Chapter 3
Drs Amanda Bentley and Jesse Travis entered the Beach House concerned and confused to see such police activity. "S-Steve?" asked Amanda. "What's going on?" Steve looked at his two friends a concealed anxiety and pain behind a calm exterior, yet, both Amanda and Jess could see it there.
The last officers had all but left after fingerprinting and photographing the scene. Steve promised the detective in charge he would be down the station later to fill in his report.
Amanda ushered her distraught friend to a seat and sat beside him. Jess moved to a chair opposite. "Steve tell us what happened," urged the detective's best friend. "I, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a run.a long run. When I came back I had a shower, came upstairs and found signs of a struggle. Dad was gone." "Why would someone kidnap your father?" "I don't know, Jess," fear evident in the detective's voice.
Half an hour of pacing the front room and self recrimination went by before the 'phone rang. Steve snatched the handset up to his ear. "I guess you know who you are talking to," came the oily voice down the line. "Thomas - what have you done with my father?" as Steve recognised the voice. "Oh he's fine," the kidnapper crowed, "for the moment." "What do you want?" asked the detective anxiously. Steve listened to the instructions, horrified by what he heard. "If you want to see your father alive again you must kill the Daniel's girl before she testifies at the trial." "Is my father alright? Let me speak to him." "Steve?" Mark's voice trembled. "Don't! Don't ki. oompf" the remainder of his sentence cut short by Ross Adams as he struck the doctor just below the ribs. "You so much as lay a finger on my father and I swear I'll kill you. Do you hear me, I'll kill you." Steve shouted, his voice filled with venom and loathing for his father's abductor. "Your father will remain my 'guest' until you have completed your 'task'. But, should you fail. it will be your father's worst nightmare." Click. The phone went dead. Steve hung his head in his hands. Jesse and Amanda waited patiently for their friend to tell them what was going on.
Suddenly, Steve rose to his feet, reached out across the desk and swiped the entire contents of the desktop to the floor. Jesse and Amanda looked at each other, their nerves on edge. "We want to help, if we can," offered Amanda. Steve looked up and straight into the young pathologist's caring eyes. He knew he was going to need help if he was going to get his father back - alive. The detective pulled out is cell phone from his jeans pocket and dialled a familiar number. "Hi Cheryl, it's Steve. Can you meet me at BBQ Bobs in an hour.Thanks."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Abi was playing on the swing in the back garden of her new foster home. Mr and Mrs Peters watched from inside the house as Steve Sloan made his way to see the little girl. Her face lit up when she saw the detective approach and she ran to embrace him. Steve's heart sank as he contemplated her death. Tenderly, Steve kissed Abi upon her forehead and whispered in her ear as he hugged her close.
A crack like thunder echoed around the immediate area as a shot rang out. Abi lay motionless, a red stain spread over her yellow dungarees and T- shirt. The lieutenant sat next to her, blood on his hands. Mrs Peters began screaming hysterically as her husband dialled 911 to report the shooting.
Within minutes an emergency crew were on the scene, closely followed by a detective from the homicide division. The two paramedics checked the girl's vitals. One EMT, a handsome young blonde man, looked up at the officer and shook his head. Mrs Peters let out another emotional cry and buried her head into her husband's shoulder. "Steve Sloan, I am arresting you for the murder of Abi Daniels," began Sergeant Cheryl Banks as she read the lieutenant his rights, handcuffed and led him to her car. Meanwhile, the second EMT, a dark skinned woman assisted her partner in removing the body onto a stretcher and into the back of the waiting ambulance. As the ambulance pulled away Amanda leaned over and spoke softly to the prone figure on the trolley at her side. Abi sat up and smiled, she had played her part magnificently.
At the police station, Cheryl and Steve, armed with a warrant, organised a team to search Edmund Thomas' properties from the warehouse in Encino to the plush surroundings of his Spanish villa in Beverley Hills.
On the other side of town, the phone rang. Thomas answered, his eyes lit up to the news he had been waiting to hear. "The girl is dead," reported the caller. Thomas replaced the receiver and looked at Mark Sloan. "It seems your son has a price after all. Your life is worth more to him than his own. Touching ehh?" he mocked.
Mark's fury grew with every spoken word. He could not believe his son would commit murder, not at any price. Thomas rose from his chair and walked toward a desk. He opened the drawer, picked up the .38 revolver that lay within and pointed it at his hostage. "It appears that you are now surplus to my requirements," he smirked as he pulled back the hammer. A movement from outside the window distracted him momentarily. Uniformed officers could be seen darting between bushes and garden ornaments in an attempt to approach the house. The lead officer was Lieutenant Steve Sloan.
Taking the opportunity whilst Thomas was distracted, Mark lunged toward his abductor. Surprised but the sudden movement a shot rang out and the doctor slumped to the floor, blood oozing from the wound in his side. Instantly, the door burst open, initiated by a swift kick by the detective. Thomas swung around and pointed his weapon at the uninvited guest. "Drop it Thomas," instructed Steve. Thomas contemplated his options. Again Steve ordered "Drop the gun," this time he augmented his authority by releasing the safety catch on his own weapon. Thomas complied and let the revolver fall to the floor. Sergeant Cheryl Banks stepped around her partner and handcuffed Thomas. As she snapped the cold steel bracelets around his wrists Steve rushed to his father's side. Applying pressure to the wound he dialled for an ambulance. Mark stirred and looked at his son. "Hold on Dad, an ambulance is on its way." "It's good to see you son," replied his father.
At the hospital, Mark was rushed through to the OR, Dr Jesse Travis the attending surgeon. Steve paced the corridor nervously. Every time the door to the operating rooms opened he expected to see Jesse's face. The first six times he was disappointed and returned to his pacing. The seventh, however, heralded his best friend. "Jess, how's Dad?" he asked impatiently. Jesse led his friend to a chair and sat him down. "Mark's lost a lot of blood. We have removed the bullet and, I think, he is going to be OK," smiled the doctor. "You saved his life out there." Steve let out the breath he had subconsciously been holding in and pulled his best friend to his chest in a grateful hug. "Thanks Jess," Steve's voice brimmed with emotion. "Can I see him?" "Sure," Jess beamed. "He's still under sedation so he won't be conscious just yet, but you can go sit with him a while." Jesse led Steve to a room where his father lay. Wires and tubes attached him to machines that monitored his condition. "I'm sorry Dad," whispered Steve when he was alone with his father.
The hands on the clock moved slowly round to the steady rhythmic sound of the heart monitor. Steve sat in silence, just watching his father breath. A tiny twitch of Mark's finger sent the detective flying from his chair. "Dad?" called Steve. Again, Mark's fingers moved, this time in conjunction with several blinks from his eyes. He was awake! Mark's blurry vision centred in on the familiar features of his son standing over him and he smiled. "Welcome back Dad. You get some rest now and I'll be back in a while." "Abi?" Mark asked, as a woozy sensation took it's grip on his cloudy mind. "She's fine. Amanda and Jesse are looking after her." Mark smiled, as the sedative took its effect allowing the senior Sloan to be enveloped in a welcoming darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The trial went ahead as scheduled. Abi's testimony sent Edmund Thomas to jail for life. Steve, Amanda, Jesse and a wheelchair bound Mark were all in the courtroom to give their support to the very brave little girl who had touched their lives and shown immense courage for one so young.
Outside the courtroom, Steve gave Abi a huge hug and told her how proud he was of her. Beside her stood her new family, who introduced themselves as Diane and Peter Fuller from Sacramento. Steve knelt down next to Abi and kissed her on the cheek. "I will keep you in my heart - forever," Steve signed awkwardly. A tear threatened to roll from his crystal blue eyes as Abi responded with "I love you." The pair hugged once more before Abi's new parents led her away to her new life. Mark placed a hand upon his son's shoulder and smiled. "There is nothing like a child to make you realise how much a person can care."
THE END 11th August, 2002.
Disclaimer: The characters of Mark and Steve Sloan, Amanda Bentley and Jesse Travis do not belong to me. I have only borrowed them for a short time and will put them back when I'm done. Please read and enjoy :o)
Drs Amanda Bentley and Jesse Travis entered the Beach House concerned and confused to see such police activity. "S-Steve?" asked Amanda. "What's going on?" Steve looked at his two friends a concealed anxiety and pain behind a calm exterior, yet, both Amanda and Jess could see it there.
The last officers had all but left after fingerprinting and photographing the scene. Steve promised the detective in charge he would be down the station later to fill in his report.
Amanda ushered her distraught friend to a seat and sat beside him. Jess moved to a chair opposite. "Steve tell us what happened," urged the detective's best friend. "I, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a run.a long run. When I came back I had a shower, came upstairs and found signs of a struggle. Dad was gone." "Why would someone kidnap your father?" "I don't know, Jess," fear evident in the detective's voice.
Half an hour of pacing the front room and self recrimination went by before the 'phone rang. Steve snatched the handset up to his ear. "I guess you know who you are talking to," came the oily voice down the line. "Thomas - what have you done with my father?" as Steve recognised the voice. "Oh he's fine," the kidnapper crowed, "for the moment." "What do you want?" asked the detective anxiously. Steve listened to the instructions, horrified by what he heard. "If you want to see your father alive again you must kill the Daniel's girl before she testifies at the trial." "Is my father alright? Let me speak to him." "Steve?" Mark's voice trembled. "Don't! Don't ki. oompf" the remainder of his sentence cut short by Ross Adams as he struck the doctor just below the ribs. "You so much as lay a finger on my father and I swear I'll kill you. Do you hear me, I'll kill you." Steve shouted, his voice filled with venom and loathing for his father's abductor. "Your father will remain my 'guest' until you have completed your 'task'. But, should you fail. it will be your father's worst nightmare." Click. The phone went dead. Steve hung his head in his hands. Jesse and Amanda waited patiently for their friend to tell them what was going on.
Suddenly, Steve rose to his feet, reached out across the desk and swiped the entire contents of the desktop to the floor. Jesse and Amanda looked at each other, their nerves on edge. "We want to help, if we can," offered Amanda. Steve looked up and straight into the young pathologist's caring eyes. He knew he was going to need help if he was going to get his father back - alive. The detective pulled out is cell phone from his jeans pocket and dialled a familiar number. "Hi Cheryl, it's Steve. Can you meet me at BBQ Bobs in an hour.Thanks."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Abi was playing on the swing in the back garden of her new foster home. Mr and Mrs Peters watched from inside the house as Steve Sloan made his way to see the little girl. Her face lit up when she saw the detective approach and she ran to embrace him. Steve's heart sank as he contemplated her death. Tenderly, Steve kissed Abi upon her forehead and whispered in her ear as he hugged her close.
A crack like thunder echoed around the immediate area as a shot rang out. Abi lay motionless, a red stain spread over her yellow dungarees and T- shirt. The lieutenant sat next to her, blood on his hands. Mrs Peters began screaming hysterically as her husband dialled 911 to report the shooting.
Within minutes an emergency crew were on the scene, closely followed by a detective from the homicide division. The two paramedics checked the girl's vitals. One EMT, a handsome young blonde man, looked up at the officer and shook his head. Mrs Peters let out another emotional cry and buried her head into her husband's shoulder. "Steve Sloan, I am arresting you for the murder of Abi Daniels," began Sergeant Cheryl Banks as she read the lieutenant his rights, handcuffed and led him to her car. Meanwhile, the second EMT, a dark skinned woman assisted her partner in removing the body onto a stretcher and into the back of the waiting ambulance. As the ambulance pulled away Amanda leaned over and spoke softly to the prone figure on the trolley at her side. Abi sat up and smiled, she had played her part magnificently.
At the police station, Cheryl and Steve, armed with a warrant, organised a team to search Edmund Thomas' properties from the warehouse in Encino to the plush surroundings of his Spanish villa in Beverley Hills.
On the other side of town, the phone rang. Thomas answered, his eyes lit up to the news he had been waiting to hear. "The girl is dead," reported the caller. Thomas replaced the receiver and looked at Mark Sloan. "It seems your son has a price after all. Your life is worth more to him than his own. Touching ehh?" he mocked.
Mark's fury grew with every spoken word. He could not believe his son would commit murder, not at any price. Thomas rose from his chair and walked toward a desk. He opened the drawer, picked up the .38 revolver that lay within and pointed it at his hostage. "It appears that you are now surplus to my requirements," he smirked as he pulled back the hammer. A movement from outside the window distracted him momentarily. Uniformed officers could be seen darting between bushes and garden ornaments in an attempt to approach the house. The lead officer was Lieutenant Steve Sloan.
Taking the opportunity whilst Thomas was distracted, Mark lunged toward his abductor. Surprised but the sudden movement a shot rang out and the doctor slumped to the floor, blood oozing from the wound in his side. Instantly, the door burst open, initiated by a swift kick by the detective. Thomas swung around and pointed his weapon at the uninvited guest. "Drop it Thomas," instructed Steve. Thomas contemplated his options. Again Steve ordered "Drop the gun," this time he augmented his authority by releasing the safety catch on his own weapon. Thomas complied and let the revolver fall to the floor. Sergeant Cheryl Banks stepped around her partner and handcuffed Thomas. As she snapped the cold steel bracelets around his wrists Steve rushed to his father's side. Applying pressure to the wound he dialled for an ambulance. Mark stirred and looked at his son. "Hold on Dad, an ambulance is on its way." "It's good to see you son," replied his father.
At the hospital, Mark was rushed through to the OR, Dr Jesse Travis the attending surgeon. Steve paced the corridor nervously. Every time the door to the operating rooms opened he expected to see Jesse's face. The first six times he was disappointed and returned to his pacing. The seventh, however, heralded his best friend. "Jess, how's Dad?" he asked impatiently. Jesse led his friend to a chair and sat him down. "Mark's lost a lot of blood. We have removed the bullet and, I think, he is going to be OK," smiled the doctor. "You saved his life out there." Steve let out the breath he had subconsciously been holding in and pulled his best friend to his chest in a grateful hug. "Thanks Jess," Steve's voice brimmed with emotion. "Can I see him?" "Sure," Jess beamed. "He's still under sedation so he won't be conscious just yet, but you can go sit with him a while." Jesse led Steve to a room where his father lay. Wires and tubes attached him to machines that monitored his condition. "I'm sorry Dad," whispered Steve when he was alone with his father.
The hands on the clock moved slowly round to the steady rhythmic sound of the heart monitor. Steve sat in silence, just watching his father breath. A tiny twitch of Mark's finger sent the detective flying from his chair. "Dad?" called Steve. Again, Mark's fingers moved, this time in conjunction with several blinks from his eyes. He was awake! Mark's blurry vision centred in on the familiar features of his son standing over him and he smiled. "Welcome back Dad. You get some rest now and I'll be back in a while." "Abi?" Mark asked, as a woozy sensation took it's grip on his cloudy mind. "She's fine. Amanda and Jesse are looking after her." Mark smiled, as the sedative took its effect allowing the senior Sloan to be enveloped in a welcoming darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The trial went ahead as scheduled. Abi's testimony sent Edmund Thomas to jail for life. Steve, Amanda, Jesse and a wheelchair bound Mark were all in the courtroom to give their support to the very brave little girl who had touched their lives and shown immense courage for one so young.
Outside the courtroom, Steve gave Abi a huge hug and told her how proud he was of her. Beside her stood her new family, who introduced themselves as Diane and Peter Fuller from Sacramento. Steve knelt down next to Abi and kissed her on the cheek. "I will keep you in my heart - forever," Steve signed awkwardly. A tear threatened to roll from his crystal blue eyes as Abi responded with "I love you." The pair hugged once more before Abi's new parents led her away to her new life. Mark placed a hand upon his son's shoulder and smiled. "There is nothing like a child to make you realise how much a person can care."
THE END 11th August, 2002.
Disclaimer: The characters of Mark and Steve Sloan, Amanda Bentley and Jesse Travis do not belong to me. I have only borrowed them for a short time and will put them back when I'm done. Please read and enjoy :o)