CHAPTER 6

Frank Hardy sat at one of the cubicles in the Inzell Library looking through microfilms of old editions of Inzell Times that a librarian had shown him. He wasn't sure what he wanted to find, but he thought they might tell him something about Verin Island. He decided to start from the one that dated six months ago. It was around that time Shane had bought the island, and when Zach Matteo died.

After scrolling through a few microfilms for an hour, Frank thought his eyes had gone crossed. He sighed and tried the next one. He'd forgotten how time-consuming doing this part of detective work, that for a moment he felt an urge to threaten the owner of Inzell Times to display every edition of the newspaper on the Net. That way, he could just put on the keyword search to find what he was searching for in minutes. Maybe I've been too dependent on my laptop for too long, he thought wryly. He felt like abandoning his task when he suddenly noticed a headline that he wanted to see. ZACH MATTEO DIES.

He quickly skimmed through the pages – most of it basically the same story as Shane had told him. Zach Matteo had suffered from heart attack a few times before his death. His death wasn't a surprise to the people living in Inzell Island. He died after playing a game of tennis at the Inzell Country Club. His funeral was done in private. There was also an article mentioning Verin Island that Mr. Matteo had been planning to buy.

"People is speculating that Mr. Matteo wanted to buy the island as to show that the Biancos are no longer in control," Frank read on with sudden interest. "The island, which was originally owned by Kurt Bianco, had been abandoned for ten years ever since the owner is sent to prison," he continued reading.

Frank sat back and began thinking. Could this be the reason why Tara Matteo wanted the island so much? Frank thought. He wondered if there were other Bianco's abandoned properties lying out there. Did Matteo own any of them? Did Mr. Matteo was planning to collect everything that once belonged to Bianco? He knew it sounded farfetched, but it could be a good motive for the Matteos.

He would have to check this angle from other sources though. He wouldn't find all about Bianco's properties in here. He turned back to the screen. He scrolled further down to check if there was anything more interesting. Other than articles about Shane Unterhauser buying Verin Island, and Tara's reaction to his 'thievery', there was nothing else interesting to be read about.

Sighing, Frank rubbed his eyes tiredly. He glanced at his watch and was surprised to see it was already half past four. He'd better get back or else Joe might be wondering where he was. He stood up and stretched, rubbing his back wearily.

When Frank got back to Verin, and to his room, Joe wasn't there to be found. Maybe he's in Shane's office, reporting about the case, he thought. But he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy as he made his way down to Shane's office.

Jane was at her desk when he arrived downstairs.

"Hi, Jane. Is Shane in?" Frank asked the woman.

"Oh, Mr. MacAllister," Jane said nervously. "Yes, he just got back from New York," she reported. "You can just go in." Her voice almost broke when she finished.

Frank frowned. "Do you happen to see my brother today?" he asked on a hunch.

"Uh, yeah," she replied. "We talked a little before he left this afternoon," she told him.

"Did he say where he went?" he continued asking, watching her arranging the papers on her desk.

"N-No," she answered. She continued arranging her desk, obviously making a show that she wasn't in the mood to speak to him.

"But you must have seen where he was heading after that," Frank continued grilling. He didn't like the feel of this at all.

"He might have gone out through the emergency door down the hall," she replied. "I didn't see where he was heading though."

"So, he was on this floor this afternoon," Frank said, almost to himself. "Have you seen Neil or Jim?" he asked.

"They must be at the construction site as usual," she told him, still not looking at him.

Frank could tell she was hiding something, but he didn't press further. "I think I'll go and see Shane," he told her and quickly left.

Shane was sitting behind his desk when Frank entered the office. The man was typing something on his laptop.

"So, how's the case going, Frank?" Shane asked when Frank had seated.

"Not much, but I found out something about Matteo," he replied and told him about his research at the library.

Shane's eyebrows shot up in surprise when as he listened. "I didn't realized this piece of island has some sort of history," he commented after Frank had done.

Frank, however, was a little distracted. He turned to Shane, trying not to look anxious. "Do you happened to see my brother this afternoon?" he asked Shane.

"I thought he was with you," Shane replied, looking surprised.

"No, he wasn't," Frank told him.

"Well, I didn't see him," Shane said. "I just got back from New York, and Neil was with me all the time. Other than Jane and Jim, I didn't see anyone else."

Now, Frank was starting to get worried. Wasn't Joe supposed to be questioning Jim and Jane? Both of them must have seen him or at least knew where he had gone.

"Is Jim still here?" he asked Shane.

"Yeah, he's working on the houses," Shane answered.

"All right, I guess I'll talk to Jim," Frank said and stood up.

"If you need any more help, don't hesitate to ask me," Shane reminded him before Frank went out.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks," Frank said hastily before going out. He entered the emergency door that led to a stairway. There was another door that led to the back of the building. He opened it, and jogged over to the dusty construction site. After asking around, some of the workers pointed to where he could find Jim.

Jim seemed to be having an argument with Neil when Frank approached them.

"You'd better keep that in mind, Sterling!" Jim was saying to Neil, jabbing his finger against the man's chest.

Both of them instantly grew quiet when they noticed Frank. Then Jim turned, facing the wall, and continued doing a painting job. Neil however was glowering at Jim. The man frowned when he saw Frank.

"What do you want?" Jim asked gruffly when Frank stood beside him.

Frank wondered what could have made Jim acting like a grouch. "I was just wondering if you've seen Joe this afternoon," he said.

"No, didn't see him," Jim replied as he dipped the paintbrush into a pail that was filled with white paint.

"He never spoke to you or anything?"

"Hey, didn't you hear what I said, kid?" Jim said, almost shouting. "He didn't come to me, and I didn't see him."

"What's going on here?" Neil's rumbling voice growled.

"Nothing's of your concern, Neil," Jim snapped, glaring at the man.

The huge man gave Jim and Frank a cold stare. "If there's nothing, go back to your work," he barked. Then he glowered at Frank. "And you, get out of here! This is no place for a kid like you."

Frank looked steadily at Neil, keeping his cool. "I will go until you tell me if you've seen my brother," he said levelly.

"Haven't seen him," Neil growled. "Now, get out!"

Frank retreated back to the main building. He began to get worried. Maybe it's nothing, Frank reflected silently. Maybe Joe had gone to Inzell to eat something. His brother sometimes had a knack to eat whenever he felt like it. Or maybe he's up in the room now, he suddenly thought and quickly dashed up the stairs to the first floor. When he entered the room, he was disappointed to see it was empty. He started pacing around the room, waiting for Joe's return. But in his mind there was only one question that kept echoing inside. Where are you, Joe?