Frank left Callie's a little later and returned home expecting to Joe to be there. When he still hadn't returned home by seven that night, he was really worried. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Vanessa, have you seen Joe since school?" he asked, mentally crossing his fingers and hoping she would answer him.

"No. Nor do I want too," she replied.

"Don't be too mad at him until you talk to him, okay?" begged Frank.

"Why not?" she demanded, a tinge of curiosity creeping into her voice.

"Because I think Jeanine may have been setting Joe up," he answered truthfully.

Vanessa was quiet for a moment. "I...I suppose that's possible," she admitted. "But why would she?"

"I don't know," Frank said. "But Joe hasn't come home and if he isn't with any of our friends which I doubt because no one, including me, has been very good to him lately, then I am going to go and see her."

"Can I go with you?" requested Vanessa. "I would like to ask her about that kiss myself."

"Sure," agreed Frank. "Give me a few minutes to call around and I'll get back to you."

"No," she said. "I'll come on over. I want to talk to Joe too and if you find him, you'll have him come home, right?"

"Right," affirmed Frank. "Okay, I'll see you in a little bit."

Frank spent the next fifteen minutes calling their friends. No one had seen Joe since the scene on the front steps after school, but they all voiced concern and wanted to help find Joe. He may not be their favorite person right now, but they didn't want anything bad to happen to him. Frank arranged to have everyone meet at the Hardy home at nine o'clock. If Joe was about, he would be home by then. If not, then he was in trouble and they would have to start a search party.

When Frank hung up after calling Callie to let her know about the nine o'clock meeting, he heard a car pull into the driveway. He glanced out the window and saw Vanessa's Ford Explorer. When she climbed out, Frank ran outside to meet her.

"Any news?" she asked, her face drawn in a worried frown. Frank shook his head. "Let's go see Jeanine," she said, getting back in the vehicle. Frank climbed into the passenger side and the two were off. When they stopped at Jeanine's house they both got out and went to the front door. Frank knocked.

After a minute's wait, a man in suit and tie answered the door. He had a phony smile plastered on his face which faltered a bit when he saw the young couple at the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Wayman?" he asked, his smile once again firmly in place.

"Er, no," Frank denied. "My name is Frank Hardy and this is Vanessa Bender. We were wanting to speak with Jeanine."

"Jeanine?" the man asked, his smile, once again, absent.

"Your daughter?" Vanessa asked hesitantly. "She does live here," she insisted. "I dropped her off here yesterday."

"Oh, you did?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Would you be willing to testify to the police about that?" he asked.

"Excuse me, but is something wrong?" Frank asked, his detective instincts reaching dangerous levels.

"Indeed. I am Marshall Thomas," the man introduced himself. "I work for Advance Realty. This place has been for sale for the past five months," he told the two. "And tonight is the first time anyone has wanted to even look at it."

"Mr. and Mrs. Wayward?" guessed Frank.

Thomas nodded. "When I arrived, I found that someone had been in here without permission. And the for sale sign had been taken down and stuffed in the bushes beside the house."

Frank glanced at Vanessa who had gone white. It seemed their suspicions about Jeanine were panning out. "We'll drop by the police station and give them a description," Frank promised.

"Thank you," Thomas said as another car pulled up out front and a middle-aged couple got out. "Please tell them I will be down as soon as I finish showing the house to this couple and file a report."

"We will," Frank agreed and led Vanessa back to her car.

"She did set Joe up," Vanessa said as she drove to the police station. "Do you think she did something to him?"

Frank didn't answer which made Vanessa bite her bottom lip and step on the gas. They arrived at the police station in minutes.

Sergeant Con Riley, a close friend of the Hardys, was on duty and Frank filled him in on Joe's disappearance and Jeanine's unlawful use of the house. After taking their statements, Con told Frank to call him if he heard from Joe, in the meantime, he would have the officers be on the lookout for him. If he hadn't turned up in twenty-four hours, Frank would have to come back and file a missing persons report. Frank and Vanessa returned to the Hardy home where Callie, Chet, Tony, Phil and Biff were already waiting.

"I know, you said nine, but I couldn't wait," Biff said when Frank got out of the car.

"Me neither," Chet said.

"Yeah, we've all been really down on Joe lately and if there's a chance he wasn't too blame, well..." Phil let the thought hang in the air.

"Not a chance. A fact," Vanessa told the group.

"Jeanine lied about where she lived," Frank began.

"But I went to her house," Biff protested.

"It wasn't hers," Vanessa told him. "It's for sale and she had been using the place without permission."

"But there was no for sale sign," Biff insisted, still not wanting to believe Jeanine was guilty of anything.

"The realty guy said he found it in the bushes beside the house," Vanessa said.

"So, where is Joe?" Callie asked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Joe sat up when the basement door opened and Angelic entered carrying a tray. She set it down on the floor and pulled a set of keys from her pocket. She unlocked the cage door and stepped back as Joe tried to get close enough to snatch the keys from her, but the door was out of his reach.

"Why do you lock the door when I can't even get out of these leg irons?" demanded Joe in frustration.

"In case you did get out of them," she replied, laying the keys on the floor near the basement door. She returned and picked up the tray and entered Joe's cage. She set the tray down on the table beside the bed.

"I told you before, I won't share you. And killing you pretty much eliminates any chance of your growing to want me as much as I want you," she continued. "I think this is a nice compromise."

"How long do you plan on keeping me a prisoner?" demanded Joe.

"Until I am convinced you love me," she answered truthfully. "And don't try and play any mind games with me," she continued. "I want proof of your love."

"What kind of proof?" he asked.

She smiled at him as her long lashes came down to almost completely cover her eyes. "I'll know when you show it," she answered him, giving nothing away.