It was a spur of the moment decision to come to New York. The girls knew they were going on vacation together, just couldn't decide where. Then Kit suggested Port Charles. Sherry had agreed it was a wonderful idea. Since it was a last minute decision, they didn't have a reservation to stay anywhere. When they got off the bus, they scanned the bulletin boards to see if they could find any suggestions for a nice reasonable place to stay.
They didn't have any luck at the station. Because they were famished, they decided to find a place to eat. Kit had noticed an ad for a "Kelly's Diner." She asked someone at the station for directions and, since it was close to the station, they walked to the diner for lunch.
Kelly's was crowded when they got there, but there was one table left. They flopped into the chairs and were greeted by a friendly young woman named Liz. She gave them menus and told them the special of the day was chili. Kit decided to try the chili, but Sherry opted for a sandwich instead.
"This is great, isn't it?" Sherry said. "Yeah, I'm just so glad to get away for a while," Kit replied. "This is exactly what I needed. I just hope my hubby can cope with the kids while I'm gone!" They laughed. "So, after we find a place to stay, what do you say we do a little sightseeing, maybe do some shopping?" Kit suggested. "Sounds good to me," Sherry replied. "I just hope it doesn't take us long to find a place to stay."
Liz walked up as Sherry was making that last statement. She placed their sodas in front of them and then said "I couldn't help but overhear. If you ladies need a place to stay, there are rooms available upstairs. Ruby, the former owner used to rent them on a more permanent basis, but I'm sure Tammy, the new manager, would let you rent them for as long as you need. I'll check with her if you want."
Sherry couldn't believe their luck. This was turning out better than she had hoped. "Sounds good to me. What do you think, Kit?" Kit nodded her head and replied "Great." Sherry turned to Liz and said "Thanks, Liz. If you would check with Tammy, we'd appreciate it."
They discussed all the typical things during lunch ... movies they had seen, books they had read, things that had happened with family and/or work .. and men. Well, actually, Kit discussed men. Sherry just listened. She had no man in her life, so she didn't have anything to add to the conversation. She was of the opinion that all the good ones were taken. Just then, two very handsome men walked into the diner laughing and talking in what sounded like an Australian accent. Kit noticed them first and said "Hey, look at those two. Aren't they cute?" They were both tall; one, the older of the two, had dark hair and dark eyes. The other one had blonde hair and blue eyes. His looks were quite striking. "Yeah they're cute. And I'm sure they are both very much attached!" Sherry replied.
The two men strolled over to their table and the younger one spoke. "Hello ladies. I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch, but there are no more tables available and since there are only two of you and there are two of us, we were wondering if we could share with you? By the way, my name is Jasper Jacks, but please call me Jax. And this is my brother Jerry."
Sherry looked at Kit and waited for her to answer. Kit looked back and Sherry and shrugged. "Sure, why not. I'm Kit and this is my friend Sherry."
Jerry sat down next to Kit and said "Thank you. You ladies are life savers. I really was looking forward to a bowl of Kelly's chili."
Jax laughed and replied "Yeah, it's not like you don't get to eat here at least twice a week, if not more!" Then it was Jerry's turn to laugh. Jax turned to the girls to explain. "Jerry's girlfriend, Bobbie, co-owns this place with her brother, Luke. So he spends a lot of time here tracking her down."
Just then Liz walked up and said "I talked to Tammy and she said she would be happy to rent you each a room for as long as you want. So how long do you plan on being in town?" "Two weeks ... we're here on vacation," Sherry replied.
Kit and Sherry spent the rest of their lunch talking with the Jacks brothers about Port Charles ... places to go, things to do, where to shop, what to avoid. Then Jax said "Well, it's been a pleasure ladies, but we've got a business meeting to attend. I hope we run into you again during your visit. And thanks for sharing your table with us." Then Jax threw a $50 bill on the table. "And lunch is on me."
After Jax and Jerry left, Kit and Sherry took their bags upstairs to get settled in. After about an hour Sherry went over to Kit's room to see if she was ready to go shopping. "You bet!" Kit replied. She grabbed her coat and purse and they headed downtown. As they moved down the street, Sherry noticed a building to her left. It had a sign with the name Deception on it. It was a cosmetics store. "Hey Kit, let's go in here and see what they have. Love that name, ‘Deception.'"
"Okay let's look, but I bet we can't afford anything in this place. Do you see how fancy it is?" Kit shook her head and followed Sherry into the store. They wandered around together for a while, when Kit decided to check out the men's cologne. Sherry headed for the makeup counter. As she approached the counter, a blond woman in her 30s walked up to her. "Hello. My name is Katherine Bell. I own Deception. I was wondering if you would take a few minutes and answer some questions for me. I'm doing a sort of spot survey ... you know ... just asking different customers what they like, what they are looking for, that kind of thing. Do you mind?"
Sherry looked over to see Kit in deep discussion with the clerk at the men's cologne, so she said "No, I don't mind. I'm just waiting for my friend over there anyway."
Katherine smiled at her and said "Good. We can go to my office, it will be a little quieter." Then she led Sherry to an office in the rear of the building. It was a very nice office, it exuded money ... lots of money. Sherry thought that Katherine Bell herself seemed to almost reek of money.
Katherine asked her simple questions ... what kind of makeup did she usually use? Did she use eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, blush, foundation, what kind of cleanser, perfume, etc., etc.
All of a sudden the electricity went out in the building. "Oh great. Now what is going on. Excuse me, Sherry, I'll just see if I can find out what is happening. If you will wait here." Katherine got up to leave, when all of a sudden five men burst into the room holding guns at them. It was dark with the electricity out, but Sherry was pretty sure they were dressed all in black and were wearing ski masks over their faces. The leader of the intruders stepped forward and said "Please come with us." If Sherry hadn't been scared out of her wits, she would have noticed what a lovely accent the man had.
Katherine was putting up a fight. "Who do you think you are? You cannot come in here and just demand that I go with you? Do you know who I am? Just wait until Commissioner Scorpio hears about this!" Michael motioned two of the men forward and one of them handcuffed Katherine. Then he put a blindfold on her and pushed her towards the door. The other two men came forward and grabbed Sherry. One proceeded to blindfold her and handcuff her as well. Sherry was scared speechless. Here she was being kidnapped on her vacation! Oh Kit, where are you? I hope you're okay!
Sherry and Katherine were taken from the store and put into some sort of bus or van and transported to a location a few hours away. Sherry was terrified. What did these people want? She had no money ... nothing anybody would want to kidnap her for. Neither did her family. And Kit, what must she be thinking?
Back at Deception, immediately after Sherry and Katherine were abducted, the electricity was restored. Kit looked around the store for Sherry but couldn't find her anywhere. She went back to the clerk at the men's counter and asked her to page Sherry. There was no response. She couldn't understand where Sherry would have gone. She certainly wouldn't have left without telling me, Kit thought.
Kit didn't know what to do. She was in a strange town and her friend has disappeared. Maybe, just maybe, Sherry went outside after the electricity went out. Maybe she's outside waiting for me. So Kit went outside and walked up and down the street, going through each store she thought Sherry might possibly have gone into, but couldn't find her. Then Kit went back inside and took another look through Deception. Still she had no luck. Thinking that maybe Sherry hadn't been able to locate her and had gone back to Kelly's, Kit headed back to the diner to see if Sherry had returned.
When Kit arrived back at Kelly's she headed straight upstairs. She knocked on Sherry's door. No answer. She knocked a little louder and called out to her. Still she got no answer. She put her purchases in her room and then headed back downstairs. She saw that Liz was still working so she walked up to her. "Hi Liz. I was wondering ... did you see my friend, Sherry, come back here in the last half hour or so?"
Liz shook her head. "No, it's been pretty slow since the lunch crowd left. I didn't see her come back. Why, is something wrong?"
Kit shrugged. "I'm not sure. We were shopping downtown at Deception and the electricity went out. When it came back on, I couldn't find her anywhere. I looked through the store a couple of times and down the block in both directions. I couldn't find her. I thought maybe she came back here."
Liz shook her head again. "Sorry. I haven't seen her since you left. I'm sure she's just wandering around, probably looking for you. If you can't find her, and I can do anything to help, let me know." Kit thanked Liz and then headed back in the direction of Deception."
Sherry felt the van stop and let out a sigh of relief. She had no idea where they were, but she was tired of riding along blindfolded. It didn't make for an enjoyable ride at all. Not that sitting there staring at men holding guns on her would have made it any more enjoyable! One of the men grabbed her arm and helped her out of the van. Then they entered a building of some sort and apparently got on an elevator. They seemed to travel downwards forever. While Sherry was too scared to even utter a sound, Katherine Bell was not going quietly. She was mouthing off every step of the way.
They finally stopped their descent and got out of the elevator. The walked a few steps and came to a stop. A woman spoke. "Ah, Ms. Bell. So nice of you to join us." Katherine was having none of it. "Join you? Like I had a choice. Who are you people? You just wait until Commissioner Scorpio hears about this. He will have you in jail so fast your heads will spin." The woman answered "Commissioner Scorpio will not hear of this. He means nothing. He will never find us. And you will never see him again. Mentz and Stillman, take Ms. Bell to the White Room. I will join her there shortly."
Sherry was getting more terrified by the minute. Who were these people? And what was the "White Room?" They apparently weren't your run-of-the-mill hoodlums. How did she ever get into this mess, anyway?
The woman spoke again. "Michael who is this? Is she connected to Ms. Bell and the others?"
Sherry's head was spinning. Connected to Ms. Bell and the others? The other whats? What was going on here?
The man with the accent, whose name was apparently Michael, spoke. "I'm not sure Madeline. She was with Ms. Bell when we picked her up. We thought it best to bring her along just in case. I will interrogate her and find out what she knows." Michael didn't believe it for a second, but he had to be certain. There was just something about her ...
Madeline smiled at Michael and said "Fine. Let me know what you find out. And if you have to, cancel her."
Sherry backed up at those words. She wasn't sure, but "cancel her" didn't sound like something she wanted to have happen. And interrogate her? About what? She was simply on vacation and shopping. Then these people had kidnapped her. The man named Michael told Hoffman and Vance to take Sherry to the interrogation room. Sherry tried dragging her feet, but they pulled her along with little resistance.
Once they entered the particular room, the men placed Sherry into a chair and restrained her arms and legs. With that was accomplished, they left the room, or at least it sounded that way. Sherry sat there waiting for .. what? She didn't know. Maybe these people were just going to kill her. Oh, how she wished she was back in her little house back home. Why had she wanted to go on vacation anyway? And Kit, she must be out of her mind by now, wondering what happened to me!
Kit had waited as long as she could. She had walked around town, through stores, restaurants, hotels, and back to Kelly's twice and hadn't found Sherry. She decided she would have to call the police. Liz said she could use the phone at Kelly's. Kit called the police and they said someone would be right over. Then she went and sat down at one of the tables to wait.
After about fifteen minutes, two men walked into Kelly's. They walked to the counter and spoke to Liz and she pointed Kit out to them. The two men walked over to Kit's table and introduced themselves. "Hello Kit. I'm Detective Taggart and this is Detective Garcia. We understand your friend is missing. Could you tell us what happened?"
Kit told them everything she knew, which wasn't much. She and Sherry had been shopping at Deception and the electricity went out. She noticed when she mentioned Deception that the two men exchanged glances. She continued to explain that when the electricity came back on, only a few minutes later, she couldn't find her friend anywhere. She explained how she had looked in all the stores up and down the block, checked out the restaurants along the way and had come back to Kelly's twice to look for her. She couldn't find Sherry anywhere.
Detective Taggart asked her how long they had been in town. "We just got here today. We are here on vacation. We had lunch here at Kelly's and then went shopping. Sherry noticed the Deception store and wanted to check it out. We went inside and ... well, you know the rest."
Then he asked, "Are you sure this was a spur of the moment trip? Your friend hasn't been planning to come to Port Charles for some time?" Kit was getting testy, but she stayed calm. "No. In fact, it was my idea to come here."
Detective Garcia asked, "Are you certain Sherry didn't know anyone here? She didn't want to meet up with anyone here?"
Kit sighed. "No. I just told you coming here was MY idea. What's going on? Why do you keep asking me about this?"
The detectives exchanged glances again and then Garcia spoke again. "It seems your friend isn't the only person that went missing at Deception today. The owner of the business, Katherine Bell, is also missing. Her assistant called us about two hours ago."
"So you think Sherry was somehow connected to this Katherine Bell? Well I can tell you that she's not. We've been friends for a while now and she would have told me if she knew anyone here."
Taggart spoke up. "Not if she's involved in what we think she might be."
Kit was getting angrier by the minute. "Just what does that mean? Sherry is not a criminal. I don't know what you are insinuating, but I suggest you get out there and find her and quit making accusations!"
Just then a man and woman walked up. "What is going on here, Taggart? Anything I should know about?"
Kit looked at the man. He had a handsome kind face.
Garcia answered the question. "Commissioner, this woman says her friend disappeared from Deception this afternoon. We were just questioning her about what happened."
Kit decided to vent a little. "They weren't questioning me. They were implying that my friend is a criminal and was somehow mixed up with this Katherine ... whoever .... I told them she didn't know anyone in this town, but they won't listen to me. He," pointing to Detective Taggart "just keeps insinuating that Sherry's mixed up in something she shouldn't be."
The man listened carefully and then introduced himself. "I'm Commissioner Scorpio. You can call me Mac. And this is my wife, Felicia. I'm sorry about your friend. I know you don't like the questions, but we have to try and figure out what happened. I'm sure they explained that Ms. Bell disappeared this afternoon as well."
Kit nodded her head. Felicia sat down next to her and took her hand. "I know this is hard and you're worried about your friend. But trust me, Mac will do whatever it takes to get your friend back."
Mac threw a grateful smile Felicia's way and said "That's right. And I'm sure the detectives are finished with their questions, aren't you?" Garcia stood up and said "Yes sir. We'll get on it right away." Detective Taggart slowly stood up and said "Right away sir." He then turned back to Kit and asked "Would you happen to have a picture of your friend?" Kit nodded and took a photo out of her wallet. Then Taggart requested, "If you remember anything else, let us know. Here's my card." Kit took the card and watched Taggart and Garcia leave. Mac looked to Felicia and said " I'd better get back to the office. Will you stay here with Kit for a while?" I'll be back as soon as I can. Felicia agreed to stay with Kit and Mac went back to police headquarters.
Sherry was sitting in the room, still blindfolded, wondering just how long they intended to keep her here without "interrogating" her. Not that she could tell them anything, but she wanted this to be over with. Just then the door opened. She heard someone enter. They didn't make a lot of noise, but she could still hear them moving towards her.
The person walked behind her and removed the blindfold. Then he spoke, still behind her. It was Michael, the man with the accent. "What is your name?"
Okay, Sherry thought, that's one I can answer. "Sherry." Then he moved in front of her. Sherry was looking up at a very handsome man. Then she remembered ... this man is a criminal. He had kidnapped her at gunpoint. That proved her point. All the good ones were taken ... and the rest of them were criminals! She straightened up in her chair and continued to watch him pace back and forth in front of her. Then he spoke again, softly.
"So Sherry. How long have you known Katherine Bell?"
Okay, that's another easy one. He would soon realize he had made a mistake and let her go. "I don't know her. I was shopping and went into Deception. She told me she owned the place and asked me if I would answer some questions for her. Then she took me back to her office where it was quieter."
Michael watched her closely. He wanted to believe her ... he felt drawn to this woman. He could tell she was scared. But that didn't really mean much. If she was a criminal and got caught, she most likely would be scared. However, there was just something about her. He realized how much he wanted her to be innocent. Michael had learned to read people and situations well during his years at Section, and she just didn't seem like a criminal to him. But he would have to continue his questioning and see where it led him.
"You expect me to believe that you just wandered into her store today and she just happened to ask you to answer her survey? How stupid do you think I am?"
"I ... I ... well, that's what happened. Honest."
Michael laughed. "Honest, huh? I've never haven't heard that one before. Now, one more time. How long have you known Katherine Bell?"
Sherry sighed. So this wasn't going to be as easy as she had thought. "I told you. I don't know her. I am here on vacation. We went shopping and just happened to go into that store. She approached me about the survey and I agreed to help her out." As soon as she said it, she knew she had made a mistake. She noticed the glint in his eye when she had said "we." Now she would probably get poor Kit in trouble too.
"You said ‘we' went shopping. Who were you with?" Michael leaned in close to her as he asked the question.
Sherry inhaled his fragrance. It was quite intoxicating. When she realized what she was doing, she pulled back as far as she could. Well if this guy was trying to intimidate her, it was working ... big time! "My friend and I are on vacation. She was shopping with me."
Michael pulled back a bit. "And what is your friend's name?"
Sherry decided that was all she was going to say about Kit. "That's none of your business."
Michael leaned in close again. "We have ways of making you talk, you know. We'll get the information one way or another."
Sherry stared at him and remained silent. Michael moved back and paced a little while waiting for an answer. Then he said, "Fine. We'll find her without your help." He noticed that she was getting paler by the minute. He had a very strong feeling that she was telling the truth and he hated putting her through this. However, he would have to be a lot more thorough or Madeline would have her hauled into the White Room. He couldn't let that happen. He was becoming more and more drawn to her. Maybe it was her innocence. He had checked all the Section databases before he questioned her. She was not in any criminal database he could find. He had gotten her name from her driver's license, which they had taken from her purse. She had no criminal record, not even a parking ticket. She seemed to be exactly what she said. But that kind of cover would be invaluable to the Deception terrorist organization. Maybe she was just a very talented actress.
He decided to try another tack. "How long have you known Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan?"
She looked at him like he had sprouted horns. "I've never heard of them. Who are they?"
He gauged her reactions very closely. "What about Luke Spencer or Helena Cassidine?"
Sherry was getting tired of this. "I don't know them either. Am I supposed to know them? I don't know anyone in this town. I told you I am here on vacation. That's it. The only people I've met from here are Liz, a girl that works at Kelly's Diner, and Katherine Bell. Oh and we had lunch with Jerry Jacks and his brother Jax. But that's it."
Michael looked at her closely at the mention of the Jacks brothers. "You had lunch with the Jacks brothers?"
Uh oh, Sherry thought, that must have been a mistake. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut. "Yeah."
Michael considered the information and stored it away for later. He doubted very much that the Jacks brothers would have had lunch with someone connected to the group he was after. Of course, if they didn't know ...
"Okay, where are you and your friend staying?"
Sherry was giving him that look again. "Oh no you don't. I'm not telling you anything else. What are you going to do with me anyway?"
Michael walked behind her again and placed a hand on her shoulder. They both felt a jolt of electricity when he touched her. "That depends on you. And if you don't want us to bring in your friend, I suggest you answer the question."
Sherry's mind was whirling ... if she told them where they were staying then they might get Kit too. But if she didn't ... well he said he could find her anyway. "All right. But I have one question first. If I tell you, you'll leave my friend alone, right?" Michael wanted to promise her anything she wanted, but he pulled his mind back to the matter at hand.
He walked in front of Sherry again and answered "For now. Unless we find out you are lying to us."
Sherry nodded. "We are staying at Kelly's Diner. We've rented a couple of rooms there."
"Thank you. Now let's go over it one more time." Michael repeated the same questions and Sherry gave the same answers. Then he walked out of the room and left her still restrained to the chair.
Michael went to Comm and contacted the operatives in Port Charles. He had them check out Sherry's room and told them to find out who her friend was and follow her. See what they could find out. When he got the intel, he would know whether Sherry was telling the truth or not and he prayed she was.
Just then Madeline called Michael to Operations' office. When Michael entered, Madeline spoke. "Katherine Bell broke. She gave us the names of Sonny Corinthos, Jason Morgan, Carly Roberts, Luke Spencer and Helena Cassidine. It seems these six are the power behind the Deception terrorist organization. Her cosmetics store, Deception, is quite a clever front for the group. They are working on a plan to systematically freeze the world until they are given total control. Apparently Helena and Katherine provide the major financial support, while Sonny, Jason and Luke provide the training and leadership for their soldiers. And Ms. Roberts blackmails as many people in Port Charles as she can, on Mr. Morgan's orders, to get money for the organization."
Michael nodded. He felt relieved. So far Madeline hadn't mentioned Sherry. He didn't believe that she was involved with terrorists. It just wasn't possible. But he had to ask to make sure. "Did she mention Sherry at all?"
Madeline smiled. She knew Michael was worried about the innocent girl he had brought in by mistake. "Yes she did. She explained that Sherry was simply a customer she had asked to answer some questions for her legitimate cosmetics business. She just had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Michael almost smiled ... almost. He didn't want Madeline and Operations to know how relieved he was. He couldn't believe how close he felt to Sherry. He had only known her for a few hours, but there just some kind of connection there. He was pretty sure she felt it too, she was just too scared to realize it.
Operations took the opportunity to finally get a word in edgewise. "So Michael, once you hear from the operatives in Port Charles, if everything checks out, you can take her back. Assuming she hasn't seen anything she shouldn't have." Michael nodded and went back to Comm to wait for the report.
It took another hour before Michael heard anything. It was just as he suspected. There was nothing found in either Sherry's room or in her friend's room. And it seemed that Kit had contacted the local police to find her friend. The police were a little too close to the truth. They were trying to connect Katherine Bell and Sherry's disappearances. And surveillance on the others ... Luke, Sonny, Jason, Carly and Helena, didn't provide any information on Kit or Sherry.
Michael was pleased. He told the operatives to round up the Deception group and bring them in immediately. Madeline and Operations would be waiting for them. Then he went to the interrogation room and released Sherry. "I'm sorry for this. But we had to make sure you weren't involved. I'm going to take you back now, but I have to blindfold you again."
Sherry was stiff from sitting in that chair so long and her legs were beginning to go to sleep. She had a little trouble standing and started to fall. Michael quickly came to her rescue and held her up until she could stand on her own. When he touched her, they both felt the electricity shoot through them. Sherry was relieved that they were releasing her, but she had some questions. "Michael, do you work with the government or what?"
Michael hesitated. He couldn't tell her too much. If she found out, she would never be allowed to leave. He didn't want to subject her to that. "Yes, I work for the government. However, we are very covert. You will not be allowed to tell anyone what has happened to you. I will give you a cover story to tell them. And, if you did tell them, you would be back here before you could think twice."
Sherry stared at him again. He certainly was handsome, but he was also scary. What was this place anyway? She wasn't about to ask. She didn't really care to find out.
"Fine. I won't tell anyone anything. I just hope you have a good story. Kit will grill me until there's nothing left to tell!"
"You'll tell them that you were injured during the blackout. One of the customers, me, found you laying unconscious and hurried you to General Hospital. Once you came to, they released you. Your friend has contacted the police, so I'm sure they will want to check out your story. Don't worry, they will find everything in order. That should be the end of it."
"Okay, fine. Can we just get out of here now? This place gives me the creeps."
Michael smiled. "Sure. I understand." Then he blindfolded her again and led her back to the van and they traveled back to Port Charles. Michael went over the story with her again until he was sure she had it down. They were left out of the van on the edge of town and once the van was gone, Michael took off the blindfold and helped her into the car that was waiting for them. He then drove her back to Kelly's.
He walked with her inside the diner. Michael was helping Sherry walk, trying to make their cover story all the more believable. Kit looked up at the door as it opened and jumped out of her chair when she saw Sherry walk in. She raced to her friend and screamed "Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!" Then she noticed the man that was with Sherry. "Oh, never mind, I think I know where you've been. You've been holding out on me! And here I thought you were out there alone and hurt or kidnapped somewhere. And all this time you were with this gorgeous guy. You could have at least called me!"
Michael helped Sherry to a chair and then spoke. "I take it you must be Kit. Sherry said you would probably be worried about her. She was hurt during the blackout at Deception. I found her laying unconscious on the floor and took her to General Hospital. It took them a little while to revive her, but once she came to, she checked out okay. They said she might have a slight concussion, but she'll be fine. And she demanded to be released right away. So I offered to bring her here."
Mac, who had returned to Kelly's, was listening closely. He wasn't sure he believed this man. He had a look about him. "Sherry," he said, "I'm Commissioner Scorpio. Is that how it happened?" Sherry was impressed. Michael certainly knew his business. "Yeah, from what I can tell. One minute I was in the store and when I woke up I was in the hospital. When I came to, Michael was waiting and he told me what happened. And I begged him to bring me back here. I knew Kit would have my head if I didn't get back soon." Then she laughed.
Mac turned to Garcia and whispered "Check it out with GH. Let me know." Garcia nodded and left.
Michael knew he had to leave. He leaned over and said "Cherie, I must get back now. Please take care of yourself. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. At the same time, he pushed a piece of paper into her hand. Sherry turned to him. She took hold of his hand and stared into his eyes. Even though he had caused her a lot of trouble, she was reluctant to let him leave. "Thank you, Michael. You've been so kind. Goodbye."
"Goodbye cherie." With that, he was gone.
Since the mystery was over, Mac and Felicia left. Kit took Sherry upstairs and got her settled. "I'll be back later to check on you. If you need anything, just holler. I'll hear you."
Sherry smiled at Kit and watched her leave. Once she was alone, she took out the paper that Michael had slipped to her. She opened it and read it.
Cherie:
I wanted to apologize once again for all the trouble we caused you. I was certain you were innocent the moment I saw you, but I had to prove it. I hope someday you can forgive me.
I know you probably won't believe this, but you have become very important to me in the short time we were together. If need be, I would have done everything in my power to get you out of there. I wish things could be different, so I could see you again, get to know you. As it is, that can never be. But please know that I will be keeping track of you ... not to spy on you ... just to make sure you are okay, that you are happy and never get into trouble. If you do, I will be there to help you, even if you don't know it.
Have a good life and take care of yourself. And when you remember me, I hope someday you will remember me fondly.Michael
Sherry folded the paper up neatly and hid it in her purse. "Oh Michael," she sighed, "if only you knew. As I always say ... all the good ones are taken!"
The End
This story copyright© 1999, Sherry