by HollyJo
**GETTING TO THE TRUTH**
Chapter 31
Jerry parked the rental car on the street, down the road from the home that Miranda had once lived in.
"Wait here. I'm going to go check it out." Jerry told Libby.
Libby unfastened her seatbelt and opened her door.
"Dammit Libby, can't you do one thing that I tell you?" Jerry whispered fiercely as he got out of the car. Libby was already making her way to the house when Jerry caught up with her and grabbed her arm. "Libby!"
"Please don't ask me to wait in the car like a good little girl while you go off trying to play the hero. We're partners, remember? Besides, it's my grandmother that we are here to look for." Libby said as she headed off for the house again.
Jerry gave up but grabbed her arm again to steer her to the back of the house. The two approached the house cautiously and checked to see if any vehicles were parked nearby. There were none. Jerry took out his trusty tool pocketknife and began to pick the lock of the back door. The lock turned easily and he slowly opened the door. Libby poked her head through the door before he could stop her and sighed as she made her way into the house. The two quickly checked the house for occupants, but soon found it empty. And empty was a good way to describe it. Except for a few scattered empty boxes, the house was bare.
"Do you think she's been here?" Libby asked Jerry who was busy checking the kitchen cabinets and finding them bare too.
"You would think they would have left something for the rats." Jerry said as he turned to Libby, then answered her question, "I don't know if she was here? What do you think?"
Libby shook her head, "I don't know...but I've got a queer feeling in my gut. Something's wrong."
"Yeah," he said as he rubbed his stomach, "I've got the same feeling. Look, let's look around. Hazel is a wily woman. If she was here and then got caught, she would have left some kind of clue.
Libby nodded her agreement and headed for the bedrooms. The two searched the house thoroughly but didn't find any clue. "Maybe she didn't come here." Jerry said, trying to calm an increasingly agitated Libby. He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back. "We'll find her, sweetie. I promise."
Libby, however, wasn't paying attention to him. When he had pulled her into his arms, her eye had caught the gleam of something shining in the fireplace. She stared at it for a moment, trying to make out what the shiny object was. Her breath caught as she pulled out of his arms and headed for the fireplace. He watched as she bent down and gingerly picked up a small item. She looked at it for a moment and clutched it to her heart. Her hand going to her mouth as she stifled the sob wanting to escape from her throat.
Libby turned to Jerry and held out her arm. She slowly opened her hand to show a small ring with an emerald set in it. "I got this for her last Christmas."
"Now Libs, don't start thinking the worst. If she was able to leave that here as a clue, then chances are, someone's just taken her."
"How do you know that?" Libby yelled in fear. "How do you know she didn't throw that there and then they killed her."
"Libby..." He went to her and tried to hold her, "You're worrying about something that you don't even know is a fact. Let's concentrate on what we know. Let's get some answers before we start jumping to conclusions."
She took a deep breath and nodded, "You're right. Okay, where do we start?"
Jerry ran his fingers through his hair as he thought of their next step, "I suggest we start with whoever emptied this house out. Miranda couldn't have done it. She didn't have time before Sonny took her to Port Charles. And she hasn't been gone from Port Charles long enough to get this accomplished."
"So you think she hired some movers or something?" Libby asked.
"Yeah, I mean this house was filled with expensive furniture and artwork. So she wouldn't have just given it to GOODWILL. She must have it stored somewhere. Let's find out who the movers are, then where she stored the stuff. Maybe someone can tell us something."
Libby nodded her agreement and the two headed towards the backdoor, off of the kitchen. They were just about to open the door, when they heard the front door open. Jerry quietly opened the pantry door and pushed Libby inside. He kept the door open slightly in order to hear what was going on. He could hear a couple of men talking, but couldn't quite make out what was being said.
"Are you sure you got everything?" a whiny female voice said. Jerry recognized the voice as Miranda's as he felt Libby push into his side in order to get a better listening position. He moved over and pulled her a little closer to the slight crack in the doorway. They listened intently as the voices came into the kitchen.
"Yeah, we got everything," a male voice answered Miranda.
"What do you want us to do with the old woman?" Another male voice said.
"What old woman?" Miranda asked.
"Some old woman that was snooping around the house yesterday."
"Who is she?" Miranda asked.
"Don't know. She won't say. She said that she had seen the movers and wanted to check out the house. Apparently she's looking for a house to buy. But I didn't buy her story, she kept asking about the former owner...a few too many questions if you ask me."
"Where is she now?" Miranda asked.
"Pep has her locked in his basement. She's a feisty old lady. Had to tie her to a chair."
"Well, well, well," came a snide voice, "Looks like you're into kidnaping too. Will wonders never cease. Does Jax know you're into kidnaping?"
"I thought I told you to stay in the car, Sonny." Miranda snarled back at him.
"I don't take to kindly to being told what to do," Sonny snarled back. "Besides, I knew it would be worth my effort of coming in here."
Miranda ignored him, as she turned to the other two men. "You two go to Pep's house. I'll be there shortly to check on the old woman myself." The two men nodded and left. She turned back to Sonny, "I don't suppose there's any way to get rid of you, is there?"
Sonny flashed his evil grin, "Not a chance in hell, lady."
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Mel stepped into the detective's room at police headquarters. She looked
around, taking mental note of everyone there and what they were doing. She
took a deep breath and headed for her desk. A pile of files were laying on
her desk, which was what she had been hoping for. Knowing her fellow officers
tricks of putting the grunt work on the desk of someone who had been out
for a day. She smiled secretly to herself. For once, she was glad to be on
the receiving end of their tricks. She could sneak the files she had taken
home, with those on the desk. No one would think twice when she headed for
the filing room. She quickly looked around the room and saw that nobody was
watching, so she removed the files she had hidden under her oversized shirt
and slid them into the pile with the rest of the files.
"Hello Stranger!" a booming voice startled her. She quickly turned around and plastered a smile on her face as she recognized Smithy.
"Hey Smithy. You scared me."
"That was the intent. So are you feeling better?" he asked as he took the chair sitting next to her desk.
Mel nodded and pulled out her chair and sat down. "Yeah, nothing serious."
"You probably just needed a day off. You've been working round the clock on the Ables jewelry heist."
"Yeah," she said as she straightened the files on her desk, "Looks like you guys were busy while I was gone."
Smithy grinned at her, "Well, you know what happens when someone calls in sick."
"Yeah, I know," she smiled faintly at him.
"Hey, you don't look so good. Maybe you should have taken another day off," he suggested concerned.
She shook her head, "No, just a little slow today. I'll be fine. Maybe filing wouldn't be so bad for me. Catching crooks doesn't sound too good today."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." He stood up, "Well, some of us have work to do. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, see ya," she said as she reached to answer her phone that was now
ringing. "Hello?"
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"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Mel asked as she stepped into Mac Scorpio's
office.
"Yeah, take a seat," he said motioning to a chair. Mel took the chair offered and sat stiffly back into it. "I understand you called in sick yesterday?" he asked her.
"Yes sir."
"That's strange. You looked perfectly fine yesterday when I saw you at Jax's house." Mac said snidely.
Mel raised her eyebrows at him, "Is that so?"
"Yes, it is so. In fact, you looked quite healthy."
"Well, you know what they say about appearances," she said.
"Okay, if you were so sick....what were you doing at Jax's house?"
"Jax told me his housekeeper had a cure-all for anything ailing me. He insisted on taking me to see her," she said, not missing a beat.
"I see. And how did Jax know you were sick?" Mac asked suspiciously.
"I told him."
"I didn't realize you two had become so chummy."
"Yes, well, it's strange how working a case brings you closer to those involved." Mel said, checking her fingernails for dirt.
"And how is the case coming along? Has Ables said anything?"
"Not to me. I was just going to check on his status when I got the call to come see you."
"I see." Mac got up and walked around the desk to stand in front of her, "Why do I get the feeling you aren't telling me something about this case?"
Mel swallowed hard then turned her face up to him, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Mac looked closely at her, "You've got some information on this case, don't you?"
"Only what you already know," she hedged.
"I see. Well, you had better get back to the job." Mac said stepping back from her.
She stood up and headed for the door, relieved. Just as she was opening the door, he spoke again, "Detective Langley!"
She turned back to him, "Yes?"
"I know you don't think much of me. But I hope that if there is something going on in this case that I should know about....you'll let me know." Mac said, staring at her.
Mel nodded, "Yes sir."
"Despite what you may think about how I do my job, I am trustworthy. If you have any troubles, let me know. I may be able to help you."
Med nodded again.
Mac looked at her for a moment then told her she could go. Mel escaped.
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"So do you think he knows?" Jax asked as he handed Mel a glass of iced tea.
"I don't know. He was acting kind of strange. I got the feeling he knows something." Mel said taking a sip of her tea.
Jax sat down opposite of her and stared at her, "Are you alright?"
She looked at him surprised, "Yeah, of course."
Jax nodded and leaned back in his chair, "You know. I don't like Mac one bit, but I do think he might be able to help."
Mel shook her head, "I don't trust him."
"Why not?"
She shook her head, "I'm not sure. There's just something about him I don't like."
"Maybe it's because you don't like the way he does his job?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe. I don't know. I would prefer to wait. Check a couple more things out before I bring him into it."
"Okay," Jax said, "I'll trust your judgment on that."
"So have you heard anything from Jerry and Libby?" Mel asked.
"No, not yet."
"I hope everything is okay."
"Yeah, me too. I'm hoping they'll call sometime tonight."
"Maybe we should have gone with them," Mel said.
Jax looked at her, "You really would have just gone and helped. Wouldn't you?"
She looked at him surprised, "Of course. Why do you act so surprised?"
Jax shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. It's not as if you know us or anything."
Mel shrugged her shoulders, "I like Libby. I could tell she was upset. I just wanted to help."
Jax nodded, "Yeah....you're a nice person, aren't you?"
"Hey, don't say that out loud. I don't want anyone else to know," Mel teased. "Look, I like Libby. If she needs help, I'll be there."
Jax smiled and nodded. The phone began to ring and Jax excused himself to answer it.
"Jax here." he said into the phone.
"Jax, Jerry here."
"Hi Jerry, what's going on? Did you find Hazel?" Jax watched as Mel got up to stand next to him. He held out the phone in order for her to hear also.
"Jax, Miranda is here and her goons have Hazel. We've followed them to the house that they are holding her at...."
"What's Miranda doing there?" Jax yelled, "Jerry?.......Jerry?" He slammed
the phone back down. "Damn, I hope they are okay."
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End of chapter 31
HollyJo