"Are you sure, Officer Gomez?"
Rick paced Chief Johnson's office as Ron spoke tersely on the phone.
"All right, put out a bolo on Sara Jane Johns, missing juvenile. If we have to, we can pick her up on curfew violations or something."
"Come on, Rick, sit down, you're making me nervous." A.J. said from his seat opposite Ron's desk. Just then Ron slammed down his phone and Rick stopped in mid-step.
"I take it she walked away from Sunrise House again?"
"You got it….told one of the girls she needed air, then hopped the wall and vanished." The chief answered, disgusted. "I hated telling Chrissy and Abby…..what a mess. That stupid kid….."
"You did all you could for her, Ron…so did Abbs." Rick tried to placate his friend.
"I know…but I think she's a key to all these robberies….or at least she knows who's responsible.. But I can't take a chance that you've been made.." Ron shouted, startling the brothers.
Almost immediately he looked ashamed. "Sorry, guys..I didn't mean to yell …but there's no way I'd put you at risk…" His voice suddenly hoarse, Ron turned away from the two Simons. Rick glanced at A.J., then went over to the downcast chief of detective.
"Hey, it's us, remember?" he said quietly. "We know you wouldn't endanger us…cause Laurie and Linny would come after you, and Abby would help."
At that Ron smiled wryly, then replied, "And there's no way I'd risk my neck like that….not with 3 fierce women! " At that Rick and A.J. broke down and laughed.
"Fierce…that's an understatement…" Rick managed to wheeze at last. "I think I'd better go home before my "fierce" girl comes looking for us."
"Well, I'm your ride to A.J.'s, remember?" Ron said, then grinned as Abby stuck her head in the door.
"And I'm your ride, Mister…so get a move on so I can get more details…."
At the burst of laughter from the three men, Abby looked puzzled. "Okay, what's so funny?"
The next few days were slow ones for the Simons, as leads on the would-be robbers died out. As a precaution, Steve or Jaime or even Brian took Chrystal to school and back each day, and the Simons were extra careful around town. Just as Ron was about to call off the investigation in to the catering firm, a break happened in the case.
"Rick, I have your egg-white burrito ready….and A.J.'s is in foil in his bag." Laurie told him, as Rick came out of the bedroom. He'd been trying to find a good hiding place for his birthday gift for Laurie, and was glad she was up before him that morning.
"Thanks, sweetheart….." he kissed Laurie gently, then she pulled him into a fervent embrace, suddenly trembling.
"I ..don't go, darling…please…. I just saw you…someone was chasing you. It was like a flash from a movie … something's going to happen!". Laurie said, her voice muffled in his shirt.
Rick was startled. "Laurie, darlin'…" As he stroked her hair, he felt her stop shaking. "I'm sorry, Rick…but ….I 'm frightened for you .."
At once Rick decided to heed her fears; there was no way Ron's case was worth scaring his wife.
"I won't go then, sweetheart." He replied, picking Laurie up and carrying her to the living room. Setting her down on the sofa, he sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"It's been a long time since you've had a premonition, Laurie? When did it start?" Rick asked, seeing her pale face regaining its color.
"Just now…suddenly it came in a wave…I was freezing …." She said, then sighed.
"Thank you, darling…I feel better now…maybe you should go meet A.J…"
"I'm glad, my brave girl…" He kissed her, then added "But I'm going to stay with you…let me call A.J. and Ron."
An hour later both men pulled up to the ranch, and when Rick opened the door, their somber faces told him something had happened.
"We've had another robbery at a party, and this time the thieves were interrupted by a guest. Unfortunately she was attacked, and only her screams saved her from being hurt" Ron told him. Rick shook his head angrily.
"What an animal….any video on these people? Did anyone see them arrive or leave the party?"
"Yes, we've got a good shot of one of the robbers, tall, dark hair, deep voice. And we have a lead on Sara Johns." Ron said. At that Laurie came back into the room, a tray of drinks in her hands. Carefully putting them down, she sat next to Rick as she asked, "Was she involved in the robbery?"
Surprised, A.J. nodded. "Yes, Sis, but how did you know?"
"That look on your face when you came in told me your news wasn't that good, and I'm afraid Sara's appearance at one robbery could indicate she's willing to try more serious crimes." Laurie explained calmly. She took a breath, then added, "And I saw her face in the premonition I had this morning…she was watching Rick being chased."
The three men were shocked for a moment, then Rick put his arm around her as he asked,
"Sweetheart, why you didn't tell me you saw her?"
"I'm afraid I just remembered it, love…I'm sorry….when Ron mentioned her name, I had a flash of her face, like she was standing in the background." Laurie added, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, darlin'…I know you don't choose to see these things…" Rick was sorry when he saw that she was upset, and kissed her cheek. At that she smiled.
"It's okay, Rick…..just as long as you're safe…I am sorry, Ron, that you and A.J. had to come out here instead….any other leads?"
"Just your confirmation of what we found out, that Sara is working with a couple of pros who may have just earned some long prison time." The chief of detectives explained. At that Rick had an idea.
"Listen, Ron…what if an alert is released about a "runaway" teen who may be a "victim" of a predator? We might be able to get a few leads on Sara, then have her picked up and find out how deep she is with the robbers."
Ron was quiet for a moment, then slowly let out a sigh. "That's good, pal..really good. 'Cause if she's scared enough, or defensive enough…we might get her to surface to
"clear" her reputation, one way or the other….Can I use your phone?"
"Sure." Rick grinned as the chief vanished into Rick's office, then came back out a few minutes later.
"All set …..let's see how this works…" he said in a wry tone.
Scarcely a day passed when Rick's idea met its biggest test. As Rick and A.J. were going over the file on "Private Affair" with Ron, they were interrupted by a call.
"Johnson….where was she? Good work…bring her up and put her in conference A. And, call Brian Dupre in Children's Services, please." Ron hung up his phone, then shot Rick a "I dare you" look.
"At the risk of making you big headed, Sara Johns was just brought in….a concerned citizen saw her outside of the convention center and called the police. Seems there's a wedding reception there tonight ….."
A.J. grinned as Rick gave their friend a smirk, saying "Well, sometimes it doesn't hurt to play a hunch…now I need to call in our secret weapon."
At that Ron frowned. "Are you sure? Sara wouldn't talk to either of them before."
Rick nodded at his brother as A.J. remarked, "She will this time."
An hour later, Ron Johnson went in to the interrogation room in the juvenile section of the jail, where a somber Officer Gomez stood guard.
"Did she say anything, Officer?" he asked. The woman shook her head.
"No, sir. Just gave me that defiant look of hers, then politely asked how I was. When I told her I had been worried about her, she snapped that she "could take care of herself and would everyone leave her alone." I said that if she could take care of herself, she wouldn't have to be arrested. That's when she said she was sorry for being rude, then stopped talking. I have the speaker on in there now."
"Very good, Officer..did you hear that, pal?" Ron turned as Rick and Laurie Simon came to the conference room, followed by Chrystal Austin, with Brian Dupre bringing up the rear.
"Sure did, sounds like we might not be too late…" he replied. Laurie smiled up at him then told Ron , "I wouldn't put much faith in Sara changing any time soon, but that is a good sign. Is "Private Affair" working that reception at the conference center?"
"Yes, but I have two teams staking out the place, so if anyone tries anything …we have it covered." The chief explained. He nodded at the officer, who unlocked the interrogation room door. Following Ron in , Laurie and Chrystal saw the surprised look on Sara's face as she sat slumped at the end of a conference table.
Straightening up, she demanded, "What are they doing here?", indicating the two women. Chrystal winced at the teenager's rudeness, as Laurie quietly replied, "We're here to see that you're all right…that's all. Both of us were worried about you…"
Swallowing hard, Sara met her gaze then dejectedly said, "I'm sorry you worried about me, I know you mean well, and I did….do owe you for standing up for me and protecting me from my stepfather. But…" she stopped and wiped a tear from her eyes.
"But you don't see anyway out of the things you've been doing, is that it, honey?" Chrystal asked, holding out her hand. At that Sara suddenly grasped the young teachers hand, sobbing, "Yes…I've messed things up so bad, and Grayson and Clare…they said if I didn't keep helping them they'd leave me behind! But he was going to hurt that girl at her birthday party last week, and when I told him not to, he hit me…just like my stepfather did! Tonight I wasn't going to help them, but Clare said if I went with them, he wouldn't hurt anyone and that it was the "last job"…that there was too much noise about us." As details of "Grayson and Clare" and the van driver came out, Rick used a nearby phone to call his brother.
"It's okay, Sara..it's okay…" Laurie soothed the girl as Chrystal let her cry on her shoulder. Ron quickly slipped out of the room as Brian Dupre came in , sitting next to Chrystal.
Outside, Ron told Rick, "I've confirmed it's at the Convention Center Ballroom…Can A.J. meet us there? I've already given a description of those two and the driver."
"A.J. should be pulling up outside the Magnolia Room now…I said we'd meet him at the fire exit facing the parking structure." He replied, watching the upset girl freely talking now to the Children's Services rep. Just as he was about to leave, her next sentence caught his and Ron's attention.
"I was in back of Daniel when Mr. Simon came up to his window, and I got scared when I recognized him. Daniel had a gun on his lap and Grayson was whispering for him to shoot Mr. Simon then drive inside…..That's when I said Mr. Simon was a private detective for the police and that we should split…..I wouldn't let him hurt your husband, Mrs. Simon….I swear!"
"Thank you, Sara, I believe you. And thank you for saving Rick…. I know you thought you didn't have any other choice but to take control of your life." Laurie replied, putting an arm around the young girl. "But selling yourself is not the way…..you're worth more then that."
"That's my girl…" Rick wiped his eyes, then met his wife's gaze through the window and blew her a kiss. At once Laurie winked back, then put her hand to her cheek, as if receiving his kiss.
"Okay, save it for later." Ron mock-grumbled, snickering as Rick merely grinned and followed him to the parking lot.
Just as they pulled up to the convention center, Rick spotted his brother, relaxing against a tree as music and laughter trickled out of a large room. Suddenly two people came out onto the balcony of the ballroom, and the older Simon recognized "Grayson " & "Clare".
"A.J…..come in…we have action……on the balcony…." Rick transmitted to his brother.
"I see them, on my way!" .A.J. told him. Just then Ron saw the pair glance their way, then quickly vanish back inside.
"All right, all units cover the exits.." Ron radioed from his cruiser as Rick jumped out, then watched as A.J. went into the reception area. Going around to the other side, he caught sight of one of the robbers grabbing a sack from behind the gift table, then rushing for the emergency door. Grabbing an empty trash can, Rick ran to the exit, then waited until the man came out, casually walking as if not to draw attention.
"No you don't!" he hollered, jamming the can over "Grayson's" head, then pushing him to the ground.
"No….let me go!" a muffled cry came out of the receptacle, as Rick held it down and called out, "Ron, I've got him!"
"No you don't…not if you want your brother to live!" a woman's voice shouted, and he looked up to see "Clare", aka Sara Ferguson, standing in the banquet room doorway. She had a gun to A.J.'s head, and Rick saw the frustration in his eyes.
"Give it up, lady…you and your husband won't be able to hide anywhere, so let him…"
Rick started, only for the young woman to snap "Can it, Simon….let go of him or .." she drew back the hammer of the revolver.