“Adam, where are Liam and Marianne? Did Frederick kidnap them as well?” asked a distraught Cara as she started looking inside the police car for her brother and her little baby.
“I don’t know, Cara. I was fast asleep when Frederick tied me up and took me to his car. After a minute, his men brought Vera, and then we left. I saw uncle Joe and aunt Maggie lying on the floor of our living room. All our guards were lying unconscious on the ground. Our mouths were gagged and we couldn’t scream for help,” said Adam. Cara caught Lucas’s hand in a tight grip as tears crept pouring down her cheeks.
“Lucas, please rescue my brother and my baby, Marianne. She’s just four months old. I beg of you, do something,” she cried, her voice hoarse with tears of desperation. She slumped to the ground in shock, holding onto her head, unable to control the pain in her heart. Where could Liam and Marianne be? Were they in danger? Did Frederick kill them?
Lucas froze hearing her. Marianne? Cara’s baby? He crouched down next to her while officer Berkeley came forward to understand what was going on. “What are you saying, Cara? Do you have a baby?” he asked with disbelief. Vera came forward to help since all Cara could do was sob brokenly.
“Yes, Marianne is Cara and Marcus’s baby. She is this little. She was sleeping in the nursery next to aunt Maggie’s room,” she informed them, showing how small Marianne was. Lucas caught at his hair with frustration. This was baffling news indeed. He wondered if Marcus knew at all about it.
Nicholas too gaped at her, trying to come to terms with what he just heard.
“Does Marcus know?” he asked with dread although he, as well as Lucas, could guess the answer. Cara shook her head slowly. “Oh, God!” he gasped, realizing what a shock his brother was about to receive.
“Wait, let me understand this. How old is Liam and where was he when Frederick attacked your house?” the officer asked Adam and Vera.
“Liam is my twin. He was fast asleep with me, officer but when I woke up, he wasn’t there at all in the room,” said a confused Adam. Lucas helped Cara to her feet as she looked at Adam curiously. “He might have gone to the washroom. I’m not sure.”
“I see. Then did Frederick’s men catch him and transfer him elsewhere with Marianne?” asked the officer.
“But they had only one car,” pointed out Lucas.
“I think I need to go inside and check the house. Once I see the scene of the crime, I can understand it better. Where are Mr. and Mrs. Smithfield?” asked officer Berkeley.
“Aunt Maggie isn’t well and is under bed rest. Uncle Joe has gone to the hospital for a check-up,” informed Cara with a sigh. Cara led officer Berkeley and his assistant inside the house while the others followed.
“I hope they aren’t serious,” asked Lucas with dread.
“Aunt Maggie received a blow on her head that made her fall. So now she’s suffering from a mild concussion but her rheumatoid arthritis has worsened. The therapy will take time,” said Cara with a sigh. “Uncle Joe suffered a deep gash on his forehead and busted lips. His wounds have healed after getting good treatment at the nearby clinic.”
Aunt Maggie and her nurse looked up the moment they entered her room. “Aunt Maggie, Liam, and Marianne are missing,” said Cara, her voice breaking at the effort it took her to keep sane and help with the investigation. Aunt Maggie’s eyes filled up with tears as she tried to get down but the nurse held her back.
“No, that’s impossible! Frederick took all four of them. They weren’t there when we gained consciousness in the morning,” gasped Aunt Maggie, unable to stop the tears anymore.
“Not in the car we were in, aunt Maggie,” said Adam. Their housekeeper, Mrs. Jenner walked in and took the children away. She had been newly appointed since aunt Maggie couldn’t take care of anything now.
“Please show me the room where Liam and Marianne slept,” said officer Berkeley. He called his team over the phone to help collect as much evidence as possible. They were now faced with a new challenge and needed to start a fresh investigation.
Cara led them towards the nursery. “The children have their room upstairs, officer,” informed Cara.
“Did Frederick have the time to go upstairs to get them?” asked the officer. Cara was clueless and they returned to aunt Maggie’s room.
“No. Vera and the boys usually slept upstairs in their room but last night they were scared, so they all slept together in the room next to the nursery,” informed aunt Maggie.
“Where’s the washroom Liam went to?” asked Lucas.
“The room next to the nursery and the nursery are attached together and have a single washroom. It was basically designed to accommodate a nanny,” said Aunt Maggie.
“I see. So can a person who walks into the room, go to the nursery as well? Is there any interconnecting door?” asked the officer as Cara led him to the room where the children slept that night. There was an interconnecting door indeed. The rest of the team arrived and reported to officer Berkeley. The others watched while the team collected possible evidence, fingerprints, footprints, hair samples, whatever they could find.
“The washroom is located near the interconnecting door. It means that if Liam was indeed in the washroom, he and Marianne were kidnapped first before Adam and Vera,” said officer Berkeley as he investigated further. “Wait, the nursery is interconnected to Mr. And Mrs. Smithfield’s room as well. This is interesting!” said the officer and he walked into aunt Maggie’s room again through the interconnecting door.
“Yeah, Aunt Maggie needs to feed Marianne every two hours. So we had to have an interconnecting door here,” said Cara.
“So, tell me, does your brother Liam have a mobile phone?” asked the officer suddenly. Lucas had gone to freshen up in one of the rooms upstairs while Nicholas followed the police and Cara around.
“No, officer. I wish I had given him one,” said Cara as fresh tears pooled into her eyes even thinking of what might have happened to the two of them.
“What I can’t figure out is why would Frederick harm two of the children and not the other two?” asked Nicholas looking puzzled.
“You have no idea how a criminal mind works Mr. Donnelly. Let’s get the samples to the forensic department. Once the reports are out, we will know exactly how many men were here and the number of vehicles they used,” said the officer. “We’ll take a look around the vicinity. I’ll come back with the reports soon.” The officer left and Cara broke down considerably.
“I just hope they both are together wherever they are!” she said, breaking down miserably. Marcus’s mom came out of Marcus’s room after he ate and took his medicine. Apparently, he went to sleep due to the effect of the heavy dose of painkillers.
“Is anything wrong?” she asked with concern, seeing Cara’s condition.
“One of her siblings hasn’t returned home yet,” said Nicholas as he helped Cara to a couch nearby.
“My baby!”Cara sobbed, beating her chest, going hysterical, and finally losing her consciousness. Marcus’s mom gaped at her not understanding what was happening. Nicholas tried to calm her but he was actually inexperienced in such things. Soon Lucas came down and gave her a sedative. She was drowsy and he carried her to Marcus’s room and laid her beside Marcus. It was better she slept while he figured out what to do.
He slipped out of the room to find his mom looking devastated. Nicholas had updated her and she went crazy with worry. “My grandchild is missing and I’m feeling so helpless, Nick. Why can’t the cops find her already?” she cried. Uncle Joe returned home and they updated him as well.
“Are you sure that Liam and Marianne were kidnapped? Maybe they’re hiding somewhere?” suggested Uncle Joe. “I could sense Frederick’s movements even though I was hurt. I wasn’t completely unconscious. I didn’t see him take anyone else. He only took Adam and Vera with him. I’m sure of this,” said Joe Smithfield, stunning everyone present.
“Where can Liam hide with a four-month-old?” asked Mrs. Donnelly looking lost.
“Exactly my query. He couldn’t have gone far with Marianne, that too in the middle of the night. He’s not at home even since he would have emerged once Frederick and his men left,” said Lucas.
“I think Adam knows if any of their new friends live close by,” said Joe Smithfield. Nicholas called Adam and they asked him if he knew of any of their friends living nearby. Their house was located on a private road while the other houses were in the next lanes at quite a roundabout route from theirs.
“Denis is the only one who lives on Paradise Cove Road, Uncle Joe. Our other friends live far away,” said Adam. Vera came rushing into the room with Adam’s laptop. He was just about to open his email when Nicholas had called him.
“Adam, there’s an email from Liam in your school’s email address,” she gasped. They all peered at the screen with their hearts beating with dread as Adam opened the email.