Chapter 9

Lisa Conrad paced nervously in her apartment, plagued by a guilt that had been bothering her for weeks.

She hadn't been completely honest with those three lady detectives that had visited her. If she had known those horrible men would have been coming by nearly every day, she would have gladly given them the information that was undoubtedly needed to put him away.

Johnny had been way over his head and had wanted out. Like a good sister, she had listened to him lament his decisions over and over again and had tried her best to give him the advice he needed.

And then he was killed, taking her innocent father with him.

She knew who he worked for but had deliberately kept that information from the detectives in order to keep her brother's name untarnished.

Not to mention her own.

She wasn't proud of her contribution to her brother's illegal activities, but there was bills to pay and quick cash was hard to come by in her line of work. Dealing had allowed her to enjoy a lifestyle that she could have never been able to afford with her usual salary. But now that decision was coming back to haunt her in the form of frequent unfriendly visitors.

After her father and brother's murder she had quit, and now they wanted her back. Her refusal was taken as betrayal and she knew she was being watched constantly. They had no doubt seen the detectives leaving her apartment and probably suspected her for selling them out. She had been receiving threats daily and felt herself nearing a nervous breakdown.

Lisa suddenly stopped pacing and stared at the phone. It was time to end this. Maybe she'd get a lighter sentence for testifying against that horrible man. It might be the only way she'd ever truly be free of them and this was a chance she'd have to take.

She took a deep breath and picked up the phone.
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"So I agree to go to lunch with him and the guy turns into a damn octopus!" Sabrina wailed, pacing frantically.

The angels had gathered in the office later that morning to give Charlie their findings and were happily listening to Sabrina tell them about her lunch date with Peralta while they waited for Charlie's call.

"His hands were all over me! I turned into a contortionist trying to get away from him!" she continued.

Kelly, Jill, and Bosley were enjoying Sabrina's tale far more than she wanted them to.

"Why are you laughing? It's not funny! I got mauled!" she whined, turning to see their laughing faces.

"Who says it was funny?" Jill said through giggles.

Sabrina glared at her and sent a couch pillow flying in her direction.

Jill blocked it and burst into another fit of giggles.

Kelly was laughing silently behind her hand, keeping her cool for Sabrina's sake. "And then what happened, Bri?"

"So then we eat, and this guy wants to feed me! No one has fed me since I was old enough to hold a fork! He actually thinks he's being romantic! It's disgusting!"

Jill rolled off of the couch in hysterics. Kelly and Bosley exchanged amused glances and waited for Sabrina to continue.

"After we eat, he wants to sit and talk for awhile and he orders some wine." Sabrina continued. "And halfway through it, he gets up to go to the bathroom and I'm sitting there thinking maybe I should leave and tell him I had an emergency or something."

Kelly lowered her head and shook with silent laughter at Sabrina's heart felt animated story telling.

"When he came back he went up next to me and tried to kiss me!"

Unable to control herself any longer at this final hilarious revelation, Kelly doubled over and fell on her side on the couch with uncontrollable laughter. Jill saw her and lost it again, while Bosley shook his head in amusement at the scene the girls were making.

"I wasn't expecting it and I spilled my wine all over me. Luckily that stopped him and he took me back to the office."

Jill howled and clutched her side as she remembered the huge stain on Sabrina's blouse the previous day. She slapped Kelly's leg and breathlessly tried to tell her about it, but was unable to. Kelly burst into hysterical laughter again at Jill's failed attempts at speech and the two girls grabbed each other as tears spilled down their cheeks.

Sabrina stopped talking and glared down at her incapacitated friends. Bosley laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it looks like I'm the only one on your side. What would you like me to do to that cad.?" he asked with a grin.

"Nothing you can do about him, Bosley." she said. She turned to her two friends who were still laughing uncontrollably. "But these two hyenas-" she said pointing an accusing finger at them. "You should fire them!"

Bosley laughed again. "Good help is so hard to find though."

Sabrina grabbed a couch cushion and playfully slapped at Jill and Kelly.

"They aren't any help at all!"

Sabrina finally burst into laughter herself and sank to the floor with her two friends.

Bosley buried his face in his hands and chuckled to himself. Did he actually get paid to be entertained like this?

The happy scene was interrupted by the phone.

Bosley raised a finger to his lips to quiet the three girl's laughter. The girls shut their mouths and tried their best to settle down, wiping tears from their eyes.

Once the girls were relatively calm, Bosley answered the phone.

"Townsend Investigations." he called pleasantly. He gave the angels an admonishing look as they burst into laughter again.

His eyes suddenly widened in surprise. The girls noticed and instantly sobered. They got to their feet and crowded closer to the Bosley.

"Yes. Yes, I'll tell them." he said quickly into the phone. "They'll be right over."

All three girls were crowded around Bosley's desk impatiently waiting for him to explain.

Bosley hung up the phone and stared back up at the girls.

"Well?" Jill asked.

Bosley cleared his throat.

"Well, it appears Lisa Conrad was withholding some information from you regarding our case. She's willing to talk if the three of you go over to her apartment."

The girls exchanged glances.

"Why is it so hard for anyone involved in this investigation to give us a straight answer the first time around?" Sabrina asked, rolling her eyes.

Bosley shrugged.

"She sounded very upset. I think you three should go there now."

"We're on it, Boz." Sabrina agreed. The three girls turned and collected their purses before heading out the door.

"Be careful, girls." Bosley called after them.

The girls had no trouble navigating Lisa Conrad's apartment complex this time. They quickly headed to her apartment door, curious about what it was she wanted to talk to them about. Hopefully it would be something that would help them break the case. Jill knocked on the door.

The girls were surprised when it creaked opened a few inches. They stopped and backed away from the door, noticing for the first time that the door frame was splintered and cracked around the lock. It appeared to have been kicked in. The girls exchanged a wary look.

"Looks like someone got here before we did." Jill whispered tersely. They drew their weapons and Sabrina carefully pushed the door open. They entered the apartment silently, splitting in different directions, ready to strike if need be. A quick check revealed the living room and dining room to be empty. Kelly peered over the hightop counter that separated the kitchen from the living area. The kitchen appeared to be empty as well.

Jill raised her arm and motioned to the short hallway leading to the bedroom and bathroom, the only remaining rooms in the apartment. She crept into the hallway, Sabrina and Kelly close behind her. They watched her carefully push open the bedroom door and peer inside. Empty. She disappeared into the bedroom to investigate further.

Kelly opened the bathroom door slowly. It appeared to be empty as well. Still not at ease, she slinked quietly to the tub. The shower curtain was drawn.

Was somebody hiding in there?

She motioned to Sabrina, who nodded and leveled her gun. Kelly counted to three on one hand then ripped the curtain open, ducking to the floor in case Sabrina had to fire.

There was no need. The shower was empty.

Kelly and Sabrina sighed, letting themselves relax. Whoever was here had gone.

"Do you think Lisa got out of here before someone broke in?" Sabrina whispered, for some reason still feeling on guard.

Kelly shrugged. "No clue." she said. She paused, a puzzled look crossing her face. "Hey, I thought I saw her purse on the table."

Sabrina frowned. Lisa's apartment door was kicked open, she was gone, and her purse was here. Something horrible had happened, Sabrina could feel it. Had Lisa been abducted?

"Are you sure?" she asked uneasily, though she knew how observant Kelly was.

Kelly and Sabrina turned and headed back into the living room. Sure enough, there was a woman's purse on the table.

The girls exchanged a look and went towards it. This wasn't looking good. The purse was sitting next to a set of keys and a half eaten sandwich.

Sabrina cursed softly and reached for the purse.

A loud crash interrupted her. Startled, the girls whipped their heads around. It had come from the bedroom. Before they could react to the first, there was another crash followed by a sharp cry of pain.

"Jill." Kelly whispered with dread.

Weapons drawn, the two girls immediately rushed to the bedroom where Jill had been moments ago and burst inside. There was a man in black climbing out of the window. He moved faster as he noticed Sabrina and Kelly enter the room.

"Stop!" Sabrina shouted at him. She rushed forward and took hold of his leg. He kicked her away and she stumbled backwards into Kelly. Kelly steadied her and both girls scanned the room frantically for Jill. They quickly found her.

Jill was lying facedown next to the bed. She wasn't moving.

Sabrina swore under her breath.

"Take care of her, I'm going after this guy." she said angrily. She raced to the window and pulled herself through.

"Be careful!" Kelly yelled after her as she hurried to Jill's side. She dropped to her knees next to her unconscious friend.

"Jill?" she whispered, her voice tight with worry. She placed her hand flat on Jill's back. She could feel her breathing. Thank God.

"Wake up, Jill. Please, wake up." Kelly pleaded desperately. She gently shook her friend's shoulder. There was no response. Cursing to herself, she gingerly rolled Jill over onto her back. She inhaled sharply as she saw her friend's face.

"Oh, Jill." she moaned in despair. Blood was gushing from Jill's nose, covering her face and staining the neck of her blouse a dark crimson. It looked broken and was already starting to swell and discolor. Kelly felt sick. Her hands shook as she turned Jill's head to the side to keep the blood from pooling in her nose. She quickly ran her hands over her friend's body, looking for any other serious injuries. She was relieved when she didn't find any. She quickly hurried to the bathroom and returned with a few towels.

She sat down and gently cradled Jill's head in her lap, pressing a towel against her face to staunch the bleeding. There was so much blood and Jill's face was so pale. Kelly's stomach knotted with worry for her friend.

"C'mon, Jill." she whispered, desperately willing Jill to open her eyes.

She heaved a sigh of relief when Jill suddenly stirred and reached an arm up to her face. Kelly caught her wrist and lowered her arm.

"Easy, Jill." she said softly, stroking her hair. "Don't move."

Jill moaned and opened her eyes.

"He was hiding behind the closet door. I let him get away." she mumbled weakly, the towel muffling her voice.

Kelly smiled, relieved to hear Jill speak. " It's ok, Jill." she soothed. She leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Just relax."

Jill nodded her head slightly and closed her eyes again.

Sabrina leaped down the fire escape to the sidewalk, her target still in sight.

"Stop!" she shouted again, as she raced after him. He looked back over his shoulder but didn't comply. He turned a corner out of her sight.

She followed, bearing down on him as fast as she could. She took the corner wide, in case he was ready to attack her on the other side.

The fleeing man didn't seem to be concerned with offense however.. As she turned the corner, she saw him still running, half a block in front of her. There was no way she could catch up before he lost her. She aimed her gun and squeezed off a shot.

The man in black bucked forward as the bullet hit him in his left arm. He stumbled against the side of the building with a grunt of pain, but to Sabrina's dismay, kept running.

With a cry of frustration, Sabrina lowered her gun and picked up speed. He may not have gone down, but at least it would be much easier to catch him now. She pounded down the sidewalk after him. Seeing her speed up, the man clutched his arm and kept running.

Sabrina was pleased to see herself gaining on him. The man was going to answer to her for what he did. He had better pray to God that Jill wasn't badly hurt. She already felt like smashing his face in. She was closing the gap between them and she'd have him in a just a few more seconds.

Or so she thought.

She was within fifteen feet of him when a black car blew past her and screeched to a stop by the curb a few feet ahead of the man in black. He looked startled for a moment and then lunged toward it and threw himself into the open window.

Sabrina watched in outraged disbelief as the car sped away, her target's legs still dangling from the open window. She didn't even get a good look at the license plates. She slowed to a halt and watched the car disappear down the street.

"Dammit!" she yelled in frustration. She kicked a metal trashcan that was nearby. She had been so close.

Sabrina stood panting for a few moments. The man had been lanky and thin, his movements giving her the impression that he was young. Maybe late teens or early twenties. That wouldn't be a great deal of help. She sighed at the frustrating lack of details she had, then suddenly remembering Jill and Kelly, she turned around and ran back to the fire escape. She would think about the culprit later. Right now, she had to find out if Jill was ok.

Figuring it would be faster to go back the way she came rather than enter through the front door, she climbed back up the staircase and popped her head into the bedroom window. Kelly was sitting against the far wall, with Jill laying in her lap, her eyes closed. She was holding a bloody towel to Jill's face.

Her other hand was aiming a gun through the open window. Kelly lowered her weapon when she saw Sabrina's face.

"Bri, what happened?" she asked anxiously.

Sabrina lowered herself to the floor through the open window and brushed her hands against her pants.

"He got away." she said quickly. She came over and knelt by Jill. "Is she ok?" she asked in concern, gently running her hand over Jill's hair.

"I think so. She's awake, just kind of groggy." Kelly answered.

"I'm fine." Jill insisted stubbornly as she opened her eyes.

"What'd he hit you with?" Sabrina asked, looking around the room.

"Montana?" Jill guessed.

Kelly and Sabrina snickered, releasing their worried tension. Looking around the room, they both noticed a brass flower pot lying next to the window. A dented brass flower pot. At least they could identify one culprit.

Sabrina lifted the towel off of Jill's face. She winced and sucked in a breath when she saw her injury.

"Stop doing that, you're hurting my feelings," Jill mumbled. She grinned weakly at her friends and with their help, eased herself into a sitting position, still leaning against Kelly for support.

Sabrina smiled back at her and reached over to tuck a loose bit of hair behind her ear. "Still have your humor, huh? Glad to see you didn't get all of your senses knocked out of you." she joked.

"Nope. I still have all of my vast body of knowledge. Didn't forget a thing." Jill said, her voice a little stronger.

Kelly laughed. "You forgot to duck."

Jill leaned her head back and glared up into Kelly's face.

"Sure. Kick me when I'm down."

Kelly and Sabrina laughed again, relieved that Jill was well enough to be cracking jokes. They helped her to her feet, putting their arms around her shoulders and waist to steady her and led her to the living room.

"Ok, slugger, I need to call and report all that happened here. Give me a minute and then we'll get you home." Sabrina said, leading Jill towards the couch.

Jill nodded and sat down, Kelly at her side while Sabrina talked to the police a few feet away.

Kelly reached over and gently peeled the towel away from Jill's face. It was already soaked through in blood.

"That looks terrible, Jill." she said, a pained expression on her face.

"Thank you." Jill said pleasantly. Her voice sounded altered and stuffy with her broken nose and her words came out as "Dank hew."

Kelly smiled and stood up.

"I'll get you some ice and a fresh towel."

"Thanks, Kell."

Kelly walked into the kitchen and flicked on the light.

She froze.

"Bri." she called out calmly.

Sabrina had just hung up the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Call back."

"What?" Sabrina asked in confusion. She looked over at Kelly. Her friend's face was blank and her voice eerily calm. Something was very wrong.

She rushed over, Jill stumbling behind her, to the kitchen. Kelly moved aside to let them in.

Sabrina and Jill gasped in shock.

Lisa Conrad lay dead on the kitchen floor, a single bullet hole through her forehead.