Chapter Six

A/N If Adam-12 ever mentioned Pete's partner's name-the one that was supposed to have been killed at a warehouse before Pete was partnered with Jim- I missed it. So, I've just given that character a first name.

It was close to midnight when Pete crawled into bed. The social had gone longer than anyone planned, and he had wound up dancing with Amanda quite a lot. She was an intelligent young woman who could carry on quite the conversation. And the work-related stories they had swapped had been given them both laughs and some sobering thoughts. For a small moment, Pete allowed himself to forget the horrible events that led up to the death of a young rookie and the injuries Jim had suffered. It wasn't long before Pete fell asleep only to find the pleasant dreams of the night social turn into a huge nightmare.

Pete, who had been surrounded by his parents, the Mitchells, Amanda and the other good people at the social, now found himself standing in a field full of waist high grass that was slowly turning to dead weeds. The soothing music that had been playing turned to an eerie silence. Buildings started popping up and a mixture of good, brave men and horrible human beings appeared. They were moving around as if they were in slow motion-trying to get each other but never succeeding.

Pete stared in horror as yet another building appeared only it was on fire and his former partner could be seen standing on the roof-only he was moving from one side to the other side so fast it would make one's head spin. "DAVE! GET DOWN! WATCH OUT!" Pete opened his mouth and tried to yell, but no sound came out. He watched, helpless, as blood appeared on Dave's chest and he began to fall only he disappeared a second later - and Jim was in his place, bullets were flying all around him.

"NO! JIM!" Pete yelled only to open his eyes to find himself sitting straight up in bed; perspiration was rolling off his forehead and down his face. His breathing was quite uneven, and his heart felt as if it was beating rather rapidly as well. He had to take a few deep breaths to get his breathing back to normal.

Once his breathing and heartbeat were under control, Pete got out of bed, dressed and put on his shoes. He almost expected one of his parents to start knocking on his door. However, they didn't. 'Good thing I'm in a room that is well insulated,' Pete thought as he slipped out the bedroom door, down the hallway and then out the front door. He needed fresh air after the dream he'd just had.

Once outside he made his way to a chair that had been left in the front yard. It gave him a place to sit and star gaze, something he realized he hadn't done for a long time. He didn't know how long he sat there only the headlights of a car coming down the road had him standing up and moving behind a tree-just in case. However, when he realized it was the sheriff-and that he was stopping at the Malloy house-Pete stepped back out into the open.

"What's up?" Pete asked once Sheriff Lawson stepped out of the car; the man looked a bit troubled.

"How long have you been here?" The sheriff asked slowly.

"I came straight home with my parents and only came outside a few minutes ago. You can ask my father. He was still up when I went to bed." Pete stiffened as he answered the question. "Why?"

Sheriff Lawson relaxed as he took off his hat. "I am relieved to hear that. I would have hated to have to accept Caleb Burns' word for anything."

"What is he saying?" Pete felt a bit of anger roll over him.

"There was a few small items taken from a family by the last name of Tinsdale, and the thief broke a few items as well. I only found out about it a little while ago. I saw Burns in town-he was coming out of our only bar which stayed open extra long due to their own celebration- and he claimed he saw you leave the social and head that way-by yourself." The sheriff rolled his eyes. "I figured he was lying, trying to make trouble for you because Amanda talked to you instead of him. Still, had to check what he said out, you understand."

"I do." Pete nodded and then asked the sheriff if there was a chance Caleb had taken the items and did the damage himself.

"Probably, only thing is-as I told you at the social—I have no way of proving it. Well, not yet. I'll talk to the Tinsdale again-in the morning, and ask around." Sheriff Lawson paused and shook his head. "Maybe I was wrong to ask you to stay. I mean, I would hate for Burns to cause you trouble too."

"I've had trouble before." Pete assured him. "Just so you know, the only two places I'll be tomorrow is here and over at the Mitchells." Pete explained he'd already cornered Andrew about some work that Pete had noticed needed to be done-work that was close to both the house and stable. "He didn't like the idea of my working on my vacation only I convinced him it would help us both."

"Thanks, you're as good a man as your father." Sheriff Lawson put his hat back on. He turned to his car and then looked back. "If you have a gun, you might want to carry it with you. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's on record that I asked you to keep it with you. I don't trust Mr. Burns."

"I don't either." Pete said-even as he wondered how a vacation went from time off work to, unofficially, being put back to work. Of course, he wasn't going to wiggle out of it now. He wasn't going to stand by and watch this Burns character do anything to harm the Mitchells, their family or Amanda, along with anyone else in the area. "I'd appreciate if you kept me updated when it comes to that man. If I'm going to spend the next few days in between my parents and the Mitchells, I'd like to know what's going on."

"I was planning on it." Sheriff Lawson said as he climbed back into his car. "I'll make it up to you somehow, too. This isn't what I call a decent vacation for anyone."

Pete smiled and told the lawman not to worry about it. He then watched as the sheriff drove away. After a few more minutes, Pete turned and went back inside.