Chapter 16

“On television” Pilar said not taking her eyes off the set for a moment, hoping to find out what happened to the man she believed to be her long lost son. “He's in California.”

Pilar nodded. Thank you” she said quietly. Several small tears streamed down her face as she continued to watch the disaster unfold from the West Coast.

Luis clicked another button and returned to Sheridan who was patiently waiting. “Angel, I don't know what's going on right now but my mother said she just saw my brother Antonio on television. I have to get home and find out what's going on.”

“I love you too” Sheridan said. She replaced the phone in its cradle and turned to Marianna who was listening and wondering what was happening. “Pilar saw her son Antonio on television. It must have been from the earthquake footage.”

“Oh my!” Marianna exclaimed. “Let's not waste another minute Sheridan. We'll mail these invitations and go see Pilar. She must be in a state of shock.” Sheridan nodded in agreement and the two women grabbed their coats, the box of invitations and headed out the door.

Pilar sat on her living room couch waiting and watching for anything. Any news of her son's condition. She'd seen nothing but a wayward camera and chaos since the aftershock hit.

“We've temporarily lost contact with our affiliate KNBC. We're hoping to have them back momentarily. For those of you just tuning in now there has been a major earthquake in California this morning. Lucy Jones from Cal Tech has estimated the quake to be a 7.6 which is the largest quake to hit the state in years. Forty five minutes after the initial quake rocked the Los Angeles area another after shock erupted…”

Pilar silently prayed as she anxiously waited for more news from the West Coast. In her mind she couldn't get the sight of that man, her Antonio climbing out the third floor window of that burning building and then falling to the ground. “How can this be happening?” She wondered. “Dear God, please let my son be all right. Please don't let anything happen to him.”

Pilar sighed wearily glancing again at the TV, watching as the morning crew discussed the facts of the earthquake and compared them to other earthquakes of the past. None of it made her feel any better. She wanted to see what was happening right now.

“Mama! Mama!” Luis called as he entered the house. He walked into the living room to find his mother distraught in front of the TV. “Mama, what happened? You saw Antonio? Where was he? What was he doing?”

Pilar's sad eyes pooled with tears as she remembered what her son was doing. Luis quietly sat down on the couch and took his mother's hands in his, hoping to give her strength and comfort. “I was watching scenes from the earthquake. There was this building on fire and a young man was carrying people out of it. The fire intensified and he had to lower the last victim out the window. The firemen told him he had to get out of the building now and he began to climb out the window. That was when I saw his face. It was Antonio. I'm as sure of that as I am of the fact you are sitting here with me right now.”

Pilar shook her head. “That's not all Luis. As your brother was climbing down the ladder an aftershock hit and I saw him fall from the ladder before the cameras went crazy. The Today Show has currently lost its connection to their affiliate on the West Coast. I don't know what is happening.”

Luis sat there and digested the information his mother had just told him. This was unreal; his brother was alive and well, living in California all this time. Why, was the question that immediately popped into Luis' head.

“Mama, please don't get angry at me for asking this question, but I have to ask it. Are you sure the man you saw is Antonio? I mean it has been a long time…”

“Mijo, don't you think I would recognize my own son? Yes, I know it has been almost fifteen years since I last saw him. I know he is a grown man now but I also know the man I saw was your brother Antonio. Either that or an exact double.” Pilar was adamant in her statement.

“No” Pilar stated. “They are still in New York,” she pointed towards the television where Luis could plainly see the Today Show gang chatting.

“Right now I think we should just watch this a little longer” Luis suggested. “I'm sure they'll go back to the West Coast before too long, after all an earthquake of this magnitude isn't an every day occurrence.”

Luis stared at the television thoughtfully. “Maybe we should tape some of this Mama” he finally said. “That way when they do return to that scene we'll have it on tape and can rewind it if we need to.”

Pilar smiled slightly. “There are some blank tapes in the bookcase mijo” she told him. Luis acknowledged his mother and left to retrieve the tape when someone began knocking on the back door.

“Listen up people” The Police Captain said grimly, “As all of you know by now, Los Angeles County is on a state of high alert due to the earthquake that tore through here an hour ago. I just got off the phone with the people at Cal Tech and it seems our little aftershock measured a 6.1.”

Soft whistling could be heard among the police officers that were listening attentively to their superior. Most of the cops were native Californians and were used to the occasional rumble of an earthquake, but what they'd felt this morning would definitely be remembered.

“I've been told to expect several more aftershocks in the next few days. Unfortunately no one knows when or where. Hopefully the size of the quakes will continue to diminish to a point they won't be noticed.”

Jay felt the adrenalin rushing through her. She's always been prepared for the day this would happen but never imagined it to be like this. She knew now it was something you have to experience for yourself in order to believe.

“We've already had reports of several lootings. Fortunately the second quake scared them off but I don't imagine it will be long before they're back. Most of LA County is without power right now and it's not daylight yet.”

Jay's mind was going a mile a minute. She pictured the thugs out there smashing windows and stealing anything and everything they could get their hands on. Even though she was in Beverly Hills didn't mean they didn't have petty criminals. Suddenly her thoughts shifted to Scott and his store. She wondered if he'd made it to his store before the earthquake hit or if he was still at home? Heck, she didn't even know where he lived exactly except that it was in Santa Monica. She then remembered what happened the day she met him.

Not wanting to be obvious, Jay walked towards the back of the store and followed the man from a distance. Sure enough, he was headed right to the counter where the cash register was. The man stood impatiently behind the customer that Scott was talking to, glancing all around, as if looking for security cameras. Jay ducked when the man's gaze came towards her direction, not wanting to be seen. Even though the man had brushed her earlier, she was pretty sure he was so preoccupied, he hadn't seen her.

Scott finished with his customer and the other man walked slowly up to the counter, keeping his eye on the other customer until he saw him leave. Jay saw him put his hand in his pocket and pull out a gun, placing it at Scott's head.

Jay immediately called the station from her cell phone and informed them there was a robbery in progress. She quickly clipped her phone to her pants, taking care to leave the line open and inched her way towards the front without being seen.

Scott slowly raised his hands in the air. “Sure thing man,” he said. “Whatever you want, ok?” Scott knew there were other customers in the store and didn't want any of them hurt.

“Come on buddy, I don't have all day” the man insisted, waving the gun in Scott's face. “I want all your cash and I want it now.”

The bandit looked around anxiously. Scott took the opportunity to see if he could locate Jay. If she wasn't pulling his leg about being a detective… He then spotted her crouched down along a side aisle. Jay saw Scott glance her way and held a finger up to her lips. Scott lowered his eyes as an affirmative response.

The man hesitated for a moment and then nodded towards Scott. He was very nervous and leaned over the counter to make sure the store manager wasn't trying to pull a fast one on him. Scott shuffled some papers around, looking for a bag under the counter, while Jay took this as her cue to attack. Silently she ran up towards the counter. Just as the robber was standing up with Scott, Jay made her move. Before the assailant knew what hit him, Jay jumped him, knocking the weapon from his hand and pinning his arm behind his back. She threw his head onto the counter, holding him down in a textbook police hold.

Jay looked up, impressed with his quick thinking. The next thing Jay knew, there were several uniformed officers descending upon her, relieving her of the burden of holding the punk in place.

Jay stood back and brushed herself off, while she watched the other officers take over. She was relieved actually, as she'd not been on duty and she didn't have her weapon with her.

“Good work Detective” the officer said. “This punk fits the description of a guy we've been after for a few months. He's been hitting all the sole proprietorships in Santa Monica for the last few months. I guess he hasn't hit Beverly Hills yet.”

“I hope Scott is all right” she mumbled to herself. “I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him.” Jay shook her head trying to rid herself of these thoughts. “Scott will be just fine” she assured herself. “I know he will.” Jay left her position and walked over to the desk sergeant and waited to get her assignment with the others.

“Come on people!” Get the lead out!” One of the rescue workers yelled as he pulled more debris from the location Scott was last seen. A half dozen rescue personnel and several bystanders hurriedly pulled large pieces of concrete tile and plaster from the building entrance overhang that crumbled during the aftershock burying the man who had heroically pulled more than a half dozen residents out of the burning complex.

“I see him too!” The men worked as fast as they could to remove the ruble and get to the man underneath. EMT's were standing near the scene with a gurney, backboard, oxygen and a Lifepak waiting to get him as soon as he was uncovered.

After several more minutes the men had Scott uncovered and the EMT's took over immediately. “He's unconscious but still breathing” one of them shouted after their initial assessment. Not wasting a minute they went to work placing a collar on his neck and an oxygen mask over his face…

“I'll get it Mama” Luis responded and he headed towards the kitchen. He opened the door only to be greeted by Sheridan and Marianna.

“Angel am I glad to see you” Luis said engulfing his fiancée in a tight embrace. He kissed her tenderly on the lips and then pulled back and smiled at her. He then turned his attention towards his Aunt. “I'm glad to see you too Marianna.” He smirked at her and kissed her on the cheek.

“I haven't seen him but Mama is certain,” Luis answered. “I have to believe her. In all the time Papa and Antonio have been gone she never once thought she saw them. Why would she think that now unless it really was Antonio?”

“It would” Luis said thoughtfully. “But the last thing Mama saw was this man falling off a ladder and that's when the aftershock hit and she lost the picture. She hasn't seen anymore news about him.”

“Yeah, Mama is frantic” Luis said. “I was just about to put a tape in the VCR so we can replay it when they get back to the feed from the West Coast…”

“A male in his early 30's that fell from a ladder approximately two stories and was then pinned under debris from a fallen entry way of a condominium. He's suffered smoke inhalation and we think a fractured right shoulder. His vitals are stable but he was unconscious when we extracted him from the rubble.”

“Get him into room 5 and hook him up to the monitor. I want a stat portable chest xray, right shoulder and skull series. Then we'll need a CAT scan of his head. MOVE!” The nurses ran when they noticed the tone of the doctor's voice. “Does this man have a name?”

The paramedics went to the nurse's station and filled out their required paperwork while the ER nurses readied Scott for the numerous tests that would be ahead of him.

“Matt” Katie interrupted, “KNBC is back up and we're going to return to Patrick Healy and find out what's happening out there…”

“We're all fine here Katie and Matt” Patrick answered. “About fifteen minutes ago we experienced another earthquake, this one an aftershock from the one that hit at 4:37 this morning. Lucy Jones is here with us and has an update on our situation. Lucy….”

“Forty five minutes after the initial quake which measured approximately a 7.6 on the Richter scale an aftershock of approximately a 6.1was measured on the PALOS VERDES FAULT ZONE…”

Pilar listened to what was being said, but she wasn't really paying attention. She was more interested in getting back to the scene where she'd seen Antonio earlier. She was momentarily distracted when she heard the door from the kitchen open and saw Luis, Sheridan and Marianna enter.

“They're back on the West Coast but right now it's just official information about the size of the aftershock and location. They haven't shown your brother again.”

“Are you okay Pilar?” Marianna asked concerned as she hugged her niece. “I'm fine” she said forcing a small smile. “Just in shock I imagine. Thank you for coming, both of you” she said acknowledging Sheridan.

Luis popped the tape in the VCR and hit record. He then offered Sheridan and Marianna seats and the foursome sat quietly and watched the coverage on the earthquake.

“I do not understand this” Pilar said in complete frustration. “Why have they not returned to that apartment complex? Why won't they tell us what became of the man who was rescuing all those people?”

No one knew what to say. For the last two hours they'd watched scenes from numerous locations in and around Los Angeles; fires, falling buildings, daring rescues, blocked freeways, looting, flipped cars, cracked pavements, but not one sign of the man who was so prominent when the news first broke. They'd seen interviews with at least three different earthquake experts, the mayor and LA police chief, as well as learned all the emergency numbers to call so not to flood the 911 system with non emergencies. Luis did jot down the name of several shelters and hospitals mentioned where victims could go or might possibly be taken but still no more footage of the condo fire.

“I don't know Mama” Luis said after a moment. He could see his mother's heart breaking right in front of him and it was killing him. He had to do something. “You know what? I'm going to call NBC right now and see what I can find out. Maybe I can get a copy of the tape from earlier.”

“I'll go with him” she smiled. She walked towards her fiancée and the two headed up to Luis' room so he could start placing some calls.

“Pilar” Marianna said once Sheridan and Luis were out of earshot, “Why don't we take your mind off Antonio and go over the details for Sheridan's shower. It is tomorrow after all.”

Pilar slowly nodded her head. “I suppose you are right. I can't do anything about Antonio right now and we can't postpone this shower now can we?”

“This is unbelievable” Luis said in sheer frustration. “Two hours I've been on the phone. Our local station, NBC New York, NBC Los Angeles and no one can help. There must be some way to get that tape.”

“Jay won't chew your head off” Sheridan said. “And even if she can't help you, she might have a suggestion as to who can help.”

“Jay, I know this is a bad time for you but something happened earlier today. Mama was watching the earthquake coverage on TV and saw Antonio.”

“Yeah it is incredible” Luis said. “The problem is the man she saw was injured in a fall when the aftershock hit and since then they've gone on to cover other disasters. They haven't gone back to that complex and Mama is beside herself. I've tried to contact the network and see if I could get a tape but no one wants to even listen to me.”

“Luis, you know I'd love to help you. I'd do anything for you under normal circumstances but these circumstances are anything but normal” Jay said.

"Luis look, there's just no way I can do anything for you right now. But if you want to get your butt out here, I'm sure I can get the Beverly Hills PD to grant you privileges as a visiting officer. You could look for your brother and use the station as a base of operations. Heck, you can even work out of my office - that's the best I can do right now. Sorry partner, but I can't do anything else for you, it's crazy here and we're up to our hips in alligators, you know."

“Luis I gotta run. Call Sam. I'm sure if you tell him why you want to come out here he'll give you the time off. Pilar's never claimed to have seen either Martin or Antonio in all this time. He'll let you go.”

“She's too busy at work with everything right now” Luis told her. “She suggested I come to California myself and look for Antonio or at least the tape. She said the Beverly Hills PD would grant me every courtesy as a fellow officer.”

“Sheridan, it could be dangerous” Luis said with concern. “There still might be aftershocks. I don't want to expose you to any danger if I can help it.”

“Luis, I appreciate your concern, really I do” Sheridan smiled. She reached up and caressed his cheek ever so gently, “but I want to be with you. I want to help you find your brother.”

Luis gazed lovingly into Sheridan's sparkling blue eyes. “All right” he consented. “We'll find Antonio together and bring him home.”

Pilar and Marianna quickly stopped what they were doing when they heard Luis and Sheridan open the kitchen door. “Mijo, did you find out anything?” Pilar asked anxiously.

“Jay's bombarded at work Mama but she did suggest something. She suggested I might come out there and look for him myself so Sheridan and I are leaving Sunday for Los Angeles.”

“Are you sure that is such a good idea?” Pilar questioned. “They may have more aftershocks and I'd hate to think another one of my sons…”

“Don't worry Mama” Luis said calmly. “That's why we're not leaving till Sunday… provided of course Sam gives me the time off. Anyway, Jay told me she can privileges as a visiting officer and I can work right out of her office.”

“Yes Mama” Luis said. “We both do. What we need right now is a list of things we can do this weekend for the wedding. We don't know how long we'll be gone.”

“I can fix you up with a few things to do” Marianna grinned. Quickly she jotted down several items for Luis and Sheridan to check on and suggested they go back to the cottage to do them. “Oh and Sheridan? Tomorrow I think you should meet me here around 1:00 and we'll go over the final music selections for the church.”

“It has basically, but I just want to go over it one last time before I give it to Fr. Lonigan. I'll be staying here with Pilar tonight, just to make sure she's okay after everything she's been through today.”

Luis took the list from Marianna and he and Sheridan glanced over it. “Okay. We're going to stop by the station to talk to Sam and then I'll be at the cottage with Sheridan if anyone needs us.”

Luis and Sheridan said their good byes to Marianna and Pilar and left. Marianna heaved a sigh. “Good. They're gone. Now we can get this place ready for the best shower this town has ever seen.” Pilar shook her head and smiled.