Shortly after the girls finished their lunch of macaroni and cheese, Rosa insisted that they lay down. In the meantime, Michael helped Grace with her luggage. The storm had picked up and the earlier drizzle had turned into a steady sheet of icy rain. The huge oak trees rustled and shook as the cold wind combed through their branches pulling out soggy leaves and throwing them unceremoniously to the ground.

Stepping off the covered porch Grace felt the wind grab at her. It pulled and pushed from all sides while pelting her with frigid drops of water. It yanked her hair and tugged at her clothes. Following Michael, she pressed at her key chain and the trunk of her Infinity opened. She got the garment bag from the backseat while he grabbed the two suitcases and a leather backpack from the trunk. They both sprinted back to the house.

She shivered as the warm air in the entry hall hugged her. "Wow! Our storms aren't quite this potent in the bay area."

He nodded as he set the suitcases down by the stairs. "Our squalls come directly off the ocean. We don't have a bay to buffer them."

There was an awkward pause before they both smiled at each other. "I'm sorry if I seem to be staring at you, but I can't get over the striking resemblance between you and your sister," he told her. "This is so sudden and tragic that it hasn't sunk in yet."

"I know. I haven't really allowed myself any time to think about it either."

"If you have a minute I'd like to talk to you about something, then I'll help you take your luggage upstairs." He gestured towards the living room. She moved into the formal area and took a seat on one of the matching couches that faced each other.

"Oh!" she said in surprise when she saw Reggie stretched out by the picture window. "I didn't know they had a dog."

"Michael positioned himself on the other sofa directly across from her, "That's Reggie, he's mine."

Reggie opened his eyes at the mention of his name and then closed them again. He let out a moan and tried to relax.

"He's usually a happy guy, but he hasn't been doing too well with everything that's been going on around here." There was a gap filled with silence before he spoke again. "Detective Hillman phoned this morning and asked that you call him and arrange to meet with him about the case."

"The case?"

Michael nodded. "He wants to update you on their progress and go over what they know." He kept his gaze on Grace's face, watching as her expression changed from interest to fear and finally sadness. "I'm sorry, Grace. I know this is very difficult but you need to understand that although the collision was probably a random act, it's also possible that it wasn't and that there could still be a danger."

Her eyes moved to Michael's as comprehension of the situation hit her full force.

"Come on," he said standing up and reaching over to help her to her feet. "Let's get you settled in upstairs. Then you can call Hillman. If you want I can drive you."

~~~~~

On their drive over, Michael kept their conversation light. He parked in front of the police station and looked over at Grace. "I'll wait here."

A look of surprise crossed her face. "If you don't mind I would like you to come with me. You've already spoken with him and to be honest, I'm a little uncomfortable with all this."

They walked into the foyer and Grace announced their presence to the policeman at the front desk.

"Hello," Hillman greeted as he waved them towards his office. "It's good of you to come."

Michael made introductions and Hillman gestured towards two chairs set in front of his desk.

"How are the little girls?" he asked sounding genuinely concerned.

"They had a rough night. Rosa, Michael's mother is with them now."

"It's good that you are here with them. Having family near is important."

Hillman sat down on the edge of his desk near Grace's chair. Setting his hands on his knees and leaning forward slightly he began to get to the point of why he had called her to come in.

"Although no eyewitnesses have come forward we've been able to piece together a preliminary report of what we believe happened. This is based on our investigation of the crash site and pictures taken by our forensic team." He paused for a few seconds looking to see how she was absorbing all of this. Seeing her nod he continued, "From the skid marks and the damage to the Graham's Jeep we've concluded that another vehicle was involved. A blue compact."

Grace looked up. "How do you know it was a compact?"

"By the placement of the paint and denting on the Jeep – and there's more." Taking a deep breath he elaborated. "The Jeep appeared to have been knocked off the road several times. Dr. Graham was able to regain control and steer it back onto the pavement. The smears of blue paint and the tire marks confirm this. There are at least three separate impacts from the blue car."

He held up a folder. Grace looked first at the folder then at Hillman. The serious expression on his face held her gaze. "These are the pictures of the Jeep at the crash site. I want you to be prepared before you look." With that said, he handed her the folder and took a seat behind his desk.

She slowly opened the file feeling her stomach lurch when she saw what was left of the Jeep. She was filled with a sense of how frightened her sister and Scott must have been as they struggled against their assailant. They hadn't died alone, terror had become a passenger with them. She saw countless pictures of skid marks where the Jeep's tires had grabbed at the asphalt. She looked over at Michael and saw the pinched expression on his face. She slowly closed the folder and without looking up said in a flat voice, "That wasn't an accident."

"No, we don't think it was. We are now investigating this as a double homicide."

"What can I do to help?" she asked as she laid the folder on the desk.

"Did your sister give you any indication that she was worried or frightened?"

Grace felt a pang of guilt grab at her. "I haven't talked with Laura for some time. I was going to call her next week."

"How about you Mr. Alverez? Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?"

Clearing his throat he spoke up. "Alex said something last night. She said her mother was upset about a note she had received and that her mom had told her dad it had scared her."

Grace looked surprised. "Who wrote it? Do you have it?"

Michael shook his head.

"Okay," Hillman interjected, "was Alex part of the conversation? Did it take place with her there?"

"Alex said she overheard them discussing it."

Hillman stood up. "I'll speak with her. How old is she?"

"Nine," Grace replied.

"Okay," Hillman jotted something down in a notepad he carried in his shirt pocket. "Children have imaginations, it helps them cope with tragedy. I'll see what she can tell me, but don't let this upset you too much. For all we know it could have been a note from a student who didn't like a grade."

Standing up, Grace nodded her head as she began to move toward the door. She still felt numb from the shock of what she'd seen and been told. She shook the detective's hand and began to walk away when Hillman called out.

"Grace?"

She turned back.

"I'm not saying there couldn't be someone out there with a grudge. Keep an eye out. We're thinking it was a case of 'road rage' but until we know for sure..." Seeing the alarm on both of their faces Hillman softened his voice, "Just stay alert for now okay?"

Grace gave a weak smile before again turning to head back down the hall. The feeling of dread since hearing about the deaths of her sister and Scott was now an electric current running through her body.

~~~~~

Reggie sat on the passenger seat of the truck and watched as Michael and the lady disappeared into the three-story building. Sticking his nose out the cracked window he took a deep breath of misty cool sea air. The familiarity of his surroundings helped ground him from the stress and sadness he felt all around.

With Michael out of sight, he lay down and rested his head on his front paws. People passing by didn't usually bother him. He was a friendly happy Airedale who was completely settled into his life. Only now, something new, or at least different, was beginning to stir inside him. He felt on alert. He was restless and tense but without a known target. He felt danger especially at the house with the little girls. He knew they were more vulnerable than the older ones. They reminded him of way back when he was still with his brothers and sisters.

Reggie was one of seven puppies in the litter. He was adopted at eight weeks by a young couple who had just moved into a house together. He was all paws and ears, a wiggly, stubby tailed, wagging force of nature. The couple had been good to him, but in the end when their relationship fell apart, he was discarded along with the other things they had collected during their time together. Neither one of them wanted a reminder of the past. They hadn't taken the time to build a separate relationship with him, so in the end, he was abandoned at a local shelter without the knowledge of why. He was left to feel sad, lost and to blame for his new confusing situation.

Michael adopted him after he was at the shelter for about three weeks. For that entire time, Reggie had refused to stand up and go to people who approached his enclosure. He simply lay with his head between his paws, looking as he felt, dejected. He didn't give Michael any special treatment at first, but something about Reggie made Michael go back to his run again and again. He talked to him in a steady calm voice. Finally, Reggie got up and sniffed his hand. He looked deep into Michael's eyes and wagged his tail. The rest became history.

Now however, Reggie sensed Michael was in peril. He knew it had something to do with the little girls and the lady. He felt he had to be on alert. Something deep within the recesses of his intuition had told him instinctively that danger was near.