The perky redhead smiled at her companion as raucous laughter filled the bar. "Gosh, is that ever nice to hear," she said, smiling.

The brunette behind the bar looked at her quizzically. "What, Kim?"

"Trent laughing." The brunette returned Kim's smile. "You really have helped him, you know." Jessie was a semester and a dissertation away from her Ph.D. in Psychology. Although she wasn't a licensed therapist, she could be. She had been helping the blond PI through a very tough time in his life.

"Well, thanks. I'm glad I could help him," Jess looked over where the two men were playing darts. The truth was she had fallen in love. She had fallen for him the first time she had met him. Unfortunately, her ethics would not allow her to have a personal relationship with someone she saw professionally. Her ethics and the fact that Trent would not be ready for a relationship for a long time.

"Jess.....Jess?" Kim's voice brought Jessie's attention back. "So how are things going with Carlos?" Carlos was Trent's best friend and the man he was presently beating at darts. He was tall, dark and handsome...but not what Jess wanted.

"We are just friends, Kim. Besides, I don't think he is ready for another relationship, either." Jess smiled.

As Kim was about to comment, the two men approached the bar. "Barkeep, get me a beer and put it on this man's tab," Trent laughed as he pointed to Carlos.

"I don't know why I let you talk me into darts. We should play pool," Carlos grumbled.

"You are just a sore loser, buddy." Trent winked at Jess as he raised the bottle she had brought to his lips. Jess returned his smile. "So are you taking me to CD's for dinner tonight, too?" Trent asked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Carlos grumbled. "I said I would. I don't know what happened. I had you there. I was winning."

"You got over confidant." Trent turned to the girls. "Care to join us for dinner? What time are you done, Jess?"

"I finish at 6." As Trent took another drink of his beer, something on the TV caught his eye.

"Can you turn that up, Jess?" She grabbed the converter, punched a button and the volume steadily increased.

"Is that who I think it is?" Carlos asked.

"Yep." Something hard had come into Trent's voice.

"In Dallas today, suspected drug dealer, and businessman Eric Carter was freed on a technicality. He had appealed his earlier conviction for dealing drugs, kidnapping, forcible confinement and various prostitution charges. According to Assistant District Attorney, Alex Cahill, the State will ask for a retrial."

"I can't believe that scum walked," Carlos said, incredulously. "They had him dead to rights."

"Yeah, but now the case isn't that strong. There is a key witness missing." Trent's words hung in the air. Jess wasn't sure but she had a strong feeling who the missing witness was.

"You guys know him?" she asked. "How?"

"Let's start from the beginning," Trent told her.

**

Sam was packing up her notes as she looked out over her class. It was the last class on the Friday before a week of vacation and they were all anxious to leave. As most hurried out, one straggled behind.

"Is everything okay, Diane?" Sam asked of the young women in front of her.

"Yes...no...oh, I don't know, Sam." The frustration was evident in the tension in her voice.

"It's about Casey, isn't it?" Casey was Diane's best friend at the school and as far as Sam could tell, she hadn't been to school for about a week.

"Yes." The girl was near tears now. "I'm so afraid for her. I've tried calling her and even went by her place. I thought she might have been hurt but she left me a message on my machine. She told me to leave her alone and to stop bothering her. Sam, something is definitely wrong!"

The truth was Sam had suspected that Casey had started taking drugs. Her marks and attitude had showed a marked decline in the few days she had been at school in the last month. Gently, she put a hand on Diane's shoulder. "When did this all start?"

"She started seeing this new guy about a month ago. He was some rich guy who owned a few clubs. Casey started working part time for him. That was when she started to change." Diane's body language conveyed the helplessness she felt.

"Do you think she started taking drugs?" Sam asked gently.

"NO! Casey was smarter than that." Despite Diane's assertion, her eyes gave away her true opinion.

"Do you know where she was working? Did you try to see her there?" Sam's mind was working a mile a minute. She hated the thought that Casey would throw everything away and end up drowning in a world of drugs. "Maybe I can have talk with her, if I can find her."

"The place is called 'Gentleman's Cove'. It is over on Washington. Please Sam. Please help her. I am so scared for her." Sam tried to comfort Diane as best she could as they walked out of the classroom, her mind already thinking of what she would do.

Part 2

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