A/N: Big hugs of appreciation to max2013, Caranath, Lady Emily, Guest, zenfrodo, Jackie, Stork Hardy, Future Animator, ILoveMom, Guest, Vinsmouse, Guest, flowerlover, bhar, and Jazmine for taking time to leave a comment! I'll get you off the edge of that cliff now. ;) Thanks also to those reading! It's very much appreciated.

Chapter 22

The heavy marble statue teetered on its base, and Frank knew it was headed straight for the girls.

"Nan!"

Nancy turned to Frank, a question in her eyes.

He didn't have time to explain.

As the statue fell, it clipped the banister of the wrought iron circular staircase, and Frank prayed it would buy him the extra second or two he needed.

He dove for the girls.

Frank heard a spectacular crash as the statue hit the top of an oak bookcase and shattered. Chunks of marble and volumes of books rained down on them.

"Oof." He grunted as a piece of marble the size of a grapefruit landed on his upper thigh.

Frank ignored the pain as he tried to locate Nancy.

A cloud of white dust impaired his vision.

"Frank? Are you okay?"

Nancy.

He exhaled with relief and reached out for her.

"Nan, are you hurt?"

She eased herself up off the ground. "I-I don't think so. You shoved me out of the way."

Frank winced as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"But you are," Nancy said.

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Is Emily okay?"

At that moment, the library door swung open, and Guillaume entered.

"Mon Dieu!" Guillaume exclaimed, letting the newspapers he'd been carrying flutter to the floor as he ran to the girls.

"Etes-vous bien?" he asked, pushing some rubble away from Emily.

"I-I think so."

Frank looked over at her. Emily was conscious and at least seemed okay. Thank goodness for that.

Nancy brushed away some of the marble dust and statue fragments clinging to them. "Where did it hit you?"

Frank shook his head. "Not sure. My hip is a little sore, though."

Nancy began yanking his shirttail out of his pants and pulling it up. Frank could already see redness creeping along his side, just above his belt. Nancy reached out to unbuckle it, but Frank covered her hands with his own.

"It's okay, babe. I'm sure it's just a bruise."

"How can I tell without looking?"

"You're not going to pull my pants down in a monastery."

Frank gestured toward Guillaume, who was leaning over Emily. "Not with an audience."

Emily gasped as Guillaume attempted to get her to a standing position.

"Is she hurt?" Frank asked. "Em, are you all right?"

"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "I think that chunk of the saint's hand bounced off the back of my arm, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Let me see." Frank worked his way over to her and touched her shoulder gently. Emily cried out then gave him a wan smile.

"It's okay. Don't worry."

"Can you move it?"

Emily was a lot smaller than he was. If she took the full brunt of any of that falling statue, she could be seriously injured.

She lifted her shoulder and grimaced. "Yeah. See?"

Frank was doubtful. Guillaume unleashed a stream of French, then left the room.

Emily sighed. "I wish he wouldn't do that."

"What's he doing?" Nancy asked.

"Getting the doctor."

Frank looked up at the balcony above them. "I'm afraid this was no accident. Someone wants you two out of the picture."

OOOoooOOO

Joe gave Simone one of his best smiles as she glared at him from the entrance to her bedroom.

"I'm looking for you, actually."

He gestured to the door.

"It was ajar, and I didn't know if you'd heard my knock, so I decided to come in. But, clearly, you didn't hear my knock, because you weren't here."

"What do you want?"

"I, um, I wanted to ask you some questions," he said. "About Kathy. And I didn't want her knowing I was asking you."

Simone paused for a moment, giving Joe a penetrating stare with her intense brown eyes. He willed himself not to squirm. Finally she nodded.

"Okay, ask."

"I want to know about Kathy's relationship with her father," Joe said. "Are they close?"

Simone shrugged. "Not especially. I mean, the senator loves his daughter, but he doesn't have much time for her."

"Is she okay with that?"

"No, she's not. She's a spoiled brat. Surely, I don't need to tell you that."

Simone removed her overcoat and hung it up in her closet.

"She whines to get his attention and he shuts her up by buying her things."

"That sounds rather callous."

Simone turned to face him. "It's the truth in a nutshell. She's desperate for affection he doesn't have time, or doesn't know how, to give. I've told him that he'll regret it someday, but what do I know, right? I'm only an employee."

"Does she have any siblings? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins? Anyone else she can turn to?"

"No," Simone replied. "Her mother died when she was three years old. She's an only child. Her father never remarried. She's a boarding school brat. She can't come home during most holidays, because her father isn't there. He makes time at Christmas. A day or two. She's been raised by the household staff. And most of them can't stand her."

Joe suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for Kathy. She truly was a lost soul with no anchor and no real love in her life. She was screaming for attention that nobody was giving her, so she was getting it however she could. Right now by stalking him. He looked at Simone.

"Thanks. That helps me understand her a little better."

She shrugged and picked her tote bag up from the floor. She immediately checked its contents and seemed to relax when she saw that her novel was still there. Joe headed for the door.

"I'll see you later," he said, exiting the bedroom and exhaling a sigh of relief.

OOOoooOOO

Frank squeezed Emily's hand. "I think getting the doctor is a good thing."

Because Joe was going to freak out when he heard about this, and Frank wanted to make sure he could tell his brother with one hundred percent certainty that Emily was not seriously injured.

He struggled to his feet and looked down at the marble fragments. "I think the fall knocked the statue's head off. That's the part that hit me."

Emily smiled. "His head was already knocked off. It's St. Denis. He was decapitated with a sword in martyrdom, so sculptors always carve him carrying his head in his hands."

"Then he's really no worse for the wear, is he?"

"Probably not. Especially since the Catholic legend surrounding him says that he picked his head up, walked six miles, and continued preaching the entire time."

Frank chuckled. "No wonder he's a saint."

He gestured to the balcony. "I'm going upstairs to see if there are any clues about who pushed this statue down on you two."

"You can barely stand," Nancy objected. "How about I go and you wait here?"

Frank shook his head. "Can't let you do that. It might be dangerous."

"Frank, please," Nancy argued. "I'd say the more dangerous spot is down here."

He sighed. "I think the whole place may be dangerous. At least for you and Emily."

Frank looked at his brother's girlfriend. "Stay right here with Guillaume until I get back. Understand?"

Emily nodded. "I'll be fine."

Frank walked stiffly to the circular wrought iron staircase with Nancy at his heels. He grimaced each time he lifted his right leg to take a step, but he kept climbing. He could feel Nancy glaring her disapproval at his back.

When they reached the top, he paused and turned to his girlfriend. "The statue was on that pedestal, right?"

Nancy stepped around him, walking quickly down the length of the balcony to the pedestal, which had been pushed over and was now leaning against the balcony railing. "Someone must have stood back here and shoved the whole thing forward."

Frank reached her slowly. "That someone must have been fairly strong."

"Yeah," Nancy nodded. "Marble is really heavy."

"No kidding. It weighs one hundred-seventy pounds per cubic foot. And I definitely felt a few of those pounds land square on my thigh."

"How did the person escape without us seeing them?" Nancy looked around. "They certainly didn't use the stairs."

She continued down the length of balcony, peering between the bookshelves.

Frank leaned against the railing and tried to catch his breath without taking his eyes off Nancy.

"I found it," she said. "Another entrance."

She pushed on a door, painted in the trompe l'oeil style, so that it appeared to be just another section of wall between the bookcases. Frank caught up to her and they stepped into a hallway of the monastery. It was empty.

He moved slowly behind her as Nancy ventured down the hall.

"Frank, these are individual dorm rooms. This must be the floor where the monks sleep."

And that meant that almost anyone could have entered the library, pushed over the statue, and made his escape. The doors were windowless, and Frank knew that knocking on each one individually would be a waste of time. Whoever had done this had gotten away scot-free. For now.

"Nan, I want to check around the pedestal again."

It was probably unlikely, but he was hoping to find a clue.

They walked back into the second floor of the library and Frank made his way to the pillar where the statue had been resting. He bent down, ignoring the stabbing pain in his leg, and examined the base.

"This hasn't been moved in years," he commented, pointing to the markings on the floor. "And it's so heavy, it actually impressed itself into the wooden floor."

Nancy nodded. "So somebody fairly strong, who knew we were here, snuck in through that door, waited until we were directly underneath this statue, then pushed it over and escaped. Who could have planned that?"

Frank shook his head. "It wasn't planned. It was a crime of opportunity."

"Whoever did this was spying on us?"

"Yeah, and then when you and Emily came over to get the newspapers, he decided to go for it."

"So we must have hit the nail on the head with our theory." Nancy's eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"I'd say so. Whoever it was obviously felt threatened."

Frank straightened up, trying as hard as he could not to let the burning pain he felt in his thigh show on his face

Nancy frowned and furrowed her brow. "Come here."

But there was no fooling his girlfriend.

She led him between two bookshelves and quickly undid his belt.

Frank grinned at her. "Babe, normally I would rate this very high on the scale of forbidden pleasure – and take you up on it, but I'm not really sure this is the time."

"You're starting to sound like Joe."

Nancy undid his zipper and Frank squirmed a little. He hadn't spent enough time with her on this trip, and that simple gesture had his mind quickly moving in a carnal direction.

She gave him a wicked smile. "This would be fun, wouldn't it?"

"Nan," he warned. She wasn't helping.

"Sadly, you're out of luck at the moment. I'm only checking for injuries."

She slid his khakis down past his hips a bit and sucked in her breath.

"Oh, honey." She ran her hand over his hip and upper thigh and looked at him anxiously. "You're already bruising."

Frank had figured as much. He didn't think he'd broken anything, but he knew the bruise was going to be a killer. If only St. Denis hadn't been holding his head.

"Does this hurt?" Nancy ran her fingers over him again, lightly.

"I wouldn't say 'hurt' exactly."

Frank couldn't resist teasing her. She looked worried and he didn't like that.

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Now who's being bad?"

She tugged up his pants as the main door of the library opened and Guillaume and the doctor stepped inside.

"What on earth?" Dr. Delacroix's jaw went slack as he took in the scene in front of him.

Guillaume tugged on his arm and gestured to Emily. The doctor hurried toward her and knelt down.

"Did that statue fall from the balcony? Good heavens, you could have been killed!"

"I think that was the general idea," Nancy called out as she descended the staircase.

Frank limped along behind her, trying to downplay his injury. He didn't want to waste time with the doctor when he should be investigating. This was the second attempt on Nancy's life in two days. He was determined to find whoever was doing this and teach him a lesson he would never forget. Preferably one that involved a hospital stay.

Dr. Delacroix paused as he opened his black bag. "Are you saying this was done on purpose?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Nancy took Frank's arm and led him over to the doctor. "Would you be sure to check him as well?"

"Nan," Frank protested, "that's not necessary."

He knew what a bad bruise felt like. He'd had too many over his career.

"I say it is." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "No arguments, Hardy."

Dr. Delacroix looked around the library. "What on earth is going on in this place? First, someone locks you in the dungeon, then Father Bertrand's attacked, and now this?"

He gestured around helplessly. "I don't understand. This is supposed to be a safe place. A holy place. I don't think I've ever encountered more violence in such a short time than I have in this monastery."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Frank said dryly. "Religion provokes passionate feelings. Usually for good. But sometimes, for evil."

"I think we need to call the police," Dr. Delacroix said firmly. "Before something worse happens."

"Guillaume, maybe you should get Father Xavier first. We'll let him decide," Nancy suggested.

"Père Xavier?" He nodded and stood. He started to leave, then hesitated, looking down at Emily. "Va-t-elle être bien?"

Dr. Delacroix didn't look up as he began examining Emily's shoulder. "I think so. It doesn't appear to be broken, but we're going to stop by the infirmary and x-ray both of you, just to be sure."

He manipulated the joint a little bit, and Emily gasped in pain.

"I'm sorry. I had to do that."

Emily nodded silently, biting her lower lip.

Frank noted Guillaume's anxious stare, and bent his head to hide a smile. Guillaume was definitely sweet on Emily. And not doing a great job of disguising it.

"I'm not trying to hurt her, Guillaume," Dr. Delacroix replied in French. "I just needed to make sure that she didn't dislocate the joint."

The doctor patted Emily on the leg, and began speaking in English. "You have a nasty contusion, but I'm pretty sure nothing is broken. Let's get that x-ray, and then I'll give you a sling to wear for a few days so you don't jostle it around too much."

He stood. "You can meet me in infirmary. I'll get Father Xavier. Guillaume doesn't appear to want to leave," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Frank nudged Nancy as the young monk knelt beside Emily, his face filled with concern.

"Let the de-frocking begin," Nancy whispered with a smile.

OOOoooOOO

"There you are," Kathy called as Joe reappeared in the living room. "Where did you go?"

"Nowhere." He looked around the living room. "Did you get your new wardrobe put away?"

Kathy rolled her eyes. "It was hardly a new wardrobe, Joe. Not even close."

He laughed. "Well, if that wasn't close, I'm glad I'm not paying your bills. It scares me to imagine how much that would cost."

Joe noticed the flash of hurt in Kathy's eyes and instantly regretted his comment. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by that."

Kathy shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You don't have to pay the bills, so don't worry about it."

She flopped down into a chair sideways, her legs dangling over the arm. "I'm just glad I'm not going to be your wife. Clearly, she'll be going around in rags if you're as cheap as you sound."

Joe bit back a retort. Instead he sat on the couch.

"Are you hungry?"

Kathy picked at the throw pillow that had been resting on the chair and hugged it to her.

"Maybe. Are you asking me to dinner?"

"Sure." Joe smiled.

"Are you going to complain about how much my meal costs?"

"I'm not paying the bill, remember?"

Kathy rolled her eyes. "I guess you're going to starve your wife, too."

Joe grinned.

Kathy stood up. "Okay, let's go."

"Bess, we're leaving," Joe called out.

"Have fun," she replied from her room.

Yeah, sure. Joe knew anything he did from this point on with Kathy wasn't going to be fun. He had to put an end to her little stalker charade.

But with what he'd learned from Simone, he also knew he'd have to approach the situation more delicately. Kathy's life seemed perfect from the outside, but from the inside it was a completely different story.

She truly was the poor little rich girl.