Aftermath

A sequel to Lost and Found

Prologue I

Monday, June 26, 2001

4:00 PM

"Hey dad!" Jenna Leigh Stetson ran into the house, dark
blond hair flying behind her. "You should see the watermelon that Mom
and I got at the state fair-it's huge. The best thing is that it's
seedless, so you don't have to worry about spitting out the seeds-"
her voice faltered when she saw that dad wasn't listening to her.
Instead he was sitting at the kitchen table, staring down at the sheet
of paper in his hands.

"Dad what is it?" Jenna said. "What's wrong?" Dad's hazel eyes looked
up into hers-his expression was grave.

"Nothing's wrong, Jenna," he said finally, indicating the chair next
to him. "Sit down- there's something we need to talk about." He handed
her a piece of paper. "This is for you-it was delivered to me while
you and your mother were out."

Jenna looked down at the paper she was holding. "A subpoena?" She
said. Dad nodded, and Jenna continued reading the paper. Finally Jenna
looked up at him. "This is saying that I have to testify in Gary
Johnston's trial." Again, Dad nodded. "Don't I have a choice?"

"Not in this case," Dad said "I received one too-I'm responsible for
making sure that you appear in court that day."

"What did you receive one of?" Mom came into the kitchen.

"A subpoena." Jenna  stared hard at the paper in her
hands-not sure that she trusted herself to look at her parents.
"They're going to make me testify against Gary Johnston."

"You testified against him in the hearing, remember?"  Dad reminded her.

"Yeah, but that was by television," Jenna said. "It wouldn't be by television this time--would it?"  

 "No, we've already discussed it with Mr. Dutton,"  Mom said. "This time they would need you in the courtroom. 

In the courtroom. The thought
of being in the same room with that man, with his eyes looking right
at her, made Jenna feel cold inside. She felt Mom's arms wrap around her.

"Sweetheart, he can't hurt you anymore," Mom said. "You're safe
now-and your testimony could help to put him away for a long time. I
know you're scared, but it'll be all right."

"But it'll just be me and him." Jenna's own voice sounded very
small to her ears. "And I'll be all alone." She could still remember
his cold eyes, the feel of his hand squeezing the back of her
neck-cowering on the floor as he towered over her, a gun pointed
directly at her head…

"Jenna." her dad's voice snapped her out of her memories, his hands
wrapping around her own. "Look at me. You will not be all alone. Your
mother and I will be there the whole time. And after this trial is
over, Gary Johnston will never hurt you again. Okay?"

Jenna took a shaky breath. "Okay. I'll do it."

Prologue II
July 26, 2001

"Ladies and gentleman of the Jury have you reached a verdict on all
charges?" the Judge said.

"We have, your honor," the woman said.

"And was that verdict unanimous?' The Judge asked.

"It was, your honor," the woman said.

Jenna found it hard to breathe. One hand clutched at the Scarecrow
pendant she wore around her neck all of the time now, feeling its
comforting weight against her palm. She could feel her father holding
her other hand and her mother's hand on her back, but all of her
attention was focused on the jury.

"And on the charge of murder in the first degree," the Judge said,
"How do you find the defendant?"

"On the charge of murder in the first degree, we, the jury, find the
defendant guilty." The woman said.

"On the charge of attempted murder, how do you find the defendant?"
The Judge said.

"On the charge of attempted murder, we, the jury, find the defendant
guilty."

"On the charge of kidnapping in the first degree," the Judge said,
"How do you find the defendant?"

"On the charge of kidnapping in the first degree, we, the jury, find
the defendant guilty,"

Jenna let out a sigh as a wave of relief washed over her.

"The accused will now stand," The Judge said. "Gary Michael Johnston,
you have been found guilty on all charges. Your sentencing hearing is
scheduled for August the second-you are to be imprisoned in the
Arlington County facility until that date. Court is adjourned."

As Johnston was being led from the courtroom, his eyes fell on Jenna.
He came to a full stop, resisting the Bailiff's efforts to budge him.

"This isn't over, little girl," he hissed. "Not by a long shot." His
icy blue eyes peered into her own and Jenna realized that she was
shaking. Seeing her visible fear, Gary smiled. She could feel her
mom's arms around her, holding her protectively. Slowly her dad stood
until he was nearly nose to nose with Johnston.

"Give me one reason, Johnston," Dad said. "Just one. Please." Dad's
fists were clenched. He wasn't even raising his voice, but Jenna
didn't think she'd ever seen her father look and sound so angry.

"Let's move, Johnston," The Bailiff said and after a moment Gary let
himself be led from the courtroom. Dad sat down beside Jenna,
grabbing her hands and holding them tightly in his own.

"Jenna, I don't care what that-what he said to you," Dad said. "It
really is over. At the very least he'll be going to prison for a very
long time. Your mom and I are so proud of you."

"It's over." For the first time Jenna actually believed what she was saying.

Prologue III

Friday, August 10, 2001

1:30 PM

A hand brushed Gary Johnston's cheek gently. "Hey there," a female
voice said. Gary opened his eyes and looked up at the blurry image of
his sister standing over him.

"Didn't expect to see you in here, Katie," he croaked.

"You knew I'd come." Katie smiled. "My big brother was always there
for me before those social workers separated us."

"Yeah." Gary grinned, remembering. Then his smile faded. "Now your big brother's in the prison infirmary."

"Who put you here?" Katie said.

"You mean you don't know?" Gary Johnston coughed, pain shooting
through his cracked ribs. "They do things in prison to people who harm
children-even my fellow murderous psychopaths have scruples when it
comes to the kiddies."

Katie's face clouded. "If there's anything I can do, just name it."

Gary thought back to the humiliation he'd felt in that courtroom,
looking at the face of the girl who'd dared to testify. He'd taken
some satisfaction after the trial, knowing that he was still able to
make her afraid, but it wasn't good enough. He was in here for life
and Gary wouldn't be happy until he knew that Jenna Stetson was
suffering as much as he was. "That girl Jenna," he said slowly. "The
one who helped to put me away. I want you to make her pay, Katie. You
and Dennis. Make her hurt."

Katie hesitated, and then she slowly smiled, squeezing Gary's hand. "I
will," she said. "We will. I promise."

Prologue IV

Monday, November 5, 2001

7:00 AM

'Oh can't you see?
You belong to me'

Dennis sat at his desk, humming along to the song on the radio as he
arranged the photos on the desk. The song was an old one from The
Police, Every Breath You Take'. And given the current situation, the
song seemed so perfect.

He ran a hand over the photographs- they were mostly of her, of
course; though some of her family had been thrown in there for good
measure. Pictures of her walking with friends, trying out for the
dance team-and then there was the best photo of them all. If he could
only be there, he thought, to see the look in her face when she opened
the envelope.

You belong to me, Jenna Leigh Stetson, the man thought to himself with
a small smile-and I can get to you anytime and anywhere I want.

TBC

Part Two

Monday, November 5, 2001

3:30 PM

"Well?" Lisa said impatiently.

Jenna feigned nonchalance, trying hard not to giggle at the expression
on Lisa's face. "Well what?" she said.

"The list," Lisa said. "Are we on it or not?"

Jenna pointed to the paper which had been taped to the tiles on the
wall. "List?" she said. "You mean this list here? The dance team list?"

"Jenna, I swear I'll smack you in a second if you don't tell me," Lisa
said.

Jenna smiled at her best friend. "Relax," she said. "We made it."
Lisa jumped up and down, squealing, and Jenna jumped up down with her.

"We're Kenmore Divas!" Lisa said. "I can't wait to tell my parents."

"Just let me get my books," Jenna said, walking down to her locker.
"You're walking home with me, right?"

Lisa nodded. "Right to the door."

"Hey ladies." Mr. Frere, the new History teacher, was holding his
briefcase in one hand and locking his classroom door with the other.
"You certainly seem to be in a good mood."

"We just made dance team, Mr. Frere" Lisa said.

"Congratulations, Divas." Mr. Frere said His blue eyes crinkled as he
smiled at them. "So I'll see your talent at the next school Pep Rally?"

"I guess," Jenna said with a small smile.

"Certainly looking forward to it," Mr. Frere said. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye Mr. Frere," Jenna called.

"Jenna wants to marry you, Mr. Frere," Lisa sang under her breath.

"Lisa, stop it!" Jenna could feel herself blushing.

"It's true, isn't it?" Lisa said.

"No, it's not true," Jenna said. "I like Mr. Frere, but I'm too young
to get married."

"Avoiding the question, eh?" Lisa said as they reached Jenna's
locker. Jenna smiled but didn't reply. "Just between us, I heard from
Christy that he's been sharing all of his lunches with Mrs. Roberts.
Maybe the history teacher and the dance teacher are in lurve, huh?"

"Lurve?" Jenna said. "Are you sure that's a word?"

"Sure," Lisa said. "My cousin lived in London for a month and she says
they use the word there all the time. Anyway, speaking of History, I
was reading that in other countries girls can get married when they're
twelve years old..."

Lisa stood behind Jenna, keeping up a constant stream of chatter as
Jenna did the combination and pulled out the books that she needed,
dumping them into her bag. There was an envelope in there today-it
hadn't been in there this morning. The only thing written on the
envelope was her full name, Jenna Leigh Stetson. She didn't recognize
the handwriting at all.

"Did you send me a card or something?" Jenna asked Lisa, waving the
envelope in front of her friend.

"No of course not," Lisa said. "It must be your secret admirer again.
How many gifts does that make now?"

"Three," Jenna said. Thursday it had been a really pretty card with
the words "I'll be seeing you" inscribed on the inside. Actually the
card had creeped Jenna out a little bit, but she'd pushed it to the
back of her mind. Friday it had been a huge store-bought bag of candy
corn, which was her most favorite candy. She kept those things in her
backpack-wanting to avoid any questions about where they came from.

"Think it's Paul?" Lisa said.

"I doubt it," Jenna said. "Terri says that he thinks I talk too much."
Personally Jenna didn't think that all the talking had been her fault.
It was Paul who'd asked her all of the questions; all she did was
answer them.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Terri Morgan's an idiot."

"Well whoever it is, they have my combination," Jenna said, a teasing
smile on her face as she looked at her friend. "And since I only gave
that to you and Christy and Christy's been out with the flu, is there
something you want to tell me?"

"Who me?" Lisa said. "I don't give out people's combinations without
permission. Listen, I think we might need to go shoe-shopping- Caitlin
Harris told me that the whole dance team wears black Reeboks and I
don't know about you, but I don't have black Reeboks-"

Lisa's voice faded away as Jenna stared down numbly at the photos in
her now shaking hands. There was a note-carefully she unfolded it and
the words filled Jenna with dread. She could hear her own heart
pounding-so loudly that it seemed to drown out all the other sounds.
Jenna stared up at the mirror on her locker door. A white face with
frightened dark brown eyes stared back at her-Jenna put her hand up to her
forehead, unconsciously tracing the thin line of the scar that was
hidden by her bangs.

The words from the note she'd just read were echoing in her head:

'Those who bring down a good man like Gary Johnston must pay. You and
your family will suffer for your transgressions. These pictures will
show you that I can get to you-and them-anytime and anywhere. '

My family, Jenna thought, clenching one hand and feeling her nails dig
painfully into her palm. The thought of something happening to them
was almost worse than the thought of something happening to her. She
looked down again at the letter.

"Anytime and anywhere," she repeated the words under her breath. A
chill went through her as she remembered the words of Gary Johnston.

This isn't over.

"Jenna?" Lisa asked. Her voice sounded far away. "Are you okay?"

Jenna tried to answer Lisa, but for some reason her mouth didn't seem
to work properly. Bile rose up in her throat and for a minute the room
seemed to sway back and forth. There was a loud thumping noise.

"Jenna!" Lisa was shouting her name and suddenly Jenna realized that
she was on her knees, her books lying in a heap beside her. Other
students had stopped to stare.

"Everything' s okay," Lisa told them. "Just go." Once they'd moved on,
she turned to Jenna, speaking in a lower voice. "What happened? Did
you get dizzy or something?"

"Nothing," Jenna said. "I'm fine."

"Must have been some note to get that kind of reaction. What did it say?"

"It was just stupid, don't worry about it." Jenna quickly stuffed the
pictures and everything back in the envelope, putting it in her bag so
Lisa couldn't see. Her friend was still staring at her.

"We should tell your dad," Lisa said. "It could have something to do
with your head injury."

"We're not going to tell my dad! I said I'm fine. Can we
go now?" She saw the hurt expression on Lisa's face and continued in
a softer tone. "You can tell me some more about those black Reeboks
and what else we need to go shopping for."

Lisa laughed. "Girl, you're terrible-you know that talking about
shopping is my weakness. Anyway, according to Caitlin these shoes cost
an arm and a leg but they're essential. I don't know about you, but
I'll have to do endless chores and babysitting to earn them. Maybe the
dance team will let me wait till Christmas…"

Jenna just let Lisa talk as they walked off school grounds and onto
the sidewalk leading home. Everyone, from the crossing guard, to the
other children, to the teachers-even cars going by seemed to be watching
her, studying her. Jenna shivered, looking away from them and down at
her feet. With every step she took the last words of the note
repeated themselves in her head. Anytime and anywhere, anytime and
anywhere.

Monday
November 5, 2001
4:10 PM

"It's not that I mind hearing from you, sir." Lee sat on
the family room sofa, the cordless phone up against his ear. He could
hear Amanda in the kitchen, checking on the roast that was now boiling
in the crock-pot. "It's just unexpected."

Colonel Robert Clayton's voice crackled over the phone. "I know,
Skip," he said, using Lee's old childhood nickname. "But I'm going to
be in town later on this month for a 9-11 conference and I just wanted to
let you know I'll be dropping by."

"How long will you be in town?" Lee asked.

"Two or three days," his Uncle said. "Should be around Thanksgiving,
so I'm looking forward to becoming acquainted with my great-niece. How
is Jenna?"

"She's just fine now, sir," Lee said, thinking to himself about just
how far they had come. For about two months after the kidnapping Jenna
had suffered from nightmares, migraines and crippling flashbacks. The
sessions with Dr. Pfaff helped, but even the psychiatrist had told Lee
that the best cure of all was time. Lee would never forget the one
time he'd found his daughter standing by the open front door where the
kidnapping had taken place. Her dark eyes had been frightened and
unseeing while her breath had come in panicked gasps. It had taken him
and Amanda a full half-hour just to calm her down. Thankfully with the
trial behind them things seemed like they were back to normal.

"I'm glad to hear that," The Colonel said. "I'm sorry that ever had to
happen to Jenna," he said. "I'm even sorrier that I had to hear about
it second-hand through the media reports. You should've called me."

Maybe if I'd known that you even cared I would have, Lee thought to
himself, but he didn't say that out loud. He knew that Amanda was
listening from the other room, and he knew how badly she wanted him
and his Uncle to get along. "I'm sorry about that, sir," he said. "It
was just a very hectic time." Just then the front door opened and
Jenna came in, hanging her bag on the door and quickly locking it
behind her. Something was wrong. Lee knew it as soon as he looked at
his daughter. Jenna was just standing there, looking down at her
shoes. Her face was pale and her hands were trembling slightly.

"I'm going to need to let you go, sir," Lee said, "Yes, we'll see you
soon. Goodbye." Lee pressed the button to hang up the phone and placed
it back on the charger as he stood to face his daughter. "Jenna, is
everything all right? You look a little upset."

"Everything' s fine," Jenna spoke a little too brightly. She lifted her
head but didn't meet Lee's gaze. "Where's Mom, is she here?"

"Of course I'm here," Amanda said as she came in from the kitchen and
gave Jenna a hug. "How was your day, sweetheart?"

"Fine," Jenna said. "It was fine. How's Grandma?"

"Your Grandmother' s still in Florida with Captain Curt," Amanda said.
Captain Curt and Dotty had been married this last June, and they
seemed to divide most of their time between Arlington and Florida.
"Last time I spoke to her she was fine. Was there something you wanted
to talk to her about?"

"No," Jenna said. "What about Philip and Jamie? Are they okay?"

"They're fine too," Amanda said. "I talked to Jamie only yesterday."
She put her hand on Jenna's arm. "Is something worrying you?"

"Nothing's worrying me." Jenna's tone was suddenly defensive. "I'm
just glad to hear that they're all right."

"So did you make the dance team?" Lee asked. He knew that Jenna and
Lisa had been practicing for the tryouts all last week, and the
results were supposed to be posted today. This morning she'd been so
excited and hardly able to stop talking about it. But now …

Jenna looked up at her father briefly and then looked away again.
"Yeah," she said, her voice flat and toneless. "I made it." Lee frowned.

"And Lisa?"

"She made it too, Mom," Jenna said.

"Jenna, that's great news," Lee said. "We should celebrate. How about
I take my two favorite ladies out to dinner tomorrow night?"

"No!" Jenna spoke with such vehemence that Lee and Amanda both stared
at her. "I mean -It's not really that big of a deal and I don't feel
like eating out. Look I think I'll just go upstairs-I have a lot of
homework to do." She lifted her backpack from the hook, and before Lee
or Amanda could ask any more questions, Jenna turned abruptly and
left. Lee could hear the sounds of her feet practically running
upstairs and her door slamming shut. Lee and Amanda exchanged glances.

"I'll go and talk to her," Lee said.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

Lee knocked on Jenna's door. "Jenna?" He said. When there was no
answer, he pushed open the door. The lamp on the desk illuminated the
room; Jenna was sitting at her desk, an open book in front of her.
Lee noted the window-shades were drawn. That was definitely strange,
he thought. Jenna had told him more than once that she liked the
natural light in her room. Lee moved to pull up the shades, causing
Jenna to lift her head from her book.

"Don't do that," she said sharply.

"Why?" Lee asked.

"The sun distracts me," Jenna said. "I really need to study. Did you
want something, Dad?"

Lee sat down on his daughter's bed, facing Jenna. "Not really," he
said. "I just thought that you might need to talk."

"What would I need to talk about?"

"How about we start with whatever's upsetting you."

"Upsetting me? Why would anything be upsetting me?"

Because instead of answering my question, you just repeated it back to
me, Lee thought, but he didn't say that out loud. "Did something
happen at school?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Is it one of your friends?" Lee said. "Did you have a fight?"

"We didn't have a fight," Jenna said. "My friends are fine."

"It's not about a boy, is it?" Lee asked, feeling a brief moment of
panic at those words. Jenna was showing a definite interest in the
opposite sex, and Lee and Amanda had agreed that she could date once
she turned sixteen. Personally Lee had wanted to set Jenna's dating
age to thirty, but Amanda had told him that was just a little on the
unreasonable side.

. "No, it's not about a boy," Jenna said. "I'm only in seventh grade.
I mean, I like boys, but I don't have those kinds of problems yet"

"Then what's bothering you?" Lee asked, pushing the anxiety about
Jenna's interest in boys to the back of his mind. "I can't help you if
you don't tell me."

"Dad, there's nothing to tell," Jenna said. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Oh come on." Lee heard frustration creeping into his voice. He had
the feeling that interrogating a member of Al-Quaeda would seem like a
piece of cake when compared to getting information out of his own
child. "You're sitting up here like a virtual hermit with the shades
drawn- You don't want to go out to dinner tomorrow and you usually
love going out. I wasn't born yesterday, Jenna. I know something is
bothering you."

"Well maybe I'm tired of restaurants. " Jenna said, "And maybe I have
a lot of homework to do. Can you stop pestering me?"

"Well I'll tell you one thing," Lee said. "You won't get a lot of
homework done if you try to read your book upside down," Lee picked up
the volume from his daughter's desk. An envelope fell from the book
and landed on the carpet. Jenna made a grab for it, but Lee bent down
and picked it up first. He stared at his daughter's name on the front
of the envelope.

"Jenna what is this?" Lee asked.

Jenna's face was suddenly very pale and she looked as though she were
on the verge of tears. "Dad, don't-please. "

Lee opened the envelope. "Sweetheart, whatever it is it can't be
that-" his voice broke off as the flipped through the photos. There
was one of he and Amanda in the front yard, one of Dotty, even ones of
Philip and Jamie when they had visited this last weekend.
And Jenna. Photos of her leaving for school, coming home, even one of
her trying out for the dance team. And then there was the last photo,
the one that made Lee feel sick with fear and rage. Now he understood
why Jenna was keeping the shades closed. Included with the
photographs was a note. Lee read it and closed his eyes momentarily,
trying to keep his emotions under control.

"Jenna when did you get these?" he asked.

"Today-the envelope was in my locker at school," Jenna said. "I'm not
sure how it got there. There were other things in my locker last week,
but this was the only thing that was really scary."

"What other things?" Lee demanded.

Jenna looked down, tracing the carpet with her foot. "A card and a bag
of candy corn."

"And where are they?"

"In my backpack," Jenna said. "I didn't eat any of the candy corn yet."

"Jenna look at me." Lee's voice rose slightly as he spoke. "This note
says you and your family'. By not saying anything you were putting
all of us in danger."

"I wasn't trying to put anyone in danger-"

"It doesn't matter what your intentions were," Lee said. "The fact is
that you were risking your family's life by keeping this to yourself.
Do you understand me?"

Jenna stared at Lee, her brown eyes wide. "I don't--I---I mean that I didn't mean to-" Jenna leaned her forehead against
one hand, tears running down her face, her shoulders shaking with
barely audible sobs. Lee stood and pulled his daughter into a hug.

"Hey, munchkin, it'll be okay," he said, patting her back gently as he
held her, rocking back and forth. "It's just that if anyone or anything is ever bothering you I want you to tell me or your mom so we can help."

"I know." Jenna's voice was muffled against Lee's coat. "The card
and the candy corn-they seemed so harmless, even though the card was
kind of weird. But this-the pictures."

"I know," Lee said.

"I just-I- hoped it was all over," Jenna said. "The kidnapping and
everything, but now this- it makes it seem so scary, like it happened
yesterday. And I thought maybe if I didn't talk about it-"

"Sweetheart, you can't pretend things away," Lee said. "Handling it on
your own would be scarier –you know you don't ever have to do that."

"But it'll never be over, will it?" Jenna said. "Just like Gary
Johnston said at the trial, remember? I thought maybe that I could
feel safe again, but I can't. And now you guys are in danger too."

"Jenna, you will be safe, I promise you. We'll all be safe" Lee said,
breaking the embrace and looking down at her. "Whoever this is,
they'll be found and stopped. Okay?"

"Okay," Jenna said. Lee watched as she made an attempt at a smile. He
gave her another quick hug and left the room. Standing in the hallway,
he watched through a crack in the door as Jenna curled up in a fetal
position on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

Lee's fury at whoever was doing this to his daughter rose. When he
found the person responsible, they were going to pay for terrorizing her.

SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK

"Someone will be coming around to talk to Jenna," Francine said to
Lee. "The lab will run tests on the envelope, the pictures, the card
and the candy corn to check for any DNA samples and fingerprints. I
can also do a complete background workup on Johnston to see if he has
any relatives or associates who would have a motive to do this."

"While you're at it you better run a background check on people
working at the school," Lee said, clutching the phone tightly to his
ear. "It's very possible that our suspect works there." He was in the
kitchen, ladling the pot roast into three bowls. Amanda was upstairs,
trying to console Jenna.

"I was just getting to that," Francine's voice was slightly tinged
with annoyance. "I've been Section Chief now for five years,
Scarecrow. I know how to do my job."

"I know you do."

"Maybe you should have taken this position when it was offered to
you."

"What, and deprive you of all that administrative fun?" Lee said,
thinking back to how close he'd come to taking that position after
Smyth's death and Billy's promotion to Agency head. But after talking
it over with Amanda he'd decided to turn it down. They were happiest
working together as partners in the field. It had also meant working
extra hours, and the money and added safety of a desk job wouldn't
have compensated Lee for the time not spent with his family.

"You want to see fun, Scarecrow, you should try sitting through one of
those late-night budget meetings," Francine said testily.

"I'm sorry, Francine," Lee said, clutching the phone tightly to his
ear. "This whole thing just has me on edge."

"I know, and we'll do everything to keep your family safe," Francine
said. "That includes 24 hour surveillance and a tap on your phone
line in case the stalker tries to call you," Francine said. "Of course
you and your family can always move to one of our safe houses."

"No," Lee said, lowering his voice so he wouldn't be heard. "Not yet,
anyway. I don't want to disrupt her life unless it becomes absolutely
necessary."

"I understand," Francine said. "How's Jenna handling it?"

"Handling it?" Lee said. "She's terrified, Francine. She worries about
her family and she doesn't think she's safe anywhere. I can't say I
blame her. This creep even had a picture of Jenna in her own bedroom
while she was changing her clothes."

"Oh my God," Francine said softly. "Lee, I promise you, whoever this
is we'll find them."

From upstairs Lee could hear the faint sounds of Amanda's voice over
Jenna's sobbing.

"I hope you do find them, Francine," Lee said quietly. "Because if I
find them first I won't be responsible for my actions."

TBC 

Part Three

Lee took his wife's hand. "We will be safe," he told her. "How's Jenna?"

"She insisted on calling everyone to check that they were all
right and now she's asleep. God only knows how long that will last."

"I'm just glad The Agency sent someone that Jenna hadn't met,
otherwise we would've had some awkward explanations to make," Lee
said. "Though I would like to know where Beaman dug up that cop's
uniform."

"Those pants he had on were just a little too tight, did you notice? Wait till I tell Francine." Her expression turned serious. "We need to think about telling her what we do for a living, Lee. She's starting to ask questions and notice things- it's
going to be hard to keep her in the dark for too much longer."

"What kind of questions has she been asking?"

"Things like why we go off on unexplained trips at strange hours, how
we end up getting hurt sometimes, why you're so good at self-defense
and fighting, that kind of thing," Amanda said. "And remember that
incident when she was in the Nutcracker Ballet that one Christmas?"

"She hasn't forgotten about that yet?" Lee asked.

"It was only four years ago," Amanda said. "I try to come up with
plausible answers, but I don't think she's satisfied anymore."

Lee groaned softly. "It was so easy when she was a sweet little girl
and believed everything we told her."

"Well now your sweet little girl is approaching 13, buster," Amanda
said lightly. "I hate to tell you, but it only gets harder from here."

"I know that, Amanda. But she's safer if she doesn't know."

"Really," Amanda said. "And were Mother and the boys any less safe
after we told them?"

"That was different" Lee insisted. "We told them about our marriage
and our jobs because we were having Jenna, remember?"

"That wasn't the only reason." Amanda thought back to that
spring day in 1988. "At least not for me. I felt like we were living a
lie-there was so much tension between us--it was a weight off my mind to finally be able to tell them the truth."

"Yeah I have to admit that it was nice to finally be able to spend
more time with my wife," Lee said. "But Jenna's too young-Jamie and
Philip were much older."

"Oh come on Lee," Amanda said. "Philip was 15 and Jaime was only 13-"

"And Jenna's only 12."

"-Jenna will be thirteen in just a few months," Amanda countered.
"That's no reason. Knowing the truth might make Jenna feel safer."

"How so?"

"Well she'd know that we could protect her."

"I guess," Lee said. "But I want to tell her for the right reasons-not
because some maniac stalker is forcing our hand." Amanda tactfully
decided to change the subject.

"Did Jenna's interview turn up any leads about who could be doing
this?" She asked Lee.

"Not really," Lee said. "Jenna doesn't have any enemies that she's
aware of and she hasn't noticed anyone strange hanging around. I'm
betting that the background check on Johnston will turn up something
more."

"I really think we should keep her home tomorrow."

"I thought about that too," Lee admitted. He wrapped his arms around
his wife while she leaned her head back against his chest. "But
she'll be under 24-hour Agency surveillance, Amanda. Jenna will be
just as safe there as she would be at home."

"Does she know that?"

"Well Beaman told her that we'd all be protected."

"Personally I'd like to wrap her in a little cocoon to keep her safe
until we catch this guy," Amanda said. "Jenna's been through so much
already,Lee. I don't want her to be hurt anymore."

"We will catch him," Lee said, his arms tightening around his wife-his
lips brushing against her neck. "And Jenna will be safe. We're a team,
Mrs. Stetson. Remember?"

"I remember," Amanda said, turning around as her lips met his.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

"I told you it wasn't over," Gary Johnston chuckled as he leaned over
her bed. His hand reached out and touched her cheek. The touch made
Jenna feel sick to her stomach, but she couldn't even move away
because he'd tied her down. Tears came to her eyes and she saw Gary
smile at her helplessness.

The moon shone in through the window, and gleamed against the knife
that Gary had removed from his pocket.

"First you, little one," he said, running the ball of his thumb over
the blade, "And then your entire family."

"Please don't," Jenna whispered. But Gary just smiled. She watched as
the knife came slowly downwards, towards her chest, and the pain made
her scream…

"Jenna!" Someone was calling her name, holding her arms tightly, and
despite the ropes binding her to the bed Jenna desperately tried to
pull away...

SMK SMK SMK SMK

"Jenna you're dreaming," Lee said. He and Amanda were both sitting on
Jenna's bed, Lee's arms holding his struggling daughter. "Please wake
up." Lee said.

Jenna's breath came in rapid gasps. Her dark eyes were wide open, but
unfocused, her pupils dilated. Lord only knew what she was seeing.
Sweat was running down her forehead and soaking her nightgown. Her
arms flailed wildly, her fists hitting Lee's chest as she tried to
pull away from him.

"Let go of me! I want my Dad!" She screamed.

"Jenna it's me," Lee said. "Look at me. We're here-you need to wake
up."

"No!" Her scream was even louder this time. "Going to kill me,
Gary-He'll kill everybody…"

"He's not," Amanda said, reaching out to touch Jenna's arm.
"Sweetheart, you're here. You're safe now." Somehow that seemed to
calm her. Together he and Amanda held Jenna until they felt her relax
back into sleep. Lee and Amanda carefully laid Jenna back onto her
pillow.

"That wasn't just an ordinary nightmare, Amanda," Lee said. "What's
going on here?" But he could tell from her expression that she didn't
have any answers either.

November 6, 2001
7:30 AM

"I called Dr. Pfaff this morning, and he said they're called night
terrors," Amanda said, putting three pieces of bread into the toaster.
"He said they happen to children between the ages of 3 and 12 and that
given the current situation it's perfectly normal. However, we should
bring Jenna in if they keep happening every night."

"Normal?" Lee raised his eyebrows as he sipped his coffee, trying to
wake up. "That was normal? Amanda, Jenna's eyes were open but she
didn't see us-we couldn't even wake her." As hard as he tried, he
couldn't get that glazed, fearful expression out of his mind.

"Well it's a good thing we couldn't," Amanda said. "Pfaff said that
trying to wake someone during a night terror only makes things worse.
The thing to do is just to make everything as normal as possible and
chances are that Jenna won't even remember what she dreamed about."

Lee took a small bite from the buttered toast that his wife had put in
front of him. "I think maybe you were right last night- we should keep
her home."

"Keep who home?" Jenna came into the kitchen, wearing jeans and a
hooded grey sweatshirt. Her dark blond hair had nearly grown back to
its pre-January length, and she had it pulled back with a matching
grey headband. "Do you mean me?"

"I thought that maybe after yesterday you might feel better staying at
home," Lee said.

Jenna's brow furrowed. "Last night the policeman said I could still
go to school," she said. "Has something else happened?"

"Nothing's happened, sweetheart," Amanda said, "We just want you to
know that if you did feel like staying at home we'd understand. It's
your decision." Jenna sat at the table and put her backpack down on
the floor beside her. Amanda put a bowl of cereal, some toast and a
glass of orange juice in front of Jenna.

"I couldn't stay home," Jenna said, speaking between bites of cereal.
"Not even if I wanted to. Today's the first day of dance team practice
and I have a math test and a history essay to turn in and the math
teacher doesn't give make-up exams unless you can prove you're going
to die or something. And besides I'm not scared-the police will be
watching me. Right?" Lee saw a shadow cross his daughters' face after
she said those words, and then she fell silent. She was putting on a
brave face, Lee realized. Lord knows, he'd done it himself often enough.

Jenna ate a couple of bites of toast and then drained her orange juice
in one gulp.

"Are you sure you still want to be on the dance team?" Lee said.

"Lee…" Amanda said.

"No, it's okay, Mom," Jenna said. "After seeing those pictures I
thought about that too. But the dance team is something that I really
want. I'm not ready to give it up just yet."

Amanda patted Jenna on the back. "I'm very proud of you, sweetheart,"
she said.

"Dad is it okay if we leave early?" Jenna said. "Lisa wanted to pick
up our uniforms at the school bookstore before class."

"Sure, if you want," Lee said, giving his wife a brief hug and a kiss.
"See you at work-I love you."

"I love you too," Amanda said. Lee grabbed the Corvettes' keys from
the basket on the counter.

"Love you Mom," Jenna said, as she gave Amanda a hug. "Have a good
day, and be careful. Promise?"

"I will, sweetheart," Amanda said, her eyes brimming as she hugged her
daughter tightly. "You be careful too."

7:45 AM

Jenna was subdued during the ride to school. Usually she couldn't stop
talking, Lee thought, but today she just sat there, playing with the
stereo and trying to catch the songs that came in between the
commercials and talking. He missed his daughter's endless chatter-it
reminded him so much of Amanda. Lee cleared his throat.

"Jenna," he said. "If you need to talk to someone about your feelings
–you know, about what's going on, you know you can."

"You mean someone like Dr. Pfaff?" Jenna asked.

"Maybe," Lee said. "But you can always talk to us too."

"I know that." Jenna said, looking over at her father. "Dad, why does
your company have Dr. Pfaff? I mean, it's a movie company, and he's a
psychiatrist. What's he there for?"

"Why do you ask?" Lee  wondered where this question had come
from so suddenly.

"I'm curious," Jenna said. "It doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

"Well," Lee racked his brain for a plausible answer. "Ah, well,
film-making can be very stressful, and sometimes we need to talk to
someone-so that's what he's doing there."

"So he talks to people about making movies?"

"Sort of," Lee said, feeling very much as though he was digging a very
deep hole for himself. "Sometimes film-makers have personality
conflicts, differences of opinions-those kind of things."

"And Dr. Pfaff helps with that?" Jenna wore a skeptical expression on
her face.

"Yes he does," Lee said. There was a long silence.

"Well if that's what he really does he must have thought my problems
were pretty weird," Jenna said. "I mean, what happened then-what's
happening to me now, it's not exactly normal, is it?"

"It doesn't matter what the problem is," Lee said. "The point is that
just like your mom and I, he's there to help you."

"How can you and mom help?" Jenna said. "You're in danger too. The
note said anytime and anywhere. I mean, for all we know someone could
be watching us right now. "

The expression on Jenna's face was pleading. She wanted reassurance,
Lee knew. He struggled for the right words to comfort his daughter.
"Jenna, What Bea-I mean, what the police officer said last night was
true." Lee said. "They'll be watching you and they won't let anything
happen."

Jenna stared down, looking hard at her hands. Drops of Jupiter' was
playing on the radio. "Who's going to keep an eye on you and mom?" 

"Someone will be keeping an eye on us," Lee said. "But Jenna, you
should know that your Mom and I are pretty capable of looking out for
ourselves."

"Okay, but what about everyone else?" Jenna said, finally looking at
her father, "Jamie's in Charlottesville and Philip's working in
Portsmouth-they're too far away for the Arlington Police to do
anything."

"They'll be safe."

"Grandma and Captain Curt?"

"Jenna, they're very safe-they're all the way in Florida," Lee said.
"Next you'll be asking about Aunt Edna, Aunt Lillian and Uncle
Chester. You talked to everyone last night, didn't you?"

"Sure, everyone who was there. I'm just worried."

"Yeah, I know that," Lee said. "And I'm telling you that everything
will be fine."

"But how can you really know?" Jenna said. "Can someone be watching us
every minute? Every second?"

"There are no certainties, Jenna, you know that." Lee said. "But I can
tell you that people will do their best to keep you and everyone else
safe. That's all I can say."

His car pulled up in front of Kenmore Middle School-he could see
Jenna's friend Lisa standing by the front entrance, grinning and waving.

"I'm going to pick you up after dance practice," Lee said. "Around 5
PM, right?"

"Right," Jenna said. "Well, I better go-love you, Dad. Take care,
okay?" She gave him a hug and turned to get out the car.

"You too," Lee said. He watched as his daughter walked towards Lisa,
Amanda's words from last night echoing in his head: She's starting to
ask questions and notice things- it's going to be hard to keep her in
the dark for too much longer'

"Just a little while longer," Lee said to himself. He waited until he
was sure that both Lisa and Jenna were safely inside the school before
he slowly pulled out of the parking lot.

7:55 AM

She looked very pale, he saw, as he watched her walk into the school
with her friend. There were faint circles under her eyes, too-a sign
that she hadn't slept well the night before. At the thought of what
he had planned for her and her family today, his own lips curled
faintly upwards.

"Just you wait, Jenna," he said under his breath. "Just you wait."

8:40 AM

It had begun raining shortly after Amanda left the house, fat drops of
water splattering across her windshield. She turned the wipers on,
absently humming along to the song that was playing on the radio, but
her mind was on her daughter.

Amanda knew they were going to have to explain to Jenna what they
actually did for a living very soon-not because some stalker was
forcing their hand, but because the time was right. Even Dr. Pfaff had
agreed with her, saying that the truth might lessen Jenna's trauma.
The only trick lay in convincing her husband. Amanda suspected that
part of Lee's problem was because he was still coming to terms with
the fact that Jenna was growing up.

She put on her turn signal as she braked at the red light. The next
thing Amanda remembered were a pair of bright headlights shining through
her rearview window-so bright that she couldn't see for a moment. Then
there was a horrible noise of crunching and grinding metal. Amanda's
head hit something hard-the steering wheel- and after that there was
nothing at all.

TBC

November 6, 2001

9:25 AM

"Amanda not in yet?" Francine asked, as she walked through the door of
the Q Bureau.

"Not yet, no," Lee said. "I've tried her cell phone, but she doesn't
answer."

Francine looked at her watch. "It's possible that she's stuck in
traffic. It doesn't necessarily mean anything bad."

"That's true," Lee said. "Amanda doesn't believe in using her cell
phone while she's driving." He heard his voice saying the words, but
he wasn't really sure that he believed them. Since the note and the
photographs, Lee's anxiety level had reached an all-time high.

"Well look, if she doesn't arrive within the next ten minutes we'll
start to worry," Francine said. "In the meantime, here's that
background profile on Gary Johnston you wanted. It's very thorough."

"That was quick." Lee flipped through the thick sheaf of papers.

"Well we actually started compiling it back in January," Francine
said. "But the computer turned up more recent information so we
included that as well. One thing we know for sure is that he didn't write the letters. All ingoing and outgoing mail from the prison is strictly monitored."

"Still I'm willing to bet he's involved somehow."

"So would I," Francine agreed. "That's why I'm sending someone over to
question him. And before you ask, that someone is not you, Scarecrow.
Billy and I both agreed that you're way too close on this. "

"What about the gifts?" Lee said. "Any prints or DNA?"

Francine shook her head. "Nothing," she said. "We even ran a test on
the candy corn and it's clean-no substances or anything."

Lee sighed. "So what you're telling me is that we have nothing?"

"Not exactly," Francine said. "The letter was another matter-the
handwriting and the wording are very similar to a letter to the editor
that was written to the Washington Times two weeks after the
sentencing hearing-one that we intercepted before publication." She
handed Lee a sheet of paper that was encased in plastic. "See for
yourself."

Lee read out loud. "Those who have conspired to bring down Gary
Johnston will pay the ultimate price, the girl and her family will
suffer for their lies" his face darkened. "It's just signed Rache--the German word for revenge.'"

"I know." Francine 's blue eyes clouded over. "At the time we thought it was just some crackpot-maybe if we'd looked into it more deeply this wouldn't be happening now."

"It's okay, Francine," Lee said. "You couldn't have known. I would've
thought the same thing."

"How was Jenna this morning?" Francine asked.

"Not too great." Lee opened the Johnston file. "She had a
night terror last night. I thought we'd come so far since the
kidnapping, but now it feels like we're back at square one."

"Lee, she's a strong girl," Francine said. "And she has all of us to
support her."

"I guess," Lee said, rifling through the papers furiously. "It's just
that everything was back to normal and now-hey." he looked up
at Francine "I didn't know that Johnston had a younger brother."

"Not just a brother, he had a little sister too," Francine said. "Had
being the operative word. Dennis, Katie and Gary Johnston were sent to
separate foster homes over thirty years ago."

"Do they keep in touch?"

"Hard to say," Francine said. "We haven't managed to locate them as of
yet. Katie probably married and changed her name. Dennis is the one
who seems to have dropped off the map. He could be anywhere."

"Living under a completely new identity," Lee said. "Has anyone tried
to find out?"

"Like I said, we're working on it."

Just then Lee's cell phone rang. "Amanda?" Lee said as he flipped open
his phone. "Sorry, it's just that I was expecting a call from my
wife-she has? Is she hurt?" Lee's voice grew louder and his expression
became one of frantic worry. "I'll be there," he said, flipping the
phone closed. Lee stood, putting on his jacket.

"I have to get to the hospital," he told  Francine. "It's
Amanda-she's been in a car accident."

12:00 PM

Lee sat in the hospital waiting room, shifting in his chair, which was
upholstered in slippery orange plastic. Did they always have to make
these things so damned uncomfortable? There was a television set
mounted on the far wall. Lee tried to force himself to concentrate on
some inane talk show about paternity tests, but it did very little to
alleviate his anxiety. He wondered if he should go to the nurses'
station for the sixth time but decided against it. With his luck those
nurses would probably call security and have him thrown out.

Your wife has been in a car accident, Mr. Stetson.' That was what
the voice on his cell phone had said and so far that was all that Lee
knew. No one would tell him any details about the accident, how badly
Amanda was hurt-nothing at all. With a hiss of frustration Lee hit a
nearby wall with his fist. An older man reading a magazine glanced up
sharply, but as he met Lee's gaze his attention returned abruptly to
his magazine.

"Did that help?" a female voice inquired.

"What's it to-" Lee's voice faded away as he looked up at a woman
wearing a white coat bearing a badge with the name of Dr. Morrison.

"I'm sorry Doctor," Lee said. "I guess I'm just a little on edge."

Dr. Morrison smiled. "You must be Lee Stetson," she said. Lee nodded.
"Your wife described you very well."

"Amanda?" Lee's hopes rose. She must be okay if she was able
to talk to the doctor. "How is she?"

"She sustained a slight concussion when her head struck the steering
wheel and had a momentary loss of consciousness," Dr. Morrison said.
"It's not serious, but we would like to keep her here overnight for
observation."

"Can I see her?" Lee asked.

"Of course," Dr. Morrison said, and Lee followed her to one of the
curtained cubicle. As he came closer could hear Amanda's voice.

"No I don't want to stay here overnight," she was saying. "I'll be
just fine at home. If you'll just give me the release forms and tell
me where my clothes are I'll be on my way."

"I'm sorry ma'am," a halting male voice explained, "but I'm not
authorized to make that decision."

"Well then let me talk to someone who his," Amanda said. Dr. Morrison
pushed the curtain aside and Amanda and the intern both looked up with
startled expressions on their faces. Amanda's expression turned to one
of relief as she saw her husband.

"Lee!" she said happily. Lee crossed the room and enveloped his wife
in a gentle hug, followed by a kiss which only ended when Dr. Morrison
cleared her throat and reminded them that they weren't alone.

"How are you feeling?" Lee asked Amanda, his hand running gently
across her cheekbone. He could see the beginnings of what would be a
nasty bruise on her forehead.

"Fine," Amanda said. "Well, maybe not fine-my head hurts and I have
the feeling I'll probably be really sore tomorrow."

"What happened?"

"Well the last thing I remember was being at the red light," Amanda
said. "Then there were these really bright headlights and something
rammed into me. I guess I must have hit my head on the steering wheel
because I blacked out for a few seconds and the next thing I know the
paramedics were there. What I don't understand is why the airbag
didn't work-that was one of the reasons why we bought the Taurus."

Lee didn't know either, but his mind was forming some nasty
suspicions. "What about the other car?" He said.

"The witnesses said it left the scene before the paramedics came,"
Amanda said. "All anyone knows is that it was a red pickup. Lee do you
think this is connected to-" her voice broke off as they looked up at
Dr. Morrison.

"It's a possibility," Lee said, keeping his voice low. "I want to have
the Taurus checked out by Gino, Amanda. He'll be able to tell if it's
been tampered with and why the airbag didn't work. There are other
things I need to fill you in on later."

"Later at home, right?" Amanda said. "I really don't want to stay here."

"Amanda, if Dr. Morrison thinks it's best maybe you should stay," Lee
said. "A head injury can be a serious thing. Remember Jenna?"

"This is nothing like Jenna," Amanda said, lowering her voice to a
whisper. "I'm not confused and I only lost consciousness for a minute
or two. If this accident is connected to Jenna's situation I don't
want her to find out about it." Lee tried to say something, but Amanda
talked right over him in typical fashion. "Jenna's worried enough as
it is and I don't want her to see me in a hospital bed."

"I understand," Lee said. "I'll see what I can do."

6:30 PM

"Mom, can I get you anything else to eat?" Jenna asked.

"Oh sweetheart I think I'm full," Amanda said, putting her spoon in
the bowl. She was lying on the family room sofa, an afghan over her
legs and a cold pack on her head. "This was really good soup. Beef and
vegetable?"

"Yeah it was. Dad made the soup, mostly," Jenna said, "But I made the
wraps in the toaster oven."

"Well the wraps were really good too."

"I'm glad," Jenna said. She was smiling, but Amanda could see the
apprehension in her daughter's eyes.

"Jenna, I'm fine," Amanda said. "Really. It was just an accident at work."

"Are you sure?" Jenna asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Amanda said. "We were out on the photo shoot and I
banged my head on a camera. It's just a bump. The company doctor told
me to take it easy."

Jenna sat down beside Amanda on the couch. "I'm sorry Mom," she said.
"I just worry, that's all. I don't want anything to happen to you
because of-because of all this."

Amanda pulled Jenna into a tight hug, thinking back to the time when
Jenna was just a baby and small enough to snuggle in her arms. "I know
you do," she said. "We all worry about the people we love." Looking
over Jenna's shoulder Amanda could see Lee, standing in the kitchen
doorway.

"Jenna, I cleared most of the dishes away," Lee said. "Do you want to
load the dishwasher?"

"Sure Dad," Jenna said, standing up and grabbing the bowl, spoon and
plate from the tray table next to the sofa and going into the kitchen.
Just like Jenna, Lee sat beside Amanda on the sofa.

"You really sure you're okay?" he asked.

Amanda sighed. "I'm only saying this one more time, Lee. Yes, I'm
okay. Jenna is the one that I'm really worried about. Are we any
closer to catching the person who's doing this?"

"Not really," From the kitchen they could hear the noise of Jenna
rinsing off the plates and putting them into the washing machine. Lee
lowered his voice slightly. "There are two possible leads-a brother
and sister, but so far there's been no luck in locating them. All that
we can do now is wait."

"Wait for him to make the next move," Amanda said. The thought of what
that next move might be made her shiver and Lee pulled her into his
warm embrace.

Wednesday,
November 7, 2001
2:00 AM

The sound of the buzzer woke Suzanne out of a deep sleep and into the
cold harsh reality as she sat up, looking around at her dingy
apartment. She'd been dreaming that everything was back to normal,
that Marcie was alive and that Gary was the sweet and wonderful man
that Suzanne had always known he could've been. Slowly she brushed a
tear from her eye. The remains of her dinner still lay in front of her
on the coffee table-Suzanne no longer had the energy to clean
anything. She didn't seem to have any energy at all, actually.

The buzzer rang again. Before Suzanne could get over there to open it
there was a loud bang and the door flew inwards, knocking some of the
hinges loose. A man stepped through, and smiled at her thinly.

"Hello, Suzanne," Dennis said. "Nice to meet you again."

"What are you-" Suzanne began, her voice trembling as she spoke.. That
was when she saw the knife that he was holding. Soon after that, she
began screaming.

2:30 AM

The figure in black was holding Jenna tightly, pressing a knife
against her throat. Jenna's face was pale and tearstained as she
looked into her father's eyes.

"Let her go," Lee said. "Please-take me instead."

"No chance, Stetson," the voice said, and before Lee had a chance to
react the blade was drawn across his daughter's throat and she fell…
"No!" Lee shouted.

His heart was pounding as he sat up in bed. It took a moment to
reorient himself and realize that it had all been a dream. Amanda was
still sleeping beside him-thank God he hadn't woken her. Lee could hear the faint sound of music--coming from downstairs. He stood and
pulled on his robe, sliding his feet into the slippers that Amanda had
bought him for his last birthday. As he went downstairs the sound
became louder-it was coming from the family-room television. On the
couch lay Jenna, sound asleep. One arm held the remote and hung limply
over the side of the sofa. Lee turned off the television set, pried
the remote out of Jenna's fingers and lifted his daughter into his
arms-something he hadn't done since she was six.

Jenna's eyes opened slightly. "Dad?" She whispered. "What-"

"I'm just taking you back to your bed," Lee said. "Did you have a bad
dream?"

"Trying not to have one," Jenna said, her voice slightly slurry from
fatigue. "I thought that if I stayed up until I was too tired…"

"Not a good idea, munchkin," Lee said, but his daughter's eyes were
closed and he wasn't so sure if she'd heard him. Lee tucked Jenna into
her bed and turned to leave.

"Nightlight?"

"Already on,"

"G'nite," Jenna said. Lee stood in the doorway, watching her
and making sure that she was really asleep before he left.

TBC 

Part Five

November 7, 2001

8:00 AM

"I'm fine." Jenna stifled a yawn with her hand. "Why?"

"I don't want to be mean, girl, but you look half-dead," Lisa said.
"Do you have the flu or something?"

"I'm just tired," Jenna said. "I don't have the flu or something, I
just stayed up late." Trying not to dream, she added silently. Her dad
had been right-it had not been a good idea. Jenna yawned again-she was
so tired that she couldn't even open her own locker.

"Is this a sign of early senility?"

Jenna stared at Lisa. "What? Why?"

"Because, Miss Spaz, you're trying to open someone else's locker."

Jenna stuck her tongue out at her friend and moved one locker over, spinning the dial around quickly-the bell was going to ring soon
and she didn't want to be late.

"Think there'll be more messages from Mr. Secret Admirer?" Lisa asked.

"I hope not." But as Jenna opened her locker she saw an
unfamiliar envelope.
Lisa was standing behind her, trying to look over Jenna's shoulder as
she unsealed the flap .

"Could I have some privacy, please?" Jenna said, speaking a little
more sharply than she'd intended.

"Sure, grouchy," Lisa muttered. "See you in class."

Jenna's hands shook slightly as she pulled something out of the
envelope. Another card-a homemade one this time. The front of the card
bore the words, "You'll never get away from me", in red letters.
Jenna opened the card, looking at the photograph which was glued
there, and she swallowed very hard. It was slightly blurry, but the
face of the blood-soaked figure was quite clear. Suzanne Johnston. The
caption for the photo was in the same red letters and read "She never
did". Jenna really felt like she was going to be sick this time. Lisa
touched her shoulder and Jenna quickly closed the card, forcing a
smile for her friend.

"Sorry I was grouchy," she said.

"Are you kidding?" Lisa said. "Grouchy friends are normal. It's when
they start being nice that you have to worry." Jenna laughed.

The five minute bell rang, reminding Jenna that what she would be was
late for class if she didn't hustle. She put the envelope into her
backpack and bolted down the corridor towards homeroom.

1:55 PM

"It was probably too painful to hang on to those," Lee said. "Okay,
forensics and the police have already been here, Amanda. We're just
looking for anything they may have overlooked."

"You think this is related to what's happening to Jenna?" Amanda said,
her eyes scanning the ground. But it was something on a nearby
bookcase which caught her eye-a small photograph in a room which was
practically devoid of memorabilia. Amanda picked it up.

"Of course," Lee said. "It would be too much of a coincidence
otherwise."

"Lee, look at this." Amanda handed him the small black and white
photo. Lee stared at the three faces on the photo.

"That's definitely Gary," he said, pointing at the face in the middle.
"The other ones must be Dennis and Katie." Lee turned it over, staring
at the word written on red ink in the back. The German word for
revenge. Rache.

3:55 PM

He'd even circled it. For one moment Jenna felt like asking her
teacher how well he'd do on an essay if some crazy person was stalking
him and his family, but she wisely decided to hold her tongue.

"I know, Mr. Frere," Jenna said as she took the paper. She was
thankful that he'd waited until the other students left to confront
her with it. "I guess I've been kind of distracted lately. I'm sorry."

"Something bothering you?" Mr. Frere said.

"A little bit, yeah," Jenna admitted. Mr. Frere leaned across the
desk, his blue eyes peering sympathetically into hers from behind a
pair of reading glasses.

"If there's something you want to talk about, Jenna," he said. "I'm
always here for my students. Maybe we could speak after school?"

"Thanks," Jenna said, "but I have dance team practice."

"I can wait after if you like," Mr. Frere said.

Jenna almost said yes, but there was something-a feeling she couldn't
quite place and every instinct was screaming at her to say no. "That's
okay," she said. "But I have a ride home after then and I hate to keep
them waiting-maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

Something about the expression on Mr. Frere's face made Jenna feel
very nervous all of the sudden. Then just as quickly he was all smiles again, leaving
her thinking that maybe she'd been imagining things. .

"Well my door is open anytime you want to talk," he said. "About
anything."

4:55 PM

"One and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight!"
For each count Mrs. Roberts clapped her hands. Jenna kicked and then
fell on the double-pirouette- grimacing as the side of her knee made
contact with the gym floor. Jenna heard someone snickering and felt
the heat rising in her cheeks. Usually dance was her one release when
she was stressed out, but today her limbs felt as heavy and clumsy as
an elephant.

"Keep up, Jenna!" Mrs. Roberts yelled, her voice breaking into
Jenna's reverie and she suddenly realized that she was at least three
steps behind everybody else.

"Okay team, that's it!" Mrs. Roberts said. "I will see all of you on
Thursday-be here promptly after class so we have time for the
warm-ups. Jenna Stetson, if you can stay after. I'd like to talk to
you."

"Ooooh!" Terri Morgan tossed her platinum hair as she grinned
maliciously at Jenna. "Sounds like someone's in trouble- guess being
kidnapped won't get you out of this one."
Jenna said nothing--just glared at Terri until the other girl finally looked
away.

"What an idiot," Lisa muttered, giving Terri a glare of her own before
turning to Jenna. "I've got to go- my mom wants us to do a shopping and
dinner thing. Will you be all right?"

"I'll be fine," Jenna said. "Have a good time-I'll see you tomorrow,
okay?" Lisa and the other girls headed to the locker room. Taking a
deep breath, Jenna walked over to Mrs. Roberts, who was putting her
CD's in their cases.

"You said you wanted to see me?" Jenna asked.

"I did, yes," Mrs. Roberts said. "You seemed a little distracted
today, Jenna-actually you seemed like you weren't even with us. Is
everything all right?"

"Everything' s fine, Mrs. Roberts," Jenna said. "It's just been a long
day-I didn't sleep too well last night."

The teacher stared at her for a long moment. Finally she spoke. "I'll
let it go today, Jenna. Because I know that you have the ability. But
this better not become a habit."

"No ma'am," Jenna said quietly.

"Good dancing requires concentration, " Mrs. Roberts said. "And good
dancers are what I need on my team."

"Yes ma'am," Jenna said.

"Good girl," Mrs. Roberts looked at her watch. "What do you say to ten
extra minutes? Just to see if you've got the routine down-pat. Okay?"

"Well," Jenna hesitated. On one hand she knew her dad would be waiting
outside. On the other hand she really wanted to impress Mrs. Roberts.
"Okay." She said.

"Fantastic," Mrs. Roberts said, smiling, and Jenna found herself
smiling back-the first real smile that she'd had all day.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

5:10 PM

The locker room was empty by the time a thoroughly exhausted Jenna
entered it. She put her bag beside her on the bench, peeling off her
damp sweats and changing back into her school clothes. She left on the
pink sweatband her mom had given her for luck, even though it hadn't
brought her much luck today. Jenna was sitting on the bench, pulling
on her sneakers when all of the sudden the lights went out.

"Great," she whispered to herself. Someone had forgotten she was in
here. It would be just her luck on a day like today to be locked in by
an overeager custodian. Jenna finished with her shoes and stood. She
felt for her sweats, stuffing them into her backpack and throwing the
bag over one shoulder. Jenna's eyes were adjusting to the darkness,
and she could make out the outlines of the door up ahead. A hiss of
irritation escaped her lips when she realized the door was locked.

"Hey! Somebody! I'm stuck in here!" Jenna yelled, pounding the metal
door with her fists. "Hello? Mrs. Roberts? Somebody? Anybody?" But no
one came. She fished her cell phone out of her pocket-but it wasn't
picking up a signal. Great, Jenna thought to herself-Dad was probably
waiting outside now, probably worried sick and she didn't blame him.
Would she have to stay here all night?

A sound from behind startled Jenna-it was a sharp squeak- kind of like
the sound that some tennis shoes made when they walked or ran across
the gym floor.

"Is someone there?" Jenna asked as she turned around, sliding the
backpack from her shoulder and holding it by the straps in front of
her. If nothing else it could certainly be used as a weapon. Slowly
she walked towards the area where the noise had come from. "If you're
there," Jenna said, "please answer."

That's when the whisper came.

"Jenna," a voice hissed softly. The sound made Jenna shiver.

"Who is that?" She called out, realizing that her voice was
trembling. In the shadows Jenna thought she saw something move.

"Jenna," the voice said again. Jenna couldn't tell whether the speaker
was male or female.

"Look, if this is a prank or someone trying to scare me it isn't
funny." Jenna said.

That was when someone grabbed her arm from behind. With a panicked cry Jenna tried to pull away, but the person holding her was too
strong--no matter how Jenna struggled she couldn't break free.

"For God's -Jenna, it's just me," Jenna recognized her Dad's voice and relaxed-she
turned around to see him holding a penlight flashlight and something
else in his other hand-something that looked like a- Jenna tried to
make it out, but by then it was gone.

"What are you doing here?" Jenna asked. "Did you just have a gun?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Dad said. "I was waiting for you
in the car and I got worried." He had avoided her question about the
gun completely, but Jenna decided to let it go.

"You scared me, Dad. How did you get in?" Jenna said. "The door was
locked-I tried it."

"It was locked from the outside," Dad said, after a pause. "I came in
through the gym and I heard you shouting and asking if someone was
there."

"Was that you calling my name just now?" Jenna said.

Dad was still holding her arm, and his grip tightened momentarily.
"Someone was calling your name?"

"Yes," Jenna said. "When you grabbed me I thought it had been you."

"Well it wasn't me," Dad said. "Could you tell what direction it was
coming from?"

"Well I was standing right here," Jenna pointed towards the dim
outline of the bench nearest the door. "And I think it came from
somewhere in the back-there was a funny sound before the voice-sort
of like shoes squeaking."

"Shoes squeaking?" Dad said. Jenna nodded. "I'm going to check it out.
You stay right here and if anything happens you yell for me. Okay?"

"Be careful," Jenna said. The wait seemed to take forever-she could
hear her father's footsteps moving around in the back-the little
penlight playing off the locker doors. Jenna clenched her hands
tightly until she could feel the nails digging into her palms. Finally
he came back.

"If there was somebody they aren't there now," Dad said.

"I didn't imagine it," Jenna said. "I really did hear a voice."

Lee ruffled her hair with one hand. "I know you did, sweetheart." His
voice sounded calm, nonchalant even, but Jenna had the strangest
feeling that something had upset him. "Let's go home, huh? Your mom
will be starting to worry."

SMK SMK SMK SMK

5:30 PM

Lee fought to stay outwardly composed during the drive home, but
inside his mind was racing. What he had seen in the gym and the locker
room-those images would stay with him forever. Lee was just glad he'd
gotten Jenna out before she'd seen-or before anything else had happened.

My God, he thought, fear coursing through his veins. If I hadn't been
there on time...

"Suzanne Johnston-she was murdered, wasn't she?" Jenna said.

They were stopped at a red light now. "How do you know that?" Lee said.

"There was something else in my locker today," Jenna said, digging the
envelope out of her backpack. "It was another card. There was a
picture of Suzanne-she was-I mean, you could sort of tell that she was
dead." Her voice trembled slightly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Jenna," Lee said. "You shouldn't have
had to hear about it that way."

"How did you hear about it?"

"I heard about it on the news," Lee said. The guy behind him honked
and he realized that the light had turned green. Putting on his
signal, Lee turned left onto Maplewood.

"So the person who's doing this to me killed her," Jenna said. "She-I
mean Suzanne-she wasn't a bad lady. She just didn't know what was
going on."

"I know."

"You'll never get away from me," Jenna said. "That's what the card
said. She testified against him and died. I guess that means I'm next."

Lee could hear the tears in her voice and his anger at his daughter's
tormenter grew. "Jenna," he said, "We-I mean the police-are going to
do everything possible to make sure you aren't next. So don't talk
like that."

"I won't," Jenna said softly.

"Good," Lee said. "Now I'm going to call the-police when we get home
and see what else we can do. I'm sorry, but you aren't going back to
school tomorrow and probably not for the next few days."

"Mrs. Roberts might be upset when I'm not there for Dance Team
practice."

"Well she'll just have to understand," Lee said. "And I don't want you
calling or texting anyone and telling them about this, Jenna. Not your
friends, your teachers-no one can know."

"I understand."

"The police might want to take us to a safe place," Lee said. "So when
we get home I want you to pack a bag. Pack for at least three days,
essentials only."

"I can do that," Jenna repeated. Lee squeezed his daughter's hand.

"It really will be all right, munchkin" he said firmly. At this point
Lee wasn't really sure how it would be, but he knew that Jenna needed
to hear those words.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

"So you're saying that you didn't get her?" Katie said. "I
practically gave that kid to you on a silver platter."

"I'm telling you, it was a bust," Dennis said. "Before I could even
touch her Daddy came along and get this- he even had a gun."

"Well from what Gary said, the guy's some sort of fed. What did you
expect?" Katie said, "Did he hurt you, Denny?"

"Relax, sis, I'm fine." Dennis' voice sounded slightly amused. "But
your plan didn't work. Now we try one of my plans, Katie, and you're
just the one to carry it out."

"What did you have in mind?" Katie said.

TBC

Part Six

5:35 PM

"Thanks Mom." Jenna's eyes looked puffy, like she'd been
crying. "I'll eat in a minute, okay?" Without another word she went up
to her bedroom.

Amanda looked at Lee. "Did something else happen today?"

"You could say, that, yeah." Lee handed Amanda the card that
Jenna had given him before entering the house. "For starters, she
knows that Suzanne was murdered. She received a card and a photograph
telling her so."

"Oh my gosh."  Amanda put her hand over her mouth as she
looked at the card and the photograph. "Lee, this card is-I mean, I
saw the crime scene photos, but this-"

"I know." Lee placed a hand on Amanda's shoulder. "And what
happened in the locker room after that dance team practice didn't
help. Someone turned off the lights and trapped her in there."

"They trapped her in the locker room?" Amanda saw the
troubled look in her husbands' eyes and knowing that there had to be
more to the story.

"Yeah, I heard her shouting so I picked the lock," Lee said. "Jenna
told me that she'd heard someone whispering her name, so I told her to
stay put while I went to check it out. As far as Jenna knows, I found
nothing."

"What did you really find?" Amanda asked, not sure that she wanted to
hear the answer.

"Some ropes, a gag and a very sharp butcher knife," Lee said. "I also
found the dead body of Agent Whitaker-he was the one who was assigned
to protect her inside the school."

Looking at her husband, Amanda could see the same horror that she felt
reflected in his eyes. "You're sure that Jenna knows nothing?" 

Lee shook his head. "Hopefully she never has to know-Lord only knows
what some creep was planning to do to Jenna if I hadn't come in time."

Amanda took Lee's hands into her own, realizing that he was shaking as
much as she was. "But you did get there in time," she said. "That's
what matters, Lee. You saved her."

Lee nodded. "Now I just need to keep her that way," he said. "I'm
going to make a few phone calls-Amanda, can you-?"

"I'll pack a couple of bags for us," Amanda said. "What about Jenna?"

"Already packing, I hope," Lee said. "I told her to plan for at least
three days."

"Is that how long you think it will take?"

"I don't know," Lee admitted, rubbing his face with one hand. "The
leads haven't gone anywhere so far-there's nothing."

"Don't worry, they'll find something," Amanda said. 

Hopefully before something finds us, Lee thought to himself. His arms
wrapped tightly around his wife, pulling her body close to his.

5:45 PM

"Thanks, Billy," Lee said. Amanda was putting their bags near the
door. "Have there been any new leads?"

"Francine thinks she has a line on this Dennis Johnston character,"
Billy said, "But she's still gathering the details. Gino checked out
Amanda's car and you were right, Lee. The airbag had been tampered
with so it wouldn't deploy."

"Thanks, Billy," Lee said. "Let me know when you have any more
information, okay?"

"Will do, Scarecrow," Billy said. "Just take good care of my
Goddaughter-and yourselves."

6:00 PM

"I think so." Jenna zipped up her bag. "It's almost completely
full, anyway. Where are we going?"

"Bethesda," Dad said. "There's someone waiting outside to take us, so
we better hurry. Hey," he bent down to pick up something from her
bedroom floor and handed it to her-it was her old Scarecrow doll. "You
forgot this."

"I thought you said essentials," Jenna said.

Dad got a strange look on his face. "You don't think he's essential?"

Part of Jenna wanted to say that she was a little old for dolls now,
but something about that particular doll had always been a comfort to
her. She took it from him, tucking it under it under her arm and Dad
smiled. "Let's go," Jenna said, trying to sound a lot braver than she
felt. Dad turned off the light in her room and together they went
downstairs. Mom was waiting for them by the door. There were two
duffel bags in her hand and Dad took the larger one, putting it on his
shoulder.

"Your dinner's in the car," Mom told Jenna as together they all
went out of the house and down the front steps. "I don't know if you
feel much like eating, sweetheart, but just in case."

Jenna was about to thank her when she heard a strange booming noise.

"Get down!" Dad was yelling, and by the glow of the streetlights
Jenna could see that there was suddenly a gun in his hand and that he
was firing back, like somebody in one of those cop shows that Jenna
watched on TV. What was he doing?

More booming noises, reminding Jenna of the fireworks last Fourth of
July-and Mom was screaming at her to get down. Jenna felt something
hit her leg, and gasped as it stung. She felt her mother's arms around
her, pulling her down to the ground. Something warm and wet was
running down her leg but she didn't feel any pain beyond a dull
burning sensation.

"Sweetheart?" her Mom's voice sounded like it was coming from a long ways away.

Jenna tried to move her leg but her muscles didn't seem to

want to obey her command and the pain was starting to grow so much

"Lee, she's been hit!" her Mom shouted. Jenna felt someone pressing
something onto her lower leg. The last thing she recalled was hearing
mom's voice telling her to hang on and that help was on the way before
the pain and darkness overtook her completely

TBC

Any medical things that I got wrong, I apologize for them in advance.
I tried to do as much research as I could, but I'm no doctor and nothing's perfect. As
for the use of Jimmy Buffet, it was playing in the recovery room when
my mom had surgery, so that's what I used :) Hope you enjoy.

Rating-PG-13 for violence

Part Seven

Wednesday, November 7, 2001

8:30 PM

One of the things Dennis liked about hospitals was the fact that
almost no one noticed you. You could wander around the corridors forever

and as long as you weren't there after hours and didn't call
attention to yourself people just took you for granted. He'd told the
old bat in the downstairs lounge that he was going to visit a friend
in room 430-she hadn't even made any calls to double-check. All she'd
done was write the information on a sticker and slap it onto Dennis'
chest. What could be easier?  All that remained for him
now was to find out where Jenna was.

Dennis honed in on the nurse at the front desk who was busy typing
what looked like a report into her computer. Her eyes were practically
glazed over. As if on cue the nurse yawned, covering her mouth with
her hand. A discarded bouquet of lilies lay on top of the garbage can.
On impulse Dennis picked them up.

"Excuse me," he said to the nurse, running a hand through his hair and
trying to look suitably worried. "But I heard they brought my niece in
here-Jenna Stetson? I just want to know her condition. I even brought
her some flowers, see?"

"I'll check," the nurse said with a reluctant sigh. She went over to
another terminal. "You said Jenna Stetson?"

"That's right," Dennis said smoothly. "She was shot in the leg, I
believe. Only twelve years old."

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry." the nurse's fingers danced over
the keyboard. "Let me just check for you, sir, it won't take a
moment-now that's funny."

"What?" Dennis said.

"There's no one by that name here," the nurse said. "In fact, the
records show that there weren't any gunshot victims in the ER tonight."

"Well, maybe she went to another hospital," Dennis said, his mind
racing because he was almost certain that they were here. He wondered
what kind of strings the Stetsons would've had to pull to keep Jenna's
patient information off the computer.

"Maybe." The nurse frowned. "The thing is, I remember a gunshot victim
being brought in tonight- a young girl, blond hair-there must be some
sort of computer error."

"That certainly sounds like my niece Jenna," Dennis said. "Where would
they have taken her-into surgery?"

"Yeah, to surgery and then straight on to recovery-down that way, I
believe." The nurse pointed distractedly as she frowned at the
computer screen. "But no one's allowed back there without authorization."

"Thank you so much," Gary murmured. "I'll be seeing you." As he
headed towards Surgery and Recovery, his hand patted his pocket,
making sure that everything he needed was still in there. The nurse
was calling after him, but he ignored her.

9:00 PM

Lee and Amanda were sitting at a table in the Pediatric Surgery
Waiting Room of Galilee General. Lee had his head in his hands and
Amanda was vainly trying to concentrate on the Washington Times
crossword puzzle.

"What time is it?" Lee asked.

"9:00," Amanda said. "About five minutes later since the last time you
asked. Lee, what's a four-letter word for a culture medium?"

"A what?" Lee looked at his wife in shock until he realized what she
was doing. "I really don't know," he told her.

"Well how about an artificial oyster bed?'" Amanda said.

"Sorry, no idea."

In a fit of uncharacteristic anger Amanda threw the puzzle and her
pencil across the room, the pencil bouncing off the wall. Lee was
astonished-usually he was the one to have these kind of outbursts-not
Amanda. "It doesn't matter," she said. "Why do I even care about
culture mediums, oyster beds, or any of these things when my baby's in
surgery?" Tears were glistening in her dark eyes.

Lee took her into his arms-his own eyes weren't so dry either. "It'll
be all right," he said, rubbing the small of Amanda's back in soothing
circles with the palm of his hand. "She was only shot in the leg and
the bleeding didn't look all that heavy." He was trying to convince
himself with his words as well as Amanda-Lee knew from personal
experience that even the most minor gunshot wounds could turn out to
be very serious indeed. Seeing Jenna lying on a gurney once again,
with tubes in her arms and her small face covered by an oxygen mask
had just about wrenched his heart from his chest. "She's strong,
Amanda." Lee said. "She'll make it."

"It's been one heck of a year for our daughter, hasn't it?" Amanda
said. "Kidnapping, being terrorized and now she's been shot."

"I know," Lee said. "If Jenna survives to adolescence someone should
give her a medal."

There was a squeaking sound as the door swung open. Both Lee and
Amanda looked up to see Billy.

"How is Jenna?" Billy asked. He sat down in one of the chairs
opposite.

"We don't know," Lee said. "The N.E.S.T team swept her right into
surgery the moment we arrived and we haven't heard a thing since."

"How about you?" Billy indicated Lee's bandaged arm.

"What? It was just a graze," Lee said, impatience creeping into his
voice. "Do you have any news?"

"Well the good news is that we caught the shooter," Billy said.
"Formerly Katie Johnston, she now goes by Katie Roberts."

"Roberts?" Amanda's eyes widened. "She's the one who runs the Dance
Team at Kenmore."

Billy nodded grimly. "It ties in with Whitaker's murder perfectly, and
she was probably the one who turned off the lights and locked the
locker room."

"What's the bad news?" Amanda asked.

"The bad news is that we don't think she was working alone." Billy said.

"You mean Dennis," Lee said. "You said earlier that Francine was close
to finding information on him?"

Billy took a deep breath, taking a piece of paper out of his jacket
pocket. "After 1979, Dennis Johnston became Dennis Johnson, followed
by Kenneth Mckendrick , Stephen Patrick and most recently Nolan
Robertson. New ID's and Social Security numbers for each one."

"It's really that easy to do?" Amanda's eyes were wide. 

"Anything's easy if you're willing to pay the money for it,
unfortunately," Billy said.

"Any idea what name he could be using now?" Amanda asked.

"Francine's working on that," Billy said. "This man drifts from state
to state, Amanda. He's had some- run-ins with the law, but he's never
been indicted or convicted of anything stronger than a speeding ticket."

"What kind of run-ins with the law did he have, exactly?" Lee said,
knowing that Billy wasn't giving him the entire story. "Billy please,
I need to know."

"You're not going to like it, Lee," Billy said. "Some children went
missing when he was around. Four children, to be exact. All female,
all between the ages of 9 and 13, in four different states. In each
case Dennis was always questioned, but since there was never any
evidence against him and the children were never found they had to let
him go."

"Oh my god it just gets worse." Lee ran one hand over his
face, thinking again about what he had found in the locker room, what

might have happened. He felt Amanda's hand slip into his

and he knew she was thinking about the same thing. "We

"Well Francine is interrogating Katie Roberts now," Billy said. "But
so far she hasn't been very forthcoming. We're also looking into the
backgrounds of all the teachers who started working at Kenmore this
year-that could take some time."

"Do you have a list of all those teachers?" Amanda said. "If I could
look at it something might jump out at me."

"Here," Billy said, fishing a folded piece of paper from his jacket
pocket and handing it to Amanda.

"Has anyone spoken to Gary?" Lee asked. "He's tied up in this mess
somehow, Billy. Does he have anything to say?"

"Not much," Billy said. "He's in the infirmary after inmates beat him
up again- this is his third hospitalization since he started his
sentence."

"Well considering what he did to Jenna, you'll forgive me if I don't
feel much sympathy," Lee said. "Did he tell you anything?"

"Nothing," Billy sighed. "Doctors allowed our agents ten minutes with
Gary Johnston and all he did was smile and say that things were being
taken care of."

"Give me ten minutes with the guy and that wouldn't be a problem," Lee
muttered. Amanda squeezed his hand gently.

"What about Jenna?" Amanda said. "Once she gets out of surgery we'll
need to keep her safe."

"I know, Amanda. Once she's out we'll station a guard
outside the recovery room. We're also providing you with a private
hospital suite," Billy said. "No one will be able to get in or out of
that room without you or Lee's permission."

"And Philip and Jamie?" Lee asked.

"We're still watching them, but at this moment we don't believe
they're in any real danger," Billy said. "Chances are that if Dennis
Johnston is going to try anything, he'll try it here. Anything on that
list jump out at you?" he asked Amanda.

Amanda pursed her lips. "Not really." she ran her finger
down the list. "But this woman, the History teacher Mrs. Bryson, isn't
there anymore. She had to have emergency surgery and the school hired
a semester replacement and he's a Mr.- I can't remember what his name
is, but he's Jenna's favorite teacher now-she talks about him all the
time."

"Well, when she's feeling better ask her and call me," Billy said.
"I've got to go now-oh I almost forgot." He pulled out a small
stuffed bear and a book out of his pocket, handing the things to Lee.
"The stuffed animal is from Jeannie and I and the book is from
Francine-she said that Jenna really wanted that book."

Lee looked at the cover of Stormbreaker, then turned it over to read
the back cover. The words spy' and MI-6' leaped out a him. "Spy
fiction?" he said in disbelief. "When did she start getting into that?"

Billy's only response  was laughter.

9:45 PM

Katie Robert's slender wrists were handcuffed to the chair where she
was sitting-her face was without expression as she stared at Francine.

"Where who is?" Katie said.

"Don't play dumb, Mrs. Roberts. I want to know where your brother
Dennis is and what name he's using."

"Well, right at the moment I have know idea where Dennis is," Katie
said acidly. "I've been here in this chair for at least three hours,
haven't I? As to what name he's using, let's just say that's
privileged information."

Francine resisted the urge to strangle the woman right here and wipe
that smug smile from Katie Robert's face. "You realize that we can
make you talk. There are drugs-this is the easy way, Mrs.
Roberts. Would you really prefer the hard way?"

Mrs. Roberts' blue eyes looked into Francine's. Without warning she
began to laugh, the sound sending chills down Francine's spine. "You
know you won't do that-you don't have the time. Soon Dennis will have
Jenna, and our brother Gary will be avenged. Incidentally, how is poor
little Jenna doing?"

Francine's expression hardened. "Like you said, that's privileged
information," she said, putting the contempt she felt for Mrs. Roberts
into each syllable. Francine leaned further forward. "Lee Stetson is
very well-liked around this agency, and so is his family. So I pretty
much have a green light to do whatever I want with you to find out the
information I need. Do we understand one another?"

For the first time since the interrogation began, Francine noticed a
look of apprehension in the other woman's eyes.

11:30 PM

"Are there any other problems?" Lee asked. "What about infection,
stuff like that?"

"Well it was an open fracture so we'll have her on antibiotics to
ward off any infection." Dr. Jameson said. "We cleaned and irrigated
the gunshot wound before we closed it, but as you know there's always
a risk."

Lee nodded. Lord knew he'd been shot himself often enough.

"Does she have a cast?" Amanda asked.

"She'll have a long fiberglass cast for about four to six weeks."
Dr. Jameson said. "If everything works out after that we can get Jenna
in a walking cast and onto some physical therapy. In the meantime I
don't want her to put any weight on that leg-she should keep it
elevated and iced." The Doctor's pager bleeped, and he looked at it.
"They're moving her to the recovery room right now-if you'd like to
follow me-we need to get you suited up first."

11:45 PM

"Wakey, wakey, Jenna," a man's voice said. "I can tell that you're
conscious. Please open your eyes."

Dad? Jenna thought. No, this wasn't Dad. Dad's voice was
kind-something about the tone of this man's voice frightened her.
Jenna she couldn't shake the awful feeling that she'd heard the voice
somewhere before.

Icy fingers brushed against her cheek, going up and down very gently
and then-Jenna cried out in sudden pain as her hair was roughly
grabbed and pulled, causing her neck to jerk painfully backwards.

"Do I have your attention?" Jenna could feel his breath on her cheek. "Now open your eyes."

Jenna opened her eyes.  The small motion sent nausea racing through
her stomach. She realized that she wasn't lying down but sitting up
instead. Suddenly Jenna retched, a rush of bitter liquid rising
up through her throat and out of her mouth, splashing her lap.

"My my. Someone sure made a mess of
themselves, didn't they?"

Everything was blurry, but Jenna could make out a dark figure in front
of her.

"Hello, Jenna," the man said. "I've been waiting for some time alone
with you-pity it had to be like this." Her vision began to clear slowly.

"No," Jenna whispered in horror as she saw the person who was standing
there.

11:50 PM

"Mr. and Mrs. Stetson, If you'll excuse me," he said. "Something's
just come up."

"Is something wrong?" Amanda asked.

"Just a minor irregularity," Dr. Jameson said. "Nothing for you to be
concerned about. You'll find the recovery room down that corridor-" he
pointed "-the second set of double doors to your left."

Lee and Amanda walked down the corridor he'd indicated. The sign on
the top of the door read "Post Anesthesia Recovery Unit."

"This must be it," Amanda said. "But shouldn't there be a guard at the
door?"

"Maybe he's inside," Lee suggested, his voice muffled by the mask.
Something about this was starting to make him feel vaguely uneasy-he
wasn't quite sure why. Lee pushed open the swinging doors, Amanda
following closely behind. No guard here either. Just a doctor in green
scrubs and a parrot on his head. The doctor was going through the ward
from bed to bed, dancing to "Cheeseburger in Paradise," the Jimmy
Buffet song which was blaring from a nearby boom-box. He was even
wearing a parrot on his head, Lee noticed. Fluorescent lighting gave
the scene a vaguely surreal appearance and only added to his uneasiness.

"Amanda, is that guy nuts?" Lee hissed. "It's late at night and these
children are ill-the last thing they need is to listen to that racket."

"Well, they do say that sometimes music in the recovery room helps the
children feel better," Amanda said as they walked around, looking for

their daughter. "I volunteered in her quite a few times, you

"You didn't play Jimmy Buffet, did you?" Lee said.

"Well no," Amanda said. "We played soft music to help the children
relax and sleep."

"At least that makes sense," Lee murmured, watching as the doctor
whirled around like a dervish. "I sure hope that guy's not looking
after Jenna. I don't trust a doctor who dances and wears a foam parrot
on his head."

"You just don't trust any doctors, period." Amanda said. "And most of
them are actually good people, you know-what?" She said as Lee
suddenly clutched her upper arm.

"Amanda, we've walked all around the ward," Lee said. His uneasiness
was fast becoming full-blown panic. "There are twenty beds here and
we haven't seen Jenna."

Amanda turned around. "Lee, don't be silly. She's probably still
asleep. We must have just missed-" her voice faded away. "Oh my
gosh," she whispered.

"There was no guard out there.We should've known
something was wrong."

"Maybe they took Jenna to a private room." 

"So soon after surgery?"

"No you're right," Amanda said. "But then where could she-"

"I don't know," Lee said, his mind racing with the possibilities, each
one more frightening than the last. It felt as though his heart was
going to beat right through his chest cavity. Lee felt Amanda's
trembling hand in his and he gave it a gentle squeeze. "With any luck
she hasn't been taken out of the hospital. Let's see if that doctor
knows anything, okay?"

"Okay," Amanda said. Cheeseburger in Paradise' had started playing
from the beginning once again, as if the song were on a loop. But the
doctor wasn't dancing now. He was standing in the middle of the floor,
watching as they approached.

"Excuse me, Dr. --Amis." Amanda read the name off the tag on
the man's shirt. "But my daughter just got out of surgery. She's
supposed to be in this room, only we can't find her. Can you help us?"

The Doctor smiled, bright blue eyes peering out from behind a pair of
glasses. "Help you?Of course I can help you, Mrs.
Stetson." Reaching into the pocket of his scrubs, he pulled out a
gun, pointing it at her. Amanda took a step back and Lee stepped in
front of his wife, protecting her.

"Dennis," Lee said, remembering the faces in the black and white
photograph. He was older and greyer, but undoubtedly the same man.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Stetson," Dennis Johnston said. "You must
have a good eye for faces." He cocked the gun. "Now, hand over your
weapon, please. I know you're armed. If you don't, I may have to shoot
you along some of these lovely children. Are you prepared to risk
their lives as well?"

In the background Lee could hear panicked gasps, children crying, and
the nurses calling security. Slowly he removed the gun from his
holster and handed it to Dennis, who slipped it into the pocket of the
scrubs.

"Thank you," Dennis said.

"Where's the real Dr. Amis?" Amanda said.

"Taking a permanent nap in the supply closet," Dennis said. "Along
with the security guard who didn't feel like cooperating."

"You mean you killed them," Lee said.

"Well I asked nicely at first, but some people have to learn the hard
way," Dennis said.

"What about Jenna?" Lee said.

"Well she's alive," Dennis said. "For now, anyway. Such a pretty
girl, isn't she? Even in a hospital gown."

Lee spoke between gritted teeth, his fists clenched. "If she's hurt at
all, in any way, I'll-"

Dennis laughed. "You'll what? I'm the one holding the gun, Mr.
Stetson, and I'd like you to come with me. I think that Jenna would
enjoy your company. Don't you?"

TBC

Rating-PG-13 for violence

Part Eight

Thursday, November 8, 2001

12:00 AM

To say that Francine Desmond was exhausted would be an understatement.
She sat alone in her office, resting her head on the desk and fighting
the overwhelming urge to just close her eyes and give in to sleep.
Trouble was, when Francine closed her eyes all she could do was
picture Jenna Stetson lying in a hospital bed with her leg shattered
by a bullet. The mental image affected her more than she cared to admit.

First the kidnapping, the trial, the pictures, the threats-and now
this, she thought. Hadn't that child been through enough for one year?

Surrounding her were mounds of paperwork and background checks on
every teacher at Kenmore Middle School. None of it told Francine one
blessed thing. The interrogation hadn't yielded much either. For a
moment it seemed as though Katie Roberts would cooperate, but then she
began saying "Dennis will make them pay" over and over like some sort
of mantra. Francine had ended the interrogation and walked out,
afraid of doing something to the woman that she might not regret.

A knock on Francine's office door roused her from her fatigued state.
"Come in!" She called.

It was Leonard Murray, one of the newest field agents. He stood there
with a sheaf of papers in his hand, nervously fumbling with his glasses.

"Well?" Francine said. "Anything else on those background checks?"

"Yes Ma'am," Leonard said. "We found out who replaced the history
teacher Mrs. Bryson. It was a Gary Frere."

"Gary Frere?" Francine repeated. There was something strange about
that name, but at the moment her mind was too fogged to think of what
it was. "Have you found out anything about him yet?"

"No Ma'am. That's the other thing I came to tell you.
We need more time."

Now I know why Billy lived on antacids when he had this position,
Francine thought to herself. "You haven't got more time," she said,
raising her voice slightly. "Might I remind you that a little girl is
in the hospital because of this maniac?"

"We're trying," Leonard said.

"Well you'll just have to try harder," Francine snapped. The phone
rang and she picked it up. "Desmond here,"

"There's been an incident at Galilee General," Billy said.

Francine's fingers gripped the edge of the desk. "What kind of
incident?"

"Two men were found dead in a supply closet," Billy said. "A Dr.
Martin Amis and Agent Haverson. Both men had their throats cut and Dr.
Amis' identification is missing."

"Where are the Stetsons?" Francine asked.

"Not located as of yet," Billy said. "The hospital went into lockdown
as soon as the bodies were discovered, so we're pretty sure they're in
the building. We think Gary's brother is holding them; what we don't know is where."

"Gary's brother." The pieces finally connected. "Gary Frere-Billy, I know who Dennis Johnston is."

"Francine, at this point what matters is finding him. This man has already killed two agents and a N.E.S.T. Doctor. Lord only knows what he'll do to the Stetsons. Now I want you to assemble a
team and get down there."

"I'll be there."

12:30 AM

"Oh my God," Lee whispered as he looked at his daughter. Jenna was sitting in a wheelchair,her wrists tied to the metal armrests. Her
head was slumped to one side, her eyes closed and her face puffy and
slightly flushed. . Lee couldn't tell if Jenna was asleep or
unconscious. He checked her pulse, noting that it was weak but
steady.Jenna's fiberglass-encased leg rested on the floor at an awkward
angle and the thin hospital gown she wore had ridden up around her
thighs. There was a stain on the gown too- Lee realized that she'd
probably thrown up on herself--the thought sent nausea racing through
his own gut.

"We're going to get you out of here," Lee said, not knowing whether
Jenna could hear him or not. He began to untie her ropes carefully,
wincing at the pain that shot through his own bruised and bloodied
wrists. It had taken Lee and Amanda almost a half-hour to free
themselves and Lee had the feeling that time was running out.

"How is she?" Amanda asked him,

"Well she's alive." Lee finished untying Jenna's ropes. "I
don't see any additional injuries." He didn't want to think about
possible injuries that he couldn't see right now, not until he could
wrap his hands around Dennis' throat and make him pay for what he'd
done. Suddenly Jenna gave a soft moan.

"Munchkin?" Lee said, patting Jenna's cheek and realizing just how
warm her skin was. "Come on, sweetheart, please open your eyes."
Turning to Amanda, he said. "I think she has a fever-she's burning up."

"Let me see." Amanda touched Jenna's forehead with the back
of her palm, sucking in her breath sharply. "We have to keep her
warm." Despite the steam coming from the nearby laundry, it

was actually pretty chilly.

"Here," Lee said, taking off the fleece pullover he wore over his
shirt. "We can use this." With Amanda's help they pulled the large
fleece over Jenna's head, rolling up the sleeves and pulling it down
over their child's legs as far as it would go. Amanda pulled the leg
rest out from the bottom of the wheelchair and carefully lifted
Jenna's broken leg onto the rest.

"It's not perfect as far as elevation goes," Amanda said, "but it
might help some of the swelling to go down."

"Now all we need to do is get out of here," Lee said. "Dennis could
come back any minute and I don't really want us to be in this closet
waiting for him." Silently he cursed himself for having left his lock-picks
back at the house.

"Here," Amanda said, pulling something out of her own pocket and
handing it to Lee, and he stared at the wallet-sized object in
disbelief. His lock-pick case.

"I don't know why, but I thought it might come in handy," Amanda said.

Lee stared at his wife's face for a moment before pulling her into a
brief but passionate kiss. "Have I told you lately
how wonderful you are?"

"On a daily basis," Amanda said, with a small grin, "But I don't mind.
Now let's get out of here, Stetson."

SMK SMK SMK SMK

"Dammit!" Lee lookedat the out-of-order sign on the freight
elevator. In frustration he slammed his palm against the wall."Isn't
there another way out of this basement?"

"There used to be a regular elevator down here," Amanda said. "But
they discontinued it years ago since everyone used the freight
elevator anyway. The only other way is the stairs, and carrying the
wheelchair would take forever-we can't do that."

"No we can't," Lee said. "But I can carry Jenna." He knelt beside the
wheelchair and lifted Jenna as gently as he could, trying to keep her
broken leg as straight as possible. "Let's hurry. I don't think we have much time."

"How very accurate, Mr. Stetson." Dennis' voice came from behind them.
Lee turned around to see the man holding a gun.

"I would've hoped that this wouldn't have to be done so crudely,"
Dennis Johnston said. "But it seems I have no choice. The only thing
which remains to be seen is who will I shoot first? Your beautiful
wife?" Dennis walked towards Amanda, slowly, a leer on his face. "Or
maybe Mama would prefer to see her child die first."

"Why not let them go and just take me?" Lee said. "I'm the one who put
Gary Johnston away."

"Do you think I'm stupid, Stetson? You all helped put him away."
Dennis' voice was suddenly thick with anger. "He may not have been
perfect, but he was my brother and he was there for me, after what
happened to the other children and after what happened to Marcie…sweet
little Marcie."

"What did you do to Marcie?" Amanda asked.

"Went a little too far." Dennis' voice took on a disturbing
sing-song tone as he reminisced. "Marcie was going to tell people.
Gary couldn't possibly let that happen to me, so he took care of it. Which is why I have to do this for him. So you see it's not really a question of who I will
kill-more of who will be first." Cocking the pistol, Dennis walked
closer. "It's a shame I couldn't have gotten to know Jenna a little
better. She really does look so much like Marcie-so very
pretty. But I guess we can't have everything."

Dennis' finger tightened on the trigger and Lee closed his eyes,
hugging Jenna closer. The sound of a gunshot echoed
through the corridor.

"Lee." Francine's voice. Lee opened his eyes to see her standing
there, gun in hand. Dennis Johnston lay face-down on the
ground, blood seeping onto the floor around him.

"Thank you," Lee said to Francine. Amanda gave Francine a brief hug.

"How's Jenna?" Francine asked.

"She's been better. Right now we need to get some doctors
to look at her." Jenna stirred in his arms, her dark eyes opening
slightly and focusing on his face.

"Dad?" Jenna murmured."Mom?"

"We're both here, Munchkin." Lee smoothed Jenna's tangled and sweaty
hair back from her face as he spoke. "Just rest, you're safe now."

"It's over?" Jenna asked him. "Really over?"

"It's really over," Lee said.

He was glad to be able to finally say those words and know that they
were true.

Epilogue to follow.