Silent Screams

Seven Fucking Days

"You hid an important detail from our colleagues; you have a police record." Antonio said, standing in front of the counter.

"Oh. Do you think that I don't know this is? I was wrongly convicted and now I have to play as the scapegoat again?" Dave Mitchell asked.

"A 7-year-old boy has been missing for nearly 3 days and we have the right to believe that he was kidnapped right outside your shop." Antonio hissed.

"Yeah but I didn't see anything!" Dave Mitchell yelled.

"Where were you on Friday between 3 and 4 pm?" Alvin asked.

"I'm not talking to you without a lawyer anymore."

"Okay. Dave Mitchell you are under arrest on suspicion of child abduction..." Antonio mumbled the legal advice.

Mitchell sat, silent, in the interrogation room.

"My patience is coming to an end. Look at the picture. Ethan is missing and he was was last seen right outside your shop. What did you get for the boy? Money?" Hank asked curiously.

"Hell no! I don't know the boy. I have never seen him!" he yelled.

"You have 4 sexual harassment ads for minors."

"These were girls at the age of 13 and 16 and one of them looked like 18. Why should I kidnap a little boy?"

"Tell me." Voight hissed.

"Help me." Dave Mitchell said to Alvin, who leaned silently against the wall.

"This isn't a game neither for the boy nor for the family. Where is Ethan?" Alvin hissed.

"You know what? I have the right to remain silent. You won't hear anything without my lawyer."

Annoyed, they waited for the lawyer to perform the interrogation, that the lawyer knew how to prevent. Again and again the lawyer insisted that there was not enough evidence and demanded a release. Unfortunately, Voight was able to set a 24-hour deadline by pulling some strings and tried to get some answers from him without the lawyer. Dave was in the cage but without success.

CPDCPDCPD

In the early morning, Chicago was still in a dusky dawn, as a dark GMC rolled on the CPD parking lot. Unrelenting, heavy drops of water against the windows of the car, blurring the world outside into a single, unreal gray mass. The little light of the rising sun seemed to be lost in the dark layers of cloud, which fought with all their strength against the rising morning. But which day would be more suitable for such weather than this one?

A soft sigh sounded so faintly from the driver's seat that it almost sank in the murmur of the wind. Lost in thought, Jay stared at the dense rain veil. For a while he just sat there, motionless, as if the time had stopped in his world. Only the slow, steady uplifting of his ribcage revealed a hint of what was going on inside him. It just was not fair. Why his son?

"Jay?" Erin repeated his name. For once she let her partner drive. He looked sadly in her direction. Gently, Erin puts her hand on his knee and squeezed lightly, "Today is a new day. I'm sure we'll find Ethan."

"One week, Erin. My son has been missing for whole week and we have no trace." Jay sighed.

"Don't underestimate your son. Ethan is strong and still waiting to be found by you."

"What if Ethan is dead? Ben Corson ... he was the same age when... it reminds me too much. I don't want to find my son in a shrubbery where he was abused and murdered by a pedophile."

"You mustn't think about that."

"I miss him so much. That's almost crazy. 8 years ago I wouldn't have thought that such a small person can grow so dear to my heart." a single tear followed by several tears rolled down his cheek. Erin never saw her partner show such emotion. But of course this is about his son. She would like to cry right now, but someone has to pull itself together and give him courage.

Gently, Erin stroked his tears away with her thumb.

"He is a wonderful boy. He's like his dad and that's why Ethan is still alive"

CPDCPDCPD

"A whole week! Seven fucking days and we don't have a single trace!" Jay screamed angrily and hit the whiteboard, "A child doesn't disappear like that! We have to do something!!!"

"Halstead. Calm down. We're all trying to find Ethan." Voight growled. After all, they probably started the largest search operation in Chicago. In vain, because Ethan disappeared without a trace.

"We overlook something! We need to put more pressure on the kiosk owner or the ex-boyfriend." Jay scolded.

"Mitchell has a lawyer and the ex-boyfriend has a watertight alibi." Antonio said.

"What about the silver car driver?" Jay asked.

"Do you know how many of them exist throughout Chicago and the surrounding area? We don't have a detailed description and we interviewed every suspicious car owner." Mouse said, "I've seen almost every surveillance camera in the area and around. Nothing."

"That's it? We give up?"Jay asked mortified.

"We won't rest until we bring Ethan home. Only my hands are bound at some point." Voight said.

"He is seven years old. He has his whole life ahead of him." Jay said calmly and disappeared into the break room.

He sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter and closed his eyes. Of course only briefly, because if he closed his eyes for more than a few seconds, he would fall asleep, that was for sure. He managed to keep himself awake for so long, because of adrenaline. It shot through his veins, filling his whole body, keeping his eyes open.

"Hey man, how are you?" Antonio asked, pouring new coffee into the mug.

"How did you endure that?"

"Not at all, but hope counts." Antonio said.

"There was at least a ransom demand for Diego's kidnapping, but nothing at Ethan. He is missing for a week and we have nothing. I don't even know if he's still alive."

"You can't give up, Jay. I promise you, we will sooner or later find out what happened." Antonio cheered him up, "In spite of everything, I didn't know if Diego was still alive. We both know what these people are doing with kids."

"I think all the time, what if ..."

Immediately he was interrupted by Antonio, "This is the wrong way. What if doesn't bring your son home."

"Worst of all is the constant nothing." Jay whispered, pulled out his cell phone and looked at his wallpaper, which showed a cheerful boy. Gently he stroked the touchscreen with his thumb. He missed his little boy very much.