Nancy turned to Joe, who was waiting for some good news. "He’s alive, but we need to get him to the hospital quickly, Joe."

Joe nodded. "We should carry him on the cot to the van. We can cut the tape off him on the way to the hospital."

"Let’s get moving," Nancy said stepping away so Ned and Joe could pick it up.

As Joe and Ned started down the trail with Frank, Nancy turned to Debbie. She put her hand on Debbie’s shoulder. "You need to come with us."

Debbie nodded and they followed the guys to the van. Nancy unlocked the back door and helped guide the cot in. Once the cot cleared the door, Ned climbed in back with Frank while Joe sat in the driver’s seat with Debbie beside him ready to drive figuring the quickest way to the hospital.

Nancy asked as they headed for the hospital. "Joe, do you have a blanket back here?"

"Check in the box under the seat," Joe said referring to the emergency kit located in the van. He picked up the CB. "I’m going to let the Chief know where we’re headed."

"Don’t tell him we found Frank," Nancy warned as Ned grabbed the blanket. "Just have him meet us there."

"Got it," Joe said.

Nancy turned her attention back to Frank and watched as Ned cut the tape that held Frank’s wrists and ankles to the cot. Nancy reached for the cloth covering his nose and mouth. She pulled it off as she thought, at least this kept the dust out of his lungs.

*****

When they arrived at the hospital, Joe parked the van right in front of the emergency room doors and ran inside for help. Within moments, a doctor, nurse and two orderlies came out with him. They quickly put Frank on a stretcher and rushed him inside.

Nancy went inside with Joe and Debbie while Ned parked the van. As they walked in, they saw there were a lot of people waiting for word on loved ones who had been injured. They found a corner and sat down.

Two hours passed. Ned was sitting on one chair with Nancy on the arm with Joe and Debbie sitting on the sofa beside them. Nancy watched as people went in and out."

Chief Collig and Con Riley came in and spotted them sitting in a corner of the waiting room. They came over and Chief Collig asked, "What’s the news?"

"We found Frank, but he’s unconscious," Nancy said quietly.

"We found him with Debbie’s help," Joe added. "She led us right to him."

"Debbie, we’ll have to take you in for questioning," Con Riley said.

"Hold on," Nancy said. "We still need to catch Nathan."

"Is Nathan involved?" Chief Collig asked.

"He is," Debbie said. "It was his idea to take Frank when he caught us in the science lab Monday night."

"If word gets out Frank has been found," Ned started, "He might be in even more danger."

"We could put a guard in his room," Con Riley suggested.

"Actually, we set a trap for Nathan with Debbie’s help," Nancy said looking at Debbie.

"I don’t want to get involved," Debbie said.

"If you help, the judge may go easier on you, but we can’t promise anything," Chief Collig said.

They sat quietly for a few minutes until Debbie asked bravely, "What do I need to do?"

"Is there a Joe Hardy here?" a voice asked interrupting them.

"I’m Joe Hardy."

A doctor in his late 40s walked toward them. He sat down in the chair across from Nancy and Ned. "I’m Dr. Knielman. I wanted you to know we’re going to admit your brother. You need to contact your parents and have them come here. I need some signatures to perform some tests."

"Is Frank going to be all right?" Nancy questioned.

"He’s still unconscious," Dr. Knielman said. "This is not necessarily a bad thing, but we won’t know the extent of his injuries until we get the test results back."

"I’ll contact my parents," Joe said.

"Have them come see me as soon as they arrive."

"I will. Thanks for everything, doc," Joe said and Dr. Knielman left.

"Nancy," Chief Collig said. "What’s your plan?"

"We lure Nathan out in the open."

"How do we do that?" Joe asked.

"Debbie needs to contact Nathan and tell him the shed is in ruins," Nancy said. "She tells him she was worried after the hurricane and went to make sure nothing happened to the shed. She came back for reinforcements."

"And I bet we’re going to be waiting in the woods for Nathan to arrive," Joe said.

"Absolutely," Nancy said. "As long as Debbie doesn’t let the plan slip out."

"I won’t," Debbie said.

"We’ll take you back to your car," Joe said.

"Unfortunately, the press is outside the emergency room," Con Riley said. "They overheard your call to us, Joe."

"Wonderful," Joe grumbled. "Then how do we get out of here?"

"The press doesn’t know why we’re here, do they?" Ned asked.

"All they know is Joe Hardy rescued someone and brought them here," Con Riley said.

"What if we give the press what they want?" Ned asked.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Joe asked.

"What if we put a bandage around Nancy’s head and another around her arm," Ned said. "She could be the injury and the press wouldn’t know the truth."

"And you could carry her out to the van," Joe said with a smile.

"What about Debbie?" Nancy asked.

"She could slip out one of the side doors and sneak to the van," Joe suggested.

"I’ll do it," Debbie said. "Anything you say. I’ll do it."

"Then I’ll get someone here to help us," Con Riley said heading for the nurse’s desk.

"I hope this works," Nancy said.

"So do I," Ned said.