by Christina OW
Carson placed a finger over her lips. Shaking his head, “Don’t say that. She’ll be fine.”
“She had her first birthday all alone and scared, without us to protect her, or tell her how much we love her! I want my daughter back Dale!”
Carson bit down on his emotions. This was his fault, he was supposed to protect her and now she’s in the hands of a crazy woman. He placed his hand over his unborn son, “Please calm down, for the baby’s sake.”
Audrey pushed open his office door, “It wasn’t Ellsa who took Stacey-Ann.” She held up two pictures for Ellie, “Do you recognize them?”
“He’s a bodyguard, but I don’t know who that woman is. Is she the one who took my baby?”
Audrey nodded, “They were lucky our cameras were down, it gave them a head start. We got these from the surveillance videos across the street, the paperwork finally came through. And another thing, Ellsa is here screaming the house down.”
Ellie nodded, pushing herself off Dale, “I knew she couldn’t hurt me like this. I’ll go talk to her.”
“Just because she’s not the one in the picture, doesn’t mean she wasn’t behind it,” Carson warned. Ellie had looked at him for a moment before she left. A part of her was sure Ellsa didn’t do it. But part of her wasn’t, Dale was making some sense.
When she got to the case room, Ellsa was cuffed on the chair yelling her lungs out. She stopped when she saw Ellie, “What the hell is going on here?”
“Did you take my daughter?”
“No, and you should have told me this days ago! But I know who did, my bodyguard and his stupid girlfriend!” She pulled at the cuffs, “Someone, get these things off me now!”
“Why? They match your outfit,” Gwen jeered.
Carson sat on the desk next to her, “How do we know you aren’t involved in the kidnapping?”
“One, she is my niece and the only kid I like. And I’ll probably like the next one, but there is no guarantee. And two, why would I want to extort myself?”
“What?”
“Half an hour ago they called, asking for two million dollars, of which I don’t have!”
Ellie moved closer to her, “What do you mean they want money?”
“The bodyguard must have seen the cabin and thought we were rich. If he only knew, it was borrowed.”
Ellie swayed on her feet. She felt like she was going to collapse again. Things just seemed to be getting worse by the hour.
Carson jumped forward and held on to her. She looked so pale and fragile it made him frantic and scared, “I should take you to the hospital.”
She rubbed her fingers over her eyes to clear the dark spots, “No, I’m fine. What are we going to do?”
Ellsa tugged at the cuffs again, “That’s what I came here to ask, when the red head pounced on me.”
“I’m going to go off topic for a minute,” Richard began, “Ellsa, why did you make the rest of us think Ellie and Stacey-Ann were dead.”
She smiled, looking at Carson, “I saw an opportunity and I took it.”
“So you punished me for rejecting you, by keeping my family hidden!”
She shrugged her shoulder, “That, and the fact that I don’t trust any of you. Case and point, it has been two weeks and you still haven’t found my niece.”
Richard nodded, “Understandable. So did that cop really try to run you over or did you help him into that poll?”
Ellsa chuckled, “Unbelievable. You guys will keep protecting him even in his death. I want my phone call.”
“Not yet.”
Ellie reached into Carson’s pocket and pulled out a phone, “Here, call Daniel.”
“Ellie!” Carson exclaimed.
“The only reason Ellsa was in front of that car was because she pushed me out of the way. That man had every intention of running us both over!”
That cop was always a sore subject when it came to her. Any reference to him set her blood boiling.
“How well do you know Carson?” Doran threw in, hoping to delay the call. With Daniel there, they wouldn’t get anything out of her.
“Ellie introduced us.”
Ellie looked at her surprised, “You set us up on a blind date. You gave me his name. We talked about him before our second date, remember?”
Ellsa held the phone up to her ear, “I forgot to tell you. I called my friend and she sent me his information. Your blind date was a rich, white Deland Carson. He doesn’t like his first name- with good reason- so he goes by Dale. How could I have known there would be another one at the restaurant? Anyway it worked out well for you, so what’s the biggy?”
“So what happened to this other Dale- Deland Carson?”
Ellsa’s lips rose in half a smile, “Let’s just say I got to know him very well. I can give you his phone number if you like?”
Audrey held up her iPad, “No need, I found him.”
“Isn’t he hot?” And then her smile was gone and her face was pulled in surprise. She held out the phone to Carson, “I think you should take this.” Her voice was cracked as she spoke.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Ellie asked dread settling over her. She couldn’t take any more bad news.
Carson held the phone to his ear, prepared for the worst, “Hello?”
“Hi. This is detective Simon. Mr Daniel Baker was stabbed in his home.”
Carson gently eased Ellie in a chair and walked out of the room. The rest of the team, except for Audrey, who stayed behind to watch Ellie followed. He put his phone on the loud speaker so that they could all listen, “How bad is it?”
“The last time I saw him, he was alive. It’s been a week already since the incident. Do you mind telling me who I’m speaking to?”
“Dale Carson, from the FBI BSU unit.”
“Are you the guys looking for that serial killer who shreds her victims’ hearts?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, you should count yourselves lucky. Daniel Baker is your first-living victim- that is if he wakes up.”
Carson hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. He ran his hands exhaustedly over his face. This was going to destroy Ellie, “Ellie can’t know about this.”
“She shouldn’t, if she’s to carry that baby to full term. Any more stress and both their lives will be in danger,” Kevin chipped in.
“Who made you a doctor?” Gwen jeered.
“The medical degree hanging on my mother’s living room wall qualifies me to diagnose.”
Gwen rolled her eyes, then turned to Richard, “What now?”
“Gwen, Doran and I will go to the hospital and watch Daniel in case the suspect goes back to finish the job. Paloma, Kevin and Carson will stay and find out more about the bodyguard and his girlfriend.”
The team broke and Carson went to Ellie. She was leaning against the table holding her head up with one hand while the other rubbed the right side of her round belly. She looked very uncomfortable, her face creasing in pain every few seconds, “Are you okay?”
She nodded, “What’s wrong with Daniel?”
“He had an accident, nothing serious.”
She nodded towards the trio walking to the elevator, “So where are they going to?”
“They are going to check out the bodyguard’s apartment.”
“And what are you guys doing?” She flinched. The sharp pain was getting stronger.
Carson saw the pained look. He placed his hand on her tightly clenched fist on the side of her huge belly, “We are tracking down the girlfriend. Are you sure you are okay?”
“I’m not in labor if that’s what you are asking. Go work.”
Ellsa coughed, “Could someone please take these off me?”
Carson stared at her, wondering how two people who shared a womb could come to be so completely different. He was glad he nabbed the better of the two. He uncuffed her, “This doesn’t mean you can leave. Stay here with your sister while we work.”
She rubbed her wrist, “Sure.”
&n
bsp; Carson kissed Ellie on the forehead. She felt feverish against his lips, “Are you sure you feel fine?”
She nodded, “Don’t worry about me. Go find our daughter.”
Reluctantly he pulled away, “Call me if you need anything.”
They spent hours in the conference room sifting through the two kidnappers’ lives. There was nothing to tie them together. They lived two states apart and the only evidence of them being in contact was the surveillance video of them kidnapping Stacey-Ann and after that, nothing. They didn’t even have enough to charge them for Seth’s shooting. It’s like they’d disappeared into thin air.
It was a relief that Seth was doing well, but Daniel still hadn’t woken up from his medically induced coma. According to Richard, his surgery was full of complications, one that left him with a brain bleed. Ellie could never know.
Carson took a break from the frustration and went to see Ellie. When he got to the case room there was no one there, so he went to his office, but it was empty too.
He rushed to the case room to check again. Empty, “Audrey!”
“Yeah?” she said, walking into the case room.
He turned to look at her, “Where are they?”
“Ellsa had to go see her accountant about the money and Ellie went to see Daniel at the hospital.”
Carson could feel the panic creep up his spine, “Alone? Call Richard and ask him if she is already there.”
“Dada!” Stacey-Ann’s singing voice filled the room.
Startled, Audrey and Carson turned to the direction it came from. She was hiding behind a tree pot, smiling and giggling. Her big sparkling brown eyes lighting up her face.
Carson sunk to his knees, his voice caught in his throat. She looked so beautiful... and taller! Her hair was longer and she had more teeth in her mouth.
She was walking!
She ducked back behind the tree pot then peaked out again, “Hi!” She yelled, waving at him.
Carson cried, stretching his hands out to her. She ran, jumping into them. He held her tight thanking God for bringing her back. But he didn’t understand how?
“Carson, Ellie never got to the hospital! Gwen has gone out to look for her. And Ellsa isn’t answering her phone,” Audrey announced, in a panic.
Carson stood up, his daughter securely in his arms as he rushed behind Audrey to her office. He felt like he would never put Stacey-Ann down, ever, “Track her cell phone.”
“It’s off.”
“What about Gwen’s?”
“That’s off too.”
Carson felt like he was about to blow up, in frustration. “Do you still have permission to tap into the security cameras?”
She turned in her chair to face her five computers. Her office was like a lair, where everything on the web, secured or not, was at her disposal. Her fingers ran wildly over the keyboard, bringing up several different on each screen. If they didn’t have to cut through so many red tapes, they probably would have ended Carson’s nightmare days ago.
Audrey stopped when the video got to Ellie walking alone towards a dark van. A redhead jumped out, carrying Stacey-Ann and then Ellie got in calmly, touching her daughter for only a second before she was taken away. Then the redhead came back, without Stacey-Ann and they drove off.
“It really was Gwen. But where is Ellsa?” Audrey gasped out.
“I hope for Ellie’s sake she’s okay. Can you track the car?” Audrey went back to typing, “It’s like you don’t know me.”
Chapter Nineteen
Carson came to an abrupt stop in front of a huge building. This wasn’t where he expected to end up, “Audrey are you sure this is the place?” he spoke into his Bluetooth.
“That’s where the car GPS says it is.”
Unsure, “Audrey, it’s a hospital?” getting out of the car and running inside.
She checked the address again, “The same hospital Daniel is in. He is on the fifth floor.”
Carson got into the elevator, impatiently tapping his foot as it crawled up the floors. Once the doors opened, he jumped out. He didn’t have to run far before he bumped into Richard.
“What are you doing here Carson?”
“Where is Gwen and why is her phone off?”
Richard raised his brow at him, “What’s the problem?”
“Someone took Ellie and dropped off Stacey-Ann. It was an exchange and Gwen was there!” With every word he uttered, Carson’s anger rose like an active volcano ready to blow.
Richard shook his head shocked, “That’s impossible!”
“Why because she’s an FBI agent?”
“No. Because she’s been here searching the hospital for Ellie like you asked. She hasn’t left the building since we got here.”
Carson shook his head in denial. He couldn’t have hit a dead end, “The GPS tracker says Ellie is here!”
“Carson, I found the car. Fourth-parking level, C2, second-row and the third spot!” Audrey’s urgent voice sailed into his ear.
He ran for the stairway with Richard behind him, barking orders into his phone. Carson pulled out his gun once he got to the door exiting to the fourth-parking level. He held it to his side as he ran out. When he got to C2 he held his gun up and he could hear his heart beating loudly in his ear, all the other noises muted.
“Carson, take cover. There is someone in the car.”
Against Richard’s loud orders, Carson headed straight for the car, his gun aimed at the driver. When the driver turned to look at him, his eyes grew wide in shock, Carson yanked open the door and pulled him out by his neck.
“Where is my wife?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about?” The man stuttered his eyes glued on the nine-millimetre gun.
He placed the mouth of the gun on the man’s shoulder, making him whimper, “I’m going to ask you one more time before I start putting holes in you! Where. Is. My. Wife?”
“Carson, that’s enough!” Richard yelled.
The man’s face creased up as he cried, fear written in his eyes, “I swear, it was a onetime thing! I’ll never touch her again.”
Carson felt his heart leap, “So where is she?”
A woman’s scream rang out. Carson turned to look. She had her shaking hands over her mouth, as her bulging eyes stared at him.
The man cried pointing at her, “There she is! I swear never again!”
Richard pulled Carson off him, “I’m sorry sir. You are not the one we are looking for.”
Once he was released, he ran, leaving the woman behind and passing a smiling Gwen.
Carson yanked his arm out of Richard’s hold and barked into his receiver, “Audrey this isn’t the car!”
“I figured as much when that guy started crying.”
Carson felt his heart drop. He couldn’t have failed again, “Audrey!”
Audrey flinched at the fury, as he spoke her name. She went back to her keyboard more frantic, “The GPS of the kidnappers is still intact they just hid behind that guy’s signal.” She cheered when the real signal popped up, “I have an address for you babe!”
Carson ran for the stairway, “It better be the right one!”
****
Ellie walked into the warehouse wishing there was some way she could have let Dale know where she was, “What do you want?”
The woman pulled the red wig off, “I want nothing from you.”
“Then why did you bring me here?”
The bodyguard emerged, pushing a table. He stopped in front of her and gave her a smile, “Hello Mrs. Carson.”
“Joe, my sister is getting you the money.”
He chuckled, “Of course, she is. Help me Jane.”
“With what?” Ellie demanded, panic rising fast inside her. She watched as they spread a sheet of clear plastic over the steel table and then they laid out a blue sheet over it. She felt her chest tighten, “What are you doing?”
Jane had glanced at her before she opened the bag, “Preparing.”
“Fo
r what?”
She pulled out a scalpel, “For your C-section.”
Ellie backed away from the table, her breath getting shorter with each step, “What do you mean my C-section? I’m not having a C-section!”
Jane stalked to her, taunting her with a scalpel, “According to your last ultrasound, the baby hasn’t turned yet. I really want your baby to be born alive so, cutting you open is the only choice we have.”
“Is this a joke?” She whispered, tears trickling down her face.
“Now why would I joke about something like this?”
Joe moved to her, grabbing her arms from the back and pushing her forward, “We have a schedule to keep Jane. We don’t have time for chatter.”
Ellie tried to wiggle out of his hold, “No, please wait! He is not ready yet! He’ll die if you take him out now, please!”
Jane moved to a white tarp and pulled it off, exposing an incubator, “We came prepared.”
Joe lifted her and pinned her on the table. He held her down as Jane strapped the plastic restraints on her wrists and ankles, “Relax, it won’t be long now.”
Ellie struggled to pull off the restraints as she lay on the cold table. There had to be a way out of here. She couldn’t let them kill her son.
“Stop that, it won’t work,” Jane laughed as she pulled her gloves on.
“Why are you doing this?”
“It’s all about the money sweetheart.”
“I’ll pay you double, I promise, just let me go!”
They looked at her, intrigued by the offer, “Can you double two million dollars?”
Ellie gasped at the revelation. Someone was paying them so much to steal her baby? “Who is paying you?”
“I guess that means no,” He pulled up her top, “Jane let’s get started.”
Ellie cried wiggling around, “No, no, no!”
“Shut her up and hold her down Joe! One wrong slip and we won’t get paid!”
“I’ve got something better,” Joe moved to the table and pulled out a syringe. “It will knock her out and she won’t feel a thing.”
“Don’t give her too much of it. The instructions were to keep her awake and alive so that she can watch us walk out of here, with her bundle of joy.”