Joe paced the living room. He wondered if Nancy had come up with anything. They had planned to split up and Nancy was going to follow the limousine. He hoped she had found something. He was anxious to know something. He had checked the answering machine, but there wasn’t a single message.  

He thought, maybe this wasn’t a good idea. There’s a possibility that she lost the limousine too. She might be driving around in circles trying to find Frank. And Frank’s behavior is getting more peculiar as more time passes. Frank could be putting himself in serious danger.  

At that moment, he heard the front door open. He hurried to the door and saw Nancy closing it behind herself. She turned to face him. He asked, “Well?”  

“I found out where Frank goes.”  

Joe raised his eyebrows. They went into the living room and sat down. Once they were seated, Nancy told Joe how she found out where Frank was going.  

When she finished, Joe said, “The building is all apartments. Some wealthy families live there instead of houses.” Joe got to his feet. “I wonder what Frank is doing there.”  

“Does Frank know someone who lives there?”  

“Not that I know of. There are a few wealthy families that live there, but most of the tenants are elderly. That’s not the spot for Frank to be.”

 “There’s something there that Frank wants to see.”  

“But what could it be?” Joe asked.  

“I don’t know, but we will find out.” She looked at Joe. “We can go and find Frank.”  

Joe looked at Nancy. He knew she was right. They needed to find Frank and this was the only way. He knew he needed to make sure Frank was all right. He needed to know his brother wasn’t in danger.  

“You’re right. We need to check this out.”  

“Then let’s go.”  

* * * * *

 A half hour later, Nancy parked the car down the street from the apartment building. Nancy and Joe slowly made their way to the building. She glanced at Joe. She could tell he was more worried than before. She hoped they would find Frank and get him back.

 They entered the building. The lobby was elegant. There were potted plants scattered throughout the lobby. Along one wall were stacks of mailboxes. Across from the entrance were two sets of elevators. They looked at the mailboxes trying to figure out which floor Frank was on.

 All of a sudden, the elevator doors opened and an elderly woman stepped out into the lobby. Nancy accidentally bumped into her. Nancy said, “Sorry.”

 “It’s all right, dear,” the woman said.  

“I was wondering if you’ve seen my boyfriend. He has an apartment here, but he forgot to tell me what floor it’s on.”  

“What does your boyfriend look like, dear?” Nancy described Frank. When she finished, the elderly woman said, “A neighbor of mine told me about a young man she saw on the elevator. The young has been here several times in the past few days.” She smiled. “My granddaughter would really like him.”  

“Do you know what floor he went to?” Joe asked.

 “The 13th floor. That’s the penthouse.”

 “Thank you for talking with us,” Joe said.  

“It was my pleasure.” The elderly woman left the lobby.  

Once they were alone, Joe said, “It’s time we got Frank.”  

Nancy put her hand on Joe’s shoulder. “Joe, wait.”  

“Why?” Joe looked at her.  

“There’s a possibility the elevator opens right in the penthouse.”  

“There’s a possibility it doesn’t. We need to know.” Joe looked at the elevator. “Frank may be in trouble. We need to go up there.”  

Nancy knew Joe was right. They needed to find Frank. She reached over and squeezed his shoulder. She reached with her other hand and pushed the button to open the elevator doors and they opened.  

Nancy and Joe climbed into the elevator. Nancy pushed the button for the 12^th floor. The elevator doors closed. They felt the elevator jerk into motion. They watched the numbers light up above the door as the elevator climbed its way up the shaft.  

All of a sudden the elevator jerked to a stop. The door opened and they stepped into the hallway. They elevator doors closed behind them. Joe said, “This isn’t the right floor.”  

“We’re not sure where the elevator doors open. We need to find another way up.”  

“We should take the stairs,” Joe said, pointing to the door marked ‘stairs.’  

They reached the top of the stairwell. Joe put his hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. The door opened easily. Nancy put her hand on Joe’s shoulder. She said softly, “Go ahead.”  

Joe nodded and pushed the door open. Nancy followed him into the room. All of sudden, Nancy smelled something sweet. She could see Joe was struggling to stay upright. She knew Joe had smelled it too. She started to feel light-headed.  

She reached for Joe, but missed and fell to the floor. She saw Joe hit the floor beside her. She struggled to keep her eyes open. Everything was blurry. She saw two people step into the room from the other side. A light fell on one of them. It was Frank.