"Mom, I'm going over to Callie's," Frank said, poking his head into his parent's bedroom. "It will be awhile before Dad calls and just sitting around is driving me crazy. At least I can be there when she gets home from school."

"You could have gone to school," Laura pointed out.

"I wouldn't be able to concentrate," Frank replied.

"I understand," Laura told him. "Don't worry," she added. "Your father will find Joe." If she kept saying it then maybe she would actually believe it!

Frank gave her a wan smile before leaving. For some reason, he felt guilty. Going over to his girlfriend's house while his brother was in the clutches of a crime lord was more than a little heartless but, as his mother implied, it would help him feel better when there wasn't anything he could do about the problem. Of course... He stopped with his hand on the van's door handle as it hit him that there was something he could do. Just because Joe was being rescued didn't alter the fact that Kern was being framed and there was a real killer on the loose.

Frank pulled the van door open and climbed inside. He put it in reverse and backed out of the drive. Switching gears, he drove down the street to the stop sign. When he pulled away he made a right turn instead of the left that would have taken him to Callie's.

Twenty minutes later, Frank came to a stop in front of a modest two-story house on the outskirts of Bayport. Frank took a deep breath before getting out of the van and going up the walk. He pushed the button beside the screen door to announce his presence and waited for the door to open. Was he doing the right thing, he wondered? After all, Sorrel had told him to stay out of it and he hadn't told anyone where he was going. "Oh yeah," he said softly. "I'm turning into Joe."

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"Joe was being held prisoner in a room upstairs," Agent Kurtz informed Fenton. "But it doesn't appear that he has been harmed. There is only a little blood on the ropes. Most likely from where he was trying to escape."

"Any clue as to where he has been taken?" asked Fenton, feeling a bit better.

"Actually, " the agent said, dragging the word out. "We're not sure."

"What?" demanded Fenton, a look of confusion on his face.

"Someone left a note," Kurtz said. "It could be a trap or it could be Tippoli has a traitor in his ranks."

"What did the note say?" asked Fenton.

"Coraline," was the answer. "Tippoli owns a boat that he keeps anchored off the coast of California."

"And they went all the way across the country in helicopters?" Fenton responded to the announcement with a shake of his head. "But, I suppose, they could have flown to another location where they have a plane ready," he amended thoughtfully.

"I've already alerted our West Coast branch," Agent Kurtz said. "They are going to check it out and get back to us."

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"Sir, there is always the possibility that Sorrel knew nothing of the raid," Matt objected to killing Joe. "And if we eliminate him and Sorrel was innocent then we will have to prepare for severe retaliation."

"He's right, boss," put in Jeff Hatcher, another member of Tippoli's organization that had accompanied him from the Maine mansion.

"Very well. Sorrel will have one more chance," Tippoli agreed. He looked around the less than accommodating quarters and frowned. "But I think we will put to shore. It was an excellent idea of yours, Matt, to not take the Coraline but I do detest such a small ship."

"What was that?" exclaimed Jeff as the ship lurched violently.

The intercom came on and the voice of one of the crew could be heard making a frantic cry. "We're taking on water!"

"Plug the leak!" snapped the captain.

"No can do," was the reply. "It's too big. It's like a huge hole just opened out of nowhere."

"How much water?"

"I'm up to my knees already, Sir."

There was a brief pause and then the PA system blared a warning before the captain spoke again. "Man the lifeboats! We are abandoning ship. Repeat. We are abandoning ship. Everyone report to the lifeboats."