"Ma'am, when was the last time you saw the victim?" the detective asked Mikayla gently.
"Lyric! Her name is LYRIC," Mikayla screamed. "Her name is not 'the victim'! I gave her to AJ at 8:30 and he put her to bed! That's the last time I saw my baby. Oh, God! Please find her! I can't live without my baby!"
"Mikayla," AJ said, as put his arms around her protectively. She buried her face in his shoulder, her body wracked with sobs. "It's gonna be ok, baby. We'll find her." He turned his attention to the detective.
"Officer, I put her to bed at about 9:00," AJ said. He closed his eyes tightly, and tears began to fall as he remembered the last time he held his little girl.
"And that was the last time you saw her?" the detective asked, turning his attention to AJ.
"Yes, sir. I rocked her to sleep, then..." he started, but he got choked up and couldn't finish his sentence.
"Do either of you know of anyone who had any grudges against you? Anybody who would do something like this?" the detective asked.
Mikayla and AJ looked at each other. Mikayla spoke.
"Karina DiVittorio. She was my best friend up until a few weeks ago. She's been acting very strange lately. She's the only person I know of who could do something like this..." She then broke down and sobbed on AJ's shoulder again.
The detective shook his head sadly. His instincts told him the parents were not suspects in this case. He spoke to Yolanda, the nanny, and ruled her out also. She was nearly as distraught as the parents. Manigo, on the other hand, was acting rather suspiciously. He was very quiet and claimed that he had been asleep and had no idea what happened. The detective got a strange vibe from this guy. Something he just couldn't place his finger on immediately. He just had a feeling the big guy had something to do with the disappearance. Also, there was no sign of forced entry, and the alarm system had conveniently been left off that night. Definitely the signs of an inside job. Unfortunately, he failed to share his suspicions with Mikayla.
"Alex," Mikayla said tearfully, "We have to find my baby. I'll die without her. I swear to God, I'll die without her."
"I know," he said, wiping her tears away. "I know, baby. But they'll find her. I know they will."
When the detective informed them that they couldn't find Karina, Mikayla knew immediately that she had her baby. They had to find her soon, or else they may never see Lyric again.
******************************************
As dawn broke, Mikayla found herself out on the patio alone. She had forced AJ to go back to bed for at least an hour or so. They were both numb, and she knew they would need their energy to get through this. As she watched the sun rise, she thought about her situation. She knew Karina wouldn't hurt the baby. Karina loved Lyric. What terrified her was that Karina might run and they might never find them.
The back door opened and Kevin came running out onto the patio. Mikayla turned to him, and began crying when she saw him. He fell to his knees and hugged her.
"Kevin, I'm so sorry. I can't believe I let this happen," she sobbed.
"It's not your fault, Kayla. They'll find her. Everything's gonna be ok," he soothed, trying to hold his own emotions in check. He was just as terrified as she was.
"I'd give anything in the world to have my baby girl back in my arms right now," Mikayla said, sniffling.
"I know, baby. I would, too. But they'll find her. I know they will," he said, stroking her hair. He held her for awhile, trying to comfort her and stop her shaking.
The phone rang, and Mikayla answered it before the first ring had even finished.
"Hello?" she answered, holding her breath.
"Uh, Mikayla," Nick said, sounding sleepy and confused. "I... uh.. Ok, this is too weird. I just found Lyric in a carseat on the diving board by my pool. What the hell is going on?"
"Oh my God! She's there? Is she ok?" Mikayla yelled, jumping out of her chair and knocking Kevin over in the process.
"Yeah, I think so. I heard a baby crying and it woke me up. I went outside and there she was. She calmed down as soon as I picked her up. What the hell is she doing here, anyway? This is freaking me out."
"I'll explain when I get there," Mikayla said, running into the house. "Thank you so much, Nicky. I love you! Oh I love you!"
She ran upstairs and burst into the bedroom. AJ was lying in bed, awake and staring at the ceiling.
"AJ, she's OK!" she yelled.
******************************************
Mikayla smiled as she stared silently at Lyric and AJ sleeping on the couch. Lyric was lying on her tummy on her daddy's bare chest. Mikayla quietly closed the door to the den and went into her office. Lori was waiting for her. Mikayla sat behind her desk, a very serious look on her face.
"I'm so sorry, Mikayla. If I had come yesterday, this never would have happened," Lori said, shaking her head and sighing sadly.
"No, Lori. This isn't your fault. You came as soon as you could. It's my fault. I miscalculated her intentions. I should have known she would try to hurt both of us instead of just me. I just assumed she would go after AJ, and I was wrong. I won't make that mistake again. Now we're going to have to take action. I want you to find her and take her out. "
"Consider it done," Lori said, her eyes set with steely determination.
****************************************
Unfortunately, finding Karina was not as easy as they had hoped. It was as if she had dropped off the face of the earth. Lori had contacts all over the world, and they were all scouring the globe looking for her. The last time reported sighting was in Bali. Karina had always been fond of tropical climates. Mikayla tried to get on with normal day to day life, but Karina was always in the back of her mind. Her experience had taught her to trust very few people, and at this point, she only trusted AJ, Lori, and Kendra.
One afternoon, she stared out the window of her office, planning her annual New Year's Eve party with Kendra. They was busy preparing her guest list. She would make it an intimate affair this year. Only 50 or so exclusive guests, and it would be held in her mountain home in Colorado. She had always loved the snow.
"OK, so Brian and Leighanne, Kevin and Kristin..." Kendra said, rolling down the list. Mikayla made a face at the mention of Kristin's name. She still didn't like that girl. Snotty bitch.
"Kendra," Mikayla said, turning to her assistant, "am I losing my looks?"
"What?" Kendra asked, laughing. "No! Of course not. You're beautiful. Gorgeous, in fact. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, I don't know. I'm just afraid AJ's getting bored with me. He hasn't been in the mood much lately," she said, frowning. "That's just not like him."
"Well, maybe he's stressed. Or maybe needs something... I don't know... adventurous. You know, something to spice things up," Kendra said, trying to think of something to help.
"But things are ALWAYS spicy with us," Mikayla said, laughing. "I don't know what I could do to spice them up any more."
"I don't know, Kay. You'll think of something, I'm sure," Kendra said, laughing with her. Mikayla sat down and propped her feet up on the desk. She thought for a minute, then looked at Kendra, a sly smile crossing her lips.
"What?" Kendra said, looking suspicious. "You're up to something, lady. I know that look. You're up to no good."
"Kendra, what do you have planned tonight?" Mikayla asked, biting her bottom lip and trying to look innocent.
"Nothing. Why?"
"Well, I just thought of something to spice things up, as you said," Mikayla said, raising her eyebrow.
Kendra smiled an equally innocent smile. "What did you have in mind, boss?"