Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters, except for the obvious ones. This story was simply written for the pleasure of it and no money was made from it.

Written by: Sylvie L.

Summary: When a young University student is found murdered, Rick and A.J. are on the case, but not all things are as they seem, which puts their lives in danger.

San Diego was in the middle of a heat wave. For three consecutive days, the temperature had climbed into the hundreds; Monday was no exception. On San Diego University’s campus, the students were trying to remain cool by any means possible. Two young men, wearing T-shirts and Bermuda shorts, were walking out of the Law Building. They walked down the multiple steps before heading towards student parking. As they reached a black corvette, the attractive blond-haired man suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Hey! I almost forgot that I have to do a few things at the library."

"How long are you going to be, Chris?" asked the other young man as he took off his glasses in order to replace them with his prescription sunglasses.

"I don’t know. Don’t wait, I will be able to get my books tomorrow. I am going to a Padres game tonight with Gabrielle anyway, I won’t have much time to study."

"O.K. ‘Cause I have a tennis lesson in half a hour. I got to go." replied Chris’s dark-haired friend as he got in and started his car.

"Thanks, Luke." Chris said as he started running out of the parking lot. "See you tomorrow, man." He waived goodbye as Luke drove away. After a few minutes, Chris approached his favorite building of the whole university, where he spent most of his time. The library had been his sanctuary for the past two years since he moved to San Diego. The pure uninterrupted silence of the building always made him able to concentrate on his reading of earlier recorded criminal cases. He had been fascinated about law since he watched his first Perry Mason television episode, so many years before. As he was about to open the library doors, something caught his attention. A somewhat corpulent man was standing a few meters away simply staring at him. It gave Chris the shivers. It wasn’t the first time he caught this stranger stalking him. Instead of once more ignoring this obnoxious man, Chris decided to finally confront him. As he advanced towards the mysterious man, Chris became more and more aggravated. ‘This idiot is simply standing there.’ He told himself. "Hey! Mister, what’s your problem?" Chris demanded.

"You." The stranger simply responded.

Chris became agitated. "Who are you and what do want? If you don’t comply, I may have to call security."

"You wouldn’t dare." Just when Chris was about to do exactly as he had threatened, the man suddenly grabbed Chris’s arm and pushed him towards the library’s brick wall, giving Chris a mild concussion. "Come with me, someone wants to see you."

‘Just my luck’ Gabrielle thought has she walked down San Diego streets. Of all the days she had been in San Diego, none had been this hot. After leaving her hotel room at the Ramada Inn, she had decided to leave her air-conditioned car rental and enjoy a nice walk unaware that the weather forecast was once again predicting a hot day, exceeding 100° degrees. "You just can’t trust them." she whispered to herself as she approached her destination. But that was the least of her problems, it had been 12 hours since she made her mind on what to do for Christian. Gabrielle knew very well that the police wouldn’t be able to accomplish much. There were so many missing people cases. She had to do something on her own, now, before it was too late. As she approached the main entrance of her targeted building, she wiped some perspiration off her forehead with a handkerchief. Gabrielle remained there at the entrance for several seconds. "God, please help them find Christian." she finally said before opening the door and entering.

As Gabrielle entered the lobby, she was forced to squint in order to get used to the lighting. The lobby was quite dark, only lit by a few small lamps. Once able to see, she approached the elevator, entered, closed its metallic gate, and pressed the 4^th floor button. The elevator was somewhat slow, which gave her enough time to check her appearance in her compact’s mirror. ‘God, I look like a red beet.’ she thought to herself as the elevator’s doors finally opened. Her nervousness increased as she approached door #410. Once Gabrielle finally found the courage, she knocked twice.

"Come in, it’s open." came the response from the other side of the door. She entered to see a tall, slightly attractive dark-haired man with a mustache standing next to an old wooden desk. Wearing a blue shirt, jeans, and a Cowboy hat, he smiled at her. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I am looking for Rick and A.J. Simon." Gabrielle responded as she slowly approached.

He smiled once more before answering. "You found them, … one of them anyway. I’m Rick Simon. Please take a seat." He gestured for her to take a seat in front the desk. She obliged. As he took his proper place in the chair behind his desk, he continued "My brother, A.J., went to get some coffee, our coffee machine broke down this morning. He won’t be long."

As Rick leaned back in his chair, Gabrielle decided it was time to introduce herself. "My name is Gabrielle Vanier. I would like to hire you and your brother."

Rick patiently listened as Gabrielle started to give him the intricate details of her dilemma.

Coming out of a coffeehouse and carrying two large Styrofoam cups of coffee in his hands, A.J. Simon cursed to himself. ‘Why is it me who has to get the lousy coffee and why not at a closer coffeehouse?’ he thought. A.J. sometimes wondered why he let his brother talk him into things. ‘Because Coffee King makes the best coffee in the whole city.’ Rick had promised. As A.J. juggled with the coffee and his car keys, he finally was able to open the door to his red Camaro. "Now, the trick is not to spill it in my car." he said aloud. When he was satisfied that the cups would not spill, he started the car and drove towards their office. As he walked into the building and approached the main elevator, he grumbled "This better be good coffee, Rick."

It wasn’t long before A.J. was finally able to open his office’s door, struggling to keep the coffee cups in his hands. As he walked into the office, he noticed that Rick was talking with a woman. She had her back to him. When both Rick and the mysterious woman noticed A.J.’s entrance, she turned around. The young attractive woman had shoulder length sandy blond hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a slimming navy blue suit. A.J. approached the desk and handed Rick, his coffee as his brother mumbled thanks. Then, A.J. turned to face the young woman: "Hi! I’m A.J. Simon. I see you met my brother."

Gabrielle smiled at A.J., noticing that he didn’t look at all like his brother. While Rick was a tall, dark-haired man with a mustache, A.J. had golden blond hair, and was of average height; he was definitely the looker of the family. Gabrielle also noticed that they definitely had different fashion tastes, A.J. was wearing a navy blue suit with a red tie, while Rick was stuck in the 19^th Century, dressed as a urban cowboy. ‘Considering the differences between them, it’s most surprising that they were able to find a common employment’ she thought but instead replied while offering her hand "Hi! I’m Gabrielle Vanier."

A.J. took her hand, and shook it. Before continuing the conversation, A.J. pulled a chair to the desk and sat down. "So, Ms. Vanier, what can we do for you?" As he waited for a reply, A.J. was finally able to sample this famous coffee. ‘Bah! Tasted better.’ he thought.

"As I told your brother, I would like to hire you both to find a missing person, Christian Matheson." she declared. Gabrielle pulled out a picture from her black purse. "This is a recent picture of him, taking about two months ago." She handed the picture to A.J., whom looked at it for a while before handed it to Rick. Gabrielle continued "He’s been missing from his dorm room for more than a day. Of course, I contacted the local police, but considering their case load, I am afraid that Chris is going to be forgotten." Her face showed a brief sign of grief, before she was able to compose herself. "He is a close friend. I am visiting him from Montreal. We were suppose to go to a Padres game the night before last but he never showed up. I just don’t know what could have happen to him."

Rick stirred in his chair, as he was about to ask a painful question. "Has his family been warned? Shouldn’t they be involved in this?"

Gabrielle lowered her head before answering "Chris’s family lives in Vermont. They are not very wealthy. The only reason why Chris came to San Diego was because he received a scholarship. I have been in constant contact with them. They’re arriving tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, they have a few things to wrap up before coming here. " Gabrielle gave a sigh. "I offered to help, Chris and I have been very close friends since we’ve been kids. My family has a house in Vermont where we spend our summers."

A.J. looked at his brother for several seconds. Rick gave him a slight nod of approval. A.J. then turned his attention back to their new client. "Ms Vanier, we…"

"Please call me Gabrielle." she interrupted.

A.J. smiled before continuing. "Gabrielle, we are going to need more information about Chris in order to help. Like the names of his friends, his favorite hangouts, his daily routine, and so on."

Gabrielle wasn’t able to hide her enthusiasm. She looked at both of them with a broad smile. "Does this mean you will take the case?"

"Yes." A.J. and Rick said in unison.

Driving through the streets of San Diego, both Rick and A.J. had a chance to think about their new case. Missing person cases were not always easy to solve. As A.J. said so many times before to previous clients ‘Sometimes people don’t want to be found.’ Unfortunately, their guts were telling them that in this case, it didn’t feel to be relevant. By what Gabrielle told them about Chris, he didn’t seem to be someone who would suddenly disappear without foul play involved. Either way, they will soon find out. Trying to remain cool in the excessive hot day, A.J. had pull down the window of Rick’s Power Wagon truck as he was staring at a piece of paper. "Take the next right. The university dorm is the white building. " He said without looking up. A.J. had been a student here many years ago, but he still could remember the campus layout by heart.

Walking through the dormitory corridors of San Diego University, A.J. was fiddling with the key that Gabrielle gave them. For once, they weren’t forced to pick any lock. Unfortunately, Chris didn't have any roommate, no one to tell Rick or A.J. about his emotional state the day he went missing. As soon as A.J. opened the door, Rick walked into the small dorm room. Never been to university himself, he could not imagine living in such a small room. Then again, he should know. ‘I live in a small boat in my brother’s backyard for crying out loud. How small can that be?’ he thought. Chris’s dorm room was by far very clean and in order, unlike his boat. ‘Those law students, … ’ Rick thought while looking at his brother who did study pre-law some years before ‘they are so neat.’ It didn’t look like anything was in disorder. Looking through Chris’s updated bankbook, Chris wasn’t exactly rich with only $25.15 in his account. ‘Looks as bad as mine.’ Rick contemplated as he put it back in the drawer. "Find anything suspicious yet, A.J.?" Rick asked as he looked through some papers on a desk.

"No. As you can well see, Chris was very organized. However, I don’t think it will be hard to find something amiss in this room." A.J. noticed a small closet in right corner of the room. "He sure wasn’t planning on going anywhere." A.J. stated as he looked through the clothes neatly hanging in his closet. Just then, a small white folded piece of paper fell down on the floor. ‘It must have come from a pocket.’ A.J. deduced. "Rick!" A.J. called out.

"What is it?"

As A.J. unfolded the mysterious piece of paper, Rick approached him. The paper revealed a telephone number: 555 - 3466. "Well, well, well. This is interesting." Rick pondered as he took the paper from A.J.’s hands. After about an hour of searching the room, the Simon brothers gave up their search. "Well, what are we going to do about this number? " Rick said as he closed the door behind them, heading towards the exit.

"If I remember correctly, there is a phone booth next to the south entrance of the Science building. I’ll call from there." As they approached the phone booth, A.J. took the piece of paper out of his pocket, he quickly dialed the number. Rick waited patiently next to the booth. It rang a couple of times before being answered. A simple greeting was said. "Hi!" A.J. cheerfully replied. "Who am I speaking with?"

"Roger Gillis. Who are you?" a male voice answered.

"I am sorry. Is this a personal home number?" A.J. asked.

"Yes, it is. I am only going to ask you once again, who are you?"

Feeling that he had no other choice, he complied. "My name is A.J. Simon. I was wondering if you could help me find a Christian Matheson. I was giving your number by a friend."

There was silence at the other end for a few seconds, before the man finally spoke. "I don’t know any Christian Matheson. You must have the wrong number."

Before A.J. could respond, he heard a dial tone. "He hung up on me." A.J. stated in disbelief as he placed the receiver back on the phone. "Well, at least he gave me is name, Roger Gillis."

Rick went to look for the phone book. The man had acted very suspiciously. Maybe it was time to pay a personal visit. "Well, this Roger Gillis must have a private number because it’s not in the book." Rick said as he put back the phone book.

"Maybe you should call your friend Laverne at the Phone Company."

"Great!" Rick said in annoyance. He was already running out of excuses not to call her. ‘Just great! I’ll never be able to avoid her for a month now.’ He thought to himself. Laverne was always ready to help out but she was a little too flaky, even for Rick. He looked at his watch. "She works the night shift. She’s still home now. I’ll have to call her later."

"Well, what do you say we pay a visit to Chris’s closest friend from school." A.J. asked as they both walked back to the Power Wagon.

"Let’s go."

At the next light, Rick followed A.J. directions. Gabrielle had given them the address of Chris’s closest friend living in San Diego; a young man named Luke Sanderson. They were classmates at the University of San Diego. Apparently, Luke was the last person to see Chris before he disappeared. "This is a pretty rich part of town. No student loans for this Luke Sanderson." Rick pondered as he drove his truck in the driveway of a large bricked house, probably 100 years old. As Rick got out of his truck, he decided to keep his sunglasses on. "I bet you 10 bucks that you could fry an egg on the pavement today." Rick told his brother.

Walking on Rick’s right side, A.J. simply gave his brother a bored look as they approached the house’s main entrance. A.J. took the initiative to ring the doorbell. A few seconds later, an older woman noticeably dressed in a uniform opened the door. "Yes." she simply said keeping the door only slightly open.

"Hi! I’m A.J. Simon, this is my brother, Rick." A.J. said as he pointed to Rick, who nodded to the woman in acknowledgement. A.J. then continued "We are private investigators. We would like to speak to Luke Sanderson."

The maid simply gave them a quizzical look before opening the door to let them in. "Wait here. I will tell Mr. Sanderson you are here." she said just before she left them in the large foyer.

Her absence gave the Simon brothers the chance to notice the twirling grand staircase. "This is definitively a rich part of town." Rick whispered to A.J. Just then, a young man dressed in a plain white shirt and black pants approached them. The young man was most likely in his early twenty’s, he had short black hair and brown eyes. He fixed his glasses before he spoke. "I am Luke Sanderson. Is this about Christian Matheson’s disappearance?"

"Yes, it is." Once again, A.J. introduced them. "We were told that you were the last person to see Mr. Matheson before he went missing. We were wondering if you help us in this case." A.J. continued.

"I told everything I know to the police." Luke stubbornly replied.

"We were wondering if you could tell us. My brother and I have a policy that, if possible, to hear the facts first hand. We would deeply appreciate your help, Mr. Sanderson." A.J. said hoping that would make Luke open up to them.

Luke gave a sigh before answering. "Come join me in the living room. We should be more comfortable there." Then, he turned his back to them and started to walk towards an even bigger room comprised of pastel colored furniture and two fireplaces. Rick and A.J. join him. "Do you want anything to drink?" Luke asked his guests.

"No, thank you." A.J. replied. Rick declined as well. A.J. sat down on a beige sofa, while Rick sat in a matching chair across from him. "So, Mr. Sanderson, could you please tell us what you told the police?" A.J. pursued.

Luke was sitting on A.J.’s right. He silently looked at both of them for several seconds before finally opening up. "Yes, I am the last one who saw Chris before his disappearance. We were in a class together ‘til 4:30 that day, we are both in pre-law. I had borrowed some of his books last week and wanted to returned them that day. Unfortunately, I had forgot them at home, so I offered to drive Chris here to retrieve them. Then, on my way back, I would have drop him off back at the university, but Chris told me that he had to go to the library. So, we put it off ‘til the next day. I left alone, leaving him at the parking lot. I couldn’t wait for him since I had tennis practice at 5:00 at my family’s private health resort." Luke gave another sigh. "I didn’t hear about his disappearance ‘til the following morning, Tuesday morning to be precise."

"Did you know that Chris was planning on going to a Padres game with a friend that night as well?" Rick asked.

"Yes. I bought him the tickets. He told me he was going with a childhood friend who is on vacation from Canada." Luke answered. "I only met her once. I believe her name is Gabrielle Vanier."

"Is there anything else you remember about that day that may seem odd or out of place?" Rick continued, as he crossed his legs at his ankles. "Anything that Chris did or said that seemed peculiar."

Luke put his hand to his chin before answering "Nothing, as I told the police."

"Was Chris ever in trouble at school or with fellow classmates?" A.J. inquired.

"Oh, no! He is a very popular and model guy. Ask anyone, he gets along with everyone." Luke replied. "He was voted captain in both of his basketball and soccer team."

After a few seconds of silence, A.J., coming to the conclusion that this was all the information that they were going to receive from Luke today, got up from the sofa. This action made both Rick and Luke do the same. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Sanderson. If you remember anything more, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Here is our business card." He said as he handed Luke one of his business card.

On a hunch, Rick and A.J. decided to talk to the university’s librarian. ‘Maybe he can pinpoint Chris’ destination that faithful night.’ They both thought and believed. Walking pass numerous students gave A.J. a sense of déjà vu. Going back to school and completing his law degree was definitively an option for him, but only once being a private investigator wasn’t able to spark his interest anymore. Of course, he wasn’t going to leave his brother on a limb neither. Even though his brother could frustrate him and push his buttons, he enjoyed Rick’s company.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Rick, curious to see a faint grin on A.J.’s face.

A.J. smiled at Rick. "Just brings back old memories."

"You know, we could had saved some precious time by coming here first before going all the way to rich ville and back." Rick stated.

A.J. nodded. "I know, but hindsight is always 20/20."

As they both approached the main desk of the library, Rick got the attention of a male worker with a nametag stating that the young man name’s was Eric. "Could you help us? We are looking for someone who worked last Monday afternoon."

"Let me check, I’ll be right back." Eric said before he left to join two other workers. Rick could tell they were talking about them, as he saw Eric gesturing at Rick and A.J.’s direction. It took about a minute before Eric came back. "Mr. Tate was the only one of our present staff working last Monday afternoon. I asked Julia to find him for you. It shouldn’t be any longer."

Thankfully Rick and A.J. didn’t have to wait too long. An older man, coming out of an office on the other side of the library, approached them. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?" he asked with a smile.

"Mr. Tate, my name is Rick Simon and this is my brother A.J. We were wondering if we could talk in private." Rick said.

Tate moved to the side in order for the Simon brother’s to walk side by side with him. "Sure, come to my office." When they were in the privacy of Tate’s small office, Tate took his proper seat behind the desk, while offering Rick and A.J. a seat as well. They obliged.

"Mr. Tate, we were under the impressions that you worked last Monday afternoon. Is that correct?" Rick inquired.

Mr. Tate once again smiled at them before answering. "Yes, that is correct. May I ask what I can do for you?"

"We are private detectives investigating the disappearance of a student named Christian Matheson. We were told that he may have gone to the library between 4:30 and 5:00 o’clock last Monday." A.J. stated as he crossed his legs.

"Oh! God, I didn’t know Chris was missing, I was out of town yesterday. I have been so busy since I came back that I haven’t had the chance to socialize yet." Tate said as he put his elbows on his desk, clearly in shock. "Unfortunately, I didn’t see Chris that day. I found it strange, he’s quite a regular, wanting to be a lawyer and all."

"Could there have been a chance that Chris was in without you knowing?" A.J. continued.

"Oh, no! Chris always said Hello to me. Besides he was waiting for a pre-law book that arrived that Monday. He was so looking forward to that book. I checked this morning, George Hubley’s book on the overlapping of politics and law is still on reserve for him."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Tate." Rick said as he got ready to leave. A.J. did the same as he shook Tate’s hand.

Driving back to Downtown San Diego, A.J. kept staring out the window. He was thinking about all the new information now in their hands. He couldn’t determine if any of it could help them find a clue as to Chris’s whereabouts. "Rick, is it me or is something not right with this whole case?"

Rick gave a quick quizzical look at his brother before returning his attention back to the road. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it almost looks like Chris simply vanished from the planet. No one seems to know what happened to him." A.J. gave out a sigh before continuing. "Let’s just hope that this Roger Gillis guy is hiding something and not simply another cold trail."

"Something happened to Christian Matheson and we are going to find out what that is." Rick announced. "Besides, Town is sure going to give us a hand."

As they approached the San Diego Police Department, Rick and A.J. reviewed all the information they had so far. It wasn’t much. As usual, they were able to get visitors passes before taking the elevator to Town’s office. A.J. followed Rick as he opened Lieutenant Marcel P., nicknamed Downtown, Brown’s office without knocking beforehand, walked in, and took a seat as they always did.

When he deduced who was interrupting his late lunch break, Brown looked up from his desk with an annoyed face "Will you guys ever learn to knock?" Lt. Brown was an attractive black bearded man , in his mid-thirties. With the purpose to annoy their friend even more, Rick got up from the leather sofa in Brown’s office and walked towards the door. He knocked. "Very funny, Rick. So what do I own this honor?" Brown said as Rick sat back down on the sofa.

"It’s about Christian Matheson’s disappearance." A.J. explained while sited in a chair directly in front of Town’s desk.

"Ah!" Brown said as he placed his empty plastic food plate in the garbage. "I hear a favor coming."

"You do know us so well, Town." Rick couldn’t help saying with a grin on his face. "Before we go on with the case, we were wondering if you could help us, maybe push us in the right direction."

‘They will never stop to amaze me.’ Town thought has he sipped the last drop of his drink. He had known the Simon brothers for a couple of years now. Even though they pushed his buttons more than once, he couldn’t help but consider them two of his closest friends. They had helped him in the past as much as he had helped them. Grinning to himself. "Listen guys, all I know about Matheson’s disappearance is that Lewis is handling the case. You should be bothering him instead of me."

"Great, not Lewis. Town, you know that we are not exactly talking to each other, especially after the Faith Connors’ case last month." Rick complained.

"Sorry, Rick. I can’t help you." Brown replied leaning back in his chair.

The silence in the office was interrupted by a knock on the door. "See, some people have respect and manners." Town whispered to Rick and A.J. "Come in" he said to the person outside the door. It was Sergeant Nixon, he was carrying a folder. "Thank you, Nixon." Brown said as he took the file and placed it on his desk. With that Nixon left and closed the door behind him

A.J. and Rick were simply staring at Brown across the room until Brown couldn’t handle their sulking anymore and finally gave in. "O.K., O.K." Both Rick and A.J. grinned knowing that they had won. "I’ll see what I can do, but you guys owe me a big one."

"What does two tickets to the new Wagner Opera sound?" A.J. asked. "I am sure that Temple would appreciate the gesture."

Reluctantly Brown agreed, even though he wasn’t found of opera, he knew that Temple loved Wagner. ‘Anything for my woman.’ He thought to himself. "Sure, it’s a deal. Now, get out of my office. Get out!"

Since it was getting quite late in the day, Rick had decided to drive home for some supper. His stomach was starting to growl out of hunger. ‘There is nothing more to do today.’ He told himself. Seeing A.J.’s impatience as he glanced at him, Rick could tell that his brother wouldn’t complain to a break. So far, their day had been quite exhausting. "You want to order some pizza." asked Rick as he kept his eyes on the road ahead.

A.J. smiled at himself for knowing his brother so well. "I have some leftover meatloaf from last night. I …"

"No way!" interrupted Rick with disgust. "No way am I eating your meatloaf!"

"Fine. Do what you want, but I am not going to spend money on supper when I have food in the fridge. Besides, that is why we are going to the house."

"Fine!" Rick replied. Unfortunately, he just remembered that he had used his last 10 bucks putting gas in the Power Wagon. ‘Damn!’ he told himself. Also knowing his brother so well, Rick knew that A.J. could easily be manipulated. Grinning, Rick turned around to face his brother. "Ah! A.J., … could I borrow some money?"

"NO!" came the response.

"Come on, A.J. I’ll pay you back."

"Oh! Yeah, just like the 35 dollars you already owe me." A.J. said as he spared an exasperated look at his brother.

"Come on, just add it on to my bill." Rick pleaded "Besides you owe me one, who served Mr. Watters his papers last week. Dogs included."

As Rick drove up in A.J.’s driveway, A.J. gave out a sigh and got out of his car. He didn’t like giving in to his brother, but he couldn’t help remembering the vicious dogs that welcome them at Watters’ residence. ‘God, I am going to regret this, as usual.’ He remained silent until he reached his house’s side door, keys in hand. He briefly looked at Rick who also remaining silent next to him. Once inside, he waited until Rick closed the door behind him. "No anchovies." He said giving Rick a twenty-dollar bill. "And, I want my change back!"

Rick couldn’t suppress his large smile. Taking the money, he quickly reached the phone and ordered pizza from his favorite pizzeria. After he hung up the phone, A.J. took it.

"Who are you calling?" asked Rick as he watched A.J. sit down on a kitchen stool dialing.

"Gabrielle." answered A.J. "I wanted to see how she is … Hello! Gabrielle. It’s A.J. ….No, we don’t have any new information. I was calling to see how you are doing. … Great. Just stay strong, we’ll find him." A.J. began to tap his fingers on the table as he spoke. "Listen, when Chris’s family arrives from Vermont, could you tell them that we would very much appreciate a few moments of their time? There are some important questions we would like ask. …… You have our number, right. … Good….. Yes, you have a good night sleep now. Goodnight."

"So, how is she doing?" Rick asked.

"Good enough, I guess. Like Scarlet O’Hara said ‘Tomorrow is another day.’"

Meanwhile, in a cheap, untidy apartment across town, a middle-aged, dark-haired, clean-shaven corpulent man was pacing across the room. Th same man that had stalk Chris Matheson that faithful day. He didn’t know what to do. ‘Something must be done before it’s too late.’ He thought. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. He quickly opened the door to reveal an older woman. He let her in. "It’s about time you arrive. I think they are on to us, Michelle."

Michelle, who was of average height with long dark hair and piercing dark eyes, simply slapped the man across his face. "Get a grip of yourself, Roger. Whoever ‘they’ are, they won’t find anything." She approached him. She suddenly was so close to him, that she could smell his breath. "Don’t you trust me."

"Er! Of course, I do." He whispered.

While smiling, Michelle walked past him. Roger closed the door and headed towards the living room window, staring out.

"So, who called you that made you so spooked?" asked Michelle as she joined Roger.

"This guy named A.J. Simon. I never heard of him before."

Michelle took a cigarette out of her pack and lit it. "Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that. Besides the deal is almost through, we don’t have to wait much longer." She turned around and headed towards to a chair. "Don’t you ever clean this mess up?" she asked as she was forced to remove some dirty laundry of the chair before seating in it. As Roger was starting to clean up the apartment, Michelle interrupted his work. "Not now, you fool!" she yelled. "It is too late, now. Besides, you won’t be staying here for much longer. Thanks to your stupidity, you’ll have to move somewhere else." She took the time to inhale a puff of her cigarette before continuing. "But don’t worry, I arranged everything." She smiled.

A.J. was woken up by some awfully loud noises coming from downstairs. Music was blaring from his sound system. ‘I am going to kill Rick’ A.J. thought to himself as he look at the clock next to his bed. It was 7:30 in the morning. A.J. grabbed his housecoat and went downstairs. A.J. had painstakingly saved enough money to afford his own house. It had a great view of a canal. ‘Hard work makes you appreciate it even more.’ He remembered his father had told him before he died in a car accident. Even though A.J. was very young when he’s father passed away, he could still remember those words like they were said yesterday.

As Rick noticed his groggy brother coming down the stairs, he waved "Good morning, little brother." He managed to say over the music.

"Why are you so cheery?" A.J. wondered as turned down the music.

"Like you said ‘Tomorrow is another day.’ I called Laverne, she was able to give me an address on that number of yours." Rick stopped as he took a sip of his coffee, while offering a cup to A.J. "It is from Embassy Apartments, right next to Wallis Street." Rick smiled. "At least, it is a lead."

"What did you have to offer to Laverne to get this information?"

Rick noticeably winced. "Don’t ask." He turned around and headed towards the dining room table with his breakfast. "But that is not all, I also asked Laverne to give me a list of Chris’s outgoing phone calls for the last month. It’s waiting for us at her desk. That will undoubtedly give us more information." Noticing that A.J. was simply standing in the kitchen. "I made enough for both of us. Help yourself." He offered as he dug into his own special omelet. "I am just happy that finally, we may have a lead, a concrete one." Rick managed to say between bites.

Still half asleep, A.J. was suddenly brutally awakened by the telephone ringing. It took a few seconds before he composed himself. "Hello!" he said as he sat down in a stool. "Yes…Great! I’ll bring it in later today. Thanks. Bye."

"Who was that?" Rick asked.

"Nothing important. I have to bring the Camaro to the garage. Unfortunaltely, after that long car chase we had last week, it needs some minor repairs. Ray had a few cancellations, he can fix my car today. Also, they have a courtesy car that is available."

"You don’t have to do that. I could drive you around." Rick offered as he got up from the table in the intention to get some more coffee.

"I know." A.J. said as he sipped the coffee that Rick had made for him. "Besides, they offered me the car. It’s the first time that they ever did, I’ll grab the chance." A.J. was about to go back upstairs in order to get dress, when the phone rang again. "Can you get that, Rick?" he asked as he climbed the stairs.

Noticing that A.J. had no intention of reneging on his words, Rick answered it. "Yo! … Towner. Anything new?" He asked just as he was taking a sip of his coffee. "What?" he coughed, almost choking on his drink. "When did they found him?" As he listened, he found a notepad and wrote everything down. "Any witnesses? …. Just our luck! I’ll tell A.J.." He wrote some more information down before giving Brown his thanks and hanging up. "A.J.!" Rick yelled to his brother. "Get your butt down here!"

Gabrielle was standing between Rick and A.J. as she waited to see Chris’s body, something that she wanted to do. She couldn’t believe that it could be him, she had to see him for herself. ‘My God, please make this a mistake, a horrible mistake.’ she said to herself. ‘His short life can’t be over, it can’t.’ The San Diego morgue was the most depressing place she had ever been in her whole life.

"How are you holding up?" Rick asked her as he placed an arm around her shoulders.

Gabrielle simply looked at the floor. "How am I going to explain this to his parents, if it is him? I don’t think I can." Looking at her watch, she gasped. "They will be here in less than 6 hours. What will I say?"

"You came this far, Gabrielle. You are stronger than you think." A.J. said lifting her chin up with his right hand while giving her a slight encouraging smile. "But if you don’t think you can handle it, we can try to explain everything to them."

As the coroner came towards them, Gabrielle knew she had to be strong. ‘If not for her sake, for Chris’s sake.’ Accompanied by Rick and A.J., she followed the coroner to a small white washed out room. There was a large window in it, with closed blinds on the other side. They directed her to the middle of the room directly facing the window.

"Are you ready, Ms. Vanier?" asked the coroner.

Gabrielle swallowed hard before nodding. The coroner approached the window and slightly gave it a knock. Just then, the blinds opened up to disclose a human body, a male human body. The man’s skin was of a blue-grey color. Once Gabrielle saw the facial features of the body – dirty blond hair, smooth skin now covered with bruises, she collapsed in tears. Both Rick and A.J. were forced to support her.

"No! No!… Noooooooo!" she shrieked as both Simon brothers were holding her up. ‘This is a nightmare.’ she thought. ‘This can’t be true.’ But it was, Chris, her childhood best friend, was dead at the age of twenty-one. Her reaction was enough for the coroner to demand that the blinds were closed once more. They had their definitive positive identification.

In order to calm Gabrielle down, Rick and A.J. both decided to remove her from the morgue. Instead, they brought her to their office for some privacy. All the way in the truck, she was silent, blindly staring at the truck’s floor. They decided to wait until they were inside before trying to console her.

Once inside their office, A.J. led Gabrielle towards their brown leather sofa. "Do you want something to drink, Gabrielle?" he asked. A simple nod was her response. "O.K., I’ll be right back." A.J. then left the office, leaving Gabrielle and Rick alone.

Rick simply sat next to Gabrielle trying to be supportive. He remained there silent for a few minutes. He had lost so many friends during his two tours in Vietnam, he knew how she was feeling right now. ‘All too well, all too well.’ he said to himself. "Do you want to talk about it?" he quietly asked. He knew it was never healthy to keep it all bundled inside. Once again, he knew that all too well.

It took several seconds before Gabrielle looked up at Rick. She shook her head before speaking "There nothing to talk about, he’s dead. Nothing will ever bring him back."

"You should let go of your grief. You’re not alone."

Gabrielle gave Rick a slight smile, understanding what he was trying to do. She appreciated the honesty of his words and of his blue eyes. Surprisingly, she had hired the two most caring private detectives in this entire city. She had always believed that caring private detectives was an oxymoron. ‘Was I ever wrong.’ she admitted. Before Gabrielle had a chance to reply, they were interrupted by A.J.’s return.

A.J. was carrying a large brown bag. He gently put it down on the coffee table, taking out three Styrofoam cups. Without speaking, A.J. place one cup in front of both of them before taking a seat in an adjacent chair holding his own cup.

"Thanks." Gabrielle said. "I appreciate all what you doing for me. I really do." She took a deep breath before going on. "The trip in the truck gave me a chance to think about Chris." Holding her cup of coffee, she acknowledged them both. "Promise me you two won’t give up now. I still want to find out what happened to Chris."

"I am afraid Gabrielle that Chris’s death is now a police matter." Rick painfully said. He could see the grief he was inflicting on her. It hurt his heart to see that beautiful and hopeless face staring at him.

"Hum,… I want to hire you to find out why Chris was found in that filthy alley. He was no drug addict. I want to know what drove him there." Gabrielle lifted a hand in protest, knowing what they were about to say. "I can pay you. My family has money. I am not going to let this go. Chris was my best friend."

A.J. stirred in his seat before replying, placing his hot cup of coffee back on the table. "What do you want us to do? We can only cooperate with the police. A possible homicide always goes to the top of their priority list."

"Do anything you can? I simply want to find out why Chris was murdered?"

Leaving Gabrielle at her hotel room all alone was not something that either Rick or A.J. felt comfortable with. Luckily, Temple Hill, a close friend of theirs who happened to be Brown’s steady girlfriend and one of San Diego’s most famous newscaster, volunteered. Also, Temple, a beautiful black woman, was available to pick up Chris’s parents at the airport. Gabrielle was definitively not in any state to drive. Once that delicate subject dealt with, Rick and A.J. were able to continue with their investigation with a clear conscience. They had made prior arrangements to meet with Brown at the Police Station.

"Shut the door, guys." Brown said as Rick and A.J. walked into his office, he didn’t want any other ears listening to their conversation. Leaning back in his chair and satisfied that his friends were properly seated, he continued. "O.K. what do you want to know?"

"First, what did you find out from Lewis?" Rick said as he took off his hat, passing his hand through his dark brown hair. He had deduced that the air-conditioner has broken down.

"Lewis simply gave me the main facts. The kid supposedly went to the library after class that day, but Lewis told me that the librarian doesn’t recall seeing him that afternoon or that night. Lewis also told me that a missing person was filed on Matheson around 9:00 o’clock last Monday night. More precisely, a woman named Gabrielle Vanier filed it. He also talked to a few of his friends and professors, they didn’t notice anything unusual that day; nothing that stands out anyway. If something was going on, Matheson didn’t let it on to his friends. All of them have alibis for the time of his disappearance. We are checking on them now as we speak." Town shifted in his seat, noticeably uncomfortable with the whole situation. "What do you have on this case?" he asked.

Rick and A.J. looked at each other for a brief second before Rick finally broke the silence. "Unfortunately, we don’t have anything new. What you told us is practically all we know."

A.J. simply gave a look at his brother when he noticed that Rick had purposely omitted to mention that they had a name and number to add to the investigation. Knowing very well that Rick wanted to keep this bit of information to himself for a while, A.J. couldn’t agree more. ‘Better find out if this Roger Gillis guy is involved first.’ He thought but said instead. "Town, who found Chris’s body?"

"Some indigent. He was about to steal Matheson’s shoes, when he noticed the blood." Town replied. Opening one of his desk drawers, he took out a file and handed it to A.J. "This is the preliminary file on the murder, and guys, we are most likely dealing with a homicide. Of course, we will have a better view of the whole situation once the coroner performs his autopsy later today. Unfortunately, he’s already pretty booked up."

As A.J. scanned through the file, Rick continued on with the conversation. "Do you have any clues as to what could have happened to Chris, or even any suspicions?"

"Most likely he met with someone. However, we don’t believe that Matheson was murdered in the alley. There are many things that show that he was most probably placed there. There was no sign of struggle at the scene or any blood splatters. Having multiple knife wounds should leave quite a mess. Unfortunately, there were no witnesses. " said Brown.

"The file says that Chris has a possible skull fracture. Do they know if it is pre-mortem?" A.J. interrupted as he gave Rick a chance to view the file as well.

"Like I said, we’ll know better when the coroner has a chance to perform an autopsy. Also, blood work will be done. We definitively want to know if the kid had anything in his blood, legal or otherwise." Brown stated as he wiped some perspiration off his forehead. ‘God, are they ever going to fix the stupid air-conditioner?’

"Thanks for your help, Town. We really appreciate it. We’ll keep in touch." Rick mentioned as he placed the file on Lt. Brown’s desk and got up.

As Rick and A.J. were about to leave the office, Brown stopped them. "If we are going to cooperate, I believe it would help me if I knew who hired you."

Rick and A.J. looked at each other for a brief second. It was A.J. who cleared his throat. "She is a family friend here on vacation from Montreal. She’s the one that filed the missing person case on Chris. Don’t worry, Rick and I adamantly believe she has nothing to do with Chris’s disappearance or his death. She is simply a grieving friend who wants to know what happened. Unfortunately, she isn’t able to help in this case. She doesn’t have anything new to add to this investigation. Oh! By the way before I forget, Chris’s parents are arriving today from Vermont. Temple will be picking them up."

"How did you get Temple involved?" Brown plaintively demanded.

"She wanted to help." Was Rick’s response as he quickly left with A.J. in his tow. Brown didn’t have a chance to press the matter, the Simon brothers were already gone.

Once outside of the Police Department and on their way to their respective cars, A.J. stopped Rick in his tracks. "Rick, I have to go bring my car to the garage. Listen, I’ll meet you at Gillis’ address as soon as I can. Whatever you do, do not go in by yourself, wait for me."

Rick gave his brother an annoyed look. "What am I supposed to do in the mean time?"

"Stake it out." A.J. simply responded as he got in his car and drove off, leaving no time for his older brother to protest.

The Muffler garage on Main Street was the only garage where A.J. brought his car. No one was more overprotective of his or her car as A.J. was to his. Rick often joked about A.J.’s obsessive behavior towards his car, as he called it so many times. Of course, compared to Rick, who treated his truck with the roughest hands in town, it is not surprising that Rick believed that. ‘It still surprises me that Rick manages to start that piece of rust every morning.’ A.J. though to himself. As he got out of his car, an older man approached him.

"May I help you?" he asked.

The man’s stitch-on named tag said Thompson. ‘Must be a new mechanic.’ He deduced. "Yes, I’m A.J. Simon. I have an appointment." He replied as he took off his dark brown suit coat and passed his hand in his slightly wet hair. This heat was becoming intolerable.

"Oh! yes, Mr. Simon. Could you bring your car to the second door over there?" Thompson said as he pointed to an already opened garage door. "Simply drive her in." he finished by saying as he left.

A.J. got back into his car and followed the mechanic’s instructions. Once satisfied of his parking job, he once again got out of the car and headed towards the main office of the garage. As he approached the desk, he automatically recognized the older balding man as Raymond Smith, the garage manager and owner. After all these years, Ray and A.J. had become very close friends. A.J. didn’t trust another mechanic. A.J. smiled when Smith looked up from his papers. "Ray, how are you doing?" he pleasantly said.

"A.J., couldn’t resist coming back? You should take better care of your car." Ray joked.

"Yeah, I know." A.J. said as he lowered his head for a brief second of guilt before continuing on. "So, you finally have a courtesy car for me after all these years."

"Yes, it’s not exactly a beauty like your Camaro, but I’m sure it will do under the circumstances." Ray said as got up from his desk and brought A.J. to the car. It was a white LeBaron. As A.J. got in, Ray gave the keys to his friend. "You be careful now with this car, A.J."

Surprisingly A.J. got a strange sensation, it didn’t feel like his friend was joking anymore. ‘It must the heat. It’s getting to my head.’ He thought. "I will."

"Your car should be ready either later today or tomorrow depending on the parts that have to be replaced." Ray finished by saying as A.J. gave a nod of acknowledgement before driving away. Smith, then, suddenly approached two persons waiting for him by the garage, a red-haired man of average height and Michelle, the same woman who met with Roger Gillis the previous day. "He doesn’t suspect a thing." He told Michelle.

"Good, your help is deeply appreciated. Don’t worry, your friend will be fine." She stated trying to falsely assure Smith. The last thing she needed now was trouble from him.

"I have done what you told me, contrary to my conscience. Now, I want you off my premises!" Ray demanded as he sidestepped them and went back to his desk. Without any further incidence, Michelle and her male aide slowly walked away.

"Ma’am, how did you know he was coming here, today?" the redheaded man asked as they approached a silver Mercedes-Benz.

"Simple, Thomas. It wasn’t hard to find out that A.J. Simon is a private investigator, the better half as I could see of a P.I. firm called Simon & Simon Investigations." She smiled as she got in the passenger side of the car. "I knew I recognized his name. Him and his brother were partly responsible for the arrest of an infamous jewel thief last week. For crying out loud, they were even on TV." As Thomas drove the car, she continued. "I remember him mentioning during his interview that he was glad that he was able to help the citizens of San Diego, even if it meant a few damages to his car. Isn’t he noble? Anyway, from there on, it wasn’t hard to pull a few strings last night to find out where he went for car repairs. He’s so obvious, he’s been going to the same garage for several years now. We were just plain lucky, Thomas. His friends are so easily manipulated."

"You are a genius, Ms. Wallace." He proudly said to his boss. "Do you think this Smith guy will tell on us?"

"Don’t worry, Thomas. He will not even confess it to his priest." Michelle had a devious grin on her face when turned to look at Thomas. "And A.J. Simon will never know what it him."

As Rick drove towards Roger Gillis’ address, he couldn’t feel but a little excited. Even though many aspects of this investigation were leading nowhere, he couldn’t help but feel that now things were starting to pick up. ‘Finally, a lead we can follow.’ He told himself one more time. Unfortunately, this new lead was too late for Chris. As Rick turned left at an intersection, he couldn’t help but think that there was something that someone could have done to prevent this awful tragedy. But, as A.J. had told him the other day ‘Hindsight is always 20/20.’

Rick had memorized Embassy Apartments’ address by heart before he left A.J.’s house this morning. His exceptional memory was one of his best gifts that made him such an excellent investigator. He had prided so much on his memory these last few years working with A.J. ‘Where was my memory in high school?’ he playfully questioned himself. But, he knew that during those difficult years, nothing could have help him. He had to finally come to terms with his father’s traumatic death. It took him two tours in Vietnam, a few months roaming the country on a Harley, and a couple of years working down in Mexico. Rick was simply glad that A.J. didn’t have to resort to such drastic measures to finally find his true self. Like any older sibling, Rick wanted the easiest road for A.J.. He didn’t want him to hurt as much as he had.

As he approached 3040, Palm Street, he decided to park diagonally to the main entrance of the apartment building. This allowed him to view any people entering and exiting the building while remaining completely clandestine. He didn’t know how long he was about or willing to wait. Proper procedure wants him to wait for backup. Deciding, he’ll give A.J. a few more minutes, he got his binoculars out. After waiting for half an hour without any incident, Rick was starting to get impatient. ‘Where the hell is A.J.?’ he asked himself. ‘What could be keeping him? I had the chance to get the phone call list and come back.’ Putting on his sunglasses, he decided he had waited long enough. He was going in, with or without A.J.. The list would wait. ‘For a punishment, I’ll let A.J. deal with Laverne.’

The apartment building’s security system was not exactly Fort Knox. The main doors had been broken in so many times that they were always partially open. After finding out Gillis’ apartment number, he started towards the stairs. ‘No way am I going to take the elevator in this dump. My luck, it will break down with me in it.’ He pondered. After going up a few flight of stairs, Rick walked down an awful off-white colored corridor. He approached door marked 305. After looking around the corridor for a few seconds making sure there were no nosy neighbors, he knocked. No response came. So, he knocked a second time. Once again, there was no response. Taking his burglar tools out of his coat’s right breast pocket, he was about to unlocked the door when he noticed that the door was left unlocked. ‘Strange’ he thought. As a precaution, Rick took out his gun before slowly opening the door. Suddenly, Rick was taking aback by awful smell coming from the apartment. "What a stench?" he said aloud lifting his coat to his nose, hoping not to breath in too much. Rick silently closed the door behind him as he quickly scanned the room. ‘It smells like week-old garbage.’ He thougth as he walked towards the bedroom. As soon as he walked in, he noticed a human body lying on the floor covered in excessive dry blood. Quickly putting his gun back in its holster, he advanced towards the obviously dead man. Rick needed some sort of way to I.D. the body. So, he carefully took the man’s wallet of his bloodstained jeans. As Rick opened up the wallet with one of his handkerchief, he groaned. The clear I.D. stated that the man was Roger Gillis. "What the hell have we stubble on?" he asked.

Carefully walking towards a night table, Rick picked up the phone and dialed the Police Department. "Town! I just found a dead body in the Embassy Apartments, apartment 305. Come quickly and bring homicide with you.?"

"What?" was his friend’s automatic response. Town, as he leaned forward in his office’s chair, continued. "What are you doing the way over there?"

"I’ll explain it later. Just hurry up!" With that Rick hung up the phone and took this opportunity to search the apartment before the police arrived.

After searching the room for several minutes, Rick gave up on finding any clues. Unlike Chris’s dorm room, this apartment was a pigsty. He couldn’t differentiate between what was important or simple crap. Suddenly, two police officers kicked the apartment door open. "Freeze!" one of them said pointing his gun at Rick’s direction.

"Calm down. I am the one who called you. I am a private investigator." Rick started to explain. He was starting to get annoyed.

Two other men appeared at the doorway, the one with the glasses, Rick recognized as Lt. Hudson – a homicide detective, while the other one was his good pal, Lt. Brown. "Where the body, Simon?" Hudson asked clearly not in a good mood.

"In the bedroom." Rick responded as he approached Brown.

Hudson, accompanied by the two officers, entered the bedroom. It gave the chance for Brown to finally get some answers. Taking by surprise to see Rick without his perpetual companion. "Where’s A.J.?" he asked.

"He was supposed to join me here. I haven’t seem him. God only knows where he is?" Rick wanted to show annoyance, but Brown could detect that Rick was getting worried.

"Rick, what the hell are you doing here?"

"You have some explaining to do, Simon?" Hudson agreed, as he came out of the bedroom with one of his officers. "O’Neil, go tell forensics that I want them here STAT." The young officer simply nodded as he headed out the door. "Come on, I waiting for an answer and I don’t have all day." Hudson was clearly getting impatient.

"A.J. and I are investigating the disappearance and murder of Christian Matheson. One of our leads was this dead guy, Roger Gillis. We found is telephone number at Chris’ dorm room. A.J. called Gillis yesterday afternoon, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to investigate sooner due to the discovery of Chris’s body. A.J. was supposed to meet me here, but I couldn’t wait so I entered alone. The door was already unlocked, that’s when I found the body." Rick explained.

"Well, this guy has been dead for about 24 hours. Of course, that is a guess. With this heat wave, the body’s decomposition is automatically sped up." Hudson said as he looked around the apartment. "Simon, did you touch anything?"

"No." Rick lied knowing very well that his snooping may have disturbed the crime scene, but that was the least of his problems. He still didn’t have any solid leads besides knowing that Gillis was definitely involved with Chris’ disappearance and possibly his murder. His death was unquestionably no coincidence.

"Rick, you are going to have to give a statement." Brown mentioned.

"Great, another waste of my time." Rick muttered under his breath as he gave a slight nod.

"If you don’t have anything to add, I would appreciate if you left. There is enough contamination of the crime scene as it is." Hudson as he headed back to the bedroom.

When Rick and Brown set foot in the corridor, several people of the crime unit arrived with another homicide detective, Dave Jones, Hudson’s partner. They didn’t acknowledge Rick or Brown as they entered apartment 305.

Outside Embassy Apartments, just as Rick was about to open his truck’s door, Brown stopped him. He wanted some more answers. "Rick," he said. "Why didn’t you tell me about this Gillis guy?"

Rick was definitely uncomfortable with the whole situation. "Look, Town. A.J. and I didn’t think it was important that you know at the time. Frankly, we were a little skeptic about this lead." As he put his sunglasses back on, he continued coming clean. "We have a list of outgoing calls from Chris’ room, but you probably already have a copy of that somewhere. Now, you know everything we know."

"Just don’t do it again. I hate been excluded."

Rick smiled, as he understood that Town was no longer mad at them, if he was at all. Suddenly a speeding police car approached, it stopped only a few meters away from them. Nixon came out clearly excited about something.

"Nixon, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at that car accident?" Brown asked, obviously annoyed.

Brown’s comments had sparked Rick’s curiosity. "What car accident?" he asked.

"That’s why I am here, lieutenant." Nixon simply said. "I am glad I found you too Rick."

Rick was obviously getting nervous. ‘What the hell was Nixon saying?’ Rick glimpse at Brown’s direction, noticing that his friend was also disturbed by Nixon’s attitude. "What’s wrong?" Rick said after a few seconds of dreaded silence.

"I just found out who was driving the white LeBaron in that crash four blocks from here." Nixon said as he slowly approached Rick. "I’m sorry Rick, it was A.J. It’s pretty serious."

Brown had to support Rick, as he semi-collapsed by his truck, he felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. He could hardly breathe. "No, this is not real." Rick managed to whisper. Suddenly, he violently let go of Brown. Rick’s face twisted in anger. "Which hospital?" he asked in rage. Noticing his friend’s anguish, Brown took Rick’s arm. "Which hospital?" Rick yelled snatching his arm away. ‘I don’t have time for this crap. I gotta be by A.J.’s side.’ He thought.

"Memorial Hospital." Nixon said.

As soon as Nixon had utter the hospital’s name, Rick opened his truck’s door. But, Brown stopped him. "Let me drive, Rick. Please!" He had to stare into Rick’s distressed blue eyes for several seconds before his friend silently relinquished by giving Brown his keys. Rick ran towards the passenger door as Brown got in and started the Power Wagon.

The drive to the hospital seemed like an eternity for Rick. It was quasi unbearable. A.J. had been hurt before, but never seriously. He was mad at himself for not being there to help his brother. Since as long as he could remember, he had always felt the need to protect his little brother. Being fatherless for the major part of his childhood, Rick had naturally took the father role in A.J.’s life. Rick had been and still was someone for A.J. to look up to, someone to show him his mistakes, and to help A.J. through his sorrows. Now A.J. was deeply hurt and nothing that Rick could have done would have prevented it. He felt helpless. "Oh! God. Mom!" Rick distressfully uttered.

"Don’t worry, I’ll call her." Brown said in an effort to comfort his friend. He could only imagine what Rick was going through. One thing he knew was that Rick was probably feeling guilty, even if there was no reason why he should. Having known the brothers for a long time now, Brown always saw the closeness that they shared. In fact, Brown often envied their relationship. Having himself many siblings, he knew that he would never experience a relationship with any of them that compared to what the Simon brothers shared.

"Can you drive any faster?" pleaded Rick as he nervously played with his hat.

"Don’t worry. We’re almost there."

As they entered the Emergency atrium, Rick directly went to the desk. A middle-aged woman looked up at him. "May I help you, sir?" she asked.

"Yes, I am looking for my brother. He was just brought in, he’s name is A.J. Simon."

"Andrew Jackson Simon?"

"Yes, that’s my brother. Where is he?" Rick demanded.

The desk clerk must have detected Rick’s hostility because her smile simply dissolved. Instead, she simply stated. "I’m sorry, sir. He is in surgery right now. You’ll have to wait."

"Listen, lady." Rick had no time to fool around. "I want to see my brother. Now!" He threatened as he lean on her desk.

"Mr. Simon, I’ll have to call security if you don’t take a seat. When I know more information, I’ll let you know." She sternly replied.

Seeing Rick clearly on the edge, Brown intervened. "Come on, Rick. Let’s do what she says." He slowly helped Rick towards a seat. As Brown sat down, he continued. "I called your mother. There was no answer. She’s either on her way or she still doesn’t know. I sure wasn’t going to leave a message on her answering machine. If she doesn’t arrive, I’ll try again later."

Rick lowered his head as he concealed his face in his hands. His patience was running thin. "Do you know what happened?" He murmured.

"The gas tank on the car that A.J. was driving, as told by witnesses, suddenly blew up. The car spin around propelled by the explosion until it smashed into a telephone pole." Brown wasn’t comfortable given the details of the accident, but continued on for Rick’s sake. "It was a pretty devastating accident. I’m sorry, Rick. That’s all I know. I got the call seconds before you called me. If I had known that it was A.J., I would have told you. " Noticing Rick eerie silence, he went on. "The thing that bothers me the most is why was A.J. driving a white LeBaron."

Rick finally looked up at Brown before answering. Brown could tell that Rick had been crying. "A.J. was driving a courtesy car. His Camaro is in a garage."

"Before you ask, I don’t know what caused the explosion. What I do know is that there was no collision with any other car." Brown concluded. Finally, it was told. Silence occupied the room for several minutes. "I’ll try your mother again." Brown stated as he got up.

Just as he was about to dial, Cecilia Simon walked into Emergency. She was alone, clearly in shock. When Rick noticed her entrance, he quickly got up and held her in his arms. They remained there in each other’s arms for several seconds before they finally let go. "Rick, what happened to my baby?" she silently asked through sobs.

"He was in a car explosion." Rick managed to say as he tried to remain calm for his mother’s sake. It was an effort. "All I know is that he’s in surgery."

"How badly injured is he?"

Taking his mother towards the waiting area and making her sit down, he answered her pleading question. "I don’t know, Mom."

As Brown slowly joined them, Cecilia looked at him with a smile. "Thank you for being here, Lieutenant. I really appreciate it."

"I’ll do anything for you and your sons, Mrs. Simon."

After nearly three hours of wait, a surgeon finally entered the waiting room. Brown, Rick, and Cecilia all got up from their respective chairs as the surgeon approached them. "Mrs. Simon? I am Dr. Walters. I operated on your son." he asked.

"Yes. I’m A.J. Simon’s mother. This is my older son, Rick and a family friend Lt. Brown." She said as she introduced them. "How is my son, doctor?"

Dr. Walters wiped the sweat from his forehead as answered. "Well, your son will definitively recover from his injuries." With a sigh of relief, Cecilia smiled as she hugged Rick. "However Mrs. Simon, A.J. has sustained numerous extensive injuries that will need a lot of time to properly heal."

"What is the extent of his injuries?" Rick inquired.

"Well Mr. Simon, your brother has a head injury. He also has second degree burns on his arms and on his lower back. He was extremely lucky that he was removed from the car so quickly. Fortunately, if properly healed, his scaring should be minimal. A.J. is also suffering some internal injuries. He has a few broken ribs and a bruised left kidney. Unfortunately, his spleen was so severely damaged that we had to remove it. But do not worry, this will have no effect on A.J. lifestyle. The spleen is like the appendix; you can live a full life without it. Due to the severity of the crash, A.J. also has a broken left tibia, and a broken pelvic bone. As you can deduce, A.J. has suffered most of his injuries on the left side of his body. This is where he undoubtedly crashed into the pole. Since A.J. is allergic to penicillin, we are treating him with codeine. We were also forced to give him blood transfusions."

After recovering from the shock of A.J. injuries, Rick asked the surgeon the one question that he wanted to ask from the beginning. "Can we see him?"

"A.J. is presently still under the effects of the anesthesia. We have him in ICU." Giving them a smile, the doctor added. "But you can still see him, one at a time and only for a very short time. A.J. desperately needs his rest. Please, follow me." They did.

Through the glass, A.J. looked white as a ghost. He had a large bandage on his head allowing only some his blond locks to show. His heavily bandaged left leg was lifted in order to heal properly. His arms were wrapped in gauze to prevent infections. It was decided that Cecilia should be the first to go and see him. As she walked in with a protective gown and mask on, Brown told Rick that he couldn’t stay, stating that he would learn more information on A.J.’s accident. Cecilia had never seen her son in such an awful condition before. Still, he looked so peaceful under the circumstances. As she gently brushed his pale cheek, she couldn’t stop thinking about what had almost happened. Just like her husband Jack, she could have lost her younger son in a car accident. She wasn’t sure if she could have ever managed to handle that much pain a second time. Luckily, it wasn’t to be.

Outside in a beautiful private garden, an older, slightly overweight man seated as he waited for his visitor to arrive. The man had a silver mustache, which match his balding head. As he sipped his martini, he noticed a woman approaching. It took another minute or two before she finally reached him. "Mr. Cabriani, you wanted to see me?" Michelle asked as she took a seat at the patio table.

"Ms. Wallace, it is good that you came so quickly. We have a small problem. This Simon guy that you were supposed to take care of is still alive." He simply stated.

"But that is not possible, the bomb should have completely destroyed the car."

As Cabriani poured himself another martini, he continued. "It is possible. I heard it on the news, just five minutes ago. They said that he was in surgery but most likely to make it. Now, Ms. Wallace, how can that be?"

"Thomas will pay for this." She threatened.

"No, Ms. Wallace. I wanted you to take care of the situation. You are responsible." Cabriani reconfirmed. "In order to make sure that this deal doesn’t fall through because of your stupid mistake, I want you to push for the deal to be forwarded to Saturday instead of next Monday."

"But, sir." Michelle protested. "Oliver will never stand for a rush deal."

"That is not my problem, is it?"

Finally realizing that Cabriani had made up his mind, she begrudgingly agreed. "No, Mr. Cabriani, it is not your problem."

Slowly strolling at the San Diego University campus, Michelle paid no attention to any passer-byes, but still made sure that she wasn’t followed. She had a mission to do, and nothing was going to stop her. She knew that Olivier would be mad, but it had to be done. If the drugs have to be moved a few days early, so be it. As she approached the library, she put out the cigarette that she was smoking.

Inside the library, she directly towards one of the offices and entered without bothering to knock. The man behind the desk was surprised to see her.

"What the hell are you doing here? Somebody could have followed you?" Oliver Tate demanded clearly annoyed about her carelessness.

"Don’t worry, the police don’t suspect a thing about our relationship and they never will. Besides, this can’t wait." She said as she sat down. "Mr. Cabriani wants the deal to be pushed forward to this Saturday."

Tate face was contorted in shock. "It won’t be safe to do so soon. You know very well that the feds are at Mr. Cabriani’s back. If they find about me!"

"Don’t worry so much."

"Hey, listen to me! I had two private dicks talking to me yesterday. All I need know is the police or even worst the FBI." Tate angrily stated as he got up from his chair.

Michelle was clearly taking by surprise. "Don’t tell me that these P.I.’s were Rick and A.J. Simon?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

Michelle smiled as she answered. "They won’t be bothering us in the near future."

"Like you took care of Chris Matheson."

"Listen, let’s get back to business." Michelle was starting to get impatient. "The drugs are going to have to be transported earlier. You think that you can carefully deliver the merchandise without causing any attention."

Tate sighed. "Has usual, I am going to have to modify the purchase receipt. Also, I’ll have to explain to the main administrator that the books have arrived earlier than planned. But, I am sure that it can be done."

"Good. I knew I could trust you. Mr. Cabriani will be very pleased."

Through a favor, Brown was able to get his hands on the outgoing phone call list that Rick mentioned before they had headed for the hospital. Knowing how much this case was affecting his friends, he decided that he had to help. Also, he had all the men that he could muster investigating the car explosion. As he looked through the list in his office, nothing jumped up to grab his attention at first. In the past month, Chris Matheson had made mostly local phone calls with a few to his parents in Vermont. Most were to school friends while one was to the university library. Knowing that Chris was a bookworm, Brown didn’t think it was important but it needed investigation nonetheless. As he went down the list, there was one phone number that took him by surprise. He suddenly got up and headed towards his door. "Nixon, come in here!" he yelled. As ordered, Sergeant Nixon entered Brown’s office. "Seat down."

"What is it lieutenant?" Nixon asked as he took a seat.

"Did you know that Chris Matheson called the police department two days before he disappeared?"

"I don’t remember, sir. It is possible."

Brown started to get annoyed; did he have to think of everything? "Why don’t you check your records?" As told, Nixon went to office desk for several minutes before coming back with a file folder in his hands. "What is this?" Downtown Brown asked as he was handed the file.

"The file on Chris Matheson." replied Nixon.

Looking through the file, Brown noticed something strange. "Why wasn’t this case pursued?"

"Sir, Matheson changed his mind. He believed he could handle it himself." Noticing Brown’s protesting reaction, Nixon answered his boss’s unspoken question. "I told him of the dangers. He didn’t want to listen. He said that he had made a mistake. He just simply didn’t think of all the paper work to had to be completing in a stalking case."

"He believe someone was stalking him?"

"Yes, sir. But he never gave me all the information I needed to complete the file."

"Why didn’t you send him to me? I could have persuaded him." Brown said clearly fed up as he threw the file on his desk. "We could have saved his life."

"Sir, we don’t have any proof that this is related to either is disappearance or his death. Besides, you weren’t in your office at the time."

Brown slowly sat down in his chair. "I’m sorry, Nixon." He apologized. "This case is really getting under my skin. I just know that it is somehow related to A.J.’s so-called accident. I can’t stand it not having all the pieces of the puzzle."

The room was filled with silence for a few awkward minutes. "What do you want me to do, lieutenant?" Nixon asked.

Brown had to think for a few seconds. He wasn’t sure what to do next. "Find out if the university security knew about these stalking incidents? I want to have proof that they occurred on campus. Give me all the new information on A.J.’s accident. Most importantly, what caused the explosion? Re-interview Chris’ friends and find out when the autopsy results will be in. I’ll be back in a two hours. I want all this information on my desk when I come back." Brown stated. Without a word, Nixon left; he had a lot of work to do.

Seating next to a sleeping A.J., Rick couldn’t help but think about what he would do when he met the people responsible for his brother’s accident. ‘Revenge would be so sweet’, he thought. A.J. hadn’t woken up from surgery yet. Even though the doctors assured them it was completely natural for a patient to sleep several hours after a major operation, Rick couldn’t help but feel anxious. He wanted to reassure his brother and consequently himself that everything would be all right. Rick looked at his watch knowing that the nurse would be in a few minutes to ask for him to leave and join his mother. Rick started to daydream about childhood memories when suddenly he heard a moan. Looking at his brother anxiously, he waited for another sign of consciousness. A few seconds later, his wish was materializing. A.J. was finally waking up. A.J. blinked his eyes a few times before been able to keep them slightly open. "Hi!" Rick simply said as he got up to be closer.

"Rick?" A.J. barely whispered.

It took a few seconds before Rick managed to understand A.J.’s words. His voice was so weak. "Yes, it’s me." He answered as he gave A.J. one of his famous smiles.

A.J. tried to smile back. "Where am I?"

"You are at the hospital. You had a car accident." Rick had made the decision not to give too many details about the accident or to asked any questions. He simply wanted to spend some time with his brother. "Don’t worry, you’ll be good as new soon."

"God, my head hurts." A.J. stated as he slowly lifted his hand towards his head.

"You got pretty banged up, but you’ll be fine." Rick assured him.

Suddenly a nurse entered the ICU room, as Rick looked at his watch, he noticed that she was on time. "Excuse me but Mr. Simon needs his rest. You’ll be able to come back later." She said as she checked A.J.’s chart.

Placing his hand on A.J.’s forearm careful not to touch his bandages, he smiled at his brother. "A.J., Mom will be in later to see you. Now, let this beautiful nurse take care of you." The nurse couldn’t help but smile at Rick’s comments. Just as Rick was about to leave, A.J. called him back.

"Rick, will you be back soon?." A.J. softly pleaded.

"You bet."

Cecilia Simon was seating at the cafeteria table. After all the commotion, she had forgotten to eat supper. Rick had somewhat ordered her to get something to eat. Instead of food, she had decided to settle on a cup of coffee. She still wasn’t hungry. As she finished her cup, she noticed that her older son was approaching. ‘God, he looks as bad as I do.’ She thought. She always knew that Rick and A.J. had a special bond that even she could never break. Rick was taking the whole incident as badly as she was. Luckily, there was light at the end of the tunnel. A.J. was going to make it. When Rick reached her table, he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "How’s your brother doing?" she asked.

Rick gave her a broad smile as he sat down beside her. "He finally woke up. I got a chance to talk to him."

Cecilia was ecstatic as she smiled back at Rick. "That’s the best news I heard all day." She leaned on the table to be closer to Rick as she continued. "What did he say?"

"Nothing important. He recognized me and asked me what happened." Rick gave a sigh. "The nurse interrupted our conversation. A.J. is going to make it, Mom but I know for a fact that it’s going to be a long healing process."

"I know. He’s not going to like it, but he will be pampered."

"When isn’t he, Mom?" Rick joked. Cecilia simply gave her son a warm smile. Suddenly, his mother was distracted by something behind him. As Rick turned in his chair, he noticed Brown’s entrance into the cafeteria. When his friend was close enough to hear, Rick said, "What are you doing here, Town?"

"How is A.J.?" were Brown’s first uttered words.

It was Cecilia that answered. "Better. He’s going to make it. Rick had a chance to talk to him."

Brown gave them a smile. Finally some good news to go around. "Great. That is so nice to hear." As he turned his attention towards Rick. "Rick, I need your help with something."

Rick gave Brown a curious look. "What is it, Towner? Does it have to do with A.J.?"

Brown nodded. "I need you to finish your investigation into Matheson’s death. I have some new information that I want to share with you."

Rick was about to shake his head when his mother intervened. "Rick, A.J. will be fine. He would want you to finish what you both started. His accident is most definitively linked with this whole mess. I’ll stay with A.J., you go." She said, clearly wanting Rick to get a change of scene.

"Mom, I can’t let you stay here by yourself. You look as exhausted as I feel, besides you…"

"Rick, I called Bud and Edie. They will be here in a few minutes. I won’t be alone." Cecilia interrupted. She didn’t want her son to worry about her as well. He had enough on his plate. "Besides it’s about time that you practice your own medicine. You need to eat something." Silently and quietly, after giving his mother a goodbye kiss, Rick agreed as he left the hospital with Brown in tow.

After filling Rick in, Brown’s first place of investigation was the university’s library. He wanted to find out the identity of this mysterious person that Matheson called on the eve of his disappearance. As they approached the library, Brown couldn’t help but feel that this new bit of information was vital to the investigation. At this part of the game, he was getting desperate. Glancing at Rick, he knew that his friend at come to the same conclusion.

"A.J. and I already came here to see a guy named Tate. It didn’t seemed like he had to hide something, but these days who knows." Rick mentioned as they walked through the automatic doors.

When they both reached the main desk, Rick noticed the young man that him and his brother had talked to the other day. He remembered his name to be Eric. "Eric!" he started. "We’ll like to talk to you." The young man looked perplexed at first before finally recognizing Rick.

"Hi! Are you here to see Mr. Tate again?" the young man asked.

"It depends." Rick answered. "To which person does this phone number belong to?" He asked as he gave Eric a chance to glance at the number.

"No. This doesn’t belong to Mr. Tate." Eric stated as he looked back up. "It’s Mr. Adams’ number. He is the library administrator. You know, the big boss."

‘Why would Chris call Adams?’ Brown wondered. "Is Mr. Adams in today?"

In the other side of the library, Tate looked upon Rick and his new friend. ‘What the hell is he doing back here? I knew that Michelle was pushing to hard. They are after us, there is no other explanation.’ He pondered as he entered his office.

Oblivious to the commotion behind Rick and Brown, Eric answered the question. "Yes. Do you want to see him?"

"Right now would be a great time." Brown stated as he showed his badge. Eric didn’t say another word, instead he quickly left in search of Adams. They had to wait a few minutes before Eric came back with an older graying man. At first, they had both thought that the badge had scared Eric away.

"Will you two join me in my office, please?" Adams said as he directed them towards a glassed-in office. When they were inside, Adams closed his blinds before seating down. "Who are you?"

Showing his badge once more, Brown introduced himself. "I am Lieutenant Brown from the San Diego P.D." Rick also presented himself before Brown proceeded with the interrogation. "We are investigating one of your students’ disappearance and most likely murder, Chris Matheson to be more precise. We came upon some information that Chris called you the night before he disappeared. We would like to know why?"

"I was contemplating on whether I should call you or not. Frankly I was and still am scared about this whole incidence." Adams leaned back in his expensive leather chair. "You see Chris was a bookworm, he loved reading. He wanted to be a great lawyer, which I knew he would have become." Adams allowed himself to smile for a brief moment. With Chris’s death suddenly sneaking back into his thoughts, he became once again sorrowful. "He called me that night because he wanted me to see some sort of book. He said it was related to the new books ordered from Guildson’s publishing. I had no idea what he was talking about. He told me that he would bring me one of the books in the next day." Adams visibly shuttered. "I fear that this whole business has to do with his death."

Rick and Brown were stunned for a few seconds. ‘Finally, a solid lead.’ They both thought. "Who does your book buying?" Rick asked.

"Mr. Oliver Tate, one of his job descriptions is the purchase of new releases, among other ones of course." Adams stated.

Both Rick and Brown looked at each other in disbelief. This whole mess was getting more complicated as it went on. "Is Tate in his office today?" Brown asked as both he and Rick got up, knowing that they had no more minute to spare.

"Yes. He should be in his office." Adams mentioned.

"Thank you, sir. We appreciate your help and we’ll keep in touch." Rick said. With that, they exited Adams’ office. They had a new person to interrogate. With no intention of creating a scene, they slowly walked towards Tate’s office. It was about time he gave them straight answers. Without knocking, Rick, followed by Brown, entered the office. Surprisingly, no one was there. Quickly going back to the main desk, Rick grabbed Eric’s attention. "Hey! Do you know where we could find Mr. Tate?"

"Sorry, sir. You just miss him. He left barely two minutes ago. He was in a hurry." Eric mentioned.

"Did he tell you where he was going?" Brown quickly asked.

"No." came his answer. That was enough for Rick to run out of the library in pursuit, while Brown stayed back for a second. "He was supposed to have a meeting later today. I don’t know where he could have gone. I never seen in such a hurry before."

"Listen, if you see Tate again. Call the S.D.P.D., we would like to talk to him. It’s quite important." With that, Brown joined Rick outside. Rick was simply standing a few meters away, clearly mad at himself. Tate was no where to be found.

Oliver Tate had run to his car, right after Simon and his friend entered Adams’ office. He had no intention of staying. He would have to call the deal off. No way was he going to risk everything now. Cabriani should understand. Well, Tate hoped so.

As Rick drove down multiple streets of San Diego, he couldn’t stop thinking about A.J.’s accident. Even though he still couldn’t link it to Chris’ case, something didn’t seem right. He knew that eventually the police would be able to find the cause of the explosion, but some details that A.J. had mentioned before was stirring in his mind. It was more than a coincidence that A.J.’s car repairs had been bumped up and the fact that they had, for the first time, given him a courtesy car. Without any warning, Rick unexpectedly veered his Power Wagon to the right, going on Main Street. His sudden move had made Brown bounce in his seat. "Where are you going?" Brown frantically demanded as he grab on.

"To the garage." Rick simply answered.

"You could have warn me!"

Rick simply kept his eyes on the road. He had definitely something on his mind. It remained that way until they reached Smith’s Muffler garage. He parked next to the garage’s main office. "What are we doing here?" Brown adamantly asked.

"Wait and see." Was Rick’s only response as he approached a balding man whom had his back to them. Rick poked at the man’s shoulder. "Ray, can we talk?"

As the man turned, Brown could see that he was visibly surprised to see Rick. It took Ray several seconds before he could regain composure. "Of course, Rick follow me." As they approached his desk, Ray took his seat. "I heard about A.J.. I am terribly sorry. If I had known that the car’s gas tank was defective, I would have never let him drive it."

There was something about the man that made Brown somewhat suspicions of him. His sincerity seemed real, but there was something he wasn’t saying. Brown could also see that Rick wasn’t exactly believing him either. "You know, Ray, I’m a little suspicious about all of these coincidences." Rick said as he approached the desk, clearly in an effort to intimidate Ray. It wasn’t certain that he was succeeding.

"What coincidences?" asked Ray.

"First, the timing of your phone call to my brother seems a little suspicious, don’t you agree." Seeing that Ray was about to protest, Rick lifted up in hand to stop him. "Wait, I am not finished." He said. "Then, this deal about a courtesy car. Of all the years that A.J. been bringing his car here, never and I repeat never have you offered him a car. Also, you being such a great mechanic, as I have seen first hand, how could you let a defective car slipped through your fingers. You …"

"I have a new mechanic that was supposed to check the car." Interrupted Ray, he was clearly getting agitated.

"That’s another thing. I have never heard you blame other mechanics for mistakes before. You always silently accepted the blame, stating that it was improper training on your part." Rick went on.

"Now, listen! Rick, I had nothing to do with A.J.’s accident and that’s the truth." Ray said as he got up from his chair. "I know you are probably upset about A.J., so I am going to let this slip, but don’t you ever treat me like this again. I’m A.J.’s as well as your friend."

"You’re no friend of mine!"

Brown felt the need to interrupt before all this tension finally snapped. "I am sorry to interrupt, but you didn’t exactly answer Rick’s questions."

Ray, seeing that he was outnumbered, got mad. "Look, I am getting enough crap from a suppose friend. I don’t need any from you too. As I told you before, I had nothing to do with the car explosion."

Suddenly something clicked in Brown’s head, maybe they were asking the wrong question. "Ray," Brown said. "O.K., I believe you." With that comment, he could almost feel Rick’s gaze on him. As he has seen first hand, it is not exactly safe to go against Rick, especially when he was in this state. "You didn’t sabotage the car. But, I have a feeling that you know who did."

Ray remained silent for quite some time. "I’m sorry, Rick. I can’t help you."

Suddenly, Rick, overwhelmed by grief and frustration, snapped. He grabbed Ray by the collar and lifted him up. "Don’t you dare lie to me! ‘Cause if I find out that you did something directly or indirectly that caused A.J.’s condition, you will be sorry. That is something I can promise you." Brown wanted to interfere but didn’t have time. Rick, just as quickly, let Ray go and headed towards his truck.

"Can’t you see that we need your help?" Brown simply said to Ray before he rejoined Rick. If the guy had any involvement, Brown hoped that his conscience would kick in soon.

As Rick waited in the truck for Brown, he finally had the chance to calm down. Many times before, he had let his emotions get the better of him. Unfortunately, it was one of this distinctive traits. He just couldn’t stand been lied to, especially in his face. Ray definitely knew more than he was telling. The only problem was that Rick didn’t know how to make him divulge it. When Brown took his seat, Rick left the garage.

"Where are we going?" Brown asked.

"Where we were suppose to go, before I got side-tracked. Guildson’s publishing."

"Rick, maybe we should head for my office. It would give us some time to regroup and talk about all this new information we accumulated. Besides, I told Nixon to meet me there in a few minutes." Brown said, trying to calm Rick down.

After a few minutes of debating in his mind, Rick slowly nodded his agreement. He needed time to think this through. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. Following an illegal U-turn, Rick bounded back to the police department. It wasn’t long before they both were in Brown’s office awaiting Nixon’s arrival. When he did, Rick closed the door.

"So, Nixon. What do you have?" Brown demanded.

"Well, lieutenant, I have a little bit of everything. Where do you want me to start?" Nixon said as he took a seat.

"About university security, where you able to get in touch with them?" The lieutenant went on. He only wanted a confirmation, which he got.

"You were right, sir. The security guards at the university knew about the stalking incidences reported by Chris Matheson. They were the ones that suggested that he inform the police. They were somewhat disappointed that Chris didn’t follow it through. Also, the only other information that they were able to give me was that the stalking occurrences occurred on campus. This troubled the guards, who are still looking into the case. So far, no leads have been discovered."

Nixon’s silence gave Brown the cue to move on to another subject. "O.K., that confirms our suspicious. Chris’s stalker knew him through university. Let’s move on to his friends. Did you find anything new?"

"Unfortunately, no. None of his friends knew anything about the stalking incidences. Apparently, Chris kept it to himself. As before, they never saw any signs that something was wrong or bothering him the last days of his life."

"Nixon, did you interrogate a girl, named Gabrielle Vanier?" Rick asked.

"Yes. I did. Like I said, no new information."

"’Cause if you did, you probably met Chris’s parents. What did they say?" Rick explained himself.

"As I said no new information. No one knew he was in trouble, not even his parents." Nixon replied. Both Rick and Brown were visibly disappointed.

"O.K., what about Chris’ autopsy?" Brown asked.

"Good news, they were able to finish it a few hours early. When I contacted the city morgue, they told me that they had determined Chris’ death to be a murder. Apparently, he was hit in the head before being impaled to death. Official cause of death is excessive blood lost due to traumatic internal injuries. Pretty gruesome death, if you ask me. The tox labs have told me that Chris’ blood was clean." Nixon stated, he took a deep breath before coming to the interesting part. "What’s surprising is that this Roger Gillis guy was killed in the same fashion as Chris, with a similar knife. It points to the same killer. However, this is only speculation, but it still points out to a connection between the two deaths."

Now, came the question that he avoided ‘til the end for Rick’s sake. "What’s new in the investigation of A.J.’s accident?" Brown asked.

Nixon visibly winced before answering. "Nothing concrete, sir. All they can say now is that some type of explosive, probably a combo of nitroglycerin and dynamite, was used. It was no accident!" Rick looked at his feet for a while. Deep inside, he had hoped he was wrong about the whole incident. Hoping beyond hope that it had no connection with their case. Nixon went on. "Luckily for A.J., the dynamite that was used didn’t completely explode. Some of it happened to be dummies. Even though some of the equipment malfunctioned, this points to a pro. No amateur could have possibly known what to do."

Both Rick and Brown swallowed hard, trying to absorb the information. "So, Ray Smith is lying to us. He should definitely know who planted the explosive in the car. I don’t think it’s something so easily missed." Brown stated as he looked at Rick. "If he’s not the culprit, I can bet he knows who did it. I think we should bring Smith in for some questioning. Maybe the inside of the interrogation room will persuade him to tell the truth." As Nixon was about to leave, Brown added. "Also, check Guildson’s publishing. I want their complete list of employees and employers. Also, put it in the system. I don’t care if it’s the company or it’s employees. I want to find if any of the workers have priors."

"It’s going to take some time, lieutenant."

"Then, hurry!" Brown stated just before Nixon left, closing the door behind him.

"So, what’s our next step?" Rick pondered.

Brown answered as he left his desk to turn on his computer. "I thought a certain Oliver Tate deserved a better look at. Let’s see if he has priors." Brown taped some keys as he read the information. "Well, well." He said making Rick lean over Brown’s shoulder. "It seems that Oliver Tate is not his real name. He was born Eli Williams. Five years ago, he was arrested for drug possession and trafficking. Pleaded no contest, he was giving probation, a fine, and community services. Apparently that was enough for him to change his name. Kinda like a clean slate."

Rick was clearly disgusted. "What do you make of it?"

Brown shook his head. "I don’t know." He went to back to seat in his desk chair. "Some people do change. However, do you think that he is back to his old tricks: dealing and trafficking of illegal drugs? Maybe Chris was involved, somehow? A school would be a great place to get customers."

Rick thought about it for a few seconds. "It’s possible but there’s no evidence to support it?" As he sat back down on the leather sofa, he continued. "Chris Matheson’s blood work was cleaned, but not all dealers consume. Then again, his friends never suspected anything. I got a chance to look at his bank account back at his dorm room, he wasn’t exactly rich. If he were dealing, he would have more than twenty-five dollars in his account." Rick shook his head in confusion. "But of course, Chris could have possibly witnessed some sort of drug activity that killed him, but linking that to Tate is premature."

"But please explain to me why Tate fled? It doesn’t add up. He must have something to hide, there is no other explanation." Brown said.

"Chris was on his way to the library when he disappeared." Rick said. "Do you think that he was going to see Adams to tell him about his suspicions about these books? If so, then we know the motive of his murder."

"I think we can definitely say that Chris was to meet with Adams, Adams admitted it. And, how was he going to find time later that day if he was planning on going to a 7:30 Padres game." Brown slowly rubbed his bearded chin. "But why murder someone over books? Must be some sort of money laundering issue or as we mention before, a drug related murder."

"Tate has a drug prior, he handled all the book purchases for the library. Tate fled into hiding. God only knows where he is now! Chris was a bookworm, spending his free time, and some at the library. Chris found something odd about some of the library books. Gillis’ phone number was in one of Chris’s coat pocket. Gillis died in the same fashion as Chris. Now, noticing we were getting too close, A.J.’s car was bombed, making a pro hit very likely. It all adds up, we have no choice but to investigate Guildson’s publishing!" Rick said as he laid all the facts of the case in front of them.

"I don’t want to go there not knowing what to expect. I think we should wait for Nixon’s report, besides we still don’t have all the piece of the puzzle. There still one thing that bothers me. Where would Chris put this infamous book he was going to bring to Adams? None were found on his body." Brown contemplated as leaned back in his chair. Finally, he could see light at the end of the tunnel even though a long road was still ahead of them. "Maybe we should go back to search his dorm room, now knowing what to look for."

"Let’s go!"

Oliver Tate was seating on a city park bench, admiring its calm lake as he waited for the arrival of Mr. Cabriani. It wasn’t something that he was looking for, but it had to be done. Rick Simon and his friend were up to something. He couldn’t chance it, the whole deal had to be postponed or maybe even cancelled. He had to let things blow over. ‘It was getting dark, Cabriani should be arriving soon.’ Tate thought. Knowing Cabriani, the mob boss was never late for a meeting. Right on time, a dark window-tinted limousine approached Tate. As Tate got up, he padded his breast pocket. Not knowing how Cabriani would take the situation, he had brought his 22-caliber gun with him. No way was he going to put his neck on the line now. He wasn’t ready to start his life over again. It had been hard enough. Tate approached the rear window. As he was about to knock on it, the window slowly came down. Cabriani was seating in the back seat. Tate could also recognize a few of his bodyguards with him. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Cabriani." Tate said.

One of Cabriani’s guards opened the door. As Tate slowly took a seat adjacent to Cabriani, he continued. "Sir, I believe that we should postponed the whole deal. There been too many people snooping around. I don’t think we’ll be able to pull it." Tate silently waited for an answer. He had noticed that the car was moving.

"Mr. Tate. What makes you think that the shipment won’t be distributed?" Cabriani asked as he smoked his cigar.

"Er, sir, …" Tate hesitated. "I have a bad feeling that our cover has been blown. The police may even have some suspicions."

"Now, by the way you are talking, you don’t have any proof."

"Mr. Cabriani, I am simply stating that maybe we should wait until the Matheson case cools down. I don’t want to get the merchandise knowing that they may be looking." Tate pleaded, he wasn’t about to risk his job or his new identity.

"You should have thought about that before you wanted to get involve in the first place. I don’t believe that there’s any reason to delay the shipment. I want those drugs delivered as soon as possible. Your job is to make sure that the dealers are ready." Cabriani stated as he threw out his cigar out of window.

"But sir, the FBI are already watching your every move. This may be a incentive to slow things down."

Cabriani simply grinned at Tate. "Since when do you make any decisions. You follow an order, that’s all. Peters stop the car." As ordered, the limousine halted. "Tate, if you can’t go through with the deal, I’ll find somebody who can."

"How will you find anyone else who has such close access to the books as I do?"

Cabriani’s smile vanished, as Tate noticed his bodyguards shift in their respective seats. This made Tate wish that he had never spoken. "Are you threaten me, Mr. Tate?"

Tate swallowed hard. "No, of course not."

"Good. I want you to be at the library on Saturday morning, 5:00 am to be precise. Of course, Thomas and Michelle will be there with the merchandise in the van. I want the merchandise to be circulated before noon arrives. Understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Cabriani." Unfortunately, there was no reasoning with him.

"I’ll make sure that you are not interrupted." Cabriani stated as he opened the car door. It was time for Tate to get off.

Looking through Chris Matheson’s room once again proved to be painstaking. ‘With the amount of books the kid had, he could open his own library.’ Rick thought as he bent over to look under the bed. Nothing caught his attention like his previous search. As he opened Chris’s closet and moved the clothes aside, Rick noticed some law books on the far corner of the floor. He bent down to pick them up. However, something seemed strange about the top one. As he opened the book, he gave a strange curious look that made Brown frown. "What is it?" asked Brown as he approached his friend.

"Look at this!" Rick simply said as he gave Brown the book.

As Brown opened it, he noticed that the book was actually a fake. On the exterior, it looked like a normal library book from Guildson’s publishing. However in the inside, it was a hollow compartment. "Oh, my! I wonder what was in it."

"I don’t know." Rick answered as he headed for the door. "But, I have a feeling it’s not legal."

When they reached the Power Wagon, Rick continued. "I have a feeling that Chris stumbled into something big. Anything that warrants that much coercion is not legal. With Tate’s background in the picture, I have a feeling that we’re talking about drugs."

"There’s a powdery residue in this book." Brown said as he moved the book closer to the car inside light. Noticing the late hour, Brown continued on. "Look, Rick, I know we are finally getting some answers but I think we should call it a day. Our day as been quite long and emotional, a clear head will be a great help in this case. Just drop me off at the lab, I’ll get this substance tested. From there, I’ll get a taxi. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?"

"I can’t." Rick said as he drove out of the visitor parking.

"Rick, you have to try. By tomorrow, we will have a lot more information, not including daylight. I don’t want to investigate in the dark. If what we suspect is true, we are going to need backup." Brown said trying to make his friend realized that they were both exhausted. "I’ll see you tomorrow in my office at 8. O.K.?"

The hospital’s corridor was awfully quiet by the time Rick walked in. After he had taken a quick shower and grabbed a meal at a drive-thru window, it was passed 9 o’clock at night by the time he had managed to return. As he approached ICU, he couldn’t help but feel depressed. Even though the mystery of the case was finally starting to unwrap, it would never bring back time. Unfortunately, A.J. would be marked for life. When Rick arrived at A.J.’s room, he noticed that his mother was absent. ‘She finally went home for some sleep.’ he thought. He knew that his mother was taking A.J.’s situation very badly under her brave outer wall. With no nurses in sight, Rick put on the proper garments and entered the room. A.J. was sleeping soundly. ‘He still looks like hell.’ Rick mentioned to himself. When Rick neared the bed, he was careful not too wake his brother. Suddenly, some of his grief resurfaced as he gently stroked A.J.’s hair. With some effort, he was able to control to a degree.

"He’s doing somewhat better."

Rick turned, wiping his eyes, suddenly to face the voice, his mother’s. "Mom! I thought you would be home resting by now." His mother looked as bad as he felt.

"How are you doing, honey?" she said ignoring his question. She approached her older son and took him in her arms. He didn’t resist her. "You should practice what you teach. Rick, you don’t look all that good yourself."

As Rick hugged his mother, he again asked. "Mom, you didn’t answer my question."

Gently Cecilia Simon let go of her son. "Neither did you." She retorted. Silence filled the room for a few seconds before she continued. "Edie is going to drive me home in a few minutes. I just came to make sure A.J. was okay, I hate to leave him here all alone."

"I’ll stay, Mom."

Cecilia immediately shook her head. "No, Rick. As I mention just a few seconds, you should start practising what you’re preaching." As she delicately stroked his dark brown hair, she added. "Rick, you look like hell." The remark made them both smile. "By the way, how is the investigation coming along?" Cecilia asked.

"Better. We’re still not out of the woods, so to speak."

"Good." Just then, Cecilia noticed her friend on the other side of the window. "I have to go, Edie is here." She kissed A.J. on the forehead before doing the same to Rick. "Please, go and get some rest, honey."

Rick reluctantly nodded as his mother left the room. He, then, turned back his attention to A.J.’s sleeping form. He took a seat next to the bed and silently stared at his brother. Rick had a few uninterrupted and peaceful moments alone with his brother before a nurse entered the room. Unfortunately, as feared, Rick was told that it would be better for him to leave. As he leaned over A.J., he whispered. "I’ll be back tomorrow, A.J., I promise!"

Rick was 10 minutes late when he walked into Lt. Brown office. He didn’t exactly slept that well, but at least he did get some sleep. Also, he had taken the chance to talk with his mother before she went back to the hospital. Uncharacteristically, Brown wasn’t upset about Rick’s late arrival. Under the circumstances, Brown completely understood.

"Rick! How are you doing?" asked Brown once Rick sat down on the sofa.

"A little better." Rick said, then changed quickly the subject. They had a case to solve; besides it was the only thing that was keeping him sane at the moment. "So, what’s new?"

Getting the hint that Rick wasn’t about to open up any further, Brown told what he knew. "I got quick results on the white residue from the book. Peters at the lab owed me a favour. Anyway, the residue is cocaine." Brown let it sink in before going on. "We were right, this case is drug related and you know what that means."

"Mob involvement." Rick told. "No wonder Ray is so scared. They must have threaten him, at least I hoped they did in order for him to betray his friends."

"Also, Nixon gave me his report about five minutes ago. Unfortunately, Guildson’s publishing is clean, or it appears to be. Either way, we are still going to investigate. We can’t simply ignore the evidence linking them to the drug smuggling. They must know that they are a middle man." As Brown passed Nixon’s report to Rick, he continued. "My theory is that someone is using Guildson’s publishing and Oliver Tate to infiltrate books containing cocaine or whatever other drugs onto the university campus. What better place to sell drugs than a university filled with stressed out students."

"What is our next step?" Rick asked as he threw the report back unto Brown’s desk.

"There is an arrest warrant out on Oliver Tate. Hopefully, someone will call in with his location. We also have a search warrant for Guildson’s publishing. A swat team is ready and about to proceed. We are not taking any chances. Maybe a little shaking up can help us determine the mob boss’ identity."

"But we still don’t know who killed Christian Matheson or Roger Gillis?"

"That will come later." Brown said as he got up from his chair and headed towards the door before exiting. Rick wasn’t far behind. "Undoubtedly, Matheson found out about the operation. He was able to find the books and phone number of Gillis. How is still a mystery. In any case, he probably didn’t think that what he held was very significant or dangerous, which ultimately led to his death. He unknowingly came too close." As they walked down the police department’s main corridor, Brown went on. "As for Gillis, you and A.J. probably scared them by calling him that day. Once again, someone came to close which led to both Gillis’s death and A.J.’s accident."

"Where are we going?" Rick finally asked as they both neared an interrogation room.

"We are going to …" Brown was interrupted as a police officer approached them from behind. "What is it, Green?" Green was a very young female officer, most probably a rookie.

"Lieutenant, I was told to inform you that the search warrant has been successful. Fortunately, there was no need for excess force. Not counting on some minor incidences, the raid was completed without a glitch. We have a few workers into custody. Also, a copy of all the accumulated information and evidence will be sent to your office." As Green noticed that Brown was to object about an issue, she answered his unsaid question. "Sir, there was need for surprise in the search warrant. Both our police department and the FBI believed that our situation was compromise. They had to act at early dawn."

Brown nodded as he understood, it didn’t make a difference. "Thank you, Officer Green." With that said, the female police officer left them as she walked down the corridor. Having the FBI involved in the case was a mixed blessing. ‘They could help but also they could interfere.’ Brown thought as he opened the interrogation’s room door.

Michelle Wallace nervously walked along the beautiful gardens of Cabriani’s estate. She had the misfortune to inform Mr. Cabriani that Guildson’s publishing had been searched and that unfortunately some incriminating evidence including some illegal drugs were confiscated. Luckily for her sake, she had arrived minutes after the police had entered. So, she had time to flee the scene before being spotted. As she approached the lawn chair where Cabriani was seated, she took a deep breath. ‘Maybe, my life would be spared after all.’ She hoped.

"Michelle, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be wrapping all the loose ends for tomorrow’s exchange?" Cabriani said as he was caught by surprise.

"Sir, I have bad news."

Cabriani visibly stiffened, which made Michelle gulp. He gently put his glass of martini on the side table, ‘The calm before the storm.’ Michelle thought, before responding. "What kind of bad news?"

"The police have performed a search warrant at Guildson’s. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. The police took all the administrative, legal and accounting papers. Nothing was missed. Also,…" Michelle slightly lowered her head as she went on. "… some workers, trying to prevent the search, were arrested. I fear that they will talk."

Cabriani was silent for a few minutes, which made Michelle sweat excessively. "Is there any evidence linking the publishing company to me?"

"I don’t believe so, sir."

"Don’t give me any uncertainties, Ms. Wallace. I want to know all the facts." Cabriani snapped. He didn’t like not knowing what to expect.

"Sir, I don’t believe that there is any evidence linking the whole deal to you. However, like I mentioned just a few minutes ago, the arrested workers might talk. Their loyalties are limited." Michelle let the silence rest between them for a brief moment. "What do you want me to do about this whole situation, sir?"

Cabriani slowly got up from the chair. "I want you to make sure there is no leaks. Also, we are going to have to indefinitely postpone the deal. It is funny that Mr. Tate was trying to warn me about something like this. It almost seems that he knew all along. Please take care of that."

"Yes, Mr. Cabriani." Michelle answered as she knew exactly what he meant. Just after she was about to leave the gardens, she was called back. For a moment, she feared for her life.

"Ms. Watters, I don’t have to worry about your loyalties, do I?"

"No, sir. They are intact."

In a rented hotel room, Oliver Tate was watching the morning news when he heard about the search warrant on Guildson’s publishing. "Early this morning, minutes after dawn, the San Diego police department executed a search warrant on this city’s second largest book publisher, Guildson’s publishing. The police are silent as to the exact cause of this action. However, they have mentioned that the warrant was based on conspiracy charges. It is important to note that the FBI’s local field office is also involve in this case." Tate carefully listened as the news anchorwoman, Temple Hill continued. "The S.D.P.D. have scheduled a news conference later this afternoon. We will, at this station, be personally broadcasting the conference. So, please stay tune. Also, involving the same case, the police have an arrest warrant out for this man,…" A picture of Tate came on the screen. "… Oliver Tate, an vice-administrator at the library of San Diego University. He is also wanted for questioning on conspiracy charges. Any one who has seen or sees Mr. Tate, please contact the S.D.P.D. or the FBI as soon as possible. On other news, the mayor …" Tate violently shut the television off, he had heard enough. He had to get out of San Diego and the sooner the better. Tate didn’t like the idea of starting a new life once again. But under the circumstances, he had no other choice. Luckily, he had the sense beforehand to move out of his house. At least, the police didn’t know where he was, for now. As he repacked his suitcases, Tate prepared to leave this city forever. There was no time to look back.

As Brown and Rick entered the room, a man, Ray Smith, was waiting for them inside. He was clearly agitated; Smith didn’t seem to like been entrapped. Brown took the only remaining seat in the room before he started the interrogation. "Listen, Mr. Smith, we know that you are not telling us everything. Don’t worry, we can understand what you must be going through. Being intimidated by a mob boss isn’t something to sneeze at." Smith shifted in his seat as Brown continued. "Look, if you co-operate now, we won’t pressed any conspiracy to attempted murder charges."

"I had nothing to do with A.J.’s accident. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Come on, Mr. Smith. We only want your help. We can protect you." Brown said, trying to reassure the older man.

"I want to call my lawyer." Smith sternly said.

With that, the interrogation was over, for now at least. Brown got up and headed for the door. He noticed that Rick wasn’t following him. "Rick, let’s go. We will be back once his lawyer is present." Still, Rick didn’t budge; he kept staring at Ray. "Rick!"

"Hey! I want my phone call to my lawyer." Smith angrily stated.

"I don’t know what my brother saw in you, Ray. ‘Cause, right now, I see your true self. Pretty ugly I may add." Rick said through clenched lips. Before Ray could complain, Rick left the room with one long stride.

Once outside and after giving instructions to a police officer to keep an eye on Smith, Brown headed for another interrogation room, where two local FBI agents and Lt. Derek Fryer, the department expert in drug-related crimes, were interviewing one of their many Guildson’s publishing workers. "No, Rick. No!" Brown said as he was about to enter the interrogation room. Being the one who gave this case it’s break, Brown was allowed to watch the interrogations. Even though Brown understood why Rick wanted to be present in the room, he couldn’t allow it. Rick’s temper would get the better of him and Brown knew it.

"Why not? A.J. and I are the primary investigators in this case. I want to hear what they have to say for themselves." Rick retorted, clearly getting impatient.

"That’s it, Rick. You are too close to this case. Besides, we may not even get anything from them."

"I don’t care. Come on, Town. For A.J.’s sake!"

Brown gave a sigh. He couldn’t stand this anymore. If Rick didn’t get his way, he would never here the last of it. Also, A.J. deserved it. Silently, Brown agreed, which made Rick grin in victory. "But, you better behave yourself."

"I’ll be on my best behaviour."

With that situation handled, they both entered the room; the interrogation hadn’t started yet. When Fryer and the two FBI agents noticed Rick’s presence, they were about to object. Luckily for Rick, Brown was on top of the situation. "Listen, he’s one of the primary investigators in this case. He’ll be my responsibility." Clearly not happy but still satisfied, they started the interrogation.

"Give us your name and job description at Guildson’s publishing." Fryer said as he took the seat directly in front of the arrested young redheaded man.

"Thomas Cross, I am a delivery man for the publishing company." Thomas said as he gave a look at his lawyer, Mr. James, seated on his right.

"How long have you been working for Guildson’s publishing, Mr. Cross?" Jack Deveau, one of the FBI agents, asked as he approached the table.

"Almost four years." Thomas replied.

"Mr. Cross, please tell us if you ever delivered books to the San Diego University library." Fryer asked.

"No. It wasn’t part of my rout." Thomas simply replied.

"Who did?" Deveau questioned.

"I don’t know!"

"Come on, Mr. Cross. Don’t tell us that you worked for the company this long and never knew who did the university rout. Let’s face it, you just don’t want to tell us." Fryer interrupted, clearly getting impatient.

"Hey! My client is co-operating. No need for badgering." James said as he gave Fryer a stern look.

"Let’s face it, Thomas. May I call you Thomas?" Agent Julie Finnegan asked. When she got a slight nod in response, she continued. "Thomas, you are going to have to divulge any information pertaining to the university student’s murder. You don’t want to go back to jail, do you?"

"This is harassment and it must stop now! or my client is leaving." James mentioned.

"I am only stating a fact that Thomas was arrested last year for drug possession." Finnegan explained. This comment made Rick and Brown look at each other. ‘This case is getting more interesting as it evolves.’ Brown thought.

"It is not relevant to your present case." James continued as he defended Thomas.

"Oh, it is, Mr. James." Fryer said with a grin. "You see, we have proof that Matheson’s murder was drug-related. Also, it seems that your client is the only worker who has a drug prior. If it’s a coincidence, it sure is a good one."

"You have no proof, it is all circumstantial." James retorted, clearly getting annoyed with the line of questioning. "You don’t have any evidence to arrest my client in the murder of…"

"But we do!" Finnegan interrupted as she pulled out a file out of her black briefcase. "Before I walked in here, I checked on Thomas. I not only found out that he had a prior, but that he also did do some work for Guildson’s publishing at the university library." She handed a piece of paper to Brown in order to be passed around the room. "You should cover your tracks better, Thomas. You signed a book receipt from the library and we found it in your van. Unfortunately Thomas, you have to stop lying to us. If you help us with this case, we will offer you a deal."

James, after looking at the incriminating paper, whispered to his client. After a few moments together, it was James who broke the silence. "We want immunity and protection."

"I depends on what he has to say. We can’t promise immunity." Deveau said.

After sharing a glance at his lawyer, he finally told everything he knew. "I can tell you who is providing the drugs and who killed that Matheson kid."

"And killed Roger Gillis and attempted to kill A.J. Simon?" Rick asked as he broke his silence. He needed to know.

"Yes, I know all of that. But I didn’t hurt anyone, I just witnessed them." Thomas said as he lowered his head in shame. Rick had a hard time controlling his emotions. He strongly felt like shaking Thomas like a rag doll. After sharing a glance with Brown, he decided it was best to keep his mouth shut and stay put.

"Thomas, we can help you get immunity as soon as we put you into the witness protection program." Finnegan answered after she looked at her partner for confirmation. Beforehand, they were given permission to give any type of settlement in order to get the identity of the possible mob boss. "Now, talk Thomas. It better be good."

Both FBI and San Diego Police were outside the gates of Luciano Cabriani’s estate, the mob boss that Thomas Cross had divulged less than two hours. It had taken that much time to gather all these officers. Finnegan approached the gate buzzer and pressed. "Hello! May I ask who is there?" was the static response.

"I’m Agent Finnegan from the FBI. We have an arrest warrant for Mr. Cabriani. He’s estate his surrounded. Better open the gate." She said to the male voice. Finnegan wasn’t about to waste any more time. After a few silent seconds, the door gate opened. Both the FBI and the S.D.P.D. swat teams slowly approached the main entrance. Once again, it was Finnegan who knocked on the door as she took her gun. A woman, definitely a maid, opened the door. The maid was visibly shaken. "Where is Mr. Cabriani?" Finnegan asked as she walked in the mansion holding the arrest warrant in her hands.

"He is in his garden."

"Thank you." Finnegan simply said as she let the other police and FBI agents enter. It wasn’t long before they reached Cabriani sitting on his favourite chair accompanied by two of his bodyguards. Not surprisingly, he was expecting them.

"Well, well." Cabriani said as they approached, guns pointing at him. Many agents were separating in order to canvas the estate’s gardens for any suspicious behaviour, leaving six agents, including Agent Finnegan, with their main suspect.

"You have been busy, Mr. Cabriani. If all the rumours are true, you have a lot of blood on your hands." Finnegan said as she approached. "Mr. Cabriani, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say…"

As Brown walked into his office, he noticed Rick sleeping on his sofa. ‘Another long day.’ Brown thought. He decided to keep quiet, knowing how Rick was sleeping these last few days. So, Brown silently sat at his desk and filed some papers. Even though they had evidence and witnesses, he knew their case against Cabriani was going to difficult. Cabriani had the very best lawyers in town, who had successfully defended him many times before. ‘No wonder, Cabriani is such a cool cucumber. He still thinks he will get away with it.’ Brown pondered. Just then, he heard a moan. Rick was slowly waking up. "Good morning, or should I say good afternoon!" Brown joked as Rick sat up and gently rubbed his eyes.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Rick asked just as he cleared his throat.

"You’ve been in my office for the last three hours."

"Anything new that I should know?"

Brown smiled at his friend. Even half-asleep, Rick was still on the case. "No, Mr. Cabriani is still in custody. Unfortunately, Cabriani isn’t really co-operative, but that was no surprise. Tate is still at large. We have an A.P.B. on him, but no luck for now. Thomas Cross, our main witness, is under the witness protection program."

"It still surprises me that Cabriani was so easy to find." Rick said as he started to pace. Not only did he fall asleep, but so did his right leg.

"He’s cocky. He doesn’t think he has anything to hide. Most of the time, he scares people enough to lie for him or he has his lawyers get him off." Brown said. "But I don’t think it’s going to happen this time. The FBI have a few more charges to add; they been watching him for several months. Now, they finally got their big break."

Looking at his watch, Rick winced. "God, I didn’t realise it was this late." Rick grabbed his hat and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Brown asked.

"To see my brother."

When Rick reached the hospital, he automatically headed for the ICU. When he reached A.J.’s room, Rick noticed that his brother was not only awake but smiling at their mother. Rick couldn’t help but to smile too. It was the ultimate sign that A.J. was getting better. After putting on the special garb, Rick walked into the room. It was A.J. that spoke first. "Rick, I’m so glad to see you." A.J.’s voice was still weak, but improving.

"I wouldn’t miss it." Rick said as he approached the bed.

"I have good news. Hopefully, they will be moving me out of here to a proper room tomorrow." A.J. said, clearly in good spirits.

"Great, I wouldn’t have to wear this surgeon uniform anymore." Rick joked.

"I am going to leave you two alone. I know who have a lot to talk about." Cecilia said as she got up from her chair. "I’ll be back a little later." Before she left, she gave both her sons a kiss.

When they were finally alone, Rick was silent. He had so much to tell his brother, but didn’t know how to phrase it. A.J. decided to break the ice. "Mom told me that you and Town continued on with the case." A.J. said through a cough. He had been so excited about his recovery that he was unconsciously overusing his vocal cords.

"Yes, we did. The case is solved." Rick said. He saw that A.J. was urging him to give the details. So, he indulged his little brother’s wishes. "Town and I found out that Cabriani, a local mob boss, was using Guildson’s publishing to distribute drugs to the university. Tate, the librarian that we interviewed, was the middleman at the library. It appears that Chris Matheson accidentally discovered some of the fake books that were used to carry the drugs at the library. But Chris didn’t know what he was holding in his hands. Instead of contacting the police, he kept it to himself until Tate found out about Chris’s meddling. Unfortunately, Cabriani also found out about it."

"Sounds complicated." A.J. said as he rubbed his bandaged forehead. He was starting to get a headache.

"It isn’t actually. I’ll explain all the details later."

"Rick?" A.J. quietly asked, after a few silent seconds.

"What?"

"Rick, I don’t remember a thing about the explosion or what led up to it. It’s a total blur." A.J. was clearly getting frustrated with his selected amnesia.

Taking his mother’s seat, Rick gently put his hand on A.J.’s shoulder. He hated to see A.J. so distraught. "A.J., the doctor told Mom and I that you are suffering from, what they call, retrograde amnesia, which is a selective memory loss of events preceding the explosion. Dr. Walters also told us that it would diminish with passage of time. You just have to be patient." Rick was trying to reassure his brother.

"But I want to remember!" A.J. was starting to get emotional.

"A.J., listen to me. Your memory will come back in time; you have to let your brain heal. Personally, I wouldn’t want to remember it. It brings to many bad memories." Rick said as he contemplated the whole situation. It was hard for Rick to think about how close it came for him to lose his one and only brother. He was glad that somehow destiny, for now, had spared him that terrible pain.

"Who did it?" A.J. sternly said. This time he wanted a straight answer.

"A woman named Michelle Wallace with the help of a mechanic named Fred Thompson and a kid named Thomas Cross. Cross is the case’s main witness. He is in the witness protection program until and after Cabriani’s trial." Rick gave out a sigh before going on. "Apparently Cabriani wanted to scare us off the case. He didn’t care what means his aides took. It’s scary to think that it almost worked."

Surprisingly, A.J. remained silent. Most probably, trying to absorb the information and trying to make sense of it. He closed his eyes for a moment. All this excitement was making him tired. A.J. then slowly took Rick’s hand into his own. "Rick, thank you for being here. You don’t know how much it means to me."

Rick gave his brother a strange quizzical look. "A.J., where would I be but here at the hospital with you. What kind of brother do you think I am?"

"A great one!" Both Rick and A.J. smiled.

Less that a week later, Rick was finishing up on a case, which for the first time in a long time had completed it alone. Luckily, it was only a boat repossession. Contrary to other times, this one was quite easy; it was barely two days work. Before Rick had a chance to reach the office door, the door opened to reveal Gabrielle Vanier. Surprised but delighted to see her, Rick gave her one his famous smiles as he said. "Gabrielle, how are you doing?"

Gabrielle smiled back. "Better. How are you?"

"Couldn’t be better. So, what can I do for you?" Rick said as he led her to their office sofa. "Anything wrong?"

"Oh, no! Nothing like that. I came here to pay you your fee. I got a flight back to Montreal for later today. I already gave my goodbyes to A.J. at the hospital." She opened her purse and took out a cheque. "You were on the case for three days. $400.00 per day plus expenses, right." She didn’t wait for a confirmation. "After calculating the fee, I wasn’t happy with the figures. With A.J.’s injuries and everything, I believed that you deserved more. So, I made the cheque out for $10,000.00 dollars. It will help you pay some of A.J.’s medical bills. Don’t worry, this won’t break me. It is my gift to both you and A.J.. You’ll never know how much your support and help meant to me and to Chris’s family."

Rick was speechless for quite some time. Never had he seen a cheque addressed to the firm that high. "Gabrielle, I don’t know what to say."

"Simply say thank you."

"I’ll do better than that." Rick got up and gave Gabrielle a kiss on the cheek and a hug. He was totally taken by surprise.

Looking at her watch, Gabrielle got up. "I’m sorry, Rick. I have to go and catch my flight."

"Do you want a ride?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "You did enough. I have to bring back the rental car to the airport anyway. Take care of yourself Rick Simon." With a final wave, Gabrielle Vanier was gone.

Rick remained dumbfounded on the sofa holding the cheque between his fingers. For several minutes, he silently sat there until the office door opened again. ‘I’m popular today.’ Rick thought to himself. This time it was Downtown Brown. "Hey! Towner. What’s up?" Rick said, finally out of his daze.

"Just to tell you that Cabriani’s trial date is set for the 25 of next month. Luckily, he was denied bail." Brown said as he followed Rick to his desk.

"That’s great news. What about Tate and Wallace?"

"Wallace was sited at the airport this morning trying to leave the country. We finally have her in custody. As for Tate, I don’t know. He has pulled a disappearing act. With his background, he’s probably once again starting a new life. We’ll find him one of these days."

Rick placed the cheque into the office’s safe. As he headed for the door, he grab his coat. "I’m going to the hospital. Want to come with me?" He had great news to tell A.J..

"No, I have to get back to work. I’m only on my lunch break, besides I already talked to A.J. on the phone this morning." Noticing that Rick was about to exit the office, Brown stopped him. "A.J. told me that the tickets to the Wagner Opera were in his desk drawer."

"Go ahead." Rick said pointing his friend to A.J.’s desk.

After a few seconds, Brown had the tickets in his hand. "Temple is going to love this. She loves Wagner."

"Yeah, but I would prefer a good Chargers game, personally." Rick mentioned, as he finally was able to exit the office.

Brown gave Rick a ‘help me’ look. "Me, too!"

The End (for now)

There will be a continuation to this story soon………stay tuned!

I hope that you liked the story, it is my first piece of fan fiction. Please, send me your comments at danandsylvie@sprint.ca