"Are you sure you won't come home?" Ginger Collig begged her husband. "You should be resting, Ezra, you know you should!"
"I'll rest later." he promised. "Relax, babe." Ezra put an arm about her shoulders and hugged Ginger as she walked with him out the exit doors and toward the hospital parking lot. "I'm not going to do anything strenuous tonight," he assured her. "I just need to go over some things with Sal, that's all."
"All right." she said in defeat. She'd known it wasn't much use, but at least she'd tried. "I'll drop you at the station. How are you going to get home, later?"
"I'll requisition a new car-" Ezra told her. "-oh, wait! Joe's crutches went up with my car!" he realized.
"Go ahead and get in the car, and I'll go back in and get some." Ginger told him. He looked like he was going to argue, so she gave him a gentle push and ordered "Scoot!" before turning around and heading back into the hospital.
After Fenton finished sending the information to the FBI, he dutifully watered the Radleys' plants, and locked the door behind him as he left. He wanted to stop by the police station and talk with Ezra, but knew he didn't dare: he was still in disguise as "Jeff King," and doing so would blow his cover completely.
Still, he wanted to check on Laura and the boys, if only by phone. He stopped at the first gas station he came to, as he was leaving Bayport, silently cursing himself for not phoning from the Radleys'. He filled up the gas tank, paid the attendant, then went to the pay phone at the corner of the building and dialed Ezra's home number. It began ringing, and Fenton smiled, thinking of his family.
Wood knelt down and lifted Joe from his position cuddled on Frank's arm. Joe's eyes flew open, and he emitted a low scream of fright.
Hearing Joe's cry, Frank awakened, and saw the masked men hovering over the bed. "Put him down!" Frank screamed, struggling to his feet on the bed.
Billy shoved Frank down as Wood turned to leave with Joe still in his arms, too frozen with fear to struggle.
"Leave my brother alone!" Frank shrieked, scrambling off the bed and running after Wood. He began beating Wood in the small of his back with his fists.
Billy grabbed Frank and hoisted him effortlessly into the air, where he held him for a fraction of a second before dropping him abruptly to the floor.
"No!" Joe cried out, then, not wanting Frank to get hurt. "Leave him alone!"
"Shut up, you imbecile!" Wood bellowed at the little boy in his arms. "You've caused more than enough problems already!"
Joe's eyes filled with dread, but he refused to be hushed. "Leave him alone!" he pleaded. "I promise, I'll never run away again!"
"You got that part right." Wood snarled. "When I get through with you, you won't ever be able to stand again, let alone run."
"You aren't taking him!" Frank spluttered, getting to his feet once again. "He's my brother now, and you can't take him!" he added. Billy plucked him off his feet once more, holding him in midair, but Frank kicked him solidly in the jaw, causing the big man to drop him again.
Frank got to his feet and started to launch himself at Wood, but Billy caught his shoulders and held him immobile.
"Brother?" Wood inquired, with a lift of his eyebrow as Frank's words registered. Wood looked at Billy. "Hardy thinks he can take what belongs to me, does he?" he questioned in a silky, deadly voice. "I think perhaps it is time he learned a lesson. Bring him." he ordered.
Obediently, Billy scooped Frank into his arms.
"NO! NO!" Frank screamed, and struggled wildly to free himself from the big man's grasp.
Ginger parked her car and pulled the little crutches from the back seat. She could see the living room light on, and she wondered if Laura had left it on for her, or if she had waited up. Ginger unlocked the back door and entered the kitchen. As she set down the crutches, she heard scuffling noises, and Frank's frantic screams.
Not thinking of the danger she was putting herself in, Ginger raced for the boys' room. She halted abruptly when she saw the two masked intruders manhandling Frank and Joe. "Put them down!" she ordered fiercely, even though she felt as if her knees would buckle beneath her.
Wood didn't even bother replying. He dropped Joe to the floor, cast and all. Joe cried out in pain and Frank in protest, as Wood removed a pistol from behind his back, and aimed it at Ginger. Before she could move, he fired off three rounds, point-blank, each bullet finding its mark in the tender flesh of the courageous woman. Ginger fell to the floor...as the phone began to ring.
When Ezra walked into the police station, he heard pandemonium reigning. Putting two fingers in his mouth, he gave a shrill whistle. Talking and movement ceased as all eyes turned toward him.
"Thompson! Report." Ezra ordered the officer nearest him.
"It's Morrow, Chief." Thompson replied somberly. "He was shot about an hour ago, in the park."
"What was he doing in the park?" Collig demanded, but no one answered him. "Get Simpson up here, now!" he barked, and headed for his office.
Once inside, Ezra picked up the phone and started to dial Agent Rathbone's number, only to realize that he didn't know whether Morrow's murder had anything to do with the Wood case. He set the receiver in its cradle and buried his head in his hands, grieving for his friend.
The sound of a throat being cleared brought him from his reverie, and Ezra looked up to see freckle-faced Officer Simpson standing in front of his desk.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Simpson asked.
"Get down to Dispatch, and trace all calls made on Morrow's line." Collig instructed him. "I want to know what he was doing in the park."
"Yessir." Simpson turned to leave.
"And Simpson-" Ezra's voice detained the young officer, and he turned around inquiringly.
"Sir?"
"Find out if he was working on anything in the field."
Simpson nodded soberly and departed. Ezra rubbed the back of his neck. He had a bad feeling that Sal's death was somehow related to the Wood case, but what could Sal have found out that would take him to the park without backup? Could he have discovered something about the bomb at Zippy's? If so, why hadn't Sal told someone?
Ezra reached for the phone, intending to call Agent Rathbone after all, but before he could pick up the receiver, it rang. "Collig." he snapped, in a brusque tone.
"No one is answering the phone at your house!" Fenton's panicked voice came over the wires.
"Oh, God!" Ezra moaned, dropping the phone into its cradle and rushing to the door. "Thompson, Andrews, O'Malley, come with me!" he barked, running down the stairs. The three officers followed, hot on his heels.
"Where to?" Andrews yelled, as they stormed out of the building and towards the waiting police cruisers.
"My house." Ezra replied grimly.
When they arrived, the house was silent. Ezra sent Thompson and O'Malley around the back, while he and Andrews went to the front. At the front door, the two men took up positions on either side of the door. Ezra held up three fingers and dropped them one at a time. As the last one fell, he kicked in the door.
Except for the sound of the back kitchen door being given the same treatment by Thompson, there was absolute quiet in the house. As Collig went into the living room, he spotted Laura lying on the sofa. She appeared to be asleep, but there was no way she would have slept through the crashing noise of the doors. He went over to her, and checked her pulse. It was beating normally, but she didn't awaken.
The four officers started a search of the place. Ezra headed for his and Ginger's bedroom, hoping she had merely been drugged as well, but to reach their bedroom he had to pass by the room where Frank and Joe were to sleep. He looked in as he started past - and froze.
Dropping his gun, he entered the room in a stunned daze. "Ginger," he croaked, dropping to his knees beside her. As he reached to touch her face, stared into her unseeing eyes, hot tears began to scald his cheeks. "No." he whispered, unable to accept what he already knew.
"No!" he cried again, his voice gaining in volume. And finally, "NOOOOOOO!" Ezra screamed in anguish as he pulled his dead wife into his arms and buried his face in her hair. He didn't notice - nor would he have cared, had he noticed - that his clothing was becoming drenched in the blood, which covered her body.
The other officers came running into the room, just as a car screeched to a stop outside. In seconds, a man with dirty-blond hair and frantic brown eyes came crashing into the house. Officer Thompson went to see who this intruder was, ready to question him, but the man was already kneeling beside the woman on the couch, speaking her name ever so softly.
"She's okay." Thompson's voice came from behind Fenton. Fenton turned to look at the policeman as the sound of uncontrollable sobbing filled the air. Fenton stood up and walked toward the bedrooms. He had to know - but his face was white, as he imagined Frank and Joe injured...or worse.
Fenton came to an abrupt halt when he saw Ezra cradling Ginger's lifeless body. "Oh my God." Fenton croaked, seeing the pool of blood Ezra was sitting in. "Ezra - Ginger..." Swallowing the lump in his throat, he walked over to his friend, his own eyes bright with unshed tears. Kneeling beside Ezra, Fenton put a hand on his shoulder, and let the man cry.
"Where-" Fenton gulped again, and looked up at Lieutenant Andrews, who stood nearby. Out in the hallway, O'Malley was radioing in for a forensics team. "Where are - the boys?"
"Boys?" Andrews asked, his instincts going to red alert.
"Frank and Joe - my sons." Fenton rasped, his stomach heaving. "They were here."
"There's no one else in the house." Andrews informed the stricken man.
"I'll rest later." he promised. "Relax, babe." Ezra put an arm about her shoulders and hugged Ginger as she walked with him out the exit doors and toward the hospital parking lot. "I'm not going to do anything strenuous tonight," he assured her. "I just need to go over some things with Sal, that's all."
"All right." she said in defeat. She'd known it wasn't much use, but at least she'd tried. "I'll drop you at the station. How are you going to get home, later?"
"I'll requisition a new car-" Ezra told her. "-oh, wait! Joe's crutches went up with my car!" he realized.
"Go ahead and get in the car, and I'll go back in and get some." Ginger told him. He looked like he was going to argue, so she gave him a gentle push and ordered "Scoot!" before turning around and heading back into the hospital.
After Fenton finished sending the information to the FBI, he dutifully watered the Radleys' plants, and locked the door behind him as he left. He wanted to stop by the police station and talk with Ezra, but knew he didn't dare: he was still in disguise as "Jeff King," and doing so would blow his cover completely.
Still, he wanted to check on Laura and the boys, if only by phone. He stopped at the first gas station he came to, as he was leaving Bayport, silently cursing himself for not phoning from the Radleys'. He filled up the gas tank, paid the attendant, then went to the pay phone at the corner of the building and dialed Ezra's home number. It began ringing, and Fenton smiled, thinking of his family.
Wood knelt down and lifted Joe from his position cuddled on Frank's arm. Joe's eyes flew open, and he emitted a low scream of fright.
Hearing Joe's cry, Frank awakened, and saw the masked men hovering over the bed. "Put him down!" Frank screamed, struggling to his feet on the bed.
Billy shoved Frank down as Wood turned to leave with Joe still in his arms, too frozen with fear to struggle.
"Leave my brother alone!" Frank shrieked, scrambling off the bed and running after Wood. He began beating Wood in the small of his back with his fists.
Billy grabbed Frank and hoisted him effortlessly into the air, where he held him for a fraction of a second before dropping him abruptly to the floor.
"No!" Joe cried out, then, not wanting Frank to get hurt. "Leave him alone!"
"Shut up, you imbecile!" Wood bellowed at the little boy in his arms. "You've caused more than enough problems already!"
Joe's eyes filled with dread, but he refused to be hushed. "Leave him alone!" he pleaded. "I promise, I'll never run away again!"
"You got that part right." Wood snarled. "When I get through with you, you won't ever be able to stand again, let alone run."
"You aren't taking him!" Frank spluttered, getting to his feet once again. "He's my brother now, and you can't take him!" he added. Billy plucked him off his feet once more, holding him in midair, but Frank kicked him solidly in the jaw, causing the big man to drop him again.
Frank got to his feet and started to launch himself at Wood, but Billy caught his shoulders and held him immobile.
"Brother?" Wood inquired, with a lift of his eyebrow as Frank's words registered. Wood looked at Billy. "Hardy thinks he can take what belongs to me, does he?" he questioned in a silky, deadly voice. "I think perhaps it is time he learned a lesson. Bring him." he ordered.
Obediently, Billy scooped Frank into his arms.
"NO! NO!" Frank screamed, and struggled wildly to free himself from the big man's grasp.
Ginger parked her car and pulled the little crutches from the back seat. She could see the living room light on, and she wondered if Laura had left it on for her, or if she had waited up. Ginger unlocked the back door and entered the kitchen. As she set down the crutches, she heard scuffling noises, and Frank's frantic screams.
Not thinking of the danger she was putting herself in, Ginger raced for the boys' room. She halted abruptly when she saw the two masked intruders manhandling Frank and Joe. "Put them down!" she ordered fiercely, even though she felt as if her knees would buckle beneath her.
Wood didn't even bother replying. He dropped Joe to the floor, cast and all. Joe cried out in pain and Frank in protest, as Wood removed a pistol from behind his back, and aimed it at Ginger. Before she could move, he fired off three rounds, point-blank, each bullet finding its mark in the tender flesh of the courageous woman. Ginger fell to the floor...as the phone began to ring.
When Ezra walked into the police station, he heard pandemonium reigning. Putting two fingers in his mouth, he gave a shrill whistle. Talking and movement ceased as all eyes turned toward him.
"Thompson! Report." Ezra ordered the officer nearest him.
"It's Morrow, Chief." Thompson replied somberly. "He was shot about an hour ago, in the park."
"What was he doing in the park?" Collig demanded, but no one answered him. "Get Simpson up here, now!" he barked, and headed for his office.
Once inside, Ezra picked up the phone and started to dial Agent Rathbone's number, only to realize that he didn't know whether Morrow's murder had anything to do with the Wood case. He set the receiver in its cradle and buried his head in his hands, grieving for his friend.
The sound of a throat being cleared brought him from his reverie, and Ezra looked up to see freckle-faced Officer Simpson standing in front of his desk.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Simpson asked.
"Get down to Dispatch, and trace all calls made on Morrow's line." Collig instructed him. "I want to know what he was doing in the park."
"Yessir." Simpson turned to leave.
"And Simpson-" Ezra's voice detained the young officer, and he turned around inquiringly.
"Sir?"
"Find out if he was working on anything in the field."
Simpson nodded soberly and departed. Ezra rubbed the back of his neck. He had a bad feeling that Sal's death was somehow related to the Wood case, but what could Sal have found out that would take him to the park without backup? Could he have discovered something about the bomb at Zippy's? If so, why hadn't Sal told someone?
Ezra reached for the phone, intending to call Agent Rathbone after all, but before he could pick up the receiver, it rang. "Collig." he snapped, in a brusque tone.
"No one is answering the phone at your house!" Fenton's panicked voice came over the wires.
"Oh, God!" Ezra moaned, dropping the phone into its cradle and rushing to the door. "Thompson, Andrews, O'Malley, come with me!" he barked, running down the stairs. The three officers followed, hot on his heels.
"Where to?" Andrews yelled, as they stormed out of the building and towards the waiting police cruisers.
"My house." Ezra replied grimly.
When they arrived, the house was silent. Ezra sent Thompson and O'Malley around the back, while he and Andrews went to the front. At the front door, the two men took up positions on either side of the door. Ezra held up three fingers and dropped them one at a time. As the last one fell, he kicked in the door.
Except for the sound of the back kitchen door being given the same treatment by Thompson, there was absolute quiet in the house. As Collig went into the living room, he spotted Laura lying on the sofa. She appeared to be asleep, but there was no way she would have slept through the crashing noise of the doors. He went over to her, and checked her pulse. It was beating normally, but she didn't awaken.
The four officers started a search of the place. Ezra headed for his and Ginger's bedroom, hoping she had merely been drugged as well, but to reach their bedroom he had to pass by the room where Frank and Joe were to sleep. He looked in as he started past - and froze.
Dropping his gun, he entered the room in a stunned daze. "Ginger," he croaked, dropping to his knees beside her. As he reached to touch her face, stared into her unseeing eyes, hot tears began to scald his cheeks. "No." he whispered, unable to accept what he already knew.
"No!" he cried again, his voice gaining in volume. And finally, "NOOOOOOO!" Ezra screamed in anguish as he pulled his dead wife into his arms and buried his face in her hair. He didn't notice - nor would he have cared, had he noticed - that his clothing was becoming drenched in the blood, which covered her body.
The other officers came running into the room, just as a car screeched to a stop outside. In seconds, a man with dirty-blond hair and frantic brown eyes came crashing into the house. Officer Thompson went to see who this intruder was, ready to question him, but the man was already kneeling beside the woman on the couch, speaking her name ever so softly.
"She's okay." Thompson's voice came from behind Fenton. Fenton turned to look at the policeman as the sound of uncontrollable sobbing filled the air. Fenton stood up and walked toward the bedrooms. He had to know - but his face was white, as he imagined Frank and Joe injured...or worse.
Fenton came to an abrupt halt when he saw Ezra cradling Ginger's lifeless body. "Oh my God." Fenton croaked, seeing the pool of blood Ezra was sitting in. "Ezra - Ginger..." Swallowing the lump in his throat, he walked over to his friend, his own eyes bright with unshed tears. Kneeling beside Ezra, Fenton put a hand on his shoulder, and let the man cry.
"Where-" Fenton gulped again, and looked up at Lieutenant Andrews, who stood nearby. Out in the hallway, O'Malley was radioing in for a forensics team. "Where are - the boys?"
"Boys?" Andrews asked, his instincts going to red alert.
"Frank and Joe - my sons." Fenton rasped, his stomach heaving. "They were here."
"There's no one else in the house." Andrews informed the stricken man.
