Reaching the edge of the road, Steve turned as he heard the van approaching before he put his thumb out and continued to walk backwards as the battered, old blue Kombi came over the crest of the hill. Dropping his hand as the van rolled to a gentle stop just in front of him, he jogged the few steps to the side of the van as the passenger window wound down and the young man sitting in the front passenger seat asked, "Where are you headed?"

Looking up to get a better look at the passenger, Steve shrugged and smiled, "Wherever the wind blows me, man."

"Hop in," the passenger invited as the rear door opened, revealing several young people sitting in the rear of the van.

"Thanks," Steve grinned as the sweet, pungent odor of marijuana smoke wafted out of the van. Shrugging his rucksack off his shoulder, he tossed it inside before clambering in himself as two of the passengers smiled up at him and moved apart to make room for him to sit as the door slammed closed behind him. He only had enough time to cross to the over side of the van and attempt to sit down before the van started with a loud, smoky backfire and a hard jolt, causing him to fall against the young man next to him. "Sorry," he apologized as he quickly sat up and leaned back against the van's wall.

"Hey, it's cool man," the other man grinned as he shuffled side wards a little to give Steve a little more room to get comfortable as he introduced himself, "I'm Noah and this is Sunshine." The young girl sitting beside him raised her hand in a friendly wave as he continued the introductions over the loud roar of the van's engine, nodding in the direction of each of the other five people sitting in the rear of the van, "Tommy, Angel, Savannah, Bulldog and the guy sitting over there, not sharing, is River."

Taking a large drag on the joint he held to his lips, River raised his hand in a welcome wave before he lowered the joint and released his breath in a large plume of white smoke. "Up yours, Noah," he grinned as he tapped the back of the front passenger seat and passed the joint to the front seat passenger as the young man in the front passenger seat swivelled the seat around to face them.

Accepting the joint, he took a large drag, momentarily closing his eyes and holding his breath, enjoying the initial effects of the drug as it entered his lungs before he re-opened eyes and released his breath, allowing the smoke to escape as he spoke, "I'm Lucas," Tapping the driver's shoulder and offering him the joint, shaking his head when the driver shook his head 'No' and looked up into the rear vision mirror. Lucas shrugged, cocking his head in the driver's direction before handing the joint across to Sunshine as he spoke, "And tall, dark and sullen here is Marcus."

Sunshine giggled as she accepted the joint, taking it delicately between her thumb and forefinger, putting it up to her lips and taking a puff before handing what was left to Steve.

"I'm Steve," Steve smiled, aware that Lucas was watching him as he juggled the small sliver of the joint between his fingers in an attempt to stop it from burning his fingers as he tried to keep his balance as the van bounced over the rough road.

"So, where are you headed, Steve?"

Steve shrugged, aware that both Noah and Lucas were watching him as he took a small drag on the remnants of the joint that he had been handed. Slowly releasing the mouthful of smoke, he relaxed back against the van wall, passing what was left of the joint back to Noah before he closed his eyes and answered, "Wherever, man, just as long as I'm free."

Accepting the fingernail length sliver of tobacco paper that contained just the last couple of shreds of marijuana leaves, Noah grinned as he looked at Steve before he looked across at Lucas, who nodded his approval, "Hey Dude, if you wanna opt out of the man's rules and chill out for a while without the establishment breathin' down ya neck, you're more than welcome to hang with us."

Opening one eye, Steve looked at Noah, "You mean like in sort of commune?"

Noah nodded, his grin never fading, "Yeah."

"Cool!" Steve grinned, opening both his eyes and sitting up a little straighter as Sunshine slipped her hand into his, giving it a small, excited squeeze.

xxxxxxx

Staying as far back as he dared without losing sight of the van traveling in front of him, Lee cursed as the pick-up bounced over another large bump in the uneven dirt road and his head slammed against the roof of the pick-up. Easing his foot slightly off the accelerator, he tried to steer, unsuccessfully, around the next large pothole, cursing again as his head hit the side window and the van containing the young Vice officer and the group of hippies whom they were investigating disappeared from his sight around a distant curve.

Pressing a little harder on the accelerator, he found himself fighting the steering wheel as the pick-up bounced and slid along the road. He momentarily lost traction as he hit a muddy patch on the road before he regained it again as he sped around the corner and accelerated past the driveway that led up to the old Branston mansion where the old, battered Kombi van was stopped in front of the gate.

Watching in his rear vision mirror as one of the hippies climbed out of the van and opened the gate before the van drove through and the gate was securely closed again, he reached for his mic. Depressing the mic button, he called. "Inspector 8-2 to Inspector 8-1."

Mike responded almost immediately leaving Lee with no doubts that Mike had been waiting anxiously for his radio call as he heard Mike's reply of, 'Inspector 8-1.'

"Looks like he's in, Mike, they have just arrived back to the commune."

He waited for a moment for Mike's reply of, 'Okay Lee, it's up to Keller now, let's meet back up at the hotel.'

Glancing back in the rear vision mirror as the driveway to the ranch disappeared behind a cluster of trees, Lee depressed the mic's button again and answered slowly, "Okay Mike, will do."

xxxxxxxx

Pulling up in front of the grand old mansion, Markus turned off the ignition key, killing the engine before he turned and watched as River stood up and opened the rear door, and the van's rear occupants all began to scramble out. His eyes linger for a minute on the young man whom they had just picked up as Steve followed the others out and now stood uncertainly next to the van, looking around, before he climbed out of the van, himself, and walked around the van to stand join to Lucas.

"How about we start getting some of these supplies inside," Lucas smiled as the van's passengers began to remove the supplies they had bought in town from the back of the van. "And Sunshine, why don't you take Steve inside, help him get settled in, and then show him around."

"Sweet," Sunshine grinned as she grabbed Steve's hand and began to drag him towards the house as she announced excitedly, "Come on, Steve, you heard the Man, let's get you settled."

Shaking his head in amusement as he watched Sunshine pull Steve towards the house, Lucas heard a soft, guttural growl from the man who was now standing beside him. Turning back to look the angry man standing beside him, Lucas placed his hand on Marcus's shoulder as he gently rebuked the upset man, "Hey Dude, I think you need to take a chill pill. I know you think that Sunshine is one hot mama but here's the skinny, brother, the last time I checked, she ain't your ol' lady. You keep actin' like some la la every time she talks to or even looks at another dude, you're goin' scare her away and she goin' run, just like Linda." He turned to watch Sunshine as she and Steve entered the house before he returned his attention back to the large man standing next to him who had been watching their every move, he slapped Marcus on the shoulder, "So man, if ya want my advice, just forget Sunshine and who she is trying to hook up with, we have more important things to worry about right now." He waited until he had Marcus's attention again before he asked, "Did you notice the red pick-up truck?"

"Yeah, the one that sat way back and tailed us all the way back from town. I figured it was just the fuzz, probably looking for a reason to pull another raid." Marcus nodded as they started walking towards the house, before he looked sideways at his friend and asked, "What about it?"

"I don't know, but I've got some bad vibes about it," Lucas answered slowly as he glanced back over his shoulder towards the empty road just beyond the gate.

"What sort of bad vibes, Dude?" Marcus frowned, as he stopped walking and turned to face Lucas.

Lucas quickly looked around to ensure no one else could eavesdrop into their conversation before he answered softly, "I told you, man, I don't know, but I got the lowdown that there are a couple of 'Frisco cops in town, asking questions about the commune."

"'Frisco cops? Why would they be interested in us?" Marcus frowned nervously, quickly looking around.

"Dude, it's the Man. And we both know that the Man loves to ask questions," Lucas sighed as they began to walk slowly towards the house again, "But this time they're asking questions about commune and about Linda, Angela, and some of the other girls who have left."

"Linda?" Markus suddenly stopped walking and quickly turned his head to look at Lucas, snapping. "What about Linda?"

"Hey chill, man, just chill!" Lucas hissed softly as he roughly grabbed Markus's arm and led him up the front stairs, "All I know is they are asking questions in town if anyone knows the girls or about the time they spent in the commune or when was the last time anyone saw them around. We both know Linda's a run-away, I'm betting her oldies freaked out, maybe all the girls' oldies freaked out, when they found out the girls were living on a commune and decided to send in the National Guard. There's no need to freak out, not yet. The fuzz knows jack squat about our little side business, and I intend to keep it like that, so until the heats off, all deals are off until I say otherwise."

Markus gave a single tight nod as the screen door swung open and Sunshine emerged, still leading Steve by the hand as she smiled brightly at the two men, "I'm just going to show Steve around a little before lunch. Oh, and Nancy said to tell you, lunch will be ready in about half an hour. She wants you to know she's cooking your favorite," Sunshine's nose wrinkled up a little as she continued with the message she had been asked to pass on, "her famous chicken stew and dumplings."

Smiling as he stepped aside to allow Steve and Sunshine to pass, Lucas nodded, "Awesome."

"It is, if you like eating dry chicken leather and rocks," Sunshine giggled as she wrapped Steve's arm around her shoulders and started to descend the stairs, whispering something to the young man she was showing around that Lucas could not catch before she peeked back over her shoulder to see if Markus was watching her.

Glancing at the man standing beside him, Lucas could see the angry flash of jealousy on Markus's face as he watched Sunshine snuggle closer to Steve as she led him towards the stables. Lightly grabbing the other man's arm, Lucas guided him towards the front door as he said softly, "Ignore her, dude, we both know she is a tease."

Markus sighed and nodded as he followed Lucas inside, "What do you want to do about him?"

"Who? Steve?" Lucas frowned as the screen door slammed shut behind them.

"Yeah," Markus nodded. "Don't you think it's a bit funky that he turns up when the fuzz are about asking questions?"

"No, not really, lots of kids like him show up here looking for Nirvana, he's just another. Besides, man, think about it, he was hitch hiking, there's no way he could have planned on us picking him up and bringing him here." Seeing his mistrust of Steve clearly written across Markus's face, and suspecting the mistrust had to do more with Sunshine's flirting with the younger man than the possibility that Steve was not who he claimed to be, Lucas reluctantly agreed as they walked across the large foyer towards the ornate carved staircase that led up to the second floor, "But if it makes you feel any better, then get one of the guys to keep a close eye on him. Now come on, Adrian is going to want to know what's going on."

xxxxxx

After lightly knocking on the motel door, Hawkins tucked the file he was holding under his arm before he quickly adjusted his utility belt around his ample waist and ran his fingers across his head in a vain but futile attempt to cover the growing bald patch on the top with a few thin grey wisps of his remaining hair. Grabbing the file from beneath his arm, he raised his hand to knock again but before he could the door opened, and he found himself about to knock on the chest of the San Francisco police lieutenant.

Quickly dropping his hand, he stepped past Mike and entered the room, glancing across at the several files that were scattered across one of the beds. "I thought that you might want to see this as soon as it landed on my desk," he announced as he turned back towards Mike who had closed the door behind him and handed him the file, "It's the coroner's report and all the info your boys were able to collect on your latest victim, David Cummins. The coroner reports states that cause of death was a combination of blunt force trauma and a drug overdose, from what you told me about the state of the body, there's no real surprise there."

Mike opened the file that the police chief had handed him at the door and found himself staring at the face of a young man who looked not much younger than the young inspector whom he had sent into the commune, undercover. Looking back up at Hawkins, he watched the Novato Police Chief walk across to the small bench that lined on side of the room and picked up one of the coffee mugs, sitting beside a pot of coffee, and held it up at Mike.

Mike nodded before he glanced down at the photo again and asked, "Did you know him?"

"I thought I did, he was one of our local kids, grew up right here in town. But I guess I only knew him about as well as I know any of those kids who live on the commune, I suppose," the chief shrugged as he grabbed a second mug and poured coffee into both, before adding sugar and cream, and handing one of the mugs to Mike. Picking up the second mug, he sat down on the empty bed and held the mug between his hands as he continued, "He up and left town in the middle of the night about six or seven years ago, he must have been about fifteen or sixteen when he ran. I'm not sure just why he ran but if I had to guess, I would say he was running to get away from his father, not that I can blame the kid."

"His father?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, John Cummins, he was one of our local farmers who sold up and moved into town just after his wife died of cancer, only a few short months after David was born. John loved that boy, raised him all on his own. He wanted the best for David, and I guess that's why he pushed the kid so hard to do his best and be the best at everything and if he didn't well…" The police chief's voice trailed off as he stared down into his coffee before he took a large breath and looked back at Mike and quietly admitted, "I wasn't surprised when David ran like he did, I knew straight away when his father reported him missing, the reason why he ran. Hell, everyone in the town knew why.

But after David took off, John was a broken man, took to drinking, probably to drown his guilt, not that anyone around here could blame him. He loved that kid with all his heart, and he had driven David away. Then about a year ago later, John got drunk and crashed his car into a tree. Officially, our investigation found what happened was just a tragic accident, but unofficially, I knew - "

"It was suicide." Mike breathed.

"Yeah, but I never realized just how strained things must have gotten between the two of them until David didn't even come home for his father's funeral. He first showed back up about six months ago, at least, that's when I first noticed him coming into town with the other members of the commune. Except, when he came back, he was using the hippy name, Phoenix, you know like that mythical bird that rose from the ashes."

Sitting down on the edge of the other bed, Mike nodded as he took a small sip of coffee.

"I remember thinking that he probably thought that by joining the commune, he had been reborn or something, but who knows with these kids today, all they seem to be interested in is 'free loving', protesting or just getting high. Leaves you wondering just what this world is coming to." Hawkins shook his head in a mixture of bewilderment and disgust, before he sighed, "You know that a few years ago, Novato was a real nice, family friendly town. We had 'Western Weekends' and even a beard growing contest once a year sponsored by ol' Bob Clements who owns Bob's Barber shop. Mind you," the police chief chuckled as he looked across at Mike, "I think that contest was more just a way to boost Bob's business. For days after the contest, his business would be booming with men wanting their beards they had grown for the contest shaved."

He paused as the door to the room opened and Lee stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him. Nodding a quick greeting to the young inspector, Hawkins looked back at Mike and grew serious, "But that was all before Samuels leased and then bought the Rancho Olympica property and set up his hippy commune."

Mike paused as from taking another sip of coffee, lowering the cup back down as he frowned, confused, "I didn't think the members of commune caused many problems in town?"

"You know a few weeks ago, I would have said they weren't but that was before the bodies of commune's members started showing up, floating in the bay. Now I have not only a murderer running around, but also several of our local hotheads who heard about the murders and who are now talking about getting an old fashion posse together and running the hippies out of town." Hawkins sighed again and rubbed a hand over the five o'clock stubble that was growing on his chin as he looked across at Lee before returning his attention back to Mike and admitting his greatest fear, "I feel like I am sitting on a powder keg, Mike, and just one little spark will set it off and if word gets out that David was the latest victim…"

"Do you think there could be trouble?" Lee asked, casting a quick worried glance at Mike before looking back at the Novato police chief as Bob Hawkins pushed off the bed with one hand and slowly rose to his feet.

"I hope not, but I have one of my boys keeping a close eye on things." Placing the empty mug back on the bench, Hawkins adjusted his utility belt again in an attempt to get it to sit comfortably around his waist and headed towards the door, "I better get going, one of my boys called in sick, so we are a little short-handed today, but will keep you updated if anything happens."

"Thanks, Bob," Mike smiled as the chief waved his hand as Hawkins pulled the door opened the door and went outside.

Waiting until the door closed behind the police chief, Lee turned and looked at Mike, "So do you think he's right, Mike, do you think there's going to be trouble?"

Mike shook his head as he stared at the closed door, and sighed worriedly, regretting sending the young officer undercover in what was becoming a far more dangerous situation than he had ever imagined as he breathed softly, "I hope not."