"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me, Frank. We blew it."

"Blew what?" Jake asked.

"The sting," he replied. "I just got a call from Allen Thompson on the cell phone. He canceled Mr. and Mrs. Johnson's meeting that was set for Wednesday. He claims something has come up and he has to leave town for a few days for a family emergency."

"Did he set up a new appointment?"

"No." Frank blew out a frustrated breath. "He said he'd call me back in a few days. He wasn't sure how long he'd be gone."

"Maybe he really did have a family emergency."

"No," Frank said. "I'm sure something spooked him. Somehow he saw through our act, someone tipped him off, something!"

Jake groaned. "I hope not. Let's wait it out a few days, see what happens. Meanwhile, get a hold of Carolyn. I'll see if Allen has bought a plane ticket in his name. I'll also check for any possible credit card transactions, see if he’s switched rental cars."

"All right,' Frank said. "I really hope he had a real emergency. I've never given up on a case before, but if he slips through my fingers again, I'm going to be about ready to throw in the towel."

"Don't let me hear that kind of talk from you," Jake scolded. "Call Carolyn. Let her know what's going on, then relax the rest of the evening. I'll go in to the precinct and do the grunt work on this."

"Thanks," Frank said. He hung up and dialed Carolyn's number. After filling her in on what has just occurred, he hung up and sat down on the sofa. Rubbing his temples, he groaned. What had he done to tip the guy off? Everything had went off without a hitch - or so he had thought.

Frank glanced at the clock. 9:30 pm. It’d be 6:30 in LA. He might just be able to catch Joe at home if he called to check up on him now.

Laurie reached for her fourth piece of pizza as Kevin let out a long laugh at the story Joe was relating.

"Laurie, honey, you’re going to be sick if you eat too much of that," Nancy chided her gently.

"Uncle Joe had five," she said through a mouth full of pizza. She held up all the fingers on one hand. "I counted. He’s not sick."

"Uncle Joe’s bigger than you," Nancy said. "Just remember that I warned you when your tummy starts to hurt." She turned to see what Kevin was laughing so hard about.

"I can’t believe you did that!," Kevin said, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. "You actually took a toy gun from the back of some station wagon and pulled it on an armed assailant! Man, I can almost picture you doing that!"

Nancy rolled her eyes. "I remember that! What is that Frank called that? Grandstanding?"

"Yeah," Joe smiled at the memory. "He’s always getting on too me for that. I never could get it through his head that it wasn’t grandstanding. It’s just my style!"

As Nancy and Kevin laughed at him, his phone rang. Joe grabbed it up and answered. "Yeah, you’ve got Joe. What can I do for you?"

"Joe?"

"Hey," Joe said, recognizing Frank’s voice immediately. "To what do I owe the honor of a call from you so early in the evening?"

"I hear people laughing," Frank said. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Not at all," Joe said, eyeing Nancy. "It’s perfect actually. My friends Kevin and Rebecca are here. We spent the day tracking down one of the mothers from those files. We were just finishing dinner and planning to have a brainstorming session. I can put you on speakerphone; let you join in."

"You’re friend Rebecca is there?" Frank asked. "The one you’re trying to help?"

"Yeah," Joe said. "I think I’ve gotten through to her, too. She said just yesterday that she’s going to make contact with her family soon."

"I suppose I should thank her for her help," Frank said.

"Sure," Joe said smiling. "Hang on a second."

"Rebecca!" Nancy looked up from her conversation with Kevin. Joe tossed the phone at her. "It’s for you."

Nancy looked puzzled as she caught the phone. "No one knows I’m here." she said as she brought the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Is this Rebecca?" a deep, familiar voice asked.

Nancy’s breath caught as she stared in horror at Joe. Joe leaned back against the sofa, arms folded across his chest. "Now seems like as good a time as any, doesn’t it?" he told her.

"Hello?" Frank said. "Anyone there?"

"Uh, yeah, I.. I'm here," she said stammered softly.

"I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done. Those files you came up with put my case in a new light. It may even help me catch these crooks."

"Sure, yeah, whatever," she mumbled. "You’re welcome."

Frank paused. "Do I know you?" he asked. "You sound sort of familiar."

"Uh, Uh," Nancy was saved by Laurie. "Who’s on the phone, Uncle Joe? Who’s Mommy talking to?"

"That’s my brother, Frank," he told her.

Laurie’s eyes widened. "You said your brother was my daddy!" Joe nodded.

Laurie shrieked with joy and raced over to Nancy. "I want to talk! Please Mommy, let me talk! Uncle Joe says that‘s my daddy!"

Nancy tossed the phone back at Joe and grabbed Laurie up. "Not now," she cried as she fled the room, taking Laurie with her.

Joe sighed in disappointment and picked up the phone.

"You still there?" he asked.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" Frank’s voice came over the line. "Why wouldn’t she talk to me and who was that little girl? Did she call me daddy?"

Kevin shook his head vehemently at Joe. "Not yet," he mouthed. Joe shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"That's just Rebecca for you. She isn’t always the most vocal of people when she’s nervous. And I guess you made her nervous. And the little girl is Laurie - you know, the one I was babysitting. I can’t imagine why she called you daddy, Frank. Sorry."

Frank was silent for a moment. "You’re still holding out on me, aren’t you."

Joe contemplated this. "Yes, Frank, I am. Give me another day or two and I’ll explain everything that’s happened here in the last week. Meanwhile, how about we discuss what the three of us found out. I’m going to have Kevin here drag Rebecca out of my bathroom, put you on speakerphone, and we’ll put our heads together for a good old fashioned brainstorming session."

Kevin nodded, relieved that Joe hadn’t spilled Nancy’s secret completely, and headed for the bathroom. When he returned, Nancy in tow, Joe pushed the button to activate the speaker. Slowly, he recounted the events of the day, with Kevin chiming in to add an occasional detail.

By the time Joe had finished, Nancy seemed to have composed herself. As Frank asked what they planned to do next, she found her voice back.

"I’m going to start looking into the backgrounds of my coworkers tomorrow," she said softly. "It may be that someone at Find the Children is connected to this."

"Could you speak up?" Frank asked. "I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but I can barely hear you." Nancy shot a pleading look at Joe.

"She said she’s going to look into the backgrounds of her coworkers tomorrow," Joe repeated for her. "I’m going to check on the other two girls. Between the two of us, we should have some new information for you by tomorrow night."

"Thanks," Frank said. "I’ll let you go then. And I’ll call back tomorrow night."

"Sounds like a plan," Joe said. "Talk to you then." He hung up the phone and met Nancy’s glare. "What did I do?" He asked innocently.

"That was cruel," she said. "I wasn’t ready yet."

"I just thought that if you heard his voice..." Joe stopped short. He could see the tears still wavering in the corners of her eyes. "Hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed. Forgive me?"

Nancy dropped her head into her hands and took a deep breath. "I meant that when I said I’d tell him myself, Joe. Just give me a few more days to work up the courage. Please."

"Sure," he said. He moved over next to her and gave her a quick hug. "I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you."

She waved a hand at him. "No, really, I’m ok. Just a little shook up. I’ll get over it."

Kevin cleared his throat. "I know a good way to get your mind off it," he said. "Joe and I will go rent a movie and the four of us," he stooped to pat Laurie on the head, "will forget about mysteries for the evening. Sound good?"

"I like that plan," Joe said.

"Yeah," Nancy agreed. "Me, too."