"No," she whispered, afraid. She gasped as the van rocked on the ledge.
"Angelic, you have to move to the back of the van or we'll both go over," Joe told her.
"I won't leave you," she said stubbornly.
"You won't be," he assured her. "After you crawl in back, the van will be more balanced and I can call for the police and a tow truck."
She looked at him fearfully, then swallowed and pressed the release on her seat belt. She eased the belt back into the holder and started moving to her left, pausing as the van dipped forward.
"Easy," Joe encouraged her. "You can do it." Giving him a half-hearted smile, she began her journey to the back of the van.
After Angelic had sat down near the back door, Joe picked up the car phone and dialed nine one one. After explaining the situation and receiving a promise of help, he hung up. Not daring to turn around because it might shift the van, he spoke to Angelic. "You did great," he said. "You probably just saved our lives."
"No," she denied. "It was your idea. You're the hero."
Short minutes later, they heard sirens followed almost immediately by the sight of a tow truck and a police car. "Help has arrived," Joe said in relief.
Soon they were back on the road and Joe filled the officer in on what had happened. The driver of the tow truck came over. "You're not going to be able to drive it," he said, referring to the van. "Your brake line has been ruptured and the axle is busted."
"Tow us to the garage?" Joe asked. After promising the officer he would file a formal report later in the evening, he and Angelic climbed intot he van for the trip to the garage. Joe phoned home and asked Frank to pick them up at Gerry's Garage in about half an hour.
When they arrived home, Angelic went inside to talk with Mrs. Hardy who had returned home in their absence. Frank and Joe went to the garage to clean up the mess created from the mild explosion earlier.
"Did you see who was driving the car?" Frank asked Joe after they had filled each other in on the events of the day.
Joe shook his head and sighed. "This case is going no where," he told Frank. "We have two possibilities. Cavanaugh and the man in the Buick. But Cavanaugh didn't have a problem with Deveraux and the guy in the Buick was seen only at the convenience store."
"We do have one more suspect," Frank told him, leaning against the car and looking at Joe. "Daniel Deveraux."
"But he wouldn't try to kill his own daughter," Joe argued. "From what Bryson told you, Deveraux sounds like a decent guy."
"A decent guy who doesn't have time for his own daughter when someone has been trying to kill her," Frank reminded Joe.
"Angelic explained that," Joe said.
"I don't buy it," Frank argued. "I think she's afraid and is covering for him."
"If he were behind the attempts, then why would she cover for him?" Joe demanded. "I know I'd try and get help if I could."
"She was seeing a psychiatrist," Frank reminded him. "Maybe she was having problems with her dad," he suggested. "Perhaps the doctor advised her to get help and that's why she quit going. Maybe she's too dependent on her father to get away from him."
"Your just speculating," Joe argued.
"Then find out exactly why she was seeing the psychiatrist," Frank ordered. "Find out what kind of relationship she has with her father. She won't tell me but she does seem to like you in spite of the way you trested her earlier."
Joe thought about it, then agreed to speak with Angelic on the subject. "I don't buy your theory about her dad, though," he said. "My money's on the guy in the Buick."
"Then we'll start looking for the car with the matching mystery guy after dinner," Frank promised. "Which it's time for now," he added, looking at his watch.
The garage back in order, the boys went inside and washed up. After dinner it was decided Joe and Angelic would take Mrs. Hardy's car to the police station to file a report about the highway attack while Frank would take his dad's car and start scouting around for the Buick.
"I'll check out the area near the amusement park," Frank told Joe. "Why don't you two check out the east end of town after you finish at the station. We can meet up at the dairy house at nine," he suggested.
"Keep an eye out for a dented brown sedan," Joe added, as Mrs. Hardy rose and began clearing the dishes. Joe and Angelic left for the police station while Frank remained long enough to help his mother with the dishes.
"What's your dad like?" Joe asked Angelic once they were on their way.
"He's great," she replied. "Why do you ask?"
"You're pretty terrific," Joe replied by way of an explanation. "I just wondered how much your dad had to do with it."
"Pretty much," she answered truthfully. "Dad and I were pretty close."
"Were?" Joe asked with a quick glance in her direction.
"Before mom's stroke," she explained. "He changed afterwards. We stopped spending time together. He stopped caring," she added so softly Joe could barely hear her.
"I'm sure that's not true," Joe told her gently. "People deal with grief in a variety of ways. Maybe he just hasn't figured out how yet."
"My mom's dead," Angelic said suddenly, with feeling. "She just lies there. She can't hear you or talk to you or anything. She's dead inside," she said with vehemence.
"And you're mad at her?" Joe asked slowly, kind of understanding her feeling of desertion.
"No!" Angelic denied loudly. Joe said nothing. "Okay," she admitted finally. "A little."
"Is that why you were seeing Dr. Phillips?" Joe asked. "To help you deal with what happened to your mom?"
"Yeah," she admitted. "I couldn't tell your brother," she continued. "How do you tell someone you hate your mother for leaving you when it isn't even her fault?" she asked, tears streaming down her face.
Joe pulled over to the side of the road and held her while she cried. Soon she pulled back and looked up at him. "Do you think I'm a terrible person?" she asked.
"Not at all," he replied. "Everyone gets angry over things which are out of their control at some point in time. I get mad at my family at times but that doesn't mean I don't love them," he added. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you didn't care then you couldn't get angry."
"i understand what you mean. If I didn't love mom so much, then her withdrawal after the stroke wouldn't have hurt so much. I wouldn't have felt so alone." She reached up and pushed back a stray strand of Joe's hair from his eyes. "You're really a very sensitive guy," she stated, causing Joe to blush.
Joe started up the van and pulled back onto the road. "Don't let anyone else find out, okay?" he asked in a conspiratorial whisper, grinning. She smiled back and they rode the rest of the way tot the police station in silence.
Joe and Angelic filed their report and then Joe went to see Sergeant Con Riley, a friend of his and Frank's. Con told him they hadn't come up with anything except the type of fireworks used on Callie's car which were sold all over town.
"Let us know if you get any real leads?" Joe requested.
"I will," promised Con as Joe left.
Joe and Angelic left the station and headed east. "Keep your eyes open for a brown sedan and a white Buick," Joe ordered Angelic.
After driving around for an hour, Joe headed the car toward the dairy house to meet Frank. Frank was waiting when they arrived.
"I think I found the mystery man in the Buick," Frank told them after they sat down.
"Where?" Joe asked.
"At the motel a couple of blocks from the amusement park," Frank answered. "I saw him pull into the place and followed him. He asked for a wake-up call for eleven tonight, then he went to bed."
"I wonder where he's going tonight," Joe remarked.
Frank shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "But I don't think he's the guy who rammed you earlier. Not unless he stole the sedan and ditched it later," he added.
"It is possible there is more than one person behind this," Joe mused.
"True," agreed Frank. "But I still have my doubts about this guy."
"Why?" Joe asked.
"I called a friend at the license bureau," Frank told him. "The car belongs to a Sarah Jameson in Northridge, about two hundred miles from here. I called her. She said she had loaned it to her nephew, Steve Merricott, so he could attend a business meeting," he explained. "The description she gave me of her nephew matched the driver I saw."
"He could still be behind this," argued Joe.
"Which is why we are going to follow him tonight," Frank said, placatingly.
"Angelic, you had better stay with mom tonight," Joe told her.
"If you want me too," she agreed readily. Frank frowned but didn't say anything.
After devouring their ice cream, they headed home. Joe saw Angelic safely inside and asked his mom to turn on the alarm. He and Frank then took their mother's car and drove to the motel.
Sitting in front of room 107 was a white Buick. "It's twenty till eleven," Joe said, checking his watch. "Let's check out the car," he suggested.
"You check it out," Frank replied. "I'll keep watch in case he comes out early."
Joe crept to the car and eased the door open. He saw a slip of paper beside the driver's seat and was leaning over to pick it up when he heard a shot. Immediately, the car's windshield exploded in thousands of pieces. Joe slumped down on the seat, blood dripping on the upholstery.
