ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

"Shana's missing."

"How can that be?" Anderson ran his hands through his short light brown hair. "It's impossible." He pushed the intercom button. "Jane, where's Shana?"

"In her room. It's still the Sabbath. I'll be there in a minute." Jane hurried into the den.

Anderson scanned the area. "Where are the dogs?" He glanced at the back elevator. "The elevator's at the bottom. She's left." He called down to the garage. "Jeff, Shana's in the garage. Watch her! I'm on my way."


TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 5 part 3

When the elevator door opened, Shana glanced to the left and then the right. I'd better go the back way. I don't want to draw attention. On the sidewalk, I'll call for a taxi. She checked her purse to make sure she didn't forget her cell.

Shana walked by four parking slots and then past a large cement pillar. From behind it, a medium built man grabbed her arm. With a strong Eastern European accent, he said, "Ms. Kohlberg, we finally meet."

She tried to yank free. "Let go!" she yelled as she wrestled with him.

The full eighty-eight pounds of Axel hit against the man's body, and he fell to the ground. Shana landed a few feet away. Thor joined Axel as they stood guard over the man, growling at his every move. Shana crawled away. Romeo stayed with her.

The man's partner came running. With his Makarov pistol in hand, he yelled with the same heavy accent, "Lady, call your dogs off or I'll kill them."

"Axel! Thor!" Shana waved for the dogs to come to her.

A gunshot sounded as the gun fell from the man's hand. Shana screamed and hid her face.

"Drew, everything's under control." Jeff shoved the phone into his pants pocket as he helped Shana to her feet. "You have some nasty scrapes. Jane will fix you up."

Romeo nuzzled his large head against Shana's thigh as she wiped tears streaming down her cheeks.

Anderson and Philip came running from the elevator.

Philip put his arm around Shana. "Let's get you upstairs. Anderson will take care of things down here." He looked for Anderson's approval. Once he got it, he led Shana to the elevator.

"Thor, Axel." Anderson motioned for the dogs to move to him. He watched Romeo follow Shana.

Jeff stood in front of the two men and kept aim. "I'm sure the police are on their way."

"They are. I'll let them sort this out." Anderson stepped closer. "No, I won't." He punched the man's wounded arm. "Who do you work for?"

The man avoided eye contact.

Anderson glanced toward the sound of sirens. "The police are here. I'm sure they'll have questions. You can answer them at police headquarters."

Moments later, four officers walked up. After introductions were made, Jeff explained what happened. Two officers led the perpetrators to the back of the cruiser and left. The other two officers followed Anderson to the elevator wanting to speak with Shana.

Inside the penthouse, Anderson called Jane and asked her to bring Shana to the den.

"Give me a few minutes to finish cleaning her scrapes. She has a nasty cut on her knee. She must have hit a rock when she fell."

"There are officers waiting to question her. Please bring her."

"I just need to bandage one more scrape and we'll be there."

Anderson shook his head. "She'll be here in a minute." He motioned to some chairs. "Have a seat."

Moments later Jane led Shana into the den. Both officers stood when she entered. Anderson hadn't taken a seat. He motioned for her to sit. He noticed her hands fidgeted in her lap and she chewed on her lower lip. She must be scared to death.

One officer walked to her and offered his hand. "I'm Detective O'Reilly and this is my partner, Detective Campbell. We have a few questions." After Shana nodded, he continued, "Do you have any idea who these men are?"

Shana glanced toward Anderson and remained silent.

"Not really," answered Anderson. "I've had them investigated. We've figured out they may be members of the Russian Mafia and might work for a man named Ivan Kuznetsov."

Detective Campbell tapped his pen on his notepad. "Mr. Sharp. Why don't you go into the next room? My partner will question you." He waited until the two men left and moved closer to Shana. His eyes met hers. "Ma'am, I've noticed you watching Mr. Sharp. Are you being held against your will? Are you safe here?"



Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her family's painting back
Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells
Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits
Jeff -- takes care of Anderson's cars - - and other sundry chores
Helen -- Anderson's cook
Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper
Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend and confident
Ben -- Anderson's dog walker
Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd
Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd
Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd
Aaron -- Shana's older brother
Ivan Morozov -- owner of the painting 'Winter-Traum' by Bruno Schmidt - formally 'Litzlberg am Attersee' by Gustav Klimt
Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidentally chose a real person, so I have changed it.
Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife
Emily -- Anderson's five-year-old daughter