On The Prowl Chapter 2 (standard:mystery, 6752 words) [2/2] show all parts
Author: Sarah Spenser	Added: Nov 15 2005	Views/Reads: 2443/1793	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The adventure continues as Eagle tantilizes Allie and Connor with clues to Francie's whereabouts!

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

I called the cops, they're looking for her, but we have no idea who 
took her." "But ... you're a detective! Why can't you use all your 
forensics to figure this out?" she began to sob uncontrollably. "Oh, 
Connor! Oh God! Our little girl's out there and we have no idea where." 
Connor tried to comfort her despite all the IVs she was hooked to. He 
held her as best he could and gently stroked her hair. "Allie, we will 
find her. We will bring her home." I failed her, my love! I should've 
..." "This isn't your fault, honey. You were drugged. I love you, we'll 
get through this together." He kissed her gently on the lips. She 
returned his affection and whispered softly. "I love you too, my love. 
You're right," she said trying to hold back tears. "We will bring her 
home. Could you hold my hand?" she asked beginning to sob again. The 
phone rang, it sounded like an explosion. Connor reached for it. 
"Hello?" "Detective, how nice to hear your voice. I'm glad they 
connected me to the right number." "Who's this?" "May I speak to 
Allison please?" "Who's this?" "It's The Eagle." Connor gasped, he 
cupped the mouth piece and whispered to Allison. "It's The Eagle, he 
wants to talk to you." "Oh God! He has Francie." "Allison, we don't 
know that, sweetness. Let's not jump to conclusions, just stay calm." 
He handed the phone to her, her hand shook with fear as she brought it 
to her ear. "This is Allison. What do you want?" "First of all, no 
cops! Do you know what a 357 magnum is?" Allison shook with fear, the 
thought of her daughter in the hands of this man sent shivers down her 
spine. "Of course! Where's Francie? Can I talk to her?" "Don't ask so 
many questions, Allison! You could tick me off! I have Francie, she's 
fine." "Can I speak to her?" "No! but just trust me that I do have 
her!" Francie quivered in fear as she saw the man's profile from the 
kitchen, she could hear him on the phone, then she heard her mother's 
voice. "Please, Eagle, Let me talk to her! I just want to hear her 
voice." Allison tried not to sob as she thought of her daughter. Terror 
gripped her heart, and she felt her blood run cold. "No!" he shouted, 
he had switched Allison to speaker phone, and was delighted as Francie 
burst into tears. "Mommy!" she wailed. "Francie! Are you all right, 
honey? Where are you?" Connor told Allie to keep him talking, he ran as 
fast as he could to a phone and dialed Bob. "We need a tracking device 
on Allie's phone!" "The kidnapper called?" "Yeah, it's The Eagle, 
Allie's got him on the line right now!" "Connor, we can't do this in 60 
seconds! See if she can get a location on him." "I will." "I'll send 
officers over with a wire tap and a tracer." Connor reentered Allie's 
room in time to hear her plead with Eagle. "Please! We'll give you 
anything! Just give us our daughter back!" "I love to watch you squirm! 
It's all your fault! If only you hadn't done that story on me, Allison. 
You know, when you think about it, this is technically your fault. Stay 
tuned for another update. I'll be calling!" with that, he broke the 
connection and disposed of the cell phone. Francie stood in the kitchen 
doorway sobbing uncontrollably. All she could do was sway back and 
forth and say "Mommy!" "You're never seeing Mommy again! Or your Daddy, 
little girl!" Francie made a dash for the door, but Eagle grabbed her 
roughly around the waist. She screamed as he pulled her towards him. 
"We're going to play a little game, Francie. It's called Hide and 
Seek." "You're a bad man! Mommy says you kill!" "Shut up!" he said 
slamming his fist into the wall. It made Francie jump, and she closed 
her eyes tightly to keep the tears from cascading down her cheeks. 
"We're going to play a game, Francie. Get in there." He said opening up 
a closet door. "No! I don't want to go in there! It's scary!" the 
closet was no bigger than 8 by 10 and worse than that, it was dark. 
"Please, Mr. Eagle don't make me go in there! I'm afraid of the dark!" 
"Get you're little ass in there!" Eagle said, he shoved her in and 
closed and locked the door. He pocketed the key and went to go make 
dinner. From the kitchen, he could hear Francie's cries for mercy as 
her little hands pounded on the door. 

"What did he say?" Connor asked as Allie set down the phone. "He said he
has her, Connor! He won't give her back! He said that if I call the 
cops, he'll shoot her! She's definitely there, my love!" "How do you 
know he's not bluffing?" "She called out to me, Connor! I heard her 
voice!" she began to sob again. "Oh, Connor! He's a madman, there's no 
telling what he'll do!. He said it's my fault!" "How is it your fault? 
You were home minding your own business, you wouldn't hurt anyone, 
Allie." "No! I should've stopped my investigation, Connor. I should've 
listened to you," she began to sob and paused as she wiped her eyes. "I 
should've listened when you said that I was stupid and someone could 
get hurt! It's my fault she's missing!" "Allie, it's not your fault, 
honey. I said it in anger, I know that you would never do anything to 
hurt Francie. I know you, Allison. I also know that you had to be 
unconscious to let anyone take Francie." He did his best to comfort 
her, but nothing seemed to soothe her tears. Connor went out to give 
Lynn and his parents an update as a nurse strolled into Allison's room. 
"She can't remember anything?" Clint asked dumbfounded. "No, Dad. She 
remembers Lynn giving her the tea, but nothing else." "When I left her, 
she was awake." "You were the last person to see her, Lynn. Was she 
acting strange?" "No I wouldn't have left her if she was. I love her 
like a sister. But at least she's awake." "She's devastated, Lynn. 
Eagle called he has Francie." They all gasped. "Oh my God! What are you 
going to do?" Thelma asked taking another tissue from the box. "I'm 
going to see if he'll give up his location. Allie couldn't get anything 
out of him." "She spoke to him?" "Yeah, he called and said he wanted to 
speak with her, Lynn." "Is there anything I can do?" Lynn inquired 
taking a step towards Allie's room. "No, just get some rest. I'm going 
to stay with her. We're going to search, but it's going to be 
challenging. He doesn't want the cops involved." "If there's anything 
we can do, call us." He watched as the three of them departed from the 
waiting room. A nurse was waiting for him when he entered Allie's room. 
"How is she? Did her fever come down?" "No, it's still 103, and she's 
delirious." "Delirious?" "Yes, probably due to the high fever." "Can't 
you do anything?" "We're doing all we can, Mr. Cassidy. Just humor her. 
She keeps saying that it's her fault. I'll be back to check on her 
later." The nurse said as she exited the room. Connor sat next to Allie 
and gently took her hand. She looked at him through unfocused eyes. 
"It's all my fault, Connor! I should've listened to you." "Allie, it's 
not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong." "I ... I did. I 
should've stopped my investigation, Connor." "You did the right thing, 
sweetness. I think you should try to get some rest, honey. Your fever 
is still very high." "I can't rest, Francie's out there." She said 
weakly. "Allie, you need to stay in bed and rest." "He said no cops, we 
can't even search." "Let me handle that, sweetheart. You just try to 
rest." "It's all my fault! It's my fault! Everything's my fault!" she 
began to sob, Connor noticed she was burning up and was frantic with 
worry. "Shh, Allie, nothing's your  fault. I don't blame you for 
anything." "No! she's missing! It's my fault!" Connor tried to soothe 
her, he stroked her hair lightly. She was quiet for a while, Connor sat 
and held her hand. He watched as she drifted off to sleep, he was glad 
she was resting, but he still worried about her. 

He didn't know which way to turn, Allie was still very sick, and Francie
was in the clutches of a madman. Connor sat lost in thought for a long 
time. He was trying to figure out how he could search for Francie. Bob 
had sent forensics over to the house to dust for prints, Connor was 
hoping they would find something. A nurse strolled passed him and 
placed a gentle hand on Allie's forehead. "At least she's asleep." The 
nurse whispered. "I'm glad, she needs rest." "She's got some sort of 
infection, Mr. Cassidy. We just don't know what it is yet. Her fever's 
gone up a degree. It's now 104." "Damn! Is there anything you can do?" 
"I'm going to ask the doctor on call." The nurse said, she left 
promptly and Connor glanced in Allie's direction again. She opened her 
eyes and looked at him weakly. "Connor, where is he?" "Who, sweetness?" 
"My father. Where's my father?" Jack was in a maximum security prison 
serving hard time, and Connor knew now she was completely delirious. 
"He's in prison, sweetheart." "What about Mom? She has to be around 
somewhere. Have you seen her?" he took her hand tenderly and stroked 
her fingers. "Allie, she's not here." "Where did she go? For coffee?" 
how could he tell her that Marie had been violently murdered during a 
car jacking? "Honey, she ... she uh ... was murdered about 10 years 
ago." "Murdered? I don't remember that." She began to sob again. 
"Allie, you're delirious, you have a high fever. You need to rest." 
"How can I rest? Mom's been murdered and where's Francie?" "She's 
missing." Connor said his heart breaking. He hated to tell her the 
truth, but he didn't know how to keep it from her. "What do you mean 
missing? Kidnapped?" "Yes, sweetness, she was kidnapped." "I have to go 
search for her!" Allison began to pull out the IVs and get out of bed. 
Connor put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Allie, you need to stay in 
bed. You're burning up, sweetheart." "I have to search for her, Connor. 
It's all my fault! It's all my fault." She rose unsteadily and began to 
walk towards the door. Connor was trying to persuade her to get back 
into bed, when the nurse reappeared. "Mrs. Cassidy, you need to stay in 
bed. Your fever's getting worse, you have to rest." "I can't rest! I 
have to search!" "Search for who?" "Francie." "Who's Francie?" the 
nurse asked looking at Allison with concern. "Our daughter's missing." 
Connor interjected trying to lead Allison towards the bed. "Allison, 
you have to get back into bed, sweetness. You need to rest, darling. 
You're not going to be any good to Francie or me if you're too 
exhausted to fight this thing off! Will you do this for me, sweetness?" 
"I can't rest until I find her! I have to find her, Connor!" the nurse 
slipped away to summon a doctor. Allison headed for the door again, but 
Connor gently led her towards the bed. "Let go of me! What the hell are 
you doing? I have to find her!" she shouted. "Allison, you need to 
rest, darling. You're so hot, come and get into bed." "I have to 
search, Connor!" he was doing his best to dissuade her from searching, 
when the doctor and two orderlies entered. Allison rose unsteadily and 
walked slowly towards the door. Connor gently took her hand and led her 
back to bed. She leaned on him as the dizziness increased. "What seems 
to be the problem here?" the doctor asked impatiently. He had thick 
curly hair, a round face, and a mustache. The nurse Beverly who had 
been there earlier appeared behind the doctor. "This is Dr. Devlin. She 
won't stay in bed." Beverly said looking in Allison's direction. She 
stood motionless as Connor gently held her hand. "Mrs. Cassidy, you 
have to get back into bed. You have a very high fever, you need to 
rest." "I have to search! It's my fault. It's all my fault. Connor ... 
tell them that it's my fault." "What the hell's going on?" Dr. Devlin 
asked. "She's delirious, her fever's up to 104. Our daughter's missing 
too. She won't rest until we find her." Connor explained concerned. Dr. 
Devlin and Connor tried to persuade Allison to stay in bed, but nothing 
worked. "I have to search! Let me go!" Connor had her by one arm, and 
Dr. Devlin had the other. Allison was trying to wriggle free, but it 
was no use. "It's my fault! Francie please forgive me! Connor it's all 
my fault!" she began to sob again. "Mrs. Cassidy, you have to get back 
into bed." "I have to search!" "Allie, listen to the doctor, honey. You 
need to rest. Your fever's very high." "I ... I can't! it's my fault!" 
"Okay, Mrs. Cassidy, I'm done. Get me four points." He barked at the 
orderlies. "What are four points?" Connor asked panicked. "Restraints 
that go around your arms and legs." "You're going to strap her to the 
bed?" Connor asked incredulously. "She needs rest, Mr. Cassidy, and 
she's not cooperating with me!" This isn't a battle of wills, Doctor. 
This is a woman who's daughter is missing. Of course she wants to go 
out and search." Connor watched as the orderlies returned with the 
restraints. One of them went up to Allison and began to explain what 
they were going to do. "Mrs. Cassidy, I don't want to do this, but you 
leave us no choice. You have to rest because of your high fever, we're 
going to lift you on o the bed and then strap you down." Allie quivered 
in fear as the orderly came closer. "No! don't let them do this, 
Connor! Please help me!" the orderlies clustered around Allison along 
with Dr. Devlin and Beverly. "Stop! She's not going to rest in 
restraints! What the hell are you doing?" Connor shouted. "Mr. Cassidy, 
step over there, please." Dr. Devlin barked pointing to the far corner 
of the room. "No! I'm not going to let you do this!" the orderlies were 
having trouble restraining Allie. She wriggled free of their grasp, all 
the time begging Connor to help her. "Come on! Get them on her!" Devlin 
barked again. Seized by rage, Connor raced up to the doctor. "Stop, 
Doctor! She's only going to give you a hard time. Let me see what I can 
do." "We tried that, sir. It hasn't worked so far." "I know, but just 
let me try again. Can't you do something else?" "No! You're not going 
to waste any more of my precious time, Mr. Cassidy. Your wife needs to 
be restrained. It's for her own good." "You call yourself a doctor? 
You're supposed to have compassion and humanity! Did you lose it? 
Apparently so! Give me a minute alone with her. I'm sure I can calm her 
down." "I think that Mr. Cassidy has a point, Doctor." Beverly 
interjected looking at Allison with concern. "Okay, one minute." Connor 
watched as everyone left. He looked at Allie with concern and worry. It 
was written all over his face, he was powerless to help her. She had 
stopped sobbing, and laid motionless on the bed. She stared at him, 
through glazed eyes. "Allie? Are you all right, sweetness?" "No! Don't 
let them do this, Connor! I just want to find Francie! I just want to 
search. She's out there ... she's missing and there has to be something 
that ..." "Allison, you need to rest right now. We're doing all we can 
to find her. Your fever's 104 and you need to listen to the doctor and 
rest. I love you, Allie. You're not going to be any good to anyone if 
you're exhausted and can't fight this infection off." He kissed her 
lightly on the lips. "I have to search, Connor. Promise me that you'll 
search too. This is all my fault!" "Allie, you have to stop blaming 
yourself, none of this is your fault. It's Eagle's fault, he's nuts!" 
Dr. Devlin entered then followed by Beverly and the orderlies. "What 
have you got?" he asked impatiently. Connor wondered how this man could 
be a doctor, but pushed the thought aside as he began to speak. "Well, 
she's less insistent on searching." "How about a sedative?" Beverly 
suggested. "Maybe." Devlin said looking at Allison who was staring into 
space. Connor looked in Allie's direction, and knew she was completely 
out of it. "Allie, Beverly's going to give you a sedative. It'll make 
you sleep. What do you think of that?" it took her a moment to respond 
as she tried to comprehend Connor's words. "Okay, will you stay with 
me?" "I promise." He kissed her gently then. She returned his affection 
and watched as Beverly left to prepare the sedative. Minutes later, 
Beverly reappeared with a needle in hand. "Allison, this is only going 
to hurt for a second. Just hold still." The hospital gown allowed 
access to Allison's arms and also kept her cooler than normal clothes. 
Connor held his breath as Beverly injected Allison. She didn't flinch, 
but remained silent. "Okay, it'll take a few minutes." Beverly said 
wiping Allie's arm with an alcohol swab. "Thanks, Beverly." Connor said 
softly. Devlin and the orderlies left then, leaving Connor and Beverly 
deep in conversation. "You're welcome, Connor. Allison needs rest, and 
I never liked Devlin. I didn't think that restraints were the best way 
to go." "Thank you for your help." "Any time, I'll be back to check on 
her." When Beverly was gone, Connor turned his attention to Allie. He 
fixed the blankets around her, she was hooked to the IVs again, and he 
could see that the sedative was beginning to take effect. "Allie? How 
are you feeling?" "Hot and dizzy. I'm sorry, Connor. It's my fault that 
Francie's missing." "No, honey it's not. I want you to rest right now. 
Francie would too, she loves you, Allison. She doesn't want anything to 
happen to you. You can help her by resting." She began to sob, Connor 
stroked her hair lightly and watched as she fell asleep. He grabbed the 
pad from the nightstand and began to write down a list of procedures to 
find Francie. The phone rang, shattering the stillness of the room. 
Connor answered quickly so it wouldn't wake Allie. She stirred slightly 
and looked at him. "Connor?" "Shh, go back to sleep, Allie. I've got 
it." She closed her eyes, and within seconds was asleep again. "Hello?" 
Connor whispered. "Hi, Connor. It's Lynn, how's Allison?" "Well, she's 
sleeping right now. Her fever's up to 104 and she's delirious with 
grief. They had to sedate her. She wanted to search for Francie. She 
wouldn't stay in bed." "Oh no! Is there anything I can do?" "No thanks. 
Just be here for her. She's devastated, Lynn. I don't know how to help 
her. There's been no news on Francie either. We're putting a wire tap 
on the phone, so we can trace Eagle when he calls." "You have no idea 
where he is?" "No, Bob's dusting for prints at the house, I'm going to 
head over there right now." "Do you want me to see if they'll let me in 
to see Allison? I can sit with her while you're gone." "I'll ask 
Beverly about that tonight. She's sedated right now, and will probably 
sleep for a few hours. I'll be back before she wakes up." "Okay, if 
there's anything that I can do, just let me know." Connor put down the 
receiver and tiptoed from the room. 

The house was swarming with police and forensics teams. Each occupied a
room of the house, and were hard at work when Connor arrived. Bob 
Frank, the new police chief was surprised to see Connor. "Connor, how's 
Allison?" "Well, she has a very high fever. They think it's some sort 
of infection. They just can't figure out what. She's sleeping right 
now." "Is there anything I can do?" "Bring our daughter home." "I will 
do my best, Connor. I know Eagle said no cops, but we're trying to do 
this under his radar. We don't have anyone staking him out." "That's 
good. He said he'll kill her if he we call the cops." "I know, Connor. 
We're being careful. We're almost done here." Connor watched as the 
forensics teams packed things in boxes, containers and bags to take 
back to the lab. The house was torn apart, and everything was out of 
place. After they had gone, Connor surveyed Francie's room for clues. 
The shards of glass were gone, and so were some of her toys. He went 
downstairs into the living room and found that they had taken some of 
Allie's vases and dusted everything for prints. Connor closed and 
locked the front door and headed back to the hospital. 

He entered Allie's room quietly, she was still asleep as he had
suspected. He sank into the chair beside her bed. He thought about the 
struggle that must've taken place between Francie and Eagle. It 
sickened him to think that his little girl was in trouble and he was 
helpless. Allie had wrestled with this feeling, and now it was his 
turn. He began to sob as he thought of Francie, defenseless against 
Eagle. He had to put up a brave front for Allie's sake, and just keep 
reassuring her that everything would work out in the end. The phone 
rang, pulling Connor out of his reverie. "Hello?" "Detective, where's 
that pretty wife of yours?" "Talk to me, Eagle." Connor said 
impatiently, his heart was pounding, and his breath quickened. He 
gripped the phone tightly to hear every syllable Eagle uttered. "I 
don't want to talk to you, Detective! I want to talk to Allison. 
Remember what you did to me all those years ago? I despise you! This 
isn't about your wife as much as it is about you!" he said contempt 
echoing in his voice. "Refresh my memory." The wire tap was on, and 
Connor kept him talking for as long as he could. "Does the year 1997 
mean anything to you?" "Well, ... in what way?" "Remember that year. 
Think about it, Detective. I want to speak to Allison. I'm not talking 
until you get her on the line." Connor put down the phone and gently 
shook Allie. She stirred slightly, but didn't fully wake up. "Allie?" 
he whispered shaking her again. "Hmm?" "Allie? Are you awake?" "What's 
... what's wrong?" she asked sleepily. The sedative clearly had a hold 
on her, and Connor was doing his best to keep her awake. "Allison, I 
need you to stay awake for me." "Why? I can't I'm so tired ..." her 
eyes began to close again, Connor took hold of her hand. "Allison, 
Eagle's on the phone. He'll only talk to you." "Eagle?" she said 
immediately becoming more awake. "He's on now?" "Yeah, here you go." 
Allie took the phone from his outstretched hand and suppressed a sob. 
"Eagle, what do you want? Where is she?" "Allison my dear, remember 
what I told you about asking too many questions? I have a clue for 
you." "What kind of clue?" she remembered what he had just said and 
stopped herself. "Just listen up!" "Is she all right? You haven't hurt 
her have you?" "Allison! Listen!" "Sorry." "Here's how you find 
Francie. The person you seek is very near, isn't it a shame? The clue 
lies within yourself, and in your given name." Before she could 
respond, Eagle broke the connection. Francie was asleep in the closet, 
Night Quill really did the trick. Eagle opened the door and looked at 
his prey. "Sleep now, my dear. Wait until tomorrow! At least you're not 
crying anymore, that was awful. I had to shut you up somehow." He 
closed the door and went into the living room to watch TV. 

"He gave me a clue, Connor." She said handing him the phone. "What kind
of clue?" "A rhyming clue. Write this down." He grabbed his pad and 
wrote as she dictated. "The person you seek is very near, isn't it a 
shame, the clue lies within yourself and in your given name." "What the 
hell is that supposed to mean?" Connor spat angrily. "Don't yell at me! 
That's the clue." "I'm sorry. You're right, you need to rest. How about 
trying to sleep, sweetness? They gave you a sedative." "I know, but I'm 
not tired right now. I need to figure this out. My full name is Allison 
Marie Shure Cassidy." Connor wrote it and looked at each letter. "Maybe 
every letter stands for something, Connor. You know like A is for 
allure or something." "What kind of a clue is that?" "I have no idea. I 
don't even know what hat means." They were interrupted by a knock at 
the door. "You're supposed to be asleep." Beverly said approaching 
Allison's bed. "I know, but Eagle called and gave me another clue. I 
have to figure this out." "Allison, you need ..." "Don't try to argue 
with her, Beverly it's pointless. Trust me, I've been there." "Let me 
check your temperature." Beverly inserted a thermometer under Allison's 
tongue. Her fever was still 104, and Beverly was concerned. "Hmm, I 
don't like that. I'm going to talk to Dr. Devlin and see what he 
recommends." She left the room then. But quickly reappeared. "Oh, I 
forgot this was left for you." She said handing a piece of paper to 
Allison. She took it and opened it. Written in the center was Allison 
Marie Cassidy. She stared at it. "Oh my God! It's the clue!" "What are 
you talking about?" "It's the clue! He's ... he's using Allison Marie 
Cassidy." "So?" "Maybe if we figure this out, we can find her." "How 
naive are you? You think that he's actually going to give her back?" 
Connor inquired staring at her. "Shut up! My baby's out there in the 
clutches of a madman! I will do anything before I let that bastard hurt 
her!" Allison shouted. "Okay, calm down. I'm sorry. I just don't want 
you to get your hopes up, darling. He's playing you like a fiddle, 
Allison!" "Maybe, but we have to try to figure this out." They worked 
for hours, but got nowhere. They used every possible combination of 
letters, but came up with nothing. Allie was lying in bed thinking when 
she had an idea. "What if we take the first letter of each word?" "Like 
A for Allison?" "Yeah, maybe it's an acronym." Connor wrote down the 
letters on the pad and stared at it. "AMC, does that mean anything to 
you?" "AMC? No not that I know of. He said she was near, Connor. Near, 
let me see." Allison thought a minute. The letters AMC meant something, 
but what? How were they significant? "There's a radio tower that powers 
one of the local radio stations and it's by the river! It's the AMC 
radio station!" Allison blurted. "I'll check it out." Connor said 
rising from his chair. "I'm going with you!" "No you're not. You need 
to stay in bed. I'll call if I find her." Connor was gone in a flash. 
Beverly breezed in a short time later. Allison was trying to figure out 
how to get out of bed. "Connor sent me in to watch you. He said that 
you wouldn't stay in bed." "I think I know where she is, Beverly! I 
have to find her!" "Allison, you need to rest. Connor will call if he 
finds anything." "No! I have to ..." Allison had an idea, she closed 
her eyes for a moment and then glanced at Beverly. "I'm so tired." "You 
need to rest, the sedative's taking hold again." Beverly sat quietly, 
and watched as Allison drifted off to sleep. A few minutes later, 
Beverly decided to get coffee, she glanced at Allison before leaving 
the room. "Allison?" she whispered, but she didn't stir. She's asleep, 
Beverly thought as she went down to the cafeteria. 

Once she was gone, Allison pulled the IVs and slowly got out of bed. The
dizziness was worse than ever, and the whole room spun. She stood 
unsteadily and walked to the hospital's emergency fire exit. She 
timidly opened the door, and shivered as the frigid winter air hit her. 
Her hospital gown was thin, and little protection against the cold. She 
walked along slowly, all the while feeling her head pound, and her 
dizziness increase. 

Connor arrived at the river a short time later. He had left Allie in
good hands with Beverly, and concentrated on the task at hand. He had 
called Bob while en route and now looked at the officers that 
surrounded him in plain clothes. Divers combed the river but found 
nothing. Until Peter one of the divers,  saw something that resembled a 
shoe. He dove down and retrieved it. It was a child's shoe, so small 
and perfect he thought as he brought it to the surface. "Connor, we 
found this." He said handing him the waterlogged shoe. Connor gasped it 
was Francie's, he froze, lost in grief and despair. He sank to his 
knees and sobbed. "My baby! My precious baby girl! Comb the river! She 
may be down there!" he shouted, he began to sob again when he saw 
something out of the corner of his eye. Allie was walking unsteadily 
towards him. Surprised, he turned and faced her, wiping the tears from 
his eyes. "Allie! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in 
bed!" "Connor, did you find her?" "Allie ..." "Did you find her? Did 
you find anything?" "No, darling. Stay right here." Connor left her for 
a moment and went over to Bob. "Bob, Allie's here, she's not even 
supposed to be out of bed. Please don't tell her about the shoe. She'll 
go nuts." "Okay, I'll inform the officers." Bob whispered. Allison sat 
on a rock to wait. She looked at the divers scouring the river, Bob was 
about to inform Peter when he approached Allison. "Mrs. Cassidy, I'm 
Peter Parnell one of the divers." "Did you find anything, Mr. Parnell?" 
"We did ..." Connor approached then interrupting their conversation. 
"Peter's got to go, honey. They didn't find anything." "You're lying!" 
she snapped. "No, darling." Connor didn't want to upset her anymore 
than she was. He worried about her as she shivered in her hospital 
gown, as the wind whipped through the trees. Connor took off his  coat 
and wrapped her in it. "Allison, you need to stay warm, honey. You 
should be in bed." "I can't rest, Connor. Where is she? Where's 
Francie? Where is my baby?" "Allie, calm down. You need to rest, 
darling. We haven't found anything, I would've called." Just then Ron 
Alda a rookie cop got out of his patrol car. "I can't rest, Connor! 
Where is she?" "We didn't find anything." Allie went over to where the 
crime scene tape covered the ground. "Why's there tape around the 
river? She's down there isn't she? She's down there!" "No, honey." 
Connor gently took her arm and led her away from the river. The divers 
and police officers stood motionless as Connor gently led her away. 
"She's not down there, Allison. I wouldn't lie to you." "Detective," 
Ron said brusquely. "Yes, Ron." "What's the status on the object you 
found in the river?" "What object?" Allie asked incredulously. "Uh ... 
Ron come here." Connor said trying to discretely lead Ron away from 
Allie so she wouldn't overhear. "I don't have to talk to you in 
private, sir. I just wanted to know if the shoe was sent to the lab." 
Connor gasped and almost hit Ron. "Shoe? What shoe?" "Allie, it's 
nothing." "He didn't tell you, ma'am? Pete Parnell found a child's shoe 
in the river." "Oh God! She's down there, Connor! She's down there! 
Comb the river! Search, have your divers search! Get the dogs ..." 
"Allison, it's going to be fine. We're not sure it's Francie's." "No! 
Connor, Eagle was telling the truth! Oh God! She's down there." Allison 
walked slowly over to the river. She stood at the edge and was about to 
dive in when Connor stopped her. "Francie? Where are you?" She shouted, 
but there was no response. "Allison, come away from the river. What are 
you doing?" "If you won't dive for her I will!" she took a step towards 
the river but Connor pulled her back. "Let go of me!" "Allie, you're 
fever's making you delirious. You're not making any sense! I have 
divers combing the river right now!" "Our daughter's missing damn it! 
I'm not going to stand by and do nothing." "Allie, calm down." "No! I 
won't calm down! Francie's missing!" she took a step towards the river. 
"She's out there! We have to find her! What if the shoe is hers? I ... 
I ..." she stopped as a spell of dizziness overtook her. "Allison? Are 
you okay?" Connor asked looking at her with concern. But before she 
could respond, she collapsed. "Allie! Allie? Can you hear me?" but she 
didn't respond, Connor felt  her forehead, she was burning up in spite 
of the cold outside. "Somebody help!" Connor scooped Allie up and 
brought her to his car. Ever so gently, Connor placed her in the front 
seat. "It's going to be all right, sweetness. I'm going to get you some 
help. Just hang on, Allison! Hang on!" He turned on the heat full blast 
and tried to warm her. Bob frantically approached the car. Connor 
rolled down his window. "You need an ambulance? Is she all right?" "Her 
fever's making her delirious, I don't know what happened, Bob! She just 
collapsed!" "I'll meet you at the hospital!" Connor took off at full 
speed for Fallwood General, his heart was racing as the car 
accelerated. He felt Allie's forehead and gasped. "You're going to be 
fine, sweetness. You're burning up right now." She stirred and opened 
her eyes. "Connor?" she said weakly. "I'm right here, Allison. We're 
going to the hospital, sweetness. You're going to be fine." "Save her, 
Connor! She's down there in the river! Where is she? I'm sorry it's all 
... it's all my fault I lo..." with the last word, Allison lost 
consciousness. "Allie? Stay with me damn it!" Connor exclaimed pounding 
the steering wheel in frustration. "I love you, sweetheart. Just hang 
on!" He put on Allie's seatbelt as the car shot forward en route to 
Fallwood General. 


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