"—Very funny." Joe shook his head, but laughed and unlocked the car. "Frank and I aren’t famous, although Liz seems to be convinced that we’re hot property. Anyway, we’re all going to be well-known, once this case is solved."

"Strewth! I hadn’t considered that." Kiwi remarked, grimacing. "That kind of attention I don’t need!" He slid into his seat, and sat in silence for a few seconds while Joe climbed in. Joe relinquished his tight grip on the folder, and passed it across to his friend before starting the engine and pulling away from the curb. Kiwi continued to look at him covertly out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you know what I find fascinating about you, Joe?"

"What’s that?"

"The fact that you don’t even consider the slightest possibility of failure; that you’re so cocksure we’re going to solve this thing."

Joe looked across, his features tight with determination. "That’s because we are – we have to!"

"I wish I had your confidence." Kiwi muttered.

Joe quickly turned his face away. The hasty move, stiff and unnatural as it was, left Kiwi intuitively aware that Joe was hiding his expression. Tactfully, he changed the subject. "Shall we take a gander at what Liz copied for us?" he inquired, lifting the flap.

There was a heartbeat of a pause before Joe answered. "Do you mind if we wait until we’re back at the B & B before we take a look? Frank will be waiting for us, and it’s only a ten-minute drive."

"Okay, but I think it might burn a hole in my lap before then!" Kiwi lamely joked. Despite the tension in the car, for the first time since this whole nightmare began, he was allowing himself to be optimistically positive.

*****

Arriving at the bed-and-breakfast, Joe and Kiwi took the stairs in a series of leaps, and strode at speed down the hallway until they were at Frank’s door. A narrow strip of yellow light could be seen along the foot of the door, evidence that he was there. Joe tapped once, then opened the door and stepped in, Kiwi at his shoulder.

Frank was curled up on the bed with his eyes closed and a discarded book lying beside him. Both young men stopped short, unsure of how to proceed. Frank opened his eyes and looked blearily at them.

"Oh, you’re back." he said flatly. He pushed himself onto an elbow, and they could see his eyes looked bloodshot and droopy.

"You okay?" Joe asked, somewhat concerned.

"Yeah…I had a headache, and I made the mistake of taking a couple of those painkillers the doc gave me – that’s the last time I take any of that gunk – I feel really doped up…and I think I must be hallucinating, too..."

"Eh?" Kiwi asked.

"…you both actually look tidy, for once – no beards." Frank finished, dryly. He yawned, rubbed at his eyes, and attempted to straighten his mussed hair with his fingers. "Did you find anything at the Gazette?" he asked, easing himself up to sit cross-legged, and leaning his head on his hand wearily.

Joe held the file up. "We hope so. Liz passed a file over to us, after giving us the customary third degree…."

"—and?"

"—and we haven’t looked yet – thought you might like to share in the glory!"

Kiwi rubbed his hands together, and then clapped loudly. "Let’s have a look then!" he said, and plopped himself down next to Frank, so hard that his friend bounced about a foot in the air. "Oops, sorry dude!" he apologized, as Frank winced and put a hand to his head.

Joe sat at their feet and opened the folder, inside of which were a number of photocopied and dated documents, obviously copied from newspapers. He placed them on his lap and flicked quickly through them. "I’ll read them out loud, okay? In date order?" Frank and Kiwi both nodded, so Joe commenced reading from the topmost sheet of paper.

The Bayport Gazette today learned that a former Military Police officer has been dishonorably discharged following shocking allegations of mismanagement of government procedures and a series of serious breaches in national security. Following a month-long inquiry, Thomas Albright was found guilty by a military tribunal on a number of misconduct charges.

Mr. Albright had been instrumental in the investigation of an internal fraud case during the previous five years, a time span his superiors were happy to allow him, as he claimed he was close to a break in the case. Upon closer examination, it was found that there was little substance to his claim, and no evidence to the contrary was offered in his defense. 

A second, more serious allegation, was that in July he had taken a young civilian private detective, Mr. Reginald Lemon, under his wing – claiming he was training him in the investigative business in ‘his own free time.’ However, upon being interviewed, Mr. Lemon confirmed that Mr. Albright was guilty of revealing government procedures to him, and Albright had also supplied him with security clearance in order to allow him free access to the military base where Albright was stationed.

Mr. Lemon later was quoted as saying: "No one should have any sympathy for Thomas Albright. He is a proven liar and cheat, and if it hadn’t been for my vigilance, this would never have come to light." 

A military spokesperson said: "Mr. Albright appeared a model officer, and had many years of commended service with the government. Unfortunately, due to recent events, we have had little choice but to dismiss him from service." 

Mr. Albright, a father of three, was unavailable for comment, but it is understood he is planning an appeal against his dismissal. 

"Hell’s bells!" Kiwi uttered.

"That’s heavy stuff." Frank agreed.

Joe pointed at the sheet of paper. "Did you guys notice a detective was mentioned in the story?"

"We certainly did – read the next one, buddy!" Kiwi urged. Joe flipped to the next page, and began to read aloud once more.

A young private detective is to be presented with a recognition award following the solving of a five-year-old fraud case.

Private investigator Reginald Lemon, formerly of Kansas City, Missouri, headed up a team of five Military Police officers to crack a case that had previously been botched by a former MP officer, Thomas Albright, who was recently dishonorably discharged from the force.

A very surprised and delighted Lemon said: "I’m only happy that I was able to right a wrong in this case. I did not do this for any sort of recognition, but I am extremely flattered to be receiving the honor."

"I’ll bet that pleased Thomas Albright," muttered Frank sarcastically, after his brother had finished reading.

"Yeah, not only did he solve the case Albright couldn’t, but was rewarded for it as well." Kiwi turned his attention to Joe, who was still looking at the papers in his hands. "The guy must have been spitting bricks—what do you reckon, Joe?"

Joe had been reading the next story, silently, and now he started to shake his head. "Actually, he wasn’t just a bit upset – he was…well, just listen to this:"

Yesterday, the sleepy Oak Hill section of Bayport was rocked by the tragic news that one of its more infamous residents, Mr. Thomas Albright, committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in a fume-filled garage late Thursday night.

Albright, 42, was discovered by his wife, Judith, in the early hours of the morning, sitting in his car in their garage. A hose had been fed from the exhaust pipe into the vehicle. He was confirmed dead on arrival at Bayport General Hospital. An autopsy is scheduled, and is expected to confirm death by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Last month, the Bayport Gazette reported that Mr. Albright had been dishonorably discharged from the Military Police on grounds of serious misconduct involving breaches of security and mismanagement of government procedures. Yesterday it also reported that Reginald Lemon, a private detective Albright had aided, had solved a prestigious fraud case for the government that Albright had been working on for five years.

Mrs. Albright was too distraught to comment, but a close family friend said: "Thomas had been working on an appeal against his dismissal from the force, and was feeling positive about it. Unfortunately, the news that Reginald Lemon had solved the case was a great shock, and obviously sent him over the edge."

He then went on to say: "Thomas had considered Lemon a friend, and his action in taking credit for another man’s hard work is a disgrace. I don’t know how he can live with himself."

Mr. Lemon was unavailable for comment.

Mr. Albright is survived by three young children, along with his widow.

When Joe finished reading, a heavy silence filled the room. Joe looked up and locked eyes with his brother. The muscles of his jaw were twitching.

"How old was your suspect when this happened, Frank?" Kiwi finally asked.

Frank pulled the personnel file from under his pillow, flipped through the pages, and did a quick mental calculation. "James was 10."

"Quite an impressionable age." Joe remarked.

"Anything else, Joe?" Frank prompted him.

"Only a couple of obituaries…"

"Two obituaries?" Kiwi asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes…."

Passed away suddenly on August 6^th, aged 42 years. Beloved father of William, Lisa, and James. Will be sadly missed by his wife, Judith, who loved him dearly, and his family and friends. Funeral services will be held at the Bayport Crematorium on August 12^th, 1:30 p.m.

"And finally…"

On February 19^th, passed away peacefully. Dearly loved mother of James, William and Lisa Albright, of Bayport, who will miss her very much. Funeral service to take place on February 27^th, at the chapel of Bayport Crematorium. She will be laid to rest with her beloved late husband, Thomas. Flowers or donations may be made to the Cancer Research Center of New York.

"What year did Judith die?" Frank asked, holding his hand out to take the papers from his brother. Reading out the date, Joe handed over the documents, and watched as Frank began going through the personnel file again.

Frank stared up at the ceiling, head bobbing as he solved another mental arithmetic problem.

"So that would make James Albright…18 when his mother died. His sister was 16, and his brother 13."

"So James would have become their guardian?" Joe supposed.

Kiwi was thinking quickly. "Unless they ended up in foster care, of course."

"No, I think Joe’s assumption might hold up – James joined the Military Police at 19, only six months after his mom died. He was an A-student up until then – looked like he was intending on a career in medicine." Frank was still perusing the personnel file thoughtfully.

"So you think he signed up just so he could provide for his brother and sister." Joe said.

"Exactly!"

"Do you realize what this means?" Kiwi cut in excitedly. "It means we’ve got ourselves a motive, and a good one, especially after what happened to his father and family – he may even consider his straight-A education was wasted! What is it he does in the military police, anyway?" he asked.

Frank consulted the file and raised an eyebrow. "Would you believe physical instructor? He teaches self-defense – martial arts, that type of thing."

"And not only that, but did either of you notice what I noticed?" Frank asked, with a wolfish grin.

Silence met his question.

"Reginald Lemon?" he prompted.

Still Joe and Kiwi looked blankly back at him.