They sat in silence for a half-hour waiting on word of Ned’s condition. Finally, they heard the front door close and Maggie coming down the hall. Maggie walked over to Nancy. She said, "Ned’s a very sick young man. Spending the night in the woods brought this on."

"Will Ned be all right?" Nancy asked.

"We need to get his fever down. The doctor left an antibiotic to help fight the infection. He needs rest and a lot of fluids so he doesn’t dehydrate." Maggie sat down as Jeremy handed her a cup of tea. "We’ll need to keep a close eye on him."

"But will Ned be all right?" Nancy asked again.

"He should be in a few days or maybe even a week, but you need to take care of yourself too. We can’t have two sick people around here."

"I’ll take care of myself," Nancy said getting to her feet. "If you all would excuse me, I’m going to sit with Ned for a little while."

"Don’t disturb him," Maggie warned. "He needs his rest."

"I will," Nancy said and went down the hallway.

When they were alone, Bess asked, "Is Ned really going to be all right?"

"Yes," Maggie said. "He’ll be fine once his fever breaks." Maggie left the kitchen and headed for the living room to join Nancy.

Before Maggie could enter the living room, the doorbell rang. A moment later, Jake stormed into the kitchen.

"What are you doing here, Jake?" Melissa asked in an annoyed tone."

"You are supposed to be at the arena rehearsing. You’re two hours late."

"We didn’t have a rehearsal scheduled for today," Melissa said, puzzled.

"We do now," Jake said. "Your last performance was terrible. We need to make sure everything goes right tonight."

"I’ll rehearse later."

"You’re going to rehearse now."

Frank knew this could lead to yelling and he knew Ned didn’t need to hear it. He decided to change the subject. "Jake, I was hoping you could tell me a little about he music business."

"Excuse me?" Jake asked, turning to face Frank.

"I’d like to learn about being a manager," Frank said. "I’ll be graduating soon and the music industry seems like an interesting field to get into."

"Really?" Jake asked, skeptically.

"Sure," Frank said. "I know I don’t have to make a choice until I get into college. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the business side of the music industry."

"Jake, maybe you could show him around," Melissa suggested.

"That would be great," Frank said excitedly. "It would be great to see what a manager does. Especially since you work with one of the fastest growing stars in the country."

"I don’t know," Jake said.

"Come on." Melissa got to her feet and moved over to Jake. She put her arm around him. "I think it would be great if you could show him the business. He might be your assistant in the future."

"Well," Jake said. He looked at Frank, then Melissa. "Fine. But you still need to rehearse."

"Jake," Melissa began.

"Actually," Frank interrupted, "It’s not a bad idea. While you’re rehearsing, Jake could let me in on how this business works."

"Fine," Melissa sighed. "Let me change and then we can go."

Ten minutes later, Melissa came down with her jacket on. She put six tickets on the table. "Here are your tickets in case we don’t get back before the concert."

"Thanks," Jeremy said as he picked up the tickets and put them in his pocket.

"I’ll drive," Jake said heading down the hallway toward the door with Melissa following him.

Frank looked at Joe. "See you later."

"Yeah," Joe said. He lowered his voice. "Be careful."

Frank nodded as he grabbed his coat and went outside. He saw Jake and Melissa were already in Jake’s truck. He climbed in beside Melissa pulling the door shut. Jake started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

As they started toward the arena, Frank began pumping Jake for information. "So, what kinds of things do you do as a manager?"

"Well," Jake began. "I find bands to open for Melissa. I set up the concert schedule. I set the rehearsal schedule and make sure all the members of the band make it. And I make sure everyone has a place to sleep and eat on tour."

"Do you also take care of the tour’s finances?"

"Yes. I get receipts for everything we spend and forward them to the main office."

"You have to do some calculating, though, don’t you?"

"What do you mean?" Jake asked, looking pointedly at Frank.

"Don’t you need to keep track of all the money you take in? Like ticket sales, special promotions, souvenirs?"

"Not really. I just jot the stuff down and forward it to the main office where the accountants take care of it."

"Don’t you need to know if the tour is making money or not?"

"The main office lets me know." Joe looked at Frank. "For some reason, I don’t think you’re interested in the music industry."

"I am," Frank said. "I’m just curious how much figuring is involved. Math has never been my strong point and I hope I’d still be able to do this even though I have problems with math."

Jake remained quiet for the rest of the trip to the arena. He pulled up alongside his trailer and the three of them got out. Jake let them inside his trailer. Once inside, he closed the door. They sat down on the couch and Jake turned to face them accusingly. "You weren’t here for autograph last night, were you?"

"That’s the reason we were here," Frank said. "Melissa wanted all of us to have one as a reminder of her concert."

"No, that’s not the real reason," Jake said moving over to his desk. He opened one of the drawers and held up a videocassette. "Now, do you want to tell me the truth?"

"We are," Melissa said. "I wouldn’t lie to you."

Jake glared at Frank. Frank realized the tape must’ve come from a security camera. He also knew if it showed them going through Jake’s things, they were in big trouble. He also knew it was possible that Jake was possibly trying to trick them into telling him things he didn’t know. Deciding there was no reason to beat around the bush, Frank looked at Jake and asked, "Have you been keeping a close eye on how much you’ve been stealing?"

A slow smile appeared on Jake’s face and Frank knew he had been right about Jake’s involvement. He watched Jake put the videocassette on the desk and move around to the front of the desk. Jake leaned against it and looked at them. "So, you think I’m stealing money."

"I’ve seen the proof," Frank said getting to his feet. He faced Jake. "I’ve seen how much you’ve taken from her profits."

"You have no proof I’m stealing money," Jake said reaching behind him and picking up the videocassette. "But I have proof you and your brother were trespassing."

"You don’t have anything," Frank said as he started to move around the small trailer. "I guess that means we’re at a stand still. You know I have proof you have been embezzling. It wouldn’t be that difficult to take that information to the authorities."

"You won’t," Jake said dropping the tape on his desk. He stood up straight and looked at Frank.