Chapter Eighteen
"What do you mean?" Finnick asks while trying to get my sister to keep still.
"He's not here Finnick!" I shout. "Ella said she and he took him." I say.
"Find him." I hear Ella mutter.
"I'm sure he's…" Finnick trails off.
"Just call 911 again." I say and hold my sisters hand. I kiss her forehead. "Tell me more." I whisper in a soothing tone.
"My head hurts." She mumbles. I shake her roughly. I know I shouldn't but she is the only person who knows what happened.
"Annie stop, you'll hurt her." Finnick says.
"But she knows what happened." I say.
"After they fix her up at the hospital she'll be able to tell us more." He says.
He takes Nick's teddy bear from my hands.
"I have something I need to tell you." Finnick says calmly.
"Do you know where he is?" I ask hopeful.
He shakes his head.
"No. But I think I know who did the taking." He says.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Couple weeks ago I got a call from the state penitentiary."
"So?" I ask.
"They're required to call when someone involved with a crime gets released."
Finnick hands me the teddy bear.
"They called to tell me or us that my Dad, John, got released." He says.
"What? He murdered at least two people. He kidnapped and tortured me. How would he get out so early?" I say.
"His lawyer found a technicality or something." Finnick says.
I press the teddy bear to my chest.
"He did this." I whisper as tears roll down my cheek.
"He's the prime suspect." Finnick says.
I shove Finnick angrily.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?!" I say.
"I didn't want you to worry. I thought everything would be fine." He says.
"It's not fine Finnick! He stole our son! He hurt my sister! He took Nick!" I shout.
"Annie-" He starts but the paramedics come in.
They put Ella on the ambulance. One of them suggested strongly that I go with her but I refused. I want to talk to the cops.
The detectives and cops soon come. I'm still holding onto Nick's teddy bear tightly.
They're asking all these questions. Finnick answers most of them. Mostly about the suspects or ransom demands. It's not like Finnick and I have lots of money but I would sell or give anything to get Nick back.
"Do you have a picture of your child?" The deceive with dark brown hair asks. He doesn't look very old. Which means he probably doesn't have much experience but his partner is probably around retiring age.
"Nick his name is Nick." I say angrily. "Not just 'the child'." I say.
"Annie." Finnick says and rubs my shoulders. "They're trying to help."
"Well they should know his name!" I shout.
Finnick sighs and reaches for my phone.
"This is the most recent one." Finnick says. He's probably showing the detectives the picture I took of Nick yesterday. Finnick and I got him new clothes. I took pictures of Nick in all of his new clothes. I love taking pictures of him. It might be the whole first kid thing or it might be because I love him so much.
The detective nods and keeps talking to Finnick.
"We'll put out an amber alert and put the picture in every outlet we have." He says.
"He's six months old." I say in a deadpan voice. "He looks like every other baby. Only family members will be able to tell who he is." I say. "What good will any of this do?" I say.
"Annie just let them do their job." He says.
"They should be looking for him." I say because they've been here for hours.
Once they leave it is just Finnick and myself.
"I think we should go down to the hospital and see your sister." Finnick says.
The police are going to talk with her once she is better.
"How could you not tell me about John?" I say angrily.
"I didn't think anything of it."
"He likes to stalk people Finnick. He can easily find people with his determination and skill set." I say. "Did they even offer police protection?" I say.
"The police would've gone away in a few days." Finnick says.
"If they don't find him Finnick then it's on you." I say.
"Annie." He says hurt.
"I'm going to see Ella." I say not bothering to look back at him. "You stay here incase John or whoever took Nick comes back." I say and head to the garage.
"Annie wait-" Finnick says and follows me.
I turn towards him.
"Don't go." He says. He looks sad. The hospital is around an hour away.
To be honest I was hoping for an 'I'm sorry' instead.
"Ella might remember something and I don't want her to be alone." I say. "And someone does need to stay here." There's a moment of silence. "And I also don't want to see you right now." I say.
"Annie-"
"Goodbye Finnick. I'll call you later." I say and get in the car and leave.
Should I leave Finnick alone and angry? Probably not, but I don't want to look at him because he lied to me. He lied about something important.
I get to the hospital and find Ella's room with some assistance. I see her speaking with detectives.
"Do you think you could describe these people to a sketch artist?" I hear them ask as I walk into the room.
"I know who the girl was." She says and is looking at me.
"Who?" They ask
"She works with my sister. Her names Christina." Ella says and looks away.
"And the man?" They ask.
She shakes her head.
"Didn't get a good look, he's the one who hit me." She says softly.
"Thank you for this Miss. Cresta." They say and leave.
I look at Ella, but she is avoiding my gaze.
"Did you really not get a good look at him? Because if you're lying, I swear that I'll-"
"What, kill me?" She says. Her face is bruised and her lip is split.
I sigh.
"I didn't get a good look Annie. It was dark." She defends.
"Then why could you remember Christina?" I ask.
"Because she came at me from the front." She sighs. "Annie, I don't think they're going to hurt him." She says.
"They're already hurting him." I say angrily and walk towards her.
"Don't. I already feel bad." She says. "The last thing I remember are his cries."
"Why are you telling me this?" I ask intrigued and outraged.
"Because if they never find him I'll never forgive myself and I'll never be able to be around you." She says.
I nod not knowing what to say.
"Finnick lied to me." I say. I need to tell someone maybe I'm just overacting.
"What?" She asks confused.
"The man; Finnick thinks it's his Father."
"The guy who kidnapped you in college?" She asks and I nod. "Why?"
"Because he got out of prison." I say.
"What?" She asks surprised.
"They told Finnick, but he didn't tell me." I say.
She sighs.
"Annie stop looking for someone to blame." She says.
"Excuse me?" I say.
"There is no one to blame, it's just a messed up situation. But, if you want to blame someone it should be me and not your husband."
"Finnick lied-"
"I'm the one who convinced you to go out. I'm the one who was watching Nick when he was taken. Finnick didn't do anything wrong." She says.
I sigh.
"You should be with him. Finnick's probably thinking the same things you are. You should be together." She says.
"Maybe." I say.
"Not maybe. Yes, you should." She says.
"Fine." I say angrily.
"Don't be mad at him Annie." She says. I open my mouth. "You both need each other." She says.
A single tear rolls down my cheek.
"Okay." I say.
John POV.
"Alright explain to me again why we aren't leaving the state or something?" Christina says worried.
"Because then it wouldn't be as fun." I say and the baby starts crying.
Christina picks him up and starts to calm him.
"Do you even know this kid's name?" She asks.
"It's Finnick." I say. "A fatal mistake made by them." Christina raises her eyebrows. "Makes it easier to track the kid down." I say.
"It's a baby, not exactly hard to find." She says annoyed.
I sigh.
"Do you think that girl is alright?" She asks.
"Ella will be fine. I only knocked her out." I say and reach out my hands to hold my grandson. Christina gives him to me.
"Don't you think we should be leaving the state or something? You hurt a woman and we kidnapped a child." She says.
"I don't run Christina, and if you haven't figured that out by now I'm disappointed." I say annoyed.
"So are we just going to stay here?" She asks.
"We'll find different living arrangements soon if it will make you feel better." I say and kiss the top of Nick's head causing him to start crying. "He looks like Finnick did at this age." I say.
Christina rolls her eyes.
"Is that why you took the kid, so you could reminisce?" She asks.
"No. I just wanted to raise a son." I say enraged Linda took Finnick away from me.
"Well alright then, but isn't your life going to get a little boring now."
"What makes you ask that?" I say intrigued.
"Well your little 'game' is over now."
I smirk.
"Oh no Christina the game has just begun. Getting the baby was phase one. Now we get to play a little game of cat and mouse." I smirk. This is what I have been waiting for. I know Annie is smart enough to know I won't hurt her son. She knows I'll keep him to spite her. Finnick might not agree with this but he'll hide his feelings for Annie.
Linda though is the real goal. She'll see the parallels and I can easily get a message to her within the forty eight hour time limit.