Frost and Jane to enter.

The apartment was very small. A navy blue couch was pushed against a wall and a television hung opposite. A very narrow hallway led from the end of the couch and Jane could see two doors. A table was set in the middle of the room, just a few feet away from the stove, fridge and marble countertops. It was certainly not a place that more than two people could live in, comfortably.

Noelle crossed her arms defensively and glowered at Tony. "I told you we shouldn't have let him stay here, I told you – "

Tony's eyes shut tight and he held a hand up to his wife's face. "Please, Noelle. Not now." His eyes opened again and he looked at Jane and Frost. "I'm sorry, detectives. It's been a long couple of weeks."

"How do you know Mr. White?"

"We, uh," Tony scratched the back of his ear and shrugged. " – you know, college. We were roommates freshman year. Hadn't seen him in a coupl'a years."

"But you let him stay here?"

"James was a good guy. At least, when I knew him. Saw him a while back with his wife and kids. I didn't even know he had gotten married. He seemed good, then. Real good. Workin', you know. Like the rest of us. Didn't have a lot, but who does now a days? We met up a few times. Knew somethin' was up when DeDe started calling – "

" – DeDe?"

"His wife," he explained. "Delia. He called her DeDe."

"Why did she started calling you?"

"Wanted us to watch the kids. I didn't mind, ya know, the first few times. But it started to get a lil' outta hand. We don't exactly have a palace," he chuckled and looked around the room. "It was hard havin' the two kids around here."

"I thought they had three children?"

"Now they do. The youngest, Carmen, she's about one and a half. Maybe two. This started while DeDe was pregnant with her."

"Did she ever give an explanation for why she needed you to take the kids?"

"In hindsight, it's obviously." Noelle had been in the kitchen stirring something, but she came over and looped her arm through her husband's. "I guess it's always obvious after the fact. James never came over to drop the kids off, it was always Delia. We tried talking to her, seeing if there was anything we could do, but she never wanted to talk. She always said she just needed the kids out of the house. That must've been when James started doing drugs and drinking too much."

"Do you think Mr. White was violent towards his wife or children?"

Tony shook his head firmly. "No, no way. Maybe a little loud, but I never saw any bruises on the kids or Delia. James wasn't like that. We drank in college and he was the goofy drunk, the guy you wanted to be sober to watch. He loves Delia and he loves his kids. That's why he's clean, now. We told him he could stay here as long as he was clean." His face fell. "Unless you're here to tell me otherwise. What's he done now?"

"We're looking at Mr. White as a suspect in the kidnapping of a little girl."

Noelle took in a sharp breath. "That little girl we saw on the news?"

Jane pulled out a photo of Caidence and handed it to the wife. "Does she look familiar?"

"No, no she doesn't, I'm sorry."

"How did James take the separation from his wife? We're of the understanding that after she kicked him out, he had no contact with his children."

"Well, he was upset. But who wouldn't be? He loves his kids, detectives. I swear on my life, that man would never hurt a kid. That's all he talked about in college was gettin' married and having a few kids. He wanted to be a dad more than anything."

"And if being a dad was taken away from him?" asked Jane. "Would he snap?"

"I..." Tony faltered. " – wouldn't he take his own kids?" he asked. "Why take a random little girl? Why not his girls?"

"Mr. Kinlan, if I had an explanation for why kidnappers take the children that they take, my job would be a lot easier." said Jane. "But sometimes people do things and there isn't a reason and, yeah it's unfair, but sometimes the people we think we know best are the people that surprise us the most. We know James White was at the zoo yesterday with his daughters and we have surveillance footage showing a man approximately his height and build taking Caidence. We also have confirmation from his daughters that Caidence was with them. Have you seen Mr. White since yesterday? Has he called here?"

Tony looked at Jane in awe. Her words seemed to have a full effect on him – he shook his progressively paling face and told Jane that he hadn't talked to James for two days. "I wish I knew where he was, though. He has my car."

"He has your car?" inquired Frost.

"Noelle had to drive me to work this morning. I told James he could borrow my car the other night, and he hasn't been back. I just figured..." he shuddered. "You're sure about all this?"

"We're positive." Jane insisted. "Noelle, would you get the license plate number and make and model of the car to my partner while your husband and I talk?" Noelle nodded and she ushered Frost into the kitchen. While she rummaged through drawers, Jane turned back to the shell-shocked man standing beside her and let her hand rest gently on his arm. "I know this is a lot," she whispered. "But if you could answer a few questions – "

"Anything."

"Does James have any aliases that you know of? Any other names he goes by? Places he would go other than here?"

"He doesn't have a lot of friends. I think he burned most of them out. He has a brother, I know that. Only met him a few times. I think his name was Matthew or Mark. He called James Jamie, though. I remember that. His mother lives here in Boston. He told me he was usin' the car to go see her."

"Does the name Aiden Barker sound familiar at all? Maybe James talked about him?"

"The name sounds familiar, but – "

"Isn't that the guy he kept ranting and raving about? The one with the book?" Noelle and Frost came back, Frost with a new piece of paper clutched in his hand and Noelle looking up at her husband. "The one he wouldn't shut up about."

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Tony. He turned back to Jane and Frost. "Yeah, man, that's been getting annoying. He got this book, see. For a while I thought it was just some new fad, you know? Then I find out it's some kid's book. You couldn't go two days without hearin' somethin' about the Barker, guy. Guess he ran a column for some journal in Michigan, talked about his ex and his kid and all that. James bitched about it constantly. He – " his face fell. "What does that have to do with any of this?"

"Aiden Barker is the father of the missing little girl."

"Ah, hell." growled Tony. "He, uh, yeah. I thought he just liked the book because his girls liked it or something, he went just a few days ago to the book signing. I didn't think anything of it. But every morning before he did anything, he would check Barker's column. It was just this little online piece. But all James would talk about for hours after that is how unfair it was that he and his family in Michigan didn't get to see his kid a lot," Tony rubbed his eyes. "Man, I can't believe I didn't notice. Honest to God, detectives, if I would have known he was getting that obsessed with this guy... really, I just thought he could relate to his problems, you know, the custody issues."

"It isn't your fault." Frost insisted. "Right now it's just important that we find him. We're going to put a BOLO out on your vehicle and on James, and – " The door behind them swung open and James waddled in, a garbage bag thrown over his shoulder and a cigarette propped on his lip. Jane and Frost both sprung forward, but James flung the bag towards them both and they both stumbled.

Gathering themselves as quickly as they could, Jane was the first out of the apartment door and down the front steps. James was turning the corner at the next block; kicking her heeled boots off to give herself better speed and balance, Jane took off on foot and took a sharp turn down the alley that James had gone down. He was clambering over a high chain link fence at the end of the alleyway. Jane thrust herself forward and clutched the back of James' cotton tee, lugging him backwards and slamming him up against the red brick wall of the building to their left.

"Whatcha runnin' from, James?" hissed Jane, pushing him harder up against the wall. He grunted in response, licked his lips and gave a few rapid blinks. "Anything in your pockets?"

"Am I under arrest, detective?" he growled back.

"Where's the little girl?" James chuckled. Jane slammed him once more against the brick. Down the alley Jane could hear Frost fast approaching, his footsteps quick and loud. "Tell me, James! Where's the kid? Where's Caidence?" Still, he remained silent, his cold eyes snapping shut. Jane reached behind her, grabbed the handcuffs she had looped on her belt and slapped them on James' wrists. She patted him down, stopping as she felt a lump over his pocket. "What's in your pocket?" she demanded. "Oh well look at that," Jane clutched a small baggy of white powder. "Looks like you're breaking probation. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law..."

This was a bit longer than I wanted it to be, but the next chapter will be up tomorrow or Thursday :) Thanks for reading!