A/N: Thanks for the feedback Jackie and Virtute! I love your comments! When I first read this old Scottish legend, I knew I wanted to work it into a story. What a perfectly creepy way to try to get rid of someone. Fortunately, Duncan rose to the occasion for me. LOL And yes, Joe's feeling vulnerable and hurt, but that's where his big brother steps in. They always have each other's back. My favorite characteristic of these two brothers...their closeness. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks so much for reading!

Chapter 37

Joe hurriedly hung up the living room phone and was headed to his father's office where he could overhear Frank having a phone conversation on Fenton's private line, when the doorbell rang. Joe sighed and threw it open. He found Kim standing there, her face tear-streaked and her expression desperate.

"Kim. What are you doing here?"

"Joe, I'm so sorry. I can't go through with this. I can't. Emily is too sweet and you really are too nice of a guy."

"What are you talking about?"

"Emily isn't seeing Duncan. She never was. Duncan called and threatened me with my job if I didn't tell you that." She hung her head. "I need my job. My mom is too poor to send me to school and internships are hard to come by."

"Wait a minute, are you saying you made the whole thing up?"

"Yes." Kim's voice was barely above a whisper and Joe had to strain to hear her. "Duncan told me what to say. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Panic washed over him. "Do you have any idea what you've done? The danger you may have put her in?" Joe's voice rose. "And I left her there. I left her at Duncan's because I thought she was cheating on me."

Kim burst into tears and Frank came out of his father's office, a concerned expression on his face.

"Joe? What's going on?"

Joe looked at his brother, his eyes wide and terror filled. "Frank, I've just made the worst mistake of my life. I have to find her. I have to find her now."

OOOOOOoooooOOOOO

Emily stared at Duncan reclining on the beach as he lazily watched her try to keep her tenuous grip on the slippery rock. She thrust out her chin in defiance. He's going to be sorely disappointed, because I don't intend to die out here. This sick plan didn't work the first time some idiot tried it, and it's not going to work now. She sighed. I'm going to have to pray for the same kind of miracle Elizabeth Campbell had in order to be rescued. She snorted. Fat chance I have of someone just "happening by".

She looked down into the churning water, as it gradually crept higher along the sides of the rock. The current is so strong, I don't even know if I can swim in it. She glanced back at Duncan. He'd notice for sure if I tried. Then he'd kill me immediately and go after Joe. Her eyes filled with tears. Joe. I wish he were here; he'd save me. She sighed. What does it matter, he hates me anyway. He's the last person on earth who'll be looking for me. But at least he'll be safe that way. She glanced back at Duncan. Maybe he really has figured out a way to commit the perfect crime.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

"Hurry, Frank. We don't have time," Joe urged.

"I'm driving as fast as I can," Frank assured him.

Joe slammed his hand against the dashboard. "How could I have done that? How could I have said those things to her?"

"You were upset," Frank said, trying to calm him down. "You thought she was using you."

"I should have known better." Joe leaned his head against the back of the seat. "The way I yelled at her...the things I accused her of..."

"Joe..."

"And she just stood there. Just looked at me." He sighed. "I thought she wasn't saying anything because she was guilty. Now I think it's because she was in shock. Or afraid."

Frank pulled up in front of Duncan's house and turned off the engine. "I'm sure she'll forgive you. You're both victims here."

Joe opened the door and jumped to the ground. "That's what I'm so worried about," he said as he dashed past the Subaru still parked in Duncan's driveway and up to the front door.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Emily struggled to regain her grip on the jagged rock as the rushing tide whirled around her knees. It tangled the long white wedding dress between her legs, and caused her to stumble repeatedly from the pressure it exerted against her limbs. I ought to try and rip this thing off. It's going to drag me under for sure. Of course, maybe it will help convince the authorities my death wasn't an accident. Something tells me they don't have too many bodies washing ashore in wedding gowns, like some sort of demented virgin sacrifice.

She shivered as the wind picked up. She could still make out Duncan's silhouette on the shore, but the light was growing dimmer by the minute. Maybe when it gets dark, I can slip into the water quietly and try to head for shore further down the beach. She shuddered in fear at the thought of trying to swim in the dark water. No, I can't think about that. She glared at Duncan. And I can't let him win. Just a little longer. Until it's truly nighttime, and the tide gets higher. It's my only chance.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Joe banged on Duncan's front door and got no response. He tried the handle and found it locked. He turned back to Frank, who was already removing his lock-pick from the pocket of his jeans. He quickly manipulated the lock and the door popped open. They stepped inside, and Joe began calling Emily's name while Frank clicked on the lights.

"I don't think anybody's here," he said.

"Stacey's car's still here." Joe looked around the room frantically. "Duncan's isn't. He took her somewhere. Where?" He turned to Frank. "Where is she?"

"Calm down," Frank ordered. "Panicking isn't going to help Emily right now." He began searching the room. "There's got to be something here that will give us a clue." He spotted a piece of paper sticking out from underneath the coffee table and snatched it up and began reading while Joe went down the hall to look in the other rooms.

"Crap," Frank said as he read over Emily's internship application. Her mother's maiden name had been circled in red. Campbell. "Joe?"

"Frank, get in here!" His brother's voice was urgent.

Frank hurried down the hall and stopped short at the door to Duncan's Scottish castle room. "Holy..."

Joe looked down and saw Emily's clothing strewn on the floor along with her purse. He saw red. "Son of a bitch!" He looked up at Frank. "I swear, if he's so much as laid one finger on her, he's a dead man!"

Frank was still trying to take in the scene in front of him. The large fireplace, the table taking up almost the entire room, the rushes scattered across the floor, the swords hanging on the wall. "The man's a complete nut." His eyes wandered to the table where he spotted the empty bottle of wine and Rory Mor's horn. "The artifacts. He has the artifacts."

"He was behind this. Him and Perriton."

Frank nodded. "It looks like it."

"I let her walk in here. I watched her walk in here. If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself."

"We can't think like that now. We need to concentrate. We need to think." Frank began to pace the floor. "Okay, now obviously Duncan has a problem with Emily being a Campbell."

"What?"

"Oh, here. I found this in the other room. Emily's mom's maiden name is Campbell."

"Frank, it's that story. The one about the girl and the rock from that poem. Remember? She was a Campbell."

Frank pressed his lips together in a thin line. "I think you're right."

Joe began looking around the room. "He had to plan this. It wasn't done on a whim. He knew I was in the office. He set me up. He wanted me out of the picture so he could get to her."

Joe moved to a small desk Duncan had in the corner of the room. He rifled through the papers on top of it and finding nothing, began pulling out the desk drawers. "There's got to be something here."

Frank moved to his side. "Hang on. Let's try and be methodical about this." He started going through the papers one by one.

"Here. These are maps of the coastline." Joe waved them in Frank's direction.

"Okay, that's a good start. See if he's marked anything on any of them."

While Joe was looking, Frank opened a manila file. "I've got a boat registration here."

"There's nothing on these maps." The panic in Joe's voice was growing.

"Then we keep looking." Frank stood and ran his hands over the top of the desk. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Joe caught it. It had two lines of numbers on it. Joe looked at it, then back at the map.

"This is it. These are coordinates."

Frank knelt down and they spread the map out on the floor. They traced the latitude and longitude coordinates with their fingers until they met.

"It's right off the coast, not too far from here," Joe said

Frank nodded. "I know the area. It's kind of remote. Not popular with the surfers or beach crowd because it's a little too rocky. Fishermen like it though."

"That's where he's taken her. I can feel it."

"And that's where we're headed." Frank stood. "We'll get her. Don't worry."

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

The wind whipped Emily's already battered body against the rocks as the rain pelted her from above. Her hand slipped and she nearly tumbled into the surf. The daylight was all but gone, and the water was swirling around her waist now. She shuddered as she looked down into the murky depths. It's so dark. She could feel the blood on her hands from gripping the jagged rocks. Her feet were stinging in the salty ocean water, so she knew they must be cut as well. Great, blood in the water. I really wish we hadn't watched "Jaws" the other night. She shivered. What does it matter? I can't keep doing this. I can't hold on forever. And nobody is ever going to think to look for me out here. She leaned her head against the rock as the wind blew forcefully. You win, Duncan.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

"Step on it, Frank. I feel like we're running out of time."

Frank peered through the windshield as the wipers moved back and forth. "I'm going as fast as I can. Getting into an accident isn't going to help us find Emily."

The CB radio crackled and Fenton's voice was heard. Joe picked up the microphone. "Dad?"

"Yeah, it's me. Collig's bringing Perriton in for questioning. We should get to the bottom of this soon. How's it going on your end? Have you found Emily yet?"

"No, but we're almost there."

"Okay, let me know when you do. I'll have Collig send some men and we'll get there as soon as possible."

"We're turning off the main road right now." Joe rolled down his window. "Frank, I see Duncan's car."

"Son, please be careful. Don't take any chances. With your life or with Emily's."

"I'll be fine, Dad. Over and out." Joe turned off the CB before Fenton could object anymore.

Frank slowed down as he approached Duncan's vehicle. "I don't see him."

Joe opened the door to the van and jumped out. Frank sighed and turned off the ignition, then exited and followed his brother. The wind was starting to pick up as the storm intensified. Joe's head whipped around and he searched all over the beach for any signs of either Emily or Duncan. "Where the hell is she?"

A flash of color caught Frank's eye. He nudged his brother. "Over there."

Joe followed Frank's gaze and spotted Duncan sitting in a beach chair. Emily was nowhere in sight. Joe's throat tightened with fear and he swallowed hard. "I don't see her."

"He knows where she is. With this wind howling, we should be able to sneak up on him fairly easily."

The brothers moved silently towards Duncan, and fanned out so that each one of them would be on the opposite side of their target. As they moved within ten feet of him, they could see that Duncan had been drinking. Frank caught Joe's eye and nodded. They both lunged forward and grabbed him. Duncan roared and tried to throw them off, but his coordination was compromised by the alcohol and he fell to the sand. Joe caught him by the collar and dragged him up. "Where is she?" he demanded.

"Where is who?" Duncan smirked, the alcohol heavy on his breath.

"Emily, damn it. Where is she?"

Duncan waved his hand. "She's gone."

Rage boiled up inside of Joe until he saw red. "What do mean 'she's gone'? What have you done with her?"

"Avenged my clan." Duncan smirked again. "She's a Campbell, you know." He spat on the ground. "A Campbell bitch."

Joe punched him in the jaw and Duncan dropped like a rock. As he clutched the side of his face, Joe grabbed his shoulders and yanked him up to a sitting position. "Tell me where she is or I swear I'll kill you."

The rage in Joe's face seemed to clear some of the fog in Duncan's brain. He gestured towards the water. "She's out there."

Joe let go of him and started dashing toward the surf.

"Joe, wait!" Frank called out. He undid his belt and quickly tied Duncan's hands behind his back and then to the beach chair. "Where's the boat?"

"Over the dunes," Duncan slurred. "It's too late, you know. She'll have drowned by now."

Frank tightened the belt around Duncan's wrists so hard he cried out. "For your sake, I sure as hell hope not." Frank shoved him backwards and he lay sprawled in the chair, flat on his back, too drunk to right himself. Frank tore after Joe, who had already spotted the boat at the end of the dock and was quickly untying the ropes. Frank got behind the wheel and started the engine and they headed out in the direction of the shoal.