Murder Happens in the Strangest Places
By Pamala Rush

*************************************
This story is mine. The characters and places that have to do with 
Diagnosis Murder are not mine, I just borrowed them for awhile. My
Momma and everyone else always told me to write what I know, so I 
wrote about sanitation. I worked at the dump for a whole summer one
year, so that's how I know how everything works. Hope you like it.

*************************************

	Al jumped out of the garbage truck, hard hat on head and 
gloves on hands, and checked the level of garbage in the 
dumpster. With a nod, the trash collector climbed back into the 
monster and pulled the handle, which caused the gripping hand to 
reach out and grab the dumpster. It lifted the bin into the air and 
over the back of the truck where it dumped the bin's contents into 
the almost full container.
	As the truck put the dumpster back on the ground, Al noticed 
the bin's owner, Mark Sloan, standing on the front porch of his 
house and waved. He waved back and Al went on about the job 
that needed to be done.
	Al headed toward the trash collection facility with the truck 
but took the hard hat off her head and let her long braid spill down 
her shoulder. She unzipped the tan jump suit until it was open to 
her waist, exposing a tank top and her cleavage. She took a sip of 
cold ice water from her thermos as she finally reached her 
destination and emptied the contents of her truck into the pit. She 
didn't much care what happened to the trash next. She drove the 
truck into the garage and hosed it out before punching out and 
driving home.
	This was the end of a day in the life of Los Angeles only 
female trash collector.

	Al waved to Dan as she passed the window to the office of 
the garage on her way to start her workday. Dan waved her to join 
him and his guest, a dark haired woman, inside, so she opened the 
door and stuck her head in. "What's up?" she asked.
	"This is Eileen Miller," Dan introduced. "She wants to do a 
story on you."
	"A story for what?"
	"I'm from the Bay City Press in San Francisco," Eileen said 
as she shook Al's hand. "I heard about you through a friend who 
lives on one of your regular routes. I thought you would make a 
good story."
	Al leaned against the doorjamb. "I don't know," she said. 
"What exactly do you want from me?"
	"I was thinking I could go along on your route and talk to 
some people," the pretty journalist said. "Plus, I'd be able to get to 
know you."
	Al still looked skeptical. "What's in it for me?"
	"Prestige," Eileen answered.
	"A prestigious garbage collector," Al said. "Yeah, right."
	"OK, money," Eileen said, clearly grasping at straws.
	"What would I do with money?" Al said with a wink to Dan. 
Dan tried not to laugh at Al's gentle teasing.
	Eileen looked confused. Al rolled her eyes and gestured to 
her to follow. "I was just kidding," she said.
	Eileen looked relieved. "Will I be needing a jump suit or 
anything?"
	Dan shook his head. "Al keeps her truck cleaner than 
anyone else around here. Your suit will be just fine."
	She nodded and followed Al towards one of the trucks.
	"I just need to do a systems check before we leave," Al said. 
"I like having a perfectly running truck at all times."
	"May I watch?" Eileen asked as they approached the back of 
the truck.
	Al only nodded as she pulled the lever to open the back of 
the truck for inspection. The gate slowly swung open, but the 
attention of both women was on the drops of blood forming a pool 
on the floor at the rear of the truck. When the door finished 
opening, they saw the source of the blood. Eileen promptly 
screamed then fainted with Al barely able to catch her.
	There in the back of the garbage truck was the bloody, 
crushed and barely recognizable body of Jake Salvin, the company 
mechanic. He had obviously been put inside and the compactor 
turned on. Blood was everywhere.
	Al dragged Eileen away from the scene and put her on the 
dirty floor next to a trash can which she promptly threw up in. By 
this time other crew were gathering around the back of Al's truck 
and seeing the horrible sight. Several gagged, but Jeremy Taylor 
had enough presence of mind to run to the office for Dan.
	Al finally caught her breath and knelt down next to the 
unconscious journalist to see if she was OK. Luckily, she was just 
coming around. Al slapped her cheeks gently. "Are you OK?" she 
asked.
	Eileen nodded as she sat up. "I think so," she replied as the 
sirens began to fill the garage.
	"I'm sorry about putting you on the dirty floor," Al said. "But 
dirt is easier to get clean that blood."
	"I don't think it'll matter," she said.

	Steve Sloan got out of his car followed by his father, Mark, 
and went over to the crowd of workers that had gathered around 
the rear of a garbage truck. After pushing his way through the 
crowd, he figured out the reason why some of the crowd was 
gagging. The body was a blood mess and blood had begun to pool 
on the floor.
	"This hasn't been here long," said Amanda Bentley, 
representative from the coroner's office and friend of the Sloans. 
"The blood isn't dry and the corpse is still a little warm. What there 
is of it."
	"What a mess," Steve said.
	"What a way to die," Mark said. "Do we know who it was?"
	"No idea," Steve answered then looked back to Amanda. 
"Who found the body?"
	"Some guy named Al," Amanda said. "The supervisor is in 
his office. He could tell you where he went."
	Steve nodded and turned to push his way through the 
gathered crowd. Mark followed him to the office where Dan was 
sitting with two women. The other man stood to shake Steve's 
hand.
	"Dan Kittel," Dan said.
	"Steve Sloan," Steve said as he shook the man's hand. "I 
need to speak to Al."
	One of the women stood up. "I'm Al," she said.
	Steve looked puzzled. "You're Al."
	She looked at Mark. "Didn't I just say that?" she said with a 
gesture towards his son.
	"I believe you did," Mark replied. "Steve if you weren't so 
busy you'd know that Al, here is Alison James, the young woman 
who collects our garbage."
	"I knew that," Steve said with a look at his father. He looked 
back at Al. "Really."
	"Yeah right," Al replied.
	"Excuse me," the other woman said. "But this isn't exactly 
the time for joking."
	"Lay off, Eileen," Al said. "Humor takes the edge off."
	"Oh, and what are you now, a psychologist?"
	"Calm down ladies," Dan said. "Detective Sloan is here to 
investigate a murder, not break up a cat fight."
	Eileen shook the fight off. "I'm Eileen Miller. I'm doing a story 
on Al for the Bay City Press in San Francisco."
	Steve nodded as Al put in her two cents. "I found Jake," she 
glanced at Eileen. "Excuse me, _we_ found Jake when I opened up 
for the check I do every morning."
	"Al is the first one to work in the morning and the last to 
leave," Dan told the detective and doctor.
	"Did you see or hear anything suspicious when you got 
here?" Steve asked.
	"No," Al said. "I just went into the locker room to get into my 
jump suit. As I passed the office, Dan called me in to meet Eileen."
	Mark turned to Eileen. "What about you?"
	"I took a cab and came straight to the office when I got 
here," Eileen told him. "I didn't see anyone."
	Steve nodded and pulled a business card out of his suit coat 
pocket. "If you think of anything else," he said as he handed the 
card to Al. "Give me a call."
	"If you want to talk," Mark said. "I'm at Community General 
Hospital."
	Al nodded. "I'll let you know."
	"How well did you know Jake?" Steve asked her.
	"He was an obnoxious pig," Al said. "He harassed everyone, 
especially me."
	"You'll find that there is no love lost on Jake," Dan put in. 
"Most of the workers around here hated him, especially for what he 
tried to do to Al."
	"What did he try to do?" Mark asked.
	Al's face screwed up a bit and she turned away. "He tried to 
rape her a couple of weeks ago," Dan told them. "And before that 
he had been sexually harassing her since she started."
	"Why didn't you turn him in?" was Steve's next question.
	"We did," Al returned. "He has friends in high places. So to 
speak."
	"Actually," Dan interrupted. "They weren't friends. He was 
blackmailing some members of the city council. I don't know who or 
why, but he had something."
	"I didn't know that," Al said.
	"You do now," Dan replied.
	"It looks like I stumbled on a really juicy story," Eileen broke 
in.
	Steve glanced at his father. "It looks like we have more 
suspects than we know what to do with."
	Mark nodded his agreement as Amanda joined them. "I 
found this on the body," she told Steve as she handed him a small 
silver chain with a broken catch in a plastic bag. "It was clamped in 
what was left of his hand."
	The chain was covered with blood, but still had a locket on 
it. An inscription on the back read, "JS and EM."
	"Thanks Amanda," Steve said. "Anything else?"
	"Just that I'm sure he was alive when he was put in there," 
Amanda told him.
	"What a horrible way to die," Eileen said as she scratched 
her neck. "How did you figure that out?"
	"There's too much blood for him to have been put in there 
after he died," Amanda said to the reporter. "And from my initial 
exam, I find no other means by which he could have died."
	"Who knows what happened before anyone else got here," 
Mark said.
	"Jake never came to work that early," Dan said. "He was 
always late."
	"Would it be possible that he was meeting someone here?" 
Steve asked.
	Dan shook his head. "I haven't got the foggiest idea. He 
could have."
	"What about when you came in?" Mark asked. "Did you see 
anything?"
	"There was a red mustang parked outside by the gate and 
the walk through gate was open," Dan told him.
	"Could be our murderer's," Steve said. "Do you know if it's 
still there?"
	"I think so, yeah."
	"I'll go take a look at it," Steve said. "Come on, Dad."
	The car still sat right where Dan had seen it. The windows 
were rolled up and it was bright and shiny. It was also completely 
empty.
	"Nothing at all was in here," Steve said as he sat in the 
driver's seat.
	Mark took a breath and began walking around the vehicle. In 
the back window was a sticker of some kind and he leaned down to 
read what it said.
	"What is it?" Steve asked as he came up behind his father.
	"The car's a rental," Mark told his son. "Icon Car Rental."
	"I'll run the plates and see if I can find out who rented it," 
Steve said.

	Steve parked his car in front of the building that housed Icon 
Car Rental. The parking lot was full of different cars of all makes, 
models and sizes, ready for rental. Inside he rang the bell at the 
counter and waited until a pretty teen came from the back office.
	"Welcome to Icon Rentals," she said. "What can I do for 
you?"
	Steve showed his badge before responding. "I'm Steve 
Sloan. I need information on a Ford Mustang that was rented here."
	"Do you know when it was rented?" the girl asked as she 
turned to the computer and began tapping away at it.
	"No, but I have a license plate number," Steve told her as he 
dug in the inner pocket of his suit jacket for the card on which he 
had written the number. "LXA-927E," he read from the paper.
	"I have no name for that one," the teen said. "Just initials."
	"Do you often rent cars with just initials?"
	"We do if they pay in advance and in cash."
	"Can I get them please?" Steve said exasperatedly.
	"Oh, sorry, EDM."
	Steve wrote them down on the card with the license number 
and thanked the girl before leaving.
	In his car, he drove to Community General while pondering 
the initials. Whoever this EDM was, he or she had probably 
committed the murder.

	"EDM?" Mark said as he pondered the match. "The initials 
EM were on the locket."
	"Possibly, this EM committed the murder," Steve said. "The 
problem is, I have no idea where to even start looking for this 
person."
	"What if you do a background check on the guy that was 
murdered," Jessie Travis, colleague and friend of Dr. Sloan, said.
	Jessie, Mark, Steve and Amanda were in the doctor's lounge 
having coffee and discussing the early morning murder.
	"Been there, done that," Steve said. "Nothing substantial 
came up. The guy had a knack for getting into trouble then finding 
ways to get himself out. For instance the alleged sexual 
harassment of Al."
	"Al?" Jessie asked. "He was sexually harassing a guy?"
	"Al is a woman," Mark told him. "Short for Alison."
	"I get it now. Who is she?"
	"The city's only female garbage collector," Steve answered. 
"I wouldn't want to tangle with that woman."
	"Maybe it wasn't EM that killed him," Jessie suddenly said. 
"Maybe this Alison did."
	"I'm looking into that, too," Steve said. "It was her truck that 
he was found in."
	"I don't think she's the type to do something like that," Mark 
said. "She a wonderful young woman."
	"How would you know that?" Steve asked.
	"She picked up our trash at the same time every week," 
Mark told him. "I spoke to her several times when I was leaving or 
coming in. Plus she stops at Hazel William's house to take her 
garbage out. Hazel's ninety-three and can't get out with it herself."
	Amanda set down her coffee and put in her two cents. "I 
didn't get 'cold blooded killer' from her either."
	Steve sighed. "I'm still going to investigate her. I'll probably 
catch her before she heads out in the morning."
	"Are you giving us time to prove she had nothing to do with 
it?" Mark asked.
	Steve stood up and headed to the door. "I'll think about what 
you said," he said, not really answering the question, yet not not 
answering it either.
	"I'm going to see if I can talk to her tonight," Mark said as he 
stood.
	"Can I come along?" Jessie said. "I wouldn't mind meeting 
her."
	Mark nodded and turned to Amanda. "Do you think you can 
dig something up on this EM?"
	"I can certainly try," Amanda said as she stood and followed 
Mark and Jessie out the door.

	Mark knocked on the sliding glass door of the first floor 
apartment. He and Jessie had been told that Al preferred people to 
use this door as it was more convenient to the outside and parking 
lot.
	Freshly showered and in a pretty flowered sun dress, Al 
answered the door looking nothing as she had earlier in the day. 
This woman looked pretty and feminine compared to the strong and 
earnest woman she was at work. He still damp hair hung in ringlets 
around her face and neck, and when she smiled she made Mark 
smile as well.
	"Dr. Sloan," Al said. "What are you doing here?"
	"I almost didn't recognize you," Mark said. "I need to talk to 
you about the murder."
	She shrugged. "I'm still a bit shaken up, but I'm fine," she 
said as she invited the men in. "What do you need to know?"
	Mark turned to introduce Jessie. "This is Doctor Jessie 
Travis, a colleague of mine. He wanted to help with the 
investigation."
	"I thought your son was working on it?"
	"I'm a consultant for the police department and help him on 
cases quite often," Mark answered. "Exactly what time did you get 
to work this morning?"
	"At exactly five fourty-two," Al told him. "I keep a very tight 
schedule and I get there at the same exact time every morning."
	"Wow," Jessie said. "How do you do that?"
	"I plan ahead," was the answer. "I listen to weather and road 
reports."
	A cry from the other room interrupted their conversation. "I 
just got her down," Al said as she headed for the back bedroom.
	Mark and Jessie looked at each other, puzzled. A minute 
later, Al returned with a baby of about three months of age. "She's 
got colic," Al said. "This is my daughter Lissette."
	"Daughter?" Mark said with surprise. "I hadn't even realized 
that you were married."
	Al shook her head. "I'm not," she replied then shrugged. 
"Accidents happen."
	Mark nodded in understanding. "You mind if I hold her for a 
minute?"
	Al nodded and handed him the child. Her cries stopped 
almost immediately. "I don't believe it," she said. "She likes you."
	Jesse smiled at Mark as he made faces and noises at the 
child. "Mark is really good with kids."
	Al watched him for a moment before shaking it off and 
resuming their previous conversation. "What was it you wanted to 
know?"
	"What time did you leave home this morning?" Mark asked 
as he shifted the baby.
	Al rubbed her forehead. "Let's see," she said deep in 
thought. "There was no rain and little traffic, so I left around five 
fifteen."
	"Do you have someone to swear to that?" Mark asked.
	Al nodded. "Sure. My babysitter."
	Mark smiled and handed Lissette back to her mother. "That's 
all I have for now," he said. "Do you have anything to add?"
	"Nothing substantial," Al replied.
	"Who do you think did it?" Jesse asked.
	Al looked thoughtful for a moment. "It could have been 
anyone. If he was blackmailing city council members like Dan said, 
who knows who did it." She paused. "Everyone at work hated him. 
The only reason he wasn't transferred or something was because 
he was a damn fine mechanic."
	"Sounds like the only thing he had going for him," Mark said. 
"Steve's going to be at the garage first thing in the morning to ask 
you a few more questions. I thought I'd warn you."
	Al sighed. "Thanks for the warning."

	Steve wasn't exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed when he 
walked into the sanitation garage the next morning. 'How do they 
get up this early,' he thought as he yawned.
	Alison was just coming out of the locker room as Steve came 
into the garage. "You're late," she said.
	"You knew I was coming?" Steve asked through a yawn.
	"Your father warned me," she replied as she headed for her 
truck. "If I stop to answer questions, I'll be late for my route." She 
held open the door to the big truck for him. He looked a bit puzzled, 
so Al gave him a big hint. "Get in. I can come back for lunch and 
drop you. In the meantime, you can ride with me. The glamorous 
life of a sanitation worker."
	Steve shook a bit of the sleepiness off and climbed up into 
the truck. The rig was spotless and smelled as clean as it looked. 
"You keep a clean truck," he commented.
	"Thanks," Al replied. "When did you get to bed last night?"
	"A little after midnight," Steve said with a yawn. "Why is that 
relevant?"
	Al snorted as she skillfully backed the truck out of the space 
and drove it out of the garage. "I just wondered."
	Steve leaned back in the unexpectedly comfortable seat and 
yawned again. "Exactly what time did you get to work yesterday?"
	"Five fourty-two," Al answered. "Next question."
	"Did you see anything suspicious when you got there?"
	Al shook her head. "Nope."
	"Did you see the red mustang?"
	Al looked straight ahead for a moment then turned to Steve. 
"No, I didn't," she said with mild surprise.
	"Do you remember what time it was when you found the 
body?" Steve asked, straightening.
	"A little after six," Al replied.
	"Then the murder was committed between 5:42 and 6:00," 
Steve said thoughtfully as he unsuccessfully tried to rub the sleep 
from his eyes.
	He was quiet for a long time so Al looked over at him to see 
that he had fallen asleep. She shook her head and went about her 
own business, pretending that he wasn't even there, and doing it 
very quietly.

	Steve didn't realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt 
someone poking him in the ribs.
	"We're back," Al told him.
	Steve rubbed the remainder of the sleep from his eyes and 
sat up. They were parked just outside the sanitation garage. "Back 
so soon?"
	Al chuckled at him. "It's three in the afternoon. Time for 
afternoon break."
	"I fell asleep and you just let me sleep?"
	"You looked like you needed it," Al replied. "Any more 
questions for me?"
	Steve blinked some of the sleep from his eyes. "Not right 
now, but stay in touch."

	Dan wasn't in the office that night, which wasn't unusual 
since Al didn't leave until after Dan did most nights. When he 
wasn't in his office the next morning when she went out to the 
truck, she grew concerned, and when he wasn't there the next 
morning, she became downright panicked.
	In his office, she called his house and his wife answered, but 
said she hadn't seen him in two or three days. She hadn't been 
concerned because they had gotten a legal separation only two 
weeks before. Now she was, and so was Al so she called Steve 
Sloan.
	"I haven't seen him in two days, and that's not like him," she 
told Steve when he arrived. "The last time I saw him was when you 
came to question me the other day. In the morning."
	Steve had out his little notebook and was taking notes. 
"Sounds suspicious."
	Al looked him straight in the eye. "Do you think that Dan did 
it?"
	"It's entirely possible," Steve replied. "I'll put an APB out on 
him and see if we can't bring him in for a few questions. Meanwhile, 
you keep an eye out for him."
	Al nodded. "Will do," she said. "Do you want to take a look 
at his office?"
	"Good idea," Steve said. "Does he spend a lot of time in his 
office?"
	"As far as I know," Al replied. "Of course, I'm out all day in 
the truck."
	Steve nodded as Al let him into the office. The room was 
fairly plain. There was a desk in the center of the room and a black 
leather couch which had seen better days along the wall under the 
window overlooking the garage. Next to the door was a rickety old 
coat tree that had several caps hanging from its hooks. The desk 
had several stacks of papers on it and a desk chair which was in 
about the same shape as the couch pushed up under it.
	Steve pulled out the chair and began to open the desk's 
drawers as Al leaned against the door jamb. Each drawer was 
pulled open for Steve to find that they were all empty except for the 
lap drawer which had an assortment of pens, pencils and other 
writing utensils. Steve held up a stubby often used crayon with a 
strange expression on his face. Al tried not to laugh as he put the 
crayon back and began to look at the papers on the desk. He found 
nothing of importance to the man's disappearance anywhere in or 
on the desk.
	The phone rang as he was sifting through the papers on the 
desk and Al answered it. "What is it?" She was silent as the 
panicked voice at the other tried to explain what was wrong. "Calm 
down and tell me what's wrong." She was silent as the person on 
the other end buzzed excitedly. Al looked suddenly at Steve. "You 
found what?" Her eyes scrunched up and she looked concerned. 
"Sticking out of a bale?" Another pause and her hand flew to her 
mouth and she looked like she might cry. "I'll be right down," she 
finished before hanging the phone up.
	Steve looked at her expectantly, and she took a deep breath 
before she told him. "They found a hand sticking out of a bale out 
at the baler building."

	Steve jumped out of the driver seat and followed Al over to 
where the crowd of workers were standing around looking at the 
hand which stuck out of the bale of garbage. Al took one look at the 
hand a knew who it belonged to.
	"It looks like we found Dan," she told Steve as they stood 
bent over the bale.
	"How do you know?" Steve asked.
	"See the signet ring on the third finger?" she pointed and 
Steve nodded. "He never takes it off."
	Steve looked at the bale carefully. "Do you think the body's 
intact?"
	Al looked to one of the baler operators and he nodded. "It's 
possible," she replied. "But you never can tell with the baler. It 
works a lot like the trucks. It crushes the trash into a bale, then 
wraps the bale in metal wire to secure it."
	Steve nodded in understanding as the city coroner's van 
backed into the big room and Amanda got out and joined him.
	"We've got a tentative identity, but we won't know for sure 
until we get him out of the bale," Steve told her.
	Amanda nodded. "How are we going to get him out of the 
bale?"
	Al answered that question by calling out to one of the worker 
near the storeroom door. "Get me a pair of wire cutters."
	Al slipped her gloves on in time to take the cutters and snip 
the wires surrounding the bale. Slowly, the trash fell away to reveal 
Dan's bloated body. "How long has it been since that baler's been 
used?"
	"Two days," one of the workers answered.
	Al's face screwed up. "This is not going a pretty sight."
	Steve turned to the officers that were just arriving. "Get 
these people out of here." He turned back to the mess that Al had 
just released. "I think we'd better bag up everything in this bale and 
go through it with a fine tooth comb."
	Al had her hand over her mouth and nose, but removed it to 
speak. "After you get the body out, I could have the guys bag it up 
and send it with your officers to the lab."
	Steve nodded. "I'm just glad it's going to be lab techs going 
through it instead of me."
	"It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it," Al remarked.

	"He was stabbed," Amanda stabbed. "I'd say about two days 
ago."
	"Before he ended up in the baler," Mark said.
	"Yes," Amanda replied. "This was not a pleasant autopsy. 
He still smells of garbage."
	"I can imagine," Mark said with a slight chuckle.
	"You didn't have to go through the garbage," Steve put in as 
he came into the room holding a plastic bag with a knife in it. "This 
look right?"
	Amanda took the knife, its blade covered with dried blood, 
and looked at it carefully. "Looks like the right size," she said. "I 
won't know for sure until I test it."
	"Any prints?" Mark asked.
	"Not any that are recognizable," Steve replied as Jesse 
came into the room behind him.
	"What have you got Jesse?" Mark asked him.
	"Not much," Jesse said. "I talked to Jake's neighbors and 
none of them liked him either. They weren't really surprised to find 
that he'd been murdered."
	"Did they see anything unusual the morning of the murder?" 
Steve asked.
	"Yes, a woman came to pick him up in a red mustang," 
Jesse replied.
	"Like the one found outside the truck garage," Mark asked 
and Jesse nodded. "I've been wondering a bit about the reporter 
that came to interview Al..."
	"I checked up on her," Steve interrupted. "She lives in San 
Francisco and works at the Bay City press like she said, but one 
thing she didn't tell us was that she comes down here every 
weekend."
	"You think that maybe she knew the victim?" Amanda asked.
	"I don't know," Steve said.
	"Jesse," Mark began. "Did Jake's neighbors get a good look 
at the woman who picked him up that morning?"
	"Only good enough to tell her hair color was dark," Jesse 
replied.
	Mark turned back to Steve. "Do you know if she's still in 
town?"
	Steve nodded. "I asked her to stay in town until I could 
question her further."
	"Could I go with you when you question her?"

	Eileen Miller was smoothing down her suit when there was a 
knock on the door. She grunted then turned and looked out the 
peep hole to find Steve and Mark waiting there to question her. 
She put on her best smile and opened the door.
	"Why, hello," she said sweetly. "Can I help you?"
	Steve showed her his badge. "I'm Detective Sloan and this 
is my father Doctor Mark Sloan. May I have a word with you?"
	"Of course. I remember you from the sanitation garage," 
Eileen said. "I was just getting ready to go down for some lunch. 
Why don't you just walk down with me?"
	Steve stepped aside and let her pass, then walked next to 
her as she went down the hall towards the elevator. "What do you 
need to know?" she said.
	"I'd like to hear again exactly what happened the morning of 
the murder," Steve began as Mark stepped up to Eileen's other 
side and she took his arm.
	"Well," Eileen said. "I left the hotel at about 5 a.m. so I could 
get there before Miss James left for her route. I met Dan, uh, Mr. 
Kittel, in his office. When Miss James went by the window, Dan 
called her in and introduced us. Then we went out and I was going 
to watch as she did a systems check of her truck, and the blood 
started pouring out of the truck." She started to look a bit pale. 
"That's when I fainted."
	"I don't blame you," Mark commented. "It was a horrific 
sight."
	"What were you doing day before yesterday?" Steve asked. 
"The day after Jake's body was found."
	"I was using my laptop computer to write the story up," 
Eileen said.
	"Did you talk to Dan Kittel at all that day?"
	Mark pushed the down button next to the elevator and 
stepped back to wait for Eileen's answer.
	"Early in the morning," was her reply. "Why?"
	"Mr. Kittel was found dead in a bale meant for the 
incinerator," Mark told her.
	Eileen gasped as the doors to the elevator opened. Mark 
took her arm and led her inside as Steve followed and punched the 
number for the lobby.
	"You OK?" Steve asked with his hand on her elbow.
	She swallowed and nodded. "I can't believe it."
	"Did you know Jake before he died?" Mark asked.
	Eileen shook her head no. "I never even met him."
	Mark looked thoughtful and Steve asked one final question 
as the doors to the elevator opened. "How long did you know Dan 
Kittel?"
	"I met him for the first time the morning we found Jake's 
body," Eileen replied as the left the elevator. "Are you done with 
me?"
	"For now," Steve said. "Are you going to be OK?"
	Eileen nodded and stood up straight. "I'll be fine."
	Steve nodded and he and Mark walked away. "You think 
she's lying," Steve said when they were out of earshot.
	"I'm not sure yet," Mark replied. "I think I'd like to talk to her 
boss."
	"If you want to talk to him," Steve said. "So do I."

	Eric Wildman, assistant editor of the Bay City Press, 
answered the phone on the second ring as he tapped away at his 
keyboard. "Bay City Press," he said into the phone.
"Eric Wildman assistant editor speaking."
	Mark watched Steve as they spoke to the man via the 
speakerphone. "My name is Steve Sloan and I'm conducting a 
murder investigation from Los Angeles. Could I get you to answer a 
few questions?"
	Eric stopped tapping at the keyboard and looked up. "Sure, 
what about?"
	"I'm trying to get some information about one of your 
reporters," Steve said with a glance back at Mark.
	"Which one?"
	"Eileen Miller."
	Eric snorted. "You've got to be kidding."
	"Something wrong?" Steve asked.
	"That woman is a menace to society," Eric said. "She's a 
good reporter, yes, but she's got this boyfriend...."
	"Do you know the boyfriend's name?" Mark put in.
	Eric didn't notice the change in questioners and just 
answered. "Jason or Jacob or something that starts with a J. She's 
got this locket that she wears that's got their initials on it. I think he 
lives in L.A."
	Steve looked at Mark. "Go on."
	"Anyway," Eric went on. "They've been blackmailing some 
people. Government people. According to the scuttlebutt, they've 
made quite a pretty penny on the whole deal. Marcia and I wish 
she would stop giving the paper a bad name."
	"Well, thank you," Steve said. "Ill let you know if we need 
anymore information."
	"You're welcome," Eric said. "I don't suppose we could have 
the story first? When you're done with it, I mean."
	"I'll give you a call," Steve said with a slight smile. 
Reporters!
	Mark hit the button that hung up the phone. "We've got 
enough on her to pin Jake's murder on her, but who killed Dan?"
	Steve shook his head. "I don't know, but I think I'll have 
another talk with Al."
	"You don't think she did it do you?"
	"She wasn't very upset when we found his body," Steve 
pointed out.
	"It may have just been emotional detachment," Mark stated.
	"I don't know," Steve replied. "I'll just have to talk to her 
again."

	Al sat on the grass near her apartment in the shade of a 
small tree, watching Lissette as she lay on her stomach watching 
an ant crawl across the blanket which they both relaxed on. She 
was dressed in a brightly colored sun dress with a straw hat on her 
head to protect from the sun while the baby wore a colorful little 
handmade dress and bonnet. Lissette was as relaxed as a baby 
can be, while her mother was a nervous wreck.
	"Al?" came a questioning voice from behind her.
	Al jumped and turned to see Steve Sloan standing behind 
her.
	"I almost didn't recognize you," Steve said as he walked 
around to face her. He noticed the baby, but didn't think much of 
her.
	Al had her arms wrapped around her legs and she was 
definitely the nervous wreak that Steve would have expected at the 
scene. She had been so calm at the baler building. She slowly 
unfolded herself and looked up at Steve. "What can I do for you?" 
she asked, ever so politely.
	"They told me you'd taken a few personal days," Steve said. 
"I need to talk to you about Dan's murder."
	Al wiped her eyes and moved Lissette closer to her legs, 
inviting him to sit down. "What do you need to know that I haven't 
already told you?"
	"Baby-sitting?" Steve asked casually as he sat down in the 
space Al had cleared.
	"No," Al said. "This is my daughter, Lissette."
	Steve looked at her with mild surprise. "I didn't know."
	"Accidents happen," Al said. "I'm trying to keep myself calm, 
so would you please just come say what you needed to."
	"I wanted to ask you why you were so calm when we found 
Dan's body," Steve said. "Now you're a nervous wreak. Is 
something wrong?"
	Al looked Steve straight in the eye. "If you're wondering if I 
killed Dan, the answer is no. I go to work and then straight home. I 
am a good mother and I would never do anything to jeopardize 
things."
	"Why were you so calm, then?"
	She glanced down at the baby and put her hand on her little 
head. "I just am," she said. "I have a crisis mode. I don't panic 
when there's a crisis, but when the crisis is past, well," she looked 
back up at him. "Let's just say, I lose it."
	"That's a good quality for a mother to have," Steve said. "Is 
there anything you remember from the day Dan disappeared that 
you could tell me?"
	"He went out to the baler early in the morning before anyone 
else showed up for work," Al said. "I didn't think much of it because 
he does that a lot."
	"Do you know where he found out about the blackmail?"
	"Nope," Al replied. "A lot of the others didn't know that little 
tidbit."
	"Do you think he might have overheard Jake talking on the 
phone?"
	"It's possible. The only phone in that particular building is 
the one in his office."
	Steve nodded and went on to his next question. "Had you 
ever seen Eileen Miller before meeting her that day?"
	"I've seen her work, but not her," Al told him. "Can I tell you 
something?"
	"Is it about the case?"
	Al shook her head. "It's about Dan."
	"What is it?"
	"He's Lissette's father."
	Steve pursed his lips and nodded. When he didn't speak, Al 
went on. "He and his wife had wanted kids, but she was sterile. He 
asked me if I'd be a surrogate mom. We were like that," she held 
up her fingers tightly together. "So I said yes."
	She took a breath. "Halfway through the pregnancy, Millie 
decided she didn't want a child after all. That started lots of 
problems and the deal was called off. I wasn't going to end the 
pregnancy, so I signed some papers saying that I would support 
her entirely on my own. And I have."
	"Why are you telling me this?" Steve asked.
	"Because I want you to understand that I couldn't have killed 
Dan," she replied. "And why."
	"I do understand," Steve said. "We're going to arrest Eileen 
Miller for the murder of Jake Salvin."
	Al sat up sharply. "You're kidding!"
	Steve shook his head. "We have enough evidence to 
convict her, and it was her locket that our examiner found clutched 
in his hand."
	"Do you think she killed Dan too?"
	We're not sure," Steve told her. "We will find out." He 
glanced down at his watch. "I've got to go. Will you be OK?"
	"I'm fine," Al replied.
	"You still have my card?"
	Al nodded as Steve got to his feet. "Give me a call if you 
need to talk to anyone," he told her. "My home phone is on the 
card, too."
	"I certainly will give you a call," she said as she picked her 
baby up and pulled herself off the ground. "Thanks for keeping me 
informed."
	"Anytime," Steve said with a smile.

	Steve was sound asleep when the phone rang. At first he 
thought it was part of his dream, but when the ringing didn't stop, 
he knew that it wasn't. He opened one eye and looked around the 
room. The sun was up and light came through the windows. The 
sun reflected off the ocean's waves and into the room where he 
slept. The phone rang again as he remembered that his father had 
an early shift at the hospital, so he reached over and answered it.
	"Hello," he said groggily.
	"Detective Sloan, this is Al," said the person at the other 
end.
	Steve glanced at the clock. Six a.m. He had been up until 
three a.m. this morning going over the clues in Dan's murder. He 
had gone to arrest Eileen Miller after his talk with Al, only to find 
that she had checked out of her hotel without leaving a forwarding 
address. A talk with her boss and land lord, then to the state police 
and highway patrol brought no clue as to where she had gone. And 
now he was being awakened three hours after having gone to bed 
by a perky morning person.
	He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up. "What's up?"
	"I'm sorry if I woke you," Al said. "But I just got a package 
that I think you need to see."
	"What is it?"
	"Papers, a cassette, pictures," Al said. "Things that expose 
some.... unknown things about several government officials."
	Steve was awake now. "Who sent them?"
	Al was silent for a few seconds as Steve heard some 
rustling. "Dan," she said with shock in her voice."
	"I'll meet you at your place in an hour," Steve said.
	"No," Al said suddenly. "Meet me on the roof of my 
apartment building. I don't want Lissette involved, so I'll take her to 
her babysitter across the street."
	"I'll be right there," Steve said as he threw the blanket aside 
and hung up the phone. He pulled a pair of jeans on over his 
boxers and a t-shirt over his head and tucked it in before clipping 
his badge on his left and his gun on his right. The last thing he did 
was slip on his blue blazer and slide his feet into his shoes and tie 
them. Grabbing his keys, he was out the door less than five 
minutes after he had gotten Al's call.

	Al paced back and forth on the roof of her building with the 
package of items in her hand. "Come on, Steve," she murmured. 
Hearing the door to the roof open and close, she turned saying, 
"I'm so glad you're here..."
	She stopped dead in her tracks as she realized who was 
standing in the door way. Eileen Miller held a gun in her hand 
pointed at Al's chest.
	"If you're smart, you'll give me the package," she said with 
her left hand outstretched.
	Al walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down. 
There was no way out, so she turned to face the other woman. 
"Why?" she asked calmly. She was trying to buy some time until 
Steve could get here.
	"Because, I have to have it," Eileen said.
	"Is it because what's in it could put you to jail for murder and 
extortion?" Al said.
	"You think you're _so_ smart little girl," Eileen said. "But 
there's no way out. Now GIVE ME THE PACKAGE!"
	Al held it out over the edge. "Take one step and I'll drop it," 
she said.
	"You can't because if you do, you won't have anything I 
want."
	"The thing is," Al continued. "Detective Sloan is on his way 
here to get it. He should be here any minute." Al glanced over. 
"Speak of the devil and guess who comes walking up."
	Eileen's attention wavered a bit. Just enough for Al to tackle 
her. They grappled for the gun, and Al got it out of her hands, but 
Eileen hit it and it skidded across the roof top away from them. 
Eileen punched Al and got free of her grasp. She stumbled to her 
feet and went after the weapon, but Al was on her feet in a flash.
	Blood pouring from her nose and anger shining in her eyes, 
she grabbed Eileen's hair and pulled her back towards the edge. 
Eileen gave her a good punch in the stomach and wrestled her 
until she got her hands untangled from her hair. She forced her 
over the edge, but Al caught the edge with her fingertips.
	Eileen stood over her with a satisfied smirk on her face, but 
Al wasn't quite finished. "You killed Dan didn't you?" she screamed.
	Eileen laughed as she stepped on the fingers of her left 
hand. "I may as well tell you since you won't be around much 
longer, anyway. I killed him because he knew our secrets. Jake's 
and mine. And I killed Jake because he looked at another woman 
when he promised he wouldn't."
	She stepped down harder on Al's fingers and her hand fell 
away. Eileen lifted her foot to crush the other hand when she heard 
a foot step behind her.
	"Freeze," Steve said, gun in hand. "Don't move."
	Eileen smiled. "You've got a choice, Sloan. Arrest me or 
save her." She gestured to the woman hanging by her fingertips. 
"Drop the gun or I'll make her fall."
	Slowly, Steve put the gun down on the ground and stood up 
straight.
	"Now kick it away," she ordered.
	Steve did as he was instructed as Al was able to get a grip 
with her hand again.
	Eileen slowly walked over and picked up her own gun, then 
returned to where she had been standing. She stomped on Al's 
fingers again and ran for the door as Al lost her grip and Steve lept 
to catch her.
	He caught Al by the fingertip of one hand as Eileen made 
her getaway.
	Al screamed in pain and grabbed his wrist with the hand that 
had not taken the attack. Steve grabbed her wrist and tried to pull 
her up, but since she was almost six foot tall and a muscular 
woman, it wasn't easy to do. Al tried to help, but with her injured 
hand, she had trouble. Between the both of them, they were able to 
pull her up on the roof.
	Al lay with her head on Steve shoulder and his arms 
wrapped around her to keep her from falling back over the edge. 
She took a deep breath before she finally spoke. "You can go after 
her now. I'll be all right."
	"Don't worry about it," Steve said. "I brought backup."
	Al looked carefully over the edge and saw a couple of 
uniformed police officers leading Eileen to a car. Eileen glanced 
up, saw that Al had made it OK and made a face before she got 
into the car.
	Al looked back into Steve's eyes. "Can I panic now?" she 
asked.
	Steve smiled, and she let her head fall back on to his chest.

	Mark bounced Lissette up and down on his knee as she 
giggled like crazy and her mother looked on. "I am so grateful to 
everyone," she told Mark.
	"We were just doing our job," Mark said.
	"Above and beyond the call of duty," Al said with a smile.
	Jesse stood near the row of windows looking out over the 
ocean in Mark and Steve's beach house and watched as Mark 
played with the baby in his arms. "We were glad to help."
	"I just wish," she said as she held up her bandaged right 
hand. "That it hadn't hurt so much to fix."
	Amanda came in just then with a tray and some coffee. "If 
Steve would hurry up and get here, then we could eat."
	Al winced. "I'm going to have to learn to eat with my left 
hand."
	"It probably won't be too easy taking care of a baby either," 
Amanda commented.
	"Or running the garbage truck," Jesse added.
	Al was taking a sip of coffee as he spoke, so she swallowed. 
"Actually, I got a promotion," she said. "I'm going to be in charge of 
the garage. They promised they'd redecorate that office."
	They all laughed as Steve came in the door.
	"Well, they've had the bail hearing," he announced. "No 
bail."
	"Good," Al said. "Hopefully they'll put her away for a good 
long time."
	"With your testimony," Steve said. "They will."
	"Great," Jesse said. "Now we can eat."
	"Is that all you ever think of," Al asked as she took her 
daughter from Mark. "Your stomach?"
	Jesse looked sheepish. "No. Just when I'm hungry."
	Jesse, Amanda and Mark moved into the dining area, but 
Steve held Al back.
	"Crisis over," he said. "You panicking yet?"
	Al reached up and kissed him. "What do think?"