My name is Eliza Reagan, and this is my story. The first thing I have to tell you all is this; I come from a family of cops (we don't bleed red, we bleed blue); my Grandpa Frank is the Police Commissioner of New York, and before that he was a detective, before that a regular cop walking the beat. My Great-Grandpa, Henry (Pops), was an Officer and Detective and was Police Commissioner about a decade before Grandpa was, and he was forced to retire because he apparently spoke his mind in a touchy situation, and a lot of people did not like his opinion. The adults won't tell my cousin Nicky and I (we're the only two grandkids) what happened. Honestly, sometimes what you don't know can't hurt you; sometimes, ignorance is bliss. I'm not sure that I want to know. Grandpa says that Pops is lucky they're paying his pension. Anyway, moving on. My Dad, Danny (you'll get to hear about his adventures as well, as we'll switch point of views throughout,) is a first-grade, Major Case Detective, one of the best the department has ever seen (Grandpa's words, not mine. Though, I don't think he's wrong. Dad eats, lives, and breathes his cases. And that can be both a good thing, and a bad thing) and my Uncle Jamie is about to graduate from the Police Academy after getting his Law degree from Harvard University. He changed his mind about becoming a lawyer about a year and a half back. And I'm pretty sure this is why; My Uncle Joe was a Police Officer, then a Detective, too, a great one. But 2 years ago, he was gunned down, in cold blood, by some corrupt New York Police Officers. We were told it was a drug bust gone horribly wrong, but later on you'll see, just like we did, how the truth came out; and how Uncle Joe kept more from us than we could have possibly imagined. I still think about Uncle Joe every single day, and it's like I have this constant ache in the pit of my stomach, and there's this hole in my heart that gets deeper and deeper, and darker and darker, and I feel so empty. Don't get me wrong, I love the rest of my family to death, I would take a bullet for them and we're all super close. But, Uncle Joe and I have, had, whatever, a special connection that I can't describe. Anyways, Jamie has never said that that's why he decided to become a cop, but, I think Uncle Jamie wants to honor his brother. Those two were about as close as siblings can get. He told me that Joe would call him at Harvard and tell him all about how the job was going and Jamie would tell him about school. Joe and Dad weren't quite as close; Dad is a real hard ass and was always really hard on Uncle Joe. But, if my Dad isn't hard on you, that means that he doesn't have high expectations of you. Unfortunately though, Uncle Joe didn't see it that way, so, those two butted heads a lot. I think Dad has a lot of regret about that, especially since they had a huge fight the day he died. Dad has never forgiven himself for that; you can see that in his eyes all the time and in his face whenever someone brings up Uncle Joe. The order of my Dad and Aunt and Uncles goes; my Dad, Uncle Joe, Aunt Erin, Uncle Jamie. Anyway, then you have my Mom, Linda, who is a Registered Nurse at St. Victor's ER (yeah, both of my parents have high stress jobs, so that's fun. One thing's for sure, they both work really well under pressure. They both have days where they work 24 hours straight or more, so they're tired a lot. I always try my best to stay out of trouble, but, that never works out. But we're still super close.) Then you have my Aunt Erin, who is an Assistant District Attorney (so, a Prosecutor, the ones who defends the victims in a trial) for the Manhattan DA's office (as you might imagine, her and the rest of the family butt heads quite a bit, as she's on the side of the law that has to do everything by the books, whereas with cops, there's a grey area. Sunday dinner is always a hoot.) And my Cousin, Nicky, who is 6 months younger than me; we both attend a Catholic School, and this is our last year of Jr. High. My family are strong Irish Catholics. Well, the Reagan's are Irish, not my Mom's side, but both sides are strong Catholic. My Dad isn't quite as strong in the religion, and I don't think his faith is as strong as my Mom, but I think that's the result of all he's seen. Not only in his almost two decades as an NYPD Officer, but he also joined the Marines right after high school (he's always been in a job with a lot of action and that makes a difference. Mom says he can't sit still). He doesn't talk about what happened overseas, to anyone, not even Grandpa, Pops, or Joe, who all also served and get what he's going through. But we all can see how it still haunts him years later. Sometimes, I hear him wake up in the middle of the night, and all he does is scream "No!" and I have no idea why. I'd probably never find out, either. So, there's the introductions to my crazy, loving, tight knit family. Now, you get to hear the stories of my life. Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Today, Uncle Jamie graduates from the Police Academy; the ceremony is at noon, and Nicky and I were able to skip school today, which is definitely a bonus. I was in my room getting ready. As I was getting ready, I had a million thoughts running through my mind; how I didn't want Uncle Jamie doing this just for Uncle Joe, but also knowing he's always wanted to be a cop. How I couldn't bear it if I lost another Uncle, how he and Dad will now get into fights like he and Uncle Joe did. But, mainly, all I could think of is how proud I am of him; he is definitely one of my greatest inspirations and I look up to him so much. He taught me to always be true to myself, no matter what anyone says, and that the only person that I needed to please in life is myself. The streets of New York City are a little safer now that he's on the force. I picked out a simple Navy blue, sleeveless dress that went to my knees, it looked more like it belonged in an office but I've never been to one of these, I don't know what to wear. I didn't want to dress too fancy, but not too casual either. So, I figured this was a good in between. I also picked out tan sandal wedges. I grabbed my jewelry box to pick out what jewelry to wear. I picked out a pair of faux pearl stud earrings, and the charm bracelet Mom and Dad got me for my 12th birthday, which has a bunch of charms that are meaningful to me; for example, a microphone because I'm a singer, a little girl for the little girl I used to be (my Dad is cheesy like that) the Statue Of Liberty (obvious), and the Eiffel Tower because I've dreamed of going to Paris my whole life. I couldn't decide what necklace to wear. I was looking through my box, hoping a necklace would jump out at me screaming "wear me! Wear me!" A necklace certainly did jump out at me, though I'm not sure what it was screaming. That is when I saw them; my Uncle Joe's dog tags (he was a Marine as well). I slowly picked them up, as if they were going to break, and stared at them, and I was instantly brought back to the day he was killed; it was almost 2 years ago, I was 13. I was in school, in Science class, we were learning about Climate Disturbances that day. Which I only remember because of what would happen next, which I could have never prepared for. FLASHBACK: I was about halfway through class when the Office Aid came in and told me that my parents were in the office and needed to see me immediately. I was taken off guard, not sure at all of what I should expect. I walked nervously to the office, unsure of what my parents would say to me; they never showed up at my school in the middle of the day unannounced. Actually, come to think of it, they never showed up in the middle of the day at my school, period. So, this could only mean bad things to come. I remember vividly how clammy I got, how violently my hands shook and how I had to keep them in fists, pressed tight against my legs to steady them. On the way to the office, I ran into Nicky, and I froze. My heart sank. That obviously meant Aunt Erin was in the office as well. "Are you going to the Office?" I asked her. "Yeah, they said my Mom was here and needed to see me right now." I took in a deep breath through my nose, and let it out through my mouth. This cannot be good. Of course, my mind automatically began to run through the worst case scenarios, not actually believing that one of them would end up being true. "My parents are here, too." I said, my voice shaking. "Oh, no." Nicky said. Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I straightened my posture, and braced myself for whatever lied ahead. I knew it couldn't be my Dad, because, well, he's here. My Mom dying on the job is highly unlikely, plus, she's here, too. It could be Grandpa. I didn't even wanna let my mind wander to the possibility that it could be Uncle Joe. But, of course, it still did. It was hard to walk, as my legs had become numb, they felt like jello. When we walked into the office, and I saw the look on Mom and Dad's face, as well as Aunt Erin's, their eyes red and puffy, their faces tear streaked, no words had to be said. I knew. I still don't know how I knew, I just did. "What's going on?" Nicky asked, clearly not catching on, or she caught on and was hoping she was wrong. "Sweetheart, your Uncle Joe has been killed." Aunt Erin explained in a soft, gentle voice. There was a giant stone in my chest. I couldn't believe I just heard that. Nicky ran into her mom's arms, crying. My parents walked up to me and asked me if I was okay. I shook my head in disbelief. "How?" I whispered. "In a drug bust. One of the guys he was trying to collar (arrest) pulled a gun on him. Pulled the trigger on his head." Dad explained. (One thing that I love about my Dad is, even if Mom doesn't always like it, he's always honest with me when I ask him about stuff like that. Like, when I started asking about his gun when I was 10, he taught me how to use one. So that I would be safe around them since I was curious about them and at least I was under his supervision.) I should have known that he died trying to make this world a little better. That's what he, and this entire family, is all about. I looked up at them and just nodded, my throat choking my words. Mom pulled me into a tight hug, and Dad put his arms around us. I was in shock; I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, nothing felt real. It wasn't until I was given his dog tags at his funeral that reality hit me like a ton of bricks; I would never see Uncle Joe again, and I fell to my knees crying harder than ever. BACK TO PRESENT. Mom put her hand on my shoulder, bringing me back to the present. I jumped about 50 feet in the air, scaring her a little (I hadn't realized until that moment just how deep in thought I really was). "Oh, sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to scare you." She was wearing a black blouse, a lavender skirt, and a purple, green, blue, and white paisley print scarf with black heels. I chuckled slightly, and shook my head to clear it. "No, it's fine." I took a deep, shaky breath, in a pathetic attempt to stop any tears from coming. "I found Uncle Joe's dog tags. I was thinking about wearing them today. What do you think?" I felt a tear run down my cheek. I did my best to hide it, but I can't hide something like that from my Mom. She notices every little thing. I could literally feel my heart hurting. Until my Uncle Joe died, I did not know you could physically feel your heart hurt, I always thought it was just a mental thing. Mom wiped away a single tear with her thumb. I hate it when she does that, it makes me wanna cry even more. I cannot cry right now, I just did my makeup. We've all had the hardest time with Uncle Joe's death, because none of us saw it coming. I mean, he had been a cop for years and nothing bad had ever happened to him. The day he died seemed like any normal day, nothing out of the ordinary to suggest what horrible event would lead to the end of his life. We got too comfortable. I promised myself that I would never make that mistake again. Every time I hear a cop has been injured or shot, I hold my breath until I know that my Dad is safe. And, now, I'll have to hold my breath until I know Dad and Uncle Jamie are both okay. I don't usually think of Grandpa, because if the PC was shot, the news would flat out say that that's who it was. "I think it's a great Idea." She said, her voice cracking. I smiled softly, knowing that she wants me to wear it everyday, because she's made that perfectly clear. And maybe, I just might. We'll see. I don't know why I don't want to wear them all the time right now, it just makes me uneasy for some reason. I slipped them on over my head, and turned to the mirror so that I could see them on me. It's been quite a while since I've put them on. Today, when I put them on, it felt as though he was right next to me. Uncle Joe and I were so close, and I thought I'd never be able to feel that again but, I do right now. He was taken so suddenly, I never got to say goodbye. But, I felt him with me today, in this moment. Mom put her hands on my shoulder and rested her chin on my right shoulder. "You look beautiful, Eliza." I half smiled happily. I love my Mom so much, she's honestly one of my best friends, and I know how incredibly lucky that makes me. She always knows how to make me feel at ease. "Thanks, Mom." I shook my head and closed my eyes to keep from crying (I hate crying, if you haven't already guessed. I get it from my father. Neither of us like to be emotional. Which is the total opposite from my mother.) Then said, "Come on, let's take a picture." So, we took a selfie, not moving from the position we were already at, because it worked perfect. I looked at the picture and smiled from ear to ear. My Mom seriously doesn't look a day over 25 (no, I am not lying.) I love taking pictures; if my singing career doesn't work out, I'll definitely go into photography. Mom looked at her watch and said "If your father does not hurry we're going to be late." "The day Dad's time for something is the day pigs fly. I'll go get him." I chuckled. Seriously, my Dad is never on time for anything. Mom says the only thing she's ever seen him on time for was their wedding. I mean, if he was late for that, the wedding would have never happened, haha. "Thank you." She sighed. I know this was a big day, and Mom wanted to be early (the traffic was going to be a nightmare, no doubt) but, she needed to relax. We did not need her stressed out. If she stresses out, I'll get stressed out. And if I get stressed out and Mom is stressed out, Dad will go nuts. Regardless, I walked out of my room and down the hall to theirs, passing the bathroom on the way. "Dad!" I called to him from the doorway. "Yeah?" He called back, from the sound of the slight echo I heard, he was in the closet (they have a walk in). "If you don't hurry up, we're going to be late. Mom's already freaking." I told him. "Alright." He said, sounding slightly annoyed. "You know what traffic is like this time of day." I commented. "Yeah, I'm comin'." He said, coming out of the closet and doing up his belt. I saw him in his Dress Blues (which, for people who don't know, is the Uniform that anyone in the Police Department has to wear to formal events such as this) I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. It was almost like I could actually feel my heart swell with joy. I am so proud of my Dad and the man he is; he is the one who taught me to never give up on something if I really believe in it. He never quits, when everyone else has given up on a case; whether it be finding a missing person, finding out who murdered someone else, or busting a major drug dealer, he doesn't give up, he finds a way. Which is why he has the highest close rates in the precinct. He brings families back together, he changes people's lives. And he loves it so much, and he's obviously absolutely incredible at it. I then rolled my eyes. I'm not 100% sure why, to be honest. When he looked up at me, he asked me "What's wrong?" I gave him a look that told him that I was confused. What did he mean? It's not like he was in my head a couple of minutes back. Of course, it's also no secret to my parents that I'm having a hard time with Uncle Jamie graduating the Police Academy, so, maybe he's just assuming. He pointed at his eyes. Still confused, I put my hand up to mine. I slowly slid my fingers down my face, and it was wet. I wiped my cheek; I had let a few more tears fall. I just lifted up the dog tags (it felt weird calling them mine), hoping he would understand. He nodded in acknowledgment. Thank goodness, I didn't want to explain it. To anyone. I just didn't wanna talk about it today, because I didn't wanna kill the mood. I'll just bottle it all up, one of my many talents. He walked over to me and brushed a loose piece of hair behind my ear and said, "You were always so special to him." I nodded. I didn't want to start talking about it because if I did, I would start crying, ruin my make up, and look like a raccoon in a water park. I didn't feel like having questions brought up when we arrived at Madison Square Garden because today WAS going to be all about Uncle Jamie. I want him to feel special and amazing, because he his. I don't want any sort of attention on me whatsoever today. "Come on." He whispered, putting his hand on the small of my back and gesturing me to my room. We walked together back into my room. I did my best to put Uncle Joe and the fears I was experiencing internally in the back of my mind. I knew I needed to put on a tough exterior, which is normally easy. But, um, not so much today. I'll still do it. When Dad and I went into my room, he went straight to Mom. I looked at my parents, they're such a hot couple. "I want to get a picture of you guys." I said. So, they posed for a picture. They put their arms around each other's waist, Mom put her other hand on Dad's chest, and Dad kissed her cheek. I took the picture. "Aw, cute." I commented. Sometimes It really grosses me out when they kiss, and other times, not so much. I guess it just depends on the day. "Okay, I want one of you two." Mom said, and her and I switched places. I stood in front of Dad. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and I grabbed the lower one with both hands. Mom snapped the picture. "K. Now you two." Dad said, pointing at Mom and I. Mom switched places with Dad. We wrapped one arm around each other's waist, and wrapped the other one around the front of each other. Dad snapped the picture. I know I said this before but, I'll say it again, my mom really is one of my best friends, and I know that I can tell her absolutely anything. Sometimes it feels like she's more of a sister, except for when she's getting mad at me. I took one last selfie of all of us. "Okay, we have got to go." Mom said. "Right." I said, and we all booked it outside to the car, then we left for Madison Square Garden for Jamie's graduation. I was honestly really excited. Despite what I've been saying this whole time, I really am so excited to see Uncle Jamie in his Dress Blues for the very first time. It'll be an absolutely amazing moment, I know that for sure.
We met up with the rest of the family outside the arena before the ceremony. It was definitely a little hard to find them at first; who knows how many other families were waiting outside for the doors to open (which should be any minute, now)? As we approached them, I saw that Nicky was wearing a floral print high-low dress. "Hey, Eliza. You're lookin' hot." Nicky commented. "Same to you, babe." I told her. I'm pretty positive that's a dress that she stole from my closet but, I'll let her get away with it today. "Just so we're clear, Nicky is the only one allowed to call you hot, you got that?" Dad said. We all chuckled. Dad is so freaking protective over me. I guess that's a good thing. I'd rather him care a little too much than not care at all. If you ask him, I"m not allowed to date until he's dead. We'll see about that. I looked around, and I noticed that Nicky was wearing the bracelet Joe gave her; faux gold with faux diamonds. He got it for her for her 12th birthday, and she cherishes that bracelet with everything she's got. I wasn't sure if she was gonna wear it today or not. Looking at the ground, Grandpa said "you're wearing Joe's dog tags." Then he looked up and smiled at me. I took in a sharp breath. How does he do that? I'm pretty sure that he hasn't looked at me since I showed up, and it's not like I advertised I was wearing them. My biggest hope is that it wouldn't make things awkward. I felt like it probably shouldn't, the family probably expected nothing less of me. Before I could say anything about me wearing the necklace, Aunt Erin said "Let's go inside, the ceremony is about to start." Saved by the ceremony. (Get it? Instead of saved by the bell? Eh, whatever. Let's just say that I've never been more grateful that Aunt Erin cut me off.) So, we went inside and took our seats. Grandpa was giving the speech, so he sat up on the stage. When we sat down, Nicky and I took loads of selfies together, and everyone was laughing at us. I get that they grew up without phones really, but, I'm really grateful that we do have phones that allow us to take all these pictures and savor all of the wonderful memories that life so graciously hands us. I know, that was super cheesy, and I really don't care "What would you girls do if you couldn't take pictures?" Aunt Erin asked. Nicky and I both looked at each other, then at the adults. "Die." We both said at the same time. My Dad just rolled his eyes. We looked at each other and laughed. It's true, honestly. Our phones are like glued to our bodies. I have no idea how people lived without these things. If you ask my family, especially Pops and Grandpa, they would tell you that they lived happily. "Alright." My mom said in her annoyed tone of voice. Sometimes she gets annoyed way too easily in my opinion. Of course, I'm also not her. I don't know what goes through her head. I was looking around at the thousands of people in the building, and I felt overwhelmed (not in the bad way). Because of all the people, knowing that the new officers weren't even in eyesight yet. It's good to know that these officers have so many people supporting them because being a cop is not an easy profession by any means, and they were all honestly going to need all of the support that they could get. Uncle Jamie definitely has an abundance of that. I turned around and saw Uncle Jamie's fiance, Sydney. I subtly nudged Nicky and softly nodded my head towards her. We subtly waved to her. Sydney was told that she wasn't going to be able to make it out of her job to get here, and her and Uncle Jamie were both devastated. She called me last night and told me her boss took pity on her and told her she could leave for 2 hours. But, she wanted to surprise Uncle Jamie so, she enlisted the help of Nicky and I. Mainly, all we had to do was make sure she had a seat behind us, but still close, and act normal (that last part was difficult for us, like really difficult). I so wanted to tell Uncle Jamie that she was there, but, I also knew that surprising him was going to be a million times better. I still can't believe we pulled it off; no one knew Sydney was there. "What do you think is going through Grandpa's head right now?" Nicky asked. "Hard to say." Aunt Erin said. I personally think that he's probably having mixed emotions of pride and fear. He'll never express the fear, though. He'll express the pride of course, but not on a huge scale. 10 minutes after we sat down, the graduates began walking in. The screams were deafening; I was screaming so loud that it hurt, but I didn't care. I was so proud of Uncle Jamie, and I felt so happy for him. I already brag that my Dad is an amazing detective, and I know that Uncle Jamie will be one of the most incredible cops out there, for more reasons than one; he has such a way with people, he stays incredibly calm in insanely stressful situations, he stands by what he believes in, and he's always the voice of reason. I wish I could say that I was able to spot him in that sea of blue, but I couldn't, there were too many of them, and they all looked the same, to be honest. The graduates sat down, and Grandpa walked up to the podium to give his speech, which went like this: "It is with profound praise and gratitude that I welcome you new Police Officers. Proud that you've answered the call to service and today join the ranks of New York's finest. You have earned the distinction of being the best trained, best prepared Police Officers in the world, ready to serve and protect the most vibrant city in the world. Where everyday brings a responsibility to keep all New Yorkers safe-safe from crime, and safe from terrorism. Though the city is on the very cutting the edge of technology, nothing replaces your unwavering sense of right and wrong and your eyes and ears on the street. And we remain safe because of the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the New York City Police Station. We all wear the same blue uniform, carry the same shield. Now you are a part of the finest police force in the world. Congratulations to your families, to your friends. And congratulations to you, our new New York Police Officers." Grandpa's speeches are always mind blowing. Like, seriously, how he has such words of wisdom always at disposal; I will never know how he does it. It one of those speeches that left everyone else speechless. One thing that I love about my Grandpa is that there is no one out there who backs this department more than him. And, yes, he is the PC so that's kind of his job, but, he takes it to a whole other level. If his officers are being publicly ridiculed, the level he goes to to clear their name is nuts. He is always there when his officers need advice, or inspiration, or a reason to keep going. When he was done speaking, the Officers stood up, cheered, and threw their gloves up in the air. Watching them smile and laugh, hug, high five and congratulate each other, and seeing how proud they were of themselves was such a heartwarming scene. I have the utmost respect for everyone wearing that uniform. They are a special kind of people. Anyone who is disrespectful to them has to answer to me, and I get mean and I don't care. Thankfully, it's all been verbal so my parents, my Dad specifically, hasn't heard about it. If it ever turns physical, then he'll know. Hopefully, it won't come to that. Everyone else stood up and cheered, but we were, by far, the loudest. We're Reagans, we have to be. My throat was literally sore all day that day and the day after. Oops. Oh well, I have no shame. I couldn't help but scream at the top of my lungs, I was just overwhelmed with pride, joy, happiness, everything. We went outside to wait for Grandpa, Uncle Jamie, and Pops. We were all keeping an eye out for them. I saw Uncle Jamie and waved him down. Uncle Jamie walked over and gave all of us a hug. "I'm so proud of you, Uncle Jamie." I told him, grabbing his arm. My cheeks were literally starting to hurt because of how much and how big I've been smiling. "Thanks, kid." He said, smiling. You could tell how happy he was, all of those long days at the academy that left him exhausted in just about every way possible were finally made worth while. I know he wishes Joe were here to see him but, I fully believe that Joe is watching up in heaven, cheering Jamie on. As everyone was congratulating Uncle Jamie, someone put their hands around his eyes. And i got my camera ready to film, Nicky did the same. It seemed like the slowest few seconds of my life; I was so beyond ready for him to turn around, see Sydney, and smile that cheesy smile of his. He turned around and saw his fiancé. He lit up. He gave her a big hug, and then kissed her. I'm so glad I caught that on video. It's definitely going on facebook. Nicky and I high fived. "We did it." She mouthed, looking like she was about to explode. I jumped up I was so thrilled. "I thought you weren't going to be able to get out for this." "Surprise! Things kind of change last minute, and Eliza and Nicky set the whole thing up. I was right behind your family." She said, smiling and practically bouncing. Nicky and I winked at each other and did a little happy dance, both of us feeling very proud that we actually pulled it off. Jamie turned to Nicky and I, with a look of pure shock on his face. "You two kept a secret?" He asked, you could even hear the shock in his voice, pointing at us. I'm telling you, our family has no faith in us. It was only slightly offensive; only towards me, though. Because they have every reason to have no faith in me; I couldn't keep a secret if my life depended on it. "Why is that so surprising?" Nicky asked. "Cause you girls have a big mouth." Dad said casually, like it was the most obvious thing. Our jaws dropped. How freaking rude. I can't help it, I get really excited and need to tell someone before I explode. Unfortunately, though, I just usually end up telling the wrong person. I still can't believe he said that. Well, actually, I sort of can. My father has no filter whatsoever, and just always says what comes to his mind. Another thing that I get from him, fortunately or unfortunately, however you choose to look at it. Everyone laughed at Dad's comment. Then Aunt Erin turned around and said "Dad, Grandpa, over here!" Grandpa and Pops came over. They had to stay inside the building a little longer to say hi to some people and get some pictures. They look so handsome in their dress blues. I can't even imagine what Grandpa must be going through internally right now. If he lost another son, it'd kill him. Now he worries constantly about both Uncle Jamie and my Dad. At any minute, they could be ripped from us. Grandpa gave Aunt Erin and Nicky a kiss on the cheek, then came over to Mom and I and gave us a kiss on the cheek. "You were great up there." Mom commented. Then he hugged Dad. Pops and Jamie high fived. Pops was just overall thrilled, his mind wasn't on Uncle Joe right now; he's thinking about how he knew Uncle Jamie was gonna make this choice eventually (he told me that after Uncle Jamie made the announcement that he was going to become a cop.) Grandpa walked over to Jamie, grabbed his arm and shook his hand and said "I'm proud of you, son." And you could see how proud he was. He had a smile that was from ear to ear. "Thanks, Dad." Uncle Jamie said, both of them absolutely beaming. I couldn't help but continue to smile, even though my cheeks were hurting. I kept thinking about how much I love this family, and how grateful I am to be part of it. God definitely blessed me with the best. Then he kissed Sydney on the cheek. Grandpa already thinks of Sydney as one his own daughters. From what I understand, he was that way with Mom even when she and Dad were just friends (which, from what I understand, was the shortest phase of their relationship). We're all just waiting for those two to tie the knot. Dad put his arm around Mom's shoulder and held her hand. "Mom's probably spinnin' in her grave, you quittin' the law and becoming a cop and all." Dad commented. My Grandma Mary's last wish before cancer took her from us was that her youngest baby would stay out of the family business. I know Grandpa promised her he would see to it. But, I think he knew deep down that there would be no stopping Uncle Jamie. Especially after Uncle Joe died. That was when there was suddenly this bright fire in Uncle Jamie to become a cop. So, I mean, Dad's probably not wrong, but, I'm still not sure he should have said it. Wrong place, wrong time, that whole no filter thing. "Danny..." Mom started. "Nah, I'm just sayin'. Golden boy was on the fast track to Washington, now look at him; just like the rest of us Reagan's. Another boot in a suit." "Excuse me? All the Reagan's?" Aunt Erin commented. Dad put his arm around her and pulled her in as he said "Sorry. Sorry, I forgot, we got an Assistant District Attorney in the family. I'm so proud of you, sis." "Thank you." She just got the promotion to ADA yesterday. It's been a good week for the Reagan family. "Yeah, well, we'd have another lawyer in the family if these two would set a date." Mom commented at Jamie and Sydney, saying what I wanted to, but thought better of. "What, and spoil all the fun?" Sydney said as her and Uncle Jamie snickered. We all looked at them, slightly annoyed (I kid you guys not, they have been engaged for TWO YEARS now.) I flat out glared. Something tells me these two will either a) break up or b) be engaged forever. Here's why I think that; don't get me wrong, I love Sydney to death, she's like a big sister to me and her and Uncle Jamie are totally in love; anyone can see that. But, it takes a special kind of person to marry a cop, just like it takes a special kind of person to be a cop. Sydney wouldn't be able to handle it; she'd worry herself sick every time Uncle Jamie is on duty. Now, granted, of course Mom gets worried about Dad, but, she only gets really worried when she hears a cop has been injured. "Well, unfortunately, I do have to take off. I don't want to be late, I was lucky they let me come. It was amazing." Sydney and Jamie kissed. It took everything in my power to not gag. I don't know why, but it totally grosses me out when they kiss. "I love you." He said. I cringe when they say I love you. Again, don't know why. "I love you, too. Bye everybody." Choruses of "Bye, Sydney." went around. After she left, Aunt Erin said "she seems to be handling this well, you being a cop and all." "We're working on it." Uncle Jamie replied. I really wouldn't be able to blame Sydney for struggling a little; I mean, a Harvard graduate put the ring on her finger, and she's walking down the aisle with a beat cop. "It can't be easy after watching you bury your brother." Mom said gently as she ran her fingers through my hair. The air suddenly became very heavy, and we were all silent for about 6 seconds. Dad's phone rang. I wrapped my hand around the dog tags. You honestly could have cut the tension with a knife. I know I'm speaking for us all when I say the wind was knocked out of me as my chest became tight and it was soon difficult to breath. We all have swelling pride and happiness for Uncle Jamie. But, still... Losing Joe pushes buttons in us all from time to time. Especially at a time like this. The day we lost him felt like the worst nightmare possible, and none of us have been exactly the same ever since. It's been really hard. "Joe died doing what he loved to do." Pops said, finally breaking the silence. He's not wrong; Uncle Joe died a hero, trying to change lives. That's what he did, that's who he was. At least he died fighting. Dad came and slapped Jamie's shoulder and said "Little brother, I'm gonna have to buy you a beer another time. I've got a missing kid, gotta go." "You up to catch a case, Danny?" Grandpa asked. "Yeah, Dad, Demarcus is on his way." Even if he didn't feel up to catching a case, Dad wouldn't have said no; he eats, lives, and breathes being a detective. If he's needed, he always jumps on it. It sucks that he seriously needs to go work on a case today of all days but, it's whatever. He kissed and hugged Mom. "Love you." She said. "You too." Then he kissed my head. "Be careful." I said. "Always." Then he left.
DANNY'S POV
I did feel kinda guilty for leaving before any sort of celebration, but, I got to see Jamie graduate and that's all that matters. Besides, I could use a good distraction. I, of course, was proud of Jamie for becoming a cop and, honestly, I had no doubt that he would be a great one. But, it also scares the hell out of me; I can't lose another brother, I can't and I won't. I know that I've gotta be really tough on him, and teach him everything I know so that hopefully he won't get killed. I know he and I will get into arguments because of it like Joe and I did, but if it means he's still kicking at 80, you can bet your ass it'll be worth it. My partner, Demarcus King, was just across the street from MSG. I ran across the street to his car. "Missing little girl? I don't like the sound of that." I said as I got into his car. I loosened my tie, it felt like it was suffocating me. I absolutely hate missing persons cases, especially when they involve little kids; they're innocent, they didn't do anything to deserve this. I'd bet money that this is a custodial dispute. "Your glass half empty, much? She could turn up at a friends house." I rolled my eyes. They wouldn't have called two first grade major case detectives to the scene if that were the case. I think I've only ever had one "missing person's" case where they turned up at a friend's house, and that was when I was a fresh meat detective. "Yeah, but then why'd they call us?" He shrugged his shoulders and drove to the scene. On the way over, I couldn't stop thinking about what the poor parents must be going through. I mean, this girl was obviously loved and well looked after. Thankfully, Eliza or Nicky have ever gone missing or even ran away so, this is one thing my family have ever experienced. I couldn't even imagine. We got to the parent's house in about 10 minutes. We got out of the car, and the were officers and reporters everywhere; I instantly knew that this would make the news very soon. Which could actually come in handy in helping us to find this girl; you know, keeping her face before the public, people on the lookout. "What do we got?" I asked the nearest officer. "9 year old female Hispanic, Teresa Campos, didn't come home from school, St. Anita up the block. The mother got worried and went looking for her and the building super told her he saw a couple of young boys grab a pink backpack from the gutter here and ran off with it." He replied. My heart sank just a little; Teresa is probably terrified. "The backpack hers?" King asked. He nodded. "Did we find the backpack?" I asked, hopeful, yet secretly knowing what the answer would be. "Not yet. I got Housing doing verticals in the projects, and Aviation's en route to check rooftops." I figured as much. I knew that they would have shown me the backpack if it had been found. "Anybody see anything else?" I asked. Someone from the Crime Scene Unit had a doll. A very creepy doll, one that gave me the chills and made me wanna run for the hills. A secret about me that a lot of people don't know is; I do not like dolls at all. I don't know why, but I just don't. "This doll was found near where the backpack was." I groaned internally and I waved him over. I did not want that doll that close to me, but, I had to grow a pair because right now I have no choice. "One of those ones you press it and it talks. Anyway, mother says she's never seen it." He continued. And of course, he had to push on the damn thing and make it talk. I literally wanted to vomit. This was by far the most uncomfortable first investigation in the longest time. I was going have to do my best to put my, I don't even know what to call it, doll anxiety? Aside. It's not a fear, okay? I don't get afraid of things, that's too much of a hindrance to the job. "Alright, voucher it and get prints and serology on it, okay? Let's put out an AMBER Alert request, get a canvas going. There's a lot of cameras around. Check the surveillance video, clear out all the apartment Dumpsters, mailboxes, drains, sewers, everything-just try not to let the family see what you're doing." It was honestly crucial that they parents didn't know we were looking for their daughter in dumpsters and sewers. I mean, think about it, how would you feel? We need them to stay calm so they can think and letting them know that would do just the opposite of keeping them calm. "Gotcha." He said. He walked away as we walked towards the parents. I wasn't sure how this was going to go over, how much they were going to be willing to tell us but, just like everything else, I needed to give it my all. "You know that feeling you were getting?" King asked as we walked over. "Yeah." "I'm getting it, too " I've been a police officer long enough to know that this wouldn't end well. And the fact that it's an innocent little girl, that's going to make me go at this 10x harder. See, the first 48 hours are critical in a situation like this, because after that, our chances of finding someone essentially drop to practically zero (not that we give up), and we didn't know how long it had been since Teresa went missing. We approached the parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Campos? I'm Detective Reagan, this is my partner Detective King. We understand your daughter went missing. Um... I'm gonna have to ask you a few questions." This part was always awkward; the initial questioning. We usually didn't get much information during this one because the loved ones are still in shock. "She always comes home, she comes home everyday. She knows her mother worries." The father said. "She's a good girl!" The mother cried. "I'm sure she is, I know how difficult this must be for you." King commented. I felt for the mother very hard, I could tell how heartbroken and absolutely terrified she was. I can't even imagine what's going through her head. I know that the few times Eliza went over to a friend's house after school and forgot to tell anyone, Linda's mind automatically went to the worst case scenario. Of course, mine did too. Secretly. That's what's going through these parents minds, I guarantee. I'll just have to try calming them down the way I did with Linda those few times. "Is it possible she ran away? Maybe you guys had a fight? Maybe an ex-husband took her?" I don't think she ran away, and I didn't want to seem insensitive, but if we were going to find this girl, I needed the whole story. That's why I have a partner, so they can handle the sensitive stuff. I'm kidding, i'm a sensitive person, and I'm actually really amazing with grieving families and some forth. I just also get right down to it because time is always of the essence. "Rigo's her father, there was no fight. Where is she? You have to find her." The mother said, clearly desperate. I cannot believe someone just took a little girl like that. Well, actually, I can't say that because I do believe, I've seen it happen plenty of times. Ugh, people make me sick. I know I can't say she hasn't been kidnapped yet, because we don't actually know for sure that that's what happened. I just have this gnawing feeling. "The more you can tell us, Mrs. Campos, the more we can help." King told her. I was really frustrated now. If this is her father, that rules out a custodial battle. And from the sound of it, Teresa wouldn't run away. So now what? Now, now I can say it was a kidnapping.There's no other explanation. "Detective, can I talk to you?" The officer called me over. Maybe he can enlighten me. "Excuse me." I said to the parents, and left it to Demarcus to see what else he could get out of the parents. I walked over to him, not at all optimistic. Well, let me rephrase; I was optimistic that he would give me more information, I wasn't so optimistic about how well it would help us. Especially if Teresa didn't know this person, the trail is going to be extremely difficult to follow. But, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna chase it just as hard as any other. "Women saw a white van pull away from the curb here really crazy." "White van in New York City? That narrows it down." I said sarcastically, looking around. I tried my best to stay calm and not get frustrated. Even though that was getting more impossible by the minute. "Yeah, I know. And she didn't get the plates, either. But she said it had a cracked rear window." The officer told me, clearly sharing in my frustration. "Alright, let's put the van out on the wire, notify bridge and tunnel security, maybe we'll get lucky." Though, I highly doubted it. He walked away, and King came up to me. "I'm thinking this isn't a simple custodial dispute, partner. Doesn't smell like a ransom, either." I commented, actually sniffing the air, as if could smell a ransom case. Of course, maybe I can. Maybe I'm just that good. Not that I'm bragging or anything. "Yeah, but we got another problem. Little girl's a diabetic. She gets insulin shots every 24 hours. So if she doesn't get 'em..." I sighed. I growled, not even trying to control my frustrations anymore. That means there is a very tight clock on this, and we needed to work nonstop to get this girl back alive. Now that means I have to bring more than my A-game to this. "My baby, please, you have to find her!" The mother ran up to me, crying, and began to hit my chest. I grabbed her wrists and said "We'll do all we can. We'll do all we can." "I'm sorry." Her husband said as he pulled her off of me. 'It's alright." She broke down crying into her husband's arms. "Help!" She cried. King and I gave each other a look, and we were ready to do whatever it took to get this little girl back safely. This has always been more than a job to me, and there's always a little bit of a case that makes it at least a little personal to me, which is part of the reason I have one of the highest close rates in the precinct. With this case, it's obviously their daughter. And, if my daughter went missing, I'd want the most passionate, dedicated detectives possible. Which is what these parents have got. Full speed ahead. I do not care what it takes, this will not be one of the few cases I never solve. I will not rest until Teresa has been found.
MY POV
After Dad left, we all got ready to head back to Pop's and Grandpa's house for the celebration. Nicky and I have spent 2 months putting everything together for the party; the family just wanted to go out to eat, but, Nicky and I wanted to do something bigger. We felt that Uncle Jamie deserved bigger. This was a huge accomplishment and there was no way we weren't going to go a little bigger than just going to a restaurant. Nicky and I are always planning events for the family; birthdays, anniversaries, special dinners. Those kinds of things. It's something that we bond over, and that we're both good at and it's brought us closer together. "Hey, Uncle Jamie, before we go, I need to put this blindfold on you." I told him. I wanted it to be a complete surprised when he walked into the house. So, I probably didn't have to have him put the blindfold on quite so early, but, messing with family is always a plus. "Why?" He asked, looking slightly concerned. He has absolutely no reason to be concerned, in hindsight. That's not to say I won't accidentally smack him on something. "Just go with it, Jamie." Mom said. Thankfully we got Mom and Aunt Erin on board with this; I'm not sure how willingly he would have put the blindfold on if they hadn't been. He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay." So, I tied the blindfold around his eyes, tight. I needed to make sure he couldn't see anything. I smiled an evil smile; I was having entirely too much fun with this whole thing. I held up 3 fingers in front of him. "How many fingers is Eliza holding up?" Nicky asked. "How the hell should I know?" "Haha, he's ready. Let's go." I said. I looked over at Nicky, and she was biting her tongue to keep from snickering. Grandpa and Pops left in the Batmobile (that's what Dad calls the car from One PP. Or, One Police Plaza.) Mom and Aunt Erin helped Uncle Jamie in the car. Aunt Erin got in the driver's seat, Mom in the passenger, and Nicky and I sat on either side of Jamie (he was in the middle.) And we drove to the house. "Should I be nervous?" Uncle Jamie asked. "Very." Aunt Erin said in a very serious voice. She was snickering, and Mom, Nicky and I were biting our tongues to stifle the laughter. I decided to have more fun with the fact that Uncle Jamie couldn't see. I reached over and tapped Nicky's knee and put my finger over my lips to shush her. I took out my phone and took a selfie of the 3 of us. Nicky put her hands on her cheeks in mock shock, while I was posing my face in mock innocence. I snapped the picture and put it on social media with the caption of Is it legal to kidnap a cop? Just kidding. Happy PA graduation, Uncle Jamie! Proud of you! With a kiss face emoji at the end. Nicky and I fist bumped. When we got back to the house, I got Mom, Aunt Erin, Nicky, Grandpa and Pops to go inside ahead of Jamie and I. I helped Uncle Jamie out of the car, but not without hitting his head on the top of the car. "Ow! Damn." I squinted, feeling part sorry, but also wanting to bust up laughing. "Sorry, Uncle Jamie." I told him. "Yeah, bull." He said, rubbing his head. I mean, he's not completely wrong; my apology was part bull. I rolled my eyes at him, which I realized was pointless since he can't see me. "Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady." He said. A cop for only a couple of hours and he already has eyes in the back of his head, and even the back of his head is covered! He just knows me too well. "Anyways, you know how proud we all are of you, right?" I asked. He sighed, and hesitated for a minute before saying "Yeah, I know." He hesitated before answering because Dad gives him grief about "going to Harvard just to turn around and become a cop." "Okay, well, we don't want to just say how proud we are of you. We want to show you." So, I took both of his hands and, walking backwards, I led him to the house. When we got to the steps, I said "Step." He slowly stepped up one step. "Step." He slowly stepped up the other. "Aaand step." I said as he stepped up onto the porch. We were now right in front of the door. I was so freaking excited, I don't think he's ever had a surprise party a day in his life, and I think everyone should have at least one in their lifetime. "You ready?" I asked him. I was practically bouncing in anticipation waiting for him to answer. "Born ready." He replied. That's something Nicky and I both got from him; we take what life throws at us in stride. Of course, that's one quality that my entire family shares. So, I opened the door and took off his blindfold. "Surprise!" We all yelled. It made him jump a little, which was really funny! We stepped inside and I shut the door. On the dining room table, we had all of Uncle Jamie's favorite foods, and his favorite beer. "Aw, nice." Jamie said, pumping his fist. "That's not all, Mom also had a friend of hers help us make a video for you." Nicky said. "You just sounded like a talk show host 'but wait, that's not all' " I said, deepening my voice, which made Nicky roll her eyes and everyone else chuckle. The thing about me is; if I don't mock you or make fun of you in any way, then I really don't like you. "Well, actually, it's about you." Grandpa commented, smiling and avoiding eye contact with Uncle Jamie. Uncle Jamie made his "aw, man." face, and said "oh, so what? You roasted me?" "We roasted/toasted you." I said, chuckling. In all reality, no one roasted him in the video. Well, I haven't seen the finished video, so, I actually don't know. Dad might have roasted him, but, that's just Dad. I can at least say that Nicky and I didn't. We all sat down to watch the movie. Pops and Grandpa sat in their chairs, Nicky sat on the floor, Erin sat on the arm of Grandpa's chair, and Jamie sat in the middle of Mom and I on the couch(I was on the left, Mom was on the right.) He was twiddling his thumbs, which meant he was nervous. "Would you calm down?" I said, he was being slightly dramatic. Of course, I have no room to judge because I'm the Drama Queen. But, still. He seriously had no reason to be worried. "Did you put the stuff for the video together?" He asked me "Yeah." "Then no." He stated facing the screen. What a brat. The video started with pictures of Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Jamie on the day he was born, the family at his Christening and his first day of school. Then Pops came on the screen. "Jamie, when you were born, I expected you to either be a spit fire, unpredictable, hot headed man like Danny, or a calm, firm, level headed man like Joe. But you are a perfect combination of the two. You have always known what you wanted, and went for it, even if you got sidetracked.You make me proud, kid." Pops doesn't like to get all sentimental like that, I practically had to beg him. Then pictures of his Elementary school years went by, and birthday pictures as well. There was a picture of him at his first soccer game (he was so small, it was so cute), there was a picture of him with his face covered in whipped cream (I don't wanna know), and several pictures of him opening up birthday presents. Then Grandpa came on the screen. "Son, ah, your mother made me promise to keep you out of the family business. I knew I wouldn't be able to. But you really do make me proud, always have. Keep up the good work, and stay grounded. Never forget your training, and stay humble. I'm always here if you need advice." Grandpa sounded like he was giving a speech, which I swear is his default setting. Then, the picture of his first day of Jr. High came on, and other pictures throughout his 3 years of Jr. High came on (Soccer matches, National Honor Society events and his first school dance, he looked a little ridiculous, to be honest. Don't tell him I said that.) Then Aunt Erin appeared on the screen. "Jamie, you are my most tolerable brother," we all chuckled at that. Uncle Joe and Dad loved to pick on Aunt Erin, and of course, Uncle Jamie did to, at times. But, normally, he was the one who just hung out in the back and didn't say a word. "You are making your life your own. You do what you do, no matter what anyone else says. You have a different way of approaching stressful situations, and it always seems to turn out well. Hopefully Nicky can pick up on some of that. I love you and I'm proud of you." She was definitely not wrong; Uncle Jamie has never let anyone tell him what to do with his life. He is 100% his own person and I admire that so much. Then, the picture of his first day of high school came up. Also his first date, and other pictures throughout (again, soccer matches, National Honor Society events.) Then Mom came on. "Jamie, you are such an example and inspiration to this family. You are loving and caring, but also firm. I'm grateful to God that Eliza has such an amazing Uncle. I'm so proud of you and I love you." I did my best to not choke up on that one. Mom is the only person in the family who has no problem getting mushy, and that's probably because she's the only one in our family that was not born a Reagan. The next set of pictures were all school dances. Uncle Jamie was very popular, and quite the ladies man, it must run in the family. Thankfully, as the dances went by his fashion sense became better. Dad was up next. "Kid, I know I give you grief about going to Harvard, then turning around and becoming a cop. Remember why you're out there and you'll do good. I'll be hard on you throughout the years, but that's only because I know what you're capable of and want you to be the best that you can be. Good luck, kid brother." We all chuckled. Dad was not a mushy, sentimental person what so freaking ever. But, you could see in his eyes how proud he was of his brother, and it was very heartwarming. It was so great. But, being that mushy probably nearly killed him. The next set of photos was his high school graduation (he was Valedictorian), his first day of college, and his entire college journey (he wasn't much for partying. It was mainly selfies he took with friends.) Nicky was 2nd to last. "Hey, Uncle Jamie. I just wanted to say that I'm really proud of you. Thanks for being such an amazing role model to Eliza and I. You've taught us about strength and grace under pressure. Stay safe out there. I love you." She blew him a kiss. The last set of pictures that appeared on the screen was his first date with Sydney, him planning the proposal, the actual proposal, and engagement pictures. I was last. "Hey, Uncle Jamie. I'm going to try to be serious here, and you know how much I suck at that, so bear with me. All my life, you've been one of my best friends. You've taught me a lot. You have such a talent when it comes to interacting with other people, and I know that will be a huge strength out there. It is really scary knowing that you're gonna be out there everyday, but, I know that you are super prepared and will be smart. I will pray to God everyday that you will remain safe and always come home okay, and I know that Uncle Joe will protect you as well. I've never been more proud of you. I love you." Then the movie ended. Jamie put one arm around my shoulder, and grabbed Nicky's shoulder with the other. "Thanks guys, this means alot to me." He said. "Thank Eliza. This was all her idea." Grandpa commented. Jamie looked at me. I felt slightly uncomfortable that Grandpa said that; I hated being at the center of attention. And taking credit was something that I didn't like doing. "Yes, it was my idea." I admitted. "But I couldn't have pulled this off alone, obviously." I added. Jamie nodded. I could tell that he was feeling really happy, but, he was having a hard time expressing it. All I wanted to do was make sure he knew how proud we are all of him, and make him feel good. And I think I accomplished that. "Well, I'm starving. Let's dig in." Nicky said. We all agreed. I didn't eat breakfast this morning because my nerves were just too much. Which is weird; it's not like I was the one who was graduating from the Police Academy.
DANNY'S POV
After talking to the family, and getting next to nothing, King and I decided to head back to the squad. I felt frustrated and nervous; Teresa had already been missing for 3 hours, and we've essentially got only 24 hours to find her. If we don't find her within that 24 hours, our chances of finding Teresa alive drops dramatically. This is one case that I cannot lose; I can't let Teresa and her family down. I won't, I refuse. I went onto the computers to check the Sex Offender Registry. There were 16 within 5 blocks of Teresa. I wanted to puke, people make me sick to my stomach. I will never understand what sick joy these people get out of this. There's so many all over. And Linda says I'm overprotective for making Eliza carry pepper spray and a taser, and why I never let her out of my sight in public. This. This is why. The thought of my baby in the hands of one of these creeps makes my stomach churn. The thought of Teresa in the hands of one of these creeps is awful. "What a world." I said to myself, then tapped on the glass to get King's attention. "16. 16 registered sex offenders within a 5 block radius of this girl's home. What have you got for me, partner?" Fingers crossed. We've been at this for an hour, there had have been something to help us find her by now. I can't remember the last time I had such a tight time crunch on a case. I was gonna need coffee, and a lot of it, to stay awake. "Tip on a white van with a little girl in Astoria, but it was just an Asian family." I growled a little. This is so freaking frustrating. I mean, I get that we don't have a lot to go on, but, there's gotta be something, anything! Even the smallest thing would be helpful right now. "Alright, it's going to be a long night, let's get to work." I said to everyone in the room. I sat down to go through my files; all missing persons reports, the information the school gave us, checking out all of their staff, seeing if anything was caught on any security cameras. There had to be something in here that'll help us. Of course, I wasn't exactly thinking too clearly right now; my thoughts were clouded with anger. I kept looking, reading through everything as close as possible, over analyzing all of the pictures and videos but, far, I got squat. My phone rang. "Reagan." I answered, without even looking at who it was. Of course, I don't ever not answer my phone. Hello, Detective over here. I felt slightly hopeful that whoever was on the other end of the line had good news for me. God knows I needed some. ( It occurred to me, with all you've got on your plate that you might not have time to drop off the roast for Sunday dinner.) Dad said. I just chuckled. He was always calling to check up on me. He knows how pissed off I am and that I'll break rules to find Teresa if needs be. He doesn't let me get away with it just because I'm his son, he gets down on me just like he would any other cop who broke the rules. "You calling about the roast or, uh, are you looking for an update, Dad?" I asked, calling him out. He was silent for a few seconds. (Are you getting better at this or am I getting worse?) He asked. I smiled softly "A little bit of both, I think." He has this certain tone of voice when he's calling to check up on one of his kids, I can't explain it. He usually does good at sort of blending it in with his normal tone of voice but, not so much, lately. He ignored me and just said (Well, speaking as your boss, I hope you know you have all the resources you need.) "I appreciate that, boss." He was silent for a minute. "Maybe you should call Eliza." He sighed, then hung up. Sometimes, when a case is really frustrating me and I need to clear my head, I call Eliza. I know, you'd think I'd call my wife for that, but there's something about talking to my daughter that clears my head. Of course, with this case being a missing little girl, I'm not sure how great of an idea that would be; because, even though she is almost 15, she's still a little girl to me. I thought about it for a minute, then decided to do it anyways. *Ring* *Ring* *Ri-* (Hello?) She picked up. "Hey, Eliza. How's it going?" I smiled softly. This girl is my world, next to her mother, of course. (It's going really well. We had the party for Uncle Jamie. Though, I may or may not have given him a concussion.) "What? How?" I chuckled, facepalming. I love that girl but, god, she's so accident prone, she even hurts other people. It must be contagious or something. (Okay, a) I can practically feel you rolling your eyes.) I chuckled. Guilty as charged. It's not my fault that she makes it so easy. I am so not letting her, or Jamie, live this one down. (And, b) so, we had him blindfolded on the ride back, and I hit his head on the top of the car helping him out.) She said casually, as if that was an everyday thing. She got me laughing and relaxed a little. She always managed to. (How are you doing?) She asked, sounding concerned. "Fine." I said as convincingly as possible. (You don't need to lie to me. I'm a big girl.) I made duck lips. Ugh, she is growing up way too fast on me. I've told her she needs to stop but, she won't listen. "I know that. Just trying to connect dots that are basically non existent. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack." I explained. (Hey, if anyone can find this girl, it's you.) "I'm not so sure of that." I sighed, rubbing my eyes. It felt completely hopeless, this whole case. That made it very hard to not want to give up. But I couldn't. I have to give this everything I've got. (I am.) She said seriously. That warmed my heart. Knowing that Eliza believes in me and is proud of me, well, some days that's the only thing that keeps me going. "Well, your confidence is all I need." (I'm serious, even if you have to...) She thought for a second. (I don't know, shove someone's head in a toilet, you'll get the answers you need and close this case.) Wow, okay. Um, you know what? I've handled a lot of different situations a lot of different ways but, shoving someone's head in a toilet? That was a new one. "I'll keep that idea in mind." I nodded. (No, wait, Dad. Do not actually-) "Gotta go, see you later." I said, cutting her off and hanging up. I sat thinking. I turned to King and asked him if he had anything. Please tell me you've got good news for me, Demarcus... I was on the phone with my daughter for only a couple of minutes so, maybe he's got at least one small, miniscule detail clue. One of those, and we could build off of it. "Well, bad news," my heart dropped. I wanted good news, not bad news. Give me the exact opposite, why don't you? "The girl's sketchy ass uncle has been locked up at Rikers for a DWI." I growled a little, frustrated. "I had such high hopes for that man" I put my pen down. He was my best bet (he was on the registered sex offender registry) and now that we know it wasn't him? I know that this kidnapping was absolutely senseless. That's going to make finding Teresa nearly impossible. I said "I just keep thinking about that little girl; how scared she is, how scared her family is." I looked around my desk (what for, I'm not sure) when my eyes landed on a picture of me holding Eliza on my lap when she was about 5, and she was holding a teddy bear that Joe gave her. And that's when I realized something; If the doll was another little girl's, how come the lab didn't find anything on it? There would have been fibers, a hair, something. It wouldn't have been totally clean. "We need the doll." I told King. He looked very confused, as I expected him to. "Why? The lab didn't find no prints, no DNA, nothing." I stood up and began walking around. He just hit it on the nail, and he didn't even know it. "See, that's just it. If the doll belonged to another girl, why was it so clean?" "Maybe he used gloves." He said matter-of-factly. I gave him a minute to think it over. I gave him a look that told him I was waiting for something more from him. He got a far away look as he thought. I needed us to be on the same page. "He used it to lure the girl in." He finally said. Yes, thank you! That small, miniscule detail I've been needing was finally here. "Exactly. There's gotta be a label, a print or something. Let's find out who makes it, who sells it. Maybe we'll get lucky." I sat down at my desk and picked up the phone."Yeah, get me the lab." I waited for about 10 seconds, impatiently. "Yeah, I need the doll brought down here from the Teresa Campos case. Because I do! Alright. Yes, now." I rolled my eyes and hung up. They can be so rude and high and mighty sometimes, I swear to god. I was not in the mood for any sort of attitude from anyone right now. I needed them to be quick about this; time is of the essence. I'm an impatient person enough as it is; today, that patience was half the size it normally was.
MY POV
We all gathered into the kitchen to eat the food, because Grandpa cannot stand people eating food anywhere else in the house, I have no idea why. It's like an old fashioned thing or something, I'm guessing. Yeah, I just called my Grandfather old. Just don't tell him I said that. He may be old, but he is feisty. "I remember, when Jamie, Joe, and Danny were all little. They were playing Cops and Robbers, and Jamie was the robber. Danny tackled him to the ground, and Joe pretended to arrest him. Well, when Jamie got back up from the ground, his arm was all out of whack. Danny had broken his arm." Pops said. I choked on my water from shock. How could you break your sibling's bone? Of course, my Dad would, though. "Oh, my God. Are you serious?" I asked, trying not to laugh, because I felt bad for doing so. "He's dead serious." Uncle Jamie commented, shaking his head and drinking his beer. "That's Danny for you." Erin mumbled. I will never understand what Aunt Erin's deal with my father is. She definitely seems to not like him, that's for sure. "Did Uncle Danny get in trouble?" Nicky asked. Uh, how would he not get into trouble for that, Nicky? "Oh yeah. He got a pretty good spanking. You're Uncle Joe did, too." Grandpa replied. We all laughed. "Remember that time I tried to skip school, Dad?" I choked on my water, again. Not from trying not to laugh, but because I seriously couldn't believe what I had just heard. Uncle Jamie tried to skip school? But he's like, the model child. It's like, he's Nicky and I'm my Dad. Because you know, I'm the troublemaker out of the two of us, and Nicky always does the right thing. Dad was (is) the troublemaker of the brothers, Uncle Jamie was the good kid, and Uncle Joe was in between. "You tried to skip school?" I asked between coughs. "Oh yeah." Grandpa said. "Oh, I don't even want to know." Mom commented. "A cop friend of Dad's recognized me walking down the street, called him, and within 10 minutes he came to get me." Uncle Jamie explained. "Well, that was stupid." Nicky said. Uncle Jamie looked at her, his jaw slightly open. "Well, it's true. If you're ditching school you've gotta make sure you're laying low. Not walking down the street like you're supposed to be there." I told him. Then I realized that I totally just gave away that I have skipped school before, and have never been caught. Well, until now. I closed my eyes and scrunched my nose. I cannot believe I just did that. "And how would you know that?" Pops asked. I looked around the table, and all of the adults were staring at me, glaring. Nicky had her hand on her forehead. "That was stupid, too." Nicky mumbled. "I wouldn't know." I tried to say as convincingly as possible. "Uh, huh." Mom nodded, rubbing her tongue against her cheek, making it poke out. "We'll talk about this later tonight when your father is home." Mom told me. Damn it. Oh, well, that was my own stupid fault, I may as well have flat out asked for it. I can only imagine how Dad is gonna react. I started thinking about how I was actually more afraid for Dad to find out that I did something wrong. And how I was even more afraid for Uncle Joe to find out that I did something wrong. Then suddenly, my heart became very heavy. I needed to go get some air, even though there wasn't a lot of people in the room. "Hey, Mom. Can I please be excused?" I wanted. Mom gave me a sad look, rubbed my shoulder and said "sure, honey." If she could just not give me the sad eyes, that would be fantastic. I smiled at her, trying to show her that I was okay. Like, for all she knew, I could have just had to go to the bathroom. I stood up and walked out to the living room. "She's been having a hard time these past few days." I heard mom say as I exited the room. Yeah. She knows me too well. I guess it shouldn't bother me that she told them that. I mean, it's only because she cares. I sat down on the stairs in the living room, thinking. Even though today is all about Uncle Jamie and his success, I could not stop thinking about Uncle Joe. I took off the dog tags and just stared at them. I felt so guilty for thinking about Uncle Joe so much today; especially because I know that, even though he'll never admit it, Uncle Jamie feels overshadowed by Dad as he did with Uncle Joe. When times like this come along, when I'm feeling sad about missing him, I try to think of a moment in my life when he had an impact on my life. I had a FLASHBACK: I was 10 years old. It was one of the times Uncle Joe had picked me up from school and babysat me because Mom and Dad were both working late. I was quiet on the way home, which was very unusual for me. Normally I talked who ever's ear off about my day. When we walked inside the house, I turned to him. "Uncle Joe?" "Yeah?" "Do you think I'm pretty?" I asked him. I had been called ugly all day at school by the other kids. That's why I hadn't said anything the entire ride home; my feelings had never been so hurt before then. "No." He responded. I lowered my head in disappointment. I never thought myself pretty, but I never thought of myself as ugly. I thought I'm never going to school again. I can't let my friends see me if I really am ugly. Then he lifted my chin and said "I think you're beautiful." And I smiled from ear to ear. I still remember the rush of joy that went through me. That moment has helped me through self esteem issues, along with help from the rest of my family. I remember how he told me that I'm only allowed to go out with a guy, or be friends with people who treat me right. And, if he saw me with someone who was tearing me down, he'd kick both of our asses. The other person for not treating me right, and me for allowing it (though, to be fair, all of the guys in my family have told Nicky and I that). BACK TO PRESENT: Uncle Joe was always there for you when you needed a confidence boost. I sure could use one of his pep talks right now. I need someone to tell me that what I'm feeling is totally acceptable, that I'm not being crazy, dramatic, or selfish. I closed my eyes. I kept them tight, feeling the tears coming on. I don't think this pain will ever go away. But maybe one day, I'll learn to live with it. I heard footsteps approaching, I quickly wiped the tears, and looked up and saw Grandpa. Thank goodness it's just him. If anyone else came out right now, I'm not sure how well I'd be able to handle it. Nicky and I both have a really strong relationship with Grandpa. We'll tell him things that we will not tell anyone else. Maybe he'll tell me that it's okay to feel what I'm feeling. "May I sit down next to you?" He asked, smiling at me. I nodded. I know it shouldn't, but it bugs me how in my family, you can't say "can i" to do something, you have to say "may i". I scooted over and he sat down next to me. He sighed and said "you know, you are just like your father." I gave a courtesy chuckle and asked "In what way?" I mean, no matter what he says, I'll take it as a compliment. I've been told that personality wise, I definitely take after my Dad more than I do my Mom. "Oh, in just about every way. But in this instance I'm referring to how you both put on a tough exterior when something's bothering you." I slid the dog tags back on, wrapped a hand around my neck. I swear, Grandpa can see right through everyone; you can't keep a secret from him even if you try your hardest. I said "I guess I'm just not as good at it as him." Even though I know I could hide my feelings for months if I wanted to. But, like I said, Grandpa can read people like a book. And honestly, I'm starting to get emotionally exhausted from keeping this all inside. "I didn't say that. I can just see right through you both." He said, smiling and chuckling. I really wish he couldn't sometimes. I ran my fingers through my hair and said "I just have so many different emotions running through me right now." Grandpa rubbed my back. I'm feeling over the moon to have another cop in the family. I'm feeling mad that he's put himself in a position to get killed. I'm feeling sad that Uncle Joe couldn't be here; because I know bad he'd want to see it (I wanna believe that he's up in heaven watching.) I'm feeling worried for Grandpa, Dad, and Uncle Jamie. I'm feeling it all, I think. Uhh, this is all so confusing and tiring. Grandpa said "so talk." I took in a deep breath. I wasn't prepared to have to do this today. But It's either right here right now or at Sunday dinner. I'd rather just do this now and get it done and over with. "I definitely got blessed with the most amazing family, with the strongest bonds." I began. "Can't disagree." I smiled a little. "But I always felt like I had a special bond with Uncle Joe. All my life, Uncle Joe and Uncle Jamie both have been some of my best friends. The whole family has, but it's different with them " I cleared my throat, using every ounce of strength I had to not cry. I'll never be able to explain the bond that I had with Uncle Joe. "Burying Uncle Joe, realizing that I would never see him again, and then singing at his funeral. That almost killed me. And now that Uncle Jamie is going to be out there everyday it's just like..." I trailed off, putting my face in my hands. I begged myself not to cry. I couldn't deal with this today. I kinda want to go back to bed, wake up again, and try this day again. Not that it'd do any good. I pray to God that I won't have to sing at another funeral anytime soon. Knock on wood. "And now, you're afraid that you're gonna have a take 2 with your Uncle Jamie." Grandpa said, finishing my sentence for me. I just nodded. I'm glad he said it for me so that I didn't have to. He took in a deep breath and said "Eliza, you are very mature for your age, and you're 14. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. That possibility exists everyday. Especially now that he carries the gun and shield. The only thing you can do, is trust his training and instinct, and never take a single day for granted." I thought about it for a minute. I sighed. That is so not what I wanted to hear him say. Can't he sugar coat something just one time? Seriously, just once. That's all I'm asking. Because if that whole spiel was supposed to make me feel better, it didn't work. I said "yeah, I guess that's about all I can do. Grandpa?" He looked at me expectantly. "Do you think I'll ever get over missing Uncle Joe?" He smiled softly. "I sure hope not." I nodded. I'm not 100% sure what that was supposed to mean, that he hopes I don't. I won't ever forget Uncle Joe or the times we had together or the lessons he taught me, if that's what he means. I just want the pain to stop gnawing at me. I'm not sure if I ever want to get over losing Uncle Joe, but I do want it to get easier. Though it's been a while, I still feel so much pain. I hurt everyday, and not a day goes by that I don't think of him (that part I hope never goes away). I didn't hear what I wanted today, but, I heard what I needed. "I love you very much, Grandpa." "Love you, too, sweetie." Then, we hugged and kissed on the cheek. I stood up to walk back to the kitchen. I got curious about something; what other similarities does he see between Dad and I? I turned back to Grandpa to find out. "Oh, what other ways am I like my Dad?" I asked, hand on hip. He chuckled and said "you both loyally and unconditionally protect the ones you love. And you both have fire in the belly." That is true; if you mess with anyone that we love we will knock you to the ground. Mess with us, we don't care, mess with our loved ones, pay for it. That's basically our motto. "Won't argue with that." I laughed. Grandpa got up and led me back to the kitchen by the small of my back and took our seats. I was sitting next to Jamie today. "You okay, kid?" He asked as I sat down. "Yeah." I said truthfully. Because I was in the moment I was and I was going to take advantage of that. "I saw your wearing Joe's dog tags." Uncle Jamie pointed out. I had asked everyone to stop calling them mine. I just couldn't handle it. But, he seriously just noticed that I was wearing them? Wow, he's being super observant today. Of course, no one could blame him for being distracted. "Yeah, I'm actually thinking about wearing them everyday now. What do you all think?" Everyone nodded. Jamie and I stared at each other. We have an unspoken communication and in that moment, he promised me that I wouldn't have to bury him the same way I buried Uncle Joe. He rubbed my knee and nodded. I nodded back. Unfortunately, that's a promise that he can't guarantee to keep, and that's something that the rest of this family can't accept. I'll just let it be for now, though. We all got on with our meal, sharing memories about Jamie. Like when he spied on a date between Mom and Dad and Dad caught him (I feel so bad for him, I can only imagine what Dad did to him), when Erin was being bullied at school and Jamie ended up with a black eye standing up to the bullies, "Wait, you actually punched someone?" Nicky asked, saying what I was thinking with clear shock in her voice. "Why is that so hard to believe?" Uncle Jamie asked, sounding slightly offended. "Because you're not violent." Aunt Erin said matter-of-factly. We all nodded in agreement. Uncle Jamie is one that he always tries to talk to people before he uses physical means. He can usually talk to someone and say the right thing to calm them down, which will help a lot when he's on the streets. Also, when he chaperoned mine and Nicky's first school field trip. "Remember how Mariah wrote that note because he was cute?" I asked, embarrassed. Mariah is mine and Nicky's best friend that we grew up with and she had a crush on Uncle Jamie for years. "Yes." Nicky and Uncle Jamie said at the same time. "You're a charmer, Jamie." Grandpa commented. We all laughed at that. Uncle Jamie is everywhere.
DANNY'S POV
After the longest 10 minutes of my life, the lab finally brought the doll down. "Thanks, I appreciate it." I told the guy, trying my best to be polite to him and hide my annoyance. "Good, maybe now, you'll stop wasting our time." He said. I glared at him as we walked off. Jackass. It's not like I have a little girl to find in less than 20 hours or anything and my time is actually valuable. I turned the doll over in my hands. I really wish I didn't have to touch this thing, it's so creepy. I quickly found a label on the doll, and called the company headquarters. I was put on hold. "Had to be China, right? They're trying to find someone who speaks English." I told King. Why do all of the makers of these kids toys have to be in China? Why can't America come up with something fun? "What is it over there; tomorrow or yesterday?" King asked. Honestly, I really couldn't care less, I thought to myself. Well, wait a minute, how the hell would it be yesterday? I couldn't think about it too much, my brain was already hurting. Then someone came on the other end of the line. "Hello? Yes. This is Detective Reagan, New York Police. Yeah, your Dolly Change Me Doll-I need to know where it's sold in the Eastern United States." (It's just a prototype, it's not even for sale yet.) Wait, what? There's no way I heard that right. I needed to hear that wrong, this case was already confusing enough as it is. "What? Are you sure?" I asked, hoping he'd say something like "Oh! Wait, it's sold here, here, and here." (Yes.) My heart sank. It seemed like finding Teresa was becoming harder and harder to find. Well, hold on. If it wasn't being sold in stores yet, maybe they sent it out for people to test? I mean, you gotta test something out before they sell it, right? "Alright, I need you to give me the names and addresses of anyone who had access to one of these dolls." (All right, I'll call you back.) Did I tell him to call me back? No, I didn't think so, either. What part of wI'm on a time crunch does no one understand. I can't afford to have him take his time to look through their files. "No. No. No. No call back, I don't have time for you to call back. You put me on hold I'll wait." I told him. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so good at what I do, because then I would be more willing to pass on cases like this to another pair of detectives. But, no one will solve this like my partner and I. "What's going on?" King asked while I was on hold. "The doll, it's a prototype, they made it for test marketing, it-it's not even for sale yet." King groaned. The fact that we were both already this frustrated says a lot. (I'm back. Only 3 people have them.) "3. Only 3 people had access to these dolls?" If only 3 people have these dolls, that narrows down our list of suspects so much. Maybe, just maybe, we were finally catching a break. (Yes.) "Okay, what are their names?" I breathed a little easier, with only 3 people who have access to these dolls, it gave us a place to start. About damn time. "The haystack just got a little smaller." King commented as I began taking down the information. Yes, yes it did. It was like this light suddenly just shone down on us and I couldn't be more grateful. As soon as we narrowed down these 3 suspects, After I finished writing everything down, it would all be downhill from here; this case would be a slam dunk. Or so I thought. I looked up the first person on our list. We needed to get started now, no time to stop and smell the roses so to speak. "Okay, can you look up these two names for me, and call me when you get the information?" I asked a Detective on probation. And King and I drove to the first house. I wanted to be happy and relieved that we caught such an easy break, but I couldn't relax. I've been a detective long enough to know that there's gonna be another bump in the road that we'll have to overcome. As we arrived to the first house, the Detective called me. "Yeah? We found the second doll? Okay, yeah, great." I hung up. One more suspect weeded out. Still can't celebrate, yet. But, we're finally getting somewhere real. "The owner of the second doll is in China right now. She's out." I told King. The haystack just keeps getting smaller and smaller. I smiled. It was almost like this case was being handed to me. I had a very good feeling that we were gonna find Teresa very soon, and get that sick creep off the streets. "And doll number 1 is supposed to be in this dump?" King asked, sounding disgusted, looking up and down the street. I thought he was gonna puke or something. Sometimes he has a really weak stomach. It was kinda funny. Although I had to admit, this whole neighborhood was absolutely disgusting. I don't know how people can live like this. "Yeah, the rats in Staten Island live better than this." I commented as we walked down the stairs to this person's door. That's not an exaggeration, either. The alley way was filled with giant rats, and was lined with garbage, sewer drainage, and God only knows what else. I pounded on the door. I wanted to get in and out as soon as possible, for more reasons than one. Yes, I've been in gross places before, quite a bit and I'm used to it. But that doesn't mean that I have to like it. "Police, open the door!" King shouted as he pounded on the door again. We heard the door unlock, and then a man in his late 20s to early 30s opened the door. "You Oliver Peele?" I asked, showing my badge. "Yeah." He responded, sounding confused. I know it's bad, but, I kinda like scaring people. Just that initial look that people get on their face when they first realize I'm a cop is always priceless. I'll never not enjoy it. "We need to come inside." I told him. King stepped in. "Why? What's going on?" He asked. "Step inside." I ordered. When we stepped inside, there were all sorts of dolls everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE. I felt like I was in some sort of horror movie. My skin began crawling, this was going to be the most awkward and uncomfortable interview of my life. We need to get in, get what we need, and get out. "What is this?" King asked, looking slightly afraid. He began to look around. At least I'm not the only one who wants to jump out of their skin. It's moments like this that make me so grateful that Eliza was never really into dolls. Anyways, on with the investigation. "Hey," I began. He tried walking away. I love when people do that, any excuse to get rough.I get an excuse to raise my voice. "Hey!" I said it louder this time. He turned around, looking like he was so incredibly confused. But, I know better than to buy his act. Whether he's innocent or guilty, we'll figure out the truth. "Little girl went missing yesterday afternoon, where were you?" I asked him. "Here, probably." 's responded casually. Probably. Yeah, that's a rock solid alibi, it'll totally check out. You know, it amazes me how incredibly stupid people can be. But, it's like Dad says, if they were smart, we'd never catch 'em. "You for anybody to verify that?" I asked him, even though I was pretty sure that he didn't. He started to think really hard. I sniffed a bit deeper, and smelled alcohol that I somehow hadn't smelled before. This guy's either drunk or hungover, which means that anything he says right now is inadmissible. Fan-friggin-tastic. May as well get out of here. Besides, something tells me this guys isn't capable of anything like this. "Hey, wait a minute." King said. I looked at him, and he held up the doll. "Reagan, the sample. He has his, it's not him." Well, that's good. I guess. And he technically didn't tell us anything so, we can't get into trouble for anything. "Hey, you can't take that. I'm not done with it yet." Peele said to King, very defensively I might add. "Be my guest. Let's go." King said, raising an eyebrow and tossing the doll to him like it was on fire. Before we leave, I've gotta find out why a grown ass man has so many dolls in his place. "Aren't you a little too old to be playing with dolls?" I asked him before I headed out. "I'm a reviewer. For World Of Dolls Magazine?" Oh, wow. Okay, um.That's not weird at all. There has got to be something wrong with this kid. But, unfortunately, he's not a danger to himself or others so, I can't recommend him to be seen by a specialist. "Oh." Was all I could say. I trying to act normal. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. That is the dumbest job I've ever heard of. I can't understand why anyone would want to spend so much time with dolls. Of course, maybe I'm a tad bit biased. I turned around to leave. "I know what you're thinking, but mothers rely on me!" He called after us. Okay, what? They rely on you to make sure their children's dolls don't turn into freaking Chucky? As we walked up the stairs and to the car, my phone rang. "Reagan." I answered. "We got it? Hey, doll number three. Toy salesman named Donald Banse." I said to King, then went back to talking on the phone. "Nah, that's great. Put it out there." I hung up. This Banse guy has to be our guy, there's really no one else it could be. I just hope that Teresa is still alive. I can only imagine how scared she must be, if she's even coherent. Who knows what that sick son of a bitch has done to her? And, not to mention, I don't know what happens to diabetics when they go without their insulin (I'm not a doctor) . "What'd they get?" King asked. "He's got a Florida drivers license, so we got prints and his picture now." "Any local address?" "His wife's got a New York drivers license with an address right in our own backyard." I told him as we got in the car. I pounded the address into the GPS, and we took off. The entire way over, I just kept thinking about how, in all reality, Teresa's parents were handling everything well. Considerably. I know that if my daughter was the one who was senselessly kidnapped, I'd be a wreck; driving myself nuts yelling at everyone and everything, making everyone, especially myself, miserable. One thing that I know Teresa's parents and I would have in common; blaming ourselves for our daughters going missing. We pulled up to the house, and the driveway was empty. "I'm not seeing a white van." King commented. His wife was bringing the garbage around front. "Mildred Banse?" I asked, holding up my shield. "Yeah. Can I help you?" She responded. "Yeah, we need to talk to your husband, is he home?" King asked. "No. Why, what's he done?" She asked. She began playing with her cross that was around her neck. So I'm guessing that Donald Banse is a trouble maker. Nothing showed up on his background check. But, just because he wasn't convicted doesn't mean he didn't do anything. The way his wife was looking so timid, my bet is on domestic abuse. "We just need to talk to him, that's all." I commented. We may end up closing a kidnapping case, and opening up a domestic violence one. Two birds with one stone. "Do you mind if we look inside?" I asked. She's probably hiding him. "Look, I'm telling you, I haven't seen him in months. I'm divorcing the bastard, I just sent him the last box of his stuff." She told us. Huh. Okay, well, I wasn't quite expecting to hear that. But, good for her. I can already tell what a sick psycho Banse is, and I haven't even met the guy. "Oh yeah? Where?" King asked. "Inwood. The Lincoln Arms. But I-I don't know if he's still there." My partner and I looked at each other, a wave of panic surging through both of our veins. The Lincoln Arms is a popular hotel to stay in if you're going to be catching a flight. We couldn't let Banse leave the state, because then there was no longer anything we could do; he'd be out of our jurisdiction. Also, if he's leaving, Teresa might already be dead. So, we ran back to the car and drove to that location as quick as we could. I wasn't about to let this one slip through my fingers
MY POV
Back present day
"Alright, guys. I'd love to stay longer but I've got a big day tomorrow. It's my first tour." Uncle Jamie said, standing up and getting ready to leave. He like a little kid on Christmas morning, so excited and jumpy. He was smiling bigger than I had ever seen him smile. That smile will be gone by the end of his first tour, just watch. Dad said. I seriously doubt it though. Uncle Jamie always seems to have a lot of energy, and he's so passionate already about the job. I think it'll take a bit more than one tour. It'll happen, no doubt. It just might take a minute. "You have a tour tomorrow?" Aunt Erin asked, clearly surprised that he was already being scheduled to work. Doesn't surprise me. "Well, technically it starts at midnight. I might miss church but I'll of course make it to Sunday dinner." He commented. Oh man his first tour and it's a midnight one? Well, they are just throwing him right into this, aren't they,? Choruses of "Bye, Jamie!" Went around as he left. I hope everything goes well for him. I also hope he's got a good partner and can teach him a lot. "It's mine and Mom's turn to clean up." Nicky stated. Thank goodness, I really just wanted you get home. It's been a very emotionally exhausting day. Maybe Mom and I would just be able to relax tonight since Dad most likely won't be home. Well, relax as best as possible anyway. I just had to do one thing, first. "Okay, we're going to take off." Mom said. We hugged and kissed everyone goodbye, then left. When we got in the car, I asked Mom if we could stop by Uncle Joe's grave on the way home. The one thing I needed to do. I needed to talk to Uncle Joe about today, even if he can't respond to me. "Sure, sweetie." My family didn't know, but I visit Uncle Joe's grave every single day(it's down the street from my house). I sit by his grave and talk to him as if he's really right in front of me. I guess I haven't told them because, selfishly, that's something that I need just for me. Of course, now that I think about it, if I just told them that I needed that for me, they'd let me be. But, I don't know, i feel like that's rude. Maybe that's just me. When we pulled up, Mom asked me if I wanted her to wait. That would be a little awkward; not only because she'd be watching me and I'd feel uncomfortable the entire time, but also because it's likely she'd hear what I say. "Um, no. I'm good." I told her as politely as I could. I didn't wanna hurt her feelings. "You have your taser?" She asked. Mom and Dad makes me carry around both a taser and pepper spray for whenever I'm alone and could possibly need to defend myself. I mean, one or other, sure. But both at the same time? That's a little much, personally. But, if it makes them happy and brings them comfort, then, I'll do it. "Yes." I reassured her. "Okay. No more than an hour." "Got it, Mom." She drove off, and I walked to Uncle Joe's grave. I ran my fingers along his headstone; it felt so cold, yet, warm in a way. It was also the closest I'd ever get to touching Uncle Joe ever again. I slowly kneeled down in front of it. My body was totally numb, and my legs felt metal. There are days that I wish he was still here with us more than others, today was one of those days. He would have been screaming by far the loudest out of everyone in Madison Square Garden when the graduates walked in. He and Uncle Jamie would have sat on the couch before dinner and Uncle Joe would have given him all his tips and tricks about being out there, and what he could possibly expect for his first day. He also would have made "kidnapping" him a ton more fun. "Hey, Uncle Joe." I started. God, I'm going to be such a mess after this. "So, Uncle Jamie graduated from the Police Academy today, which I'm sure you already knew. We're all super proud of him, even Dad. But he won't admit it." I took in a slow breath, then let out a small chuckle. "Dad's always weird, isn't he?" I looked up and slowly shut my eyes. I believe that he's up in heaven, looking down on all of us, and that he knows what goes on with all of us. "I won't lie, I'm really scared. Scared for Dad, and now for Uncle Jamie. I haven't told anyone anything, I've been bottling everything up. I don't know if it's good or bad, but it's what I've been doing." I chuckled. "Guess I'm like my father in that way. I really, really miss you, Uncle Joe. I asked Grandpa today if I would ever get over losing you, and he gave me that smile, then said 'I hope not.' I'm definitely struggling more than anyone knows. So what do I do? People tell me that you're always by my side, but I don't know if you are. Are you?" I stopped and listened. There's a part of me that is always hoping I'll hear his voice. That I'll look around and he'll be there, it was all one big joke. Or I'll wake up from this terrible nightmare and he'll be by my side. But I know this is reality, and it's not a fairytale like it used to be. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive the people who did this to my family, who cut his life short. I know people say I need to in order to be able to start moving on from all of this, but, how can I forgive them if I'm pretty sure they're not even sorry? I sighed and said "I know you're in a better place, but I wish I could see you and hug you just one last time. To say goodbye. Things feel different now." I let out a breath, and shed a few tears. For the next 15 minutes, I just sat in front of him. I sat thinking about how, before he died, I was the most popular, outgoing girl in the school. I was friends with pretty much everyone, and I got invited to everything. And how I would sing at the drop of a dime. Now... Now, I don't know who I am anymore. I'm recluse, I only have a small handful of friends, and I question everything. I don't sing anymore. I probably suck now because of how long it's been. I need some sort of closure. I don't know how much closer I can get, since he died in a drug bust. I do admire the way he died, if that makes since. What he did everyday, and what Dad, Uncle Jamie, and Grandpa do everyday. I live in a family of heroes and couldn't be more proud. But it is super difficult. I opened the floodgates, and just started to cry "I'm so sorry, Uncle Joe. I'm sorry for who I've become, and the things I've done. I can't imagine how disappointed you must be in me." I broke down in tears, coughing and hiccuping because of how hard I was crying. My whole family always tells Nicky and I how they know we'll end up doing amazing things with our lives, how they know how successful we'll be and how they can only imagine what we'll do. Nicky, she's living up to the high expectations of our family; Straight A student, involved in Student Government, president of the Key Club, and she's even already looking into colleges, figuring out what the different requirements are. She's going places. Me? I get A's and B's. I'm not involved in any extracurricular activities. I know where I want to go to college, but Juilliard's acceptance rate is 7.2% so getting in is pretty much impossible. I've given this family absolutely nothing to be proud of. Do you know what that's like? To feel like you're the family disappointment? I looked at my watch; I only had 15 minutes before my hour mark was up. I didn't realize how much time I spent crying. "Well, I better get going. You know what my Mom's like when I'm late." I chuckled. "I miss you everyday." My voice started to shake. I kissed my hand then touched his headstone. "I love you so much, Uncle Joe." I got up, crossed, and walked home quickly before I started to cry again. As I began walking home, I just started crying again. Damn it. I'm pretty sure I've cried more today than I ever have in one day. Before I walked into the house, I wiped my tears and made sure I didn't look like I had just been crying. Though I don't know why I bother, you can't lie to my mother no matter how hard you try, I swear. She'll see that I've been crying hard, and especially since she dropped me off at Uncle Joe's grave, she's going to have questions. And for once in who knows how long, I'm okay answering them. I walked into the house, and Mom was watching T.V. I just stared at her with my puffy red eyes. I didn't want to hold it in anymore. "Mom?" I said weakly through the tears. Mom look at me and quickly stood up. I really needed her to be my shoulder to cry on right now. I don't want her to tell me to be strong, I want her to hold me and tell me that's it's okay to be broken and cry. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked gently. I just broke down crying, with every emotion I've been feeling recently crashing down on me. I was finally at my breaking point; never thought I'd live to see the day. Mom came over and hugged me, while petting my head. "Sh. It's okay. It's alright, baby. I'm right here." I'm going to completely soak her shirt in my tears. And get my makeup all over it. Well good thing Mom can get out pretty much any stain and that my makeup made it through the most important part of the day. I can't believe I'm even thinking about that right now. "I'm sorry." I said through the tears. Apologizing for crying and for getting her clothes dirty. "No. You have no reason to be sorry. It is okay to cry." She said, I could hear her tearing up herself. I breathed a sigh of relief as best I could. That was seriously all I needed to hear. I felt this huge weight lifted off my chest, I could breathe just a little easier. With Mom's arms wrapped around me, protecting me from the world for a little bit, I felt a wave of calm and peace crash over me. You know, I used to tell my Mom anything and everything, big or small, important or not. She and I could sit and talk for hours on end. I feel so bad that I've shut her out. I hate that I've shut not only her out, but, in all reality, I've shut everyone out. I know Uncle Joe wouldn't want me to live this way. But, I just don't know how to stop. Not yet. I will, eventually, though. At least, I think so. We slowly pulled apart, and she led me to sit down on the couch. "I just wanna go back to who I was before." I whispered to her, putting a strand of hair behind my ear. I needed to start being honest with her again. I'll start off slow. "Before what?" She asked. I think she knew but, for some reason or another, she wanted me to say it out loud. I wish she wouldn't make me say it out loud. I felt like there was this big lump in my throat that I was going to have to swallow before I could say what I needed to say. "Before I turned into a cold, heartless person." I admitted. I think whatever happened to me, the person I've become, happened so slowly that I didn't even realize it was happening. Right after Uncle Joe died, I was a little more okay; I was upset, of course, but, I think I was still in shock so, I still talked to people, I was still myself in all reality. I was grieving the same as the rest of the family. Until reality hit me that he was really gone. That's when everything changed. That's when I started building this wall around my heart to stop myself from getting close to anyone else and pushing the people that I was already close you away. "You are not cold and heartless. You just have a wall around your heart that we need to knock down." I nodded in agreement. I don't know which is worse; being so freaking sensitive that you feel everything stronger than everyone else, which is how I was before, or having yourself so guarded that you refuse to let yourself feel anything at all, which is how I am now. You know how some people have an event so significant or traumatic in their lives that their life is divided into two parts; before and after? Uncle Joe's death was that event not just for me, but also for my entire family. "I don't know how to. Not yet." I told her plainly. "Well, you will eventually." She said. I really do hope so. I hate the person I've become. "Mom, do you think we could have a girls night? Just watch movies and eat junk food? I could really use the time with you." I really just wanted to get my mind off of everything, and, one of my favorite past times is movie night with her. Of course, she'd probably have to run to the store; junk food isn't exactly stocked, or really around at all, in my house. Mom smiled at me softly and put her hand on my cheek. "I'd love to do that. Why don't you get a couple of movies picked out while I go grab some snacks." She said to me. I nodded happily. "I'll be right back." She said as she kissed me on the head, grabbed her keys and left. I smiled from ear to ear. I was so looking forward to a night alone with Mom. It had been way too long. I grabbed the chest that we kept our movies in and looked through them. Hm. I am so not in the mood for a chick flick night. I think the next time Dad has a day off, I'm going to get all of us together and have a movie night, because god knows he definitely needs to relax as well. I picked out Tangled and A League Of Their Own (Uncle Jamie and I debate whether or not that's a chick flick. I say it's not, he says it totally is.) It's a good thing I don't have school tomorrow, Mom will actually let me stay up and watch both of these. I swear, I went from being sick to my stomach because of how upset I was to just peaceful, happy, and almost excited. I'm seriously wondering if I should be tested for being bipolar. I'm so freaking screwed up it's not even funny. Well, actually, it kind of is. I went upstairs to my room to grab my pillow and blanket and threw it on the couch, then ran back up to my parent's room to grab a pillow and blanket for Mom. I walked into their room and turned on the light and walked towards their bed. I came upon a picture of my parents on their wedding day; Mom's hair was just below her shoulder blades, golden and shiny. Her blue eyes were sparkling. Dad, he was positively beaming. Smiling in a way I've only ever seen in this picture. It made my heart really happy to see them like that. I grabbed the pillow and blanket for Mom and by the time I made it back downstairs, she was back. Mom looked around and said "Wow, you are really pulling out all the stops." "Oh, yeah." I nodded. The rest of the night we watched movies, ate junk food, and just had some quality bonding time. We talked, gossiped, and laughed. It was a stress free night until we both went to bed at midnight. It's been a long time since I've had quality time like this with Mom, it was great. I went to sleep with a smile on my face.
DANNY'S POV
As we drove, I asked King "How much longer we got with this diabetes thing? Couple of hours?" "If that. Teresa's type 1. She could die of insulin shock." He replied. Seriously? Well, that's just fantastic, wonderful. I thought we had the 24 hours minimum, but she could already be dead? Dammit, I hate when I'm thrown a curveball like this. If we find her and she is not alive, I don't know how that'll affect me. And if I have to tell her parents that we found their daughter, but she's dead? Oh, my god, I can't even imagine. If Teresa does survive this, she's going to need some serious therapy, her and her parents. We pulled up to the Inn and began looking for the white van. We saw a van parked out front, but it was blue. But, it is the same type of van that took Teresa, so I wasn't 100% sure that it wasn't. I mean, paint jobs are a thing you know. I felt adrenaline pulsing through me, we were close, I could feel it. "No white van. Blue van." King commented. Yes, that is a blue van. I'll take Captain Obvious for 1000, Alex. I took a deep breath. Damn, I am being sassy today. Somedays I wonder why and how people put up with me. "Yeah..." I walked over to the van, grabbed my keys, and scraped the car with them, hoping for the best. Blue paint came off to reveal white. "Or maybe a white van, blue paint job." I said. Thank you, God. This is Banses' van, and he's in that Inn. I doubt Teresa is in there as well, though, because that would be entirely too easy. This guy was going to tell us where to find her. I don't care what it takes. I walked around to the front and looked in the driver's side window. When I looked in the window, I craned my neck in such a way that I was able to see the whole van. Unfortunately, the way I did it, I pulled a muscle in my neck. It felt like a pop and this burning pain surged through my neck causing my entire neck and head to feel like they've been set on fire. "Fuck." I whispered, putting my hand. I had to stop for a second, because my vision went blurry. My vision could not have returned to normal fast enough. Every wasted second made the chances of finding Teresa alive grow slimmer. Finally, I was able to see well enough again. I saw something in the back. Damn it. I swear to god if that's Teresa, Donald Banse is dead meat. He's already toast. "There's something in the back." I told King, trying to open the door; but it was locked. I could feel the panic rising, my chest felt like it was being squeezed so hard. If this girl dies, it'll be on my head. I went back around to the rear window. "It looks like he fixed the crack in his window." King commented. Yep. Too bad, cuz I'm about to create another crack. More than one. Actually, i'm just gonna break his window how about that? Since I always give 110%. I whipped out my wand and said "Yeah, well, he'll have to fix this one, too." I said as I broke the rear window totally open. That felt really good. Released a bit of tension. I looked for her and didn't see her. I was both relieved and infuriated. "She's not here." I stated as I reached in and unlocked the doors. I felt exasperated. I'm not gonna lie, I was absolutely terrified that we were not going to find Teresa. I was so sure this would be a case that I was not gonna be able to solve. And I'd never be able to get it out of my head that I couldn't save a little girl's life. How was I supposed to face my little girl after that? How was I gonna tell these parents that either a) we couldn't find their daughter or b) we found their daughter and she's dead? If this case goes unsolved, it'll haunt me for the rest of my life. This'll be one that I'll have nightmares about for who knows how many years to come. I didn't think I was gonna be able to solve it, but, that doesn't mean I couldn't not give this everything I've got. I opened the doors and there was a pink bag and a white box. What the hell? Maybe this guy always wanted kids, the opportunity never presented itself and it drove him so mad that he kidnapped Teresa to be his own daughter? Some of the pepsI deal with are pure psychopaths, and this guy isn't even the worst of them all. How about that?"What's this?" King asked. He grabbed the box, and I grabbed the bag. "A Communion Dress." King said. "Votive Candles. The good news is, he didn't light 'em yet. Let's check inside, close it up." I could not wait to look this guy in the eye and find out why. Why on he would do this to an innocent little girl, what in his head or what part of his head made him think this was okay. We went inside the Inn, and talked to the receptionist. "We're looking for Donald Banse. What room is he in?" King asked. The receptionist typed a few things into her computer, then said "Room 207." "Okay, thank you." King said. It's always a refreshing change of pace when people just automatically cooperate with us and give us what we need. But, it feels really weird at the same time. We ran up to his room. We stood on either side of the door. We nodded at each other, then I knocked on the door. "Police, open up." I said very calmly. He opened the door. "Donald Banse?" I asked. "Yes, I am. How can I help you?" He asked casually. This guy is going to act like he's done absolutely nothing wrong, like he's so confused as to why we were here. I've done nothing wrong, so, unless you're arresting me, we're done here. That's alright, I like a good fight. "We're coming inside." I told him. King walked past him. "Hey!" He shouted. Aw, poor thing is getting very annoyed with us already. I was preparing for this guy to get violent. And,I gotta be honest with you, I hope he does start throwing punches. I want an excuse to wail on him. "Step aside." I ordered. There were bags packed on the bed. I sighed in frustration. Looks like we got here just in time, the son of a bitch was gonna try to run off! Leaving Teresa god knows where. Uh uh, no way. Not on my watch. Donald Banse will pay for what he's done, and I will be the one to bring him to justice, mark my words. "He's packing his bags. You going somewhere?" King asked him. He scoffed, not answering. Oh, so he's gonna be uncooperative as well? Let me tell you, this guy was just making my day. Everything he does makes me look forward to bringing him down even more. People like him, they make my blood boil; and watching their face when they realize it's over for them, and they're going down? It's one of the most satisfying things I have ever known. "Where's the little girl?" I asked him. "I don't know what you're talking about." I rolled my eyes. This guy couldn't honestly expect me to believe him, could he? I was so through playing games. I am not in the mood for this guy's crap. We don't have the time to slowly get the truth out of him, nor did I have the patience to do it. I was growing more frustrated by the second. "Yeah, you do. When you snatched her off the street you dropped your sample doll in the gutter, now where is she?" I told him. "The doll was stolen from my van. I was gonna give it to my niece for her first communion." He said. He does not get to play the victim in any way, shape, or form. Though, I had to hand it to the guy; a brand new detective might actually believe him. Good thing I'm not brand new, huh? "Oh, you mean the van that you painted blue and changed the cracked window on?" I pointed out, hoping that would trip him up. I just needed him to slip, even if it was just in the slightest. I could feel the panic, once again, slowly build. I swear to god if I don't find Teresa, alive, I will never forgive myself. She must be absolutely terrified. "You know what? I don't even have to talk to you people, I know my rights." Okay, fine. You know what? This guy wants to play games? Fine, we'll play games. But, he should know, I don't play nice. "Fine, don't talk to us." I turned him around and pushes him up against the wall. I took out my handcuffs and began to put them on him. "What, are you arresting me?!?" Why else would I be putting cuffs on you, jackass? The panic building up inside me was quickly replaced by rage. I was so pissed off, I felt like I could actually feel my blood heating up, setting the rest of my body on fire. "Up against the wall." I ordered. King began to read him his rights. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can-" "Alright, fine. Take me downtown, my lawyer will have me out in an hour. Then maybe I will see my little niece." That set me off. That's it, I am through screwing around! This guy is going down. Hard. His ass is going to jail where he can't hurt anybody anymore. I don't care what it takes. I turned him back around. "What did you just say?" I said through pursed teeth. He just laughed. I grabbed his head and threw him down. "Get off me!" He screamed. "Come here. Come here!" I said. I was furious, stressed out, and my time frame for finding Teresa alive kept getting smaller. I'll be breaking rules, but I'll deal with the backlash later. "Hey!" King was trying to calm me down. Most of the time, he can get me to reason. But, not today. I pushed Banse into the bathroom. "Danny, let's take him downtown." King said, following me. "Oh, get off me!" He screamed as I placed him right in front of me. "Go call it in." I ordered King. "Let's take him downtown." He said again. The guy kept struggling against me. "Reagan, let's tale him downtown." He attempted again. We don't have time to call it in or to wait for any sort of backup. Teresa's life is in our hands right now. And it's a ticking time bomb. I know that I'll probably jam myself up because of the way I'm going about this, but, if Teresa gets to live a long, happy life with her family, and this creep gets put behind bars so that he can't hurt anyone else, it'll be more than worth it. "We don't have time, the girl needs insulin. Go outside and call it in!" He finally gave up and went outside. Leaving me alone might not have been the smartest move on his part, but, I'm really glad that he did. I smirked a little in my mind, if that's even really possible. Well, if I'm gonna do this, I may as well have a little fun with it. I decided to take Eliza's advice, I'll swirlie this guy if it'll get him to talk. I grabbed the hair on his head and pulled it back to look at me. "Hey, you gonna tell me where she is?" He kept quiet. I was really hoping that his face basically in the toilet would make him see that I'm not dicking around. Oh well, he'll just have to go for a little swim now, won't he? "No? Alright, get in there." I stuck his head in the toilet. After a few seconds, I pulled him back up. "Where is she?" "Go to hell." He said, gasping. "You first." I used my foot to flush the toilet, and stuck his head back in. I brought him back up. I got in his face and said "I'm gonna give you one last chance to tell me where she is. Right now!" "I don't know!" "No?" This guy was a tough but to crack, but I had one last trick up my sleeve. I started to bang his head against the toilet. "Alright!" She's in my storage locker!" He said after a few bangs. Unbelievable; this sick on of a bitch was keeping a little girl in a storage locker. It's not like she's an animal! Of course, you should treat animals better than that, too. But, that's beside my point. I stood him up and said "was that so difficult? Get me the keys, now." He shakily got up and I followed him to the living room. He grabbed a key from his coat pocket and handed it to me. The name read Monsignor Nicholas, and I felt sick to my stomach. I got up in his face. "You'll get yours, I promise you." I said. In a low whisper. Which only happens when I'm pissed off beyond words or comprehension. I brought him out to the car. "What happened to him?" King asked. "I'll explain later, let's get going." We got in, King put on the sirens, and it was pedal to the metal. Now that we knew where Theresa was, I felt like I could breathe a little bit easier. Only like a sliver, but still. Still, no one's out of the woods, yet. "This storage locker we're going to, the name he rented it under-Monsignor Nicholas, Patron Saint of Kids." I told King on the way. This guy is not only a creep, he is so freaking sick in the head. Nothing can excuse what he's done, and I hope the jury on his case feels the same way. Banse began saying a Hail Mary. Hearing someone like him say something like that literally made my skin crawl. "Hey, shut your face. I said shut your mouth!" I yelled at him. We pulled up to the storage place. "You better hope she's still alive." King told him as I got out of the car. As I opened the gate, 911 showed up. I walked in, and began calling Teresa's name, hoping she would respond. The panic began to build up again, but also that feeling I got when I was close to the end (I can't explain it); I was so close to her, I could feel it. All day I've been so worried that we would never get to her in time and now, I'm only seconds always. My adrenaline pulsed through me, and I ran faster than ever as I turned a corner, and found the locker. I unlocked the door, and there was Teresa, unconscious, hopefully just asleep. To get this close and have her dead? I'd almost rather not find her at all. Almost. At least if she is dead, we'll all know what happened to her; her parents, Demarcus and I won't have to spend the rest of our lives wondering what if? I slowly approached her. "Teresa? Hey, wake up." I said gently as I softly shook her. She jerked awake, terrified. Poor baby, she is terrified. She probably thought she would never see her parents again. And she's shaking. Probably in part from the fear and part from the diabetes. She's not out of the woods, yet. But, she's on the very edge of the woods. "No, no. It's okay. I'm a police officer alright? I'm gonna get you home." She nodded. She had a little bit of hope in her eyes. God, it's freezing in here, and she's been in here for hours and hours. "Here." I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her. Her mouth was duct taped. I cannot believe him. It will never cease to blow my mind how some humans can treat other humans, especially children. Banse has no conscious. Because of him, Teresa probably gonna be in therapy for the rest of her life. But at least she'll have rest of her life; and that's thanks to Demarcus and me. "I'm gonna take this off real quick, okay? It's gonna hurt but..." I quickly ripped it off. Her lips were blue. Poor girl. I gotta get her to the hospital and fast. But, we did it. I didn't think we'd be able to do it, but, we did. "Okay. You're gonna come with me now." I picked her up and ran outside. She gripped onto me for dear life. "I'm gonna make sure you're safe." I assured her. She was crying, and my heart was breaking. "Where's my Mama?" She asked as we went outside. One thing that I've noticed is that whenever a child is sick, injured, or in trouble, the first person that they call for is their mother. "You're gonna see her real soon." I promised her. "Where's my Mama?" She asked again. "It's okay, listen, these are doctors, they're gonna take you to the hospital. And you're Mama and Papa are going to be waiting for you, okay?" I explained to her as I handed her off to an EMT. "She needs insulin right away." I told them, they nodded in acknowledgment. I took a breath of relief; Teresa was out of the woods, she's gonna be just fine. And Banse is gonna get locked away so that he can't do this to anyone else. King came up to me, smiling. "Hey, we won one." "Yeah, we did. Doesn't get much better than that." I responded. I was over the moon, just like I was whenever I successfully closed a case. Another family is going to stay together because of us. We made a difference today. "Police brutality! He tried to drown me, this officer right here tried to drown me! He shoved my head in a toilet!" Banse screamed from the backseat of the car. I sighed, knowing that was going to cause problems. And it would not be pretty.
Later that day, Erin met with the judge and Banse's lawyer to try to convince them to do a fair trial. Apparently, since I shoved the guy's head in a toilet, any information obtained is "inadmissible in a court of law". Give me a break; he didn't have to go to the hospital or anything, he's fine. And, more importantly, Teresa is alive. That should be all that matters. Freaking lawyers have to complicate everything. I was waiting outside the office. I seriously just cannot believe that this is even up for discussion; Banse is a sick son of a bitch who deserves to be locked away for the rest of his life! End of story. When Erin came into her office, I could tell by the look on her face that it wasn't good news. And the way she glared at me. Let's just say, if looks could kill, I would be dying a slow and painful death right now. Even though I wasn't sure that I wanted to know, I asked her what happened. And braced myself. "What happened? It's a disaster, that's what happened." She responded. Yeah, I gathered that one. Just tell me why it's a disaster. She is such a girl, being so dramatic like that. It's not that hard to just come out with it. "Stop with the dramatics and just tell me." I said. "What exactly did you think you were doing?" She asked angrily. Um. I was doing my job. I was doing my job and stopping a family from being torn apart. What the hell did she mean, what did I think I was doing? Okay, so, maybe I went a little overboard. But, I still say everyone is overreacting. "What do you mean?" I was saving a little girl's life." I pointed out, getting frustrated. "What, so this pervert can go prey on some other little girl? He's probably gonna walk because you trashed the evidence." No, uh uh. If this guy walks, it's gonna be because the judge was crappy and the jury was stupid. I did my part, now everyone else needs to do theirs. We didn't trash the evidence. We got the van in custody. CSU's all over it for DNA and fibers" I told her. "Yeah, well, you better hope they find something. Or you find something. You have until Monday." I have until Monday, and it's Friday? They're not really giving us any slack or cooperation. I'm not gonna get any sleep this weekend. "Woah, what'd you mean, I only have until Monday?" I asked her. "Monday, because that's when they're going to let the scumbag go. You crossed the line, Danny." They can't let him go! He led us to where he was holding her, we found the van at the hotel he was staying at, he did all but draw us a map about how he did it. And now they're gonna let him go because he got a little banged up? How is that okay in any way? "Hey, get off my case." I said, irritated. I didn't need her attitude right now. Everyone else was already pissing me off. I needed someone on my side in this. "Oh, I'll be getting off your case, you're my brother. I'll have to recuse myself if this goes to trial, but that's a really big 'if" isn't it?" She glared at me one last time, then walked away. I glared at her as she walked away, because she was right, and I knew it.
MY POV
Nicky and I were in the living room at Grandpa's place, doing our homework. (We got away with not doing it yesterday because we didn't even go to school yesterday because, you know, it was Uncle Jamie's PA graduation.) I could feel tension in the room from the very beginning, but couldn't figure out why, until; "So, has your Dad told you anything about that missing little girl?" Nicky asked after an hour. I looked up from my homework at her. From her tone of voice and her facial expression, I could tell that she's been dying to ask that. I sighed. "It's still technically an ongoing investigation. You know he's not allowed to talk about it." I said, getting back to my homework. She nodded. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she was staring at me awkwardly. It was quiet for another minute, but I knew she wasn't going to drop it that easily; she's a Reagan for crying out loud, we don't give up easily, if at all. She is totally freaked out, and, secretly, I am, too. "It said online that it wasn't a custodial argument or a ransom." She said, her voice low, as if she was trying to avoid being heard by anyone but me. I nodded, staring off into the distance, remembering how I got all of the different articles about the kidnapping, how they were all different. But the one thing they all said; there was no motive for the kidnapping. I think those are the absolute scariest, because I bet it's harder to reason with those people. They're just sick in the head. "Yeah. Yeah, that guy is just sick in the head." I said, trying to avoid the subject I knew she would be bringing up any moment now. "That could have been either of us." She said. And there it was. I think the reason I didn't want her to say it is because I knew she wasn't wrong. I slowly closed my notebook and hesitantly turned to her. I was not looking forward to this conversation. "Yeah. It could have been. It really can happen to anyone. No matter how safe you try to be..." I trailed off. I probably shouldn't be so scared but, at the same time, how can I not be? I mean, we live in the most vibrant city in the world, the city that never sleeps. The city of whackjobs. There's no telling what could happen. I can't tell Nicky, that, though. Not right now. My goal is to calm her down, not make it so that she never wants to set foot outside her house again. I shook my head, pulled myself together and said "But it wasn't. We're safe, happy and healthy. Let's not take advantage of that." After everything that's happened in my life, I've learned to not take a single second that you are happy and healthy for granted. She nodded in agreement. "Besides, if either one of us was ever kidnapped, that son of a bitch would regret the day he was born, and you know it." I was saying that to calm her down, as well as myself. That made her laugh, thank goodness. "Seriously, Dad and Uncle Jamie would probably emasculate the guy." I said, laughing. That, or Grandpa would make him disappear with no traceable evidence. The point is, if one of us were ever kidnapped, we would be found pretty damn quickly. Pretty soon we were both laughing so hard that there was no noise coming out, and we just sat there clapping like seals. "God, you are the worst." She said, wiping a tear and catching her breath. "I am truthful." I told her. I'm definitely what's known as the comic relief of the family. Whenever someone is sad, or scared, worried, etc, I do everything I can to make them laugh. Don't get me wrong, I know when it's appropriate to do so and when it's not. Pops walked in. "Truthful about what?" He asked, sitting down. Nicky and I looked at each other, smiling and pursing our lips. "Nothing." I said, using everything I had to not start laughing again. "Oh, no. Come on, you know the rules; no secrets in this house." Pops said, sitting in his chair. I looked at Pops and shrugged my shoulders. I love Pops, but with a joke like this, he'll over analyze it for sure. I'll tell him anyways. This should be fun. Not. "I just told Nicky that if either one of us was ever kidnapped Dad or Uncle Jamie would emasculate the guy." I said matter-of-factly. "Eh, you don't have to worry about that." Pops said, waving his hand and leaning back. I gave Nicky a look that said "I told you so." She stuck her tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes. She hates it when I'm right. Which isn't often, so I enjoy it when I can. "Don't you girls forget, that your grandfather has 35,000 armed men and women at his disposal. If anything ever happened to either of you, every single one would be on the lookout. Now, get back to your school work." We nodded, and did as Pops said. I groaned. 7 hours a day in school isn't enough? Sometimes, I think homework is really stupid. But, I do it anyways. As we were doing our homework though, I could not stop thinking about what Nicky said, because the scary thing is; she's right. I mean, you would think I'd feel more safe than others, considering the crowd that I eat Sunday dinner with but honestly, sometimes I feel like that makes us more of a target at times. I was very jumpy after that, my leg was doing a nervous twitch. I was just so on edge, thinking about how now I'm probably going to question everyone and everything more than I already do. I just wanna live in peace. It's just so crazy to me how many bad people are out there. It blows my mind. Just when I thought I was going to lose it, I finished my homework. I slammed my notebook shut and stood up in a flash and paced around. I took in a deep, shaky breath, literally feeling like I was going to have a mental breakdown. My hands were clammy and sweaty, I ran all of my fingers through my hair, and then had to put my hands in fists to keep them from shaking. I felt like I was literally either going nuts, or was about to punch or kick a wall. I don't know why this was freaking me out so bad. I mean, stuff like this happens all the time. And it's not like this is the first kidnapping case he's been on in my life. For whatever reason, this one just really got Nicky and I spooked. "Eliza, you okay?" Nicky asked, looking up from her homework. "Yeah, I'm fine." I said, my voice shaking slightly, and suddenly I felt like I was out of breath. I was very light headed, I thought I was going to faint. I cannot wait for this case to be done and over with. "E, what is wrong?" She asked again, grabbing my shoulders. I grabbed her wrists, mostly to steady myself, but also to try to convince her that I was good. "I'm-I'm good." She looked at me with her sad eyes, which almost always got me to tell the truth, because if she looked at me with those eyes long enough, it drove me so insane that I would tell her just so she'd knock it off. She shook her head at me, like she was disappointed or something. I looked at her the same way, and she knew without me saying any words, this case just shook me to the core; Dad always says there are those cases that affect the whole family, this is one. We just held each other for a few minutes. Both comforting one another. "I'll always protect you." I told her. If anyone tried to hurt her, I would go bat shit crazy on them. You do not mess with my family and get away with it. I get that she's only a few months younger than me, but I still love her and protect her more of like a big sister than an older cousin. We've always been way more like sisters than cousins. "And I'll always protect you." She told me. I am so grateful that my cousin is my best friend. She's really the only person on this planet, aside from my parents, Uncle Jamie and Uncle Joe, that I will willingly cry in front of. And let me tell you guys. She may be little, but she is fierce. I definitely would not want to get on her bad side. After a few minutes, I pulled myself together. I only allow myself a few minutes of feeling sorry for myself. Because, in all reality, it's not going to do anyone any good, especially with this. But, sometimes, you gotta allow yourself to feel sorry for yourself. I typically do it at night when I'm alone. I normally hate showing emotions in front of people. I don't care right now, though. "Uh, your Mom will be here any minute. You better pack your stuff." I said, pulling away from her. I wish she didn't have to leave, but, Grandpa likes to spend some one on one time with Nicky and I and tonight is my turn. I'm really looking forward to it, I really am. I think be really nice and relaxing. Plus, talking to Grandpa always manages to help me clear my head and regain composure. It's gonna be a good night. "Yeah. Are you still spending the night here tonight?" She asked me. "Oh, yeah. I had totally forgotten." I lied. Mom was working graveyard tonight, and Lord knows Dad isn't going to rest until he closes this case, so that's part of the reason why I'm spending the night at Grandpa's tonight. I'm not hoping to get my mind off of everything tonight, I'm just hoping to get everything a little bit better organized in my mind. It's all such a mess right now. I just need to get it cleaned up, if that makes sense. There was honk outside 30 seconds later. "That's my Mom. I better go." I nodded. She hugged me one last time. "Text me if you need anything, okay?" She said in my ear. "You too." I said, swallowing the tears.
When she walked out the door, Pops said "listen, why don't I break out the Scrabble board? Double or nothing." I forced a smile and said "sure, sounds great." I really didn't feel like doing anything, but I never say no to Scrabble normally, and I didn't want to raise any red flags. That didn't work. He may be retired, but he can still smell a lie from a mile away. He stood and looked at me. "Something on your mind, Eliza?" He asked. I closed my eyes, and thought about whether or not I wanted to tell him anything because here's the thing; I really don't know what's wrong. Something just feels out of place, but I don't know what it is. How insane would that sound? I mean, if the situation was reversed and someone they told me that they were extremely upset, but didn't know why, I would think that they've lost their mind. I'm pretty sure that my family already thinks that I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown, and I didn't wanna add to that. I shook my head. He continued staring at me. "I don't know what's wrong." I whispered. He scoffed. "You know you can talk to me." And if I actually had something to talk to him about, I would. My anxiety skyrocketed, and I suddenly felt like my jaw was locking. That's how I know I'm having a really bad anxiety attack. These kinds don't happen as much as they used to, which I'm extremely grateful for. But, when they do happen, like I said, my jaw tightens and that makes me panic even more. "I know. Seriously. I just feel like there's something wrong, or something's out of place. I just don't know." I made fists with my hands, because I was starting to get really worked up. He nodded. And I knew that he instantly understood what I was going through. Thank god. So I'm not a complete nut job. "The day your Uncle Joe died, I felt the same way. Like something was out of place. I just dismissed it as nerves. But now..." He trailed off, looking down and to the right. I saw the pain and guilt in his eyes, as if he was partly responsible for Joe's death. He feels like he bears some responsibility, and so does Grandpa. I'm sure Dad does, too. It's really hard to see. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Pops, there's nothing you could have done. Even if you had said something to Grandpa or my Dad, it would have been too late." I pointed out. He knows I'm right, too. But, you know, we Reagan's are way too hard on ourselves. Which is a good thing in some situations, and really bad in other situations like this one. He sighed. "Maybe so. But the point is, to always trust your gut and your instincts. You're a Reagan, it won't lead you wrong." I took a deep breath. That. Did not help whatsoever. Thanks, Pops. If I thought my anxiety was high a minute ago, it's nothing compared to what I'm feeling now. Sometimes, I really wish that he had it in his nature to sugarcoat things just a little bit. Not a whole lot, just a bit, and not all the time; very rarely. Is that really too much to ask? I think I'd rather just go pretend to have fun at Scrabble (which I will actually have fun once we get started) than have this conversation. "Come on, let's go play Scrabble. I'm gonna crush you." I laughed, running to the kitchen. "Oh, it's on!" He called after me. I needed to try to shake this feeling, and have fun with my great grandfather. He's one of the greatest guys I've ever known. Okay, so maybe I'm a bit biased, but it's still true. I went to the closet in the hall to grab the game. I put the game on the kitchen table and began to set it up. No one else in the family will be Scrabble with Pops and I, because we get super competitive. Plus, we're also amazing at it. This will take a few hours. Good thing we've got nothing else to do. As we were getting ready to start, Grandpa called my phone. I felt disappointed because no doubt he was calling to tell me that he was gonna be stuck in the office late tonight. "Don't even think about answering it." Pops said. "It's Grandpa." I told him. "Fine, answer." "You know, Pops, cell phones are not evil." I sighed, slightly annoyed. I get that Nicky and I are on ours a lot, but, good god, the adults in this family need to chill. Cell phones are sort of vital in the world today. No, Nicky and I don't need one, but it sure does make life easier. Pops is very old fashioned when it comes to cell phones; he does not like them. "Hey, Grandpa." I picked up the phone. (Hey, sweetheart. I'm not gonna be home until at least midnight so, don't wait up for me. If you guys wanna order in, be my guest.) My heart sank a little. Did I call it or did I call it? It seems like everytime I try to spend a night with Grandpa, PC duties call. I know he doesn't do it on purpose but, sometimes it sure seems that way. I understand, though. I do. Grandpa is a really amazing Police Commissioner, and when his department needs him, he never backs down. I'm telling you, there is no one who backs this department more than him. If he's staying until midnight? Something big has hit the ceiling, "Aw, man. I was looking forward to a night alone with you and Pops." (And you will, just not tonight. Sorry, sweetheart.) "It's fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you." (Love you, too.) I hung up, sighing in disappointment. I was hoping to be able to talk to Grandpa about the letter I found, the letter that I had completely forgotten about. How I'm probably disappointing Uncle Joe to no end. Hoping maybe he could give me some advice and/or words of comfort, like he always does. I also wanted to bring up how the letter is dated a week before he was killed. That was really gnawing at me, i'm not completely sure why, but it was. But, I guess that can wait. It's rough living in a family of people with high end jobs. Ask Nicky, she'll tell you the same thing. "What's going on?" Pops asked. "Grandpa has a late night at the office. He told us to order in." Pops lit up, he was clearly thrilled. Thrilled that we get to order in. I could tell he was slightly worried about Grandpa. I think he always is when he stays late at the office. But he won't let it outwardly show. I'm sure Grandpa is fine. Physically. I'm sure he's probably going through a lot on the inside right now. I just hope everything's gonna be okay. This definitely does not tame my gut feeling that something is wrong. "Chinese?" We both said at the same time. We smiled at each other. Chinese is a very popular take-out choice in this family. Well; Scrabble and Chinese food? It doesn't get much better than that. I was feeling happy and calm. I was relaxed. It felt good. It was kinda like a high. I know, horrible comparison but, that's all I got. No, I don't know what it's like to be high, but, I would imagine it would feel like this. So, Pops and I ordered Chinese food. When it arrived, we sat down at the table and began our Scrabble Showdown. It's been a minute since we played, hopefully I'm not too rusty. I can't have him beating me; I won't have that shame put on my head. I need to defend my title. "Now, remember, don't cry when you lose." He said. "Thinking out loud there, Pops?" I asked. He looked at me, clearly he didn't expect me to be all that sassy tonight. Or maybe he just hoped I wouldn't be. I chuckled; I was pretty proud of that one. "Alright, missy. I was gonna go easy on you tonight. But not anymore." He said, wagging his finger. Yeah, right. It's not in his nature to take it easy on anyone for anything. I don't want him to take it easy on me. I could use a really good challenge. "Oh, please don't." I said. He straightened his posture. As far as he was concerned, I just declared war. Which I did. It is so on and I cannot wait. Hopefully I don't kick his butt too bad. I mean, he makes Sunday dinner. I pumped my arms back and forth. Let's do this. "May the odds be ever in your favor." I smirked. "Huh?" He said, confused. Oh, for the love of. "Hunger Games?" I told him. "Is that some sort of game you play at dinner?" "Never mind." I get that he's old but I mean, come on. I'd have thought he would have at least heard about it. As we played, I began to realize he had been practicing. Well, damn. I'm really gonna have to up my game. He was coming up with words that I never even knew existed. I wanted to pull out my phone and look them up, because I didn't believe the words were real, but Pops made me pull out a dictionary. "That's gonna take 10 times longer." I told him. "I don't care. Look it up the old fashioned way or not at all." I snarled as I grabbed the dictionary. We were at it for two hours. As we were playing, he asked me how school was going. I shrugged my shoulder. "It's going okay. My GPA is still 4.0 and that's all that matters." I told him. School has been rough. I have anxiety during the day, I don't sleep very well at night because I have nightmares almost constantly so, I have a hard time staying awake. I have the hardest time focusing. How I've managed to maintain a perfect GPA amazes me. "You used to enjoy school like it was no one's business." He commented. I used to absolutely love school; I loved to learn. I can't blame that changing on Uncle Joe dying. I don't know when that happened. "I'd like to be able to again." I said. Then we continued to play. By the time we were done, my head hurt so bad. I've never had a game give me such a headache. "Well, you may have come up with words that are only used in the dictionary but, I still crushed you." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, clearly frustrated. I chuckled. "You're definitely my granddaughter." We packed up the game, then we went to bed at 10. Well, Pops went to bed. I was on the couch, you see. But I couldn't sleep. Something was wrong; I could feel it. I was having an anxiety attack that made my jaw feel like it was locking, and I felt like I had just drank 4 cups of coffee. I have never felt this on edge in my life, and that's saying a lot. I sat there, my leg fidgeting, my hands in fists pressed hard against my lap. My heart felt heavy, and I was totally out of it. If only I was allowed to call Mom or Dad at work. But, I can't unless it's an emergency. And my anxiety acting up wasn't an emergency, it was a daily occurrence. I miss back before Uncle Joe got killed, when I didn't have anxiety. When I would just worry about stuff, not when my heart would palpitate at an alarming level. Those were the days. I stood up and began pacing, trying to clear my head. I wish I could shake this feeling, but I can't, and it's driving me nuts. And like Pops said, the Reagan gut never lies. I was hoping he would tell me to calm down, that everything was fine and I was just being paranoid. Of course, the one time I want him to tell me that and he doesn't. This family does not need a repeat of 2 years ago. I mean, yes, what happened to Uncle Joe brought us closer together, and I have no doubt that if it happened again, it would bring us even closer. But, please. Just no. I don't know if we're strong enough to go through that again. People thought losing Uncle Joe destroyed me. If Dad or Uncle Jamie died, I'm honestly afraid of what would happen to me. Topping one of them dying on everything else? That really could be the one thing that pushes me over the edge. I was startled by a door shutting what felt like forever later. I turned around and saw Grandpa. I put my hand on my chest and leaned over, trying to catch my breath. For the love of God; why must people scare me like that? My heart can only take so much, you know. I know you're going to say that they don't do it on purpose, but I don't believe that most of the time. Of course, I'm also more jumpy tonight than what is normal for me. Grandpa is bound to notice that. I mean, I'm not typically afraid of doors. "Little jumpy, are we?" Grandpa asked, smiling at me. Told you. After I gained my composure again, I said, "No. No, I'm not jumpy." While avoiding eye contact. He looked at me, with an expression that told me he totally did not believe me. Grandpa can see right through everyone in this family. Literally. Everyone. This is one thing that I just do not want to talk to him about. I just wanted to sleep, to be totally exhausted, but my anxiety wouldn't let me sleep. That is probably one of the most vicious cycles ever. "I had a bad dream." I said convincingly. I mean, I wasn't completely lying. A bad dream just implies that I was asleep, and I haven't fallen asleep once, not even for a second. It was more of just like a bad thought. Bad daydream? "What about?" Ugh, I was hoping he wouldn't ask me that. I cupped my hands together, slowly turned away from him, and began. "I dreamt that... Something bad had happened to Dad and Uncle Jamie, and you all knew, but didn't tell Nicky or I..." I slowly turned back to him, hesitating slightly, because I didn't want to see his face. I was wondering if I said that, he would tell me that something bad did happen, and they just weren't sure how to tell us. He looked down, nodding, the way he does when he hears something he doesn't want to, and I instantly regretted my decision. I don't know what made me think that was a smart idea. I blame the lack of oxygen to my brain due to lack of sleep. He's gonna give me the 3rd degree; I just know it. "Why would we not tell you?" He asked. He wasn't necessarily glaring, but he did not look happy. He tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders, like he was trying to see through something. But when he asked me that, I suddenly realized how ridiculous I was being; if something happened to Dad or Uncle Jamie, or even Mom, Grandpa would know in seconds, and I'd know not too long after that. In hindsight, I really don't know what I was thinking. I felt a little better, but, I was still anxious. Regardless, I think I feel calm enough to sleep. "I-i don't know." "You're mature enough to know when a family member is seriously injured and take it with grace. Or at least I thought so. Am I wrong?" 'No! No." "Have we ever lied to you, or kept something like that from you?" I rolled my eyes. God, can't he just drop it? "No! God, just forget I said anything." I went over to the couch, and pretended to go to sleep. And thankfully, Grandpa dropped it. I have never felt so agitated with him in my whole life. I'm actually surprised that he didn't rip me a new one for raising my voice at him.
DANNY'S POV
Time skip to the next day
I took a quick break from trying to get any physical evidence that I could to get this Banse guy locked up to drop off the roast at Dad's house for Sunday dinner tomorrow. I knew once I walked into the house, I would get ambushed. Well, ambushed implies that it would be a lot of people. Basically Dad and/or Grandpa will rip me a new one, I guarantee it. But I guess I kind of deserve it. I walked into the house, and found Dad in the kitchen. "Hey, Dad." I greeted him, walking over to the fridge and put the meat in. "Hey." "I brought over the meat here from Eddie's for tomorrow. Linda says you should probably take it out about 2 hours before you go to Mass." I walked towards the door, but I could feel Dad practically breathing down my neck. It would be rude to just walk out, plus, I really don't think he'd let me. I so did not want to talk about this, but I don't think I have a choice. Thank goodness I was preparing in my head what I was going to say the entire way over here. So, I turned around and he was giving me that look; that Dad look. He was shooting daggers at me, there's no other other way of putting that. I can't believe everybody is getting so upset about this. I got the girl back safe and sound and Banse is fine. Physically. Mentally he's very screwy. I gave a wry chuckle and said "I guess you heard?" Putting my hands in my pocket. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "Not the best news." He commented. No. It was absolutely horrible news. I can't believe that the DA's office can even consider letting him walk. He dangerous, he's a pervert and New York is better with him locked up. "No. CSU scoured the van. No fibers, not a single hair. Guess I screwed up, huh?" I told him, shrugging my shoulders, leaning my back against the wall and doing everything in my power to act like I wasn't currently hating myself. "Internal Affairs is going to have to get into this." He said, glaring at me. I know that they're gonna investigate Demarcus and I, but I have done my best to make it perfectly clear that he had absolutely nothing to do with Banse getting banged up, it was all me. I've even emphasized that he actually tried to get me to just bring him in for questioning to the police station, but I didn't listen. That was time that we didn't have, and I am not sorry and will not apologize. I've got nothing to hide or be ashamed of. "Just so you know, Demarcus had nothing to do with it. I told him to call it in." I was not going to let him take the fall for my mistake, this was all on me. He sighed and nodded his head. "This whole thing would go down a lot easier if you nail this guy." He commented. For the love of God, does he really think I don't know that? What does he think I've been doing since I met with Erin? Sitting on my ass? I'm doing the best I can! I was very quickly getting very frustrated. My frustration might also have to do with the fact that I'm just downright exhausted. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up. "I know that, Dad. But I got nothing." "Guy had a ritual." He stated, shrugging his shoulders like it was the most obvious thing (which it was). "Yeah, I mean he had the dress, the candles, the Communion thing, but that's it." I pointed out. "Well... Maybe you should run it through VICAP, see if there's any cold cases with the same M.O? Just cause the guy has a record doesn't mean he didn't do it." He suggested. I sat thinking for a moment, wondering why I didn't think of that before. The way this guy carries the whole thing out, how careful he was, how he made sure to fix the van, how he left zero DNA for us to use, there is no way this was his first go around. I just gotta find a case that fits the same MO as Teresa's case and connect Banse to it. "Right, because you don't just wake up one day at fifty and become a pervert." I pointed out, speaking lowly. Dad chuckled and said "that's a welcome relief." Wow. Okay. Um, nice one, Dad. I know I screwed up big time. I should have just stopped and think about what banging Banse up would do as far as long term consequences go. But honestly, at the time, getting Teresa back to her parents alive was the only thing on my mind. Of course now, because I was so careless, the guy who kidnapped her and almost tore her family apart will walk free as a bird. Unless I find something. I have to find something, I can't let that happen. I'd never be able to forgive myself. I slowly looked down, smiling, ready to give it more than my all. This guy was going down, and he was going down hard. I keep thinking about Eliza. What if one day, it's her, or Nicky. I would be pissed off if the Detectives on the case were so stupid and careless that catching the guy meant nothing because he'll go free anyways because of how they handled the situation. How can I ever look at Teresa and her parents again? "Thanks, Chief." I said, and began walking away. "Danny, you ever see that doctor?" Dad asked before I made it out the door. I turned around to face him, acting as normally as possible. I hesitated before saying "Well, you know... I've been... Busy, Dad." The truth was, I used every excuse I could not to go. How was talking about it going to help? It would still be stuck in my mind, haunt me, and give me nightmares no matter what I do. Besides, I'm not gonna pour my heart out and share my feelings with someone who doesn't even know me just to be prescribed to take a million pills. I gotta deal with it my own way. And I am dealing with it. Whether or not I'm dealing with it "well" or in a "healthy way" is totally beside the point. "There's no shame talking about what went down in Iraq." He told me. I got very uncomfortably very quickly because to me: there is. I don't wanna admit that the things I saw, the things I did, what I went through over there scarred me for life. No matter what, though, I'm never gonna get it out of my head. So, what's the point in even trying? And I don't want to tell a total stranger what I went through over there, or the things I did. I already hate myself enough for it, I don't need anybody else to. Even if I wanted to go see someone, I don't know how to put what's going on in my heads into words for people to understand. How can I expect anyone to understand what I'm going through if I can't even really understand what I'm going through. If anything, something to stop the nightmares would be fantastic. But, it's whatever. I looked down at the floor and very quickly pulled myself together. "I'll get around to it." I lied, looking back at him one last time before leaving the house. He knows I'm lying, but I'm just glad he dropped it. It's time for me to clear my head and get back to work. Hopefully do some good. As soon as I got back to the precinct, King and I were peddle to the metal. For the first hour, it was a dead end. I did have to say this, this guy is smart. Real smart. And he's good. But, not as good as me. I will catch him and I will get him. Even if it's the last thing I did. "Most of these kidnaps are custodial." King commented. Well, yeah. I mean, most kidnappings are custodial, or at least some by someone the victim knew. The only pattern that I'm gonna guess Banse has between his kidnap victims is young girls. People like him, they make me sick to my stomach. Sometimes, literally. I dug a little deeper, and finally something popped up. "Hold on, I got something." I said I leaned in closer to the screen and read aloud; "Cold case. Tampa, Florida. Catholic girl right around Teresa's age went missing... body never found." "When Banse was living there?" King asked. "What a coincidence." I threw my hand up in the air, frustrated. I sighed angrily, leaned back and rubbed my chin. I'm not sure how good a cold case was gonna do this case. If we could find one that's still open, the DA's office would probably like and appreciate that more. "Alright, you keep looking for open cases." I told King. Not only would it be helpful to have an open case to present to Erin's people, but, having more than one case to connect the guy to would be absolutely perfect. I picked up my phone and dialed as I said, "I'm gonna call down to Tampa; try to get police records, news coverage. There's gotta be something we can find to tie the guy to this crime." I really hoped so. Maybe there's more of a connection than just little girls, maybe he went for a certain background type. He had to have slipped up at some point. It's not like he just woke up and become a really good kidnapper. There's gotta be something that he dropped or messes up on that we can use to nail him.
MY POV
Nicky and Aunt Erin were setting the table, and Mom and I prepped the food and brought it out. I really enjoyed getting ready for Sunday dinner, it was basically as much of a ritual as church is. "Think Dad'll make it to dinner?" I asked Mom, stupidly hopeful. "Well, he said he'd try." She told me. It's hard when he misses Sunday Dinner, since that's one of the only times both of my parents are home at the same time but, hey, if he gets that creep behind bars, him missing Sunday dinner will be worth it. "Where is everybody? This roast is not gonna wait forever." Mom said as we set the food on the table. she stepped out into the hall and called "Guys! Dinner's ready!" I chuckled under my breath. Grandpa and Pops walked in, and sat at both heads, Uncle Jamie should be here any minute with Sydney, and who knows when (or if) Dad will show up. "Something sure smells good." Pops commented. I took in a deep breath. Holy cow, that really does smell good. "Staten Island isn't the other side of the world. It wouldn't kill you to come to our house one Sunday." Mom said to Grandpa as she sat the roast in front of him. I chuckled again, just because Mom is always trying to get Grandpa to come to our house for dinner, but it never works. It's just tradition to have Sunday Dinner at Grandpa's, and I don't want that to ever break. It might become farther and fewer in between when Nicky and I grow up and move out, but, we've still got a few years to go before we reach that point. Uncle Jamie walked in, without Sidney, seconds later. That was odd, where was Sydney? She was always here for Sunday dinners. I hope she's alright. "Hey, all." He said. Choruses of "Hey, Jamie!" Went around. "There he is." Grandpa said. "Finally." Mom commented. Uncle Jamie chuckled. "Where's your girl?" Grandpa asked. "Greenwich with her folks." Ah, that makes sense. I was just relieved she was okay. "More for us, then." Pops commented. We all laughed. Pops has the appetite of a teenage boy, I swear."Hey, where's Danny?" Uncle Jamie asked as he sat down. "He said he'd try make it." Mom told him. "You all know, right? I'd like to strangle him." Erin commented. I very softly rolled my eyes so no one noticed, Dad was probably already going to give me a talking to later on about rolling my eyes at Grandpa (come on, there's no way he doesn't know.) And for me ditching school. And I didn't want anything added to that. But Aunt Erin drives me crazy sometimes; she just acts like she's all that. She's got to realize that in the world of being a cop, not everything is black and white. Maybe she does realize that and just won't accept it. "No strangling on Sunday, okay sunshine?" Grandpa said to Erin, smiling. "Okay, Pops." She said. It almost sounded like she was mocking him and with Aunt Erin, you never know. "Danny did what he had to do." Pops commented. Of course he did. Dad gives 100% in every case he's given. It just sucks that it doesn't always turn out like he plans. His intentions are good, though. "I knew you would take his side." Aunt Erin sighed, annoyed. I scoffed. Of course Pops would take the side of a police officer. He always will. Well, almost always. There's exceptions to every rule. "I say what I think." Pops shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, and look where it got you." Aunt Erin commented. Oh, okay. Wow, um. Now It's awkward. Everyone was looking back and forth between Pops and Aunt Erin as they had a stare down. This is the most uncomfortable Sunday dinner we've ever had, holy cow. Okay, I needed to find a way to break the tension, and fast before things got any worse. "Well, in Dad's defense..." I started. Everyone looked at me, confused. I really kind of wish I hadn't done that. No turning back now. "Dad didn't come up with the idea of swirling someone on his own..." Everyone continued staring at me. I had to clench my jaw to keep from busting a gut. This is gonna go one of two ways; people are gonna get pissed at me for even making the suggestion to Dad, or people are gonna laugh their heads off knowing that I'm the one who came up with the idea. "I may have suggested it." I said, squinting. This is only slightly uncomfortable. I was growing anxious with finding out how people are going to react. "Oh, I wanna hear this story." Uncle Jamie said, looking amused. Of course Uncle Jamie would be the first one to find this funny. Ugh, he's gonna make this worse by finding it so funny. And I shouldn't find that so funny but, I do. "Yes, I'd like to as well." Aunt Erin said, looking slightly less amused. Alright, I thought this was gonna go one of two ways but, apparently, it's gonna go both ways. "Me too!" Nicky said. I growled internally. Like, Nicky, please don't help. "Careful, you may end up grounded by the end of this story." Mom commented. Why should I be the one to get grounded? I'm not the one who actually shoved a guy's head in a toilet. Dad's the one who should be punished. Oh. My. God. You guys do not wanna know where my mind just went. I need a shower, now. "After Grace. Jamie?" Grandpa asked. Uncle Jamie nodded. We bowed our heads, placed our hands together, and closed our eyes as Uncle Jamie said Grace; "Bless us, O, Lord, for these gifts which we are about to receive from your bountiful hands through Christ our Lord. Amen." "Amen." We all crossed, and Dad sat down. "I overheard out in the hall as I walked in, what story is going to get who grounded?" Dad asked as he took his seat and filled up his plate. Speak of the devil, it's the man of the hour. "Your daughter has a story that might get her grounded." Mom told him, practically throwing me under the bus. He looked up from his plate and raised his eyebrows at me. "Oh, this should be good." He said, chuckling. This story is gonna get me in trouble and possibly Dad in even more trouble than he already is. And yet, I can't help but find this all so funny. "Don't look at me like that, it's already got you in trouble." I cleared my throat and began. "Dad called me the other day, like he sometimes does out of nowhere. He sounded really discouraged, so I was just trying to cheer him up." Everyone continued staring at me. I figured if I mentioned that I was just trying to cheer him up, and I didn't actually expect him to swirlie someone, people might go easy on me. "And?" Nicky pressed. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying not to burst out laughing. This would be a horrible time to start laughing. Wrong place, wrong time. "And I told him that even if he needed to... Swirlie someone, he would get the answers he needed." We all couldn't help but laugh at that. Well, except Aunt Erin; she shook her head, more frustrated than ever. I was just grateful that she's the only one who didn't find it hilarious. "Eliza Reagan!" Mom said, trying not to laugh. Thank god, hopefully that means I'm not grounded. I'm really happy that everyone is laughing, it was a good feeling. I think we all really needed it. It would be nice if Aunt Erin could loosen up a little. It would do her some good. "And I'll tell you where it got me; I got a clean conscious, and I can sleep at night." Pops commented. I closed my eyes. Oh, Pops. Why can't you ever just drop something? I finally got it to where the night was enjoyable again and we were all good. But, he always has to get the last word. "Where what got you?" Dad asked. "Mom's mad at him because he took your side." Nicky commented. "Okay, Nicky, stay out of this, please." Aunt Erin said. All she did was make a comment, tell the truth. "Oh, your Mom riding around on her high horse, again, huh?" Dad said. Aunt Erin shot him daggers. Oh, shoot. Shade thrown. Maybe I can find a way to get myself excused from dinner. "Don't make this about me, I'm not the one that slapped some guy around and stuck his head in a toilet." She said. Okay, well, I mean, she's not wrong. But, still, the guy is fine and Teresa is alive. So I don't see what the big deal is, here. "What do you know about it?" Dad mumbled. "I know you're supposed to be enforcing the law, not making it up as you go along." Okay, she did have a good point. "You have no idea what goes on. You only know what you think you know." Dad commented. It's true, Aunt Erin isn't out there on the front lines like Dad and Uncle Jamie are. In all reality, she doesn't know fully what it's like out there. She only knows part of what it's like out there. "The laws are there for a reason." Aunt Erin commented. "Yeah, to protect criminals." Pops chuckled. He is really on one tonight. Like, damn. Is there something in the water? "No, to protect society from a police state." "Oh." Pops said, doing a fake puppy dog lip. "Blah, blah, blah, blah." Dad mumbled. And shit is about to hit the ceiling in 3.2.1. "Such a jerk." Aunt Erin glared at him yet again. Dad had finally had enough. Crap. This is one of those "take cover" moments. This table is about to become a battle ground. "Can I please be excused?" I whispered to Mom. She shook her head. This is really gonna suck. "Hey, you know what? Screw you, Erin!" "No, screw you, Danny!" They began to yell at each other. Did I call it or did I call it? This is so freaking uncomfortable. "This is Sunday dinner." Grandpa shouted over them. They both shut up instantly. It always amazes me how he can silence anyone just by talking. "Not a free-for-all, let's keep it civil." He commented. They glared at each other for a second, then went back to eating. For about 10 seconds, the only noise was plates being passed around, Grandpa cutting the meat, and the silverware hitting the plates. I know where I stand on this, I'm definitely on Dad's side. I don't know why everyone is overthinking this so much. I don't see what the problem is. Okay, yes, maybe Dad shouldn't have beat the guy up. But, people can't seriously feel sorry for him? I don't believe that he should have the same rights as Teresa. This guy basically asked for this to happen. Teresa didn't. In fact, I'd bet my life that she got begged to be let go. He made his bed, and now he can lay in it. "Dad, if you're allowed to use force and torture, you corrupt the moral fiber of the culture." Aunt Erin said matter-of-factly, breaking the silence. That's a little dramatic, Aunt Erin. He didn't torture anybody. Dad is not like that. "Nobody's in favor of torture. The issue is the use of enhanced interrogation, is it ever justified?" Grandpa told her. In my opinion, there are absolutely situations when enhanced interrogation is okay, even called for. Necessary. When it's maybe one life for thousands, or one low life dirtbag for an innocent little girl. "I say no." Aunt Erin said, looking at Pops. "Okay, then; you've got a ticking bomb, the guy over there planted it, lives are at stake. Are his rights more important than innocent victims?" Grandpa sighed, trying to make her see their point of view. My point exactly. I know that she has to look at things from a different point of view than the rest of the family. But, I also know that they taught her in law school to look at situations from a lot of different points of view. I know she's not really this close minded. So, I wanna know what's really bothering her. Because I don't think it's all this. "Of course not, see?" Pops said. "Jamie, what do you think? You got a law degree." Grandpa asked. This will be interesting to see where he stands on this. He hasn't said a word. "And a gun now, too. It's a lot of power; you don't govern it, Erin's right, it's a slippery slope." He said, shrugging his shoulders like it was plain and simple. I do agree that it needs to be monitored. If someone gets seriously injured, then something needs to be done. But if it was just a scratch? In all reality, it's no harm no foul. Dad scoffed. "You just wait, little brother. You wait until one night, you chase a guy down a dark alley and that little object in his hand? Maybe it's his cell phone, maybe it's not." He glared at Uncle Jamie. Dad was seriously losing whatever patience he had. Dad's right. Uncle Jamie hasn't even been on the job a month. I doubt he's really experienced much of anything, yet. Uncle Jamie thought for a second. "He's right. I can say anything I want but, I don't know what I would have done in his position." "Well, it's definitely not a black and white situation." Mom commented. "Amen to that." I said. "Eliza? Nicky? You two are allowed to weigh in." Grandpa prompted us, putting the spotlight on us. "I think Uncle Danny did what he had to do to save that little girl. But enhanced interrogation should only be under very special circumstances. Cops can't just do whatever they want." Nicky said. Then everyone turned to me, because now I was the only one who hadn't taken a side. I did that horse noise with my lips, and began. "I choose to invoke my 5th amendment rights so as not to incriminate myself." I commented. "Overruled." Aunt Erin said. Um, excuse you; you can't over rule someone's use of their 5th amendment right. "Honestly, I've never been in my Dad's position, so, I don't know what I would have done. Unfortunately, Dad and Aunt Erin kind of stand on different sides of the law; the one where it's okay to bend the rules, and the one where everything has to be done by the book. I'm Switzerland, okay?" That wasn't good enough, everyone continued staring at me; waiting for more. Why can't they just accept being neutral as an answer? I sighed. "Okay, on the one hand, Aunt Erin is right." She smiled. She didn't let me finish. I'm not taking her side, I'm explaining my thought process. "If police are allowed to do whatever they want, that can turn so ugly so fast, and result in a ton of lawsuits." "Thank you." Aunt Erin said, before I was finished. "But on the other hand, if he hadn't done what he did, they probably would have never found the girl in time. She's safe, happy, and healthy. It's fine." "Un-thank you." It's not my fault she just assumed. Everyone knows that I always look at both sides of things as carefully as I can with what I know and make my decisions from there. "Anyways..." I said, trying to get people to just drop it. "Wait, Eliza. You said if your Dad hadn't done what he did, they never would have found the girl in time." Uncle Jamie said. "Yeah, and?" I replied. "You saying he would have eventually found her?" "Yes." I said simply. Because it's true. I have no doubt that Dad would have eventually found Teresa. There's just a big chance that it would have been too late. "Aww." Dad said. His phone beeped. "Sorry, Dad, gotta go." He said, standing up. "Something up?" Grandpa asked. "The evidence from Florida came in." Yes! He's so gonna nail the son of a bitch! I believe in him. He turned to leave, then turned back around to Aunt Erin. "Let me ask you something, Erin. What if it had been Nicky? She only had 24 hours left, what would you want me to do then?" That was kind of a low blow. "Me?" Nicky asked. "That's not fair." Aunt Erin shook her head, glaring. "Why not? Nicky is your daughter, that little girl is someone else's." I commented. "Okay, hush you." Mom said. "Be honest, some guy snatches her off the street, I got a hold of him and he won't talk? Give me a break." He walked away. "Nicky? You don't have to worry. They'd throw her back in 10 minutes." Pops joked. "Wow, thanks, Pops." Nicky said, leaving. She gets offended so easy. "Thanks, Grandpa." Aunt Erin said, following her. "Nicky, you were not excused. You know better!" She called after her. Poor Pops looked so confused. "Eliza, help me start desert." Mom said to me. "Coming." I said, looking for any excuse to leave. We prepared desert in silence.
DANNY'S POV
I headed down to the precinct to go over the evidence from Tampa with Demarcus. I hoped to god and prayed more than anything that there was something, anything in here. If this guy walked free because I went a little too far, I would never forgive myself. It would keep me up at nights. I'd never be able to look at Teresa or her parents again. I need to hit this as hard as I could. When I arrived, there were boxes everywhere. "The shipment is in, huh?" I said, feeling hopeful. "Yeah, this is everything from Tampa; files, tapes, field interviews, photos." King stated, sounding almost excited. I couldn't believe how many boxes and papers and tapes there were here. I don't think I expected it to be quite this much. This is gonna take forever to get through all of this. We're gonna need all hands on deck. "Yeah, all that technology and what does it come down to? A couple of cops and some beat up old boxes." I commented, cutting a box open. There's was a lot to go through, so I got every available body to help us. As upset as I was, I needed to put all of the self loathing and regret I was feeling aside so I could focus. It's ridiculous, I should not feel guilty about saving a girl's life. I don't feel guilty about saving her, what I do feel guilty about is how stupid I was and how shitty I handled the situation. I'm gonna make it up though, I will fix it. "We're only halfway through the Tampa evidence, guys." I said after 3 hours.. I went to wake up anyone who was asleep. Which was thankfully only one person. I pounded on the wall. There were probably nicer ways I could have woken him, but, nice isn't quick and I needed quick. "We've only got 3 hours left til this creep Banse walks." I told everyone. The closer it got, the more pessimistic I was feeling. I felt like we were trapped and in a corner. I was gonna lose my damn mind, I swear to god. "Anybody find anything, yet? I asked. Choruses of "No." Went around. We gotta work harder and better than what we've been doing. I don't know if that's possible, but, it's gotta happen. There's no other way we'll be able to pull this off. "Yeah, I'm seeing double, Reagan." King groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, me too." My brain felt like mush and I could barely think straight. "Dad." I heard from behind me. I turned around and saw Eliza and Linda. I smiled softly. I really needed to see them. It'll help me to refocus my energy and clear my head. Get my mind back on my case without getting so frustrated. "Hey." I said, kissing Linda. "We brought you and your partner some coffee. I figured you guys could use it." Eliza said. Thank god! Coffee is the nectar of the gods. Honestly, it meant a lot to me that Eliza thought to do that for us. I have the best daughter on the planet. "Oh, my god, Eliza. You are the greatest!" King said taking his coffee. I chuckled. I wanna say that he's being dramatic, but, he's right. Linda and Eliza basically just brought us our lifeline. The only way we'll have enough energy to get through this. Seeing my little girl made me more determined than ever to get Banse behind bars so that he can't hurt anyone else's little girl ever again. I'm gonna get the son of a bitch, he's going down. I'm not gonna lie, I was getting tired and honestly, I was getting to the point where I didn't see a light at the end of the tunnel, I was ready to give up. You can't win every case. What's important is that Teresa is safe. I began to tell myself. And, don't get me wrong, the most important thing is that Teresa is safe. But, the next most important thing is making sure Donald Banse cannot do this anymore. I made one happen, now I just gotta make the other happen too and we'll be golden. "We'll let you get back to work." Linda said, then she kissed me. If that's not a motivator to keep going, I don't know what is. "You got this." Eliza said, following her mother out. I smiled at her as she walked away. "I love your family, Reagan." King commented as we drank our coffee. "You and me, both." I told him. This isn't gonna be easy. But, I'm gonna hit the ground running, regardless. "Hey, look who's here." King commented. I looked up to see Teresa and her Mom coming in. That's the reward right there; seeing her happy and healthy and with her family. In this moment, I knew that no matter what the outcome with the court, Demarcus and I did a really good thing, and we should be more than proud of ourselves. We made a difference, and that's why I joined the force. "There he is!" Teresa shouted, running up to hug me. "Hey! How're you doing?" "We brought you a She was so full of energy and smiling bigger than the moon. So much different than when I found her; when she could barely move, her eyes sunken in, her lips blue. She was on the brink of death. She was so sad and scared. Now she has a bright light to her and her eyes sparkle. Yes, I just "sparkle". Don't judge me. I'm tired and really can't think of a better word right now. "We made you a cake." She said happily, sounding proud of herself. Coffee and cake? Well, shoot. Now there's nothing that I can't conquer today. The coffee will wake me up and help me think clearly, and, let's be honest, the cake will just put me in a good mood. Her Mom handed it to me. "You brought me a cake? Did you bake this all by yourself?" I asked. She blushed and nodded her head. Such a freaking cutie. If this doesn't make it all worth it, I don't know what does. "Yeah, you did, didn't you? Thank you." "We are so grateful you saved our baby." Her Mom said. I felt warm and happy inside when she said that. More than that, I felt at peace. Even though I was still gonna try my hardest, I know now that I'll feel at peace no matter what the outcome will be. "I'm just glad she's home, safe with her family, now." I told them. "Thank you so much." Her Mom said to me. Because of my partner and I, Teresa will have a positive view of cops her entire life; she will always respect them and think fondly of them. She'll stand up for them. And we definitely need more people like that out in the world. We made all the difference in this girl's life. I don't say this very often, but, damn I'm proud of myself. I leaned down to be on Teresa's eye level and asked "Would you like a tour of this big police station?" She nodded excitedly. I had a feeling she might like that. Besides, this place is pretty cool if I do say so myself. I looked at the Officer who brought her back and said "Officer, would you mind taking them around?" She nodded. "I'll see you, soon, okay?" I said as her and her Mom followed the officer out. "Tell me that doesn't make it all worth it." King said after they left. "Except now I'm gonna be the guy who puts that creep Banse back on the street. Some other little girl's gonna end up like our cold case here in Florida." I said, sitting down at my desk. I picked up the girl's photo, and that's when I realized something that I hadn't before; she was wearing a cross that looked eerily familiar. I swear I've seen that cross and I've seen it recently. Come on, Danny. Think, there isn't much time. Oh, my god. Donald Banse's wife was wearing that cross when we interviewed her. Makes me wonder if she knew. I really freaking hope not. If she knew, I hope that she wouldn't be able to wear it. "Demarcus." "Yeah." "Come look at this." "What?" I stood up and walked over to him. "This picture, the girl in Florida." He met me halfway. "Look at that. The cross, the necklace." I said as I handed over the picture. His face changed from confused and just totally done, to realization hitting him and he was re-energized. That's what I'm talking about. Let's do this. We get this cross, and I guarantee we'll get Banse behind bars. Whether it be here or in Florida, I really didn't care. As long as he rotted away in prison and was never able to hurt a living soul again. "Let's take a ride." He said. I wanted to get hopeful that this would all work out the way we want. But I was also concerned that we wouldn't get the evidence in time or that the wife wouldn't cooperate. I still had a lot of doubts and fears in the back of my mind. But, I couldn't let King know and I couldn't make those doubts and fears known. We drove over to Banse's ex wife's house. My head was swimming the entire way over. This case was giving me such a friggin headache, I can't wait for it all to be over so I can go home and nurse a few beers. We showed up, and explained the whole situation to her, the situation with Teresa and with Katherine, our Florida cold case. Her face went from confused to absolutely, completely mortified faster than the speed of light. As far as she was concerned, her husband was just a jerk, a douche bag and nothing else. She had no idea what a complete monster and animal he really is. I can't imagine what she must be going through; to find out that the person you married, started a family and had a whole life with is living a secret life? A life with so much crime and torture and death? I don't know what I'd do. "I can't believe this. My husband isn't a monster." She commented, playing with her cross. Her voice was shaking, and she was talking in a barely audible whisper. I can't say that I blame her. I mean, this really came out of left field. But, whether she wants to believe it or not, her husband is a monster. "Well, we don't even know how many other children he might have taken." I told her. She looked like she might puke, so I took a step back. Can't have her up chucking on my shoes. "Mrs. Banse, I'm afraid we're gonna have to take a close look at the necklace. The girl's parents said her name, Kathy, was engraved on the back." Demarcus said. She looked at him, horrified. All color drained from her face; she looked white as a ghost. I couldn't help but feel bad for her, the poor woman had no clue what was going on behind closed doors, so-to-speak. "My husband said that's because it's an antique." She whispered. Yes! I knew it! I felt so excited and so relieved. It took all of the self control that I had to remain professional. As much as I wanted to jump for joy (not literally, I don't do that), everything was not all said and done, yet. "We need the cross for evidence, ma'am. Could you remove it please?" I told her. I had no patience whatsoever at this point. And I only had an hour left to get some physical evidence. She had a blank stare, and she was beginning to cry; I could tell she really did not want to let go of it. "Mrs. Banse, please." I held out my hand. She quickly took it off, her hands shaking, as if it was burning her. She was completely disgusted by it, now. That was crystal clear. I turned it around and sure enough, engraved on the back, clear as day, was Kathy. I felt the weights that had been pushing my chest down since this case started lift off, and I could breathe so much easier. "I gotta get this down to my sister." I told King. We smiled at each other. We did it. We freaking did it. Whether he goes to jail here or in Florida, I really didn't care. Demarcus shook my hand and said "Go finish what we started." We smacked each other's shoulders, and we literally ran to the car so that I could quickly drop him and go. I ran it down to Erin. She looked up at me as I appeared in the doorway to her office. I put my hands on my knees and bent over, taking a second to catch my breath. Come on, it's almost done, you're almost there, you're so close. It's just a sprint now. I'm starting to think maybe I need to hit the gym more, or I'm just getting too old to run like that. No, I just need to hit the gym more. "You wanted evidence?" I asked, out of breath as I walked up to her desk and sat the cross on her desk. "There's your evidence." I said, panting. She looked at the cross, then looked at me, clearly wondering what the hell she was supposed to be looking at. "And this is?" She asked. As much as I really don't have time to explain what that cross is, I know I needed to. I mean, it's not like I can just hand her a cross and say There's your evidence, now put him in jail. Believe it or not, not even in that stupid. I was just really hoping that this would be enough because with the DA's office, you never know. "That is the cross that Kathy McDonald was wearing when she went missing in Florida back in 2005. Same time Banse was living there. The police report said that her name was engraved on the back." I explained. Erin turned it over in her hands slowly and gasped when she saw the name. She looked frustrated. The vein in her neck was popping out. I swear to god, if she tells me this isn't enough, I will lose my shit, here and now. I really don't care. "How did you find it?" She asked calmly. I get paid to read people, and I could tell that she was worried that I obtained this illegally or "by excessive force". But as god as my witness, my possession of this cross was a totally legal and calm way. I do understand her concern, though. The last thing either of us want us for anything else to screw up this case anymore than it already is (if that's even possible.) "Well, after I found out about Kathy, I called Florida and asked them to send over everything that they had collected from the case." I explained. She slowly raised her eyebrows at me. I raised my eyebrow at her. She asked, I told her. What was the problem now? I looked at my watch, we were running out of time. I ran my hand down my tie, then loosened it up. I do that when I'm nervous. I know she's not, but it felt like she was purposely going slower just to teach me a lesson. I screwed up, lesson learned. Can we move on already and get this done already? She stared at me for a few more seconds. "Tampa police have also found what they believe to be her remains in a storage locker under Banse's alias. Same everything as the Teresa Campos case. Erin sat up straight and picked up her phone immediately. "Jay Castleman in the Attorney general's office, please? Hi, Jay. It's Erin Boyle, Manhattan D.A.'s Office. We want your office to imitate proceedings to extradite Donald Banse to Florida for the murder of with special circumstance." She smiled her evil smile at me. I was pacing around the room the whole time. That whole stare down had me frustrated. It's just, we were so close, yet so far away. I honestly wasn't sure if she was gonna do anything with the cross when she called. You know that feeling when you try to see how long you can hold your breath under water, or better yet, when you're drowning; how it hurts so bad in your chest, your stomach feels like it has butterflies on steroids and you begin to panic? Then you feel someone grab your arm or grab you under the armpits and they lift you back up, and you take in that deep breath; you feel the air go back into your chest, and your body doesn't hurt anymore? That's what I was feeling right now, and I'd like to keep it that way. "We have the cross that Kathy McDonald was wearing when she disappeared in 2005. Banse gave it to his wife around that time. Tampa police have located what are believed to be the girl's remains in a storage locker in Orlando registered in Banse's alias. Appreciate it, thank you." I turned to her. "Yeah?" I asked her. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah." I pumped my first. "Beautiful. They're not shy about exercising capital punishment down in Florida." I said as I put on my jacket. I can't tell you how amazing this feels, I can't explain the High that I got. I felt adrenaline pump through my veins and energy flow through my blood; I felt like I could run a marathon right now. In all reality, I knew that this would all work out for the best but, I definitely can't deny that I was starting to get nervous. But I knew we could do it, and we did. Now, I can look Teresa and her parents in the eye and tell them that the monster who almost broke up their family will never hurt anyone ever again. I can go home and face my wife and daughter and tell them that I got a really bad criminal off of the streets. I won. Erin sighed and put her hands around the back of her neck. "Yeah, it's a happy outcome. This time." I looked at her unbelievingly. Can't she let me celebrate for the day before she comes down on me with the logistics? "Just give me this one, will you?" Just this one, that's all I ask. Is that too much to ask? Don't answer that, because it apparently it. "You don't get it, do you?" I rolled my eyes, said "say hello to the ACLU for me." Then went to leave. I was in such a good mood that I really just did not feel like arguing with her. Normally I really like arguing with her. I can't help it, it's just really fun and, what can I say? I'm her brother, it's my job. But, as I said, not today. "You're the one that's gonna need a lawyer, Danny." She said, standing up from her desk. I looked at her again. I'm seriously still going to need a lawyer? Even though the guy is going to jail? The justice system is so screwed up. I groaned a little. "You wanna talk about that?" She asked. I smiled. Maybe I should get that figured out, but, that would kinda bum me out and, again, really not in the mood. I just couldn't believe that people were still looking at me as the criminal. I'm not the criminal, Banse is! I wasn't the one who kidnapped and endangered the life of a little girl. I'm the one who saved her life, and yet, we're both being treated like criminals when only one of us should be treated as such. And it sure as hell ain't me. "Probably." Was all I said. "Probably." She mocked me. "Thanks, sis." I pointed at her. I turned around to leave. "See ya." I said to her secretary. "Whoo!" I shouted as I walked into the hall. It's moments like this that make the long, hard nights when I don't get any sleep, the endless hours at the office, missing time with my family. It makes it all worth it and okay. I made a difference today, and that won't be forgotten by the Campos family. I was on Cloud 9 and I did not wanna come down.
MY POV
After dinner, Mom and I took a train to Aunt Erin's firm, so that we could ride home with Dad. We just figured that after the hellish few days he's had, he could use more time with us. Even though everything was seemingly fine, something still just didn't sit right with me. I can't explain, and I know there's really no ready for it; I just felt really uneasy. Dad got in the car, loosened his tie, then kissed Mom. Whenever he loosens his tie, that's his tell that he's really not in the best of moods. In fact, most of the drive home was silent. You would think Dad would be on top of the world, bragging about his accomplishments. I know it wasn't easy for him to get that guy locked up and thrown in jail, but, to quote him "nothing worth having comes easy." Even though it was a pain in the ass, he got it done. Did he? "Did you nail him, Dad?" I asked, suddenly realizing that I didn't actually know if he was able to put him away. I mean, I hadn't actually heard anything, I just kind of assumed. But, he is my Dad, and he's the best Major Case Detective in New York. That's not to say that he solves every case he's given but, the number of cases he hasn't solved vs the number of cases he has solved is like Night and Day. "Sure did, honey. He's going away for a long time." He told me. I high fived Mom and Dad. I knew he could do it! Honestly, there was no doubt in my mind that he and his partner would close this case. Add one more case to his solved pile. I'm seriously so proud of him. Honestly, he inspires me to never give up on something, or someone one, if I believe in it enough. He's taught me to chase everything I love harder than the last. "That's my hero." Mom said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. He smiled very happily, and I could tell that whatever was worrying him he just stashed in the back of his mind. I put my hand on his shoulder and said "you're my hero, too." And I mean that wholeheartedly. But, to be fair, I come from a whole family of heroes so, it's hard to pick just one. He is in my top 7 though, if you know what I mean (think about it for a second). He smiled at me through the mirror. "Wanna know why I'm the real winner?" He said. I raised my eyebrow in confusion. Because Teresa will now have a positive view of cops her whole life? Because her parents won't have to bury their daughter? Because their family will stay together and will come out of this stronger, or because this guy will never be able to do this to another family ever again? All of the above, duh. "Because you caught the guy?" I asked. "Nope, because the two best girls in the world are mine." I smiled. I can't deny that that did make me feel really good about myself, but holy cow, that was cheesy. My family are not cheesy people, especially not my father, he is anything but. So, what's up with him tonight, huh? I just chuckled, to be honest, it was kind of weirding me out. The rest of the drive home was silent, but, thankfully, it wasn't one of those heavy, awkward silences, the one that made you shift around me in your seat, feel restless and like your chest was tight. We all just enjoyed the calm, quiet ride home. "Did you finish your homework yesterday?" Mom asked as we walked in the door. "Always." I sighed, annoyed. She asks me every five minutes, I swear. I get that homework is important, and good parents check to see if their kids have done so, but, I just wish she trusted me, you know? I get that I've gone downhill since Uncle Joe's death and I haven't been the most responsible but, the one thing that I still always do, without fail, is my homework. Whether or not I always put effort into it is beside the point. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but I'm almost 15, it's my job to be dramatic. "Oh, and about yesterday." Dad said, turning to face me. I scrunched my nose and closed my eyes, my "oh man" face at a max. Here we go. I figured he'd bring it up on the ride home and so, when he didn't, I was secretly hopeful that he would just let it go. Even though I knew he wouldn't; the one thing that my father will not stand for is disrespect, and I disrespected Grandpa last night. "What about yesterday?" Mom asked, totally lost. Dad gave me that look; I don't know how to explain it; that Dad look. He put his hands on his hips. Oh, man, that meant that I was really going to get it. As much as it annoys me that my parents get down on me about every little thing, I know that it's going to make me a better, more independent and responsible person because of it. I'd rather have them get down on me for everything than not care at all. "I better not hear about you rolling your eyes at your grandfather, or raising your voice at him again. You understand me?" Mom raised her eyebrows at me; with a look that said "excuse me?" See, in my family, rolling your eyes, especially at your elders, is not acceptable by any means. Add onto it that I raised my voice at him? Yeah, big no no. It felt like they were shooting daggers at me. I feel super guilty for snapping at Grandpa, mainly because I know that he didn't deserve it. That night, I was just so on edge, I was scared and jumpy, and I'm on my period. That was just a bad night all around. "I got it." I told him sincerely. "I mean it." He said, pointing his finger at me. "Okay." I said defensively. I know I shouldn't have raised my voice at Grandpa; he didn't do anything wrong, so I fully admit that I deserve this. Still, I hated making my parents mad at me. Not because they scare me or whatever, but because I hate disappointing them. But, as my parents always say; we're going to tick each other off, it's inevitable. But, the important thing is that we always end the day with love. And we definitely always do that. "While we're on the topic of getting mad at our daughter." Mom began. I scrunched my nose again. Insult, meet injury. "Aw, Mom. I'm begging." I whined. This was the last thing that my parents needed on their plates. I bet they wish I was more like Nicky; she never does anything majorly wrong like this. She's basically perfect. I'm such a trouble child. "How many times?" Mom asked. I looked down, ashamed. There was no way to sugar coat this, and I would get into more trouble if I danced around it. "4 or 5." "4 or 5 what?" Dad asked, his turn to be totally lost. There was no turning back now, Dad wouldn't drop it until he found out what we were talking about. I thought it would be best if Mom told him, though. "Your daughter apparently ditches school sometimes, and knows how to get away with it." Mom said. She acts like I still do it. I haven't done it at all recently. Yeah, I know, that doesn't make it any better but, still. He glared at me. "Okay, sit down on the couch. This is bigger than an eye roll." I made that horse noise with my lips, and I sat down, preparing myself for who knows what. Knowing, yet again, that I totally asked for this. He sat down in front of me on the coffee table. He glared at me for a few seconds, and I could tell that he was pretty upset with me. Which, I really did not blame him. At least my parents care enough about me to get mad at me. "What the hell were you thinking?" Was all he said. I took in a deep breath, and tried, first, to dip myself out just a smidge. "Okay, in my defense, I haven't done it at all for a few months." I began, hoping that would make them go easier on me. Yeah, right. Don't think my family knows the meaning of that word. "That's not what your father asked you." Mom said firmly. The best thing I could do at this point was just be honest with them. It was already out there, anyway. "I wasn't thinking. Plain and simple." "No, you weren't. How about this; why did you do it?" He asked. I took a deep breath. I did it because I wanted to stop being the weird outcast kid, the kid who puts in her earplugs and blasts her music and ignores the world around her. I wanted the weird looks and the whispers and the bullying to stop. I wanted nothing more than to get back to my old self, and the first step in doing that was getting back in with the cool kids. I know how stupid that may sound, but, I don't care. "The kids I was with. They're super popular. They said it would make me fit in. It was peer pressure." I said. I tried not to tear up. I just wanted to be popular in school again and, I didn't think ditching was that big of a deal. Looking back on it now; I was a freaking idiot. At least I realize that now and I've learned my lesson. He sighed. "Since when do you follow the crowd? Honey," He grabbed my hands. "One of the things I love so much about you is that you always march to the beat of your own drum." He said gently, pushing the hair out of my eyes. He doesn't know how wrong he is. "Can we please get real, here?" I said, shooting up and putting my hands on my hips. My parents continued to stare at me. I wanted to start being open and honest with them again, I used to tell them anything and everything. This was as good of a place to start as any. "All I've ever done is pretend to be someone I'm not! Maybe at one point, I did march to the beat of my own drum, but we all know that I'm not who I used to be. I'm a total freak these days! The kids at school give me the weirdest looks, and when I walk by, I can hear the whispers!" Tears began to fall down my cheek. My parents have no idea what I've been going through, and I know that that's my fault; they can't know if I don't tell them. They always told me that if I was getting bullied to go to a trusted adult for help, but, that part I need to handle on my own; I don't need anyone to fight my battles for me. I do have to admit that it felt really good to get that off of my chest. Mom and Dad exchanged glances, then Dad looked at the ground, clearly thinking of what to say. "I know that the fun-loving, outgoing, bubbly and happy Eliza we all used to know is still there somewhere. It's like I told you earlier, you just have a wall around your heart that needs to be knocked down." Mom said. I sat back down and Dad came and sat by me and put his hand on my knee. "I know things haven't been the same for you since your Uncle Joe died. I know you're really struggling, and I am, too." I looked away from him as I began to cry. Not just shed a couple of tears, but actually cry. "Come on, Eliza. I need you to look at me." He said softly. I slowly looked up at him. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but you're strong enough to get through this. If anyone is, it's you. But you can't do it alone." I've been trying to figure this whole thing out by myself, without any help. Because I thought that admitting I needed help was showing weakness. The truth is, trying to do this on my own has me so incredibly worn down. Letting people help me isn't going to be an easy, or overnight thing, but I have to try. "This is no way to live, honey." Mom said gently, sitting down by me. I smiled gently. I know that they wanna help me, and I wanna let them help me. They're my parents, that's what they're there for. "I guess I just didn't wanna burden you guys with my problems." I said. "We're your parents. That's what you're supposed to do." Mom said, chuckling. They put their arms around me and we hugged. "I'm so sorry about ditching. I promise it'll never happen again." I reassured them. "It better not. I never wanna hear about you ditching school again. And, if I do, you will be grounded." Mom told me. "So, I'm not grounded right now?" I asked, shocked. I was certain I was gonna get at least a week. Dad and Mom stood up and walked a couple feet away, just far enough that I couldn't hear them. Grrr. Why did I say anything? If I hadn't then I might have been able to walk away. I do deserve to be punished, though. I'm really glad that I have parents who don't yell (even though sometimes, I would feel better if they did), but rather handle situations calmly. I waited for a few minutes anxiously. Who knew how this would turn out? They came back. "Okay, you aren't grounded, but we're taking your phone away for a week." Mom said. No, come on. Not my phone. I gripped it tight against my chest; this thing is my lifeline. I use it for a lot of really important things. Like school projects, church, and keeping in contact with my parents. Can't they just tell me that I can't read for fun? That would be just as big of a punishment as the phone, just less detrimental. "Come on, Mom." I whined. "Come on, nothing. Give it up." Dad said. Holding his hand out, wiggling his fingers. I just got in trouble for disrespecting my elders, and I'd really rather not get into trouble for the same thing twice so, I sighed, and gave him my phone. It could've been worse. I actually seriously have no idea what I'm gonna do without it. But I'll have to learn, quickly. "Too bad she's too big to spank." Mom mumbled. My jaw dropped. Like, oh my god, Mom! That just really weirded me out. Dad spanked me when I was little (it's not child abuse, it's called discipline. That's why there are so many spoiled millennials, because people have this stupid idea that spanking is child abuse.) The thought of getting spanked now is just awkward, since I'm 14. "Maybe she is, but if it ever gets to the point where just talking or even grounding doesn't work, I have my ways." He said, not breaking eye contact with me and smirking. I never wanted to find out what those ways were, like ever. He's a detective for goodness sake. Scratch that, he's a detective and he's a Reagan. Who knows what kind of stuff he's learned over the years? I better get my act together (I'm not actually scared). My eyes went wide. "Lesson learned." I said. I'm not just saying that, either. I really have learned my lesson. Dad chuckled and shook his head . "You're too much like me." "Thank you." I said. I really do take that as a compliment. I mean, he's a pretty amazing guy. He laughed, and put me in a headlock (relax, not a deadly one. He barely had a hold of me). "Ah! Dad! Let me go!" I said laughing. Gah, this was only slightly uncomfortable. "Uh uh. I don't think you've learned your lesson." He said, walking me around the house. I growled at him. He and I used to wrestle like this all the time when I was a kid, but we haven't done it in a while. "Daniel Reagan, let her go." Mom said, though she had a hard time talking, because she was laughing so hard. I wrapped my arms around his legs, and he fell to the ground, taking me with him. He finally let me go, because it's not like he had a choice. "I won that one." I said, smiling. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get you next time." He said, standing up and then helping me up. "Also about last night," Dad started. I looked at him, confused. Because this time I legit had no idea what he was going to say. I thought in my head about what else I could be in trouble for, but came up with nothing. "Your grandfather said he walked in on you pacing. You only pace when you're stressed out or scared." I looked down. Grandpa, I love you, but why do you have to have such a big mouth? I thought he had completely let that go. Apparently, he did, only to pass it on to Mom and Dad. "You wanna talk to us about that?" He pressed. I looked up and shook my head. I was being ridiculous, and I admit that. I just wanna forget about it, now. I honestly feel like I'm going crazy and that is not something that I wanna explain to my parents. Not yet, anyways. "Honey, you know you can talk to us about anything right?" Mom said in her soft, gentle voice that makes you want to talk every time. I don't know how to explain to them that I'm not scared to talk to them, I just feel like a nut for being so scared. And I do know that I can talk to them about anything. My parents have what they call an "open door policy", meaning that whenever I need to talk, one of them is going to be available, even if it's just a quick conversation and it's an amazing thing that I haven't been taking advantage of enough recently. "It-it's silly." I whispered. "Well, obviously not." Dad said. I sighed. He was not going to drop this. It really is silly, but Dad always says that if there's something that bothers you for more than a few minutes, then it's not silly or stupid. "Nicky and I were just talking while we were doing our homework about the girl who was kidnapped. How she didn't run away, it wasn't an ex who took her..." I trailed off. "And?" Dad pressed. I turned away from them and looked down, avoiding all eye contact. I didn't want to see their reactions. Even though I know Donald Banse will never be able to hurt anyone ever again, there's hundreds of other creeps out there who can and will, even have done the same thing and got away with it. I think that's what's bothering me more than anything else, knowing that it's not over and it never will be. "This really could happen to anyone. And I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen." I said. The room went silent for a second; there's no doubt Mom and Dad were trying to figure out what to say and who would approach me. After a minute, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around, looked up and saw Mom. "You know your father and I will always protect you, right?" She asked. brushing some of my hair behind my ear. Honestly, they will always protect me fiercely and anyone who hurts me will have hell to pay. One thing's for sure, I'm in the best family for protection. I just nodded. I don't want to get all technical on them by telling them they won't always be able to. There's no need to ruin the moment. "I know you'll do your best." I told them. I know that they wanna protect me, and so far they've done a pretty good job. I just don't know if they accept that they won't always be able to. I'm not being pessimistic, it's a fact. "You got nothing to worry about, kid." Dad said. I forced a smile. I didn't say who i thought the bad thing would happen to. I honestly am not worried that something bad will happen to me. I'm freaked beyond words that something bad will happen to someone else. "I'm gonna go up to my room. Let you guys have some alone time." I winked. I try to always let me parents have at least an hour to themselves when they're both home, since they are apart so much. I definitely worry about the status of their relationship sometimes, I don't want them to get a divorce like Nicky's parents. I've seen how it's destroyed Nicky, and she's told me things it's done to her that she hasn't told her Mom and, it's awful. I hugged and kissed Mom. "Goodnight, Mom." "Goodnight, sweety." "Night, Dad." He half smiled, grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug. "Night, baby." "Love you guys!" I said as I went up the stairs. "Love you." They called back simultaneously. I smiled. And I went straight to bed.
YOU ARE READING
Blue Blood Runs Thick
Fan fikcia***ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO BLUE BLOODS. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING, THIS IS JUST A FAN FICTION.*** Eliza Reagan is the granddaughter of NYC Police Commissioner, Frank Reagan and the only child of the NYPD's best first grade homicide detective, Daniel Reagan...
