Where Are You, Daddy?
Written By: Craig Phillips
The characters herein this story is the property, copyright © and registered ® trademarks of Hasbro. The television series was created by Christy Marx.
The characters Officer Davidson, Corporal Smith, and Charlie Owens are copyright © and belong to me.
Chapter 1
It was a warm summer night in SoCal. The moon was full, backlit with millions of bright stars. Jerrica Benton, her younger sister Kimber, and their adopted sisters Aja Leith, and Shana Elmsford held a Friday night bash to celebrate the platinum status of their latest Jem and the Holograms album, "Long Cold Nights." The party had wrapped up thirty minutes ago, and the girls spent the time cleaning up.
"I can't get over how fast this album sold," Aja said folding up a chair. "Gold is one thing, but selling one million albums and reaching platinum status…it's too surreal."
"I bet anything Pizzazz is having kittens right about now, " Kimber added with a laugh.
"I can just see her now, screaming, stamping her feet, and throwing things at Eric Raymond," Jerrica commented as she cleared off the tables and threw out used plates, cutlery, and paper cups.
"You know," Shana chimed in, "if the Misfits stopped trying to undermine our success, and spend more time writing better tunes, they'd have the same success."
Raya walked over to Shana and whispered in her ear. "You mean, if they got a better singer, and wrote better songs?" Shana burst out laughing.
Kimber walked over to the large garbage cans, she became violently cold all over. She caught herself from falling by grabbing the garbage can. For the past month or so, she'd been having horrible nightmares about their parents death. There was one dream in which Kimber was on the plane with her mom, Jacqui as it crashed.
The one of her father, Emmett started off sweet, when she was about 7. He'd been working in the studio with Rio Pacheco, Jerrica's future boyfriend, installing a new electrical panel, when he was violently electrocuted. Kimber could hear the screams, and even smell the burning flesh of her father. This one scared her the most. Both Kimber and Jerrica lost their parents in two separate tragedies. Their mother, Jacqui Benton had just revived her singing and music career. She was going on tour for a few nights by plane.
(Flashback 1979)
It had been raining hard the night Jacqui planned on leaving. Jerrica was angry at her mom, because Jerrica felt her mom's career was more important than the family. Jerrica watched her mom get on the plane, with a scowling look on her face. Jacqui smiled at her family and waved, but her smile gave way to a frown as she looked at her eldest daughters face. Jacqui could only sigh, as she turned and boarded the plane.
The next day brought tragedy for the Benton's. Jacqui's plane had crash in a field surrounded by a few trees. An investigator approached the Benton's, who'd gotten word early in the morning that the plane went down. He had distress in his eyes, and just shook his head, there were no survivors.
Emmett Benton fell to his knees, crying saying his wife was dead. Jerrica could only look on as tears streamed down her face. She'd been so angry at her mom, she didn't even accept her mother's hug before she left. Rio, came up behind her and just said he was so sorry. Jerrica turned around with tear stained eyes, and held onto Rio as if he were life line.
Emmett, had never taken his wife's death well. One night, he was approached by his daughters, and two adopted daughters, all of whom were crying. Aja fell to the floor begging Emmett not to kick she and Shana out. He gave a light chuckle, and said that they were his family…all he had left in the world, he could never give them up.
Though he worked diligently on various projects, his pride and joy was his creation of a holographic super computer synthesizer he named Synergy. Though the thought of her image resembling his wife's was far too painful, he programmed Synergy with Jacqui's personality, music, and love se had for her family.
As the months went by, Emmett slowed down. He felt tired, over worked…just plain run down. No one knew he was sick, or that he was dying. His final project consisted of two ruby red star-shaped earrings, he called Jemstar's that he was going to give to Jerrica on her 18th birthday. They were mini-holographic projectors, and would allow Jerrica to request Synergy's help no matter where she was in the world.
His last gift too all his girls was musical gear, stage clothes, and the Rockin Roadster. he had stored all this stuff at the old Starlight Drive-In Movie he'd bought to hide Synergy. Sadly Emmett died before he could give Jerrica the earrings, but programmed Synergy to reveal herself to her and his other daughters.
(Present Day)
Kimber covered her face as tears streamed down. Rio was carrying a sack full of trash when he noticed Kimber.
"Kimber," he said softly, gently patting her back. "You doing ok?"
Kimber was startled by Rio's touch. She looked at him, her tears streaked her pink eye makeup. "Huh? Yeah, Rio I'm good, never better," she quickly gained her composure and headed back over to fold up tables. Rio watched her with a puzzled look on his face. He placed the bag in the trash can and headed over to Jerrica.
"Rio?" Jerrica motioned for him to help fold up a table. "Can you assist me." Rio walked over to Jerrica.
He crawled under the table and pulled the lever that allowed the table to fold in half. When he crawled back out, he accidentally hit his head. "Ow, dammit," he cursed under his breath.
Jerrica slowly lifted the table in the center, it began to fold into a wedge. "You ok hon," she looked at him with a smile.
"Yeah I'm fine. Jerrica, have you noticed anything strange about Kimber?" He rubbed the top of his bruised head.
"No, why do you ask?" Jerrica began to push the table on the patio towards the house.
"Well, a moment ago, she had her head buried in her arms on the garbage cans. When I patted her on the back, she looked up at me with tear stains, and smeared make-up. When I asked her if she was OK, she said she was fine, and then kind of ran off to work," he said running his hand through his hair.
Jerrica looked over at her sister who was struggling with a table. "Hmmm, I'll go talk to her," she replied and headed in Kimber's direction. She could hear Kimber cursing as she tried in vain to move the lever to fold the table. "Here Kimber, let me help you," she offered her red-headed sister.
"I can do it myself Jerrica," Kimber snapped back. Fussing again with the lever, this time it bent in half. "Fuck!" She yelled.
Jerrica sensed something was really wrong. She came around and touched her sisters back, and gently rubbed her tense muscles. "Kimber, please talk to me," she pleaded gently.
"What the hell Jerrica, am I wearing some goddamn neon "Help Me" sign? Kimber shot a nasty glare at her sister. "God Jerrica, sometimes you mother me way too much, and I am so fucking sick of it," her words cut Jerrica's heart in half.
"Kimber, Rio saw that you had been crying, and he was concerned that's all," Jerrica tried to massage Kimber's shoulders.
Kimber looked deep into her sisters pleading eyes. And for the first time in her life, Kimber uttered the most powerful words ever. "I HATE YOU JERRICA ANNE BENTON!" That got everyone's attention, a stunned silence filled the air. Rio, Aja, Shana, and Raya all ran to console Jerrica. Kimber just stormed off into the mansion, she was greeted by Ashley, one of the foster girls Jerrica and the other Holograms cared for. She was carrying about fifteen wine flutes.
"Hey Kimber, I can't find any room to put these flutes, got any suggestions?" Ashley asked hopeful.
Kimber took one long and hard look at Ashley. Her blue eyes, glaring at the younger blonde girl. She took the tray full of flutes, and heaved it across the kitchen. The sound of shattering glass hitting the wall echoed throughout the mansion. Ashley stood frozen in her tracks, her jaw was wide open. She'd never seen Kimber lose her cool like that before. From outside everyone heard the glasses break, and everyone ran to the house and went in. Kimber was white knuckled, fists tightly clenched, her eyes squeezed shut with tears running down her cheeks. Her body trembled, rage filled every cell in her body, and hate penetrated her very soul. Rio kept everyone a safe distance back from Kimber. Jerrica looked at her sister, her eyes filled with tears. "Oh Kimber," she said to herself.
Aja and Raya looked at the glass covered floor, they then noticed a shard of glass sticking out of the wall. They exchanged glances in complete disbelief. Rio motioned for Ashley to come towards the group, just in case Kimber threw something else.
Kimber finally opened her blurred eyes, wiped them, and noticed at least ten people were in the kitchen with her. She shot a glance at her sister, who was visibly shaking. "You fucking bitch Jerrica, I never want to see you again!" Kimber grabbed the keys to her car and ran to the garage.
Jerrica started to chase after her sister, but Rio caught her. He just shook his head. "Let her be for now, she needs space," he held Jerrica in his arms. Jerrica could only sob as the words of "I hate you Jerrica Anne Benton," and "I never want to see you again," replayed over and over in her head.
The rest of the group began sweeping up the broken glass, a few headed back outside to finish the clean up. There were very quiet conversations about the incident amongst themselves. Rio walked Jerrica to the living room couch. He fluffed a pillow for her to lie on, he removed her shoes and lifted her legs onto the couch. Rio then sat on the floor in front of her, and gently stroked her hair.
"Jerrica, I'm at a loss for words. You know Kimber didn't mean what she said," Rio said softly.
Jerrica just stared blankly at the wall behind Rio. Kimber and her had gotten so close after their parents died. They were inseparable. She let out a heart breaking sigh, and just closed her eyes. "Rio, my little sister is having a nervous breakdown. I can feel it in my body," she sniffled.
"Jerrica, tell me, what is going on with your sister," he kissed her head. Rio went back to stroking his girlfriends hair.
Kimber sped down the highway, blasting a Fire and Ice tune. Fire and Ice was a side project that she and Misfits keyboardist, and songwriter Mary "Stormer" Phillips created. They each left their respective bands when they both felt their music was not being appreciated. Fire and Ice's first album Back to Back went platinum four times over. Though they split up after rejoining their bands, Stormer and Kimber remained best friends. Kimber reached for her cell phone, and began dialing her friends number. "You fucking whore," she screamed when a car cut her off. Stormer answered her phone hearing Kimber's words.
"Thanks Kimber, I really didn't need my hearing, and didn't think I was a whore," she responded agitated.
"Sorry Mary, some asshole cut me off, guess you just had impeccable timing," Kimber said with a sniffle.
"H-hey, are you alright Kimber?" Stormer asked with some concern.
"No I'm not Mary, I just need to get the hell out of here," she signaled and got over to the lane for an East bound off ramp. "Mary, just meet me at Starlight Music, in ten minutes," she hung up her phone before Stormer could reply.
"B-but Kimber I...," she was too late, the signal went dead. Stormer ran into the living room where her brother Craig was watching the Lin-Z Pierce show. "Craig, I-I gotta g-go meet with Kimber. She's in rough shape from the sound of it," she said as she put on her Misfits leather jacket on.
Craig looked up at the concerned look in his sisters eyes. "Do you want me to go with you Mary?" Craig asked as he stood up.
Stormer just shook her blue dyed hair. "No Craig, she just wanted me to meet her at Starlight Music."
"Alright Mary, be careful," he said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I will, I hope she's ok Craig, she's my best friend," Stormer walked out and ran to her Porche that was parked in their driveway. She got in, started the engine and revved it a little before putting in reverse. As she backed out of the driveway, her cell phone rang again. She stopped and looked at the caller ID, it was Kimber again.
"Mary, are you on your way yet," she asked with a hurriedness in her voice.
"I just left my house."
"OK, I am in the parking garage, row fifteen, aisle six. You know what I drive right?"
"Yeah, a Ford Mustang, I think red," she had not seen Kimber in a while and forgot the color.
"No, it's blue," Kimber corrected.
"OK, got it, I am on my way." Stormer closed her cell phone, and stuck it back in her purse. She was about eight minutes away from Starlight Music.
Kimber paced up and down the aisle, her mind was running a million miles an hour. The lighting was rather dim, and even a few lights were burned out. Kimber was plagued by these recurring nightmares, for so long. She never told anyone about them, especially not to Jerrica. Though Kimber loved her sister dearly and would take a bullet for her, Jerrica had been quite over protecting since their parents death. Tonight she just snapped. Kimber had not slept well, she had not been able to write any new music, and eating was even less important to her. There were nights she'd throw up bile because she had nothing in her stomach.
Kimber wondered about seeing a psychiatrist, and ask if she was suffering from manic depression. Maybe even see about getting a prescription to combat these nightmares Being a Benton, and the most stubborn in the family, she thought she had the will and the thick head to soldier on. This is why she called Stormer, because she was the only person who could offer up advice and not make it seem motherly. As she continued pacing, a set of headlights made their way around the corner, they then turned off. Kimber thought that Stormer might be blinding her which is why she turned them off.
A figure in all black came out of the car and approached Kimber. She smiled, relieved that her friend finally arrived. She grabbed her purse in her car and locked the doors. A second later she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, then blacked out.
Stormer finally reached Starlight Music's parking garage three minutes later. She drove around to the area Kimber said she'd be at. There she saw Kimber's blue Mustang, but did not see her friend. She pulled her car next to Kimber's, got out, and walked around to see inside. He car was locked, no keys, and even her purse was gone. Stormer felt a cold chill run up her spine. She continued scanning the dimly lit parking garage for any clues. "Well maybe she went into the building to wait," she said out loud. As she walked towards a black steel door with a badge reader to the right of it, she happened to look down on the concrete floor. There were several drops of blood that looked very fresh. Stormer started to panic, and followed the drops of blood. After a few feet, the trail stopped. Where she noticed a set of tire tracks that had disturbed the dirt on the floor.
Stormer ran back to her car and immediately called her brother. Her heart raced and pounded so hard that she thought she might have a heart attack. Tears began to well up in her eyes. It seemed forever before her bother picked up the phone.
"Hello," Craig said laughing at the comedy show he was watching.
"Oh my God, Craig something's happened to Kimber, she's not here, and I found blood in the Starlight Music garage," she began to cry. "Oh God, Kimber."
Craig switched off the TV. He could not believe what his sister just told him. "Mary, stay right there, I'll come over."
"Craig, I am scared, I-I don't want to be here alone," she trembled violently.
"I'll get there as fast as I can Mary. Where are you?" Craig asked as he put on his jacket.
"I am parked by Kimber's car, row fifteen, aisle six. God Craig hurry, please hurry," she sat on the cold concrete floor, clutching her knees to her chest, and gently rocking herself.
"Mary, I need to call Jerrica, and Rio, but I promise you I'll call you right back." Craig waited for his sister to reply.
"Craig, don't leave me, please I beg you," she cried harder.
"I promise I'll call you back," he said trying in vain to reassure his frightened sister.
"Hurry Craig, please hurry, she shrieked when she heard something fall.
"Mary, I have to call them," he hung up with her and dialed Jerrica's number. "Jerrica, I don't have time to explain, but Mary is waiting at Starlight Music in the garage. She said Kimber did not meet her. Just get Rio, and come down. Row fifteen, aisle six," he hung up and began calling his sister. "Mary?"
"Craig, where are you, I am freaking out here."
"I'm almost there, just one more turn," he said as the tires on his car screeched around the corner.
"I hear your car Craig," she said and closed her phone. She saw him pulling around the corner, and flagged him to stop, so as not to disturb the evidence. Mary ran to him and held him tightly. "I don't know what happened, she was just not here when I arrived," she said between sobs.
A moment later, Jerrica and Rio pulled up behind Craig's car. Jerrica leapt out of the truck, screaming. "Kimber! Kimber! Kiiiiimmmmmberrrrrrr! Jerrica fell to her knees and violently cried. Rio ran to her and held her.
"Craig, call the police," Rio ordered.
"Already have." Sirens blared in the distance, getting louder as they rounded corners. The siren was killed as the police came into the garage. The red and blue lights flashing hypnotically, and illuminating the room.
The two officers came out of the squad car. They put on their hats and approached he group. "I'm officer Davidson, and this is my partner corporal Smith. We got a call that you found blood on the floor," the officer Davidson said. "What can you tell us?"
Mary looked at the officer, and tried to choke back her tears. "Her name is Kimber Benton, her sister Jerrica is over there," pointing out Rio and Jerrica. "Kimber called me in a frantic state, she told me that she needed to "get the hell out of here," she continued. "She told me to meet at Starlight Music's parking garage in ten minutes," Stormer's brother held her, she was getting dizzy from this overwhelming ordeal.
Smith took notes. "What's your name, ma'am?"
"Storm…er…Mary Phillips, Stormer is my stage name."
"Stormer of the Misfits? My daughter loves you ladies," he smiled gathering her name. "There was mention that blood was found near here?"
"Over there," she pointed. The officers and Stormer walked over to where the trail of blood drops were.
Officer Davidson walked to the trunk of his car and grabbed crime scene tape, and markers. He began taping off the scene, then placed a few markers around the visible blood drops. "No one has touched anything, or disturbed this blood correct?" Everyone in the group shook their heads.
After a complete interview with everyone, corporal Smith, radioed dispatch to send out crime scene detectives. They needed to dust for finger prints, and take samples of the blood.
"Miss Benton, are there security cameras in this room?" Officer Davidson asked.
"Yes, there are, and they all work," she shuddered to think about what happened to her sister.
"OK, we'll need to take the tape in and review the contents."
"I'll get it from the security guard," Rio insisted, and ran into the building. He hoped that maybe the security guard saw something on the monitors. When he got to the desk, he noticed that the guard was not at his station. "Shit!" Rio exclaimed. He went to the recorder and ejected the tape, then reloaded a blank one into the device.
As he headed back, he heard a muffled sound coming from a utility closet. Walking quickly to the door, he tapped on it. "Who's in there?"
"Rio, it's me Charlie," it was the security guard.
Rio grabbed his badge and swiped it across the access panel. The door opened where he found that Charlie Owens was tied up in a corner. Rio quickly untied Charlie and helped him up. "Are you OK Charlie?"
"Yes, thanks to you Rio. Someone hit me on the head and knocked me out. The next thing I knew was I was tied up in here."
"C'mon Charlie, Kimber's missing, and the police are in the parking garage," Rio said as they both rushed back to the scene of the crime.
Rio handed officer Davidson the security tape, hopefully the night vision cameras caught who the assailant was. "Thank you Rio, we'll take this back to our station and analyze the tape." The two police officers left, Jerrica was still in tears praying silently for her sisters safety.
Stormer walked over to Jerrica and hugged her tightly. She felt awful for not getting there sooner. "Jerrica, I'm sorry," she said as Jerrica opened her eyes.
"Mary, you are not at fault, you did the best you could. Kimber is lucky to have you for a best friend." Jerrica smiled at Stormer then hugged her back. Stormer started to blush a little when she heard Jerrica's kind words.
Rio, took Jerrica into his arms, and held her tightly. "Look everyone, let's go back to the mansion and bring everyone up to speed. There's no point on speculating, or standing in an empty garage. For now, we'll leave Kimber's car here, she locked it and took her keys."
They all got back into their cars, and headed back to the mansion. Jerrica starred out into the late night skyline of Los Angeles. The thought of losing her sister was ripping her heart out, she stifled her cries. Kimber was not only her sister, but her confidant, her soul, and her best friend. She'd never survive without Kimber. She whispered quietly to herself as she looked out into the night. "Kimber, wherever you are, I love you."
To be continued in Chapter 2 Kidnapped: Trial of Tears.
Hope you enjoyed Chapter 1 Where Are You, Daddy? Please take a moment, to write a review and share your thoughts.