Chapter Two:

Or at least, I hope it shows up that way.:)

"Mrs. Fletcher! Hello!" Emma Donnovan greeted, her usual cheery self. "Is John here?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Jessica told her.

"Oh? I thought for sure he'd be here. Where is he?"

"I haven't a clue."

"Did he come home last night?"

It was then that Jessica saw a bit of a green, knitted stocking cap in the bushes-one she thought she'd remembered seeing before.

"Of course! Why wouldn't he have?"

"Just checking. As Vice-President of the Union, I felt that it was important that I come check."

"Of course. Yes, he's fine…just out."

"Well, could you have him call me when he gets in? I have to talk to him about Union business."

"Of course."

"Thanks!" she called behind her, getting into her car.

Jessica stepped outside into the crisp, cool air, Seth following suit, holding her coat should she get cold. When Emma Donnovan had driven out of sight, Jessica walked over to the bush, bent over it and began to move the branches as though she were gardening.

"John," she whispered.

"Jessica," answered the bush. "Make sure there's no one around but you and Seth, so I can finally make it in the house to Amanda."

Jessica carefully searched the premises for little hidden eyes, even something as simple as the house across the street with open curtains. If John had been hiding in the bushes all night, there was a reason, and if he felt he needed to hide, he could be in danger.

When she'd made her way back to the bush, she continued her conversation with John.

"All clear," she whispered, still pretending to be adjusting the bush.

"Thanks, Jess," he whispered, and slowly crept behind the line of bushes to the porch and through the design in the railing of the porch, then crawled to the door. Seth, standing on the bottom step, nearly missed John until he heard the door creak closed behind him.

Moments later, Seth and Jessica were sent hurrying inside, hearing Amanda's scream.

"John! Good Heavens, John! You're alive!" They heard Amanda's voice from the kitchen.

Nearly frozen, with a rudolph-red nose to prove it, John got up from the kitchen chair and went to her, holding her tighter than he ever had before. Jessica and Seth made their way back to the living room to give the couple some privacy.

"John, I…I thought you'd been killed," Amanda said, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "And I'm not ready for that." She hugged him tighter.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked her, pulling away and wiping the tear from her cheek. "I told you I'd be back, didn't I?"

"But you didn't call; you didn't come home. What was I suppose to think?"

"I know. But I couldn't."

"Why?" Another tear rolled down her cheek.

"Are there any peanut butter sandwiches left?" John asked. "I'm starving."

"John…what happened last night?" A few more tears joined the one that had fallen to the floor.

"Amanda," he cooed, wrapping his arms around her again. "I'm here. And I'm fine. Let's not worry about last night. He would have moved to the counter himself to open the plastic bag with the leftover sandwiches, but Amanda clung to him, not willing to let go. "Everything's fine." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

Amanda looked up at him.

"I love you, too. That's why you can't keep doing that. I worry about you. Not knowing if you're dead or alive…I…"

"Good thing I'm not a secret agent," he interrupted. "Or am I?" he teased, raising his right eyebrow.

"Stop it," Amanda replied, pulling away and giving him a playful jab in the arm. He pretended to be in pain while Amanda retrieved the leftover sandwiches.

"Seth, I can't stand it, anymore. I have to go ask John about the union meeting," Jessica anxiously informed Seth, but he took her hand and held onto it. "You know that's not helping," she said after a few moments, her grin growing wider.

"Do you mind?" he asked, mischievously.

"Not too much," Jessica replied, laying her head on his shoulder. "What do you make of all this, Seth?"

"It's dangerous, that's for sure."

"Oh, Seth."

"I'm not finished, woman. It's dangerous, and there's no way that I'm going to allow you to jump into something dangerous with your eyes closed."

"Seth, I'm not..."

"Jessica. I think you're going about this very wisely."

"Seth---did I just hear that come out of you?" Jessica asked, her eyes growing wide.

"As much as it pains me to say that, Jessica. I think you've been keeping yourself safe. Up to this point."

"I knew there'd be the equivalent of a 'but' in there, somewhere."

"Jessica, it's getting more dangerous by the minute. Why can't you let the Sargent do his job and come back to Cabot Cove for Christmas? The snow's beautiful this year, and they've got the lights hung in town. Everyone's feeling Christmassy."

"Seth, I would, you know that. But Christine asked me to come because she wanted me to help. I can't go back to Cabot Cove without doing all I can to help."

Seth, overcome by a feeling he couldn't describe, was compelled to embrace Jessica, and did so. Jessica, shocked at his sudden forward actions, could do nothing but wrap her arms around his neck and let his embrace soak up the over-whelming emotions the current events were forcing to bubble inside her, and a tear spilled from the crystal pools in her eyes.

Christine and Kelly, arriving home from a day of shopping, passed Seth and Jessica in the living room and found John and Amanda in the kitchen.

"Did this house suddenly become a motel! The four of you are all over each other!" Christine exclaimed dramatically.

"Christine!" Kelly interrupted, then looked at Christine to find a wide, Cheshire cat grin crossing her face.

"Excuse me," Jessica said, coming into the kitchen, Seth in tow.

"Oh, Jess, I was just kidding," Christine told her.

"What's in the bag?" John asked, pointing to the bag Christine was holding.

"My last Christmas presents, thank you very much. And NO I'm not telling---one of them is yours." She stuck her tongue out and him and disappeared upstairs.

"Getting anywhere in this case, Mrs. Fletcher?" Kelly asked, not following Christine upstairs.

"I'm afraid not," Jessica replied. "Know anything that would come in handy?"

"Eileen Williams is missing."

"She's what?" Jessica asked, stunned.

"Missing. No one can find her."

"I knew I shouldn't have…" John stopped mid-sentence.

"What?" Amanda asked. "What shouldn't you have done?"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now, girlie. However, I do have to run out for a bit."

"Where are you going?" Amanda asked desperately.

"Trust me," John replied, squeezing her hand and planting a light kiss on her lips. "I'll be back. Don't worry about me."

"How are you going to 'go out' and hide at the same time?" Jessica asked.

"No idea. But I have to risk it."

"Why? Why do you have to risk it? I don't see the wisdom in trading your life for hers. I see the nobility, but not the widsom."

"Amanda, she could be hurt, or dying. It's not fair of me to know where she is and not go help her."

"You know where she is?" Jessica's eyes widened.

"Yes," John answered casually, putting on his coat. "Doctor Hazlitt, would you be kind enough to come with me? As I said, she could be hurt---or dying. She may need medical attention."

"I'll go get my bag." Seth moved quickly up the stairs.

"Where is she?" Jessica asked. "And how do you know?"

"I can't tell you, just yet. Trust me, it's better that you don't know. Then, if anyone comes looking for her, you can answer truthfully." Just as John finished putting on his coat, gloves, and stocking cap, Seth came down the stairs, fully clad in his own winter apparel and carrying his black Doctor's bag.

"I don't like not knowing where you'll be," Jessica began. "It's dangerous. Anything could happen."

"It'll give you a taste of your own medicine, Jess," Seth chuckled, giving her a hug.

"Seth, this is serious. You're the one always complaining about me putting myself in danger, and now here you go, off to heaven knows where to put yourself in danger!" she fired back, but held onto him a little tighter.

"This could be the difference between catching the killer and letting him or her go free," John spoke up.

"But it's not your job!" Amanda and Jessica both said at once.

"We'll be fine," Seth told them both. "We're men." He kissed Jessica on the cheek one last time before heading out the door with John, into the cold, Chicago winter snow.

"Like that will do them any good," Kelly snorted, turning to go upstairs.

"Kelly!" Amanda called for her, when she'd gone halfway up the stairs. "You can't tell anyone anything you've just heard. Especially not Christine. She doesn't know anything about this, and I don't want her to."

"Sure thing, Mom."

"Kelly! Where are you?" Christine called down the stairs. "I need your help!"

"Gee, I'm popular today!" Kelly said, running up the stairs.

"Jessica, I'm not sure I like this," Amanda told her, as they were cleaning up in the kitchen.

"I know the feeling," Jessica replied, taking another dish to the sink to be rinsed. "But, they are quite adept at taking care of themselves, and I'm sure that they know what they're doing."

"Are you saying that for my benefit or yours?"

"Both."

"Haul out the Holllllllyyyyyyyy! Put up the tree before my spirit falls again! Fill up the stocking! It's time we hung some tinsel--on that...hmm hmm hmm hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" Christine was singing on her way down the stairs, carrying her newly-wrapped packages to go under the tree. "Mom, you're insane, you know that?" she said, coming into the kitchen.

"Oh? Why's that?" Amanda asked jokingly.

"Because you have NINE presents under the tree," Christine teased.

"I guess somebody loves me," Amanda said smugly.

"I guess it's Dad!" Christine exclaimed. "Speaking of whom---where is the genius?"

"He went out with some friends," Amanda replied, turning back to her dishes. She got a nudge from Jessica.

"Why? It's five days before Christmas! We should be together as a FAMILY!" Christine gestured dramatically and hugged Kelly while she was speaking.

"All right, I dunno what you're doing, but get off me," Kelly mumbled, her head buried in Christine's brunette hair.

"Just funnin'," Christine bubbled. "I love Christmas! It's so happy! Families get together, you get presents, you put up lights, you SING! Oooh! Christmas should happen everyday! Especially this one! Aunt Jess, it's so awesome that you're here! It makes me feel so much more...secure. Safe. Almost like nothing can touch us! You're our guardian angel!"

Seeming to act as an omen, the star fell from the top of the Christmas tree as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get the door," Jessica said, handing the star to Amanda. "You work your magic with the star."

"Mrs. Fletcher," Charlotte Plank greeted as Jessica opened the door. "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you. Come in, Miss Plank."

"Thank you, but I don't have much time. Is John around?"

"No, I'm afraid he's not. Can I give him a message?"

"Well, I suppose it's safe to tell you," Charlotte hesitated.

"Absolutely. Come in," Jessica stepped aside and closed the door behind Charlotte.

"I wouldn't want to be accused of being a gossip," Charlotte began. "But I did want to pass along word to John, because he asked, of course, that I've been going through the books and I've figured out how much money has been stolen from the union accounts."

"Oh? How much?" Jessica asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Two and half million," Charlotte told her, her own eyes widening.

"Have you told anyone else about this?" Jessica questioned.

"Not yet. John advised me not to tell Eileen Williams or Emma Donnovan, at least. But I think I'll let a few others in the union know. Mikale. A few of my friends there."

"Could you do me a favor?" Jessica asked sweetly.

"Sure," Charlotte replied. "I'm always ready to be kind."

"Undoubtedly. Could you do me the favor of not telling anyone else in the union how much money has been taken?"

"Why? I mean, what would it hurt?"

"Well, right now, the only people who know how much money has been taken are you and the person who took it. The thief may make a mistake that we can catch. But, we can only know that if you keep the exact total to yourself."

"Oh, I see what you mean. How about if I tell them a wrong amount? Say, one and a half million instead of two and a half million?"

"That could work, too. Just make sure you don't tell anyone the real amount stolen."

"Right. You got it, Mrs. Fletcher. I hope this works!"

"Me too, Miss Plank. Me too," Jessica said, opening the door.

"Oh, call me Charlotte," the woman replied, smoothing her hair back into the tight bun it had been in before.

"Only if you call me Jessica," Jessica replied, shaking the woman's hand and closing the door after her, turning the lock.

"Who was it Aunt Jess?" Christine asked, coming in from the other room, bits of garland stuck in her hair.

"Charlotte Plank," Jessica said casually. "What happened to you?"

"The Christmas tree and I got into a fight. I won."

"That's good. I think."

"It is. We got the star back up!"

"Good!"

The two of them heard a light knock on the door.

"Dad!" Christine screamed, opening the door.

"'Scuse me, Jessica," Seth said, carrying John through the door with the aide of Eileen Williams.

"Dad! What happened?" Christine cried, leading the way into the living room.

"I'm fine, Christine. Go on upstairs with Kelly."

"But Dad…" Christine complained.

"Come on, Christi, let's go watch the Tony Awards from '86. Isn't that the year Angela Lansbury and Beatrice Arthur performed Bosom Buddies?"

"Yeah. I guess that'll be all right."

"All right?" Kelly questioned, nearly dragging Christine up the stairs with her. "Are you kidding? What could possibly be better?"

Her voice faded as the girls finally made it up the stairs.

"Jessica?" Amanda asked, coming into the kitchen. "Who..."

"Hey girlie," John grinned, sliding his left leg under the table.

"John, what happened?" she asked, walking to him and kneeling next to him.

"I'm fine," he assured her, motioning for Seth to do the same.

"Oh, yeah, he'll be fine in a few weeks," Seth spoke up.

"Seth, what happened?" Jessica whispered.

"Patience, woman. All in good time."

"Oh, forgive me," Amanda said, noticing Eileen Williams. "You're...Mrs. Williams, aren't you?"

"Yes. That's fine; I understand. Please, don't mind me. I don't want to be any trouble."

"No, it's no trouble. Would you like anything to eat? Anything to drink?" Amanda offered.

"Maybe just some water," Eileen Williams replied hesitantly.

"Are you sure? We've just made some soup, and I can tell by your bright red cheeks that you're cold," Amanda continued.

"Well, maybe just a little bit," Eileen conceded.

"Good," Amanda said smiling. "We can all have a nice bowl of soup, and the two of you can explain to me what's going on!"

"So, tell us what happened," Jessica began after everyone was seated at the table with a bowl of soup in front of them.

"Not much to tell," John replied, sliding a spoonful of soup into his mouth.

"Not much my foot!" Eileen Williams responded. "You know, you have one incredible husband, Amanda."

"I know," Amanda smiled. "Or at least...I used to. Excuse me," she said, rising from the table and making her way up the stairs.

John sighed. "I screwed that up, didn't I?"

"Maybe it was my fault. I probably shouldn't have said anything," Eileen suggested.

"I think that there's just a lot going on right now. She just needs a little bit of time to adjust, to know everything's fine," Jessica told them, smiling comfortingly.

"I hope so," John said, tasting some more soup.

They three sat in silence until John put down his spoon and began talking.

"After the union meeting last night, I got the feeling Eileen might be in trouble. I've had a bigger role in all of this than I've let you in on, Jessica. I hope you understand, though, that it could be dangerous for Amanda and Christine, and especially you, if I'd told you anything more than I have so far. I've been one of the ones helping her look into the disappearing act going on with the union funds. With a minor in Accounting, I was one of the ones going over the books. After the murders started happening, we were all very careful. But somehow---they still got to us. We're always very careful to let only people we trust know where we are when we meet to compare notes and such, but somehow..."

"They always found us," Eileen finished, sadly.

"Right. Last night, we were suppose to meet up privately after the union meeting, but when we got to our normal meeting place--it's a deserted office building on the other side of town--everything was amiss and we didn't want to risk anything. So, we agreed that we all needed hiding places. It sounds rather childish, I know, but whoever this killer is, Jessica, knows everything that's on file with the union---our families, our addresses, everything." John had picked up the tale. "So, I helped everyone hide---I'm sure that at some point I was being followed, but I think that I successfully escaped from the brooding eye of our tail. Anyway, we all arranged to meet up with each other today."

"That's why he was so concerned about me," Eileen added. "I couldn't get out of my spot this morning. I hid across the street from the office building, and I saw flickers of light occasionally in the window. Well, obviously, I couldn't risk anyone seeing me, so, I stayed put."

"I think I can finish it from here," Seth spoke up.

"You, Seth?" Jessica questioned.

"Yes. Remember, I did enter the story about this time," he replied smugly. "Anyway, John took me to find Eileen, as you know. But when we got there, found Eileen and checked to see that she was all right, John didn't check before stepping out into the open..."

"And I was shot," John finished. "It was my own fault. And the only real problem is that we didn't see who fired the shot. As Seth said, I'll be fine in a week or two."

"Assuming you stay off that leg," Seth barked. "It can't heal properly if you're hobblin' around on it."

"And you can't go to the hospital because whoever is after you might find out," Jessica keenly demised.

"However, they could also know that I'm here," John added, devastation mirrored in his voice.

"Dad, why do you have to go?" Christine questioned, holding tightly to John, who struggled to stay balanced.

"Christi," John began, kissing the top of her head. He paused for a great while, seeming to want to say something, but holding back. With a sigh, he added, "I'll be back before you know it.

"I don't like this idea, John," Jessica said, her turn to give him a goodbye hug.

"I know, but it's for the best."

Seth came and slid an arm around Jessica's waist.

"You've been awfully quiet," John added, turning toward Amanda.

"You've heard what I have to say about this, John," Amanda replied angrily. "You're not taking that into consideration at all."

"Amanda," John again spoke, hobbling over to her on his crutches. "I am taking it into consideration. That's why I'm leaving."

Amanda threw her arms around his neck, her eyes over-flowing with the tears that had been stinging her eyes.

"Shh. It'll be fine," John reassured her, running his fingers softly through her hair.

"I just can't help it," she wimpered, still holding tightly to him. "If you don't come back..."

"I'll be back in a few days to check on you and the girls. That's a promise."

Christine looked away, embarrassed at her parents' long kiss in the middle of the family room.

"Get a room!" she jested, tossing a pillow from the couch at them, but purposely missing by several feet.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving!" John laughed.

Then, kidding Amanda's forehead, he wobbled out the door and into a taxi.

"...then someone grabbed me from behind, and you guys all showed up to save the day..."

Jessica was reading the statements the police had taken from Christine.

"See, Mrs. Fletcher, there's nothing unusual there. There's nothing to go on," Sargent Malin told her, frustrated.

"Maybe there is, Sargent," Jessica replied, straightening her reading glasses, and re-reading the sentence aloud. "Then someone grabbed me from behind, and you guys all showed up to save the day."

"So? What does that tell you? That we got there in time to save her." Sargent Malin leaned against the back of his chair.

"No, it tells me that Christine wasn't sure at the time if the killer was a man or a woman."

"What?"

"She said, 'someone,' had grabbed her from behind. Not 'a man'. Not 'a woman'. Someone."

"So, what? We should...start over? Mrs. Fletcher, this is not the only case to come across my desk."

"Maybe we don't have to start over completely, Sargent," Jessica suggested. "Do you by any chance have a way of obtaining information about all the members of the union?"

"What kind of information?"

"The normal. What kind of car they drive. Income. What grade or grades they teach. Family members. Any of them have connections to each other?"

Sargent Malin stared in Jessica's general direction for what seemed to her like an unnecessarily amount of time, staring blankly into nothingness. Surfacing from his thoughts, he sighed and acquiesced. "I'll have my partner do some checks."

"Oh, thank you, Sargent Malin," Jessica smiled widely at him.

After a shorter pause, he added. "Don't make me regret this, Mrs. Fletcher."

"So, Christine, what made you decide to go into Musical Theatre?" It was Seth's voice to float across the kitchen to her. "Rather than, say, become a doctor."

"Oh, but, see, if I go into musical theatre I can PRETEND to be a doctor," she told him with a grin. "Aunt Jess you want anything to eat while I'm over here?"

"What?" Jessica asked, looking over the top of her reading glasses from the files she'd been studying. "No, no, thanks."

"Come on, Jess, you have to eat something. Keep your strength up," Seth interjected his expert, but unwelcome advice.

"Seth, I can't help put think that I'm over-looking something!" Jessica told him, frustrated.

"You can't solve all the world's problems, Jessica."

"I know that."

"Do you? Sometimes I wonder."

"Seth, you don't understand. Christine asked for my help. Amanda's nerves are in shambles! This is more than trying to solve a murder so that people can walk around Cabot Cove in peace. This is my family."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, Aunt Jess," Christine interrupted, setting a plate in front of Seth and setting down a cup of tea for herself. "I didn't ask for your help so you could get all stressed out."

"I'm sorry, Christine. I only want you, Amanda and John to be out of danger."

"Aunt Jess, we know that. But we also know that you can't protect us from the world."

"I just want to help."

"And you have," Christine hugged her great Aunt and smiled. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Jessica replied.

"So, what have you gotten from these files?" Christine asked, sitting down to her tea and taking part of the stack of papers from Jessica.

"Well, not much, other than what we already knew," Jessica responded, dismayed.

"Well, we'll just have to take another look, then, won't we?" Christine asked, handing some of her papers to Seth. "Here, Seth, take a look at these."

"But I…I… But…" Seth stammered. "I don't know what I could learn from these…"

"Just read them. They're great reading material," Christine told him. "Don't you ever hang around the gossippers in Cabot Cove?" She was joined in laughter by Jessica.

Seth and Christine exchanged pleasant grins and continued jesting.

Jessica's face turned sullen, and in the midst of a friendly embrace, Christine and Seth watched her as she finished reading a piece of paper.

"What's wrong, Jess?" Seth finally asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Nothing, yet."

"Then why the long face?" Christine queried.

"Well, I need to go visit some people again."

"Now?" Christine asked, surprised.

"Yes. Right now. Christine, could you give me a lift?"

"Sure," Christine shrugged, tossing a confused glance at Seth. "Where we goin'?"

"To interrogate the suspects," Jessica told her, walking out the door.

Christine gave her a mock salute and followed her out to the garage, hearing Seth's chuckle behind her all the way.

"I don't understand, Aunt Jess. It can't be Eileen Williams, can it? I mean, she was the one Dad went out to save. Why would Dad do that to protect a murderer?"

"No, I think we can eliminate Eileen Williams from our list of suspects. Watch out!" Jessica cried out as a silver Mercedes pulled out in front of Christine into the street.

Christine slammed on the breaks just in time to avoid a collision with the Mercedes. Seth, in the back seat, was grumbling the whole time about teenagers and their driving habits.

Jessica, while placing her hands flat on the dashboard of Christine's older Mercury Topaz, kept her head and examined the license plate. 491 3236.

"Idiot," Christine mumbled after they were riding smoothly again. "It doesn't happen very often, but every time it does, it makes me feel like such a horrible driver—like I'm not watching out like I should be. Sorry, Seth. Aunt Jess."

"That's perfectly all right, Christine," Jessica encouraged. "You're doing just fine."

"If I knew that twit, I'd give him what for!" Seth spoke up.

"Funny you should mention that," Christine said. "It looked like Miss Donnovan's car."

"Miss Donnovan? The one that works with your father?"

"And is Vice President of the teacher's union."

"Christine, do you know where she lives?"

"Yeah, it's only about 10 minutes from here."

"Would you mind driving us there?"

"Sure. But I have to get gas, first. This thing gets pretty good gas mileage," she said, patting the dash. "But I do have to fill 'er up once in a while. I just hate to think the chunk it's going to make in my paycheck," she added, playfully wincing for effect.

"Jessica," Seth began when they'd reached the nearest BP station and Christine had climbed out of the car to pump the gas. But he didn't continue.

"What is it, Seth?" she questioned.

"Be careful."

"Seth, I'll be fine." The tone of her voice sounded to Seth as though it contained a hint of annoyance.

"Jessica, I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know that, Seth. And I appreciate it. But nothing's going to happen just to talk to people. I've done this a few times before."

"I know nothing's going to happen to you. Because I'm going with you."

"You're what?" Jessica's eyes grew large.

"That's right. Going with you."

"Seth, I know you want to protect me, but the fact is---you can't. Not from everything."

"But I can try." His position on the matter seemed never to waiver, so Jessica offered her last excuse.

"How am I suppose to explain your presence? I mean, you can't be a brother---we're too close in age."

Christine pulled up the circle drive to a large victorian house, a silver mercedes in the grass. The license plate was missing.

"Oh, I love this house!" Christine said, driving slowly around the circle to the front door. "It's so beautiful!"

"I wonder what a nice two-story Victorian costs these days," Jessica commented.

"A small fortune," Seth offered, trying to follow her train of thought.

"Okay, let's go," Christine said, gently guiding the car into park.

"Let's go?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah. Let's go," Christine unbuckled her seatbeat and began to get out of the car when she felt Jessica's hand on her arm.

"No. You have a different job. You need to come back to pick us up in a half an hour. Meanwhile, I need you to go hunt down Sargent Malin. He should be at the station."

"But Aunt Jess! This is so exciting! Interrogating suspects!"

"I know. But we need a driver, too. So you'll have to settle for the less exciting job."

"Oh, fine. Good luck, Aunt Jess. Be careful. You too, Seth."

"Not to worry. We'll be fine," Jessica said, getting out of the car.

"See you in a half an hour!" Seth told her as they turned around to walk to the door.

"I'll just make sure you get in all right. Signal me or something."

"All right," Jessica told her. "But then you have your job to do."

"I know. I know."

"Mrs. Fletcher," Emma Donnovan greeted cheerfully as she opened the door to find Jessica and Seth. "And who is this?" she gestured toward Seth.

"Him?" Jessica asked, a desperate attempt to buy time.

"I'm Frank," Seth stated calmly. "Frank Fletcher."

"My husband," Jessica added, feeling Seth's hand encouragingly squeeze her own.

"Oh?" Emma questioned "That's funny. I thought John mentioned you were widowed."

"WEll, we thought we lost him once. It's a long story," Jessica offered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive my manners! Will you come in?"

"If it's no trouble," Jessica began. "We'd love to."

"No trouble at all. It's a big house. I actually get a little lonely, sometimes. Please, follow me."

Jessica looked at Christine, waiting in her car in the big circle drive and waved her on. Jessica watched as the white Mercury Topaz drove away and a gray cloud bloated above the old victorian.

"I appreciate this opportunity to speak with you," Jessica said, closing the door behind Seth.

"That's perfectly all right, Mrs. Fletcher. I've been expecting you," came a male voice from the shadows.

Jessica and Seth heard the latch of the door lock as thunder rang out above them.

I'm stuck for chapter three right now, but I've got a little bit of it done. It will probably be the last chapter. Maybe two more. Not sure, yet.