It was Sam Bennett who answered. Sam Bennett was the chief of police .
"Hello, Harmony P.D. This is chief Bennett, what can I do for you?," he said.
"Chief Bennett, this is Alister Crane. I'm in need of your services I'm afraid," he said.
"Alister Crane? Well, this is a surprise. What could I possibly do for you?," he asked.
"It seems my daughter has gone into hiding, and I would like you to find her," Alister replied. It didn't surprise Sam to hear this. It was a wonder that it didn't happen sooner.
"Ok mr.Crane, we'll get on it right away. Do you have any idea where she might have went?," he said.
"I'm afraid not chief Bennett, but I don't think that she has gotten very far by now," he said.
"Don't worry mr. Crane, we'll find her," he said.
"Yes, see that you do. Good day chief Bennett. Oh, and please keep me posted," said Alister.
"We'll do mr. Crane. Goodbye," said Sam, and hung up. It only took a second for Sam to decide who to assign the job to: Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. Luis was the best officer he had. Sam knew that he was the best man for the job. He chuckled as he dialed Luis's cell phone number. Luis answered on the first ring.
"Hello?," he said.
"Luis? It's Sam. Please come to my office right away. I have an assignment for you," Sam said.
"I'm on my way chief. See you in a few minutes," he said, and headed for the station.
He got there in record time.
"What's up Sam?," he asked.
"Luis, I have an assignment for you. It seems that Sheridan Crane has skipped town. Her father wants her to be found, post haste. I want you to find her and bring her back to Harmony. Think you can handle that?," he said.
"No problem chief. I'm on it. You can count on me. So do we have anything to go on?," Luis asked.
"Nope, but she can't be very far yet," said Sam.
"Ok then, I'm off. I guess I'll start by checking the airport, bus station, and train station. I'll let you know if I come up with anything," Luis said.
"Sounds good Luis. Good luck," said Sam.
"Thanks Sam," said Luis, and left.
He figured that his first stop should be the crane mansion. He would need a picture of miss crane, and since his mother worked there, he thought she might have some information. As luck would have it, it was his mother who came to the door.
"Hi mama," he said, and smiled.
"Luis, what are you doing here?," she said in surprise.
"I'm official police business. Haven't you heard? Sheridan Crane flew the coop. Sam assigned me to the case. I'm here because I need a picture of Sheridan and I need some information. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this would you mama?," he said.
"So that's what they were arguing about," Pilar said.
"Who mama?," he asked.
"Katherine and Alister. I heard them arguing this morning," she said.
"Do you have any idea why Sheridan left mama?," he asked.
"All I know is that in two weeks she is supposed to marry Sean Stewart II, and she is not happy about it at all. I heard Katherine say that Sheridan doesn't love him and for that reason doesn't want to marry him, but Alister is insistant that Sheridan marry him anyway. All he cares about is that once Sheridan and Sean are married, the families plan to merge thier companies into one company, bigger and better than the two companies already are separately. Once the companies are merged, both families will be more powerful than ever. Poor Sheridan," she said, with a sigh.
"Mama, do you have any idea where Sheridan might have went?," Luis asked.
"The only place I can think of is Paris. She has always loved Paris," Pilar said.
"Thanks mama. You've been a great help. Do you think that you could get a picture of Sheridan for me?," he said.
"I can try. Wait here, I'll be back soon," she said.
"Ok mama," he said. She returned a few seconds later.
"Here you go Luis, this is the best picture I could find. I hope it will do," she said.
"Thanks mama," he said, "it'll do fine," he said, "I have to go now mama. You have a good day," he said, and smiled as he kissed her cheek,"Bye now mama," he said.
"Goodbye Luis," she said, and smiled, as she watched him walk to his car. He waved at her as he drove off. He decided that his next stop should be the airport. On the way he called Sam and brought him up to date. Sam was pleased and he told Luis to keep in touch. He also told Luis to be careful. Typical Sam, Luis thought, and chuckled.
Meanwhile, Sheridan Crane was indeed in Paris. She was glad that she had left, and she hoped that she wouldn't be found. She knew that Sean would be hurt, and she felt bad about that, but she had no choice. She could never marry someone that she didn't love, and she didn't love Sean. She hoped that he would understand. Eventually she would get in contact wtih him somehow and apologize, but for now she had to stay incognito. So she did what most people do to avoid being recognized. She wore a wig, glasses, the whole works. She really hoped she wouldn't be recognized, and thankfully she hadn't been so far. Sheridan loved Paris. It was the one place besides harmony that she felt safe. Paris was her haven, her second home, her place of refuge. She never got tired of seeing the eiffel tower, the champs elysees, or anything else in Paris. Whenever she was in Paris she felt like she was in a fairytale and she was the princess. Paris was an enchanting place, and nobody was immune, least of all Sheridan. She was under it's spell, and she loved it. There was just one thing missing, somebody to share it with.
Luis hit the jackpot. It turned out that Sheridan "had" gone to Paris. She had gone the night before. All that was left to do now was let the authorities in Paris know what was going on and then head there himself. He called Sam and then called the airport to make a reservation. Next he went shopping for a few things. Then he went home and packed. Paris, here I come, he thought. He left for Paris that night. It was a long flight and Luis was suffering from jet lag by the time the plane landed at Charles De Gaulle. He got a room at the Hotel Napoleon and called Sam to let him know that he was finally in Paris and where he was staying. Then he figured that he may as well go to bed, but there was one thing he had to do first. He grabbed the phone book and started calling around to all the hotels. In less than an hour he found the hotel Sheridan was staying at: Hotel Chateaubriand. He wrote down the name of the hotel, the address, and the phone number, and then collapsed on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Luis awoke feeling refreshed. He ordered room service and got ready to go out. He looked at Sheridan's picture again and thought, a beautiful woman like this shouldn't be too hard to find. As he drank his coffee he studied the map he had bought. He wanted to find the quickest and easiest way to get to Hotel Chateaubriand. He discovered that it was close by and that he could walk there. 20 minutes later he headed for the hotel. 15 minutes later he was there. He walked up to the front desk and asked for Sheridan Crane.
"Excuse me. I'm officer Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. I need ask you a few questions," he said. He took out the picture of Sheridan and showed it to the clerk at the front desk.
"I'm here on official police business. I'm looking for this woman," he said, showing the picture to the clerk. "Her name is Sheridan Crane. I've been told that she is staying at this hotel. It's important that I find her. Is she here?," he said.
"One moment monsieur, I will check," said the clerk.
"Thank you," said Luis. The clerk returned a few minutes later.
"I have the information you requested monsieur. There 'is' a miss Sheridan Crane staying in this hotel, however, she requested that her room number remain private. I'm sorry," he said, "If you want miss crane's room number, you'll need a search warrent," the clerk said.
"What do you mean? You mean you can't give me her room number? Is that what you mean?," Luis asked angrily.
" That is exactly what I am saying monsieur. I can't give you her room number. I'm sorry," the clerk said. Luis swore under his breath. This was ridiculous!
"Fine," he said,"thanks for nothing," and then left. He went back to his hotel and called Sam. He calmed down when sam said that it didn't matter because he would bump into her sooner or later, all he had to do was wait. Luis knew that Sam was right. So he sat down to think about what his next move would be. He decided to check the restaurants. He was bound to find her in one of them. First, he thought, I'll check Fellini. It turned out to be a good decision.
Sheridan was sitting in her favorite restaurant in Paris, Fellini. She loved the food there and whenever she felt like having italian, she always went there. She had just finished eating and was drinking her coffee when Luis arrived. He walked in and scanned the room for Sheridan but didn't see her. So he decided to talk to the maitre'd. He explained who he was and why he was there. The maitre'd showed Luis where Sheridan was sitting. Slowly he approached her, tapped her on the shoulder, and said,"Excuse me. miss Crane? Could I speak with you for a minute?" She turned around and said,"Who are you? How do you know my name? Did my father send you?" Luis was speechless. Her picture didn't do her justice. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"Miss Crane, I'm officer Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald of the Harmony P.D., I was assigned to find you and bring you back to Harmony," he said. He waited to see what she would say, but there was only silence. What he didn't know was that she was looking him over, and she liked what she was seeing. He was sexy and gorgeous. His eyes were mesmerizing. Without realizing it, Sheridan was staring at him.
"Are you all right miss Crane?," he asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. What did you say your name was?," she said.
"Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. Officer Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald," he said.
"Please sit down Mr. Lopez-Fitzgerald," she said.
"Thank you. You can call me Luis. Nice to meet you," he said.
"Oh well you can call me Sheridan, pleased to meet you," she said, and smiled.
"As I was saying Sheridan, I'm here to bring you home, pronto," he said.
"Well, you're wasting your time, because I'm not going," she said. Luis could see that it wasn't going to be easy.
"What's the problem Sheridan? Why don't you want to go back?," he asked. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.
"The problem is, that in two weeks I'm supposed to marry Sean Stewart II, but I don't love him, so I can't marry him. I can't marry someone that I don't love," she said. "If you take me back, you'll be sentencing me to a life of misery," she said. He could see fear and sadness in her eyes as she spoke. It only took a second for him to make his decision.
"Ok Sheridan. I won't take you back and I won't let anyone know that you are here. It'll be like we never met," he said. Sheridan smiled in relief.
"Thank you Luis. Thank you so much. You don't know what this means to me," she said.
"You're welcome Sheridan," he said, and smiled. They spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other. By the time they said goodnight and left each other, they had become friends, good friends.
The next day, Luis called Sam. He told him that he still hadn't found Sheridan. He hated lying to Sam, but he didn't have a choice. Sam told him not worry, that he would find Sheridan eventually. If you only knew, Luis thought. He hoped that Sam would understand when he finally told him the truth. By the time he had finished his conversation with Sam, Luis had come up with a plan. Sheridan had said that the wedding was supposed to be in two weeks. All she had to do was lay low until after the wedding. Without her, the wedding would have to be cancelled, and then it would finally be over. Sheridan would be free. Sheridan. He couldn't stop thinking about her. She was so beautiful, so sexy, so sweet. He couldn't wait to see her again. He headed to her hotel smiling and whistling all the way. He felt like a school boy again. What have you done to me Sheridan Crane, he thought.
Sheridan was sitting in her hotel room writing in the diary that she had been keeping. "Dear Diary," she wrote, "Last night I met the most wonderful man. He's so handsome and so sexy. His eyes are magnetic. He is so kind, sweet, etc. I don't know what's happened to me. I can't stop thinking about him. I can't wait to see him again." Just then there was a knock at the door. Her heart skipped a beat as she answered, hoping it was Luis. It was.
"Hi Luis. What are you doing here?," she said.
"Hey Sheridan. I came to tell you that I think I've come up with a solution to your problem," he said.
"Really? What is it?," she said, as she gestured to him to come in.
"Mind if I sit?," he said.
"No, of course not, be my guest," she said. "Would you like something to drink?," she asked.
"I'm ok thanks," he said, and smiled.
"So what's the solution you were talking about?," she said.
"Well, it's simple actually. Stay away from Harmony long enough for the wedding to be cancelled, permanently," he said. She started to laugh and he wondered what was so funny. She saw the expression on his face and laughed even more.
"I'm sorry Luis, I didn't mean to laugh, it's just that your solution is kind of obvious," she said, and started to laugh again. Then he started to laugh too. She was right.
After that, they spent every day together, and soon, they were in love, and Sheridan's wedding day came and went. They celebrated with a candlelit dinner and dancing. It was a glorious time for them. They were in love and that was all that mattered. It was fate, pure and simple. They were two lost souls and fate brought them together. Theirs was a love stronger than any other. What they had was special. So special that on a beautiful moonlit night under a beautiful starry sky, Luis asked Sheridan to marry him, and she very happily accepted. They had never been so happy. Then one day, after doing alot of soul searching, Luis decided it was time to go home. 3 months had passed and as much as he loved Sheridan and loved being in Paris, he knew it was time to go home. He couldn't stay in Paris. He had family in Harmony, he couldn't just walk away from them. He could always find another job, but family was family. He hoped and prayed that Sheridan would go back with him.
It went better than he expected. She was disappointed, but she agreed to go back home with him. He was exstatic. That night they made love for the first time. It was wonderful and magical. Luis was gentle and loving. They kissed passionately. They explored every inch of each other's bodies, tasting and touching each other all over. He massaged her breasts and sucked on them. He gave her butterfly kisses all over her body. She kissed him all over his body. They ate each other hungrily, feverishly. Then gently, slowy, and carefully, he entered her. Sheridan cried out in exstacy. "Harder Luis, Harder! Faster Luis, Faster!," she begged. He did what she asked. Then moaning with pleasure, she came, and a few minutes later, he came too. Now they really were one.
They returned to Harmony the next day. Luis went to see Sam and explain everything. Sam was understanding, and he was happy for Luis. Meanwhile, Sheridan called Sean and apologized to him. He was understanding too, he confessed that he didn't love her either. She was relieved. Now she had to face her parents. She was not looking forward to it., but she had to do it. Needless to say, her father was livid. Her mother, on the other hand, was happy for her. She wished that her father would be happy for her too. Maybe he would someday she hoped. She met Luis later that day, and she suggested that they get married as soon as possible. Luis agreed. Days later they were married. Many years and 4 children later, they are still together and more in love than ever. Theirs was a love that would last a lifetime, thanks to the hands of fate.
The End