A/N: Thank you SO much for the reviews, zenfrodo, Caranath, max2013, Lady Emily, Guest, Stork Hardy, Guest, catlover1033, Jackie, Leya, Vinsmouse, Guest, ILoveMom, flowerlover, and Future Animator! You truly made my day! Thanks, as always, to anyone who's reading!

Chapter 19

Emily took a deep breath as she and Joe walked toward the Alpine suite and the senator's daughter. Joe gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It'll be okay. We're just going to pretend you're a friend of Nancy's."

Emily rolled her eyes. Joe could be ridiculously naïve about the ways of women sometimes. Especially women who were hot after him. Which Kathy definitely was. This girl was going to figure out that Emily was more than just "Nancy's friend" in about ten minutes. Emily knew things were going to get ugly…even if Joe didn't.

"Joe, this is never going to work. I'm sure this girl isn't stupid."

He stopped and rested his hands on her shoulders. "You let me worry about Kathy. Besides, having you here is going to help my case."

Emily glanced at him sideways. "How?"

"I can't tell you. You're going to have to trust me."

"Fine," Emily said. "It doesn't matter anyway. I have to find out what's going on at monastery. I can't imagine why Father Xavier would have called Nancy. Did Bess mention that?"

Joe shook his head. "No, she only said that Nancy left a note that something was wrong and Frank had gone over there."

"Maybe she didn't want to say anything more on the phone."

"She ruined my plans for the day, you know," Joe pointed out as they approached the door to the suite.

Emily smiled at him and feigned innocence. "Oh? And what were you planning?"

Joe raised his eyebrows at her. "You'll have to wait to find out. I intend to pick up where we left off at some point." He kissed her quickly, then handed her the key to the room. "I'll be back in ten minutes. Just go in there and say exactly what we rehearsed."

Emily nodded as Joe stepped away from the door. "Here goes nothing."

She opened the door and found herself in the living room of the suite with three pairs of surprised teenage eyes staring at her. Emily scanned the room, and noticed Bess leaning against the bar on the other side, looking like she was going to burst into laughter at any moment.

"Hi," Emily said weakly.

Kathy gave her a cold stare. "Who the hell are you?"

Yep, just as Emily suspected. Kathy was not going to like this one bit.

"Emily Clark. I'm...um...Nancy's assistant."

Bess choked on her morning glass of orange juice.

Kathy crossed her arms in front of her and tilted her head to one side. "Really? So where have you been all this time?"

"At the monastery."

"Why?" Lauren asked, seeming slightly confused.

"The doctor made me spend the night in the infirmary. I was a little too woozy to walk back to the hotel when Nancy did."

Emily hoped that didn't sound as lame as she thought it did.

"You don't look like a detective," Kathy said, her lips curling almost into a snarl as her eyes swept over Emily. "In fact, you don't look like much of anything."

"I'm not a detective. I'm a researcher. I speak French and Latin and I'm an expert in art history." This little teeny bopper was starting to annoy her with her condescending looks and her smart mouth attitude.

"An art history expert from Bayport?" Kathy sneered. "Yeah. Okay."

Emily smiled at her. "Well, I wouldn't expect you to know much about it. You look like you're still in high school."

Bess tried to stifle her laughter and ended up snorting.

"So where's Joe?" Lauren asked. "Wasn't he at the monastery?"

"I don't know, was he? I was unconscious for most of last night," Emily said. "I didn't see him there this morning."

"You know Joe?" Kathy asked, her hands on her hips.

"Every girl Bayport knows Joe Hardy," Emily said. "He's quite the player."

Tammy sat up in her chair. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah. He's left a trail of broken hearts all over town. You know, he never goes out with the same girl for more than a couple weeks. Too many fish in the sea for that boy."

Emily glanced at Bess, who had just sprayed what was left of her orange juice all over the top of the bar.

"Are you sure?" Lauren asked. "He doesn't seem like a player."

"Yeah, well, that's part of his charm. I always feel sorry for anyone he's dating. Because as much as a girl might want him, it's just not going to last." Emily stared straight at Kathy. "I guarantee it."

Emily knew Kathy was furious from the flushed look on the girl's face to her narrowed eyes, but at the moment, she just didn't care. She'd shut the little brat up for now. Joe probably wouldn't be amused when he found out what she'd said. She had definitely deviated from the script. Oh, well.

"So anyway, if you wouldn't mind showing me my room, I'll get the things Nancy wanted and head back over to the monastery," Emily said brightly. "Oh, hi, Bess. How are you?"

"Fine," Bess replied in a choked voice as she mopped up her orange juice with a dishcloth.

Before Emily could say anything more, Joe opened the door to the suite and walked inside.

"Oh, hey, everybody. How's it going?"

Kathy jumped up from the couch and dashed across the room, flinging herself at Joe. "Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're back. I missed you so much, babycakes."

Emily turned to Bess and rolled her eyes.

"Just wait," Bess whispered. "She's only getting warmed up."

Great, Emily thought. Well, she wasn't going to stick around to watch this little display. She wasn't normally the type of girl to get possessive of the guy she was dating…that was little too "junior high" for her. But this chick was working her last nerve, and part of her wanted to walk over to Joe, peel Kathy off her man, knock the little brat to the floor, and kiss Joe absolutely senseless. Yep, she needed to get out of this hotel room. Five minutes ago.

Kathy had tightened her arms around Joe, and was now kissing his neck. Joe pulled away from her, but Kathy grabbed his hand.

"Did you find out anything more about that horrible guy who's stalking me? I know you won't rest until he's caught."

"I have some leads I'm working on," Joe said. "And you're right, I won't rest until whoever is behind this gets exactly what they deserve."

"Isn't he the most wonderful boyfriend ever?" Kathy cooed, resting her head on Joe's shoulder, and staring at Emily.

"Oh, yes," Emily agreed, trying hard not to smile at Joe's obvious discomfort. "You're such a lucky girl, Kathy. Joe's quite the catch, you know. Every girl in Bayport wants him for her own."

Joe's face was red with embarrassment. He untangled himself from Kathy and moved over to the bar. "Oh, hi, Emily. Are you feeling better this morning?"

"Much," Emily replied. "And I can't wait to get back to work on Nancy's case. I'm headed out of here right now, as a matter of fact."

"Um, maybe you shouldn't go back to the monastery after what happened there last night," Joe said.

"No, I'm sure it'll be fine." Emily picked up her leather tote bag and patted it. "I have to get back to my research and being in the monastery library is essential for it. Besides…I really need some fresh air."

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea. Somebody obviously has issues with you and Nancy investigating." Joe took a step toward her. "I'm not sure it's safe."

Emily hurriedly grabbed Bess's arm. "I doubt there'll be any problems. Frank's there and Bess will come with me. Won't you, Bess?"

"Of course." She grinned widely. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

OOOoooOOO

"Gone?" Nancy's voice echoed the priest's cry. "You don't mean..." She pushed past Father Xavier and stepped into the chapel.

Frank followed and found her gazing above the chapel's altar to the spot where he assumed the statue had been displayed for veneration. It was empty.

Frank watched silently as Nancy moved directly in front of the altar and climbed onto one of the velvet chairs positioned there. Standing almost on her tip toes, she began inspecting the golden ledge where the statue had rested. At this point, his curiosity got the best of him.

"Nan? What's going on?"

"Father Betrand was attacked and hit over the head. He was taken away in an ambulance. Unfortunately, he was still unconscious, so I have no idea what happened." She sighed and pointed to the golden ledge. "And now the Madonna is missing."

Frank gazed around the small chapel. "This must have happened this morning. Nothing was disturbed in here when we were all trying to find you and Emily last night."

Nancy jumped off the chair, dropped to her knees, and started examining the marble tiled floor. "So, sometime between one and five a.m. then?"

"That would be my guess."

Frank frowned at a free-standing velvet covered kneeler near the altar. It was slightly askew. He bent down and noticed something.

"Nan?" He held up a silver colored, old-fashioned key, with a red ribbon attached to it.

Nancy leaped to her feet. "Where did you find that?"

Frank gestured to the floor. "Right here. This kneeler was crooked, and the key was sticking out from underneath it." He noticed the flush on her cheeks and the sparkle of excitement in her eyes. "I take it this is important somehow."

"It might be, if it fits the lock I think it will." She reached up and kissed Frank hard and fast. "You're amazing, Hardy. I love you."

"Glad to be of help." He smiled as Nancy rushed past him, and he followed her out of the chapel and into the main part of the cathedral.

"She is gone?" Father Xavier grabbed Nancy's shoulders. "She has not just fallen? She is gone?"

Nancy sighed. "The statue is missing, Father. But we'll get her back. I promise."

Father Xavier sank down onto the marble steps leading into the small chapel, leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands.

"She is not pleased with us or she would not have left. We are being punished."

OOOoooOOO

Emily quickly wrapped her scarf around her neck as she stepped out of the hotel lobby and into the frigid early morning air.

Bess grabbed her arm and they huddled together for warmth as they made their way across the courtyard leading to the cathedral.

"Oh, Joe is so mad at you," Bess said, her teeth chattering.

Emily giggled. "He'll get over it. Besides, he has Kathy's case to work on. And that girl does not want me around."

"Really?" Bess teased. "What was your first clue?"

"I think it was the laser beams coming out of her eyes," Emily said as they approached the door to the monastery.

"Oh see, now I thought it was more evident when her hair turned into a bunch of hissing snake heads. The Medusa effect was really good, didn't you think?"

"Definitely," Emily agreed with a laugh. "Joe won't have time to worry about me with Kathy around, that's for sure."

The girls' conversation ended when Guillaume yanked open the monastery door, grabbed both Emily and Bess by the arms, and pulled them into the foyer in an uncharacteristically forceful manner.

"Guillaume, what's wrong?" Emily asked him in French.

"Oh, Mademoiselle, il est terrible!" Guillaume's eyes were wide with fright. "Venez avec moi."

Emily thought he must be horribly distressed, because he reached down and took both girls' hands, practically dragging them down the hallway and into the cathedral. She looked over at Bess whose eyes were wide, then up at Guillaume.

"Is Nancy all right?" Emily asked.

Guillaume pulled open the door to the cathedral and pulled her through it after him. "Oui, Mademoiselle Drew est bien. Il est..."

He couldn't continue past the trail of blood still present on the marble altar steps. The girls followed his gaze and gasped.

"I'm afraid to ask," Bess whispered.

OOOoooOOO

Kathy eyed Joe suspiciously from her seat on the sofa. She thought he looked angry and irritated. She couldn't decide if that was good or not. Clearly he was upset with Emily. But why? What did he care whether she went over to the monastery or not?

She knew Emily had been one of the girls at the ball last night. Joe had seemed preoccupied with her then, too. But after the way Emily talked about Joe today, Kathy was almost positive she wasn't interested in him. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to keep her eyes open. Because nobody was going to get between her and her man.

Kathy watched as Joe walked over to the table and roughly pulled out a chair. He sat down and grabbed the yellow legal pad that was sitting there and began scribbling furiously. She watched him for a few moments, then wandered over and took the seat across from him.

"What are you working on? My case?"

"No."

"Well what then?"

Joe sighed. "Something else."

"You shouldn't be working on something else," Kathy reminded him. "You should be trying to catch the lunatic who's stalking me."

Joe looked up at her. "Don't worry, Kathy. Your case is our primary focus. Believe me."

She snorted. "You could've fooled me. You haven't been anywhere near me in two days."

Joe tossed down the pen. "You were safe. And sometimes in order to work on a case, some actual investigating is required."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I have to physically pursue evidence."

She stared at him. "So I've heard. That's all everyone's been telling me for the past forty-eight hours. 'Joe's investigating'. Just exactly what does that mean? What have you uncovered during your huge investigation?"

He looked at her intently for a moment and she squirmed in her seat.

"Okay," he began. "Here's what we know. Whoever is doing this is someone close to you. Someone you consider a friend."

Her eyes grew wide. "What? Why would you say that?"

"Because nobody else except someone close to you would have the information necessary to stalk you the way they are."

"B-but," she sputtered. "Someone I know? Someone who's here now?" She forced tears to her eyes. "I don't believe you. It can't be true."

Joe shrugged. "The evidence doesn't lie."

"But who? Who would want to do this to me?"

"That's what we're going to find out."

Not anytime soon, she thought. Her plans for Joe didn't involve him discovering the identity of her stalker…ever.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy paused in her conversation with Frank when she heard the large wooden door from the monastery open into the cathedral. She spotted Bess and Emily with Guillaume and waved for them to come to her.

The girls paused at the altar, staring down at the bloodied steps.

"What on earth–" Bess began as Nancy approached her.

"Father Bertrand was attacked," Nancy said, anticipating the rest of her question.

Emily clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, no." Tears filled her eyes and Guillaume helped her sit down in a pew.

"Is he...?" Bess whispered.

"He was alive when the ambulance took him away," Nancy said. He was hit on the head. And the Madonna statue has been stolen."

"What?" Emily gasped.

And it was Nancy's worse nightmare come true. Not only was she no closer to finding the monstrance than she was five days ago, but now another artifact had been stolen. One even more precious and important than the monstrance.

Frank approached Bess and Emily. "It must have happened after we took you back to the hotel. Very early this morning, apparently."

He turned to Father Xavier. "Why would Father Bertrand have been in the cathedral at that time?"

Father Xavier shrugged. "Many reasons. He may have been preparing for Mass or straightening up the altar from last night. Depending on when this happened, he could have been ready to unlock the doors. We open the cathedral at six a.m."

"And yet, all of the doors were locked when you discovered him at six-fifteen," Frank continued. "Which means he hadn't gotten around to doing that yet."

"Which means that whoever did this had some other way of getting into the cathedral," Nancy added.

The side door to the cathedral opened and a young brother gestured for Father Xavier.

"The police must have arrived," the priest said. "I need to greet them and escort them in here."

Father Xavier gestured for Guillaume to accompany him, then headed back into the monastery.

Nancy reached into the pocket of her jeans and fished out the key Frank had given her. "I don't want anyone else to know, but look at this. Frank found it in the Lady's chapel this morning."

"Does that unlock what I think it does?" Emily asked, walking over to Nancy and Frank.

"Only one way to find out," Nancy said, as she hurried up the marble steps leading to the main altar gate.

She slipped the key into the lock and turned it. The tumbler popped and the gate creaked open.

OOOoooOOO

Joe sighed with relief as he entered his bedroom and locked the door behind him. He didn't know how long he'd be able to escape Kathy, but he was going to take full advantage of the break she'd given him by taking the longest shower in history.

Grabbing some clean clothes out of his closet, he walked into the bathroom and turned the water on full blast. Then he reached backwards and locked the bathroom door as well. There was no way in hell that Kathy was going to sneak in on him while he was in the shower.

He stripped off his clothes and stepped underneath the spray, letting the hot water pound down on his back and shoulders. He could feel the knots forming there every time he was in the same room with Kathy. His shoulders were so tight now, he was sure they'd be up to his ears by the time this case was over.

And getting this case over with was exactly what he was going to work on today. He had to find a way to unmistakably prove that Kathy was her own stalker. He needed irrefutable evidence that she couldn't accuse him of planting. Maybe he should try and get some surveillance cameras. Or give the agents trailing her some cameras. Because they needed to catch her in the act. And Kathy Martin was proving to be much smarter than Joe had given her credit for.