‘What have you gotten yourself into this time, Joe?’ Frank brooded silently. ‘And why wouldn’t you let me help? We’re partners!’

Feeling Callie shift in the seat, Frank looked over at her and smiled. ‘She’s cute, smart, confident… and she likes me!’ Settling back in the seat he almost sighed out loud.

Seconds later the smile froze on his face. Had Joe blown off his offer of help because Callie had been there? Would Joe have been more inclined to include Frank if it had just been the two of them? Was Joe jealous?

‘No… that’s crazy.’ Frank suddenly remembered Joe’s irrational anger at finding Callie huddled next to him in the kitchen.

Joe and Callie had been at each other’s throats almost from the second Joe arrived home.

Reluctantly, Frank admitted Joe and Callie had only been able to hold about thirty seconds of civil conversation before they resumed trying to one-up each other.

Staring out the window, Frank sighed in resignation. ‘Guess it’s not so crazy after all.’

For the next thirty minutes, Frank pondered this new revelation as he and Callie methodically searched the outskirts of Bayport for Steven’s truck. Frank found he became more conflicted as the minutes passed, now wondering if he’d have to choose between Callie and Joe. While he felt a deep-seated loyalty to his brother, Callie’s steady stream of flirtatious conversation had Frank enthralled. And although it appeared she was giving him her undivided attention, Callie still kept her eyes glued to the landscape, looking for any sign of Steven, Jonathan or Joe. Frank was impressed with the fact that she never once lost sight of the real reason for their drive together.

‘I bet she’d make a great detective. Wonder if she’d want to help Joe and me on other cases?’ Frank mused, before quickly dismissing the thought. ‘Yeah, right! That would go over great with Joe!’

"Penny for your thoughts," Callie’s voice interrupted his conflicted emotions.

He glanced at her and started to answer when Callie grabbed his arm and pointed out the window. "Steven’s truck!"

Frank snapped his head around in time to see a red blur speed past him. Muttering under his breath, Frank spun the wheel hard, executing a hair-raising U turn.

"Frank," Callie said, an edge to her voice that hadn’t been there before.

"Hmm," Frank acknowledged, focusing all his attention on the truck.

"Joe wasn’t with them."

"What?!" Frank looked at her, stunned.

"Steven and Jonathan were the only ones in the truck," Callie continued, sounding almost apologetic at having to deliver such news.

Slowing, Frank pulled to the side of the road and stopped. He turned and stared at Callie as a knot formed in his stomach. "Are you sure?"

Callie nodded mutely.

"If he wasn’t with them… where is he?"

*****

Putting their heads together, Frank and Callie decided the best course of action was to head in the direction Steven had been coming from. It seemed simple enough at first – drive along the road until they found Joe, or some sign as to where Steven and Jonathan had left him. Frank was hoping they had just dumped Joe somewhere by the side of the road, expecting him to hike back to town on his own.

But as the night wore on, Frank began to wonder about the effectiveness of such a plan. The outskirts of Bayport were made up of wide-open farmland, or heavily wooded forests. It could take days for him and Callie to search the entire area on their own. Sighing heavily, Frank finally admitted defeat. He resigned himself to the unavoidable confrontation with his parents when they found out what had been going on with Joe.

"I think it’s time I called in reinforcements," Frank announced. "Uh… it might be a good idea for me to take you home before I try and explain all this to my folks."

Callie smiled sympathetically. "Are you sure? Maybe they’ll be a little more understanding if I’m there, too."

"You mean they won’t go totally ballistic in front of someone they don’t know very well?" he chuckled.

"Something like that."

Glancing to his right, Frank felt his heart start to race as Callie smiled at him. The butterflies in his stomach seemed to reach down to his toes as he inadvertently pressed down on the gas pedal. Callie lowered her eyes seductively and finally looked away, returning her gaze out the front window. The stillness of the night was suddenly shattered.

"Frank, look out!" Callie screamed as Frank slammed on the brakes, the car fishtailing wildly.

Only a few yards in front of them, Joe stood in the road, blindfolded with his hands tied. His head had snapped towards the sound of the approaching car and screeching tires, yet he seemed frozen in place.