As Joe put up his good arm in a defensive move to block the blow, the woman suddenly let out a shriek and grabbed him in a big hug.

“Mr. Remus!  It’s you!  I’m so sorry sir – if I’d known it were you I never would have…” Joe returned the hug and then put up his hand to stop her from continuing.

“Mrs. Corradi, it’s me that needs to apologize.  I shouldn’t have been sneaking into the kitchen at this hour in the morning.  It’s just that I called out and no one answered.  So when I heard you back here I thought you might be a prowler or something.”

This made the old woman laugh, “The only thing I’m prowling at my age is the isles of the pharmacy for something to cure varicose veins!” 

Joe was heartened to see her.  He’d always enjoyed spending time in the kitchen talking to her.  She regaled him with some outrageous story about what he…no, Remus, did as boy.  She’d been working for the family since Pharaoh was a baby.

Scolding her gently, he reminded her, “Now Mrs. Corradi, remember my name is Joe.  Joe Hardy.  Remus is dead.”   Her eyes saddened for a brief minute before she perked up and pulled him towards the butcher-block kitchen table.

“You look like something half starved to death.  Sit down while I get you some good food…” and turning slyly she finished, “Mr. Remus.”

Stifling a smile, he just shook his head – why bother…but he did look forward to whatever she was cooking.  Mrs. Corradi was a fantastic cook and he was relived that the smell of the flowers was quickly replaced by the fat sizzling in the frying pan.

“Is Pharaoh sleeping?”  Joe asked as he watched the old lady move around the kitchen. 

Never pausing she just grunted, “I doubt that – sometimes I don’t think that boy ever sleeps.  He’s usually down in the kitchen and has the kettle on before I’ve come down.”

“Has he been in here this morning?”  Joe persisted.  He wanted to know where his ‘brother’ was.  This made the old woman turn and eye him for a moment as if in deep thought.

“Actually…no. I don’t think so.”  She set a plate down in front of Joe and instructed him to eat.  “I haven’t seen him yet this morning at all.  Maybe he’s not feeling very well…” she surmised.

As Joe picked up a piece of toast, he pressed, “Is there something wrong with the phones in the house?”

“No they ring just fine.”  Mrs. Corradi poured him a cup of strong tea.  He knew it was useless to remind her that he didn’t like tea, so he just nodded his thanks.

“I’ve been calling here constantly but no one’s picking up,” he commented, and then waited for her response.  When none came, he continued, “Why didn’t you answer the phone?” 

“Because we’re not allowed,” the old woman pouted.

“What do you mean you’re not allowed?  House rule #1, who ever hears it, answers it,” he rhymed off, remembering how many times he’d heard Andreya recite this as she indoctrinated new staff, but Mrs. Corradi just shook her head sadly.

“Yes, until yesterday morning.  And then Mr. Winston said all telephones were to be answered by him or Mr. Pharaoh – no one else.”

“Who’s Mr. Winston?”

“He’s Mr. Pharaoh’s personal aide.”

“Personal aide!”  Joe spit his milk across the table, and quickly apologized as the old woman pulled out a cloth and cleaned up the mess.  “Sorry…since when does Pharaoh have a personal aide?”

“Since a couple of weeks ago…just after you left.  Anyway, Mr. Remus, if you would excuse me, I’m going into town to pick up a few things.  I’ll be back before lunchtime.” 

Joe sat at the table for a few minutes longer as he tried to figure out what was going on.  A few weeks ago?  Pharaoh had never mentioned anything about it to him!

* * *

“I think I died and went to heaven!”  Chet exaggerated as they walked out of the airport and into the beautiful afternoon sun.  The other boys agreed with him as they waited for Frank.  He had stopped to call home to see if his parents had heard from Joe, and joined them a few minutes later.

He shook his head in anticipation of their question.

“Frank – don’t take any offence at this, but how did you ever convince Joe to return to Bayport when he had all this?”  Chet continued, very impressed.  He had never been anywhere outside the U.S. before, and he had certainly never imagined anything as beautiful as this secluded little island.

Frank shrugged and smiled. “I told him I would let you have his room!”  he joked, but inside he knew what Chet was talking about.

Joe was the male equivalent of a beach bunny.  He loved sun, sand and surf, and this island would seem to be all of that…and more, as the guys noticed a couple of bikini-clad, dark-haired beauties stroll past and wave at them.  They then got into a red sports car and drove off.

“Hubba hubba!” groaned Biff, already in love.

“Come on lover boy, we have work to do,” Tony reminded him gently, pulling his ogling friend into the taxi. 

A short time later they were unpacking in their hotel.  Frank had gotten two rooms that were joined by a single door for them to share, and Phil was already out on the large balcony overlooking the beachfront below.

“Did I ever thank you?”  he asked. 

Frank looked confused.

“Thank me for what?”

“For having Joe as your brother.” 

Frank laughed, “And that makes you thankful…how?”

“Well, if he were anyone else’s brother, then I’d be stuck in a physics lab with a stuffy lab partner…” 

Frank tossed a pillow at his friend, and this started an all-out pillow fight between the boys.

A half an hour later, when Frank had to call down to room service for more pillows and apologize to the pool guy for the five hotel pillows that he had to retrieve from the pool, Frank sank down on his bed and thought to himself, Yeah, I am lucky to have Joe as my brother….

* * *

Joe was not feeling too lucky right then, though. 

He had spent the entire morning and early afternoon scouring the grounds for any sign of Pharaoh.  It had taken him a long time because he kept getting sidetracked by the many groundskeepers and housekeepers who wanted to welcome him back.

They all knew that the real Remus was dead, but still they insisted on calling him that. 

“Much more of this, and I’m going to have a split personality,” Joe thought grimly, after leaving the barn.  He noticed that it had been repaired since the fire that Pharaoh set, and he was given great detail about its reconstruction from the head groom, after Joe had run across him. 

Thank goodness none of the horses had been injured!

Like everyone else on the estate, the groom had not seen Pharaoh since yesterday either, and insisted that Mr. Winston was running everything for him now, as his personal aide.

Exhausted, Joe went up to his own room. 

As he stretched out on the big bed to finally try and get some sleep, he realized that he hadn’t called his mom yet!

Sitting up, he pulled out his cell phone and hastily dialed his home number.  He was too tired to do the time difference math to see if it was a bad time to call.

“Mom?” he asked a short time later, when his mother’s groggy-sounding voice answered the phone.  As soon as she heard his voice, she immediately came awake.

“Joseph Hardy!  Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?!”

“I’m sorry, Mom, I just got sidetracked.  Did you tell Dad and Frank I’d be gone for a couple of days?” He knew she would have, but he was anxious to find out their reaction. 

“Yes, how is Pharaoh?”  Laura quickly tried to change the subject.  She was afraid she’d let it slip that Frank and their friends were also on the island. 

Joe misunderstood her intention, and figured Frank was still mad at him.

“Okay, I guess,” Joe replied tiredly.  “Mom, I gotta go and get some sleep before I pass out.  Love you – I’ll call later.” 

Hanging up the phone and sighing heavily, the blond teen lay back on the bed and wished that Frank were there; he could really use his help. 

* * *

Frank and the other boys were unpacking while Phil, already having done his, was scanning though the complimentary newspaper. 

The island, although not very large, had a fair sized newspaper that seemed to mostly report the comings and goings of the many jet-setters that either called this island home or vacationed here.

Phil noticed that it was definitely the place to be if you were ultra-rich, and he hoped that he could find some reasonably priced souvenirs!

It didn’t really surprise him when he saw the paper was in English, as contrary to the region, English was the predominant language spoken here; a testimony to the influence of money on the island, he guessed correctly.

“There’s a little hill overlooking the estate that we can use for a stake-out.  Dad gave me his high powered binoculars and walkie-talkies,” Frank was saying, when something in the paper caught Phil’s eye and he interrupted.

“Frank – I have a better idea.”  The boys looked at Phil.  “Why don’t we go undercover at the estate?”

Knowing that his friend must have had a plan, Frank pressed, “Do you have something in mind?”

“Well, I just noticed that most of these big houses are always advertising for help.  We could just go up to the estate and see if they need anyone.  I do know that Plythe Manor is looking for a groom’s assistant, and a dog handler right now,”  he said as he pointed to two ads on the same page.  “It couldn’t hurt, could it?”

Frank thought about that for a few minutes. 

It did make sense, as he knew it took a lot of people to run large estates, and if his memory was correct in what Mr. Gray had told him about the Plyths, they had the largest one on the island; with its own marina, stables, vineyard and orchard.  It took up almost a quarter of the island’s land mass – and although the island was small, that was still a sizable chunk. 

“The only problem will be if Joe answers the door,” Frank surmised, knowing that while Joe wouldn’t have anything to do with hiring them for any positions, they might have to be given the once-over by Pharaoh. 

“I know your father said that we weren’t supposed to let Joe know we’re around…but what about Pharaoh?” Biff wondered, as Frank was just thinking the same thing. 

“I don’t know….Joe told Mom that Pharaoh said he needed his help, and I don’t want him thinking we don’t trust him or Joe…” his voice trailed off.  “Aw, hell!  I’m Joe’s brother!  I’ll call Pharaoh and just tell him I’m worried about Joe.  He probably knows about what happened yesterday, so it shouldn’t sound suspicious.  And then I’ll play it by ear and see what happens.”

As the other boys nodded in agreement, Frank pulled out his cell so that Pharaoh wouldn’t see an island local number and realize that he was here, yet.  Taking out his wallet and looking at the piece of paper he had scribbled Pharaoh’s number on when he had been at school, it seemed like a lifetime ago since he had been trying to get his brother out of the van.

Taking a deep breath, Frank dialed the number.

* * *

Joe awoke with a start.  Where was he?  It took a few moments for him to get his bearings, but then he remembered where he was and why.

Looking at this watch, he was glad he’d taken a moment to reset it to local time after he’d landed – time math was a pain in the butt, especially when you just woke up and felt like you had sandpaper in your mouth!

It was almost suppertime.  No wonder his growling stomach was grumbling at him.  He hadn’t eaten anything since early morning.

Knowing that a sleeping Plyth was not to be disturbed (House Rule #3, if he remembered correctly), Joe reached for the phone next to his bed.

Lifting the receiver, he pressed the little button next to the word “KITCHEN,” and heard it ring.  A few moments later, he heard Mrs. Corradi’s voice on the phone. 

“Mr. Remus – would you like your supper now?”  At first Joe was surprised that she knew who it was. 

But then remembered two things at the same time: first, who else would it be, unless Pharaoh had returned home; secondly, the word REMUS would show on the kitchen phone display. 

Joe knew he could easily enjoy living like this!

“Thanks Mrs. C – I’ll be down in ten minutes.  Has Pharaoh eaten yet?”  He was hoping so, as Joe just had a dreadful feeling that something had happened to him.  His feeling did not improve with her answer.

“No,” she said, and then hung up.

“Pharaoh…where the heck are you?” Joe asked aloud as he got up, stretched, and then headed to the bathroom.  “You’re really starting to worry me now….”

Washing his face, he made a decision.  Pharaoh was missing and he could really use Frank’s help.

He knew that even if his big brother was still angry at him, he would help Joe with this.  Frank was too good a brother not to.

Having made the decision to call his brother, Joe felt much better – he’d grab a bite to eat and then call home.

* * *

Mrs. Corradi hummed to herself as she put some pasta salad on the table for Mr. Remus.

But as she reached for the teapot, she didn’t notice a young man sneaking up behind her!

Seconds later, the limp old woman was gently lowered to the ground and the man finished preparing the cup of tea….