Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 16:24:39 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Message-ID: Subject: Theresa - Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Risks "Murder!" Sam exclaimed. "How?" "You get hit by a car as you're crossing the street by the mosque. In the original history, Chris was killed in the same way, only it happened a week from now, after Jeff's supposed suicide not before." "Okay," Sam answered. "I won't go to services." Al checked with Ziggy. "Ziggy says no good. You're still killed in front of the mosque." "How can that be if I'm not going to be near the mosque tomorrow?" Sam exclaimed. "I don't know! I only know what Ziggy tells me: that you're going to go to services and that, when you get out, you're going to be killed by a hit and run." Al closed his eyes when he read the next piece of information. "What is it?" "The police report shows that Chris was ran over at least five times. The driver was never caught. Apparently, the van that hit him and tinted windows and was stolen. It was clean of all evidence. Sam stay in this apartment," Al warned. "No matter what. And keep Jeff here. You have to keep Jeff here. It's important." "Why? What happens now?" Al sighed. "Jeff was pushing Chris across the street when Chris was hit. He received severe lacerations and never got over the incident, which only made his supposed suicide more believable to the police. So, keep him in sight, okay?" Sam nodded firmly. "I've got to go," Al told him. "I have an appointment with a lady. Business," he added firmly. Sam grinned with slight amusement as Al opened the Imaging Chamber door and left. "Talking to yourself?" Jeff asked at the door. "Last time you did that, you were down with pneumonia." "I guess I'm just not feeling well," Sam answered, a little shocked by Jeff's presence. "In fact, I don't think I'll go to services tomorrow." "Okay," Jeff answered. "In the morning, I'll go down to the clinic and see if Steve will take a look at you." "Steve?" "The house-calling intern," Jeff smiled. His smile faded slightly and he looked at Sam with concern. "Maybe you should see a doctor, Chris. You really look ill. I'll make an appointment." He turned to leave. "Jeff, wait," Sam spoke up. "I don't think that will be necessary. It's probably a twenty-four hour thing." "You thought your pneumonia was just a twenty-four hour thing and look what happened there. You were in bed for days! And your delicate condition didn't help much." "Delicate condition?" Sam asked with furrowed eyebrows. Jeff sighed. "Hell, they're probably both closed tomorrow anyway." "Jeff," Sam started. "Are you going anywhere tomorrow?" "Yeah, I have dinner date with Jennifer, remember?" Sam sighed. "Can you cancel it?" "What?" Jeff laughed. "I just have this feeling..." Jeff shook his head. "Not another one of your feelings! What is it?" "I don't think you should go out tomorrow." "I thought you liked Jennifer." Sam shook his head. "It has nothing to do with Jennifer. It's... We were nearly killed this morning." "Now you're getting paranoid," Jeff told him. "Maybe," Sam answered. "But I know I'd feel much better if you'd stay in the apartment tomorrow." Jeff sighed. "Okay, buddy. I'll stay in the apartment." "I'd also like for us to call Lieutenant Fulton tomorrow." "What for?" "Jeff, someone tried to kill us this morning!" Sam exclaimed. Jeff sighed. "I'll think about it but I make no promises. Now, get to sleep. We'll see what we'll do tomorrow." "What about you?" Jeff shook his head. "I can't sleep. Not with what's been happening for the past two days. I'm going to make funeral arrangements tomorrow. Call my uncle's lawyers." He laughed cynically. "Imaging that: a lawyer having a lawyer." He walked out of the bedroom, a disturbed look on his face. Sam worried about him for hours, not sleeping until he was sure that Jeff was asleep. *********************************** Al extended his hand out to Theresa who was waiting in Lounge B as according to Al's instructions. She looked up towards him and watched his extended hand. Al smiled at her. "Let's go," he told her. She took his hand and stood. "Where are we going?" "First," he told her as he put her hand on his elbow, "we are going shopping and we're going to buy you a whole new wardrobe." Theresa shook her head. "No, that's too much, Al. I can't let you do that." Al looked at her. "Don't get the impression that this is a gift. You're going to have to pay me back." "How can I when I don't have a job?" Theresa exclaimed. "And you can't get a job if your total wardrobe consists of only these clothes I gave you and that other dress which proclaims loudly of your former profession," he told her. "But how will I pay you?" she asked, confused. "You'll see," Al told her. They had reached the parking garage level as they spoke. Al opened his car door for Theresa and closed it, got into the driver's seat and left the Complex. The two had spent nearly eight hours shopping for clothes, jewelry, make-up, and a set of luggage, which Theresa questioned. When they returned to Al's house, they immediately put all of the clothes into the guest bedroom. "I can't believe you bought all this!" Theresa exclaimed as she hung some clothes in the closet. "I still don't know how I'm going to pay you back!" "Don't worry about it now," Al told her. "Let's get some dinner and get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us." There was a look in Al's eyes which Theresa had often seen in other people. "What are you up to, Admiral Albert Franklin Calavicci?" Al's eyes widened. "Last person to say my name like that was my third... fourth?... third wife, Ruthie." He smiled. "You didn't answer the question," Theresa told him. "And I'm not going to answer it until tomorrow," he told her with a smile as he left the guest bedroom. Theresa smiled and shook her head. Al certainly was the same man she had seen as a child but he was not as she expected. She saw her "angel Al" as completely good, incapable of deceit. Actually, Al had to be one of the most deceitful people she had ever met. So much for childhood impressions. "Do you want something to eat or not?" Al asked in a friendly voice from the kitchen. Theresa smiled broadly. "I'm coming," she told him as she walked out of the guest bedroom. **************************************** The morning of March 24th came much more quickly than Sam would have preferred. He made his way into the bathroom and took a bath, keeping in tune to the fact that Chris was paralyzed from the waist down. Finally, after having taken the bath and dressing himself, he wheeled himself into the kitchen. "Good morning," Jeff said cheerfully. "Or rather afternoon. It's one o'clock. How'd you sleep?" "I was about to ask you the same question," Sam told him. "Especially since you got up so early." Jeff laughed. "Nine o'clock isn't that early." "It is if you were up until five last night," Sam pointed out. "I'm surprised you know that," Jeff said as he gave Sam a cup of coffee. "I couldn't sleep last night either," Sam explained. "How are you feeling today?" Jeff sat at the kitchen table. "Better," Sam answered, remembering what he told Jeff the night before. "Good. Then I can still go on my date with Jennifer." Sam straightened. "No, you can't!" he exclaimed. Jeff raised an eyebrow. "I can't?" "You promised to stay here," Sam pointed out. Jeff shook his head. "I didn't _promise_," he told him. He sighed. "But I did say I would stay. Okay. You win. I'll call her and cancel." "Have her come here," Sam suggested. "I don't think so, Chris," Jeff told him. "Ours was going to be an intimate evening." "I'll be in my bedroom all evening," Sam told him. "I promise." "Do you also promise not to use the bathroom?" Jeff asked with friendly sarcasm. He smiled. "You know, I really owe you one." He picked up the telephone as he spoke. "I hope that's a compliment and not a threat," Sam replied. "A little of both," Jeff told him. "Hi, Jennifer. It's Jeff. Listen, I have a small situation..." *************************************** "Good morning," Al said as he stood over Theresa's bed. "You're a pretty sound sleeper." Theresa opened her eyes to see Al smiling at her. "What are you doing in here?" "Had to wake you up. We have a lot to do. Coffee's ready and your clothes are set out. Can you be ready in an hour?" Theresa looked at the clock. "Al, it's six o'clock in the morning!" Al nodded. "And I still have to stop by the Complex before we go to the airport." "Airport!" Theresa exclaimed. "No time to argue the point," he told her. "Hurry up. Time's wasting." He left the bedroom without further explanation. Theresa rubbed her eyes gently and got up out of bed. She couldn't understand how Al could be so wide awake at such an early hour. She showered and dressed, being ready about forty minutes later. "Wow!" Al exclaimed upon seeing her. "You look fabulous!" "Thank you," she answered gratefully. "You want to tell me what's going on?" "Don't you have an ounce of patience in you?" Al asked her. "Not when I'm being kept in the dark," she answered, pouring herself a cup of coffee. She added cream and sugar. "Why are we going to the airport?" "We're going to Flagstaff," Al answered. Theresa nearly dropped her mug. "Flagstaff!" "Your brother is going to meet us at the airport." Theresa sat at the kitchen table and shook her head. "I can't go, Al." "Why not? Your bags are already packed. What's stopping you?" "I just can't!" she exclaimed. "I don't know Kevin anymore! I haven't seen him in four years!" "That's precisely why you have to go," Al told her. "What if it turns out that we hate each other? What if he hates me for leaving Flagstaff like that?" "He won't hate you. Besides, you have to take some risks if you're ever going to get back on your feet." He took his coffee mug and sat down at the table. "Theresa, if you're going to start over, you have to start at the beginning." "I don't understand what you mean," Theresa told him. "Come with me to Flagstaff," he requested. "You'll understand there. And your brother is really anxious to see you again." "Is he really?" "Trust me. I was a brother once myself." Theresa thought about what Al said. "Okay," she decided. "I'll go. But if I say we leave, we leave. Got it?" Al smiled. "If that's what you want." ****************************************** Sam had little to do. For the past few hours, he had spent his time worrying about Jeff's safety and about the code which his uncle had left in the encyclopedias. Sitting in the living room alone, Sam closed his eyes and searched his memory. Finding the code a moment later he recited the numbers aloud in an attempt to understand them. "Choosing your lottery numbers?" Al asked jokingly. He had heard Sam as he entered the Imaging Chamber. "The encyclopedia code," Sam told him with a slight glare as a response to Al's taunt. "No luck with that code, huh?" Al stated more than asked. Sam shook his head. "Maybe it really isn't a code. He could have just been in a hurry," Al told him. "Or the murderer could have done it." "Why?" Sam asked, hoping Al would explain. "I don't know. He might have been trying to cover up the murder, trying to make it look like a burglary." "Then why did someone go in and put them back in order?" "Good question, pal," Jeff told him as he came out of his bedroom. "Maybe I should've canceled my date. You're talking to yourself again." He straightened his tie. "Jennifer will be here any minute. How do I look?" "You look good," Sam told him. "And the table?" he indicated a table set with dishes and a candle. "Looks fine." "Looks romantic," Al commented, looking around. Jeff was looking at the clock. "Chris, you've got to get out of sight." "Sam, you can't leave the apartment," Al told him firmly, a reminding look in his eyes. "I'm not going to," Sam whispered back. "You're not going to?" Jeff asked, confused. "I'm not going to stay here and interrupt your date," Sam told him, covering himself. He turned his wheelchair and headed for his bedroom. "Thanks, Chris," Jeff said as the doorbell rang. Al didn't move, waiting for Jeff to open the door. "Wow!" Al and Jeff said simultaneously as they looked at Jennifer in her sleek dress. Al disappeared and then reappeared in Sam's room. "Sam, Jennifer's gorgeous! You should see her!" "I have seen her, Al. She's Jeff's and Chris' secretary." "I'd sure like a secretary like her," Al said, looking towards the door, He then looked at his watch. "I've got to go, Sam. I just wanted to know how you were doing." He checked the handlink. "Looks like everything will be okay until Monday. Just don't make waves, try to crack that code, and I'll see you tomorrow night." He opened the Imaging Chamber door and left. Meanwhile, Sam turned his attention completely to the code until he fell asleep several hours later. ------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 9 coming.... Kat Freymuth "Ohhh! Tina would look great without that on!" Al reviewing wedding shower gifts for Cheryl from "Camikazi Kid"