Drive
"Hi, Amanda," Steve greeted as he entered the pathology lab. "Anything interesting?"
"Oh yeah, dead bodies are the most fascinating things in the world. They are so lively," Amanda said sarcastically. "But there is some great evidence here. Zero gun residue on the hands of the corpse."
"None?" Steve asked.
"None," Amanda confirmed. "It's a murder for sure, Steve. This guy did not kill himself."
"Great, so that's two murders, and two attempted murders," Steve said.
"If your father's right Steve, it's a lot more than two murders," Amanda reminded him.
"My God, the plane! I've got a lot of work here," Steve sighed. "I've got a lot of work with no suspects, no known motive and I'm stumped."
At the Beach House, Jesse and Ally were sitting on the deck enjoying lunch.
"Do you think Mark and Steve would let us live here forever?" Ally asked hopefully.
"I doubt it," Jesse laughed. "It would be nice, but this is a very temporary thing."
"Okay," Ally replied.
"Are you ready yet?" Jesse asked her, launching straight into the new conversation.
"Ready for what?"
"Ready to tell me about your mom," Jesse said.
Ally's eyes were wide. Was she ready? Then she realised that the longer she put it off, the harder it would be to tell the story.
"I'm ready," Ally sighed. She took a deep breath and began.
"First off, my mom wasn't really my real mom. She became my step mom when I was two, but it still called her my mom, because she actually adopted me."
"I was eight at the time when she... you know. Mom and myself were watching TV together, and Dad was in the bedroom, doing business with someone. Well, he came out the room and was going to talk to us when suddenly these three guys banged the door down and they had these three big guns and they kept shooting at us. They did that for about ten seconds and then they left."
"Dad was fine, he ducked behind the couch. I had a couple of shots in my leg, but Mom, she got all those motherly instincts and turned out to be a human shield for me. She took two to the head and died." Ally had run out of steam. She had never told anyone what had happened that day, and after four years of keeping it to herself, she broke down.
"Hey," Jesse said softly, manoeuvring to envelope Ally into a hug, ignoring the pain in his back. "It's okay, it's okay. That must have been hard for you."
"I'm all right," Ally said, looking up.
At that moment, Jesse remembered something. "I just remembered," he told her. "It must have been at about that time that your father and I made a deal."
"I was going to ask you about that…" Jesse held his hand up to stop her.
"He told me these exact words. 'Eric wants to get even about Olivia's death. If anything happens to me, take care of Ally for me.' Who was Eric?"
"My Mom's, that's Olivia, her brother," Ally said. "He never got over Mom's death, they were so close to each other. Heck, don't tell me Uncle Eric caused all this!"
"If he did, why would he want to get you?" Jesse asked.
"Well, Mom died because of my father and me. He'd kill my father, because of his business, and me, because Mom gave her life for me. She died for me." Ally looked to the ocean for comfort, and noticed a figure on the beach. Oh boy, she thought.
"Don't make it look suspicious," she told Jesse casually, "but go inside and shut the doors."
"I'll ask why when I get inside," Jesse said, leaving his chair.
Once inside, Ally led Jesse to the front of the house. "Do you want to drive or shall I? Maybe I should, your back is pretty bad."
"Drive?"
"There was a guy on the beach that was doing a great impression of Uncle Eric," Ally said. "I'm guessing that he knows where we live. Now would be a great time to make an exit."
"Yeah, but I'll drive," Jesse told her. "You don't know LA like I do."
"Do you think that would be a problem for me?" Ally asked as she buckled her seatbelt in the passenger side.
Jesse started the car, and sped away from the driveway.
"Mark will probably not be happy that I took his car," Jesse murmured as he took a route on a side street.
"You've got to live on the edge, Jesse," Ally told him. "Besides, this is an emergency. He wouldn't want us to get hurt, would he? Hey, where are you driving to?"
"Anywhere you'd care to recommend?" Jesse asked.
"How about you take a highway somewhere," Ally told him. "Gives you the advantage of speed."
So Jesse took the highway out of LA, and then turned all the way back.
"This way, when he figures out that we took the highway, we'll be on our way back into town," Ally said.
Jesse glanced in front of him. Something was not right about what he was seeing. There was one car to his side, and the highway beyond him was clear except for one car in front. This car, instead of going away, looked like it was getting closer to them.
"Oh my God," Jesse muttered under his breath.
Two hours had passed since the lunch on the deck. Mark had called the house several times, and was worried about them. He persuaded Amanda to take them back to the house, and they were surprised to find that Mark's car was gone.
"They wouldn't leave like that without calling first, would they?" Amanda asked.
"Only if it were an emergency," Mark said. "The best way to do this is to go back to the hospital and call Steve to let him know that my car has gone."
Amanda and Mark arrived back at the hospital, and it was only fifteen minutes later that Mark received a call from Steve.
"Steve, have you found my car?" Mark asked.
"Yeah," Steve sighed.
"Is it in one piece?" Mark asked.
"Mostly," Steve said.
"What do you mean by mostly?"
"There's a dent with a two foot diameter on the right side, on the engine part, and no windscreen left. That's easily repairable, though."
"Okay," Mark said. "Did you find Jesse and Ally? Can I have a word with them?"
"They're on their way to the hospital, I gotta go Dad, low battery," Steve's voice slowly faded out. Mark replaced the receiver and turned around to see a nurse hurrying towards him.
"Two car crash victims on their way in," the nurse told him. "Doctor Travis is one of them, and a young girl, about eleven years old."
Mark wasn't about to correct the nurse of Ally's age, instead he ran towards the ER entrance. In rolled Ally on a stretcher. She was conscious, and if looks could kill then the doctor standing above her would have turned to dust.
"One possible broken right radius," the doctor told him. "Mild concussion."
"First things first," Mark said. "Get the arm into X-ray, and then come back to me with the results. Hi Ally, you'll be fine in no time, I promise you."
Ally was wheeled away, and then an unconscious Jesse was rolled in.
"Bad concussion, but otherwise just cuts and bruises to the head."
Mark looked at the pained look on Jesse's face, and wondered what he had done to deserve everything that was being thrown at him.
"Hi, Amanda," Steve greeted as he entered the pathology lab. "Anything interesting?"
"Oh yeah, dead bodies are the most fascinating things in the world. They are so lively," Amanda said sarcastically. "But there is some great evidence here. Zero gun residue on the hands of the corpse."
"None?" Steve asked.
"None," Amanda confirmed. "It's a murder for sure, Steve. This guy did not kill himself."
"Great, so that's two murders, and two attempted murders," Steve said.
"If your father's right Steve, it's a lot more than two murders," Amanda reminded him.
"My God, the plane! I've got a lot of work here," Steve sighed. "I've got a lot of work with no suspects, no known motive and I'm stumped."
At the Beach House, Jesse and Ally were sitting on the deck enjoying lunch.
"Do you think Mark and Steve would let us live here forever?" Ally asked hopefully.
"I doubt it," Jesse laughed. "It would be nice, but this is a very temporary thing."
"Okay," Ally replied.
"Are you ready yet?" Jesse asked her, launching straight into the new conversation.
"Ready for what?"
"Ready to tell me about your mom," Jesse said.
Ally's eyes were wide. Was she ready? Then she realised that the longer she put it off, the harder it would be to tell the story.
"I'm ready," Ally sighed. She took a deep breath and began.
"First off, my mom wasn't really my real mom. She became my step mom when I was two, but it still called her my mom, because she actually adopted me."
"I was eight at the time when she... you know. Mom and myself were watching TV together, and Dad was in the bedroom, doing business with someone. Well, he came out the room and was going to talk to us when suddenly these three guys banged the door down and they had these three big guns and they kept shooting at us. They did that for about ten seconds and then they left."
"Dad was fine, he ducked behind the couch. I had a couple of shots in my leg, but Mom, she got all those motherly instincts and turned out to be a human shield for me. She took two to the head and died." Ally had run out of steam. She had never told anyone what had happened that day, and after four years of keeping it to herself, she broke down.
"Hey," Jesse said softly, manoeuvring to envelope Ally into a hug, ignoring the pain in his back. "It's okay, it's okay. That must have been hard for you."
"I'm all right," Ally said, looking up.
At that moment, Jesse remembered something. "I just remembered," he told her. "It must have been at about that time that your father and I made a deal."
"I was going to ask you about that…" Jesse held his hand up to stop her.
"He told me these exact words. 'Eric wants to get even about Olivia's death. If anything happens to me, take care of Ally for me.' Who was Eric?"
"My Mom's, that's Olivia, her brother," Ally said. "He never got over Mom's death, they were so close to each other. Heck, don't tell me Uncle Eric caused all this!"
"If he did, why would he want to get you?" Jesse asked.
"Well, Mom died because of my father and me. He'd kill my father, because of his business, and me, because Mom gave her life for me. She died for me." Ally looked to the ocean for comfort, and noticed a figure on the beach. Oh boy, she thought.
"Don't make it look suspicious," she told Jesse casually, "but go inside and shut the doors."
"I'll ask why when I get inside," Jesse said, leaving his chair.
Once inside, Ally led Jesse to the front of the house. "Do you want to drive or shall I? Maybe I should, your back is pretty bad."
"Drive?"
"There was a guy on the beach that was doing a great impression of Uncle Eric," Ally said. "I'm guessing that he knows where we live. Now would be a great time to make an exit."
"Yeah, but I'll drive," Jesse told her. "You don't know LA like I do."
"Do you think that would be a problem for me?" Ally asked as she buckled her seatbelt in the passenger side.
Jesse started the car, and sped away from the driveway.
"Mark will probably not be happy that I took his car," Jesse murmured as he took a route on a side street.
"You've got to live on the edge, Jesse," Ally told him. "Besides, this is an emergency. He wouldn't want us to get hurt, would he? Hey, where are you driving to?"
"Anywhere you'd care to recommend?" Jesse asked.
"How about you take a highway somewhere," Ally told him. "Gives you the advantage of speed."
So Jesse took the highway out of LA, and then turned all the way back.
"This way, when he figures out that we took the highway, we'll be on our way back into town," Ally said.
Jesse glanced in front of him. Something was not right about what he was seeing. There was one car to his side, and the highway beyond him was clear except for one car in front. This car, instead of going away, looked like it was getting closer to them.
"Oh my God," Jesse muttered under his breath.
Two hours had passed since the lunch on the deck. Mark had called the house several times, and was worried about them. He persuaded Amanda to take them back to the house, and they were surprised to find that Mark's car was gone.
"They wouldn't leave like that without calling first, would they?" Amanda asked.
"Only if it were an emergency," Mark said. "The best way to do this is to go back to the hospital and call Steve to let him know that my car has gone."
Amanda and Mark arrived back at the hospital, and it was only fifteen minutes later that Mark received a call from Steve.
"Steve, have you found my car?" Mark asked.
"Yeah," Steve sighed.
"Is it in one piece?" Mark asked.
"Mostly," Steve said.
"What do you mean by mostly?"
"There's a dent with a two foot diameter on the right side, on the engine part, and no windscreen left. That's easily repairable, though."
"Okay," Mark said. "Did you find Jesse and Ally? Can I have a word with them?"
"They're on their way to the hospital, I gotta go Dad, low battery," Steve's voice slowly faded out. Mark replaced the receiver and turned around to see a nurse hurrying towards him.
"Two car crash victims on their way in," the nurse told him. "Doctor Travis is one of them, and a young girl, about eleven years old."
Mark wasn't about to correct the nurse of Ally's age, instead he ran towards the ER entrance. In rolled Ally on a stretcher. She was conscious, and if looks could kill then the doctor standing above her would have turned to dust.
"One possible broken right radius," the doctor told him. "Mild concussion."
"First things first," Mark said. "Get the arm into X-ray, and then come back to me with the results. Hi Ally, you'll be fine in no time, I promise you."
Ally was wheeled away, and then an unconscious Jesse was rolled in.
"Bad concussion, but otherwise just cuts and bruises to the head."
Mark looked at the pained look on Jesse's face, and wondered what he had done to deserve everything that was being thrown at him.