Hearing footsteps thundering up the stairs, he knew he had called out louder than he wanted. Frank opened his eyes as Joe and Laura hurried into the room.

"What happened?" Joe asked.

"Are you all right?" Laura asked moving to the bed.

"Yeah," Frank said sheepishly. "I moved too quickly and forgot about my ribs."

"Have you been taking your pain medication like the doctor said?" Laura asked.

"I took it earlier," Frank lied. He hated how the medicine made him feel. "Don’t worry, Mom. I just need to remember about my ribs until they’ve healed."

Laura let out a sigh. "All right. But if the pain gets unbearable, I want you to take something."

"I will, Mom."

"Okay, dinner will be ready shortly."

"All right." Laura left the room as Frank looked at Joe.

"You thought of something, didn’t you?" Joe asked.

"Yeah." Frank slowly sat up then got to his feet. "I think I did."

"What’s that?" Joe asked sitting down in his brother’s bed.

"The day I crashed the van through the barrier at the beach, I got a phone call from Matt."

"I remember you telling me that. You questioned him about anything out of the ordinary at the party."

"I did, but there was something about the conversation that seemed out of place."

"How’s that?"

Frank started pacing. "After I greeted Matt, he asked how I was feeling?"

"So?"

"So, I had only been home a little while from the hospital and the only people who knew that quickly were Callie and Vanessa because I had called Callie."

"Then how did Matt know to ask how you were feeling?"

"Either it was just a coincidence, or..."

"Matt sabotaged the van," Joe finished. He stood up. "I’m aiming for the second option."

"But why?" Frank asked. "What would Matt have to gain by hurting either one of us?"

"I don’t know about that, but my gut is telling me that he is the one responsible."

"You know we need facts, Joe. Your gut instinct isn’t a fact."

"The let’s get the proof we need. If he is the one involved, he’s going to try something again. Frank, you could’ve died today if you had opened your locker. It was lucky that I got mine open first and saw the note."

"I could have, but I didn’t." Frank let out a breath. He could see how worried Joe was after all that happened. "Joe, I know you’re concerned, I am too, but we are all right. We just need to catch the person before they hurt either of us again or someone else."

Joe was quiet for a moment. "And how are we going to do that?"

Frank smiled. "What we always do."

Joe smiled. "I can’t wait."

*****

The next morning, Joe stayed out in the school parking lot after arriving, telling Frank he was going to wait for Vanessa since her jeep was not in the parking lot yet. He knew Frank wouldn’t like it that he was going to check Matt’s car for a clue, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he had that Matt was involved.

From where he was standing by the van, he watched Matt pull into the lot in his black convertible and park it. Matt climbed out and headed inside.

Hearing the bell ringing for homeroom, Joe knew this was the opportunity he needed. Making his way to the car, he tried to stay out of view in case someone was still in the parking lot. Joe reached the back of the convertible and quickly ducked down. In one swift motion, he had his lock-pick tools out and was working on jimmying the trunk. When it clicked, he lifted it up and looked in. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

The trunk was full of sports equipment. Pushing the equipment aside, he wondered if he was right that Matt was involved or he was just blaming Matt for no actual reason.

Moving a pair of in-line skates away, he saw an open box of nails that looked exactly like the one he had found in the tire.

"I knew it," Joe said.

"So did I," a voice said.

Turning quickly, Joe saw Matt standing next to the car with a baseball bat in his hand.

Joe knew he was in trouble.