And You Are...?

[JACK ROCCOGRANDI]

Damn it. They were so close. Damn it!

Jack just got the results back on the photo from the mall. The clean up of the grainy picture confirmed the young woman was of a similar build to Alyson Montgomery, but it was impossible to see the face. There was no way to tell if it was her for sure. It was the best lead they had come across in weeks and it led smack dab to the middle of nowhere. Jack felt like punching something. He'd definitely be going to the gym tonight to take out some of this frustration on a punching bag. With a heavy sigh, he covered his face with his large, rough hands, and leaned back in his chair. His fingers rubbed his bleary eyes, hoping maybe that would make it easier to see the face in the photo.

Nope. That didn't work. He almost growled in frustration. Instead, he let a short, heavy breath out of his nose. Maybe if his new partner would be assigned to him soon, he could get a fresh pair of eyes to look at it. He had been looking at it too long. Who else was assigned to the case? He flipped to the front of the file, checking the names of the officers listed there. The first name his eyes fell on was Rebecca Taylor. From what he could remember, she was relatively new. He vaguely remembered meeting her when she first arrived at the precinct. Blonde, thin. If he went looking, he'd probably recognize her when he saw her.

He got up from his desk, taking the file and picture in hand, and started meandering through the office. With a nod and a smile, he greeted a couple people as he made his way to the captain's office. Putting his head in the door, he found the captain sitting at his desk. "Hey Cap, where's Taylor located?" he asked. The captain answered vaguely, obviously in the middle of something, and he didn't want to ask again. The answer was enough for now. Jack made his way over and was lucky enough to find her sitting at her desk. He recognized her when he saw her, just like he thought he would. He made a beeline for her desk, trying not to look too imposing as he did so. His hulking body didn't help him in that regard, but he gave a smile when he got her attention.

"Hey, Taylor, I don't know if you remember me. Name's Jack Roccograndi. I've been assigned to the Montgomery case, too. Did you get the picture the lab tried to clean up?" he asked, placing the file and the picture on her desk. "The picture's too poor for me to make out the face, but maybe you can? I think I've just been looking at it too long." He gave a half smile, taking the seat across from her, preparing for some brainstorming if she was up for it.

[REBECCA TAYLOR]

Rebecca was nursing her second coffee. It was another rainy day, which for some reason made her tired despite the sleep she had gotten. It was an office day, which suited her just fine. she didn't feel much like fighting crime, and it also worked out that Brett was out today. She didn't like getting paired with partners she wasn't used to working with.

When she had come in she was briefed by email on the photograph they'd been able to get from a security camera late last evening of a girl resembling Montgomery, who had gone missing. The whole thing seemed fishy to her. It couldn't be Montgomery! The girl was reported missing and missing girls didn't just waltz into malls with boys if they were gone. She could have been taken by force but that didn't make sense. If she was being held captive, no man would risk taking her out like that.

Unless she wasn't missing at all. Maybe she'd met some boy and just decided she would run away from life to be with him. Could it be she was just holed up with some love interest? Could anyone be so selfish as to disappear willingly and not tell their parents? Rebecca doubted it, mainly because she had last been seen at work where she had left her purse and had not come back to collect it. The whole thing was just confusing.

Then again the photo might not be her. She was doing comparisons to photo's she had of Alyson Montgomery, and the resemblance was striking. "Hey, Taylor, I don't know if you remember me. Name's Jack Roccograndi. I've been assigned to the Montgomery case, too. Did you get the picture the lab tried to clean up?"

The voice tugged her from her thoughts and she looked up at the man who was approaching her desk. He dropped the photo she was currently staring at on her desk before taking a seat. She gave a nod of acknowledgment. "Yeah, I got it this morning, Jack." She said to his question, also acknowledging she recalled him.

"I think I've just been looking at it too long."

She gave a halfhearted smile in return and moved her head so she was partially shaking it, partially shrugging it. "I've been staring at it for a while now myself. I can't make heads or tails of it." She admitted, picking up the tangible copy he'd put down and looked it over. She pulled a file out and took hard copies of the photographs they had of her out and sprawled them onto her desk. "She looks to be about 5'7" or so, curly blond hair, right complexion.. It just doesn't make sense. It looks like it could be her, but look how casual she is. Her body language is relaxed, no sign of a struggle. She looks well taken care of, not someone who should be missing. Either it's not her, o she's not really missing." What other explanation was there?

She looked up at the man sitting at her desk. "Honestly, I think the only way to know for sure is to either go through all of the security surveillance from the mall or go from store to store asking if the clerks saw her last night. Both tasks tedious and potentially leading to dead ends." She shook her head and dropped the photo, slumping back in her chair. "This case has me stumped. No bodies, no witnesses coming forward.. it's like she just disappeared. I just hope she wasn't thrown into a trafficking ring." She frowned at the thought. "We'd never find her then."

[JACK ROCCOGRANDI]

"It just doesn't make sense. It looks like it could be her, but look how casual she is. Her body language is relaxed, no sign of struggle. She looks well taken care of, not someone who should be missing. Either it's not her, or she's not really missing."

Taylor made great points, and Jack nodded in agreement, but the idea of it was frustrating. Here they had spent weeks on this case, trying to solve it and calm the media frenzy over it, and then to find out Montgomery had never been kidnapped? Jack would be seriously tempted to drag her in just to give her a piece of his mind. But what person would just up and leave without saying anything to their loved ones? It didn't seem right in Jack's mind. He was looking at her desk, thinking about this when he heard her speak again, and he looked up once more.

"Honestly, I think the only way to know for sure is to either go through all of the security surveillance from the mall or go from store to store asking if the clerks saw her last night. Both tasks tedious and potentially leading to dead ends. This case has me stumped. No bodies, no witnesses coming forward...it's like she just disappeared. I just hope she wasn't thrown into a trafficking ring. We'd never find her then."

The thought made Jack frown too. How likely was that? A trafficking ring. Anything was possible though. "Those traffickers know how to cover their tracks. It really would be like she disappeared," he pondered, as his eyes fell to her desk again. With a sigh, he sat back in his chair. "Maybe it's a Stockholm syndrome type deal," he said, rubbing a hand over his jaw, smoothing over his beard. "It doesn't seem like she's been gone long enough for that, but it's a possibility. Maybe it started out as a kidnapping, but she stayed voluntarily. But that's if it's really her in that picture." He gestured to the photo on her desk.

"I think you had the right idea, going to the mall and checking the other footage. At that time of night, there probably wasn't many people there, which would make it easier to go through the footage. It'll be boring, but I think I'll go over there. Do you want to come along?" he asked. Jack was hoping she would agree. If he did it by himself, he would never get through all of the footage on those cameras. It would be good to have someone to double-check his work, too. Jack didn't know how much Taylor had on her plate, though, and he didn't want to add more work if she had a lot already.

[REBECCA TAYLOR]

"Maybe it's a Stockholm syndrome type deal," Becca frowned at the thought. She had never thought of that. It made sense, too. She could have been taken and he could have somehow managed to sway her into staying, which would make him comfortable taking her into public, and she wouldn't run because she felt she couldn't for his sake. He needed her, and she was willing to obey. Could he have done that to her? She looked at the picture on her desk of the blurry girl. It was a possibility. Rebecca wasn't going to rule anything out at this point, not until they had more evidence. It was finding the evidence that was the difficult part.

"I think you had the right idea, going to the mall and checking the other footage. At that time of night, there probably wasn't many people there, which would make it easier to go through the footage. It'll be boring, but I think I'll go over there. Do you want to come along?"

Rebecca looked up at Jack and then down at the photos. There was a good chance they would be able to find another shot of this girl somewhere. This couldn't have been the only camera to have caught a glimpse of her, and maybe there would be another shot of her leaving the mall.

"Yeah. We'll take my squad car." She said, giving him a look that almost challenged him to insist on driving. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but she felt more comfortable being in some amount of control in every aspect of her life. Driving was one of them.

She grabbed her things and got up, pulling her jacket off the back of the chair. "The camera's would have gotten another shot of this kid, or maybe the guy she was with. His face is covered in the picture, but if we could get a solid shot of him and put it into the system, maybe we could find a match and ask some questions. It could be our first real lead in the case." The thought excited her. She wanted to find the Montgomery girl. This was her first major case there in the city, and to be the one to find the suspect and the victim? It would surely get her foot in the right doors and lead to a positive future there at the station.

[JACK ROCCOGRANDI]

"Yeah. We'll take my squad car."

Jack was glad Taylor agreed to come along. He couldn't handle all that footage on his own. And he nodding when she suggested her squad car. It didn't look like she wanted him to argue, not that he wanted to; he didn't care who drove and who rode. "Sure thing," he said, getting to his feet. While she grabbed her things, he grabbed one of the photos of Montgomery and the photo from the video camera and tucked them into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. They needed a reference while they were looking at the video footage.

"The cameras would have gotten another shot of this kid, or maybe the guy she was with. His face is covered in the picture, but if we could get a solid shot of him and put it into the system, maybe we could find a match and ask some questions. It could be our first real lead in the case."

He could hear the small amount of excitement in her voice, and he had to admit he felt the same. This would be a huge load off their shoulders. The department had been working for weeks. Jack knew there would always be a bitter taste in his mouth when he thought of this case if they couldn't solve it. He hated to leave something unfinished, and he hated giving up even more. He was too stubborn for that. If Taylor and him could find a break in this case today, he wouldn't lose any sleep tonight going over all the possibilities in his head. "If we actually get a lead in this case, drinks are on me," he said with a half smile.

Jack took up strides next to Taylor, his hands in his pockets as they walked. "I'll let the cap know where we're going," he said as they approached the captain's office. Jack stuck his head in the door and found him with his head down again, still going over documents. "Cap, Taylor and I are heading over to the mall to find some more evidence for the Montgomery case," he announced. The captain nodded and waved his hand, acknowledging he heard but also that he was busy. Jack got the point and walked back to Taylor, nodding.

As they reached the door leading out to the squad cars, Jack held the door open for Taylor. It was habit for him to hold the door open for a woman, being chivalrous in his way, but he knew some women, especially the ones he worked with, weren't comfortable with that. He was a product of his raising, though, and would have held the door for his mother and sisters, too. He gave a friendly smile as he did so, hoping she wouldn't take offense to his gesture.

[REBECCA TAYLOR]

"If we actually get a lead in this case, drinks are on me," Rebecca gave him a cautious sort of look and then offered a forced half smile in return. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." She told him, figuring they could discuss a celebration when a celebration was in order. As for now she wasn't interested in drinks with anyone. Drinking wasn't high on her list of things to do, but she made exceptions now and then, like she did with Maxi the other night.

She was glad the captain had no problem with them running out, and she felt herself getting sort of excited for the adventure. Finally! A potential break in the case. The media would be all over this if they found something, and as much as she genuinely wanted the girl found safe, Rebecca was interested in furthering her career too, and this was her golden ticket. She wanted to be looked at as the hero, especially considering her being female and a blond one at that. Even if she was bottled blond.

When Jack opened the door for her she cocked a brow and hesitated for a second before going through. "Aren't you the gentleman." She shot in a sort of sarcastic voice as she made her way to the squad car. She unlocked it and slid into the driver seat, starting the bad boy up before sliding her seat belt on.

Rebecca didn't think twice of Jacks kind gestures. She was used to men holding doors and being somewhat respectful. A lot of men felt they needed to be that way, but Rebecca didn't expect it. Sometimes she didn't like it, wanting to be viewed as an equal, but she chastised herself when she thought those things because didn't she open doors for others? There was a difference between being chivalrous and respectful. She would just assume Jack was the latter. Most men were. Chivalry was dead, as it should be, at least by men only. Everyone, in Rebecca's eyes, should be chivalrous when the time was appropriate.

The squad car purred to life and Rebecca backed up, flicking her radio on in the process. She peaked over at the guy in her drivers seat, realizing she didn't know the man sitting beside her at all. "So how long you been with the station?" She asked conversationally so the ride would be only moderately awkward instead of completely.