Hello once again, my gentle readers! I know I have been taking quite some time to finish and update my story, so I have a treat for you...I made this chapter SUPER long! Hee hee! Sorry, it wasn't intentional, but this chapter kinda explains everything you need to know about why Lisa was kidnapped so it's kinda important. Anyway, hope you don't get annoyed by the longness and I hope you keep reading and reviewing! Enjoy!

Drucker's General Store

Mr. Drucker was chatting nonchalantly with Joseph from behind the counter when Oliver and Eb finally arrived at Drucker's Store. Mr. Kimball, Mr. Haney, Mr. Ziffel, Mr. Kiley, and Mr. Trendall were all sitting around the checker's board, engrossed in a game between Mr. Kimball and Mr. Haney. Mr. Drucker and the rest looked at Oliver in surprise when he walked in. Joseph turned around and gave him a confused smile at his direction.

"Oh, Mr. Douglas, what are you doing…" but before Mr. Drucker could finish his question, Oliver stormed over to Joseph, grabbed him by the collar with both hands, and threw him against the wall.

Mr. Drucker and Eb jumped back in shock while the other men jumped up from their seats in surprise. Joseph was stunned by the sudden attack but, Oliver noticed, had a knowing look in his eyes.

"Start explaining and start explaining now," Oliver demanded through clenched teeth.

"About what," Joseph asked, still trying to play dumb.

"You know exactly what," Oliver exclaimed. He released one side of Joseph's collar in order to grab the picture he had stuck in his pocket.

"I'm talking about his," Oliver said as he thrust the picture into Joseph's face.

"Oh that,"

"Yes, oh that. Now start explaining what you were doing with my wife's picture!"

"I wasn't doing anything with her picture. I just found it in Pixley one day and thought it was pretty. I threw it in my suitcase and forgot all about it."

"Then would you care to explain why it was surrounded by secret love poems hidden deep within your suitcase," Oliver retorted.

Joseph opened his mouth and tried to make an excuse, but could think of nothing to say. Instead he looked down shamefully at his feet.

"Your in love with her, aren't you," Oliver demanded to know.

"That is not true," Joseph replied unconvincingly.

"Don't try to hide it! I've seen the way you look at her! You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Joseph sighed. "Alright, I admit it. But that's not why she disappeared," he added quickly.

"Then you admit you took her," Oliver said.

"Yes."

"But why," Oliver questioned. Joseph winced at the pain and confusion in his voice.

"Might I sit down, it's a long sorted story," Joseph explained. Oliver sighed stubbornly and nodded in agreement. But instead of loosening his vise like grip on his collar, Oliver led him over to a chair and pushed him down somewhat violently. The other men gathered around, curious to find out what happened to one of their closest friend.

Joseph straightened himself a bit and began to tell his tale. "It all began about a month before I found your wife's picture. My assistant, Paul and I had been dabbling in crime for a while by then and never really got any big money. I wasn't really all that interested in the money (I got sucked into the life outside the law, you see, but that's a totally different story and not relevant), but Paul seemed obsessed with it. He would try to convince me that we had to move up to bigger things besides just robbing banks and stores. He said we had to do something drastic like kidnap someone, someone worth a lot of money but living in a remote location. Finally, one day, I relented. He suggested we go back to his hometown of Pixley and begin searching for the perfect candidate, which is exactly what we did."

"So the search was one. We combed this entire area for weeks but came up with nothing. I was beginning to get impatient and antsy. I was seriously considering telling Paul that I was no longer interested in this life of crime and wanted to make an honest living instead, when I stumbled across your wife's picture in downtown Pixley. I became obsessed with the beauty and elegance she possessed and I decided she was the perfect one. I figured a woman like that must mean a lot to many people."

"We began following your wife around everywhere, trying to learn her habits and her history. And the more we did, the more fascinated I became with her. She was so beautiful and kind and sophisticated. I guess you could say I was falling in love with her already, but I tried to push those thoughts out of my head and concentrate on the mission. Pretty soon, we knew almost everything there is to know about her and we finally decided the time was right to kidnap her. But then the fire happened."

"I was there when it all happened. I marveled at how brave she was as she ran in there to save the animals and Eb but then gasped in horror when she never came back out. I was about to run in and save her myself when you came along. I saw how you carried her limp body in your arms and then drive off toward the hospital. I had never been more scared in my life. I worried and wondered if she was going to be alright. After a couple of days, I couldn't stand it anymore. I went to the hospital after visiting hours and snuck into her room to see how she was doing. I even left flowers."

"Anyway, as you know, she got better and Paul formulated a plan. He said the best way for us to pull of a kidnapping was if one of us became a part of Lisa's life so we wouldn't be suspected. Then we would make off with the money. So, I did. I meet you at the ball and managed to show up just when you needed a hired hand. Everything seemed perfect. Except for the fact that the more time I spent with her, the harder it was to hide my feelings. But we had to go through with the kidnapping, so we hired a couple of men and did it. Paul called you the first couple of times to demand the ransom and we received it, but it's not enough to make our get away. We had to ask for more."

"Now, I'm afraid Paul is getting more and more insane by the day. He keeps on saying how time is running out and we need to leave and no witnesses…." Joseph's voice trailed off. A stunned silence followed. None of the men could believe all of this was planned against one of their own, especially Oliver.

"Where is she now," Oliver asked in a quiet voice, still in shock.

"We're keeping her in an abandoned warehouse just outside of Hooterville. I try to make it as comfortable as possible for her and do my best to protect her from Paul and the other men, but it's getting harder the longer we have to wait around for the money. We have to do something before he totally loses his patience and decides to hurt her," Joseph said, his eyes wide with fear.

Tears sprung into Oliver's eyes as he imagined what Lisa was going through. He pictured her surrounded by strange men, held hostage in an old abandoned warehouse, so close to home.

Once again, anger rose within Oliver and with it came a new determination. "We're going to do something," he cried.

"But what can we do," Mr. Kiley asked.

"We're just a bunch of farmers," Mr. Ziffel threw in.

"That may be so, but we have one very important thing that we didn't have before," Oliver said.

"What," Mr. Drucker asked.

Oliver turned and smiled slyly at Joseph. "An inside man."