Blackmail Can Be Murder By: Amanda Higgins higginsclan@centuryinter.net ************************************************************ Disclaimer: I did not create these characters. I'm just using them in this story. No money is being paid to me for writing this; I just did it for fun. Thanks for reading! ************************************************************ Mark Sloan was in the kitchen about to take a pan out of the oven. He had his friends Amanda and Jesse over for dinner as well as his son Steve. They were in the living room making lively conversation. Suddenly, the phone rang. Mark picked up the receiver. "Hello, Mark Sloan." "Mark, I've stumbled onto something important. I need to talk to you about it as soon as possible." It was his friend Ed Thompson who was a lawyer at a local firm called Jacobsen & Associates. "Ed, what's wrong?" Mark asked, concerned at the urgency in his friend's voice. "I don't want to talk about it over the phone. Can you come to my office?" Knowing this was something important, Mark agreed. "I'll be right over." "Thanks. Just in case something happens, remember these words: Eagles Dare. See you soon," Ed replied. Mark hung up the phone with an enigmatic look on his face. He went into the living room. "Steve, can you manage here? I have to go over to Ed Thompson's office. He has something to tell me and it sounds important. I'll try not to be too long," he said. "Do you want us to come with you?" Steve asked. "We don't mind," Amanda added. Mark smiled briefly. "Thanks anyway, but I think I'd better go alone. The lasagna's ready and the salad is on the counter. Sorry to have to leave." With that, Mark picked up his keys from the table by the door and left for Jacobsen & Associates. The three friends gave each other puzzled looks before heading to the kitchen. After arriving at Ed's office building, Mark tried the door, but found it locked. He pushed the buzzer next to the door. Looking around outside, he saw Ed's car parked by the curb. "He must still be here then," he thought to himself. Just then, a janitor came to the door and opened it. "Business hours are over, mister," he stated and began closing the door again. Mark replied, "My friend Ed Thompson works here and called me telling me to come over. His car's still here." He pointed it out to the janitor. The janitor nodded. "That's his car all right. I haven't seen him, but you can go in and check his office. I'm going to be down here if you need me." Mark thanked him and went inside. He took the elevator up to the third floor where Ed's office was. When he got to the door, he knocked. "Ed?" There was no reply, so Mark went on inside. Ed wasn't anywhere in sight. This was really disturbing. Ed had said, "in case something happens." It looked like something had. His computer was still on. On the screen was a list of all the documents that Ed must have been working on. Recently too because the screen hadn't gone blank yet. Mark remembered the words, "Eagles dare." What could that mean? Mark thought for a moment then realized it could be the password to one of the documents. He looked over the list carefully. There were so many titles. Mark couldn't see any names that sounded out of the ordinary. Heaving a small sigh, he began trying the password out on all the case files. He had gone through over twenty without any luck. Feeling discouraged, he half-heartedly clicked on the next case title to try the password. At last it worked! Mark turned the printer on and printed the document without reading it first. He knew that when the janitor discovered later that Ed wasn't there, he would wonder what Mark was doing in that office. After the printing was all done Mark turned off the computer and printer. He picked up the papers and left the office, closing the door behind him. Getting in the elevator, Mark hoped he wouldn't meet up with the janitor. He didn't know what he would say. When the elevator reached the first floor, Mark heard the sound of vacuuming. He breathed a sigh of relief and left the building hurriedly. Once reaching home, Mark went upstairs to his living room. Amanda and Jesse were long gone, but Steve was sitting on the couch. He stood up when he saw his father come in. "Finally, Dad, I was getting worried. What took you so long?" Steve asked, sitting down again. Mark sat down next to Steve and related to him Ed's phone call and what happened at the office. "Let's see what this document is about." Mark put his glasses on. The opening statement said: "Mark, if you're reading this it means I must be in trouble. I made the following discovery by accident when I walked in on a meeting where I never should have been. These guys will stop at nothing to keep me quiet. Now I'm secretly passing this information on to you, so it can be taken care of." The discovery that Ed had made was that Judge Mike Jefferson had been taking bribes from prominent attorneys to sway his rulings on their cases. Ed's law associate Jim Asher had caught Judge Jefferson and was blackmailing Jefferson to help his brother Brian who was the defendant in a robbery case. Mark slumped back on the couch after reading. He asked Steve, "What do you think of that?" Steve replied grimly, "I think we're going to have talks with Judge Jefferson and Mr. Asher first thing tomorrow." The next morning at ten o'clock Steve and Mark went to the courthouse. They both knew that they had to be careful with their wording since there was no concrete proof of Ed's accusations. Judge Jefferson's secretary showed Mark and Steve into the judge's office. Judge Jefferson looked up and smiled. "What can I do for you, Dr. Sloan and Detective Sloan?" Steve spoke first. "I know you're a busy man, so I'll get right to the point. There have been some rumors that you were caught taking bribes and are being blackmailed right now. Were these rumors correct?" Steve's eyes studied the judge intently, searching for hints of deceit. A thin layer of perspiration covered the bald man's forehead as he said firmly, "Of course not! Whoever made up such a thing was obviously lying. This must not leave this room. I won't have such lies going around." Mark noticed the judge's forehead and commented, "A little hot under the collar, aren't you?" Steve gave his father a look, which was ignored. Judge Jefferson pretended not to understand the intent behind the comment. He smiled and retorted, "Yes, it is rather hot in here. The custodians always turn off the air conditioning during the night. It takes awhile for it to cool off in the building the next day." He changed the subject. "Gentlemen, if you don't mind, I have a lot of things to do." "Of course, we understand," Steve replied. "Thank you for your time." The two men left the office. Steve said to his dad, "I can't believe you said that to Jefferson. Remember, we don't have any proof other than what Ed wrote. Now he's disappeared." "He hasn't disappeared of his own free will though. I'm sure he's in trouble," Mark answered. Steve softened a bit and encouraged, "We'll find him." Mark asked, "Are you going to see Asher now?" Steve nodded. "Are you coming?" "I wish I could, but I have to be at the hospital. I'm going to Ed's house after my shift to see if he's shown up, and to make sure nothing obvious is missing from his house." Mark was very concerned about his friend. He hoped he was okay. After Steve and his father parted, Steve headed over to Jim Asher's office at Jacobsen & Associates. Steve knocked on Asher's door. "Come in," was the reply. Steve walked over showing his badge and identification. "Steve Sloan, LAPD. I have some questions to ask you." "Ask away," Jim Asher replied casually, leaning back in his chair. His beady eyes narrowed. "Do you know anything about where Ed Thompson might be?" Steve asked. Jim answered, "He works here, but hasn't shown up yet this morning. Why? Is he missing?" "He might be." Steve continued, "There's been a rumor that you've been blackmailing Judge Mike Jefferson. Is this true?" Jim laughed in disbelief. "No way. Blackmailing is against the law." Steve couldn't really ask him anything else since this wasn't a formal investigation, but he decided to throw one more question on the table. "How's your brother Brian's trial going?" Looking taken aback for a moment, Jim said, "Well. Very well." Steve thanked him for his time and left the building. Meanwhile inside Jim Asher's office a call was being made. "Dr. Sloan's detective son was just here asking about Thompson and the blackmail. Thompson and Sloan are friends, so Thompson must've talked to him about it." The voice on the other line said, "No problem, Asher. I'll take care of it personally." At the hospital as Mark went into the doctor's lounge, he saw Amanda and Jesse inside. They all smiled in greeting. "What happened last night?" Jesse asked. Mark told them the story of last night's events along with what had gone on that morning. He also mentioned that he was going to Ed's house after his shift. Jesse asked, "Can I go with you?" Mark replied, "That would be fine. It would be nice to have some company." Amanda said, "If I didn't have to work, I'd tag along. Oh, Mark, since dinner last night didn't work out for you, how would tomorrow night be for you and Steve? I'll make spaghetti to continue our pasta and salad dinner." Mark smiled as he answered, "I know I can make it. I'll ask Steve after I get home. Thanks for the invitation." After Mark's shift, he met Jesse in the lobby and they continued over to Ed's house in their separate cars. When they both arrived, Mark reached under the doormat and removed a key. Jesse was a bit surprised and asked, "Do you come here often?" Mark laughed at his expression. "Well, not as often as I should, but since Ed was divorced he wanted someone to know where the spare key was in case of an emergency." They went inside the dark house. "I don't think Ed's here unless he likes it dark," Jesse commented. "Maybe not. But it's better to be safe than sorry." Mark switched on the hall light in the ranch-style house. Jesse headed for the back of the hall to search individual rooms. Mark went into the living room. Everything seemed to be in place. He noticed the movie "Where Eagles Dare" sitting on top of the TV set. Mark grinned. So that was where the password came from. He went into the kitchen, but it seemed fine in there too. Going down the hall, Mark chose the bedroom to look in. The room looked normal at first. He noticed the bathroom door was slightly closed. Mark slipped over to it quietly, and began to push the door open when Jesse popped out. Both men jumped a mile, then laughed. "Sorry to scare you, Jess," Mark said. Jesse nodded, still trying to catch his breath. When he found his voice, he reported, "I've looked in all these hallway rooms and nothing seems out of the ordinary." Mark answered, "I didn't find anything either. I don't think anyone's been here. Well, at least we checked." He turned out the hall light as he and Jesse headed out the door. He locked the door behind them. "See you tomorrow, Jesse." "Goodnight, Mark." The next day at the hospital, Mark told Jesse and Amanda that Steve hadn't had any luck with Jim Asher. "Steve's going to question some lawyers today about the bribes." "Any word from Ed?" Jesse asked. "None," Mark answered with discouragement in his voice. He rubbed his eyes. Then he told Amanda, "Oh, Steve can't make it to dinner tonight. He'll be at the station catching up on some paperwork." Amanda joked, "He'll stop at nothing to avoid my cooking, won't he? Well, I guess it'll be you, Jesse, CJ, and me for dinner. See you at six." It was a busy day for Mark. There was a large car pile-up on a nearby highway resulting in many injuries. He hardly had time to think about the mystery and worry about where Ed was. He got home at five o'clock, giving him time to get cleaned up before heading to Amanda's. When Mark was at Amanda's house, she told him and Jesse about a kitchen disaster she'd had while cooking dinner. CJ had picked up the open jar of spaghetti sauce and dropped it, spilling it all over the floor. It had taken a long time to clean up. Everyone was sitting down about to eat when Mark's beeper went off. He glanced down and said, "I hope this is Ed. I don't recognize the number." He dialed and pushed the speakerphone button so that Amanda and Jesse could hear too. "Mark, this is Ed." "Ed, where are you?" Mark asked anxiously. "I'm at 201 Slate Avenue. Can you come? Alone?" Mark replied, "Of course. I'll be there in a few minutes." He hung up and said hesitantly to Amanda, "Sorry." Amanda nodded, "This is becoming a Mark Sloan habit. Be careful." "I will." As soon as Mark went out the door, Amanda looked at Jesse and said, "Follow him. I'll call Steve." Jesse made a mad dash for the door. He hopped into his car just as Mark turned the corner. Jesse sped down the street so he wouldn't lose him. When Mark stopped at 201 Slate Avenue, he saw that it was a warehouse. He entered a side door that had been conveniently left ajar. Just after Mark went inside, Jesse drove into the parking lot. He stopped next to Mark's car. He tried the side door, but it had locked after Mark had closed it behind him. Frantically, Jesse began a search for another door or window. Mark had his hands in the air as he was escorted at gunpoint into a room. He noticed a strong smell of gasoline and saw that it was all over the floor. He saw Ed tied up in a chair with blood running down the side of his face. "Mark, I'm sorry I got you into this," he cried. One of the men standing near Ed hit him hard across the face. Another man stepped out of the shadows and said, "Dr. Sloan, have a seat." The man holding the gun at Mark's back shoved him down roughly into a chair next to Ed. Mark felt his hands being tied as he asked the man, "Who are you?" The man smirked and replied, "I'll tell you since you won't be able to tell anyone anyway. The name's George Brinks. Jim Asher's paying me big bucks to get rid of you and your big mouth friend. You and your friend here were going to mess up Asher's plans. We can't have that." "You'll never get away with this," Mark said. "Who's going to stop me?" George taunted with a second smirk. He removed a lighter from his coat pocket and lowered it to the gasoline on the floor. "It's gonna be a hot one." Meanwhile, Jesse had found an open window. "Finally," he thought. "I just hope I'm not too late." Jesse was about to climb in the window when Steve zoomed into the parking lot. Steve jumped out of the car and ran over to Jesse. "I found an open window," Jesse said. He was wasting his breath, however; Steve was already inside. Jesse followed Steve into the building. The two had just entered the hall when they saw a large burst of flames coming from a door at the far end of the hall. "No!" Steve yelled. He ran at top speed with Jesse at his heels. Steve flung the door open. It was so smoky in the room it was impossible to see. The men heard some faint coughing on the far side of the room. Jesse and Steve were calling for Mark. They didn't get a response. A ring of fire all the way around the room made it dangerous for them to go to the opposite side. Steve jumped over the fire first without hesitation. Jesse followed. Feeling the sole of his shoe melting, he immediately kicked it off. The coughing had stopped. Steve went to the right corner, and Jesse went to the left corner to look. Steve yelled, "Jesse, over here! Help me get them untied!" Jesse hurried over and worked on Ed's ropes while Steve untied his dad's. By the time they finished, the fire was all through the room. Jesse had no idea how they would get out. Ed and Mark were both unconscious. Steve and Jesse were beginning to cough and get dizzy. Steve was holding onto his dad with one hand and feeling the wall for windows with the other. He found one! "Jesse, here's a window!" After opening it, Jesse went through first to help get Mark and Ed through. Finally, everyone was out safely. Steve dialed 911 on his cell phone right away. Mark woke up in the hospital. Everything was blurry at first. He blinked a few times and saw Amanda, Jesse, and Steve leaning over him. He tried to talk, but nothing came out. Amanda got him a cup of water and helped Mark sit up to drink some. "Ed?" was his first word. Jesse spoke up, "He'll be fine, and so will you. Minor burns and smoke inhalation." "Thank goodness we got to you in time," Steve said quietly. "Otherwise, we might not be talking to you right now." Steve squeezed his father's arm. Amanda and Jesse sensed the mood and wisely left the room for a few minutes. Steve continued, "Dad, when I saw that fire coming from the room, I was so scared. I didn't know if we were going to get you out alive." He swallowed hard. "Promise me you'll be more careful next time. You could've called me. I could've gotten there sooner." Mark squeezed his son's hand. "That doesn't mean anything would've been changed. Things may have even been worse. You could have gotten hurt. Jesse probably wouldn't have been able to help us all by himself and might've gotten hurt too. Besides, I'll be fine, son." After a few more minutes had passed, Amanda and Jesse ventured back into the room. Mark asked, "What happened to George Brinks and the two men with him?" Jesse and Steve started to answer at the same time. Steve waved his hand for Jesse to go ahead. "They were caught speeding right after the fire. I saw them being stopped when I went to wait for the ambulance, so I ran down the street and told the officer what they'd been up to. They were arrested. Later, Jim Asher was arrested and charged with blackmail. Then Judge Jefferson was arrested for taking the bribes." Mark smiled. "That's good news." Amanda said, "Well, everyone, I think it's time for Mark to rest now. By the way, dinner is at my house Saturday night. No more excuses, Mark Sloan. After all the time it took to make, I'm not letting that spaghetti and salad go to waste." "You mean you didn't eat it?" Jesse asked. "Well," replied Amanda, "CJ fell asleep and there wasn't any point to eating it by myself. I made a sandwich instead." They all laughed.