At 8 o'clock that evening, Fenton and Frank were once again huddled around the receiver of Fenton's rotary phone, listening to Joe's daily report. When Joe got to the part about Danny being Adler's grandson, Frank actually interjected a loud "Golly!"

Joe explained, "Paul doesn't think Alek (the son) ever even knew he had a kid. Apparently Anita's family was super ashamed and they moved her from Philadelphia to Bayport for her to live with an aunt away from their friends." Joe finished, "Danny was born here and has lived here ever since."

"Gee," Frank started, "How did Paul figure out all that?"

Joe replied, "He's very determined to atone for his past. Not only does he help Anita and Danny, he also helps Danny's friends. In many ways, he's a grandfather to all of them. But he also hasn't told Anita or Danny. He's ashamed I think."

Fenton spoke, "We should talk to Anita, then. See if there's leads on her side."

Joe said, "I actually asked Ronnie about her, and he said she works as a waitress at the Madeline Cafe. She works every day, but she's visited Danny lots of times and seems really worried about him."

"Alright, I'll talk to her tomorrow, in the meantime, Joe, keep an eye out. The attacks have been spaced out to two or three days on average, so keep your guard up. Use the buddy system, I don't want any of those boys on their own."

"Sure thing, Dad." Joe bid his farewell to their father and then asked, "Do you mind if I just talk to Frank for a bit?"

Fenton responded, "Of course. Don't you boys stay up too late, I expect you to keep up with your school work through all this." He ruffled Frank's hair and left the office.

"What's up, old pal?" Frank asked genially.

Joe was more somber. "I guess I just miss you and the gang. These guys are cool and all, but if I have to hear one more conversation about the merits of various types of motor oil, I'm going to pull my hair out. A guy can only talk about cars for so long!"

Frank smiled. "Buck up, buddy. We'll have this case solved soon. Look on the bright side, now that you know Iola loves leather jackets, you'll have no problem getting her to be your girlfriend!"

Indeed, while Iola and Joe were each other's "favorite date," they were not officially going steady. Joe was nervous, which only happened around Iola or when a bad guy had a gun to Frank's head.

Joe scoffed. "Can you imagine what Mom would say if she saw me dressed like that?"

"Oh, she'd lose it, thinking her ickle Joey was turning into a greased-up hoodlum."

The boys continued to talk for quite a while until a knock sounded on the study door. "Frank?" It was their mother, dressed for bed and looking tired. "It's time for bed, love."

"Alright Mom. Although, can Joe say goodnight to you? He really misses you, and cries every night."

An indignant squawk emanated from the phone. "I do not!"

Frank laughed as he walked out the room, leaving the phone in his mother's outstretched hand.