The man was loading boxes into a plane when he saw them approaching. One was tall and dark, the other slightly shorter and blond. He tensed instantly.

"Bill Shanahan?" the blond one asked.

"Maybe. Who wants to know?"

"My name is Trent Malloy and this is Carlos Sandoval. We’d like to talk to you about a tiger."

"I ain’t saying nuthin’" he said, as he continued loading boxes.

"We know you were charged with smuggling it in to Dallas. We just want to know who it was for," Carlos told him.

"Talk to my lawyer."

"We’d rather talk to you. Off the record," Carlos said.

"Yeah, right."

"Look," Trent said as he grabbed his arm and stopped Shanahan from loading the boxes. "That same tiger has since been stolen from the sanctuary and we think the person who paid for it is claiming it."

"You haven’t been doing any moonlighting, have you?" Carlos asked.

"You think I did it?" Shanahan looked from Trent to Carlos.

"We’d like to believe that you weren’t that stupid. We just want a name and no one has to get hurt."

"That sounds like a threat."

"If it has to be," Carlos said evenly.

"Just tell us who paid for the tiger," Trent told him.

Shanahan hesitated for a moment. Finally he said, "I don’t know his name."

Carlos laughed. "You expect us to believe that you smuggled in a tiger for someone who’s name you don’t even know?"

"I was well paid. He had some flunky in a Mercedes take care of the whole thing."

"Was it a dark blue late-model Mercedes?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, I think his name was Vince. He said it was for his father."

Carlos and Trent looked at each other. "Okay, thanks. And if we find out you called Vince and warned him, we’ll be back," Trent told him.

"Vince who?" Shanahan asked as he went back to loading boxes.

As they walked to the car, Carlos asked, "Do you think it was a coincidence that he showed up at the sanctuary about a week after the tiger?"

"I don’t believe in coincidence," Trent said.

Back at the office, Trent asked Carlos about the information search he had done previously on Vince Reid.

"Nadda," Carlos told him. "He didn’t exist."

"We have to find out who his father is. I bet if we find him, we find the tiger. Question is how?" Trent was puzzled.

"We can start with this," Carlos said, pulling a piece of paper out of his coat pocket. "After I left Sarah’s, I wrote down Vince’s license plate."

"Great! Do you think Angela will help you?"

"Sure, I’ll go see her. Maybe I’ll get a date out of it, too," Carlos called over his shoulder as he left the office.

***

"Hello?"

"Hi Sarah."

"Vince." He was the last person Sarah wanted to talk to.

"I just wanted to apologize. I was out of line last night."

"That’s okay, Vince."

"Great! Then you’ll let me take you to supper tonight."

"I’m really busy."

"You sound upset. Is something wrong?"

"Yes. One of our animals was stolen and another was shot."

"Oh my gosh, Sarah. Do you know who?" Vince was trying to sound nonchalant.

No. Trent and Carlos are investigating."

Vince laughed openly. "Well then I guess you’ll never know who did it."

Sarah didn’t try to hide the anger in her voice. "Look Vince, I have to go."

"Sorry, I was just kidding. Let me take you out to supper. It’ll help to cheer you up. I know how much Oscar meant to you. Just let me help."

"Vince…"

"What have you got to lose, Sarah? At worst, you get a free meal from Mi Piacci."

"Okay Vince, Sarah said with a sigh. "Pick me up here at 6:30."

"Great, Sarah! I’ll see you at 6:30." As Sarah hung up the phone something was nagging at her subconscious but she couldn’t place it. She tried to put it out of her mind as she went back to the work in front of her.

***

"I’ve got it," Carlos announced as he entered the office.

"The license or the date," Trent asked with a smile.

"Both! The car is registered to Richelieu Manufacturing here in Dallas."

"They manufacture parts for the oil and gas industry. I think they are worth billions," Kim provided. With the information in hand, she started typing and within half an hour she had the information they were looking for. "Richelieu Manufacturing is owned by Pierre Richelieu. He owns a lot of real estate in and around Dallas. He is a widow and has one 26-year old son. Anyone want to guess his name?"

"Vince," Carlos and Trent said in unison.

"Bingo."

"Now we just have to figure out where that tiger is. Let’s see if we can find an address on Vince first," Trent suggested.

Just then the office door entered and Sam walked in. "Hi everyone," she said as she went and gave Trent a quick kiss. "How is everything going?" Trent, Kim and Carlos filled her in on their progress to date.

"So now, we just have to find Vince," Carlos told her.

"I know where he is," Sam said. "He’s at Mi Piacci with Sarah. She called and told me that Vince called and wanted to take her out tonight. She’s broken up with him but he was pretty insistent." Sam pretended not to notice how Carlos’ head turned sharply in her direction when she had mentioned the break up. "Do you think she’s in danger?"

"She might be, but I have an idea." Trent quickly laid out his plan.

***

"Isn’t this great, Sarah? I thought it would help take your mind off of things," Vince said as he raised his glass of wine. "To us. I bet Starsky never took you to a place like this."

"Actually, we used to come here quite often. Look, Vince, I really appreciate you trying to cheer me up but…." Sarah was distracted by the look of intense hatred that came over Vince’s face. As she turned to see what he was glaring at she saw Carlos at the door.

"What is he doing here? Did you tell him we were coming here?" Vince demanded.

"No." Sarah tried not to smile as Carlos approached the table.

"Hi everyone. Mind if I join you?" Carlos didn’t wait for an answer as he pulled up a chair and reached for a roll. "So, what’s good on the menu?"

"GET OUT!" Vince hissed vehemently.

"Is that any way to treat a guest?" Carlos turned to Sarah. "Can I borrow your knife?" He picked it up and slathered butter on the roll in his hand. After finishing a bite he turned to Vince. "I have to talk to you, Mr. Reid. Sarah, you might want to go powder your nose or something."

"I think I’ll stay."

"Whatever." Carlos signaled the waiter for a wineglass.

"What do you want?" Vince asked impatiently.

"Well," Carlos started as the waiter poured the wine, "First, I have some advice for you. If you’re going to conduct business with a low-life like Bill Shanahan you really shouldn’t use your real name and drive daddy’s Mercedes. They are just way to easy to trace."

"Who is Bill Shanahan?" Sarah asked.

"He’s the man charged with smuggling Sheba into Dallas," Carlos told her.

"You’re insane," Vince said, with disgust.

"Am I. Vince? Or should I just call you Mr. Richelieu?" A brief moment of panic crossed Vince’s face. Carlos didn’t miss it. "And you really shouldn’t threaten people with your father’s power if you are using a false name."

"You can’t prove any of this," Vince said with a laugh. "Sarah, I’m sure you don’t believe any of this."

"Well, Vince, I really would like to know how you knew it had been Oscar who had been shot."

"What?" Vince’s voice registered his shock. "You told me today on the phone."

"No, I just said that an animal was shot. You said Oscar." Sarah’s voice was remarkably calm.

"You must have told me. How else would I have known?"

"If you were there," Carlos threw in, taking a drink of wine. "Admit it, Vince. You hired Shanahan to bring in the tiger. After he was caught, you used Sarah to get access to the sanctuary to get Sheba back. Shooting Oscar was just for spite."

"You are delusional, Starsky." Vince’s voice was full of contempt.

"Oh yeah? Where do you think Trent is right now? He’s gone to get Sheba and probably the gun you used to shoot Oscar." Again, the brief moment of panic crossed Vince’s face.

"I don’t have to listen to this," Vince said, getting up from the table. "C’mon Sarah, let’s go."

"I think I’ll find my own way home, Vince," she told him. Vince turned and stormed out of the restaurant. Sarah turned back to Carlos. "Is Trent really getting Sheba?"

"No. He’s sitting out in the parking lot waiting to follow Vince. He’s just stupid enough to lead us right to Sheba."

"Are we going to follow them?" Sarah asked.

"I am," Carlos answered.

"Can I come with you? In case Sheba needs any treatment?"

"If you want." Carlos finished the wine and the roll and got up to leave. As he passed the maitre’d he told him, "Put that all on Mr. Reid’s bill please." Sarah smiled as she followed him out to his car.

"Hi Trent. You got him?" Carlos had put the cell phone on hands-free mode as he and Sarah pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah," came Trent’s voice. "He’s turning right onto the on ramp to the interstate."

"Okay manno. Just let me know if he changes direction. We’re about 3 minutes behind you."

"Gotcha."

As they drove in silence, Sarah finally spoke. "Carlos, we have to talk."

"Not here. Not now," he said, never taking his eyes off the road.

"Why not now?"

"Because I don’t want to."

"You were right about him and I should have listened to you. Does my saying that make things any better?" Sarah tried.

"No." Sarah sighed heavily and the two lapsed back into silence.

Trent’s voice broke the silence. "He’s getting off the interstate at the 15^th side road."

"Okay. We’re following."

"How about if I tell you I’m still in love with you? Does that make it better?" Sarah said quietly.

Before Carlos could answer Trent’s voice broke through once again. "He’s turning left onto a dirt road about 2 miles along the side road. I’ll pull over and wait for you."

Carlos grabbed the phone and spoke into it. "Okay. We’ll be there shortly. Can you see where it leads?"

"I can’t tell for sure but I think there is a ranch of some kind about a quarter of a mile up the road."

"Okay. Be careful. We’re just coming along the side road. I’ll be there in a minute. Talk to you and Sam then."

"Sam’s with him?" Sarah asked.

"She’s how we knew where you were tonight," Carlos told her as he pulled in next to Sam’s car. "C’mon." As they got out of the car, Sam and Trent came over.

"I've scouted it out a bit and the house is just up beyond that bank of trees. If we go through the woods we can come up on them without them seeing."

"Sounds good, Trent." Carlos turned to Sam and Sarah. "You two pull the cars just off the road a little to hide them and stay here. If we are not back in 15 minutes call Dallas PD."

"Okay guys." Sam said. "Just be careful, okay?"

Trent kissed her. "You bet," he said with a smile and then they headed off.

"You okay, Sarah?" Sam asked, looking at her sister.

"No. But I’ve made my bed and I guess it’s now I have to lie in it."

Sam gave her sister a hug. "C’mon. Let’s move the cars."

***

Trent led the way through the woods, running quickly but quietly. Before long they could see the house, with Vince’s Mercedes parked out in front. Beside the house was a remodeled stable. As they surveyed the area, they heard voices.

"Vince, no one has been here. Besides, I thought you said you had taken care of everything. No one could trace you, you said. I bet it was that little floozy at the sanctuary, wasn’t it?"

"No, it wasn’t her. But someone found out. We have to move the tiger. Then I’ll take care of Starsky."

"Who the hell is Starsky?" Pierre Richelieu demanded.

Carlos came out of the woods, with Trent close behind. "That would be me. But the name is Sandoval."

Pierre turned to his son. "You idiot! You led them right here!"

"That’s okay. We’ll take care of them." Vince yelled and three thugs emerged from the stable. "Take care of these two, will you?" Turning back to Carlos and Trent, he said, "You’ll regret ever messing with me."

The three men approached quickly as Carlos and Trent exchanged knowing glances. Within minutes, the three were on the ground, writhing in pain or unconscious.

"Where did they go?" Carlos asked, breathlessly.

"I don’t know. I’ll take the stable, you take the house." Trent quickly ran off into the stable. Carlos drew his gun and started into the house.

Slowly, he made his way through the rooms and hallways on the first floor. As he was about to make his way up the stairs, he heard the engine of the Mercedes fire up. He ran quickly to the door just in time to see the Mercedes taking off. Then he heard the voice.

"Hey, Starsky." Vince had Sarah by the hair, with a gun pointed at her head. Trent came running out of the stables and stopped quickly beside Carlos.

"Geez, Sarah, just once I wish you’d listen to me," Carlos told her. Sarah was too scared to answer.

"Put the gun down," Vince told him.

Carlos tried to remember his hostage training. What he did remember was what happened the one time he did put down his weapon. He tried to shake the image of his partner’s murder from his mind. "Look, Vince. Let her go. This is between you and I." Slowly, Trent was moving out and around Vince.

"Hardly. She’s responsible for all this. She made me shoot the panther."

"W..w..what?" Sarah managed.

"It’s your fault. If you hadn’t have chosen Starsky here over me, I never would have shot Oscar."

"That logic is just a bit twisted, don’t you think?" Carlos asked

"So now you think I’m twisted." Carlos realized his mistake too late. "Well, I’m the one with the gun. Drop yours. Now." Reluctantly, Carlos did as he was told. The gun hit the ground with a thud. Vince turned quickly to point the gun at Trent. "And you stop right there," he yelled.

Stopping immediately, Trent said, "I’m not moving anywhere." Suddenly, something flew at Vince from behind. Startled, Vince instinctively turned to see what it was. Carlos and Trent rushed him, with Carlos getting there first and disarming him. Trent grabbed Sarah and took her out of harm’s way.

"First of all, don’t call me Starsky!" Carlos landed a punch to Vince’s midsection. Vince doubled over but Carlos hauled him upright again. "Secondly, this is for using Sarah and hurting her." Another punch left Vince dazed. "And finally, this one is for Oscar!" With this final punch, Carlos let go and Vince fell to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

"Nice pitch, Sam," Trent told her, giving her a hug.

"Lucky pitch." Turning to her sister she asked, "Are you okay, Sarah?"

"I guess. I’m going to check on the animals."

"I’ll come with you," Sam followed her sister, giving a knowing look to Trent and Carlos.

***

"It’s too bad they couldn’t get Pierre Richelieu with anything," Sam said as she, Trent and Butch sat at the bar in Uppercuts. "He was smart, putting the ranch in Vince’s name. I can’t believe he let his own son take all the blame, though."

"Slime runs in the family, Sam," Butch said. "At least all those animals will be better taken care of."

"Do you know they suspected that he was going to use them for controlled hunts? How disgusting! Here’s to saving those animals," Sam said.

As they all raised their glasses, Sarah walked in. "What are you cheering?"

"Saving the animals. How many are going to the sanctuary?" Sam asked.

"About 5 including the tiger and a lion. The others are being sent to various zoos. Hopefully they will thrive there." Sitting down and looking around Sarah asked, "Where’s Carlos?"

It was Trent who spoke first. "He’s taking a vacation for a couple of weeks."

"Is he okay? He never said anything about it." Of course, the truth was Carlos had said very little to Sarah in the three days since Vince’s arrest.

"He’s just had a rough time since the whole setup thing. He just said he had a few things to think about."

"When is he coming back, Trent?" Sarah voice was a mixture of sadness, concern and guilt.

"He didn’t say, Sarah."

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