Chapter Seven

Thursday, 10 AM
Hudson River Rehabilitation Centre

Dan ran his fingers through his black hair. He wasn't really sure he should be doing this, but he could always tell her about it later. I did try to call her, but she wasn't in the office, he thought, trying to find an excuse for his guilty conscience. She never gave her cell phone number, and this just couldn't wait. Still that weird feeling in the pit of his stomach wouldn't go away and a chill ran down his spine when he thought of what Joeanne's reaction might be when he'd told her he had come to the centre without her. He didn't usually do this kind of thing, but this had seemed too important. Well, I'll just have to find a way to tell her without risking losing a vital organ.

Anyway, it was too late to back away. He was there, and he was going to show Sally an old newspaper picture of Dick. If this was the same guy, at least Molinson would have something to work with. That is, if Sally was ready to testify.

"Mr. Mangan," said the woman behind the reception desk, "Dr. Malloy has given you permission to see Sally. We usually only allow visitations from family members, but since you're with the DA's office…"

Dan smiled ironically and followed her down the corridor, as he thought, Oh, by the way, I'm only working part time with the DA's office, and I haven't passed the bar yet. Bet that doesn't make a difference, hum?

Sally was already expecting him in the visitation room and from the look on her face, they had never told her his name, only that he was with the District Attorney's office. She looked even paler than before and she was twisting her hands, almost compulsively. The movement stopped, however, when she recognized him.

"You? What are you doing here?" She asked, frowning. "Is my sister with you?"

"No, I came by myself. As a matter of fact, she doesn't even know I'm here," he replied, as he sat down in front of her.

"You're getting in trouble, do you know that?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am."

"But what are you doing here? I told you I can't remember much else."

Dan sighed. "Yes, I know. And I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. It's just that we've come across a new lead and I was hoping you could help us."

Sally leaned back in her chair and said, "I'm listening."

He took the newspaper clipping from his pocket and pushed it across the table to her. "Do you recognize that guy?" He asked.

The girl picked the clipping up, slowly, as if she was afraid to see the picture. But as soon as her eyes landed on it, Dan knew he had hit the jackpot. "Yeah, I know him," she said, her voice strangled. "It's Dick."

He took a few deeps breaths, knowing he had to go slowly now. But before he could say anything, Sally got up from the chair and walked towards the window. A few moments later, she asked, "Is he involved in the school case Joeanne told me about?"

"We're not sure." Dan decided it was best to be as honest as he could. "Trixie was the one responsible for him going to jail, almost ten years ago. And yesterday she saw him in town and hanging around the school. And since you had mentioned someone named Dick, we just put two and two together…"

"If he's showing himself around town, something is up," she stated, turning around to face him. "Back in… my days… he operated mostly out of New York. He came to Sleepyside once or twice a month, and he never left the Hawthorne St. area."
Boy, they should scratch that place from the map, Dan thought.

"So, whatever is going on, it must be big," the girl finished. She seemed extremely agitated, but there was one more thing Dan had to know.

"Sally, there's something else I need to ask you. If we manage to prove this guy has something to do with the school case, will you be willing to testify against him?"

Sally's eyes widened and she rubbed her temples, nervously. "I… don't know. I'll have to think about it."
"Ok, I'm not going to pressure you. Just think about it."

She nodded. "I will." Sally made to leave the room but then turned around to him again. "Mr. Mangan, I know I've acted bitchy to my sister a lot of times, but…well, I can see you like her and maybe you could tell her… Just tell her none of this was her fault, 'kay?"

Dan gulped. "How about you telling her yourself, next time she comes to see you?"

There was a sad smile on Sally's face as she answered. "I just might do that."

11.30 AM
Sleepyside High

"What's all the commotion?" Bobby asked, as he joined Darryl and the others. "Has everyone gone crazy?" He pointed towards the students going up and down the corridor, worried looks on their faces.

"Not sure." Darryl reached out and pulled one of the younger kids from a group nearby by the arm. "You! What the hell is going on?"

The kid was clearly between the excitement that came with providing new information and plain old fear. Excitement won. "It seems they found more drugs, in a girl's backpack! She was opening it and it just fell on the floor! Right in the middle of Ms. Martin's class!"

Bobby felt sweat drops forming in his brow. Annie should be in Biology class right now!

Darryl laughed. "Right on! How cooler can this get?"

Making an effort not to punch him right on the spot, Bobby managed to ask the kid, "And who was it?"

"I don't know. Some blonde girl. I saw her crying her way into the principal's office."

Bobby let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Blonde? So it's not Annie!

Then he noticed Darryl had turned pale. He held the younger kid by the collar and shook him. "Blonde? Are you sure?"

But Bobby didn't have much time to wonder about Darryl's strange reaction, because at that precise moment, Annie showed up by his side and pulled him by the arm, dragging him down the hall. "Need to talk to you, Belden. Now!"

"Did you hear about what happened?" She asked as she led him to a quiet area of the yard.

"Yeah! It scared the hell out of me, when I heard it had happened in Ms. Martin's class!"

She nodded. "It freaked me out too, when I saw that damned bag fall of her backpack. Melanie nearly fainted when she saw it!"

"Melanie?" Bobby felt dizzy. "That can't be! She has diabetes and gets blood tests regularly! If she was into drugs, her family would have known by now!"

"That's what I thought. But then I noticed something…"

"What? C'mon, Annie, you're killing me!"

"Have you noticed my new backpack?" Annie turned around so Bobby could see it.

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's nice. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Mum bought this for me when we went to White Plains on Monday. I was kinda depressed and she decided to take me shopping. The thing is, Melanie's backpack was practically like my old one. We even used to joke about mixing them up!"

"And..."

Annie groaned. "Bobby, come on! What if someone planted that bag on Melanie's backpack thinking it was mine?"

He went pale. "Wow! This is getting way too freaky!"

"And, Bobby," Annie got closed to him and her voice was no more than a whisper. "I took a good look at Ms. Martin's face when it happened. She had been grinning the whole time…until she realized the backpack was Melanie's. She even asked her if she was sure it was hers!"

At her words, Darryl's reaction just moments before suddenly made sense to Bobby. "Annie, was Darryl ever near Melanie today?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, but he could have. Why?"

"Because he acted about the same way Ms. Martin did, when he heard that kid saying the girl was blonde."

"Do you think they're in it together?" Annie looked around, as if she was afraid someone could hear her.

"I don't know, but I'm planning to find out."

6 PM
Sleepyside High

Jim sat on the low wall, just outside the front door of the Sleepyside High and breathed in deeply. Sunset had always been his favourite time of day, but somehow he just wasn't able to enjoy it properly. Not now, when he had Jonesy's return weighing on his mind.

He had lent his car to Dan so he could see Sally Darnell, and had decided to get a ride with Trixie back home. Truth was, he really didn't have to come into town, but he didn't feel comfortable in knowing she was out on her own. God forbid she knows about that, he thought, with a grin.

The sun was going down and it was getting chilly. Jim decided to pace around the concrete sidewalk, so he could warm up a bit. He hoped Trixie wouldn't be long, but he knew the school was in turmoil again.

Suddenly, he remembered he had a spare key to Trixie's car on his key chain. At least it will be warmer than standing outside. He headed for the parking lot and spotted her car, parked nearby.

But as he drew near the car, he saw a figure crouching near it. Frowning, Jim walked faster, his heart beating wildly. And all of a sudden he noticed he wasn't walking anymore, but running towards the car.

"Hey, you!" He yelled. "What are you doing?"

The person slowly got up and turned around. Jim froze, his breath heaving. He was standing only a few yards away from his worst nightmare. Jonesy! Just standing there, grinning at him in defiance.

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds and then Jim's stepfather started slowly backing up, taking advantage of the fact that Jim seemed unable to move. Then he started running.

Fighting the chilling, paralyzing fear away, Jim let his temper take over and ran after him, not even thinking about what he was going to do when or if he ever caught up with him. But Jonesy seemed to be in shape, and Jim wasn't finding it easy to follow him. The man was like an eel, moving through the streets as if he knew exactly where he was headed, bumping into people and then throwing them in Jim's way.

The red-headed young man didn't know where he was headed, but he noticed he seemed to be moving away from downtown, into an older part of town. And he didn't like it. But he couldn't stop! He had to catch him!

Suddenly, he bumped into someone and it caused him to fall on his rear. He lay there, totally out of breath until he heard his name called out by a familiar voice.

"Jim? What are you doing here, man?"

Startled, Jim opened his eyes and found himself staring at Spider Webster, the BWGs 'favourite police officer in the world'. "Spider! Hi," Jim took the hand Spider was offering to help him up. "I'm sorry, man! I didn't see you!"

"Yeah, I noticed!" Spider grinned as he rubbed his sore shoulder. "What are you up to, running around like a bat out of hell?"

Jim wiped his hands on his jeans, still trying to catch his breath. "I was chasing Jonesy."

Spider's eyes widened at his words. "You were doing what? You said Jonesy?"

His friend nodded as he ran his fingers through his thick red hair, still trying to catch his breath.

"Are you insane? Boy, have you been spending too much time with Trixie!" Spider seemed incredulous. "Jim, that guy is dangerous! I meant to talk to you about it when Molinson told me he was back. I knew he was up to no good!"

"I caught him doing something to Trixie's car at the school's parking lot. And I didn't think… I just had to do something, and when he started running away…"

"We better go and check if he did do anything to Trixie's car. If he did…well, we can accuse him of vandalism. Come on, put this helmet on and hop on my bike."

Jim did as he was told and the two of them rode back to school. Once they got there, they found Trixie near her car, looking at the flat tires in dismay. They were cut to pieces.

"God!" Spider crouched besides the car. "This guy really hates you!"

Trixie stared at Jim riding on Spider's motorcycle and waited for an explanation. "Jonesy," he said, pointing at the tires. "I caught him doing that and then I chased when he ran away."

Her heart nearly stopped and a cold pain made her way from her stomach to her heart. "Jim…" her voice was no more than a whisper, then she dove into his arms, just wanting to know he was safe.

"Jim, I hate to interrupt," Spider said. "But I must say I'm real glad you bumped into me when you did. If you ever caught up with that guy… He had a knife with him, and Lord knows what else! He's dangerous; he's proved that before! You should know better, man!"

Trixie held on to his neck, just wanting to be able to take him to a safe place somewhere, away from Jonesy. "Don't ever do this again, Jim, please," she pleaded, realizing what he must have felt all through the years she had done crazy things like this.

Jim crushed her against him, feeling her warmth and the sweet scent of her skin. "I know, baby. I just… I couldn't help it!"

"Kids, we should go to the police station. If you press charges, we'll have something on him." Spider stated. "It won't be much, but it's a start."

Jim nodded, as he kept caressing Trixie's back. "But you have to call us a cab. That car isn't going anywhere."

As Spider picked up his walkie-talkie to get in touch with the station, Trixie lifted her head to look into Jim's eyes. "Jim, he could have been luring you into a trap."

"I know, baby," Jim brushed her curls away from her tear stricken face, tenderly. "I wondered if he was leading me somewhere. I thought he was, at some point. But I was so scared he would hurt someone, I just kept running."

"And what would you have done?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. I wasn't thinking straight. But I promise I'll be careful. I hate seeing you crying like this." Jim bent his head and caught her mouth in fervent kiss.

Trixie responded to the kiss with only one thought in her mind: This is how he must have felt all those years I got myself in trouble! Oh, I wish I had known! It's the worst feeling in the world.

A/N: Hey again everyone! It's been awhile Huh? Yes, so here's a sorry to anyone who's been waiting for a chapter, but as I've mentioned before I don't update a story until I get a least two reviews for a chapter. It let me know that more than one person is paying attention. If no one reviews. I'll still finish the story...eventually. I don not mean to sound threatening but I don't have any idea whether my story is enjoyed or not, so please take time to press the wonderful, magical button below. Reviewers will recieve a unicorn, colored to their choice...or not. :) HAHA!

Much Love to Everyone,

Claudia