Chapter 1
"Rick, where's Laurie?"
He looked up to see A.J. in the doorway of their office, a worried expression on his face. Rick stopped tilting and sat upright, saying, "I think she's in town sending off her manuscript, Why?" "I got a call from Steve, a report of a prison escape came over this morning, Rick, Cheryl Minor, Laurie's ex-agent, broke out of the women's prison in upstate New York yesterday, and last week Leland Johnson, Willowby's chief assistant got let out of prison and promptly broke parole. The FBI thinks he helped get her out and they got a warrant out on him already."
Rick swore under his breath, then angrily said, "Why did they wait so long to tell us about that guy, I remember him, he was the one who got Willowby out of prison to begin with!" His brother shook his head, "Steve is furious, he says somebody fell down at the bureau. But Rick, it gets worse." A.J. pulled a copy of a legal document out of a folder and handed it to him. The older Simon took a look at it then, said, "A.J., this is insane. Do you know what this means?"
A.J. nodded, "Willowby had a hidden trust set up, If anyone from his organization abducted Laurie and forced her to make a private tape of her next book before it came out, they would receive one million dollars. No one at the Justice Department thought to check his assets after he died; the bequest was laid out as an "Estate settlement". She's a walking target for those two, we've got to get her to safety and quick!"
Rick grabbed the phone and punching in some numbers, told his brother, "You get a hold of Oscar, see if he can help run some stuff on those two, where they might go to hole up, see if anybody at Laurie's publisher might be in with them. I'll call the ranch, see if she's home yet?"
Listening to the phone ring at the ranch, Rick was ready to leave a message when the receiver was picked up, "Hello, Simon residence." He breathed a sigh of relief, "Laurie, sweetheart, did you just get in?" There was a pause, then she answered softly, "Yes, Rick, did you and A.J. talk to Steve?" "Yes, darlin', we know what happened. I want you to stay in the house, ok? I'll be home in an hour and we'll figure out what to do." he replied, trying to sound positive. "All right, Rick, I'll sit tight. I'm ok; I don't want you to worry. ", she sighed, then added, "I love you, just be careful, darling."
"I will, now go lock up," he reminded her, then he told her, "I love you, too, sweetheart, I promise I won't let anybody hurt you." Ending the call, he looked up at his brother, then cleared his throat. "What did Oscar say?" A.J. calmly said, "Oscar is on his way, he already has agents canvassing Willowby's real estate holdings to see where Johnson might have gone to ground. Rudy is on his way to the ranch already, he was over at Doc's and Oscar got in touch with him there."
A.J. hesitated, "Should we call Rob and Robin? Mom must have picked them up from the airport already." "No, they're safer with Mom right now, and Laurie would pitch a fit if she thought they'd given up their spring break because of this.", Rick decided. "We'll call and let them know to be careful though."
Grabbing his jacket, Rick turned to his brother, saying, "Can you call Linda and have her come up tomorrow? I know things will go a lot easier if Laurie had her there." "Sure, I'll bring her by myself if necessary.", A.J. returned, then hugged his brother, "It'll be all right, Rick, we won't let those criminals ruin her life."
Driving home through the afternoon traffic, Rick kept his transmitter on and checked in with A.J. as to when Oscar and Steve would be in town. Pulling into the ranch driveway, he saw Rudy's little sports car and breathed a sigh of relief. He got out of the car, then saw his wife open the door and run toward him. He caught her in his arms, kissing her and whirling her around, making her laugh. "I'm glad you're home, Mr. Simon," she gasped, kissing him back. He set her down, saying, "Me too, Mrs. Simon!"
"Ahem." Rudy cleared his throat, coming up behind them, then held his hand up, grinning. "I'm happy to see you, Rick, but you don't have to greet me the same way!"
Laurie smiled at the two men, then asked, "Is anybody hungry, I've got a chicken in the oven. I also made a quiche." The doctor shook his head as they went into the house, "to think the most cooking you used to do is to make a mean salsa, roast chicken, quiche? You're amazing!"
She blushed, "No, just had two good teachers. I swiped both recipes from Robin. By the way, Mom just called, they landed a little while ago. Rob says he'll call to say hi tonight." Turning toward the kitchen, Laurie called over her shoulder, "I need a couple of eggs, I'll be right back. Ice Tea's on the table." As the kitchen door closed behind her, Rick told Rudy, "A.J.'s going to ask Linda to come by tomorrow, I think she'll be more comfortable staying home if she has her friends around." "That's good thinking, son, Laurie doesn't like to feel like she's a burden, having someone like Linda to talk to will help." the doctor said, then both men heard Laurie yell, "Rick!"
Rushing through the back door, Rick and Rudy ran toward the barn, only to stop abruptly at the sight of Laurie trapped behind a wall of flame at the entrance. "Laurie, stand still, don't move!", he yelled, as Rudy ran to get the hose and turn it on the fire.
Within a minute, the smoke was dissipating and Rick reached his wife as she stood coughing and choking. "Sweetheart, are you ok? Just breathe." He pulled Laurie out of the doorway only to have her grab his arm. "Rick," she wheezed, "look at that!" He turned to see a note posted on the side of the barn door. "Next time it could be your husband."
Rick took her in his arms and led her gently back into the kitchen. As the doctor went to get his bag, Rick insisted Laurie sit down while she sipped a glass of water. "Darling, I'm fine, just scared. Someone got onto our land and left that, that warning note. What if they come after you to get to me?" she said, leaning against him. Rick tried to comfort her, "Laurie, listen, don't let some psycho get to you like this. I won't let anyone get either of us, ok?" She gazed up at him, then moved over to let Rudy sit down and take her pulse.
After examining her, Rudy gave Laurie a stern look. "Honey, have you been having dizzy spells or lightheadedness. Your pulse rate is a little high even for what just happened." "No, my stomach's been a little queasy the last couple of days, but I've been trying to finish the book and I guess I haven't really been eating right." Abruptly Rick interrupted, Laurie, you had a dizzy spell last week, remember?" She shot him a dirty look, then reluctantly admitted, "Yes, I did get light-headed the other morning, but well, wouldn't you if you just saw your grandmother?"
The doctor shook his head, "I don't believe it, you saw your Grandmother Casey?" Rick nodded, "I saw her myself, Rudy, she came to warn Laurie." He told him about the message Casey Adams had brought, then Laurie added, "Rick, she was right that something was going to happen."
Rudy cleared his throat, "Excuse me, missy, but I don't like this upset stomach and dizzy spell business. I want you to go straight to bed. I mean it. You're not going to be able to withstand anything if you're sick." Laurie opened her mouth to protest, then looked at her friend's serious expression, and meekly replied, "Can I at least have dinner with you two first?"
The two men looked at each other, then burst into laughter. "All right, sweetheart," Rick grinned, "you're worse than one of the kids. You go change and Rudy and I will put dinner on." Laurie stood up then hugged the doctor, "Bless you, Rudy, I don't know what I'd do without you!" His eyes were bright as he kissed her cheek then gruffly told her to get going. As she left the kitchen, Rick stared after her, then got the extension, telling Rudy "I'm going to call Oscar, they could have killed her!"
"I don't think so, Rick, that fire was a warning, it was dying down even before I put the water on it. I think it was a sign that Johnson left, to let us know that he can get to Laurie. He must have been timing her or something to cut it that close. She was only out there two or three minutes." Rudy got up, "What I don't like is they know how to get to her by threatening you. I don't want Laurie going anywhere by herself until those two are caught."
"You're right, " Rick agreed, waiting for Oscar to pick up. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and as he went to answer it, Rick heard the big man's voice. "Guys, am I glad to see you!", he exclaimed, greeting both Steve and Oscar. He clicked off the phone, then after Rudy came over, briefly told them what had just went on. Oscar narrowed his eyes, then said, "I'm going to check on her." He left the room as Steve collapsed into a chair, disbelief on his face.
"I guess we've been living in a fool's paradise, it never occurred to me Laurie wouldn't be safe here.", he finally admitted, looking at Rick. "Where's A.J.? Is he still at the office?" "Yes, he was following up Oscar's information as to where Johnson and Cheryl might be hiding out, I'm going to call him to see if he had any luck." The older Simon turned just as Oscar came back in, a faint smile on his face. "She's hungry, what else is new?" Rick laughed and roped the guys into helping pull dinner together.
When Laurie came in she smiled at the full table, saying, "I was dreading not seeing the kids tonight, but you guys'll do." Steve started teasing her about roasting a chicken, particularly since she took such pains to feed them. She grinned, "I might feed them, but I sure don't make friends with them. I like fried chicken too much!" Groaning, Rick started making puns and the others took turns topping each other after dinner, till' a ringing phone interrupted. Laurie picked up the receiver, then lit up. "Robbie, hi!
Did you have a good flight?" Oscar glanced at her happy face, then quietly told her husband. "Steve and I are going to make sure everything's closed up for the night, keep her occupied, I don't want her worrying."
Rick agreed, then went over to Laurie, gesturing that he wanted to talk to Rob and Robin. Passing the phone over, she went to clear the table and then bring in some coffee. When she came back Rick had already briefed their children about the escaped convicts, then told his mother to alert their friend Downtown Brown to keep an eye out. "Kids want to say good night, sweetheart." he said, then when she finished, added, "The guys and I are closing up, I want you to get some rest."
Laurie sighed, "All right, but don't stay up too late." She kissed him, then embraced the others. After she left the room, Rick and Oscar shared what little new information A.J. has passed on to them. Steve insisted on standing watch, just in case a repeat attack was made. Oscar added that he would take a couple of hours too, making Rick go to bed.
As he finished making sure the others were comfortable for the night, Rudy took Rick aside. "If Laurie has any upset stomach or dizziness in the morning, you let me know. If she's got some kind of bug, it's got me fooled, her appetite is sure good." Her husband nodded, "I noticed that, 'course everything tasted good tonight, I noticed there's no quiche left." "Yeah," the doctor laughed, "who says real men don't have good taste!"
As Rick crept into the bedroom, he heard Laurie's voice, "Rick, it's ok, I'm awake." Coming over to the bed, he found her sitting up, so he sat down and took her in his arms. They were both quiet for a moment, then she caressed his cheek, and said "I should be scared out of my mind, but all I feel is lucky to have so many people looking out for me. Johnson thinks he can get to me, but as long as I remember what Grandmother told me, we'll be fine." Rick gazed at her, then started kissing her all over, saying " I'm the lucky one, I have the love of my life in my arms and I won't let anyone take you away from me." Releasing her long enough to change clothes, he climbed into bed, embracing her as she whispered, "now, where were we?"
The ringing phone woke Laurie first, and as she picked up the extension, she glanced over at the clock and saw that it was only 3am. "Hello?" she murmured sleepily, then came awake immediately at Linda's voice. "Laurie, I'm sorry to wake you, but did you or Rick hear from A.J. last night?" "Rick did, honey, what's wrong, didn't he come home last night?"
"No, and I 'm worried. I called the office and the answering machine isn't on. He's not picking up and I called the security office, they say his car is still there." Her voice trembling, Linda added, "I found a note under the door just now, it says, "next time it's his brother." What's going on?" Laurie felt Rick sit up next to her, so she told her sister-in-law, "I'm going to put Rick on, it's going to be ok, sis." She held out the phone to her husband and explained, "A.J.'s missing, Linda says he didn't come home last night and she got a note under
her door. You'd better talk to her; I'll tell the guys."
Getting up and putting her robe on, Laurie opened the door to find Oscar already standing there. Filling him in, she stood aside for him to talk to Rick and found Steve starting the coffee. He looked at her, then without a word hugged her, saying, "It's not your fault, we'll find A.J." She nodded then said, "At least we know who we're dealing with. Now we have to see how they'll contact us." Taking the pot and cups out to the living room, she found Rudy putting his shirt on. Pouring him a cup, she handed it to him, then said, "Linda shouldn't be by herself, I'm going to see if Rick can pick her up." The doctor shook his head, "I'm going over there, just in case she gets a call from A.J. or, well, just in case."
Rick came out of the bedroom, talking to Oscar, then turned as Laurie handed him a cup of coffee. He took a sip, then set it down and took her in his arms. "It'll be ok, Rick, you'll find him, I know you will." She told him, trying to be positive. He held her tightly, whispering, "I love you, never forget that, sweetheart. You listen to Oscar, promise?" Her eyes filled, but she managed a smile and replied, "I promise, my love, just be careful."
As Rick opened the door, a piece of paper fluttered down, he opened it, then showed the message to Laurie and Steve. "You're next."
"Rick, where's Laurie?"
He looked up to see A.J. in the doorway of their office, a worried expression on his face. Rick stopped tilting and sat upright, saying, "I think she's in town sending off her manuscript, Why?" "I got a call from Steve, a report of a prison escape came over this morning, Rick, Cheryl Minor, Laurie's ex-agent, broke out of the women's prison in upstate New York yesterday, and last week Leland Johnson, Willowby's chief assistant got let out of prison and promptly broke parole. The FBI thinks he helped get her out and they got a warrant out on him already."
Rick swore under his breath, then angrily said, "Why did they wait so long to tell us about that guy, I remember him, he was the one who got Willowby out of prison to begin with!" His brother shook his head, "Steve is furious, he says somebody fell down at the bureau. But Rick, it gets worse." A.J. pulled a copy of a legal document out of a folder and handed it to him. The older Simon took a look at it then, said, "A.J., this is insane. Do you know what this means?"
A.J. nodded, "Willowby had a hidden trust set up, If anyone from his organization abducted Laurie and forced her to make a private tape of her next book before it came out, they would receive one million dollars. No one at the Justice Department thought to check his assets after he died; the bequest was laid out as an "Estate settlement". She's a walking target for those two, we've got to get her to safety and quick!"
Rick grabbed the phone and punching in some numbers, told his brother, "You get a hold of Oscar, see if he can help run some stuff on those two, where they might go to hole up, see if anybody at Laurie's publisher might be in with them. I'll call the ranch, see if she's home yet?"
Listening to the phone ring at the ranch, Rick was ready to leave a message when the receiver was picked up, "Hello, Simon residence." He breathed a sigh of relief, "Laurie, sweetheart, did you just get in?" There was a pause, then she answered softly, "Yes, Rick, did you and A.J. talk to Steve?" "Yes, darlin', we know what happened. I want you to stay in the house, ok? I'll be home in an hour and we'll figure out what to do." he replied, trying to sound positive. "All right, Rick, I'll sit tight. I'm ok; I don't want you to worry. ", she sighed, then added, "I love you, just be careful, darling."
"I will, now go lock up," he reminded her, then he told her, "I love you, too, sweetheart, I promise I won't let anybody hurt you." Ending the call, he looked up at his brother, then cleared his throat. "What did Oscar say?" A.J. calmly said, "Oscar is on his way, he already has agents canvassing Willowby's real estate holdings to see where Johnson might have gone to ground. Rudy is on his way to the ranch already, he was over at Doc's and Oscar got in touch with him there."
A.J. hesitated, "Should we call Rob and Robin? Mom must have picked them up from the airport already." "No, they're safer with Mom right now, and Laurie would pitch a fit if she thought they'd given up their spring break because of this.", Rick decided. "We'll call and let them know to be careful though."
Grabbing his jacket, Rick turned to his brother, saying, "Can you call Linda and have her come up tomorrow? I know things will go a lot easier if Laurie had her there." "Sure, I'll bring her by myself if necessary.", A.J. returned, then hugged his brother, "It'll be all right, Rick, we won't let those criminals ruin her life."
Driving home through the afternoon traffic, Rick kept his transmitter on and checked in with A.J. as to when Oscar and Steve would be in town. Pulling into the ranch driveway, he saw Rudy's little sports car and breathed a sigh of relief. He got out of the car, then saw his wife open the door and run toward him. He caught her in his arms, kissing her and whirling her around, making her laugh. "I'm glad you're home, Mr. Simon," she gasped, kissing him back. He set her down, saying, "Me too, Mrs. Simon!"
"Ahem." Rudy cleared his throat, coming up behind them, then held his hand up, grinning. "I'm happy to see you, Rick, but you don't have to greet me the same way!"
Laurie smiled at the two men, then asked, "Is anybody hungry, I've got a chicken in the oven. I also made a quiche." The doctor shook his head as they went into the house, "to think the most cooking you used to do is to make a mean salsa, roast chicken, quiche? You're amazing!"
She blushed, "No, just had two good teachers. I swiped both recipes from Robin. By the way, Mom just called, they landed a little while ago. Rob says he'll call to say hi tonight." Turning toward the kitchen, Laurie called over her shoulder, "I need a couple of eggs, I'll be right back. Ice Tea's on the table." As the kitchen door closed behind her, Rick told Rudy, "A.J.'s going to ask Linda to come by tomorrow, I think she'll be more comfortable staying home if she has her friends around." "That's good thinking, son, Laurie doesn't like to feel like she's a burden, having someone like Linda to talk to will help." the doctor said, then both men heard Laurie yell, "Rick!"
Rushing through the back door, Rick and Rudy ran toward the barn, only to stop abruptly at the sight of Laurie trapped behind a wall of flame at the entrance. "Laurie, stand still, don't move!", he yelled, as Rudy ran to get the hose and turn it on the fire.
Within a minute, the smoke was dissipating and Rick reached his wife as she stood coughing and choking. "Sweetheart, are you ok? Just breathe." He pulled Laurie out of the doorway only to have her grab his arm. "Rick," she wheezed, "look at that!" He turned to see a note posted on the side of the barn door. "Next time it could be your husband."
Rick took her in his arms and led her gently back into the kitchen. As the doctor went to get his bag, Rick insisted Laurie sit down while she sipped a glass of water. "Darling, I'm fine, just scared. Someone got onto our land and left that, that warning note. What if they come after you to get to me?" she said, leaning against him. Rick tried to comfort her, "Laurie, listen, don't let some psycho get to you like this. I won't let anyone get either of us, ok?" She gazed up at him, then moved over to let Rudy sit down and take her pulse.
After examining her, Rudy gave Laurie a stern look. "Honey, have you been having dizzy spells or lightheadedness. Your pulse rate is a little high even for what just happened." "No, my stomach's been a little queasy the last couple of days, but I've been trying to finish the book and I guess I haven't really been eating right." Abruptly Rick interrupted, Laurie, you had a dizzy spell last week, remember?" She shot him a dirty look, then reluctantly admitted, "Yes, I did get light-headed the other morning, but well, wouldn't you if you just saw your grandmother?"
The doctor shook his head, "I don't believe it, you saw your Grandmother Casey?" Rick nodded, "I saw her myself, Rudy, she came to warn Laurie." He told him about the message Casey Adams had brought, then Laurie added, "Rick, she was right that something was going to happen."
Rudy cleared his throat, "Excuse me, missy, but I don't like this upset stomach and dizzy spell business. I want you to go straight to bed. I mean it. You're not going to be able to withstand anything if you're sick." Laurie opened her mouth to protest, then looked at her friend's serious expression, and meekly replied, "Can I at least have dinner with you two first?"
The two men looked at each other, then burst into laughter. "All right, sweetheart," Rick grinned, "you're worse than one of the kids. You go change and Rudy and I will put dinner on." Laurie stood up then hugged the doctor, "Bless you, Rudy, I don't know what I'd do without you!" His eyes were bright as he kissed her cheek then gruffly told her to get going. As she left the kitchen, Rick stared after her, then got the extension, telling Rudy "I'm going to call Oscar, they could have killed her!"
"I don't think so, Rick, that fire was a warning, it was dying down even before I put the water on it. I think it was a sign that Johnson left, to let us know that he can get to Laurie. He must have been timing her or something to cut it that close. She was only out there two or three minutes." Rudy got up, "What I don't like is they know how to get to her by threatening you. I don't want Laurie going anywhere by herself until those two are caught."
"You're right, " Rick agreed, waiting for Oscar to pick up. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and as he went to answer it, Rick heard the big man's voice. "Guys, am I glad to see you!", he exclaimed, greeting both Steve and Oscar. He clicked off the phone, then after Rudy came over, briefly told them what had just went on. Oscar narrowed his eyes, then said, "I'm going to check on her." He left the room as Steve collapsed into a chair, disbelief on his face.
"I guess we've been living in a fool's paradise, it never occurred to me Laurie wouldn't be safe here.", he finally admitted, looking at Rick. "Where's A.J.? Is he still at the office?" "Yes, he was following up Oscar's information as to where Johnson and Cheryl might be hiding out, I'm going to call him to see if he had any luck." The older Simon turned just as Oscar came back in, a faint smile on his face. "She's hungry, what else is new?" Rick laughed and roped the guys into helping pull dinner together.
When Laurie came in she smiled at the full table, saying, "I was dreading not seeing the kids tonight, but you guys'll do." Steve started teasing her about roasting a chicken, particularly since she took such pains to feed them. She grinned, "I might feed them, but I sure don't make friends with them. I like fried chicken too much!" Groaning, Rick started making puns and the others took turns topping each other after dinner, till' a ringing phone interrupted. Laurie picked up the receiver, then lit up. "Robbie, hi!
Did you have a good flight?" Oscar glanced at her happy face, then quietly told her husband. "Steve and I are going to make sure everything's closed up for the night, keep her occupied, I don't want her worrying."
Rick agreed, then went over to Laurie, gesturing that he wanted to talk to Rob and Robin. Passing the phone over, she went to clear the table and then bring in some coffee. When she came back Rick had already briefed their children about the escaped convicts, then told his mother to alert their friend Downtown Brown to keep an eye out. "Kids want to say good night, sweetheart." he said, then when she finished, added, "The guys and I are closing up, I want you to get some rest."
Laurie sighed, "All right, but don't stay up too late." She kissed him, then embraced the others. After she left the room, Rick and Oscar shared what little new information A.J. has passed on to them. Steve insisted on standing watch, just in case a repeat attack was made. Oscar added that he would take a couple of hours too, making Rick go to bed.
As he finished making sure the others were comfortable for the night, Rudy took Rick aside. "If Laurie has any upset stomach or dizziness in the morning, you let me know. If she's got some kind of bug, it's got me fooled, her appetite is sure good." Her husband nodded, "I noticed that, 'course everything tasted good tonight, I noticed there's no quiche left." "Yeah," the doctor laughed, "who says real men don't have good taste!"
As Rick crept into the bedroom, he heard Laurie's voice, "Rick, it's ok, I'm awake." Coming over to the bed, he found her sitting up, so he sat down and took her in his arms. They were both quiet for a moment, then she caressed his cheek, and said "I should be scared out of my mind, but all I feel is lucky to have so many people looking out for me. Johnson thinks he can get to me, but as long as I remember what Grandmother told me, we'll be fine." Rick gazed at her, then started kissing her all over, saying " I'm the lucky one, I have the love of my life in my arms and I won't let anyone take you away from me." Releasing her long enough to change clothes, he climbed into bed, embracing her as she whispered, "now, where were we?"
The ringing phone woke Laurie first, and as she picked up the extension, she glanced over at the clock and saw that it was only 3am. "Hello?" she murmured sleepily, then came awake immediately at Linda's voice. "Laurie, I'm sorry to wake you, but did you or Rick hear from A.J. last night?" "Rick did, honey, what's wrong, didn't he come home last night?"
"No, and I 'm worried. I called the office and the answering machine isn't on. He's not picking up and I called the security office, they say his car is still there." Her voice trembling, Linda added, "I found a note under the door just now, it says, "next time it's his brother." What's going on?" Laurie felt Rick sit up next to her, so she told her sister-in-law, "I'm going to put Rick on, it's going to be ok, sis." She held out the phone to her husband and explained, "A.J.'s missing, Linda says he didn't come home last night and she got a note under
her door. You'd better talk to her; I'll tell the guys."
Getting up and putting her robe on, Laurie opened the door to find Oscar already standing there. Filling him in, she stood aside for him to talk to Rick and found Steve starting the coffee. He looked at her, then without a word hugged her, saying, "It's not your fault, we'll find A.J." She nodded then said, "At least we know who we're dealing with. Now we have to see how they'll contact us." Taking the pot and cups out to the living room, she found Rudy putting his shirt on. Pouring him a cup, she handed it to him, then said, "Linda shouldn't be by herself, I'm going to see if Rick can pick her up." The doctor shook his head, "I'm going over there, just in case she gets a call from A.J. or, well, just in case."
Rick came out of the bedroom, talking to Oscar, then turned as Laurie handed him a cup of coffee. He took a sip, then set it down and took her in his arms. "It'll be ok, Rick, you'll find him, I know you will." She told him, trying to be positive. He held her tightly, whispering, "I love you, never forget that, sweetheart. You listen to Oscar, promise?" Her eyes filled, but she managed a smile and replied, "I promise, my love, just be careful."
As Rick opened the door, a piece of paper fluttered down, he opened it, then showed the message to Laurie and Steve. "You're next."