Missing Person

"Dad, can you tell me who's coming today again?" Julia Lorenzo asked her father, Chris.

"Can't you ever pay attention?", Chris sighed, "My old boss, Harry Lipshitz and his wife, Frannie. They're going to be the twins godparents."

"But why are they coming today?"

"Two reasons. One, I would want them to meet you, since you're a part of the family, and two, Harry needed to ask me and Rita something. Ask what, I really don't have a clue?"

"Do you think it would have something to do with your work. You two don't work yet and maybe he has some ideas."

"Yeah, maybe."

In the next hour, Harry and Frannie were at the door, ringing the door bell.

"Oh, Harry, I can't wait to see the babies and Chris and Rita. This is so great." Frannie said, clapping her hands together.

"I know and hopefully they will take my offer, coming back to..." Harry never got to finish his sentence, because Rita opened the door. "Harry, Frannie, it's so nice to see you!" Rita said, hugging them both.

"It's so great to see you, Rita. You look more beautiful than ever. Motherhood has done a great job on you." Frannie said, walking through the doorway and into the hall. Chris came into the hall.

"Hi, guys. It nice to see you both." Chris said as he hugged them both.

"So, Chris, what's the surprise you had for us?" Harry asked.

"Oh, it's the living room." When they entered the room, Julia was reading a magazine.

"Who's the young lady?" Harry whispered.

"Let me introduce you to her." Chris whispered back. Julie jumped out of her seat when Chris cleared his throat loudly. "Julia, this Harry and Frannie Lipshitz. Harry, Frannie, this is Julia, my daughter." Chris said.

Harry looked at Chris, then at Julie, and then back to Chris. Frannie then hit Chris upside the head. "Owwwww! What was that for?" Chris said, rubbing the back of his head.

"For not using protection. Rita, you must be mad at Christopher."

"Frannie, I am really all right about it. Julie is really sweet girl." Rita said.

"Dad, do you need ice?" Julie said, who was laughing through the whole thing.

"You think this is funny." Chris said.

"It's very funny, Lorenzo. Frannie, you didn't have to smack him in the head. Julie must be a very nice girl." Harry said.

"I'm sorry, Chris." Frannie said.

"As much fun as this is, but there is a baseball show on now, and I really want to see it. Dad, you don't mind do you?" Julie asked.

"I don't mind. Go ahead. I call you down when we need you." Chris said, as Julie ran up the stairs.

"So, Harry, you said you had to ask as something important." Rita said.

"Uh, yeah, sit you two." Harry said.

"This feels like the time you found about us." Chris said, as they all sat down.

"Well, this time it's about your work. I know you two haven't found any work at all. And I know you're gonna need the money, since you have three other people living in the house." Harry said.

"We don't know what to do, Harry. All we know how to be is cops." Rita said.

"That's why I'm here. See, we need help. All though our present team is doing good, the crime rate seems getting higher, and I don't really want to put rookies in the that kind of job. So what I am offering you is your jobs back, and Rita you would have your rank as a lieutenant. But the best part is that you can be partners again." Harry smiled, waiting for their reactions.

"You're kidding me, right! We can be partners again!" Chris asked, standing up for no reason.

"Would I lie to you? I went to the commissioner and he said after all that you guys have went through, why giving you the trouble of getting new jobs, then why don't they give you the thing you know most. You both would have to pass some test to be eligible to work again, but you two would be partners again. And since I have another team working on what you guys did, that would mean less cases for you, and more time for the family."

"What about a home? We can't afford a house big enough for five people." Chris said.

"We found a house by the beach that is perfect for you. And the department has decided to help you pay for the first year."

"Wow! They are offering a lot of stuff to us. They really want us back." Rita in reply to the things they were getting to get back at a job she loved.

"So, what will it be?" Harry asked, hoping their reply would be a good one.

Chris and Rita looked at each other, smiled, and answered at the same time

"Yes!"

"Yes?" Harry and Frannie, who had been quiet during for the whole discussion, asked.

"Yes!" said a voice from the stairs. "Opps." Julie covered her mouth and tried to sneak away from the stairs but her father wouldn't let her get away that easily.

"Young lady, get down here now." Chris was trying to act mad, but he wanted her be there with them as he was smiling when she came down. "How long have you been up there, listening?"

"When I heard you scream 'You're kidding!', I had to see what was going on. I'm surprised that none the babies woke up from their nap. So, are we really moving to Palm Beach?"

"It seems like that's what going to happen. Do you mind that we are moving to Palm Beach?" Rita asked.

"Mind! No way! I would love going to Palm Beach. I love to see the place where my dad worked and fell in love with Rita. So when are we moving?" Julie asked.

Everyone else told her the facts about the move. So later, after a great dinner prepared by Frannie, Rita, and Julie. When the Lipshitz's left, Julie was half asleep on the sofa.

"Do you think she's happy about moving?" Chris asked putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

"I think she's more than happy. She's ecstatic. Se wants to live where you lived. She's very happy. But now she's tired and I'm going to wake her and take her upstairs." Rita went to Julie and woke her up. She helped Julie up the stairs. Julie went into the bathroom to changed. She came out and went into her bedroom. "Good night, Julie." Rita said as she started to off the light.

"Rita, can I ask you a question?" Julie asked.

Rita flicked back on the lights and said "Yes?"

"Can I call you mom instead of Rita? I mean, calling you mom is more appropriate than Rita since you have a mom to me twenty more times than my real mom. She doesn't care what I do, all she cares about is how she looks. Sure, she gave birth to me, but that's all she has done for me. And..."

"Julie you can stop. Of course you can call me mom. But now you can go to sleep. Good night, Julie" Rita said, turning of the lights again.

"Good night, Mom."

Chris parked the car in the parking lot of the Palm Beach Police Department. "Thank God, we're here! I don't think I can take another hour of the Spice Girls. Rita, make sure, in another long car drive, that you're in charge of the music. I don't want Ms. Girl Power here, in charge." Chris said as he started taking out the babies' strollers from the trunk of the car.

"Come on, Dad. 'Spice up your life'." Julie said, giving him a peace sigh.

"Julia, with you in my life, it's already 'spiced' up enough."

"What are we doing here anyway?"

"I don't have the keys to our house, and I came here to pick them up."

They all walk inside the front door and went to the floor where the homicide. When they walked inside. People in the office were saying 'welcome back' and 'nice to have you two back again'. They went straight to Harry's office. They knocked on door, Harry opened it.

They all noticed that he was talking to two people. "Come in, come in. Chris, Rita, this Sgts. Tom Ryan and Cassy St. John. They're the ones working the 'silk stalkings' detail. Tom, Cassy, this Rita and Chris Lorenzo." They past shook hand with the present, while Julie just looked on. "Harry, we came her to get the keys to our house." Chris said.

Harry went to his desk, opened the top drawer, and took out the keys. "While you are here, Rita, let me show you your office." Harry said as he handed her the keys. "I done talking to you two. You can leave." They left the office, while Harry led to them to Rita's office.

"Captain, the call for you on line one." Someone yelled.

"I'll get that in my office." Harry went to his office.

"This is great." Rita said, sitting in her desk chair. "So you're the team that Harry keeps on talking about", a voice said from behind. Tom and Cassy were standing at the door.

"It's finally good to put faces to names." Tom said.

"Well, I bet you two were doing a great job while we were out of it." Chris said.

"Well, we were. But now that we are going to work together, maybe this town's crime will go down."

"Well, if you work like we work, maybe it will."

"Yeah, maybe."

After a while, the Lorenzos left the PBPD. "I pick the songs, again!" Julia said as she ran to the car.

"Somebody help me!" Chris said as he pushed a stroller down the way to the car.

"Don't worry, Chris. It will be a shorter trip this time." Rita said as she kissed him.

They didn't notice the figure taking pictures behind the tall bushes on the side of the building, where no one could see if anyone was hiding behind there. "Don't worry, Lorenzo. Your life is going to change." it whispered.

Chapter Three

"Wow! This is beautiful!" Julia said as she dropped her things in the middle of the floor.

She ran upstairs to see the rooms.

"You're lucky there wasn't any glass in there!" Chris said. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Chris, I would like some help here. I can't carry two baby seats at one time." Rita gave a baby to Chris.

"There's a great view upstairs of the beach." Julie said as she came down.

"That's good, but you can help bring stuff in, because the movers' truck just got here."

For the rest of the day, the were putting the stuff in the house and setting it up. The next day Chris found Julie playing a video game.

"I didn't know you have a Super Nintendo." Chris said, sitting on the bed.

"I forgot about it myself when I move with you guys. I found it yesterday when I was unpacking my boxes. I had been playing this game, Chrono Trigger, for long time, but I decided to start from playing in the beginning." Julie said, who didn't look at Chris the whole time, but at the screen.

"So, what's is it about?" Chris asked.

Rita came up two hours later, wondering what they were doing up there. She heard some 'awwwww!'s and 'yes!' one time or another. She went upstairs to see Chris playing a game on the TV.

"What's going on here?" Rita asked. They both turned around.

"We're playing a game, mom."

"Well, you came finish it later because dinner is ready."

"Awww! Do we have to eat now!" Chris said acting like a little child who doesn't want to be deprived from its new toy.

"Yes, you do, if you want it hot!" Rita said pulling his ear.

"You don't have do that, Rita. You're acting like my mother!"

"You're acting like a child!"

"Love is in the air!" Julie said as she bounced downstairs.

The next few days were the same around the Lorenzo household. Chris and Rita were getting used to the facts that they were cops again, while Fran watched the twins during the time they were working. Julia was having a blast going to Palm Beach High, the school her father went to. What no one noticed is that someone had been following them the whole time they had came back to Palm Beach. It needed revenge, and it was going be against Chris and Rita, especially Chris. It wanted them to suffer as much as it has for two years. It wanted them to regret ever messing with it.

The next day Chris and Rita were planing to go out to dinner with Tom and Cassy. Julie decided to stay home to finish her weekend homework. The twins were already at Harry and Fran's house, since Chris and Rita didn't want to leave two infants in the hands of a teenager.

"Now, if there is any thing you know my beeper number. If there is an emergency, you put 911 instead of the phone number. You got that, Julia." Chris said.

"Yes, dad." Julie said, after hearing it for the fifth time.

"Chris! We are going to be late!" Rita said, pulling her husband's arm.

"Bye you guys. Have fun." Julie said. She closed the door.

"Finally!" She yelled.

When Chris and Rita left, someone came out of the bushes. "It is time." It said. It went to the door and started picking the lock.

"So you two were married for a while, and now you work together? Doesn't it feel odd working together? It would be for me." Chris said.

"It did in the beginning, but we got used to it." Tom said. Just then Chris's beeper went off . "Excuse me" He said looking at the number. His eyes opened wider than before.

"I need a phone, quick." Chris said

"Here. Use mine." Cassy said, handing him the phone.

Chris dialed the number as quick as possible. He listened for a while, then hanged up the phone. "No one's answering. Rita, I think we should leave."

"Maybe she's just in the bathroom, Chris." Rita said.

"I don't care if she is in the bathroom. I just want to see if she is all right." Chris got up, as did Rita , Tom, and Cassy. "You guys don't have leave because of us."

"What if you need our help? We are with you." Cassy said. Tom left some money on the

table, and they all left.

When they arrived, the door was open. Tom and Cassy got their guns out, since Chris and Rita haven't been requaflied yet. When they went into the house, it looked as if someone had ransacked the house.

"Julia! Where are you?" Chris yelled.

"I'm going to check upstairs." Rita said.

"I'll go with you." Cassy said. Chris and Tom searched downstairs.

Chris noticed the phone wasn't hanged up. It was just there dangling.

Then, they heard Rita scream "Oh, no!" The men ran up the stairs. Rita was crying, while Cassy was reading a note.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked.

"Read this."

Chris read the letter. It said:

Lorenzo,

you took something precious from me,

so I took something precious from you.

Have a horrible life.

"Oh, no" Chris said as he started crying. Rita slowly went to Chris , as Chris put his arms around her.

"Chris, she's been kidnapped."

Ha! I am keeping you on your toes, right? I love doing that. Who's the kidnapper? Is it someone they know? Will Julia be found, alive? Stay tuned for part two of "Missing Person". Hopefully it will come out sooner or later (sooner than later, l hope!) Disclaimer- You know the drill. The characters, Chris, Rita, Harry, Fran, Tom, and Cassy belong Stephen J. Cannell, Stu Segall Productions & USA Network. Julia Lorenzo and the twins belong to me. Did you like it or hate it? Do you like where my story is going? Would like to hear more about the twins than Julia?