Betty Beeson. Three people were sitting in my living room, drinkingmy liquor, and chatting as if they owned the place. I keptmy gun atmy side and walked into the room. There were two men and a woman. They looked rather


strange. They had on dark glasses, hats, and what looked to me likewigs.When they turned, I realized that theywerewear- ing full face masks. (One was Hillary, one was Bush, and one Obama. I guess they got the first two on sale.) “Bush” stood up and I raisedmy gun. “That won’t be necessary, Mr. Manning.We just came


to talk. I felt you might react this way, so we brought some assistance.” I turned around; a very large gentleman with a very


large gun was standing in the door. He didn’t wear a mask. I guess he didn’t care if someone recognized him. I putmy gun in my pocket. “I’m certain you called the police before you came in,


so I suggest we change our venue. Please accompany us to your car.” We all piled into my car, and I drove as instructed to a


turnout onMulhollandDrive about twomiles away.Therewas a black SUV parked there.We got out.The gunsel stayed a bit away fromthe group, but held his gun onme. “Bush” again did the talking. “Wewanted to discusswhat


happened at theHollywood Bowl and perhaps persuade you to drop your inquiries into Sarah’s murder. It seems we out- sourced a project to the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.There was never any intention to kill Sarah.We simply wanted to exchange her for somemoney. “We knewyou had had an involvementwith Sarah’s sister


and thought that having you as a go-betweenwouldmakemat- ters proceedmore smoothly. “The idiots we hired to take Sarah accidentally shot her,


and before they could do anything, she died. They decided to continue with the plan, with a slight change. “They were supposed to block your car at the Hollywood


Bowl to slow you down so we would have time to get to your house and leave the contact information.We had two teams working: one blocking your car and the other going to your house. The one going to your house didn’t know that Sarah had been killed, and the other was so frightened they didn’t call to tell them the deal was off. They put Sarah’s body in the car thatwas to be used to block you and drove to the Bowl and left the car behind yours. “We know your reputation,Mr.Manning.We know that


you don’t give up until you complete a task.We are asking you nicely to stop your pursuit in this case.Our tracks arewell-cov- ered; the police won’t find us. Rest assured that the ones responsible for Sarah’s death will be dealt with. “If you back off, we can let the matter drop. If you don’t,


we will be forced to take action against you and your family.” “Bush” paused, probably to let me think it over. It was


obvious that he didn’t knowSarah’s father, a consiglierewith a lot of weight inWashington, DC, was personally involved and in town. I wasn’t too worried about my son, Paulo; he could take care of himself. My wife, Shirley, had been down this path with me before and would wring my neck if I kowtowed to these hoods. “Oh, just in case you have ideas that we aren’t serious,


‘Hillary,’ take off yourmask.” The woman reached up and removed the mask. Her back


was towardme.Then I realized that themask had no eye holes. She hadn’t been able to see anything that was happening. She turned around.


I was looking atMelissa, or at least someone who looked like


Melissa. But it couldn’t be. I had left her and Sarah’s father in San- taMonica less than an hour ago. Unless these guys were into tele- portation, there wasn’t enough time for them to kidnap her, drive tomy place, and be waiting there before I got home. “Who are you? “ “I’mMandy,Melissa’s twin.” I shookmy head.Thiswas becoming a soap opera. I looked at


“Bush.”My face was a questionmark. “We are simply continuing our project,Mr.Manning, butwith


a different central character.You will continue to be our point of contact. Return home. Say what you will to the police. Drop your investigation into Sarah’smurder.We will be in touch.” They got into the SUV and drove off. There was mud on the


plate.Themodel was generic big. I stood there scratching my head. Sirens were coming up the


road. The police convoy pulled over, and BillVose got out of the lead car. “What’s going on, Paul?Why are you standing here? I told


your to wait outside your house but not amile away.” “The plot has certainly thickened,” I said. “Did you pass a


black SUV as you came up the road.” “Yeah.” “It contained the kidnappers, and another hostage. We are


starting this all over again.” To be continued ...


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