Joe started thinking about Jay again as he made his way into town to meet his Dad. He was hoping that Fenton had gotten some information on the girl. Joe knew when his Dad put his mind and his contacts to it, he could find out anything.

"Hey, Dad," said Joe as he came into the office. " Find out anything about Jay?"

"Before we get into that I need to ask you about something," said Fenton.

"Sure," said Joe.

"Did you see anyone else in the cave when you, Frank, Callie and Vanessa entered?"

"No. Why?"

"They found a body near the front of the cave. They have not identified him, yet."

Joe stopped in his tracks, as the memory of the rocks collapsing and buying his brother, fiancée and sister in law came rushing back. "That could have been Frank, Callie and Vanessa" he said, looking at his father.

"I know. We are very lucky it wasn't them."

"Well have you asked Frank about the body?"

"No. I was about to call and ask."

Fenton picked up the phone and called home. Frank, Callie and Vanessa had not seen anyone. Fenton told Frank about the body. Fenton had put him on the speakerphone, so Joe could hear everything.

Franks response was similar to Joe= s "I thank God, it wasn't us. Are they going to clear out the rest of the rocks?" .

"No," said Fenton. "The ceiling keeps falling in on them. So they are giving up on it."

"Dad, speaking of caves," said Frank. "What about Jay?"

"Well, that is a mystery," said Fenton. "We know she exists. But on paper, she doesn't. No driver license, social security number, nothing. I called the university and talked to the Dean, but they have never heard of her. So, I decided to talk with Professor Tollington."

"He admitted that Jay was not an enrolled student. And the work she did for him and other professors they paid her out of their own pockets. He said she was trying to save up money by doing odd jobs to enroll in college, but he doesn't know her last name. He thought it was Smith. The other professors that I spoke to thought it was Brown, Wilson, or Jackson. None of them know where she lives."

"That does not make sense," said Joe. "How does Professor Tollington let this girl use his truck, computer software and his gear and not know her name?"

"I= m curious to know the answer to that question," said Frank.

"So was I." Fenton replied. "He said that one day she brought in some maps of local caves to his office, maps she had drawn herself and has then plotted on computer using the relevant software. She told the professor that she wanted to explore the caves some more and so started working for him."

"According to the other professors, she has been a very valuable person to have around. She does all kinds of odd jobs from basic cleaning to technical repair. One of the professors did say she remembered that Jay had told her about working for a cleaning service."

"That= s a good lead," said Frank.

"Don't get excited yet Frank" Fenton added gloomily. "I already called every cleaning service in town. No such person exists."

"Oh, for heavens sake. Did any of the professors say anything else that might help?" asked a very frustrated Joe.

"Another professor said that Jay had mentioned working at the docks on the waterfront," said Fenton.

"Let me guess. You called and no such person exists," said Joe.

"Sorry, son," said Fenton. "You guessed right. I just don't know where to go from here. Professor Tollington said he didn't know if she was going to come back or not."

"We scared her away," said Joe. "Dad, we have got to find her."

"Why is this so important to you? She might not want to be bothered," said Fenton, looking at his son closely. Fenton Hardy knew that his younger son had a soft spot for helping people in trouble, even if they didn't want to be helped.

"Dad, I recognized that look in her eyes," said Joe.

"What look?" asked Frank.

"It= s the same look that Vanessa had after her rape. It= s the same look that I had. Fear. I= m afraid she will give up hope and become like I did," said Joe, quietly.

"Son," said Fenton very carefully so Joe could understand him. "You did not give up."

"Yes, I did," said Joe looking down at his feet. " I just wanted to die. I gave up. I couldn'ttake it anymore. I was tired of fighting, tired of the pain, just tired. I quit."

Joe was scared to look at his father. He knew his father was ashamed of him. He couldn't look him in the eyes.

Suddenly Joe felt his father= s arms around him. Fenton was squeezing him very tightly.

"Joe," said Fenton. "I am very proud of you. I couldn't believe you were still alive, when I saw what they had done to you. I love you so much. Nothing and no one can ever change that. How you and Vanessa have made it through these last few years has amazed me."

"Thanks, Dad," said Joe.

"For what?" asked Fenton.

"For being my Dad and putting up with me," said Joe.

"Well, somebody has to," Franks voice startled Joe, he had forgotten his brother was on the other end of the telephone line.

"Sorry, Frank," said Joe. "We forgot about you."

"Okay, lets figure out some way to find Jay," said Fenton.

"Wait a minute. I got it," said Frank, excitedly. "I know where we can find her."

"Where?" said Joe and Fenton at the same time.