MISTAKEN IDENTITY
By
Penny Z
"Morning, Dad," said Steve as he walked into the kitchen where Mark Sloan was clearing his breakfast dishes.
"Hi, son, you’re up early today. Did you go for your morning jog already?"
"Came back half an hour ago. I have to be in Santa Monica by 9:00, so I only had time for a short run." Mark poured his son a steaming cup of coffee.
"Here, coffee’s nice and hot."
"Mmm…thanks."
"Any new developments in the Cullen case?"
"Well, that’s why I’m heading out to Santa Monica. Hopefully, I can get a lead on the vendor that was in the area at the time of the robbery. Seems this tattoo artist never stays in one place for very long."
"What does he have to do with the investigation?"
"We know our suspect had the store under surveillance while he waited for his partner to arrive. We think he passed the time by getting a tattoo, if you can believe that. Several witnesses remember two guys in their twenties running from the scene and one had a picture of a shark tattooed on his left arm. They don’t sound too bright. If the vendor can give us a description of the one that was waiting around, it might be the break we’ve been waiting for." Checking his watch, Steve finished his coffee and headed out the door, "Talk to you later, Dad."
"Steve wait, what does your schedule look like for tonight?" asked Mark as he gathered up his medical bag. How does dinner at Antonio’s strike you?"
"Dad, you know I never pass up dinner at Antonio’s. I’ll check back with you about five. If I’m running late we can meet there."
* * *
"Phil, look, I told you he lived in that house. Get down, here he comes." The two brothers watched as Steve Sloan walked down the steps and headed for his silver unmarked car. "I don’t know, Sammy, are you sure it’s him? That doesn’t look like a TV star’s fancy car. We gotta be sure about this. We’re talking big bucks here."
Sammy gave Phil one of those, "It’s a good thing I have the brains in the family," looks. "Listen, if it wasn’t him, would he be living in a big fancy house on the beach? That’s not a regular person’s house, it’s the kind of house a movie star lives in. Didn’t you see the gates in front? You know anybody that lives in Malibu that doesn’t work in movies or television?"
"I guess your right, Sammy. I just want to be sure."
"I tell you what; we’ll wait until tonight. There’s no hurry. We have plenty of time."
* * *
Drs. Jesse Travis and Amanda Bentley were busy discussing a patient brought in to the ER when they spotted Mark at the 3rd floor Nurse’s Station. "Janet please see that Mr. Marvin in room 332 is scheduled for his ultrasound this afternoon. I want to check the results before I leave tonight."
"Yes, Dr. Sloan; right away." Mark turned to his friends and asked them if they had plans for the evening. "Steve’s meeting me at Antonio’s for dinner. You're welcome to join us."
"I’ll have to pass," said Amanda, "CJ has a program at his pre-school tonight. He’s a tree. My baby’s first program, I think I’m going to cry."
Mark turned to Jesse, "Well Jess, what are your plans for tonight?"
"Actually, Susan's working, so I’m free as a bird. Should I meet you guys over there or come by the house?"
"It’s up to you, Jess. Steve called; he’ll be busy at the station so he won't be coming home. Why don't you come by the house and we can drive over together. It’ll give us a chance to catch up on your dad’s latest assignment.
* * *
At six o’clock, Jesse pulled his car into the driveway and parked alongside Mark’s convertible. He noticed two men in dark sweats walking slowly past the house, but he didn’t give them a second thought. He walked up the steps and was just about to ring the doorbell when Mark opened the door. Glancing down at his watch, he remarked to Jesse, "Right on time." With all the construction on PCH and the closure of one lane, the short drive to Antonio’s took a little longer than usual. Mark was pulling into a parking space when he noticed Steve waiting by the entrance. "Come on you guys, I’m starving." "You’re always starving," said Jesse, as Steve held the door open for them and they made their way to the check-in podium. Antonio greeted the trio and escorted them to a table with a view of the ocean. "Ah, Dr. Sloan, Steve, it has been a long time since we have seen you. Dr. Travis, you are well? Dr. Amanda was she not able to join you this evening?"
"You know how it is Antonio, work, work, and more work. How are Maria and the children?"
"Everyone, they are fine. Now sit, relax, talk, enjoy your dinner."
Steve brought his dad and Jesse up to date on the progress of his investigation while they enjoyed a delicious dinner of Lasagna and Caesar Salad. "I was able to track our tattoo artist to his new location on Venice Beach. He remembered designing a shark tattoo the morning of the robbery. He came down to the station and gave us a pretty good description of his customer."
Mark shook his head and replied, "Steve, you were right when you said they’re not too bright. They just don't sound like professional thieves, which should make it easier for you to track them down. They're bound to make more mistakes along the way." The conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a beep. All three reached for their beepers, "It's mine," said Mark, as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the hospital. He asked to be transferred to the third floor nurse's station and then asked to speak to Susan. He listened while she briefed him on Mr. Marvin’s condition. "I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Notify Dr. Theodore, and tell him to stand by. I’ll talk to him after I look in on Mr. Marvin." Mark turned to Jesse; "I have to get back to the hospital. Mr. Marvin took a turn for the worse. Steve can take you back to the house to pick up your car."
Steve nodded in agreement, "I just have one stop to make, then we can head for home. Oh, by the way, you can borrow that CD I was telling you about." They watched as Mark pulled out of Antonio’s parking lot, then they headed for Steve’s truck.
* * *
Sammy and Phil were positioned behind the front door when they heard the sound of Steve’s truck in the driveway. "Get ready to jump him when he comes in. Where’s the ransom note?"
Phil turned to his brother and said, "Where you told me to put it. I taped it to the back door."
Sammy rolled his eyes and said, "I told you to tape it to the front door! How many people do you know that walk to the back door when they come home?"
"I’m sorry Sammy, I’ll go get it."
Sammy shook his head, "Too late for that, put on your mask, here he comes!" Both brothers grabbed their masks, but had a difficult time getting them on. "For crying out loud Phil, what size mask did you buy? It doesn't fit!"
"Sammy, they didn't have any other sizes. I looked and looked, just pull on it until it stretches."
Sammy glared at his brother and thought to himself, "If you want a job done right, DO IT YOURSELF! Alright, shut up, here he comes." As Steve opened the front door he sensed something was amiss. He was about to tell Jesse to wait outside while he checked things out when he saw someone come flying at him from the corner of his eye. The two brothers lunged at Steve sending him over the sofa and banging into the dining room table. Steve was able to get several punches in before he was knocked over the head with the butt of Sammy’s revolver. He dropped to the floor as a stunned Jesse looked on. "What the…Steve, Steve!" Jesse rushed to his side only to find himself looking up into the barrel of a 38. Jesse shouted, "Who are you? What do you want?" Sammy ignored Jesse’s questions and motioned for him to help Phil carry Steve into the van parked on the road beside the Sloan House. After Steve was placed in the van face down, Sammy turned to Jesse and said, "You tell Petrie, he better follow all our instructions or he’ll never see his son again. The note on the front, I mean the back door has all the instructions, now move, get back inside the house. Jesse walked slowly, trying to remember every detail about the van that now held his unconscious friend. He also noted the kidnappers’ height, weight, and clothing. "The clothes!" That’s when it dawned on him that he had seen the two of them earlier in the evening walking past the house. As Sammy tied Jesse’s arms and legs with a heavy-duty cord and covered his mouth with duct tape, Jesse noticed a tattoo on the left arm of the kidnapper. He couldn’t see the entire picture, but knew it was some kind of a fish. Phil came back into Steve’s apartment just as Sammy shoved Jesse into the walk-in closet and propped a chair under the doorknob. "Let’s go, Sammy. I can't see through this mask, besides, we have to hurry before it gets any later. You know I can’t drive up the canyon in the dark." Jesse listened helplessly as the two brothers ran to the van and sped up PCH.
* * *
Mark returned home from Community General and was surprised to see Jesse’s car still parked in the driveway. Wearily he climbed the stairs, unlocked his door, and flipped on the lights as he let his jacket drop onto the nearest chair. It had been touch and go there for awhile with Mr. Marvin, but luckily he responded to the medication and Mark was able to stabilize him. "Hmm…boys must be watching the end of the hockey game." "Steve, Jesse, are you down there?" Mark was about to go down the steps to Steve’s apartment when he heard the phone ring. Changing directions, he went back up to answer the phone. "Mark Sloan."
"Hi, Dr. Sloan. This is Carl, down at the station. Steve isn’t answering his beeper, could you please tell him to call the station ASAP?"
"Sure thing, Carl, I’ll get the message to him. He must be out on the beach."
"Thanks, Dr. Sloan. Goodnight." Mark grabbed a pen and jotted the message down for Steve and went downstairs looking for him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the condition of Steve’s living room. "My God! What happened here? Steve! Jesse!" Mark thought he heard a muffled sound coming from the bedroom so he headed in that direction. He spotted the dining room chair jammed under the doorknob of closet door. He quickly opened the door to the closet and wasn’t prepared for the sight that met his eyes. Jesse was desperately trying to free his hands from the confines of the rope. His eyes were pleading with Mark to set him free. "Oh, my God! Jesse, what happened here? Where’s Steve?"
Rubbing his arms to get the circulation flowing again, Jesse turned to Mark, "Steve’s been kidnapped! We came back from dinner and they were waiting for us. Mark, they jumped Steve, he didn’t have a chance against the two of them. They made me help carry him to the van, and then they brought me back in and tied me up. Come on! They left a note upstairs!" Clutching his chest, Mark followed, as Jesse scaled the steps two at a time. Mark reached the back door just as Jesse was about take down the ransom note. "Don’t touch that, Jesse, we don’t want to ruin any prints that might be on the note."
* * *
Steve was still unconscious when the van pulled to a stop in the drive of a run-down cabin. Sammy and Phil quickly carried him into the tiny bedroom located at the rear of cabin unaware of the police badge clipped to Steve’s belt. They laid him down against the inner wall and bent down to make certain that the ropes that bound his hands and feet were still tight and secure. Confident that he wasn’t going anywhere, the brothers went back out to the living room to plan their next step. Wringing his hands and pacing back and forth, the younger brother broke into a tirade of words, "Sammy, now what do we do? He was supposed to be alone, now that guy is going to tell the cops what happened. He saw the van, he can tell them everything!"
"Shut Up! Stop your whining! Everything is cool. He didn't see anything; we had masks on even if they didn't fit. We’re doing nothing until tomorrow." Gesturing to the rear bedroom, "He’s not going anywhere." We’re going to put the TV on and see if we made the news again. With the money we’re going to make on this, and the loot from our heist, we’ll be set for life! I’ll go check on our visitor; make sure that he’s resting comfortably.
* * *
Mark was still in shock when Chief Masters arrived at the beach house thirty minutes later. He was staring at the ransom note now enclosed in a plastic Baggie and wondering why anyone would want to kidnap his son. "Chief, I just don’t get it. It says: Petrie, we have your son. If you want to see him alive, put $105,00.00 in a brown bag. Take it to the Santa Monica Pier. Drop the bag in the dumpster by the Ferris wheel at 10:00 tomorrow night. Don’t do anything stupid like calling the cops. When we get the money, you get your son." Mark looked at the Chief, "Why is he calling me Petrie?" Chief asked, "Mark, do you watch TV?" Mark shook his head no. "I didn’t think so. Last year a TV movie was made reuniting characters from a 60’s sitcom. It reran last week. I have a feeling this kidnapping is a case of mistaken identity. Take a look at this picture. It was taken from the television ad."
Mark was at a loss for words. "You mean…they think I’m the television character, Rob Petrie?"
The Chief nodded his head and continued, "Look at this other picture, Mark, it resembles Steve, but it’s not him."
"Chief, I think your right. They kidnapped Steve thinking he’s a character from the television show…My God! What’s going to happen when they realize he’s a police officer? Chief, Steve is still wearing his badge! He still has his I.D. with him!"
* * *
Jesse kept a watchful eye on Mark as he gave his description of the van and kidnappers to Captain Andrews. He also arranged to go down to the station to look over mug shots and to meet with the police sketch artist. He walked over to where Mark and the Chief were standing and put his arm on Mark’s shoulder. "How are you holding up?"
Mark turned to Jesse not really seeing him, but looking straight through him. "Jess, it’s a case of mistaken identity, they kidnapped Steve by accident. They think he’s a character from some television show. What’s going to happen to him when they realize their mistake?"
Jesse couldn’t comprehend what Mark was talking about. "Mark, you’re not making any sense."
"Jesse, look at the ransom note, read it and look at the pictures that they glued on." Jesse took the Baggie from Mark’s hand and reread the note. He looked from the note to Mark and back again. "No way! They think you’re… and they think Steve’s…Richie? Come on, how can anyone be that stupid?"
"Excuse me," Chief Masters interrupted, "Dr. Travis you mentioned seeing something on one of the kidnapper’s arms?" Jesse nodded, "I couldn’t tell what it was, but it looked liked some kind of fish."
"I’m having Sgt. Peters meet us at the station. I want you to take a look at the drawing he made based on the description given to us by the tattoo vendor. If what I am thinking is true, the same two that kidnapped Steve are also responsible for the jewelry store robbery in Santa Monica.
"You know," Jesse added, if these are the same guys, then Steve was right. They’re not too bright; geez, they put the ransom note on the wrong door, I heard one of them call the other one Sammy, they didn’t try to hide the van, and I think it’s the same guys I saw tonight when I was parking my car."
The Chief turned to Mark, "Don’t worry Mark, we’ll find Steve. We have until tomorrow night to find these guys. I’ll check back in when I have some news. Dr. Travis, ready?"
"Uh, oh yeah, I’ll be right there. Mark, I’ll go by Amanda’s when I’m finished with Captain Andrews." Mark nodded his head and watched as Jesse left with Chief Masters.
Walking out on to the deck, Mark sat down and looked out beyond the dunes. "Where are you Steve?"
* * *
Moonlight filled the room as Steve awakened from his unplanned nap. He couldn’t tell how long he had been unconscious, but judging by the size of his headache, he knew he had been out for several hours. He grimaced with pain as he lifted himself to a sitting position, which wasn’t an easy task, considering his hands and legs were bound. He could hear the muffled sounds of the television in the next room, and he could hear two voices arguing but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. Steve tried to reconstruct the happenings of the evening. He remembered locking his gun in his truck before dinner (and wishing he hadn’t), stopping by the station to pick up a report he had forgotten, arguing with Jesse about the hockey game, and then walking into the ambush. Steve focused on the present again as one of the kidnappers approached him.
"Well, how do like your accommodations? Not too fancy, I hope? Oh, cat got your tongue? Here, I’ll take care of that." Sammy walked up to Steve and with a single motion, ripped the tape off his mouth. The suddenness of the action sent a new wave of pain through Steve’s head. It took several minutes before he was able to focus on his captor again. "I don’t believe it!" Steve thought to himself, "He’s got a shark tattoo on his arm! Here I’ve been tracking this guy for days, and he kidnaps me? I’ve got to find a way to get out of here and get some help before he figures out who I am."
Sammy watched Steve closely as he tried to clear his head. "You sure don’t look like you did on TV. They must’ve used a lot of makeup on you."
"Look," replied Steve, " I’ve got one hell of a headache. What are you talking about?" "Don’t get smart with me, Mr. TV Star. I’m the one with the gun. You want a bigger headache than what you already have?"
Steve tried to make sense out of what he was hearing, "TV Star? Who does he think I am?"
"Hey Phil," Sammy called, "Come in here and bring that picture of our friend with you." Phil walked in carrying a picture from the entertainment section of the newspaper. He walked up to Steve and looked him right in the eye. "Sammy, I don’t know, you sure it’s him? It looks like him but it doesn't look at him. I think we snatched the wrong guy!" Sammy grabbed the picture out of Phil’s hand. "Gimme that" he said and looked at the picture again. With a disgusted look on his face, Sammy threw the picture down and grabbed a hold of Steve's jacket, "You're name isn't Ritchie is it? Who are you?" he yelled as he let go of Steve and watched him fall back to the floor. The force of the fall caused Steve's jacket to open revealing his detective’s shield. Phil cried, "You’re a cop? We grabbed a cop! Sammy, we grabbed a cop!" Sammy turned to Steve, "What the hell is a cop doing living in Malibu?"
Steve never had a chance to answer the question as he fell back into unconsciousness.
The two brothers stared at their unconscious guest as they pondered their next move. "What are we going to do with him?" Phil yelled at his brother. "Our plans are ruined! You said it was a great plan! You said it was going to be easy, You said it was foolproof! Some plan, we kidnapped a cop!" "Shut up already and let me think. Look, he lives in Malibu right? You don't live in Malibu if you're not rolling in dough. I say we stick with the plan. It's late, let's get some sleep and we'll make plans in the morning.
* * *
Jesse spent less than an hour down at the station because he was able to confirm the Chief’s suspicions. The picture of the thief and the kidnapper were one in the same. He left the station and rushed over to Amanda’s house. It took 5 rings of the doorbell before Amanda finally peeked through the peephole. "Jesse?" she yawned as she opened the door, "Do you know what time it is?" She was about to lambaste him when she saw how upset he was. "Jesse, what’s the matter? Is it your father? Is it Mark? Well, don’t just stand there, Say something!"
"Steve’s been kidnapped!"
"He was what!" Amanda grabbed Jesse by the arm and pulled him into her apartment. Jesse stumbled in after her as she closed the door behind him. "When was he kidnapped? Mark, Oh My God! Where was Mark?" Jesse said, "Sit down; if you would let me get a word in, I’ll answer all your questions. We were eating at Antonio’s when Mark’s beeper went off. He went back to the hospital and I rode with Steve back to the beach house to get my car. Two guys jumped him and they knocked him out. They made me help carry him to their van, and then they tied me up and locked me in Steve’s bedroom closet. Mark came home, came downstairs to leave Steve a message from the station and that’s when he found me."
"Do the police have any leads? Is it job related?"
Jesse shook his head no. "It’s not job related, they left a ransom note, but you’re not going to believe this. They think Steve is a television character from some old TV show." Amanda just sat there, staring in disbelief at Jesse. All of a sudden she got up and walked over to the phone. "Who are you calling at this hour?"
"I’m calling Colin. He was going to pick up C.J. tomorrow anyway, and take him to his mother’s for the day. I’ll see if he can come over now."
After speaking with Colin for a few minutes, Amanda turned to Jesse as she hung up the phone. "That’s why it pays to have an amicable divorce. Colin will be here in fifteen minutes. Jesse, were you able to give the police a description of the kidnappers or of their van?"
Jesse nodded, "Yeah, but this gets even more weird. These are the same two guys that robbed that jewelry store over in Santa Monica. Steve’s been on their trail for days." "How can you be so sure?" Amanda asked, as she gathered some of CJs things for Colin to take.
"One of the guys had a tattoo on his left arm. After I described it to Chief Masters, he had me look at the drawing created by the sketch artist. It was the same guy."
"What about the van, Jesse? Did you notice anything special about the van?" Before Jesse could answer, the doorbell rang and Amanda rushed to open the door for Colin. "Thanks for coming over, Colin. I have CJ's things ready for you."
"Amanda, don’t worry about CJ, he’ll be fine. Tell Mark…well, you know. I’ll give you a call tomorrow."
Colin said a silent prayer as he watched Jesse and Amanda disappear into the elevator. "Steve, wherever you are, I hope you get out of this one."
* * *
Amanda and Jesse arrived back at the beach house and went in search of Mark. They found him out on the deck, staring into the night. "Mark," said Amanda as she gave him a hug, "Come inside, you're shivering." She led him back into the house while Jesse headed for the kitchen and put up a pot of coffee. "Have the police been able to track down the license plate number?"
Mark shrugged his shoulder; "I haven't talked to Chief Masters since he left with Jesse. He said he would call me when he finds anything out. What are you doing here? Who's with CJ?"
Amanda said, "I called Colin and he came over. CJ was going to spend the day with him tomorrow anyway. I still can't believe everything Jesse told me on the way over here. The kidnappers think Steve is Ritchie from a TV show?"
Mark nodded his head, "From the look of things, they can't distinguish between fantasy and reality. I am so worried about Steve. Jesse said he was hit over the head with the gun. He's probably suffering from a concussion; he needs to be in a hospital. Jesse, can you remember anything else about the van? Anything at all?"
"I've been racking my brain trying to remember, Mark. The van was tan, nothing special about it; there was a dent on the rear bumper…wait! There was a dark blue bumper sticker on the back of the van. Part of it was torn off, but I do remember the word "Creek." It has to be somewhere up in the hills; I'm going to drive around at first light. I'll find him Mark; I'll find Steve."
***
Early the following morning, Amanda and Jesse set out to find Steve, while back at the cabin Phil and Sammy were discussing what to do with him. Sammy said, "I say we go ahead with our plan. We can drive back down to the beach and see if we can find anything out."
Phil replied, "What do we do with him while we leave? What if he gets away?"
"Phil, he's not going anywhere. Look at him, he's still out cold," answered Sammy.
Phil replied, "Sammy, let's just drop him off somewhere. He's been out of it most of the time, he won't recognize us. Let's just get out of town. We have the money from the jewelry heist. It's enough. We've screwed this up from the beginning, I just want out." Sammy retorted, "Phil, we're going ahead with the plan! That's final! We'll leave in a little while."
* * *
After two hours, Jesse and Amanda were still looking for the right campground. "Jesse, we've been to three campgrounds that have the name, 'Creek'. We have two more to go. I'm glad you were able to talk Mark into staying at the beach house. If this turns into a wild goose chase, at least we won't be getting his hopes up."
Jesse replied, "You're right, but let's give him a call anyway, maybe Chief Masters has some news." Amanda turned onto Mountain Rd. while Jesse dialed Mark. Mark answered the phone on the first ring. "Hello, Mark Sloan."
"Mark, it's Jesse."
"Jesse, have you spotted the van yet?"
"No Mark, sorry. We're heading for the fourth campground now; we just wanted to check in with you. Did you hear from Chief Masters this morning?"
"He called, but they don't have a lead on the van yet."
"We'll call you back as soon as we know anything." Jesse hung up the phone and was about to tell Amanda to take a left when he screamed, "Stop! There it is, that’s the place, Malibu Creek. Now we need to spot the van." Amanda drove slowly past the campground section and turned into the section that contained the seasonal cabins. "Amanda, there's the van! Quick, pull in behind that clump of trees." Amanda turned to Jesse as he got out of the car, and said, "Hey, where are you going?"
"I'm going to go check out the cabin," said Jesse.
"Get back here! We should call Mark first," shouted Amanda.
Jesse yelled back, "You call Mark, I'm going to see if I can spot Steve."
Amanda dialed Mark as she watched Jesse dart back and forth through the trees inching closer and closer to the side of the cabin. He reached the cabin and was able to peer inside. He spotted Steve lying on the floor unconscious. Jesse ducked down when he saw the door to the room open and the two brothers walk in. They stopped before Steve and saw that he was still out cold.
"So what are we going to do with him?" Sammy looked at Steve then at his brother and said, "We don't have to worry, he's tied up and by the look of things he'll be out a little longer. We can leave him right where he is."
"What about the jewelry and the money?" asked Phil.
"Don't worry about it, no one knows where we hid the stuff. Even if anyone did come in here, they wouldn't think to look behind the stove," replied Sammy.
"Well, let's get going. The sooner we leave the sooner we get back," said Phil.
Jesse watched as the two brothers headed out the door and to their van. After they drove out of sight, he ran back to Amanda to tell her the cost was clear. "I spotted Steve, he's in pretty bad shape. We need to see if we can get into the cabin and get him out of there before they come back"
"I got a hold of Mark," said Amanda, "he's on his way with the police. Hold on; let me get my medical bag. I'll leave my car here, it's well hidden." The two of them made their way back to the cabin and tried the front door.
"It's locked," said Jesse. Let's see if any of the windows are open. If not, we'll have to break one to get in." All the windows were locked, but they were able to pry one open. Jesse climbed in first, then helped Amanda. They made their way into the bedroom and ran over to where Steve was lying on the floor. "Steve!" Amanda said as she quickly untied his hands and feet while Jesse checked his head wound. Steve opened his eyes and tried to sit up when he saw his friends, but he immediately became dizzy and stumbled into Amanda's arms. "Whoa, lie back down, Steve. You probably have a concussion. Let Jesse check you out."
"No, we have to get out of here, they might come back. Jesse can check me out later." Steve tried to get up again, but this time he had Amanda and Jesse to hold him steady. They made it to the front door and Jesse waited with Steve while Amanda went for her car. She was just about to put her car into drive when she spotted the van coming down the road. Jesse and Steve spotted the van at the same time. "Hurry," said Steve, "help me back into the bedroom and put the bindings back on my hands and feet. Just don't tie them." Jesse followed Steve's directions and helped him back to the room. He asked, "How's does your head feel?"
Steve returned with, "Jesse, how do you think it feels? I don't suppose you have any aspirin on you?"
Jesse shrugged his shoulders as he retied Steve's hands and feet, "Sorry, Amanda has some in her bag."
"A lot of good that does me. Okay, get out of here before they spot you."
Jesse turned to Steve; "I'm not going anywhere. I'll hide in the closet. You're going to need help when they come back. You're in no shape to take them on by yourself." "Jesse, if they spot you, they'll know help is on its way. Help is on its way, isn't it?"
"Your dad and the police should be here soon. Amanda called them right before we found you." Steve lay back down and Jesse headed for the closet as they heard the van come to a screeching stop.
Amanda watched from her car as the van sped down toward the cabin. She took out her cell phone and dialed Mark who answered on the first ring. "Mark, where are you? How long before you get here?"
Mark answered, "We're about a mile from the Mountain Rd. turn off."
Amanda then said, "Mark, the kidnappers are back. Jesse and Steve are still inside the cabin. I'm watching from my car. I don't know what to do?"
Mark replied, "Don't do anything, honey. Stay right where you are. We'll be there in a minute. How's Steve?"
"He has a nasty bump on his head; I think he'll be okay, but he needs to be in a hospital. Hurry, Mark,"begged Amanda.
Phil and Sammy were arguing as they walked into the cabin. "I told you the jewelry was safe. Look how much time we've wasted by coming back," said Sammy.
"Look, we're heading back into town, right? Doesn't it make sense to hock the jewelry now? We get our money, and if things don't work out with this guy, we can take off. You keep telling me you're the one with the brains, I have to wonder sometimes. If you were so smart, we wouldn't have grabbed the wrong guy, let alone a cop," said Phil. "Alright," agreed Sammy, "you get the bag and I'll check on the cop." Sammy walked into the bedroom and knelt beside Steve to make sure he was still out cold. As he bent over him, Steve surprised Sammy with a punch to the jaw. The force of the punch propelled Sammy backward toward the open window. Steve lunged at him, causing both men to topple out the window and onto the porch. Phil heard the commotion and came into the bedroom to see what was going on. Jesse waited for him to enter and slammed the door in his face. Phil staggered, turned to see Jesse, and was reaching for his gun when Jesse jumped him and held on for dear life. Phil struggled to get free, but Jesse was relentless in his efforts to keep a hold of him. They wrestled back and forth on the floor, but Jesse wouldn't let go.
Amanda paced back and forth waiting for Mark and the police to arrive. She saw Steve and the one kidnapper fall through the open window and land on the porch. She wondered what happened to Jesse and if she should drive down to the cabin when she noticed the police coming down the road. They sped past her and pulled to a stop in front of the cabin. Captain Andrews ran over to Steve and pulled Sammy off of him while his men ran into the cabin to find Jesse. Mark was following right behind them and dropped to his knees where Steve lay, trying to catch his breath. "Steve, are you alright? Here let me take a look at you," said Mark in a concerned voice.
"Dad, I'm all right, just a little dizzy. Where are those two idiots?"
"Captain Andrews has them over there, Steve."
"Come on Dad," Steve leaned on his father as they started walking over to where the Captain was cuffing the two brothers. "Can you believe these two thought I was … Who did they think I was?"
"They thought you were Ritchie Petrie from that old television series. I still can't believe they're the same ones you were tracking. Now, all we need to do is find the stolen jewelry and we'll have them on robbery and kidnapping." Jesse came out of the cabin just as Mark finished his sentence. Smugly, Jesse said, "What's that you were saying? You want to know where they hid the jewelry? Follow me." They all looked at each other, then followed Jesse back into the cabin. He led them to the kitchen area and reached behind the stove. He pulled out a black satchel filled with the stolen jewelry. With a grin on his face, Jesse asked, "Is this what you're looking for?"
"Jesse, how did you know they hid the jewelry behind the stove?" asked Steve.
"Easy, Jesse answered. When Amanda and I found the cabin, I came down first to see if I could spot you. I could hear their conversation. They said no one would think of looking behind the stove for the jewelry. They didn't know I was eavesdropping."
Mark slapped Jesse on the shoulder. "Good work, Jesse. You really came through for the Sloan's. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have found Steve so quickly and we wouldn't have a clue as to where they hid the jewelry.
"
Hey, wait just a minute," Steve said, "I had everything under control. I'm not as hurt as everyone thinks I am. Everything went according to …" Steve never finished his sentence as he collapsed into Mark's arms."Right Steve, everything went as planned."