Hidden Memory
Susan Owens
Rated: PG
Warning: Safe
Summary: The Ateam get ready for a new job in Murdock's hometown
Disclaimer: I do not own them
Copyright 2000
Edited by: Sockii
Author's Notes: Sockii gave me permission to post this. It is also in her book
The Dwight Papers. It's also my very first A-Team story. I hope you enjoy it.
I have to retype this word from word because it was done in format 6.0 something
like
that and I can't open it. So if you find any mistakes, It's a typing error I hit
the wrong keys. The is my most problem so you may see the like this hte I can
spell the I just hit the wrong keys.
Part One
He sat in Dr. Richter's office, staring up at the ceiling, his dark brown eyes
moving back and forth.
"Murdock, will you please paid attention? You really must talk about this."
Murdock looked at Dr.Richter, who meant so much to him. Murdock knew he would
be lost today if Dr. Richter had been killed by that madman who had kidnapped
him, if he hadn't convinced his friends to help rescue him.
He knew what the doctor wanted him to talk about. He wanted Murdock to talk
about his mother, a subject he found very difficult to discuss.
"Come on, Doc, let's not talk about that. I could tell you about a dream I had
instead. I dreamt I was a little goldfish and this cat tried to eat me. Suddenly
I turned into a shark and ate the cat instead. What do you think it means?"
"I think it means you're trying to avoid the subject. Murdock,please let's talk
about your mother."
Okay, Doc, Murdock replied, suddenly jumping up and grabbing Dr.Richter's
tablet. "Now, Doc, tell me about your mother. Did you love her? Did you hate
her?" Dr. Richter took the tablet back. Murdock stared at him and sighed.
"Okay, Doc, you win. I'll tell you about my mother. Where do I begin, let's
see... she was born on March 14 1865."
"1865? Murdock be serious."
"I am being serious.You see, Doc, my father was an inventer. He built this time
machine and traveled back into time and met my mother. So anyway he decided to
take her back to his time, and soon they were married. They really didn't want
to have children right away, but easy come easy go. I was born or whatever.
Dr. Richter looked at Murdock, knowing he was not telling the truth. For some
unknown reason, when it came to talking about his mother, Murdock always had a
different story.
"Say Doc, do you want to hear the rest?"
No, Murdock, this session is over. I'll have an orderly take you back to your
room. Maybe someday you will be able to tell
me the real story."
As Murdock walked down the hall to his room, he thought to himself. Fat change,
Doc, I don't remember much about
my mother except a few things, like her voice, and the way she used to sing our
favorite song to me. I wish I could remember what it was. Where the heck is
Face? I want out of here. I'm bored and I need some action. Come on, Faceman,
where are you?
At that moment, Faceman - or Templeton Peck - was having dinner with a beautiful
woman, a tall blond named Irene. He poured her a glass of wine and smiled at
her, "To us, Irene, and to the future."
"To us," said Irene as their glasses clanked together.
Suddenly the telephone rang. "So help me if that's Hannibal, I'll turn him into
applesauce or worse. Hello."
"Hi Face, this is Hannibal. I hope I'm not bothering you but we got a case. So
go get Murdock and meet BA at the youth center."
"Hannibal, Irene, is here-- you know the woman I've been trying to date? I was
just about to show her a good time."
"Well, Lieutenant, show her the door instead and get moving."
Face started to protest but Hannibal had all ready hung up. Face then hung up
the phone and told Irene that something came
up and he was needed. Irene told him in not so friendly words good-bye and left.
Face soon arrived at the V.A.Hospital and walked in. A pretty nurse was at the
desk. He came up to her and presented her a card and document.
"Hello, I'm Dr.Collin Pennypincher, from the Colider Center in San Francisco.
I'm looking for a patient named H.M. Murdock; he's been chosen for a test
involving different types of phobias. You know, like fear of height, fear of
flying, fear of cheese."
"Cheese?" responded the nurse.
Oh yes, did you know that some people are very afraid of cheese? They believe
that if they eat too much cheese, they will turn into mice. It's very sad."
The nurse was looking over the document Dr. Pennypincher had given her to see if
they were in order. Satisfied, she handed it back to him.
"All right, come with me," and she led him down to Murdock's room. As they
entered the room Murdock was playing an video game.
"Captain Murdock, this is Dr. Pennypincher, and he's here to take you to the
Colider Center in San Francisco. You have been chosen for test about different
types of phobias."
Murdock held out his hand. "Please to meet you, Dr. Pennypincher."
Dr. Pennypincher turned to the nurse and handed her the release papers to sign.
"We should have Captain Murdock back as soon as the testing is over."
Face and Murdock soon left. As they were heading for Face's vette, Murdock
looked at him and asked, "Face, where the heck have you guys been? I mean it's
been three days since I last seen you guys. I thought that Decker might had
caught you."
"No, Murdock. Hannibal decided to stay low for a while. Sorry if you weren't
told, Hannibal thinks that Decker might had seen you with us. He thought it was
best not to contract you. He figured that Decker had M.Ps scouting the hospital
and he was right."
Murdock nodded his head." Yeah, I know. They were everywhere. But you guys
weren't there, so how did you know?"
Face smiled at Murdock. "The colonel and I were there. Hannibal was disguised
as one of the gardeners and I was disguised as one of the orderlies. Do you
remember seeing an orderly with red hair and a goatee?"
"Yeah. Was that you?"
Face nodded his head. Murdock stared at Peck.
"They must had put my medication in my food. I didn't even recognize you guys."
Face smiled and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "If it makes you feel
better, I didn't recogize us either. We got a case
now and we got to meet BA at the youth center, so let's go."
"Face, in case you haven't noticed, you are the one driving" replied Murdock.
Face nodded and drove to meet BA.
BA was waiting for them, but not patiently, when Face pulled up. He walked over
to them. "Face, what took you so long?
All you had to do was pick up this crazy fool. How long does that take?"
Face was getting a little annoyed. "Look B.A. if you think I took too long, next
time you pick him up." B.A. just growled at Face and walked towards his van and
drove away. Face and Murdock followed him in Peck's car. Soon they arrived where
Hannibal told them to meet him, and he was waiting for them.
"Well, it's about time."
"Hannibal, don't you start, too. I was a little late picking up Murdock because
I had a hard time getting rid of Irene, and let me tell you, she wasn't too
happy about it. I'll probably will never see her again."
"Ah poor Face," said Hannibal."Okay guys, let's give him a pity party ."
"Ahhhh," cried Smith and Murdock.
Peck stared at them. "Very funny guys, very funny."
B.A. just shook his head. Sometimes I think the colonel needs to share a room
with Murdock, he thought to himself.
Hannibal was now lighting his cigar. "Guys, we've got a case. It seem like a
big-time hood is trying to run a small nightclub out of business in Pineland,
Texas."
"Pineland!" exclaimed Murdock. That's where I was born, in 1867 I lived there
until I was seven. Then went to live with my grandparents in Oakwood, Texas ."
"You were not born in 1867, fool," said B.A.
"How do you what year I was born? You weren't there."
"Because, fool if you were born in 1867 you would be over a hundred years old."
Murdock smiled at B.A. "I hide my age well, don't I?"
BA turned and looled at Hannibal. "Hannibal, what are we going to be doing on
this case?"
"Yeah, said Peck, "and who's the client?"
Hannibal puffed on his cigar before he spoke. "Well guys, like I said,our client
runs a nightclub called Glitter Light. Lately some of her employees have been
disappearing and no one wants to work for her. Without employees she'll have to
closed down. She believes that a man named Leonard Cox has something to do with
it. He owns a nightclub on the south side of town and does like competion. Our
client's name is Miss Casey Kendall."
Murdock looked at Hannibal . "Did you say Casey Kendall?"
Hannibal nodded.
"That's my cousin. My mother's sister's daughter. I haven't seen her in years."
"Your cousin, huh" said Peck.
"Yeah, Faceman. Aunt Jennifer, my mother's sister, married this man named Guy
Kendall. They have a daughter name Cassandra who everyone calls Casey. Colonel,
if Casey is in trouble we got to get down there, and the fastest way is by
plane."
Part Two
They turned and looked at B.A. "Murdock's right, BA said Hannibal. "Flying
would be faster. If we drive down it would take two or more days."
B.A. shook his head. "No man, I'm driving my van down. I'm not leaving my ride."
Murdock walked over to B.A. "If I figure a way for the van to come too, then
will you fly?"
B.A. stared at Murdock. "Okay, fool, if you can figure a way for my van to come
too, I'll fly."
"Promise?" asked Murdock.
"Promise", replied B.A.
Murdock walked back to Face, "Come on Faceman. I know where we can get a plane
so B.A.'s van can come too."
"Wait fool! Hannibal, what exactly will we be doing at the nightclub?"
"Well, B.A. we're going under cover. I'll be Miss Kendall's business partner.
You'll be the bouncer, Face will be the bartender; and Murdock, you'll be the
singer."
"Murdock! A nightclub singer!" protested B.A. "Hannibal, I've heard cats sing
better than him."
"Thanks B.A., for that I am not singing at your wedding," said Murdock.
B.A., like it or not, of the three of us he's got the best voice," said
Hannibal.
"Yeah man, but Face's got the best looks," said B.A.
"Oh, I don't know B.A., a little make-up here and there, and a toupee, he can
almost be as handsome as I am," replied Face.
B.A. looked at Face. "Only when pigs fly."
"All right, that's enough," said Hannibal. "Face you and Murdock go get that
plane, and then we're goin down to Pineland to pay Mr. Cox a visit.
******
As Face was driving, he spoke to Murdock." So where is this airplane at?"
"At Abbott's Airfield. I heard though the V.A. grapevine,that Mr.Mark Abbott
buys his plane at low cost with no question asked."
Face smiled. "Which means Mr.Abbott might have bought stolen aircraft."
Murdock nodded. "I heard that he bought a World War II cargo plane, a
Consolidated R.45. Those babies could carry
cargo up to 10,000 pounds. It should be all right for the van."
Face smiled. Murdock, I've got a scam that I know will work."
Soon they arrived at Abbott's Airfield and found the plane. Murdock crawled
under and set to work placing a phony scratch mark on its belly. He then wink at
Face and they were ready.
The two were there at the plane as Mark Abbott headed towards them. The handsome
man was talking to the taller man.
"Now, Mr.Brabson," said the hamesome one. "Are you sure that this is your stolen
airplane?"
"Yes, Mr.Bobo. Don't you think I would recognize my own plane?"
Mr. Abbott come up to the two men. "What's going on here?"
Mr.Brabson turned on him. "You stole my plane and I want her back! Now!"
"I don't know what you are talking about. I bought this plane in good faith."
"You stole her!" cried Mr.Brabson. "And I 'm gonna call the police!"
The other man stepped in front of Mr.Brabson. "Please, Mr.Brabson, calm down.
I'm sure Mr.Abbott didn't know the plane was stolen."
The other man soon calmed the taller man down. He turned to Mr. Abbott. "Hello
,yes,my name is Mr.William J.Bobo. I'm a private investigator hired by Mr. Jonas
Brabson here to find his stolen plane."
"Yes!" cried Mr.Brabson. "That's my plane and I want her back!"
Mr. Abbott stared at the two men. Mr.Brabson was making him nervous. "What do
you mean, the plane was stolen? I brought it in good faith from a man in Beverly
Hills."
"You stole my plane!" cried Mr.Brabson. "This plane is mine and I can prove it.
If you look under the plane, you will see a scratch mark there. From when I
crashed her last month."
Mr. Abbottt crawled under the plane and saw the scratch mark.
"Mr.Abbott," said Mr. Bobo, "we can get this all cleared up if you would just
show us the ownership papers."
"He can't! " cried Mr. Brabson. "Because I have them." He took out the papers
and showed them to Mr. Bobo and Mr.Abbott.
"I brought this plane at an auction in Santa Fe, for twenty-five thousand
dollars."
Mr. Bobo read the papers. "Mr.Abbott, these papers seem to be in order. What do
you have to say about this?"
Mr. Abbott looked scared. The last thing he wanted was having the police get
involved. "Look, I don't want trouble. So why don't you just take the plane and
we'll forget the whole thing? I'll even throw in the gas. What do you say?"
Mr. Bobo turned to Mr.Brabson. "Well, Mr. Brabson, it's your plane. It's up to
you."
"All right just as long as I get my plane back."
Mr. Bobo smiled at Mr. Abbott. "Mr.Abbott you have yourself a deal."
When Mr. Abbott left, Peck told Murdock to get the plane ready. He would call
Hannibal and BA.
******
Soon Smith and Baracus arrived, and Hannibal stared at the plane. He smiled;
leave it to Murdock to find a plane that would carry the van."Nice Captain."
Baracus saw the huge plane and started having second thoughts. "I'm not getting
on that plane and I mean it," said BA.
"Now,BA" said Smit, "You promised Murdock that you would fly if he found a way
to take your van. As long as I known you, you have never broken a promise."
Baracus swallowed and then nodded his head. "You're right, man, I promised.
Let's go."
"BA, if it makes you fell better you can sit in the van," said Smith. "I'll even
sit in the van with you."
"Yeah that might help", said BA as he drove the van into the plane.
Hannibal turned to Baracus. "Here, BA, lets' turned on the air conditioning ."
"No man, I said I would fly, so you don't have to knock me out."
"Did I say anything about knocking you out?" asked Smith.
"Hannibal, I know you."
"All right. But please don't drive the van though the plane."
BA grabbed the hold of the wheel. It was going to be a long ride.
Part Three
Soon they arrived in Pineland. As B.A. was driving towards the club according to
the directions Hannibal gave him, Face spoke up, "Colonel, we could use
something to eat."
"Okay, B.A., stop at that general store called Goodman's."
B.A. pulled up in front of the store. As they got out and headed for the door,
Murdock began to get an eerie feeling. Something about this place frightened
him, but he didn't know why. The four men walked in.Hannibal was about to tell
them what to get when Murdock began screaming.
"Let me out of here! This place is evil! I'm suffocating, I can't breathe! I
want out of here! Where's the door?"
They turned to see Murdock in a panic state trying to find the door--which was
right in front of him.
"You crazy fool, the door's right in front of you!" said B.A.
He then noticed that Murdock was running towards the closed glass door and it
didn't look like he was going to stop. B.A. moved quickly and grabbed Murdock.
"Let me go, you ugly mudsucker!" screamed Murdock. "I want out of here."
Baracus held tight while Murdock kicked and screamed, trying to get away.
"Hold still, you fool. What's the matter with you?"
"Murdock, calm down," said Hannibal, concerned for his friend.
Suddenly the door opened and two people walked in. Murdock bit B.A., who quickly
let go of him, and Murdock ran out of the door and into the safety of the van.
Face and Hannibal looked at each other.
"Colonel, what was that all about?" asked Face.
"I think I can help."
They turned to see an old man, well built with gray hair and green eyes, who
looked to be in his sixties. He seemed friendly,
like the type of man you see hanging around general stores on television.
"I'm Tom Perry. I was a policeman when H.M. was little. I haven't seen him here
in many years. When he was seven his father took him to live with his
grandparents in Oakwood. On every other weekend his father would bring him down
to visit me. The last time I saw H.M. he was fourteen. So what brings him back
now? Is he visiting old friends?"
Hannibal puffed on his cigar. "Mr. Perry, why we're here is our business. Now
please tell us what that was all about."
Baracus walk over and added, "Yeah man. Now!"
The man sat down on the stool. "Well, I can't be too sure, but when H.M. was
five, his mother was murdered, right in this store. When I found her, H.M. was
standing in front of the doorway that led to the back room. I think he saw who
did it,
but he apparently wiped it out of his mind. His mother's killer was never
identified."
"How is it you would recognized Murdock after all these years?" asked
Hannibal, staring at the man, waiting for an answer.
"Well sir, I wasn't sure at first, but when you called him by his name, I knew I
was right. Besides that, he resembles his father. That's how I recognized him."
At that point Face turned and walked out to the van to see how Murdock was. He
climbed into the van and placed his hand
on his friend's shoulder.
"Murdock, are you all right?"
Murdock did not look up at Face. He felt ashamed. He thought to himself, Why
did I act that way? I've been in other stores before. What made this one
different? Now B.A. must really think I'm crazy. At least now he has a good
reason.
"Are you all right ?" asked Face again.
This time, Murdock looked up at Face and smiled at him. "Hey Faceman,of course
I'm all right. I just didn't like that store. You know how it is --- if you
don't like a store you try to get out. No big deal."
Face looked at his friend, and knew that he was not ready to talk about it.
"When you're ready to talk, we'll be here."
Murdock nodded his head. He knew Face and the other would help him.
Hannibal and B.A. entered the van. B.A. looked back at Murdock, who handed him a
piece of paper. It read, "Dear B.A., don't worry, I had my shots. So you have no
fear of turning into a dog or becoming crazy." B.A. struck the note in his
pocket and looked at Hannibal.
Hannibal had a funny feeling what B.A. was thinking: That poor fool, seeing his
own mother killed and the horrors of the Vietnam war. No wonder at times he
needs to escape in his own little world.
Hannibal turned to Face. "Face, you and B.A. go and see Ms. Kendall. Murdock and
I will join you later."
Murdock looked at Hannibal." No, Hannibal, we have to help my cousin. As for
what happened back at the store, we can deal with that later."
Hannibal glanced at Murdock. "Captain, I need to talk to you about what happened
now. B.A. can drop us off at the nearest motel. We can join them at the
nightclub later."
B.A.dropped them off and he and Face went to the nightclub. After checking in
Hannibal and Murdock went to the room. Murdock sat down on the bed. Hannibal
went over to him. "Captain, like I said we need to talk. Something happened in
that store that you need to remember for two reasons; one, to help you, and the
other to bring your mother's killer to justice.Your mother's killer was never
identified."
"My mother's killer? Hannibal what are you talking about? My mother just...
Murdock paused, as if he was trying to find the right words "...left. I mean,
one day she was there and the next day she was gone."
"I'm sorry, Murdock, but your mother was murdered and Mr. Perry thinks you saw
who did it."
Murdock looked up at Hannibal." Mr.Perry. He was a friend when I was little.
What did he tell you?"
"Mr. Perry was a policeman officer when you were little; he was in the store and
told us what happened. He's the one who found your mother's body. He said you
were staring at it but you were in a state of shock, and you forced the memory
from your mind."
Murdock put his head into his hands. Hannibal waited while Murdock sobbed
silently to himself. Serveral minutes later he looked up, his brown eyes sore
and red from sobbing. "Hannibal, I want to rememeber my mother and what happened
to her, but I just can't. It's like she never existed, like she was only a
dream."
Hannibal sat down on the bed beside Murdock. "I believe I have a way that might
help you."
"How?" asked Murdock as he look at his colonel.
"You'll see later. Let's go help your cousin first, all right?"
Murdock nodded his head.
"Fine," said Hannibal. I'll call a taxi."
Soon the taxi arrived and Hannibal told the driver where to go. When they walked
in the nightclub, Face and B.A. were talking to a woman. Hannibal walked up to
her.
"Miss Kendall, I would like you to meet the fourth member of my team."
The woman turned around and stared. "H.M., what are you doing here? What does he
mean, the fourth member of his team? You're a member of the A-Team? I thought
you were at the V.A. Hospital."
Murdock walked up to the woman and picked her up . He was really glad to see
her. "Hi there, muchacho, long time no see."
"H.M., put me down." With a smile, Murdock did what the woman commanded. She
suddenly turned on Hannibal. "How
dare you bring my cousin here? He is not a well man. He's insane!"
Face looked at Casey. "You have nothing to worry about. Murdock takes his
medication and it keeps him under control."
"He shouldn't be here; this may not be good for him. His mother was killed in
this towm."
Smith smoking on his cigar said. "Yes, Ms. Kendall, we were all ready told about
that."
Murdock took hold of Casey. "Casey, you have a problem and we want to help you.
I know you're ten years older than me, but please let me and my friends help."
"All right, H.M., you're no longer that little boy that used to followed me
around. As a matter of fact, I see you grew up to be a tall good looking guy."
She then turned to the A-Team. "If anything happened to him..."
B.A. smiled at her . "Don't worry, mama, nothing will happen to him. He knows
what he doing."
Hannibal spoke to her. "Now Miss Kendall, you told Mr. Lee that a man named
Leonard Cox was trying to run you out of business."
"That's right. My help has disappeared. No one wants to work for me. They're
afraid something will happen to them. As I told Mr.Lee, Mr.Cox owns another
nightclub, a real hole in the wall. I'm afraid he doesn't like competition."
They stood and listened to her story and finally Smith asked her, "why didn't
you just go to the police?"
"I don't have any hard evidence that Mr.Cox is behind the disappearance of my
employees. The police won't act without evidence."
"Well, Miss Kendall ,we're here to help. Face, B.A., let's pay Mr.Cox a visit.
Murdock, you stay here and practice your songs for tonight's opening."
"Songs?" asked Casey.
"Yes, Miss Kendall, meet your new nighclub singer."
"Really? Well, I hope he can sing more songs then 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm'."
Murdock stood there, something suddenly flashing in his mind. He saw a woman
and a little boy in a car. The little was singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."
Each time the little boy would make the animals sound louder, the woman would
laugh.
"Murdock, where did you go?" asked Hannibal. But Murdock only stared blankly at
him for a few minutes.
"Hannibal, I remember something about my mother. She liked my animals sounds."
"That's a start Murdock. Maybe more will come to you later. Let's go guys."
*******
B.A.drove to where Casey told him Mr.Cox's nightclub was. When they arrived,
Hannibal handed them each a weapon.
"What do you say, guys? Should we go and give Mr.Cox an invitation to opening
night?"
Face and B.A. stared at each other. "He's on the jazz, man said B.A.
*********
Two men sat at the front table, one was looking a little nervous. "I'm telling
you, Mr.Cox, you got nothing to worry about. I
got rid of her help and there ain't no one else who's going to help her. Me and
my boys made sure of that."
"You better be right, Nicky, 'cause I want this to go down smooth, so no screw
ups."
"There won't be, Mr. Cox , I promise."
"There better not be. If that woman opens up her nightclub more people may go
there, and I'll lose money. Money that I use to buy and store drugs down in
Mexico, to sell to very wealthy clients."
Suddenly the front door was kicked in and three men entered, shooting. Bullets
and broken glass flew everywhere, and the two men ducked under the table. Soon
the shooting stopped. The two men slowly came out from under the table.
"Who are you guys? What's the big ideal coming in here and shooting up my club?"
The oldest of the three intruders spit out the tip of his cigar. "I'm Hannibal
Smith, and we just gave you an invitation to Glitter Lights opening night."
"Smith, huh? Well,Smith, you just wasted your time and cost me a lot of money.
There's not going to be an opening night. Take care of them Rico, Mario."
Two more men came out of the back room. Face jumped on one of them, who fell to
the floor under Face's weight. B.A. took care of the other two by throwing them
out the window. He then grabbed Mr.Cox, picking him up over his head and threw
him as well.
Hannibal walked outside to him. "Mr.Cox, that was not very nice of you. For that
I'm taking back my invitation. Come on guys."
As he watched the three men leave, Mr. Cox turned to his men. "I want them
dead."
Part Four
"Love and marriage, love and marriage. Go together like a horse and carriage.
This I tell you brother. You can't have one, you can't have none, You can't have
one without the other.
Murdock finished one of the songs he had picked out, then smiled at his cousin.
"Well, what did you think?"
It was pretty good. You have a terrific voice, H.M., too bad there's no way you
could get a voice trainer. You 've got the making of a wonderful singer."
"What do you mean? I've got a voice trainer, and he's one of the best."
"Really! And who might that be?"
Murdock waved his hand at the floor. "Why, my dog Billy, of course. He's the
best voice trainer there is. If you thought I sung well, wait until you hear
Billy. Go ahead, Billy, sing for Casey." They waited but they heard no singing.
"Well, I guess he's not in the mood to sing right now. He's not to crazy about
being back in Pineland. Too many memories, I guess." Murdock suddenly became
quiet as another flashback unfolded in his mind.
He saw the same woman and child as before, only this time they were in a back
room of some place. The woman was holding something behind her back.
"Honey Muffin, mommy has a surprise for you. Close your eyes."
The little boy did what the woman said .The woman produced a box.
"Can you guess what I have in here?"
The little boy shook his head. "Well, you know that Aunt Jennifer's dog Sam had
puppies, and they 're old enough to leave their mother."
"I can't have a puppy. They make daddy sneeze."
The woman knelt down by the little boy. "Sam knows that your daddy is allergic
to dog, but she wanted you to have one .So she had an invisible puppy just for
you." The woman reached into the box and took out the puppy.
The little boy screamed with joy. "Is he really mine, mommy, is he?"
"He's all yours, Honey Muffin, all yours." She laughed as she watched him hug
the puppy.
"Oh, thank you mommy. I'm going to called him Billy."
"H.M., this is Casey, calling H.M., please come in."
"Huh? Oh, it's you. Casey, I was just remembering more about my mother. She gave
me Billy, and she had a nickname for me, Honey Muffin. My father never like it;
he said it was more for a girl."
"Well, I think it's kind of cute. Can we called you that too?" asked Face.
Murdock and Casey turned to see Hannibal, Face, and B.A. standing there. They
had entered the nightclub while the cousins had been talking. Murdock walked
over to Face, and looked into his blue eyes." Not unless I can called you
mommy."
Face said nothing. "I thought as much." Murdock turned to Hannibal. "So, how did
it go? Did I miss anything
important?"
"Hannibal was on the jazz as usual," said B.A.
"Now, B.A., it wasn't that bad. I just invited Mr. Cox to opening night. It's
not my fault that he ruined his chance to have a good time and hear great
entertainment."
"What entertainment?" asked B.A.
"Why, Murdock, of course," Hannibal said as he smiled at B.A.
"I said it once, and I'll say it again. That fool can't sing."
Murdock looked at B.A. As the saying goes, if looks could kill, B.A. would be
dead. Face walked over to Murdock and placed his arm around his friend 's
shoulder. "Don't let B.A. bother you. If it means anything, I think you have a
good voice, and so does Hannibal, or he never would have picked you to be the
singer."
Murdock smiled at Face. He could always count on Face to cheer him up.
Hannibal looked at his men. "We have to get ready for Cox and his men. Casey,
stay here but out of sight."
The Team members nodded their heads and got things ready. Hannibal had decided
to make things seem natural, as if nothing was going on. Murdock was up on stage
rehearsing, Face was behind the bar, getting ready for customers, and B.A. Was
standing by the bar, his arms folded.
Suddenly, five men walked in, each of them carrying an automatic weapon. One man
walked up to Hannibal who was sipping on the drink Face had made him.
"Not bad, Face, what do you called this?" asked Hannibal.
"Well, Hannibal, I call it..."
"Shut -up, pretty boy," said the man.
Hannibal looked at the man. "Now that's a stupid name for a drink. What do you
think, Face?"
Face smiled at his colonel. "You know, Colonel, you're right. It has no
character."
Hannibal turned and addressed the man. "Can I help you with something"?
"Yeah, you and your men here wreaked my nightclub, and we're here to return the
favor."
"Now, that real nice, right guys?" The other three nodded their heads. All at
once, Hannibal hit the man right in the face, sending him flying on the floor.
Face leapt over the bar and stuck another man, knocking him out. Murdock leapt
from the stage onto
one of the men and began punching him. Although the man was stronger than
Murdock was, with Murdock on his back he couldn't get s good hold of him and
Murdock managed to get him down. As Murdock looked up, he saw that B.A. had
taken care of the other two men.
Cox got up, rubbing his chin. Seeing that his men were defeated, he tried to get
away but Baracus stopped him. Hannibal walked up to him and said.
"Now, Cox, why don't you tell me where Miss. Kendall's missing employees are?
Before my friend here," he pointed at BA "puts a dent in your face."
B.A. growled at Cox.
Cox knew when he was beaten. "They 're being kept at my warehouse in Mexico."
"Where in Mexico?" Asked Hannibal.
"Veracruz. A cat food warehouse called El Cato in Boca Del Rico. On a street
called Ruiz Cortine ."
"What's the address?" asked Hannibal.
Cox knew that he'd better give them the exact address.
Hannibal smiled. "I bet you keep something else down there, too. What is it?"
Cox refused to talk. Colonel Smith turned to Baracus. "Sergeant, take care of
this scum."
B.A. smiled and pulled back his fist.
"No, wait." He stared at the fist inches from his face. "Drugs, I store drugs.
There's about fifty kilograms there, maybe more."
Hannibal smiled. "Nice." He looked at B.A. And nodded his head. B.A.
Understood and knocked Mr. Cox out.
Casey came out of the backroom .She looked at the mess and said nothing.
Hannibal turned to her.
"Call the police and tell them to contract the police in Veracruz Mexico. "Your
missing employees are there along with something the police may find
interesting, come on guys, let's go."
Casey watched as the four men left, then she called the police.
That night, after the police had taken care of Cox. They all sat around the
table listening to the club's original singer - not Murdock.
"I'm sorry H.M., I know you were looking forward to this, but when Tony heard
everything was all right he came back, and
I had to use him. He does this for a living. I hope you understand.
Murdock smiled at his cousin, but he was disappointed. He had been looking
forward to singing to a real audience. The club was packed standing room only.
Tony had just finished singing "My Way". The audience applauded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present Miss Casey Kendall's cousin, H.M.
Murdock. I was told that he wanted to
sing for you, so let's invite him up on stage," Tony announced as he motioned
Murdock to come up. Murdock looked at the others. Face winked at him.
"Go to it, Captain, show them what you got," replied Hannibal.
Murdock looked at B.A. Who nodded his head. "Yeah, fool, knock them dead."
That was all Murdock needed to hear. He ran up on the stage and after thanking
Tony began to sing "Fly Me To The Moon." The audience cheered their approval
and Tony and Murdock sang a few more songs together.
Hannibal puffed on his cigar. Murdock was having a good time, but tomorrow he
was going to have to face the truth about what happened to his mother, and
Hannibal wasn't too sure that Murdock could handle it.
Part Five
The next morning, Hannibal got up and went to the coffee shop across the street.
BA was already there and drinking a glass of milk.
"Morning, Hannibal .I ordered you some coffee," said BA.
"Good morning, BA. Did you enjoy yourself last night?' asked Hannibal.
"Yeah, man, I had a real good time, in spite of Murdock 's singing," BA said a
smile.
"Now, BA, you applauded just as much as everyone else did."
The two men turned around to see Face walk in. Face sat down and ordered a cup
of coffee.
"I did so the crazy fool wouldn't get too nervous."
"Come on, BA, face it, you enjoy Murdock's singing last night," said Face.
BA looked at Face. "Even if I did, I'd never tell that fool, and don't you
either."
Hannibal put down his cup of coffee. "Speaking of Murdock, is he still asleep?"
"Yeah," said Face. "Want me to wake him?"
"I think you better. He still needs to deal with his mother and what happened to
her," Hannibal replied.
Face nodded his head and walked back to the motel. He entered the room Murdock
was sleeping. But Murodck was not there.
Face returned to the coffee shop. "Hannibal, Murdock isn't here. I guess he got
up early and went for a walk."
Hannibal nodded his head. "Maybe Murdock needs to be alone to think. I'm going
to see someone who might be able to help him. Face, you and BA go over to his
cousin's house. Maybe she might know where he went."
"Hannibal," asked Face, "who are you going to see?"
Hannibal smiled at his men. "A psychiatrist that specializes in hypnosis."
Murdock stood outside his cousin's house. He had to talk to her. Maybe she could
tell him more about his mother. He knock on her door but there was no answer, so
he went around the back.
Casey was in the back, weeding her garden. She looked up to see Murdock standing
there.
"Oh, hello HM. I thought you and your friends were on your way back to LA."
"No, we decided to stay around to see if I could remember what happened to my
mother."
Casey stared at Murdock. "Why, HM, why bring up that painful memory?"
"That's just it Casey, I don't remember it. I only remember bits and pieces of
my mother, and I need to put them together. Will you help me?"
Casey nodded her head. "Come on, I'll take you to where you lived when you were
a little. The people who live there now are real nice, Mr.and Mrs. Belfast."
As they went around front to her car, they saw Face and BA pulling up. Murdock
ran over to them.
"Follow us guys, Casey's taking me to where I used to live."
BA waited till Casey pulled out then followed.
Hannibal Smith waited in the office waiting room. It seemed as if he had been
waiting for hours. Suddenly the door opened and a man came out. The man walked
up to Hannibal, and asked. "How's Murdock?"
Hannibal looked at him. "He's fine, Mr. Perry, and yourself?"
"Fine, I couldn't be better. Just stopped to see Dr. WilJohn. So, how long are
you and your men staying?"
"I don't mean to sound rude, but that's really none of your business. Now if you
will excuse me? I'm here to see the doctor."
Mr. Perry turned and walked away from Hannibal. As he left he thought to
himself, Well, Mr. Smith, if you and your men won't leave on your own, maybe the
Military Police can help you.
"Sir," said the receptionist, "Dr. WilJohn will see you now."
Hannibal thanked the woman and walked into the office. Doctor WilJohn was a
short stock woman with brown hair and eyes, who looked to be in her mid
thirties."Hello, what can I do for you?"
"Well, it's not really me that needs help, it's a friend of mine."
'I see. Why don't you sit down and you can tell me what's bothering your friend.
Is your friend here right now and can you only see him or her?"
'Now look, Dr.WilJohn, I do have a friend who needs your help .His name is HM
Murdock, and he may have seen his mother's murder when he was little. I think
that hypnotism might help him remember."
"I see. Well sir, bring your friend to my office at three today."
Hannibal smiled at the doctor and left. He called for a taxi and went back to
the motel.
Murdock, Face, BA, and Casey sat in the Belfast's living room. They all seemed
uncomfortable. At last Mrs. Belfast broke the silence.
"Tell me, Mr.Murdock, would you lie to see your old room?"
"No, Mrs. Belfast, it was a mistake to come here. Nothing is familiar anymore
.I'm sorry we wasted your time. Come on guys."
"Wait I have something for you. When we first moved into this house, we found
this in the attic." Mrs. Belfast went over to the bookcase and took out a small
book. "It's your mother's diary. Maybe you will find some your answers in it."
Murdock carefully took the diary from Mrs. Belfast and held it close to his
heart; here was something of his mother. "Thank you, Mrs. Belfast."
When they arrived back to the motel, Hannibal was waiting. "I see you found
Murdock."
"Yeah, we found him," said Face.
"We visited his old house and the people who live there gave Murdock a diary
that belonged to his mother."
Murdock turned and walked into the room he slept in.
"I guess he's going to read the diary. I sure hope he finds something," said BA.
Murdock opened the diary and began to read.
March 17,1952. My husband and I are going out on the town again. HM is over at
my Sister Jennifer's house. Frank and I have been having problems. Frank's job
as a traveling salesman takes him away so much and I've been so lonely. I've
been seeing another man, someone I met at the general store I work at. It seems
harmless at first. We would meet for coffee or lunch and just talk. But the more
Frank was away, the lonelier I got. Before long those little meeting turn into
blow out affair. I didn't mean for it to happen, but I was so lonely. I couldn't
control what was happening. As I walked into the living room last night, I saw
Frank standing by the fireplace. He was crying. I've hardly ever seen Frank cry.
I walked up to him and comforted him. He said he was sorry for not being there
for us and asked me to forgive him. There was nothing to forgive Frank for. He
had to work to support his family. I was the one who betrayed my family. I now
know what I must do. I have to break up with this other man, tell Frank the
truth and hope he will forgive me.
Murdock stared at the words as another memory flooded his mind...
"Get out! Why don't you leave me alone? I told you it was over. We were a
mistake. It never should have happened."
"No, it's not over, Elizabeth. I love you more than Frank ever could."
Suddenly the man kissed the woman. She pulled away and slapped him in the face.
"Get out before I call the police. When I come back you better be gone."
As the woman turned to leave, Murdock mind became blank. This was what he
couldn't remember.
Hannibal entered the room. Murdock was sitting on the bed, the diary now lying
beside him.
"Did the diary help you?"
"A little, but not much. I guess I need to remember what happened before any of
this can really make sense to me."
"Captain, I 've made an appointment for you to see a psychiatrist."
"A psychiatrist, Hannibal? Dr. Richter is my psychiatrist. I don't need another
one."
"Murdock, this psychiatrist is a specialist in hypnosis. She's going to
hypnotize you to help you remember what happened to your mother."
Murdock looked at Hannibal .He was scared but he trusted his commanding officer
and would blindly follow him anywhere.
Part Six
When they arrived at the doctor's office, the receptionist greeted them. "Dr.
WilJohn will see you in a few minutes. Please have a seat and wait."
Murdock walked up to one of the chairs and pick it up the receptionist stared at
him. "Sir, I said have a seat, not take a seat."
"Oh, sorry, I misunderstood you."
Dr.WilJohn came out of her office. "Hello again. So which one of these men is
MR? Murdock?"
"He is," said Face and BA as they pointed to the man wearing the blue baseball
hat.
"Hello, Mr.Murdock, my name is Dr.WilJohn. Why don't you come into my office and
we can get started."
Murdock looked at Hannibal, "I 'm not sure about this, Hannibal. I'm scared."
There nothing to be afraid of, Mr. Murdock," said Dr.WilJohn.
"Can my friends come in, too?"
"If they wish."
They entered the doctor's office. "Mr.Murdock, please lay down on this couch,
and don't be afraid. Gentlemen, you can stay but you must be quiet .I am going
to put Mr. Murdock under. If I see that what he is remembering is too much for
him, I will bring him back .Are we all clear on that?"
"Yes, Doctor, we understand," said Hannibal.
"Mr. Murdock, I am going, to set an anchor for you in the event that you need to
escape from anything, too threatening to you while in trance. If I touch your
wrist like this, you will immediately come back to the present, alert and
relaxed. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, Doc, I'm ready."
"Do you see the spinning color ball on the ceiling?"
Murdock nodded his head.
"As the ball spins count the different colors you see. Watch as the colors blend
together, concentrate on the colors. As you watch the colors blend, you are
discovering that your eyelids are getting heavy, very heavy. In fact, they are
getting so heavy that it is harder and harder to keep your eyes focused on the
pretty image. That's right; let it go. That's right; let them close. Hmmm, good,
Mr. Murdock. Can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"Good." Then she turned to Hannibal. "How old was he when his mother was
murdered?"
"Five."
She nodded. "You said his name was HM?" she asked Smith.
"Yes."
"Good, now we can begin. Mr. Murdock, we are going back to when you were five
.You are now five years old, and you are in the store, what do you see?"
"I see my mother. She is wating on Mr. Appleton."
"And where are you?"
"In the back. I'm not supposed to come out front when mommy is waiting on a
customer. Something's wrong. I got to go out."
"What's wrong HM?"
"Mommy, mommy. I can't find Billy."
"What's happening now, HM?"
"She's taking me into the back."
"Did she find Billy for you?"
"Yes, he was asleep in one of the crates"
Suddenly Murdock 's voice became very loud. "It's that man! I want out of here."
"HM, what man do you see?"
"A man. He's hurting my mommy." Murdock's eyes got very wide. "My mommy is hurt.
Why is that man hurting my mommy? "Get up mommy, get up." Murdock started
crying.
"HM, who is hurting your mommy?"
"That man." Murdock grabbed hold of the doctor. 'Please helps my mommy."
"What's happening now, HM?"
"My mommy being covered up. They're saying she dead. I don't understand. I want
my mommy."
Suddenly Murdock became silent. He let go of Dr. WilJohn. His eyes stared
rolling into the back of his head.
"He's going into shock. I have to bring him out." She touched his wrist.
Murdock blinked his eyes and slowly sat up. He looked around the room.
"Mr. Murdock, I'm going out to get you a drink of water .You just relax."
"Captain, are you all right?" Murdock saw the look on his friends' faces.
"I'm all right, Hannibal. Guys, when the doctor had me under hypnosis. I
remembered that there was another person in the store when my mother was killed.
Maybe she knows what happened."
"Who, Murdock," asked Face.
"My cousin, Casey. Come on guys, let's go see her."
As they started to leave, they heard talking outside.
"Sir, you can't go in there," they heard Dr. WilJohn say.
"Get out of my way, sister. There are wanted military fugitives in that room and
this time they're not getting away."
"Oh great, it's Decker. How did he know where to find us?"
"I don't know, Face. Come on, guys, there must be another way out," said
Hannibal.
Face pointed to a back door.
As the A-Team went out the back, Decker and his men came in the front. "They're
getting away out the back! Go, go, go!" cried Decker. The M.P.s raced for their
cars to chase the A-Team, only to find that the wheels had been blown out and
each of the cars' radiators were smoking. Decker pounded his fist on one of the
cars. "Someday, Smith, you are going to run out of
luck, and when that happens I'll be waiting."
The A-Team was on their way to see Casey.
"Murdock. I don't understand. If you remembered Casey being there, why didn't
you tell Dr. WilJohn?"
"Because, Faceman, she didn't asked."
Face nodded his head. "I guess that's a good enough reason."
Murdock tapped BA on the shoulder. "Could you drive a little faster, Big Guy?
This memory has been gone too long and only Casey can find it."
BA looked at Hannibal, he nodded his head, and BA picked up speed. Soon they
arrived at Casey's home but she wasn't there. They got back into the van.
"She must have gone to the nightclub," said Hannibal. "Let's go, BA."
When they arrived, Casey was there.
"Hi, guys, just getting ready for tonight. Hey HM, you were really good last
night. I don't suppose you would do it again tonight? Tony was called away and
I need a replacement. How about it."
Murdock sadly shook his head. "I didn't come here to sing. I don't remember what
happened to my mother. But I do remember I was not the only one there that day.
Casey, what happened to my mother?"
Casey stared at Murdock. "I was hoping you would never remember I was there too.
Oh, why don't you just forget about all this? It happened years ago. Why is it
so important to you?"
"Because it is. Please, Casey. Please tell me who killed my mother."
Casey lowered her head and began to cry. They waited for her to calm down,
wiping her eyes as she began, "HM was right .I was in the store that day. Aunt
Elizabeth was working by herself. She told me that Mr. Goodman would be in
later. I went back to the magazine rack to look at the movie magazines. As I was
looking through a magazine I heard two fighting. I looked up and saw that it
was Aunt Elizabeth and Officer Perry. Suddenly Aunt Elizabeth turned to leave
and Mr. Perry hit her on the head with something .I couldn't tell what it was .I
hid and when the police arrived I left though the side door."
Murdock grabbed hold of Casey, clearly upset. "You saw Mr. Perry kill my mother
and you didn't tell the police! Why, Casey?"
Casey stared at Murdock .She wanted to die. "I did, HM, although not right away.
I was hoping they find out themselves."
She paused. "I waited two days, then I told them everything. There was an
investigation but the murder weapon was never found and without it, it was my
word against Officer Perry's"
Murdock was still angry. "If you had just come forward in the store that day,
Mr. Perry wouldn't had gotten away with murder."
Casey looked at her cousin. "I'm sorry, HM."
Murdock turned his back on her. "What good is that gonna do now?"
Smith stepped forward. "Go easy on her, Captain. She was only a frightened
teenager then."
Murdock nodded his head. "I'm sorry, Casey. This must have been pretty hard on
you too."
Murdock again thought back. He remembered his mother and Mr. Perry fighting.
Mr. Perry was the man she had been seeing, and she wanted to break it off and he
didn't. So as she was leaving to go into the back of the store, Mr. Perry picked
up a statue of an elephant and hit her on the head with it. Then he took the
murder weapon, wiped off his fingerprints and any traces of blood. He put the
murder weapon into his bag and went about making
it look like a robbery. When he finished, he called the police.
"Hello, this is Officer Perry, I 'm calling in to report a crime. There's been a
robbery and homicide at Goodman's store."
When he hung up the phone, he noticed the little boy. Elizabeth's, son HM. He
walked over to the child kill him too, when he noticed the child was in a state
of shock. Instead, he picked up the child and held him close and told him
everything would be all right.
Soon the police arrived; one officer walked up to him.
"Tom, what happened?"
"Mark, I don't know .I came in to get some groceries and found that the store
had been robbed, Mrs. Murdock dead and her son in a state of shock."
A policewoman walked over to Tom Perry and took HM.
"I'll take him to the hospital .Tom, get in touch with his father."
Murdock returned to the present. He was almost sure he knew where the weapon
was.
If he was right it had been in plain sight all those years.
"Guys, Casey, I think I know where the murder weapon is."
"Murdock, are you sure? Your cousin said it was never found."
"Yeah, Big Guy. When I was about six or seven I lived with my grandparents on a
ranch in Oakwood. Texas. My father traveled a lot and he thought life on the
road was no place for a child. He wanted me to have a real home. My father and
Mr. Perry were friends I guess my mother never had a chance to my father about
her and Mr. Perry. Anyway my father would take me to Mr. Perry 's house every
other weekend. Mr. Perry had a statue of an elephant that he kept on the mantel
above his
fireplace. I remembered now how that statue used to frightened me. I was afraid
it was going to hurt me."
Face turned to him. "You think that's the murder weapon?"
"Yes I do. Come on guys, let's pay Mr. Perry a visit."
Part Seven
The black van pulled up in front of Tom Perry 's house. Murdock was sitting in
the front with BA. When BA parked the van, he climbed out of the van.
"Hey, man, wait, don't go in alone," said BA.
Murdock turned around to face BA. "I'm going to confront Mr. Perry. Thanks to
Doctor WilJohn and Casey, and my mother 's diary, I remembered who killed my
mother. But now I want to know why. Guys I have to do this alone .You
understand, don't you?"
They nodded their heads.
"Murdock, if you need us we'll be here," said Face.
"You may be going in there alone, fool, but we're with you in spirit."
"Thanks, Faceman, BA, I'll be all right."
"Good luck, Captain," said Hannibal.
Murdock nodded and headed for the door. He knocked, and listened as he heard
someone coming to answer it. Soon the door opened and Tom Perry was standing
there.
"Hello, HM. What brings you here? The last time I saw you, you were trying to
get out of Goodman's store."
Murdock walked up to the fireplace and stared at the statue on the mantel. "Mr.
Perry, this is the most difficult thing I ever had to do."
Mr. Perry looked at Murdock .By the angry look in his eyes, he knew that Murdock
had remembered that day. "You remember, don't you?"
"Yes, thanks to some help. I remember that you killed my mother with this."
Murdock pointed to the statue on the mantel. "What I want to know is why."
The older man turned away from Murdock. "I loved your mother, HM, more than
anyone. But she told me that she still loved your father. She said we were a
mistake. Damn our love was not a mistake. Why did she say such a thing? We could
have been very happy together. Why did she ruin everything?"
"My mother didn't ruin anything .You killed her, and you said that you loved
her. You don't kill the person that you love."
"Some people do, if the person they love doesn't love them."
"I've got news for you, Mr. Perry. That's not love. If you had really loved my
mother, you would have let her go. Instead you took that statue and killed her
with it. Didn't you even care what that did to me, seeing you kill my mother?"
Mr. Perry looked angrily at Murdock I didn't know you were there. The last thing
I wanted was to hurt you."
"It's too late for that, Mr. Perry, the damage has been done. Even when my
father send me to live with my grandparents, you would come to visit me, or my
father would bring me to visit you. You were like a second father to me. You
were there when my father couldn't be there. I loved you; and you killed my
mother. You make me sick."
I'm sorry HM, I was hoping you would never remember," said Tom Perry as he took
out his gun.
"Now I'm going to have to kill you."
"Don't be a fool. I didn't come alone."
"I figured that. Your friends are out front waiting for you, so we are going out
the back. Move it."
As the two men started down the steps that lead to the back door, Murdock turned
and grabbed for the gun. The two men struggled with the gun. Bang! The gun
went off.
The A-Team heard the shot and ran in the direction from which it had come.
Murdock was standing over Tom Perry, who was holding is arm.
"Get up, Mr. Perry, it's only a flesh wound."
Mr. Perry just stared at Murdock. BA walked over and yanked him to his feet. "He
said get up, sucker, something wrong with your hearing?"
"Thanks, BA. Come on guys, I'm going to show you the murder weapon." They
followed Murdock back into the house, BA with a firm grip on Tom Perry. Murdock
walked up to the fireplace and pointed to the statue of the elephant.
"Well, here it is."
Face walked over and stared at the statue. "You mean it was here all the time?"
"Right," replied Murdock.
Mr. Perry began to laugh. "You'll never prove that. Besides, you're the crazy
one .No one is going to believe a crazy man, and there no other witness."
"That's where you are wrong, Mr. Perry. My cousin also saw you kill my mother
and I'm sure she will be happy to testify in court if it comes to that," said
Murdock.
"Well it won't," said Mr. Perry.
Hannibal stared at him. "Mr. Perry, I believe you're wrong. There'd this Medical
Examiner in L .A. Who once work on a murder case older then this one. Though
a new method he proved her the killer was. What was his name, Face?"
Face thought for a moment. "I don't recall right now, Colonel. I think it began
with a Q."
"No matter, but you see, Mr. Perry this is the kind of case he loves. I'm sure
he'll come down and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you killed Mrs.
Murdock. This time they will have to listen to Casey. BA ties him up. Come on
guys; let's get back to Casey. We'll call the police from there."
BA nodded his head and soon Mr. Perry was tied up. They then went back to the
nightclub. Murdock walked up to his cousin. "Casey, we have to leave now. You
call the police and tell me what happened that day in Mr. Goodman 's store and
show them the murder weapon. If this goes to court, you'll have to testify. I
can't because I've been declared insane by the state of
California. Casey, I love you."
Casey nodded her head. Murdock then turned to his friends. "Let's go guys, I've
got to get back. Dr. Richter wants to heard about my mother, but first I've got
to make a stop." They said their good-byes to Casey and left
When they arrived at the store Murdock got out of the van and just stood there.
They all waited as he turned and walks inside. Ten minutes later he returned
with some food.
"I hope you like what I bought. All right, Big Guy, let's get going."
Murdock sat back in his chair. "You know I'm glad this is over. I' m glad I now
know what happened." Hannibal, Face, and BA smiled at Murdock as he began to
sing the song his mother used to sing to him.
"Six little ducks that I once knew."
Face smiled and joins in, "Fat ducks, skinny ducks, small ones too."
Hannibal with his cigar clenched in his teeth join them." But the one little
duck with the feather on his back."
They all turned to BA, who growl under his breath." He ruled the others with his
quack, quack, and quack
They all started laughing. Murdock smiled at his friends.
"You know guys, we love it when a plan comes together."
*****
The next day at the VA Hospital, Murdock received a phone call from Casey. They
had enough evidence for a trial and she would testify.
"My friends an I will be there," he told her. Murdock hung up the phone and
called for one of the nurses.
"Please, I would like to see Dr. Richter."
The nurse nodded her head. Soon Murdock was sitting in Dr. Richter's office.
"All right, Murdock, Nurse Betbert said you request to see me. What's up?"
"Make yourself some coffee, doc, then sit down. I want to tell you about my
mother, and it's going to be a long session.
Dr. Richter smiled, took his tablet and sat down.
Murdock began. "My mother name was Elizabeth, and she was the most wonderful
mother in the world...
The end
Susan Owens
Rated: PG
Warning: Safe
Summary: The Ateam get ready for a new job in Murdock's hometown
Disclaimer: I do not own them
Copyright 2000
Edited by: Sockii
Author's Notes: Sockii gave me permission to post this. It is also in her book
The Dwight Papers. It's also my very first A-Team story. I hope you enjoy it.
I have to retype this word from word because it was done in format 6.0 something
like
that and I can't open it. So if you find any mistakes, It's a typing error I hit
the wrong keys. The is my most problem so you may see the like this hte I can
spell the I just hit the wrong keys.
Part One
He sat in Dr. Richter's office, staring up at the ceiling, his dark brown eyes
moving back and forth.
"Murdock, will you please paid attention? You really must talk about this."
Murdock looked at Dr.Richter, who meant so much to him. Murdock knew he would
be lost today if Dr. Richter had been killed by that madman who had kidnapped
him, if he hadn't convinced his friends to help rescue him.
He knew what the doctor wanted him to talk about. He wanted Murdock to talk
about his mother, a subject he found very difficult to discuss.
"Come on, Doc, let's not talk about that. I could tell you about a dream I had
instead. I dreamt I was a little goldfish and this cat tried to eat me. Suddenly
I turned into a shark and ate the cat instead. What do you think it means?"
"I think it means you're trying to avoid the subject. Murdock,please let's talk
about your mother."
Okay, Doc, Murdock replied, suddenly jumping up and grabbing Dr.Richter's
tablet. "Now, Doc, tell me about your mother. Did you love her? Did you hate
her?" Dr. Richter took the tablet back. Murdock stared at him and sighed.
"Okay, Doc, you win. I'll tell you about my mother. Where do I begin, let's
see... she was born on March 14 1865."
"1865? Murdock be serious."
"I am being serious.You see, Doc, my father was an inventer. He built this time
machine and traveled back into time and met my mother. So anyway he decided to
take her back to his time, and soon they were married. They really didn't want
to have children right away, but easy come easy go. I was born or whatever.
Dr. Richter looked at Murdock, knowing he was not telling the truth. For some
unknown reason, when it came to talking about his mother, Murdock always had a
different story.
"Say Doc, do you want to hear the rest?"
No, Murdock, this session is over. I'll have an orderly take you back to your
room. Maybe someday you will be able to tell
me the real story."
As Murdock walked down the hall to his room, he thought to himself. Fat change,
Doc, I don't remember much about
my mother except a few things, like her voice, and the way she used to sing our
favorite song to me. I wish I could remember what it was. Where the heck is
Face? I want out of here. I'm bored and I need some action. Come on, Faceman,
where are you?
At that moment, Faceman - or Templeton Peck - was having dinner with a beautiful
woman, a tall blond named Irene. He poured her a glass of wine and smiled at
her, "To us, Irene, and to the future."
"To us," said Irene as their glasses clanked together.
Suddenly the telephone rang. "So help me if that's Hannibal, I'll turn him into
applesauce or worse. Hello."
"Hi Face, this is Hannibal. I hope I'm not bothering you but we got a case. So
go get Murdock and meet BA at the youth center."
"Hannibal, Irene, is here-- you know the woman I've been trying to date? I was
just about to show her a good time."
"Well, Lieutenant, show her the door instead and get moving."
Face started to protest but Hannibal had all ready hung up. Face then hung up
the phone and told Irene that something came
up and he was needed. Irene told him in not so friendly words good-bye and left.
Face soon arrived at the V.A.Hospital and walked in. A pretty nurse was at the
desk. He came up to her and presented her a card and document.
"Hello, I'm Dr.Collin Pennypincher, from the Colider Center in San Francisco.
I'm looking for a patient named H.M. Murdock; he's been chosen for a test
involving different types of phobias. You know, like fear of height, fear of
flying, fear of cheese."
"Cheese?" responded the nurse.
Oh yes, did you know that some people are very afraid of cheese? They believe
that if they eat too much cheese, they will turn into mice. It's very sad."
The nurse was looking over the document Dr. Pennypincher had given her to see if
they were in order. Satisfied, she handed it back to him.
"All right, come with me," and she led him down to Murdock's room. As they
entered the room Murdock was playing an video game.
"Captain Murdock, this is Dr. Pennypincher, and he's here to take you to the
Colider Center in San Francisco. You have been chosen for test about different
types of phobias."
Murdock held out his hand. "Please to meet you, Dr. Pennypincher."
Dr. Pennypincher turned to the nurse and handed her the release papers to sign.
"We should have Captain Murdock back as soon as the testing is over."
Face and Murdock soon left. As they were heading for Face's vette, Murdock
looked at him and asked, "Face, where the heck have you guys been? I mean it's
been three days since I last seen you guys. I thought that Decker might had
caught you."
"No, Murdock. Hannibal decided to stay low for a while. Sorry if you weren't
told, Hannibal thinks that Decker might had seen you with us. He thought it was
best not to contract you. He figured that Decker had M.Ps scouting the hospital
and he was right."
Murdock nodded his head." Yeah, I know. They were everywhere. But you guys
weren't there, so how did you know?"
Face smiled at Murdock. "The colonel and I were there. Hannibal was disguised
as one of the gardeners and I was disguised as one of the orderlies. Do you
remember seeing an orderly with red hair and a goatee?"
"Yeah. Was that you?"
Face nodded his head. Murdock stared at Peck.
"They must had put my medication in my food. I didn't even recognize you guys."
Face smiled and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "If it makes you feel
better, I didn't recogize us either. We got a case
now and we got to meet BA at the youth center, so let's go."
"Face, in case you haven't noticed, you are the one driving" replied Murdock.
Face nodded and drove to meet BA.
BA was waiting for them, but not patiently, when Face pulled up. He walked over
to them. "Face, what took you so long?
All you had to do was pick up this crazy fool. How long does that take?"
Face was getting a little annoyed. "Look B.A. if you think I took too long, next
time you pick him up." B.A. just growled at Face and walked towards his van and
drove away. Face and Murdock followed him in Peck's car. Soon they arrived where
Hannibal told them to meet him, and he was waiting for them.
"Well, it's about time."
"Hannibal, don't you start, too. I was a little late picking up Murdock because
I had a hard time getting rid of Irene, and let me tell you, she wasn't too
happy about it. I'll probably will never see her again."
"Ah poor Face," said Hannibal."Okay guys, let's give him a pity party ."
"Ahhhh," cried Smith and Murdock.
Peck stared at them. "Very funny guys, very funny."
B.A. just shook his head. Sometimes I think the colonel needs to share a room
with Murdock, he thought to himself.
Hannibal was now lighting his cigar. "Guys, we've got a case. It seem like a
big-time hood is trying to run a small nightclub out of business in Pineland,
Texas."
"Pineland!" exclaimed Murdock. That's where I was born, in 1867 I lived there
until I was seven. Then went to live with my grandparents in Oakwood, Texas ."
"You were not born in 1867, fool," said B.A.
"How do you what year I was born? You weren't there."
"Because, fool if you were born in 1867 you would be over a hundred years old."
Murdock smiled at B.A. "I hide my age well, don't I?"
BA turned and looled at Hannibal. "Hannibal, what are we going to be doing on
this case?"
"Yeah, said Peck, "and who's the client?"
Hannibal puffed on his cigar before he spoke. "Well guys, like I said,our client
runs a nightclub called Glitter Light. Lately some of her employees have been
disappearing and no one wants to work for her. Without employees she'll have to
closed down. She believes that a man named Leonard Cox has something to do with
it. He owns a nightclub on the south side of town and does like competion. Our
client's name is Miss Casey Kendall."
Murdock looked at Hannibal . "Did you say Casey Kendall?"
Hannibal nodded.
"That's my cousin. My mother's sister's daughter. I haven't seen her in years."
"Your cousin, huh" said Peck.
"Yeah, Faceman. Aunt Jennifer, my mother's sister, married this man named Guy
Kendall. They have a daughter name Cassandra who everyone calls Casey. Colonel,
if Casey is in trouble we got to get down there, and the fastest way is by
plane."
Part Two
They turned and looked at B.A. "Murdock's right, BA said Hannibal. "Flying
would be faster. If we drive down it would take two or more days."
B.A. shook his head. "No man, I'm driving my van down. I'm not leaving my ride."
Murdock walked over to B.A. "If I figure a way for the van to come too, then
will you fly?"
B.A. stared at Murdock. "Okay, fool, if you can figure a way for my van to come
too, I'll fly."
"Promise?" asked Murdock.
"Promise", replied B.A.
Murdock walked back to Face, "Come on Faceman. I know where we can get a plane
so B.A.'s van can come too."
"Wait fool! Hannibal, what exactly will we be doing at the nightclub?"
"Well, B.A. we're going under cover. I'll be Miss Kendall's business partner.
You'll be the bouncer, Face will be the bartender; and Murdock, you'll be the
singer."
"Murdock! A nightclub singer!" protested B.A. "Hannibal, I've heard cats sing
better than him."
"Thanks B.A., for that I am not singing at your wedding," said Murdock.
B.A., like it or not, of the three of us he's got the best voice," said
Hannibal.
"Yeah man, but Face's got the best looks," said B.A.
"Oh, I don't know B.A., a little make-up here and there, and a toupee, he can
almost be as handsome as I am," replied Face.
B.A. looked at Face. "Only when pigs fly."
"All right, that's enough," said Hannibal. "Face you and Murdock go get that
plane, and then we're goin down to Pineland to pay Mr. Cox a visit.
******
As Face was driving, he spoke to Murdock." So where is this airplane at?"
"At Abbott's Airfield. I heard though the V.A. grapevine,that Mr.Mark Abbott
buys his plane at low cost with no question asked."
Face smiled. "Which means Mr.Abbott might have bought stolen aircraft."
Murdock nodded. "I heard that he bought a World War II cargo plane, a
Consolidated R.45. Those babies could carry
cargo up to 10,000 pounds. It should be all right for the van."
Face smiled. Murdock, I've got a scam that I know will work."
Soon they arrived at Abbott's Airfield and found the plane. Murdock crawled
under and set to work placing a phony scratch mark on its belly. He then wink at
Face and they were ready.
The two were there at the plane as Mark Abbott headed towards them. The handsome
man was talking to the taller man.
"Now, Mr.Brabson," said the hamesome one. "Are you sure that this is your stolen
airplane?"
"Yes, Mr.Bobo. Don't you think I would recognize my own plane?"
Mr. Abbott come up to the two men. "What's going on here?"
Mr.Brabson turned on him. "You stole my plane and I want her back! Now!"
"I don't know what you are talking about. I bought this plane in good faith."
"You stole her!" cried Mr.Brabson. "And I 'm gonna call the police!"
The other man stepped in front of Mr.Brabson. "Please, Mr.Brabson, calm down.
I'm sure Mr.Abbott didn't know the plane was stolen."
The other man soon calmed the taller man down. He turned to Mr. Abbott. "Hello
,yes,my name is Mr.William J.Bobo. I'm a private investigator hired by Mr. Jonas
Brabson here to find his stolen plane."
"Yes!" cried Mr.Brabson. "That's my plane and I want her back!"
Mr. Abbott stared at the two men. Mr.Brabson was making him nervous. "What do
you mean, the plane was stolen? I brought it in good faith from a man in Beverly
Hills."
"You stole my plane!" cried Mr.Brabson. "This plane is mine and I can prove it.
If you look under the plane, you will see a scratch mark there. From when I
crashed her last month."
Mr. Abbottt crawled under the plane and saw the scratch mark.
"Mr.Abbott," said Mr. Bobo, "we can get this all cleared up if you would just
show us the ownership papers."
"He can't! " cried Mr. Brabson. "Because I have them." He took out the papers
and showed them to Mr. Bobo and Mr.Abbott.
"I brought this plane at an auction in Santa Fe, for twenty-five thousand
dollars."
Mr. Bobo read the papers. "Mr.Abbott, these papers seem to be in order. What do
you have to say about this?"
Mr. Abbott looked scared. The last thing he wanted was having the police get
involved. "Look, I don't want trouble. So why don't you just take the plane and
we'll forget the whole thing? I'll even throw in the gas. What do you say?"
Mr. Bobo turned to Mr.Brabson. "Well, Mr. Brabson, it's your plane. It's up to
you."
"All right just as long as I get my plane back."
Mr. Bobo smiled at Mr. Abbott. "Mr.Abbott you have yourself a deal."
When Mr. Abbott left, Peck told Murdock to get the plane ready. He would call
Hannibal and BA.
******
Soon Smith and Baracus arrived, and Hannibal stared at the plane. He smiled;
leave it to Murdock to find a plane that would carry the van."Nice Captain."
Baracus saw the huge plane and started having second thoughts. "I'm not getting
on that plane and I mean it," said BA.
"Now,BA" said Smit, "You promised Murdock that you would fly if he found a way
to take your van. As long as I known you, you have never broken a promise."
Baracus swallowed and then nodded his head. "You're right, man, I promised.
Let's go."
"BA, if it makes you fell better you can sit in the van," said Smith. "I'll even
sit in the van with you."
"Yeah that might help", said BA as he drove the van into the plane.
Hannibal turned to Baracus. "Here, BA, lets' turned on the air conditioning ."
"No man, I said I would fly, so you don't have to knock me out."
"Did I say anything about knocking you out?" asked Smith.
"Hannibal, I know you."
"All right. But please don't drive the van though the plane."
BA grabbed the hold of the wheel. It was going to be a long ride.
Part Three
Soon they arrived in Pineland. As B.A. was driving towards the club according to
the directions Hannibal gave him, Face spoke up, "Colonel, we could use
something to eat."
"Okay, B.A., stop at that general store called Goodman's."
B.A. pulled up in front of the store. As they got out and headed for the door,
Murdock began to get an eerie feeling. Something about this place frightened
him, but he didn't know why. The four men walked in.Hannibal was about to tell
them what to get when Murdock began screaming.
"Let me out of here! This place is evil! I'm suffocating, I can't breathe! I
want out of here! Where's the door?"
They turned to see Murdock in a panic state trying to find the door--which was
right in front of him.
"You crazy fool, the door's right in front of you!" said B.A.
He then noticed that Murdock was running towards the closed glass door and it
didn't look like he was going to stop. B.A. moved quickly and grabbed Murdock.
"Let me go, you ugly mudsucker!" screamed Murdock. "I want out of here."
Baracus held tight while Murdock kicked and screamed, trying to get away.
"Hold still, you fool. What's the matter with you?"
"Murdock, calm down," said Hannibal, concerned for his friend.
Suddenly the door opened and two people walked in. Murdock bit B.A., who quickly
let go of him, and Murdock ran out of the door and into the safety of the van.
Face and Hannibal looked at each other.
"Colonel, what was that all about?" asked Face.
"I think I can help."
They turned to see an old man, well built with gray hair and green eyes, who
looked to be in his sixties. He seemed friendly,
like the type of man you see hanging around general stores on television.
"I'm Tom Perry. I was a policeman when H.M. was little. I haven't seen him here
in many years. When he was seven his father took him to live with his
grandparents in Oakwood. On every other weekend his father would bring him down
to visit me. The last time I saw H.M. he was fourteen. So what brings him back
now? Is he visiting old friends?"
Hannibal puffed on his cigar. "Mr. Perry, why we're here is our business. Now
please tell us what that was all about."
Baracus walk over and added, "Yeah man. Now!"
The man sat down on the stool. "Well, I can't be too sure, but when H.M. was
five, his mother was murdered, right in this store. When I found her, H.M. was
standing in front of the doorway that led to the back room. I think he saw who
did it,
but he apparently wiped it out of his mind. His mother's killer was never
identified."
"How is it you would recognized Murdock after all these years?" asked
Hannibal, staring at the man, waiting for an answer.
"Well sir, I wasn't sure at first, but when you called him by his name, I knew I
was right. Besides that, he resembles his father. That's how I recognized him."
At that point Face turned and walked out to the van to see how Murdock was. He
climbed into the van and placed his hand
on his friend's shoulder.
"Murdock, are you all right?"
Murdock did not look up at Face. He felt ashamed. He thought to himself, Why
did I act that way? I've been in other stores before. What made this one
different? Now B.A. must really think I'm crazy. At least now he has a good
reason.
"Are you all right ?" asked Face again.
This time, Murdock looked up at Face and smiled at him. "Hey Faceman,of course
I'm all right. I just didn't like that store. You know how it is --- if you
don't like a store you try to get out. No big deal."
Face looked at his friend, and knew that he was not ready to talk about it.
"When you're ready to talk, we'll be here."
Murdock nodded his head. He knew Face and the other would help him.
Hannibal and B.A. entered the van. B.A. looked back at Murdock, who handed him a
piece of paper. It read, "Dear B.A., don't worry, I had my shots. So you have no
fear of turning into a dog or becoming crazy." B.A. struck the note in his
pocket and looked at Hannibal.
Hannibal had a funny feeling what B.A. was thinking: That poor fool, seeing his
own mother killed and the horrors of the Vietnam war. No wonder at times he
needs to escape in his own little world.
Hannibal turned to Face. "Face, you and B.A. go and see Ms. Kendall. Murdock and
I will join you later."
Murdock looked at Hannibal." No, Hannibal, we have to help my cousin. As for
what happened back at the store, we can deal with that later."
Hannibal glanced at Murdock. "Captain, I need to talk to you about what happened
now. B.A. can drop us off at the nearest motel. We can join them at the
nightclub later."
B.A.dropped them off and he and Face went to the nightclub. After checking in
Hannibal and Murdock went to the room. Murdock sat down on the bed. Hannibal
went over to him. "Captain, like I said we need to talk. Something happened in
that store that you need to remember for two reasons; one, to help you, and the
other to bring your mother's killer to justice.Your mother's killer was never
identified."
"My mother's killer? Hannibal what are you talking about? My mother just...
Murdock paused, as if he was trying to find the right words "...left. I mean,
one day she was there and the next day she was gone."
"I'm sorry, Murdock, but your mother was murdered and Mr. Perry thinks you saw
who did it."
Murdock looked up at Hannibal." Mr.Perry. He was a friend when I was little.
What did he tell you?"
"Mr. Perry was a policeman officer when you were little; he was in the store and
told us what happened. He's the one who found your mother's body. He said you
were staring at it but you were in a state of shock, and you forced the memory
from your mind."
Murdock put his head into his hands. Hannibal waited while Murdock sobbed
silently to himself. Serveral minutes later he looked up, his brown eyes sore
and red from sobbing. "Hannibal, I want to rememeber my mother and what happened
to her, but I just can't. It's like she never existed, like she was only a
dream."
Hannibal sat down on the bed beside Murdock. "I believe I have a way that might
help you."
"How?" asked Murdock as he look at his colonel.
"You'll see later. Let's go help your cousin first, all right?"
Murdock nodded his head.
"Fine," said Hannibal. I'll call a taxi."
Soon the taxi arrived and Hannibal told the driver where to go. When they walked
in the nightclub, Face and B.A. were talking to a woman. Hannibal walked up to
her.
"Miss Kendall, I would like you to meet the fourth member of my team."
The woman turned around and stared. "H.M., what are you doing here? What does he
mean, the fourth member of his team? You're a member of the A-Team? I thought
you were at the V.A. Hospital."
Murdock walked up to the woman and picked her up . He was really glad to see
her. "Hi there, muchacho, long time no see."
"H.M., put me down." With a smile, Murdock did what the woman commanded. She
suddenly turned on Hannibal. "How
dare you bring my cousin here? He is not a well man. He's insane!"
Face looked at Casey. "You have nothing to worry about. Murdock takes his
medication and it keeps him under control."
"He shouldn't be here; this may not be good for him. His mother was killed in
this towm."
Smith smoking on his cigar said. "Yes, Ms. Kendall, we were all ready told about
that."
Murdock took hold of Casey. "Casey, you have a problem and we want to help you.
I know you're ten years older than me, but please let me and my friends help."
"All right, H.M., you're no longer that little boy that used to followed me
around. As a matter of fact, I see you grew up to be a tall good looking guy."
She then turned to the A-Team. "If anything happened to him..."
B.A. smiled at her . "Don't worry, mama, nothing will happen to him. He knows
what he doing."
Hannibal spoke to her. "Now Miss Kendall, you told Mr. Lee that a man named
Leonard Cox was trying to run you out of business."
"That's right. My help has disappeared. No one wants to work for me. They're
afraid something will happen to them. As I told Mr.Lee, Mr.Cox owns another
nightclub, a real hole in the wall. I'm afraid he doesn't like competition."
They stood and listened to her story and finally Smith asked her, "why didn't
you just go to the police?"
"I don't have any hard evidence that Mr.Cox is behind the disappearance of my
employees. The police won't act without evidence."
"Well, Miss Kendall ,we're here to help. Face, B.A., let's pay Mr.Cox a visit.
Murdock, you stay here and practice your songs for tonight's opening."
"Songs?" asked Casey.
"Yes, Miss Kendall, meet your new nighclub singer."
"Really? Well, I hope he can sing more songs then 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm'."
Murdock stood there, something suddenly flashing in his mind. He saw a woman
and a little boy in a car. The little was singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."
Each time the little boy would make the animals sound louder, the woman would
laugh.
"Murdock, where did you go?" asked Hannibal. But Murdock only stared blankly at
him for a few minutes.
"Hannibal, I remember something about my mother. She liked my animals sounds."
"That's a start Murdock. Maybe more will come to you later. Let's go guys."
*******
B.A.drove to where Casey told him Mr.Cox's nightclub was. When they arrived,
Hannibal handed them each a weapon.
"What do you say, guys? Should we go and give Mr.Cox an invitation to opening
night?"
Face and B.A. stared at each other. "He's on the jazz, man said B.A.
*********
Two men sat at the front table, one was looking a little nervous. "I'm telling
you, Mr.Cox, you got nothing to worry about. I
got rid of her help and there ain't no one else who's going to help her. Me and
my boys made sure of that."
"You better be right, Nicky, 'cause I want this to go down smooth, so no screw
ups."
"There won't be, Mr. Cox , I promise."
"There better not be. If that woman opens up her nightclub more people may go
there, and I'll lose money. Money that I use to buy and store drugs down in
Mexico, to sell to very wealthy clients."
Suddenly the front door was kicked in and three men entered, shooting. Bullets
and broken glass flew everywhere, and the two men ducked under the table. Soon
the shooting stopped. The two men slowly came out from under the table.
"Who are you guys? What's the big ideal coming in here and shooting up my club?"
The oldest of the three intruders spit out the tip of his cigar. "I'm Hannibal
Smith, and we just gave you an invitation to Glitter Lights opening night."
"Smith, huh? Well,Smith, you just wasted your time and cost me a lot of money.
There's not going to be an opening night. Take care of them Rico, Mario."
Two more men came out of the back room. Face jumped on one of them, who fell to
the floor under Face's weight. B.A. took care of the other two by throwing them
out the window. He then grabbed Mr.Cox, picking him up over his head and threw
him as well.
Hannibal walked outside to him. "Mr.Cox, that was not very nice of you. For that
I'm taking back my invitation. Come on guys."
As he watched the three men leave, Mr. Cox turned to his men. "I want them
dead."
Part Four
"Love and marriage, love and marriage. Go together like a horse and carriage.
This I tell you brother. You can't have one, you can't have none, You can't have
one without the other.
Murdock finished one of the songs he had picked out, then smiled at his cousin.
"Well, what did you think?"
It was pretty good. You have a terrific voice, H.M., too bad there's no way you
could get a voice trainer. You 've got the making of a wonderful singer."
"What do you mean? I've got a voice trainer, and he's one of the best."
"Really! And who might that be?"
Murdock waved his hand at the floor. "Why, my dog Billy, of course. He's the
best voice trainer there is. If you thought I sung well, wait until you hear
Billy. Go ahead, Billy, sing for Casey." They waited but they heard no singing.
"Well, I guess he's not in the mood to sing right now. He's not to crazy about
being back in Pineland. Too many memories, I guess." Murdock suddenly became
quiet as another flashback unfolded in his mind.
He saw the same woman and child as before, only this time they were in a back
room of some place. The woman was holding something behind her back.
"Honey Muffin, mommy has a surprise for you. Close your eyes."
The little boy did what the woman said .The woman produced a box.
"Can you guess what I have in here?"
The little boy shook his head. "Well, you know that Aunt Jennifer's dog Sam had
puppies, and they 're old enough to leave their mother."
"I can't have a puppy. They make daddy sneeze."
The woman knelt down by the little boy. "Sam knows that your daddy is allergic
to dog, but she wanted you to have one .So she had an invisible puppy just for
you." The woman reached into the box and took out the puppy.
The little boy screamed with joy. "Is he really mine, mommy, is he?"
"He's all yours, Honey Muffin, all yours." She laughed as she watched him hug
the puppy.
"Oh, thank you mommy. I'm going to called him Billy."
"H.M., this is Casey, calling H.M., please come in."
"Huh? Oh, it's you. Casey, I was just remembering more about my mother. She gave
me Billy, and she had a nickname for me, Honey Muffin. My father never like it;
he said it was more for a girl."
"Well, I think it's kind of cute. Can we called you that too?" asked Face.
Murdock and Casey turned to see Hannibal, Face, and B.A. standing there. They
had entered the nightclub while the cousins had been talking. Murdock walked
over to Face, and looked into his blue eyes." Not unless I can called you
mommy."
Face said nothing. "I thought as much." Murdock turned to Hannibal. "So, how did
it go? Did I miss anything
important?"
"Hannibal was on the jazz as usual," said B.A.
"Now, B.A., it wasn't that bad. I just invited Mr. Cox to opening night. It's
not my fault that he ruined his chance to have a good time and hear great
entertainment."
"What entertainment?" asked B.A.
"Why, Murdock, of course," Hannibal said as he smiled at B.A.
"I said it once, and I'll say it again. That fool can't sing."
Murdock looked at B.A. As the saying goes, if looks could kill, B.A. would be
dead. Face walked over to Murdock and placed his arm around his friend 's
shoulder. "Don't let B.A. bother you. If it means anything, I think you have a
good voice, and so does Hannibal, or he never would have picked you to be the
singer."
Murdock smiled at Face. He could always count on Face to cheer him up.
Hannibal looked at his men. "We have to get ready for Cox and his men. Casey,
stay here but out of sight."
The Team members nodded their heads and got things ready. Hannibal had decided
to make things seem natural, as if nothing was going on. Murdock was up on stage
rehearsing, Face was behind the bar, getting ready for customers, and B.A. Was
standing by the bar, his arms folded.
Suddenly, five men walked in, each of them carrying an automatic weapon. One man
walked up to Hannibal who was sipping on the drink Face had made him.
"Not bad, Face, what do you called this?" asked Hannibal.
"Well, Hannibal, I call it..."
"Shut -up, pretty boy," said the man.
Hannibal looked at the man. "Now that's a stupid name for a drink. What do you
think, Face?"
Face smiled at his colonel. "You know, Colonel, you're right. It has no
character."
Hannibal turned and addressed the man. "Can I help you with something"?
"Yeah, you and your men here wreaked my nightclub, and we're here to return the
favor."
"Now, that real nice, right guys?" The other three nodded their heads. All at
once, Hannibal hit the man right in the face, sending him flying on the floor.
Face leapt over the bar and stuck another man, knocking him out. Murdock leapt
from the stage onto
one of the men and began punching him. Although the man was stronger than
Murdock was, with Murdock on his back he couldn't get s good hold of him and
Murdock managed to get him down. As Murdock looked up, he saw that B.A. had
taken care of the other two men.
Cox got up, rubbing his chin. Seeing that his men were defeated, he tried to get
away but Baracus stopped him. Hannibal walked up to him and said.
"Now, Cox, why don't you tell me where Miss. Kendall's missing employees are?
Before my friend here," he pointed at BA "puts a dent in your face."
B.A. growled at Cox.
Cox knew when he was beaten. "They 're being kept at my warehouse in Mexico."
"Where in Mexico?" Asked Hannibal.
"Veracruz. A cat food warehouse called El Cato in Boca Del Rico. On a street
called Ruiz Cortine ."
"What's the address?" asked Hannibal.
Cox knew that he'd better give them the exact address.
Hannibal smiled. "I bet you keep something else down there, too. What is it?"
Cox refused to talk. Colonel Smith turned to Baracus. "Sergeant, take care of
this scum."
B.A. smiled and pulled back his fist.
"No, wait." He stared at the fist inches from his face. "Drugs, I store drugs.
There's about fifty kilograms there, maybe more."
Hannibal smiled. "Nice." He looked at B.A. And nodded his head. B.A.
Understood and knocked Mr. Cox out.
Casey came out of the backroom .She looked at the mess and said nothing.
Hannibal turned to her.
"Call the police and tell them to contract the police in Veracruz Mexico. "Your
missing employees are there along with something the police may find
interesting, come on guys, let's go."
Casey watched as the four men left, then she called the police.
That night, after the police had taken care of Cox. They all sat around the
table listening to the club's original singer - not Murdock.
"I'm sorry H.M., I know you were looking forward to this, but when Tony heard
everything was all right he came back, and
I had to use him. He does this for a living. I hope you understand.
Murdock smiled at his cousin, but he was disappointed. He had been looking
forward to singing to a real audience. The club was packed standing room only.
Tony had just finished singing "My Way". The audience applauded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present Miss Casey Kendall's cousin, H.M.
Murdock. I was told that he wanted to
sing for you, so let's invite him up on stage," Tony announced as he motioned
Murdock to come up. Murdock looked at the others. Face winked at him.
"Go to it, Captain, show them what you got," replied Hannibal.
Murdock looked at B.A. Who nodded his head. "Yeah, fool, knock them dead."
That was all Murdock needed to hear. He ran up on the stage and after thanking
Tony began to sing "Fly Me To The Moon." The audience cheered their approval
and Tony and Murdock sang a few more songs together.
Hannibal puffed on his cigar. Murdock was having a good time, but tomorrow he
was going to have to face the truth about what happened to his mother, and
Hannibal wasn't too sure that Murdock could handle it.
Part Five
The next morning, Hannibal got up and went to the coffee shop across the street.
BA was already there and drinking a glass of milk.
"Morning, Hannibal .I ordered you some coffee," said BA.
"Good morning, BA. Did you enjoy yourself last night?' asked Hannibal.
"Yeah, man, I had a real good time, in spite of Murdock 's singing," BA said a
smile.
"Now, BA, you applauded just as much as everyone else did."
The two men turned around to see Face walk in. Face sat down and ordered a cup
of coffee.
"I did so the crazy fool wouldn't get too nervous."
"Come on, BA, face it, you enjoy Murdock's singing last night," said Face.
BA looked at Face. "Even if I did, I'd never tell that fool, and don't you
either."
Hannibal put down his cup of coffee. "Speaking of Murdock, is he still asleep?"
"Yeah," said Face. "Want me to wake him?"
"I think you better. He still needs to deal with his mother and what happened to
her," Hannibal replied.
Face nodded his head and walked back to the motel. He entered the room Murdock
was sleeping. But Murodck was not there.
Face returned to the coffee shop. "Hannibal, Murdock isn't here. I guess he got
up early and went for a walk."
Hannibal nodded his head. "Maybe Murdock needs to be alone to think. I'm going
to see someone who might be able to help him. Face, you and BA go over to his
cousin's house. Maybe she might know where he went."
"Hannibal," asked Face, "who are you going to see?"
Hannibal smiled at his men. "A psychiatrist that specializes in hypnosis."
Murdock stood outside his cousin's house. He had to talk to her. Maybe she could
tell him more about his mother. He knock on her door but there was no answer, so
he went around the back.
Casey was in the back, weeding her garden. She looked up to see Murdock standing
there.
"Oh, hello HM. I thought you and your friends were on your way back to LA."
"No, we decided to stay around to see if I could remember what happened to my
mother."
Casey stared at Murdock. "Why, HM, why bring up that painful memory?"
"That's just it Casey, I don't remember it. I only remember bits and pieces of
my mother, and I need to put them together. Will you help me?"
Casey nodded her head. "Come on, I'll take you to where you lived when you were
a little. The people who live there now are real nice, Mr.and Mrs. Belfast."
As they went around front to her car, they saw Face and BA pulling up. Murdock
ran over to them.
"Follow us guys, Casey's taking me to where I used to live."
BA waited till Casey pulled out then followed.
Hannibal Smith waited in the office waiting room. It seemed as if he had been
waiting for hours. Suddenly the door opened and a man came out. The man walked
up to Hannibal, and asked. "How's Murdock?"
Hannibal looked at him. "He's fine, Mr. Perry, and yourself?"
"Fine, I couldn't be better. Just stopped to see Dr. WilJohn. So, how long are
you and your men staying?"
"I don't mean to sound rude, but that's really none of your business. Now if you
will excuse me? I'm here to see the doctor."
Mr. Perry turned and walked away from Hannibal. As he left he thought to
himself, Well, Mr. Smith, if you and your men won't leave on your own, maybe the
Military Police can help you.
"Sir," said the receptionist, "Dr. WilJohn will see you now."
Hannibal thanked the woman and walked into the office. Doctor WilJohn was a
short stock woman with brown hair and eyes, who looked to be in her mid
thirties."Hello, what can I do for you?"
"Well, it's not really me that needs help, it's a friend of mine."
'I see. Why don't you sit down and you can tell me what's bothering your friend.
Is your friend here right now and can you only see him or her?"
'Now look, Dr.WilJohn, I do have a friend who needs your help .His name is HM
Murdock, and he may have seen his mother's murder when he was little. I think
that hypnotism might help him remember."
"I see. Well sir, bring your friend to my office at three today."
Hannibal smiled at the doctor and left. He called for a taxi and went back to
the motel.
Murdock, Face, BA, and Casey sat in the Belfast's living room. They all seemed
uncomfortable. At last Mrs. Belfast broke the silence.
"Tell me, Mr.Murdock, would you lie to see your old room?"
"No, Mrs. Belfast, it was a mistake to come here. Nothing is familiar anymore
.I'm sorry we wasted your time. Come on guys."
"Wait I have something for you. When we first moved into this house, we found
this in the attic." Mrs. Belfast went over to the bookcase and took out a small
book. "It's your mother's diary. Maybe you will find some your answers in it."
Murdock carefully took the diary from Mrs. Belfast and held it close to his
heart; here was something of his mother. "Thank you, Mrs. Belfast."
When they arrived back to the motel, Hannibal was waiting. "I see you found
Murdock."
"Yeah, we found him," said Face.
"We visited his old house and the people who live there gave Murdock a diary
that belonged to his mother."
Murdock turned and walked into the room he slept in.
"I guess he's going to read the diary. I sure hope he finds something," said BA.
Murdock opened the diary and began to read.
March 17,1952. My husband and I are going out on the town again. HM is over at
my Sister Jennifer's house. Frank and I have been having problems. Frank's job
as a traveling salesman takes him away so much and I've been so lonely. I've
been seeing another man, someone I met at the general store I work at. It seems
harmless at first. We would meet for coffee or lunch and just talk. But the more
Frank was away, the lonelier I got. Before long those little meeting turn into
blow out affair. I didn't mean for it to happen, but I was so lonely. I couldn't
control what was happening. As I walked into the living room last night, I saw
Frank standing by the fireplace. He was crying. I've hardly ever seen Frank cry.
I walked up to him and comforted him. He said he was sorry for not being there
for us and asked me to forgive him. There was nothing to forgive Frank for. He
had to work to support his family. I was the one who betrayed my family. I now
know what I must do. I have to break up with this other man, tell Frank the
truth and hope he will forgive me.
Murdock stared at the words as another memory flooded his mind...
"Get out! Why don't you leave me alone? I told you it was over. We were a
mistake. It never should have happened."
"No, it's not over, Elizabeth. I love you more than Frank ever could."
Suddenly the man kissed the woman. She pulled away and slapped him in the face.
"Get out before I call the police. When I come back you better be gone."
As the woman turned to leave, Murdock mind became blank. This was what he
couldn't remember.
Hannibal entered the room. Murdock was sitting on the bed, the diary now lying
beside him.
"Did the diary help you?"
"A little, but not much. I guess I need to remember what happened before any of
this can really make sense to me."
"Captain, I 've made an appointment for you to see a psychiatrist."
"A psychiatrist, Hannibal? Dr. Richter is my psychiatrist. I don't need another
one."
"Murdock, this psychiatrist is a specialist in hypnosis. She's going to
hypnotize you to help you remember what happened to your mother."
Murdock looked at Hannibal .He was scared but he trusted his commanding officer
and would blindly follow him anywhere.
Part Six
When they arrived at the doctor's office, the receptionist greeted them. "Dr.
WilJohn will see you in a few minutes. Please have a seat and wait."
Murdock walked up to one of the chairs and pick it up the receptionist stared at
him. "Sir, I said have a seat, not take a seat."
"Oh, sorry, I misunderstood you."
Dr.WilJohn came out of her office. "Hello again. So which one of these men is
MR? Murdock?"
"He is," said Face and BA as they pointed to the man wearing the blue baseball
hat.
"Hello, Mr.Murdock, my name is Dr.WilJohn. Why don't you come into my office and
we can get started."
Murdock looked at Hannibal, "I 'm not sure about this, Hannibal. I'm scared."
There nothing to be afraid of, Mr. Murdock," said Dr.WilJohn.
"Can my friends come in, too?"
"If they wish."
They entered the doctor's office. "Mr.Murdock, please lay down on this couch,
and don't be afraid. Gentlemen, you can stay but you must be quiet .I am going
to put Mr. Murdock under. If I see that what he is remembering is too much for
him, I will bring him back .Are we all clear on that?"
"Yes, Doctor, we understand," said Hannibal.
"Mr. Murdock, I am going, to set an anchor for you in the event that you need to
escape from anything, too threatening to you while in trance. If I touch your
wrist like this, you will immediately come back to the present, alert and
relaxed. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, Doc, I'm ready."
"Do you see the spinning color ball on the ceiling?"
Murdock nodded his head.
"As the ball spins count the different colors you see. Watch as the colors blend
together, concentrate on the colors. As you watch the colors blend, you are
discovering that your eyelids are getting heavy, very heavy. In fact, they are
getting so heavy that it is harder and harder to keep your eyes focused on the
pretty image. That's right; let it go. That's right; let them close. Hmmm, good,
Mr. Murdock. Can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"Good." Then she turned to Hannibal. "How old was he when his mother was
murdered?"
"Five."
She nodded. "You said his name was HM?" she asked Smith.
"Yes."
"Good, now we can begin. Mr. Murdock, we are going back to when you were five
.You are now five years old, and you are in the store, what do you see?"
"I see my mother. She is wating on Mr. Appleton."
"And where are you?"
"In the back. I'm not supposed to come out front when mommy is waiting on a
customer. Something's wrong. I got to go out."
"What's wrong HM?"
"Mommy, mommy. I can't find Billy."
"What's happening now, HM?"
"She's taking me into the back."
"Did she find Billy for you?"
"Yes, he was asleep in one of the crates"
Suddenly Murdock 's voice became very loud. "It's that man! I want out of here."
"HM, what man do you see?"
"A man. He's hurting my mommy." Murdock's eyes got very wide. "My mommy is hurt.
Why is that man hurting my mommy? "Get up mommy, get up." Murdock started
crying.
"HM, who is hurting your mommy?"
"That man." Murdock grabbed hold of the doctor. 'Please helps my mommy."
"What's happening now, HM?"
"My mommy being covered up. They're saying she dead. I don't understand. I want
my mommy."
Suddenly Murdock became silent. He let go of Dr. WilJohn. His eyes stared
rolling into the back of his head.
"He's going into shock. I have to bring him out." She touched his wrist.
Murdock blinked his eyes and slowly sat up. He looked around the room.
"Mr. Murdock, I'm going out to get you a drink of water .You just relax."
"Captain, are you all right?" Murdock saw the look on his friends' faces.
"I'm all right, Hannibal. Guys, when the doctor had me under hypnosis. I
remembered that there was another person in the store when my mother was killed.
Maybe she knows what happened."
"Who, Murdock," asked Face.
"My cousin, Casey. Come on guys, let's go see her."
As they started to leave, they heard talking outside.
"Sir, you can't go in there," they heard Dr. WilJohn say.
"Get out of my way, sister. There are wanted military fugitives in that room and
this time they're not getting away."
"Oh great, it's Decker. How did he know where to find us?"
"I don't know, Face. Come on, guys, there must be another way out," said
Hannibal.
Face pointed to a back door.
As the A-Team went out the back, Decker and his men came in the front. "They're
getting away out the back! Go, go, go!" cried Decker. The M.P.s raced for their
cars to chase the A-Team, only to find that the wheels had been blown out and
each of the cars' radiators were smoking. Decker pounded his fist on one of the
cars. "Someday, Smith, you are going to run out of
luck, and when that happens I'll be waiting."
The A-Team was on their way to see Casey.
"Murdock. I don't understand. If you remembered Casey being there, why didn't
you tell Dr. WilJohn?"
"Because, Faceman, she didn't asked."
Face nodded his head. "I guess that's a good enough reason."
Murdock tapped BA on the shoulder. "Could you drive a little faster, Big Guy?
This memory has been gone too long and only Casey can find it."
BA looked at Hannibal, he nodded his head, and BA picked up speed. Soon they
arrived at Casey's home but she wasn't there. They got back into the van.
"She must have gone to the nightclub," said Hannibal. "Let's go, BA."
When they arrived, Casey was there.
"Hi, guys, just getting ready for tonight. Hey HM, you were really good last
night. I don't suppose you would do it again tonight? Tony was called away and
I need a replacement. How about it."
Murdock sadly shook his head. "I didn't come here to sing. I don't remember what
happened to my mother. But I do remember I was not the only one there that day.
Casey, what happened to my mother?"
Casey stared at Murdock. "I was hoping you would never remember I was there too.
Oh, why don't you just forget about all this? It happened years ago. Why is it
so important to you?"
"Because it is. Please, Casey. Please tell me who killed my mother."
Casey lowered her head and began to cry. They waited for her to calm down,
wiping her eyes as she began, "HM was right .I was in the store that day. Aunt
Elizabeth was working by herself. She told me that Mr. Goodman would be in
later. I went back to the magazine rack to look at the movie magazines. As I was
looking through a magazine I heard two fighting. I looked up and saw that it
was Aunt Elizabeth and Officer Perry. Suddenly Aunt Elizabeth turned to leave
and Mr. Perry hit her on the head with something .I couldn't tell what it was .I
hid and when the police arrived I left though the side door."
Murdock grabbed hold of Casey, clearly upset. "You saw Mr. Perry kill my mother
and you didn't tell the police! Why, Casey?"
Casey stared at Murdock .She wanted to die. "I did, HM, although not right away.
I was hoping they find out themselves."
She paused. "I waited two days, then I told them everything. There was an
investigation but the murder weapon was never found and without it, it was my
word against Officer Perry's"
Murdock was still angry. "If you had just come forward in the store that day,
Mr. Perry wouldn't had gotten away with murder."
Casey looked at her cousin. "I'm sorry, HM."
Murdock turned his back on her. "What good is that gonna do now?"
Smith stepped forward. "Go easy on her, Captain. She was only a frightened
teenager then."
Murdock nodded his head. "I'm sorry, Casey. This must have been pretty hard on
you too."
Murdock again thought back. He remembered his mother and Mr. Perry fighting.
Mr. Perry was the man she had been seeing, and she wanted to break it off and he
didn't. So as she was leaving to go into the back of the store, Mr. Perry picked
up a statue of an elephant and hit her on the head with it. Then he took the
murder weapon, wiped off his fingerprints and any traces of blood. He put the
murder weapon into his bag and went about making
it look like a robbery. When he finished, he called the police.
"Hello, this is Officer Perry, I 'm calling in to report a crime. There's been a
robbery and homicide at Goodman's store."
When he hung up the phone, he noticed the little boy. Elizabeth's, son HM. He
walked over to the child kill him too, when he noticed the child was in a state
of shock. Instead, he picked up the child and held him close and told him
everything would be all right.
Soon the police arrived; one officer walked up to him.
"Tom, what happened?"
"Mark, I don't know .I came in to get some groceries and found that the store
had been robbed, Mrs. Murdock dead and her son in a state of shock."
A policewoman walked over to Tom Perry and took HM.
"I'll take him to the hospital .Tom, get in touch with his father."
Murdock returned to the present. He was almost sure he knew where the weapon
was.
If he was right it had been in plain sight all those years.
"Guys, Casey, I think I know where the murder weapon is."
"Murdock, are you sure? Your cousin said it was never found."
"Yeah, Big Guy. When I was about six or seven I lived with my grandparents on a
ranch in Oakwood. Texas. My father traveled a lot and he thought life on the
road was no place for a child. He wanted me to have a real home. My father and
Mr. Perry were friends I guess my mother never had a chance to my father about
her and Mr. Perry. Anyway my father would take me to Mr. Perry 's house every
other weekend. Mr. Perry had a statue of an elephant that he kept on the mantel
above his
fireplace. I remembered now how that statue used to frightened me. I was afraid
it was going to hurt me."
Face turned to him. "You think that's the murder weapon?"
"Yes I do. Come on guys, let's pay Mr. Perry a visit."
Part Seven
The black van pulled up in front of Tom Perry 's house. Murdock was sitting in
the front with BA. When BA parked the van, he climbed out of the van.
"Hey, man, wait, don't go in alone," said BA.
Murdock turned around to face BA. "I'm going to confront Mr. Perry. Thanks to
Doctor WilJohn and Casey, and my mother 's diary, I remembered who killed my
mother. But now I want to know why. Guys I have to do this alone .You
understand, don't you?"
They nodded their heads.
"Murdock, if you need us we'll be here," said Face.
"You may be going in there alone, fool, but we're with you in spirit."
"Thanks, Faceman, BA, I'll be all right."
"Good luck, Captain," said Hannibal.
Murdock nodded and headed for the door. He knocked, and listened as he heard
someone coming to answer it. Soon the door opened and Tom Perry was standing
there.
"Hello, HM. What brings you here? The last time I saw you, you were trying to
get out of Goodman's store."
Murdock walked up to the fireplace and stared at the statue on the mantel. "Mr.
Perry, this is the most difficult thing I ever had to do."
Mr. Perry looked at Murdock .By the angry look in his eyes, he knew that Murdock
had remembered that day. "You remember, don't you?"
"Yes, thanks to some help. I remember that you killed my mother with this."
Murdock pointed to the statue on the mantel. "What I want to know is why."
The older man turned away from Murdock. "I loved your mother, HM, more than
anyone. But she told me that she still loved your father. She said we were a
mistake. Damn our love was not a mistake. Why did she say such a thing? We could
have been very happy together. Why did she ruin everything?"
"My mother didn't ruin anything .You killed her, and you said that you loved
her. You don't kill the person that you love."
"Some people do, if the person they love doesn't love them."
"I've got news for you, Mr. Perry. That's not love. If you had really loved my
mother, you would have let her go. Instead you took that statue and killed her
with it. Didn't you even care what that did to me, seeing you kill my mother?"
Mr. Perry looked angrily at Murdock I didn't know you were there. The last thing
I wanted was to hurt you."
"It's too late for that, Mr. Perry, the damage has been done. Even when my
father send me to live with my grandparents, you would come to visit me, or my
father would bring me to visit you. You were like a second father to me. You
were there when my father couldn't be there. I loved you; and you killed my
mother. You make me sick."
I'm sorry HM, I was hoping you would never remember," said Tom Perry as he took
out his gun.
"Now I'm going to have to kill you."
"Don't be a fool. I didn't come alone."
"I figured that. Your friends are out front waiting for you, so we are going out
the back. Move it."
As the two men started down the steps that lead to the back door, Murdock turned
and grabbed for the gun. The two men struggled with the gun. Bang! The gun
went off.
The A-Team heard the shot and ran in the direction from which it had come.
Murdock was standing over Tom Perry, who was holding is arm.
"Get up, Mr. Perry, it's only a flesh wound."
Mr. Perry just stared at Murdock. BA walked over and yanked him to his feet. "He
said get up, sucker, something wrong with your hearing?"
"Thanks, BA. Come on guys, I'm going to show you the murder weapon." They
followed Murdock back into the house, BA with a firm grip on Tom Perry. Murdock
walked up to the fireplace and pointed to the statue of the elephant.
"Well, here it is."
Face walked over and stared at the statue. "You mean it was here all the time?"
"Right," replied Murdock.
Mr. Perry began to laugh. "You'll never prove that. Besides, you're the crazy
one .No one is going to believe a crazy man, and there no other witness."
"That's where you are wrong, Mr. Perry. My cousin also saw you kill my mother
and I'm sure she will be happy to testify in court if it comes to that," said
Murdock.
"Well it won't," said Mr. Perry.
Hannibal stared at him. "Mr. Perry, I believe you're wrong. There'd this Medical
Examiner in L .A. Who once work on a murder case older then this one. Though
a new method he proved her the killer was. What was his name, Face?"
Face thought for a moment. "I don't recall right now, Colonel. I think it began
with a Q."
"No matter, but you see, Mr. Perry this is the kind of case he loves. I'm sure
he'll come down and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you killed Mrs.
Murdock. This time they will have to listen to Casey. BA ties him up. Come on
guys; let's get back to Casey. We'll call the police from there."
BA nodded his head and soon Mr. Perry was tied up. They then went back to the
nightclub. Murdock walked up to his cousin. "Casey, we have to leave now. You
call the police and tell me what happened that day in Mr. Goodman 's store and
show them the murder weapon. If this goes to court, you'll have to testify. I
can't because I've been declared insane by the state of
California. Casey, I love you."
Casey nodded her head. Murdock then turned to his friends. "Let's go guys, I've
got to get back. Dr. Richter wants to heard about my mother, but first I've got
to make a stop." They said their good-byes to Casey and left
When they arrived at the store Murdock got out of the van and just stood there.
They all waited as he turned and walks inside. Ten minutes later he returned
with some food.
"I hope you like what I bought. All right, Big Guy, let's get going."
Murdock sat back in his chair. "You know I'm glad this is over. I' m glad I now
know what happened." Hannibal, Face, and BA smiled at Murdock as he began to
sing the song his mother used to sing to him.
"Six little ducks that I once knew."
Face smiled and joins in, "Fat ducks, skinny ducks, small ones too."
Hannibal with his cigar clenched in his teeth join them." But the one little
duck with the feather on his back."
They all turned to BA, who growl under his breath." He ruled the others with his
quack, quack, and quack
They all started laughing. Murdock smiled at his friends.
"You know guys, we love it when a plan comes together."
*****
The next day at the VA Hospital, Murdock received a phone call from Casey. They
had enough evidence for a trial and she would testify.
"My friends an I will be there," he told her. Murdock hung up the phone and
called for one of the nurses.
"Please, I would like to see Dr. Richter."
The nurse nodded her head. Soon Murdock was sitting in Dr. Richter's office.
"All right, Murdock, Nurse Betbert said you request to see me. What's up?"
"Make yourself some coffee, doc, then sit down. I want to tell you about my
mother, and it's going to be a long session.
Dr. Richter smiled, took his tablet and sat down.
Murdock began. "My mother name was Elizabeth, and she was the most wonderful
mother in the world...
The end
