Wednesday morning found the brothers headed for Angel Beach. They had spent the past day and a half trying to find the origin of the torn card Joe had discovered at the train station. No one was even sure it had any bearing on the investigation, but it was the only thing that had turned up that could even remotely be considered a clue.

They’d had no luck at all in their search and become discouraged at the lack of progress. Armed with a copy of each victim’s statement, they were now visiting all six crime scenes. It was hoped they might turn up something that had previously been missed.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Joe glanced at his older brother. Over the past few days Joe had become increasingly worried that his mother, Vanessa, Callie or some other female he loved dearly would become the next victim. His overprotective concern was starting to wear on everyone and had resulted in a heated argument between he and Frank the night before. Recalling a few of the things he had angrily shouted at Frank, he slid down a little lower in the seat, his conscience getting the better of him. Since Frank had picked him up earlier that morning, they hadn’t spoken more than a few words. Deciding that anything was better than the uncomfortable silence, Joe finally spoke.

"Did you see the game last night?"

"Nope."

"Oh." Joe thought a moment and tried a different approach. "Did you install that new program on your computer? The one Vanessa found for you?"

"Yup."

"So how is it working?"

"Fine."

Joe’s very limited patience had quickly run out. "Come on, Frank! I apologized last night – even for the crack about the pocket protector! What more do you want?"

"Nothing."

"Then why won’t you talk to me?" Joe yelled.

Frank glanced at his younger brother and smiled. "Because sometimes watching you squirm is just too entertaining to pass up."

Joe stared at his brother, open-mouthed, causing Frank to howl with laughter. Scowling at his brother, Joe snapped his head forward.

"Well, I’m glad you find me so entertaining. Maybe I should start charging you for my company." he replied, sulking. At the somewhat hurt expression on Joe’s face, Frank felt guilty – but only a little.

"I’m sorry, Joe," he continued, attempting to keep a straight face. "But you set yourself up for it. And that crack about the pocket protector was pretty rude."

"Yeah, that was one of my better insults." Joe smiled.

"I didn’t mean that as a compliment!" Frank said in exasperation.

"But I’ll take it as one." Joe smiled again.

"You’re amazing," Frank shook his head. "How is it that you can turn any situation around to your own advantage?"

"It’s a gift." Joe said smugly, feeling much better.

"Unbelievable." Frank muttered. "Hey, here’s the exit for Angel Beach. What do the directions say?"

Consulting the directions their father had given them, Joe guided Frank to the site of the first rape – an old beachfront hotel that had closed down several years earlier. The clear blue sky and bright sunshine gave the false impression of a warm day ahead. Getting out of the car, the brothers were hit with a cold wind coming in off the ocean. They quickly made their way to the front of the hotel. The door was banging against the door frame in time with the blowing wind.

Stepping inside, Frank turned on the powerful flashlight he had brought in. "Check her statement, Joe; where exactly did it happen?" he asked, while sweeping the beam of light over the room. Everything was coated with a layer of dust, dirt and sand.

"Never mind." He continued, focusing the light on a corner of the room where the dust on the floor had obviously been disturbed. He slowly moved the light across the floor until it was hovering near his feet. There was an almost clean path on the floor from where they stood at the door to the spot in the corner of the room.

"Guess that’s to be expected with the police, EMT’s, investigators and everyone else who has been in and out of here since the rape." He started to follow the path then stopped when he realized Joe wasn’t right behind him. Turning back, he saw his brother leaning against the closed door, looking past him towards the corner of the room.

"Well, are you coming?" he asked a little impatiently. Even with Joe leaning against the door, keeping it closed, the biting wind was making it’s presence known through various cracks in the walls and a few broken windows. Frank wanted to get the search over with and return to the warmth of the car. He retraced his steps back to the door and stopped. The look on Joe’s face was a mix of horror, fear and terror. "Joe? What’s wrong?"

Joe shook his head as if trying to dislodge an image only he could see. "God, she must have been terrified." He said quietly, a slightly haunted look in his eyes.

Frank put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to sit this one out? I can do this myself if you want to wait in the car." He said with concern.

Joe hesitated a moment, then the haunted look in his eyes turned cold, the terror disappearing as quickly as it had come. He looked at Frank and blinked. "What are we waiting for. Come on let’s check this place out." He said and walked quickly to the corner of the room.

Frank was stunned. It was as if Joe didn’t even realize what he had just said and done. Something about this particular case was very obviously getting to him. With increasing concern for his younger brother, Frank made a mental note to talk to his father that evening.

Together they walked across the room and began their search, frequently referring to the victims statement to make sure they did not in advertently overlook something. An hour later the brothers returned to the car frustrated, having found nothing that could help the investigation.

"Maybe we’ll have better luck in Southport." Frank said optimistically.

"Yeah, right." Joe replied, dejectedly, staring out the side window.

"Don’t worry, Joe. We’ll find him. It may take a little longer than we’re used to but we will find him."

"And how many more women are going to be raped before we do?" He said irritably. The rest of the drive to Southport was made in silence, each of the brothers lost in their own thoughts.

Upon exiting the freeway, Frank made his way to Southport’s waterfront district, turning towards the huge storage containers where incoming freighters offloaded their cargo. Passing the impressive, newly constructed storage facilities, he glanced at the huge cranes unloading the freighters docked at the port. Continuing on to the opposite end of the waterfront, he was amazed at the change in the landscape. A five year renovation project had been completed the previous year, with the bigger, more modern storage facilities they had just passed. This end of the waterfront, now abandoned, had quickly become a desolate, decaying area inhabited only by mice, rats and cockroaches.

Getting out of the car, Frank pulled up the collar of his jacket in a feeble attempt to keep the frigid gusts of wind at bay. He waited for Joe to join him and then led the way to the rusting metal storage containers. Recalling what he had read on the victims statement, he walked past three storage containers and turned left. Instantly the biting wind was gone as Frank and Joe found themselves in a narrow, isolated passageway between two towering containers.

"Agent Wells was right; this guy is smart. He chose spots so completely isolated no one would ever hear these women scream."

"And all in areas that have recently been shut down and replaced with new buildings in a different part of town." Joe said with some enthusiasm. "So if we can just figure out when he’s going to strike next, we can narrow down where to look for him."

"There can’t be all that many places in Bayport that have recently been shut down and replaced with newer facilities somewhere else!" Frank replied picking up on Joe’s train of thought. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed their father. "Ow!" he exclaimed, pulling the phone away from his ear. "Too much static between these containers. Start looking around; I’ll be right back." He said walking back out into the open.

Joe began walking towards the far end of the narrow strip of cement but abruptly stopped near the middle. Squatting down, he peered at a dark, rust colored stain on the ground. ‘Blood’ he thought sadly, remembering this particular victim had suffered not only a concussion but a skull fracture as well. He carefully looked at the area surrounding him, hoping for some kind of clue but found none. As he stood up, Frank reappeared at the far end of the storage containers.

"Dad said the meeting today was cancelled. No new information has turned up so they decided to postpone it." Frank said as he approached his brother.

Without saying a word, Joe pointed to the ground at his feet. Looking at the spot Joe indicated, Frank sighed and shook his head. "She was the most seriously injured of all of them, right?"

"Skull fracture and grade five concussion." Joe recited from memory what had been on the police report. "She’s still in the hospital."

"Let’s finish this one up." Frank said checking his watch. "We should have time to grab some lunch before we check out the last site here and still beat the traffic home."

By late afternoon, they were on their way back to Bayport. The final crime scene they had to check that day, a high school that had been closed two years earlier due to the opening of a larger school several miles away, also held no new information. They were discussing the case in detail which resulted in nothing but a new level of frustration. The ringing of Joe’s cell phone was a welcome interruption. Looking at the number revealed by Caller ID, he smiled.

"Hey, gorgeous!" he answered the phone.

"How did you know – oh, right, you got that Caller ID." Vanessa laughed.

Joe’s smile grew even wider. Nothing could bring him out of a bad mood quicker than hearing Vanessa’s bubbly laughter.

"I was just wondering if you knew when you might be home tonight?" she continued.

"We’re on the way home right now. I’ll probably be there before you. But don’t make me wait too long, ok? I miss you."

"I miss you too, baby. Barring any emergencies, I’ll be home right on time. See you then."

"Ok. I love you, Van."

"Love you too, hon. Bye."

"Bye." He turned off the phone and returned it to his pocket. "What?" he said, noticing the smirk on his brothers face.

"Nothing." Frank said, the smirk melting into a genuine smile. "It’s just nice to see you so happy."

"It’s nice to be so happy." Joe replied, returning his brothers grin.

Vanessa tapped her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. Staring at the long line of brake lights ahead of her, she sighed.

This isn’t an Interstate; it’s a parking lot!" she said in frustration.

She popped out her favorite CD and tuned the radio to the local news station. Within minutes she learned there was a jack-knifed tractor trailer blocking the highway up ahead causing the miles long back up. Slowly she inched her way into the right lane following yet another long line of cars to the exit ramp.

Once off the Interstate, she quickly made her way to the back road that would take her home. She often took this quiet road home in the spring when she could put the top down on her Jeep and enjoy the warm weather; or the fall when the intense red, yellow, and gold colors of the changing leaves always left her in awe. She liked the fact that there was never much traffic on this road, unlike the Interstate which more often than not resembled a race track or, as it did tonight, a parking lot.

Popping the CD back in, she absently sang along while she thought about what to make for dinner. She hadn’t gone grocery shopping that weekend like she usually did so she knew there wasn’t a whole lot to choose from. Smiling, she knew it would not take much persuasion at all on her part to talk Joe into going out for dinner. Abandoning the mental list she had started of what meager offerings might be in the refrigerator, she began a list of her favorite restaurants instead. ‘Sorry, Joe, no Mr. Pizza tonight. I want a real dinner!’

The little Jeep suddenly began to slow down. Thinking she must have inadvertently eased up on the gas, Vanessa pressed down on the pedal a little harder. The Jeep continued to slow down as she watched the speedometer steadily decrease. As she eased onto the shoulder of the road a red light on the dashboard suddenly began flashing on and off warning Vanessa to "Check Engine".

"Now you tell me!" she said hitting the steering wheel in frustration. Seconds later the engine sputtered and died. She pressed the button to turn on the flashers and reached for her purse. Pulling out her cell phone, she pressed the speed dial for Joe’s cell phone. He answered on the first ring.

"Hey, Baby, where are you? I’m starving!"

She smiled and shook her head. ‘He loves that Caller ID!’

"I’m on Becks Pond Road. My Jeep decided now would be a good time for a little

‘R and R’ and suddenly stopped."

"Are you alright?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes, I’m fine." She reassured him. "Just stuck!"

"Where are you, exactly?"

"I just passed that huge farm. You know the one where the horses are always out grazing in the field?"

"Ok. Turn on your flashers and lock the doors. I’m on my way."

"Thanks, hon."

"Listen, don’t get out of the car."

"I won’t." She said dutifully.

"And don’t open the door or roll down the window for anyone."

"I won’t." She repeated, shaking her head and smiling.

"I’ll be there soon. Love you, Baby."

"I love you, too."

She returned the cell phone to her purse and laughed softly at Joe’s long list of instructions. ‘Lock the doors; turn on the flashers; don’t get out of the car; don’t open the door; don’t roll down the window…’ She had half expected him to tell her not to take candy from strangers. ‘I guess I’d rather he be too over protective than not care at all.’ She settled back in the seat and stared out the window into the darkness, watching a lone car pass by every so often.

A short time later she reached across the passenger seat and opened the glove compartment pulling out the flashlight Joe had insisted she keep there. Shining the beam of light on her watch, she realized Joe would be arriving any minute. Returning the flashlight to the little compartment she was startled by a knock on the drivers side window. ‘Right on time.’ She thought.

She reached back over her shoulder to unlock the door. Her hand froze on the lock as she looked out the window. The person staring back at her was definitely not Joe.