CHAPTER 4

"Say salsa!" Joe laughed as he snapped a picture of Chet and Biff.

"Don't mention food, you'll only make Chet hungry again," Biff teased.

Chet playfully punched Biff on his shoulder causing the blonde boy to laugh.

"Give Chet the camera, Joe, so he can take a picture of us in front of the Alamo ."

As Joe handed Chet the camera, he stared at the famous fort.

"I feel like I'm on a movie set."

"Why is that, Joe?" Frank asked.

"Doesn't it seem…I don't know, surreal? Something from the past among all these modern buildings?"

Biff walked over to Joe, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Frank, I think this Texas heat has gotten to Joe! He definitely has sunstroke or something."

Frank just smiled as he calmly pushed Biff out of the way. Putting his arm around Joe's shoulder, he smiled over at Chet.

"Okay Morton, snap away."

"Say nachos!"

"Nachos!" Frank and Joe cried out.

The picture taken, the four friends went in search of a nice lunch. Walking down the steps to check out the restaurants along the River walk, they noticed a girl came running up. She tripped and would have fallen if Joe hadn't reached out to catch her.

Joe had noticed the pretty girl as she started up the stairs. She had red hair that fell down to her waist. She was wearing a white tank top and short black shorts. Joe wondered what color her eyes were, since she had on a pair of dark sunglasses.

"You okay?"

"Thanks to you I am. My name's Samantha Lang, but my friends call me Sam."

"Hi Sam, I'm Joe, Joe Hardy, and this is Frank; also Chet and Biff."

"Hi, you guys sightseeing?"

"How'd you know?" Chet wondered.

"The camera is kind of a giveaway," Samantha laughed.

Biff moved closer to Joe, smiling at Samantha. "We were just going to get some lunch, would you like to join us?"

Studying Biff and Joe, Samantha pointed a finger at them.

"Are you two twins or something?"

Chet let out a snort of laughter; Biff took a step back, giving Joe a mock look of terror.

"No, but don't feel bad. A lot of people mistake us for siblings. Blonde hair, blue eyes, devastating good looks." Joe smiled wickedly.

"Actually Samantha, I'm his brother." Frank said. "Although there are times, like this one, when I don't care to admit to it."

"Don't let him fool you. He really loves me." Joe whispered to a giggling Samantha.

Accepting Biff's invitation to lunch, Samantha led them to an inexpensive Mexican restaurant.

"She's in," said a man watching the exchange from the top of the stairs.

-pagebreakpagebreak-

Carolyn nervously waited to board her plane. It had been a long night; she was tired and anxious to leave. When she had wakened from her dream, Carolyn had quickly gotten dressed. Leaving a note for Mark, she headed straight for Mary Twofeathers' house. Carolyn wasn't at all surprised to find the woman awake and waiting for her.

"We need to change your looks," Mary had told her. Darkening her light brown hair and also tinting her skin a darker color, Mary proclaimed Carolyn a child of the Cree. Not having any contacts to change Carolyn's eye color, she now wore dark glasses.

Mary then led Carolyn out into the night and they walked out of the reservation. To her surprise, there was a car waiting outside on the road. Carolyn turned to Mary, a quizzical expression on her face.

"I may never have been a Girl Scout, but I'm always prepared for anything," Mary laughed softly.

They drove to the nearest airport and bought a one-way ticket to San Antonio.

In a few minutes the plane would be boarding; glancing at the clock on the wall, Carolyn saw that it was almost six in the morning.

"Attention, passengers, United flight 218 to San Antonio, Texas will be boarding in two minutes."

Carolyn picked up the small satchel that Mary had given her. She watched as the first class passengers began to board. As she waited for her turn, Carolyn said a little prayer that Chet was okay and that she would get there in time.

**END OF CHAPTER**

Authors Note: Please read the author's profile for this story. The author, copagirl, passed away in 2013. I am posting these stories up with the permission of her family, who want her to be remembered as well. Lola was a long-time member of the Hardy Detective Agency and we miss her soooooo much! Love you Lola!

Thanks to those of you leaving feedback! I know copagirl would love all of it.