A deafening silence hung in the air as they all contemplated Frank’s immediate defense of his younger brother. With a slight nod from the Chief, the officer returned the items to Joe’s gym bag and retreated into the background.

"Fenton," Collig began gently, "I know it’s been a long time, but are you sure Joe spent enough time in rehab?"

"Yes, I’m sure!" Fenton snapped. "He was never addicted. Not like that. Not then and not now."

Like most of the Hardy’s close friends, Collig knew of Joe’s short stint in drug rehab almost six years earlier. While he had to admit they had barely begun investigating, so far every shred of evidence pointed to Joe as Vanessa’s assailant. And while Collig knew without a doubt that Joe would never even contemplate doing such a thing while sober, he had seen far too much of what could happen once people were under the influence of drugs.

‘It would certainly explain this.’ Collig thought, depressed, as he let his gaze wander over the room, coming to rest on Fenton.

"Then how else do you explain it?" Collig asked in the same gentle tone, waving his hand around the room.

"Joe was framed." Frank replied for his father, not a shred of doubt in his voice. "He was set up."

Collig looked at him dubiously. "Frank, the door was locked when we got here. Locked and deadbolted. There is no sign of forced entry. The landlord lives right below them. He heard Joe yelling, Vanessa screaming. He didn’t hear any other voices. Joe was holding the weapon in his hands. You saw him. He was obviously under the influence of…something. And we found drugs in what you identified as his gym bag. All the evidence points to…"

"I don’t care what the evidence points to!" Frank cried out. "Joe did not do this!"

"Then who did?" Collig challenged, crossing his arms over his chest, his patience growing thin.

"I don’t know." Frank replied, quickly regaining his composure. "But I intend to find out."

"Now, wait a minute, Frank…"

"Are you going to look for anyone else?" Fenton asked Collig with a piercing look. "Or have you already decided Joe did it and there’s no need to investigate any further?"

Surprising even himself, Collig didn’t react to the accusatory tone in Fenton’s voice. ‘It’s his son we’re talking about. Of course he doesn’t want to believe it. Hell, I don’t want to believe it myself.’

"I can’t answer that until the Evidence Collection Team arrives and we’ve retrieved every possible piece of evidence. Once that’s been done and we’ve interviewed Joe and Vanessa…then I’ll decide if there’s a need to investigate any further." Collig replied evenly.

"You’ll understand if we’d rather not wait that long." Frank said coolly.

"You will understand that you are not to interfere in this investigation." Collig shot back. "I know it’s ridiculous to tell you to leave it to us. But I will not have you hampering the investigation in any way. Is that clear?" Collig directed the question to both Frank and Fenton.

"Of course." Fenton replied. "Will you at least share what you find with us?"

Collig sighed, the anger quickly draining away. "You know I will. I know I have to move strictly on the evidence, but I don’t have to like it. Nothing would make me happier than for you to pull a rabbit out of your hat and give me someone other than Joe to pin this on." He saw some of the tension in his friends face begin to dissipate. "You can stay and watch if you like. Just don’t get in the way."

"Thank you." Fenton replied, gratefully. Taking Frank by the arm, Fenton stepped back a little so they could see everything going on, yet still be out of the way of the officers. Watching intently, Fenton seemed to take in every movement the officers made. What they touched, what they looked at, what they picked up and what they put down. Most important of all, what they kept as evidence. As Fenton’s eyes continually monitored the progress of the officers, Con Riley stepped up beside Frank.

"The Chief noticed that the sliding glass door was open." He commented as if making conversation.

"They always leave it open when it’s warm out." Frank replied absently, also watching the progress of the investigation. "Until they go to bed."

"Kind of interesting, don’t you think. The front door is locked and deadbolted. But the sliding glass door is left wide open." Con pondered out loud. "Sure they live on the second floor, but it’s not that much of a drop from the balcony to the ground."

Frank stood up a little straighter, processing what Con had said. He recalled Joe telling him how he had climbed up the balcony to get into the apartment the few times he’d forgotten his keys. Frank wasn’t quite sure how just yet, but somehow he knew that would turn out to be a key piece of information.

"Con, do you think you could clear it so I can be with Joe when he wakes up?" Frank asked quietly, knowing Collig would veto that request in a heartbeat.

Con turned and looked at Frank in silence, the ‘You’ve-gotta-be-kidding’ expression on his face needing no interpretation.

"Come on, Con, please." Frank begged. "Even I admit Joe was high on something. When he wakes up he’ll be disoriented, confused. Frantic with worry about Vanessa. He may not remember all the details, at first. Can’t I at least be the one to try and explain what happened?"

"You know I can’t do that, Frank. Chief would kill me without a second thought." Con refused.

"You have a younger brother, don’t you?" Frank asked, trying a different approach.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Con asked warily, knowing Frank was leading up to something.

"If the situations were reversed…" Frank suggested, arching an eyebrow.

With a sigh of defeat, Con quickly remembered all the scrapes he’d gotten his younger brother out of when they were kids. All the times he’d come to his brother’s rescue, gotten into fights defending him. ‘No wonder Frank and I get along so well.’ He thought wryly. ‘Kindred spirits.’

"IF I can get you in there…and IF the Chief finds out you were there…I will swear I had no idea how you got there." Con replied, tersely. "Understand?"

"Got it." Frank smiled. "Thanks, Con. You’re the best."