Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 13:03:15 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Theresa - Chapter 10 Message-ID: Chapter 10 Fourteen Hours and Counting 5:00 PM - Sunday, March 25, 1990 Manhattan Island, New York Sam worried about where Al was. He hadn't seen him in twenty-four hours. Fortunately, Sam didn't have to worry about either Jeff or him leaving the apartment. They both remained in the apartment, pouring over case files of which Sam had no knowledge with the exception of the Westworth case. By five o'clock, they had gone through twenty cases and both Sam and Jeff were exhausted. "How about we order some pizza?" Jeff suggested. "So long as they deliver," Sam told him. "I don't think I can gather the energy to go and get it." It also helped in protecting Jeff. "Mushrooms and green peppers, extra cheese, right?" Jeff asked. "What?" Sam asked. *Chris is a vegetarian*, he remembered. "Just cheese this time," he told him. Somehow the idea of mushrooms and green peppers didn't appeal to him at that moment. "Okay. Cheese, extra cheese," Jeff said as he picked up the phone and ordered the pizzas, his with everything on it. "It really doesn't look good for Westworth," Jeff told Sam as they waited for the pizzas. "It looks like the prosecution has enough evidence to convict him. That would mean prison time for him, you know." "Jeff," Sam spoke. "I have a terrible headache. Could we not talk about work?" Jeff smiled. "Okay, Chris." "How was your date last night?" Sam asked. "As if you wouldn't know!" Jeff teased. "We had a great time." He hesitated. "Tuesday I'm going to buy her a ring." "That's thoughtful," Sam answered. "I'm going to propose to her." Sam looked at Jeff. "So soon?" Jeff glared at him. "Chris, we've been going out for months now. I want to marry her, if she'll say yes." Sam smiled. "She will." "How do you know?" "I just have a feeling," Sam answered, remembering how they had looked at each other at the office. "Another one of your feeling?" Jeff questioned. "Have I been wrong yet?" Jeff laughed slightly. His laugh faded. He seemed suddenly remorse. Sam could tell that there was something on Jeff's mind. "What's wrong?" "We bury Uncle Joseph tomorrow morning," Jeff answered softly. "Mr. Richards took care of everything. Uncle Joseph was very clear in his will about how he wanted his funeral." "Mr. Richards?" Sam asked gently. "Uncle Joseph's lawyer," Jeff answered with a pause. "Then we have to meet with Westworth about his case tomorrow. And with Anderson about the bank fraud case..." "Jeff," Sam interrupted softly. "I'm sorry, Chris. It's just that...Damn it, Chris! Uncle Joseph was murdered! Both you and I know that and the police aren't doing anything about it!" "Neither have we told them about our suspicions," Sam pointed out. "Then, let's tell them," Jeff told him. "Tell them about the encyclopedias. They have to listen to us." "Okay," Sam answered, nodding his head. "Let's call them right now." Jeff shook his head. "Not now. We have to take it directly to Lieutenant Fulton and he works the mornings." "Then we'll go to the police station after the funeral, okay?" "Okay," Jeff replied. The doorbell rang. Jeff remained seated while Sam rolled himself to the door, opened it, paid for the pizzas and returned to the table with them. Sam took a slice of cheese pizza and ate it hungrily as Jeff sat motionless. He looked at Jeff with concern. "You're not going to make me eat all this pizza alone, are you?" he teased with a smile to get Jeff out of his reverie. Jeff smiled back. "You wish!" **************************** 9:00 AM - Wednesday, October 20, 1999 Flagstaff, Arizona Al moaned softly as he felt Michelle lean on him and kiss him. "Good morning," she told him quietly. He opened his eyes, smiled, and kissed her in return. "Good morning," he returned the greeting. "What time is it?" "Nine o'clock and I'm gonna be late for work if I don't get up. Have to be there in an hour and it's a twenty minute drive." Al yawned and sat up as Michelle got up. "Okay," he told her. "You'd better get in the shower." "Right," she started towards the bathroom but then stopped. "Do you have a ride into town?" Al shook his head. "I'll call a taxi. You wouldn't get to work on time driving me. Now, go on. You've already wasted five minutes." "Are you sure?" "I'm positive. Now, get going." "Okay. Listen," she told him. "Go ahead and shower here. Just be sure to lock the door when you leave." With that, she entered the bathroom. About twenty minutes later, she was dressed and ready for work. Al had just come out of the shower. Michelle kissed him firmly on the lips. "Here's my lock card. Just leave it in my mail box when you leave." "Gotcha," Al answered, taking the car from her while she put her purse over her shoulder. "And Al? Don't be such a stranger," she told him as she left. Al exhaled and smiled. Michelle sure was something. He placed the card on the bed and proceeded to dress. After he was dressed, he called a cab and left Michelle's apartment, locking the door and leaving the lock card in her mail box. He took the cab to Kevin's house and paid the driver. He rang the doorbell and patiently waited for the door to open. Theresa answered it. "Hi," he told her. "Hi," she answered. "May I come in?" She smiled. "Sure." Al smiled and entered the house to the greetings of Susan and Kevin. Janet was in the kitchen making some coffee for herself. "Good morning, Admiral," Kevin greeted. "Take a seat. Some coffee?" he offered. "Thank you," Al accepted. Kevin went into the kitchen to retrieve the coffee while Al sat down next to Theresa on the couch. "Theresa's been telling us so much about you," Susan told him. "All good, I hope," Al responded. Theresa laughed. She turned to Al. "Listen. Kevin's invited me back for Thanksgiving and I thought that I might stay a couple more days." Al smiled. "No problem." It was exactly what he was hoping for. Theresa was beginning to renew her ties with her family. "How long will you be in the city, Admiral?" Janet asked as she entered the room. She gave a cup of coffee to Al and sat with her own. "Thank you," Al told her as he took the mug. "Only a few more hours. There shouldn't be any problems today for flying." "What was wrong yesterday?" Theresa asked. "Kevin said there was something wrong with your plane?" Al smiled a bit. "Weather patterns," he told her. "There was a nasty storm between here and Albuquerque. Not exactly small plane flying weather." He turned to the others. "Actually, I came by to pick up Theresa but, since she has decided to stay for a few more days, I'll probably leave before two o'clock." As he said this, his eyes crossed over a bookcase directly above Susan. In the case was an old set of encyclopedias. Susan noticed the gaze, turned around, and looked over her head. "Oh. The encyclopedias. They were Janet's father's." "They've been in our family for years," Janet told him with some pride. "Printed in 1872." Al stood up and went to get a closer look at them. There were twenty-seven volumes. On each volume was a beautifully etched letter of the alphabet. The last volume was an index. "Of course!" he whispered with realization. "Why didn't I think of that before?" "Al?" Theresa asked, coming to his side. "What is it?" "Of course!" he exclaimed more loudly. He turned to Kevin. "May I use your phone? It's long distance," he warned. "I'll charge it to my card." "Certainly," Kevin answered, a little confused. Al quickly went to the nearest viewphone and dialed Tina's number. He got her answering machine. "Damn," he muttered to himself as he dialed another number. "Flagstaff Municipal. Maintenance Division," a man answered the call. "This is Admiral Calavicci. How soon can you have my plane ready for take off? It's parked in Hangar 3." "Did it need any repairs?" the man asked. "No, just prep." The man sighed, thinking. "We're pretty busy right now, thanks to last night's storm. It'll probably be ready in two or three hours." Al nodded his head. "Okay. Get to it as soon as possible. I'm going to be there in two hours and I must have it ready within an hour of arriving there." The man sighed again. "I'll see what I can do, Admiral." "Thank you," Al responded as he disconnected the line. "Your plane?" Theresa questioned. "Are you going back so soon?" She stood behind him. Al turned to her. "I have to. It's important." "How important?" "It could mean a man's life," he told her quietly. "Then I'm coming with you." Al shook his head. "There's nothing you can do. I wish I could tell you what this is all about but I can't." He hesitated. "I'm leaving in two hours. Let's just make the best of it, okay?" Theresa didn't want to drop the subject but, since Al wasn't going to talk, she had no choice. Instead, she went into the living room to tell the others that Al had to leave soon on important business. Al paid little attention to the conversation around him as his eyes moved from the set of encyclopedias to the wall clock nearby. Theresa noticed Al's gaze. There was something very important about those encyclopedias. ******************************** 1:30 PM - Same date - Flagstaff "What do you mean?" Al asked when he learned that the plane wasn't ready. "You have a big problem, Admiral," the mechanic told him. "What problem?" The mechanic took Al to his plane to look underneath. Al sighed in frustration at the sight. "An oil leak," he moaned. "Looks pretty bad," the mechanic told him, showing him the leak more closely. Al grimaced at the leak. "Yeah," Al agreed. "How long would it take to repair it?" "Two...three hours tops," the mechanic told him. Al huffed. "When's the next commercial flight to Albuquerque?" "I think that's tomorrow," the mechanic told him. Al took a breath. "Well, then, we'll just have to get this oil leak fixed." He took off his jacket and threw it into the plane. "Mind if I join you?" The mechanic smiled. "Hey, I'm the only one on this baby right now. Suit yourself." ******************** 11:00 PM - Sunday, March 26, 1990 Manhattan Island, New York Sam couldn't sleep. He sat in Chris' wheelchair, very much wishing Al would show up. *Where is he anyway?* Sam wondered. It wasn't like Al not to see him within twenty-four hours. "Still not asleep?" Jeff asked, entering Chris' bedroom. He looked Sam over. "Hell, you're not even dressed for bed! Is something wrong?" Sam hesitated. Should he tell him the truth? He decided he'd have to, especially since he had no idea where Al was. "Jeff," he finally said. "What if I told you that I knew the future?" "What do you mean?" "I mean..." Sam sighed. "Jeff, you're going to be murdered tomorrow." Jeff laughed slightly. "You can't be serious." "I am serious." Jeff stopped laughing. He frowned. "I think you're coming down with something. Or maybe you've had another episode. Let me take your temperature," he said, going towards the door. "My temperature is fine," Sam told him. "I'm not deranged by some illness. I just know you're going to be murdered." "Okay. By whom?" Sam lowered his head. "I don't know." Jeff shook his head. "Listen. It's been a rough weekend and tomorrow is going to be worse. So, if you don't mind, I want to get some sleep, okay? Just... go to sleep." With that, Jeff left the room. Sam really didn't expect Jeff to believe him. He had tried to tell others about their futures and no one believed him, not even his own family. It was just another fact for Sam to live with. ******************** 2:49 PM - Wednesday, October 20, 1999 Stallion's Gate, New Mexico Project Quantum Leap Complex "Medical team to the Waiting Room!" Dr. Beeks ordered. "On the double!" She gently kept Chris on the Waiting Room table as he convulsed violently. She couldn't hold him down for very much longer. "Ziggy?" she called out. "Yes, Dr. Beeks?" "Where the hell is Admiral Calavicci?" "The last I hears from him, he was in Flagstaff, Arizona, with Miss Brookner. He believed that such a trip would be beneficial to Miss Brookner." "Well, wherever he is, find him and get him back here," Verbina ordered as the medical team entered the Waiting Room. "I'm afraid that may not be possible. Admiral Cala..." "Just do it, Ziggy! I don't care how you do it! Just do it!" Verbina ordered as she helped the medical team treat Chris. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Want more? It's right after this chapter. Kat