Just wanted to send out a quick thanks to firebunee who helped me work out a few details for this story. Thanks hon, you're the best!

Chapter 3- Ghost

"Hey honey, I'm going to take off now." Margaret Hanson stated, coming up and hugging her only child.

"So soon Mom?" Tom asked, returning the embrace. "Do you need a ride home?"

Margaret shook her head and said, "Adam's going to give me a lift home. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She paused a moment as she touched the side of his face. Letting out a deep sigh, she added, "You're dad would have been so proud of you Tom. Just as proud as I am."

Tom leaned in and hugged his mom once more before placing a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks Mom."

"I love you honey." She said, picking up her purse. "Behave yourself and have some fun."

"Love you too Mom." Tom said, waving as she and Captain Fuller made their way out to the parking lot.

Tom picked up his beer and finished it off before grabbing his bowling ball and walking up to the lane, sending it hurtling towards the pins. The ball hit with a loud crack, knocking them down. "Another slamerino!" Tom yelled, coming back to take his seat.

"Tom, we really need to find you another phrase." Doug said. "I mean, come on, slamerino?" he asked, laughing and shaking his head.

"What?" Tom asked innocently. "What would you prefer me to say?"

Doug thought for a moment before speaking. "How about something that doesn't sound, oh I don't know, lame?"

Tom took the opportunity to punch Penhall in the arm, who in turn jumped up from his seat and grabbed Tom into a headlock. They both struggled to gain control of the situation as Harry and Judy looked on in amusement.

"Oh boy, here we go again!" Judy said.

"Yeah, I think they are more and more like the McQuaids everyday." Harry said, shaking his head, as Doug was able to get the upper hand, taking Tom down to his knees in the headlock. "Should we break this up?" he asked.

Judy just shook her head and laughed. "Nope, how about we just take this chance to sneak out before we get kicked out of the bowling alley?" Harry nodded and they stood up to leave. As they passed the front counter a loud crashing noise was heard behind them. "Just keep walking Harry. Don't look back." She grabbed his arm and pulled him out into the parking lot as the manager began to make his way over to their partners who were still wrestling on the ground.

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"I can't believe you got us kicked out of the bowling alley!" Tom exclaimed as they walked out to the parking lot. "How will I ever show my face in there again?"

"Me? Why is it that I got us kicked out."? Doug said, a pouty look on his face. "You were the one who knocked down that rack of bowling balls!"

Tom let out a frustrated groan and said, "That's because you had me in a headlock!"

Doug and Tom suddenly both looked at each other and burst into laughter. "Hey man, I'm sorry if I ruined your chances of coming back here." Doug said, once he was able to catch his breath.

Tom shook his head and said, "No, don't worry about it. Greg's not going to kick me out forever." Tom stopped suddenly and turned towards Doug. "Um, by the way Doug, I just wanted to say thanks for what you did for me tonight."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Doug asked, slapping his partner on the back. "You would have done the same thing for me."

"Yeah, I really…" Tom started to say but then something caught his attention in the parking lot. Someone was standing next to his blue mustang, peering inside of it. His hand was on the door handle and it appeared as if he was trying to get inside. "Hey!" Tom yelled, startling the man. The man quickly looked up and then took off running towards the alley. "Hey, come back here." Tom yelled, running after him. Doug didn't hesitate to follow.

Tom slowed momentarily as he entered the alleyway. The last thing he needed right now was to be caught off guard by the man who had been trying to break into his car. What the hell was he trying to do anyway? Tom thought as he picked up his pace a bit. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun, positioning it ahead of him. He could hear footsteps behind him and knew that Doug was close behind. He knew that Doug was also carrying his gun, which made him feel more at ease for having some backup. Up ahead, Tom heard a banging noise and then saw a pile of garbage cans fall to the ground. Knowing that the man was up ahead, Tom picked up the pace once again. He could see the man trying to climb a chain link fence up ahead and Tom stopped, aiming his gun at the man's back. "Freeze asshole." He yelled. The man continued climbing the fence and made his way to the top when he lost his footing and fell to the ground. Tom ran up to the fence with Doug close behind. "I said freeze! Hold it right there!" Tom pointed his gun towards the man, who sat motionless for a moment on the ground. Tom slowly made his way up to where he could get a better look at the man, his gun still aimed at the perpetrator. "What were you doing to my car?" he asked. The man made no attempt to speak, but for a moment he glanced up and stared at the young police officer that was holding him at gunpoint. Tom lost focus for a moment when the man glanced at him. His step faltered and his hand that was holding the gun became shaky. He blinked quickly and shook his head a bit. No, it can't be. He thought. It can't be him. He was still trying to figure out what kind of cruel trick his mind was playing on him when the man quickly got up from the ground and took off running. All Tom could do was stand frozen in the spot, his gun slowly lowering to his side.

Doug ran up next to Tom and looked at him with a worried expression across his face. "Tom, come on, he's getting away." Doug started to climb the fence and was almost to the top when he noticed that Tom hadn't moved. "Hanson! Come on, we can still catch him!"

"No." Tom whispered. His body was trembling and all of a sudden he felt lightheaded. Slowly his knees sunk to the ground and his gun landed next to him. "No, it can't be." He said, a little louder this time.

Doug took one last look at the alley and then let out a frustrated sigh. He climbed back down and made his way over to his partner. "Tom, man, why'd you let him get away? We could have caught him." The frustration was evident in his voice. When Tom didn't reply, he knelt down next to him. "Tommy, what is it?"

"It can't be. He…He's dead." Tom stuttered.

"What?" Doug asked. "Who? Who's dead? Hanson, you're not making any sense."

"He died eight years ago. Charlie sat me down and told me what happened." Tom began. "It couldn't be him. No, it wasn't. But… but I saw him. It was him." Tom looked up at Doug, his face pale and his body shaking even harder now. "Doug, it was him."

"Who Tom?" Doug pressed. "Come on man, you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I think I did." Tom said.

Doug looked at Tom and then down the alley. What the hell is Hanson talking about? He wasn't making any sense at all. "Tom, what the hell are you talking about?"

Tom looked up at Doug, tears threatening to fall from his dark eyes. His face had gone about two shades paler than before. "It was him Doug. The guy we were chasing…it was… my dad."

Okay, so a bit of a cliffy….let me know what you guys think about this story. It's going to be full of angst and all that good stuff. I'm loving this one and seems like I'm on a bit of a roll right now! Hope you all are enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. -tewksgirl