Double Jeopardy chapter 9 (standard:mystery, 7687 words) [9/13] show all parts
Author: Sarah Spenser	Added: Aug 22 2005	Views/Reads: 2527/1866	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
See if Connor finds Allison and the reprocussions!

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

you talking about, Allie?” Connor asked exasperated. “You didn't 
believe me then either! I told you that there wasn't anything going on 
between us, and still you believed Slim Hawkins a thug over your own 
wife!” she began to sob, Connor reached to comfort her but she turned 
away from him. “Don't touch me, Connor! I can't believe this! You're 
doing it again!” “Doing what? I don't understand you!” she looked at 
him with fire in her eyes, he had never seen her so angry with him. Her 
eyes were like ice, but he also saw pain as well, and heard it when she 
spoke. “You don't trust me! You ...” “That isn't it, Allie. I love you! 
I just don't believe that Trent put you in the closet!” “Do you think I 
bound and gagged myself?” “Don't be ridiculous!” “I know that you have 
issues with trust, Connor. Because of Grace I get that! But I've never 
lied to you and I'm not lying to you now!” she got out of the car and 
ascended the stairs to Thelma and Clint's house. Connor was close 
behind, he heard the bedroom door slam and  knew he was in for a long 
night. Thelma was standing in the kitchen doorway, her hands on her 
hips. She looked at Connor accusingly. “What did you do?” she asked 
hostilely. “Give me a chance to explain, Mom!” “Allison just ran in 
here hysterical, she's not prone to hysterics, Connor! What did you 
do?” “She disappeared today, she was supposed to do the news and she 
never showed. Doug called me and I raced to the station. Allie was 
nowhere to be found. I had officers canvas the area and everything. We 
finally found her in the storage closet. She was bound and gagged, she 
lost consciousness! She told me that Trent the cop I hired to protect 
her shoved her in the closet.” “What are you doing about it?” “What do 
you mean?” Thelma glared at her son.” Connor, your wife is telling you 
vital information and you're choosing not to do anything?” “I don't 
believe it was Trent! I believe she was kidnapped and put in the 
storage closet, but not by Trent. It doesn't make sense, he's one of 
our best! And ...” “Connor, I can't believe you! You're being a jerk 
here! This is the same thing you pulled with Chad Batano. Remember? You 
came home and practically accused her of having an affair with him?” 
“That's what Allie says but ...” “No buts! You've had trust issues ever 
since Grace, but Allison's a gem! She's kind, thoughtful, and she has 
the biggest heart of anyone I know. She loves you madly, deeply, 
passionately. Most people search their entire lives for what you two 
have. She would never lie to you.” Connor sat and thought about what 
Thelma had said. Dinner that night was awkward, Allie barely spoke to 
Connor, she hid her eyes from him. She was in pain, and felt betrayed, 
Thelma hated seeing her this way. She helped Thelma with the dishes and 
then went in by Connor. He was flipping through the channels looking 
for something interesting to watch. She sat down beside him. “Allie? 
Are you speaking to me?” She shook her head. He could tell she was 
about to cry. “I'm sorry, honey. It's just stress and everything.” He 
reached out to hold her, she moved closer to him. He gently stroked her 
hair. “Connor?” she whispered. “What is it, sweetness?” “Don't ever 
doubt me, my love. It hurts when you do that. It's like a knife in my 
heart.” “I'm sorry, Allie. I didn't mean to doubt you. I believe you. 
Mom and I had a talk and she said that most people search their entire 
lives for what we have. You were right about what you said.” “What was 
that?” she asked kissing him lightly. “About Grace. I do have trust 
issues. I'm sorry, Allison. You've never given me any reason to doubt 
you. All you've shown me is kindness, love, and that beautiful heart of 
yours.” She kissed him passionately, he returned her affection and 
kissed her firm on the mouth. “I'm sorry.” She said softly. “You don't 
have to apologize for anything. You were just telling the truth. I'm 
sorry I didn't believe you. I didn't want to believe that the person I 
hired to protect you could do something like that. I've been an idiot, 
can you ever forgive me?” “I forgive you, honey. Just don't ever doubt 
me again.” “I won't, Allison. You must've been so scared locked in that 
closet.” He said stroking her cheek lightly. “I was, I was afraid for 
the baby and myself, I didn't think anyone would find me.” “You're 
safe, sweetheart, I'm going to make sure that Trent never hurts you 
again.” He kissed her lightly, she returned his affection kissing him 
until the whole room was spinning. 

Connor began to caress her shoulders, slowly making his way down to her
breasts. He kissed them lightly before running his hands delicately 
over them. Allison kissed him unbuttoning his shirt, she kissed the 
places the buttons revealed. Connor kissed every inch of her, before 
reclaiming her lips again. He explored her mouth with his tongue, 
letting his kiss linger on her lips. “I love you!” he whispered 
breathlessly. “I love you too.” She said between kisses. 

Connor gently slipped off her nightgown and tossed it to the floor.
Allison undid his jeans and he slid out of them. He tossed his shirt to 
the floor as he looked at her. She was beautiful, and it seemed as 
though their fight was ancient history as he gently made love to her. 
He entered her slowly, giving himself completely to her. He conveyed 
how much he loved her with his body, and she responded. Their dance was 
slow and rhythmic, but the tempo quickly increased. Allie murmured 
words of love to him as he planted kisses on her lips and continued to 
make love to her. When they were exhausted, they collapsed in each 
others arms. Connor looked at her and smiled, she smiled and planted a 
passionate kiss on his lips. “I love you, Allie.” “I love you too, my 
love. That was amazing.” “You're amazing, Allison. I'm sorry about 
before.” He said stroking her cheek. “It's okay, Connor. But just don't 
doubt me again.” “I won't, I promise.” He said kissing her long and 
hard. She laid in his arms, enjoying his touch, the smell of his skin, 
and the way he held her. 

Red glanced at the clock. It was late, she would be asleep, the perfect
time to strike. He paced around the room, trying to gather his nerve. 
Even though he had done this before, he wanted to gather every ounce of 
courage he had. This had to scare her out of her mind, and he wanted to 
be purely evil. Red remembered The Boss's words, and knew what had to 
be done. He found all the equipment he was searching for and began to 
weave his web of fear around her like a spider. 

Allison had drifted off to sleep in Connor's arms, he smiled at her as
he turned out the light. The house was quiet, and he soon fell asleep. 
But the calm of the night was soon shattered by the ringing of the 
phone. It sounded like a bomb exploding, Allison sleepily opened her 
eyes and glanced at the clock. “Who's this?” she mumbled reaching for 
the phone. “Hello?” “You're next!” the voice said. “Who is this?” she 
demanded instantly awake with fear. “You're next, Allison. I've warned 
you why don't you ever listen? Don't make me do it.” “Do ... do what?” 
she asked gripping the phone as if it were a life line. “Don't make me 
kill you and your baby.” “Why are you doing this? Who is this?” “That's 
for me to know and you to never find out. You're next.” The caller 
broke the connection. Allison replaced the receiver and began to sob. 
She clung to Connor as he held her. “What is it, Allie?” he asked as 
she shook with fear and sobs. “He said I was next. It was ... a death 
threat. He told me that I never listen and that he would kill me and 
the baby!” “I wish I knew he was going to call. I would have tapped the 
line.” “You couldn't know a thing like that. I'm scared, my love! I'm 
so scared!” “I'll protect you, sweetness. You have nothing to worry 
about. Why don't you try and get some rest.” “Rest? I can't rest after 
that phone call, Connor! What am I supposed to do? Resign from my job? 
Stay locked up in the house? But then I'm like a sitting duck! I don't 
want to put our baby in danger.” “Allie, don't worry. We'll catch this 
guy before he has a chance to do anything to you or the baby. It's just 
a scare tactic.” He didn't tell her, but he was as scared as she was. 
This had gone far beyond your crank call, and far beyond scare tactics. 
Someone wanted her dead. “Connor, I don't know what to do! He seems to 
follow me!” “I promise you, I won't let anything happen to you. I'll 
call Bryan and have him tail you.” “Okay, that's a start, I guess.” 
“Try to get some rest, Allie. All this stress isn't good for you or the 
baby.” She laid in his arms as he stroked her hair. She finally fell 
asleep again, Connor however glanced at the clock. He was very afraid 
for Allie, but he couldn't let on. If she knew how scared he was, she'd 
go crazy. That could lead to the baby being born too early or Allie 
getting herself sick with stress. 

Connor woke early the next morning. He had slept restlessly the night
before. He kept checking on Allie, his dreams were more like 
nightmares. Once he had dreamt that a masked intruder had broken in and 
tried to kill her. He woke with a start and glanced at Allie who was 
asleep beside him. Connor quietly got out of bed and left the room. He 
was careful not to wake Allison, it had taken her a good hour to fall 
back to sleep, and she needed rest. Connor walked slowly into the 
kitchen, he was surprised to see Thelma reading the paper. “Hi, Mom.” 
“Good morning, sweetheart. What are you doing up so early?” “Why are 
you up?” his mother was usually a late sleeper, and for her to be up 
early was rare. “I just couldn't sleep anymore, so I thought I'd read a 
little. Is everything okay? Is Allison all right?” “She's still asleep. 
She had a rough night last night.” “What happened?” “Did you hear the 
phone ring around 2 this morning?” “No, your father and I were dead to 
the world. Who was it?”” It was another death threat. Allison answered 
it and she was hysterical.” “I don't blame her.” “No, but it's more 
then just a scare tactic. I mean that's what I told her, but I don't 
believe it.” “You're scared aren't you?” Thelma asked looking directly 
into her son's eyes. “Yes, Mom I'm scared for Allie and our baby. I 
wish I knew this psycho was going to call! I would've tapped the line. 
I don't even know what to do to keep her safe. He seems to follow her 
everywhere. I'm going to have Bryan tail her, but I don't know if that 
will work.” “Connor, I'm scared too for you and Allison. The best thing 
you can do is to reassure her. Maybe  when she wakes up, you should 
talk to her about ways to keep her safe.” “I wish I could send her 
somewhere safe. Just until this whole mess was over.” “Doug's not going 
to drop this story, Connor. The Grimson case has captivated viewers and 
so has Eye on Crime.” “I know, the pilot airs tomorrow night.” “You 
have to focus on Allison's health, Connor. That's the most important 
thing, she needs to not have anymore stress.” “I know, Mom. I'll try 
what you said.” They talked until Allison came into the kitchen an hour 
later. “Hi, Allie.” Connor said kissing her passionately. “Hi, 
sweetheart.” She returned his affection and Thelma watched as they 
kissed passionately. She assumed that they had made up from their fight 
the night before. “Want some coffee?” “Sure.” She made her  way over to 
the coffee pot, but Connor stopped her. “Sit down, sweetheart. I'll get 
it for you.” “I can ...” “I like doing things for you, Allie.” “Thanks, 
you're so sweet, Connor. That's one of the things I love about you.” 
“How'd you sleep? I didn't want to wake you.” “You didn't. I didn't 
even hear you when you got out of bed. I slept okay I guess.” “Connor 
told me about the phone call last night. Is there anything I can do for 
you?” Thelma said setting down the paper. “I wish you could make this 
go away, Thelma. But thanks for asking.” “We want to keep you safe, 
Allison.” “Mom and I were talking about strategies.” Connor said 
handing Allison her coffee. “Like what?” she inquired taking a sip. 
“Well, I'm going to have Bryan follow you, and I'm also going to have 
this phone tapped.” “Okay, what should I do? Should I leave the house? 
I mean this is getting absurd!” “Do what you normally do, Allie. I'll 
have Brian follow your every move.” He kissed her lightly on the lips 
before sitting across from her. Just then, the phone rang. “Hello?” 
“Connor, it's Charlie.” “What is it, Charlie?” Connor inquired flatly. 
He didn't want to leave Allie, and he glanced at her as he spoke. “I'm 
sorry to bother you on your day off but I have news on Chad Batano.” 
“What kind of news? Did you find him?” “Well, no but we got a hot tip. 
Someone spotted him living in Texas.” Chad had been profiled on 
Fallwood's Most Notorious, a show that dealt with the most dangerous 
criminals. “Okay, do you want me to come down to the station?” Allison 
gave him a dirty look, they hadn't  spent any time together, and now 
Charlie was asking him to work on his day off. “I'd like that.” “Okay, 
I'll be there.” Connor hung up and turned to face Allison. “I'm sorry, 
sweetness. But I have to go.” “What kind of news did Charlie have?” “I 
can't tell you that, sorry.” “Don't lie to me! It's about Chad isn't 
it?” “How could you know something like that?” he said with a laugh 
trying to throw her off the track. “Connor, why else would you keep it 
from me? If it were a regular criminal you were trying to catch it 
wouldn't matter.” He sighed exasperated. “Yes, someone thinks they 
spotted Chad.” “Where? Are you going to help search? What if ...” “Calm 
down, honey. Now you know why I didn't want you to know. I'm going down 
to the station, then we'll take It from there. What's on your agenda 
for today?” “Well, I did plan to spend time with my handsome husband, 
but since that's out of the question, maybe I'll shop for furniture.” 
“Okay, I'll call Brian. Are you heading over to the new house?” “Yeah, 
I want to take a look around and see the kitchen again. Make sure it 
doesn't need a renovation.” “You be careful, sweetness.” He said 
kissing her. “I will. Try to come home at a reasonable hour.” She said 
frustrated. She kissed him so hard he thought his knees would go weak. 
“I will, if you're going to kiss me like that!” “I'll kiss you all 
night long if it'll make you come home.” She said flirtatiously. “Oo, 
something to look forward to.” He said with a smile as he disappeared 
into the bedroom to get dressed. 

The day passed uneventfully, Allison surveyed the new house, and found
some new furniture. The furniture company had said it would take about 
two weeks to ensure delivery. Afterwards, Allie and Brian went to 
Carol's Cutlery. A store which not only specialized in silverware and 
dishes, but appliances as well. By four o'clock, Allison was exhausted 
and headed home with Brian tailing her all the way. As she glanced in 
her rear view mirror, she noticed a blue Honda following her. Brian's 
car was a black sedan, and she instantly became nervous. As she turned 
off the road to evade the driver, her cell rang. “Hello?” she said 
nervously. “Allison, you're being tailed. Not just by me.” Brian 
informed her. “I know, Brian. What should I do?” “Try to avoid going 
directly home. He can't know where you live.” “We'll you stay with me?” 
her breath was shallow, and her heart was pounding. All the color had 
practically drained from her face as the realization hit her. “All the 
way, Allison. I won't leave you until you're home safe.” “Thanks, 
Brian.” She hung up and continued to avoid the driver. She went every 
which way, taking him down all the back roads and deserted streets she 
could find. Just then, she heard squealing breaks and watched as 
Brian's car careened into a tree. 

Every instinct she possessed told her to stay put, but she couldn't,
what if Brian was hurt? She had to do something. Slowly and carefully, 
Allison exited her car and made her way over to Brian's which was a 
mangled mess of metal and shattered glass. There were shards of glass 
everywhere, and she began to worry. “Brian?” “I'm okay.” “Are you sure? 
Are you hurt?” “I'm sure, I'm not hurt.” Brian slid his hand to the 
door handle, but as he went to open it, it came off in his hand. 
Allison yanked the door opened, it was now a crumpled piece of metal, 
but the hinges still worked. Brian emerged from the car somewhat 
shaken. “Are you sure you're all right?” Allison asked once they were 
sitting in her car. “I'm fine. Did you see him? Where did he go?” “I 
don't know. I didn't get a good look at his face.” “I'm driving you 
home.” Brian said taking the wheel. 

Once home, Allison told Thelma what happened. She was as shocked as
Allison, and as she bustled around the kitchen told her so. “I can't 
believe this! Even with Brian following you the mystery man still tried 
to kill you!” “I don't know if he was aiming for me or Brian. But 
Brian's car crashed into a tree.” “Looks like he was trying to get 
Brian out of the way.” “Yeah.” “This is scary, Allison.” “I know, 
Thelma.” The phone rang piercing the air. It sent shivers up Allison's 
spine but she answered. “Hello?” “Did you get my message?” the 
disguised voice asked. “Who's this?” “I told you I'll never tell you so 
just stop asking! I had pretty good aim didn't I? I almost ran your 
police officer friend off the road.” “What do you want?” “Oh, Allison! 
You know what I want. I've told you. Surely, you can't be that stupid.” 
“Why? Why are you doing this?” “You're tempting me to kill you! Don't 
do that! Just go back to your life, forget you ever heard of Chad 
Batano and those teenagers.” Allison knew the line was tapped, and she 
had to keep him talking to get a trace. “Why?” “It's better this way.” 
“But ...” “Listen to me, Allison this is your last warning. Either you 
stop this investigation or I will kill you and your baby. I will bring 
weapons. Maybe a gun, or a knife, depending on what kind of mood I'm 
in.” “No! please, don't! I'll do anything!” “Just remember you're in 
double jeopardy.” The caller hung up leaving Allison with an eerie 
feeling. “Allison who was that?” “Another death threat. He described 
running Brian off the road and told me this was my last warning to stop 
the investigation. Then he said that he would kill the baby and me. 
He'd bring weapons a gun or a knife. Then he said that I was in double 
jeopardy!” “Okay, sweetheart calm down. Do you think you kept him 
talking long enough to get a trace?” “I ... I don't know.” “Well, we'll 
find out.” Thelma picked up the phone and dialed star 57, it enabled 
the call to be traced. Allison was shaking and Thelma did her best to 
calm her down. Clint entered and looked at the scene before him. 
“What's going on?” he asked softly coming over to Allison. “Allison got 
another death threat.” Thelma said shakily. “Dear God! This man's a 
real macadamia.” Allison smiled at his joke. “I have to call Connor.” 
She said reaching for the phone. 

Connor sat at his desk mapping out Prairie Grove, Texas. That was the
last sighting of Chad that they had. He marked the possible hiding 
places, he was working with profiler Dana Evans from the FBI. She was 
one of the best and had created a psychological profile of Chad and his 
likely behavior patterns. He wondered how Allison was doing with the 
furniture shopping as he highlighted another section on the map. There 
was a knock on the door which broke his concentration. “Come in.” he 
said trying to refocus his attention on the task at hand. “Connor, you 
have a phone call.” The rookie cop said. “Who is it?” “Your wife, and 
she sounds very upset.” “Okay, put her through, please.” A moment 
later, Connor's phone rang. “Allie, what's up?” “Connor, it's horrible! 
He spotted us again! He ran Brian off the road and ...” “Allison, slow 
down, sweetheart. Start from the beginning.” “Okay, sorry. I'm so 
shaken up. We were coming out of Carol's Cutlery and heading home. 
Brian said he would follow me until I got here, but then there was this 
blue Honda following us. We tried to avoid taking the route home, I 
went every which way. I even took him down back roads and deserted 
streets. But then Brian's car ran off the road. He's okay, I mean he 
didn't get hurt thank God. But then when I got home, the guy called. He 
said this was my last warning to stop the investigation and that he was 
going to kill our baby and me. He said he would bring weapons, maybe a 
knife or a gun. Then he said the oddest thing.” She paused for breath, 
she could barely speak she was so upset and Connor knew he needed to be 
with her. “He said that I was in double jeopardy! What the hell does 
that mean? I ... I don't know what to do!” “Okay, Allie calm down. I'll 
be right there.” “I love you, Connor.” She said softly. “I love you 
too, Allison.” He hung up and went to find Charlie. “What do you mean 
leaving early? We have to find Chad!” Charlie bellowed from behind his 
desk. “Chief, Allison needs me. She almost got killed this afternoon. 
This psychopath isn't stopping! I put Brian on her and he's still 
trying to kill her.” “Connor, I'm going to ask you, what's more 
important your wife, or Chad?” “I can't believe you'd even ask such a 
thing! Allie is the most important person in my life! She's more 
important than any case! She's got some psychopath after her and all 
you care about is this damn case!” “My career's on the line, Cassidy!” 
they were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Chief,” his secretary 
said. “What?” he snapped. “Call for you about Chadwick Batano.” Connor 
left the office and got into his car. 

When he got home, Thelma and Clint were trying to comfort Allison.
Connor sat next to her on the couch and kissed her. He stroked her hair 
as he reassured her that everything was going to be all right. But he 
truly didn't believe it. He had traced the call before he'd left the 
station, and found that it came from a pay phone downtown. “Connor, I 
don't know what to do! I never thought he'd strike again. I can't 
believe it, I thought that Brian would stop him.” “I know, honey. We'll 
figure out who it is.” “Did you get a trace?” “Yeah, the call came from 
a pay phone downtown.” “That's like having nothing!” she said beginning 
to panic. “Listen, sweetheart, Brian and I are working on it. We'll 
catch this nut.” 

Connor spent the rest of the weekend trying to reassure Allison. She was
nervous and jumped at every sound. He didn't blame her, and he felt 
powerless. He couldn't protect her no matter how hard he tried. He saw 
fear in her eyes and wanted desperately to kiss her, make love to her 
and tell her that he would solve this. But he couldn't, the trace had 
gone nowhere and with every passing minute, he felt helpless. Allie had 
barely slept Saturday night, Connor worried about her as she paced and 
stared out the window. It was Sunday night, and Connor worried about 
her. He looked over at her, she was standing by the window staring into 
the night. “Allie, come to bed.” “I can't sleep, my love. Every time I 
try I see Brian's car being run off the road. Or I hear his voice on 
the phone telling me he's going to kill our baby!” she began to sob, 
Connor got out of bed and held her. “Allie, it's going to be all 
right.” “Hold me, Connor! I'm so scared! I don't know what to do.” 
“Allison, you're exhausted I think you should get some rest.” “I can't 
rest.” She said sitting on the edge of the bed. “Try, sweetheart. Come 
on,” he said patting the bed. “I'll hold you and keep you safe.” 
Reluctantly, Allison climbed into bed. Connor got in beside her and 
held her. He stroked her hair and planed delicate kisses on her lips. 
“It's going to be all right, Allison. I love you, sweetness, we'll get 
through this together.” “Yeah, we will. As long as we're together I can 
handle anything.” She said wearily. “You just try and get some sleep.” 
“We'll you stay with me?” she asked fear beginning to creep into her 
voice. He kissed her lovingly, she kissed him with passion and desire. 
“Of course, sweetheart. I'll be right here.” He kissed her again and 
watched as she settled into his arms. Exhaustion had taken its toll, 
and within a few minutes, she was asleep. Connor watched her for a 
while, she seemed content, which was rare these days. He stared at the 
clock as thoughts of who was trying to kill her danced through his 
head. Connor quietly got out of bed and left the room.  He snuck down 
the hall until he reached the living room. He was surprised to see the 
light on. Clint was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. “Dad? What 
are you doing up at this hour?” “I couldn't sleep. How about you?” “I 
couldn't either.” “How's Allison?” Clint asked putting down his 
magazine. “She's asleep right now. She's scared as hell, and I don't 
blame her. I don't even know what to tell her anymore. I keep telling 
her that I will protect her and keep her safe, but I can't even do 
that.” “Don't blame yourself, Connor. You can't be with her every 
minute. Besides, this guy's a real piece of work, he'll strike anyway.” 
“I just feel so helpless, Dad. I want to keep Allie and our baby safe. 
But I don't know how! I can't protect her and I can't stop it!” “You're 
doing the best you can. Being wit her is all the support she needs. 
Just focus on that for now, son.” “I will.” He said good night to Clint 
and went back to check on Allie. 

Monday morning was the usual hub of activity at WFTR. The news room was
buzzing with stories, tips over the various news wires and reporters 
were scurrying to grab the best assignments. Even though Doug usually 
doled out the assignments, that didn't stop the newer reporters. They 
would try to outdo each other and Allison found this annoying. She sat 
in Doug's office perusing the journals. Her office was being put back 
together, and forensics had finally finished dusting for prints. Doug 
sat across from her his head bent in concentration. Allison shivered as 
she read the journal entitled Double Jeopardy. 

Some people can't help themselves, they just have a knack for getting
into trouble. Like Monica for example, she could never leave things 
alone, never let things just sit and play out. This I find is one of 
her biggest faults. Double Jeopardy is more than a round you play on 
the famous game show, it's the code I live by. I will explain what this 
means later. But now back to Monica. Her life needs to be snuffed out, 
abruptly taken, like quickly putting out a flame. Maybe a gun or knife, 
depends on the mood I'm in. I will bring weapons and watch her squirm 
as she pitifully pleads for her life. 

Allison gasped as it dawned on her, Monica's killer and the person who
was sending her the death threats were the same person. The entry 
chilled her, and she began to tremble. She reread the entry, it made 
her blood run cold, these were the words of a killer. Doug noticed her 
trembling and got up from his desk. “Allison? Are you all right?” “I'm 
fine, Doug. Just a little chilled.” “I hope you're not coming down with 
something.” “No, I'm just reading this entry.” “Chilling?” “To say the 
least. I wish I knew who sent these to me, and who wrote them. Then 
we'd know who killed Monica Grimson.” The phone rang, Allison jumped as 
Doug reached for it. “Good morning WFTR. Doug speaking, may I help 
you?” “Doug, it's Ross Grimson. I wanted to tell you that I just sent 
my assistant over with a speech I've prepared for my campaign.” “Okay, 
it's odd to get a call from the candidate themselves, anything special 
I can do for you?” “Yes, I'm giving a speech in the park this 
afternoon, I want to drum up support. Can you send Allison Shure to 
cover it?” Doug scratched his head in concentration. His dark eyes 
narrowed as he remembered Ross's last encounter with Allison. “You mean 
the lovely young lady you banned from entering your law office? You 
nearly had her in tears and you want her to cover your campaign 
speech?” “I would like to apologize to Allison in person. Besides that 
was in the past, she's the best reporter you've got.” “I'm not 
promising anything. I'll speak to her about it.” Dug hung up and turned 
to Allison. “That was Ross Grimson. He's sending us his campaign 
speech, he is also having a rally in the park this afternoon where 
he'll read it. He asked me to ask you if you would cover the story.” 
“Me? He threw me out of his office, not to mention trying to pull me 
out of my chair when I mentioned his son! Why would I do this?” “I 
don't know, Allison. I didn't give him a definite answer, I said I'd 
have to speak to you first. He said he wants to apologize to you.” 
“Okay, but only for you, Doug.” He smiled at her, she was the best they 
had, and he knew it would turn out fantastic. 

The park was crowded, Allison glanced around for Ross but couldn't find
him anywhere. Fallwood's elite had turned out in full force to support 
Ross as he ran for governor. Craig Stillman the camera man scanned the 
park for Ross. He set up his tripod as Allison readied the audio 
equipment. Just as she was finishing up, Ross came over. He stood a few 
feet away, and timidly reached out his hand. “Allison, I'd like to 
apologize for that little incident at Grimson and Firestone. I'm sorry, 
it's just with my boy missing and all. I've been under a lot of stress. 
I hope that you will accept my sincere apologies.” He practically had 
phony written all over him, but Allison pushed that thought aside as 
she opened her mouth. “Of course, Mr. Grimson. That was just a little 
... uh ...” she swept her hand in the air as if searching for the right 
word. “Misunderstanding.” Ross said quickly. “Yes, it was.” “I 
specifically asked for you to be here. You're WFTR's best and I knew if 
you were covering this, it would go off without a hitch. Here's my 
speech. I know that I sent one over to WFTR all ready, but I wanted you 
to have an extra copy.” “Thank you.” “Any time. I need to set up.” “Of 
course.” “Nice chatting with you, Allison.” “Likewise.” She watched as 
he went up to the podium and began to speak. As he spoke, and made 
gestures with his hands to emphasize his points, Craig took shots of 
him. Some were close ups while others were far away. Allison took 
detailed notes, for when she added the voice over later. Ross's speech 
would be on the evening news and Allison would have to do the voice 
over as soon as she arrived back at the station. After an hour, Ross's 
rally was over, Craig loaded the equipment into the van and went to 
find Allison. Craig was new to WFTR, but Allison liked him. He was 
short, with a generous sprinkling of luxurious wavy black hair, green 
eyes and a mustache. He was a jovial man, and always seemed to be 
smiling. “Ready?” he said once he had found Allison talking to a bunch 
of reporters from other networks. “I'm ready.” 

As Craig drove, Allison perused her notes. She had tried to capture as
much detail as possible, what Ross was wearing, what his main points 
were, and most importantly how the crowd had responded. She decided to 
take a look at Ross's speech, she was more focused on gauging the 
crowd's reaction than listening to him. She wanted to make sure her 
notes were correct, as she glanced at the first page, she gasped. She 
was still in disbelief when Craig pulled into WFTR. He turned off the 
engine and got out of the car. He unloaded all the equipment and 
glanced at Allison. She was staring at Ross's speech, he was worried 
and opened her door. “Allison?” she continued to stare at Ross's 
speech. He tapped her on the shoulder. “Allison? Are you okay?” “What?” 
she asked as his voice pulled her out of her reverie. “Are you all 
right?” “I'm fine, I was just thinking.” “Are you sure?” “I'm 
positive.” Craig helped her down from the van as she put Ross's speech 
in her briefcase. 

After she completed her voice over for Ross's speech, Allison headed for
the copy room. She had to do this without anyone knowing, she put 
Ross's speech into the copier and pressed a series of buttons. Within 
seconds, the copier spit out a carbon copy of the speech. Allison 
stapled it and put it and one of the journals into a plastic bag. She 
picked up her cell, blocked her number from showing up on caller ID and 
dialed. “Fallwood Forensics Lab.” “Hi, I'm calling to see if you would 
be able to analyze a hand writing sample.” “Yes, ma'am we can do that.” 
“Can you put a rush on it? It's urgent.” “Well, only in extreme cases.” 
The man said a little perturbed. “Listen, sir I know you don't know me, 
but this literally a matter of life and death.” “Sounds urgent.” “It 
is. Can I bring it over now?” “Sure, I'll have the results oh in about 
48 hours.” “Great, thank you so much.” “What's your name?” the man 
inquired writing on a piece of paper. Allison thought quickly, she 
couldn't give her real name, then everyone would know what she was up 
to. “Allison McKenna.” “Okay, Ms. McKenna, come right over.” 

Allison mad e the fifteen minute drive over the forensics lab. It was
rare for them to test things in a rush, but the man had believed her 
story. She hadn't lied, it was a matter of life and death, hers and her 
child's. The only thing she had lied about was her last name. McKenna 
had been her mother's maiden name. No one would associate it with 
Allison Shure. As she handed the man the journal and Ross's speech, she 
felt that maybe this was finally coming to an end. 

Connor arrived home late, Charlie had kept him tonight, he was
relentless in their search for Chad. Connor wanted to find Chad as 
well, but he was more concerned about Allison. He wanted to spend every 
minute he could with her. When he got home, Allison was on the phone. 
When she hung up, she kissed him tenderly and sat on the couch. Connor 
could tell by her smile that it was good news. He hadn't seen her smile 
since the death threats. Not a true genuine smile anyway. “What's up, 
Allie? You look happy. I'm glad to see that, I was getting worried 
about you.” “I'm so excited, Connor! That was the furniture company, 
they said they're going to deliver the furniture on Saturday.” “That's 
great! I thought they weren't coming for another week yet.” “Yeah, but 
the furniture came in early.” “Oh, that's terrific!” he was overjoyed 
to see her smile again, the new house got her mind off the death 
threats and that was good. 

Allison was busy until Saturday, she was at the new house early, she had
bought area rugs and was scattering them throughout the house. The 
varnished wood floors were too beautiful to cover all the way, so she 
and Connor had decided on area rugs instead of traditional carpet. She 
surveyed the room from a different angle, making sure that the rug fit 
before the furniture arrived. She was tired from the week's activities, 
she was covering Ross's campaign and giving daily reports on the 
Grimson case and the missing teenagers. The forensics lab hadn't called 
about the handwriting sample, she thought this was odd, but maybe it 
had taken longer than the man had surmised. Her phone rang, sending an 
echo through the empty house. “Hello?” “Ms. McKenna? This is Tim from 
the Fallwood Forensics Lab.” “Hi, Tim how are you?” “I'm fine thank 
you. I've got the results on the handwriting sample you asked for.” 
“What are they?” she asked her heart pounding. “The samples match. The 
author of the journal is the author of the speech.” “Thank you, Tim.” 
“I'm sending them back to you.” “I can pick them up on Monday.” “Okay, 
great.” “I'll have your check then too.” “Great, Ms. McKenna.” Allison 
hung up and opened her briefcase. They had to turn the electricity on, 
so there wasn't much to do. She perused the other journal again, one 
page was folded differently. She opened it and went white. Connor had 
to work, Charlie was using every man he could in his search for Chad. 
Allison understood and told him to be home on time. He had agreed and 
kissed her. Her mind snapped back to the present, the journal detailed 
Monica's murder and where her body was buried. She dialed Connor 
quickly. “Cassidy.” “Connor. I have something very important to tell 
you.”” Allie, are you all right? Is the baby all right?” “Yes, we're 
fine.” “Where are you?” “I'm at the house, waiting for the furniture to 
show up.” “Okay, are you sure you're safe?” “Positive. I have to tell 
you that I know where Monica Grimson's body is.” “You do where?” he 
asked incredulously. “I also know where the murder weapon is buried. In 
Ross's backyard!” “How do you know that?” he was perplexed as to how 
she would know this vital information. “I was assigned to cover Ross's 
campaign speech the other day. He gave me a copy of it, and it matched 
the journals that I got. I still don't know who sent those. Anyway, I 
took the speech and the journal to the Fallwood Forensics Lab to be 
analyzed. Connor, you'll never believe this, they match and ...” he 
heard a crash and Allison scream. “Allison? Allie?” the line was dead. 
Connor hung up and sped over to the new house. His heart thudded as he 
thought of his Allie. What happened to her? Was she being accosted by 
the mystery caller? Millions of horrific thoughts raced through his 
head as Connor pressed his foot down on the accelerator. 


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