You are all so sweet! I'm glad everyone is excited about the art fair. I'm getting there! Sorry, this one is a little short, and sorry in advance if I miss a day. I'm pretty obsessed with deadlines, so I'll do my best to stay on top of this :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to ND or HB.

Joe

Joe was closest to the swinging kitchen door. After he regained his footing, he followed Jimmy Regio in quick pursuit. He'd managed to twist his ankle going down, so he wobbled a bit as he slammed his weight into the door and threw himself into the small kitchen.

Frank had thrown some cash at the counter, and he could hear the pair following close behind.

He was just in time to see the rear door open, Jimmy fleeing from sight.

He ran outside into an alley, just managing to dodge a flying trash can. Jimmy was throwing shit now. That just made Joe cranky. Why couldn't just one suspect come in quietly? Just one. Joe wasn't asking for much. All he wanted was to get a suspect who behaved. Oh, and that coffee growing cold on the counter. Yeah, he wanted caffeine too.

When had he become such a crotchety old man? Joe had always loved the thrill of the chase. Whether on the field or in some aging alley, he'd always loved the adrenaline. He knew life was different now. He had to just embrace it.

But it didn't make it easy when his ankle was throbbing and the air smell like stale piss and rotting vegetables. He quickened his pace and almost fell over Jimmy Regio. The waiter was clutching a stitch in his side, gasping for breath.

"I didn't do anything," Regio said sullenly.

"Oh yeah? Then why did you take off like that?"

"I don't know. I thought you were a cop."

"I am-" Joe started to say. Then, he coughed and added, "I am just a normal guy. I swear."

"You're pretty fit, dude. I'm puffed. Haven't run since school." Regio groaned and straightened. "Well, if you're not a cop, why were you asking so many questions?" his eyes suddenly widened and he looked spooked like he wanted to take off again.

Nancy and Frank had arrived at the scene and Joe grabbed Regio before he could run away.

"These are just my friends," Joe said quickly. "We know Vinnie from way back and we're trying to find him. Would you know where we could find him?"

"Oh, so you are after drugs." Regio relaxed. "I can help you out."

"We're after something special," Frank chipped in. Joe wished he wouldn't. His older brother looked too put-together. Too neat. He had a collared shirt under his soft lambswool sweater. And he was even wearing chinos, for god's sake.

Joe cut in before Frank could mess it up more. "Frank here is a fancy-looking dude, sure, but he's looking for something to take the edge off, you know. His job is all stressful and he wants to wind down. Obviously, he needs more than the gym and a strip club, you know?"

Frank spluttered, but Jimmy looked convinced.

"Yeah. He looks pretty snobby. Let me give you Vinnie's deets. But, just don't tell him I gave them to you, okay? The guy is freaky about his privacy."

Frank:

Frank didn't like being thrown under the bus like that. But he'd seen the way Jimmy had looked at him and knew he had to tone down his prim and proper attire. So, as they walked back to the main street, he removed his sweater and rolled up his sleeves. He started to undo a few buttons and caught Nancy looking. Winking, he embellished his moves, pretending to do a striptease.

Joe made a sound of disgust and Nancy's eyes twinkled.

"When this is all over, I'll show you how it's done," she whispered in his ear.

His jaw dropped as she quickened her pass, walking ahead with her hips swinging jauntily. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, he thought. And he didn't even want her to stop pulling his strings. He was all hers.

To distract himself he looked back down at his phone, where he'd jotted down the address. He hoped that Vinnie would be there, ready to talk. They were running out of time. Of course, he wanted to wrap the day up so he could tumble onto his bed with Nancy. But he was also worried about Callie and all the guests at the fair. If they didn't solve this and someone attacked at the event... well, he'd never forgive himself. He knew that, because he often woke to have a smoke and found Joe staring moodily at a beer. Both of them had lost so much sleep over Iola's death. He didn't know if he'd survive another tragedy.

As he thought about the stakes of the case, another thought crept into his mind. When this was all over Nancy would have to go home. He wanted to solve this case. He wanted everything to be okay. But he also wanted her; and he didn't know how he could keep her.

"Is everything okay?" Nancy asked, detecting his sudden shift in mood.

He knew if he said something it'd be like pin puncturing a balloon. So, he forced a smile onto his lips. "Yeah, I'm just thinking about tonight."

She waggled her eyebrows at him and laughed. He wanted to capture that laugh and capture somehow, put it in his pocket so he could pull it out whenever he felt sad. He shook himself. He was already missing her and she wasn't even gone yet. He had to focus, appreciate what he had. Make the most of this chance to walk down memory lane and do something good.

He hurried to catch up with her.

Nancy:
They didn't have to go far to find Vinnie Hollis. He lived in a walk-up just on the outskirts of Little Italy. His ramshackle lodgings were a far cry from his brother's life with Callie. But unlike Ted, Vinnie did have a few convictions to his name.

Nancy still wasn't sure how he factored into all of this. He was a drug dealer; that had all but been confirmed by Jimmy. But how had he accessed Miller's apartment to plant the cocaine? And why would he do that? She saw no evidence that he was involved with the threats or art theft. More troubling still, even if he did have some involvement, she couldn't work out a motive. There were so many puzzle pieces. But they didn't fit together.

She glanced back at Frank and saw him looking at her. If she didn't know better, she would have suspected that he was staring at her rear end. But his eyes were clouded with thought.

"Quit staring at my ass," she teased.

He blinked owlishly. "I… oh, I wasn't. Not this time, anyway."

She gave him a nudge. "That's the right answer. What's on your mind?"

He looked like he was going to say something, then changed his mind. He started again, confessed, "I just can't figure it out. I feel like there's this trail of breadcrumbs leading us to something… but I'm not sure where it goes if it goes anywhere. What does Vinnie Hollis have to do with anything? Does he have anything to do with any of this?"

Nancy started to reply but her eyes had settled on a bunch of boxes sitting next to a trash can outside. One of the boxes was ripped, gaping its' contents, which had started to spill onto the sidewalk. It looked like rubbish to her. There was a broken old CD player and some DVDs, but a distinct piece of patterned fabric caught her eye.

"Frank…" she started to say.

But Joe was by her side, voice hushed. "Don't look now but there's a guy pointing a gun at us," he told her.

"Why don't you put down my shit?" a voice called out.

Nancy and Frank followed Joe's gaze to see a man at the door. He was holding a gun and it was pointed right at them.