I studied the older man for a moment and finally looked over at the guy who must be my brother. He looked hurt when I didn’t say anything. I wanted to finish off the sandwich but figured I was being rude. I cleared my throat. “Hello.”

The younger guy stepped forward. “Joe.”

That voice. I remembered the voice. He’d been the one calling me stubborn, then. Like an echo, I heard his voice in my mind, He twisted his ankle and he won’t admit he needs help walking. It’s his Mr. Stubborn act. He ought to win an Oscar.* I cleared my throat. “You’re Frank.”

He gave a jerky nod. “Yeah.”

I looked at the older man. “You’re my Dad.”

The man sat down at the table across from me. “Joe—”

“There’s no point in crowding him, Fenton. He’ll remember on his own, at his own time.”

I looked over at my aunt and managed a smile. She looked a bit upset and I didn’t think it was because she wasn’t happy to see me.

“I can show you your room,” said Frank.

I turned to look at him. “Sounds good.” I finished off my milk and followed him out of the kitchen. We passed a small semi-circular table with a telephone on it. For a moment I just stared at it, feeling a chill snake down my spine.

I remembered it ringing and me answering it. And the voice on the other end... “You had someone new already, didn’t you, Joe? You should have known it wouldn’t last. Everything you touch dies, doesn’t it? And more will die. Trust me on that, Joe. Tonight the dead will come for the living.”**

“Joe?”

I jumped and turned to see Frank looking at me, concerned. “Something...bad happened, didn’t it. Callie said I lost someone...Iola.”

Frank nodded. “Yes...last year. Joe, it’s okay.”

I dodged the telephone and headed for the stairs. “Show me my room.”

Frank led the way upstairs. He pointed to the door down the hall. “That’s your room. We share a bathroom.”

I walked down the hall and pulled open the door. The room was dim, so I switched the overhead light on. A large poster of a red Mustang convertible hung over the bed. Books were stacked on the desk and the bed looked hastily made. Nothing seemed familiar.

I heard a tap on another door and I went over to it. Frank was standing in a simple bathroom with double lavatories, toilet and tub. “And your bedroom is through there?”

“Yeah.”

I turned around, eyeing the room. What was I going to do now?

“Joe?”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. “What?”

“You don’t remember anything?”

I sat down on the bed. “Just snatches. They seem to focus on this Iola. Did I love her or something?”

He cleared his throat. “It was a bit more complicated than that.”

I didn’t press him. “Who’s Vanessa?”

“Your girlfriend. Does she know you’re back?”

“Callie wanted to call, but I told her not to.” I stared down at the floor, running the toe of my shoe over the carpet. When Frank didn’t say anything, I looked up at him. “I guess that’s not very nice, is it. Maybe I’m not such a nice person.”

“Joe, you’re a wonderful person. You used to rescue stray kitties all the time.”

I laughed. “Oh, that’s a good recommendation. I rescued cats.”

I shook my head and pushed myself off the bed. I walked over to the desk. I gestured to the stack of books. “Homework?”

“You always wait till the last minute.”

“Not a bad idea.” I sat down at the desk and flipped open the top book. It looked like a social studies textbook. I closed it with a thump. “I can wait till then to do it.”

Frank arched an eyebrow at me and eyed the book for a second. “Indonesia,” he said quietly.

“Volcano.” I looked over at him. “There are volcanoes in Indonesia?” A creepy feeling settled over me and I shifted in the chair. “Pacific Rim. Volcanoes ring the Pacific. Nuclear bomb in a volcano.” I shuddered. “We were there.”

Frank nodded and moved into the room. “Kenya.”

A faint memory stirred of elephants and the Masai. “We were there too.”

“San Diego.”

“Zoo.” I looked over at him, feeling the strangest impression of deja vu. And suddenly memories slammed into me with all the force of a freight train. “Frank...”

“Joe, what’s wrong?”

I jumped up and grabbed him in a bear hug. “Nothing.”

Frank hugged me back and then pulled free. “You remember?”

“I remember San Diego and thinking I saw you get shot. I remember that criminal group had some crazy plans. And Charity was there.”

Frank laughed. “Yeah, she was. And she got away again.” His smile faded. “You went to the mall to shop for Christmas presents.”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah, I did. And—” I shook my head. “The last store I went into was the Ornament Shoppe, looking for your ornament for this year. That’s the last thing I remember.”

I scanned the room, seeing it all again with fresh eyes. On the inside of my closet door was another poster with the words from Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven on it. I had hid Mom’s present on the top shelf of the closet. Dad’s present was in the bottom drawer of my desk.

“You don’t remember anything else?”

I turned to look at him. “Frank, it’s okay. I’m sure it will come back and we’ll figure it out. Let’s go downstairs.”

Frank nodded slowly. “Welcome back, little brother.”

I barely heard him as I raced out of my room and down the stairs. “Mom!” I yelled, running back into the kitchen.

She and Aunt Gertrude turned around as I burst into the room. Aunt Gertrude waved a pot holder at me. “If I’ve told you a thousand times, Joseph, I’ve told you a hundred—”

“No running in the house, Auntie. But can’t I get by with it, just this once?”

Mom came closer. “You remember?”

I hugged her, savoring the scent of roses that always belonged to her. “Yeah, I do, Mom, and I’m sorry.” I let her go and glanced around. “Where’s Dad?”

“In his study.”

I flashed her a grin and darted out of the kitchen before Auntie could fuss again. I headed for Dad’s study only to find Frank already at the door, waiting for me. I knocked but before I could hear him say ‘come in’, I pushed the door open. “Dad!”

He jumped. “Joe, is everything okay?”

I stepped around his desk and grinned. “It is now.”

*****

The house was quiet and Fenton stared at the family photo on his desk. His son was home and although he wasn’t sure of all the details, he was relieved to have his family back together.

He spared a glance at the clock and was surprised to see it was nearly midnight. It was time for him to go to bed as well. A faint ringing stopped him from getting up out of his desk chair. He grabbed his cell phone and answered it, “Yes?”

He leaned back in his seat. “I have to say, Nicholas, I appreciate the help....Well, thank your daughter for me as well....He’s remembering now....No, not what led to his disappearance but I’m sure he’ll remember in time.”

Fenton frowned. “You seem pretty certain de Ville was behind this....It was industrial espionage, Nicholas, nothing more....All right, thanks again.” He pressed the ‘end’ button and set the cell phone down on his desk. He stared at it a moment and shook his head. “The Devil’s Advocate was just a movie,” he muttered to himself as he got to his feet. It was definitely time for bed.

*****

Frank was still in bed, it was barely seven-thirty in the morning and the sun was just peeking above the rooftops across the street. He stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought, when a loud banging sound startled him.

He sat up, puzzled, trying to locate the source of the sound. The door from the bathroom swung open and Joe stood there, eyes closed, hair spiked in all directions. “Isn’ Saturday? Is gotta be weekend.”

Frank decided it would be unfair to laugh at his brother. Joe might not take it too well. “It’s Christmas vacation.”

“Good ‘nough. Stop the noise.” Joe turned himself around, eyes still closed.

“It wasn’t me.”

Joe stopped in mid-turn and slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the door frame like he’d never seen it before and then slowly shifted his gaze to his brother. “Not you?”

“Not me. I was just lying here, savoring the peace and quiet.”

“That works better if you’re sleeping.”

Frank blinked at the coherent statement. Well, semi-coherent anyway. “Joe, are you awake?”

“I’m standing, ain’t I?”

Frank bit back a grin. “Well...that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re awake.”

Joe grunted, turned himself around to face Frank. “I’m standing and my eyes are open.” He blinked them several times. “What are you wearing?”

Frank looked down at his pajamas. “Orange County Choppers. Why?”

Joe shrugged, made his way to Frank’s computer chair and slumped down in it. “Where’d you get ‘em?”

Frank took a deep breath, wondering why this conversation seemed so...odd. “At the mall. There’s an OCC shop where that little candle shop used to be.”

“Ohhh...” Joe sighed and settled deeper into the chair. “Noise is gone, wake me for breakfast in a couple of hours.”

“Joe, you’re not falling asleep in my—”

Another loud bang interrupted him. Joe grunted and nearly fell out of the chair. “What—?”

Frank got out of bed. “That came from the attic. Let’s go.”

“Where?”

Frank just shook his head and hurried to his door. He swung it open to see his mother carrying a small box labeled ‘ornaments’. “Good morning, Frank. Did we wake you?”

“Not me. You woke Joe though.”

“Well, now would be a good time to head out to that tree farm on the highway,” said his father, lugging a slightly larger box from the attic.

“Tree?” Joe stepped around Frank, looking quite alert. “We’re getting the tree today?”

Frank rolled his eyes and shook his head at his younger brother. Some things never changed. Before he could say a word, Joe had darted back through the bathroom to his room. Laura caught Frank’s expression and smiled. “Sometimes Christmas turns us all into kids again.”

Frank chuckled. “Then what’s his excuse the rest of the year, Mom?”

Her smile widened. “That I’ll leave you to figure out. Aunt Gertrude’s got breakfast ready, so you two can head out soon.”

“Okay, Mom.” Frank stepped back into his room and shut the door. He went to the closet to find something to wear only to remember he hadn’t asked how cold it was outside. He moved to the window and noticed a blanket of white on the ground below.

“Hey, you dressed? We gotta go.” Joe burst into the room, clad in old blue jeans and a faded Garfield sweatshirt. “Frank, what the heck are you doing?”

“Joe, look at this.” Frank motioned to his brother and Joe walked to the window. “It snowed some more last night.”

Joe flashed his brother a grin. “Perfect. Hurry up and get dressed or I’m leaving you here.”

“Oh no, you won’t.” Frank hurried to his closet and pulled out some warm clothes.

Joe headed for the door to the hallway and his grin widened. “I’m giving you five minutes. No, ten, I’m in a good mood. If you’re not downstairs in ten minutes, I’m gone.” He darted out of Frank’s room, laughing.

Frank grunted. “I’ll be down in four!”

Joe chuckled as he took the stairs two at a time and dashed into the kitchen. “Good morning, Aunt Gertrude.”

Gertrude Hardy glanced at the kitchen clock which read five minutes to eight and then she looked at her nephew. “You’re in a good mood. And it’s early.”

Joe laughed and helped himself to breakfast – fluffy scrambled eggs and crispy bacon. He got himself a tall glass of milk and sat down at the kitchen table. “We’re going tree hunting. Be vewy, vewy quiet,” he added, quoting a classic cartoon.

Gertrude shook her head and smiled. She sat there, sipping her coffee and reading the morning paper. A loud clatter made her look up to see Frank racing into the kitchen. He skidded and managed to use Joe’s chair to stop himself.

Frank’s momentum pulled away from his breakfast. “Hey!” said Joe.

“Four minutes!”

Gertrude shook her head. “Really, Frank.”

“He threatened to leave me,” said Frank. He started filling his plate with eggs and bacon.

Joe grunted, still sitting where Frank had pulled him. “Push me back to the table.”

Frank grinned. “Only if you promise to wait for me.”

Joe rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll wait.” His grin was mischievous. “Five minutes.”

Gertrude shook her head again and continued to drink her coffee. Some things never changed.

[*Casefile#75: No Way Out/**Casefile#80:Dead of Night]