| Chapter Thirteen Mrs. Bixby sat at Jonathon Parker's desk going through his papers. She had cleared out the drawers, and had already gone through one large stack of papers. She placed her hand on her lower back and arched, relieving the cramp that came from sitting in one postion for to long. She reached for another stack and began to read through it. As she shifted the top paper, a small slip fluttered to the floor. She bent to pick it up and noticed that it had numbers on it. Shrugging her shoulders, she placed it on the desk and began to read again. 554376 echoed through her mind. "What an odd number. It's like a combination" she muttered as she turned her attention back to the stack. "The safe" she exclaimed as she snatched the slip from the desk. "554376, it has to be the combination" she said as she stood and walked across the room. She pulled a large painting off the wall and stared at the safe. "Oh please Lord. Let me find something to help Sara" she prayed as her hand reached for the dial. She turned the dial and pulled the handle. Nothing happened. Taking a fortifying breath, she tried the dial again. This time when she pulled the handle, the safe opened. Mrs. Bixby stood still, afraid to touch anything, afraid that she wouldn't find anything to help Sara. 'Sara. I have to do this for Sara' she thought as she pulled out the contents of the safe. "Oh my stars" she exclaimed, when she realized what she had in her hands. Jonathon Parker's last will and testement. Rushing to the phone she dialed the police, and asked for Detective Anderson. "Detective Anderson, this is Mrs. Elaine Bixby, the Parker's housekeeper. I found something that I think you should see" she said, nervously clutching the will. "I'll be right over" he said and hung up the phone. She paced the length of the front wall, anxiously waiting for Detective Anderson. The peel of the doorbell brought her up short and she rushed to open the door. "Please come in" she said and stepped back so the Detective could enter. "I'm so nervous." "Ma'am, calm down and let me see what you've found" he requested as she led him to the living room. "Where did you find this?" he asked after he read the will. "In the safe in his office. Why?" He ignored her question and asked one of his own, "Do you have the other will that was read after the funeral?" "Yes, I have a copy. It was given to Sara. I'll go get it." She left the room, going as fast as her little old legs would carry her. She returned and handed him the desired document. All was silent as he compared the two. "There's not a mention of Jeffery Parker anywhere in this one" he said indicating the recently discovered document. "I'll have to take both of these with me so the District Attorney can have a look. And I think I'll pay Mr. Parker a little visit" he said as he stood and walked to the door. "Don't worry Mrs. Bixby we'll get to the bottom of this" he promised as he exited. ~~****~~ Detective Anderson stood on the porch of Jeffery Parker's house speaking with his maid. "I need to speak to Mr. Parker" he stated in a firm voice. "I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Parker is not here" the timid woman related. "Do you know when he will return? Its very important that I speak with him." "I have no idea when he'll be back. He was ready to leave when I came to work this morning. He told me that he was going away for a business trip and that he didn't know how long he'd be gone. Mr. Parker left instructions to keep the house running until he returned." Detective Anderson ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair and sighed in frustration. "Thank you. If you hear from him, please let me know" he said as he handed her a card with his name and number on it. CHAPTER 14 A few days later, Sara came in after work and found Kathy fixing dinner. "Hey Bono! Where's Grams and Gramps?" "They went out with some friends, so we are on our own tonight" she answered. "Great! What can I do to help?" Kathy asked her to stir the marinara sauce and Sara moved to the stove. "I'll be going back to work tomorrow, so you won't have to." "Are you sure you're up to it?" Sara asked. "Yep! The doctor said as long as I don't pick anything heavy up with that hand I should be fine. So don't worry about getting up early tomorrow." "I think I'll go in with you anyways. I enjoy being there." Kathy nodded her head and set the table. "Oh before I forget, AJ said that he'd call you later, and that he's sorry he couldn't be here tonight. He had something to do with the group." "That's fine" Sara murmured. "So, are things serious between you two?" Kathy asked as they sat down to dinner. "I don't know. With everything that's been going on, we really haven't talked about it. I do know that I have feelings for him." Kathy noticed the look in Sara's eyes and smiled at her. "Don't worry Sara, it'll all work out." They finished dinner and cleaned up, all the while, Sara filled Kathy in on what had been going on at the store. "Well I'm gonna hit the bed. I'll see ya in the morning" Kathy said as walked up the stairs. ~~****~~ Detective Anderson phoned the Orlando P.D. and asked to speak with Detective Moran. "Bill, its Jack. I have some news. Mrs. Bixby, the Parker's housekeeper, found the real will of Jonathon Parker. His brother Jeffery isn't mentioned in the will anywhere." "Wow! So did you pick up Jeffery for questioning?" "I went to his place to speak with him, but his maid said that he is out of town on business and she didn't know when he'd be back. I also found out that he's in some financial trouble. It seems he doesn't have the ready capital to spend on new investments." "That certainly goes to motive" Bill cut in. "Yes it does, and its my guess that he's on his way to Orlando in hopes of finding Sara. With her out of the way, he inherits Jonathon's estate, or at least he thinks he will. Now that we have the real will, that won't happen, but I'm worried about Sara just the same" Jack said. "Don't worry Jack, I'm on it, and thanks for the tip." "No problem. Let me know what happens." Jack Anderson hung up the phone and prayed that they wouldn't be to late to keep Sara safe. CHAPTER 15 "Good morning" Sara said as she breezed into the kitchen. "You're in a good mood" Kathy said with a smile as she watched her friend fix a cup of coffee. "Why shouldn't I be? You're feeling better, so am I for that matter. The sun is shinning and I talked to AJ last night before I went to bed" Sara said as she sat next to Kathy at the table, her happiness radiating off of her and filling the room. They finished their breakfast and headed for work. ~~***~~ Jeffery Parker sat in his rental car across the street from the Fernandez's house watching Sara and her friend leave. 'Gottcha' he thought as their cars drove off. He knew that there were still two people in the house and he waited patiently for them to leave. Two hours later he got his wish. ~~***~~ "Mr. McLean, this is Detective Moran. I need to see you immediately. Where can you meet me?" AJ played with the hem of his shirt, wondering why now after all this time had passed since the accident, that Detective Moran needed to see him. "Uhm, I can meet you in fifteen minutes at the McDonald's near Kathy's shop. It's on the corner of McMillan and Beach." "I'll see you there, and please don't be late" he pleaded. ~~***~~ "Man its so good to be back" Kathy said as she finished a new display. "You say that now, but wait until Mr. Bennet comes in and you have to deal with him" Sara said. Kathy groaned at the mention of her customer. Nothing ever pleased the man, he always complained. "Don't remind me!" Another hour passed and Kathy was helping Mr. Bennet when the phone rang. She shot Sara a look that said 'help me out here' and Sara gave her one that said 'no way'. Sara made her way over to the phone and answered. "Hello." "Sara, can you meet me at the house?" "AJ? Sure, it'll be a few minutes before I can get away, but I'll be there. Is everything ok?" "Yes. I just need to see you." "You sound funny, are you sure everythings alright?" "I just have a cold, please just hurry, I really want to see you." "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." With that Sara hung up the phone and waited for Kathy to finish with Mr. Bennet. "Kathy, I need to run home. AJ called and said he wants to see me, do you mind?" Sara explained after Mr. Bennet left the store. "No I don't mind. Go on and I'll see you later at home." "Thanks Kathy" Sara said as she grabbed her purse and headed for her car. ~~***~~~ "Mr. McLean, thank you for meeting me on such short notice" Detective Moran said, as he shook AJ's hand. "No problem. But if you don't mind me cutting to the chase, why do you want to see me? The accident was weeks ago, and I thought everything was taken care of." "This isn't about the accident. I got a call from Detective Anderson. He works in South Carolina.." He told AJ everything that he knew and AJ paled beneath the information. "So he's here, somewhere looking for Sara?" he asked in disbelief. "As far as we can tell, yes." "We've got to warn her. She has to be on guard" AJ said as he rushed out of the resturant and to his car. "Where are you going?" Detective Moran asked. "To my cousin's shop. Sara's working today" he said as he started the car and shut the door. Detective Moran quickly slid into his car and pulled out after AJ and followed him down the street. AJ climbed out of his car and ran into the store. "Hey Age, what..." AJ went flying down the aisles looking for Sara. "Where is she?" he yelled frantically. "She, she who?" Kathy asked in confusion. "Come on Bono, stay with me here. Sara, where is Sara?" AJ said, speaking slowly as if to a two year old. "Age, what do you mean? Sara said you called and asked her to meet you at the house. She left about ten minutes ago." AJ and Detective Moran exchanged a worried look and AJ ran out of the store to his car. "What is going on?" Kathy asked, fear showing in her voice and in her eyes. "Miss, your friend Sara, is in danger." He looked up in time to see AJ do a U-turn in the street and speed away. "I need to know exactly where she was going." "I'll do better than that. I'll take you." Kathy locked up the store and ran with the detective to his car. Giving him directions, they sped across town hoping that they weren't to late. ~~***~~ Sara unlocked the door and entered the house. "I'm here AJ, where are you?" she called. "Hello my dear niece. Have a seat" Jeffery sneered evily. Sara gasped, standing before her was the devil himself. |