Disclaimer: I own nadaaa! :)
A/N: Thanks SOO much for the reviews! You know I love them. Okay, so I lied. After this chapter I'm posting now, there is only one chapter left... I know, I'm sad too. :( I've grown attached to this story. Hmm... not much else to say. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-One:

Any affable feelings Coral ever had toward Jeff seemed far away at that point. She looked briefly at him like she didn't care—which she didn't—and then looked down at her nails. Beside her, she could hear the infuriated breath escaping Jeff's mouth.

"Coral," he tried carefully once more while Matt just stared on vapidly, "I'm going to ask one more time—"

"God, just shut up!"

Jeff's mouth snapped shut for some odd reason. Coral turned to Jeff, pointing her thin finger nails at him while she glared heavily. "Yes, I did something to Shannon. No, I'm not going to tell you what. Yes, you should worry. No, you're not going to find out, so don't bother asking. Yes, I think you look damn right sexy right now. It's a shame that you're such a tenacious person like your brother and Shannon. Maybe we could have worked out otherwise."

Jeff chuckled warningly. "I would never even consider dating a freak like you. Incase that delusional little head of yours hasn't noticed, I'm more than happily taken by the most beautiful woman on this earth."

"You call me the freak," she taunted right back, her posture staying still. "I do remember saying you saw you in me. Gee, wouldn't that make you a freak too, then, Jeff?"

She had a way of twisting his words against him each time she spoke. Why couldn't he see how evil she was? Was she even related to Shannon? Bile rose in his throat the more he thought about each time he helped her. Now, Shannon was missing and he had no idea where he was. She said she did something to him. What did that mean? Was it just a sick joke of hers? She didn't honestly run away, so many Shannon was just locked in a room somewhere. Jeff wouldn't put it past her. But, there was just something so disturbing about the look in her emerald eyes, something that told Jeff not only did he have to worry about Shannon, but himself and Matt too.

"Where is Shannon?" Matt spoke suddenly. It was the first time he had spoken in ten minutes. "Tell me where he is you little—"

"Didn't we just go over this?"

Matt snarled back at her. There seemed there was nothing to do to get this girl to cooperate. They could threaten and yell at her all they wanted but she was just as stubborn as the Hardy Boys herself. What if Shannon was hurt though? What if it was a life or death situation?

"You two are seriously ridiculous," she muttered, walking toward the back door and staring out at the gray-skied day. Her breath left a fog of condensation on the glass. Her fingers were quick to draw a square and a triangle. Then, just before their eyes, it disappeared.

Fear swept Jeff suddenly. If she had hurt her own brother, it wouldn't surprise him if somehow she had planned something for Beth too. Jeff turned to Matt. "Whose car did you take this morning?"

Matt shrugged, his eyes keen on Coral's quiet behavior. "Mine. Why?"

More anxiety traced through Jeff as he stomped up to Coral and grabbed her by the back of her shirt. There was a brief struggle between the two, but Coral quickly lost, being overpowered by the adrenaline rushed and fuming Jeff. "Did you do something to Beth's car?"

Coral laughed in an indifferent tone. "No… but that would have been a good idea."

He didn't know if he should believe her. He also didn't let her go. Instead, he took her by the wrist and began to forcefully put more and more pressure on her wrist bone. Coral ignored the increasing pain at first but it was evident that the more power he put into it, the more she struggled to not cry out. Finally, her puzzled, demented eyes shot up. "What are you doing?" she asked weakly.

Jeff gave her a twisted smile while he licked his lips. "You caused many pain here. I'm just returning the favor."

More muscle released from his fingers. She resisted once more. "Stop it! It hurts!"

From behind him, Matt watched with intrigue. "It does?" Jeff asked lightly. "Oh dear… maybe you know how it feels now. Maybe you've seen what you've done. Don't you think I had to feel pain each time you roped me into your fucked up scheme?"

"I don't care! Let go of me."

"No," Jeff spewed. "Tell me where Shannon is."

"NO!"

He was hoping she would… what would it take? Would she still hold the truth inside while he broke her bones? Suddenly, Matt came up beside him, studying the door. "Let her go," he said quietly.

Jeff looked up Matt with a shocked expression. "Why?"

Matt touched the glass, tracing the place Coral's fingers had been not too long ago. "I think I know where Shannon is. Let her go."

Jeff immediately released Coral, causing her to fall to the ground. "Where is he?" Jeff demanded of Matt. Matt pointed to the smudges of her fingertips. They formed a cartoon drawing of a house. "Did you leave the keys to the new house here any time in the past few days?"

The color drained from Jeff's face while he nodded. "I did."

Coral didn't seem to care what they were speaking about as they stared down at her. Finally, Matt spoke, "Let's go."

Soon enough, Matt and Jeff were jogging through the woods that connected the properties of Matt and Jeff's. "I thought you said she didn't leave the house," Matt said while they ran.

"She lies… but I think you're right."

Matt nodded. Was Shannon hurt? He wouldn't put it past Coral. Then, he nearly felt himself double-over when he saw what was on the ground. "Look," Matt gasped while he pointed. On the ground, was a trail of blood droppings.

"Fuck."

Matt nodded and began to pick up his pace again. He could see the Jeff's new house, the one yet to be finished as they broke into the next clearing in the woods. Nothing seemed out of place, but it didn't need to be. "We don't have the keys," Matt realized.

Jeff smiled slightly. "We've broken windows before."

Matt smiled back. He loved his brother more than anything and sometimes, he couldn't help but think they shared a very similar mind. They jogged right up to the house, shaking the doorknob to find it locked. "Go to the back window," Jeff whispered. "I'll keep an eye out for Coral. Open the front door when you get in."

Matt nodded and ran toward the back of the house. Quickly, he found a large stone and thrust it into one of the newly added windows of Jeff's house. Glass shattered on the ground, leaving sparkling pieces for the little bit of sun to catch. Then, he hoisted himself over the wood and fell in, barely getting a scratch on him. "Just like when we were kids," he marveled quietly and than ran for the front door.

Jeff came in quickly as Matt unlocked it. It was quickly relocked as they scanned the bottom floor. "He's not in any of the rooms here," Jeff said quickly. "Let's try upstairs."

The problem was, the upstairs portion of Jeff's house was not yet fully finished and still very unsafe. It took careful moving and slow breathing to make their way up there. It was simple enough then as another blood trail picked up.

Then, Jeff saw him. The body of Shannon Moore lay in a heap toward the edge of a room. There was blood on the back of his head and his hands, feet, and mouth were gagged or roped tightly. "Shit," Matt moaned as he carefully walked over. He put one hand on the side of Shannon's neck, as he couldn't tell if he was breathing. But there was a pulse. "Help me untie him."

Jeff sprung into action. "I'll do it. Call the police and ask for an ambulance, okay?"

Matt nodded and Jeff got back to work. He slowly loosened the ropes that bound the unconscious Shannon as Matt slipped down the stairs to call for help. Then, he poured the hair which covered Shannon's face out of the way and took out the bandana which was gagging him. It smelled like that chemical he had read about being used so many times in mysteries. Where did she get it? In fact, Jeff didn't want to know.

Slowly, Jeff checked Shannon for anymore visible injuries, finding none. Yet, he didn't want to move him and instead stood up, careful still on the shaky second floor. That was when he heard the sound of a thud and a few profanities slipping from Matt's mouth.

"Matt?" Jeff asked quietly.

He looked down the steps, seeing nothing. Frowning at whatever his brother had done, he walked down the steps and looked around. His brother was a heap on the floor, just below the window.

Then, there was a chuckle. "Don't move or you'll be next."

Jeff turned to see Coral behind him, a large knife in her hands. She was making her way up the steps, eyes determined. He followed anyway, though his heart told him to check on his brother. "What are you doing?" he asked softly. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because none of you understand," she said softly. "None of you ever do."

"I tried," Jeff responded. "I did."

"No, you didn't. You thought you could give me some bull stories about when you were younger. Well, it doesn't work. I'm sorry. Now, if you excuse me, I'm getting out of here before the police come." Jeff frowned as he made his way down the steps after her, especially not letting her go off without getting caught.

He was shocked as she turned around quickly and put the knife dangerously close to his heart. "You really thought I was going to let you go scot-free too, huh?"

Jeff shook. "Think about what you're doing, Coral."

She laughed. "Oh, I have."

That's when he saw Beth, coming up behind the girl. Slowly, just slowly enough so Coral didn't notice, he inched away. "We could have been so happy," Coral said slowly. "A really cute couple too but you wouldn't just let me be with you!"

"I love Beth," Jeff said, saying it strongly enough so Beth heard too. She looked up briefly and smiled. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry is never good enough." The words were cold… so cold. And just as Coral went to dive on Jeff, Beth instead got a hold of her, swinging her toward the first floor. Coral tumbled down and crashed, the knife swinging far away. The blow seemed to knock her out.

"Are you okay?" Beth breathed, running up to Jeff.

"Fine," he answered back. "What are you doing here? How did you know?"

"I never really left," she admitted quietly. "I heard everything you said and I knew that she'd follow you guys. I couldn't leave you guys without a back-up plan."

Jeff smiled. "I love you."

Suddenly, Beth seemed ashamed. "And I love you too. I should have known you'd never cheat on me."

Before Jeff could answer, two wonderful sounds were heard. "Ew," Matt muttered while he limped toward them, blood trailing down one of his legs. The other was a siren and the lights coming toward the house. Matt opened the door, ushering them inside. Almost instantly after Matt and Shannon were loaded onto ambulances, Coral was handcuffed.

"It's over," Jeff said quietly as they walked back to Matt's house to drive to the hospital. Hopefully both Shannon and Matt would be fine. "It's actually over."

A/N: Whoa, right?! I thought so myself. :) Yay Beth! Boo Coral! What will happen in the last chapter?! Okay, READ AND REVIEW AND UPDATE I SHALL!!