"Why don’t you take a break." Frank smiled, not quite as frustrated as his brother was.

Glad to take Frank up on the offer, Joe comfortably stretched himself out on the couch in the office and closed his very tired eyes. "You really think there’s something in those reports that we’re missing?" He asked.

"Honestly, I don’t know. But there has to be something else all the victims have in common besides the same insurance company. Every house was robbed when no one was home. Sometimes it was a vacation, sometimes a play, the opera, a dinner party…all planned absences. But how would the insurance company know when the people would be out?" Frank mused.

He glanced briefly at Joe and then did a double take. Joe’s left arm was resting across his chest and Joe was gently rubbing it with his right hand. Recalling what his father had said the day before, that it could be a subconscious reaction whenever Joe was thinking about what had happened to him in Chicago, Frank felt the all too familiar feelings of hatred, rage and revenge. The unsettling emotions that always accompanied thoughts of Joe’s kidnapping two months earlier came bubbling to the surface, but Frank regained control in short order, refusing to be dictated to by his emotions. Burying them deep inside, Frank quickly returned to scrutinizing the reports.

"There has to be something here that we’re not seeing." Frank murmured, thinking aloud.

"Who knows?" Joe mumbled. "Maybe the butler did it."

Frank chuckled, as he placed one report back on the table and picked up another. Then he froze.

"Joe…what did you say?" He asked, feeling as if his brain had suddenly been pushed into overdrive.

"I said maybe the butler did it." Joe repeated, cracking one eye. "Uh-oh. I can see the smoke coming out of your ears. Did you figure it out?" Joe asked, sitting up.

"No." Frank grinned. "You did!"

"I did?" Joe asked confused, before quickly changing tactics. "Of course I did. Uh, what is it exactly that you think I figured out?"

Frank grinned like a Cheshire cat, knowing Joe had no clue what he was talking about. "Come on, don’t be so modest, Joe." He teased. "Tell me, how did you figure it out?"

Joe rolled his eyes, not in the mood for one of Frank’s guessing games. "Frank, I have a splitting headache and we both know I have no idea what you’re talking about. So why don’t you be a good little boy and share, huh?"

Frank simply smiled as he picked up the pile of reports and returned to his desk. He began methodically dividing them up into two stacks, glancing at his brother and noting the frustration evident on his face.

"Ok, all the victims live in Kirkland. Specifically on the East side of Kirkland. In mansions on the bay or overlooking the ocean."

"So?" Joe asked. "That still doesn’t tell us how the thieves knew when they’d be out."

"Think about it, Joe."

"Why? That’s what I have you for." Joe replied, hating when Frank did this to him.

"All the victims are wealthy." Frank pointed out, ignoring Joe’s comment.

"Of course they’re wealthy. How else could they afford all that jewelry?" Joe stated the obvious.

"Exactly. And if they’re wealthy and can afford all that jewelry, what else can they afford?" Frank prodded him.

"I don’t know. But if you don’t tell me soon I’m gonna tell Mom you’re teasing me again." Joe said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Frank stared at his brother for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

"I don’t know what you’re laughing at." Joe shook his head. "You know she’ll give you a time out."

"You always were a little snitch." Frank said still laughing.

He fondly recalled the many times when they were children and he would tease Joe about something. Usually Joe would get so upset he’d go running to Laura in tears. Frank always ended up getting a lecture on why he should be setting a good example for his younger brother instead of teasing him, which would immediately be followed by a time out. Inevitably, Joe, now having no one to play with, would get bored and sneak into Frank’s room to keep him company during his time out.

"And you always got in trouble." Joe reminded him. "Come on, Frank, give. I have a killer headache." Joe begged.

"Domestic help." Frank replied simply.

"Domestic help?" Joe repeated.

"Most of the people who live in that area of Kirkland have domestic help. Cooks, house cleaners who come in on a regular basis."

"Who better to know when they’d be out!" Joe said excitedly, now understanding what Frank was talking about. "And if they all have domestic help and they all use the same company…"

"There’s our connection!" He picked up one stack of reports and held them out to Joe. "You call these people, I’ll call the rest. Ask if they have any kind of help that comes in on a regular basis and if so get the name of the employee and the name of the company who sent them." Frank instructed.

Joe gladly took the papers and retreated to his own office, happy to finally be doing something besides looking at reports. Close to thirty minutes later, as he was on his last phone call, Joe looked up to see Frank coming into his office, reports in hand.

"Yes, Mrs. Lamkin. Thank you for your help. Goodbye." He hung up the phone, looking up at his brother and could tell by the look on Frank’s face he had gotten the same answer Joe did.

"Granston Domestics." Joe blurted out before Frank could say a word. "Every single victim had some type of domestic help that came in regularly and they all contracted with Granston Domestics."

"I got the exact same response from my people. Now we just have to figure out who in Granston Domestics is working with the jewel thieves." Frank concluded. "Did you get a list of the employee’s names?"

"Mm-hmm." Joe replied, handing Frank a handwritten list. "What now?" Joe asked as Frank looked over the names.

"In the interest of saving your eyesight - and your sanity – I’ll put these names into my computer and match them against the list of employees from the insurance company and see if anything turns up." Frank replied, knowing Joe would probably kill him if Frank asked him to look at more paperwork.

"Let’s go." Joe said, standing up and following his brother back to his office.

A short time later, Joe stood peering over Frank’s shoulder, getting more dejected by the minute. "Nothing matches."

"I know." Frank replied, disappointed. "I thought there might be one of the domestic employees who had some connection to one of the employees at the insurance company."

"Maybe there is." Joe said, his eyes lighting up.

"But there isn’t." Frank pointed at the monitor.

"But there still could be." Joe smiled haughtily, realizing that his brother didn’t know what he meant.

Frank sighed heavily, knowing he was about to have the tables turned on him.

"Think about it, Frank." Joe continued teasingly, using the exact same words and tone Frank always used on him. "You’re an intelligent guy. I’m sure you can figure it out if you just try."

"I’m sure I can too. And you’ve made your point." Frank conceded. "So in the interest of saving time, why don’t you just tell me." Frank waited a beat. "Otherwise I’ll have to tell Mom you’re teasing me."

"It won’t matter." Joe grinned wickedly. "I’m the baby. I don’t have to set an example for anybody."

Frank slumped back in the chair and threw his brother a dirty look. "Mom and Dad should have stopped at one. Then I’d be an only child and I could live my life in peace."

"And you’d be bored to tears." Joe told him and watched Frank respond with a wry smile.

"Ok," Joe continued, finally offering up his theory. "What if it’s not one of the employees who actually goes out to the homes? What if it’s someone who works in the office of Granston Domestics? Someone who does the scheduling, maybe?"