Warning: This story includes as an on-going sub-plot an incestuous homosexual relationship between Frank and Joe Hardy. This chapter contains strong sexual content and suggestive language.

-o-o-o-

Chapter 4: Thomas Winters

"Maybe we should try the high school," Joe said. "If Thomas Winters still has friends there, maybe someone will have a current address or phone number for him."

Frank nodded. "We can try that. But if it doesn't pan out, we may have to talk to the police, although I'd rather they didn't know we are working on this." Frank bit his lip and frowned. "If Estelle Quito really hates her ex-husband that much, she may have been trying to drive him away and alienate him from Jolene."

"Yeah, but it doesn't sound like she was having much success. Jolene's friends made it sound like she really likes her dad."

"True, but how much abuse can a guy take? When something gets to be too painful, most people just start avoiding the cause of the pain."

"So is Thomas Winters the kind of guy who just fades away or does he kidnap Jolene and disappear?"

"If we can't talk to him, talking to people who knew him might shed some light on it. We'll stop at the high school before we go home, in case someone there can help us."

"Right."

River Heights High School was in summer session and classes were just ending when Frank tried to turn into the small parking lot in front of the Administration building. A plump woman wearing an orange vest and carrying a stop sign stepped in his path with a raised hand.

"No students or parents in visitor parking, please."

Frank rolled down his window. "I'm here to speak to the principal, or whoever is the senior administrator on campus at the moment."

"Oh." The woman moved aside. "Go ahead then. Go through the double doors there and ask for Mr. Curry. He's the vice principal."

"Thanks." Frank drove into the parking lot and parked in a space marked 'Visitor'.

"Man, they're pretty strict here," Joe remarked.

"I guess they have to be." Frank glanced back at the street, where cars lined the road to the corners in both directions. "Bayport High wasn't this bad. But River Heights has more people."

They entered through the double doors and found themselves in a short hallway with offices on both sides. At the end of the hall, a single large room contained several desks completely surrounded by a chest high counter. Frank and Joe walked up to the counter. A woman looked at them from her desk, but she didn't get up.

"Can I help you?"

"We'd like to speak to Mr. Curry."

"Oh, sure. His office is the third door on the right." She waved a hand vaguely off to one side and returned her attention to her computer screen.

"Thanks." Frank led the way to the indicated office. The door was open, but Frank rapped on the panel anyway.

Mr. Curry was plump and well into middle-age, but he had the look of someone who used to be quite handsome. His hair had receded to a gray fringe around a pale dome of scalp and he sported a thick gray mustache. But his smile was quite jovial as he stood up from behind his desk. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," he said cheerfully. "I'm Chris Curry, vice principal. What can I do for you?"

"My name is Frank Hardy. This is my brother Joe. We're trying to locate Thomas Winters and we were hoping you might have a current phone number or address for him."

Chris' jovial smile faded. "Tom's not in trouble, is he?"

"Not that I know of," Frank said carefully, "but we do need to speak to him."

Chris hesitated for a moment looking very unhappy, and then he stepped around his desk and closed the door. "Please sit down." He indicated one chair that was already positioned in front of his desk and picked up another from beside the door and moved it next to the first. He edged back around behind his desk and sank down into his own seat with a heavy sigh. He rubbed a hand across the top of his bald head. "You're not reporters are you?"

"No." Frank was completely surprised. "Have reporters asked about Thomas Winters before?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Chris leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk. He twisted his hands together. "There was a… an incident and Tom was forced to quit. It's been years though and I had hoped he'd finally put it behind him."

"I wasn't aware of that," Frank said. "We just need to talk to Mr. Winters about his daughter Jolene. Are you aware that she is missing?"

"No, I wasn't!" Chris said in a stunned voice. "When did this happen?"

"It's been a few weeks. Mr. Winters' ex-wife believes he is responsible."

Chris stared. "Tom would never do anything to harm Jolene. He loves his daughter more than anything in the world. That's why he quit when… when the rumors started; to protect her."

Frank glanced at Joe. "Mr. Curry, you appear to have been a good friend of Thomas Winters', so I'll be honest with you. His ex-wife has accused him of abducting Jolene and no one knows where he is right now. It looks pretty bad. If you can tell us anything, it might help."

Chris licked his lips. "That woman! I can't believe how vindictive she is. Tom cried after the divorce, when he lost custody. There was no reason…" He licked his lips again and stared down at his hands.

Frank leaned forward. "Mr. Curry, your friend's future may depend on your honesty. What happened? Why was Thomas Winters forced to quit his job? Is that what led to his divorce? What rumors are you talking about?"

Chris scrubbed his hand across his head again and his cheeks quivered. "Tom…" he began in a faint voice and stopped to clear his throat. "Tom is gay. He and I…" He paused and cleared his throat again. "We had a relationship. While he was still married. No one knew." He stared at them anxiously. "No one ever knew. Tom was a student counselor and he advised the journalism club. That year, the editor of the student paper wrote an article about a gay student having an affair with a teacher. Everyone suspected the article was autobiographical and that the teacher was Tom. There were rumors all over campus. Tom denied it, but he was afraid our relationship would be discovered, so he quit. Right after that, his wife filed for divorce and said it was because he was gay. I wanted to keep seeing him, but Tom refused. He was afraid of ruining my career too." Chris' voice broke and a small sob escaped him. "I was too much of a coward to step forward and I let him go."

Frank sat back and stared at Joe. "I'll be damned!" he murmured. "She went from one gay man to another."

"Some women are born unlucky," Joe murmured back.

"Mr. Curry, do you know where Tom is now?"

Chris nodded slowly. "Yes. I lost track of him for a few years, but he turned up recently and asked to borrow some money. Of course I lent it to him. I still… I still care about him." He fumbled for a pen and pulled a pad of paper closer. "He's working at the community kitchen on Main Street as a cook. They depend on volunteers there and don't ask a lot of questions. I don't know where he's living." Chris wrote something on the pad, tore the sheet off and folded it in quarters. "If you see him, will you give him this?"

Frank leaned forward and took the note. "Of course. Mr. Curry, we really appreciate this. I'll tell you honestly, we don't know for sure if Tom kidnapped his daughter, but if he's innocent, we'll make sure his name is cleared."

"Thank you." Chris twisted his hands together again. "I hope it's not necessary for you to tell anyone about this. My job…"

Frank shook his head and stood up. "Mr. Curry, this is just between us, but I think you should consider something. Is your job really more important to you than someone you care about?"

Chris blinked in surprise.

"He lost everything because he wanted to protect you. Think about it."

When they were back in the car, Joe twisted in his seat to look at Frank. "Why do you suppose he told us that? He didn't need to. He could have just told us where Winters was and let it go."

"Because I think he wants to get back together with him," Frank replied thoughtfully. "He's obviously still in love with him." Frank returned Joe's gaze. "I can't imagine living without you. Maybe subconsciously, he's ready for that little push that will give him the courage to admit what he wants." Frank held up Chris' note. "Maybe this is the first step."

"You gonna read it?"

"Nope. Let's go to the community kitchen."

The community kitchen on Main Street in downtown River Heights fed the poor and homeless. Run by a group of volunteers in a space donated by a local church, the kitchen provided three hot meals a day to anyone who showed up, no questions asked. They also kept a closet of donated coats, shoes and knitted caps for those who were truly in need. The church provided counseling services for anyone who wanted it, but the patrons were generally left alone to eat in peace and leave when they were done.

Frank and Joe left their jackets and ties in the car so they wouldn't look as much like cops or probation officers. One of the volunteers approached them as soon as they walked in.

"You don't look hungry," he said matter-of-factly. "What can I do for you?"

"We're looking for Thomas Winters. We understand he works here."

"Yeah, Tom works here, but we don't want any trouble. This place is a safe haven."

"We're not here to cause trouble. We just need to ask Tom a few questions and then we'll be on our way."

"Ok. Tom's in the back." The man hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "Be quick, though. Dinner rush starts early around here."

"Sure thing."

Frank and Joe walked into the back through a set of swinging double doors. Half a dozen volunteers were busy peeling potatoes and cutting up carrots.

"We're looking for Thomas Winters," Frank said.

A thin, clean-shaven man with light brown hair just turning gray stepped away from the table where he was cutting meat into cubes. He was a little bit shorter than Joe with small, graceful hands and large green eyes. "I'm Tom Winters," he said. "What do you want?"

"May we speak to you privately for a few minutes?"

Tom put down the knife he was using and wiped his hands on his apron. "We can talk in the storeroom." He led the way further into the back of the kitchen and through another door. The walls of the storeroom were lined with shelves stacked with canned goods. He turned to face them. "So what do you want?"

"Mr. Winters, did you know your daughter is missing?"

Tom's face lost all color and he took a halting step backward. "What?" he exclaimed in a faint voice.

"Your daughter Jolene disappeared about two weeks ago. Your ex-wife told the police you abducted her."

"I… I…" Tom put a shaking hand over his mouth. "I haven't seen Jolene since spring. I wanted to take her to Europe. I even borrowed some money to pay for the trip, but Estelle… she wouldn't… she hates me so much she'll do anything to keep me from seeing Jolene." Tom staggered to the wall and gripped a shelf with one shaking hand. The other was still pressed against his mouth. Suddenly, he began to sob, his whole body shaking as he wept. "I can't do this anymore! I can't! My baby…"

Joe immediately stepped forward and put a comforting hand on Tom's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mr. Winters. The police have been trying to find you, but you have no fixed address, no phone number. No one knew where you were."

Tom continued to weep. "How did you find me?"

Frank held out the note. "Chris Curry told us."

Tom blinked at him. His grief made his eyes look sunken. His hand trembled as he reached out to take the note. He unfolded it slowly and read the paper while the tears still trailed down his cheeks. Then he began to sob again and clutched the paper to his chest. "Chris!" he whispered.

"Mr. Winters," Frank said gently. "I see that we're the first people to tell you about your daughter. A friend of ours was searching for her and now she's missing too. So I have to ask: has anyone else talked to you recently about Jolene?"

Tom shook his head. "No! No one talked to me. Why is this happening? I tried to protect her. And Chris. And it's all falling apart!" He leaned against the shelves, his shoulders shaking.

Frank looked at Joe, whose hand still rested on Tom's shoulder. Joe squeezed Tom's shoulder gently. "Why don't you go see Chris? He can take you to the police so you can clear your name. We'll find your daughter. I promise."

Tom wiped his eyes and made a visible effort to control his sobs. "I can't see Chris," he whispered hoarsely. "He'll lose his job if people find out about us."

"Why don't you let him decide?" Frank suggested. "He still cares about you. Maybe you're more important to him than his job."

"It's been so hard," Tom said faintly. "Not having anyone to turn to. I nearly went to Chris so many times, but I didn't want to… to ruin his life too." Tom looked at the piece of paper crumpled in his hand. "But now… he wants me to come stay with him until Jolene is found."

"So go."

Tom looked from one to the other of them, his face wounded and vulnerable. "Do you think she's still alive?"

Frank sighed. "I don't know, Mr. Winters, but I hope so, for the sake of our missing friend."

Tom looked down at the note again and nodded. "I'll go," he whispered. "I'll go see Chris and I'll go to the police."

"Good luck, Mr. Winters. We'll be in touch."

Once they were outside, Joe leaned against the side of the car with a long sigh. "Man, that's sad. I sure hope he gets back together with Chris. A guy shouldn't have to give up everything like that just because he's gay." He studied Frank thoughtfully. "If the truth ever comes out about us, I'm not going to lie about it."

Frank nodded. "Neither will I. But what now? Jolene was not abducted by her father, so what's our next step?"

"August Quito," Joe growled. "I want to know what he and Walter Surrey are up to."

"Ok. Let's go home and jump on the computer. But I think we're going to have to do some more legwork."

-o-o-o-

Frank slumped back and rubbed his eyes. His back ached and he was tired. Joe came up behind him and began rubbing his shoulders.

"Find anything?" Joe asked. He smelled of shampoo and soap.

"You took a shower."

"Yup."

"I should take one too." Frank arched his back with a groan. "Hot water would feel pretty good right now. My back is killing me."

"I'll massage it for you. Let's go in the bedroom." Joe pulled Frank to his feet and led him to the bed. "Take your shirt off and stretch out." Frank dropped his shirt on the floor and flopped down on the bed on his stomach. Joe straddled his thighs and pressed the heels of his hands into the small of Frank's back and pushed slowly upward.

Frank let out a deep moan. "Oh! That feels wonderful!"

"So, did you find out anything?"

"No, but I'm really sure I'm missing something. I tried searching the property records in River Heights, but there's no record of anything belonging to August Quito other than his house and the hardware store. Walter Surrey doesn't even own a house in River Heights. I think I want to start following Quito."

"We'll have to be careful. He's seen us."

"I know."

Joe continued to work his hands up and down Frank's back, loosening the tight muscles. "You're not falling asleep on me, are you?"

"Hmm? Not me." Frank yawned. "But this massage is really relaxing."

"Maybe for you. I'm getting turned on."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah." Joe leaned over and kissed the middle of Frank's back. "I like touching you. It gets me hot."

"Keep kissing me like that and I may get warmed up too."

"Ok!" Joe slid off Frank's legs onto one hip and leaned over. He kissed the small of Frank's back. "How's that?"

"Very nice."

Joe kissed a little higher. "What about that?"

"Keep going."

Joe kissed his way up Frank's spine to the back of his neck. "Now what?"

"Well…" Frank said. "You've worked all the kinks out of my back, but now you've gone and made another muscle stiff." He rolled onto his side. "What are you going to do about this?"

Joe grinned. "I guess I'll just have to massage that too. I'll use my tongue." He leaned over.

Frank groaned. "Ah! That's not exactly relaxing, you know." He inched over onto his back. "I think it needs a deeper massage."

Joe sat up. "If you insist." He yanked off his pants and underwear and straddled Frank's hips. He gasped softly as he settled onto Frank's erection and began to move up and down. "How's this? It will be my pleasure to massage as deeply as possible until your stiffness goes away."

Frank bent his knees a little and thrust his hips up and down in pleasurable counterpoint to Joe's motion. "I'll help. A long, deep massage is just what I need right now."

They moved together, slowly at first and then faster and faster until climax flooded them with ecstasy.

"Yes!" Joe gasped. "Yes! Man, that's good. You make me come so hard every time."

"I could say the same thing," Frank replied with a moan. "You are really good."

Joe lay down on Frank's chest. "Now I need another shower. We can take one together."

"We still haven't installed that new shower head."

"Oh well. So should we start tailing August Quito tomorrow?"

"Not right away. I want to find a decent picture of Walter Surrey. If we spot Surrey while we're following Quito, we can follow him too."

"Do you think Surrey and Quito meet regularly?"

"Probably not, but let's be prepared, just in case."

"Works for me."

Frank patted Joe's bottom. "Let's go get in the shower. I want to get an early start tomorrow."

"Right."