Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 13:22:38 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Theresa - Chapter 6 Message-ID: A prior warning: this part does have a couple of strong (but not excessively strong) curse words in it. (Actually it's just one word twice - the "s" word). So, if you prefer not to read that kind of language, let me know and I'll email you an edited version. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6 A Matter of Trust "What do you mean 'she's gone'?" Al exclaimed once he arrived at his house. "Just what I said," Tina told him. "I looked into the guest bedroom because she hadn't yet come out and it was getting to one o'clock. I looked all through the house and I can't find her!" "Calm down, Tina. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Al told her as he took off his jacket and laid it on his couch. He opened the guest bedroom door and entered the room. As he looked around, he noticed a folded piece of paper lying on the bed. He went to the bed and picked it up. "Did you see this when you looked in?" "No," Tina answered. "I was too preoccupied with trying to find her." Al opened the folded paper and read the contents. He sighed and closed his eyes. "What is it?" Tina asked, going to Al's side. "You might as well read it," Al said to her, giving her the paper. Tina accepted it and read it in a whisper. " 'Dearest Al, I know now that you are definitely my angel for, unlike most men I have met, you didn't act as I expected you to last night. You showed me respect of which I am not worthy. I never want to embarrass you again. Therefore, I am leaving. Please, don't try to find me. I will always remember you fondly. Theresa.'," Tina finished. "Al, what happened last night?" "Just a slight misunderstanding," Al tried to avoid the question. " 'A slight misunderstanding'? It must have been more than that for her to go galloping away like this." "Let's just say that she expressed her feelings towards me in a very forthright manner. But that's not important right now. I've got to go and find her." "How?" Tina asked. "She could be anywhere right now." "She has her clients. She'll be in the same neighborhood as before." ************************************** Sam woke early on the morning of March 23rd, 1990, to find Jeff gone from the apartment. He spent the next two hours thinking, trying to find out where Jeff could be and wishing the Al would show up to help. Sam was beginning to become extremely worried when the front door opened. Sam quickly slipped into the wheelchair before Jeff could finish coming in. "Where have you been?" Sam asked, poorly hiding his concern. Jeff laughed. "Have you become my mother?" "I'm just worried about you. That's all," Sam told him. "I mean, you've been through a lot of emotional stress lately." "Chris, I'm fine. Honest. I just needed to go for a walk." There was a long pause between them while Jeff hung up his jacket. He had a haunted look in his eyes - a look that told Sam that Jeff had done more than just go for a walk. "You don't think your uncle's death was caused by a random act of violence, do you?" Jeff stopped. "What makes you think that?" "Come on, Jeff," Sam told him. "I know you too well." *Okay, so it wasn't the complete truth.* Jeff hesitated. "At first, it was for a simple walk. But then I found myself at the police station so I went in to find out if Lieutenant Fulton had discovered anything that might help identify Uncle Joseph's killer. That's when I learned that nothing had been stolen from Uncle Joseph's house! Absolutely nothing!" Jeff emphasized. "His housekeeper confirmed it! Now, I know that house. Hell, the man nearly raised me! And I can tell you that, if there were one place a person would love to rob, it would be Uncle Joseph's place." "The robber could have been startled away by the police or something," Sam played devil's advocate. He hoped that his arguing against Jeff would help save his life. "His body had been found seven hours after he had been killed and no one heard the shot. Even the police are beginning to doubt it was a random act." Jeff paused. "Chris, why are you fighting against me?" he complained. Sam sighed. "I just... I have this terrible feeling that you're getting into something you shouldn't." "I shouldn't find out who killed my uncle? Is that what you're saying? What about you? Didn't you go out of your way to find the bastard that ran you off that bridge?! He killed your wife and son!" Sam had no answer. "Listen," Jeff told him. "I'm sorry I brought it up but you see what I mean. I have to find out who killed Uncle Joseph." "In that case," Sam decided, "let me help." "Chris, this is my fight." "It's mine too as long as we're friends." Jeff started to laugh. It wasn't a ridiculing laugh but rather a laugh of amusement. "What is it?" Sam asked. "You remind me of me when I tried to convince you to leave it to the police. And I remind myself of you." He shook his head. "Okay. I accept your help. What do you suggest we do?" Sam thought for a moment. "Visit the scene of the crime." ************************* Al returned to downtown Albuquerque to find Theresa. It was as yet still early in the day. He had at least another three hours before the ladies of the street went to work. So, Al began searching the streets carefully, asking questions and receiving few answers. He had told Gushie that, should anything important come up, he could contact him through the Ferrari's internal comm. system. After an hour of searching for Theresa, Al received a call from Gushie. History had changed. "How has it changed?" Al asked as he was driving towards the Project's complex. Ziggy's voice broke in to explain. "Dr. Beckett had altered history. Now, both he and Jeffrey Sterling are found murdered tomorrow morning. No suspect was ever found." Al shook his head. "That's just great. Do you have the details on what happened?" "Very little," Ziggy told him. "Both Jeffrey Sterling and Christopher Raj-ad-Allah were found dead in Joseph Sterling's house. Apparently, someone had shot each man six times. The police suspected mob involvement, although there is little evidence to support that supposition." "How long until they get killed?" Al asked. "One hour, twelve minutes," Ziggy answered. "Okay. I want you to find out as much as you can about the murders and have the Imaging Chamber ready when I get there. I'll be there in about twenty minutes," he told her as he left metropolis Albuquerque and pressed on the accelerator. The car shot up to one hundred miles per hour. ************************************** "What are we looking for?" Jeff asked. He was looking over the extensive book collection that his uncle had kept. "Anything which doesn't fit into place: a statue in the wrong place, anything missing that should be here, something in that order," Sam answered him with a slight shrug. "How about each volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica in a completely different place?" Jeff asked him, taking a book from a shelf. Sam wheeled himself over to Jeff to see what he meant. On the shelf were all the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica but all were out of order. "I don't get it," Jeff commented. "Uncle Joseph was meticulous about his books, especially about his encyclopedias. Why would he have them out of order?" "Maybe the robber put them back in the wrong place," Sam suggested. "Why take the time to do that if you're robbing a house?" Jeff pointed out. "Maybe it's a code," someone suggested. "Al!" Sam exclaimed with a smile. "Al?" Jeff asked. "I'll bet it's a code," Sam told Jeff quickly, making the word "I'll" sound like "Al." Al shook his head at the bad pun. "That's a pretty wild idea, Chris," Jeff told him, shaking his head. "Sam," Al said, "trust me. I've seen a lot more complicated codes than this." He looked uncomfortable . "It's a possibility," Sam told Jeff. Jeff shook his head. "I think you've seen too many James Bond movies." "Sam, " Al said, tension in his voice, "memorize it and get out of here right now." "Memorize it?" Jeff laughed. "Why memorize it? I think you're losing it, Chris." Al continued, answering Sam. "You have a photographic memory. Besides, you don't want anything that will indicate you know this. This is probably what gets both of you killed!" "Both of us!" Sam exclaimed. "Hey!" Jeff said. "I never said anything about me. I'm still fairly intact." He smiled. "In the original history, Chris was killed in a hit and run accident after he returned from Mecca. But you must have changed history because, in about thirty minutes, both of you are going to be killed if you don't get out of here!" Sam turned to Jeff. "I think maybe we should leave." "You think!" Al exclaimed. Jeff shook his head. "Not until I find out what happened to Uncle Joseph." "Sam, you don't have time for this!" "Jeff..." "I mean it, Chris. I'm staying." He looked at his watch. "But you'd better go. You've got a plane to catch." "Sam, you can't go," Al warned. "I'm not going to," Sam told Al. "What do you mean?" Jeff asked. "I'm not going, Jeff." "But your pilgrimage..." "...can wait," Sam finished. He thought for a moment. "I believe Allah would rather I follow my conscience than go when I feel it would be wrong." "That was good, Sam," Al commented. "Chris must have wanted the same thing, delaying his trip." "We really should go, Jeff," Sam repeated. "This house is still a scene of a crime. Technically, we're here illegally." "You would have to throw the law at us," Jeff commented. Sam smiled. "I'm a lawyer." Jeff laughed. "You win, Chris. Let's go." He went behind Sam and started to push him towards the door. Suddenly, glass broke as a bullet whizzed past Jeff's head! "Shit!" Jeff exclaimed as he hurried Sam and himself out of sight of the window. "I thought you said we had a half of an hour!" Sam whispered in angry complaint at Al. "Ziggy must have goofed!" Al defended himself. "I'm just telling you what she told me!" "Shit, Chris! What the hell..." Jeff started. "I don't know," Sam answered as another bullet fired. "Who's shooting at us?" he asked, looking towards Al. "Gotcha, Sam," Al answered, knowing exactly what Sam meant. "How should I know?" Jeff answered as Al disappeared. Al reappeared a moment later. "The guy's gone, Sam." He looked at the handlink. "Looks all clear." Sam rolled forward slowly. "Chris, what are you doing?!" Jeff exclaimed. Sam stopped and looked towards the window. "He's gone," he announced. "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I'm sure," Sam answered. Jeff slowly came out into the open. "Maybe you're right," he told Sam. "Let's get out of here." "That's a good idea," Al replied. "But watch your back, Sam," he warned as he opened the Imaging Chamber door. "And keep your eye on Jeff." He stepped through the door and closed it behind him. "I'm going back into the city," Al told Gushie as he gave him the handlink. He didn't wait for a response as he walked directly to the elevator cab and went up the ten levels to the parking garage. ********************************* She was walking the streets again. There was a perspective client. She went with him to his hotel room. She did her job and he paid her well for the services. But they weren't together long. He had to return home. She was right about men; this one had the same look that other men had had - pure selfish lust for her body, not for her. Within three hours, she was on the streets again. It looked as if tonight was going to bring good business for her. However, once she was the red Ferrari, she turned and started marching the other way. It was too late, though. The driver had seen her and pulled up towards her, lowering the passenger's side window. "Theresa, we have to talk," Al said to her as he drove slowly to keep up with her. "I can't talk," Theresa told him. "I have work to do." Al huffed. "I don't call degrading yourself for money work." Theresa made no response. "Theresa, would you please stop so we can talk about this? All you're doing is making a spectacle out of yourself by not stopping." She didn't stop. "Everyone's looking, Theresa," Al pointed out. She stopped suddenly, forcing Al to put on his brakes and back up slightly. "Okay. Let's talk," she answered, standing by the window. "You want to get in the car?" Al requested. Theresa complied and Al raised the window. He drove about a block to a park where he stopped the car. "Theresa," Al started. "I want you to come back to my house to stay. I'm sorry for embarrassing you last night." "Embarrassing me?" Theresa asked. "You didn't embarrass me; I embarrassed you." Al smiled. "No, you didn't. Surprised me, yes, but embarrass me?" He shook his head. "You were embarrassed because I didn't do what you expected. That's the reason why you left, isn't it?" Theresa didn't look at him. "Of course, it isn't." "Theresa, look at me." She obeyed. "Don't you want to be off the streets? Have a good job? Your own home?" "Of course." Al nodded with a slight smile. "Do you trust me?" He looked into her eyes and she into his. "Yes," she told him. "I always have." "Then, let me take you home and let's forget that it ever happened." Theresa hesitated. "Please?" Al asked. Theresa nodded. "Okay," she answered softly. "Okay." Al smiled lightly, started the car, and drove back towards his house in Stallion Springs. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT! YOU WANT MORE?! Okay, then. But you'll have to wait a bit. I'll be away for a couple of weeks but I promise to post LOTS when I get back so stay tuned! Kat Freymuth