"Brad, hi, it’s Fenton." Pause. "Thanks. Listen, I’m sorry to bother you but I’m hoping you can help me out. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Joe had a meeting with Justin this afternoon. He wanted to tie up some loose ends about Kara, and Justin agreed to help him out." Fenton deftly avoided saying Joe met with Justin because he had considered Galloway’s son-in-law a suspect. He now looked at Frank and Vanessa with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, he didn’t tell you about it? Well, at any rate, they met at Starbucks near Central Park. Joe called Vanessa when he arrived and the clerk confirmed seeing Joe and Justin together. They left separately but Joe never made it home. His car is still parked in the garage a block from Starbucks." Fenton stopped again as Brad expressed surprise and concern.

"Yes, we’re starting to get a little worried about him since he’s been out of contact so long. I was hoping you could give me Justin’s address so we can go talk to him; see if Joe might have mentioned where he was heading when he left," Fenton said evasively.

Quickly he pulled a small notepad and pen from his pocket. Cradling the phone in his shoulder he jotted down Justin’s address and directions to his house. "Thanks, Brad. See you there."

Closing the cell phone, he put it back in his pocket and strode rapidly to the elevator, talking over his shoulder. "Brad is going to meet us at Justin’s house, to make introductions. It should take us about twenty-five minutes to get there."

"What about Joe’s car?" Vanessa asked, hurrying to keep up.

"We’ll leave it here for now. We can always come back and get it later." He didn’t want to mention that if they had no luck with Justin, the police would need to do a more thorough search of Joe’s car and he didn’t want to disturb any potential clues.

Half an hour later, Fenton pulled up in front of a large colonial style house on Long Island. Seconds later a car pulled up behind him and Brad Galloway emerged.

"Good to see you again, Fenton," he said shaking hands. "Frank, it’s been too long," he smiled.

"Nice to see you, Uncle Brad," Frank used the old familiar nickname. "This is Joe’s fiancée, Vanessa Bender," he made the introductions.

"Hi, Mr. Galloway," Vanessa extended her hand towards the tall, distinguished looking man with dark brown hair and friendly hazel eyes.

"A pleasure to meet you, Vanessa," Brad smiled at her. "Now, why don’t we go inside and see if Justin can help you out, hm?"

The foursome walked up to the large front porch and waited for an answer when Brad knocked. A moment later the door opened to reveal a very surprised Justin Hahn.

"Brad?! Hi, what are you doing here?" he asked, eyeing the three strangers with his father-in-law.

Frank studied the young man’s reaction carefully, noting the mild shock in his voice. He quickly recovered however, stepping aside and motioning the group inside.

"Please, come in out of the cold," Justin invited, his face a mask of neutrality.

"Justin, this is my old friend Fenton Hardy. I’m sure you’ve heard me mention him before. This is his son, Frank, and Vanessa Bender. She’s Joe Hardy’s fiancée. I believe you met with Joe this afternoon?" Brad smoothly made the introductions and alluded to the reason for the impromptu visit.

Never taking his eyes off Justin, Frank saw him involuntarily take a step back at the name ‘Hardy’. His eyes widened slightly and Frank detected a flicker of fear in them, before Justin regained control.

"Yes, I did see Joe today," Justin acknowledged shaking hands all around. "We met at Starbucks on Central Park. He had some questions about Kara, which I answered and then I left. I wasn’t there more than twenty minutes. Is there a problem?" he asked smoothly.

"Yes, there is," Fenton said evenly, staring at Justin intently. "Joe never made it home."

"Really?" Justin acted surprised. "Maybe he had some other people to talk to after me."

"No, just you," Frank stated. "That was the only reason he came into the city today – to meet with you."

"Justin, what exactly did you and Joe discuss?" Fenton asked, never taking his eyes off the young man.

"The Kara Lidster investigation," Justin replied vaguely, abruptly breaking eye contact with Fenton.

"Could you be a little more specific? It might help us figure out where Joe went after he left the coffee shop," Fenton pressed him, expertly hiding his annoyance at Justin’s hazy answers.

"This is important, Justin," Brad pressured him. "Anything you can remember might help them find Joe."

"So you know for sure he’s missing and not just following up on something he might have discovered?" Justin asked, trying to determine just how much the Hardy’s knew – or suspected.

"He was supposed to call Vanessa as soon as he finished his meeting with you to let her know he was on his way home," Frank answered, not quite hiding his annoyance as well as his father had. "He never made that call. And he never called my father or I to say he was following up any new leads. So yes, we’re fairly certain he’s missing."

"I see," Justin responded, noncommittally. Turning his back to the others he rubbed his chin as if in thought. "Let’s see, I mentioned that I thought the investigation had been closed and Joe said he was just tying up a few loose ends. I told him I’d answer any questions I could. He did say it seemed that all the evidence pointed to Kara."

Justin continued wandering around the living room, avoiding looking directly at Frank or Fenton at all times. "He confirmed that I was the one who copied the information off Kara’s computer onto a disc for the police. He asked me to confirm that the investigation was kept quiet within the firm, which I did," his voice trailed off momentarily and then he spun around and smiled arrogantly. "Then we talked a little about women and how hard they are to understand," he chuckled before looking at Vanessa. "No offense, of course."

"Of course," Vanessa replied with a mild glare.

"That’s it?" Frank pressured him. "Joe didn’t ask you anything else? You didn’t talk about anything else?"

"No," Justin looked away and gazed out the window.

‘You lying son of a bitch!’ Frank fumed silently, knowing without a doubt Justin Hahn was responsible for his brother’s disappearance.

As Frank and Fenton continued trying to get more information out of a decidedly uncooperative Justin, Vanessa glanced around the room, her eyes coming to rest on a small table against the wall. Looking at the small object half hidden behind a picture frame, her eyes widened and she stifled a gasp.

Furiously, she began tugging on Franks sleeve, hoping he wouldn’t ask her out loud what she wanted. Apparently sensing a need for silence, Frank looked over at Vanessa. She, in turn, looked frantically at the table and then back at Frank several times, praying he’d see it too.

At her odd behavior, Frank idly studied the small table that had captured Vanessa’s attention and his heart tightened. He nodded at her, indicating he’d seen it also and refocused on Justin once again.

"I wish I could help you Mr. Hardy, but the last time I saw Joe he was still sitting in Starbucks," Justin insisted.

"You’re sure?" Frank asked.

"Yes," Justin replied, in frustration.

Silently Frank turned his head and stared at the table, waiting for Justin’s reaction.

"Oh!" Justin exclaimed. "I can’t believe it! I completely forgot about that!" He lunged for the table and picked up the cell phone lying there – Joe’s cell phone. "When I left the coffee shop, Joe had started to call someone. I went to the newsstand on the corner to buy a magazine. Walking back by Starbucks, I noticed Joe was gone but he’d left his cell phone on the table. We’d been sitting by the window." Justin finished lamely, offering the phone to Frank. "Can you give it back to him? When you find him, of course."

"Of course," Frank said icily, accepting the phone. It did not escape his notice that Justin’s hands were shaking slightly. He also noticed Justin said Joe had made a phone call while still inside Starbucks; the clerk had said she saw Joe pull out his cell phone once he was outside the store.

"Sorry I couldn’t be more help," Justin looked from Fenton to Brad.

"Thank you for your time," Fenton said tightly. "Brad, I’m sure we’ll talk soon." With that he turned towards Frank and Vanessa. "Let’s go."

The three walked solemnly back to the car and got in. Fenton started the car and pulled away. Driving down the street, he made a u-turn and drove past Justin’s house. Making another u-turn he glided to a stop in the shadows and cut the lights.

"He said Joe started to call someone while he was still at Starbucks. The clerk said just the opposite – he didn’t even pull his cell phone out until he was outside. So how could Joe have left his cell phone on the table for Justin to find?" Fenton stared at the house, his brown eyes almost black "He’s lying and I want to know why," Fenton said, a touch of anger in his voice.

While they sat and waited Brad emerged from the house. Waving goodbye to his son-in-law, he got in his car and drove off. Idly, Frank pulled out Joe’s cell phone and turned it on.

"Five messages," he observed looking at the display. "Maybe we should listen to them…just in case."

"Don’t bother," Vanessa said miserably. "They’re all from me."

Fenton gazed at her in the rearview mirror and his heart twisted at the look on her face – lost and alone. "Don’t worry, honey. We’ll find him," he tried to reassure her.

Vanessa nodded numbly in response and stared out the window into the night, half listening as Frank and Fenton discussed their options. "Look!" she suddenly hissed, leaning forward into the front seat and pointing agitatedly.