Missing

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: As Tori gets some time up, Jade takes role as the lead investigator on the case for a while. That said, here isa chapter in her perspective

Chapter 23 (Investigator's Promise)

Jade entered her kitchen and breathed in the scent of fried eggs and sausage. Beck was at the stove, flipping over an omelet, while Kyle and Amanda eating their breakfast. "Morning honey," Beck said with a smile. Kyle and Amanda waved at her and she walked towards her husband. She was always proud to have a man who knew how to cook.

"What's for dinner tonight?" She put her chin on his left shoulder and peered down at the omelet.

"I just got started on breakfast and you're already asking for supper?" He laughed openly and moved the omelet to the plate. "I was thinking rotisserie chicken. I haven't decided though, I could go for steak."

"I'm in the mood for steak."

"Steak it is." He handed her the plate and she took it graciously, then gave him a quick peck on the lips. This kiss earned a disgusted groan from the children.

"So you're heading over to the Valentine's today?" Beck took a bite of his food and Jade stared down at the omelet. "You're not hungry?"

"It isn't that." She felt a painful sensation in her chest, so she looked up from the food and tried to find some calmness in Beck's eyes. "It's this case. It's taking a lot out of Tori, and myself. She's taken a few days off to de-stress. So I'm on my own for the day."

"Want me to come along? I know I'm just a security guard at the bank, but it is my day off and well…you know this case is important to me as well." She understood his concern, but she wasn't sure she could allow him to go along. Besides, anything that could stress her out could stress him out, and she needed to be able to come home to him relaxed so that she could relax.

"No, but I will tell you how it goes." His hand moved over his and she cast a smile at him. The prior night they didn't sleep, they spent most of the night talking about Andre and the others, and how they could be involved in the kidnapping. "I still hope my theory's right, and that the others were just forced to be involved. At least that way, we can try and find something-anything that would shed light on whether or not they were truly under duress."

"It's hard seeing Tori as angry as she's been, but I get it."

"Usually I'm the angry one." She let out a weak laugh and pushed the fork into the omelet. When he moved his arm around her shoulders, her heartbeat sped up and she leaned into him with a gentle sigh. "Feels like it's going to be a long day."

When she arrived at the home of Walter and Lucy Valentine, she was startled by the sheer size of their house. The couple appeared in their mid-sixties, and Walter's father was the only surviving grandparent.

Her first observation was all of Cat's siblings, she always thought the girl had two. One older, and one younger. The older brother was the one she looked up to, Trenton. The younger one, William, was the one with the mental problems. They represented the start and end of the age range; William was the youngest at nineteen years old, and Trenton was thirty-four.

Cat had one more older brother that was thirty-one, and one younger sister who was twenty-three. The sister, Abigail, was the first person Jade met. "I asked everyone to be here," Abigail said as she guided the nervous detective to the recliner beside the couch. "You said you had news of Catherine, so I had everyone gather."

Jade held her breath and looked to the doorway leading to the back patio where the rest of the family seemed to be waiting. "Why are they all out there?"

"They're waiting on me." Abigail swept her auburn curls behind her shoulders and sat upright. "I always looked up to Cat, Cat looked up to Trent. We all kind of went our separate ways when mom and dad moved out of state with William. They loved him best. Trent and I kind of got everyone back in LA."

"It's good that you two are looking out for each other and for family." Cat was going to need that from them. Jade felt her muscles tense as she struggled to think of how to deliver this news to the family, because it wasn't the good news that she could see Abigail was hoping for. "If you could gather your relatives in the front room, I would appreciate it."

"Yes ma'am." She watched with a new heaviness inside as the girl made her way to the patio door. Within minutes, the family was shuffling in. Trent was first, he was tall and built like a military man, with his hair cut into a buzz. He had a strong jaw and walked with closed hands at his waist.

The next was Jacob. He was pale and looked to be an introvert. His brown shaggy hair curled around his ears and stopped down at his jawline. He was neither as tall as his brother nor as short as Abigail.

The grandfather walked in with a humpback and a walking cane at his right leg. Jade was curious if he was in as bad or worse shape as David from the dull look in his eyes and the tremble in his step.

"God this is not going to be easy. I was hoping for just one relative, not the entire family." She smiled openly and waved her fingers at the family. "Damn it Tori, you picked a fine time to take a break." Her chest throbbed with a shockwave of pain, and her insides seemed to be screaming at her.

The sight that broke her was when Walter and Lucy entered with a boy sitting in a wheelchair. William's arms and legs were thin, his head was bent slightly to the right. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched them bring the boy to the side of the couch.

Abigail returned to the seat she'd been in prior and looked at William with a frown. "William, this is Detective Oliver, she has news about Cat." William started to smile and slowly raised his hand, waving at the woman.

Jade grabbed her chest and took a deep breath. It looked as though Trent and Abigail were the in the best physical shape, each of the other relatives looked to have some physical or mental ailment. This meant the ones she needed to talk to most would be Trent and Abigail, because if anyone was going to help their sister get back on her feet, it would be them.

"Have you found her?" Lucy's voice shook with tears. Her bony fingers curled around Walter's hand. "Tell me you've found my little girl. Please tell me she's alive."

Walter's cheeks sagged further and the stress lines on his forehead deepened as his deep voice echoed in the room. "We never wanted to leave her here when we moved with William and Abigail. Trent had gone overseas and we had a job offer, she didn't want to leave…she wanted to stay here, with her friends…so we let her stay with Lucy's mother. We should have insisted she come with us, we should have made her come with us!"

"I need you to understand first, there is no way that you could have known what would happen." Jade clasped her hands together between her knees and leaned forward, looking through the eyes of each family member. Each of them had guilt written on their faces, and each looked as though they'd thought of many ways over the years to keep Cat from having been lost. "It was in your best intentions to leave her in LA with her grandmother, and she was happy."

Then she would have to tell them it was those very friends she suspected of having taken Cat away from them. Her stomach clenched and she closed her eyes, struggling to avoid making eye contact with their painful gazes.

"What we do know is that Cat is very much alive." Lucy's hand flew to her chest and she started to sob.

Trent's body tensed and his eyes narrowed at her. "Just get it out," he demanded, "You don't know where my sister is, do you?" Jade flinched and shook her head. She didn't blame him for his harshness, and of course, she'd met with far worse whenever she had to notify family members.

"We are doing everything we can to find her. We believe she may have been taken against her will to aid in a kidnapping plot." Abigail cried out and William's eyes widened. Jacob remained quiet, keeping his eyes on the floor. "That said, we also believe your lives could be at risk, and we want to offer any protection that we can."

"Our lives are at risk?" Abigail straightened her back and pursed her lips. "What do you mean our lives?"

"We received a phone call from Cat, we do not know how she acquired this phone but she has not called us since. She informed us that there were people being held there and forced to obey under threat of harm towards their family members."

All of their eyes dilated and silence fell over the room. Jacob lifted his head and finally spoke up, his voice was hoarse and weak, but at the time it sounded to be the most powerful voice in the room.

"That has to be true," he stated. Jade turned to him and watched in horror as he revealed a scar along his throat. "Can I tell you about this in a way that I will be protected?"

"What happened?"

"I was approached by someone about five years ago." He released the turtleneck collar and looked to his grief-stricken relatives. "This was a man, telling me that my sister's actions…" He cleared his throat and gently rubbed the front of his neck. "I was with a friend of mine that worked at the hospital nearby. I gave a description there."back to you, but understand also that she might have to be put on trial for her involvement…we need to be able to prove she was under duress for these last nine years."

"We've never been notified of this?"

"This happened while I was living in Nevada."

"I see." This was something good to have as evidence. "Would you mind coming into the station? We'll have to get a statement." Jacob nodded and closed his eyes.

"That man." His body started to shake and his sweaty fingers gripped his knees firmly. "He said my sister tried to get in the way, she stopped something from happening. Somebody was doing something and she fought them…"

"I'd like to see them come at me," Trent growled and crossed his arms, "Cowards."

"Jade." Abigail stood and walked over to the recliner. She crouched down and Jade looked into her pleading, tearful eyes. "What protection can you offer my family?"

There truly wasn't much law enforcement could do. They couldn't station police officers around the house, but they could certainly order some officers to drive by the house every now and then.

"I'd like your family to all stay in one place together. We'll map a route for an officer to drive around the home, then I'll give you my number as well as the numbers of a few of my teammates. You can call anytime you're in danger. We'll do our best to get your sister. We will bring her

"I understand, and we'll-we'll do everything we can to be there for her." Abigail wiped her wet face with her hands and turned fiercely towards her parents. "You too mom and dad. Cat needs us now."

She put her hand on Abigail's and looked into the girl's eyes with a serious note. "I promise you, all of you, I will make sure Cat comes back alive. We're not going to let anything happen to you." It wasn't a promise that a law officer could or should make to a grieving family, especially since that family would hold onto it and expect it even when it couldn't be made.

The only reason she said it now was because she felt in her heart that they could get the girl out of there. That, and this family needed that hope to hold on to. They were fragmented enough as it was.

Cat's got a large family. Let's hope Jade can keep to that promise. Jacob's lucky to have survived that attack some time ago.