Happily Never After

Part 18

Chapter 17

"Thor damn it, Thor damn it, Thor damn it!" Astrid exclaimed as she paced the room she and Hiccup had been led to in the precinct once he'd been discharged.

Hiccup said nothing as Astrid wore a circle on the hardwood floor as he too was having an internal battle of blame. Even if Astrid didn't blame him, the guilt of taking his eyes off of the kids for a second was eating away at him.

"We can't just stay here. We have to do something!" Astrid objected as she glared at the door that the detectives had closed nearly an hour prior.

"And do what Astrid?!" Hiccup snapped. "We aren't equipped to do anything!!" He stopped and realized that he shouldn't be shouting and quickly apologized before laying his head on the table, jostling the half-drunken paper cup of coffee.

"Hiccup," Astrid said as she came to sit next to him while placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again, his voice muffled by the table as he couldn't look Astrid in the eyes.

"We're both under a lot of stress," She mumbled. "I'm sorry. I just feel so powerless right now,"

"I shouldn't have snapped at you," Hiccup sat up and hugged his partner. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you as well." Astrid sniffed and hugged him back.

It was probably another 15 minutes before one of the detectives entered the room again. He was holding some papers and sat down on the opposite side of the couple. "There have been some developments," he uttered.

"Have you found the kids?" Hiccup asked with urgency in his voice.

"We've managed to locate the vehicle that the kidnapper was driving." The detective told them. "It was left abandoned under an overpass along with an empty stroller."

Both Astrid and Hiccup looked crestfallen but the detective continued. "M'am, I was hoping you could explain this," he said and slid a filled-out form on the table towards the two. "The car in question had been a rental. A rental that had been taken out in your name,"

Astrid blinked, shocked at what she was hearing. She quickly snatched the form up from the table to get a look at it.

"This can't be right!" She uttered but her first and middle name were clearly printed on the forms from the rental agency. "I never rented a car! And certainly not one to... to... oh my Thor! DO YOU THINK I KIDNAPPED MY OWN CHILDREN?!"

"Astrid would never!" Hiccup quickly interjected. "She has no motive," He quickly added.

"Isn't that what you people look for first?! Motive!"

"But Miss Hofferson does have a motive," the detective stated as he folded his fingers together on the table. "We've been able to determine that Miss Hofferson's soulmate has recently entered the picture. Perhaps she wanted to take her children and be with him. You're rich Mr. Haddock. A ransom from you would probably set them up for life."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND?!" Hiccup slammed his fist against the table as Astrid had gone back to pacing while clutching her head. "OUR CHILDREN ARE MISSING AND YOU'RE HERE ACCUSING MY PARTNER!" Hiccup had all but lost it as he stood up and went to hug Astrid who was trying to blink back tears. "She left her scum of a soulmate for good reason. Then he tried to kill us but got off with what was essentially a slap on the wrist. Now he's back and you're blaming her?! What about Eret? Why isn't he a person of interest?"

"Mr. Eretson has an alibi for the time of the kidnapping," The detective relayed to the couple. "He was seen at a casino clear across town. Also, the rental car seems to have been paid for out of Miss Hofferson's account,"

"That can't be right!" Astrid uttered as she looked frantically between the detective and Hiccup who had his eyebrows raised.

Astrid leaned out of Hiccup's embrace to snatch the piece of paper from the detectives. She frowned as she read the account number. "This is my account but... I haven't used this since Highschool."

Her frown didn't go away as she thought for a moment. "Mom had me open a joint bank account with her when I was 16 so I could deposit the money from my part-time jobs in it. I haven't used this account since I left home after Highschool."

"Her mother clearly had access as well." Hiccup argued. "Why are you not looking in that direction? At the hospital, Astrid clearly told you that she thought her mother was capable of this."

"We have been investigating Mrs. Hofferson as well." The detective revealed. "Only we have yet to locate her,"

"What do you mean by that?" Astrid now asked as her eyes narrowed.

"We have a neighbour that confirms your mother left early today for what appears to be a hair appointment. We currently have a car posted across the street from her house in case she comes back."

"This all still doesn't explain why you are accusing Astrid of this. She was at work," Hiccup shot back.

The detective looked like he wanted to say something else but instead just took out another security camera still. It was a close-up of the sedan that the kidnapper used. In the driver's seat, both Hiccup and Astrid could see the kidnapper with their hoodie up. "The lab techs managed to clear up the security footage quite a bit. As you can see the body type of the kidnapper is quite slim. Something that does not match either Mr. Eretson or Mrs. Hofferson, who according to recent pictures provided by Mr. Hofferson, is quite... curvy."

"Since Ms. Hofferson works in the back office and knows where the security cameras at her job are it is not unreasonable to say that she could slip away unnoticed if she wants to."

"Hiccup I swear I didn't do this!" Astrid said upon seeing what the detective was implying. "You know me! I would never hurt you or the kids!"

"That's quite a theory," Hiccup deadpanned as he gave Astrid's arm a squeeze. "But that's all it is, a theory you lot thought up instead of looking for our kids."

"Mister Haddock, I assure you we are actively working to track down your children and assure their safety." The detective explained. "We still have to look at all the persons of interest in this case as well and so far it is not looking that good for your partner."

"Then answer me this," Hiccup said as he stared the other man down. "In between the time it took for me to get rushed to the hospital and you guys to respond, Astrid would have had to ditch the car, find another vehicle, and find a place to put the kids. I know she would not leave a toddler and a baby by themselves so it would have had to be with someone she trusted, sneak back into work, get the call, and race to the hospital." he deadpanned. "If you look at the time between the kidnapping and her getting the call at work there is no way she could have done all that especially if the security camera footage at her work proves that her car never left the parking lot before she got the call from the hospital."

"I don't care what you and your colleagues think. There is no way Astrid did this." Hiccup uttered. "Now either you find our children or we'll leave the station and find them ourselves if all you can do is accuse my partner."