Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

Chapter 4: A Second Murder

A young woman with brown hair walked in and headed straight to the bar. "Where have you two been?" I've been worried sick and you didn't even think to call me!" Kim Sutter, the office manager for Thunder Investigations, practically screamed at the two detectives, her hands on her hips.

"You could have asked Butch where we were." Carlos pointed out, taking a sip from his second beer.

"I shouldn't have to ask Butch. You should have called me!" Kim let out an angry and frustrated sigh. "I thought you two had been shot in a drive-by shooting or killed in a car accident or beaten up by some muscle men…"

"Or kidnapped by the circus to be trained as trapeze artists?" Kendra added.

Kim looked at Kendra. Kim hadn't seen her when she had stormed into the bar. "It's my fault," confessed Kendra, trying to get Kim to lay off the two tired men.

Kim shook her head, the two piggy-tail-like-buns mimicking the movement. "And who, are you?" Kim asked, seeing the large bruise on the woman's face.

"I'm Kendra Stone. I'm in a little trouble and I had just hired Carlos and Trent to help me." Kendra smiled politely and held out her hand.

Kim accepted her hand and they shook. "I'm Kim Sutter, the office manager at Thunder Investigations."

"Wait a minute. Where have you been?" Carlos asked Kim. "Trent and I were in the office early this morning but you weren't there."

"I… uh...was doing some research." Kim said, avoiding their eyes.

"Really? Don't you usually do research on the computer in the office?"

"Usually. But I decided to go out into the field. You know. Some 'field' research." She said firmly.

"Kim!" Trent exclaimed. "You know you're not supposed to go out in the field alone."

"It was only the Baxter case. I just went to see where his wife works. Anyway, what trouble are you in?" She asked Kendra, changing the subject.

"I've been accused of murder. Well, more of a suspect really. Actually, Detective Ryan considers Trent and Carlos possible suspects, too."

"We should to go speak to Cutler's buddies." Trent said finishing his beer, before Kim could start in.

"You could try the one named Tony something; he might be willing to talk. He did tell Cutler I've had enough." Kendra suggested.

"Tony Flemming." Carlos filled in.

"I want to go with you." Kendra said as a blue fire came to her eyes.

"No, Kendra. You are going to let the boys handle this." Butch said firmly. "Isn't that why you hired them in the first place?"

"I decided to officially hire them. I knew they were going to work the case anyway and besides, did you really think that I wasn't going to get involved?" Kendra asked.

"You are considered more of a suspect than the boys." Butch pointed out.

"I have to go teach a class." Trent said looking at his watch. "You could join in." He said to Carlos. "It will only be an hour and you need to get some of your frustration out before we go question anyone."

"Yeah. Your right." He replied.

"What do you teach?" Kendra asked, as Carlos and Trent stood up.

"I'm a martial arts instructor at Thunder Karate." Trent replied.

They hadn't noticed that someone had been listening to every word that they had said. The person slipped out before Trent and Carlos, and neither of them noticed.

"Listen, Tony. You're a friend of Cutler's; you must have known if he had any enemies." Trent said. Carlos and Trent had found the man at his home watching some game show. They could hear the TV blaring in the living room from the little entrance hall.

"That waitress despised him." Tony replied.

"Yeah. But he had to have other enemies, considering he was scumbag." Carlos said, in his rough cop voice.

Tony glared at them but he was a little unnerved by the tone in Carlos' voice. "I don't know if Sam had any other enemies."

Trent handed him a Thunder Investigations card. "Call us if you can think of anyone who had wanted to harm Cutler or anything else that might be important."

Trent and Carlos exited the door and heard it slam behind them. "That was a waste of time," said Carlos.

"Well, we still have two more to speak to."

"Yeah. I bet they will be a big help." Carlos said sarcastically as they got into his Durango and he drove off toward their next interview.

Kendra was pacing in front of the bar. The country song in the background from some new, young artist reached her ears but she didn't hear the words.

"You're going to wear out my floor, Kendra." Butch warned as he handed a red-haired waitress a pitcher of beer.

"They should be back by now. They would be back right now if I had gone with them." The clock in the bar said it was 8:15 P.M.

"Not true. You would have lost your temper with one of those guys and would have been charged with assault."

"Really? You've only known me for a few days, Butch. How could you know what I would have done?"

"Because I can tell by that look in your eyes. Just like I can tell you that you feel guilty."

"Guilty of what?" Kendra asked, slightly bewildered.

"Of dragging Trent and Carlos into this. You didn't ask them to save you from your attackers. But, knowing those boys, they would have been involved even if you hadn't asked." Before Kendra could reply, Carlos and Trent returned.

"Tony Flemming said that the only enemy he knew about was you, Kendra." Said Trent, as he sat down on a barstool and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the knots and some frustration.

"Brian Locke refused to speak with us and we hadn't been able to find Stuart Allen." Carlos added, while Kendra sighed in frustration.

Butch noticed the exhaustion on all of his younger friends' faces. "You all should get a decent night's rest." Butch said. For once, no one argued with the bartender. .

The knife shone in the moonlight reflecting in the killer's eyes. The killer stood just outside the little blue house, watching as the man returned to his recliner with a beer. The killer's blood boiled with anger and anticipation. This pig was getting to get what he deserved, just like the other one, the killer thought with glee

A sinister and evil smile came to the killer's lips, showing off white gleaming teeth in the moonlight. The killer silently crept closer to the house ready to swing the deadly blade.

"Looks like 'McStabby' has struck again, Detective. This guy was definitely killed in the same manner as Cutler." The ME said. He had been called in at 7 A.M. when he was halfway through his breakfast.

Detective Ryan frowned and his eyebrows drew together. "What's the time of death?"

"Uh. I would say about 12 to 2 this morning, maybe 3."

Detective Ryan's eyes scanned the living room. There was an open beer next to the recliner where the body was facing a large flat screen TV. His eyes noticed something silver underneath the table that held the TV. He went over to the table and bent down to pick the object up with his pen. The object was a watch that had an inscription.

guardianM3: I hope you all like this chapter. I hope to get chapter 5 up in the next couple of days. Reviews are always welcome.