Houston Knights Fan Fiction.
Click here to find out some dark secrets about the author.(Coming soon)

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11Jan02

DISCLAIMER: The Houston Knights characters and premise belong to Jay Bernstein, Michael Butler and the folks at Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is made from this Fan fiction. It is for entertainment purposes only.

WARNINGS/RATING: This story is rated PG-13 for some graphic violence and strong language. Contains mild adult themes and situations.

NOTES: I am not a police detective, nor am I familiar with police procedure; the tactics and situations in my story are purely fictitious. Also I am not a medical professional and have no formal knowledge of medical terms and procedures. I just wing it and hope it sounds okay, so if it's not realistic enough or true to life, just remember this is for entertainment purposes only. One more thing, I've never been to Houston, I made it all up, please forgive me!!

SPOILERS: None that I know of.

TITLE: "HOODWINKED" - AUTHOR: J Jett209

 

Hoodwinked

by Jumbojett

Footsteps echoed off the marble floors of the stoic Houston courthouse as passerby's shuffled to and from rooms and corridors. Sergeant Levon Lundy sat lonesome on a large oak bench, patiently waiting for his partner to emerge. Fiddling with his tie it was obvious the handsome blonde cowboy was not quite used to being smartly dressed for his public appearance.
Looping his finger around the ties knot, Lundy yanked until his collar snapped open, allowing him to breath deeply for the first time. Letting out a sigh the Detective's mind wandered as he daydreamed about slipping into a pair of worn jeans and replacing these tight excuses for shoes with a nice pair of broken boots. He could almost feel the soft touch of a flannel hugging his shoulders instead of this stiff, starch filled smother device that was doubling as a shirt.
"How on earth does Lafiamma wear these fancy clothes everyday, no wonder the boy has such a short fuse." Lundy wondered to himself as he waited for Joe to finish testifying in the courtroom on the other side of the etched wooden double doors behind him. The partners had just wrapped up yet another successful case. In the two years since Joey Lafiamma became Lundy's partner the two have evolved into an elite team. It took quite a while for them to get in sync, but when it finally happened these boys became the Police Department's best-kept crime fighting secret.
Just as Lundy was about to nod off, Lafiamma emerged into the hall, "Wake up cowboy, we can finally get outta here." Lundy smiled at the six foot Italian as he strutted over with a smug and confident swagger. "How'd it go?" Lundy asked as he stiffly rose, stretching his starchy sleeves above his head. "It was a slam dunk, there aint no public defender on earth who can cross me into a corner, I think those thugs will see twenty years easy." Lafiamma coolly stated as he brushed a hand through his dark bangs, which eternally hung over his deep teal eyes. "Lets get outta these monkey suits and grab some Barbeque, I'm starving." Lundy said as he fell into step with Joey, down the winding stairs and out the front doors of the courthouse.
The sun was shining bright as the two detectives hopped into Lundy's red Jimmy 4x4. Lundy revved the engine, peeling away from the curb as Joey clicked his seatbelt on and grabbed for the radio on the dash. "9415 to base we're back on call, over." The static of the radio hummed as Joe waited for base to answer. "Copy that 9415, urgent message from MCU, please return to the squad ASAP, Lieutenant Beaumont needs you to contact her immediately." The feminine voice answered as Lundy and Lafiamma exchanged confused glances. "10-4 base we're on our way, over and out." Joey returned the radio to its cradle as Lundy switched the lights and sirens on, leaning on the accelerator; he turned to Joe, "Looks like barbeque will have to wait huh?"
Lafiamma and Lundy hurried into Joanne Beaumont's office and plopped into the two chairs facing her desk. The petite brunette was deep in conversation on the phone. Her dark eyes quickly glancing from Joey to Levon, she motioned them to sit tight as she nodded and agreed into the receiver squeezed tightly between her shoulder and ear.
The detectives sat silent, listening intently as Joanne's answers were quick one-liners not giving any indication as to what was going down. Lundy ripped the tie from his neck and untucked his shirt, unbuttoning both sleeves and rolling them as Joanne finished up her conversation. Rising from her chair she hung up the phone and leaned in on the desk sighing. "Well boys we got a big one for ya'll, it seems some time before dawn someone broke into Senator Jack VonFransky's daughters apartment and forcibly removed her from the residence. O'Brien took the call about thirty minutes ago; she and McCandles are down there doing the preliminaries now. I want you two on this one."
Joanne grabbed a legal pad from her desk drawer and began scribbling, as Joe and Levon readied themselves to roll, "Here is her address, her name is Audrey Lynn, she's twenty six years old, and I want her to see twenty seven, get her back guys! I want this thing wrapped up as fast as possible." Joanne ripped the paper from the pad and handed it to Joey, winking back he assured his lieutenant "We'll find her boss, don't worry." Joe nodded to Levon as both detectives hurried out.
"Here, you drive!" Lundy announced as he threw his keys over the cab of the truck to a surprised Joey. Catching them on the fly, Joe questioned why? "Cause I got to get rid of these duds, that's why." Lundy explained as he pulled a pile of clothes from behind the passenger seat, producing his familiar Stetson. Joey smiled at his partner as he started the truck, shaking his head he thought, how typical, this cowboy never ceases to amaze me.
As the detectives hit the interstate, Lundy was halfway through his transformation as Joe uncomfortably gripped the wheel of the heavy truck, "I don't know how you navigate this rolling microwave, Lundy! This thing handles like a goddamned tank." Lundy smirked at Joe's observation as he slid into his jeans, "Your just not used to a real vehicle, Lafiamma, I can pick up that toy car of yours and carry it away." Lundy quipped referring to Joey's baby.
His midnight blue Cobra 427, a two seater, with impeccable imported leather interior and a state of the art stereo system. "Hey Lundy! That car is flawless! It goes from zero to sixty in a heartbeat, can stop on a dime, I can hit one-twenty without even a hint of a shimmy! NEVER doubt the craftsmanship of the Italians, that car is a work of art!" Lundy laughed out loud at Lafiamma's colorful description.
"So what's your initial gut feeling Lundy, you think this snatch is a domestic deal, or a ransom case, the VonFransky family is probably the richest people in the state?" Joe inquired, peeking back and forth between rear view mirrors. "Your guess is as good as mine, we just gotta wait and size up the case first, don't clutter your investigations with presumptions, we might latch onto the wrong trail." Lundy replied, placing the Stetson atop his wavy blond hair.
Joe pulled into the drive of the Breezeway Apartment Complex, which was buzzing with police activity. "Pretty exclusive pile of bricks huh Lundy?" Joe stated as he rolled up to some officers milling around the outside. Both detectives flashed their badges as a uniform officer waved them through the yellow tape. "Were Looking for McCandles and O'Brien from major crimes." Lundy asked hanging out the window as Joe put the truck in park. An officer motioned toward the main building, "They're inside her place, the penthouse apartment." Joe glanced at Lundy with a raised eyebrow, "The top floor huh, must be nice." He quipped as he checked his holsters concealed inside his jacket.
The crime scene was already being picked apart piece by piece, officers were snapping pictures, dusting for prints, sweeping for trace evidence and marking clues. The spacious apartment was a sea of humanity as Joe and Levon pushed their way through, spotting Detective Joe-Bill McCandles' cowboy hat through the thick crowd. "What do ya got Mac?" Lundy questioned looking around at the bevy of activity. "Well, her door was kicked in from the hall, but the security door downstairs is intact so either she buzzed them in or they slid in behind someone else, Carol is going door to door right now. The downstairs neighbor heard some scuffling and commotion around four this morning. There were some small signs of a struggle, but nothing too elaborate, just some overturned furniture."
Joey slowly moved about the living room, his eyes searching over every inch of the area, stopping frozen on a picture atop the fireplace mantle. His eyes went wide with awe at the beauty staring back; it was a picture of the senator with his wife and daughter. He focused in on Audrey. She was breathtaking. Her large green eyes were reminiscent of emeralds. Her supple lips, curled just into the hint of a smile. Her curly red locks hanging perfectly around her face. Joe couldn't take his eyes off the photo as Lundy approached, "She's quite a looker huh Lafiamma?" he asked as Joe nodded in agreement, staring silently at the picture.
"Hey snap out of it Romeo, we got work to do." Lundy stated as he waved a hand back and forth in front of Lafiamma's smitten eyes. Joey blinked the image away as he turned to Lundy, "Okay lets get to work, now what do we got." Joe questioned turning on his heels and walking briskly through the apartment. Lundy followed his every step filling him in on the details, "The parents were away on some kind of fact finding trip they're enroute back on a private jet, should be landing into Houston in about an hour and a half." Joey's eyes raced across each inch of the apartment.
"We gotta get a trace on this phone and the senators home and offices, if they try to contact them it should be soon, we gotta get an A.P.B. out on her car, find out if it's in the lot or if they took it, find her phone book or appointment book, if she has one we gotta start talking to all her friends, lets get a timeline of her activities leading up to today, who she met where she was and what she did." Joe rambled off orders as Lundy and McCandles followed him room to room. McCandles glanced at Lundy with a questioning look, "We'll crack this case in no time I think Lafiamma's in love with the victim." Lundy stated as he scribbled Joe's game plan in his small notebook.
Joe stopped short of the woman's bedroom, pausing in the doorframe looking in. The room was empty and silent, in contrast to the rest of the apartment. Joe scanned the room soaking in every detail as he rested his arms against the door. The bed was still made, curtains gently swaying in the warm spring breeze. The closet door was ajar with pink satin hangers lying on the floor; two dresser drawers were slightly peeking open with some garments hanging over the front. A blow dryer lay on the bed with the cord rolled up and tucked neatly around the handle. Joey's brow furrowed in confusion as his mind raced to process the information.
"What's up Joey, whaddya got boy." Lundy asked noticing Joe's wheels turning. Joe wrenched his knuckles, deep in thought as Lundy waited for his response. "She didn't sleep here last night, her bed is still made and if I didn't know any better I'd think she or someone…packed up some of her stuff. Closets open drawer's open, blow dryer out it's weird." He turned to Lundy, "Who made the call?" Joe questioned as Lundy snapped his leather notebook closed and anchored the pen securely behind his ear. "Downstairs neighbor, she came up here about twelve thirty and noticed the door kicked in, called the police right away." "So we'll start with her, Joe-Bill can get cracking on the taps and the all points bulletins, Carol should call the crisis center and see if they can get some volunteers to plaster the city with pictures and posters, get the girls face around town, in case anyone's seen her…. and we gotta get this on the news as fast as possible, call Joanne and have her get a press release out to all the networks." McCandles nodded as Lundy and Lafiamma exited the apartment to head downstairs. "I'll catch Carol and we'll get started." Mac answered tipping his hat to Lundy as the boys disappeared through the cracked doorframe.
Jaime Sherwood sat cuddled on her fluffy down couch, cradling a steaming cup of tea as Joey and Levon picked her memory about what she found this morning. Not only was she Audrey's neighbor, but also a close friend and seemed overwrought with fright and anxiety. The attractive brunette wiped some stray tears as Lundy questioned her. Joey sat next to her listening intently as she spoke.
Ms. Sherwood answered questions about what she saw at the apartment, what she heard early this morning, and what kind of person she knew Audrey to be. Lundy and Lafiamma got an initial list of Audrey's friends and acquaintances. Lundy observed a small smirk emerge in Joe when he heard that the red headed beauty was not seeing anyone steady. The boys spent over an hour with the young woman gathering all the leads they possibly could and answering all the questions they could think of to bring them closer to understanding what went on in that apartment this spring morning.
"Thank you for your time Miss Sherwood, we'll do all we can to bring her back safe and sound." Joe said as he handed Jaime a business card. "Please call if you can think of anything else that might help us." Levon and Joe shook the girls hand as she showed them to the door. Joe and Levon walked out to the parking lot toward the truck when they spied Sgt. Carol O'Brien in the distance motioning toward them.
"Hey Carol, what do you got?" Lundy asked as the shapely detective approached the boys. "The senator is home we need you to get over there as soon as you can, also we cant find any purse, wallet, address book or phone book for the girl, she has to have her purse with her, so were putting a trace on all her credit cards and debit cards, in case they try to use them." Carol walked with the detectives to the Red Jimmy. "Good stuff Carol, we're heading over to Senator VonFransky's now, we'll meet ya back at the bullpen, make sure they get all the evidence to us as soon as possible, and send the trace and fingerprints over to the FBI ask them to expedite them through for us since we got a time issue on this case." Carol nodded and waved as the truck rolled out of the parking lot, enroute to the senator's mansion.
The sun was descending past the plains as night fell on the quiet city. It's been a grueling day as the detectives worked non-stop on their new case. It was hard facing the senator and his wife. They were devastated at the thought of their only daughter being held against her will by a faceless stranger, not knowing if she was dead, alive, lying in a ditch somewhere or worse. The boys settled in at the senators, a tap was placed on the phone as news of the abduction was beginning to hit the television and radio news. A uniformed servant handed out coffee and refreshments to all the detectives and police milling about the large estate. Now the waiting game shall begin, which lead will break first? Joey seemed overly tense as he and Lundy compared notes in the senator's office.
There was no reason to believe it was a domestic incident since nobody who knew Audrey was aware of the girl having any trouble with unwanted friends or pushy boyfriends, it had to be about money, if some crazed looser wanted to get rich quick, this would be the socialite to make that happen, not only was Senator VonFransky extremely influential, but the man was loaded, his net worth was in the billions. It was public knowledge around the city that he was well off, so this theory was more than feasible.
Although it looked as though the boys were on the right track regarding why Audrey was taken, Joey still had a big hang up about the scene. "Something is a miss at that apartment Lundy I can feel it. I just have a problem with her bedroom. Now she was taken probably close to four on a Thursday morning, her bed wasn't slept in so she was out all night, or up late doing something…and her purse and keys are gone, what kinda moronic kidnapper while struggling with a hostage looks around for a purse…not right." Joe leapt from the chair and began feverishly pacing back and forth as Lundy leaned back and soaked in what Lafiamma was trying to get at.
"Your right Joe, and the door, her apartment door was kicked in, but the building door was secure, so it's possible whoever she was out with last night…if she was out, may have come home with her." Lundy added as he flipped through his interview notes. "Now she was at work until five thirty, she works at some fancy clothes store downtown. She was next seen at her health club, where she worked out until about eight, one of her neighbors saw her enter the apartment building about nine fifteen, alone, with some bags, so she could have made some stops on the way home. Next activity we have is two calls being placed from her apartment at about ten past eleven. After that we draw a blank." Lundy gathered the papers and placed them on the table, watching Lafiamma pace about the room.
"Who did she call?" Joe asked as he rubbed his tired eyes. "First call was to Jaime Sherwood, downstairs, talked about twenty two minutes, second call was to a pizza shop down on Dorset Street, a place called 'Mario's', that call lasted about fifteen minutes." Just as Lafiamma was about to say something the phone on the senator's desk began to ring. Lundy's eyes widened as Joe ran through the door, returning in a flash with Senator VonFransky in tow. Joe placed his hand on the receiver and waited for Lundy and McCandles to give him the mark, as their trace was set, Joe picked up the phone on the fourth ring and handed the receiver to the shaky senator. The room began to fill with silent onlookers as Mrs. VonFransky joined her husband and held his hand. The senator gave the detectives the thumbs up as Joe flipped the switch to record the conversation.
"Senator you get one minute!" the muffled male voice bellowed through the speaker. "She's still alive and will stay that way if you do as I say. We want five million dollars in cash in exchange for your kid! Will contact again tomorrow with instructions." Senator VonFransky rose from his chair in panic his hands shaking, "Wait, I want to talk to my baby, PLEASE!" He pleaded his voice cracking in anguish. Carol glanced at Joey and whispered, "Fifteen seconds, keep him on the line." Lundy began holding up written questions for the senator to ask. Joe moved in between Jack and Lundy, "get him to put her on the line, NOW!" he urged, his stern face locked with tension. The speaker crackled with static as the angelic voice permeated the room. "Daddy I'm okay just do as he says please and he won't hurt me." Mrs. VonFransky gasped as she heard her daughters voice for the first time.
The line quickly went dead as the hum of the disconnected call buzzed over the speakers. Joey hurried over to McCandles who was monitoring the trace, "No trace fellas, not long enough to get a fix on him." Joey slammed the desk with anger as the senator and his wife embraced. Lundy patted Joey on the back and sighed, "Hey, get a grip, it's okay, at least we know his motive is money and that Audrey is still alive and okay, we know where were heading now, if this guy wants to use her to bargain he's not going to hurt his bargaining chip. Now lets all just calm down and leave the senator and his wife alone for a few minutes." The room began to empty as the VonFransky's sat together on the sofa, tears streaming down both their exhausted faces.
The wee hours of the morning crept around as the VonFransky mansion found itself once again serene. Most of the officers and personnel had left hours ago. Joe and Levon found themselves sitting in the empty breakfast room nursing a pot of coffee and some sandwiches. "Not exactly Chicken's Barbeque but it will have to do." Levon joked trying to get Joey to loosen up a bit.
The clock above the china hutch ticked loudly as the refrigerator motor turned over and began to hum. Mrs. VonFransky entered the room in a robe and slippers sliding across the tile floor to the table. "You boys make yourselves at home ya here. If you need anything from us just push the intercom on the far wall, it leads right to our bedroom. There's plenty of food and coffee and other things to nibble on, don't be shy okay." She patted Levon on the shoulder and forced a small smile. "Were doing all we can madam, we will have her home soon." Joe encouraged as the older woman made her exit.
"Well the senator said he'll have the cash by nine tomorrow and we can roll from there, of course we'll handle the drop by the book, hostage safety first then ransom recovery." Levon stated as a yawn enveloped his speech. Joey shook his head and scrubbed his tired eyes. "I just wish we had some sort of advantage, I know there's something in that apartment that will give us an edge, is it one guy or more, is it a stranger or a friend, this clown is like a ghost Lundy, no prints no foreign hairs or fibers, I mean this man struggled with a grown woman and didn't shed a single flake of skin…NOT RIGHT!"
Levon nodded in agreement, "Well my friend, lets see if we can find something, we'll get out all the evidence we have so far and all our case notes and pull the fine tooth comb through it one more time." Levon grabbed the case boxes as Joey started another pot of coffee. "Make it strong Lafiamma it's going to be a long night." Lundy quipped as he began unpacking the piles of pictures and notes, until the entire breakfast table was littered with case evidence. The two men dug in vigorously like it was a free all you can eat buffet. They were on a mission and both detectives had drive and determination that couldn't be measured. Both men were stubborn as mules and definitely the sorest of losers.
By morning the detectives were still feverishly going over the evidence, not a wink of sleep between them. As the clock struck seven thirty the boys had all the evidence memorized, they could recite the interview notes verbatim. Joe had placed all the numerical photographs of the apartment out on the floor; he studied each one until it was burned into his brain. Although he still did not know what he was looking for he was certain something was being missed.
He kept coming back to the bedroom photos. The bedroom mesmerized him. As he closed his eyes he could see all the pictures on the wall, the pattern in the mint green bedspread, the diploma on the shelf, the knickknacks and girlish trinkets all around. The hope chest at the foot of the bed, locked up with a heart shaped lock. He could see her dolls and souvenirs, her clothes and shoes strewn around, he could almost smell the remnants of her perfume in his mind.
"Well Joey if there is something were missing I have no idea where we could find it. We've gone over and over this stuff and were no closer to another lead than we were yesterday." Lundy cupped his hands over his face and rubbed the exhaustion away as he gulped the last icy sip of his sixth coffee. Joe paid no attention to his partner as his eyes scanned the photos on the tile floor of the kitchen.
Just then, Senator VonFransky trudged tiredly through the door. Being careful not to disturb Joe's photo display. "Well boys, my lawyer will be here with the cash soon, we'll have each serial number on each bill recorded…Now I'm not going to fret over the money if we lose it so be it…I just want my baby back safe and sound, I'd give it all away if I had too." The senator joined Lundy at the table, as the detective packed up the evidence, not wanting to upset the father of the victim. Mrs. VonFransky followed in soon afterward; both parents looked as though neither had any sleep at all.
"Good Morning to you boys. May I get you some tea and toast?" she offered, opening the cabinet and grabbing a bright red can from the shelf. "This tea is imported from China, we order it special by the case, Audrey just goes crazy for it." Her voice filled with emotion at the thought of her beautiful daughter. "That would be very nice madam, thank you." Lundy politely answered.
"What college did Audrey graduate from senator." Joe asked not raising his eyes from the photograph in his hand. "She didn't…. why do you ask?" the senator questioned a bit confused. "This diploma on her shelf, is this high school?" Joe brought the photograph to Mr. VonFransky pointing to the placard on the wicker shelf. "The senator produced his glasses from his robe pocket and slid them over the bridge of his nose, scanning the photograph closely, "Ohhh…no, no that's a completion certificate from Arlington House, Audrey boarded there last year." Lundy's brow furrowed, "Isn't Arlington House an exclusive rehabilitation clinic?" He questioned as Mrs. VonFransky handed him a steaming cup of tea.
"That's right detective, it is…My Audrey had a bit of a problem with alcohol, but she recognized her fault early and sought help right away…She's been sober almost fifteen months, we're very proud of her." Lafiamma glanced at Lundy who still wore a somewhat confused expression. "Why is that a problem detective?" The senator asked with a hint of anger in his voice. "No not at all sir, were just trying to come up with different places where this man could have come into contact with your daughter, were not suggesting that she in any way brought about this situation, not at all senator." Joey explained sympathetically.
Just then a uniformed butler led Carol and Joe-Bill through the door, announcing the Detectives like royalty. "Good morning guys were here to relieve you." Carol stated as she plopped her purse on the table. The detective exchanged pleasantries with the VonFransky's as Joe and Levon gathered their things. "We'll be back here tonight around five thirty…If anything else comes up get us over the radio and we'll be back sooner." Levon stated as he placed his Stetson atop his head. The weary duo departed heading down the drive to the jimmy, just as the sun was peering over the plain, birds singing the arrival of a new spring day.
"Okay Joey, here is the drill, I'm going to drop you home, we got to get some shut eye, that means sleep not pacing around thinking, not writing notes or going over things, it means sleep! Got that!!" Joe nodded, his weary eyes shadowed by dark circles. "Lundy, swing by about noon, before we go back to the VonFransky's I wanna hit that rehab joint and swing by Mario's pizza, I don't remember seeing a pizza box in the apartment, I just wanna get some answers from them about the call, they're the last people to talk to Audrey." Joe said as he slid into the passenger seat of the truck. "Good deal partner, sounds like a plan…noon it is." Lundy answered starting the motor and coasting down the flagstone driveway through the front gates, Joe glared out the back window getting a good look at the whole enormous mansion in the light of the day, "Man, it must be nice having money, look at this place." Lundy nodded, "I agree Joey, the only problem with having money is other people want it, and some will do anything to get yours."
Joe paced back and forth outside his apartment anxiously awaiting his partners' arrival. Just as Lundy turned the corner onto Leland Street the clock struck one minute past noon. "Jesus Lundy! YOU'RE LATE…. I SAID NOON." Joey moaned as he jumped into the truck. "Lafiamma I'm four seconds late for Pete's sake. What is your problem today?" Joey tensely stared straight ahead, looking more strung out than when Lundy dropped him off earlier this morning.
"I'm guessing you didn't get any sleep did ya Lafiamma?" Joey turned toward Lundy with an apologetic expression, not uttering a word. "OH MAN, I don't want to be nowhere near your cranky self today Joe… I'll tell ya that much, your no picnic well rested, your definitely a pain in the ass when you're tired, and I'm not in the mood for it today. So maybe we ought to split up for a while. Lafiamma shrugged at the suggestion, "No problem, we could cover more ground apart. Drop me at the station and I'll pick up my car." Lundy decided to check out the rehabilitation clinic, while Joey chose Mario's Pizzeria, he figured he drop a few questions and try a slice.
As he pulled to the front of the Arlington House Rehabilitation Clinic, Lundy was halted by a uniformed guard. Security was tighter than Fort Knox. Eight foot perimeter fencing topped off with razor wire. Two uniformed guards flanked a metal raise gate. "Good afternoon sir what is your business with us today." The guard asked as he leaned into the cab of Lundy's jimmy.
Flashing his badge and a smile, Lundy explained "I'm following a lead on a case and need to speak to the individual in charge here." The guard looked at his clipboard and back at Lundy, "I don't suppose you have an appointment to see Doctor Winters?" Lundy shook his head no as the guard picked up the red phone in the booth, after a short conversation he raised the gate and waved Lundy through, "Pull into spot number thirty five, Dr. Elizabeth Winters will meet you in the lobby." The guard recorded Lundy's name and license plate number in his logbook and pointed him in the right direction, "Thank you kindly officer." Lundy said as he drove into the grounds.
Walking up to the front entrance Lundy couldn't help notice the peaceful gardens and soothing fountains lining the front walk, as he stepped up to the entrance, both sliding doors opened automatically leading the detective into a beautiful marble and glass reception area. His mouth hung open in awe as he removed his Stetson. Soothing music could be heard resonating out of small speakers throughout the lobby. Lundy sat down on one of the plush benches awaiting the arrival of Dr. Winters, his eyes wandered all about the room, taking in the beauty of this obviously exclusive establishment.
Across town, Joey searched aimlessly for a parking place to set his cobra. Every block seemed to be jammed with afternoon shoppers and rush hour traffic. After sitting for ten minutes in traffic, he inched the length of one city block. "This is impossible." He groaned to himself as he listened to horns blowing and impatient travelers shouts. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the pizzeria was finally in sight. Just as he crept the sports car past the establishment, the dash radio sounded, "Base to 9415, come in." Joe grabbed the microphone and grunted angrily, "Go ahead base, this is 9415." The feminine voice quickly answered, "Emergency situation at the Senator's home, we need you to get over there as fast as you can." Joe sighed, cursing in Italian under his breath, before calmly responding, "10-4 base, I'm on my way ETA twenty five minutes." Joe placed his light atop the roof and switched on his police sirens. As the siren wailed traffic seemed to peel apart leaving a large space down the centerline of the street, Joe maneuvered the cobra through, picking up speed with each second, "now this is the way to travel." He thought as he left the rush hour congestion in the dust.
After a few moments Lundy stood to greet the petite oriental woman in the white lab coat approaching him with a welcoming smile. Her hand extended she introduced herself, "Good afternoon Detective, I'm Elizabeth Winters, how may I help you." Lundy shook her hand vigorously, "This is some place you have here Doctor, real fancy like." The woman chuckled motioning Lundy to please follow along. The two began walking through the lobby on their way to the Doctor's office.
"I'm here with some questions regarding a past patient, her name is Ms. Audrey VonFransky." The doctor's smile faded as the two walked down the corridor of the clinic, "You know detective, I'm not at liberty to discuss any medical information about a patient, and patient records are strictly confidential." Lundy nodded at the Doctor's statement, "I'm well aware of that maam, it's just that Ms. VonFransky has been kidnapped and we're following up all leads that might shed some light on how these people may have come in contact with her, since this is a substance dependency clinic, we thought it possible this could be one place where a desperate individual in need of money to feed a habit may have targeted this young lady."
Doctor Winters shook her head, as the two entered through a set of double doors into a large sunlight office. "I don't believe anyone Audrey met here would find themselves in a predicament where they would be short of money, detective. Our clients and patients pay top dollar just to enroll in our rehabilitation program, although these troubled men and women found themselves addicted to a certain controlled substance, they come to us to help them become sober again, their problem is dependency, not financial stability. Our clients here at Arlington House have more than sufficient funds to feed their addiction they just chose not to do it any more, so I don't believe anyone who was here would have to resort to such extremes to get their hands on some cash."
Doctor Winters took a seat behind her large mahogany desk as she motioned Lundy to make himself comfortable in one of the pink plush chairs facing her. Lundy continued asking the young woman questions and finding his interview leading slowly down a dead end street, Doctor Winters, although courteous and sweet was being just a bit tight lipped about her patients, and Audrey VonFransky's stay at the exclusive clinic.
Joe came to a screeching halt just outside the guard's gate of the senator's mansion, rolling his window down and flashing his badge he drove right through the security gate and parked the cobra in front of the u shaped drive. Running into the house he was met by a stern looking Sergeant Carol O'Brien.
"These were placed in the mail drop box sometime this morning. The maid found them when she went out to get the mail." Carol handed Joey an evidence bag containing a manila envelope with the single word "incentive" written in pencil across the front. Joe took the bag in hand and hurried past Carol into the dining room. He began to peel the seal from the bag as Carol threw a pair of latex gloves in front of him. "Here Joe, put these on the lab guys haven't processed this yet, they're on their way." Joey dawned the gloves with a snap, "Well, we don't have time to waste." Joe gingerly opened the sealed envelope, carefully griping just the corners; he spilled the content onto the glass table. His eyes closed tightly as a series of Polaroid's emerged. Crouching down to study the images, Joe's heart went cold.
The pictures were of Audrey tied to a chair, arms and legs tightly bound with rope. Bruises and bleeding gashes covering her face and arms. Her expensive clothes were torn and dirty, her expression frozen in terror. Joe's throat tightened in anger as he flipped through the pictures, studying the torturous images one at a time. "Did the parents handle these?" Joe questioned, as Carol leaned down behind him for a closer look. "No, the maid handed it right over to me, I bagged it and called for you guys right away. Lundy is still down at Arlington House, hasn't answered the call yet."
Joe continued glancing at the images, amazed at how different the young girl looked, the gleam gone from her eye, replaced by blackness and fear. Joey studied the background, nothing really to be seen except for the paint speckled linoleum floor, could be one of a thousand places. No pictures, no windows no view, no new leads to be seen of any kind. Even the chair Audrey sat in was so ordinary it could be found in any establishment around the world. Joe couldn't help but think the big break in this case has already made its appearance, but it's so simple they keep missing it.
Across town Lundy saw himself out of the good doctor's office and past the secretary desk, tipping his hat to the young girl on the phone as he exited. He found himself compelled to wander a bit on his way to the reception area of the clinic. Peering through open doors and into different rooms Lundy found himself walking through an empty television room. Brightly lit with a variety of comfortable couches and chairs to sit, racks with magazines and tables with games and crafts, but no people around soaking up the atmosphere.
"How strange." Lundy thought to himself as he glanced at the myriad of pictures covering the walls. Collage after collage of different smiling faces of patients from years past, each collage had a year embossed on the bottom. Lundy scanned each photo until he found one with a very familiar face staring back. This face was somehow unforgettable. The caption read 'Audrey and Will, don't they make a cute couple?' Lundy leaned in on the photograph; the woman was without doubt Audrey Lynn, in a very close and personal pose with a handsome young blonde haired blue-eyed man.
The two stared back smiling and holding hands. "A cute couple indeed." Lundy thought out loud, just as a gray haired woman in a blue smock came through the door. "This room is off limits until after the dinner bell sir!" She sternly informed as she rolled a janitor cart through the door. "May I help you with something?" Lundy shook his head, "Oh no maam, I was just seeing myself out from an interview with Doctor Winters." The woman pointed toward the opposite direction, "Well sir the exit is this way." Lundy apologized as he scooted past the woman and hurried down the hall. As he briskly walked through the familiar lobby and out the automatic doors, Lundy pulled his leather bound notebook from his back pocket, scribbling the name Will and underlining it twice. A strange feeling formed in his gut, not being able to wipe the image of the two lovebirds from his mind.
Levon soon joined Carol and his temperamental partner at the VonFransky home, his Jimmy making record time cross-town. "What's goin down guys, we got ransom instructions yet?" he questioned as he removed his hat and threw it onto the table in the foyer. "Niente! Joey yelled as he forcibly stretched the hell out of an oversized rubber band. Carol rolled her eyes at the overly tense detective, moving closer to Levon. "Maid brought in some photos of the Vic left in the drop box sometime this morning, the techs are processing it for prints now, should be about twenty more minutes."
Just then a young man in an H.P.D. beat uniform entered the vestibule, "Detective Joe La---Familia??" he questioned in a squeaky, unsure voice. "Right here." Joe answered, wincing at the brutal butchering of such a distinguishingly fine surname. "Here are the LUGS you ordered sir." The boy handed Joey a manila envelope, as he turned to exit the room Joe grabbed his arm "IT'S LA-FEE-AMA! Get it…accenting each syllable with a hand gesture, LA FEE A MA! "Yes sir, sorry sir…it won't happen again Sgt." Just then Lundy moved between the beet faced boy cop and the erupting volcano that had him by the arm. "Your dismissed officer, I apologize on behalf of my partner." Lundy noted over his shoulder as he forcibly relocated a steely-eyed Joey into the adjoining room.
"MY LORD LAFIAMA!! Get a grip! I know you're a bit edgy this morning, but making a rookie pee his pants is a bit much!! Now sit yourself on this couch and relax." Joey plopped heavily onto the couch with a sigh, shooting the rubber band he'd been holding straight across the room." "I'm sorry Lundy…It's just…. those pictures really got to me, I mean…. beating on a woman…preying on a defenseless girl for money…. it makes my blood boil! We got to get this girl home Lundy, the longer this takes the more danger she faces." Joey rubbed his bloodshot eyes and leaned his head back against the couch. Glancing at his partner momentarily, Lundy noticed Joe was still wearing the suit he testified in yesterday afternoon.
"Alright partner, here's the deal. You're going to get some shut eyes on this couch, your gonna sleep Lafiamma, god help me if I have to ring your bell to get you out I will." Lundy reached down and pulled the manila envelope from under Joe, who had inadvertently sat on it, creasing and wrinkling it beyond recognition. "Now what's this?" Lundy asked as he straightened the envelope and peered at the contents. "It's the LUGS from Audrey's phone, last months worth, I figured I'd check the calls one by one, see for a pattern." Joe mumbled not opening his tired swollen eyes.
"Okay, I'll start through these, didja get to Mario's this afternoon?" Lundy questioned, glancing over at Joe from the computer sheets. "No I got stuck in traffic, didn't make it inside, I'll go back as soon…" Lundy quickly cut Joe's soft murmurs, "NO WAY! I'll send McCandless over right now. You stay here… Now I'm gonna post a guard outside that door with orders to shoot first and ask questions later…. You step one foot through the threshold and I go to Beaumont, ya hear!!" Lundy pointed a stern finger at Joey, who already seemed to be nodding on the couch. Joe returned a mock salute, "Yes boss." He grumbled, never peering out through his heavy eyelids. Lundy flipped the lights closed and shut the door behind him, a smirk emerging on his soft handsome face.
Carol greeted Lundy on the other side of the door, "So cowboy, did ya tie his leash to the radiator and spank him with a rolled newspaper." Lundy giggled aloud as he turned toward the leggy detective. "Naw, shoot Carol, I'd been trainin this dog for almost two years now, were way past that, I just got to stare'em down and raise my voice and his tail sinks between his legs." O'Brien laughed and swatted Levon on the back, "Well Lundy, the pictures turned up squat, only prints on them were Audrey's, seems the perp may have made her do all his dirty work, we got nothing new." Lundy frowned, visibly disappointed at the news. "Oh well, now that the techs are finished I want to get a good look at this little surprise package, where's the pictures, oh and where is Joe-Bill I need to see if he can pick up one of Lafiamma's leads, I have him ordered to stay in that room until I say he can leave."
Carol smiled at Lundy as she followed him into the study. "All joking aside, I'm worried about Joe, he's really taking this one on the chin. He's a good cop, but he just doesn't realize sometimes he's not superman, yano?? I mean ya gotta eat, ya gotta sleep, and for Christ sake, ya gotta breathe!!" Carol and Lundy parted ways as O'Brien went off in search of McCandless and Lundy sat down to tear through the phone records. But not before placing a secretive call to the boss to fill her in on new revelations. Joe on the other hand slept where he fell, hell even superman had a bed, and exhaustion seems to creep up on even the best of the best.
The sun began it's decent about half past seven as Lundy studied the last of the LUGS, his eyes about ready to fall from the sockets after countless hours of reading through the microscopic lines of numbers. "Woo wee this woman gabs on the phone an awful lot." He thought to himself as he sat back in the desk chair. Just then Joe-Bill swaggered through the door. "Evening Lundy" He greeted with a toothy smile. Lundy returned the sediment as Joe-Bill hopped a leg up onto the desk. "Just got back from Mario's and guess what, Mario seems to be a sixty year old Irish immigrant with the thickest brogue this side of the Mason Dixon." Lundy let out a laugh as Joe-Bill flipped open his interview notes.
"Seems that Mario's closes at eleven so any call that comes through after eleven a machine picks up, some recording about calling at normal business hours. I told him that the call was over fifteen minutes and the recording only takes about thirty seconds so someone must have picked up the line. He didn't know anything about it so we pull out the shift roster. His nephew Liam was on the counter that night and he's away on a hiking trip; he'll be back Monday afternoon. I'll go back then." Lundy looked at McCandless after a short pause, "That's it??" He queried a bit confused.
"That's it cowboy, oh and I got the kids and Mario's or should I say Shamus's run downs, Shamus Connolly, green card holder since '76', born County Creeslough, Ireland, April 24, 1927, resides downtown Houston, off Constitution Ave, no priors, no warrants. The kid, his nephew is Liam Connolly, not a citizen but up for citizenship, here on a work visa for ethnic cuisine, hell gotta love the INS, ethnic cuisine….pizza, what a bunch of morons…"Joe-Bill snickered aloud at his own joke. Lundy blinked and cleared his throat as McCandless continued. "born in Creeslough June 6, 1966, no warrants, one prior for possession of a controlled substance. I'll drop by the kids apartment as soon as he gets back." Lundy's brow furrowed, "Shoot Mac, we'll have this thing wrapped by then can't we contact the boy?" McCandless snapped his book closed, "No can do Lundy, the kid is hiking in the mesa's for the weekend with some upward bound group of tree huggers, got no phones in there."
"Well, that's no good Mac, we need to talk to this kid, he's the last person to speak with our Vic, get on the horn with this group and see if we can get a contact out to this kid via the Ranger lines, fifteen minutes is a long time to be swapping tales about pepperoni and cheese." McCandless nodded and jumped to his feet, "I'll see what I can do Lundy." He turned and left almost knocking into Lafiamma who appeared in the doorframe. "Damn boy, looks like someone hung you out to dry" Joe-Bill eyed the disheveled Lafiamma up and down, scooting past him with a laugh. "Anything new, we get ransom instructions yet?" Joe asked as he joined Lundy at the desk. "Not yet partner, twelve calls since nine this morning, but not a peep from our kidnapper." "Goddammit!" Lafiamma shouted rubbing the five-oclock shadow forming on his cheeks.
"Hold on Joe, he said they'd call in the instructions today, it's only seven thirty, there's still time." Lundy rose from the desk with a creek as he stretched his aching back. "Here, Carol swung by your place and grabbed a change of clothes for ya, I figured you'd refuse to go home so I leant her the key, and oh she said she fed your fish." Lundy threw a duffel bag to Joe, catching it in one hand, Joey's nose wrinkled as he thought for a moment, "Lundy, aint no fish in that tank, I flushed it months ago." Lundy raised an eyebrow and responded, "Oh…. Well she fed the water than." Their duel smiles faded as the phone began to echo from the office nearby. The two detectives bolted through the crowd beginning to form. The senator picked up on the third ring as everyone hit their mark and signaled 'GO'.
A mans deep muffled voice bellowed through the speakers, speaking quickly and forcefully he rolled off the directive with lightning speed, "You better have a pen cause I wont repeat, I want the cash in a blue rucksack, neat bundles of hundreds, I want the bundles shrink wrapped. You will go to the payphone by the fountain in Root Memorial Park tomorrow at ten a.m. You will go alone. You can drive but only to within a five-block radius, then you must go on foot. If you pull up in a car or I see you speak to anyone I will chop her head right off her shoulders and post it to you FRESH! Her tears will still be visible. Wait at the phone for further instructions."
The line clicked dead before anyone had a chance to move. Lundy turned to Carol who was monitoring the trace; her eyes sank as she shook her head, "No trace." The senator stood with the receiver still in his hand, his mouth hanging open, a look of terror etched his weary features. As the color drained from his face Carol gently pulled the phone from his tense hand and returned it to the cradle. For just a fleeting moment the room was silent, no one moved, no one breathed, then as if on cue, Lundy stood and barked the first of a barrage of orders, "Let's move people we don't have much time." With that the room erupted into motion, officers and detectives running to and fro preparing. Mrs. VonFransky ushered her still shocked husband into the other room, his knees seemed to buckle, tears moist below his weary eyes.
Beaumont came through the door just past nine, the planning was well underway. Levon and a freshly shaven, perfectly groomed, well-rested Lafiamma were mulling over various maps and layouts of Root Memorial Park and the surrounding areas. Just through the door of the office, peering into the study a table had been set up for marking and preparing the ransom money, stacks of hundred dollar bills were being logged, scrutinized and shrink wrapped. An armed guard, and an army of lawyers were watching every move.
"Hey boys, just stopped at the Crisis Center, another forty five Audrey sighting from just today, who's been handling these leads." Joanne announced, holding up a stack of three by five index cards. Lundy looked over his shoulder to Beaumont, "Carol's been disseminating them to some of the patrol boys to cover, most are being screened by phone first, well meaning but obviously confused citizens, who are leading us on wild goose chases around lower Houston." Joanne breezed past Joey on her way to find Carol, "Nice cologne Joe…. keep that one, I like it." She smiled and winked at Lafiamma as she disappeared into the bevy of activity. The senator gladly gave the police the use of his home office and study to set up a mobile command center. Electronic tracking equipment, radio transponders, even a twelve story antenna was being placed on the front lawn as the rooms were being prepared as a staging area for the ransom drop.
Joey and Levon were heatedly arguing about ground coverage of the drop, as Joanne joined them at the table. "I'm telling you Lafiamma, we got to put most of our man power by the exits, all the undercover foot patrols need to be present to block an attempted escape!" Lundy balled a fist and pounded the table top for emphasis. "And I'm telling you that this perp wont even be near Root Park tomorrow at ten, I guarantee he wont have Audrey anywhere near there!! He'll call on the phone and lead Jack on some half-cocked psycho walking tour until he finds himself in the middle of nowhere, and we are left rolling around the park with out thumbs up our…"
"ALRIGHT!" Joanne interjected, before Joey could finish his colorful expletive. I'm sorry to say were a bit out of our league here gentlemen. Right before I left Reisner, I called upon high for some directives." Joanne bit her lip as the news seeped through the two thick skulls staring wide-eyed at her. In unison the detectives exclaimed "Oh NO!" "Please don't tell me you invited the FEDS to this party!" Joe exclaimed as Lundy screamed over him, "The god damned suits are coming to town!" Lafiamma cursed in Italian, punching his fist into his palm, as Lundy plopped sighing into the leather desk chair. "I'm sorry boys but were sitting on an extremely volatile situation with a five million dollar price tag wrapped around it, not to mention the life of a prominent Houston citizen, now we need to consult with these men, they are professionals, and have agreed to come all the way from Washington to offer their equipment and assistance in this matter." Joanne crossed her arms and leaned in closer to stare eye to eye with Lundy.
"No problem boss, we'll cooperate and behave ourselves, I have to admit I do feel a bit out of my corral on this one." Lundy coolly stated, a small smile appearing behind his eyes. Joanne turned to Joey and placed her face within inches of his steely glare, "And what about you?" She questioned in her best authoritative voice. "I'll cooperate…" Joe whispered, like a sulking child. "AND!" Joanne began, placing her hands on the desk. …. Silence…Joe's eyes rolled up and he glanced quickly behind his shoulder. "AND!!!" Joanne yelled a bit louder… "AND I"LL BEHAVE…. FOR CHRISTS SAKE!!" He erupted, spinning in place muttering under his breath. Both Joanne and Levon smiled as Lafiamma gave in to his boss's direct order.
"Very good, that's what I wanted to hear. Now Special Agent Jim Stockwell will be arriving on the red eye from D.C. tonight to help us fine-tune our drop. I also consulted with the commissioner and the chief of police tactics and we will have quite a few units at our disposal, they'll assemble at 0600-tomorrow morning at Reisner. The chief will have thirty unmarked cars and trucks for us to use in addition to two copters for overhead surveillance. Emergency response will set up a solitary band for our radio traffic and at least three operators will field our calls." Joe and Levon nodded and raised an eyebrow at the attention the department was showing to their case. The boys continued to map out a game plan for the drop before setting out to the scene for a walk through with ten plain clothed officers to chip through the park with a fine-toothed comb.
It was half passed one in the morning when Joey and Levon returned with one hundred and thirteen pages of fresh notes and suggestions for fine tuning the event, as they had begun to call it. Agent Stockwell had arrived and was briefing a small group of undercover detectives in the study, his luggage was in the corner and he still wore his raincoat. "Well it seems the man jumped right to work huh." Lundy observed as he met Beaumont in the frame of the door. "We got a problem Jo, it seems tomorrow at eight a.m., Root Memorial Park will host an art exhibit until noon, the park is going to be crawling with tents and craft tables and innocent bystanders." Lundy filled Joanne in on what he and Lafiamma did and found on their little field trip as Joe pushed passed the hustle and bustle into the hall, his objective was the bathroom. As he emerged from the powder room he passed the kitchen on his way back, just through the door he could see the senator sitting lonesome at the table. He couldn't help but pop his head in.
"Senator…. are you okay sir?" Joe asked from the door. VonFransky turned around and looked at the detective with sorrow filled eyes. For the first time this powerful man, who moved mountains of legislature and quite possibly changed governmental course in the country, looked, tired, elderly, drained and pitifully human. "Oh please come in Joseph, and I told you call me Jack. The Mrs. went to bed a few hours ago but I just cant seem to settle, so I figured I'd have a small night cap." The senator produced a small flask from under the table and slowly placed it in front of him with shaky hands.
Joe sat quietly beside the man, placing his arms upon the table, "I know you must be terrified and uneasy about tomorrow. This is probably the hardest thing you will ever have to do, but just take it one small step at a time and do exactly what this man tells you to do. We will take care of the rest. We will do everything in our power to bring your girl home safe." Joey placed a reassuring hand on the old mans arm. The senator sighed, "Yano what Joe, if that phone rings and this son of a bitch says, Jack I want you to burn your house to the ground, shoot your dog, and give me every red cent you have…God help me I would do it in a heartbeat, just to bring my baby back to me…nothing is as important to me as my family." The senator's gaze dropped.
"Sir, I need you to remember that very thought tomorrow, and we will be right there with you every step of the way. We will protect both you and Audrey, with our lives if we have to…It's our job to see this through, restore her freedom and to catch the bastard responsible for this…. and believe me sir this particular group of cops has a real problem with failure, they don't believe such a word exists." The senator forced a small smile and nodded at the remark. "You lot have been wonderful to us and have handled this crisis with professionalism, intelligence and diligence…. I am very proud of this city's police force and I assure you I wont forget what you have done for us." The senator took a small sip from the flask as Joey stood.
"Oh our job is not yet complete, Jack. Not until that sweet girl is home safe and that son of a bitch is locked away. Now if you have any questions, feel uneasy about any thing were doing or need anything at all to make this less painful or frightening, you just give us a holler." The senator shook Joey's hand as he left the room, inwardly thankful the man passed through on his way back from the john.
Joey joined Lundy and the others for an informal sit down to discuss their course of action, both detectives briefed Stockwell on their run through of the drop scene and quietly listened to the veteran agent as he presented his scenario, on their best behavior indeed. Stockwell was impressed by their efficiency and admired the boy's dedication to their work. Their investigation was not only painstakingly thorough, but left absolutely nothing to chance. Stockwell even found himself at a loss for a few answers to brilliant questions and stopgaps he would never have imagined.
As the sit down broke, Joey and Levon continued to press on with O'Brien and McCandless for an impromptu review of the entire case, making sure each lead detective was abreast with all of the information they have amassed. Stockwell joined Joanne for a quick cup of java in the situations room. "I must say Lieutenant, I am floored by those two. I mean I heard rumors and received some warning from the local feds that I was going to be paired with Mutt and Jeff, but Joe and Levon are excellent. Their coverage of this case is phenomenal, I'm surprised they don't have a prime suspect by now, but I've read through their case notes and field reports and it's by no fault of theirs." Joanne smiled at the observation, and inwardly giggled at the comparison.
"Well the boys have been grinding non stop since the call came in and they work very hard, they are probably the best team I ever worked with. I have all the confidence in the world in them." Joanne and Stockwell continued to chat as the clock ticked on to three a.m. It was six hours till ransom time and things were just about to get real interesting.
"Wait, wait, wait go back J.B., now this Irish kid, he took the call and actually talked to Audrey for more than fifteen minutes. What time did this twerp leave the pizza place?" Joe asked sitting forward in his chair, honing in on some vibe deep inside. Lundy picking up on Joe's lead also moved forward in his chair. Joe-Bill flipped through his notes and scanned his interview book. "I ah…I don't…I didn't check a timeline for the kid…sorry fellahs." McCandless sighed and shook his head. Joe snapped his fingers and pointed to Lundy, "You said the picture of Audrey at the clinic had her wrapped in some kid named Will's arms, who is this kid?"
Joe's brow furrowed as he waited for Lundy to answer. "I don't know hoss, the doc didn't shed much light on any happenings or anything we could wrap a solid lead around, didn't even see the picture till I was on my way out, noted the name to follow up on, but then the call came in and it got shoved to the side." Lundy adjusted his badge on his belt and shifted in his seat. Joe whirled back to McCandless, "What's this pizza kid look like Mac?" Waiting for Joe-Bill to look through the notes, he stopped him…
"FORGET THE FRIGGIN NOTES MAC YOU KNOW YOU DON"T NEED THEM! NOW COME ON." Joe snapped as he rose from his chair and paced. "I don't know Joe, He's Irish, about twenty something and he has one prior for possession, that's about all I got, I tried to get a line out to the kid, he's camping in the mesa's with an upward bound group, I told the rangers to call in to the center as soon as they locate the kid, they haven't called yet."
McCandless began to squirm in his seat, his voice showing signs of agitation and anger as the man's face reddened. "It's okay Mac, there's only twenty four hours in a day and we all been working double time. We're doing this little sit down to tie up these kind of loose ends, now I'm sure Lafiamma isn't insinuating you dropped the ball since his ASS WAS THE ONE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO COVER MARIO'S IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Lundy screamed as he heatedly leapt from his chair, stepping two spaces past Joey's personal space. "Back off Cowboy, I'm not insinuating DICK!" Joe barked back, his face twisting with rage. The two men were face to face, eyes dark with irritation, steam about to release, all of a sudden Carol stood up and before they knew it, all four lead detectives were screaming at each other at the top of their lungs, expletives and vulgarity flew as tempers flared like ugly beasts, even a few shoves and pokes were thrown as the four converged in a mass of loud thunderous arguing that echoed through the many rooms and floors of the mansion.
"QUIET!!" Joanne's roar shook the foundation as the detectives froze where they stood; Joey had hold of Lundy's collar, Carol maintaining a firm grip of McCandless by the arms. Four sets of eyes shifted toward their petite leader in the doorway. "I just finished telling Stockwell what professional detectives I had the pleasure of overseeing and ta da, they emerge as the hooligans they have a reputation to be." The petite brunette placed her hands upon her slender hips and walked briskly toward the mass of humanity that constituted the bulk of the Major Crimes Unit of the Houston Police Department. The four Sergeants remained still and quiet as their supervisor continued to discipline them.
The group began to ease off and back away from one another, the balled fist of Joey's left hand still visible in the creases of Lundy's collar. "She's right, let us take it down a notch. Now Lafiamma you know what needs to be said." The cowboy uttered, his glare burning through the Italian, as Joe tucked his black turtleneck back into his tailored gray slacks and adjusted his dual shoulder holster. Joe shrugged and turned to McCandless, who was fixing his Stetson, "Sorry J.B., I just got a little hot under the collar, didn't mean to imply you screwed the interview up or nothing." Mac nodded and smiled, "Well kids, I think we got ourselves a suspect." He stated as he returned to his seat on the couch, the others followed and continued to cross check their information.
"Now Liam is Gaelic for William, so I think these two may be the same kid." Joe explained. "What the hell is Gaelic?" Lundy questioned, a bit confused. "It's a language, used in Ireland, especially in the north, where this kid was raised." Joe answered scribbling furiously in his notebook. Joanne rose anxiously from the couch, "I'll call DMV and get William "Liam" Connolly's sheets." Lundy followed suit, "I'll get on the horn with that clinic and see just how this deadbeat got in, he don't strike me as the wealthy kind." Carol rose and joined in, "I'll check vitals and look into the upward bound alibi, I don't think they even run a program around here." Joey looked around at his colleagues and folded his arms, "Well I guess I can get cracking on drawing up the warrants, as soon as Reisner faxes the DMV records we can put out an APB and track this punk down before sunrise." Lundy smiled out from the receiver of the phone, "Heck, we may not have an event tomorrow after all." He waited for the clinic to answer.
"Good evening, I'm sorry to be calling at such a late hour, my name is Sgt. Levon Lundy of the Houston Police Department, I need to speak to the man…or woman in charge right away…." He paused as he listened to person on the other end of the line…"I understand that sir, now we can do this the easy way and you can get the information we need gathered now and we'll pick it up in a half an hour, or you can refuse to contact your supervisor at home and cooperate with us, and we'll be down there in twenty minutes with a warrant, tear your offices apart and slap you with an obstruction of justice charge. Now I'll kindly hold while you call Doctor Elizabeth Winters at home, you make sure you're polite and apologize for waking her up." Lundy winked at Joe and smiled, "I'm on hold." Joey chuckled at his firm, yet considerate partner.
Carol ran in from the other room, "We'll the kid's alibi is shot, the rangers have permits logged in for twelve different groups to camp for the weekend in the mesa's, two of the groups are affiliated with the upward bound organization, but neither list a William Connolly as being with them, now if the kid is up there, he's there alone and filed no camping permit with the county, which is highly illegal." Joey turned to the excited detective, "He's camping my ass… The kid might be away from work this weekend, but my gut tells be the only weenies roasting tomorrow is his own." Lundy hung up and joined Carol and Joey, "It seems our young Will, is in fact Will Connolly as he was known to the staff at Arlington House, the kid worked there in the kitchen last summer, he was fired for selling controlled substances to the patients, talk about letting the fox guard the coop, ergo his possession with intent to distribute conviction." Just then the fax machine began to ring and connect, Lundy and Lafiamma raced to the counter.
The sheets slowly spit from the bottom of the tray as the DMV logo made itself visible. What seemed like an eternity began to produce a copy of a driver's license, a blond head and eyes just passed through as Lundy exclaimed, "THAT'S HIM!! That's the kid with his paws all over Audrey in the photograph." Joey ripped the page from the machine as he felt for his guns and badge, "Lets Roll Lundy!!" Joe-Bill handed Levon the warrant as the boys raced out to the truck, Joanne called in an APB for one William Connolly, also known as Liam Connolly, Blond hair, Blue eyes, five foot ten, Irish decent, may speak with an accent, twenty one years of age, wanted in connection with pending kidnapping and assault charges, may be armed and considered dangerous.
Joey rode shotgun as Levon raced the Jimmy downtown to the last known address for their suspect, "Shoot Lundy, I should' a had this hours ago when the call came in, it makes sense now…Rucksack…post. …These are not American terms, we should have known we were looking for a foreigner." Lundy shrugged as he leaned on the accelerator. "Don't beat yourself up Lafiamma, it's been a grueling two days, our minds are not as sharp as they should be, besides we all weren't on the same page until now." Joe shrugged as he adjusted his seat belt, his heart beat a bit faster and harder than it had in days, and although he would never admit it, he had a sinking feeling that they just may be a day late and a dollar short. He couldn't get those damn pictures of Audrey out of his mind. The way her eyes looked, the bruises and blood on her face and hands, it was eating away at his stomach like acid.
The Jimmy's tires hopped the curb as the detectives pulled up in front of the apartment house. Climbing the three sets of wooden stairs that lead to a door called 3B. The silence pierced only by the howls of the cool night breeze, the two detectives, guns drawn, flanked either side of the paint chipped door. The partners' synchronized their thoughts as Levon beat on the door with his palm. Utter stillness responded as he attempted again to strike the door, this time louder and more forceful he beat the wood with his hand. "Liam!! Open up if you're in there." Nothing… Joe motioned for Lundy to go round back and enter from the rear. Lundy was quick on his heels to cover the rear as Joey readied himself to kick in the creaky entrance.
Lundy ran round the stone walk and hopped the chain link fence leading round to the rear, he breathed in short uniform breaths as he reached the back of the apartment, he began his ascent to the third floor, as he approached 3B, he was met by a sullen Joey at the back door. "Empty Cowboy!!" Levon entered behind the lean Italian, gun still cocked and ready. The modest abode was disheveled, but obviously hadn't been inhabited for quite a few days. "SHIT!" Lundy bawled as he kicked the couch with his worn boot. Lafiamma picked up the phone and dialed over to the mobile unit. "No deal on Connolly, hasn't been here for at least three days, from the dust on the furniture and the mail on the floor, we need to trace his credit cards and see where his last activity was, also we need a department locksmith to come by here and bolt up the door, from the outside, if Willy wants back into his place he's got to come see us.
The flashing lights and activity brought some neighbors to their doors as the tech guys put Liam's door back together. A bright yellow 'sorry about the mess' sign was posted on the front door; compliments of the H.P.D. Joey and Levon took the opportunity to interview some of their suspect's neighbors as they stood in their doorways in pajamas and robes. After a heavy-duty lock was secured from the outside, Joey placed the only key in his back pocket. Neighbors told Joe and Levon they saw Liam waiting for the bus in his work clothes early Thursday morning, but haven't seen him since. Sam and Sheila in 2B, heard some activity coming from above yesterday night, but have no idea if it was Liam or not, just some walking and moving, the usual, share a common wall sounds, nothing out of the ordinary. The clock was ticking. A vibrant, beautiful life was at stake.
Joe and Levon ran through the Bullpen doors uniting with an anxious Beaumont outside the window of the interrogation room; Joe-Bill and Carol had pulled the infamous Mario downtown for questioning. The old man looked a bit groggy if not tipsy. Shocked at the sudden pound on the door and the urgency of the police, although he was not under arrest, the elderly Irishman felt he had no choice but to accompany the detectives for a late night sit down at police headquarters. Sure Joe-Bill used the old harboring a fugitive and accessory after the fact threat, but the old guy was sticking to his story. His nephew was a good boy and was away camping; at least that's what he was told. The Detectives continued to lay in hoping the booze may let a few things slip.
"Well the kid has one credit card and it's been maxed out, no new activity whatsoever. It seems the company froze the account months ago for failure to pay late fees and minimum balances. Same story with the ATM card, no money in the account, no movement of the card." Joanne sighed as she crumpled up the credit printouts. Joey's expression sank as Levon creased his lips in frustration. The dawn of a new day ushered in a bit of panic for the comrades as the sun peering into the window reminded them of their time constraint. As they looked on into the interrogation, Levon wrenched his tired eyes. "They'll get nothing outta him, the guys in the dark. I think this kid is running solo." The cowboy stated as he plopped into the nearest rolling chair. Joey glanced at his watch which he always wore face side down, "Now I got to step in, Lundy…Go park your ass on Joanne's couch and grab yourself at least two hours of shut eye. Your not to step foot out of that office until I say so." Joe glanced at Beaumont and looked for approval, she nodded and shooed Lundy off.
Joanne glanced at her watch and turned to Joe, "Take your car back to the command center and start rolling through motels, hotels, motor lodges, any place in the city that rents rooms see if anyone meeting Connolly's description may have checked into a room in the past two, make it three days. I'll break up this party, have Carol swing the old man home and Joe-Bill and me will meet ya back there in twenty. It looks like the event is still on." Joe nodded and fished for his keys. "I hope the cobra has gas, I haven't filled it since last week. Joanne smiled as Joey hurried away. He'll never change that crazy northerner.
It was one hour to showtime as Joey closed the door of the powder room. He soon transformed from Joseph Lafiamma, Houston Police Detective, to Joey Lafiamma, average citizen. Over his Kevlar vest he placed a white t-shirt and green button down, jeans and sneakers replaced the Gucci slacks and loafers. Now for the finishing touch, the crème de la crème, something he tucked away in the closet for just such a special occasion, his prize, limited edition, pennant series, fitted Cubs cap. This cap had taken years to break in. It fit every contour of his head, it was priceless. He was ready, he glanced in the mirror and smirked, "Not bad Lafiamma, not bad at all." He commented out loud as he exited the room. He approached his colleagues to hoots and hollers as he cleared his throat, and in his best egghead impersonation voice inquired, "Excuse me people can anyone tell me how to get to the Astrodome?" The gang erupted into laughter as Carol exclaimed, "God I wish I had my camera." She leaned in and pecked Joey on the cheek, "Good luck sugar."
Joanne wrapped an arm around Joe's waist and led him through the door; tech guys fitted him with his two-way radio earpiece and receiver as he concealed his guns and badge. "Lundy will be along in twenty; he'll be stationed at the perimeter of the south exit to pick you up after the call. Stay on Jack the whole way, but please be conspicuous. Stay in radio contact with us and we'll notify and update you every ten minutes or so. Now ya better get going, got to be in position by ten." Joanne patted Joey on the back and yanked at the bill of his cap. "Go get her, Detective."
Joey walked confidently toward the exit of the mansion as he spied Stockwell giving Jack VonFransky a last minute brief, "Senator, I'm on my way, don't forget I'll be five feet away from you across from the phone. Don't look or motion my way at any time, just know I'm there." Joey smiled and winked at the frightened father. The senator mouthed a silent 'Thank You', as the Italian disappeared into the hall. It was time.
Joe milled around and glanced at the various tents and art pieces on exhibit, at least that's what it looked like to the bystanders in the park. What he was really doing was casing the park with a well-trained eye. He watched like a hawk for any out of the ordinary activity, anything that may be acutely relevant to his case. His mind memorized the faces, the positions, and the happenings. He filed the information into his well-seasoned police mind, waiting for the event to begin. He peeked at his watch and called in "twenty minutes to mark, in position and ready." Joey whispered through the corners of his mouth, into the small microphone hidden in his collar. "Read ya loud and clear Lafiamma, been a last minute change of plan, your running solo at the scene. Lundy and O'Brien had to take a call, the Vic's car was found abandoned in the lot of six flags, and McCandless is stashed in the back of VonFransky's car covering him mobile. That leaves just you at the scene, I'll cover your pickup at the south end instead of Lundy."
Stockwell's voice sent chills down Joey's spine as his pulse began to quicken. "Shit!" he thought, a serious drop and no Lundy to back him up, instead a stranger with a gold shield, someone he doesn't even know, the Fed. "Copy that, is the chicken outta the coop?" Joey finally responded in a calm and cool tone. "Firmative. Car parked and running on Jefferson St., Senator's on his way to ground zero, T minus ten minutes till go. Joe ya got thirty pairs of eyes on ya from above and two birdies standing by." Joe nodded and placed his hands folded behind his back, inching closer to the bench directly across from the selected payphone. He leaned in to tie his shoe as he spied the shaky senator crossing the street heading toward the park.
Lundy and O'Brien stepped through the yellow tape surrounding the car, red flashing lights from the patrol vehicles strobed the scene as the crime scene investigators combed through the interior and exterior, collecting evidence. A young patrol officer approached the seasoned the detectives "Good morning sirs, I got a call from the parking lot shift manager, car's plates appeared on three consecutive logs, so they called it in officially abandoned this morning, when the impound truck got here, they ran the tags and out popped you're A.P.B, called it in to Beaumont right away." Lundy shook the young mans hand, "Good work kid." He stepped past the patrolman and peered into the car, dawning a pair of latex gloves with a snap, Lundy snatched a purse from the front seat, shuffling through the inside he produced a small wallet, flashing the license in the front pocket to O'Brien, familiar curly red locks stared back. "Bingo!" She uttered with a frown. As Lundy continued to root through the bag, his eyes locked onto a folded piece of paper, in purple ink, written in very feminine characteristics was a single six-letter word, 'ABSTEL'.
The senator stopped in front of the phone and paced around a bit, his yielding arms searched for something to do as he overly tried to avoid eye contact with anyone, especially the Italian in the cap and sunglasses, reading a brochure on the bench in front of him. Joey watched as the old man's eyes shifted uncontrollably in their sockets. "Easy Jack, just take a few deep breaths, your doing fine, go over to the pay phone and start reading the directions on the front, get close and make sure no one can get past ya." The senator turned and moved in closer to the phone, until his nose was inches from the receiver, he began to read the writing on the front, and the distraction eased his panic just a bit. He nearly jumped out of his shoes when the phone began to ring loudly, snatching up the handle, he frantically screamed "Hello!" The voice on the other end was chillingly familiar, "Take business 90 north, to 8, follow 8 west precisely fourteen miles turn right and follow another ten, Texaco men's room holds the key, you have till half past ten to do this or I take her hands." The line went dead. The senator felt for the blue rucksack attached to his back and ran in place for a moment, fear stricken he didn't know which way to turn. "Head for the car Jack and go, keep your earpiece with you until you park the car, then toss it on the front seat and McCandless will fill you in, we have the directions to the letter and will be right behind you."
Lafiamma coached the senator and watched him run for the west exit where he came from. Joey continued to read his brochure until the man was out of his sight. He slowly rose from the bench and curled the brochure in his hands; he walked briskly down the south walk glancing at a few tents along the way. He threw the brochure in the trash bin and casually strode onto the sidewalk, a gray Crown Victoria came racing round the corner of Clay Street, coming to a halt in front of him. Joe was barely in the back seat as the tires began to burn rubber when Stockwell hit the accelerator. "Whoa!!" Joe yelled as he grasped at his seatbelt.
"He's leading us northwest toward Lake Houston, it's real rural out there, not a lot around. Do you think he was watching the park?" Stockwell inquired as he adjusted the mirror. " No I don't think this kid is watching us at all, but to be on the safe side I stayed my distance." Joe glanced at the car as he pulled out a folded map. "Crown Vic huh?" he smirked. Stockwell nodded as he looked at Joe in the rear view. "This car screams FEDS." Joey glanced at the map as he pulled his notebook from his back pocket. I bet this kid's got her in the highlands, lots of places to hide out there. Joe radioed McCandless to see how the senator was doing.
"He's okay Lafiamma, he's doing alright. From the looks of it I got at least two tails, you guys following up the rear?" Negative Mac, were going to stay south of you and head in through Channelview, just in case we have some unwanted company on the roads. Joanne chimed in, she'd been monitoring the drop from the command center, "Mac, you and the senator stay on 90, Lafiamma, you and Stockwell take the Baytown-East Freeway, it looks like the Texaco Station he's bringing us to is just west of Cloverleaf on Sheldon Road, I have two local units en route, they should be there any minute." "10-4 Lieutenant, our ETA should be twenty five minutes, if Agent Stockwell would pick up the pace a bit." Joe flashed the agent a smile through the rear view as Stockwell shook his head and put the pedal to the floor.
The local units reported the station desolate and men's room was around the rear of the building, not much activity at the station all morning, just a few gas and go's and one or two fisherman in to buy cigarettes, no sign of the suspect or the girl at the station. As the senator pulled up to the side of the Texaco, he put the car in park as the clock struck half past, "OH GOD IM LATE, OH GOD!!" The door of the car swung open and the senator hit the ground running, in a frenzy of panic, not realizing he never ditched his two-way radio in the car, leaving it in place he ran around the building and swooped into a small, dank, empty men's room.
The hum of the overhead helicopters could be heard through the open windows. Joey and Stockwell coasted just to the edge of the driveway to the gas pumps. "What do you see Jack?" Joey asked just above a whisper. "Nothing, there's no one in here, nothing, nothing!!" The senator began to sob as he stood inside the empty room, Just then Joey came running through the door, he felt under the sinks and opened the three stalls, on the inside door of the third was a message written in spray paint,
"To the Honorable Jack VonFransky, congratulations you've made it this far, ten minutes to the foot bridge over San Jacinto, open the door and run straight out, cross the bridge, mid way throw the money over and your daughter will be returned, fail to do this and you'll find her dead corpse on the banks. MOVE NOW!!" A fresh bloody handprint sealed the message with a chill.
The senator glanced at Joey with a panicked expression, "Go Jack!! I'll be twenty paces behind you with my weapons drawn, I got your back, as soon as you hit the mid span drop that sack, I have a feeling he'll be watching us from now on." Stockwell and McCandless were out of the car and waiting crouched on the side of the station, the bathroom door swung with a vengeance as the senator bolted across the gravel lot, straight ahead into the deep brush. The faint sound of running water could be heard in the distance. Joey followed, picking up his pace, "FALL BACK, I think we got eyes on us. San Jacinto Foot Bridge, straight ahead is the drop." The three men stayed low and quickly followed behind guns drawn, they could just about make out the senator hurrying along through the trees.
Joey crouched low and stayed behind a mighty oak, just beyond the clearing as the senator reached the footbridge, he ran to the mid span and looked over the side. He ran to the other side and looked there as well, nothing…Not a sound or movement, nothing. "Throw the money Jack, he's here somewhere, watching!!" Joey said as his eyes scanned as far as the bend in the river. The senator slid the sack from his shoulders and lobbed it over the side. Just as the blue bag dunked into the water out from under the bridge sped a jet ski. The driver clad in black, with a sleek silver helmet that hid his appearance, grabbed the sack with a gloved hand as his passenger fell head first into the water. Just a hint of amber curls could be seen descending below the bubbling green water.
"NNNNOOOOO, AUDREY!!" The senator shrilled as his eyes went wide with shock, placing one foot atop the cement rail, he heard heavy footsteps bounding behind him, as he turned, a flash of McCandless whizzed by him followed by Agent Stockwell running with guns drawn. Joey flipped his cap off with lightning speed and leapt over the rail straight into the water. Joe-Bill and Stockwell were screaming for the suspect to freeze as he began to serpentine at full speed up river. McCandless opened fire, with Stockwell following suit. The two police helicopters buzzed the scene from above as local and state police officers followed in from both sides of the bridge. The senator anxiously looked down into the murky cold water for some signs of life as he tried to keep a hold of his heart, which seemed lodged in his throat. "Please god, let her be alive." He thought as his body seemed to turn to jelly and he slid down the rail to his knees. He knelt beside the fallen cubs cap, burying his head in his hands to sob.
Lundy tapped the hood of the tow truck twice, signaling the driver to move out, with Audrey's car hooked to the rear. O'Brien was just finishing a chat with one of the lab technicians as the cowboy approached, "They're going to run the prints right away and analyze the trace evidence pulled from the cab and the trunk, maybe we can get some solid ties to Connolly, to ensure a conviction. We still don't know if this kid is our guy." He stated as he repositioned his Stetson atop his curly blonde crown. O'Brien sighed as she pulled a set of keys from her pocket, "We should get back to the senator's, cant get any information on the drop, they're using a secure band for radio transmissions, we should know by now it's over an hour since it was supposed to go down, I hope she's okay…. I hope they're all okay." Carol's eyes glanced right in thought as she spun the keys nervously on her fingers.
Officers from both sides of the river began scanning the banks for signs of their comrade and the victim. After what seemed like an eternity two heads broke the surface, gasping for much needed air. Audrey's screams could be heard echoing through the clearing as she frantically held on to Joey for dear life. Her forceful panicking kept pushing the detective's head below surface as he struggled against the strong current to bring her in. As much as he fought to get her to the bank, he seemed to be going nowhere fast. "RELAX, JUST RELAX!" Came the warnings from the riverside as police officers, some already trying to enter the water, yelled to the young woman. Joey grabbed Audrey under the shoulders and turned her face up in the water, "WORK WITH ME!!" He scolded as his head plunged under once more.
The helicopters reported the suspect pulling to the side of the river and continuing on foot up the bank into the brush, backpack in hand. He was too far ahead of the officers on foot to be worried about pursuers; only the birds in the sky had a fix on the assailant as he fled the scene. Beaumont ordered the surrounding roads to be blocked and scrambled to get a police boat to the scene but there just was not enough time. The perpetrator was getting away. To no avail, the army of officers, led by McCandless and Stockwell continued on foot, hoping by some miracle to catch up with the clever kidnapper, but it seemed hopeless as the abandoned Jet Ski came into view.
Back at the footbridge a rope was haplessly being tossed to Joey and Audrey caught in the current of the flowing water. A female trooper had led the senator down to the bank as he waited and watched with the cubs cap clutched tightly in his hands. An officer on a lead jumped into the icy water and began swimming toward Joe who was loosing his battle with the raging cold river. With total disregard for his own life he used all his might to keep the flailing woman above water.
Lundy used the phone in the parking lot booth to check in with Beaumont. Carol waited patiently outside and watched the Texan through the glass, before she could speak he erupted from the booth and drug her toward the Jimmy, "Drop went down, kid's getting away, Joey's got hold of Audrey in the San Jacinto river she's alive, we gotta get up there." The cowboy and the leggy O'Brien dashed for the red truck full speed and jumped in head first, before Carol shut the passenger side door, Lights and sirens were blaring as the Jimmy spun tires out of the lot.
Officer Tom Marcum outstretched his hand and took hold of Audrey as Joe pushed the girl with a final forceful swoop before going under. Marcum led Audrey a few feet to Officer Joe Hewlett waiting on the same lead; the two began hand over hand back toward the bank as Marcum went under for Joe. After a few agonizing seconds the Officer emerged with the exhausted Detective under his arm. "Easy kid, let me do the work, were almost there." As the four collapsed dripping on the riverbank the crowd of police erupted in applause. Audrey fell sobbing and screaming in shock as the senator and another officer approached with a blanket. Joey rolled to his side, choking and gasping as Marcum pounded on the detectives back, after two or three wrenching heaves Joey spat up what seemed like a ton of water, he flopped onto his back, eyes closed, panting heavily. Marcum leaned in just as McCandless and Stockwell ran up to the group. "You alright kid?" he asked hovering over Lafiamma with worry. "Who you calling kid?" Joey whispered, eyes still closed. The men smiled as Joey opened one eye and smirked at Joe-Bill. "Shoot, that crazy fool is fine, he'll be okay!" McCandless exclaimed with a laugh. Joe stretched his head to the side, glancing up at the senator who held his sobbing daughter in his arms. Jack caught the glance and smiled at Joey. As he wrapped the blanket around Audrey tightly, the senator reached behind him producing Joe's cap, tossing it over to Lafiamma he mouthed the words "Thank You!" Joey closed his eyes and dawned his cap, leaning his head back down he tugged on McCandless' pant leg, "Gimme a few minutes okay." "You got it hoss." Joe-Bill responded as he patted Joe on the chest, "Just take it easy!"
By the time Lundy and O'Brien pulled up on the scene it looked like a war zone, countless police cars, trucks, news vans and onlookers crowded the road leading into the Texaco. Yellow crime scene tape bordered the perimeter of the entire station. Lundy just turned the corner of the gravel yard as three tech men were hauling away the bathroom stall. Beaumont raced over to him. "The kid fled the scene into the woods, had some kind of dirt bike waiting in the brush, we got an army presence combing through and all the roads blocked, but he hasn't been sighted yet. The copters cant see through the dense treetops, and their not equipped with heat sensors." Lundy's face twisted with disgust at the realization that the ransom just may walk away from them, for now anyway. "What about the girl?" He inquired as he followed Joanne through the brush to the riverbank.
"She's got some bruises and bumps, some fresh, but for the most part she's okay, Lafiamma damn near drowned pulling her from the river, they got caught in the current." Lundy's eyes widened a bit as he yanked on Beaumont's elbow, "He okay?" Beaumont's lips curled into a bit of a smile, "Well Marcum, the trooper who pulled him up said he was limp when he found him under the water, but Joey swore on a stack of bibles he was conscious the WHOLE time. The paramedics are trying to check him out now. Beaumont pointed to an ambulance parked a few feet down the clearing. Lundy caught sight of the dripping Italian seated on the running board of the back, as he approached he snickered at the drama being played out.
A young med tech was trying to place a stethoscope on Joe who was trying to talk on a mobile phone. "Sir, can you PLEASE cooperate with me here!" She scolded as Lafiamma ignored her and continued barking orders into the phone. "I need this kids photo and written description faxed to security at every airport, train station and bus depot in the city…. yeah…yeah!" Joe continued his conversation as he angrily ripped a blood pressure cuff from his arm and tossed it behind him. The paramedic rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath as she produced an oxygen mask from the ambulance, as she turned toward Lafiamma he excused himself to the phone, "Just a sec…. hang on a minute." He looked the woman in the eye, "Could you get that away from me please, I'm fine you understand! He stated through a smug smile.
The woman threw her arms down in frustration as Joey continued into the phone. "Screw it!" she muttered as she grabbed a clipboard from the gurney, "Sign this refusal of treatment and get the hell outta my ambulance." Joey scribbled his signature as she motioned him away with an angry gesture. Joey hopped from the running board with the phone still pasted to his ear. As he walked toward Lundy, both men could hear the paramedic rambling to herself as she began to pack up. "Yeah the only ticket I want this kid buying is a lottery ticket…. got it…see ya!" Joe hung up and smiled at Lundy who was waiting and watching with his arms folded. "Hey cowboy, did she call me what I think she called me." Lundy chuckled, "She certainly did Lafiamma, she certainly did." Lundy chuckled as he patted Joey on the back, noticing his clothes were sopping wet and cold to the touch. "Where's Miss VonFransky?" He questioned as he scanned the sea of humanity. "They took her and the senator right to the hospital, they're going to give her a full physical and check her out real good, Beaumont also ordered a rape kit for the kid, thinks he may have assaulted her. We got to get over there right away and interview her, see if she might know where he's going or if she even got a good look at the guy?"
Lundy snickered at his lovesick partner, "First things first, drop by your place and get you changed then we'll meet the others at the hospital for a formal sit down with the Vic." Joe glanced down at his clothes, pulling the radio off his collar; he stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh SHIT!" he screamed as he patted his shirt and glanced quickly around. "What?" Lundy questioned as he stopped and turned to Joe. "I think I lost the radio receiver Stockwell gave us, must'a fallen off when I dove in the water." Lundy folded his arms, "Hell don't worry about it Lafiamma, I'm sure the F.B.I. has budget codes for equipment broken in the line of duty." Joe nodded throwing the small microphone over his shoulder, "Your right Lundy, they get a hell of a lot more per fiscal year than we do."
The Jimmy hit the interstate heading back toward the city as Joey shifted in his seat; the wet jeans and bulky towels Lundy laid down were making for one uncomfortable drive. Lundy rolled the window down and hung his arm out the side, "Maybe the cross breeze will dry ya out a bit before we get home." Joe's laughter soon turned to deep bellowing chokes as he spit up onto the dashboard. "God Damnit Boy!! Maybe you should have let that pretty young lady check you over instead of being such a stubborn mule!" Lundy screamed as he punched the steering wheel.
"Please Lundy! I swallow more water in the bathtub than I did out there, I'm fine just gotta get it all out though…. Sorry about the dash." Lundy shook his head in frustration, "It's one thing to swallow water, and it's another to suck it into your lungs, that could lead to bigger problems." Joe rolled his eyes and sighed, "Don't start with the mother hen stuff Lundy, it drives me up a wall!" Lundy glanced over his sunglasses at Joe, who was shooting him a cocky annoyed look back. "Maybe that pretty young gal was right…. you are an asshole." The partners continued to bicker all the way back to the city limits. On the outside they were getting in some much needed arguing, but on the inside both were glad to be reunited.
Lundy peeked his head inside Joey's fridge as he heard the blow dryer start up in the bathroom. Judging by the fact that in twenty minutes Lafiamma had only dawned socks and shorts, he figured he had time for a sandwich. Slapping some lunchmeat between two pieces of bread, Lundy took a huge bite as he made his way over to the couch. With sandwich in one hand, Lundy picked up the phone in the other and dialed Reisner, their headquarters. As Lundy checked in, Lafiamma emerged dry and styled, sporting a freshly pressed gray suit.
Lundy smiled as he hung up the phone and eyeballed his partner, "My, My don't you look dapper." Joe rolled his eyes as he proceeded to knot his tie, "Can it Lundy, and go light on the cappicola, that stuff is imported and expensive." Lundy shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth as he mumbled, "So that's what the fancy bologna is huh? So you fix-in to make a good first impression on the young lady today?" Lundy questioned with a sly smirk, chewing the remainder of the sandwich. "Don't be crazy, Lundy… I'm not interested in Audrey, and NOW is not the time to be hitting on her, yes I happened to notice that she's a beautiful girl, and maybe I was a little attracted to her, but I'm a cop and she's the Vic, end of story." Lafiamma stated nonchalantly as he slid into his double holster, securing his guns. Lundy folded his arms and leaned against the bar opposite his partner, his brow furrowing as his expression darkened. "You better be on the level Lafiamma, cause we're to the point where I can read ya like a book, and this particular chapter is one I'd rather skip." Joey rolled his eyes, dawning a look of annoyance, already anticipating the lecture that was soon to follow.
"Lundy, why do you always assume I'm going to leap into hot water whenever I show a little interest in a nice woman, what's your problem with me maybe meeting someone decent?" Lundy rubbed his hands over his face, trying desperately not to loose his cool. "Joe, you're stating the obvious BOY! Hot water follows you around when it comes to women! You have a history of using our case files as a dating service and it always blows up in your face; I'm just looking out for ya…. Let's just say I'm tired of seeing ya knocked down is all." Joey looked away in thought, his eyes crinkling up with confusion.
"Ya lost me cowboy…I don't know WHAT you're talking about." Lundy sighed and smacked his fist in his palm, "Damn it Joey do I have to spell it out for you!! Do the names Lois Smoke, Neely Lloyd and Callie Barton ring a bell, maybe your memory can wrap itself around Ellie…." Joey cut Lundy off in mid sentence as he grabbed a glass from the bar and flung it with all his might into the kitchen wall, exploding into shards on impact. "DON"T!!" He roared in frenzy as he clutched Lundy by the collar across the counter. "Don't go there!! Don't ever go there." Joey's eyes danced with anger as he stared Levon square in the face. Joey released his grip as Lundy took two steps back, hands up as a sign of truce. "Enough said" Levon whispered as Joe's tense form eased off. The two partners stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity before the ring of the phone brought them back to reality.
Joe picked up and turned away as Levon sat back on one of the stools. Lundy knew he pushed Joe a bit too far, but somebody has to do it, minus well be him. In the two years they've known each other, they finally graduated from partners to friends. Levon was probably the only friend Lafiamma had at this point in his life, which made the whole situation cut down a little deeper than just the surface.
Loneliness is a ghost that seems to eternally haunt his partner; Joe seems to have to lose twice as much as the rest of the world on a daily basis. His family turned the other cheek, his home threw him to the wind, countless friends and buddies just a memory. His partner lost senselessly in the prime of his life. Lundy shuddered at the thought of how many loved ones Joey witnessed or cradled as they drew their dying breath, including Ellie, hell she was just a tease of what love could be like for the solitary Italian. A few happy encounters, just barely enough to make him smile before he fished her dead bloodied body from the bottom of a pool.
She was a young girl Joe met while working a case, and although it was the case that caused her untimely demise, Joey deep down blamed himself, just like he blames himself for all the others, a terrible burden to carry on ones shoulders. A burden Lundy is all too familiar with since he too blames himself for the death of his beloved wife Caroline. Lundy snapped from his thoughts as Joey hung up the phone and turned to face his partner. "That was Beaumont, she needs us down at the hospital right away, something's come up with the VonFransky case." Joey placed his hands in his pockets and stared blankly down at the floor. "I guess we outta roll then Huh, Lafiamma."
The ride was rather somber and quiet downtown as Lundy drove and Lafiamma stared blankly out the window, all sign of emotion gone from his face. Lundy glanced over to Joe recognizing the expression all too well. Lundy did know this book, cover to cover… It was slowly becoming one of his favorites. This is the chapter where Joey reverts into his emotional coma; terrified that someone may actually crack the wall he's built around himself. Scared of showing the human side of superman, the side that shows pain, remorse and hurt. The side that could be construed as weak, the kryptonite was out of the bag and raring it's ugly head.
Lundy had to tread carefully through this one, he was desperately trying to let Lafiamma know he was worried, that he cared, that he was really more than just his partner, but a friend, a good friend, someone who Joey could depend on. "Joey, you know I aint too great with words, and I put my foot in my mouth more than most. Now maybe I went about it the wrong way and said the words the wrong way, but what I meant to say to you, what I want to tell you is the right thing. I'm not sorry about what just happened, things like this happen between two friends, I'm trying to be your friend Joe, can you just admit that much." Joey sighed and rested his head against the car seat, "Lundy I know what you're getting at, I understand where you're coming from, but I can't get into this with you. I think we've come a long way since we first started working together too, and yes were pretty good friends by now, but this really is none of your business. I mean come on this ain't like Laverne and Shirley where we're gonna sit down and talk stuff through and make it all better by sharing our feelings with each other. That stuff just isn't real ya know?"
Lundy squinted and bit his lip, just a bit confused, "Laverne and who?" he inquired, peering over to his solemn partner. Lafiamma shook his head in frustration, "Forget it, maybe I should' a used Barney and Andy as a reference, I forgot you grew up in Mayberry." Lundy nodded the realization finally dawned on him, "Oh it's some sort of a television show huh?" Joey rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath as Lundy chuckled to himself, deciding to close the book, he'll let Lafiamma off the hook…. for now anyway.
The boys met Beaumont and Stockwell in the hall of the Hospital trauma unit, just as they were exiting Audrey's room. "Lieutenant, what's up?" Lundy asked as brunette turned to face them. "Well it seems that we may need to protect Audrey in a safe house until we can lock this creep up." Joey's eyes widened at the statement as Joanne continued, "Apparently Connolly threatened to finish the job once he had the money, he said he would kill her anyway just to tie up lose ends, she confirmed that he knows where she lives, works, shops, works out, everything. She's not safe until we arrest him." Lundy placed his hands on his hips and sighed. "Oh well, I was afraid of something like this if he got away." Joanne leaned up against the wall as she answered, "Well we already have several two man teams on stake out at Connolly's home, the pizza place, the uncle's, and any depot and station with transportation out of Houston. His face is already over the wires and on the news, we've followed up two false sightings, it's just a matter of time, but he'll surface and we'll get him. In the mean time I want you two to alternate and stay with Audrey, the senator has already arranged for you two to use a rural cabin outside of town. A courier is bringing the keys, he's on his way."
Lundy motioned to Joe to open the door to the room as Joanne and Stockwell readied themselves to leave, Joe tugged on Joanne's elbow and leaned in close whispering privately, "Lt. Did he…. was she…. did Connolly touch her?" he asked worriedly. "The rape kit came back positive it looks like she was sexually assaulted while being held captive, I'm sorry Joey I know that's not what you wanted to hear…. The family is aware, and dealing with it." Joanne leaned over Joe's shoulder to Lundy, "Levon, don't forget I need your report on the car as soon as possible, Carol's tied up on stake out so it's on you okay. Can you have it to me by this afternoon?" Lundy nodded, waiting with his hand on the doorknob for Joey to join him. The two detectives entered the hospital room to find the senator and his wife sitting with an awake and alert Audrey. Although she was a bit disheveled, no make up, mussed hair, she still smiled brilliantly, revealing her natural beauty. Joey felt something stir in the pit of his stomach, feeling a bit like butterflies fluttering around. He couldn't help it; something about this girl stirred his soul to attention.
Lundy leaned against the bed rail as the senator rose to shake Joe's hand. The two men exchanged pleasantries, the glee in Jack's face evident as he smiled from ear to ear. "Audrey this is Detectives Lafiamma and Lundy, they worked non stop for two days to bring you home to us." Audrey extended her hand and shook Lundy's with vigor, bruises and scrapes evident on her body. Joey stepped up and leaned in to grasp the girl's outstretched arm and be properly introduced. "Sweetheart this is Joe, he's the one who dove in after you at the river bank. Very brave act, Joe, we all appreciate your dedication and regard for our girl." Mrs. Vonfransky chimed in as she watched the other interact. "Oh" exclaimed Audrey as her face lit up, "You look so different detective, I hardly recognized you." The sweet girl said as she shook Joe's hand.
Audrey explained her situation for the past two days to the detectives as they settled into some chairs for an interview. She rehashed her ordeal in much detail. The way Connolly locked her in an overturned storage cabinet in some abandoned building on the outskirts. Although she was blindfolded and gagged whenever they were mobile, she at least knew she was being held out in the rural area, no people or recognizable sounds, just desolate fear and loneliness. She was somewhat emaciated and dehydrated, she was left mostly alone, locked in what she thought would become her coffin, he gave her no food or water, and only let her out to beat and have his way with her. She informed the detectives that she never actually saw his whole face, but was sure that Liam was her attacker, she did recognize his voice, and her captor was a blond man of his build and stature, although he wore a mask that covered his whole head whenever they were together.
Lundy wondered how Audrey knew the kidnapper was blonde if he wore a hood whenever they were together. A few stray tears and a look of shame darkened the girls face, giving him the answer without actually being spoken; his heart sank at the thought of such brutality and cruelty. Audrey agreed to cooperate with the detectives when and if they brought the young psychopath into custody. Audrey would be released with a clean bill of health as soon as the doctor arrived to give her a final examination.
Lundy led Joey into the hall for a private one on one chat as the VonFransky's enjoyed being reunited. "Look Lafiamma, I'm gonna have to go back to Reisner and finish typing up the final reports on the car, I'm leaving it to you to take the first shift with Audrey. I'll be up there around eleven tonight to relieve you. Can I trust you to do the right thing and let sleeping dogs lie?" Joey shrugged and nodded a silent answer to his partner's plea. "Now we're not finished ironing out this thing we started this afternoon, I really think we got to get to the bottom of this little habit you have with our case files. It concerns me partner and If you don't hash it out with me, I'm gonna blow the whistle on you to Beaumont and she'll make you hash it out with Frazier on the couch, you read me Amigo?" Lundy tapped on Joey's collar for emphasis. "Don't threaten me Lundy! You wanna be my friend…. Fine!! You feel the need to pick me apart like some lab experiment…. No Problem! Whatever floats your boat partner…? But do not threaten me, cause I don't respond well to threats." Joey tapped back with a bit more force as Lundy sighed and shut his eyes. "Call it a warning, Lafiamma." Lundy turned on his heels and started down the hall with his hands in his pockets. "I'll call it like I see it…. Cowboy!" Joey responded in his telltale Mafioso tone. Lundy paused a bit, but continued walking, a dim uneasy feeling brewing inside. He didn't look back, just kept his eyes ahead; hoping some of what he said would seep through that thick Sicilian brain. He would just have to give Joey the benefit of the doubt.
After a few hours, the doctor exited Audrey's room with her parents in tow. Jack stepped up to Joey who rose and stretched, meeting the senator eye to eye. "Well as soon as she's ready I guess you'll be leaving us for a while huh?" Joey looked at the disappointed man with sympathy, "I'm sorry Jack, I know you want to bring her home, but this is for the best, I promise you it's just temporary. As soon as we have this man in custody, she'll be safe. Until then we need to protect her. If there was any way we could bring you along, we would, but it's just not how we do things, I hope you understand." The senator nodded and shook Joe's hand. "I know, I understand. Your Lieutenant promised to keep me posted on any new developments and she also said she would allow Audrey to call us, supervised of course once a day until she can come home. I've had the place all stocked up and secured so you should have anything you need to be comfortable there, if you need anything else, please let us know." Joe smiled and turned to Mrs. VonFransky who looked just a bit concerned and stressed. "Don't worry maam, she's in good hands." The older woman reached out and drew Joey close for a hug. "Thank you so much for all you've done young man. I'm more grateful than you could ever imagine." Joey, shocked at the gesture, patted the woman on the back, showing his unease with intimacy. "Don't thank me yet, my job is not done." Joe responded as the lady released her grip. The couple strolled down the corridor hand in hand, disappearing around the hall as Joe knocked lightly on the door.
Audrey emerged dressed in jeans and a pink sweater, her curly red locks tied up tight in a ponytail. Just a hint of pink lipstick was all the makeup she had on, and as she smiled at Joe, she looked much younger than her years, almost child like. Joey extended his arm, "Please let me get that for you." Motioning to the shoulder bag the girl carried from the room. "Thank you, Joey…. may I call you Joey, that's what your boss calls you, the dark haired lady…. I forget her name…. I'm sorry." Joe smirked at Audrey as she blushed. "No need to apologize Ms. VonFransky, It's okay. You can call me whatever ya want. I must ask you one thing before we get started, In light of recent events, if you would feel more comfortable with a female officer, just let me know, I'll call the station right now and have one sent over." Audrey shook her head vigorously, "Oh no!! Not at all, I want you to protect me. I feel very comfortable in your presence Joe, there's no need to walk on eggshells with me, I'm just fine." Audrey moved closer and wrapped her arm through Joe's elbow as if he was her escort for the evening. Joe pressed the elevator button and glanced at the young lady by his side. Not at all what he expected, he furrowed his brow as his mind went into overtime. He was a well seasoned cop with much experience with kidnap and rape victims, and this was not what he was used to, by all accounts she should be shaky, untrusting, very aware of her personal space. Not this girl, fifteen seconds with a strange man and she already invaded his personal space, badge or no badge, this was a bit odd.
As she gripped Joe's arms, looking up and smiling, he dismissed the thoughts, looking into her eyes; they were replaced with that serene feeling of dancing butterflies. He answered her smile with one of his own as the elevator descended to the garage.
Lundy poured over a desk full of notes as he tried to gather them into one final report on the abandoned car. Reading through them while stuffing a double cheeseburger in his mouth, Lundy realized he wasn't familiar with anything he wrote down, and Carol's handwriting was starting to resemble a chicken doing the rumba with a pen tied to his foot, waste of time indeed. He would have to read over everything to reacquaint his mind with the information. This was going to take some time. Although the Major Crimes unit was just about empty, the station was buzzing with activity, cops and crooks making a fuss, telephones and typewriters singing away. Somehow Lundy couldn't concentrate today, his mind refused to filter away the background garbage so he could get on with what he was doing. He shook his head clear and picked up the itemized list of items found in the cab of the car and began reviewing them. Just then Joanne hurried through the door, a huge smile lighting up her face.
"Hey Lundy, I just got back from the press conference over at the senator's office, the chief is so hell bent on catching Connolly that he bumped our case to top priority and gave us ten more bodies for permanent stakeout personnel, that will free up major crimes to get back on the trail, we'll have this kid in irons by sunset, there is no way he can possibly get out of Houston without us knowing about it." Lundy nodded as Joanne passed and went into her office. Lundy glanced through the notes, his eyes vigoursly shooting from one thing to another as his mind pulled out what seemed like important information, he yanked a legal pad from his desk and cleared a spot with his forearm, crumpling the mound of papers as he began to write yet more notes. Terrified of where his cop instinct was leading him, he bolted from his chair and zipped into Beaumont's office, interrupting her call with less than Texan manners. "Joanne, I need McCandless and O'Brien back here pronto. I also need a search warrant for Liam's apartment ASAP! I think we may have missed something big." Lundy pushed the door closed with his foot, as Beaumont looked up startled with the phone receiver still in her hand, "You have my attention Levon, spit it out." The brunette responded as the cowboy took a seat.
Joey slammed the car door and followed Audrey into the cabin; she held the door open for him as he shuffled past her petite form, arms loaded with bags. Audrey hurried into the hall cheerfully announcing "Duty Calls!! It was a long drive." After a few seconds, she reemerged refreshed, as Joey smiled and shook his head, hearing the toilet flush behind her. "I know this isn't what your used to Miss, but it's the best we can do on such a tight budget, hell it's better than normal, if your daddy didn't pitch in, we'd be held up at some cheesy motor lodge." The red headed beauty giggled, "Please call me Audrey, that's what all my friends call me, and I already consider you a friend…Joey!" The beautiful young girl shot Joe a winning smile as she walked pleasantly into the parlor. This girl was giving out all the right signals. Joe suddenly felt as though they were a young couple checking into a mountain cabin for a weekend getaway, instead of a recent kidnap victim and a two-bit cop, checking into a solemn safe house. Odd, very odd! Joey reflected, as he unpacked some of the bags from the counter. "So, when are the rest of the troops going to be here?" Audrey asked as she drew some of the shades to let light in. "Just me until Lundy comes up, he'll be a while though, he's stuck working on some final reports, knowing Lundy he'll be all day, he types like a snail." Audrey chuckled and plopped onto the dusty couch, "No problem, I feel safe with you…. Do you mind if I call my mom, I know she's probably worried already?" Joe squinted his nose, "I…. don't know…I think that's a bad idea, were not up here on a vacation ya know, this is business and for your own protection, I think we should stay off the phones." Audrey sulked and pleaded like a scolded schoolgirl, "The Lieutenant said I could talk to at least my parents, once a day until I can come home."
Joey shrugged and came around to the phone; sitting on the couch he dialed Joanne to ask her permission to allow Audrey one phone call. No answer at Joanne's desk so the call bounced over to the main operator, Joe left a quick message. Hanging up he turned to Audrey who stood behind, waiting in anticipation, "So…. what's the verdict, can I call?" She asked her angelic hands folded in front of her, reminiscent of a child praying. "No answer, she must be tied up, but hey…. I left a message, she should call back with an answer real soon."
Audrey pouted at Joe's response, her stunning features twisting into sadness as her grand green eyes filled with tears. Audrey quickly turned away, burying her lovely face in her hands; a small muffled sob escaped her lips. Joe leapt from the couch and was immediately by her side, placing his hand on her shoulder the tall handsome cop tried to comfort the weeping young girl, "What's wrong, Audrey…. are you okay?" As she turned, she was nose to nose with Joe, his eyes meeting hers, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her face resembled soft porcelain, as Joey received his first up close and personal view. Staring him square in the baby blue's she appealed to him once again, "Please Joe, at a time like this I need to be close to my mother, and since I can't be with her I just need to hear her voice." She gazed down at the floor as another crocodile sized tear tumbled from her eye. "For the past few days I thought every breath was my last. I imagined the next beating was the one that would kill me, and every time he touched me, the only thing that got me through it was the image of my mother holding me, I just need that more than ever now…. please."
Joey shook his head negatively as Audrey collapsed sobbing into his ample chest. His eyes wide with shock, he instinctively threw his broad arms around her and held her tight. As he embraced her, the butterflies in his stomach danced with vigor as his heartbeat escalated into near frenzy. He turned his head slightly, burrowing his chin in the nape of her neck. He felt her body shake with sorrow, taking a deep breath, he was enveloped by the scent of her sweet perfume. Joey closed his eyes tightly and gave in to her heartfelt plea. "Alright…alright, I suppose one supervised call would be okay." Immediately following his announcement, he felt her body relax against his, as her sobs faded to whimpers. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder and raised her head with a tender hand to her chin. The last of the tears fell as she gazed into his appealing eyes. "Two minutes." He whispered as the young girl wiped her moist face and sniffled ever so softly, a small smile creasing her lips. Grabbing the phone and handing it to Audrey, Joey dawned a goofy sideways grin as the scent of her perfume still lingered in his smitten mind. Audrey dialed quickly, after a short pause she exclaimed, "HI MOMMY!! It's so good to hear your voice…Yeah!! We made it here safe and sound…." Audrey continued her conversation as Joey sat back on the couch, trying to recover from his recent adrenaline rush.
After a few minutes of mother-daughter small talk, Audrey's face suddenly turned panicked, holding the phone to her chest, her eyes widened as she pointed into the hall, "OH MY GOD!! JOEY LOOK!!" Joe's eyes followed the outstretched arm as he spotted water gushing into the hall. "OH SHIT!" He exclaimed as a large puddle was quickly forming on the floor. Joe raced to the bathroom door and opened it, revealing the overflowing toilet. He quickly reached down and began trying to close the rusty valve. It took some muscle to get it going as another wave poured out of the bowl. Joey cursed in Italian as he knelt on the wet floor for some leverage. After a few moments of force, he finally got the thing to give. The water stopped just as Audrey appeared in the doorway. She laughed as she slid in the small lake that had sprung up in the hall. "I guess we'll need some towels and a mop huh?" The red head inquired as Joey leaned on the basin and sighed, rolling his eyes and smiling, he answered, "Either that, or a canoe." The two laughed as they scrambled for clean up equipment.
Lundy was hurrying through the motor pool on the way to his red Jimmy when he spied Sergeant Estaban Gutierrez exiting his car. The shorter Mexican detective was just coming back from a trip home to Matamoras, "Hey amigo, now that you've caught up on some rest and relaxation why don't you ride shotgun on this search and seizure." Lundy inquired as he waived a crisp warrant in the air. The dark haired detective rolled his eyes at the cowboy, "Jeeze Lundy, I haven't even checked my in box yet, where's your Yankee partner, why can't he do it?" He's pulling safe house duty about forty miles outside of town, Major Crimes have been working a high profile kidnap case since ya been on admin leave, come on I'll fill ya in on the way, we'll radio Joanne from the Jimmy." Gutierrez turned on his heels and followed Lundy to the Jimmy, mumbling and rambling as he checked his holster and badge, "A cops work is never done!" He groaned as he plopped into the passenger side.
Carol and Joe-Bill met Lundy and Gutierrez at the door of Liam's third floor apartment. "Lundy, I hope this is a wild goose chase, god help us all if your instincts prove valid." Carol sighed as Joe-Bill opened the padlock on the front door. The four detectives entered the apartment, which was left untouched since the first time the police raided the place. Lundy immediately hustled to the kitchen, beginning to rip through the cabinets, Carol started in the bedroom and McCandles and Gutierrez toggled between the living room and bathroom. Each detective was focused on finding the break that would turn this case on its ear.
Lundy's mind swirled with emotion as he searched, knowing that if they found what they were looking for it could mean a heap of trouble was coming their way, and they may be powerless to stop the growing storm ahead. Just then McCandless emerged ashen faced from the parlor, holding something in his hand. Just then, Lundy pulled a canister from the cabinet; his expression soon mirrored his comrade's. "Dear Lord, I hope Joanne was able to reach Lafiamma!! I can't believe we missed this the first time." He uttered to Joe-Bill as he slammed the red tin on the counter with enough force to crumble it, spraying tea leaves out onto the floor. Joe-Bill handed Lundy the photographs he was holding in his shaky hand. Lundy glanced down at the images, his eyes shutting tightly as they confirmed what was eating away at his gut, no room left for the benefit of the doubt.
Joanne slammed the phone down and leapt from her office chair, running through the bullpen, she dodged into the crime lab, nearly knocking Sergeant Annie Hartung from her wheelchair. The older woman, laughed, "My, My sugar, it's a good thing I had the breaks on or we both may have sailed out that window." The brunette Lieutenant, stopped dead in her tracks, "No time, Annie, I need you to keep calling this number and try to get in contact with Lafiamma, if you reach him get me right away, it's urgent." The breathless woman had panic written all over her face as she turned for the door, "I'm going to try to raise him on the radio and get a couple of local squads out there ASAP!" Joanne yelled over her shoulder as she hurried out into the corridor. Not questioning, Annie snapped to attention and began dialing, the phone rang continuously with no answer. Annie stayed on the line, letting it ring as her heartbeat accelerated, "Smells like trouble with a capital T!" she wondered to herself, hoping for the best.
The phone sat still at the cabin. Joey and Audrey watched yet another game show on the television, reception was so bad out there that they might as well been watching a blank screen. Once again Joey rose from the couch and tried to adjust the rabbit ear antenna on top of the T.V. "Give it up Joey, you tried them a thousand different ways and the picture's no better, I don't even think their hooked up." Audrey commented as she ran her fingers through her curly, auburn locks. A flash of light dashed through the window, catching Lafiamma's attention. He raised the curtains and peered outside into the darkness, just catching the tail end of a big rig driving up the road. "It's nothing just some headlights from a truck." He exclaimed as he shut the curtain. Audrey nodded and smiled glancing at her watch.
Joe strutted past into the kitchen for something to drink, as he shut the refrigerator door, he was startled as Audrey appeared directly in front of him. Her face was just mere inches away from his. "Do you believe in kismet Joey?" She asked as she leaned in on the counter. Not knowing where this conversation was leading Lafiamma decided to indulge a bit, "I never really gave it much thought, why do you?" Audrey slowly nodded as she began to twirl her shiny red hair through her fingers. "I do, I'd stake my life on it. I don't think it was by chance that you swept into my life like a hurricane. Ever since you pulled me from that river, from the first time you touched me, I've had this feeling deep inside, and it gets stronger every second your near me, I can't control myself anymore." Her voice took a seductive tone as she reached out and placed the palm of her hand on Joey's chest, "Do you feel the kismet when I touch you." Joey gently cupped his hand around her petite wrist as she moved in closer. "Audrey, I have to admit I am attracted to you, but I don't think…" Just as Joe was about to finish his sentence, Audrey yanked his collar down and surrounded his lips with her own. Her eyes closed, she maneuvered her exquisite face into a deep passionate kiss. Joe's eyes widened as his body stiffened with shock, slowly he surrendered and began responding to the advances.
Joey slid his sculpted arms around her petite waist and drew her close, both melting further into the tempestuous kiss, until it was almost primal. The butterflies in Joey's stomach exploded, as he felt his whole body shiver wildly. He grabbed a wad of her hair and pulled as they separated. Audrey ran her hand erotically down Joey's chest, feeling the ripples of his muscles below his shirt, just as she was about to delve beneath his belt, he grabbed her wrist and yanked, quickly stepping away from her embrace. Aghast at his sudden withdraw, Audrey glanced up and was met with steely blue eyes filled with anger. Joey grabbed her other wrist and held them out in front of her, forcefully raising the sleeves on her pink sweater, revealing her forearms, milky white and flawless. "You are some piece of work sweetheart, I'll tell ya." He scowled." Audrey grimaced as Joe squeezed tighter, "I…. I don't understand, what's wrong Joey?" She asked, her voice shaky with fright. "For a girl with deep open rope wounds, you heal pretty fast, unless you're a goddamned liar." Joe emphasized by shaking her slender wrists. "There had to be at least a pint of blood running down your arms yesterday, whatcha use pigs blood?" Audrey's face stiffened in disgust as the realization oozed into her brain. She looked away biting her lips, scurrying for an explanation she uttered "Joey, I don't know what to say…maybe we can come to some kind of agreement…. say sixty, forty…. no questions asked?"
Joey sneered at the offer as he powerfully swung the girl around, yanking her arms hard behind her back. She yelped in pain as Joey led her into the living room, reaching for the phone receiver, she struggled in his grasp. As Joe placed it to his ear, pushing Audrey onto the couch, he pounded on the buttons realizing the line was dead. Shooting her a look of rage he hurled the phone across the room, as a devious smile crept across her lips, "Oops, I think I broke it." She snickered, sitting up on the couch. Joey's fists clenched as he reached inside his holster and whipped out his gun, "My heart goes out to your father, visiting you in prison is going to rip him to shreds." He growled shaking his head at the young girl before him. Audrey smiled broadly, looking just past Joe, "I don't think I'm going to have to worry about that." She shrewdly responded. Joey noticed her glance and swiftly spun round to see the door wide open, before he could react he felt something bash the side of his head, he collapsed with a thud, his gun sliding across the floor, out of his reach.
Indescribable pain wracked Joe's head as he desperately tried to focus his eyes. He could faintly make out what looked like work boots stepping over him in the fogginess. He softly moaned as he felt the sickening warm blood flowing down his face. Rolling onto his stomach he began to crawl forward in the direction of the gun, his mind swirling as he tried to concentrate on his weapon laying just a few feet away. Just as it was in his grasp he felt something grab his shirt. Reaching up with all his might he seized the skinny blond man by the arm. Within seconds the two were entwined in a bitter struggle for the loaded pistol. Although Joe's adrenaline was in overdrive, he found himself at a considerable disadvantage, growing weaker by the second; he was now in danger of loosing consciousness, the room spinning out of control.
Mustering all his remaining strength Joey lashed out and punched Connolly hard with a left to the jaw sending the young man careening to the floor. Joey clutched the butt end of his colt, as he was about to turn the gun on Liam, Audrey ran screaming from the rear, leaping onto Joe's legs she plunged a kitchen knife into the small of his back. The force of her fall snapped the handle from the blade as Joey shrieked in agony. The gun discharged with a loud blast, sending a bullet whizzing into the air. As Joe's head hit the floor once more, his face twisted in pain. Liam stepped on Joey's arm and wrenched the gun from his weak grip. Cocking the pistol with one hand he helped Audrey from the floor with the other. She still clutched the wooden handle of the broken steak knife. Joey barely heard Liam's brogue scream, "Let's MOVE!!" as the two conspirators fled the cabin, leaving the wounded detective bleeding on the floor. Joey's eyes began to roll around in their sockets as he floated in and out of conscious thought. He moved slightly trying to get up as torturous pain ran through his body like bolts of electricity. Fear began to come over Joey as he realized that each staggered breath he drew could be his last. Only the sound of his frantic heartbeat pierced the silence of the abandoned cabin. Joe quickly concluded he was trapped, no phone, no help, no one. He began to pray as the familiar ring in his ear told him darkness was coming. Glancing down at the growing pool of crimson forming around him, he gasped. Just before he faded into oblivion, the faint sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. "Please Lundy," was the last thing he was able to whisper before going limp.
Gutierrez leapt from the still rolling Jimmy, while Lundy placed the car in park. Carol and Joe-Bill soon joined them shuffling through the door of the rural Medical Center in the darkness of the night. The only sound of the late hour was the stiff breeze humming through the forest and crickets calling in the thick foliage. They hurried to Beaumont who sat relaxed in the waiting area reading a magazine. Joanne stood to greet her squad; extending her arm she motioned the group to halt, as they were about to bowl right over her. "Easy Kids!! Calm yourselves, the locals got to him right away. Joe is going to be fine. Take a deep breath and relax!" Joanne chuckled as she witnessed all four detectives exhale in unison. Lundy collapsed into the plastic chair next to her and removed his Stetson. "What happened?" He asked, running his hands over his curly blonde hair. Joanne folded her arms, "It seems Audrey tipped Connolly off to their location by phone earlier today, phone records confirm it. The two of them overpowered Joey and escaped, the local law found the dirt bike abandoned about thirty miles away at a truck stop." Lundy sighed and shook his head in frustration.
Carol turned to Joanne, "Lieutenant, is Joey in trouble…. I mean go easy on him, he couldn't have known she was involved." The shapely detective pleaded sympathetically with her boss. Joanne laughed, "Don't worry guys, Joey gave himself a tongue lashing as they brought him in, he disciplined himself worse than I could, I think I'm just going to let this slide. Besides, all is not lost, I just got off the phone with Annie, it seems the six-letter code found in Audrey's purse connects to an airline reservation. Liam and Audrey are presently on board a flight to Belfast. They checked in as Mary and William Maguire with one way tickets and phony Irish passports. Airline staff positively identified their photos and informed us that Mrs. Maguire was eight months pregnant, with a note from her doctor, giving the okay for her flight home." Joe-Bill smiled, "Clever!! Good way to smuggle ransom money out of the country huh?" Joanne nodded, "Not quite, but whatever they devised was convincing enough to pass a pat down at Houston International. Interpol alerted Customs and Immigration and Law Enforcement and Sky Marshals are standing by to meet the flight when it lands, our little co-conspirators will be immediately arrested and deported back here by tomorrow morning. Hopefully Audrey will deliver a healthy five million dollars before she returns."
The detectives relaxed in the waiting area for Joey to come out of surgery. Luckily the knife missed all his major organs so the injury is not too serious, but the grueling task of removing the six inch serrated blade from inside him would take some time. Joanne convinced all but Lundy to go home and get some sleep. She retuned to the empty waiting area to a lonesome cowboy. Handing him a steaming cup of coffee she decided to use the quiet time to catch up with her old partner. "So Levon, now that were alone is there anything you want to get off your chest, I can't help but notice the extra baggage your carrying around tonight?" Lundy smiled at the brunette's keen sense, "I had some words with Lafiamma this morning, we had a disagreement and I haven't been able to smooth things over yet." Joanne smiled as she sipped her coffee, "So…. what's new!! When are you two not in a heated battle about something?" Lundy smiled as he stretched out in his chair, "No…. I mean when I found out Lafiamma got stuck, I didn't know how serious it was, and I didn't want to leave some things unsaid. I guess it shook me up a bit." Joanne's expression darkened, "This disagreement, is this something I should know about…. Doe's it involve our case?" Lundy shook his head, "No it's personal…. You see me and Joe's been partners now for two years, and in that time I've really gotten to know him. I've noticed a pattern emerge with Lafiamma and women who crop up in our case files. It worries me because this kind of thing can only end in a bad way." Joanne nodded at the revelation, "I see what your saying, Joey does tend to step into hot water a bit more than most of the personnel under me. After the Callie Barton fiasco I sat him down and gave him a good talking too, you'd figure the suspension would be enough to set him straight, I guess not."
Lundy agreed with his boss, "I guess I just am really starting to care about Lafiamma, not just as a cop but as a person. When we first met I couldn't stand this guy. I just wanted him to go back where he came from, but now…I understand the reason he acts the way he does and I feel for the guy. I know he's lonely here. I know what it feels like to have everything you love taken from you in an instant. After I lost Caroline I wallowed in that rut for god knows how long and I feel like I owe Lafiamma big time for helping me out of it, and now that I have Jaime in my life I feel like I got something to live for again. I want the same thing for Joe. I want to see him find that too. It would make me sleep better at night knowing he's got something to live for too. Doe's this seem crazy to you?"
Joanne placed a consoling hand on Lundy shoulder, "It's perfectly sane Levon…That's how friends feel about each other. Don't sell yourself short, Levon. You're a good friend to Joey. You and Jaime always ask him over on the holidays, he tags along and ruins all your vacations, hell he's even claimed your grandmother Minnie as his own, I think Joey calls her more each week then you do… So why is it so hard for you to talk to him." Lundy's eyes looked away in thought as he paused, soaking in the question. "I don't know, maybe deep down, I'm afraid that Joe might not feel the same way, that maybe he's more my friend than I'm his." Joanne patted Levon on the back, "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told you probably a hundred times since I paired the two of you together, TALK TO HIM! Tell him exactly what you just told me. See what he says. Joey may be a bit tight lipped, he may a little more guarded than most, but he's human, maybe he's just waiting for the right opportunity to open up and let someone else in. I can tell you that he cares for you as much as you do for him…. You think you're the only one I have these little sit down's with, no way…. I've had Joey in my office many a night yammering on about something he was worried about concerning you too my friend." Lundy smiled; he had to admit Lafiamma does do a lot of yammering. The two cops sat side by side in silence for a minute. Joanne finished her coffee and crinkled the cup in her hand. As she rose to throw it in the bin, Lundy tugged on her arm, as she made eye contact he smiled, "Much obliged." He stated in his standard Texas drawl.
Levon and Joanne were sound asleep by the time the Doctor entered the waiting room, after shaking them a bit they greeted him with sleepy smiles. "I'm John Harper, Sgt. Lafiamma's doctor, the surgery went better than expected, and he's going to be just fine…. The blade went in on an angle and missed every major organ, blood vessel and muscle…Basically it's just a flesh wound, he should be good as new in a few days." The two colleagues smiled and took turns shaking the Doctor's hand. "Were going to keep Joseph in for observation, he did sustain a rather serious concussion, but there's no fractures or hemorrhaging, CT Scans show some minimal bruising to the brain, but nothing that won't heal on it's own in time. The swelling has all but disappeared but he still has two pretty nasty black eyes and some broken blood vessels. We've moved him over to Post-Op and as soon as he comes out of the anesthesia we'll move him to a private room, but unfortunately visiting hours are over so you both wont be able to see him until tomorrow after nine."
Lundy smiled at the good news, "I guess having a thick head has its advantages." Lundy and Joanne rose to collect their things as the doctor finished his prognosis, "There's just one more thing, due to the head trauma, unfortunately we cannot give Joe any strong narcotics for the pain, so he may be a bit uncomfortable and edgy for a while, but it's for his own good." Joanne nodded, "Oh well nothing new Lafiamma is always uncomfortable and edgy, we probably won't even notice." The doctor bid farewell and Lundy and Beaumont left the waiting room, headed for home. Both relived this long and horrid day was finally coming to a close.
It was a little after ten the next morning when the call came through that both suspects were in custody at Belfast International Airport and every cent of the ransom money was recovered. Assistant District Attorney Henry Rollins was already in a closed door meeting with Joanne, Lundy, Carol and McCandless when Annie Hartung excused herself and entered the room, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have the Medical Center on line one, something about Lafiamma, it's urgent…. I think you might want to take this call." Lundy was already out of his seat and lunging for the phone in the conference room. Joanne and Carol stood as the meeting ground to a halt. The room was silent as Lundy nodded into the receiver, "Yes………I understand……….Yes Sir………Yes Sir…Not a problem…No…It's okay………Typical…I'll be right there, cuff'em to the bed rail if ya have to but keep him there!!" Lundy slammed the receiver back on the cradle and returned to the group anxiously awaiting news. "It seems Rocky Raccoon is trying to check himself out of the hospital against Doctor's orders. He had a real bad night and is causing havoc over there, they want someone to come get him." Joanne motioned Lundy to follow her into the hall.
"You get up there and talk some sense into him, if he still wants to go, take him home and don't let him out of your sight. You tell him if he doesn't do exactly what those doctors tell him, I'll come up there and give him two more black eyes!" Lundy flashed Beaumont a mock salute as he started toward the elevator. "Levon don't forget what I said last night, stay with Joe and get to the bottom of things, we'll be fine here today, if anything happens I'll call you guys at Joe's apartment." Joanne smiled and returned to the meeting as Lundy disappeared into the elevator down to the motor pool.
Lundy heard the yelling through the thick wooden door of Lafiamma's room, he opened it and walked in to find his partner in a screaming match with Dr. Harper, two large muscular orderlies, a nurse and a terrified looking candy striper holding onto a wheelchair for dear life. "What the hell is going on here?" Lundy yelled as he removed his Stetson and stood at the foot of Joe's empty bed. Lafiamma stood by the bathroom, in a hospital gown and socks, looking bruised, exhausted and extremely agitated. An IV Tube and catheter were still attached to him and obviously stretched a bit too far. "Lundy tell them to take this stuff out of me, I want to go home, and I'm tired of fighting with these guys." Lundy shook his head in frustration, "Lafiamma, first things first, clam up and sit down before you pull something out that needs to stay in." Lundy pointed to the bed, taking and authoritative and stern tone. Lafiamma sighed and reluctantly sat on the edge of the bed. "Now, Doctor Harper, what seems to be the trouble?" The Doctor folded his arms, "Mr. Lafiamma had an extremely restless night, he's still experiencing frequent bouts of dizziness and nausea, nothing he ate this morning stayed down, and his most recent examination was less than satisfactory, I don't feel it would be in his best interest to leave the hospital so soon." Lundy nodded, "Well if you give me a minute alone with my partner maybe I can convince him what a stubborn jackass he's being. I think the bulk of the fireworks are over, so you can dismiss the muscle over there." Doctor Harper couldn't help but smirk as the party began to disperse. "I'll be at the nurse's station, please ring the call button when you are through."
The Doctor excused himself and followed the others from the room, leaving Lundy alone with a disgusted looking Lafiamma. Once the door shut Lundy sat next to Joey on the bed, he couldn't help but notice how awful he really looked, "What's the problem you got a hot date somewhere, why are you in such a hurry to fly this coop Lafiamma?" Joey sneered at Lundy's colorful question, "Lundy…I hate hospitals, I don't like gowns…I hate beds with arms or rails or whatever they are…The T.V. sucks…They keep waking me up just when I'm getting to sleep and breakfast at Huntsville is better than the slop they're pushing into me…I hurt all over and they can't give me anything stronger than Tylenol…. They said I could go home today, but now because my eye fluttered a little bit while he was testing my reflexes I got to stay here two more days…Bullshit! I want to go home now! Please take me home." Lundy's heart broke at the desperation in his partner's voice. "I'll see what I can do."
Lundy reached up and pressed the call button and in a flash Doctor Harper appeared at the door, "Now Doc, I talked to Lafiamma and he still wants to sign himself out. I've had some experience with concussions and I've agreed to stay with Joey for the next two days, I'll check him every hour or so and if I see signs of deterioration we'll get back to the nearest hospital pronto. He'll make an appointment with his primary physician for a check up at the end of the week just to be on the safe side. If he agrees to these terms can I bring him home today?" Doctor Harper milled over Joe's chart and then leaned in and shone his penlight into Joe's eyes once more. "Well boys I'm not releasing Joe by no means, in order for him to leave he has to sign himself out which will relinquish this hospital's responsibility for anything that may result from his premature…" Joe looked up and rolled his eyes, "Yeah…yeah…. yeah if I die it's my own fault, I get it. Could we get on with this?" The Doctor shot Joey a disgusted look as he began to disconnect the Intravenous tubing. Lundy excused himself and waited in the hall. He could hear the Doctor mumbling as the door shut behind him.
About thirty minutes later the same candy striper from before wheeled Joey into the hall with Lundy following behind, as they approached the nurses station a familiar female paramedic stood deep in conversation with two nurses at the desk, it was obvious she recognized Joe right away, "Don't tell me THIS is your problem patient!" Her mouth hung open in shock, "I don't believe it, just yesterday they fished this guy out of a river and today he looks like he went the distance with the heavy weight champ, what was it you said you did for a living?" The three women chuckled. "Very Funny! You should be a comedian." Joe retorted as he passed them, Lundy laughing in tow. The pretty paramedic reiterated her words from yesterday as the candy striper turned the corner on the way to the exit. "Did she call me what I think she called me?" Lundy and the candy striper answered in unison "She certainly did."
The ride home was fairly uneventful; Lundy stopped at the movie store and rented Joey three of his favorite flicks. By the time the Jimmy pulled into his apartment complex he looked almost happy. As Lundy put the car in park he turned to his partner. "So are you feeling better?" Joey nodded. Lundy bit his lip, and thought now was as good a time as any to dive in. "Look Joe about the other day, I…" Joey shut his eyes and stopped Lundy in mid sentence. "Lundy there's no need for this, I hate to admit it but you were right…I realize what I did and I know it's wrong. I had a lot of time to think about what you said yesterday and I'm sorry." Lundy placed his hand on the seat and turned to face his partner, "No Joe, you see there is a need for this, I'm not looking for an apology from you. I'm looking for you to open up a little. I want you to talk to me. I think it's high time you had someone 'round these parts you can confide in and I'm trying to tell ya I want that guy to be me." Joey's face twisted in anger as his voice began to elevate an octave or two, "I confide in you plenty!" Levon rolled his eyes, "You see!! This is where we go round and round like a carousel until were screaming and yelling like two idiots!" Lundy's brow furrowed and his lips tensed in frustration.
The two sat silent for a moment, both beginning to stew in anger. Joey broke the tension, "What do you want from me Lundy? You want me to tell you that once again I got my heart stomped on, that I keep searching for someone who I might fall in love with only to be rejected and trashed again and that maybe I'm scared I'm never going to find someone and grown old and drop dead…alone!!" Joe yelled at the top of his lungs and immediately grabbed his head in pain. "YES!! YOU STUBBORN MULE!! That's exactly what I want you to say…was that so goddamned hard!" Lundy screamed back, louder and more intense than Joe, which was a hard feat to accomplish. Again silence as the two stared at each other, nostrils flaring like raging bulls.
Joe looked away out the window. Lundy once again rolled his eyes, thinking to himself; here we go again, the emotional coma. Just when he was about to give up on Joe, and open the door, out of the blue came a revelation. It was a tone just above a whisper, but it caught Lundy by surprise. "She stabbed me in the back Lundy…Literally…I thought this girl was something special, ya know. I get this feeling in my stomach, it feels like butterflies flying around inside, that's how I know when to make a move with a girl, and with this one it was really intense, I got excited…then I got hoodwinked! Hoodwinked all over again, only this time it was really bad, because I didn't see it coming and it almost killed me." Joe's eyes remained closed, and his voice was subtle, it was almost unrecognizable, but it was music to Lundy's ears, finally after two years and thousands of horrible fights, both verbal and physical, the inevitable happened, Joey let someone in. He confided a personal and painful thought to Lundy.
"Look Joe, It's tough. I know how you feel I been dumped on and stepped on and rejected, dejected and turned inside out by women. Then I met Caroline and my whole world changed. I fell so hard for her, then she started drinking and it was too late, I was already head over heels in love with her, we had our problems but it didn't make no never mind because we loved each other. Now let me fill ya in on a little secret, when we first hooked up, there was no spark, no butterflies, no intense feeling, it was just two friends on a little date. But the more we went out and the more we got to know each other, all of sudden I couldn't even think of her without my heart wanting to leap out of my chest. Then when she died I thought the world had come to a screeching halt. I thought I'd never have that again as long as I lived. But then I met Jaime and that changed too. Now I'm not in love with her yet, but I love being with her…and there's hope again. Now those dancing butterflies aren't born yet, but they will be, cause each time were together my feelings grow stronger and stronger."
Joey exhaled and looked over at Levon. Joe looked sullen and sore, peering out through two exhausted and bruised eyes. The broken blood vessels stained the whites of his eyes crimson accentuating his light blue pupils. "So now what Lundy! What am I supposed to do?" Joey pleaded, his voice quivering with insecurity. "Well I guess just keep living, meet people, normal people. Hey how about that pretty girl who cuts your hair, she raves on and on to Jaime about how wonderful you are, why not give her a call, she's a nice girl and she obviously likes you, lord knows why…. but she does." Joe shrugged as Levon continued, "Me and Jaime were going to go bowling with Eric on Saturday, how about we scrap that and catch a movie instead, and you could ask Nola to go too." Joe shook his head, "Naw…I don't think so, maybe once this face heals up." Lundy chuckled, "Lafiamma, please…she already knows what ya look like, I'm sure she won't mind the shiners. You see this is the stuff you got to get past Boy!" Joey smiled and gave in, "Okay. Maybe I'll give her a call." The two partners nodded and smiled, Levon Hurried around and opened the passenger side door as Lafiamma slowly eased from the seat, wincing just a bit at the movement, as he slowly followed Lundy to the door, he stopped short, "Hey…Thanks…Laverne." Lundy laughed, "Don't mention it Shirley!!" The two entered the apartment hoping the camaraderie would last the two days they would spend together, but alas they both knew it was fleeting, by sundown they'd be ripping each other to shreds again. Their friendship may be growing, but it was growing slow, one step at a time. Lundy decided to close the book, for now anyway.

The End….

Story (c) copyrighted by Jumbojett., Sept, 2002.

 

Feed the author, will ya? Lr209@aol.com... pretty please?
 

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