Chapter 10

"I'm so tired of getting more questions instead of answers." Sabrina fumed as she paced around Jill's living room.

The girls were still shocked and upset by Lisa's sudden death. What was even more upsetting was their lack of answers. The police had come to Lisa's apartment and the girls had given their statements. They could give very few details. Sabrina hadn't gotten a good look at the man in black or the car that he had escaped in. They had no clue why Lisa had been killed and no clue as to who did it.

It was maddening.

"We've been on this case for over a week. A whole family has been wiped out and we have absolutely nothing to show for it." Sabrina continued to rant.

Jill lifted her head off of her pillow to stare at Sabrina. She was laying down on the couch with an ice pack on her face.

"Well maybe you don't have anything to show for it. I sure do." she quipped dryly. She flopped back down and closed her eyes.

Sabrina's demeanor softened. Her friend was in a great deal of pain, she could tell.

"I'm sorry, Jill. Kelly will be back soon with some aspirin for you."

Jill sighed and nodded.

Sabrina sat down on the couch next to and gently ran her fingers through her hair.

"You sure you don't want us to take you to a doctor? You might have a concussion or something."

Jill shook her head.

"They'll tell me to do what I'm already doing. I broke my nose playing tennis once in high school. I've got experience on my side." she explained.

Sabrina patted her head and got up to pace some more. Kelly walked in a few minutes later, a big bottle of aspirin in hand. She opened it, shook out two pills in her hand and took them straight to Jill. Jill sat up, beaming, as if the aspirin were the most delicious candy in the world. She popped them into her mouth and took a gulp of water from the cup sitting on the floor beside her. She set down her cup and flopped back on the couch.

"Thanks, Kell." Jill sighed.

"How are you feeling, Jill?" Kelly asked gently.

"Like Marcia Brady."

Sabrina and Kelly laughed. At least she still had her sense of humor.

"You'll feel better in a few minutes." Kelly said sympathetically, gently patting Jill's leg.

Sabrina grinned. "Hey Kelly, did you look in a mirror before you went out?" she asked.

Kelly gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

Sabrina pulled her away from the couch and spun her around to face the full length mirror on Jill's bedroom door.

"Oh my God." Kelly moaned in despair. Her jeans were stained with Jill's blood. Her shirt had a few smears on it from where she had been absently wiping her hand, most notably, a perfect bloody handprint on her sleeve. "No wonder people kept giving me funny looks."

Jill looked up and burst into laughter.

"You're right, I do feel better." she said happily.

Kelly glared at her.

"I'll give you this one."

Jill grinned. "Go borrow some of my clothes before someone reports you."

Still embarrassed, Kelly shook her head and went inside Jill's bedroom, emerging a few moments later with a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She was glad she was at Jill's and not Sabrina's place. Sabrina's pants would have been too long for her and tripping over an extra two inches of pant leg was all she needed right now.

"Well, I guess someone should call Bosley and tell him what happened." Kelly said, suddenly remembering that their co-worker was waiting for them.

Sabrina frowned. She would not be looking forward to this.

"Odds and evens?" she suggested innocently, making a fist.

Kelly rolled her eyes and picked up the phone. It would be the final outcome anyway. They had played several more times since she had decided to change her strategy but sadly her lucky two had failed her on each and every occasion. There just seemed to be no way around losing.

She dialed the office and waited with dread for Bosley to pick up the phone.

"Townsend Investigations." he answered cheerfully.

Kelly took a deep breath. "Hey, Boz. It's Kelly. We got some bad news."

Sabrina paced the length of Jill's living room while she listened to Kelly explain the events of the past few hours. She looked over at Jill and noticed that her eyes were closed. She frowned as she headed over to check on her.

She gently placed a hand on Jill's forehead. Jill whimpered but didn't open her eyes.

Realizing she had just fallen asleep, Sabrina made sure she was comfortable and took the ice pack off of her friend's face and refilled it. She looked up as she heard Kelly hang up the phone.

"What did he say?" she asked nervously.

Kelly sighed and rubbed her temples.

"He's going to call Charlie."

"Does he want us at the office?"

"No, I told him about Jill. I don't want to leave her alone until I know for sure that she's alright and he agrees with me. We're going to meet with Moretti and him later tonight."

She turned to look at Jill with concern.

"You think we should be letting her sleep?"

Sabrina nodded her head and gently draped the ice pack over Jill's face. "I think she'll be alright. It probably hurts a whole lot less when she's asleep."

Noticing that Kelly still wasn't satisfied, she added, "We'll keep an eye on her."

Kelly nodded. She reached into her purse and produced a pack of playing cards. The two girls sat on the floor in front of Jill's couch to pass the time.

That evening, with Jill assuring her two friends that she was well enough to be left alone more than a few seconds, the girls made ready to depart for the office.

"Will you stop hovering? I said I was fine." Jill grumbled. Her headache had intensified ever since her nap and every bright light or slight noise felt like a bomb had gone off inside her skull.

"Yeah, I know you did. Jill, just stay here and get some rest." Sabrina pleaded.

"I'm fine."

When Sabrina wouldn't stop staring at her she sighed in frustration.

"Bri, I just got my face bashed in. Don't I deserve to get my way for a few days?"

Sabrina grinned and patted her shoulder. "You always get your way."

"Exactly. So why try to change things, now?" Jill replied good naturedly, pushing past Sabrina and out the door.

Sabrina sighed and looked at Kelly helplessly. Kelly shrugged and followed Jill outside.

Defeated, Sabrina shook her head and locked the door behind her.

Sabrina made her way to the office, carefully avoiding potholes and sudden stops for Jill's sake. Annoyed with Sabrina's cautious driving, Jill turned and gave her a beseeching look.

"Bri, I know this is a Pinto, but can you please go over twenty miles per hour."

Sabrina frowned.

"Don't make fun of my Pinto." she said, a hurt look on her face.

Jill glanced at Kelly in the rearview mirror and the two girls shared an amused look. Sabrina loved her orange Pinto.

Still mumbling kind words to her car, Sabrina picked up her speed slightly and the girls arrived at the office a few minutes later.

Bosley looked up as the girls came in, his face darkening with anger when he noticed Jill's bruised face. He couldn't wait to meet the bastard who had dared to lay a hand on one of his girls. Bosley quickly caught himself and forced his features to relax.

"Are you alright, honey?" he asked Jill in concern.

"Oh, I'm fine Boz. Just not counting on getting a date for the next few weeks." she answered with a grin.

"You're still beautiful." Bosley assured her with a gentle smile.

Jill giggled. "Oh Bosley, gallant as ever." She skipped over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Where's Moretti?" Sabrina asked, noticing his absence.

"He took my car and went to his brother's house to pick up some clothes. He'll probably be back in a few minutes." Bosley explained.

Sabrina nodded and sat down on the couch with Kelly and Jill to wait.

When twenty minutes had gone by, Kelly began to get restless.

"Was he making the clothes himself?" she asked sarcastically.

Bosley smiled. "He'll be along soon, I'm sure."

The girls settled back on the couch, chatting idly with Bosley as they waited. After another twenty minutes had gone by, even Bosley started to get restless.

"Maybe I should call him." he said to himself as he picked up the phone. He dialed and listened to the phone ring. After six rings he hung up the phone, a feeling of dread spreading through his stomach.

Anxious now, he looked back up at the girls.

"It shouldn't take him this long. He should have been here by now."

The girls exchanged looks.

"Maybe he stopped to take care of something?" Jill offered.

Bosley shook his head. "He said he'd be right back."

Kelly rolled her eyes.

"Maybe he lied. He's good at that." she said coldly.

Bosley sighed. He thought Kelly was being overly cynical, but at the moment he hoped she was right.

An agonizingly slow hour ticked by while Bosley and the angels waited, their dread growing with the passing of every minute.

Unable to stand the waiting any longer, Sabrina suddenly stopped pacing and turned to her friends.

"Ok, I can't take this anymore. Let's go check on him." she demanded.

Kelly nodded.

"I'm with you, Bri." She stood and grabbed her purse.

"Me too." Jill added, jumping to her feet. Her injury forgotten in the moment, she moved too quickly and suddenly staggered as a wave of dizziness hit her.

Kelly caught her by the shoulders to steady her.

"Thanks, Kell." Jill muttered sheepishly. She started for the door.

Kelly caught her shoulders again and gently but firmly pushed her back into her seat.

"Oh no, you stay here." she ordered.

Jill pouted and struggled unsucessfully to get up again against Kelly's hold. "What good am I here?" she protested.

"Lots of good. Stay here, Jill." Sabrina called from the door.

Jill sighed, a disappointed look crossing her face. She hated being left behind, but realized her friends were right. In her current condition, she would just slow them down.

Kelly grinned at her crushed expression.

"You can babysit Bosley." she joked, earning a faint smile from Jill.

Bosley gave her an exasperated look. "I'm sitting right here, you know."

Kelly laughed. "Sorry, Boz."

"Are we going?" Sabrina interrupted impatiently, halfway outside the office already.

"Sorry, Bri," Kelly apologized. She jogged over to where Sabrina was standing.

"Be sure to check behind all the doors." Jill called out seriously. She would never forget again.

"We won't be long." Kelly assured Bosley and Jill.

The two girls hurried out of the office as Bosley and Jill watched from their seats.

Bosley sighed and turned to Jill. "People keep telling me that."

The girls arrived at Moretti's home and parked alongside the curb. Bosley's car was parked in the drive. As they approached the front door, they immediately sensed that something was wrong. The lights were off, and the house was eerily silent.

The girls exchanged a worried look and drew their guns. Kelly cautiously tested the door knob. She gave Sabrina a wary look as it turned easily in her hand. With the shocking image of Lisa's murdered body freshly burned into their memory, the girls dreaded what they would find on the other side of the door. A chilling feeling of déjà vu crept up their spines as they silently slipped inside.

It was happening all over again.

With the front door open, the moonlight revealed the shadowy interior of Moretti's living room. Sabrina and Kelly stood motionless, letting their eyes adjust to the light, waiting for any sign of movement.

There was none.

The girls shared another look and flicked on the lights. They let out a gasp as the light revealed the horrific scene that they had missed in the darkness.

Most of the living room furniture was overturned or broken and pieces of splintered wood and couch stuffing lay strewn across the room. The bottom two shelves that had held Moretti's photo collection were split in half, the floor below it littered with shards of broken glass.

Though unsettling, the scene of disarray went unnoticed by the two girls.

Their horror-stricken gaze was focused on the bloodstains that were smeared on the walls and soaked into the carpet.

"Jesus Christ." Sabrina breathed, once she recovered from her shock.

Kelly narrowed her eyes and glanced around the room warily. Someone could still be inside. She lifted her gun and started forward.

Sabrina's arm shot out and grabbed her tightly, jerking her to a halt.

Kelly immediately understood and together the two girls cautiously stepped into the living room. Wincing in anticipation, the girls approached the overturned couch. Most of the blood was soaked into the carpet next to the couch. Moretti was probably lying dead or injured behind it, out of their sight. Slowly, the girls neared the couch and peered over it.

There was no body.

Sabrina exhaled slowly, relieved to be momentarily spared the sight of another dead body.

Tense and anxious, the girls carefully checked the rest of the house.

Their search yielded neither a body or another person in any of the rooms. They sighed in relief, releasing the tension that had built up during their nerve-wracking search.

"Dammit." Sabrina whispered, as she took in the chaos around her. "What happened here?"

Kelly shook her head but said nothing. She felt a pang of guilt for her cold treatment of Robert Moretti.

More than likely he was a dead man now.

"You think there's a chance he's alive?" Sabrina asked quietly.

Kelly shrugged her shoulders, still mentally berating herself for her behavior.

Sabrina took no notice of Kelly's silence.

"C'mon, Kell." she said, taking hold of Kelly's arm. "Let's call the police from the car."

The two girls walked out of the house and shut the door behind them, grateful to be outside. As they walked silently to Sabrina's car, they shared a knowing look. Without verbalizing it, both knew the other was thinking the same thing.

Someone was methodically picking off their informants and both girls were asking themselves the same question.

Who would be next?