"Somehow this doesn't surprise me," said Frank, an hour and half later. He shook his head and gazed around the crowded parking lot. He glanced over at his brother. "All things considered, you think she came to the mall?"

"Someone could have kidnapped her and left the car at a public place to mislead everyone." Joe shrugged. "Look for a red car."

"A lot of people have red cars." Frank said with a sigh, knowing he was repeating himself. This was ridiculous.

"Not many have an Aston-Martin."

Frank rolled his eyes. For the last hour and a half, Joe had driven from one end of Bayport to the other, finally stopping here at the mall. His brother was certifiable--he had to be. Half-heartedly, he looked for red cars.

Joe screeched to a halt and Frank threw out his hands to keep from hitting the dashboard. He turned to yell at Joe but his brother was already out of the car. Frank sighed and got out of the van. He walked around to where Joe was standing studying a gleaming red car. The license was a Massachusetts plate, Frank noted and felt a chill. Was Joe right? Had someone dumped the car to avoid suspicion? He cleared his throat. "Is this it?"

Joe's humor seemed to have faded. "Yeah." He walked to the front of the car. "We should have asked if the front license was personalized. This one says Kitten."

Frank peeked in the driver's side window. The car was spotless inside, not even a trash bag hanging from a glove box. An intricate crystal angel hung from the rearview mirror along with a glittering snowflake. "Looks clean inside."

"No scratches anywhere on the car. No one bumped her or knocked her off the road." Joe looked over at his brother, his eyes narrowed. "You think this is all her doing? You think she planned this?"

"But why come here?" Frank sighed. "Everyone was expecting her to come here."

"I don't know. Maybe she's off her rocker. Who knows?"

"You're such a help."

"I try." Joe veered for the mall. "Let's go in. It's cold out here and we can look for her in there."

"In there? Joe, it's Saturday, it's just a few weeks till Christmas..." Frank let his voice trail off as he watched his brother walk toward the mall's entrance. He threw his hands up in the air. "I give up," he muttered--and followed Joe inside.

                           ***

It was much warmer in the mall and quite crowded, realized Joe. Then it dawned on him what Frank had meant. Joe gave a mental shrug. How many redheaded women could there be in Bayport? He stood in the food court and scanned the crowds going in either direction and he realized another problem. Most people were wearing hats. Oh great.

"Joe?"

Joe turned to see Vanessa. "Hey, what's up?"

"Why are you here? I thought you'd be working."

"I am. We just found the car outside."

Vanessa's gray eyes went wide as she stared at him. "No way. She's here?"

"Either that or someone carjacked her. Then the carjacker is here."

Vanessa gazed around the crowds. "Oh my. I hope she's okay. Callie said she's a really good writer."

Joe kept his eyes on the crowd. "Yeah, well, if she set all this up I won't be too happy."

"Vanessa," came Frank's voice. "Did Callie come too?"

Vanessa smiled at Frank. "You may want to wait for awhile. She was looking for presents for the both of you."

Joe glanced at Frank. "At least someone is buying me a present."

Vanessa bounced on tiptoe and kissed Joe on the cheek. "Two someones. I have to go. I told my mom I'd be home by one."

Joe kissed her back. "See you later. I have a surprise for you."

"You do? What?"

Joe grinned. "It's a surprise. Can you be ready to go somewhere exciting by seven tonight?"

"That's awfully short notice, Joseph," said Vanessa with a mock frown. When he just grinned at her and didn't explain, she let out a sigh. "Oh all right. Seven."

"See you then."

Vanessa waved and left. Joe caught Frank looking at him. "What?"

"The concert is at seven. The guy said backstage passes, not tickets."

"I plan to talk to him when we get there."

Frank rolled his eyes and scanned the crowds. "It'll take hours, Joe."

Joe grunted. "Not if we split up. I'll go this way, you go that way."

Before Frank could say anything, his brother was gone. He shook his head again and started to look closer at the people who he passed. Unfortunately, most of the people had hats on and he hadn't seen a single woman with red hair. Just as he thought that, he spotted a petite redhead. Frank hurried forward and tapped the woman's shoulder. "Hello, I'm--"

"Hello, Frank," said Merlyn Slade. "Isn't this place crowded?"

"Hello, Merlyn." Frank felt his excitement fade. So much for quick and easy, he thought ruefully. "Christmas shopping early?"

"Belated birthday shopping, actually. Casi's birthday was Monday."

"Halloween? Her birthday is on Halloween?"

Merlyn nodded, grinning. "Isn't it something? I would love to be born on Samhain." She raised a brown paper bag and lifted out a box. "I got her a motion-sensor black cat; she can put it at her front door and anyone who walks past it, it will meow and hiss. Casi decorates her house for Halloween. It's awesome."

Frank realized this was what he was missing. Here was a person who knew the writer personally. "Would she forget to call?"

Merlyn frowned. "You can't think Casi would do this on purpose. She wouldn't. She and Mom are friends and she went to college with Aunt M.J.'s cousins. She would call us if something came up."

"We found her car." Frank took a deep breath. "It's parked right outside. The front license says Kitten--"

Merlyn turned pale. "Oh God, no. That means someone must have gotten her and stolen her car. Oh God." She spun around and shouted, "Dyllan, we have to go home."

Frank saw her tall black-haired cousin walking towards them. "Merlyn, wait."

"No, I have to tell Daddy. He can call Casi's family."

Frank opened his mouth to say something when he heard his name being called. He turned to see Callie, walking with Merlyn's other cousins. "Frank, what are you doing here?"

"I'm--"

Merlyn looked at her cousins. "Leigh, Quinn, come on."

The twins shared a private look, and then trailed after Merlyn and Dyllan without so much as a wave goodbye. Callie frowned after them. "They are an odd bunch. So, what are you doing here?"

Frank sighed. "We found the writer's car. It's parked outside. When I told Merlyn, she thought someone had grabbed MacFairlaigne and took the car."

"Maybe. The way Joe was talking, it's some sort of fancy car."

Frank shrugged. "I don't know what to think, Callie. It doesn't make sense." He shook his head. "It just doesn't make any sense."