"YOU KILLED MY SISTER!" Sarah screamed as she flew at Trent in a rage.

"Sarah," Carlos said, stepping in front of her.

"YOU KILLED HER, TRENT!" she screamed. "IF YOU HADN’T BEEN PLAYING PRETEND COPS AND MAKING ALL THOSE ENEMIES, THEY WOULDN’T HAVE KILLED HER! THAT BOMB WAS MEANT FOR YOU, NOT HER! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"Sarah, that’s enough!" Carlos said harshly.

"AND YOU," Sarah continued, turning her wrath towards Carlos. "YOU’RE NO BETTER! PEOPLE SEEM TO DIE AROUND YOU ALL TOO FREQUENTLY! AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED YOU BOTH CAN GO TO HELL!!!!!"

"Sarah," Kate Malloy said calmly. "This isn’t the time or place." Gently taking her arm, Kate guided her out of the waiting room. She turned back to a stunned Carlos. "Take care of Trent," she whispered as she led the now weeping Sarah down the hall.

It took Carlos a minute to get his bearings back. When he did, Trent was nowhere to be found. I wonder if he went back into Sam's room, he thought. Making his way down the hall, Carlos quietly opened the door to Sam’s room. Looking around he saw no signs of Trent, just Sam’s still figure on the bed. Walking over to her, the tears began to fall freely down Carlos’ cheeks. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Good-bye, Sam," he whispered.

**

Trent was sitting in the chapel when Carlos found him. He was staring off in to space, tears streaming down his face. Wordlessly, Carlos sat beside him.

"You know, I never thought I would lose her, Carlos. Despite everything that has happened, I never thought I would lose her."

"I know, manno."

"And the worse part is, Sarah’s right. It is my fault."

"No, it isn’t Trent," Carlos said emphatically. "Some madman plants a bomb at your house and it isn’t your fault. It’s his and his alone."

"Yeah, but they were after me."

"How do you know that? Maybe it was random."

"You don’t really believe that?" Trent asked.

"I don’t know, Trent. But I do know that you saved Sam’s life at least once and gave her more time than she would have had if you hadn’t known her. You can’t blame yourself for this." Putting his arm around Trent’s shoulder he said, "C’mon. Let’s go make any arrangements we have to and then we’ll go have a drink at Butch’s. You can stay at my place."

**

Trent sat in the back office at Thunder Investigations, looking out the window and playing with his ring. It was a gray, drizzly, dreary day, matching Trent’s mood completely. He heard the phone ring, but didn’t move to answer it. Off in the distance after a few rings he heard Kim’s voice. Even her normally sunny voice seemed sad.

"Trent?……..Trent?" Kim’s voice finally pierced Trent’s melancholy. "The phone is for you."

Without turnign around, he reached over and lifted the receiver. "Malloy."

"Hello, Mr. Malloy. It’s Marshall Foley."

Suddenly, Trent’s full attention was on the phone. "What do you want?" he asked angrily.

"Jimbo Burnett."

"What?" Trent asked, puzzled.

"The man who planted the bomb and killed your wife is named Jimbo Burnett. He lives at 2543 Washington Square, Apartment 2."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to work for me. I figured if I did you a favour you would consider it." There was a pause. "Will you consider it, Mr. Malloy?"

Trent sighed heavily. "I’ll think about it," he said before hanging up the phone. Grabbing his coat he stalked out through the office. "I’m going out," he said as he passed Kim.

A few moments later, Carlos came in to the office. "Hey Kim. How is Trent today? I just saw him leaving but he didn’t even wave."

"Still not saying much," she said, hanging her head. "Carlos, is there anything we can do to help him?"

"I don’t know, Kim. I think the only thing that is going to help is time. What’s that?" he asked, pointing to the flashing light on the answering machine.

"Oh, I never noticed. I’m sure I checked them all when I came in." She pressed the play button and was shocked to hear the voice on the machine.

‘Hello, Mr. Malloy. It’s Marshall Foley.’ The machine played the entire conversation back for Kim and Carlos.

"The machine must have kicked in when I didn’t get to it in time," Kim said. Looking at Carlos she muttered, "Carlos, you don’t think……"

"Play it again, Kim and I’ll get the address." As the tape played again, Carlos quickly jotted down the address. "You stay here," he told her as he headed for the door. "I’m going over there just in case."

**

As he approached Washington Square, Carlos saw Trent’s corvette pass him. As he continued on, he was surprised to hear approaching sirens. When they stopped in front of 2543, Carlos quickly turned around and headed back to Thunder Karate.

**

Trent was sitting in his office with the door closed when Carlos got back. "Did he say anything?" Carlos asked.

"No. Why?" Kim’s voice showed her concern.

"Nothing," Carlos said as he went back to the office. He knocked and entered.

"What?" Trent asked without turning away from the window.

"What happened over on Washington Square?" Carlos asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Trent, I heard the conversation between you and Foley."

"Are you listening in on my conversations?" Trent accused.

"No. It got recorded on the machine and….."

"And you decided to do what? Follow me?"

"Trent…."

"Never mind, Carlos. Just get out and leave me alone." Trent turned back to the window, effectively ending the conversation.

"Trent…." Carlos tried.

"Get out."

**

"Where’s Malloy?" Detective Ryan demanded, marching into the Thunder Investigations office.

"In his office," Carlos replied, coming down from the loft where he had been pacing. "Why?"

"I need to talk to him. Get him."

Moments later, Trent came out of the office followed by Carlos. "What?" he asked.

"What do you know about Jimbo Burnett?" Ryan demanded.

"Never heard of him. Why?" Trent looked directly at Ryan, as Carlos and Kim exchanged glances.

"We think he is the person responsible for planting the bomb at your house. Trouble is, someone killed him before we could question him. His apartment was trashed and it appears he was beaten pretty soundly. His neck was broken. Know anything about it?"

"No," Trent said evenly. "But I can’t say I’m sorry to hear it."

"Well, a witness said they saw a blue corvette in the area, kinda like yours."

"I’ve been here all day." Kim shot Carlos another look.

Ryan looked at Kim. "Is that true?"

Looking at Trent she quietly said, "Yes. He was here."

Ryan looked at the three of them, deciding whether or not to believe them. Finally he said, "Until I can confirm you were here, I am revoking your license as a PI."

"What?" Carlos said.

"You are out of business, until I clear this case. Give me your license." Without a word, Trent pulled out his license and handed it over to Ryan. He grabbed his coat and headed out of the door, leaving the others standing, wondering.

**

"Carlos, you don’t think he would…."

Carlos cut Kim off before she could finish her thought. "No."

"But why would he lie?"

"I don’t know, Kim. I don’t know. But I do know I have to talk to him. Now." Carlos took his jacket off the coat rack and headed out the door. Turning back he told Kim, "And erase that tape."

**

Trent was working the punching bag at Thunder Karate when Carlos came storming in. "What, Carlos?" Trent said in exasperation.

"Don’t ‘What’ me Trent. You know damn well why I am here." When Trent continued punching the bag, Carlos continued. "What the hell is going on?"

"About what?"

"How about lying to Ryan?" When Trent didn’t answer, Carlos grabbed his arm. "Worse than that was getting Kim to lie for you."

"What do you want from me?"

"To know what happened."

"Don’t ask questions you really don’t want the answers to, Carlos," Trent told him, resuming his punching.

"Are you going to work for Foley?"

"Yes."

"Are you crazy? That’s like making a deal with the devil, Trent."

"Well, we can see where PI work got me." The punching got harder.

"Do you really think this is what Sam would have wanted?" This caused the reaction Carlos was looking for.

Wheeling around, Trent demanded, "LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!"

"No, I won’t. You know she wouldn’t. She’s probably rolling in her grave knowing…" Before Carlos could finish, Trent took a step back and kicked him in the chest, knocking him flying.

As he hit the mat, Carlos saw the anger brewing inside Trent. Fighting to catch his breath, Carlos said, "you know I’m right."

"Get out," Trent hissed before he went back to punching the bag with renewed vigor.

Part 5

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