FOUR

"And he just left you there?" Phoebe asked after Piper had returned home early that evening.

"I told him to," Piper said. "He had an emergency at his store."

"Don't you find it odd that he just seemed to vanish into thin air?" Paige asked.

"Yes, to be honest, I did find it odd," Piper said. "Maybe this Keith had a cab all ready waiting for them? If there was an emergency he'd want to get back as quickly as possible."

"Or maybe they shimmered away," Chris interjected.

"I did think of that," Piper said. "I find it difficult to believe that he's a demon. He's so charming and thoughtful. Not at all like the demons we're used to encountering."

"So was Cole," Phoebe said. "And he was sent to kill us, remember?"

"I remember," Piper said.

"Will you let me check him out now?" Chris asked.

"No," said Piper. "I still want to do this myself. But stay handy in case I need you. If he is a demon you may have to get Phoebe and Paige to me quick. Other than he seemed to disappear rather quickly, there's no indication that he's a demon. I want to be sure before we go charging off making accusations or something."

"I'll tell you what," Paige said. "Why don't I go down to his store tomorrow and look around? I could pretend to be shopping. At the very least I can find out something about him."

"That's a good idea," said Phoebe. "You said you hadn't mentioned either of us. For all he knows Paige will be just another customer."

"Well," said Piper, thinking it over, "I suppose it couldn't hurt. And if it turned out he is a demon you'd be able to orb out before anything happened."

"And I can keep an eye on her," Chris said. "If she runs into trouble I can give her a hand."

"Just don't do anything that might make him suspicious," Piper said.

"I'll be the model of discretion," Paige said.

"In the mean time," Piper said, "I think I'll check the Book of Shadows. Just to make sure he's not in there."

"That's a good idea," Phoebe said. "I'll do an internet search on Mr. Darren Carson. That might give us some useful information."

"I know we have to be on our guard against demons," Piper said, "but it just feels funny. Doing a background check on my date."

"Considering some of the dates we've had," Phoebe said, "we should do it a lot more often."

"Not just dates," Chris said. "Everyone you come into contact with. There's more than just Piper at stake here. There's also Wyatt, Paige, and you, Phoebe. A demon could be after any one of you. You should really be more careful."

"We're not going to start checking out every person who says hello to us," Piper insisted. "But I agree we should at least check Darren out. I'm sure it will turn out to be nothing. But just in case..."

"I'll get started right away," said Phoebe, heading for her room.

"I'll go to the store first thing in the morning," Paige said.

"I'll go with her," Chris said. "I can wait outside and if she runs into any trouble I can be inside in an instant."

"Well, I guess I'd better check the Book of Shadows," Piper said without much enthusiasm. "I just hope I don't find anything."

"Well, from what I could tell," Paige said the next morning, "there's nothing strange about that store. He seems to import a lot of stuff but nothing that would be considered suspicious. The sign said it had been in business for about ten years. The girl said that Darren was out on business. But I didn't see anything odd or anything that might be even remotely demonic."

"That coincides with what I found out," Phoebe said. "There was quite a bit about him on the Internet. Born in Seattle, Washington in 1967 his parents moved to Silver Spring, Maryland in 1968. He moved to San Francisco about ten years ago where he opened his import/export business. He's considered one of the most eligible bachelors in San Francisco. But nothing that might suggest he's a demon."

"I didn't find anything about him in the Book of Shadows," Piper said. "But then there was so little to go on. I really think we're barking up the wrong tree, guys. There's nothing to suggest any demonic connection."

"Except that he seems to disappear into thin air," Chris offered.

"So do you," said Paige. "As far as that goes, so do Leo and I. And we're certainly not demons. Maybe Piper is right. Maybe this Keith had a car waiting all ready."

"You're just going to give up?" Chris asked.

"What else would you suggest?" Piper asked. "We checked the guy out and he came up clean. What else do you want us to do?"

"Darryl," Phoebe said.

"What about Darryl?" Paige asked.

"Well," Phoebe said, "we haven't to see if this guy has a record. That's not something that might be accessible on the Internet. And I doubt he'd go advertising it. Darryl could run a check and see if the guy has a record or something."

"I don't know," Piper said. "It just seems wrong."

"Hey," said Chris, "it's not wrong if it helps protect you. And Phoebe is right. This guy may not be a demon but there are plenty of non-demonic predators out there. It can't hurt to ask Darryl to run a check on him."

"And if he finds something, then what?" Piper asked.

"We deal with that when, and if, it happens," Paige said. "If the guy hasn't got a record then no harm done. But we should at least check it out. When are you supposed to see this guy again?"

"He's going to call," Piper said. "Probably tonight or tomorrow."

"I'll call Darryl right away," Paige said, getting up from the table. "The sooner we learn what there is to learn the better I'll feel."

"Okay," said Piper. "But ask Darryl to do it quietly. If there's nothing to learn I don't want Darren to find out I'm checking up on him."

"Consider it done," said Paige.