Ferb stood by Phineas's desk for a moment, trying to think of some thing else to say, but his brother didn't look like he was in the mood for conversation. Ferb shrugged inwardly and headed back to where Phinello was going through files. Phineas was a good guy, but he took things too hard sometimes; he'd get over it when it was their turn in to step in.

Man, it was hot! Seemingly endless trickles of sweat rolled down his spine, gluing his T-shirt to his broad back. The air conditioning was on the fritz as usual, and even with the door open, the tiny S.T.A.R.S. office was uncomfortably warm.

"Any luck?"

Phinello looked up at him from the pile of papers, a rueful smirk on his lean face. "You kidding?" It's like someone hid the damn thing on purpose."

Ferb sighed and scooped up a handful of files. "Maybe Isabella found it. She was still here when I left last night, going through witness reports for about the hundredth time…"

"What are you two looking for, anyway?" Baljeet asked.

Ferb and Phinello both looked over at Baljeet, still sitting at the computer console, headset on. He'd been monitoring Bravo's progress throughout the fly-by of the forest district, but for now he looked as bored as hell.

Phinello answered him. "Ah, Ferb claims there are floor plans in here somewhere on the old Spencer estate, some architectural digest that came out when the house was built-" He paused, then grinned at Baljeet," Except that I'm thinking that 'Ol' Ferbs gone senile on us. They say memory is the first to go."

Ferb scowled good-naturedly. "Ol' Ferb could easily kick your ass into next week, little man."

Phinello looked at him mock-seriously. "Yeah, but would you Remember it afterwards?"

Ferb chuckled, shaking his head. He was only twenty eight years old, but he'd been with the S.T.A.R.S. for fifteen years, making him the senior member. He endured many old age jokes, mostly from Phinello.

Baljeet cocked an eyebrow. "The Spencer place? Why would it be in a magazine?"

"You kids, gotta learn your history," Ferb said. "It was designed by George Trevor. Rumor has it that Trevor went crazy during construction and when it was finished, he got lost and wandered the halls until he died of starvation."

Baljeet scoffed, but suddenly looked uneasy. "That is, how you say, shit of the bull variety. I never heard anything like that."

Phinello winked at Ferb. "No, its true. Now his tortured soul roams the estate at night, calling out, 'Baljeet Rai….bring me Baljeet Rai….'"

Baljeet flushed slightly. "Yeah, ha ha. You're a real comedian, Ello."

Ferb shook his head, smiling, but wondered again how Baljeet ever made it to the S.T.A.R.S. He was undoubtedly the best hacker working for the S.T.A.R.S. and was a very good pilot but he wasn't so hot under pressure. Phinello had taken to calling him 'Chicken-Heart Jeet' when he wasn't around, and while the S.T.A.R.S. generally stuck up for one another, nobody disagreed with Phinello's assessment.

"So is that why Spencer shut it down?" Baljeet addressed this to Ferb, his cheeks still red.

Ferb shrugged. " I doubt it. It was supposed to be some kind of guest house for Umbrella's top execs. Trevor did disappear right about the time of completion- but Spencer was whacko anyway. He decided to move the company headquarters to Europe, and just boarded up the mansion. Probably a couple of million bucks, straight into the crapper."

Phinello sneered. "Right, like Umbrella would suffer."

True enough. Spencer may have been insane, but he had enough business savvy to strike it rich.

"Anyway," Phinello went on, "Monobrow sent someone from Umbrella out to check the place out, make sure it was secure, no break ins."

"So why look for blueprints?" Baljeet asked.

It was Phineas who answered, startling Ferb. He'd walked back to join them, his youthful face fixed with a sudden intensity that borders on obsessive. "Because it's the only place in the woods not checked bt the police, and its practically in the middle of the crime scenes. And you can't always trust what people say."

Baljeet frowned. "But if Umbrella sent somebody out…"

Whatever Phineas was about to say in response was cut short by Albert's loud, soothing voice, rising from the front of the room.

"Alright, people. Since it appears Ms. Garcia-Shapiro isn't planning on joining us, why don't we get started?"

Ferb gazed fondly at the picture of Vanessa and the girls that sat on his desk. Phineas's obsession with the murders was understandable, particularly since his friend disappeared. Nobody in town wanted to see another life lost. Ferb had a family, and was as determined as anyone else on the team to catch the killers. But Phineas's relentless suspicion had gone a little overboard. What had he meant by that, "You can't always trust what people say?" Either that Umbrella was lying or Chief Monogram was….

Ferb didn't know what it meant. He sighed, and waited for the meeting to begin.