Title: Angels Return(part3)
Author: Rena (renay@uslink.net)
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters that are Copyright@Spelling-Goldberg Productions. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes, and I retain only the rights to the plot, not the characters.
Kelly slowly sipped her coffee. She was sitting in the lounge at the hospital, gaze focussed on the far corner of the room, deep in thought.
"Excuse me," a male voice interrupted.
Kelly jumped, startled. She hadn't heard him approach. "Dr. Winston...hi. How's Sabrina?"
"She's fine. Bringing her here was the smart thing to do."
"Yeah, you and I know that. I wish we could convince her of that, though."
"She is pretty unhappy right now," Winston agreed, chuckling. " She seems to be pretty bruised from when she hit the ground but the babies seem to be okay. She still has two months left and I'd like to see her go as close to that as possible. But with twins they often come early. Any word about her husband?"
Kelly shook her head. "No, nothing. We thought for sure there would be a ransom note or something by this time. Sabrina said that she's positive that Jesse'd been at that cabin. My friends went back to check it out again.
"Can I go in and see her?"
Dr. Winston nodded. "Of course. I'm sure she'd like to see you. She's right down the hall. Second door on the left."
Kelly wasn't too sure he was right but there was no escaping the inevitable.
"I'd like to keep her hooked up to the monitor for at least another hour, just to be on the safe side," Winston added, patting Kelly's hand gently, noting the worried look on her face.
"Okay, thanks." Kelly turned and slowly walked towards Sabrina's room, feeling as if she were a lamb being led to the slaughter.
*************
Sabrina stared at the fetal monitor, watching the steady heartbeats of her unborn babies.
"Can I come in?" Kelly ventured hesitantly.
Sabrina glanced up at her and nodded.
Kelly pulled up a chair and sat down beside the bed. "Dr. Winston said he wants to keep you hooked up for another hour, just to be on the safe side.
"He told me," Sabrina replied, eyes filling with tears.
"What's the matter?" Kelly asked anxiously, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling Sabrina into a sisterly embrace.
"I'm sorry I was so mad at you earlier. You were right. What if something happened to my babies," she wept.
"Shhhh," Kelly soothed, rocking her back and forth. "They're fine, and that's the important thing." After a few minutes Sabrina had cried herself out. She pulled away from Kelly guiltily and quickly wiped her eyes. "Th...thanks. I guess I needed that."
"Look, why don't you try to take a nap?" Kelly suggested compassionately. "I'll just wait in the lounge until you're ready to go."
Sabrina grabbed her hand. "Would you stay with me? Please?"
"Of course I will." Kelly answered. It took only a few minutes for Sabrina to close her eyes and drift off to sleep.
***********
Bosley was breathing hard when he stopped by a large tree to catch his breath.
Jill stopped beside him while Kris walked a little ahead of them.
"You okay, Bos?" Jill asked in concern.
"Just...let me...catch my breath...for a moment," he panted, hugging the tree for dear life.
"Hey, Bos, Jill, come here a minute." Kris shouted from a short distance up the trail.
Jill grabbed Bosley by the arm. "Let's go, Bos."
"What's up, Kris?" Jill asked when they reached her.
Kris pointed to the entrance of a large cave. "What do you make of that?"
"Let's check it out," Bosley decided as he started towards the cave. Jill and Kris followed close behind. The trio walked in silence, each looking for any sign that might tell them if anyone had been there recently. After about 20 minutes of silent searching, they made their way back out to the entrance where they'd gone in.
"Another dead end." Kris couldn't keep the discouragement out of her voice. "Now what?"
"I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel like we're being led on a wild goose chase," Bosley said defeatedly.
"I was just thinking about what Kelly said the other day," Kris observed thoughtfully. "Maybe they are really after Sabrina. What if they're trying to get us away from her?"
"I guess that could be a possibility," Bosley answered. "It makes as much sense as everything else that's happened so far."
"We can't keep her under lock and key," Jill pointed out. "Look at what happened yesterday."
"She might be more cautious if she knew that she might be the target," Bosley offered. "Well, we might as well head back. There's nothing more up here," Jill agreed reluctantly, giving the area one last look around before they headed back the way they'd come.
****************
Sabrina lay awake late into the night, unable to relax enough to go to sleep as her mind was in turmoil. She'd been in bed since arriving home from the hospital the day before and managed to sleep most of the day.
Finally she got up, put her robe on and went downstairs. She stood watching out the living room window for a few minutes, then wandered into the kitchen.
She walked out the back door and stood on the porch, staring out towards the mountains. She thought of how she and Jesse had often stood together in this very spot, staring at the beautiful mountains behind their home.
But after the accident...a chill went down her spine and she hugged herself tightly. As she turned to go inside she noticed a flickering light in the far off distance. "What in the...?" Sabrina stared at the light for a moment, trying to determine what it was. Then it came to her: it was a campfire. 'A campfire? 'But no one is supposed...'
Sabrina hurried into the house and to the den, where Bosley was sleeping.
"Bosley?" She called desperately, pounding on the door . The door opened and Bosley stood there looking very tired and confused. "Sabrina?" He asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What are you...?"
Sabrina interrupted, grabbing him by the arm. "I need to show you something."
"What's going on?" Kelly asked sleepily, coming down the stairs, followed by Kris and Jill.
"I don't know," Bosley answered honestly, shrugging his shoulders while Sabrina all but dragged him outside. Kris and Jill followed them.
"See anything?" Sabrina asked eagerly, pointing into the distance.
Bosley strained to see what she was referring to.
"It's just a a campfire," Jill stated dubiously, glancing at Sabrina. "You woke us up in the middle of the night just to see a campfire?" She yawned. "I'm going back to bed."
"Wait!" Sabrina exclaimed, grabbing Jill by the arm.
Kelly looked towards the light. "I don't understand, Bri. What's the big deal about a campfire? Lots of people go camping in the mountains."
"But not back there," Sabrina insisted triumphantly. "Camping isn't allowed back there. It's our land. There are signs posted all over the place."
"Sabrina," Bosley started, but the excited look on her face stopped him.
"Bos, someone is back there," Sabrina insisted firmly. "We've got to check it out. Whoever it is might have Jesse."
"There's nothing we can do tonight," Bosley finally announced after a few seconds. "We'll check it out first thing in the morning."
"But what if it's too late?" Sabrina pleaded desperately. "What if...?"
"Come on, Bri," Kris said gently, patting her friend on the shoulder. "It's late. You need to go back to bed."
"And don't even think about investigating by yourself after we're in bed," Kelly added sharply.
Sabrina blushed guiltily, that thought having just gone through her mind. Unfortunately the hills and broken branches made it impossible for her to search effectively in the dark, especially in her condition. Her ankles were already swollen to almost twice their normal size.
"We'll talk about it in the morning and then decide what to do," Kelly said.
"Yeah, okay." Sabrina whispered unhappily, turning to go back into the house.
***********
Jill yawned as she crawled back into bed. "So what do you guys think?"
"I don't know what to think." Kris answered as she crawled into bed beside her sister. "Do you really think Jesse could be out there?"
"I don't know." Kelly replied as she slipped into her sleeping bag on the floor. "But did you see the pleading look in her eyes? We have to check it out, even if we think it's nothing."
"But what if....what if he's not there?" Kris asked quietly. "Then what?"
"I don't know." Kelly yawned. "Maybe she'll finally let us call in the cops."
"Yeah, we're sure not getting anywhere."
Jill immediately noticed the discouraged tone of her sister's voice. "We're doing the best we can, Kris."
"Well, maybe this time..."Kris paused, then whispered softly. "Maybe this time our best isn't good enough."
Kelly closed her eyes as she tried to sleep. She knew Kris was right. Maybe this time their best wasn't good enough.
*************
Kelly poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table the next morning. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and she knew no one else had either. "What do we do first?"
"Well, I think it's time we went to the police." Jill stated, glancing at Sabrina. We might need some back up, and your sheriff wouldn't think twice about shooting us if he thought we were trespassers."
"And we don't know how many of them are there," Bosley added.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sabrina said slowly.
************
Sabrina followed the others into the police station a short time later. Sheriff Bryant Josephs glanced up from the letter he was reading in irritation. "Well, now, I see you're all still here. Is there something I can do for you?"
"Someone's illegally camping on the Walbrydge land and we'd like someone to check it out. We suspect that whoever it is may have Jesse Walbrydge."
"Is that so?" Sheriff Josephs asked sarcastically. "And what makes you think that?"
"We just do," Bosley replied, beginning to get impatient. "Isn't it your job to check things out when people come to you?"
"Sure, we'll check it out."
Sabrina stared at the Sheriff for a moment, not liking his attitude. She glanced around the office. Her eyes came to rest on an envelope that was lying on the desk and immediately a familiar name jumped out at her: Pine Parish, Louisiana.
"You people go on ahead. My deputies and I'll meet you there."
"Thank you, Sheriff." Kelly said in an overly polite tone. "Let's go, guys."
***************
Sabrina was unusually quiet as they drove back to the farm. What was it about Pine Parish that kept nagging at her?
"Hey, Bri, you okay?" Kris ventured, glancing over at Sabrina. "You're awful quiet."
"Uh...yeah...uh...I was just thinking. I saw an envelope on the desk from Pine Parish Louisiana."
"So? That's where the sheriff is from." Kelly reminded her.
"Yeah, I know. But I know I've heard that name before. I just can't remember why it sounds so familiar."
Kris smiled, remembering her first reaction when she had heard that name. "And I can't believe you've heard of it. I thought for sure he'd made it up."
"I don't..." Sabrina started but stopped as a look of recognition came over her. . " I know why that name's so familiar."
"Doesn't mean anything to me." Jill denied after a few seconds thought. Kelly just shook her head.
"Sure, it does." Sabrina insisted. "We were sent to prison there to find out what had happened to that female inmate. We..."
"Potato fields!" Jill and Kelly exclaimed in unison.
"We were hired to find out what had happened to Elizabeth…Elizabeth…I can't remember her last name, but she was an inmate in Pine Parish, Louisiana."
"But what's the connection between Pine Parish and this?" Bosley asked.
"It's probably just a coincidence." Kelly stated. "Just one of those things, I guess."
" I don't know," Bosley said after a few minutes. "That would explain the Sheriff's attitude."
"I don't think he is going to help us," Sabrina announced without looking at them.
"What do ya mean?" Kris asked.
"I don't think he's going to do anything...I don't think he is going to meet us there."
"Why would you say that?" Kelly questioned.
"I...I don't know. Just a feeling I have." Sabrina answered softly. "Something just hasn't felt right about him from the beginning."
"Why don't we have Charlie run a background check on him?" Kris suggested.
""We'll just have to go ourselves," Sabrina said decisively.
"Wait a minute, Bri." Kelly protested. "You're not in any shape to go anywhere...except maybe back to bed."
"Kelly, I can't rest while my husband's out there somewhere." With a trembling voice, she added, "I had to sit there and watch my son die. And I'll be damned if I'm going to just sit here and watch my husband die too."
"Bri..." Kelly started again, but then stopped. What could she say? They rode the rest of the way to the farm in silence. "So now what?" Kris asked once they finally got to the farm.
"Come on, let's go," Sabrina said decisively, unlocking her door and starting to get out of the car.
"Sabrina, be realistic," Jill pointed out, touching her on the elbow. "We don't even know how many people we're dealing with here."
"Well, there are five of us," Sabrina countered.
"Four." Bosley corrected. "You're not going anywhere. You're staying right here."
"In a pigs eye. Look, Bos," Sabrina sighed, running out of patience with the entire situation. "I know you mean well, but I'm going with you whether you like it or not." She swallowed hard and continued. "I can't just sit here and do nothing. "
"Only on one condition," Bosley said, smiling faintly and reaching out to take her hand.
She glanced at him curiously.
"You stay out of sight," he continued. "If anything happens to you up there, I'll never forgive myself."
"Okay," Sabrina agreed.
Bosley studied her for a few seconds, trying to gauge her honesty. "All right, then let's go."
"I think we'd better park the jeep and walk the rest of the way," Sabrina decided after they'd been driving back in the mountains for awhile.
"Good idea," Kelly agreed. "But Bri..."
"I'll take it easy, Kel," Sabrina sighed wearily, tired of being treated like she were a china doll. "Come on, lets go." With Sabrina leading the way, the others followed. Every once in a while she'd stop to catch her breath.
"I'm worried about her." Jill whispered to Kelly and Kris.
"Me too," Kelly answered. "But there's not much we can do. You know how stubborn she can be."
Suddenly Sabrina stopped. "Shhh...listen."
Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking in the direction she was pointing to.
"I hear voices coming from over there." Bosley looked around until he spotted a huge boulder. "You stay over by that rock. We will check it out."
"Bosley..." One look at him made her change her mind about arguing and she reluctantly walked to where he'd indicated.
"When we get them in sight we'll split up." Bosley instructed the others. "I want to see how many we're up against first." It wasn't long until they spotted a group where the voices had come from. Bosley glanced around as he studied the area. "Okay. There's three of them. Now we need to find a way to distract them."
"I've got an idea," Kelly whispered, grinning. "Jill, come with me."
"Where are we going?" Jill hissed.
"What's your plan, Kel?" Kris questioned.
" I remember Bri telling me once years ago that there is a stream back here someplace. I'm not sure exactly..."
Kris interrupted, suddenly understanding her friend's plan. "So if you can lure them to the stream, we can make our move on the other one?"
Kelly nodded. "Exactly."
"Kelly, how do you think we're going to do that?" Jill asked..
"What man's going to resist two helpless women, lost out here in the big, bad mountains?" Kelly asked rhetorically, smiling. "Come on, let's go."
"You girls be careful." Bosley said, trying not to sound as worried as he felt.
"Every day and every way," Kelly answered as she and Jill started towards the group of men.
"Do you think it will work, Bos?" Kris asked.
"Let's hope so. "
Kelly and Jill slowly approached the camp site. They had each smudged dirt on their faces, wanting the men to think that they'd been hiking in the mountains for a while.
"Hi, there," Jill called in her most seductive voice.
The three men looked up, surprised to see the two women standing there.
"Who are you?" The first one demanded.
"My name is Rosie and this here is my cousin Roxie," Jill improvised hastily.
Kelly smiled engagingly, tugging on her shirt. She noticed Jesse tied hand and foot and bound to a nearby tree.
"Uh...we appear to be lost. We've been walking for quite awhile, and it seems that we have been going in circles." Jill glanced around until she made eye contact with Jesse. She silently motioned him to remain quiet. "We can't seem to find our way back to camp. Do you think y'all can help us?"
Jesse nodded, realizing who these two lost women were.
"We were camping over by the stream. Do you know where that is?" Kelly asked innocently.
"Sure. We will be happy to take you there," Jack answered agreeably. "Ty, you come with me. Damien, you stay here with him." Damien nodded as he looked at Kelly and Jill, trying to remember where he'd seen them before.
"Let's go, ladies. We will have you back to your camp in no time at all." As they walked away, Kelly glanced back at Jesse, nodding reassuringly.
Kris and Bosley watched as Kelly and Jill followed the two men towards the streams. "I can't believe that worked," Kris sighed with relief.
"Now it's our turn."
"What are we going to do?"
"There are two of us and only one of him. Now if we approach him from behind and from the side, he won't have a chance to draw his gun, if he has one. And I'm pretty sure he does. Come on, let's go. You go over that way," Bosley pointed towards the right. "And I'll go that way. When we get close enough, I'll signal you and we will both go out at the same time. Got it?"
Kris nodded. "Got it." She reached behind her and pulled her gun out from her shoulder holster as she followed Bosley towards the men.
Sabrina'd waited by the rock until the Kris and Bosley were well ahead of her, then she followed slowly behind them, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. She was exhausted, but knowing that they were close to finding her husband gave her the strength she needed to continue.
As Kelly, Jill and the two men neared the stream, Kelly and Jill lagged behind them, waiting for the right moment to make their move. Kelly nodded at her friend and they each took out their guns. "Okay, boys. This is where we stop."
The two men turned around, startled. Jack was ready to speak until he saw the two guns pointed at them. "What is this? What are those for?"
"Don't start asking stupid questions. Both of you lay down on the ground and put your hands behind your back."
"Now, listen here, girl..." Ty took a threatening step forward.
"In case you think I don't know to use this..." Kelly fired a shot towards the ground, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks. "Now why don't you tell us what this is all about," Jack suggested reasonably.
"And why did you bring us way out here?" Ty questioned.
"We don't owe you any explanations." Jill snapped. "Now, do what my friend here said. Lay down on the ground with your hands behind your back."
Ty and Jack looked at each other uncertainly for a few seconds , then did as they were told.
"Jill, I'll stay here with them. You go see if Bos and Kris need any help."
"Right." Jill hurried back down the path towards the camp ground.
Kris glanced over at Bosley and nodded. Slowly they both made their way out of the bushes. "Hold it right there." Bosley commanded, coming up behind the third man in the group. He immediately recognized him as Damien Murphy, one of Jess'e co-workers that they had spoken to. Damein stopped as he slowly reached for his gun.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kris said as she moved closer. "Drop the gun and put your hands behind your head."
"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with guns?" Damien asked with unmistaken sarcasm in his voice.
Kris looked over to where Jesse was sitting, his hands tied behind his back. "You okay, Jesse?"
"Uh...yeah....Kris." Kris could tell that he was more than a little surprised to see her. "How's Sabrina?"
"She's okay, or she will be when she sees you." Kris turned her attention back to Damien, who was lying on the ground with his hands behind his back as Bosley stood in front of him, gun pointing at him.
"Mr. Murphy, I think you need to tell us what's going on. Why did you and your buddies kidnap Jesse?"
"I don't have to tell you anything," Damien shot back.
Kris looked over at Bosley. "Guess he wants to save it for the police."
Sabrina paused beside a large tree, breathing heavily, one hand on her side. "Bosley's gonna kill me for this," she gasped, having a hard time catching her breath. After a few minutes her breathing evened out and started walking again, stopping abruptly when she heard voices in the distance. A short distance away she saw Bosley and Kris holding their guns to a man on the ground. And there was Jesse, sitting on the ground, his hands tied behind his back. "Oh, Jesse." she whispered in relief as tears filled her eyes. A sudden movement caught her attention and she turned to see where it had come from.
Sheriff Bryant Josephs was heading down the trail when he noticed what was going on. He quickly drew his gun, aiming it in Jesse's direction. From her vantage point, Sabrina saw him and realized what his intentions were. "NO!" she screamed. Started, the sheriff fired his gun. Sabrina watched in horror, afraid that Jesse or one of her best friends would be hit by the stray bullet.
"I'd stop if I were you, little lady," a male voice sneered at her.
Sabrina stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned around. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out when she saw the sheriff's gun pointed at her. "I think I'd like you to join your husband. Let's go."
"What do you want with us?" Sabrina demanded bravely, trying to buy time.
"Shut up and get moving," the sheriff snapped angrily.
"No, I think you need to shut up and get moving," a voice said from behind them.
Sabrina turned to see Jill standing behind them.
"Drop your gun, sheriff," Jill demanded icily. "And kick it away from you."
The sheriff stood there for a few seconds, trying to figure out the odds of jumping her successfully.
""I said drop it," Jill snapped, carefully cocking the trigger and aiming it at his mid section. "How could anyone miss at this range?"
Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor he dropped the gun and kicked it away from him.
Sabrina quickly picked it up. "Okay, let's go join your buddy."
Kris glanced up in surprise as they approached. "Nice job, guys. Sheriff, join Mr. Murphy on the ground." Sheriff Josephs did as he was told.
Sabrina handed the gun to Jill and ran over to where Jesse was sitting. She quickly untied is hands, then wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh Jess..." It was then that she noticed the blood on his arm. "You've been shot."
"It's just a flesh wound," he answered, embracing her tightly. "You okay?"
"I was so scared. When you didn't come home that night...and the storm...."
" I never thought I'd see you alive again."
"But I was safe at home," Sabrina said blankly.
"I didn't know that, though."
Before Sabrina could answer, Kelly and the other two men joined them. Kelly instructed them to join their friends on the ground. "I'll go back to the jeep and radio for help to haul these guys back into town." Kelly hurried off.
Sabrina turned her attention back to her husband. "Why were you afraid you'd never see me alive again?"
"It was really you they wanted, not me," Jesse answered. "They were using me to get to you."
"But why?" Sabrina questioned in puzzlement.
"I'm not sure exactly, but it had something to do with a case you worked on years ago. You killed the sheriff's brother."
"What? I don't remember ever killing someone by the name of Josephs. Do you guys?" Jill, Kris and Bosley shook their heads.
"I think you have some explaining to do," Bosley told the sheriff, kicking him gently in the side. "So get started. "Why did you want to kidnap Sabrina?"
"I didn't want to kidnap Sabrina...I wanted to kill her."
"Why?" Bosley demanded coldly.
"She was responsible for killing my brother. And I promised my mother that I would take care of her."
"Who was your brother?" Kris asked.
"He was my half-brother. His name was Drew Clint. He was the sheriff in Pine Parish, Louisiana."
"Pine Parish? Your brother's car went over the embankment and exploded. I didn't drive it over the embankment for him," Sabrina answered, glaring at him narrowly.
"No, but you were driving the truck that made him go off the road," Josephs countered bitterly.
"So you kidnapped my husband in hopes of getting to me. Why didn't you come after me?"
"Are you kidding?! We could never get you alone. We tried our best to get these watch dogs away from you, but there was always someone with you"
"Well, you'll be spending time in your own jail." Jesse put his arm around Sabrina and kissed her forehead. "You okay?"
Sabrina nodded. "I am now that you're here. I was so afraid that I'd lost you. And I can't..."
"Hey, let's not talk about that now," he interrupted, knowing just how she felt. "It's time to go home."
Sabrina slipped into bed beside Jesse that night and he pulled her into his arms. For the first time in many months, she felt warm and secure in his arms. "Jesse, I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too. I was so afraid that they would get to you. I was curious about something, though."
"What's that?" Sabrina asked sleepily, yawning.
"Why did you call in your friends from Los Angeles? Why not the police?"
"I called them when you didn't come home that night, but they won't file a report unless you've been missing for 24 hours. So I called Charlie."
"I'm glad you did."
"Me too. I've really missed them."
"Bri, I know these past several months have been pretty bad," he began hesitantly, shifting uncomfortably. "I mean, We've said....I've said things and done things that have really hurt you...hurt us both. And..."
"Jess, let's not talk about that now, okay?" Sabrina pleaded, not wanting to get into a fight so soon after he'd been rescued. "We're both tired and should get to sleep. We'll have plenty of time to talk about that later. Please?"
"Okay. You're right. It'll take time for us to get back to where we used to be before the accident, but I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to make up for the past few months." He sealed his promise with a gentle kiss to her lips.
Sabrina smiled as she closed her eyes and snuggled close to him. Yes, she knew now that they would be okay once again.
THE END