already did that. Are you going to go to the restaurant to see Kate? If not, I think I’ll drop by there and assure her she has our unconditional support.”
’m on my way,” Gray said, already shrugging into his suit jacket. ’ll give her your message.”
Chapter Forty-four
,I’MDetective MacNeil and this is Detective Childress.”
Seated behind the desk that had been her father’s, Kate took one look at the detectives’ grave faces and an awakening terror, unlike anything she had ever known, sent her slowly to her feet. ?” she said, automatically naming the most terrifying reason of all for their visit. ’s Danny? What’s happened? Where’s Molly?”
was kidnapped from the park about an hour ago—”
, my God. No. Please!” she cried. Danny. Please, not Danny!”
Across the hall, Marjorie bolted from her chair at the sound of Kate’s anguished cry, and she bumped into Drew Garetti, who’d rushed down the hall from the other direction.
’s Molly?” Kate asked in tones of rising hysteria. she with Danny? He won’t be as scared if—”
. Miles was knocked unconscious in the park by the kidnappers,” Detective MacNeil said, she regained consciousness and managed to attract notice and get help. She was taken by ambulance to Parkston General with a suspected skull fracture. However, she was able to give us a pretty detailed description of a young woman who we think was part of the plot.”
In her mind, Kate was screaming in tormented fear, but all she could do was stand there with her knees knocking together and her body trembling so violently that she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold herself still. Detective MacNeil continued in a calm, reassuring voice. “We stand an excellent chance of getting Danny back safely, but we need to move very quickly now, and we need your help.”
Kate nodded jerkily, her teeth chattering. ?” she asked. do you need?”
’re going to issue an amber alert right away. For that, we need a recent picture of Danny, a description of his clothing, his age, weight, and height.”
Kate picked up a framed picture of Danny from her desk, started to hand it to Detective MacNeil, then pulled it back, clutching it to her heart and wrapping her arms around it. baby,” she whispered brokenly. baby!”
’ll get one of his pictures from upstairs,” Marjorie volunteered, already on the way at a run.
try to stay calm for the next few minutes so we can get the alert out,” MacNeil said. need Danny’s height and weight.”
Kate made a valiant effort to do what he said and turned to her computer to locate Danny’s pediatrician’s phone number on her electronic address book. just went to the pediatrician’s for his checkup,” she babbled. ’ll know Danny’s height and weight exactly.”
was he wearing?” Detective Childress asked from behind her, his notebook and pencil poised.
Kate glanced over her shoulder. Childress was younger than MacNeil, Kate noted, and not quite as good at pretending everything was going to be fine. was w-wearing a red shirt and blue denim overalls. . . .” An image of Danny grinning at her in his red shirt and overalls just a little while ago broke down her fragile barrier of control, and she began weeping while she tried to find the pediatrician’s number. can’t—”
’ll get it for you, Kate,” Drew volunteered, squeezing past the detectives and coming around her desk. name am I looking for?”
When Kate told him, he found the phone number, made the call for her, and explained the situation to the receptionist who answered. Two minutes later, he hung up and gave the detectives the details.
MacNeil’s cell phone rang, and Gray Elliott strode past the detectives while Childress was writing down the information Drew gave him.
, stay calm,” Gray said, putting his arm around her shaking shoulders. is going to be okay. You’ve got the best detectives in Cook County in charge, and a task force is already being organized. Is there somewhere else we can go with more room?”
,” Kate said, and led the way up the steps and into the spacious living room where Danny and Molly and she played or watched television whenever Kate could get up there during working hours.
MacNeil paused in the doorway, talking on his phone. When he hung up, he looked at Gray and said with what sounded like relief, ’s a ransom note. The paramedics found it stuffed down the front of Molly Miles’s dress. The kidnappers said they’ll make contact here at eight o’clock tonight with instructions for the drop.”
Kate sank onto a sofa, letting the conversation swirl around her, dimly aware that word had spread downstairs and the doorway was filling up with worried faces.
,” Gray said.
?” Kate repeated numbly, but hopefully, trying to understand.
for ransom has a much better outcome than other types of child abduction,” Gray told her, and looked back at MacNeil. significant about the ransom note?”
that’s apparent, but I’m sending a uniform out there to get it and rush it to forensics. All I know right now is that it’s printed from a computer on white paper.” He looked at Childress and said, “Go ahead and get the wheels in motion for an amber alert.” To Marjorie, he said, give that photograph to Detective Childress.”
Marjorie handed it over, rubbed her hands on the sides of her skirt, and whirled on her heel, heading for the apartment’s kitchen. ’ll make some coffee for everyone.”
idea,” Gray said, then he exchanged a speaking glance with MacNeil, who followed her and stopped her near the kitchen entrance.
Sitting on the sofa, Kate watched Marjorie nod in reply to whatever MacNeil said, then she asked him a question, and his answer made her cover her mouth as if she was stifling a cry. ’s wrong?” Kate cried, half rising from the sofa as Marjorie headed for Danny’s bedroom.
Gray put his hand on her arm and drew her back down. need to get a sample of Danny’s DNA from his hairbrush or toothbrush.”
?” Kate demanded, unable to think as clearly as Marjorie had.
the amber alert goes out, we’ll start getting calls from all over the country that children matching Danny’s description have turned up. We can avoid false alarms if we have Danny’s DNA to send to the local authorities for a match.”
In her heart, Kate knew there was some other reason, other than healthy children turning up and needing to be ruled out, for the police to want a sample of Danny’s DNA, but her brain refused to follow that terrifying path. Gray’s next words distracted her from all of that.