Nancy sighed as she ran her fingers through her shoulder length hair.
"This isn't good," she groaned in frustration. "And I trusted her." Nancy
mentally kicked herself for letting Amy dupe her.
"We both did," Frank reminded her. "But she doesn't know that we're onto her now, so we can use that to our advantage," he pointed out rationally.
"Right once again," Nancy replied.
"Watch it, Nan," Joe laughed. "You'll give him a big head if you keep telling him how right he is all the time."
Frank shot a dirty look at his brother. "Like anyone's ego could ever compete with yours," he snorted.
Nancy grinned at the two brothers. "Now, now, boys. Don't make me separate the two of you," she joked.
"He started it," Joe pouted, continuing on with the joking. Things had been tense since the moment he stepped off the plane and it was nice to have some comic relief.
Nancy shook her head at Joe's antics and sat back down on the bed. "So, where do we want to go from here?" she asked the other two.
"Well, we've theoretically have three people to keep an eye on," Frank began. "Paul, Gerry, and Amy."
"My money is on Gerry and Amy," Joe offered. "I don't think this guy would be stupid enough to go back to his own house."
"That still leaves three places," Nancy reminded him. "Two listed under Gerry's name and wherever Amy lives."
"Well," Joe replied. "There are three of us. We could each take one and do some surveillance."
"No," Frank responded, shaking his head vehemently. "Not going to happen."
Nancy placed a calming hand on Frank's arm. "I could always call Bess and George and see if they would help us," she said.
"It still means that one of us will be alone," Frank countered. "Nancy, I just don't want to chance it after last night. There's no telling what this psycho might pull."
"I'll take the single surveillance," Joe piped up, ignoring the steely glance from his brother. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself," he insisted.
"As much as you like to consider yourself Superman, you're not," Frank scolded him.
"Power down, big brother," Joe said holding up his hand. "Unless you have any other suggestions, one of us will have to go by ourselves. And I'm volunteering."
"There isn't anyone else to ask, Frank," Nancy reminded him.
Frank sighed. Apparently he wasn't going to win this battle. "Fine," he relented. "Go call Bess and George and see if they will help us out."
Nancy jumped up to use the phone and Joe pulled his brother off to the corner of the room. "It will be fine," he insisted. Joe saw the look of worry etched in his brothers face and tried his best to reassure him.
"I know that," Frank responded. "I just keep seeing that asshole with his gun pointed at Nancy's head. I don't want to loose her." he said softly.
"And you're not going to," Joe informed him. "We're going to take this slime ball down. I just hope that I find him before you do. I don't want you to do anything stupid, like kill him."
"I wouldn't do that. He's not worth it." Frank replied. "Besides, if I wanted him dead, he would be. I had the perfect opportunity to do that last night, but instead of putting a bullet through his chest, I put one through his shoulder. I thought it would subdue him, but I was wrong," he laughed bitterly.
"Next time aim for his kneecap," Joe lightly advised his brother. "That way he can't get up and come after you again."
"Good point. So you did learn something useful in Quantico, huh?" Frank laughed, referring to Joe's training at the FBI Academy.
"I also learned ten ways to kill a man with my bare hands," Joe teasingly warned. "Don't push me."
Frank smiled back at his brother. "I'm glad you're here," he said sincerely.
"Someone's got to keep you in line," Joe returned. He gestured to Nancy who was still on the phone. "Nancy's been out of practice for a while, so I had to offer my services."
"That makes two of us. She's a handful, herself," Frank commented, glancing over at her.
"Speaking of which," Joe interrupted. "You guys have got to learn to communicate. She takes off, and I get stuck listening to you whine. And not even an hour later you do the same thing, and I'm left to deal with an angry redhead."
"I didn't want her to worry," Frank protested.
Joe looked at his brother and shook his head at Frank's logic. "Well, she was anyway. Just like you were worried when she took off and you couldn't get a hold of her."
"Point taken," Frank conceded. "Was she really that worried?" he asked curiously.
"You have no idea," Joe replied. "When I wouldn't tell where you went, she literally grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and demanded that I tell her."
Frank eye's went wide as the image of that scenario played in his mind. "She didn't," he laughed.
Joe nodded his head yes. "Oh yes, she did. I thought she was going to strangle me."
Before Frank could make a sarcastic comment about Joe needing to be strangled, Nancy walked up to the two.
"Good news," she informed them. "Bess and George both agreed. The bad news is, that George is in class until three this afternoon, so we have to wait until this afternoon to do anything."
"Not necessarily," Frank replied. "We can try one place now, and if we come up empty handed, we can pay a visit to the other two tonight. And that way," he grinned triumphantly, "no one goes without backup."
"Let's try Amy's first," Nancy suggested. "We'll go under the guise that we just wanted to check in and see how she is."
"Good idea," Joe said. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and looked expectantly at the other two. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's roll."
An hour later, the trio were sitting in Nancy's car which was parked in front of Amy's apartment building. After instructing Joe that they would call at the first signs of danger Nancy and Frank climbed out of the car. The blonde haired Hardy had also had been instructed to come upstairs if they weren't back to the car in fifteen minutes.
"Be careful, you two" Joe said, wishing them luck.
"We will," Frank promised. "Just keep your eyes open. If he's not here now, doesn't mean he's not on his way."
"Frank, I know the meaning of the word surveillance," Joe replied.
Shooting a glare at Joe, Frank said, "We'll be back in fifteen minutes." With that he slammed the car door and met Nancy at the front of the car.
"You ready?" he asked, throwing his arm around her waist. The two had agreed that acting as nonchalantly as possible, would be the way to go.
"Let's do it," Nancy said. The couple headed up the stairs to the address that Ned had given them. Nancy hated keeping it from Ned that Amy might be involved, but she didn't want to stress him out anymore than the shooting and Amy's injuries already had. Instead, Nancy had told him that she and Frank were just going to check on her and make sure that she was okay after last night. That was the same story that they planned to tell Amy as well. Ned had believed her, and she hoped that Amy would too.
Reaching apartment 302, Frank raised his hand and rapped loudly on the door. He laced his fingers with Nancy's as they waited for an answer.
"Who is it?" came Amy's voice from the other side of the door.
"It's Nancy and Frank," Nancy answered cheerily. "Can we come in?"
Amy opened the door just enough to peek her head out. "Give me just a minute to get dressed," she said. "I just woke up a few minutes ago."
"Sure," Nancy replied as Amy shut the door.
Frank looked at Nancy and could tell she was thinking the same thing. Not wanting to risk being heard even using the slightest of whispers, Frank mouthed to Nancy. "You think he's in there?"
Nancy's gut feeling told her that Paul was indeed hiding out at Amy's apartment. However, her intuition had already failed her once on this case. "I think so," she replied back silently. "But I'm not sure."
Frank nodded in agreement. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message to his brother's phone. "Paul possibly inside. Watch all exits" he typed into his phone. He hit the send button, just as Amy reopened the door.
Dressed in jeans and a faded university sweatshirt, Amy stepped aside and allowed the two entry into her home. "Sorry the place is a mess," she apologized nervously, picking up the remains of yesterday's paper from the couch. She motioned for them to sit as she flitted about the living and dining room area of the apartment tidying up.
"Don't worry about it," Nancy insisted, as she carefully watched Amy's movements. "So, how are you doing? We were held up with the police until after visiting hours were over with and just wanted to check on you."
Amy's back was turned to them as she replied, so they couldn't gage her true response. "I feel like crap, but I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days."
"Amy, what exactly happened last night?" Frank asked as innocently as he could. "Nancy said that Paul knocked you out before attacking her. How did he sneak up on you?"
Before Amy could reply, a sharp yapping sound came from the other end of the apartment. "Excuse me," she said hastily retreating from the room, "Let me find out what my dog's barking about."
On the couch, Frank and Nancy shared a questioning look. When they had entered the apartment, they had both gotten a good view of the layout. Aside from the living/dining area they were in, the only other rooms appeared to be the kitchen that was off to the left of the living quarters, and a hallway that led to two doors situated at the far end. The only place for Paul to be hiding would be either the bedroom or the bathroom. The sound of a small dog barking had come from one of those two rooms.
Hearing the door slam shut at the end of the hallway, Nancy and Frank cleared their countenances of any suspicious looks. Amy emerged carrying a small black and tan dog, that appeared to be a Yorkshire Terrier. Clutching the dog desperately against her chest, Amy had tears rolling down her face when she stood in front of them.
"You've got to help me," she pleaded.
"We both did," Frank reminded her. "But she doesn't know that we're onto her now, so we can use that to our advantage," he pointed out rationally.
"Right once again," Nancy replied.
"Watch it, Nan," Joe laughed. "You'll give him a big head if you keep telling him how right he is all the time."
Frank shot a dirty look at his brother. "Like anyone's ego could ever compete with yours," he snorted.
Nancy grinned at the two brothers. "Now, now, boys. Don't make me separate the two of you," she joked.
"He started it," Joe pouted, continuing on with the joking. Things had been tense since the moment he stepped off the plane and it was nice to have some comic relief.
Nancy shook her head at Joe's antics and sat back down on the bed. "So, where do we want to go from here?" she asked the other two.
"Well, we've theoretically have three people to keep an eye on," Frank began. "Paul, Gerry, and Amy."
"My money is on Gerry and Amy," Joe offered. "I don't think this guy would be stupid enough to go back to his own house."
"That still leaves three places," Nancy reminded him. "Two listed under Gerry's name and wherever Amy lives."
"Well," Joe replied. "There are three of us. We could each take one and do some surveillance."
"No," Frank responded, shaking his head vehemently. "Not going to happen."
Nancy placed a calming hand on Frank's arm. "I could always call Bess and George and see if they would help us," she said.
"It still means that one of us will be alone," Frank countered. "Nancy, I just don't want to chance it after last night. There's no telling what this psycho might pull."
"I'll take the single surveillance," Joe piped up, ignoring the steely glance from his brother. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself," he insisted.
"As much as you like to consider yourself Superman, you're not," Frank scolded him.
"Power down, big brother," Joe said holding up his hand. "Unless you have any other suggestions, one of us will have to go by ourselves. And I'm volunteering."
"There isn't anyone else to ask, Frank," Nancy reminded him.
Frank sighed. Apparently he wasn't going to win this battle. "Fine," he relented. "Go call Bess and George and see if they will help us out."
Nancy jumped up to use the phone and Joe pulled his brother off to the corner of the room. "It will be fine," he insisted. Joe saw the look of worry etched in his brothers face and tried his best to reassure him.
"I know that," Frank responded. "I just keep seeing that asshole with his gun pointed at Nancy's head. I don't want to loose her." he said softly.
"And you're not going to," Joe informed him. "We're going to take this slime ball down. I just hope that I find him before you do. I don't want you to do anything stupid, like kill him."
"I wouldn't do that. He's not worth it." Frank replied. "Besides, if I wanted him dead, he would be. I had the perfect opportunity to do that last night, but instead of putting a bullet through his chest, I put one through his shoulder. I thought it would subdue him, but I was wrong," he laughed bitterly.
"Next time aim for his kneecap," Joe lightly advised his brother. "That way he can't get up and come after you again."
"Good point. So you did learn something useful in Quantico, huh?" Frank laughed, referring to Joe's training at the FBI Academy.
"I also learned ten ways to kill a man with my bare hands," Joe teasingly warned. "Don't push me."
Frank smiled back at his brother. "I'm glad you're here," he said sincerely.
"Someone's got to keep you in line," Joe returned. He gestured to Nancy who was still on the phone. "Nancy's been out of practice for a while, so I had to offer my services."
"That makes two of us. She's a handful, herself," Frank commented, glancing over at her.
"Speaking of which," Joe interrupted. "You guys have got to learn to communicate. She takes off, and I get stuck listening to you whine. And not even an hour later you do the same thing, and I'm left to deal with an angry redhead."
"I didn't want her to worry," Frank protested.
Joe looked at his brother and shook his head at Frank's logic. "Well, she was anyway. Just like you were worried when she took off and you couldn't get a hold of her."
"Point taken," Frank conceded. "Was she really that worried?" he asked curiously.
"You have no idea," Joe replied. "When I wouldn't tell where you went, she literally grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and demanded that I tell her."
Frank eye's went wide as the image of that scenario played in his mind. "She didn't," he laughed.
Joe nodded his head yes. "Oh yes, she did. I thought she was going to strangle me."
Before Frank could make a sarcastic comment about Joe needing to be strangled, Nancy walked up to the two.
"Good news," she informed them. "Bess and George both agreed. The bad news is, that George is in class until three this afternoon, so we have to wait until this afternoon to do anything."
"Not necessarily," Frank replied. "We can try one place now, and if we come up empty handed, we can pay a visit to the other two tonight. And that way," he grinned triumphantly, "no one goes without backup."
"Let's try Amy's first," Nancy suggested. "We'll go under the guise that we just wanted to check in and see how she is."
"Good idea," Joe said. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and looked expectantly at the other two. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's roll."
An hour later, the trio were sitting in Nancy's car which was parked in front of Amy's apartment building. After instructing Joe that they would call at the first signs of danger Nancy and Frank climbed out of the car. The blonde haired Hardy had also had been instructed to come upstairs if they weren't back to the car in fifteen minutes.
"Be careful, you two" Joe said, wishing them luck.
"We will," Frank promised. "Just keep your eyes open. If he's not here now, doesn't mean he's not on his way."
"Frank, I know the meaning of the word surveillance," Joe replied.
Shooting a glare at Joe, Frank said, "We'll be back in fifteen minutes." With that he slammed the car door and met Nancy at the front of the car.
"You ready?" he asked, throwing his arm around her waist. The two had agreed that acting as nonchalantly as possible, would be the way to go.
"Let's do it," Nancy said. The couple headed up the stairs to the address that Ned had given them. Nancy hated keeping it from Ned that Amy might be involved, but she didn't want to stress him out anymore than the shooting and Amy's injuries already had. Instead, Nancy had told him that she and Frank were just going to check on her and make sure that she was okay after last night. That was the same story that they planned to tell Amy as well. Ned had believed her, and she hoped that Amy would too.
Reaching apartment 302, Frank raised his hand and rapped loudly on the door. He laced his fingers with Nancy's as they waited for an answer.
"Who is it?" came Amy's voice from the other side of the door.
"It's Nancy and Frank," Nancy answered cheerily. "Can we come in?"
Amy opened the door just enough to peek her head out. "Give me just a minute to get dressed," she said. "I just woke up a few minutes ago."
"Sure," Nancy replied as Amy shut the door.
Frank looked at Nancy and could tell she was thinking the same thing. Not wanting to risk being heard even using the slightest of whispers, Frank mouthed to Nancy. "You think he's in there?"
Nancy's gut feeling told her that Paul was indeed hiding out at Amy's apartment. However, her intuition had already failed her once on this case. "I think so," she replied back silently. "But I'm not sure."
Frank nodded in agreement. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message to his brother's phone. "Paul possibly inside. Watch all exits" he typed into his phone. He hit the send button, just as Amy reopened the door.
Dressed in jeans and a faded university sweatshirt, Amy stepped aside and allowed the two entry into her home. "Sorry the place is a mess," she apologized nervously, picking up the remains of yesterday's paper from the couch. She motioned for them to sit as she flitted about the living and dining room area of the apartment tidying up.
"Don't worry about it," Nancy insisted, as she carefully watched Amy's movements. "So, how are you doing? We were held up with the police until after visiting hours were over with and just wanted to check on you."
Amy's back was turned to them as she replied, so they couldn't gage her true response. "I feel like crap, but I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days."
"Amy, what exactly happened last night?" Frank asked as innocently as he could. "Nancy said that Paul knocked you out before attacking her. How did he sneak up on you?"
Before Amy could reply, a sharp yapping sound came from the other end of the apartment. "Excuse me," she said hastily retreating from the room, "Let me find out what my dog's barking about."
On the couch, Frank and Nancy shared a questioning look. When they had entered the apartment, they had both gotten a good view of the layout. Aside from the living/dining area they were in, the only other rooms appeared to be the kitchen that was off to the left of the living quarters, and a hallway that led to two doors situated at the far end. The only place for Paul to be hiding would be either the bedroom or the bathroom. The sound of a small dog barking had come from one of those two rooms.
Hearing the door slam shut at the end of the hallway, Nancy and Frank cleared their countenances of any suspicious looks. Amy emerged carrying a small black and tan dog, that appeared to be a Yorkshire Terrier. Clutching the dog desperately against her chest, Amy had tears rolling down her face when she stood in front of them.
"You've got to help me," she pleaded.