"Positive," Chief Peterson replied. "Frank, I walked the beat in this city for two years before I was even paired up with your dad. I was born and raised in this city. There is no Portsmouth."
"Great," grumbled Frank, crestfallen.
"Is there anything I can do?" Sam asked.
"Can you see what you can find out about a girl named Jeanine Douglas?" Frank asked. "I think I can get a picture and fax it to you this afternoon."
"You got it," the chief agreed. "I hope you find Joe before then, though," he added.
"Me too," Frank said, hanging up. "Me too," he repeated as he was on his way to homeroom. Frank took his seat as the bell rang, wondering what he was doing there when he should be out searching for Joe. But he had no idea where to start looking and being at school was at least giving him the opportunity to help Phil check Jeanine's previous school record. He could hardly wait for computer class.
Two hours later, as soon as class began, Frank got Roland's attention so Phil could get busy. It wasn't easy but Frank managed to keep the teacher distracted for almost fifteen minutes. He hoped that had been long enough for Phil to find something out.
After class, Frank hurried over to Phil's side. "Well?" he whispered so Mr. Roland could not hear.
"The school is in a little town called Marsdale in South Carolina," Phil informed Frank. "But they have never had a student by the name of Jeanine Douglas."
Frank closed his eyes and counted to ten before opening them. They held a haunted expression when he looked at Phil. "Isn't there anything else you can try?" he pleaded.
"I'm sorry, Frank," Phil replied, shaking his head.
"I'm going to cut the rest of the day and head over to the place on Willow where she was staying," Frank decided. "Tell Biff that I need one of the pictures he had taken of him and Jeanine. I'm going to fax it to Chief Peterson at the NYPD."
"I'll take care of that," offered Phil. "Let me know if you find anything at the house."
Frank nodded and left, stopping in by the office to sign out. He didn't have to explain why he was leaving to the secretary. When she had noticed Joe was absent, she assumed Joe was sick and Frank was on his way home to check on him.
Not wanting to get arrested for breaking and entering, Frank stopped by the real estate office that was handling the sale of the house and spoke with Mr. Thomas. After explaining what he wanted, Mr. Thomas gave Frank a key to the house.
"Thank you, Sir," Frank said, taking the key. "I'll get it back to you before you close," he promised.
"Any time," Thomas said. "I just hope your brother is okay. But I am amazed your father isn't looking for him."
"My parents are on a cruise and won't be back for a few more days," Frank admitted. "They haven't been informed." He stood up and held out his hand. "Thank you again," he said, shaking hands with the realtor and leaving.
Frank headed straight over to the house on Willow. After almost two hours of searching every nook and cranny the only thing he had found was a light green slip of paper with the letters LIV on it.
Disgusted with the results of his search, he shoved the paper into his pocket and headed out, locking the door after him. After dropping the key off, he drove to the police station and went in to see Ezra Collig, Bayport's chief of police.
A tall, lean, man with graying hair, Collig wasn't overly fond of teenagers but Frank and Joe had proven themselves to be worthy of the respect he bestowed upon them. Frank filled Collig in on Joe's disappearance and his search efforts to date.
"Get me a picture of this girl," Collig ordered Frank. "We'll find her," he vowed.
Frank thanked the chief and left. Getting back in the van, he looked at his watch. School should be out by now. He reached for his cell phone. "Blast it!" he shouted in frustration. It was still at home. He threw the van into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot.
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Callie pulled into her drive and parked her car beside her mother's. "Hello, dear," greeted Mrs. Shaw, a petite woman with short brown hair and brown eyes. "How was school?"
"It could have been much better," Callie admitted, helping her mother carry in the groceries. Callie told her about Joe's disappearance and finding nothing useful in Jeanine's file at school.
"Poor Joe," Mrs. Shaw commented. "First Angelic and now this Jeanine person." Callie nodded her agreement, her thoughts on Frank and how he was dealing with Joe's disappeance as her mother continued talking.
"Wait!" Callie shouted, interrupting her mother. "What did you just say?" Something her mother had said had seeped through her own thoughts.
"Day dreaming, again?" her mother teased.
"Mother!" Callie said, exasperated. "Please?" she begged. Caving in, Mrs. Shaw repeated what she had just said.
Callie's face turned white and she kissed her mom's cheek. "I have to go to Frank's," she said, running out of the kitchen.
Before Callie reached her car, Vanessa's Explorer came to a stop outside. Callie ran over and climbed in the passenger seat. "Let's go see Frank," she ordered.
Vanessa threw the vehicle into gear and took off. "What's going on?" she asked.
"Wait until we get to Frank's," Callie said, her face still pale.
At the Hardy house, they found Frank on the front porch talking with Biff, Chet, and Phill. Frank looked up as the girls came to a stop and got out. "I'm glad you two are here," Frank said. "I was just about to call..." he broke off, seeing the set look on Callie's face. "What's wrong?" he demanded. He didn't know if he could take any more bad news right now.
Callie opened her mouth and said two words which caused all the boys to pale visibly. "Angelic Deveraux."
