“Callie?” Joe said as soon as he heard her voice on the other end. “Is Frank there?”

“No,” Callie answered. “I haven’t seen him in a while. You could try Phil’s. They were together the last time I saw him.”

“I’ll do that,” Joe said. “Thanks,” he added, hanging up the phone.

He dialed the Cohen’s. When Mr. Cohen answered, Joe asked if Frank or Phil were around but was informed the boys had said they would probably be late. “Is something the matter?” Mr. Cohen inquired.

“I hope not,” Joe replied. “I guess I’m just restless because I haven’t been able to help.”

“From what Phil told us, you need all the rest you can get,” Mr. Cohen told Joe kindly. “I’m sure the boys are fine. I’ll make sure Frank or Phil call you as soon as I see one of them,” he promised.

“Thank you, Sir,” Joe said gratefully. “Goodbye.” He hung up the phone still frowning. It wasn’t like Frank to make him worry.

Debating only for a brief amount of time, Joe picked the receiver up once more and placed a call to the Bayport Police Station. “Chief,” Joe said when he had been connected. “Have you heard from Frank this evening?”

“No,” Collig answered. “Why? Do you think something has happened to him?”

“It’s possible,” Joe answered. “He and Phil were going to Sampson’s this afternoon to find out about the knife. He hasn’t called and Phil’s parents haven’t heard from them either.”

“Do you feel up to a little company?” Collig asked. “I think we should talk.” He had listened to Frank’s impassioned speech and when Fenton had explained about the knife entry he had called the doctor who had told him the wound still could have been self-inflicted although the odds were against it. He had to talk to Joe for himself to find out what was really going on before ordering a search warrant for Sampson’s shop and the Barlow’s residence.

“Sure,” Joe responded, frowning. He felt rather than heard the hesitancy in Collig’s voice. If talking to Collig face to face would get him on the ball about finding Frank, then Joe would have felt like company no matter what condition he was in. Good think I’m feeling better, Joe thought after he had hung up the phone. It wouldn’t do to have his blood pressure shoot up while talking to the chief. Collig would never have believed Joe wasn’t lying under those circumstances.

Joe laid back and tried to rest but he was too agitated. He flipped the switch for the television and let it run the gambit of available channels. Finding nothing that captured his interest, he flipped it off. There was a light rap on the door as it began to slowly open. Joe hit the control that would raise his bed, wondering who his visitor could be because he didn’t think Collig had enough time to reach the hospital.

“Can I come in?” Russell asked, poking his head past the door.

Startled, Joe gave a slight nod but did not speak. “I’m glad you’re okay,” Russ continued. “I know I shouldn’t have run away when you, well, when whatever happened to you happened. I was scared.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Joe admitted, still watching him warily. “Where have you been?” he asked. “You do know the police are looking for you.”

“Yeah,” Russell replied. “I was at the end of the street when I saw them stop at my house. I got close enough to find out why they were there. I took off as one cop told the other cop to start searching the area for me.”

“Running away hasn’t helped you,” Joe pointed out.

“I know,” Russ said miserably. “But when I left, I thought you were dead and that nurse saw me leaving. I thought they would lock me up for killing you.”

“Russ, I had a relapse because the knife cut my liver and they didn’t catch it when they patched me up the first time,” Joe explained. “You aren’t in any trouble on that score.”

“On that score,” Russ repeated bitterly. “But I am because of the rest of it.”

“Yeah,” Joe admitted. “Doing drugs is bad enough but giving them to someone else without their knowledge is even worse.”

“I know,” Russ said, sitting down in the chair by Joe’s bed. “And I thought about what you said earlier, about Walter giving you the acid. I want to come clean. I don’t want that on my conscious.”

“Glad to hear it,” Collig commented from the doorway. “You can start talking now.”

Russ looked over at the chief of police and sighed before turning back to Joe. “I didn’t know they were going to give you the acid. Honest,” Russ insisted. “Walter gives me free weed if I help Pete get other kids into grass,” he began his confession. “You were perfect. You had already been in rehab and you had just had a fight with Frank.”

He shrugged as he gave Joe an apologetic smile. “Everyone knows how close you and Frank are,” he explained. “When you got mad at him, Pete thought it was the perfect time to move in on you and he was right. You ate the brownies and were feeling better by the time we went to Pete’s later that afternoon. Then we all had some of the special brownies and none of us were feeling bad.

“I don’t know why Walter gave you the acid but I swear there wasn’t any in the brownies. At least, I don’t think so,” Russ amended. “I’ve never had any heavy hallucinations after eating them.”

“I think he put it in the soda he gave me to drink on my way home,” Joe said.

“Do you know where Walter gets his supply?” the chief asked Russell, relieved he had confessed to helping give Joe drugs. Now he had no reason to upset Joe by asking him questions that he really hadn’t wanted to ask in the first place.

“There’s a boat, the Mary Parker,” Russ began. “I went with Pete to the docks once. There were some guys there with Walter. Two of the guys I recognized from Sampson’s Hunting and Supply store, I don’t know who the others were but they left the boat before Pete and headed back up the docks.”

“Mary Parker?” Joe asked. “Was that Pete’s mom’s name?”

“No,” was the answer. “Pete said it was supposed to have been Mary Jane, for the grass, but it was too obvious so it was Mary Parker. The Parker came from Peter Parker of Spiderman.”

“Because Mary Jane was his love interest,” Joe guessed correctly.

“Russell, you’re going to have to come with me,” Collig said.

“I’m going to prison, huh?” Russ asked.

“I think you might get off with juvey,” Collig informed him.

Russ nodded and stood up. “Get better soon,” Russ told Joe. “And, uh, don’t take any more brownies.”

“Chief?” Joe asked before he and Russ could leave. “Frank?”

“We’ll get search warrants for the hunting store, Barlow’s, and the boat,” the chief promised. “If Frank doesn‘t call you, I will,” he promised.