Several minutes passed with Joe remaining still, not even giving the car a second glance. Taking a quick peek at his son, Fenton thought Joe looked…troubled. Recalling how quiet and subdued Joe had been during the ride, he began to worry about his youngest son. Just as he was about to pull Joe aside and attempt to find out what was bothering him, he saw the man who had answered the door was now hurrying down the front steps with Sam and the two officers right behind him. The man stopped abruptly, his mouth hanging open when he saw the damage to his car.

"What the…how the hell did that happen?!" He cried out.

‘Either he deserves an Academy Award, or he really wasn’t driving that car last night.’ Joe thought, noting the look on his face and what sounded like genuine surprise in the man’s voice. Glancing around, he realized he was the only one who seemed to notice. ‘Or maybe I just imagined it.’

"Could you unlock the car for us, Mr. Sansom?" Sam requested.

Still gazing open-mouthed at his car, Sansom extended his arm forward, using the remote control to unlock the doors. Immediately, the two officers descended on either side of the car and began a methodical search.

"Does he look familiar to you at all?" Fenton asked Joe quietly.

"I never got a look at the driver." Joe shook his head in frustration. "It was dark and the windows are tinted. But I know that’s the car."

"Sir?" One of the officers called out, motioning for Sam to join him.

Joe watched as the officer said something to Sam and pointed towards the floor in front of the passenger seat. Crouching down, Sam was apparently examining whatever the officer had found. Standing up, he walked back to Sansom.

"Mr. Sansom, where were you last night?" He asked, keeping his voice completely neutral.

"Right here. At home." Sansom replied without hesitation.

"Was anyone else with you?"

"No." He said, the tone of his voice turning bitter. "My wife and I are divorcing and my son will spend the rest of his life in a nursing home for the severely disabled. But you already knew that." He spat out. "My family has been destroyed thanks to your stellar police department. I’m alone now. My wife is still staying here until the renovations on her house are complete, but we rarely see each other. So no, there was no one else with me."

Joe shivered at the hatred in the man’s voice, noticing Sam never even flinched.

"Did anyone call? Stop by to visit? Anyone who can verify your whereabouts?" Sam continued.

"Why do I need someone to vouch for me? Are you saying I need an alibi for something?" The man challenged.

"Mr. Sansom, there was an attempted kidnapping in Bayport last night. The suspect was chased through downtown Bayport, hitting a parked car at one point and sustaining a broken right rear taillight, before fleeing, leaving a dozen minor traffic accidents and minor chaos behind. We’re almost certain this is the car that was used in the attack and subsequently fled the scene." Sam replied, watching closely for the man’s reaction.

"And you think it was me?!" Sansom exclaimed, the expression on his face changing from disbelief to anger.

"The assailant shot two tranquilizer darts at the victim. Identical to the one my officer just found under the front seat of your car."

"Wha…what?!" Sansom stared, the color draining from his face.

"Mr. Sansom, if there is anyone who can verify that you were home all night last night, now would be a good time to call them."

"I…I fell asleep on the couch. Watching TV. I never left the house!"

Sam took a step back and nodded at one of the officers who immediately came forward and addressed George Sansom.

"Please turn around and put your hands behind your back."

"But…I didn’t…."

"Now, sir." The officer said firmly.

As George Sansom was being handcuffed and read his rights, Joe saw a woman walking towards the house. Noticing the police car for the first time, she stopped and stared. Now watching her closely, Joe could swear he saw a look of utter fear cross over her face akin to that of a cornered animal. When she saw the handcuffs being snapped into place, Joe swore she exhaled with relief. She then looked at Frank, and her eyes seemed to widen in shock for a few seconds almost as if she recognized him, but the look quickly disappeared. Wordlessly, he nudged Frank, who had been watching the arrest intently, unaware of the woman’s arrival.

"Did you see that?" Joe asked under his breath.

"See what? I was watching Sansom." Frank replied.

Joe didn’t have a chance to reply, as the woman rushed up the driveway to the man’s side.

"George?! My, God, what’s going on?!" She cried out.

"As usual, Gloria, the police have screwed up again!" The man replied with unconcealed hatred. "They said my car was used in an attempted kidnapping in Lakeport last night…"

"Bayport." Sam corrected.

"Bayport." Sansom sneered. "…and since I was home alone with no alibi, they’ve decided I’m the kidnapper!"

The woman looked from Sansom to Sam and back again.

"Mrs. Sansom, I’m sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances." Sam greeted the woman.

‘The wife.’ Joe deduced, watching her intently. ‘Soon to be ex-wife.’ He corrected himself recalling Sansom’s comment about a divorce.

"I…I don’t understand, Chief Peterson."

As Sam began to explain what was going on, Joe tugged on Frank’s elbow pulling him out of earshot of the rest of the group.

"What? Did you see something? Remember something else?" Frank asked.

"No, but that woman…when she first saw what was going on…before she thought anyone had noticed her…she got this look on her face. Just for a second, but it was there." Joe said, still watching her.

"What look?"

"Like she was scared…terrified."

"Uh, Joe, not everyone is used to the police showing up in their driveway unannounced." Frank reminded him.

"No, I mean scared like she had been…trapped." Joe turned and looked at his brother. "Caught. And when she saw you, it was almost like…like she knew you."

"What are you saying?" Frank asked warily.

‘What am I trying to say?’ Joe sighed, more unsure of himself than ever. "I…I’m not sure. I just thought her initial reaction was…I guess I don’t know what I thought. Never mind." Joe walked back to stand next to his father, leaving Frank puzzled and a little concerned.

*****

Several hours later, George Sansom had been arrested and charged with attempted assault, attempted kidnapping, fleeing the scene of an accident and many other violations of the motor vehicle code. His car had been impounded and was now being searched for any evidence that could tie him to the assaults of Kent Graham, Leona Soris, Jason Linges or Bradford Aarons. Search warrants for both his home and his locker at work had been requested and issued.

Unable to afford an attorney, he had been assigned a public defender. He had initially agreed to be questioned with the lawyer present, insistent that he was innocent and had nothing to hide. But when it had come out that he had no alibi’s for the nights of the assaults in question, was a registered nurse working at one of the city’s largest hospitals, and had served as a front line medic in the Gulf War, the attorney brought the questions to an abrupt halt.

Standing with Sam Peterson and the Hardy’s in the corridor of the police station, Gloria Sansom shook her head, still in shock.

"I just can’t believe it." She said softly. "I know he’s bitter about what happened to Blake and the outcome of the trial, but why take it out on those innocent people? It makes no sense." She looked up at Frank, concern in her eyes. "And he tried to kidnap you last night?"

"I’m afraid that’s what the evidence says." Sam replied. "I’m so sorry, Mrs. Sansom." He felt genuine remorse at having to arrest the man. His department had been the cause of their son’s assailant going free. Their son’s ordeal and the subsequent trial had obviously destroyed their marriage and apparently pushed George Sansom over the edge, despite his claims to the contrary. Sam stared at Gloria Sansom, admiring her ability to handle it all with such grace.

"It’s not your fault." She reassured him, still looking at Frank closely. Seeing him start to fidget under her gaze, she apologized profusely. "I’m so sorry, it’s just that you remind me so much of my son." She smiled sadly.

‘What?’ Joe thought, his forehead wrinkled in puzzlement, as he recalled a picture of Blake Sansom he had seen on the news. ‘Her son had light brown hair and blue eyes. She doesn’t even know Frank. How could he remind her of her son?’ Looking at his father and brother, he saw that neither one seemed to find the remark unusual.

"I read a good deal about him." Frank replied gently, leaving out the fact that he had learned about her son while following the trial. "Thank you for the compliment."

"I know this is a rather strange request but… could I buy you a cup of coffee? Maybe talk for a few minutes?" She asked shyly. "Blake and I used to talk over coffee all the time."

Frank smiled at the woman, not at all bothered by the fact that she obviously wanted him to stand in for her son, if only for a few minutes. After what she had been through, if it would bring her a few minutes of peace, he was more than willing to go along. "I’d love to." He said offering her his arm.

Gratefully, she slipped her hand through his arm, as Joe stared at the two of them, already talking animatedly as they walked away. An unexplained chill ran down his spine, and the butterflies in his stomach came alive insisting something was very wrong. Now certain his instincts could no longer be trusted, he ignored the signals his body was sending and turned away, once again awash in self-doubt.

By the time they had returned to Bayport late that afternoon, Joe felt as if he didn’t know which way was up. With each new revelation that supposedly cemented the case against George Sansom, Joe had questions and reservations but no longer had the confidence to voice them. Sam had asked Gloria where she was the previous evening and on the nights of the four assaults. He had been trying to see if she could corroborate George Sansom’s claim that he was home, sleeping on the couch, thereby verifying his alibi. When she had replied that she had been alone, doing some work on the house she was planning to move into after the divorce, it occurred to Joe that meant she also had no alibi for any of the nights in question.

Frank’s short visit with Gloria Sansom over a cup of coffee had turned into several hours, allowing him to learn quite a bit about her. The house she was working on had been left to her by her parents. She in turn had left it to her son who had been living in it until the night he’d been attacked. Living and working in the city, she did not own a car as she could get almost anywhere via public transportation. However she did have a set of keys to her soon to be ex-husbands car and his permission to borrow it should the need ever arise. Joe realized that gave her just as much access to the car as George Sansom had. When no one else came to the same conclusion, Joe took it as further proof he could no longer trust his own instincts.

During the ride home, Frank related more and more of his discussion with Gloria. Like her husband, she too was a registered nurse and had worked in both the Emergency Room and the operating room, leading Joe to the conclusion she was probably capable of performing a surgical procedure on her own, crude though it may be. Joe found himself wondering why she had latched onto Frank so quickly and appeared to know so much about him, never having met him before. And the fact that she said Frank reminded her of her son, when she knew nothing about him kept nagging at Joe. He was about to mention these observations when the voice of self-doubt told him to wait. If he were right, either Frank or his father would come to the same conclusions pretty quickly. When neither of them did, Joe retreated even further into himself, feeling completely and utterly…broken.

After arriving back in Bayport, Frank, Joe and Fenton briefly convened in the office to review the day’s events and plan for tomorrow. Shortly thereafter, Fenton had sent his sons home, congratulating them on a job well done. Joe was now sitting in his car in his parent’s driveway, clutching the steering wheel tightly with both hands, staring at some unseen spot on the dashboard. Frank was standing next to the car, talking to Joe through the open window. He had been trying to engage Joe in conversation to no avail, ending in an awkward silence.

At that moment, Joe wanted more than anything to pour out his heart to Frank, tell him about all the doubts, the confusion, the indecision and sudden lack of confidence. Joe wanted Frank to come up with logical reasons for everything he was feeling, and then make it all go away. But he hesitated, once again unsure. Six months ago, Joe wouldn’t have thought twice about turning to his older brother for help. Six months ago, Joe still trusted Frank without question. Six months ago was a different lifetime.

"Okay, then." Frank said, not wanting to leave, yet unable to find a reason to stay. "I’ll see you tomorrow."

Just as Frank was about to turn away, something stopped him. Joe had been acting strangely all day. Usually bubbling over with excitement when they solved a case, today he seemed almost…depressed. He hadn’t ventured forth with an opinion or observation unless pressed for it, and even then, he did so reluctantly, sounding uncharacteristically unsure of himself. Frank got the distinct impression his brother was facing some internal crisis and was trying to solve it on his own. Something Frank could clearly see he was in no state of mind to be doing.

Joe was fully aware Frank hadn’t moved one inch even though he had already said goodbye. Was it fate? Some kind of divine intervention from above? Or just Frank’s big brother radar screaming at him that to leave Joe alone now would be a costly mistake. Joe’s reaction to the day’s events had left him wondering if he even had the confidence to decide something as simple as what to have for dinner, let alone whether he could, or should, confide in his brother.

Every instinct Joe had was telling him that they had arrested the wrong person. Despite the overwhelming evidence, he believed George Sansom was innocent. The man’s complete and total shock when he saw the damage to his car had been genuine, at least to Joe. But no one else seemed to see it, so Joe had no choice but to believe it was all in his mind. He was also haunted by Sansom’s absolute insistence he was innocent. His story had never varied, it was exactly the same no matter who asked the questions or how they were phrased. Something his father had taught him guilty people who were lying usually couldn’t pull off. By day’s end, it was painfully clear to Joe, he was the only one who believed they had the wrong man.

But his only other suspect was Gloria Sansom and he had no proof to back up his suspicions. Just the look on her face when she had first arrived on the scene. ‘She looked trapped…as if she had been caught. And why did she seem to recognize Frank?’ Yet, no one else had seen it but him and he now wondered if he had imagined it. Just as George Sansom did, she had no one who could verify her whereabouts, yet that didn’t seem to bother anyone but Joe. Neither did the fact that she had access to the car. Why was he the only one who saw her as a suspect?

‘Because you’re no longer capable of looking at the simplest facts and coming up with the right answer.’ A voice in his head answered derisively. ‘Face it, you are broken.’

In the past, Joe would have turned to his brother immediately, without hesitation, for help in sorting through the confusion. But that was when he trusted Frank – implicitly. If he decided to confide his fears in his older brother now, would Frank listen and help him find his way out? Or would he listen and simply decide Joe was a liability whose self-doubt and lack of confidence could put them both in danger? Would Frank look at Joe as a brother who was lost and in desperate need of help, or a partner he could no longer count on? Even though his gaze had never wavered from the spot on the dashboard, Joe could feel Frank standing just outside the car door, looking down on him.

Sensing Joe was too conflicted to think clearly, Frank silently pleaded with his brother to just open up to him and give Frank a chance to prove he could be trusted again. Crouching down next to the car, Frank rested his chin on the doorframe so he was now looking up to Joe, rather than towering over him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Joe could see Frank kneel down next to the car, a gesture that Joe found comforting although he didn’t know why. Unbeknownst to Joe, it was that one gesture that proved to be the turning point for him.

Taking what felt like the biggest leap of faith in his life, Joe finally turned to look at his brother.

"Do you think we could talk for a while?"