April 7th

Paul Blaisdell had not made a general announcement about Peter. He didn't think that was wise until he was able to be certain none of the detectives were connected in any way to this snake cult. Instead, he brought people individually into his office to share the information. First Kermit Griffin, then Strenlich, then the women who worked off and on as Peter's partner. Mary Margaret Skalany, and Jodi Powell. Those people he knew were loyal to Peter, sometimes to a fault. He warned them all to be careful when going to see him, that his abductors were still loose and looking for him, so until they were apprehended they were to tell no one, not even their mother or their pet cat that Peter was alive and free.

He was finishing up this conversation with Frank Strenlich when his phone began to ring. With a motion for Frank to wait, he answered it. "Yes… " He closed his eyes and made a frustrated grimace. "Yes, thank you. I'll get my best detectives on that right away." He hung up and looked over at Frank. "When it rains it pours. Deputy Mayor Cavenaugh was found 10 minutes ago. He's been murdered."

"Where did they find him?"

"In an alley, a block away from the bomb site."

"How is it possible that he wasn't found before this morning with all the people that were over there?"

"I guess that is for Skalany and Powell to find out."

"I'll get 'em on it." Frank shook his head, and left the office, yelling out for the two female detectives.

Kermit slipped into his friend's office, with a computer printout in his hands. "Another report from Detective McGuire." He said handing over the papers.

McGuire had found two listening devices in her apartment and she was certain that there were times that she had spotted someone following her. So she borrowed her grandmother's computer when she visited every week and sent reports to Kermit's email address. He taught her how to get rid of all the evidence of the email being sent to the degree that it would take someone like Kermit to find it again. He also told her how to drive the department IT guy batty with her screw-ups on the office computer and that the last place they'd think to look for any evidence of her spying was on a computer. So far it had worked as far as they knew.

"You know how I feel about coincidence," Paul said taking a drink of his coffee and making a face at it. "God that's awful."

"Coincidence is having two women wearing a black dress at a party. Anything more than that … it's not a coincidence."

"Exactly. We know that Detective Michael Gray is Miranda Gray's brother." He said "Now, we have Detective Richard Cavenaugh in the cult, and Deputy Mayor Harold Cavenaugh was found murdered within blocks of the cult's headquarters. I want to know if and how those men are connected."

"I'll see what I can find out," Kermit said. "So… how is Peter doing, how's he really doing?"

"I don't know." He said leaning back in his chair. "He's walking and talking, beyond that… I've seen recovered POWs with less haunted eyes."

"If this cult that kidnapped him is at war with the Shaolin, wouldn't that make him a POW? " Kermit asked.

"I suppose it would." He said with a sigh. "I don't know what to think about any of it. I went down to the warehouse where he was found, it was empty. Not so much as a speck of dust. Even the windows were clean if you can imagine that. The only possible signs of activity were deep gouges on the concrete floor. Since it's a warehouse that's hardly proof of anything. Without something to connect that place to Miranda I can't connect him to her."

"Pete would have to come forward for us to get a warrant to search that penthouse."

"I won't let him do that." Paul said, "They would come after him, and take him somewhere we'd never find him."

"Then we don't give them the chance."

Skalany shook her head "Something about this isn't right."

"Oh, you mean the fact that he was dumped here and they just accidentally dumped the murder weapon with him?" Powell said holding up the evidence bag with the bloody bottle of scotch.

"Top shelf weapon no less. My rent is less than this bottle costs."

"I've seen where you live. That isn't saying much."

"That's a $1,500 bottle of scotch."

"Who the hell pays that much for a bottle of whiskey?" She asked, "And how do you know how much it costs?"

"Guess we'll find out when they fingerprint the bottle," Skalany said. "And my cousin owns a liquor store on the posh side of town."

They handed off the bottle to the forensics team. "Let's grab lunch and then head over to talk to Mrs. Cavenaugh."

"Sounds good." She answered. Once back on the road she looked at Jody "I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for Chinese."

Jody laughed. "Sounds good to me. We'll pick up his favorite on the way. If he's living in a makeshift monastery he's going to want something other than rice." She said, "And you can spend a little time talking to his father."

"I don't know that I should set myself up for that. He's just different enough that I find him irresistible and just normal enough that it will probably end badly."

"You don't know that," Jody said.

"Oh, I know. Believe me, I know, but I'm not sure it's going to slow me down."

Kwai Chang Caine watched as Peter went through the forms. He thought that the new martial art was already ingrained as muscle memory. It seemed too soon for the level of expertise he displayed. That worried him almost as much as the fact that his son looked as though he was still trapped.

Peter stopped and sighed "I'm alright." He said sharply. He had sensed his father's eyes on him even before he looked to see who had entered the room.

"That is not possible," Caine said. "Yet."

"I'm fine." He said again.

"Peter," He said. "Healing takes time. Do you find peace in practicing this new form?"

"I know I shouldn't, but I do." He said, "Even if only for a few minutes."

Caine looked at Peter. "Why should you not find peace?"

"Because it's … the Serpentes form, not Kung Fu."

"There is nothing inherently good or evil in either form only what we bring to it." He said. "There is nothing evil in you, Peter."

"Only this snake in my head." He picked up a towel to wipe off the sweat. "And don't get that look. I don't want it plucked out. They'll just put him in someone else."

"Even though it means you may never have your old life back?"

"Even so." It wasn't fair or right. He resented it even though he was the one making the decision. But if he put someone else in Miranda's hands just to get his life back he didn't deserve to have his life back.

"Then your abductors have failed," Caine said.

"You sure I'm not just … missing the snake?"

"I am sure. You have never liked snakes."

Peter laughed a little sadly. "I still feel dirty."

"How could you not?" He asked. "The damage done to your qi…" Kwai Chang Caine looked pained at the memory, "I can only imagine what you've endured. I am sorry I did not find you sooner."

"Not your fault, Pop. And it wasn't as horrific as it could have been. Not after being let out of the…" he looked away "Out of the dark."

Caine pulled his son to him tightly "Human beings are designed for the light, my son" He said, "Not for being trapped in the dark alone. ."

"You wouldn't have cracked," Peter said.

Caine eased back from his son and cupped his face in his hands. "Neither did you."

"Yeah, I did, Pop."

They let the conversation drop, hearing Skalany and Powell as they were let into the boarding house. Peter's demeanor changed. He hid behind a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Look at the two of you." He said and hugged each of them tightly. "What was Blaisdell thinking pairing the two of you up? The station house will never be the same."

They laughed at his gentle teasing, both knowing that he wasn't as okay as he pretended to be. "We brought lunch," Jody said. "Including your favorite from Vincenzo's"

Peter grabbed his shirt and put it on. "I thought I smelled Lasagna." He said. "This way ladies." He led the way to the kitchen where he found them all forks and cups for tea. "Alright," He said as they settled around the table "I want to hear all the office gossip." For them who did what to whom for how many cookies didn't involve people kissing in the supply room, it was all about the caseload.

"And then this morning we caught the deputy mayor's case," Jody said. "Can you believe he was found in an alley in the financial district, and the murder weapon was a $1,500 bottle of scotch?"

"Seriously?" Peter asked. "Why do all the interesting cases come up when I'm on leave?"

Mary Margaret excused herself from the table and went to find Caine. He was outside sitting and staring into the Koi pond. "How are you holding up?" She asked.

Caine took her hand in his and kissed it. "I am fine." He said, "I have my son back for the second time, I am surrounded by beauty and tranquility-"

"Right." She said. "You keep forgetting I'm a detective." She sat down beside him to watch the fish. "Peter is a mess, and his abductors are untouchable. There is no way you are fine in the face of that."

Caine closed his eyes. "He does not yet know himself. Until he knows himself he cannot defeat his demons."

"Even-tempered steel can break, Caine." She said, "Not that I think he's broken, but the cracks are there."

Caine shook his head. "He has been heated under great pressure. If he is allowed time to heal… to anneal," He said continuing the analogy, "He will be stronger, less likely to fracture, he will bend with stress rather than break under it. Peter is stronger for his ordeal, but he does not yet realize this." He sighed "Still I would never have wished this path for him."

"As worried as I am for Peter with that cult still out there, I am more worried about you and the Captain."

"There is no need, but I am touched by your concern."

She opened her mouth to speak but was brought out of the moment by Jody's strident tones.

"Gotta go, Partner." She said. "Just got a call from forensics. They have a match to the prints on the bottle."

"Oh Yeah?" Skalany asked.

"Yeah… Mayor Conlin."

Skalany swore. "Okay, yeah, time to go pay his honor a visit then." She kissed Caine on the cheek. "I'll be around later. We have history, no one is going to think it strange that I come around."

Caine bowed his head to her. " I look forward to it."

Twenty minutes later they parked the car in front of the mayoral mansion.

"Something about this stinks," Jody said.

"Like a $1500 skunk. Unfortunately, we have to follow the evidence." Skalany said. "Let's see if we can get him to come to the precinct willingly for questioning. I don't want the press to see him brought in like a criminal."

"Especially since this smells of a frame-up."

"Just remember we don't say anything about that. He could surprise us and be the killer." Skalany said as they got out of the car and walked up to the front door.

They were surprised that the mayor himself opened the door at their knock.

"I received a call from the district attorney." He said. "I'm ready to accompany you."

Jody and Mary Margaret looked at each other. What the hell was that all about?

"Right this way, Your Honor," Jody said.

Miranda watched the news report in her office. She had arranged for the leak from the mayor's office to her favorite reporter.

"This is Olivia Parker reporting from the steps of the 101st precinct where Mayor Conlin is being brought in for questioning regarding the murder of Deputy Mayor Cavenaugh." The reporter stepped closer to the camera, in position for her cameraman to pick up Powell and Skalany were approaching with Mayor Conlin between them. "Mr. Mayor, can you tell us why you are being questioned today?"

"Harold Cavenaugh was my friend and associate. If there is any way I can help the police with their investigation then I am pleased to do so, now if you will excuse me, Ms. Parker, any further statements will have to come from my press secretary."

The detectives rushed him into the building and away from Olivia Parker's questions.

Miranda smiled. It was the beginning of the end for Mayor Conlin. Everything was going to plan. Except for Peter Caine, she was going to get everything she wanted. One day she'd have him too.

"I can't, Father," Peter said.

"Yes, you can." He said as they sat across from each other on zafu mats.

"I've tried. Even when I was a kid, after the orphanage, when Paul and Mom took me in, I couldn't meditate."

"I will help you," Caine said. "I will be here with you. You are safe."

Peter nodded a little stiffly, but sat in the lotus position and tried to relax.

Kwai Chang Caine began to speak soothingly to his son, directing him first in relaxation, then to slow his breathing, focusing only on the sensation of air entering and leaving his lungs. "Acknowledge the thoughts that come to your mind and let them go, returning to your breathing." He eventually fell silent when he sensed that Peter had entered into a meditative state. For now, the important thing was to retrain himself in the art of meditation so that he might find peace in himself and with himself. He needed to awaken spiritually so that he might find growth and ultimately know his destiny and that it was not taken from him.

Lo Si watched as father and son sat in meditation. It was good to have Peter back. That went without saying. But he was troubled by what had been done to him and how it would affect the prophecy. Peter was the last in his line. A great responsibility fell to him once he completed his training. He quietly left the boarding house and returned to his own home. He closed and locked the door before walking over to his bookshelf and picking up a large white book. The book of Shamballa. He opened it and walked into the light it created. Entering into Shamballa where all things are possible.

"You look troubled, Old friend." Master Suo said.

"The Harbingers have ensconced themselves into my city and have harmed a young friend of mine." He said, "His qi was fractured and depleted."

"Come with me," Suo said and led him to their Apothecary Master Yi. "Perhaps there is something here that can help. Ultimately the cult must be destroyed, but that is not a practical solution at this time. It is not time yet for that prophesy to be completed."

When I am through here I wish to see this prophecy about the harbingers."

"Of course, Master Lo Si." Master Hu said, "I will be in the library."

Master Yi looked at him "What is the difficulty you are having?" He asked.

Lo Si explained as he walked through the various plants and herbs that could not be found in the earthly realms.

Master Yi nodded sagely, then went to the shelves and pulled out a very old scroll. "I think this may be of assistance."

"Thank you." Lo Si said and he took the scroll to a table and began to study.

Skalany and Powell stood in Paul Blaisdell's office with the door closed.

"I don't think he did it." Mary Margaret said. "This whole situation stinks of a frame job."

"The only prints on the bottle are his," Jody said. "Not the liquor store clerk, not the guy who packed up the bottle at the factory, nothing. Just his. It's not a decanter that the maid could have wiped down while cleaning. We talked to the maid and his wife etc and no one even saw this bottle before much less cleaned it. "

"I agree." Paul said "But the ADA is determined to prosecute. We have no choice but to charge him with murder. It will probably be tried as manslaughter given the manner of death and the drunken state Conlin was in."

"This will ruin him." Mary Margaret said. "Even if we catch the real killer tomorrow, this is the last nail in the coffin for his career."

"I believe that was the entire point of framing him in the first place."

"You suspect the woman that kidnapped Peter, don't you," Jody said.

"Yes, I do. And anyone who runs for the mayor's office is going to be suspect. She's going to be putting someone she can control in his place." Paul said.

"I think she wants it for herself," Jody said. "All that money spent to help the small businesses, the way she just jumped in to help with at the bomb site… If I didn't know what she had done to Peter, I'd have voted for her, and I don't even like her."

"His political career was over the moment he wasn't there to step up and take charge," Paul said. "If you honestly believe him to be innocent, continue investigating. We have to charge him, but we don't have to stop looking. Just be careful about it."