Author's Note: It's a shorter chapter this time. I'll post chapter five within the next few days.

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Matt Carter was enjoying dinner with the lawyer, Giovannibattista Molini at a small Italian restaurant near the hospital. It was an expensive place. Molini had offered to treat him. "Soon," the lawyer said, "you and Melissa will be dining like this all the time."

Matt shook his head. "No. We're going to be careful with the money. We'll use what I need for my tuition to go to seminary. And we'll buy a comfortable house for us and the girls we hope to adopt. Eventually, we want to start a camp for kids with special needs, in honor of the child we lost."

Molini nodded his head. "You are good people." He raised his glass of wine. "When you are ready to start your camp, let me know. I would like to invest in a project like that."

Matt nodded and took another bite of his chicken parmigiana. "This is delicious." He cleared his throat. It was time to ask some of the questions he had been thinking about since they first met Molini. "At the hospital, you mentioned ancient history." He took another bite of his food. "I'd like to know more." He chewed and swallowed. "For one thing, I suspect that you and Melissa are related. You have the same eyes."

Molini's face reddened a bit. He glanced away from Matthew for a moment and then made eye contact again. "Emilia and I loved each other. I wanted to marry her, but I didn't have the money to give her the life she was accustomed to. I was a law student then, struggling to get by. I came from a humble background. Then Owen Sinclair came into her life and made her many pleasant promises."

Matt scowled. "He never kept those promises."

Molini nodded. "I know." He sighed heavily. "Melissa is mia figlia — my daughter. Emilia promised Sinclair she would never tell her about me. She was expecting when they married. As I said, she wrote letters to her parents. She also wrote to me. She never told me where I could find her, or I would have gone there and taken them both away. Sinclair broke my Emilia's spirit. Writing those letters was all the rebellion she could muster. I finished law school and did very well. Then I came to represent Signor Castagna. He and Giuliana knew the truth about Emilia and me before they died."

Matt's eyes widened. "You need to tell Melissa this."

Molini looked down. "I do not know." He sighed. "What we did — the church frowns on such things. I was not a man of faith then as I am now."

"Melissa will understand." Matt hadn't told him everything about the baby they'd lost. "When we had the car accident, we weren't married. Melissa was expecting. We lost the baby." He put a hand on Molini's arm. "To know that she has a father who loves her would mean the world to Melissa. She's being discharged tomorrow morning. Please come talk with her before we leave.

Molini nodded and smiled at Matt. "Si, you are right. She must know. I will join you at the hospital." He put his hand over Matt's. "I am grateful she has a husband who is so good to her."

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Back at his hotel, Matt turned on the television and relaxed on the sofa. He hadn't watched much TV on this trip. Mostly he had spent his free time reading. Tonight, though, he was still processing everything Molini had told him. He couldn't focus on a book.

About halfway through the show, the phone rang. Matt turned down the volume, then picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Matt," Roy said, "I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner. Things have been kind of crazy here."

He sounded upset. That worried Matt. "What happened? Was there a problem at the sleep-over?" When he'd talked with Sarah Kate on Thursday, she had been so excited about her friend coming to spend the night.

"No." Roy sounded like he was close to tears. "On the walk home from school, four men grabbed Sarah Kate. They shoved Nita down and held a gun on her. Chris tried to fight them. They pushed him hard. He hit his head on the sidewalk. He's been unconscious ever since."

"Benedict," Matt growled. "It has to be."

"That's what the police think." He was quiet for a moment. "Johnny drove up to Bakersfield with Hank, Marco, Mike, and Chet to look for her. I haven't heard from them yet. I'm still at Rampart with Chris. JoAnne just took Megan home a few minutes ago. She took Nita and the twins, too."

Matt felt sick to his stomach. "If you don't mind, Roy, I'm going to get off the phone now and pray about this."

"Yeah. Pray for Chris, please." Roy's voice wavered.

"Of course. Bye, Roy." After he hung up the phone, Matt went to his knees beside the bed. He folded his hands, bowed his head, and prayed for Sarah Kate, for Nita, for Chris, for Roy and Jo, for Melissa and Molini. He didn't understand why this was happening, but prayer gave him a measure of peace. God was working. He would take care of them all.

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Johnny sat down next to Chief Stanley. They'd had to pull several chairs into Officer Bowen's cubicle to accommodate all of them.

"Gentlemen," Officer Bowen said, "I understand that you are here looking for Sarah Kate DiAngelo."

Johnny nodded. "That's right."

"Captain Gage, an elderly woman was here just a few minutes ago. She told me you were coming. She also told me where to find Sarah Kate."

"I have no idea who you're talking about," Johnny said. He was curious about the woman, but his priority was finding Sarah Kate. "We didn't tell anyone we were coming, except for Officer Vince Howard back in Carson."

"Well, I have my theories about this woman." Bowen shifted in his seat. "She was right about you coming. I want to see if she was right about Sarah Kate's location. She said the child is terrified, and that we should take you with us because she trusts you."

Johnny nodded. "Then what are we doing here, Officer? I'm mad as hell! These men threatened my wife. They broke her arm and pulled a gun on her. They injured my nephew. And they took a little girl who means a lot to me."

Chief Stanley put a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "Patience, John. Hear the man out." Johnny grimaced, but he settled down. Still, he was angry.

"We need a warrant before we can go in," said Bowen. "My partner is working on that."

"You need a warrant," Johnny said. "We don't. So where is she?"

"The old woman said she's in the back room of Allegro's Pizza. It's a small restaurant downtown. I wouldn't want you to go in there until we've secured the place. Joey Allegro owns the restaurant. He's the head of a crime syndicate. He won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way."

Johnny's jaw dropped. "So why isn't he in jail?"

Bowen shifted in his chair. He looked uncomfortable. "Unfortunately, his lawyer has always managed to convince the jury of his innocence. I know better, but that's not what matters in a court of law."

Another officer stuck his head into the cubicle. "We got our warrant, Bowen."

"Men, this is my partner, Mick Nolan. Nolan, we're going to need backup. I want at least eight other men with us. Oh, and have them move Benedict to a holding cell. We'll continue questioning him later."

Nolan nodded and hurried away to gather their force.

Within ten minutes, they were on the way to the restaurant. Johnny and the men piled into Hank's car and they followed the police officers downtown.

They parked in the alley behind the restaurant. "Can't we just go in the back door?" Johnny said.

Bowen shook his head. "We're going to do this the right way. That means going in the front door and presenting our warrant. But I want to station a few of my officers back here in case they try taking her out that way before we get in the back room." He pointed to several of his men and gestured for them to remain in the back alley. Then he pointed to Johnny and his friends. "You men are going to wait in your car. I'm not about to allow civilians into a dangerous situation. When the time comes, we'll bring Sarah Kate to Gage."

Johnny's face fell. He didn't want to sit in the car. "I want to go in with you."

Chief Stanley grabbed Johnny's arm. "Don't slow them down, John. We're going to do what Officer Bowen says."

Johnny sighed. He recognized Chief Stanley's authority. Even now, he couldn't bring himself to disobey the man. Still, he didn't have to be pleased about it. "Fine." He walked back to the car with the others and slid into his seat.

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Eddie and his men walked through the front door of the restaurant. Nolan turned the 'open' sign around. Thankfully, there weren't many customers at this hour. "This restaurant is now closed. I need all customers to leave immediately."

He slapped the warrant down on the front counter. "We have a warrant to search this property."

The cashier's eyes got big and her jaw dropped. She backed away from the cash register. "OK," she said. "Can — can I get the owner? He's in his office."

"Yeah, get him in here." Eddie figured the teenaged girl didn't know anything. She scurried off to fetch her boss.

Eddie moved through the front room of the restaurant, past the pool tables, looking for the door to the back room.

Allegro came out of his office. "What is this about, Officer?"

Eddie drew in a deep breath. "We're looking for Sarah Kate DiAngelo, a nine year old girl who was kidnapped earlier today. A source told me she was in the back room of this restaurant." He held up the sketches of the two culprits. "And we know two of your men were involved."

"We don't have a back room, Officer Bowen." Allegro positioned himself between Eddie and a rack of pool cues. "But go ahead. Search the place. You can look anywhere you like."

Eddie crossed his arms and shook his head. "There's a door in the back that I don't see here. It can't be off the kitchen because the kitchen is on the wrong end of the building. That means there's a back room."

Allegro's eyes widened. "Oh, you mean the door off the janitor's closet?" He pointed to a closet door. "It's right there."

Eddie shook his head again. "Nope. That would lead out to the side of the building, not the back. Why don't you step outside while we finish our search?" He grabbed Arden by the arm. "Take him outside. Don't let him leave."

Arden escorted Allegro outside. Eddie went over to the rack of pool cues. It was oversized, far larger than needed to hold six cue sticks. In fact, it was just large enough to conceal a door. He removed the cues, then pulled down the rack. Just as he had suspected, there was a door behind it. It wasn't even locked. Eddie turned the knob and pulled it open. He felt around for a lightswitch. The first thing he saw was a little girl, strapped to a cot. A flood of tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said, keeping his voice low and gentle. He had a daughter about her age, and he knew how to approach a frightened child. "Are you Sarah Kate DiAngelo?" She nodded. "I'm Officer Eddie Bowen of the Bakersfield Police. I've got a friend of yours right outside. His name is Johnny Gage. Do you want to go see him?"

"Yeah," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Please."

He knelt beside her and removed the straps that were holding her in place. When he helped her sit up, he realized that she wasn't using her right arm. It hung limp at her side. "Hey, Sarah Kate, are you hurt?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I was scratching the guy who grabbed me when they moved me from the van to the car, and he twisted my arm really hard. He was super strong."

"OK. I'm going to take you out to your friend and we'll have the paramedics come take a look at you. Do you think you can walk, or do you want me to carry you?"

"I can walk." She stood up. Her whole body was trembling, so Eddie supported her as she moved across the room. They left the back room and went out through the front door.

"Book him," Eddie said to Arden as they passed by. "Take him to the police station and put him in a holding cell alone. I'll question him when I get back there."

Allegro's eyes darkened. "I want my lawyer," he said.

Eddie chuckled. "Your lawyer is in a holding cell at the police station, waiting to be questioned. He won't be arguing your case this time."

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Johnny looked around when someone knocked on the window of the car. It was Officer Bowen. He opened the door. That's when he saw Sarah Kate. Relief swept through him.

The pinched look to the child's eyes and her pale face were evidence that she was in pain. "Oh, Sprout. I'm so glad to see you. You're hurt, aren't you?"

Sarah Kate nodded. She reached for him with her left arm and pressed up against him. "My right arm. I think it's broken. I can't move my fingers. It happened before we left Carson."

"Hey, sweetheart. I brought my first aid kit. I'm going to splint that for you." Johnny got his kit out of the back of the car. "Listen to me, Sprout. You're going to be OK. We're going to get you to the hospital and they'll take good care of you." He turned to Bowen. "Can we go? She needs medical care right now."

"I'll call for a paramedic squad," Nolan said. "They'll take her by ambulance. We also need to call in her social worker."

Johnny nodded. "Of course. Her name is Edna Richards. Thanks, Officer."

The paramedics arrived within a matter of minutes. Johnny watched as they took care of Sarah Kate. They were well-trained and did a good job. They also let Johnny ride in the ambulance with her, once they found out he was a certified paramedic too.

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Once Sarah Kate was in the ambulance, Eddie and Mick headed back to the station. They had two men to question. Meanwhile, they needed to find the four kidnappers. If they could get Allegro to talk, they might get a lead on where those men were.

"Let's take Benedict first," Eddie said as they walked into the building. "I think we're more likely to get him talking than his boss." Mick nodded his agreement.

They fetched Benedict from the holding cell and escorted him to the interrogation room. Eddie cuffed him to the chair.

"All right, Benedict. Tell us about the kidnapping of Sarah Kate DiAngelo. A source told us you convinced Allegro to do it. She also said that you ordered the hit on Marcus DiAngelo." Eddie needed a confession, because he wasn't sure they could get their source to testify in court. "Who's your mole in WitSec?"

Benedict tossed his head. "I want my lawyer."

Eddie grinned. "I thought surely Mr. Super-Lawyer would be representing himself. I've seen your ads. You say no other lawyer in the city can hold a candle to you."

Their suspect glowered. "I want Michael Orlov. I won't say another word until he's here."

Eddie raised an eyebrow. "He works at your firm?" Benedict nodded. "All right. We'll call him." He beckoned to Mick. "Let's question Allegro. If we can get him to talk, we won't need anything from Benedict."

The two officers walked toward the door. Before they could leave, Benedict said, "Wait."

Eddie turned around. "Are you going to make it worth our while to wait?"

The lawyer squirmed in his seat. "I'll talk."

Eddie sat down again. "All right, then. I'm very interested in what you have to say."

Benedict sighed. "Allegro ordered the hit on my father. He said I had to do it or he would fire me." His eyes flicked away from Eddie's. "Without the inheritance, I can't afford to lose my paycheck from Allegro, so —" He shrugged. "I did what he told me to do. Not really a loss to me — John Benedict never was much of a father."

"What about the hit on Marcus DiAngelo?"

Benedict looked down at the table, then made eye contact. "Again, ordered by Allegro. He didn't want Marcus to testify against him."

"Who was your mole at WitSec?" Eddie asked.

Benedict laughed. "You have to promise me a good deal to get me to tell you that."

Eddie shrugged. "We'll find him some other way. So, Allegro ordered his men to kidnap Sarah Kate in payment for that hit?"

Benedict nodded. "Exactly. I wanted my daughter back. This foster care arrangement is ridiculous and unnecessary."

Eddie stood up. "Well, you can discuss that with the judge. Nolan, take him back to his cell. Then join me back here to question Allegro."

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Eddie glared at Allegro. "Benedict talked. We didn't even offer him a deal and he talked. He says you ordered the hit on John Benedict." He doubted that bit of information. Benedict never kept eye contact when he was lying.

Allegro's face got red. "That bastard! He wanted me to kill John Benedict and I told him no. John Benedict never did me any wrong. I told him to do it himself." Allegro never broke eye contact. There were no other tells that he might be lying. Of course, he could just be a very good liar, but Eddie believed him. Peter Benedict had motive to kill his father.

Eddie arched his eyebrows. "So, you knew he was planning to kill his father and you didn't inform us? You could have saved a good man's life."

Allegro shrugged. "By California law, I am not required to inform you. You can't charge me for that."

"But I can charge you for ordering the murder of Marcus DiAngelo and for sending your thugs to kidnap his daughter." Eddie sat down across from Allegro. "You aren't getting away with it this time." He pushed a piece of paper and a pen across the table. "I know that you sent Sandro Conti and Ricardo Tucci to kidnap Sarah Kate. I want the names of the other two kidnappers." He waited.

Allegro just sat there. Finally, he said, "I want a lawyer."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Like I said, your lawyer is in a holding cell. He won't be arguing your case this time. We can get someone else in here for you, though."

Allegro glared at him. "A man with three children shouldn't talk to me in that tone."

Eddie got in Allegro's face. "Are you threatening my kids?" He curled up his fists, but he restrained himself from throwing a punch. He wasn't that kind of cop. "You do realize that interrogations are videotaped, don't you?" He straightened up. "I want those names. Your men injured a woman and a boy, and they broke Sarah Kate's arm. You kept that kid strapped down on a cot without even allowing her medical care. She could lose the use of that arm because of you."

Allegro finally took the pen and wrote down two names: Alberto Albino and Giovanni Pirelli.

"That's more like it." Eddie gestured to Mick. "Take him back to his cell."

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The hospital wasn't Rampart, but it had caring doctors and nurses. Edna Richards met them there. She and Johnny talked in the waiting room while Sarah Kate was getting x-rays.

"Until they find the four men who took her, I believe Sarah Kate could be in danger," Mrs. Richards said. "I want to move her out of the DeSoto home. I don't doubt that they are taking great care of her, but apparently they found out where she was. Would you and Nita be willing to take her? I ran the background checks and everything came back fine. We would be sure to keep your address out of her file."

That surprised Johnny. He felt he needed to say something. "Our ranch hand, Tex. He has a criminal record in Mexico."

Mrs. Richards shook her head. "It must have been a juvenile record. It has been expunged."

Johnny brightened. "Yes, then! We'll be glad to take her. Um, you should know we're in a tight situation financially."

Mrs. Richards smiled. "Sarah Kate's expenses will be covered by the state. You don't need to worry about that. I do need to visit your home, though, and make sure it meets our standards."

"Of course." Johnny had no concerns about that. He and Nita kept a clean house. He looked up and noticed a man coming in the ER doors who looked a lot like the man Megan had described. "That guy looks like the police sketch of the man who grabbed Sarah Kate. I wish we could move her to Rampart Hospital right away."

Mrs. Richards eyed the man as well. "We can, as soon as the x-rays are done. I'll talk with the police about it. See if you can find out why he's here."

Johnny moved to stand in line behind the man. He overheard him asking the nurse at the front desk where he could find Sarah Kate DiAngelo.

"Are you family?" the nurse asked.

The man reached for his hip and pulled his gun from its holster. He pointed it at the nurse. "You're going to take me to Sarah Kate DiAngelo."

"Hey," Johnny said. He hated guns. "Come on, man. Put that thing away."

The man pivoted so that he was facing Johnny. He aimed the gun at him. "Keep your big mouth shut."

Johnny took a step toward him. "Listen, that gun won't solve anything."

"It'll shut you up." The brute fired his weapon. Johnny felt a searing pain in his chest. The last things he heard as he collapsed and consciousness faded were a woman screaming and a second gunshot.