"Man…I can’t believe how screwed up the world has gotten now," Joe remarked as they walked out of the building after the meeting. "Put some terrorists here, serial killers there, and stalkers in the middle..." he trailed off. Frank glanced at him, and replied,

"When did you become so cynical?" Joe ignored him, and continued.

"With all the bad guys around, we can have a party-Hear Ye, Hear Ye, it's the criminal's celebration! Join in on the fun of terrorizing innocent people!" He glanced at his brother, and a slow smile spread across his face. "Me? Cynical? Never!" They both started laughing, easing the moment as they got to the car. Once there, Joe sighed and said,

"I’m sorry; I guess I was just frustrated. It’s just that…well, everything’s so confusing, and crazy…we’re in danger, by two different people, who knows who else is, people we know are being killed…" Joe sighed again. Frank nodded as he unlocked the car.

"I can’t believe it’s nearly six." Joe remarked as they got into the car.

"I know. We’re going to hit some nasty traffic. We better have dinner now before we get back onto the main roads," Frank suggested. Joe readily agreed, knowing how brutal the evening rush hour can be.

An hour later, they were on the main roads, slowly making their way home. Along the way Joe called their home and told Jason that they were stuck in traffic. Jason was excited and couldn’t wait to tell them about his day at the zoo. Staci and Vanessa promised to keep watch with him, and offered to make Jason dinner.

Joe told them to go ahead a do so, since they didn’t know what time they’d be arriving.

Jason was hungry so after hanging up the phone, Vanessa and Staci went into the kitchen to see what they could make for dinner.

"Jason, why don’t you help me feed Boomer? Then we’ll make our own dinner," Staci suggested.

Jason was eager to help, and watched as Boomer gulped down the food they had given him.

"Wow, he’s hungry," Jason remarked.

"Yeah. He’s a big dog. And big dogs like to eat a lot," Staci replied. They came back into the kitchen where Vanessa had taken stock of what they had taken stock of what she could find in the kitchen.

"Well, I found some good chicken, peppers, onions, and there’s some ground meat in the fridge," Vanessa said.

"Hmmm, I think with the spices in the cabinet, and the tortillas in the cabinet. We can make some chicken and beef wraps," Staci suggested.

"Sounds good. I think I saw a tomato and salsa in the fridge. We can use that too," Vanessa added.

"Can I help?" Jason asked.

"Well, not the cooking. But you can help us put them together, once it’s all cooked," Vanessa said.

"Yummy, I can’t wait," Jason smiled. By then, Boomer had finished his dinner, and had come back out.

Staci had taken Jason into the living room, and turned on a cartoon channel. Jason sat in a chair, while Boomer lay protectively near his feet. Staci returned to the kitchen, and she and Vanessa began to prepare the wraps.

********************

Still stuck in traffic, Frank and Joe began to go over about the killer and what they had learned from Professor Manning,

"So we know that this guy at first likes whoever he kills," Joe said.

Frank nodded, "And that he’s terribly cruel when he thinks they’ve rejected him." And then, as if it hit both brothers at the exact same moment, they both sat up straighter, staring straight head.

"Joe!" Frank shouted, just as Joe shouted,

"Frank!" Both brothers stared at each other.

"The notes…" Frank breathed. He stared at Joe, a mixture of emotions on his face. "You think…" Joe finished his sentence.

"We’re the next people on this sick guy’s list?" Frank and Joe stared at each other. "But, that means that the killer and the stalker could be the same…" Joe whispered. Once again, all Frank and Joe did was stare at each other. Then, Frank shook his head.

"No, Joe, we’re jumping to conclusions here. This is crazy! There just some crazy person after us…someone we know, I guess. The killer is, has to be, someone else," Frank convinced his younger brother, who had a perplexed look on his face.

"I don’t know, Frank…the stalker fits the description of the killer, or vice versa…" Joe said.

"Yeah," Frank replied, "But we’ve been attacked by two different people, and we can probably prove it."

"How?" Joe asked.

"Remember, the killer left a note saying that the shooting is our last warning off the case. The stalker’s left quite a few notes. We’ll just go home, and compare the handwriting. Then we’ll know for sure, and we can rest in peace knowing that the maniacal stalker behind us and the maniacal killer that’s going around are two different people, and they’re both after us." He grinned at his brother who rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, that’s sooo comforting, Frank. Why don’t you add a maniacal brother to that list?" he gave his older brother a mischievous grin.

"Me? Maniacal? Never!" Frank mimicked his brother from earlier, and once again, both brothers started laughing.

********************

"Jason, go wash your hands, and we’ll start making wraps," Staci called out from the kitchen.

Jason ran to the bathroom, washed his hands, and ran to the kitchen. All the while Boomer was following him.

On the kitchen table were bowls of things that looked yummy, and three plates. Vanessa helped him into a chair.

"OK. This is how you make them," Vanessa started to explain. "You take a plate and put it in front of you. Then put a tortilla wrap on in."

Jason did as Vanessa showed him.

"OK, now which do you want, beef or chicken?" Vanessa asked.

"Can I have both?" Jason asked.

"OK. Pick a first one, and then use the other to make a second one," Staci suggested.

Jason picked beef, and soon there was an assembly line of wraps being made. What they didn’t see was the figure staring at them through the window.

The figure disappeared into the night.

********************

Finally the traffic seemed to ease up, and the brothers made their way along the main roads. Frank was still thinking about the notes. Then he came up with an idea.

"I think we should go over the notes. Maybe we can find something in the writing," Frank suggested.

Joe agreed, "Yeah. It would be better than doing nothing but waiting."

An hour later they got home. Jason excitedly told them about his trip to the zoo. He showed them the things he got and all the animals he had seen. He continued talking until he started yawning. Frank and Staci went to put Jason to bed while Joe asked Vanessa about their day.

"Did you see anyone following you or seemed to be interested you guys?" Joe asked. Vanessa shook her head.

"Not that I saw. I did look around every once in awhile, but didn’t see anyone."

"When you were making dinner did you hear or see anything? Did Boomer get agitated?" he asked.

"No, it was peaceful. Jason helped us make dinner. We ate, cleaned up, Staci took Boomer for a walk, and we’ve been watching cartoons ever since," Vanessa explained.

Joe sighed in relief. Vanessa leaned over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing’s going to happen so long as Boomer is here. Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

Joe thought a moment. "Just keep an eye out. If you see anyone hanging around the house, let us know."

Vanessa agreed and they shared a brief kiss before Frank and Staci came back down. The brothers were going to go over the notes. Staci was going to call her father and see if anything new was discovered. Vanessa went to check and make sure the doors and windows were locked.

Frank carefully scanned the note from the killer, and the baseball. Once he had computer images of them, he had the program in enlarge the picture so they could see each letter perfectly. Frank looked at the screen, while Joe examined the carefully wrapped notes and baseball under a magnifying glass and light.

"OK. I see that each lower case‘t’ in the stalker’s notes are done with one stroke. The line that crosses it starts from the bottom of the vertical line. But on the note from the killer, the t is in two distinctive strokes," Frank said.

Joe agreed. "Yeah, the one stroke‘t’ is the stalker’s note. And the two-stroke‘t’ is the killer’s note."

Frank made a note on a notepad and continued on. "The upper case ‘l’ is written in one stroke in the stalker’s note, and two strokes in the killer’s note," Joe confirmed it; Frank made the note and continued on.

After nearly two hours, they had a large list noting the differences between the notes of the stalker, and that of the killer.

"Well, Joe, the handwriting is completely and totally different. There’s the proof…two maniacs after us." Frank managed a weak grin. "Don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. What do you think?" Joe said nothing, but gave his brother an exasperated look.

"But, this still doesn’t give us much to go on," Frank murmured a minute later

.

Joe rubbed his eyes. "Why don’t we take a break?" he suggested. Frank agreed.

After shutting off their equipment, the brothers returned to the living room to find the girls watching the start of the ten o’clock news. Staci looked very pale.

"Staci, what’s wrong?" Frank demanded. He went over and sat by her side, taking her hand.

"There’s been another murder," Staci quietly replied.

"What?" Joe quietly shouted. He barely remembered that Jason was asleep.

"The news is starting," Vanessa announced. Joe sat down in a chair, and swallowed as the newscaster began to talk.

"My God," Joe whispered.

"That’s why my dad is so worried. They went over that crime scene, and are still doing so with a fine-tooth comb. They still can’t find anything in the way of evidence," Staci said. Vanessa closed her eyes, trying to stop tears from falling.

"That poor family…" she whispered. "The father saw his son before he died…" Joe clutched her hand tightly, offering support, and trying to get some himself. Frank sighed, as he gave Staci’s hand a squeeze.

"The only thing we can do is go to sleep tonight. The killer’s now in Bayport, guys. We have to be more and more careful. Okay?" The other three nodded. "Okay, then, let’s try and get some sleep," Frank whispered. Frank and Joe went up to their rooms, while Staci and Vanessa went into the two guest rooms. They slept fitfully, and the next morning, awoke as if they had never gone to bed. During breakfast, Joe turned to Vanessa and Staci.

"Girls, you think you can take care of Jason while we go talk to the Darsons?" Staci and Vanessa immediately agreed, and Frank and Joe went upstairs to wake up Jason who had slept late, and tell him. Jason pouted a little, he had wanted to play with his brothers, but agreed, and then asked if he could go back to sleep. The brothers grinned, as it was only seven thirty in the morning, and went to their rooms to get ready to go. Within a half hour, they were ready to go. After a phone call to Con Riley, they were on their way to the Darson’s house. In other circumstances, Con Riley would have objected to the Hardys talking with the Darson’s, but in this case, the police were against the clock. They needed everything the Hardys could come up with.

Nearing the Darson home, they found that several news media were still there along with the officers. Cons told them to park a little bit away from the house, and use the back entrance. It took a little time, as the brothers had to make sure not to be seen by the media.

When they got to the house, Con escorted them carefully upstairs to a back room where the Darson’s were, the only place that didn’t have any blood in it. Surprised, the Hardys found a visitor there. It was Professor Richards! Mr. Darson looked at them with the only remaining hope he had left.

"You’re investigating the case?" Mr. Darson asked in a small voice. They nodded.

"Professor Richards what are you doing here?" Frank asked.

"Chris was one of my chemistry students," Professor Richards replied.

"But, I thought you were a calculus professor," Joe said, puzzled.

"I teach both. But, Chemistry only in night school." Richards replied.

"Oh," Frank nodded. "Was Chris one of your students?" he asked.

Professor Richards nodded. "Yeah. Chris was one of my top students. I came as soon as I heard what had happened."

"Did you see anything?" Frank asked.

"Before you start asking questions, there’s something you should know. There was something we didn’t tell the media, because it’s a key piece of evidence," Con said.

Mr. Darson took up the story. Even though he was shaken, and his voice was filled with sorrow, his words were still clear. "When we came home I noted the blood on the floor. I told my wife to go call the police on the cell phone in the car, while I went inside. I wanted to make sure Chris wasn’t hurt. When I finally….found him……He did manage to say one word…" He began to nearly cry again, but he collected himself. "He…..said……chem." Frank and Joe were shocked. They hadn’t known that Chris had been able to say anything! Shocked into silence for a few minutes, they stared at the others in the room. Then, they collected themselves.

"Chem.? What could chem. mean?" Joe wondered, rubbing his head. Con Riley shrugged.

"We have absolutely no idea. But, slim as it is, it is a clue, and the only one we have, at that." Joe nodded, and then glanced at Richards. He was surprised to see he was biting his lip looking really worried. He was about to ask what was wrong, but Frank spoke up.

"Well, we better get going, then. There’s not much more we can do around here. Thanks for talking to us, Mr. and Mrs. Darson. Professor Richards, we’ll see you in two weeks, when classes resume. They are going to resume, right?" Frank asked.

"Yes, they are," Richards replied, nodding. "They’ll have all the renovation done by then." The boys nodded. "So, are you going straight home?" Richards asked. "Or is some sleuthing going to be done by our famous teenage sleuths?" Richards asked with a smile.

"We’re going home," Frank replied. "We have to pick up Jason, and our girlfriends. Richards nodded, and Frank and Joe said their goodbyes, and left quickly.

"Well, what do you think Chem. means?" Joe asked, once in the car. Frank shrugged.

"It could mean chemistry, chemicals, or even chemise!" Frank finished, exasperated. Joe smiled a little.

"A shirt? Doubt it," Joe replied. "It could mean chemicals, though." He mused thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but what does chemicals have to do with what we know? Absolutely nothing. It just doesn’t add up," Frank replied. Joe snorted.

"What of this case does add up?" he asked sarcastically. Frank nodded in agreement.

"Well," he said a minute later. "It could just be something delirious he blurted out. I mean, he was basically dead anyway…" Joe pursed his lips and nodded. Frank then sighed. "We know almost nothing," he muttered.

"No, we know one thing," Joe disagreed. "In fact it’s something we’ve missed all along." Frank looked at his younger brother questioningly. "Everyone that’s been killed so far goes to Bayport University. Maybe…maybe this is case of jealous revenge, or something." Frank’s eyes lit up.

"Brat, you’re a genius!" Joe grinned, pretending to act modest. "We should go and talk to Professor Richards later on today. Everyone killed were his students. He may know some valuable information. It might not be jealous revenge, because that doesn’t match with what Manning told us, but, maybe we can get a clue there!" Joe nodded excitedly. They continued towards home, but then Frank pulled into the supermarket’s parking lot. At Joe questioning glance, Frank explained,

"We’re almost out of food. We’d better get some before going home." Joe nodded, and they went inside, working quickly. Within an hour, they were done, and about fifteen minutes later, they reached home. As they pulled into the front of their house, they saw Staci hosing down the tree with the hose, and Vanessa holding Jason close because he was crying. They jumped out of Vanessa’s jeep, and ran over to them in the yard.

"What happened?" Frank yelled, taking Jason out of Vanessa’s hands, and comforting him. Vanessa hugged Joe hard, then said,

"Someone threw a Molotov Cocktail at the house!"