Chapter 4
Laurie had only met Abby once before, but she was grateful to see the rapport she had with Cecelia. The detective greeted her first, hugging her, then seeing Linda with Ricky, held out her arms. "Oh, look at sleepy boy," she cooed, as Towne's jaw dropped. Watching Linda handing her son to Abby, Laurie blinked rapidly and turned to their friend. "Towne, I don't know what to say, thank you for going out and looking for the guys in this storm."
The former detective wrapped his arms around her, "Honey, those guys of yours are my best friends; I'd go out in any weather to find them. I need to bring you and the others up to speed; why don't I take Linda and your Mom to A.J. first, then you can see him."
Touched, she kissed his cheek; "Have I ever told you how lucky Temple is to have you! You're the best!" Just then a doctor entered the room, and Towne introduced him as Dr. Rhodes, who was treating A.J. As Linda and Cecilia accompanied them and Rudy to A.J.'s room, Robin took charge of Ricky and Rob huddled with Oscar and Steve.
Laurie saw Abby standing by herself, and went to her. "Abby, thank you for all the manpower out there looking for Rick, I don't know what to say."
"Just stay where one of us can see you, I don't want this killer using you to get at the guys." she replied tersely. Laurie realized suddenly that the detective was upset at her for some reason, oh boy, that's all she needed.
"I will, Lieutenant, don't worry. I've already met up with the animal who did this; next time it's payback for what he's done." Laurie returned coolly. "You just take care of yourself and your children, I'll worry about the punishment of this criminal. Now, I suggest you sit down and make yourself comfortable, excuse me." Abby said, then walked away.
Flushed with anger, Laurie plopped down on the nearest sofa, then saw Steve look at her with understanding. Head aching, she tried to focus on Rick, reaching out to him. "Rick, darling, I'm here, A.J.'s all right. Please, tell me you're ok. I have to know you're near, I 've seen Lt. Marsh again and she's mad at me for some reason. She thinks I'm trouble, oh, God, please talk to me."
She could feel a faint response, almost a "where are you" feeling. Excited, she waited until Oscar was done with a checklist of sites to search, then told him of her awareness of Rick. "He must be near, Oscar, it's like he knows we're here!"
"That's good, honey, you keep reaching out!" Rudy came into the room just then. "Laurie, A.J.'s waking up, you can see him for just a minute, then you can take turns with Cecilia and Linda sitting with him. When we're ready to go to the search sites, we'll come get you."
Laurie stood up, forgetting her headache and Abby's attitude. "Lead on, sir!" she told Rudy, linking arms with him. Stopping to drop a kiss on her daughter's cheek, she went down the hallway to the nursing hub, then was admitted to A.J.'s room.
Seeing her "little brother" brought tears to her eyes, he was scraped and bandaged and his arm was in a sling. "Hey, A.J., it's Laurie", she said softly, sitting in the chair next to his bed. He blinked at her, then smiled. "Laurie, honey, how did you get here?" "Steve flew us, he always wanted to be a storm chaser." she joked, trying to keep things light.
Sudden awareness flickered in his expression, "Laurie, where's Rick, did you find him?" She looked at Rudy, panicked at what to say. "Just tell him, "he encouraged her. "A.J., we're still looking for him, I know he's around the area, I can feel something. We're going to find him, but you've got to promise me one thing, A.J.", she gazed at him.
"What?" he whispered, upset. "That the next time you guys go camping, you do it in our backyard; it's much safer with the desert predators then with the San Diego ones!" she replied with a straight face.
A.J. stared at her, then gave a weak smile. "You are so bad, honey. I know things will be all right if you can joke like that!"
Just then the nurse came in and told Laurie that only one family member could be there at a time. "Linda, let Mom and I know when you'd like a break from this silly guy, ok?" she said, lightly.
Once out of the room, she told Rudy she needed to use the bathroom, then burst into tears when she was alone. Poor A.J., he's just as scared as I am. Plus, I can't believe that Abby's being so mean, what does she know about me! How dare she consider me a liability, I'll show her, she decided.
Once she reached the family room where the others waited, Laurie found that Steve was preparing to drive Robin and Ricky to Cecelia's home. "Honey, do you want to go with us to rest for a while?" her mom offered.
"No, thank you, Mom, I'm going to wait for Oscar so I can go out on the cliff and try to find Rick. I'll be fine, you and Robin get some rest and I'll call you if we hear anything." she promised.
As he started out the door after them, Steve turned and gave Laurie a hug, "Honey, don't let the lieutenant get to you, she's upset, she really cares about the guys and doesn't know how to handle it, I guess."
"Thanks, buddy, I won't. Besides, I owe her for taking care of Rick and A.J. for me. Drive carefully!" she urged.
After several hours, Laurie felt drained, the storm was still raging, the search grid had widened to no avail, and most disappointing of all, Oscar had decided she wasn't to go out until the weather improved.
Steve had returned, but he was quickly back out in the storm, taking the southernmost leg of the rock-hewn cliff.
Watching him get in the elevator to go back out, Laurie felt someone's gaze on her then turned to see Abby Marsh watching her. Remembering Steve's words, she tried to smile at the detective. "Abby, I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. I know you care about Rick and A.J., and I'd never do anything to endanger either of them, or any of your force."
The woman stared back at her, "Mrs. Simon, I've heard plenty about your heroics, and I appreciate that you were a big wheel back when. But this is now, Rick is the one in danger and I don't want you doing your cute act with me. Stay out of trouble or go back to Arizona and let the professionals find him!"
Angered by the spiteful words, Laurie failed to notice Towne, Oscar and Rob standing in shock behind her. "Lt. March, what you refer to as a "cute act" is what I learned from Mom, who taught me that if you didn't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. As for Rick being in danger, I would give my life to find him, just as he has risked his for me. I'm not going back to Arizona without him, whether you like it or not." Heading toward the elevator, she turned and added, "as for being a big wheel, if working for the best uncle in the world and caring for my family is "heroic", then I'm proud of what I did and can still do!"
Laurie missed the look of pride from Oscar, then as the doors closed, all three men realized she had left their watchful eyes. "Rob, try to catch up with your mom, ok?" Oscar urged, as Towne advanced toward Abby.
"What the hell was that, Abby, how dare you insult Laurie like that!" he told her, furious. Uncomfortably aware of being overheard, the detective replied, "What, every time I've heard about Mrs. Simon, she's being rescued by Rick and A.J. or by Mr. Goldman. She gets into more trouble, what's so special about her!"
"Everything, Abby., For starters, Laurie being in danger is the end result of the work she did for the Government, as well as cases she and the guys worked on. As for being special, the fact is that she has saved both Rick and A.J. a number of times, sometimes on sheer willpower; and the love she gives to all of us, well, if that's not special, I don't know what is! I'm sorry you're so jealous of her; the crazy thing is she was in such awe of you. You'd better start thinking of your priorities. What's more important, Rick's life or your envy of the 11 years he's spent with Laurie!"
Awareness slowly dawned in Abby Marsh's eyes, and as she struggled with the realization of what she had done, running footsteps sounded and Robbie ran in. "Uncle Oscar, Towne, I can't find Mom, and the visitor's desk attendant just told me an envelope was just handed to her when she came downstairs. I'm afraid someone's lured her into a trap!"
Frantic, Oscar turned to Towne, "We've got to find her, call downstairs and find out which way she went. I'll call Steve and have him try to reach out to her. Robbie, find Rudy, we're going back out there to pick up her trail."
Just then Steve came back into the waiting area, "Oscar, did someone upset Laurie just now, I found her down in the lobby; she was desperate to head toward the cliffs to look for Rick. She wanted to know when you guys were going to come with her; I made her promise to wait at the entrance. She said this was in an envelope at the visitor's desk for her." He opened the envelope to show Rick's watch, and a note:
"Come to the top of the cliff near the Bay walk in 15 minutes, or your husband will be dead! Come alone or he dies!"
Her uncle shook his head, "I'll tell you later, thank God you talked to her. Let's get down there!" Just then Rudy and Robbie joined them, as Abby suddenly added, "Wait a minute, I'm going with you, there's one place we haven't looked. The old cannon placements, Rick could be in one of them and safe out of the elements."
Oscar looked at her, then nodded, "All right, Lt. Marsh, let's get Laurie and head that direction."
As the five men and Abby rode the elevator downstairs, Laurie was waiting by the carport. Having calmed down, she was determined not to let the detective's dislike bother her. All at once, a cold sensation enveloped her, then she turned to see the face of her attacker in Arizona standing by the hospital entrance.
Terrified, she started walking away from him, then ducking into the parking structure, watched as he went past her, seemingly not noticing her in the shadows. Waiting a moment, she slid out of the garage and headed toward the safety of the hospital. A hand came out of nowhere, and before she could move, the blond man had her around the throat, warning her, "Any sound, and I'll kill you right here, and then take out your brother-in-law. Understand?" She nodded, then felt herself being dragged away out of the parking lot and toward the cliffs.
All the way to the road along the rocks, the man kept taunting her, while covering her mouth with his hand. Scared, she called out to both Rick and Steve, then heard Steve call back. "Laurie, honey, we're coming, don't worry, we're not going to let him hurt you."
As they reached the top of the cliff road, Laurie felt the man's grip loosen, then she waited until he took the hand off her mouth to steady himself. Seizing his arm and using her weight, she tossed him over her shoulder and ran for it, not waiting to see if he was following her. Running along the edge of the bluff, she told Steve where she was, then looking back, saw a light coming up the road. Her energy almost gone, she stopped at a black mark on the rocks, then seeing tire tracks and a broken headlight, realized this was where Rick's truck had gone over.
Laurie started calling Rick's name, then let out a scream as her assailant suddenly reappeared and grabbed her by the arm. "No!" she sobbed, as the man wrapped a rope around her wrists, then snarled, "you want your husband, go join him!" He pushed her, and losing her balance, Laurie fell over the edge.
Laurie had only met Abby once before, but she was grateful to see the rapport she had with Cecelia. The detective greeted her first, hugging her, then seeing Linda with Ricky, held out her arms. "Oh, look at sleepy boy," she cooed, as Towne's jaw dropped. Watching Linda handing her son to Abby, Laurie blinked rapidly and turned to their friend. "Towne, I don't know what to say, thank you for going out and looking for the guys in this storm."
The former detective wrapped his arms around her, "Honey, those guys of yours are my best friends; I'd go out in any weather to find them. I need to bring you and the others up to speed; why don't I take Linda and your Mom to A.J. first, then you can see him."
Touched, she kissed his cheek; "Have I ever told you how lucky Temple is to have you! You're the best!" Just then a doctor entered the room, and Towne introduced him as Dr. Rhodes, who was treating A.J. As Linda and Cecilia accompanied them and Rudy to A.J.'s room, Robin took charge of Ricky and Rob huddled with Oscar and Steve.
Laurie saw Abby standing by herself, and went to her. "Abby, thank you for all the manpower out there looking for Rick, I don't know what to say."
"Just stay where one of us can see you, I don't want this killer using you to get at the guys." she replied tersely. Laurie realized suddenly that the detective was upset at her for some reason, oh boy, that's all she needed.
"I will, Lieutenant, don't worry. I've already met up with the animal who did this; next time it's payback for what he's done." Laurie returned coolly. "You just take care of yourself and your children, I'll worry about the punishment of this criminal. Now, I suggest you sit down and make yourself comfortable, excuse me." Abby said, then walked away.
Flushed with anger, Laurie plopped down on the nearest sofa, then saw Steve look at her with understanding. Head aching, she tried to focus on Rick, reaching out to him. "Rick, darling, I'm here, A.J.'s all right. Please, tell me you're ok. I have to know you're near, I 've seen Lt. Marsh again and she's mad at me for some reason. She thinks I'm trouble, oh, God, please talk to me."
She could feel a faint response, almost a "where are you" feeling. Excited, she waited until Oscar was done with a checklist of sites to search, then told him of her awareness of Rick. "He must be near, Oscar, it's like he knows we're here!"
"That's good, honey, you keep reaching out!" Rudy came into the room just then. "Laurie, A.J.'s waking up, you can see him for just a minute, then you can take turns with Cecilia and Linda sitting with him. When we're ready to go to the search sites, we'll come get you."
Laurie stood up, forgetting her headache and Abby's attitude. "Lead on, sir!" she told Rudy, linking arms with him. Stopping to drop a kiss on her daughter's cheek, she went down the hallway to the nursing hub, then was admitted to A.J.'s room.
Seeing her "little brother" brought tears to her eyes, he was scraped and bandaged and his arm was in a sling. "Hey, A.J., it's Laurie", she said softly, sitting in the chair next to his bed. He blinked at her, then smiled. "Laurie, honey, how did you get here?" "Steve flew us, he always wanted to be a storm chaser." she joked, trying to keep things light.
Sudden awareness flickered in his expression, "Laurie, where's Rick, did you find him?" She looked at Rudy, panicked at what to say. "Just tell him, "he encouraged her. "A.J., we're still looking for him, I know he's around the area, I can feel something. We're going to find him, but you've got to promise me one thing, A.J.", she gazed at him.
"What?" he whispered, upset. "That the next time you guys go camping, you do it in our backyard; it's much safer with the desert predators then with the San Diego ones!" she replied with a straight face.
A.J. stared at her, then gave a weak smile. "You are so bad, honey. I know things will be all right if you can joke like that!"
Just then the nurse came in and told Laurie that only one family member could be there at a time. "Linda, let Mom and I know when you'd like a break from this silly guy, ok?" she said, lightly.
Once out of the room, she told Rudy she needed to use the bathroom, then burst into tears when she was alone. Poor A.J., he's just as scared as I am. Plus, I can't believe that Abby's being so mean, what does she know about me! How dare she consider me a liability, I'll show her, she decided.
Once she reached the family room where the others waited, Laurie found that Steve was preparing to drive Robin and Ricky to Cecelia's home. "Honey, do you want to go with us to rest for a while?" her mom offered.
"No, thank you, Mom, I'm going to wait for Oscar so I can go out on the cliff and try to find Rick. I'll be fine, you and Robin get some rest and I'll call you if we hear anything." she promised.
As he started out the door after them, Steve turned and gave Laurie a hug, "Honey, don't let the lieutenant get to you, she's upset, she really cares about the guys and doesn't know how to handle it, I guess."
"Thanks, buddy, I won't. Besides, I owe her for taking care of Rick and A.J. for me. Drive carefully!" she urged.
After several hours, Laurie felt drained, the storm was still raging, the search grid had widened to no avail, and most disappointing of all, Oscar had decided she wasn't to go out until the weather improved.
Steve had returned, but he was quickly back out in the storm, taking the southernmost leg of the rock-hewn cliff.
Watching him get in the elevator to go back out, Laurie felt someone's gaze on her then turned to see Abby Marsh watching her. Remembering Steve's words, she tried to smile at the detective. "Abby, I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. I know you care about Rick and A.J., and I'd never do anything to endanger either of them, or any of your force."
The woman stared back at her, "Mrs. Simon, I've heard plenty about your heroics, and I appreciate that you were a big wheel back when. But this is now, Rick is the one in danger and I don't want you doing your cute act with me. Stay out of trouble or go back to Arizona and let the professionals find him!"
Angered by the spiteful words, Laurie failed to notice Towne, Oscar and Rob standing in shock behind her. "Lt. March, what you refer to as a "cute act" is what I learned from Mom, who taught me that if you didn't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. As for Rick being in danger, I would give my life to find him, just as he has risked his for me. I'm not going back to Arizona without him, whether you like it or not." Heading toward the elevator, she turned and added, "as for being a big wheel, if working for the best uncle in the world and caring for my family is "heroic", then I'm proud of what I did and can still do!"
Laurie missed the look of pride from Oscar, then as the doors closed, all three men realized she had left their watchful eyes. "Rob, try to catch up with your mom, ok?" Oscar urged, as Towne advanced toward Abby.
"What the hell was that, Abby, how dare you insult Laurie like that!" he told her, furious. Uncomfortably aware of being overheard, the detective replied, "What, every time I've heard about Mrs. Simon, she's being rescued by Rick and A.J. or by Mr. Goldman. She gets into more trouble, what's so special about her!"
"Everything, Abby., For starters, Laurie being in danger is the end result of the work she did for the Government, as well as cases she and the guys worked on. As for being special, the fact is that she has saved both Rick and A.J. a number of times, sometimes on sheer willpower; and the love she gives to all of us, well, if that's not special, I don't know what is! I'm sorry you're so jealous of her; the crazy thing is she was in such awe of you. You'd better start thinking of your priorities. What's more important, Rick's life or your envy of the 11 years he's spent with Laurie!"
Awareness slowly dawned in Abby Marsh's eyes, and as she struggled with the realization of what she had done, running footsteps sounded and Robbie ran in. "Uncle Oscar, Towne, I can't find Mom, and the visitor's desk attendant just told me an envelope was just handed to her when she came downstairs. I'm afraid someone's lured her into a trap!"
Frantic, Oscar turned to Towne, "We've got to find her, call downstairs and find out which way she went. I'll call Steve and have him try to reach out to her. Robbie, find Rudy, we're going back out there to pick up her trail."
Just then Steve came back into the waiting area, "Oscar, did someone upset Laurie just now, I found her down in the lobby; she was desperate to head toward the cliffs to look for Rick. She wanted to know when you guys were going to come with her; I made her promise to wait at the entrance. She said this was in an envelope at the visitor's desk for her." He opened the envelope to show Rick's watch, and a note:
"Come to the top of the cliff near the Bay walk in 15 minutes, or your husband will be dead! Come alone or he dies!"
Her uncle shook his head, "I'll tell you later, thank God you talked to her. Let's get down there!" Just then Rudy and Robbie joined them, as Abby suddenly added, "Wait a minute, I'm going with you, there's one place we haven't looked. The old cannon placements, Rick could be in one of them and safe out of the elements."
Oscar looked at her, then nodded, "All right, Lt. Marsh, let's get Laurie and head that direction."
As the five men and Abby rode the elevator downstairs, Laurie was waiting by the carport. Having calmed down, she was determined not to let the detective's dislike bother her. All at once, a cold sensation enveloped her, then she turned to see the face of her attacker in Arizona standing by the hospital entrance.
Terrified, she started walking away from him, then ducking into the parking structure, watched as he went past her, seemingly not noticing her in the shadows. Waiting a moment, she slid out of the garage and headed toward the safety of the hospital. A hand came out of nowhere, and before she could move, the blond man had her around the throat, warning her, "Any sound, and I'll kill you right here, and then take out your brother-in-law. Understand?" She nodded, then felt herself being dragged away out of the parking lot and toward the cliffs.
All the way to the road along the rocks, the man kept taunting her, while covering her mouth with his hand. Scared, she called out to both Rick and Steve, then heard Steve call back. "Laurie, honey, we're coming, don't worry, we're not going to let him hurt you."
As they reached the top of the cliff road, Laurie felt the man's grip loosen, then she waited until he took the hand off her mouth to steady himself. Seizing his arm and using her weight, she tossed him over her shoulder and ran for it, not waiting to see if he was following her. Running along the edge of the bluff, she told Steve where she was, then looking back, saw a light coming up the road. Her energy almost gone, she stopped at a black mark on the rocks, then seeing tire tracks and a broken headlight, realized this was where Rick's truck had gone over.
Laurie started calling Rick's name, then let out a scream as her assailant suddenly reappeared and grabbed her by the arm. "No!" she sobbed, as the man wrapped a rope around her wrists, then snarled, "you want your husband, go join him!" He pushed her, and losing her balance, Laurie fell over the edge.