"Frank, this is awful." she said somberly. "I’ve put you all in danger."

"Uh-uh!" he denied, shaking his head vigorously. "We’ve been around the block before, so to speak. This wasn’t the first time we’ve been tailed, or run off the road, and it probably won’t be the last." He paused, thinking. "There’s no way anyone could have known Vanessa had that tape. It was just plain bad luck that it was her car – " he broke off, grinning a little. "She was right – she probably would have been completely safe, driving home alone; it was because Joe was with her that they were attacked!"

"Crowley probably thinks the tape is in our house." Megan mused. She shivered a little. "Creepy…that probably means we’ll get broken into some time soon."

"You might call the police department, and ask for a step-up in patrols around your neighborhood," Frank suggested. "It might make Crowley’s little helpers think twice before burgling your house again."

"So what happens now?" she asked practically. "You’re going to give a copy of the tape to the police, right?"

"Would you mind if we mailed it? They’ll get it in a day or two, but that would give Joe and me a little time to work on the case. Once the police have that tape, we’ll be ordered off."

"My mom would probably disagree, but I don’t have any problem with it." Megan replied. "That tape will put Crowley behind bars, all right, unless he has a pretty slick lawyer – but I want to know who murdered my father. You’re my best bet for that."

Frank reached for his backpack. "I have something to show you," he said, taking out the printed newspaper articles. "The bloody-handed Doctor Waring’s euthanasia trial. It was almost four years ago." He spread the papers out on the table, and he and Megan bent their heads over them. "See – he was tried, but the jury found him innocent. Lack of evidence, lack of reliable witnesses…."

"But – assuming he actually performed those ‘mercy killings,’ – that puts Waring in a very vulnerable position," Megan said thoughtfully. "Always under suspicion, if anything looks amiss." She re-read the last article, scowling down at the words. "Frank, why would the hospital reinstate him after all this? Surely he wasn’t such a great doctor that they wanted him back regardless of the charges against him – even if he wasn’t convicted!"

"I thought it was funny, too. But there’s no understanding the minds of a hospital administration. Maybe he knew someone’s closet skeleton, or something."

Megan gazed soberly into the brown eyes across the table. "Frank, is there anything we can do to get more evidence on Ted Crowley? Anything that will tie him to my father’s death?"

"I think – " Frank spoke slowly, hesitating. "I think maybe a little computer hacking may be in order. If Vanessa and I work on it, we just might be able to get into Crowley Manufacturing’s computers. If we can get in there, we just may be able to access Crowley’s personal files – with luck. With more luck, there may be a record of payoffs to our dear Doctor Waring. And who knows what else we might find?"

"That’s a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘just mays’ and ‘with lucks’." Megan commented bitterly. Seeing Frank’s face fall, she reached across the table and covered his hand with her own. "I’m sorry, Frank; I know you are doing your best. I’m too impatient."

"You have a right to be impatient. You asked us to do an investigation for you, and so far we haven’t come up with much of anything. All we’ve managed to do is put both you and your mother – and Vanessa! – into danger." Frank’s mouth set in a grim line. "And I don’t like that at all."

"We were in danger before I ever met you." Megan reminded him gently. "And we were unaware of it – and wouldn’t have known why we were in danger if we had been aware. We’re better off knowing."

"I wish I could zap you to a distant island, where you’d be safe." Frank was smiling a little now, and he turned his hand over to enfold her fingers in his. "Safe – and happy."

The raucous sound of the school buzzer suddenly echoed through the air, reminding students of impending classes. Both Megan and Frank jumped involuntarily, then laughed – but the tender mood was broken. Frank began gathering up the sheets of paper from the table, and Megan quickly picked up her fork and resumed eating her salad.

Just as Frank finished stowing the articles in his backpack, a musical chiming sound came from one of its pockets. Megan cocked her head inquiringly, then smiled as Frank pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open.

"Hello?….Oh hi, Joe – s’up?" Frank listened, nodding. "You’ve got it? Good….Yeah, can you get an envelope at the school office, or something?…I know it’s not a post office, but…hey, you don’t have football practice, can’t you take it to the post office and mail it from there?….Uh huh, just send it to Con’s attention. Oh, and put a note with it, that says it’s from us. Otherwise who knows what might happen to it….whaddya mean, I owe you one?…just remember who did the first aid last night, huh? Okay, bro – thanks! Catch you later."

Frank flipped the cover shut and grinned at Megan. "Vanessa has delivered the tape and its copy to Joe. He’s going to mail it to – "

"I heard," she said dryly. "To ‘Con’s attention.’ Whoever Con is."

"Sergeant Con Riley," Frank explained. "He’s a good guy – probably our best friend on the police force."

"Which gives you another day or two."

Frank’s smile faded. "We’re back to that again. I wish we were moving faster on this, Megan, really. I feel like we’re running in molasses."

"No – no! I’m sorry. This is crazy – I ask for your help and then crab all the time about the job you’re doing!"

Frank pulled his phone out again, and punched a single digit. "Joe? Hey, can you ask Vanessa if she’s busy after school today?….She’s right there?…Yeah, I’ll hold on….Vanessa, hi….do you have some free time after school? Yeah – I need some help….well, it has something to do with hacking into some computer files…."