When she pulled away, she asked, “Where have you been?”

“At the police station,” Frank said moving further into the room. He glanced at Joe who was still in shock.

“I wish there was something we could do,” Callie said wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Nancy was such a nice person. She didn’t deserve to die.”

“Nancy’s not dead,” Frank said.

All three of them stared at him. Joe said, “Frank, Nancy is gone.”

“It’s not possible.” Frank told the others what he thought happened as he did to the detective. When he finished, he looked at each one in turn. He realized they didn’t believe him.

“Frank,” Joe began, “I know how much Nancy means to you, but she’s gone. No one could survive a fall like that.” Joe stepped over in front of Frank. “You need to realize Nancy’s not coming back.”

“Nancy’s not gone,” Frank reiterated. “I don’t believe it. It’s not true.” He looked at Callie and Vanessa. They both looked worried. He looked back at Joe. “Nancy is alive.”

“Frank, you need to accept that Nancy is gone,” Joe snapped.

“I won’t!”

Callie moved to Frank and took his hands in hers. “I know how good a friend Nancy was to you. I know it’s hard to accept, but you have to. It’s the only way for you to move on.”

Frank stepped away from Callie as if he had been bitten. “I know Nancy is alive.” He looked at Joe. “Are you going to help me look for her?”

Frank saw Joe look at the floor. Joe remained quiet. Frank sighed. “I’m surprised at you. I thought Nancy was your friend. You know that if either of us were missing, and there was a chance we were alive, Nancy would keep searching for us no matter what. She wouldn’t give up. I’m not giving up.”

He looked closely at his younger brother who was standing still, his gaze still on the floor. Frank said, “Fine.”

He turned and quickly left the hotel room, slamming the door behind him. He couldn’t believe Joe was unwilling to help. He thought Nancy meant more to him. He realized he was wrong. Exiting the hotel, Frank saw the van sitting in the glow from one of the street lamps. He got in and started the engine. He figured he’d go to the road he’d seen on the map. Then he would start searching in the morning.

* * * * *

Joe stood staring at the closed door. He couldn’t believe Frank had taken off. He’d never seen his brother act this way before.

Callie said, “I think Nancy’s death is really bothering him.”

“It’s more than that,” Joe said quietly as his gaze shifted to Callie and Vanessa. “Frank did have a point though.”

“What point was that?” Vanessa asked, wiping her cheeks with a tissue.

“Frank’s comment about looking for us. Do you two remember Frank’s kidnapping?”

“Yeah,” Callie said. “Nancy wouldn’t give up searching. Even when the storm hit.”

“But how are we going to get Frank to listen to us?” Vanessa asked. “He’s only thinking about trying to find Nancy. But the officials said that she couldn‘t have survived the fall.”

“Maybe we should talk to Ned. He may be the one who can get Frank to stop the searching,” Joe said.

“Do you think it may work?” Callie asked.

“I honestly don’t know. I don’t want to get Ned’s hopes up that Nancy may be alive and then let him down when we can’t find anything. But in the end, he may be the only one who can talk him out of this crazy plan.”

Joe stood in silence for a moment. He knew Nancy meant a lot to Frank, almost as much as Callie. He knew Frank was determined to keep searching no matter what. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to convince Frank. The only person who really had a shot was Ned.

His gaze shifted back to Callie and Vanessa. “We need to talk to Ned.”

“Then let’s go,” Vanessa said and Callie nodded her head.

The three of them grabbed a cab when they noticed the van was gone. They had the drive take them to Ned’s house. When they arrived, they approached the front door. Joe knocked. A moment later, the door was opened by Mr. Nickerson.

“Hi, is Ned around?” Joe asked.

“Come on in,” he said pulling the door open further. The three of them made their way inside. After Mr. Nickerson closed the door, he led them to the living room.

Looking into the living room, they saw Ned sitting on the couch wearing the same clothes as earlier, his face pale. He was leaning back on the couch with a picture frame in his hands.

Joe led Vanessa and Callie into the living room. They saw Ned glance up at them, then look back at the picture frame.

Joe realized Ned was really taking Nancy’s death hard. He knew he had to tread carefully with Ned. He said gently, “We need your help.” Ned looked at Joe as the three of them sat down. Joe explained to Ned the problem with Frank. Joe finished, “We need you to help convince Frank that Nancy is gone. We have to get Frank to accept it.”

Joe watched Ned look back at the picture. Joe glanced at the girls, then back at Ned.

“Ned, you should know that Frank went off in search of Nancy. He won’t accept the fact she’s gone. You might be the only one who can stop him,” Joe said.

“Ned, you need to listen,” Callie pleaded. “Frank isn’t acting like himself. I know you’re hurting, but Frank is also hurting. Frank was one of her best friends. And we all know Frank will keep going until he finds her. He won’t stop until he does.”

Callie looked at Joe who was in turn watching Ned. Joe said, “Ned, would you just think about it. I’m not sure what else I can do.” Joe stood up. “We’ll be at the hotel if you want to talk.”

The girls stood up and the three of them headed for the door. They stopped quickly when Ned said, “Wait.”

They looked back in the living room and saw Ned was still focusing on the picture frame. They moved back toward him and took the same seats they were in before.

“Why did this happen to Nancy?” Ned asked quietly. “I can’t understand it.”

“I can’t answer that,” Joe said. “But she didn’t deserve to die.”

“It’s so unfair. We were supposed to start our life together.”

“I know how you fee,” Joe said. “I do understand.”

Ned finally looked up at Joe. “I remember. You lost your girlfriend.”

“She was my best friend,” Callie said, thinking of her old friend, Iola Morton.

“How did you get through it?”

“It was tough,” Joe admitted. “I still haven’t really gotten over it. I learned to live with the fact that she was never coming back. I was in shock for days, not talking to anyone. But I finally started talking again and Frank was there with me. I got back into investigating. It eased some of the pain.”

Ned leaned his head back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. “I always thought Nancy would die on a case. That fear was always there. I find it hard to believe she died in a car accident. I never believed she would die so soon.” Ned looked at Joe, confused. “Why did Frank go searching for Nancy?”

“Frank believes Nancy is alive,” Joe said. “He went to find her.”

“He’s acting crazy.”

“You’re right,” Joe said.

“But why does he think Nancy is alive?” Ned asked.

“I’m not really sure. He has this theory that she couldn’t have been washed out of the car by the rivers current. He had said he had been to the police station and may have come across something there. But what it is, I have no idea.”

Ned put the picture frame facedown on the table. He locked eyes with Joe. “We should find out what Frank’s doing.” Joe’s eyes went wide as Ned got to his feet. “Are you three coming with me?”

“Where are we going?” Vanessa asked.

“To the police station. I’m going to do what Nancy would’ve done. I’m going to find the truth,” Ned stated.

Joe smiled as he got to his feet. “Count me in.”

Callie and Vanessa got to their feet, nodding their heads.