Chapter 1
"Ok, now breathe!" Laurie encouraged, holding Linda's hand and blowing puffs of air with her.
"Oh, boy, oh God, Laurie, that's a hard one!" her sister-in-law panted, beads of sweat forming on her upper lip. Gasping and stretching, pulling at her coach's arm, Linda Simon let out a loud groan as Rudy Wells told her, "Hold it, sweetie, just hold it, one more push!"
"I, I thought the second one was supposed to be easier, Rudy, since when!" his former assistant grimaced. "Only thing different this time is not having A.J.!"
"Lin, he should be here any minute, Rick helped him sneak out of that stupid game. Steve's going to have him here in time. He wouldn't miss being here for the world!" Laurie promised, looking at Rudy for assurance.
"I know, sis, but still, I want him, NOW! OH!" Linda let out a wail, then as if on cue, a blond-haired man ran into the room, shedding his jacket as he grabbed a seat. "Thanks Laurie! Linny, are you all right?"
"A.J., talk about timing, here, you're just in time. Take her hand, ok, sis, your relief pitcher is here!" she grinned, then kissed Linda's forehead and scooted out the delivery room door.
Outside Laurie sagged against the wall; Please God let the baby be all right! she prayed. Straightening up, she went to the outer room, where Cecilia, Towne, Temple and Robin were waiting. As she entered, her mom shot to her feet, "Is Linda all right? How's she doing?"
Waving her to her seat, Laurie smiled wearily, "Yes, just not as easy as she thought it was going to be, Rudy had just said one more push when your son came in the nick of time!" Collapsing into a chair, Laurie gratefully took a glass of water Temple got for her. "Buddy, just when I run out of things to brag about, you surprise me again!" the journalist laughed, putting an arm around the exhausted woman. "How many hours have you been doing this?"
"Well, Ricky was only four hours, this little one decided to take just a littttle longer!" she quipped, then sat up abruptly, her ears picking up a new sound.
A faint wail was heard, and all the tiredness was gone as the group took turns hugging each other. A new voice was in the background; "Hey, where's my hug?"
"Steve, you get the biggest one of all!" Laurie giggled, then jumped into his arms. As the former Colonel embraced her, she picked up on his worried vibes, then looked at her friend.
"Steve, what is it, something's wrong with Rick?" she asked anxiously. Robin turned, startled.
Just then the door to the delivery room opened, and a worn-out doctor came strutting out, beaming. "Tell you later", Steve murmured out of the side of his mouth.
She nodded, then smiled as Rudy held up his hand. "All right, whoever had a girl, born 7:57 am, February 7th, weighing in at 8 lbs, 10 ozs, 20 inches long, wins the pool!"
A cheer went up, followed by shushing as the doctor pretended to be stern. "Calm down, this is a hospital, don't want to scare the little lady!"
"Linda's ok, so's A.J., except somebody forgot to tell me he needed stitches!" Rudy added, his eyes betraying his anxiety. Taking a quick glance at Steve, Laurie squared her shoulders, something was going on, but what?
As one by one each of the family and friends stepped into the birthing room, Laurie hung back, trying to reach her husband on her transmitter. Faintly she heard him respond, "Sweetheart, is A.J. there?"
"Yes, darling, he's here, Linda's had her baby and he got here in time. Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes but there's danger, don't let A.J. come back, these guys are playing for keeps. Tell Towne this guy is crazy, he wants to really have someone die and us solve the mystery!" he told her.
"No, Rick get out of there, I want Steve to go back for you!", she insisted, then found his transmitter switched off. Turning, she found Steve exiting the delivery room, and caught his eye.
"Out here." he motioned, and took her outside in the hall.
Closing the door, Laurie turned to find Steve taking a seat in the waiting area, then pulling out a chair for her to use. "Steve, what is it? What happened to A.J.?
"Sit down and I'll tell you, honey." he told her, knowing she'd been on her feet for hours. Reluctantly sitting down, Steve took her hand. "He's all right, Laurie, but this competition's being held on an island just off the coast of San Diego. All the participants were supposedly notified that there was no leaving the house and grounds until Sunday night. I'm afraid the guys never got the word. When A.J. and Rick asked to leave, they told them anyone out of bounds would be shot!"
"What kind of looney's running this game, anyway, I thought it was a fun get-together for a bunch of private eyes!" she replied, vowing to chew her husband out once he was safe and sound.
Steve shook his head, "That's what A.J. thought, once they got there, they found out it was a real competition, with human pieces on a game board. I guess when the guys tried to back out, they were called chicken. That didn't bother them, until one of the other contestants turned out to be an old rival of Rick's, so."
"He decided to stick it out." she finished, frustrated and at the same time proud of her Rick. Seeing her face, Steve chuckled. "A.J. said you'd react that way, he was so ticked off at his big brother, yet that's the way Rick is! So when you called Rick to have him and A.J. leave, they found armed guards were at all the gates and exits to the boat and plane landings."
"So how did you get to A.J.?" she asked, hoping Rick might be able to get out the same way. "He jumped into the water and swam out to me, I was just off
shore and I rowed up to the breakers. Just as he came toward me, a shot grazed him, fortunately I was able to pull him in. The sniper must have gotten scared off, I managed to row us away pretty rapidly and I don't think they were the wiser."
"Thank God you went for him, now I want to pull Rick out before someone decides to go after him! I just got a hold of him, he doesn't want A.J. to come back then his transmitter turned off. He says they really want to kill someone and solve the mystery." Laurie said, worrying. "I'm with you on this, honey, except I don't think I'll be able to get by with the boat this time; we'll have to try something else." he answered.
At that point A.J. came out of the room, then spotting his sister-in-law, gave her a hug. "Laurie, thank you! You took such good care of Linda, she's asking for you!"
"I'll be right there, you take a load off and talk to Steve, we've got to figure out a way of getting Rick out of that place!" she insisted, standing up and giving her chair to A.J. Seeing Robin waiting just inside the door, she took her arm, deciding to tell her about her father.
As they disappeared inside the recovery room, A.J. looked at his friend. "She's the strongest person I know, Steve, how did she react to Rick's wanting to stay?"
"Like you said, pissed off at Rick and the same time proud! Laurie loves your brother so much, we'd better let her in on this. Otherwise she'll just go on her own and be in worse danger!" Steve cautioned.
Later that night, A.J. and Steve conferenced with Rudy and Laurie, with Oscar on the speaker phone from Ojai. Unable to get away due to a final meeting with the Secretary, Oscar told Laurie in no uncertain terms she was to stay back in dealing with the man running the Mystery weekend. "You know Steve can handle this, honey, now let him and A.J. get Rick out. Towne's going to meet you at the airport, he's contacting the island as we speak."
Opening her mouth to protest, Laurie suddenly realized she would be in the way, if anything happened to Rick or the others because she interfered?
Shuddering inside, she met their eyes. "All right, I'll wait at the landing. There's no way I'd do anything to endanger you guys or Rick."
Rudy put an arm around Laurie, "That's my girl! I know it's killing you not to go in there, but it's just too dangerous this time!" "Yes, honey, besides we need you to monitor the security patrol. If we time it right, we should be able to get Rick out and bust the organizers of this little game at the same time!" Oscar added.
Getting to San Diego was the easiest part of the plan, Steve fueled up his Cessna and leaving Cecilia and Temple in charge of their family, Laurie, A.J. and Towne took off for the Mission Bay area. Robert was on duty, but he promised to keep in contact with the others. When they landed, they saw that Lt. Abby Marsh was waiting for them at the gate. "Hey, Laurie!" she grinned, then embraced her and A.J., whispering, it'll be all right." to them.
"I'm glad to see you, too, boss!" Towne grinned, hugging his replacement.
'Bout time you showed your face around here! Listen, I have a car waiting, I got your message, that island is under our jurisdiction, so if you need a search warrant, you've got it!" Abby said. Laurie put an arm around her as they
walked to the parking area. "Thanks for being here, Abby. That stubborn husband of mine is in such trouble; the next time he wants to play games, it's going to be Monopoly in our living room!"
Getting a chuckle out of her friends, Laurie suddenly got a very cold feeling, then a warning from Rick. "Tell the guys to get over here, someone killed both the maid and the butler, for real!"
"Ok, now breathe!" Laurie encouraged, holding Linda's hand and blowing puffs of air with her.
"Oh, boy, oh God, Laurie, that's a hard one!" her sister-in-law panted, beads of sweat forming on her upper lip. Gasping and stretching, pulling at her coach's arm, Linda Simon let out a loud groan as Rudy Wells told her, "Hold it, sweetie, just hold it, one more push!"
"I, I thought the second one was supposed to be easier, Rudy, since when!" his former assistant grimaced. "Only thing different this time is not having A.J.!"
"Lin, he should be here any minute, Rick helped him sneak out of that stupid game. Steve's going to have him here in time. He wouldn't miss being here for the world!" Laurie promised, looking at Rudy for assurance.
"I know, sis, but still, I want him, NOW! OH!" Linda let out a wail, then as if on cue, a blond-haired man ran into the room, shedding his jacket as he grabbed a seat. "Thanks Laurie! Linny, are you all right?"
"A.J., talk about timing, here, you're just in time. Take her hand, ok, sis, your relief pitcher is here!" she grinned, then kissed Linda's forehead and scooted out the delivery room door.
Outside Laurie sagged against the wall; Please God let the baby be all right! she prayed. Straightening up, she went to the outer room, where Cecilia, Towne, Temple and Robin were waiting. As she entered, her mom shot to her feet, "Is Linda all right? How's she doing?"
Waving her to her seat, Laurie smiled wearily, "Yes, just not as easy as she thought it was going to be, Rudy had just said one more push when your son came in the nick of time!" Collapsing into a chair, Laurie gratefully took a glass of water Temple got for her. "Buddy, just when I run out of things to brag about, you surprise me again!" the journalist laughed, putting an arm around the exhausted woman. "How many hours have you been doing this?"
"Well, Ricky was only four hours, this little one decided to take just a littttle longer!" she quipped, then sat up abruptly, her ears picking up a new sound.
A faint wail was heard, and all the tiredness was gone as the group took turns hugging each other. A new voice was in the background; "Hey, where's my hug?"
"Steve, you get the biggest one of all!" Laurie giggled, then jumped into his arms. As the former Colonel embraced her, she picked up on his worried vibes, then looked at her friend.
"Steve, what is it, something's wrong with Rick?" she asked anxiously. Robin turned, startled.
Just then the door to the delivery room opened, and a worn-out doctor came strutting out, beaming. "Tell you later", Steve murmured out of the side of his mouth.
She nodded, then smiled as Rudy held up his hand. "All right, whoever had a girl, born 7:57 am, February 7th, weighing in at 8 lbs, 10 ozs, 20 inches long, wins the pool!"
A cheer went up, followed by shushing as the doctor pretended to be stern. "Calm down, this is a hospital, don't want to scare the little lady!"
"Linda's ok, so's A.J., except somebody forgot to tell me he needed stitches!" Rudy added, his eyes betraying his anxiety. Taking a quick glance at Steve, Laurie squared her shoulders, something was going on, but what?
As one by one each of the family and friends stepped into the birthing room, Laurie hung back, trying to reach her husband on her transmitter. Faintly she heard him respond, "Sweetheart, is A.J. there?"
"Yes, darling, he's here, Linda's had her baby and he got here in time. Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes but there's danger, don't let A.J. come back, these guys are playing for keeps. Tell Towne this guy is crazy, he wants to really have someone die and us solve the mystery!" he told her.
"No, Rick get out of there, I want Steve to go back for you!", she insisted, then found his transmitter switched off. Turning, she found Steve exiting the delivery room, and caught his eye.
"Out here." he motioned, and took her outside in the hall.
Closing the door, Laurie turned to find Steve taking a seat in the waiting area, then pulling out a chair for her to use. "Steve, what is it? What happened to A.J.?
"Sit down and I'll tell you, honey." he told her, knowing she'd been on her feet for hours. Reluctantly sitting down, Steve took her hand. "He's all right, Laurie, but this competition's being held on an island just off the coast of San Diego. All the participants were supposedly notified that there was no leaving the house and grounds until Sunday night. I'm afraid the guys never got the word. When A.J. and Rick asked to leave, they told them anyone out of bounds would be shot!"
"What kind of looney's running this game, anyway, I thought it was a fun get-together for a bunch of private eyes!" she replied, vowing to chew her husband out once he was safe and sound.
Steve shook his head, "That's what A.J. thought, once they got there, they found out it was a real competition, with human pieces on a game board. I guess when the guys tried to back out, they were called chicken. That didn't bother them, until one of the other contestants turned out to be an old rival of Rick's, so."
"He decided to stick it out." she finished, frustrated and at the same time proud of her Rick. Seeing her face, Steve chuckled. "A.J. said you'd react that way, he was so ticked off at his big brother, yet that's the way Rick is! So when you called Rick to have him and A.J. leave, they found armed guards were at all the gates and exits to the boat and plane landings."
"So how did you get to A.J.?" she asked, hoping Rick might be able to get out the same way. "He jumped into the water and swam out to me, I was just off
shore and I rowed up to the breakers. Just as he came toward me, a shot grazed him, fortunately I was able to pull him in. The sniper must have gotten scared off, I managed to row us away pretty rapidly and I don't think they were the wiser."
"Thank God you went for him, now I want to pull Rick out before someone decides to go after him! I just got a hold of him, he doesn't want A.J. to come back then his transmitter turned off. He says they really want to kill someone and solve the mystery." Laurie said, worrying. "I'm with you on this, honey, except I don't think I'll be able to get by with the boat this time; we'll have to try something else." he answered.
At that point A.J. came out of the room, then spotting his sister-in-law, gave her a hug. "Laurie, thank you! You took such good care of Linda, she's asking for you!"
"I'll be right there, you take a load off and talk to Steve, we've got to figure out a way of getting Rick out of that place!" she insisted, standing up and giving her chair to A.J. Seeing Robin waiting just inside the door, she took her arm, deciding to tell her about her father.
As they disappeared inside the recovery room, A.J. looked at his friend. "She's the strongest person I know, Steve, how did she react to Rick's wanting to stay?"
"Like you said, pissed off at Rick and the same time proud! Laurie loves your brother so much, we'd better let her in on this. Otherwise she'll just go on her own and be in worse danger!" Steve cautioned.
Later that night, A.J. and Steve conferenced with Rudy and Laurie, with Oscar on the speaker phone from Ojai. Unable to get away due to a final meeting with the Secretary, Oscar told Laurie in no uncertain terms she was to stay back in dealing with the man running the Mystery weekend. "You know Steve can handle this, honey, now let him and A.J. get Rick out. Towne's going to meet you at the airport, he's contacting the island as we speak."
Opening her mouth to protest, Laurie suddenly realized she would be in the way, if anything happened to Rick or the others because she interfered?
Shuddering inside, she met their eyes. "All right, I'll wait at the landing. There's no way I'd do anything to endanger you guys or Rick."
Rudy put an arm around Laurie, "That's my girl! I know it's killing you not to go in there, but it's just too dangerous this time!" "Yes, honey, besides we need you to monitor the security patrol. If we time it right, we should be able to get Rick out and bust the organizers of this little game at the same time!" Oscar added.
Getting to San Diego was the easiest part of the plan, Steve fueled up his Cessna and leaving Cecilia and Temple in charge of their family, Laurie, A.J. and Towne took off for the Mission Bay area. Robert was on duty, but he promised to keep in contact with the others. When they landed, they saw that Lt. Abby Marsh was waiting for them at the gate. "Hey, Laurie!" she grinned, then embraced her and A.J., whispering, it'll be all right." to them.
"I'm glad to see you, too, boss!" Towne grinned, hugging his replacement.
'Bout time you showed your face around here! Listen, I have a car waiting, I got your message, that island is under our jurisdiction, so if you need a search warrant, you've got it!" Abby said. Laurie put an arm around her as they
walked to the parking area. "Thanks for being here, Abby. That stubborn husband of mine is in such trouble; the next time he wants to play games, it's going to be Monopoly in our living room!"
Getting a chuckle out of her friends, Laurie suddenly got a very cold feeling, then a warning from Rick. "Tell the guys to get over here, someone killed both the maid and the butler, for real!"