Danny stood at the door that had been slammed in his face. Damn, this was not going well. it was a good thing that he didn't believe in fate because if he did he would think it was trying to tell him something. They have had so many near misses.
He contemplated his next move. He couldnt let her get away. Not tonight. How far could she have gotten in just a few hours?
Knowing Rick was going to be thoroughly pissed and not caring, he knocked on the door again. Actually banged was a better choice of words. Rick slung the door open looking ready for a fight. "Look Danny, if you dont leave right now, I am gonna call the cops and have them haul your butt out of here and then slap a restraining order on you. You got that? Now leave" Rick said.
"Where is she Rick?" Danny said calmly.
"I mean it Danny, you need to leave right now" Rick said getting more agitated by the second.
"Not until you tell me where she is" Danny said.
Rick opened the door fully and stepped out onto the front stoop with Danny. He got nose to nose to Danny which Rick knew wasn't a smart thing to do but he was damn sick and tired to seeing Michelle hurt hy this man. "I told you I dont know Danny, dont you get it" Rick laughed. "She is gone, gone, out of here. She doesnt want anything to do with you. What is it gonna take to get it through that thick skull of yours huh? What?" Rick said with much more bravado than he felt. He knew who he was going up against but what he had said was the truth. Michelle had been devastated earlier and it wasnt the first time she had been hurt by this man. He was going to have to face the fact that she was gone and get over it.
Danny let Ricks last comment go. He would give him that one. He absorbed all that Rick had told him. Think Danny Think. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Where would she go?
She couldnt have gotten too far. It had been less than four hours since she had come to see him at the house and they had had their argument.
Something Rick said popped in his head. "What did you mean you were never going to find Michelle in the condition again" he asked Rick.
"Just what I said Danny" Rick said.
"Well, apparantly I am not getting it through my thick skull, so if you couldn kindly get off your self righteous high horse and tell me what you meant, then maybe I will be one step closer to getting the hell off your porch" he said.
Rick could tell that this was going to be the only way to get him off his porch. "Fine" he said. "I came home to pick up my tux to wear to the fund raiser at the hospital tonight. Abby was getting her hair done and when I came home I found Michelle...... " he couldnt finish his sentence.
He didnt think he owed Danny any explanations on Michelle's behalf but maybe if he told him everything, he could see how much he had hurt her yet again and he would finally get the message and leave her the hell alone and go back to his life of crime.
Danny felt sick. He knew he had hurt Michelle. He had had to do it, he kept telling himself. He had to keep her safe. He could do that now. He had everything he needed for them to be together finally. Except Michelle. He had to find out where she had gone. He would find out where she had gone, he vowed, he didnt care what it took.
"Go on Rick" Danny said. "Finish what you are going to say" he instructed.
"I was going to say Danny" he said "was that when I came home to get my tux, I found my little sister slumped in a corner crying hysterically. Not little tears or muffled sobs, not medium tears or stifling cries but gut wrenching hysterical sobs that broke my heart to hear them. My little sister who never hurt a soul was hurt again and I am not, I repeat am not going to allow you to hurt her again Danny. So take your best shot, send your lackeys after me, have me beaten up, do whatever you think you have to do, but I am not going to allow you anyway near her again. Do you understand?" Rick said
Danny slumped back against the brick exterior of the house. He looked up into the night. The only sound he could hear was his labored breathing. Fighting with Rick wasnt the answer though God knows he wanted to punch him right in his holier than thou nose. "Why did you leave her Rick if she was in such bad shape? Why did you leave her alone in the state of mind Rick." he said.
"Dont you dare try and turn this around on me Danny. I am not the one who keeps hurting her" Rick said. "I tried to tell her I would stay home but she insisted I go since we organized it. She promised me she would be fine. She said she was gonna take a bath and go to bed. I had no idea she was going to leave" Rick said hating that he was defending himself to Danny but the truth was, he was right. He never should have left her alone like that. He had never seen her like that. He should have known she would try to get as far away from her pain as she could.
"Look Rick, our fighting is not going to help anything. Help me please, Do you have any idea where she might have gone? Any at all?" he said in a broken voice.
Against his better judgment he told Danny the only place he could think she would go would be to see their dad.
Damn, Danny thought. She had left the country. He doubted Rick was gonna help him anymore. He was gonna have to find her on his own.
"Did she leave any kind of note" Danny said. Michelle wouldnt just leave and not tell Rick where she was going. She wouldnt want them to worry. He knew Michelle was more considerate than that.
"No note Danny, now I think it's time you left" he said as he opened the front door and stepped back in the house that he shared with Michelle, "It's late and I have early rounds" he said and began to close the door.
"Wait Rick, are all her clothes gone? What about her car? How did she get to the airport? Damn it Rick help me here" he pled.
"No, Danny I am not gonna let you near my sister again. Don't come back here again. If you do, then I will assume that you are going to cause my family harm and I will take appropriate action to keep my family safe" he said and gently closed the door this time.
Danny slammed his hand against the outside wall which only served to make his hand hurt tremendously. He ignored the pain and concentrated on where Michelle could have gone. Were they ever going to get a break? Why coudlnt they just connect once in this lousy lifetime.
He started to get in his car when he decided to look in the garage where Michelle kept her car parked. He had a funny feeling about all of this. He looked in the garage and saw that her car was still there. Michelle wouldnt want to leave her car in a parking garage for an unlimited amount of time. She could have called a cab though to take her to the airport.
He knew he had hurt her, but for her to flee the country? What about her studies? What about his grandmothers funeral? No, he knew Michelle , he knew she wouldnt.......
Oh God, he knew where she was. Why hadnt he thought of it in the first place. He got in his car and headed straight for the lighthouse. This time he could tell her everything. This time it was going to work.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Going somewhere Carmen?" Frank Cooper said holding her struggling body agaist his.
Carmen couldnt believe it. She had walked right into Springfields answer to Barney Fife. He couldnt investigate his way out a paper bag and she had landed right in his lap. Unbelievable.
"Unhand me this instant Detective Cooper" Carmen said authoriatively. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Well Carmen, I think you better get your lawyer for this. I am sure you are aware that someone took a shot at your buddy Dietz the other night. Well it looks like someone tried it again tonight and lo and behold who comes running out of his room like her hair was on fire but Carmen Santos." he said.
"You think you are so smart detective. I have recently been made aware that Dietz was in the hospital, you see we had gotten the information that he had died. I came to see for myself that he was alright and got pushed in the closet in all the commotion. I heard everything that went on and was just on my way to thank the doctors for bringing Dietz back. Do you have any idea who may have done this? I want names. I want to know who did this to Dietz" she said.
She really thought he was falling for this. She really thought he was stupid. She was about to find out differently. "Listen Carmen, it would be best if you got hold of your lawyer and have them meet us downtown." he said.
"Are you saying what I think you are saying?" she said.
"Yes I am, Carmen Santos you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Roberto Dietzman, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say..............." Frank continued as he put the handcuffs on her and led her out into the hall.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Danny jumped out of his car and took the stairs two at a time. He sprinted to the top and went to open the door. It was locked. He didnt have a key.
He pounded on the door screaming Michelle's name. No answer. Oh no, what if he were wrong. What if she werent here. She usually parked her car at the back and he hadnt taken time to look to see if it was there.
"Michelle are you there? Please answer me baby? I can explain everything. Please open the door. I need to tell you it all. I need to tell you why I didnt go to California. I need to tell you that I have it all figured out. We can be together. Please tell me you still want that. Please tell me you still love me. Michelle answer me, please baby answer me." he said to the closed door.
There was no answer. Danny had to face the fact that Michelle had really gone. She hadn't come to the lighthouse like he had thought. She had left to see her dad in Europe. She was gone. Gone from his life.
He sat on the top step of the stairs. He hung his head in his hands and cried. Bitter tears. He had to face the fact that she left him. She had to face the fact that indeed this was the wrong lifetime and they were never going to get to be together.