At the station, Emily stopped at the break room to catch her breath for a minute. She hadn't realized how close to home this case would hit, and she knew that asking to be let off the case would raise suspicions. That was a part of her life that she buried for good reasons. She stepped out of the break room and headed to Chief McCall's office to update him on what had happened, only to realize that Tom had beaten her to it. This partner thing might not be such a good idea.
"Foster, Floyd here tells me that there was an incident of some sort at the Mitchell residence. Care to explain what happened?" Chief asked rather cynically. Emily wasn't sure if he was being so passively aggressive because he had an issue with Tom or because he was just a dickhead but she answered him anyways. "Sarah seems to have mood swings, or at least that's what it appears to be. We're trying to track down the baby's father, but that might be a bit difficult seeing that he's averse to technology." "But we'll find him and give you an update as soon as possible," Tom interjects.
Emily bites her lips and fights the urge to tell him that in instances like this, you don't make promises you're not sure of keeping. The probability of finding a missing baby drops dangerously low after the first 24 hours, and this case appeared to have unreliable witnesses. But it was his first case as a detective, so she could understand the enthusiasm and that happy-go-lucky spring in his step. They head back to the team to get started on the profiles.
"Listen up, everyone., As we all know, we had an amber alert this morning. Missing baby, so you know the stakes are high. Call your family, nobody's going home tonight. We have work to do." This earned Emily groans from Chris and Stephen, their temporary sub-team members. "I promised Sasha I would take her to that new jazz club." Chris bemoans as he clears a desk to set up. "I'm sure Sasha knows that as a detective, you're always on call," Emily replied.
Tom watches everyone step out to make calls to their family that they won't be coming. He soon realizes that he's not the only one without anyone waiting at home when he sees Emily stay put. I wonder what her story is. He thinks to himself. She seemed to always keep to herself even back in the police college, so he just assumed she was stuck up. Not like she was doing anything to change that impression.
After a few minutes, the other guys came back into the office , and it was time to get to work. "Alright, now that everyone is here, Tom, would you care to get us up to speed on what we know so far?" Emily said. Tom stood up to address the team, pictures in hand to attach faces to names. "As we all know already, we have a missing baby case on our hands. Emily and I went to the Mitchell residence and spoke to the mom. Right now, we have no specific timeframe as to when the baby was taken. The only thing Sarah could tell us is that the baby was missing when she woke up at 7."
"So the baby could have been gone for more than 12 hours? How the hell does one sleep through the night with an infant anyway?" Chris asks, perplexed, as he ruffles his hair. "I'm guessing the ibuprofen Sarah took was accompanied by a glass of wine. We need to go back to the Mitchell residence. There seems to be more than she's letting on." Tom answers, wincing as memories of his mother come to mind.
"Tom and I would go back to Sarah for more details. In the meantime, find the husband. I don't care if we have to use a map or something. We need to know if he has the baby, or this is a colossal waste of our time." Emily states.
"Ready when you are partner," Tom says as he grabs his jacket off the table. This time, Emily decides to best let him take the lead, seeing that something she did must have set Sarah off the last time. As they drive back, she closes her eyes trying to control her breath as she feels the panic sets in. She hears Tom whisper under his breath and finds him staring pointedly when she opens her eyes.
"Did you say something?" She asked, pinching her nose. "I was asking what you've been up to since Randall," Tom says, repeating himself. "How did you know I went to Randall? Did you read my file?" Emily wonders accusingly.
"I didn't read your file. I'm not a creep. I went to Randall, too. Tom answers, huffing. "Really? I don't think I ever saw you around. Then again, it was a large crowd. It's not possible to know everyone. Emily remarks. "We didn't exactly walk in the same circles, so I didn't expect you to remember me."
"Why did you say circles in that tone like I was in some sorority? Emily says, making air quotes. "You know what I'm talking about. The circle that says nothing when guys like me got hazed during training."
"I- I have no idea what you're talking about." Emily stutters as she fidgets with her seatbelt. Deep down, she knew exactly what he was talking about. The 'cardiovascular trainings' were only torture in disguise. She could never speak up back then because she wasn't trying to call attention to herself. She had spent all this time hiding, and she didn't want the bones in her closet to pop out.
"I don't hold it against you or any of them. But let's not pretend Randall wasn't a frathouse of some sort." Tom snickers as he parks the car outside the Mitchell residence. This time, he doesn't wait for her to take the lead as he steps out of the Sedan.