Chapter 17            In a squad car, with the lights flashing the whole way there, late on a
     weeknight... the trip to Harrisburg was shorter, but not short enough for Trevor of
     course. He couldn't pace back and forth inside a car, but he kept pushing his
     arms and legs into the door and floorboards, willing it to move faster. "I'm doing
     the best I can, Trevor," Derek assured him when he noticed this. "You can push all
     you want, but you're not gonna get an accelerator pedal over there."
         Trevor acknowledged this with a sheepish grin and tried to relax a bit.
         They'd already listened to Harrisburg play back the 911 call on the police radio-- a
     certain bowling enthusiast named Dottie, describing Axel and Janet in detail,
     reporting the car, reporting the address, reporting the gun. By the time she'd felt
     compelled to mention that the woman was trying to marry a guy with silly ties in a
     few days, they'd already known this was more than a lead-- it was a match.
         "Why haven't we heard anything more, Derek?" Trevor demanded. "I know the
     town is bigger than Pine Valley, but it ain't that big!"
         "Trevor, you also know that a search is only as good as its last lead. This Axel guy
     could have planned to go anywhere in town... not just home."
         "I know... I know."
         "Why don't you talk to me about the wedding instead," Derek suggested.
         "The wedding?" Trevor perked up a bit. "Well...I don't know all of what she's got
     planned... you know how grooms are, we just kind of show up. But there's gonna
     be music... lots of music before the ceremony, then Belinda's gonna sing
     something for us. Then after the 'I do's', we're renting an antique Rolls and we're
     gonna cruise up and down the streets with Duke Ellington blasting out of the
     speakers...
         " Tim's got this reading he wants to do about forgiveness and healing-- can you
     believe it? He's kind of shy about it, but I'm pretty sure it's a go. And Janet's really
     wanting to write her own vows-- I'm not so keen on it, being the non poet that I
     am, but she insists that she's got a ot to say, so, you know... who am I to argue. I
     just want to marry her... know what I'm sayin'?"
         Derek gave a nod in understanding. Suddenly the police radio broke in. "Sgt.
     Frye, Pine Valley P.D., this is Harrisburg P.D., over..."
         "Go ahead, Harrisburg."
         "We've spotted the vehicle in question, heading south on 16th street... vehicle
     now has two squad cars on its tail, not showing any signs of stopping."
         "What's the plan?"
         "Well, it appears our kidnapper wants to take us on a little bit of a chase... how
     close are you to town?"
         "About 11 miles."
         "In about 5 minutes we'll steer you towards the site of the arrest. Just wanted to let
     you know."
         "Thanks Harrisburg. We'll be there soon. Over and out."
         Trevor stared fiercely at the radio. "I swear, if that idiot's even stepped on her
     toe..."
         "We've got him now, Trev. Hang in there... it won't be long.
         They drove on in silence. By the time the first of 3 exits for Harrisburg came into
     view, the Harrisburg force popped back on the radio and started guiding them to
     the main part of town, where the chase had last been heard from. Suddenly the
     guy steering them got off the radio without warning. Then got back on. "Do you
     see anything, Sgt.?"
         "Not quite right yet."
         "Well you will soon. The Nova just crashed."
         Crashed?!
         Trevor and Derek rounded a curve in the roadway, just in time to see 5 squad cars
     all lines up. And one Chevy Nova flipped over in a ditch.
         "No... oh God, please, NO..." Trevor's words were softly spoken, but the pain they
     carried was deafening.
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