Chapter 3

Jonathan was on the phone in his home office. Freeway sat at his feet. He had already seen one of his people hurt, and decided to keep on eye on this one. Jonathan called the company that serviced his grounds. He had had to search for the number. Max and Jennifer usually handled those details. Since neither one was around, Jonathan was on his own.

"Stay Green Lawn Service.

"Jonathan Hart here. Let me speak to the owner."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hart. Mr. Jones, the owner went out on a call today, and hasn't returned yet."

"Would that call happen to have been to my house?"

"Let me look that up." There was a slight pause, then the voice came back on the line. "Yes, Mr. Hart, Mr. Jones was scheduled to come to your place at 11:00 this morning. He never returned."

"I see. If there is any contact either from or about Mr. Jones, please let me know."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Hart."

Jonathan hung up. Then he dialed another number. "Lieutenant Moss, please."

"Moss here."

"Harry, it 's Jonathan. Has Mr. Jones' family been notified yet?"

"No, sir. We were just finishing going over the body."

"And what have you found?"

"That he died from a single gunshot wound to his back. All of his ID was stolen. How does he usually get onto your grounds?"

"Either we buzz him in, or he uses his card."

"Is it possible that Mrs. Hart let him in?"

"I suppose it is. Why do you ask?"

"Because we can't find the electronic key for your house."

"I will be over soon. I want to notify his family first. Give me his address."

Jonathan wrote down the address he was given, and went out the door. He made doubly sure the alarm was set.

Natalie Miller woke up with a smile on her face. She had spent the last several months plotting her move. She knew the Harts' schedules. She knew that Max would be on vacation, and that Jonathan would be tied up in a meeting. She knew Jennifer would be home alone. It was the perfect time to kidnap Jennifer and make her pay. Natalie had the key to the grounds. Getting into the house would be a snap.

She had taken the first steps towards revenge on her one major nemesis in her life. Now she was ready to take more. It hadn't been easy stealing the groundskeeper's van and killing him. She had had to call around to various lawn and gardening businesses for months, before she found the one she was looking for. Even then, not all of them would tell her what she needed to know. Why were people so uncooperative? It was only when she posed as a police officer with a fake badge that she got her information. She knew when the Hart's grounds would be serviced. Their lawn was large enough that it sometimes required more than one gardener to care for it. Natalie had lucked out that day. The second gardener who usually went with Harry had called in sick. Harry went to the Hart's house alone. They hadn't needed much work done this week, and Harry felt he could handle it.

At Stay Green Lawn Service, Harry was whistling as he loaded his van with equipment. His first stop would be at the Hart residence. It would only take an hour or so, then he would do the other houses on his route. Harry climbed into his van. He adjusted the mirrors and fastened his seat belt. He set the radio to his favorite station. Then he started his van and drove towards the Hart residence. Harry had only gone a few blocks when he felt the gun next to his temple.

"Turn right at the next light," a voice ordered. "There is a park there. You will pull the van into the parking area and shut it off."

"Then what?"

"You will find out."

Harry had no choice but to obey the voice. He dutifully pulled the van into the parking area and stopped. He was about to ask what next, when the bullet went through his back. Harry slumped over the wheel. Natalie pulled him out of the seat and dragged him to the back of the van. She put on gloves, and went through his pockets. She pulled out his wallet and looked inside. Natalie found what she was looking for: an electronic key card with the address 3100 Willow Pond Road, Bel Air, CA and the name Jonathan Hart.

Natalie drove the van to the Harts' estate. They lived somewhat apart from their neighbors, so Natalie was not worried about being seen. She stopped at the gate, and inserted the card into the electronic gate keeper. The gates buzzed, and then swung open. Natalie drove the van onto the grounds. Jennifer had done quite well marrying Jonathan Hart, Natalie noted. She had read that Jonathan was an orphan, and had started his own company with $1500 and a shrewd business sense. It had grown from there into the world wide conglomeration it was today. Natalie wasn't sure if she should demand a ransom, or just try to assume Jennifer's life. Either way, she should benefit from Jonathan's riches.

Natalie drove around the side of the house and parked the van. She climbed out, and steathily made her way around the back of the house, where she knew Jennifer's home office was. The curtains were open slightly, and Natalie watched as Jennifer loaded her typewriter with paper, and then stared at it for a moment. Then Jennifer got up and left the room. Natalie quickly looked for the alarm wires that were connected to the window. She followed them back to the box, and disabled them. She ran back to the window. No sign of Jennifer yet. Natalie jimmied open the window and stepped in. She pulled the drapes closed and hid behind them. Jennifer came back into her office with her dog at her heels. The dog started to growl. This could complicate things. Natalie knew how to take care of him and Jennifer. She fingered the bottle of chloroform in her pocket.

A couple of hours later, the Angels met back at the office. Kianna had the photographs, and Lisa and Sarah had the lab reports. They all sat at the circular table in behind the couches. Kianna spread out the pictures. Sarah and Lisa put the lab reports on the table next to them.

"What do we have?" Sarah asked as she surveyed the pictures. She quickly glanced over the ones of the dead body. That was one part of the job she could do without. She pushed her own emotions aside and concentrated on the lab reports.

Kianna picked up the rag. "Chloroform. Mrs. Hart was apparently subdued with it. The dog might've been as well."

Lisa looked at the pictures in front of her. "The getaway vehicle was definitely a van, possibly belonging to the lawn service."

Sarah studied the pictures for a moment. "So, let's go over what we have so far. The intruder somehow got onto the grounds. He disabled the alarm, and climbed in the window of Mrs. Hart's study. He killed the landscaper, and stole the van, and put Mrs. Hart inside. Now we need to find out who took her and why."

"The eternal question," Lisa mused.

"I say we go over to Mr. Hart's office and start interviewing employees." Sarah started to gather up the photos.

"But Hart Industries is a world wide conglomerate. How can we possibly get them all?" Kianna wondered.

"We'll start with the local ones and work from there," Sarah said as she led the way out of the office.

The girls piled into Kianna's Camaro. Sarah picked up the phone and dialed Jonathan's number.

"Mr. Hart, this is Sarah Munroe. We are on our way to your office right now. Can you please meet us there?" She put down the phone.

"Was he there?" Lisa asked from the backseat.

"No. I got his answering service. I hope he gets the message."

The car continued on its way to downtown LA and the main office of Hart Industries. The girls saw the building when they were a block away. Each of them looked at it in awe.

"Holy cow!" Lisa breathed.

"I want to be a multi millionaire when I grow up," Kianna said.

"Me too." Sarah continued to look at the building as they approached it, until they were too close to look at it any longer. Kianna pulled into the parking garage and looked for a space. After driving through several levels, they finally found one. The girls made a note of where their car was, and disembarked.

"I hope Mr. Hart is in his office after all of that," Kianna said as she led the way into the building. The girls stopped at the bank of elevators. They looked at the directory, and found Jonathan's office was on the top floor. They got in the elevator and rode up. Deanne, Jonathan's secretary, was at her desk right in front of Jonathan's door.

"May I help you?" She asked as the Angels approached her desk.

"We are here to see Mr. Hart," Sarah said firmly.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"He'll see us," Lisa told her.

Deanne looked at the three girls. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Hart does not see anyone without an appointment."

"He'll see us," Sarah responded.

Deanne picked up the phone. She hit the intercom button. No answer.

"Mr. Hart does not seem to be in his office at the moment. If you will leave your names and a message, I will see that he gets it."

Sarah pulled out her business card. "We are from the Townsend Agency. Please have Mr. Hart call us as soon as possible."

She handed the card to Deanne, and the three Angels left.

"Now what?" Kianna wondered as they got back onto the elevator.

Jennifer was sleepy, so sleepy. The drugs made her brain foggy and it was hard to think. Jennifer kept wondering who took her and why. She

scootched back down to a lying down position and closed her eyes. Maybe sleep would make her feel better. Soon, she was in a doze, not really asleep, not really awake. She began to dream. Jennifer saw herself as a young girl, around 13 or 14 years old. She was dressed in her school uniform which consisted of a dark blue and white plaid skirt, white blouse with a Peter Pan collar, dark blue sweater, and saddle shoes. Her red hair was cut into a pageboy, and she wore a blue head band. She was surrounded by several friends, and they were talking and laughing. Jennifer noticed a group of girls off by themselves. Jennifer and her friends walked past them on their way to class. Jennifer smiled and said hi, while the rest of her friends ignored them. Jennifer noticed one girl even further off by herself. She smiled at her. There was no answer. Jennifer continued on with her friends to class.

Jennifer squirmed in her restless sleep. Dreams and memories would start to materialize, then fade. She kept seeing the one girl by herself. The name started to come to her. It started with an N. Nan?... Nancy?... Nellie?... Natalie? Natalie! That was it! What was the last name? It would come to her if she thought hard enough. Jennifer relaxed, and her sleep deepened. She knew Jonathan would be trying to find her. She hoped he would figure it out soon. This floor was very uncomfortable, and Natalie was crazy. "Hurry, Jonathan!"