Author's Note: Here's where Pete and Linc's past experience as undercover cops comes into play and their former "skills"(breaking into Slade's house) are used. Past episodes alluded to in the first scene will be referenced at the end of the story. And thanks to those who have been faithfully reading and reviewing this.
THE SEARCH BEGINS
Saturday, November 22, 1980, 8:15 AM PST
The day dawned gray and overcast, as if the sky knew the somber circumstances that existed at the Bennett ranch. The secluded area of the property where the run down cabin was located, which housed Julie and Melissa was made even more dark and isolated by the trees that surrounded it.
Julie shook herself to consciousness, which wasn't difficult, for she had slept very lightly if at all. She was more concerned about Melissa whose fear caused her to sleep close to her mother. Julie's movement awoke Melissa who moaned softly.
"Mommy? Where are we?" she asked sleepily.
"I don't know where we are, sweetie. Do you need to go?" Julie inquired, thinking about Melissa's basic needs.
"Uh-huh. Where can I go?" she said looking around.
Julie began searching in the cabinets for a receptacle of sorts and she found an old five gallon tin bucket. She gently guided Melissa in using it to relieve herself then she used it, placing it in the far corner.
Julie then made a quick inspection of the cabin. She found that there was a door that led to a small one windowed room with another trundle bed the only furniture in there. She then went to the rough table and rooted through the two bags of groceries David left them. Julie took the loaf of bread out and the peanut butter with the plastic knife David provided and made sandwiches for Melissa and herself for breakfast. Melissa obediently ate her sandwich and drank the water Julie poured from the jug. After breakfast, Julie went over to the sink and tried to wash the meager utensils that were provided her but the water trickled slowly from the old and slow pump. Melissa sat quietly on the bed and waited until Julie was done.
Julie finished washing and laid the articles on the top of the cabinet. She wiped her hands on her jeans and then sat beside Melissa on the bed, her arm around her shoulders. Melissa looked up at her mother.
"Mommy can I ask you something?" she asked.
"Sure, baby. What's on your mind?"
Melissa took a deep breath, "When you worked for the police, were you ever taken like we were?" she wanted to know.
Julie sighed. She had hoped to shield Melissa from the life she had led before but it looks like there was no escaping it...it was as much a part of her as it ever was...
She leaned back and began, "Yes, Melissa, I have. Few times, while we worked undercover, the bad people we were trying to catch kidnapped me. Except for one time, I was taken against my will by a sad young man who thought I was my friend Diane Farrell, who I was staying with one weekend."
"Mommy what's 'undercover' mean? Did you, Pete, and Linc, have to go under a blanket to get the bad people?" Melissa asked curiously.
Julie laughed in spite of the grim circumstances they were in. "No honey, it meant that we had to pretend to be something so the bad people would trust us and let us get close enough to arrest them."
"Oh, you mean like when I play Dress-Up?" Melissa asked, eyes wide with interest.
"Well, not quite, but sometimes. We posed as different types of people to get close to people doing things that broke the law. A few times Pete and I pretended like we were brother and sister, but usually we posed as boyfriend/girlfriend or husband and wife," Julie explained.
Melissa gushed, "Wow, Mommy, it sounds exciting! And when was it when Pete saved your life?" she pressed.
Julie replied, "Pete saved my life once when we were working at a circus."
"A circus? You mean with clowns and wild animals and a ringmaster and everything?"
"Uh-huh. I was assigned to work on the trapeze." Julie told her.
"Really Mommy? You were on a real trapeze? And where were Pete and Linc?"
Julie nodded and continued, "Pete was working with the elephants and Linc was working with the lions and tigers. There was a man trying to hurt the man who owned the circus and he even got stabbed. The next day, we all discovered that one of the men on the trapeze was the one who had arranged all the bad things to happen. Captain Greer, our boss, was ready to arrest him. I was up on the high platform with the man and he pushed me while he tried to run away. I fell and got caught in a rope ladder, hanging upside down and Pete climbed up to save me before I could fall to the ground."
Melissa was mesmerized by the story, "How'd he do it?"
"He had the elephant trainer bring one of her elephants over and he climbed up the pole next to the ladder to free me then held on to me as he turned me around so I could get on the elephant's back. Then when he got down the pole, he reached up and pulled me down off of the elephant," she finished. "And that was only once, Pete and Linc have always saved me from one thing or another."
Melissa was silent as she digested this. Then she asked in a low voice, with pleading eyes "Mommy, will Pete save us now?"
Julie took Melissa in her arms and held her close, "I hope so, baby. I truly hope so," she murmured fervently as she stared out in space trying not to telegraph her fears to her daughter. . . .
While Julie and Melissa huddled fearfully together in the ramshackle shack, the atmosphere at the ranch house was a somber one. Linc and Jason were dressed and in the kitchen eating some breakfast. Linc was quiet and reflective, and Jason picked up on his father's mood and was just as worried. Linc had told his son what had transpired last night and Jason was subdued by the grim news.
Hannah was trying to get them both to eat more than the toast and juice they had asked for when a bedraggled Pete joined them, obviously looking very much worse for wear. He had spent the night on the sofa and looked it, having slept in the same clothes he had worn the day before. He had a shadow of beard growth and circles under his eyes, appearing wan and worried as he walked over to the kitchen table.
Hannah came over and asked him with concern, "Can I get you anything, Mr. Pete?"
Pete looked at her numbly and shook his head, "No thank you, Hannah, just coffee for me. I gotta wake up and do some things. But thanks anyway," he said as she put a mug of steaming coffee down in front of him. He stared blankly at the mug, not touching it, his thoughts miles away.
Linc looked at him, "You look like you didn't get much sleep, man."
Pete replied flatly, "I didn't. Who can sleep with Julie at the mercy of a lunatic like Slade?" He got up and walked to the door window to stare bleakly out at the overcast morning. "And I can't do a damned thing to find her 'cause I haven't a clue of where the hell he's got her." He slammed his palm on the doorjamb in abject frustration.
Linc and Jason looked at Pete then looked at each other. Linc got up from the table and approached Pete who was oblivious to everything around him. Linc joined him staring out the window.
"So what's your next move, Pete?" Linc asked.
Pete sighed tiredly, "I'm gonna head out to the stable office to look around, see if I find anything that could be a clue as to why Slade nabbed Julie and Melissa. Then I'll call Rafferty and fill him in and see what he thinks." He opened the door, "I'll go out there now."
"Want some help?" Linc volunteered.
Pete gave him a weak smile, "Thanks man." He grabbed his denim jacket from the hooks on the wall by the door, wrenched open the door and strode through. Linc looked at Jason.
"You stay here, pal, okay?" he instructed.
Jason nodded, "Okay, Dad, I will."
"I'll watch him for you Mr. Linc," Hannah promised.
"Thanks Hannah," Linc said as he exited out the door after Pete.
Linc caught up to Pete as he strode purposefully toward the stable office. They both came to the door and Pete reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his old lock picking kit. Linc snickered as he watched Pete open the pouch and take the tool out. He then expertly sprung the office door lock and let himself and Linc in.
"Hey man, what's the CEO of Southern California's biggest insurance carrier and a Beverly Hills playboy doing with a lock picking kit, huh? You'd think that you used to be a thief in your past the way you sprung that lock," Linc commented with a smirk.
Pete turned and looked innocently at Linc."Who, me?" He shrugged, "I just kept it as a momento, I never thought I'd be using it again. But I'm glad I remembered having it in my jacket, 'cause I didn't have a key." He sat behind the desk and began searching through the drawers.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Linc wanted to know as he took a seat in front of the desk.
Pete didn't answer as he continued rifling through the desk drawers, tossing papers about, as he anxiously sought out a clue or anything that could be used. He slammed the drawer shut in disgust as he came up empty.
Linc asked again, "I repeat, what are you looking for?"
Pete replied, "I'm trying to find the insurance policy for the partnership of the ranch. The one that Bennett and Slade had taken out together and named each other beneficiaries. I had an idea that if I could look at the policy, I could figure out why Slade took Julie and Melissa." He looked about the office, trying to figure out where else to look and spied the file cabinet in the corner.
"Linc, do me a favor, check out the file cabinet while I see if I overlooked anything," Pete requested as he sighed and began to bend down and look in the bottom drawer of the desk.
Linc got up and went to the cabinet to begin searching. Pete leaned down further when his eye caught something that appeared strange. There was a panel of wood that looked like another drawer, concealed deep under the well of the desk. Pete pushed the chair back and bent down from his waist as he reached deeply under the desk to try to open the secret drawer. It was locked so he came up, retrieved his lock pick and then submerged again. Curious, Linc glanced over...
"You find something?"
Linc turned and watched as he picked open the drawer and began searching that drawer. He made a muffled exclamation as he discovered something of great importance. Linc came over to Pete's side to see what had happened.
"Bingo!" Pete crowed as he came up and sat back in the chair. "Here it is!"
He held up a folder that held several official documents. He opened the folder and began to read through the papers.
"Now this is very interesting," he said thoughtfully. He reached over and showed it to Linc. "Check out the addendum to the policy, man. Dan had the policy revised when he and Julie got married."
Linc perused the document. "It says 'in the event of accidental death, the beneficiary is the spouse of the other co-insured party or his descendent.' Slade's single, isn't he?"
Pete nodded.
Linc continued, "In the event that neither insured has any spouse or descendants, the beneficiary is the other co-insured. So Julie or Melissa become the beneficiaries to this policy should Slade kick off and vice versa."
"Uh-huh, you got it. And there's a codicil here attached to the deed of the property that pretty much says the same thing." Pete handed another document to Linc so he could see it then leaned back with a thoughtful frown.
"There's still something that doesn't fit. He owns a third of the business according to Hank and they've got five foals on the way that are already committed to buyers for a good amount apiece. Why would he need a payoff on the policy unless he needed a lot of cash up front real fast." He pondered that while Linc put the documents back together in the folder. Suddenly, Pete came forward with a look of realization.
Linc looked up at him, "Hey man you look like you got a light bulb over your head. What gives?"
Pete gazed intently at Linc, "Remember Rafferty telling us last night that Slade had some ties with Vegas mobsters?"
"Uh-huh," Linc responded with interest.
Pete continued, "Let's take a trip over to Slade's place and see what we can find there." He got up to leave the office but Linc put a restraining hand to stop him.
"Hey, easy Pete, we're not cops anymore, remember?"
"What's your point?" Pete asked sourly.
"My point is if we go over and break into Slade's house we'd be doing something illegal. That's what it would be, old buddy, breaking and entering. We're not under the protection of any jurisdiction with badges anymore, we're just private citizens," Linc reasoned.
Pete frowned disgustedly, "Yeah you're right." He turned and headed back to the desk where he sat down wearily and rubbed his eyes. Linc sat down again as well.
"Look, Pete, we're all worried about Julie and Melissa but you gotta use your head. Let Rafferty know what we found and then tell him what you think. Give him a chance to act upon it, it's his job, let him do it."
Pete nodded grudgingly. He reached in his pocket for the card Lou Rafferty gave him. then leaned over, picked up the phone and dialed Lou's number. It rang three times before Lou picked it up.
"Rafferty,"
"Hi Lou, it's Pete Cochrane."
"Hey, Pete. What's up?
"Linc and I are in the stable office and we came across something that may look like a motive. We found the partnership insurance policy and it appears that Dan had the policy revised back when he married Julie," Pete informed him.
"Yeah? Well, I was just about to leave to come out there to talk to Hank about Slade. He's known him a long time and maybe he can help tell us where Slade is and where he might have Julie and her daughter stashed," Lou stated.
"Uh-huh. Why don't you just come straight back here. You can take a look at the policy and see if you draw the same conclusion that I'm drawing," Pete suggested.
"Okay. I'll see you in a bit," Lou said as he hung up.
Pete put the receiver on the cradle. Linc eyed him curiously.
"So?"
"Lou's on his way. He wants to see what we found and he wants to talk to Hank. He thinks Hank might have some ideas of where Slade, Julie and Melissa may be," Pete recounted.
"Are we gonna stay here and wait?" Linc inquired.
"Might as well. I told him to just come right back here."
Pete sighed and leaned back, rubbing his eyes. He then spotted a picture frame on the desk, turned face down. Curious, he lifted the frame and looked at the picture. It was a miniature of Julie's wedding photo that had captivated him last night.
Linc leaned over and studied the picture."Wow, Julie sure made a pretty bride," he commented, taking the photo.
Pete took the photo from his hand so he could study it himself. "Yeah, man she looked beautiful. Just like I always knew she would," Pete said wistfully as he touched the photo.
Linc looked at him, "You're sounding like you regret some things, man," he said sagely.
Pete nodded, "Yeah, since being here with her and Melissa, I've been constantly telling myself what a jerk I was to break off with her eight years ago." He shook his head with self-exasperation as he replaced the photo on the desk, face up.
"Ancient history, Pete. None of us are the same, man, even the world's different. We all grew up and now we have responsibilities, the things that were important to us before aren't anymore."
"I wish I'd have known then that I was going to make a big mistake in walking away from her," Pete said sadly.
Linc eyed him sympathetically. "You both wanted different things."
"Yeah, but now I want what she's got. And worse, I've been imagining what my life could've been if I'd have married her to begin with," Pete replied dourly, voice tinged with regret. "That's not the half of it, Linc, I found out something about how Julie met Dan."
"Yeah?"
"Slade informed me that she met Dan after she rearended his truck in L.A. when she read my wedding announcement. Man, she was crying so hard that she didn't see him stop. Suppose she'd have been on the highway or crashed into a wall. She could've been killed and would've been my fault." Pete finished miserably.
"Man, you never change. Jumping to conclusions and making yourself responsible for situations beyond your control," Linc admonished. He went on, "How were you supposed to know that she'd reacted that way? As you remember, we'd all gone our separate ways, we wanted to distance ourselves from the Squad and everything with it. And that included each other."
"Yeah, but you remember how close Julie and I were. I was really thinking about proposing to her back then but I didn't want kids at the time and she did, so I let her go," Pete reflected sullenly. "And it almost killed me to do it. Remember how she put me in the deep freeze the last couple of days on the Squad?"
"You loved her enough to give her a chance to find happiness, man. That's not an easy decision to make but you did it."
"Yeah, I'm a real hero. I marry the wrong woman, ruin two lives and cause the woman I've always loved to put herself in a potentially life-threatening situation," Pete said bitterly.
Linc shook his head, "Obsessing about mistakes we make all the time can drive us crazy. You need to get beyond it and go forward."
Pete sighed, "That's not easy man. Every time I see her, I think about the what ifs "
"Then why did you come out here?"
"I came out here to get the check to her but I know I could've sent it up by courier. Fact is, I wanted to see her again, that's why I came. Since we all got together last year in L.A., I've thought about her every day," Pete admitted.
"You tell her all this?"
"Yeah I did. And you know what, man, we've been so close again and Melissa and I have gotten close too. I really don't want to leave here," Pete finished with a sigh. "And now, the two of them are out there somewhere. I mean, do they have food and water, are they alive, has he hurt them?" he added anxiously.
Linc had nothing to say as Pete's voiced fears hung heavy in the air.
There was a knock on the door and Pete brusquely called out, "It's open!" Lou Rafferty opened the door and stepped in
"Hey guys, what you got?" Lou took a seat next to Linc. Pete handed him the insurance folder.
"Take a look at that. Looks like Slade has a motive for snatching Julie and Melissa, to us anyway," he pressed as Lou thumbed through the folder.
Lou nodded as he refolded the documents, "Yeah, but it could be considered circumstantial. We need something else." They all looked to the door of the office as Hank entered.
"Something goin' on here?" Hank asked curiously. Lou got up and motioned for Hank to sit down as Pete and Linc looked on.
"Hank, I want to ask you some questions. First, did David Slade happen to tell you where he went for the weekend?" Lou inquired.
"No sir, he didn't. He just said he would be gone till Monday," Hank replied with a quizzical look.
"Your son told me he saw Slade help Julie and Melissa into his truck. Did you see the same thing?"
"No I didn't actually see them but I did see David leave the office and drive away in his truck. I was busy stacking bags of leaves," Hank said
Pete leaned forward. "Hank, did you know that David Slade had a gun?" he asked sharply.
Lou glanced at Pete, then looked directly at Hank and repeated, "Did you know that, Hank?"
Hank looked dumbfounded, "No sir, I didn't," he said with an alarmed expression.
Lou leaned down to meet Hank eye to eye, "Hank, did you pick up anything, anything at all, that could be construed as strange when you worked with him? He confided in you didn't he?"
"Sometimes, but not much of late. He's been really moody since Mr. Dan's death. He just doesn't want to talk about it, and that's understandable, since Mr. Dan and Dave were like brothers," Hank informed them.
"So," Lou pressed. "In your opinion, Slade wouldn't try to hurt his best friend's widow and daughter, right?"
"I don't think so," Hank said feebly, losing conviction.
Pete sat back, scowling darkly, unconvinced. He suddenly remembered something and squatted under the desk to look once more in the secret drawer. He put his hand into the drawer and discovered a ledger, which he drew out. He cracked it open, and then reached for the ledger on the desk which, he pulled open as well. He began to read down the entries on each page of both books, comparing the figures. The three other men watched him quizzically and Linc looked over.
"You onto something, man?" he asked.
Pete continued poring over the figures and said distractedly, "Uh-huh." He raised his eyes from the page and looked penetratingly at Hank, "We both know that there's something here that's not right, don't we, Hank?" he probed, eyes focused.
Hank looked uncomfortable, "Uhh, yeah." He nervously licked his lips.
Lou was alert, "What are you driving at, Pete?"
Pete persisted quietly, "Tell him, Hank. One innocent person is already dead and two other innocent people's lives hang in the balance.
Hank looked utterly miserable. He sighed heavily, "David's been skimming off the books for quite some time."
"How long?" Lou demanded. Hank squirmed under his scrutiny.
"A-about ten years. He came to work for Mr. Steve just after he graduated college," he finished helplessly.
"How did you know about this, Hank?"
Hank took a deep breath, "I saw the books regularly. When we'd make a sale I'd give him an offer sheet from the client with one figure and he'd renegotiate a higher fee but enter the figure on the offer sheet into the books."
"That's embezzling Hank. Why didn't you report it or tell Dan about it at least," Lou asked.
Hank appeared unhappy as he sighed, "I was trying to protect him. The boy's had nothing but bad things happen to him all his life. His mother left him, his father gambled away his birthright then committed suicide. He's not a bad boy really."
Pete leaned in and said gently, "We all have tough breaks in life, Hank. That's no excuse to do the things he's done, embezzling money, kidnapping and maybe murder. It's like you condoned his actions."
Hank looked back at Pete. "You don't know the whole story. I was with David the day he came home and found his father dead after shooting himself."
The other three men listened as he continued, "I had gone to get the boys at school and Dan and I had just dropped Dave off. We were just about to pull away when Dave came running out screaming. Dan and me went inside and we saw Mr. Russ face down after shooting himself in the mouth. Dave just froze there, looking at his pa, watching him bleed to death and he wouldn't say nothing, just stood there like a statue even after I called an ambulance. Mr. Steve immediately took him in to live at the house with him and Dan."
Pete, Linc, and Lou looked at Hank with sympathy. Pete began in a halting tone, "Hank, David needs help, but not the kind of help you're giving him. Right now, you're an accessory to embezzling and if he kills Julie and Melissa, murder if you don't help us to find him."
Lou nodded sternly. "He's right, Hank. So if you know anything that might help, we need you to speak up now."
Hank looked from one grim face to another. He was sweating profusely as he repeated, "I swear to everything holy that I don't know anything else," he said desperately, trying to convince the rest of the men there.
Lou sighed resignedly. "Okay Hank, okay. But if you find out anything, you get in touch with me right away. Mrs. Bennett's and her daughter's lives may depend on it." He headed to the door, opened it and then turned to address Pete and Linc.
"You guys want to come out here? I need to talk to you," Lou said as he gestured toward the outside. Pete and Linc rose wordlessly and left Hank alone in the office, staring blankly in space.
The three men headed toward Lou's Chevy, parked right near the rear of the barn. Lou opened the driver's side and got in as Pete and Linc leaned in the window.
"Well, where do we go from here? We're no closer to finding Julie and Melissa then we were last night," Pete said irritably.
Lou replied, "Take it easy. Right now we're putting the pieces together. I think the final pieces are at Slade's and I'm headed there now. Want to come along?"
"Let's go," Linc said and joined Pete who had already jumped into the back seat.
Lou started the engine and gunned the motor as he turned around and sped down the driveway and out to the road. He drove down to the driveway that led to a rustic looking ranch style house, situated away from the road. Lou parked the car and Pete and Linc emerged and headed to the front door.
"I take it you have a search warrant, Lou," Linc stated matter-of-factly.
Lou pulled the warrant from his pocket, "I go by the book, Linc. If there's one iota of a smidgen of evidence that can be found here, I want to make sure that no court can throw it out."
The three of them walked up the stairs and came to the door. Lou knocked loudly announcing who he was but there was no answer. He tried again and then a third time with the same results.
Pete asked, "Would you object to me getting us into the house? I mean, I'm no longer a cop so I wouldn't be doing anything that could jeopardize the case to convict Slade, I'd just be a private citizen breaking the law," he finished reasonably.
Lou said dryly, "And you'd want me to turn and look the other way, right?"
"Well-ll," Pete drawled, shrugging his shoulders elaborately.
Linc shook his head and chuckled as Lou looked at them unbelievingly.
"Let me fill you in, Lou. Before we were cops, Pete and me kind of skated on the outside of the law, that's how we became cops to begin with. All three of us, me, Pete, and Julie were busted for different crimes. We were all kids that came from homes were we felt we were neglected so we got in trouble with the fuzz. I was busted for arson and Pete here was busted for grand theft auto. We also were accomplished thieves so my buddy's offer here isn't a put on," Linc finished.
"I had no idea I was in the company of former criminals," Lou stated with mock surprise but the twinkle in his eyes indicated that he too was bluffing. In actuality he had known all about the infamous "Mod Squad" of the LAPD while he was in the Academy, they had garnered quite a bit of respect and notoriety in law enforcement circles throughout the region. He then grudgingly acquiesced, "Okay guys, I'm blind, go ahead and get us in there."
Pete quipped, "I thought you'd never ask."
He pulled the lock picking kit from his jacket pocket and in a matter of minutes they were inside David's house. They walked into a house that appeared like a typical bachelor's home. The living room was cluttered with newspapers, clothes, and empty beer bottles. They strolled into the kitchen and saw that it too was in neglected disarray; dirty dishes piled in the sink, pots on the stove, kitchen table with empty take out food cartons.
The three men then walked down the hall and into the study. Strangely, this room was the only room they saw with a modicum of order. It was obvious that Slade worked at home quite a bit, because his desk had been organized for efficiently conducting business. Pete, Linc, and Lou approached the desk.
"Well, here we are," Lou stated. "Go ahead, boys, I'm still blind."
Pete and Linc looked at each other. "What are we waiting for?" Linc asked.
Pete, who needed no further prompting, went behind, took a seat and began shuffling through the piles on David's desk. Linc joined him, kneeling down and looking through drawers. Pete searched through the top middle drawer and suddenly perked up.
"Hmmm, this is very interesting."
He drew out a large rolled document and unrolled it to take a look at it. "There's a map of the ranch property here that has every building on the forty acres," he said thoughtfully. He spread out the sheet on the desk so Linc and Lou could look as well. Both eyed him quizzically.
"So?" Lou asked.
Pete pointed at the main ground, "See, there's a layout of all the buildings."
He ran his finger across the document, pointing out the separate buildings like the main house, the barn, the bunkhouse, the sheds, the garage. Suddenly he spotted a building on the far left of the document. "Hey, what's that?"
Lou and Linc leaned in to get a closer look, "That area seems to be at the far western part of the property," Lou commented. "The road out front goes around and heads into the mountains at the rear of the North Field." He pointed at the building they were discussing. "This structure looks like it's located about four miles into the range, up this road here." He ran his finger up a line that dissected right into the mountains.
"What kind of building would be halfway into a mountain range? I mean, what purpose would it serve to the rest of the ranch?" Pete asked curiously.
Lou shook his head, "Could be an old scout's cabin. When there's a lot of acreage on a property and you had to go to the far end of the land sometimes, it used to take over a day to get back to the main house, before there were all terrain motor vehicles. The cabin was a temporary shelter until you could get back to the main house."
Not seeing any real clues in it, Pete impatiently pushed aside the document and resumed the search for anything that could connect. He was getting discouraged when his eyes found a brochure of a mountain resort, about ten miles to the northeast of Reno, Nevada.
He picked up the brochure and perused through it; it was a typical marketing tool, glossy photos and copy extolling the qualities that made the resort the best place for a vacation. He was about to toss it aside when he saw the name of the company that owned the resort, Lattimer-LaRocca Management. He became absorbed, deep in thought, drawing the curiosity of the other men.
"Something you want to share with us, Pete?" Linc inquired.
"Huh?" Pete shook his head. "Oh sorry, I just saw something here that seemed interesting."
He handed the brochure across the desk to Linc so he and Lou could see it. "The corporation that owns this resort is based in Vegas and I know for a fact that they've been interested in building and running similar resorts here in California. I know because my company has been retained for the underwriting of the property insurance policies for several of their holdings and they have just opened a resort in Palm Springs that we're insuring for them." he informed them.
"So maybe he's planning a vacation," Linc replied.
Lou perked up, "Did you say LaRocca?"
Pete nodded.
He continued, "I wonder if that's Gino LaRocca. You guys remember the Cosa Nostra arm of the Mafia?"
"Yeah?"
"Gino LaRocca was a high ranking member of La Cosa Nostra. He's a cousin of Vincent DelVecchio, head of the family. Gino's been trying to go legit from his illegal gambling action but old habits die hard. He's been involved in casinos in Vegas for years and he's had a vested interest in the law changing here legalizing gambling. He's also been interested in the area out here east of Salinas for a long time. He's been buying up parcels of land out here for the past five years. Seems he wants to build a super resort here complete with a sports complex, casino, the works and is willing to shell out big bucks. But some of the landowners out here won't sell. Dan was one of them. Artie Lattimer, LaRocca's partner has been at Dan for the last three years to buy his property but Dan refused, saying the property was going to stay in his family. Maybe LaRocca went to Slade as part owner to try to buy out his interest." Lou speculated. "He used some 'friendly persuasion' toward some of the other owners"
"In other words, he hard-armed them, right," Linc responded.
"You got it," Lou said.
"That would explain Slade's desire to gain ownership of the ranch from Dan's death. But why would he want to kidnap Julie and her daughter? And why embezzle?" Pete wanted to know.
Linc stared thoughtfully at the brochure. He suddenly looked up, "How about this? Slade goes in with LaRocca. He needs the capital to buy into the partnership, which explains why he's ripped off the books. He's afraid of Dan finding out about the book skimming and arranges for Dan to have an accident, killing him. LaRocca as his partner wants the ranch and knowing the community property laws here in California, he then tries to make a play for Julie but she doesn't buy it. So he kidnaps her and her daughter and either forces her to marry him, sign the ranch over to him or he kills her, which gets him both the ranch and the insurance payoff. He then sells the ranch to LaRocca and bingo, between both he's in clover."
Lou grinned widely, "Are you sure you're a junior high school teacher? You sound like one hell of a detective."
Linc and Pete grinned at each other. Pete said wryly, "The Captain taught us well, huh pal?"
Linc nodded, still grinning. The three of them got up to leave but something made Pete take the map document with him. Linc looked at him inquiringly.
"Why you taking that?"
Pete replied, "I want to see if I can figure out something. Maybe we can find where Slade's got Julie and Melissa stashed."
Linc pointed out, "Hey man, I hate to bust your bubble but he could've taken them out of the state to LaRocca's resort near Reno or any of the other properties, especially if he's in cahoots with LaRocca."
Lou shook his head as they exited David's house and made their way to his car. "He wouldn't take them over state lines. That would bring the Nevada State Police into this and I get the feeling that he wouldn't want that to happen. Especially if he's working with LaRocca, who's trying to be a land baron on the up and up." He continued as they all got into the car.
"Well we've found a lot to incriminate Slade in Dan's death but we're still not any nearer to finding out where Julie and Melissa are," Pete complained as they headed back. He was discouraged and wouldn't be satisfied until Julie and Melissa were found and safe back at the ranch.
They rode the short way to the ranch in silence, each contemplating the discoveries made this morning. Lou pulled the car up to the front door of the house. Pete and Linc got out and Lou called out to them. It was exactly noon.
"I'll be in the office all afternoon if you guys need me. I'm going to check with Reno police and any other authorities in the communities that LaRocca has properties on the computer at the office. If I find anything else, I'll call you."
Pete just nodded numbly; the lack of sleep was catching up with him now that the adrenaline that had sustained him since last night drained out, leaving him totally beat. Linc waved back as Lou pulled away waving. He put a hand on Pete's slumped shoulders as they climbed the stairs and entered the house.
"You need to get some sleep Pete, or you're gonna pass out. Especially if you want to be involved in finding Julie," Linc pointed out, concerned. "We can't do anymore then we've already done right now."
Pete sighed wearily, resignedly, "Yeah, Linc, I know. I'm spent in every way." As he tiredly began climbing the stairs he turned and said, "I'm gonna crash for a while, man. I'll see you in a couple of hours."
As he went up Hannah came out through the dining room from the kitchen and asked, "Did you find anything to help find them, Mr. Linc?"
"Nothing definite yet, Hannah...we're still putting things together." Linc looked around. "Where's Jason?"
"After you and Mr. Pete left my boys took him over to help with the horses...I just came back from bringing them lunch." She added, "I can fix you something if you're hungry."
Linc shook his head. "No thank you...I'm not hungry."
"No, I suppose you're not." She sighed deeply and added, "I'm not either."
She turned around to go through the doorway to the dining room heading towards the kitchen then stopped. Turning towards Linc she said in tears. "I just want everything to be like it was...I want Miss Julie and Miss Melissa to come home safe...because this is where they belong."
Nodding Linc affirmed quietly, "So do we Hannah...so do we."
Pete got upstairs and entered his room, closing the door. He tossed the rolled up map of the ranch on the dresser, went over to the bed and sat down, just staring at the wall blankly for a few minutes, thinking about the events of the morning. He sighed deeply as he took off his shoes and then stretched out on the bed, with his hands over his eyes. Feeling totally powerless, he began to pray.
"Dear God, please let Julie and Melissa be all right. If he hurts or kills them, I'll swear I'll kill him and then I don't care what happens to me. Without Julie, I have no reason to live. My life's been so empty so far and walking away from her was the biggest mistake of my life. You've allowed me this precious time to be with my angel again, and I love her, Lord, with all my heart. I've loved her since the day I first laid eyes on her and I can't lose her a second time, I just can't!" His voice broke with abject misery.
Pete's eyes were wet with tears of frustration, worry and fear. Up to this point, he had been mostly successful in keeping everything he was feeling inside in order to appear strong and in control. Now, in the privacy of his room, Pete allowed the emotions that had been wreaking havoc on him since last night to let loose as he sobbed like a frightened little boy. Finally, after an indefinite period of time, he fell into a dreamless, exhausted sleep. . . .
Meanwhile, unknown to either Pete or Linc, David's black pickup truck crept up the driveway, past the house, barn, stable and to the back shed, the same shed that had the broken ladder that Pete had discovered on Monday. David got out of the truck, looked anxiously around and satisfied that he was alone, entered the still open shed.
He made his way carefully to where the broken ladder still lay. Reaching down, David lifted the ladder and made his way back out of the shed and hauled the apparatus to his truck. He was about to heave it into the flatbed when he got the eerie feeling he was not alone. He whirled around and came face to face with Hank, who had quietly rounded the corner of the bunkhouse.
"Hank, you scared me, buddy. What's up?" David asked shakily as he tossed the ladder in his truck.
Hank looked intently at David, "I thought that you were going to be gone till Monday," he replied.
David noticed Hank's cool attitude. He smiled uneasily at him, "I thought so too but my business got postponed till after Thanksgiving so I came over here and saw that this ladder needed replacing so that's what I'm planning to do." He looked inquiringly at Hank, "Something wrong?"
"Yeah, Dave there is. Miss Julie and Miss Melissa have been missing since yesterday afternoon. You don't recall seeing them since yesterday do you?" Hank asked, his gaze unwavering.
"You're kidding Hank!" David feigned shock. "No I don't, I haven't seen either since Thursday when Julie invited me for Thanksgiving dinner. Where do you think they could be?" he asked innocently.
"Don't do it Dave. Don't insult my intelligence by acting like you don't know," Hank warned.
"Hank, I have no idea what you're talking about," David tried nervously.
Hank came close to David to look him straight in the eye, "Dave, Jim saw them leave with you. And nobody's heard anything from them since."
David played at looking shocked and stealthily made his way to the driver's door of the truck as he said, "Hank I don't know what Jimmy thinks he saw but he's seeing things 'cause I was gone."
"My boy ain't crazy Dave, and he ain't blind either."
David took a deep breath He reached into the truck and pulled out his gun and aimed it at Hank. "Now, don't make me use this, Hank...'Cause if you get in my way I will.."
Hank's eyes were wide with fear and disbelief. He was speechless as he finally grasped the truth of what Hannah and the others had said, that David was sick. David put the gun in his waistband, "I'm sorry to do that, Hank but I'm not about to let everything blow up in my face, not after I waited so long to have everything work out."
Hank found his voice. "David, do you think that kidnapping Miss Julie and Melissa will automatically make the ranch yours? She isn't going to sign over the ranch to you, you know," he said, trying to reason with him.
David laughed shortly, "She'll change her mind. She's the kind of lady who'll do what's best for her daughter and she'll realize that I can take care of her and Melissa better then anyone else. Better then Dan could and better than Cochrane can."
He opened the door and climbed in. "And Hank, I'm sure you won't say a thing to anyone, because you can experience the same thing as Dan did. You've been a good friend but if you get in my way…" he left off the statement, the meaning clear. He fired the engine and gunned the truck down the driveway as Hank stood there watching with sorrow in his heart. He then went into the stable office to call Lou Rafferty.
NEXT…..DESPERATE CIRCUMSTANCE