Lexington Hill Apartments

"Hey, want me to stick around until you guys leave?" Joey asked Jessie as they pulled up in front of Sal's building.

Jessie got out. "No, go back to the penthouse Dad may need you. I'll get a ride back from Sal. He said he wanted to stop by and see Dad and Robert."

"Okay, I'll see you later then. Be careful."

"I will, Joe." Jessie smiled at him, then leaned in and kissed him. "Later." She straightened up and smiled as he drove away, then went into the building.

As she walked through the lobby she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Sal's number. He was expecting her but she wanted to give him a heads up she was there, in case he had company or he was doing something business related. Not getting an answer she left him a quick message and decided to go up anyway. She had a key so if for some reason he had to step out she could still get into his place and if he was occupied with the company well...then he should have answered his phone. She grinned at the thought and pushed the up button to the elevator.

His apartment door was locked so she used her key. Poking her head in the door she looked around an empty living room. "Sal?" She stepped in and called out to him. The apartment was completely silent. She walked through the living room and the smell of something that had been burnt on the stove earlier still lingered in the air. "Jeez," Jessie said aloud. "What were you trying to cook?" Heading towards the kitchen she stopped dead when she got to the doorway.

Sal was sitting bound to a chair covered head to feet in blood and looking at her with his dark lifeless eyes. Jessie locked up. Her legs went numb and she felt like she had cement blocks tied to her ankles. Her stomach dropped, as if she had just gone down the first big drop of a rollercoaster, and started to roll slowly. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until her body forced her to gasp to take in oxygen. She couldn't turn away, she just stared at him and each blink of her eyes was like a camera taking pictures. Pictures that would be stored and recalled like a slideshow in her memory forever.

Blink. His face was covered in blood. He had deep gashes running from temple to chin on both sides and his nose was nothing but mush sitting in the middle of his face. Both his bottom and top lip were split showing missing and broken teeth. Her eyes move to the top of his head. There was a large part on the left side of his head where there was a piece of his scalp missing. His hair was matted with blood and brain matter and before she could stop herself she searched the wall behind him. There it was, the missing piece, stuck to the wall by the force of the blow and blood. She closed her eyes willing herself to faint, to move, to throw up...anything to keep her from looking at him again but it didn't work. She opened her eyes.

Blink. Her eyes moved down to his torso which was riddled with bullet holes. There was a hole the size of a dinner plate where his stomach should have been and she could clearly see inside him...almost through him. Parts of him had started to ooze out into his lap and her rolling stomach threatened to empty out but left nothing but a burning in her throat and a sour taste in her mouth. She started to shake.

Blink. She caught a glimpse of shiny metal on the floor and her eyes went to it immediately welcoming the chance to look away from him. The handle of Sal's meat tenderizer...that's what she saw. She had seen Sal use it hundreds of times while preparing meals and she knew that the blood that covered it had nothing to do with his cooking. Following a trail of blood with her eyes she saw what it had been used on, his feet, though if they were all you had to look at they could not be identified as feet. They had been reduced to a pile of flesh and blood. A couple of pounds of chop meat lying in front of a pair of ankles. She was cold. She could feel sweat running down her back but it felt like ice water.

It took her several minutes to realize her cell phone was ringing. Willing her arm to move, her hand shaking, she pulled it out and stared at it. Her father's number moved across the screen and she flipped it open.

"It's about time," Patrick said on the other end of the line. "Are you at the track yet? I've been trying to call Sal but he's not answering his phone...did he forget it? Hey, you there?"

Jessie tried to speak but just noises came out.

"You're breaking up...I can't really hear you."

Closing her eyes she concentrated on her father's voice. "Dad..."

"Jessie, can you hear me? I can hear you now..."

"Sal's dead..."

"What!? What did you say? Jessie, where are you?"

She could hear the panic creeping into Patrick's voice. "Dead...Sal's dead." It was all she could say.

"Are you still at Sal's?!"

"Sal's dead."

"Jessie get out of there! Go downstairs and get some help! Do you hear me? Get out of there now!" Patrick yelled into the phone.

Any other time Jessie would have flinched at her father's yelling, but it was as if he whispered something to her. She couldn't leave though, her legs refused to move.


Patrick O'Doyle's Penthouse

Patrick paced back and forth in his office. His mind racing as he continued to yell into the phone. "I know you hear me...dammit...Jessie talk to me! You need to leave Sal and get out of the apartment!"

"What the hell is going on?" Robert asked coming into the room and looking for whoever it was Patrick was yelling at. He felt cold when he saw the look on Patrick's face. The older man was a picture of pure panic. "Pat, what is it?" He asked walking closer to him.

Patrick stepped away and continued to pace. "Call Bailey Malone and the police. Sal's been murdered."

"What?!" Then it hit him that Jessie was with Sal, he suddenly felt sick. "Jessie...is Jessie okay?"

"She's on the phone...in shock, I think." Patrick stopped pacing and looked at Robert. "She found him, Bobby."

Robert nodded in understanding, then went for the phone on Patrick's desk. "We'll get her out of there. She'll be okay. Keep talking to her Pat."

Patrick could hear her breathing but nothing else. He took a deep breath and spoke as softly as he could. "Jessie...Jessie close your eyes. Don't look at him. Just turn and walk away. I know it's hard, honey, but you have to pull it together and get out of there. Jessie, please, talk to me..."

He heard her take a deep breath and at the end of it he heard her say "There's so much blood." And that was it. That was all he got from her.

Patrick closed his eyes and cursed silently. He could only imagine the condition Sal was in and it pained him that Jessie found him that way. She was already haunted by her younger brother's death and now she had this to deal with. He rubbed at his temple with his free hand and spoke into the phone again." Jessie...I love you."

"Bailey and John are on their way over there. He said to stay here and that he's sending people over to secure the building. He'll call when they know what the situation is." Robert informed him as he hung up Patrick's desk phone. He walked over and put his hand on Patrick's shoulder. "John will take care of her. She'll be alright."

Patrick nodded but he didn't feel any better. "Jessie...John is coming. He's going to take care of you. He'll get you out of there." No response. Nothing but her breathing. "I'll be right here, waiting for you, okay? John will bring you home."


Tbc...Sorry I took so long to update but I deleted a couple of chapters by accident and of course had no other copies, so I got frustrated and said "screw it" for a while. I actually like the newer stuff better so the frustration worked out well. Hope you enjoy.