Lives in danger or not, Jill had been cooped up so long at Sabrina's apartment, it was an immense relief to just be outside again.
Jill felt herself relax as she navigated her Cobra out of the parking garage and into the mid-day L.A. traffic. She wasn't quite sure why disobeying Charlie and potentially walking into a dangerous situation felt so nice, but somehow it did.
Maybe it was the traffic. That felt normal enough and right now she'd take whatever kind of normal she could get her hands on.
"How you holding up, Kell?" She asked as they drove.
In the passenger seat, Kelly was sitting quietly, her arms crossed over her chest. "I don't know." She answered honestly. "Nervous, I guess."
Jill had to agree. "You're telling me. You didn't see anything weird at your place, right?"
"No, I didn't," Kelly replied, after a moment. She turned and fixed Jill with a look. "That doesn't mean someone hasn't been there though."
Jill shrugged and, not sure what else to say to that, remained silent.
It was ten till one when they finally pulled up to Kelly's house. Jill put her Cobra in park and sat idling, surveying the front of her friend's home. Aside from Kelly still having her trash can out on the curb, nothing else appeared to be out of the ordinary. Things seemed darn right pleasant around here. In the light of day, Kelly's neighborhood was much less intimidating than it had been the last time she'd been here. Down the street, she could see a woman walking her dog, a few houses from that, an older man watering his lawn. If there was something sinister waiting for them, it sure didn't feel like it.
"Where do you want to start?" Jill asked, for some reason feeling the need to whisper.
Kelly was busy digging in her purse for her keys. "Let's just get inside first."
Jill shrugged and shut off the engine.
So far so good, she thought nervously to herself as they made their way cautiously out of the car and up the walk. She peered over her shoulder as Kelly busied herself opening her front door. The street was still quiet and calm as far as she could see. No sign of anyone watching them.
At least from outside, anyway. It would be a much bigger problem if someone was watching them from the inside.
That thought had just finished crossing her mind when Kelly slowly opened the door. Jill tensed, her hand resting on the smooth handle of her gun. Beside her, Kelly already had her pistol out and trained on the empty space of her living room. They let the door swing open and lazily bump up against the wall, watching and listening for anything out of the ordinary.
Kelly's living room greeted them, dark and still.
Even so, it took Kelly a good thirty seconds before she finally motioned Jill forward and slowly stepped inside. Jill followed her silently and together the two women carefully cleared the kitchen, the bathroom, and both bedrooms before Jill lowered her weapon and allowed herself to relax.
"No one's here," Jill whispered. Gratefully, she stuck her gun back in her purse and flopped down on Kelly's couch. It felt nice to sit. Maybe she was more tired than she thought.
Kelly was still on edge. "No, doesn't look like it." She muttered. She flipped on the lights and stood in the middle of the living room, staring pensively toward the kitchen. Jill watched her for a moment, wondering if she should say anything to try and loosen her up.
She decided against it. Kelly's anxiety was getting to her and suddenly it was impossible to sit any longer.
Jill popped to her feet. "I'll go check the doors and windows." She called as she passed Kelly.
Kelly barely acknowledged her. "Yeah."
Jill watched her disappear into the hallway that led to her bedroom and then focused her attention on the front door. She opened it slightly and knelt down to examine the lock. She wasn't quite sure what exactly it was that she was looking for- Kelly was the lock expert after all, not her- but as far as she knew, the locking mechanism on the door looked perfectly normal. No gouges, no scratches, nothing bent or broken.
She rose to her feet and checked the windows in the living room. It seemed that Kelly needed to do some dusting, but other than that, they looked completely undisturbed. The same went for the back door and the kitchen window. She had just climbed up on the kitchen counter to check out the little window above the sink when she heard Kelly's voice from the other room.
"Jill."
Her voice sounded calm, but Jill found her heart dropping into her stomach all the same. She scrambled down from the counter and hurried into Kelly's bedroom.
"What?" She cried breathlessly. Kelly was standing beside her bed, her eyes fixed downward, her hands resting on her hips.
She looked up as Jill came in. "The window." She said quietly. "That's how he got in."
Jill felt her heart start to beat faster as she hurried over to Kelly's big bedroom window. On first glance, it appeared perfectly normal. But she studied it a beat longer and then there it was, plain as day. Two patches on the windowsill that were completely free of the thin layer of dust that Kelly had allowed to accumulate. Almost as if someone had placed a hand or an elbow on it to hoist themselves inside. The metal edges that surrounded the window pane were bent in slightly on each side and little flecks of dirt and rust had gathered in the corners of the sill, shaken loose when it was forced open.
"Oh, shit." Jill breathed. She turned to Kelly and noticed that she was still standing by her bed, staring intently at something. "What? What else is wrong?" She followed Kelly's gaze to the edge of her bed where an old, beat up Raggedy Ann doll lay flopped over on top of a folded blanket.
She recognized Kelly's little friend immediately.
Lillibet, Kelly had named her when she was a little girl. Jill met Lillibet, by accident, for the first time while they were back at the academy. She'd tumbled out of Kelly's bag after a weekend trip and though Kelly had been a bit embarrassed at first, after a while she'd been able to laugh it off and explain. The beat up old doll had been the only thing in her possession when she'd been left at an orphanage as an infant. It had been the one constant in her life and, though she'd probably never get her to admit it, Lillibet was so important to Kelly that she still slept with her when she was feeling unsure of herself or scared. Every other night, however, Lillibet stayed in her place of honor, gently perched on top of a pile of blankets in the trunk at the foot of Kelly's bed.
All of a sudden, Jill knew what was wrong.
"Let me guess, you didn't leave Lillibet out, did you?"
Kelly finally met her gaze. "No. I didn't sleep last night. I didn't even come in my room." She said quietly. "I haven't been in my room since the night we were all here. When I got that letter."
Jill felt her stomach give another turn. "I guess that about settles it why Greg sent us to San Francisco."
Kelly picked up Lillibet and gingerly tucked her under her arm. She had to be upset, but the expression on her face was unreadable. "I guess it does."
"What would he want with your doll though?" Jill wondered aloud. "That's kind of a weird thing to leave out, don't you think?"
She looked up at Kelly, that same odd expression was still on her face. "I don't know what to think," Kelly answered her. "But, I don't like this. Not one bit."
"Well, that makes two of us," Jill replied. "Three, if I can speak for Lillibet. Was anything else out of place? Or missing?"
Kelly shook her head. "Doesn't look like it. Just Lillibet." She clutched her doll closer and looked around her room. "Why all the sneaking around, I wonder? Why not just come out and… make his move? Whatever that might be."
Jill didn't know how to answer that. Instead, she stepped closer and laid a supportive hand on her friend's shoulder. "Let's maybe not ask for that. I think we've had enough surprises for one day." She said uneasily. "Hey, it's almost 1:30. Let's call the office before Bos flips out and sends the S.W.A.T. team over here."
It took a few more moments, but finally, Kelly gave a slight nod and the two women made their way back to the living room. Because Kelly was still rattled, Jill volunteered herself as the caller. She grabbed up the phone, dialed the office and listened to the line ring.
She didn't know just how anxious she was until she heard Bosley answer the phone. "Townsend Agency."
Jill let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Bos, it's me."
She heard Bosley let out a relieved sigh of his own. "Jill. How's it going over there?"
Jill glanced at Kelly, still standing quietly with Lillibet clutched against her side. "Not too good." She started slowly. "Things are getting pretty creepy around here. Someone's been in Kelly's house. They got in through her bedroom window."
"Oh, that's not good." Bosley groaned in response. Jill immediately heard Sabrina's voice in the background, impatiently asking Bosley for more information. Thankfully, he ignored her and kept talking. "Well, we've got something too." He said and the tone in his voice mad Jill's skin crawl.
"Let me guess. More uninvited guests in there too?" She asked.
"Ah, no… not exactly." Bosley started. "We'll show you when you get back to Sabrina's apartment. Kelly's gonna want to see this." He paused for a moment. "Or maybe she won't. I'll let her be the judge."
Jill felt sick all over again. She glanced up at Kelly, still standing quietly with her doll. "I'll… I'll let her know."
"Head straight back to Sabrina's," Bosley told her seriously. "This Greg Samson doesn't have his peanuts and cracker jacks in the same box if you know what I mean."
Jill forced a smile. "Oh, Bos, you're making me hungry."
"I mean it, Jill." He warned. "I think we can safely say that it's Kelly that he's after. Don't let her out of your sight."
"I won't," Jill promised. "We're heading to Bri's right now. Give us a call there when you leave."
"Will do. Be careful."
Jill could hear Sabrina's voice once more as the line went dead. She breathed a soft curse and then gently hung up the phone.
"What's going on?" Kelly asked her.
Jill turned to her and raised a brow. "Well, the good news is that… we were right. Greg Samson is our guy and it's you he wants. The bad news is…" She smiled sympathetically. "The bad news is that's the only good news I have."
Kelly hung her head. "Lucky me." She muttered. "Did they find out why at least?"
"I didn't ask," Jill answered her, and then wondered just why in the hell she hadn't pressed Bosley to find out. The look on Kelly's face told her she was probably thinking the same thing. Oh, well. "Let's get out of here. They'll meet us at Bri's and fill us in there."
Kelly was quiet for a moment. Her green eyes swept around her living room once and then twice before she sighed and started making her way toward the door. She was taking Lillibet with her, Jill noticed and thought for a moment about asking what was on her mind.
She decided against it. She'd wait until they had the whole story and take it from there.
Both anxious to find out what Bosley and Sabrina had discovered and dreading it at the same time, Jill followed Kelly out of her house and back to her car.
It was nearly three in the afternoon when Jill parked her Cobra back in the garage of Sabrina's apartment building. Though it had been disturbing to discover that Kelly was the target of some whack job, there had been no danger while visiting her home and no reason to suspect they were being followed. That, combined with driving around the city in the light of day, had emboldened her to the point where she had actually suggested to Kelly that they pick up something to eat on the way back.
Kelly had been understandably preoccupied, but she must have felt the same way – or maybe she couldn't stomach the idea of another helping of peanut butter Eggos - because she agreed. The girls picked up some hot sandwiches and sodas and made their way back, capping off a blessedly uneventful trip.
"I wish I had asked Bos what they found," Jill sighed as they climbed out of the car, probably for the fourth or fifth time, she knew. Not knowing was getting on her nerves. If it bothered Kelly though, she wasn't showing it. She had barely said a word since they'd left, preferring to stare out of her window with her doll in her lap.
"We'll find out soon enough," Came Kelly's distracted answer. She was balancing four drinks plus Lillibet in her arms. She'd felt safe enough driving around in her car, but now that they were here, Jill wanted nothing more than to get back up to the safety of Sabrina's apartment. She tried to help Kelly with the drinks, but her distracted friend didn't notice and climbed out of the car with her arms full, leaving Jill with no choice but to trot after her.
The girls were quiet during both elevator rides up to Sabrina's floor. As confident as she had felt driving around the city, Jill breathed a sigh of relief when she finally locked Sabrina's door behind them.
After a quick circuit around the small apartment to make certain they were alone, the two detectives finally relaxed at the kitchen table.
Or at least she was relaxing, Jill noted. Kelly still seemed very much on edge.
Not that she could blame her.
"How you holding up?" She asked Kelly as she unwrapped her sandwich.
Kelly only shrugged. "Not so hot." She admitted. "I'm sick of all this hiding around. To tell you the truth, I wish this guy would show his face already."
"Hmm. Be careful what you wish for."
Kelly stared at her for a moment and then lowered her eyes. "It would be easier than waiting around for him."
"I guess it would," Jill replied carefully. "Gosh, I wonder what it was that Bos found at the office." She pursed her lips. "I wish I had ask-"
The look on Kelly's face stopped her. Maybe it had been bugging her after all. Jill clipped off her thought and took a bite of her sandwich instead.
She had just decided on what to say to break Kelly's preoccupied silence when Kelly surprised her by breaking it first.
"I want to find him," Kelly said determinedly. "What's he so afraid of anyway?" She was anxiously drumming her fingers on the table. Her unwrapped sandwich still sat in the middle of the table, no interest at all to the agitated brunette. She paused for a moment and then fixed her eyes on Jill. "I'm going home tonight." She said decisively. "After Charlie checks up on us. I'll wait there and if he wants me, he can come over there and get me."
Jill stared at her blankly, her mouth full of sandwich.
"If he's still in town, he'll show up eventually." Kelly was still going, her voice getting darker and angrier by the second. Having someone in her home, touching her things, violating her sanctuary, had gotten to her more than Jill thought. She may have held it together in the car, but apparently, she'd reached her limit. "He doesn't have to use the window this time either. He can walk through the front door and tell me to my face what the hell he wants from me."
Jill finally forced down her mouthful. She'd have to pick her words carefully. "Okay, Kelly, I know you're upset-"
"Upset?!" Kelly blurted out angrily.
Maybe she should have picked her words even more carefully...
"No, what I meant was-"
"You're damn right I'm upset!" Kelly continued, barreling over Jill's attempts to calm her. "This guy is stalking me, looking up my past, killing people who hurt me?! Screwing around with us so he can climb through my bedroom window and go through my things! What the hell right does he have, Jill?! I don't know who he is! What right does he have getting revenge for me…if…if that's what he's even doing-"
"Kelly, we don't know what he's doing." Jill tried again.
"It doesn't matter," Kelly spat. "I'm sick of it. I'd rather settle this face to face."
Jill managed to take hold of her friend's arm. She was shaking, she was so angry. "Kelly, relax." She said as calmly as she could. "I want this to stop too. But, you can't go running off by yourself."
"I can draw him out," Kelly said quickly. "We're not getting anywhere waiting aro-"
That was it.
Jill popped to her feet and got in her face. "He has killed at least ten people, Kelly!" She yelled, sudden enough that Kelly took a startled step back. "Ten people! I'm not going to let you go running off by yourself to become number eleven because you're too impatient to wait and do this right!"
Kelly had more to say, but Jill waved her off. "No! You need to calm down and think rationally!" She said. Surprisingly, she had Kelly's attention now. "Yes, you might be on to something about drawing this guy out. And…and maybe we can work out a plan with Charlie. But, it's something we're going to do with you. Together. You can't ju-"
Her impassioned speech was cut short by the jangling of the telephone. They had expected the call, but nonetheless Jill jumped. It rang again and all both women could do was stare at it.
Finally, Jill snapped out of her trance. "Let's just wait till they get here and show us what they have." She said wearily as she crossed the room to grab the phone. "Then we'll make a plan together. I don't want to sit around any more than you do, ya know."
If Kelly had a response, Jill didn't wait to hear it. She snatched up the receiver and flopped down into the couch. "Bos?" She greeted.
"The one and only." Bosley greeted her warmly. "All safe and sound?"
Jill smirked. "Sound. Not so sure about safe." She cocked her head. "Actually, I'm not a hundred percent on 'sound' either."
Bosley chuckled. "Anything from Charlie?"
"Not since we've been here. Are you on your way?"
"We're just about to leave," Bosley answered. "We're bringing some stuff to go through. How's Kelly holding up?"
How to answer that…
She glanced towards Kelly and saw her friend, now sitting moodily at the table, her chin in her hands and her sandwich still untouched. Jill forced some lightheartedness into her voice. "Couldn't be better. Hurry up and get here, please." She sang.
Bosley scoffed. "That good, huh? Alright, we'll be there in half an hour."
"Oh, and we have lunch here," Jill said brightly. "So bring your appetite."
There was a beat of quiet and in that moment Jill realized she had misspoken.
"You took Kelly and got lunch?" Came Bosley's disapproving voice.
Jill gave herself a mental slap. "Oh, well we were just-"
"You were supposed to go straight to Kelly's house and straight back to Sabrina's."
Goddammit.
Jill groaned. "Look, it was on the way to Bri's and it took five minutes. It's fine, Bos, just get over here."
She heard Bosley grump something under his breath, but apparently, he was willing to overlook it. "Fine. See you in half an hour."
The line went dead and, suddenly irritated, Jill made her way back to the kitchen. "They're on their way back." She said quietly as she took her seat. Kelly only nodded and since she didn't particularly look like she wanted to continue the conversation they'd been having, Jill decided to drop it as well. She finished her sandwich and the next half hour passed by in relative silence.
With her lunch finished and her only companion unwilling to talk, Jill decided that the only way to not lose her mind was to turn on the television. She had just flipped to something that might be interesting when there was an unmistakable rustling at the door.
Not that she would have admitted it for anything, but there was a moment of fear that flashed through her until the lock turned and Sabrina and Bosley's familiar voices floated to her from the door.
Greg Samson had her all up in arms, she realized in annoyance. She let out the breath she was holding, fixed her calmest, most put-together look on her face, and bounded up to meet them.
"Any trouble?" Jill greeted her friends.
Sabrina let out a sarcastic laugh as she bolted the door behind her. "Not for us." She peered over Jill's shoulder to catch a glimpse of Kelly, still seated at the kitchen table. "For her, maybe."
"For her, definitely." Bosley grumped. He made his way past Jill and headed straight for the kitchen. "Nothing from Charlie?"
Kelly answered before Jill could. "No, nothing." She said quickly. "Alright, so tell me how doomed I am. What's in that folder?"
Bosley sat down at the table and the sight of the wrapped sandwiches made him momentarily forget all about the folder. "Is this mine?" He asked excitedly.
"Yes." Kelly sighed. She swept the sandwich toward him, then reached forward to snag the folder away.
"We started going through some files of cases we worked on in the last few months." Sabrina started as she and Jill took their seats at the table. Kelly was already rifling through the folder's contents. "We couldn't find his name anywhere, but wouldn't you know it we found his picture."
Kelly stopped pawing through the folder and looked up, clearly annoyed "Where?"
Sabrina reached across the table and patiently tugged the folder from her hands. "Give me a second and I'll show you." She flipped through a few pages and then slid out an 8x10 photograph.
Jill leaned forward so she could study it with Kelly.
What the hell was this?
Jill immediately pulled a face. She'd been expecting to be looking at a picture of Greg, but while she did recognize the photo immediately, it wasn't because he was in it. Instead, her own face grinned back up at her in black and white, Sabrina and Kelly both smiling at either side of her. Bosley had snapped the picture at the little get together Ross McNeil, the liquor store owner, had thrown his employees to celebrate the successful end of their last case.
All that mystery and it was this stupid photo from a couple weeks ago?
"What are we looking at?" Jill asked in frustration. "This is us at that party."
Sabrina smiled and scooted forward. "That's right. This is us at that party-" She agreed. She tapped her index finger on the photo and slid it from Jill's smiling face to someone standing in the background.
"-and this is Greg Samson at that same party."
Simultaneously, Jill and Kelly both leaned even closer.
Jill gasped.
There he was, the sneaky bastard!
He had his head turned and half of his body was obscured, but Jill knew him instantly. It was without a doubt Greg Samson, standing in the background of this picture, weeks before he was supposed to have been in Los Angeles.
Kelly brushed Sabrina's hand off of the photo so she could pick it up to study closer. She did so several seconds longer, brows furrowed in concentration, before she finally slapped it back onto the table. "So he's been in L.A. for at least three weeks. Probably longer."
"Ugh," Jill groaned. Seeing Greg there, an unwelcome guest to what she thought was a carefree moment with her friends, left her feeling violated. "How does that prove that he's after Kelly, though?" She asked.
Sabrina was already in the process of answering that question, she realized. "I'll show you." She had flipped open the folder again and was busily making a small stack of documents to her right.
"What is that?" Kelly asked her impatiently.
"After we found that picture, we paid a visit to Mr. Ross McNeil." Bosley started explaining through a mouthful of sandwich. Kelly turned to him intently as he spoke, her mouth set in a grim line.
"McNeil." Kelly repeated. "The liquor store guy. And he knows Greg Samson?"
Sabrina had located whatever it was she was looking for. She slapped down a sheet of notebook paper and slid it directly in front of Kelly and, not wanting to be left out, Jill scooted back over so she could have a look too.
"No, not exactly," Sabrina started. "But, when we showed him Greg's picture, he said he definitely remembered the guy. Said he'd seen him around even before we were working his case, that'd he'd come in every so often and buy a few bottles of wine or liquor. Remembered him as a real chatty kind of guy, big spender." She patted the stack of papers to her right. "He gave us copies of his receipts and the earliest one dates all the way back to June." She fixed Jill with a look. "So, he's been here way longer than three weeks."
Jill made a face. "Ugh. So, what does he want?"
Sabrina gave a sarcastic laugh. "Kelly, apparently. The day of the party, he came up after we'd left and started asking McNeil quite a bit of questions about 'the pretty brunette' who was here with the other two girls. The one with-"
Kelly made a face. "You're a brunette too. How do you know he was talking ab-"
"The one with the green eyes." Sabrina finished. She batted her eyelashes, her point made. "Sound like anyone we know?"
Kelly deflated a bit before continuing to read, those green eyes wandering back and forth through the lines of text Sabrina had written. Jill read along with her, question after question about increasingly intrusive information.
What's her name?
How old is she?
Where does she work?
Who are those other girls with her?
Is that old guy her husband/ boyfriend?
Do you know if she's involved with anyone?
Did she seem like a good person?
What part of town does she live in?
As Kelly read, Sabrina gestured toward the notebook paper. "Those were all the questions he remembered good old Greg asking about you. I put a check-mark next to the ones he was able to answer."
Kelly finished reading and looked up, agitated and confused. "Just about me? Not any about the rest of us?"
"Just about you," Bosley answered her, his eyes narrowing. "Mr. McNeil said he seemed very taken with you." He glanced at the list of questions and huffed. "Old guy. Puh."
Jill could mend his hurt pride later. "Well, why the hell didn't McNeil say anything?" She spoke up. "This guy comes creeping around asking a ton of personal information about Kelly and he doesn't think to give us a call? He took the time to mail us individual thank you cards, why wouldn't he mention this? You think he'd of let us know."
Bosley grumped. "Apparently not. Said he just thought he was some guy who had a thing for her. Maybe wanted to ask her out."
"Oh, I'd say he wants a lot more than that." Jill sighed. Feeling extremely uneasy, she rose from her seat to pace the kitchen."So, did he just happen to see Kelly at that party? Did we meet him while we were on that case and we just don't remember?"
Sabrina shrugged. "That's what we don't know."
"So, he's been in L.A. for months," Kelly said quietly. "He's been following us at least since that party. It could even be longer, we have no idea. The only person who could answer that is Greg Samson."
Sabrina gave her a look. "Shame we can't just ask him."
"Who says we can't? We need to talk to Greg Samson." Kelly went on. Too agitated to sit now, she pushed herself to her feet. Jill was re-reading the questions on the list Sabrina had jotted down when Kelly suddenly snatched it away and angrily balled it up in her fists. "I need to talk to Greg Samson."
Jill jumped back in surprise. "No, no, no. You need to stay very far away from Greg Samson and let us-"
"No!" Kelly cried suddenly. She flung the balled up piece of paper back to the table. It skidded along its surface and sailed to the floor by a very startled Bosley's feet. "I'm done being someone's fucking target!"
Jill caught Sabrina's worried look.
"Kelly, I know –" Sabrina started calmly, rising from her seat to pacify her.
"No, you don't know!" Kelly shot back. "I'm…I'm sick of this! He wants me so bad, he knows where he can find me." She stalked away from the table and into the living room.
Going for her purse, Jill realized. She jumped to her feet and ran to block the door. She wasn't sure how exactly she'd keep Kelly inside, but maybe Sabrina or Bosley would talk some sense into her before it came to that.
Or maybe only Sabrina would be of any help. Bosley appeared to be rooted to his spot. "Uh, Kelly? What… what are you doing?" He asked her nervously.
"Jill can tell you."
Two pairs of accusing eyes found Jill and the surprised blonde felt her face go white.
"Whoa… no, I didn't plan anything with-" Jill sputtered. "Kelly, you're not putting this on me!"
Kelly had found her purse and was approaching the door. "Move, Jill. I have to go."
Jill didn't budge. Instead, she found Sabrina and Bosley's very confused gaze. "Okay, she wants to go to her house alone to draw Greg Samson out." Kelly made at attempt at the door and Jill snatched the doorknob as hard as she could, raising her voice as she did. "But, since that is a stupid idea-" She stared Kelly dead in the eye. "We will go and wait with her, that way if Greg Samson does come, she won't end up murdered and stuffed in the trunk of her own car!"
"If you go with me, he won't come." Kelly snapped. "Get out of the way."
Jill only grabbed the doorknob harder. "He doesn't have to know we're there!" She shot back angrily. "But, you aren't going by yourself!"
Just when she thought things were going to get physical, Sabrina suddenly had hold of Kelly from behind. Kelly tried to jerk away, but then Bosley was there too, looking completely out of his element, but grabbing a firm hold of Kelly's arms just the same.
"What are you doing?!" Kelly cried angrily. She tried to twist free, but Sabrina and Bosley held her tight.
This is going so well, Jill thought darkly. She joined the struggle and Kelly was quickly overpowered. The three of them wrestled her back towards the couch and forced her down and as angry as Kelly was, she knew a pointless fight when she saw it.
"Okay, okay!" She snapped, shrugging Sabrina off of her. Kelly managed to jerk her wrist out of her grip. "Let go of me!"
Still looking completely lost, Bosley was the first to back off. Jill was about to yell at him for doing so, but to her surprise, Kelly had stopped fighting them.
"Not until you calm down!" Sabrina yelled at her.
Kelly glared at her. "I'm calm!" She yelled right back, most uncalmly. She noticed Jill, her forearm still pressed against her shoulder and jerked away. "Let go, Jill!"
This time, Jill let her go. She took a step away from her and the four of them fell into a tense silence, panting as they caught their breath.
"Look-" Kelly started, her voice still angry but much calmer now. "-I'm not going to be a target anymore. And I'm not going to put the rest of you in danger. I'm going to go home and if Greg Samson is watching me, he'll follow." She started to get up and Jill felt herself tense up for another battle.
"No!" Sabrina warned and Kelly froze. "Sit down."
To Jill's surprise, instead of another fight erupting, Kelly only rolled her eyes and sat back down, both hands up in mock surrender.
"There. I'm sitting." Kelly sighed. "See?"
Sabrina stayed on guard. "Yeah, I see. You stay right there."
"I'm not moving!" Kelly snapped at her. "Just listen to me. If I can get Greg Samson to come to me, then that saves us the trouble of tearing the city apart trying to find him."
"That saves him a whole lot of trouble too, Kelly," Sabrina said sternly. "We don't want him to find you. That's the whole idea."
She wasn't getting anywhere with Sabrina so she looked to Jill. "You know I'm right. Do you want to stay holed up in Sabrina's apartment until we find him? Do you, Bosley? What if it takes weeks? Are we just going into hiding until then?"
Jill breathed a soft curse under her breath and stared beseechingly upward. "Kelly, I already went over this with you." She groaned.
"You said it was a good idea."
Jill snapped her eyes back toward Kelly. "No, I didn't. I said drawing him out might be a good idea. You using yourself as bait is the opposite of a good idea."
"Kelly, listen, she's right." Sabrina started, finally calm. "You have a good idea, but there's a better way to do it. We can head out before you, stake your place out, find somewhere to hide where Greg Samson won't know we're there. And if he comes, we'll be there. The cops will be there and you won't get hurt."
Kelly stared at her. "Cops?" She echoed. "We can't call the cops. What has he really done that we can prove, huh? He asked if I was single? They can't lock him up for that."
"He's murdered ten people, Kelly," Bosley spoke up finally. He was still staring at Kelly as if he didn't know her. "Whatever he's got planned for you, it isn't good."
"And we just tell the cops that all these dead people are connected to me and that's why Greg Samson killed them?" Kelly asked him angrily. "You think they'll buy that? I'm the one they're gonna lock up if-"
Jill wanted to scream. "Then what do you want to do?!"
"I told you what I want to do!" Kelly cried. "I want to wait for him and draw him out!"
Completely out of patience, Jill turned to Sabrina. She very much looked like she wanted to smack some sense into Kelly, but she would be able to reason with her. She always could.
"Fine," Sabrina said quietly after a moment. "But, we do it the right way."
Kelly balked. "And what way is that?"
"We go with you. We hide out. If he shows, we'll be there to protect you."
"Tonight." Kelly looked determined.
Tonight?
Jill looked doubtfully at first Bosley and then Sabrina. There was no way Sabrina would go along with this lunatic idea.
Finally, Sabrina heaved a big sigh.
"Yeah. Tonight."