CHAPTER 10

Joe Hardy knew he was slowly gaining on Jim Owen. The man was starting to tire and slowing down. And when Jim was just a few feet away from him, Joe made a huge leap and gave the man a flying tackle around the waist.

Both of them tumbled to the ground and struggled furiously. Jim began throwing punches toward Joe, and Joe had no choice but to block the attacks.

"What do you want from me, kid?" Jim snarled, trying to pin Joe to the ground.

Joe clenched his teeth and snapped. "I want to know why you poisoned my brother!"

Jim looked confused for a moment, but the grip of his hands around Joe's neck still remained firm, pressing Joe to the ground. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're barking up the wrong tree!"

Joe butted his head against Jim, which took the man by surprise. His hands released around Joe's neck. Joe took the advantage and pinned him to the ground.

"And why are you hiding, and running away when you saw us?" Joe demanded, angrily. He knew he had to keep his cool, but the thought of this man who had left him stranded on an island, and possibly who had poisoned his brother were more than Joe could take. He grabbed the collar of the man's shirt and shook him in rage.

"Why should I tell you? You're such a good detective," Jim sneered.

Joe clenched his fist, feeling an urge to blow him across the face. But he held on. "You sent the warning note, did you?" Joe asked him on a hunch.

"So? I had to keep you two away from this island." Jim glared at him.

"Yeah, so that you still can continue with your little blackmail operation," Joe scoffed. "You didn't want us to find that out."

A look of surprise registered on Jim's face. "You're not so dumb after all," was all he could say. "I bet that woman told you that! She's too afraid of everything," he growled.

"And what about Tara Matteo? Did you blackmail her, too? I saw her the other day with you," Joe continued asking. He knew it wasn't really the truth, but he had to lure Jim to tell him everything.

Jim gave a harsh laugh. "I've got better profit from her than blackmailing. She's more interested in Shane's activities than she let on," he said with a sly malicious grin.

His answer hit Joe instantly. "You were spying for her!" he exclaimed. "That would explain why you were sneaking in Shane's office."

"You're too smart for your own good, you know that?" Jim suddenly shouted at Joe.

Joe winced inwardly by the piercing shout in his ears. "Who else are you blackmailing, Jim? Is it Neil? Shane?" Joe asked, shaking the man. His eyes flashed angrily. But he couldn't get further answers from Jim when the man suddenly flung a fistful of sand right toward Joe's face.

"Yow!" Joe instinctively shut his eyes. His hands frantically brushed the sand from his eyes and face. He was barely aware of the sound of running footsteps, growing fainter and fainter. By the time he could open his eyes, Jim was already far ahead, reaching the shoreline. He looked on helplessly as Jim climbed into a motorboat and left the island.

Joe muttered something under his breath, kicked the sand at his feet in anger, and walked back to where he came from. He had to tell Frank about this. But where was Frank? He suddenly thought worriedly. He hadn't seen the sight of his brother since they entered the woods.

"Frank!" he shouted.

Except from the sound of the waves, there was silence. He tried again, but nothing. He tried to shake away his fear that something might have happened to Frank.

Joe jogged back to where they had been before, and tried to retrace the trail that his brother had taken. He surveyed the grounds carefully as he walked. It took him about fifteen minutes when he suddenly caught sight of a pair of jeans-clad-legs near some bushes.

"Frank!" Joe exclaimed and rushed over. His heart almost stopped when he saw Frank lying on the ground. For a horrifying moment, he thought his brother was dead, until he saw the slow rise and fall on Frank's chest. He's still breathing, Joe thought in huge relief.

He kneeled down and noticed a small bump on the side of Frank's head. He tried waking up his brother. Frank stirred a little, and mumbled something incoherently.

"Come on, Frank. Get up," Joe urged, shaking Frank lightly. "You're starting to scare me with all these blackouts."

"C-Cold," his brother replied faintly.

Joe instantly knew Frank was having one of the poisoning effects. "Don't worry, Frank. I'm here, and I'll take care of you," he assured his brother, and carried Frank over his shoulder.

***

The phone rang after Joe had tucked Frank to bed. He quickly picked up the receiver, not wanting the noise to disturb his brother more.

"Joe, it's me," Mr. Hardy said after Joe answered.

"Dad, what's up?" he asked. He wondered if he should tell his father about Frank. He didn't want his parents to get worried, but what if he and Frank couldn't find the antidote? His parents wouldn't forgive him for that.

"I just wanted to tell you boys to be careful," his father replied.

"What do you mean, Dad?" Joe asked in alarm when he heard the grim note in his father's voice.

"Is Frank with you now?" his father suddenly asked.

"He – He's asleep," he stammered slightly.

"At this hour?" his father asked incredulously, with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Uh – "

Mr. Hardy suddenly drew a large intake of breath. "Joe, tell me what's wrong. Something's happened to him, isn't it?" he asked worriedly. "He didn't get…poisoned, did he?"

Joe could only stare the phone in nervous amazement. Was his father a psychic or something? He didn't think he was that transparent. Before Joe knew it, he was already spilling everything to his father about the case, and Frank's poisoning.

"I'm so afraid, Dad," Joe confessed after he had finished explaining. "I don't know what to do now. How can we be sure that the person who did this hasn't run away, yet?"

"I'm not so sure if I were you," Mr. Hardy said grimly. His voice shook a little. "The person who poisoned Sidney is probably the same one who did it to Frank, and Mr. Matteo."

"I know the poisoning leaves the same effect, but how did you know?" Joe asked in puzzlement.

"We found a suspicious sticker stuck on the break pedal of Sidney's squad car," he reported. "And he also had been doing a lot of patrolling around East Graverock before he died."

"So?" Joe still looked confused.

"From what you have found so far in your case, there might be a possible link to Bianco. The sticker was usually used by Bianco to label his drug products. And this sticker that we've found is new. Not to mention that East Graverock used to be Bianco's territory," he explained. "It's possible someone's out there is distributing Bianco's drug, and at the same time going out for revenge."

"But you told me last time there are no more of the Biancos or his cronies," Joe pointed out.

"I know, but remember that Mr. Bianco's top aide is still on the loose. We still don't know what has happened to him," Mr. Hardy pointed out. "And I remember Bianco vowed to get even with the people who had destroyed his life. He said that after he was given the guilty verdict."

"But why now?" Joe asked. "If this guy wants a revenge, how come you and Chief Peterson are the only one affected?"

"There's more, Joe," Mr. Hardy replied grimly. "Agent Demler, I think you remember him, lost his daughter three months ago. She died the same way as Sidney – in her sleep. But the thought about poisoning that time was unlikely that they dismissed it as a natural cause. I've also checked some of other guys who also involved in the case – a few of them have lost their sons or daughters the past few months. It seemed insignificant at first, but when we checked deeper, we're sure there's a possible connection. Looks like he's been pretty busy getting revenge."

"This guy must be a loony. Could Bianco have escaped prison?" Joe asked.

"No, I've checked. He was supposed to be released this year, possibly the end of this month."

"Was?"

"He died six months before he was released."

"Oh," was all Joe could say. "So, someone's been carrying out Bianco's wish. I'm going to be the next one, right?" he asked, forcing his voice to sound steady. "After all, this person was probably planning to kill two birds with one stone the other night before it backfired."

"I think I'd better go to Verin Island and check on you two," Mr. Hardy said firmly.

"That's not necessary, Dad. I don't want anything to happen to you," Joe protested.

"Nothing's going to happen to me. This person is going after both of you, not me. Both of you are the only sons I have, and I intend not to lose both of you – period!"

"What about Chief Peterson?" Joe reminded him. "Aren't you just going to leave him?"

Joe heard his father sighed. He knew his father was torn between his responsibility for his best friend, and his sons. "I'll be asking your mother to check on Sam. She's coming over to New York possibly tomorrow. Sometimes she knows things better than I do," Mr. Hardy replied.

Joe continued protesting a few minutes, but he knew it was a futile attempt. His father was still adamant about his decision. After Joe hung up the phone, a knock came on the door before Joe could gather his thoughts.

Cautiously, Joe turned the knob and swung the door open. Shane was standing outside the door.

"Hi, Joe. I just stop by to see if Frank's getting better before I go," Shane told him, looking concern.

"He's still sleeping," Joe said. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I have a meeting with my other employees in New York, and after that, I have to go straight to Inzell for my appointment with Ms. Matteo. So, I'll be out all day," Shane replied.

"Other employees?" Joe asked in surprise.

"Nothing to do with the resort. I have my company office in New York, too," Shane assured him. "So, what's happening with the case?" he asked suddenly.

Joe immediately told Shane about their encounter with Jim Owen. He told Shane what he had found out from Jim, but he carefully omitted the part that might be related to Frank's poisoning.

Shane frowned when he heard the report. "Now, I'm seriously considering firing Jim," he growled. "Spying for Matteo is something I can't tolerate."

"But we really have to talk to him first before you fire him," Joe put in quickly. "There are a lot of things that doesn't add up."

"All right," Shane sighed. Then he glanced at his wristwatch. "I hope I'll be able to catch the ferry at Inzell before it leaves."

"Then I won't keep you long," Joe said. After saying goodbyes, Joe closed the door behind him. He stood there for a moment, trying to think his next move. He wished Frank was awake to give him some suggestions on the case, but Joe didn't want to disturb him. His eyes landed on Frank, who was sleeping peacefully. He blinked back his tears that suddenly formed in his eyes. What am I doing? He chided himself after a minute. He was acting as if he had accepted Frank's fate. No, he won't think about that. Find the antidote first, he commanded himself sternly. Joe started pacing impatiently around the room.

Think! Every second counts in this case. He could almost hear the clock ticking...tick-tock…tick-tock…slowly draining Frank's life away…

Come on! Come on! Think faster! Why can't I think now?

"Argh!!" Joe growled, pulling out his hair in frustration. He was still amazed at how Frank never grown a single white hair for this entire deep thinking stuff. It drove him nuts. Thinking needed a lot of patience, and Joe Hardy was never in good terms with the word 'patience'.

He tried to imagine himself in Frank's shoes. What would Frank do if he were in this situation? Joe couldn't help giving a silent chuckle. His brother would rely on his good old laptop to get information, of course. Without wasting time, Joe reached under Frank's bed and pulled the laptop out.

When he had booted up the laptop, he began accessing the database just like the way Frank had done. For the first time, he was glad he had watched Frank using the laptop when he tried to find information. Joe tried to remember the name of Bianco's close assistant. It had been long time ago when his father told him about Bianco's case. If he would think logically, he would start searching through Bianco's profile.

It took him almost half an hour to find what he was looking for. His mouth hung open in surprise when he saw the picture of Bianco's assistant. He knew he should have noticed it earlier. It was obvious from the name itself – and he felt like kicking himself for it. The man was Neil Sterling.