The Suzuki felt as if it was going half the speed it was earlier. Alex pressed the throttle harder and harder, but the bike refused to go any faster. The trees were alarmingly detailed as she passed them. "Faster, faster," she urged the bike, although it was at its maximum speed. She sped along the back routes, which were empty, save for a few cars, which Alex passed up without second thought.

Melinda drove through town to Jimmy. She hoped Alex was near; she hadn't answered her phone or called back. When she pulled into the driveway, and got out of her jeep, she was met at the doorway by a man with a revolver. "What do you want?" he growled. The man was medium built, with a crew cut that had a bald spot in the back of it. He wore glasses and looked as if he hadn't been in the sun for weeks. Melinda didn't notice any of this, as all her attention was on the gun. "I-I," she stuttered, "I was looking for a friend. I think she gave me the wrong address."

"Get in here!" the man ordered. Melinda complied and slowly walked into the house. When she was through the front door, she was in a living room. It reeked of cheep perfume and cigarette smoke. It was as if the window in it hadn't been opened in years, and all the smells were manifesting themselves. Melinda wanted to vomit. "Don't stop!" the man barked. "Sit down!" he ordered, indicating a spot on the floor, in the hallway.

"Are you Donny Paulson?" she asked timidly.

"Shut up! Yeah, I'm Donny. Who wants to know?"

"Melinda Gordon. I was a friend of Samantha's."

"You came to visit that little runt? She's dead. Are you a social worker?"

"No."

"You better not be lying. Someone tried to rat us out last night." He motioned with the gun, "I know how to deal with rats. I don't even have to bother with traps."

At last, the Grandview city limits sign was visible. Alex sped her way to 2117 Linda Drive, where Jimmy was living. When she rode up, she could see Melinda's red jeep in the driveway. "Dammit Melinda!" she thought desperately. "Why would you go alone?"

Alex threw her helmet onto the ground, ignoring the crack she heard when it hit the pavement. She lapsed into her ghost form and began to search, undetected, through the windows of the house. When she got to the basement window, she saw a small boy, tied up and lying on the floor.

A second later, she was inside the house. After searching for less than a minute, she found Melinda sitting in the hallway looking fearfully at a man who stood before her. She was just about to look at Alex when she stopped her. "Melinda, don't look at me. I found Jimmy and I'm going to get both of you out of here. Blink twice if you understand." Melinda did so and Alex went on. "I'm assuming this is Donny."

Melinda blinked twice.

"Don't worry," I'll get you out of this." With that, Alex disappeared. When she left, Melinda worked up all her courage and made an angry face. "Where's Jimmy?" she demanded.

"So you are a social worker! Well, I'll tell you. He's a bit tied up in the basement right now. As for you," he leaned so close that his face was inches from hers, "I don't mind putting a bullet through your head. In fact," he mused, "I think all my problems would be solved if I did." He put the revolver to her forehead and cocked the gun.

Melinda was sure he was going to shoot when she heard a banging at the door.