"She..." Frank looked sick as he tried to answer but stopped and swallowed before continuing. "She tried to kill Joe last year." His gaze returned to Callie. "What has she got to do with anything?"
"She's in town," Callie informed him. "Mom said she saw her at Billy's Produce Stand on Highway 184. Frank, if she's in town..."
"No!" Chet declared angrily, standing up. "She's in a state hospital. The Hardys would have been notified if she had escaped." Angelic's first attempt to obtain Joe had resulted in the poisoning of Iola Morton. Fortunately, Joe had gotten her to the hospital before she died.
"He's right, isn't he?" Biff asked, looking up at Frank, concern written on his face.
"I'll find out," Frank vowed, his brown eyes hard as steel as he hurried into the house.
"Wait a minute!" Vanessa demanded when the others made to follow Frank. "Who is Angelic Deveraux and why do you all act as if her being here is the worst news you have ever heard? People have tried to kill Joe before and you have never acted this way."
"You'd better sit down," Phil told her. She looked at him funny but did as he suggested. "Callie, you want to tell this?" Phil asked, glancing at her.
"Not really, but I will," Callie replied. She looked at Vanessa. "Angelic was this girl I met at camp a few years ago. Last year, she came for a visit and while she was here, she met, and fell in love with, Joe."
"Then why did she try to kill him?" Vanessa demanded, confused.
"I'll get to that," Callie promised. "Joe started acting weird around Angelic and when Iola was poisoned, he accused Angelic of trying to kill her. We all thought Joe was crazy and I even told Frank that if he didn't get Joe away from me I would hurt him. So, Angelic went after me. Of course, we didn't know she was doing these things. But Joe suspected her and even conned Frank into helping find out who had tried to kill Iola and me." Callie paused and looked to Chet who nodded his head at her encouragingly. "Joe finally started believing she might be innocent when he and Frank went to meet her father on a boat but it blew up. Since Joe's theory was that she loved him and wouldn't hurt him, she wouldn't have blown the boat up with him on it...or close to being on it."
"But Joe wasn't supposed to have been there," Biff put in. "Only Frank. Joe was supposed to have been at home guarding Angelic."
"But Angelic had gone to bed early so Joe felt it was safe to go with Frank. Anyway, Frank started getting suspicious of her then but Joe wasn't any longer. Joe started trying to protect Angelic, thinking someone was really trying to kill her. Angelic arranged a few accidents for Frank but when she realized she couldn't have Joe all to herself, she decided to kidnap him. Rather than risk sharing him, she tried to kill him. Frank and I arrived at the motel where she had him tied up just in time to stop her."
"Turns out she had been lying to everyone all along," Chet took over. "She had said her dad was in town and made Frank and Joe believe someone was out to get her because of her dad."
"But she confessed to Joe that she had killed her father because she couldn't stand to share him with her own mother," Callie finished. "She was taken to a state medical facility to get help when she was arrested. And now she's back in town."
By the time they had finished talking, Vanessa was white as a sheet. "And...and you think she may have him now?"
"No," Callie denied. "We're pretty sure Jeanine has..." She stopped when she saw Phil shaking his head.
"Jeanine doesn't exist," Phil informed the two. "She never attended the school she listed and her last address isn't real."
"But still," Callie insisted. "Jeanine doesn't look anything like Angelic."
"Actually, she does," said Chet who had once had a crush on Angelic. "They have the same height and general build."
"And she could have dyed her hair and used colored contacts," Phil added.
"I don't get it," Biff said. "If it is Angelic, and she still has a thing for Joe, then why did she go out with me?"
"Actually, it all makes sense," Frank said, returning in time to hear the last comment. "When she kidnapped Joe this time, she took him when he felt like he didn't have any friends left. Everyone was against him. Even me," he added sadly.
"Everyone but her," Callie said, picking up on what he was getting at. "She's going to try and make him believe she is the only person who really cares about him."
"Joe's too smart to believe that," Vanessa stated firmly.
"You're right," agreed Frank. "But she doesn't know that and that is why he has to still be alive."
"You mean it is Angelic?" Chet asked.
"I think so," Frank affirmed. "I talked with the doctor in charge of her case. He claimed she was cured. She hadn't mentioned Joe for almost six months. Instead, she had been concentrating on her new hobby...cooking."
"Maybe she is over Joe then...and Jeanine.." Biff began but Frank shook his head.
"The doctor said she had turned into an expert cook. Especially her apple pie, chicken fricassee, and shrimp gumbo," Frank informed him.
"Joe's favorites," Vanessa murmured as Callie sneezed.
"Bless you," the chorus came at her from everyone. Frank pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to her. As she took it, a bit of paper fluttered to the ground.
"What's that?" Phil asked, retrieving it and taking a look.
"That is the only thing I could find at the house on Willow," Frank replied with a wry smile.
"This is good," Phil said, looking up at Frank with sharp green eyes.
"Huh? How?" Frank demanded.
"This is from Sullivan's," Phil told him. "I recognize the color of their receipts. My mom is of Scottish descent and when they hold the Highland Games in North Carolina every year, mom buys us new outfits at Sullivan's and makes us dress for the event."
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When Angelic returned later, Joe was sitting on the bed, fuming. He jumped to his feet and glared at her as she entered the basement and neared the cage. "You have GOT to be kidding," he growled.
Angelic giggled and gave him a speculative look starting with his feet and working her way up to his eyes. "I think you look perfect," she purred.
Joe's gaze intensified to what an anime artist would term a death glare. "At least you won't need my help changing," she said, trying to make him feel better about his attire.
"But a kilt!" he shouted. "And a nasty green plaid one at that."
"Oh, if that's all that is bothering you," she waved a hand airily. "I had the kilts hand made for you," she said, proudly. "There are several more upstairs. Red plaid, solid red, brown, black velvet, green, yellow, all different colors and patterns. Shirts to go with them as well. I'll bring them all down later and then you can choose what you want to wear and when," she added. "I kind of figured it would take you a while to come round so I made sure we were prepared for everything. I'll bring them all down later and then you can choose what you want to wear and when."
"That's why you had this bathroom installed down here?" Joe asked.
She nodded. "How did you know?" she asked. "Is it that obvious that it didn't come with the place?"
"I've been here before," Joe confessed.
"When?" she asked, unlocking the cage door and then putting the keys out of reach before entering and sitting down on the bed.
Joe sat down on the bed beside her. He could see no harm in telling her so he told her about the case which had led to him, Frank and Chet being imprisoned in a room upstairs.
"You've led such an exciting life," gushed Angelic when he had finished. "I want to know about all your adventures."
Joe looked into her eyes and realized he had been doing exactly what she wanted...opening up to her. He clamped his mouth shut, stood up, and moved away.
Sighing, Angelic stood up and exited Joe's cage. Locking it, she told him she would be back in a bit. When she returned, she had several bags filled with kilts and shirts. She set them down, unlocked the cage, left the keys, then carried the bags inside and put them on the bed. Leaving again, she relocked the cage. Obviously, she was in a routine with the keys and Joe didn't stand a chance of ever getting at them. He would have to think up another way for getting out of here. If he could get the leg irons off.
The next time Angelic returned, she brought a tray with two plates and two glasses of milk. When she handed Joe his plate, he took a sniff and reached for his fork. There was no sense in pretending he wasn't hungry and had he tried, she would end up feeding him again, so he dug in.
He didn't say a word to her until he had polished off everything on his plate and his milk. "Thank you," he said. "That was really good."
"I'm glad you liked it," she said. "Would you like dessert now or would you rather wait a little while longer?"
"I'd like to wait, please," Joe said, his inbred manners coming to the fore. "Stuck here all day, I won't get much exercise. I probably shouldn't have any."
"Hmm," she said a bit thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought of that." She stood up and gathered the dishes. "I'll leave you alone for awhile then," she said.
She paused just outside the cage of the door. "Oh, I thought you might be lonely with nothing to watch or listen too, so I bought a CD and some magazines. Would you like them now?"
"Sure," Joe replied looking at her curiously. He was having a hard time figuring her out. For everything she did that made him angry, she did something nice. Was he more susceptible to what she was doing because everyone he had trusted had turned on him? He wasn't sure anymore; but he was positive about one thing...he would never fall in love with her. Would he? A little voice in the back of his brain began the niggling doubt.
Angelic returned in a few minutes with a CD player and a stack of magazines. She set the player down and then handed Joe the magazines through the bars.
"I remembered the titles you had in your room when I stayed there," she said. "I added a few extra I thought you might be interested in."
"Thank you," Joe said, browsing at the titles of the various car and muscle magazines. He smiled when he saw she had thrown in a few comic books as well.
"I hope you like this song," she said, loading the CD player. "It's my favorite group, ABBA. I'll put it on repeat so it won't go off until I get back."
"Where are you going?" Joe asked.
"You'll find out later," she promised him, smiling mysteriously. As the opening of the song "Take a Chance on Me" began to play, she vanished through the basement door.
