What Goes Around
by
Chris Corso
Chris Lorenzo knew he had to make this shot count. There was little room for error. Chris studied the landscape looking for some kind of edge. He'd made this shot before and under worse conditions. He took aim and went for it. "Come on, come on! I got you now! Oh, no, nooo. Heck! Turn the other way!"
Chris watched helplessly as his golf ball fell into the rough, a few yards behind the green. His mouth hung open, he was about to throw his club in disgust, but stopped short as he felt Rita and Harry and Fran watching him. The Lipschitzes looked impressed-but of course-they'd never played golf before. He walked back.
Fran smiled and exclaimed, "Chris that was some shot. You hit it so far."
Rita stifled a laugh. Chris noticed this and felt even worse, but he smiled and replied back cordially. "Thanks, Fran. It's," he paused, "all in the wrist." He looked at Rita. "You're up, Sam."
Rita smiled pleasantly at her husband and walked towards her ball. She checked the wind direction and swung gracefully. Everybody looked on as her ball landed gently on the green a short distance from the hole. Everybody clapped.
"Great shot, Sam." Chris looked over at Harry who was holding a handkerchief to his face.
He sneezed. Ahchoo, Ahchoo. "Oh, god, I'm dying."
"You're up, Cap," Chris said with an amused smile.
Harry replied with mock annoyance, "I know, Lorenzo, I know. Just let me reapply my sun screen." Harry took a small bottle out of his pocket. Chris grinned when he noticed the exceptionally high SPH.
"This is great stuff, Chris, protects you from the sun, and costs far less than a trip to the dermatologist. It's great, great. In fact, Rita, you should use it on Alicia. She's so fair skinned." Rita smiled but didn't reply.
Chris nodded at the information, but couldn't help but remark. "Cap doesn't the SPH not matter beyond a certain level?"
Harry frowned at Chris, but noticed that he was looking intently at his forehead. "What is it, Chris? Do you see something?"
"I'm not sure. Are pimples supposed to be that color?" Harry went pale.
"What pimple? What color is it? Fran, Franny." Franny walked over to Harry and began to examine his face.
"Oh, it's OK. Nothing to worry about. Come on, Captain, you're up." Harry nodded and walked up to his ball. He took several minutes aiming his club, and checking the wind direction. Finally, satisfied, he swung. The ball rose higher and higher into the air. Chris and Rita watched with a mixture of horror and awe as they realized that Harry was going to get a hole in one!
"Wow, I got a hole in one! I can't believe it. Franny, look at that."
Chris and Rita looked at each other in despair. Never in all the years they had played golf had they ever gotten a hole in one. They watched glumly as the Lipschitzes celebrated. Well, they had to be magnanimous about it, they walked toward Harry.
"Great, shot, Cap," Rita told Harry.
"Yeah, amazing shot, Harry," Chris smiled and glanced over at Fran. "OK, Mrs. Lipschitz, you're up."
"Thanks doll." Fran walked toward her ball. She was not really holding the club correctly, so Chris went to her.
"Fran, wait. Hold the club like this. Remember follow-through." He demonstrated as she looked on. Chris backed away. "OK, Fran, let her rip."
Fran's club went into a high ark behind her. "Ahhh…" Chris fell to the ground holding his groin. Rita ran up to him. He was rolling around on the ground, his mouth opening and closing like a stranded fish.
"Sam, are you OK?" Rita asked in a low voice. She had inflicted this kind of punishment on male suspects and knew how effective it could be and how debilitating. She had a vested interest in Chris being all in one piece though.
Chris replied back in a higher voice then he would have wished, "I'm fine, Sam."
"Chris, I'm so sorry! The club just slipped right out of my hands! Are you OK?" Fran was badly worried.
"It's OK, Fran. Rita and I didn't want to have anymore kids." Chris smiled and got up. He handed Fran back her club, then walked around a bit.
Harry glanced at his watch. It was almost time for lunch. "What do you say we call it a game and get something to eat. I think we could all use a break."
Nobody was in a mood to argue. They collected their bags and went back to the golf carts. Rita led the way back to the club house. They arrived and moved toward the dining room. Rita and Chris were members of the club, the Green Meadows. It was a nice place: eighteen hole golf course, tennis courts, sauna, pool, beach access, dining room, and exercise rooms. They didn't use the club's exercise equipment, however, preferring to use the equipment at Fort Lauderdale Police Headquarters.
Rita and Chris were honorary members of FLPD and were given full use of the exercise rooms and shooting range. They were even allowed to take part in internal shooting contests, which they won three years running; much to the dismay of the officers in the department. Even so, the men and woman of FLPD understood and respected the famous couple. Even when they were upstaged by them. However, the hard reality was that they were no longer cops, and never would be again, it was that simple.
A waiter arrived with drinks as they waited for their food. Harry looked around the sunny dining room and remarked. "This is a nice place, but how many times have we come to places like this looking for suspects?"
Rita nodded in agreement, "yeah, it can be a little strange. I remember one time," she grinned at the memory. "Chris and I played tennis at a club where we had investigated a murder. We felt really out of place there." Her expression saddened and she murmured. "Sometimes we feel out of place here."
Rita realized she shouldn't be acting gloomy in front of Harry and Fran so she brightened. "Ah, the food here is wonderful. Have anything you'd like." She looked over at Chris.
"Yeah, the chef here is great. It's a great club. So how are things going in Palm Beach?"
Harry and Fran studied Chris and Rita. Something was wrong. Should they intrude? They felt compelled to help. There was a mute appeal for help, guidance, in their voices. Harry and Fran were Chris and Rita's only real family. Chris did not talk much to his parents. They never seemed to have time for him, his wife, or his child. Harry decided to find out what was wrong.
"Are you two having problems? You know you can talk to us. You both seem upset, distracted."
Rita looked at Harry and tried to explain, "ah-it's-I don't know how to explain it. We feel-trapped in our work."
"I thought you loved being private investigators," Fran interjected, "I thought the business was doing so well."
"It is," Chris agreed with a nod. "We've helped a lot of people and made a great deal of money, thanks in large part to Robert Christian. We enjoy the work, but we've had some cases in the past few months, ones we couldn't solve. We failed not because we couldn't solve the cases, but because we couldn't make an arrest. We had all kinds of evidence, but the local police departments refused to use any of it. When they found out who we were they got even more unfriendly. They said we were only using their department to get publicity. We'd take all the credit and make them look like fools."
Chris found it hard to go on. Even the idea that other cops would think that they were being used by Chris and Rita was very distressing. Their reputations had been so important to them. Everybody had known them to be straight players. That they had been good cops. Why had it changed so?
Rita tried to explain, "we've become outsiders. We're not trying to upstage anyone, but somehow we always seem to; perhaps we just miss being cops."
Harry nodded his head. "I understand, and I think you understand how the other cops feel. Because you've been there yourselves. At the same time you have jobs to do and nobody should prevent you from doing it. We're all on the same side, at least we're supposed to be. I'm sure Ben could use you. Have you ever thought about joining FLPD?
Chris and Rita looked at each other and nodded in unison. Rita spoke answered. "Yes, Hutch brings it up every time he sees us, and we've discussed it, but we can't do it. We just don't have that kind of time on our hands. Alicia needs us, and it would be wrong to work those kind of hours again. To be honest, I don't know if I want to be on call twenty-four hours a day! Having to deal with all the rules, IA, all the death. Not to mention the danger. The only good thing is that Hutch said we could still be partners if we joined up."
"What do you think, Chris?" Fran asked.
"I feel the same way Rita does. Our lives have changed. We're not the same people we were three years ago. I loved being a cop, and I loved the time I spent on the force." He smiled at Rita, "I got a beautiful wife and daughter out of it, but it's not the lifestyle we want anymore. Also, we enjoy working for ourselves and in our own way. We can control what cases we take on; we wouldn't have that kind of freedom if we became cops again."
Harry pondered for a time. "Well, maybe you could be given a command."
"I wouldn't mind being a lieutenant," Chris smiled. "But a command would be even worse then being in homicide, besides, we'd be split up."
"Well, how about teaching?"
Rita shook her head. "No, I enjoy teaching, and I think Chris would, too, but it's a sedentary a job. We're only thirty-five; that's far too young to be sitting behind a desk teaching. I guess we'll just have to make the best of it. We do enjoy our work and we need stability more then excitement right now. I want to have another baby while I'm still relatively young, and Alicia will be starting school in two years."
"I think you're being being realistic," Harry paused and picked his next words with care. "But at the same time I worry that deep down you'll feel unfulfilled, and might, unconsciously, take it out on Alicia, or each other."
Rita's eyes flickered, she'd never hurt her child like that, and the suggestion that she might made her angry. Yet behind her wounded pride her inner voice whispered to her that Harry's words-painful though they may have been-were words of truth. She was forced to accept his observation.
Chris replied back. "I promised myself that I wouldn't become like my parents, but maybe we're going to far the other way."
"You're doing the best you can," Harry said strongly. Their lunches came and they dropped the subject in favor of other less stressful topics. Harry and Fran were amused at how the conversations always seemed to turn to little Alicia. Rita and Chris had endless stories about her. Of course Fran and Harry were only too eager to hear them all. Their duty as her Godparents.
Alicia Lorenzo was a very precocious three year old. She had a mind all her own and was quite a handful. But she delighted her parents and was a very good little girl generally. She was being watched by a family friend, so her parents could relax a bit. She was supposed to be taking a nap around now. Rita wondered if her willful daughter was complying with her nanny.
Harry wiped his mouth with a napkin and said, shaking his head. "Wow, that was a great meal. Rita, Chris, I want to thank you both for such a nice day. We had a lot of fun."
"Yes, thanks kids. We enjoyed being with you," Fran added.
"Oh, you're very welcome. Chris and I needed a break also."
The friends decided to leave and made their way to their respective cars. The Lipschitzes had business in the city, but would come over to Chris and Rita's for dinner before heading back to Palm Beach. Rita was quiet as Chris drove them home. "What are you thinking about, Sam?"
Rita looked over at him and smiled. "What we were talking about with Harry and Fran, about the business. I hate to admit it but Harry was right, but so were you; we have no choice but to stay where we are." She went on, "you know Christopher, to be honest, I love my life the way it is. I have so much to be grateful for. If I've learned one thing it's that life is fragile and can vanish before your eyes." She finished saying, "I do believe in destiny, it's what brought you to me, and I'm sure it will present us with a new line of work, if it's meant to be."
Chris nodded vigorously. "You know Rita you're a wonderful mother, and it's not wrong for parents to have their own desires. We just have to make sure that Alicia is not affected by them. It will all work out, Rita, I know it will. We're together, Sam, and when we're together we can solve any problem."
Rita smiled and nodded at Chris. Her eyes were happy and content. "Yes, as long as we are together nothing can stop us."
Chris and Rita arrived home and walked up to their townhouse, which was quickly becoming to small. They would have to buy, or most likely build, a new home. Especially if they decided to have another child, and they were heading in that direction. Rita wanted to have another baby and they didn't want Alicia to be an only child. They opened the door to their home and walked in. Alicia's babysitter looked up from her book and gestured that Alicia was sleeping. Rita thanked her and she left. Rita went in to check on Alicia, and found her sleeping peacefully in her little bed. She smiled down at her, and gently moved a lock of light brown hair away from her face.
Chris walked in and stood next to Rita, he whispered. "Should we wake her up?"
Rita replied quietly, "we really should, I want her to sleep tonight, but she looks so peaceful."
"Yeah, well, let her sleep for a bit. We'll wake her up when it's time to eat." Chris and Rita walked out and started to prepare the dinner.
While Chris was cutting vegetables a story in the newspaper caught his eye. A financial consultant was found shot to death. So far there were no sold leads and the local police were puzzled by it.
'I wonder if it's a Silk Stalking' Chris asked himself. 'Hmm, money laundering that went bad?' Chris' trend of thought was broken by the ringing of the phone. He moved to answer it.
"Hello. Yes this is Chris Lorenzo. Who is this?" Chris frowned as he listened to the speaker. "Hey, wait a minute! Hello? Hello? Hung up."
"Who was it?" Rita asked tensely.
Chris shook his head, "it was weird." He walked over to her.
"Yeah, well, what did they say?" Rita demanded.
"The voice told us to expect a visitor within the next few days. It didn't elaborate, that's about it." Chris shrugged.
Rita looked at Chris and it suddenly hit her. He said 'voice'. "Sam, you said voice. What did you mean by that?"
"It was a recording and the speaker's voice had been electronically altered. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman." Chris's eyes narrowed. "It could be a joke, but it came in on the business line."
Rita and Chris had an unlisted phone number for their main line, but had a second phone line installed for business use. When they were away from the office all calls to their business number were forwarded to wherever they were. It meant the caller wanted to hire them in their professional capacity, or it meant that they had information about a pending case. One thing was clear though, the mystery person was being very careful.
"Well, I guess we're going to find out one way or another. 'Mommy, Mommy' Oh, Alicia..."
Rita walked quickly into Alicia's bedroom, and found her sleepy eyed and slightly upset. She hadn't known where her parents were and was scared. Rita sat on the bed and gathered Alicia into her arms. "What's wrong sweetheart? You're awake. I'm sorry that you were scared, but you were sleeping so well that your Daddy and I didn't want to wake you up."
"Where's Daddy?" Alicia asked.
"He's waiting to see you, come on let's go see Daddy, let's go see Daddy."
Rita carried Alicia into the kitchen. Chris had taken over the dinner preparations and looked up as they walked in. He mouthed to Rita. 'She OK?' Rita mouthed back that she was fine and added, "I have a little girl who missed her Daddy."
"Well, I missed her, too." Chris kissed her, then asked. "Did you have a fun day?" Alicia smiled and nodded.
"Nickee brought a doggy."
"A doggy, what kind of doggy?" Chris asked his little daughter.
"A big one, it was..." Alicia tried to remember the word. "Po-pel" The word didn't exactly come out right, but Chris got the idea.
"Hmmm," Rita thought, "are you sure it was a doggy, because I don't remember seeing it with Nicky."
This fact didn't seem to faze Alicia in the slightest. "Saw it!"
Rita smiled and placed Alicia down on the floor were she began to play with her toys. Rita went back to fixing dinner and watched Chris surreptitiously, he was staring absently at Alicia, or rather, a point a few inches in front of her. Rita grinned.
"Practicing sleeping with your eyes open again, Sam?" Rita bit down on a carrot as she scrutinized her husband. Chris spun around in his chair to face her.
"Nope, I was thinking."
"You make it sound like a bad thing. What were you thinking about?"
Chris smiled at her. "Work and-having another baby."
Rita didn't respond and her expression remained neutral. It wasn't hard for Chris to know what she was thinking. She was slightly worried about having another baby: the extra work, the pregnancy, and how a baby would change the family dynamic. Could she still work and take care of two kids? Chris would help of course; in this little had changed. Chris was determined to help Rita in anyway he could, just as he did when they had been only friends and partners. But Rita's pride, and the knowledge that her birth mother never got a chance to know her, forced her to do a lot of the work herself. At the same time, she loved her job, and loved working with Chris. She remembered what Chris had told her a few years back when they had been involved in the case they'd come to call the Black Dragon. Alicia had been only four months old then.
He'd told her: "Sam, I never, ever cared that you were a professional woman. God, I was so proud of you, Rita. I loved the fact that you were an independent woman. You could not survive being a housewife-you would be unhappy at best. Is that what you want our baby to see, a broken woman, an unhappy woman. You're the strongest woman I have ever known, the smartest, the sexiest. You're a great role model, Sam. I think part of being a good parent is being yourself, not putting up false fronts. Showing your weakness and your strengths. To do that, you have to work, Rita.'
"Yeah, I do want another baby. Labor is hell, but it was worth it in the end. I'm just worried that I won't be able to take care of two kids and work at the same time. I need to work though, you were right about that. Besides," she grinned, "someone has to watch your back. You have a knack for getting in trouble, Lorenzo."
Chris stood behind Rita and wrapped his arms around her and asked innocently. "Me?"
Rita looked over her shoulder at him and replied gravely. "Yeah, you. You're a bad boy, Christopher Lorenzo. If I remember correctly, and I do, I've had to save your cookies a number of times. What would you do without me?"
Chris grinned. "You make a point, you make a point. I guess, I'd have to get a new partner."
Rita's eyes narrowed, "over my dead body! I'm your one and only partner!"
"No, no, don't say that. I don't want anything to happen to this body." Chris began to kiss her neck. Rita closed her eyes and sighed.
"Come on, Chris, not in front of the baby." Chris broke off.
"I know you want another baby, so do I. It will be more work, but we'll make the time, not only for work, but for the kids and for us. Alicia will be going to school soon. And as far as the baby, we can just take some time off. We haven't had a vacation in awhile."
"Yeah," Rita glanced back at the food, cooking away. "It might work. We'll need a new place to live, but I'm sure Robert will help." Rita chuckled at the generosity their most important client, Robert Christian, continually showed them.
"Yeah," Chris chortled, "I wouldn't be surprised if he not only built the house, but bought it for us as well."
"Yeah, we would need a new nanny. Mary is great, but she's not getting any younger."
"Wow! Don't let her hear you say that," Chris teased. "Well, we have at least nine months to think about it."
"Nine? Oh, I see. You're a pretty confident guy, you know that. It's been a few years."
"You're talking to a Lorenzo here. We don't mess around."
"Tell me about it! All of a sudden I was pregnant." Rita grinned at Chris and was about to kiss him when the doorbell rang. "Ah, must be Harry and Fran." Rita broke away and went to the door. She opened it expecting to see Harry and Fran and was startled to see, instead, a young messenger. "I have a package for a Chris or Rita Lorenzo."
Rita recovered and replied. "I'm Rita Lorenzo."
"Sign here, please." Rita signed, and took the package. She closed the door and walked back to Chris.
Chris noticed her holding a small brown package. He was surprised, they hadn't been expecting a package, and he wondered what it could contain. "What is it?"
Rita frowned and felt the package. "It feels like a video tape." She was about to open it but stopped short. "You don't think."
Chris walked toward her and replied. "I don't know. It seems to small for a bomb, but a video case filled with plastic explosives could cause a lot of damage. Is there an address?"
"No..." Rita thought of something. "Do we have any powder to bring up fingerprints? How long has it been since you lifted a print?"
Chris smirked, "it's been a few years, and you?"
"Same. Well we could call Hutch."
Chris thought about this for half a second, but said in a serious tone. "No, we can't be afraid of every package that comes to our door. "
"Yeah, you're right." Rita looked at Alicia and took a deep breath. In one decisive move she opened the package. She'd been correct as to its contents—a video tape. She scrutinized it, but found no clues as to its origin. She wondered what could be on it.
"Do you think we should watch it now?" Rita held it up in front of Chris.
"I'd like to know what the hell is going on. This tape may be connected to our mysterious caller. But I don't think we should watch it in front of Alicia, just in case there's something bad on the tape."
"We'll wait." The doorbell rang. "This must be Harry and Fran." Rita turned away but suddenly turned back. "Sam, lets not tell Harry about it. He'll worry and it could be nothing." Chris nodded and she went on to the door.
This time it was indeed the Lipschitzes and Rita smiled at her friends steadily. She exclaimed, "Harry, Fran, come in."
The Lipschitzes entered and Fran remarked. "Sorry, we're a bit late—we lost track of time."
"It's OK, don't worry about it. You're really not late." Rita led them into the kitchen and living room.
"Hey" Chris called greeting them "did you get everything done you wanted?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, "for the most part." Harry and Fran saw Alicia sitting on the floor and walked toward her. Alicia ran up to them and demanded to be hugged. Fran took a small package out of a bag and handed it to Alicia, who took it and began to rip off the wrapping paper.
Rita walked up and said in a stern tone. "What do you say young lady?"
Alicia smiled and replied, "thank you." She ripped off the remaining paper and inside found a doll. Alicia ran back to her toys with her new doll and proceeded to play again.
Chris remarked, "you didn't have to get her anything. She has lots of toys. I know because I've almost killed myself stepping on them."
"Well we couldn't resist it," Fran replied. "We were going to get her a toy police badge and ID card, but we didn't think she'd be old enough."
Rita wasn't so sure. "She's quite advanced for her age, sometimes I forget she's only three. She loves police officers and whenever Julie Kelly comes over she tries to wear her uniform. Alicia loves to look at the photos of us in uniform too. I think she understands in her own three year old way. She loves Susie Pratt..." Rita moved to finish the dinner preparations.
"Susie Pratt?" Harry questioned.
"It's a series of children's books about a girl detective named Susie. Alicia loves it, and in fact it was Rita's favorite when she was a little girl." Chris grinned as a thought struck him. "Susie's getting up there in years."
Rita gave Chris a warning look and said menacingly, "don't mess with a woman's age, Sam!"
"Yeah, so I've been told," Chris attempted to look chastised.
"Sit down everybody, dinner is ready to be served. Chris, get Alicia ready."
"Rita," Fran remarked as she sat, "the food smells wonderful."
"Yeah, it does, you did a good job, Rita," Harry added.
Rita smiled and replied, "why thank you. We'll be having an Italian recipe, chicken with lemon and basil sauce and angel hair paste, with zucchini and tomatoes and a caesar salad."
"Rita, you didn't have to work so hard," Fran told her in reply.
"It was no trouble really. I have to mange my time and still make interesting dinners, so I try to find dishes that are easy and simple to prepare. Chris eats anything and Alicia eats very little. So in the end I only have to please myself."
"What did you say, Sam? I thought I heard my name." Chris was carrying Alicia whom he placed in a booster seat.
"Nothing Sam, it doesn't matter." Rita placed a dish in front of Alicia. "Here you go, sweetheart."
"Sit down, everybody. Fran, would you like some wine?" Fran nodded to Chris "How about you, Harry?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Sam?"
"Yes, Sam, thanks." Rita watched as everybody began to eat. She waited. "How's the food?" Nobody answered and Rita asked again, "is the food good?"
Chris looked at her with a serious expression on his face. "It's-great!"
"Yes, very good, doll! I wish I could cook like this," Fran said taking a sip of her wine.
"It's good Rita, very good," Harry said as he took a sip of his own wine. "So, what cases are you working on?"
In light of recent events the question startled Chris and Rita. It was not an unusual question; Harry always wanted to know how they were doing. Privately though they knew that Harry really wanted to share in their adventures, and he did this by asking about their cases. Rita and Chris would often ask his advice, and he would be more then happy to provide it, but recently they'd noticed a subtle change in Harry. It was nothing they could put a finger on; it just seemed to be there. Fran had remarked to Rita that, for Harry, the time he spent as Rita and Chris's commander was the happiest and most exciting time of his whole carrier. Recently though, Harry was living more and more in the past, almost as if the present was no longer of any interest.
"Well, nothing very interesting," Chris said evenly "A divorce case and a few pending cases. It's a bit slow, but we've needed the break."
"Oh, that's to bad. We've been really busy back in Palm Beach." Harry paused and said thoughtfully. "It's almost as if the nutso's knew that you two left. They started to come out of the woodwork."
Rita interrupted and asked. "Who do you have working the 'Silk Stalkings' detail?"
"Actually, two new detectives. They're not bad, not as good as you guys, but fair. They used to be married. "
"They're actually quite nice, but I've only meet them a few times." Fran added.
Chris grinned and remarked. "I don't think we left the fruit loops behind. They seem to find us no matter where we go."
"That's for sure," Rita added without humor.
Rita and Chris noticed that Harry switched the conversation to other things and made no more attempts to ask about their work or what was happening in Palm Beach. During dessert Rita caught Chris's eye and silently asked. 'What is wrong with Harry?'
Neither had any answers, and they only hoped that he'd snap out of it, or at least talk about it. Shortly after the dessert, the Lipschitzes, knowing they had a long drive ahead of them, decided to leave. Alicia had fallen asleep in Chris's arms while the four adults were talking. Rita walked the Lipschitzes out while Chris carried Alicia into her bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and put the covers over her. He gently kissed her and walked out. He went back into the living room and sat on the couch as he heard Rita coming back inside.
Rita saw Chris sitting on the couch and she moved toward him. She asked as she walked up. "Sam, did you notice something strange about Harry? I don't know, he seemed different." Rita shook her head as she sat, "I can't explain it."
Chris put his arm around her and pondered her question. She was right, he was acting strange. Harry Lipschitz was many things: tough, a great friend, a great cop, and the worlds biggest hypochondriac, but he was still Harry. Chris and Rita knew they could count on him if they needed him.
"Harry has always been a hypochondriac, but he never worried or complained about getting older. But that seems to be what he's doing."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, he kept talking about the past a lot, as if the future would mean nothing to him, like he felt his career was over." Chris paused for a second, but suddenly, snapped his fingers and remarked. "You know, if I didn't know any better I'd say he was having a well—a mid life crisis!"
"You may be right. Maybe he feels he can't keep up with the job anymore." Rita didn't like that thought at all. Harry was always strong. Always in command, but maybe his time as a cop was coming to a close. It happened to everybody, and Rita knew it would happen to her and Chris. She only hoped she'd be able to deal with it when her turn came.
Chris went on confidently. "I think I am! We have to talk to Fran and find out what exactly is going on. I don't know if Fran could deal with this alone."
"True, Sam, but Fran won't be able to do anymore then we will. We can support him, but he'll have to deal with his demons alone."
Chris raised an eyebrow and was going to say something else, but was interrupted by the phone. He noticed it was the business line. Chris looked over at Rita and she nodded slightly. He picked it up. "Chris Lorenzo, can I help you?"
"I told you this call would come, and you had better be ready for my instructions." The mechanized voice replied. "You were supposed to be good detectives; let's hope you still are!" Chris put the phone on speaker; the voice went on. "Be at the industrial park on Old Oak Road at 1:00 pm and come alone. Do not, and I mean this, do not contact the police or let nobody know where you are going. I promise that all your questions will be answered. By this point you should have received a video tape. Keep it safe but don't watch it. It won't make sense till you've seen me." The line went dead and Chris turned off the speaker.
"Well," Rita began after a second, "isn't that nice of him. All our questions will be answered; hmm, I wonder."
"I think we're going down a rabbit hole, Sam, but it might not be that bad. Hell, we haven't been shot at in what-two weeks?" Chris smiled. Rita slapped him on the back of his head.
"Ahh that hurt!" Chris rubbed his head. "That was a joke Rita."
Rita eyed him and said dryly, "a very bad joke, Christopher."
