"Becky," Vicki asked, stepping into her room, "What happened? Are you okay?" Becky was standing by the window in her room. When Vicki reached her, Becky turned around slowly.

"There was someone down there," Becky said, her voice shaking, "A dark figure ran across the backyard. I could see him in the light."

"Are you sure," Vicki asked and her sister nodded, "Okay, we’ll go down and check real quick. Stay right here with mom and dad." She turned to Frank, Joe, and C. J, "Come on guys." She raced downstairs, the others right behind her.

The backyard was silent. They couldn’t hear a single sound out of place. The teens stood absolutely still, straining to hear a sound from the intruder. C. J. motioned to a group of bushes by the fence. They cautiously approached the bushes.

Right before they reached them, a figure in black ran out and headed for the gate. Before they could do anything, the person had rushed out front and was gone. Vicki looked around where the figure had waited. Seeing nothing in the dark, she turned back to the group.

"Where’s Joe," she asked, looking at Frank and C. J. The two looked around, but Joe wasn’t anywhere in sight.

After the figure had raced past, Joe had waited a second before running after it. The commotion made it easy for him to slip away without either his brother or friends noticing.

He was just in time to see the dark figure running down the street and around the corner. He headed right behind, careful not to give himself away quite yet. The person didn’t even give notice to the uneven pounding of footsteps behind him.

Joe watched as he turned into an alleyway. He followed as fast as he could, not knowing the area as well. Garbage cans littered the alley, piles of it in bags leaning against the walls. The figure still in sight, Joe quickened his pace and barely managed to see the man turn right.

Joe kept pace and saw the man continue straight after that. The man stopped for a second and Joe stopped in his tracks. Pleased with the results the man continued on, stopping now and then to check for tails. Then he turned into another alleyway and opened the first door on the left. He slipped quickly inside and was gone.

Joe waited outside until the retreating footsteps faded away. Then he cautiously opened the door slowly and entered. The room wasn’t empty like he suspected. Two large dogs, Dobermans, were there. And they didn’t look too inviting.

"He’s not here," Vicki said, "Where could he have gone?"

"We know where," Frank answered, "He went after that guy and we didn’t notice. Who knows what he’s doing now."

"It won’t be easy to find him, " C. J. remarked.

"Don’t worry about him," Frank assured her, "Joe can take care of himself. He’ll return in a few minutes probably."

"I guess you’re right," C. J. said, "I don’t doubt Joe or anything, but if he’s so much like Vicki."

"I’m taking that as a compliment," Vicki remarked, glaring mockingly at her best friend, "Who knows what would have happened to you by now if it hadn’t been for me."

"I can tell you that," C. J. replied, "We wouldn’t have gotten involved in this mystery in the first place. And I wouldn’t be standing in the freezing cold outside in jeans and a tee-shirt."

Joe saw the animals and backed away slowly, his hand going for the doorknob. The dogs advanced as he did this. He was no longer worried about the figure as he heard the growls and saw the dim glow in their eyes.

Just as they lunged for him, Joe found the doorknob and flung it open. He ran outside and closed the door before they could reach it. Upstairs though, through a window, voices could be heard.

Determined to find out what had led the figure to this spot, he found the fire escape and climbed up the steps until he was close to the window.