"So I was right; it was you," Joe accused. "You stole the money and framed Kara for it."

"Turn right," Justin ordered, applying a little more pressure with the gun so Joe would comply.

Walking into the same parking garage where he’d parked, Joe tried again to get Justin to admit to the theft. "You would’ve gotten away with it, too, if you hadn’t stopped the transfers," he continued as Justin directed him towards the stairs.

"Second level. Then turn left," Justin said ignoring Joe’s attempts to bait him.

"Sloppy mistake. It’s gonna cost you," Joe persisted.

"Has anyone ever told you, you talk too much?" Justin asked, annoyed.

"All the time," Joe replied as Justin pulled him to a stop next to an expensive black SUV.

"Nice ride," Joe commented. "I take it you used some of the money you stole to pay for it, huh?"

Joe looked around and saw they were standing between the passenger side of the vehicle and a cement wall, completely hidden from view. He heard a click and saw the lock on the door pop up.

"Open it," Justin ordered.

Joe reached out towards the door handle. Slowly pulling the door open, he tried to judge whether or not he had enough room to launch a sneak attack without getting shot. Sensing Joe was about to make a move, Justin raised his arm and brought the gun crashing down on Joe’s head. As Joe collapsed, unconscious, Justin shoved him forward with a grim smile, pushing him into the backseat. Climbing in, Justin leaned into the back of the SUV and rummaged around in his fishing gear, coming up with some rags and a length of rope.

Using the rags, Justin gagged and blindfolded Joe and then used the rope to bind his hands and feet. Roughly, he rolled Joe onto the floorboards and covered him with a blanket. Satisfied, Justin climbed into the drivers seat and backed out of the parking space. Waving to the attendant as he exited the garage, Justin turned right and headed out of the city. A slow smile spread across his face as he came up with the perfect way to dispose of his captive.

*****

Vanessa glanced at her watch and the clock on her desk, frowning. Picking up the phone, she called Joe’s cell phone for the fifth time. She had expected to hear from him by one o’clock, two at the latest, yet here it was almost five and she hadn’t heard a thing. As she listened to his voice mail greeting and left yet another message, her frustration turned to concern. Hanging up, she called the apartment and waited for Kara to answer.

"Hi, K, it’s me. Has Joe called or come home?" she asked worriedly. Her frown deepened as Kara answered negatively. "No, no big deal. He went into the city today to talk to someone and was supposed to call me when he was on his way home and I haven’t heard from him yet." She paused while Kara spoke. "I guess he found something else to follow up on and just hasn’t had a chance to call me yet," Vanessa stated, not believing a word of what she had just said.

Ever since Joe had been abducted from O’Hare airport and almost killed the previous year, he always called Vanessa when he said he would. If he didn’t, it usually meant he was in some kind of trouble. "I’ll be home soon. See you then. Bye."

After checking her email and voice mail one last time, Vanessa straightened up her desk and left. Arriving home a short time later, she found Kara and Tony ensconced on the couch, talking quietly.

"Hi, Van," Tony waved.

"Hi," she replied with a halfhearted smile.

"You still haven’t heard from Joe?" Kara asked, surprised.

She had only been staying with Joe and Vanessa a few days but it was more than enough time for Kara to pick up on the intensity and closeness of their relationship. When Joe and Vanessa were together, they always maintained some kind of physical contact. When they were apart, that contact was replaced with frequent phone calls. Even she understood it was highly unusual for Vanessa not to have heard from Joe by now.

"No," Vanessa shook her head, the worried frown creasing her forehead once again.

"Where did he go?" Tony asked, immediately on alert.

"New York City," Vanessa responded vaguely, not sure exactly how much Kara had told him about her situation.

"I told him everything, Van," Kara said, sensing why Vanessa was being evasive.

Exhaling in relief, Vanessa sat in the chair and leaned forward, the words coming fast and furious. "He didn’t want to tell you Kara, just in case it didn’t pan out but he got a lead on who might have framed you. He went to meet with the guy this morning but he should have been back hours ago. He said he’d call me when he arrived in New York and again right before he left. He did call when he got there, but that was the last I heard from him," she finished anxiously.

"Frank didn’t go with him?" Tony asked, knowing the brothers almost always worked as a team.

"No," Vanessa sighed. "They had a little disagreement yesterday so Joe thought it would be best to let things settle down before he asked Frank for help," she said, recalling Joe’s confession late the previous evening.

Tony’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. While the Hardy brothers weren’t perfect by any means, they were closer than any siblings Tony had ever met and rarely fought to the point where they weren’t speaking.

"You need to call, Frank – now!" Tony admonished. "If Joe was supposed to call you hours ago and you’re still waiting, whatever happened yesterday will be long forgotten."

"Wait a minute!" Kara finally burst out, having been stunned into silence at Vanessa’s revelation about the reason for Joe’s trip to New York. "Joe knows who really stole the money? When did he find out? And why didn’t you tell me?"

"He had a hunch and nothing more," Vanessa clarified. "That was why he went to meet with the guy in the first place. He needs hard evidence to get them to reopen the investigation."

"What guy?" Kara asked.

"Justin Hahn," Vanessa replied.

"Justin?!" Kara gasped in surprise. "Galloway’s son-in-law?"

"Yeah. Apparently he’s been spending money like crazy the past two years buying cars and boats and motorcycles…and he paid cash for everything."

"We can get the details later," Tony interrupted, getting Vanessa back on track. "Now what exactly did Joe say to you when he left this morning?"

"He called me at work and said he’d spoken to Justin this morning. He told Justin he was investigating Kara a little more in depth and needed to speak with him. Justin agreed to meet with him at noon at a coffee shop near Central Park," Vanessa responded, twisting a lock of hair nervously. "He said he would call me when he arrived in New York and then again when he was leaving."

"And he called you when he got there?" Tony asked.

"Yes. That was just before noon," Vanessa acknowledged.

"Did he say how long he expected this meeting to last?"

"No more than an hour at the most," she said anxiously. "And that’s why I’m worried; it’s been over six hours now…" her voice trailed off softly. The last time Joe wasn’t where he told her he would be, it almost cost him his life.

"Here," Tony said thrusting the phone at Vanessa. "Call Frank – now."