Once they were out of sight, Joe moved quickly toward the door. He knocked lightly and said, “Melissa.”

“Come in.”

Joe opened the door and quickly went inside. He closed the door. Turning around, he saw Melissa sitting on the couch, crying. Melissa lifted her head and said, “Oh, Joe.”

“What’s wrong?” Joe asked moving quickly to the couch.

“I’m worried about Frank,” Melissa cried as Joe wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him.

“What happened?”

“Frank accused Jake of stealing money.” Melissa wiped her eyes. “But Jake had a video of us in his trailer with you two going through his things.”

“Did Jake deny stealing the money?”

“No. He admitted it in front of me.” Melissa started crying harder than before.

“Calm down,” Joe said. “Where’s Frank?”

“I don’t know. I think he’s somewhere in the arena. We were in Jake’s trailer when this guy hit Frank on the head.”

“What guy? Have you seen him before?” Joe asked quickly.

“I’ve seen him around. He might be a stagehand, but I don’t know who he is,” Melissa cried. “I’m really worried about Frank.”

“Calm down,” Joe said. “We’ll find him.”

“Joe, I‘m scared. I can’t do this?”

“Do what?”

“The concert.” Melissa sobbed even more. She picked up a piece of paper off the table and handed it to Joe.

Joe read the paper. It said: “Make this concert count. It will be your last.”

Joe asked, “Where did this come from?”

“I found it on my dressing table after rehearsal.” Melissa closed her eyes. “I want to cancel the concert.” She opened her eyes and looked at Joe. “I don’t think I can go through with the concert.”

“Everything will be all right,” Joe said.

There was a knock on the door that made them both jumped. Joe moved toward the closet as he quietly said, “Don’t say anything about me.”

Joe slipped into the closet and left the door open a little so he could see. He heard the door open. He recognized Jake’s voice when he asked, “Are you ready? The concert starts in a little while.”

“Jake, someone is going to kill me. I don’t want to do the concert.”

“You’re not getting out of it,” Jake growled. “You have a concert to do. The fans are waiting.”

There was silence for a moment. “Jake, where’s Frank? He wasn’t moving when I left your trailer. Is he okay?”

“Frank is being taken care of.”

“Jake, I need to see that Frank is all right. I need to know or I won’t be able to perform.”

“You’re not going to see him. You need to trust me.” He let out a sigh. “Now, get dressed.”

“I’m not going to do the concert unless I see Frank.”

Joe could see Jake pacing through the dressing room. Jake finally said, “Fine. Come on.”

As Jake and Melissa left the dressing room, Joe slipped out of the closet and hurried after them. He followed them down the hall. He stayed out of sight as they exited the arena by the trailers.

He followed them as they went toward Jake’s trailer. He watched from a distance as Jake opened the door and ushered Melissa into the trailer, then closed the door. Joe hurried toward the trailer on the side without the door and glanced through the window. He could see Melissa sitting on the couch.

Joe felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around quickly and saw Nancy standing behind him. Nancy said, “Sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Joe said, the turned back to the window.

“Was Melissa able to tell you anything?”

“Not much,” Joe said. “But Jake did admit to stealing the money from the tour in front of her.”

Joe saw Jake coming toward the door. He pushed Nancy toward the front of the trailer so they were out of sight. Joe glanced around the edge and saw the trailer door was open. He saw the door close and moved back to the window.

Nancy stood beside him as they looked through the window. They could see Frank lying on the floor. He was motionless. They looked at Melissa and saw her nodding her head to what Jake was saying, but her eyes were focused on Frank.

Nancy said, “We need to get both of them out of there.”

“Go to Melissa’s dressing room. Once she arrives, help her sneak out and head for the van. We’ll head back to Aunt Maggie’s.”

Nancy looked at Joe. “What are you going to do?”

“Follow Frank.”

“All right,” Nancy said. “Be careful.”

“You too,” Joe said and Nancy headed into the arena.

Joe saw Jake head for the door. He moved around to the front of the trailer as Jake came out with Melissa. Together, they went back to the arena. Staying out of sight, he glanced around the edge of the trailer and saw a large man close the trailer door. The man had Frank dangling over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

As the man made his way between the trailers, Joe followed a safe distance behind. The man made his way down an alley. Joe stood to the side and kept his eye on the guy. Frank was dropped into the dumpster at the end of the alley and the lid was closed on top of him. Joe slid out of sight as the man made his way back down the alley.

Once the man was out of sight, Joe hurried to the dumpster. Opening the lid, he peered inside. Frank was lying on his back. His eyes were closed and there was a large gash on Frank’s forehead. Joe let out a sigh of relief when he saw Frank was breathing.

Joe reached into the dumpster and grabbed Frank by the collar. He put his arms around Frank’s chest and pulled him out. He set Frank on the ground and slowly lowered his brother’s head to the pavement. He kneeled beside Frank and shook his shoulders. A moment later, his eyes fluttered open.

“Frank?” Joe said.

“Joe,” Frank said with a moan. He shook his head trying to focus on Joe’s smile. He reached for his head. “Help me up.”

Joe reached down and pulled Frank to his feet. He held onto his brother while he regained his balance. Joe asked, “What happened?”

“I confronted Jake, then someone hit me from behind.” Frank touched his forehead and winced. He looked around. He knew something was missing.

“Do you know where you are?” Joe asked.

“We’re outside the arena where Melissa is supposed to give a concert.” Frank looked at Joe quickly. “Where’s Melissa?”

“Easy,” Joe said. “Nancy is with Melissa in her dressing room.”

“We need to get to her. She’s in danger.”