Whew, sorry for the huge delay. Speech competition season was really busy, plus I had to write the spring play (we perform in two weeks). Add in this flash drive with the majority of the chapter on it being lost for a month. Life is crazy sometimes.

I made one mistake. I have at least another chapter to go.

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Barry sat stunned as he watched Sindy walk away from him. The impact of her words had left him numb and when he found his voice to call after her; she had already disappeared from his sight. He was starting to climb out of the back of the ambulance to follow her when the paramedic returned.

"Hey, stay where you are. I've got these signed and we are getting ready to roll. Besides, the sooner you get to the hospital and get that leg checked out, the sooner you can get something to eat."

Joe Getraer rounded the corner just in time to hear the last of the paramedic's words. "Speaking of eating, Grossie didn't have any candy bars with him. He said he was sorry, but he eats when he is stressed."

"It's ok, I'm not hungry." Barry replied, the shock evident in his voice.

"I thought you were starving?" Joe inquired, curious as to the abrupt change in Barry's behavior.

"I'm fine."

Choosing not to dig deeper, Joe let it slide. "I'll meet you at the hospital and we can get your statement after we've feed you."

"Sure Sarge." Barry lowered himself to the gurney and let the paramedic secure him with the safety straps.

Shutting the ambulance's doors, Joe stood back and went through the events of the last few minutes. Barry's attitude had shifted greatly and Joe began to worry about the possibility of a head injury. He approached the driver side door and related his concerns to the paramedic driving. The other man promised to pass the information along to the doctor once they reached the hospital.

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Sindy wasn't sure what she wanted to say to Barry. The emotions for the last several days were so close to the surface that she was sure that if she said anything it would be like a dam breaking inside of her. Stumbling over her words, she told him that she couldn't talk right now and then turned away so that he would have to see her crumble.

Ever since she had found the car, Sindy hadn't known what to say or do. She wanted to throw herself into Barry's arms and hold him tight forever. She wanted to find the men responsible and pound them until they felt the pain she had been experiencing. She wanted to celebrate with her coworkers over the joy of finding Barry and the baby. She wanted to scream at her supervisors who had written off Barry's survival. Instead, she chose to walk away and try to sort bring herself back into control.

The area topside was still filled with rescue workers and news crews so she decided to make her way back down the hillside. Reaching the location of the car, she was amazed at how well-hidden it had been. She walked over to the broken front window and peered inside.

The front seat had mud and debris covering it. From the looks of it, Barry had attempted to dig his way through the side windows. The narrow confines of the ravine would have made that impossible but he had still tried. "It would be hard not to lose hope in that situation." Sindy thought.

The back seat held a diaper bag and in the rear she could see assorted can goods. The some of the contents of the diaper bag were neatly on the seat. It appeared that Barry had spent most of his time in the back seat.

Sindy pushed herself back into a standing position and was readying herself to return to the top of the ravine when something caught her eye. In the corner of the windshield's frame was a small note book. She bent to retrieve it and upon opening it she saw that it belonged to Barry. She flipped the pages and saw the note addressed to his parents. Her own name popped up at her as she turned several more pages.

"I shouldn't be reading this." She told herself but she could not take her eyes from the words written to her; words that were intended to be the last she would have ever heard from Barry.

Tears sprung to her eyes again, pushing them away she continued to read. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Sergeant Getraer approach.

"Sindy."

She jumped slightly and shut the book quickly. "Sorry Sarge, I didn't hear you."

"Not a problem. I'm heading to the hospital and since you drove, I'll need you to take me."

"Alright."

"I'm a little worried about Barry. His mood really changed from the time we found him until the ambulance left. I told them to look him over and see if he had a head injury we didn't know about."

Knowing that she had left Barry's side so abruptly she was able to guess about the case of his mood change. "I think he was probably upset with me. I told him I couldn't talk to him. I was so afraid that I was going to cry and blurt out things that I don't know if I'm ready to say to him."

"Sindy, I don't want to stick my noise in where it doesn't belong, but I'm going to anyway. Barry is a great guy and you are a wonderful woman. I don't think I could have found two people better suited for one another. I think you need to worry less about what anyone else is thinking and tell Barry how you feel."

"It's just that I don't want to make more of our dating than he wants." She looked at the small notebook. "I found this. He wrote letters because he didn't think he was going to make it."

"Did he leave you one?"

"Yes." Sindy's eye moistened. "He told me that he loved me and that he was sorry he hadn't told me before."

"How does that make you feel?"

"I should have told him before how much I loved him. I kept pushing him away because I didn't want him to get hurt."

"How would that happen?"

"Because I was afraid to let others know about us and I thought he would get tired of my excuses and leave."

"So, thinks have changed. What are you going to do about it?" Joe looked at her questioningly.

Sindy wiped her eyes and forced a smile. "For starters we are going to get to the hospital so that I can see my boyfriend."

Smiling in return, Joe motioned for her to lead the way. The two officers began to pick their way up the hill to the waiting squad.

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The doctor in the emergency room wasted no time in getting Barry scheduled in for x-rays. He had already performed a quick once over and had proclaimed that while slightly dehydrated, Barry seemed no worse the wear for his experience. An I.V. had been inserted and they had even let him have some water.

A nurse had some in with a set of hospital scrubs to replace this dirty uniform. She had also brought some warm soapy water for him to wash his face and arms. She promised as soon as the doctor was done he could take a shower.

Laying back on the gurney, Barry closed his eyes. Sleep wasn't going to happen with the never ending din of the emergency room. He thought about the hurt look he had seen in Sindy's eyes. Had he misread her so badly that he had thought there was more to the relationship than what she wanted?

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Mike was setting at a local bar drinking and working on the buxom red-head that had sat down next to him. The last three drinks had gone down quickly and he was starting to feel pleasantly buzzed. The television above the bar was showing the Dodgers' game, but Valenzulela was throwing like crap and the Reds were winning.

It was during a commercial that the news bulletin broke in. Mike probably wouldn't have noticed it, but the red-head pointed it out. "Oh, they found that cop and the baby."

He looked up quickly and saw footage of the parents holding their child. The next shot was enough to chill his blood. The cop was alive.

Reaching into his pocket, Mike felt the .38 snub nose revolver that he had purchased that afternoon. It was apparent he was going to need to tie up a loose end.