A/N: As always, thank you for the reviews, BurnedSpy, Caranath, max2013, ILoveMom, Stork Hardy, Jackie, Future Animator, zenfrodo, Vinsmouse and catlover1033! Thanks to anyone reading as well!

Chapter 25

After Nancy and Bess left with the Tammy and Lauren for breakfast and Simone and Louis went their separate ways for the day, Frank eased himself off the couch.

"I need to go search the girls' room before Joe gets back," he said to Emily.

Because he wanted to get this stalking nonsense wrapped up as soon as possible. Nancy's case had gotten much too dangerous, and he didn't like it one bit.

Emily frowned at him from her position at the other end of the sofa. "How can you do that when you can barely walk?"

"I'll manage." He grimaced as he straightened to his full height. "Hey, will you shout out if you hear them coming?"

"Of course," she assured him. "Will you be able to get out of the room in time?"

"If it kills me." Frank laughed. "And it just might."

"Okay, well, I'll just keep myself busy translating this French." Emily waved the notepad Joe had given her in the air.

"Sounds like a plan."

Frank took a deep breath before he headed off to the girls' bedroom. It was less than six feet from the couch, but it might as well have been ten miles with the way his thigh felt.

He glanced down at Emily whose brow was furrowed as she examined Joe's messy scrawl.

"Have fun trying to decipher that chicken scratch," Frank said as he shuffled off toward the bedroom.

"No kidding," Emily called out after him.

Frank limped into the bedroom Kathy was sharing with her girlfriends and looked around. Clothes were strewn everywhere, along with jewelry, hair accessories and make-up. He promised never to criticize Joe again for not picking up after himself. If he wasn't in Switzerland, he would have sworn a tornado had gone through the room.

He made his way to Kathy's bed and picked through the clothing that was scattered around, as well as the personal belongings she had on the night table and the dresser.

Finding nothing, he bent down, ignoring the searing pain in his leg, and checked under the bed as well as under the mattress. Nothing. He pushed himself to a standing position and sighed.

Moving over to the closet, he began examining the pockets of the clothes hanging there.

Spotting Kathy's evening bag from the previous night, he rifled through the contents, finding nothing more than two lipsticks, some mints, a couple of Swiss francs, and a ticket stub for the ball. He scratched his head and looked toward the dresser. Maybe she'd taped the notes under the drawers or behind the mirror.

As he headed in that direction, he peeked into the living room and called to Emily.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah." She looked up from the notebook page. "This isn't making much sense though."

"I'll come take a look at it in a minute," Frank said. "Don't forget to yell if you hear someone in the hall."

OOO

Emily nodded and returned to the page in front of her. She flipped back to read what she'd already translated. Usanne, four, seven, point, one, five, nine, eight, four, zero, seven, point, one, six, three, zero, eight, six, Engenbern, must snowshoe, Pére Jean-Claude, use key that isn't a key.

She sighed as she came to the end of Joe's notes and saw Frank returning to the living room.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.

"No, and the theory we thought we had, may be shot to you know where if we can't prove it." Frank lowered himself gingerly to the sofa.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'd like nothing more than for you guys to wrap up this case."

He grinned. "Had enough of Kathy already?"

"I swear, Frank, if she keeps mauling Joe the way she has been, I'm going to pop her right in the mouth."

He threw his head back and laughed. "I'd pay money to see you do that, you know."

"If she keeps it up, you can watch for free."

"If she keeps it up, I'll hold her down for you," Frank said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Emily smiled at him. "Deal."

He gestured for her to hand him the notepad. "What did the translation say?"

"I have no idea," she replied, stretching her arm with the tablet toward him and wincing at the burning pain she felt in her shoulder.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "That investigating in the girls' room did me in. I couldn't move forward any more than I did."

Emily giggled. "We're quite the pair, aren't we?"

"Yeah," he snorted. "A pair of geriatrics."

He frowned as he read what Emily had translated. "The numbers...does that sound like an address?"

"Not with the 'point' in between them. Unless they do addresses differently here."

"Could it be a punctuation mark, maybe? Like a period?"

"Maybe, but it still doesn't make sense."

"Can you toss me your pen? I want to see if these numbers might make more sense in a different combination."

"How about phone numbers?" Emily asked. "They're organized differently here."

Before Frank could reply, a key sounded in the lock. He quickly flipped the pages of the notepad over to cover the translation as the door opened and Joe and Kathy stepped inside, followed by Lauren and Tammy.

Peachy, Emily thought. Now I get to watch her try and make out with my boyfriend right in front of me some more.

OOO

"Why do you have to go to the monastery?" Kathy whined. "It has nothing to do with my case."

"And you would know that...how?" Joe asked.

Joe shook his head in disgust. Could Kathy be more self-centered? Every damn thing in the world had to have something to do with her, or it wasn't important. No wonder her father couldn't stand her. He'd created a monster.

"A monk is stalking me, Joe? Really?" Kathy crossed her arms in front of her and rolled her eyes.

"Listen, Kathy," Joe began in a voice that sounded much more patient than he felt. "I'm going there to help Nancy, but I think getting away from here will help me with your case, too."

"How?"

"By giving me a change of scenery and some peace and quiet." He looked at her pointedly.

Frank and Emily chuckled in the background and Joe tried hard to keep a straight face.

"Oh, honey, you know you didn't mean that the way it sounded." Kathy threw her arms around Joe's waist almost knocking him off balance.

"No, Kathy, I didn't mean that as an insult. I just need to have some time where I can work. Not shop. Not ski. Not go to restaurants. Work."

Kathy tightened her grip on him, forcing Joe to put his arms around her to stay upright. He was getting damn tired of being attacked.

She leaned in and nuzzled his neck.

"Okay, sweetheart. I know how anxious you are to get rid of the guy who's been hurting me." She toyed with the hair at the back of his neck. "But promise you won't stay away too long."

Joe sighed in resignation as Kathy continued to caress him. "I promise."

OOO

Frank looked at Emily and caught the flash of annoyance in her eyes. He reached in his pocket, pulled out a ten dollar bill and tossed it to her. Emily glanced up, surprised, and then began to laugh quietly.

"I'll hold her," Frank mouthed, then winked.

Emily gave him a broad smile. "Thanks."

OOO

Joe stepped over to the sofa where Frank and Emily were seated while Kathy dashed into her bedroom with her girlfriends to change.

"Find anything?" Joe asked his brother.

He was hoping against hope that the 'stalker' letters were still in Kathy's evening bag.

Frank shook his head. "Nothing. Are you sure you just didn't imagine it?"

"I read the notes Frank," he insisted. "No question about it."

"Okay, then we have to look harder. Maybe they're not in her room. I'll try and search the rest of the suite."

"How about that translation?" Joe asked, turning to Emily.

She handed him the notebook. "I did it, but I can't make much sense out of it. Maybe you'll have better luck."

"I'll take it with me to the monastery. I can look it over in private there."

Joe sat on the couch between her and Frank, and as he took the notepad his movement caused them both to gasp.

He looked from his girlfriend to his brother, and noted the pain on their faces.

"Are you two sure you're all right? Maybe you need to see the doctor again."

"Joe, he already told us it would hurt like hell for a few days," Frank explained. "He didn't lie."

Joe's brow furrowed as he leaned toward Emily. "Let me see."

He tugged the hem of her shirt out of her jeans and lifted it to examine her back and shoulder. The bruise was an ugly, mottled, deep purple and red and he winced at the sight.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I wish I could make it better."

Emily smiled at him. "I'm sure it looks worse than it is. I'll be fine, I promise."

"When I find the guy who did this..." Joe's eyes narrowed and he left his threat unspoken.

"I'll get some more pain medication and take a nap," Emily said, patting his knee. "Don't worry about me, okay? Just work on the case."

The door to the suite opened again and Joe turned, seeing not only Nancy and Bess enter, but Kathy, standing at the door of her bedroom, her arms crossed and an icy expression in her eyes as she stared at Emily.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, as she watched Joe lower Emily's shirt.

Nancy, Bess, Tammy and Lauren went silent at the tone of Kathy's voice.

Joe stood and looked her straight in the eyes. "Checking on Frank and Emily's injuries. I think they should probably have the doctor examine them again."

He stared at Emily, whose eyes were wide. "I'm going to send Dr. Delacroix back here when I get to the monastery." He glanced at his brother. "And I don't want to hear any protests from either of you, got it?"

Frank sighed and rolled his eyes. "You'll be wasting the man's time, Joe."

"I don't care." Joe pointed his finger at his brother. "I'm getting my way on this one."

"Fine," Frank agreed. "But if he says we'll live, will you drop it?"

"Yes," Joe conceded.

Nancy moved over to the couch and brushed an errant strand of Frank's hair off his forehead. "Are you going to be okay if I go to the monastery?"

He sighed. "Yes, but I really wish you'd reconsider and stay put."

"No can do, honey. I have a case to solve." She bent down for a quick kiss. "But I promise I'll only stay as long as Joe does, okay?"

"Well, he's not going to be there that long," Kathy piped up. "I have plans for this afternoon."

"I already told you, no shopping." Joe's voice was firm. He was done play acting as her boyfriend all over town.

Kathy gave him a simpering smile. "My plans have nothing to do with shopping."

She sauntered toward him and linked her arm through his. "Just be sure you're back in time for lunch." Then she reached up and kissed his cheek. "I need to go do my nails. I'll miss you, sweetheart."

Joe glanced at Lauren and Tammy. He had to maintain his cover, in case they were all in on the stalking scheme. He turned to Kathy and said through gritted teeth, "Yeah, I'll miss you, too."

Bess made a gagging motion as she walked toward her own room.

"I'll stay and play nursemaid to our invalids for the rest of the morning. Then I think I'll do some shopping." She called to Tammy and Lauren over her shoulder. "Would you girls like to come?"

"Definitely." Lauren smiled. "Then let's see if we can run into the Italian guys again. They are so hot."

Joe chuckled and looked at Nancy. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep, let me get my bag."

Frank turned to Emily. "How about a game of Hangman?"

"Or Hangwoman," Emily hissed, looking at Kathy's back as she walked into her bedroom.

OOOoooOOO

Joe sat in the monastery library with Nancy lost in his own thoughts.

She was poring over the newspaper articles that Guillaume had gathered and saved for her after the falling statue incident, while Joe was trying to make sense of the translation Emily had written in his notebook.

Finally he sighed heavily and shoved his notebook away from him. "You want to trade for a while?"

Nancy sat back and rubbed her tired eyes, heedless of the mascara she'd smudged beneath them.

"Yeah, that actually might be a good idea. I have so many facts swimming around in my head right now, I can't sort anything out."

Joe reached for one of the newspaper articles she'd been reading.

"So this talks about the place where the statue and monstrance were originally kept?"

"Yeah, it was a cathedral built in a small town on what's now the border between France and Switzerland. A powerful place back in the thirteen hundreds or so, but it's dwindled into a small village since then."

She picked up another article with a photo and handed it to Joe.

"Some local townspeople funded by a radical church group have been stirring things up saying that the town's decline occurred after the cathedral burned down and the statue and monstrance were taken away."

Joe took the newspaper from her and glanced at the black and white photo of villagers dressed in traditional costume and dancing at a town festival.

"Now tell me again why the cathedral wasn't rebuilt there."

"Money, politics, religion, you name it. The three were all intertwined at that time in history. I guess because it was during the Western Schism, the Roman pope insisted the new cathedral be built here in St. Sylvie. He didn't want any of the church's money going to build a cathedral in France, because that was under the control of the Pope in Avignon."

She pointed to a paragraph in the article. "The town in France now feels that they were cheated out of all the revenue that would have been theirs over the last six hundred years if the statue and the monstrance had remained. They want them both back."

"So the people behind this...are they motivated by religion or money?"

"Again, it seems to be a mix." Nancy sighed. "The businesses in the town are obviously interested in the tourism dollar, but the group being the most vocal seems to be doing it for religious reasons."

"They really feel that the artifacts are rightly theirs, then?" Joe picked up another article and scanned a few paragraphs. "They seem to be doing this outside the wishes of the church."

Nancy nodded. "They're Sedevacantists and feel that the current pope has no real power to lead the church anyway. That he's a false pope. So pretty much everything they do is done outside the wishes of the church."

"So they really are a radical group."

"Yes, and the Church sees no real reason to move the statue or the monstrance back to a town that's become as remote and out of the way as this one has. Plus, for the last six hundred years, St. Sylvie has been the place where the relics have been. Moving them would just confuse people."

"What's the name of this little town?"

"Um, Usanne, I think."

Joe dropped the newspaper and looked at Nancy. "What did you say?"

OOOoooOOO

Kathy felt a horrible uneasiness in the pit of her stomach she hadn't been able to shake. She swallowed hard as she recalled Joe examining Emily's injury. The look he'd had on his face really bothered her.

She paced back and forth in her bedroom. He seemed so worried about her. Like he really cared or something. Just who was she to Joe anyhow?

Her fists clenched at her sides as she recalled the guilty expression Emily wore when she knew Kathy had seen Joe touching her. Joe didn't act as if it were any big deal though. Maybe Emily just has a crush on him and felt bad because she knows he's with me.

A smile crept over Kathy's face. That was it. It had to be. She probably even asked Joe to check out the bruise just to try and tempt him.

Kathy paused in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.

She was just as pretty as Emily. She didn't have one thing Kathy didn't. In fact, I'm even more attractive than she is. Besides being beautiful, I have money and power. Something I'll bet 'Miss Art History Expert of Bayport' has none of.

She practiced a seductive look in the glass. Yep, she was right. There was not one reason for Joe to give Emily the time of day. She was better than Emily in every single way that mattered.

She stepped away from the mirror, her confidence restored. She had nothing to worry about.

Joe Hardy was hers.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy looked across the library table at Joe. "Did you ask what the name of the town was? It's Usanne. Why?"

"Nancy, that's one of the words Emily translated from Simone's book." He thrust his pad of paper at her. "See? It's the first word, actually."

Nancy read over the translation quickly. Why would Simone have the name of a little Swiss border town where the Madonna and monstrance originated? And why would it be part of some cloak and dagger message delivered by a mysterious stranger in a paperback book? And most important of all…why would this be happening in the same week both artifacts were stolen? Could Simone possibly be involved with the thefts?

She met Joe's gaze with her own.

"What exactly is going on here?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Joe leaned back in his chair. "It could just be some strange coincidence."

"Do you really believe that?"

"No." Joe gestured toward his notes. "This whole book thing is too weird anyway. It's clearly some sort of secret message for Simone. I mean, who does that? Underlines random words and letters throughout a novel? It's a code."

Nancy nodded then paused for a minute as she stared around the library. The eerie stillness of the place made her shiver.

She reached for a pen and scribbled Joe a note. I'm afraid these walls have ears. Let's go somewhere else.

He nodded, then stood and began gathering the newspapers.

"Guillaume said we could keep those," Nancy said as she picked up her tote bag. "They're copies."

"Good. I'd like to read them again."

"I want Frank to see them, too."

Nancy stepped into the hallway of the monastery followed by Joe.

"Should we have a meeting in the suite?"

"Won't you be attacked by the princess if you so much as set foot through the door?" Nancy couldn't keep the teasing smirk off her face.

Joe rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's pretty much a given. How about if we get Frank to meet us in the lobby?"

Nancy frowned. "I don't know if he can do that with his leg."

"Call him and see what he says. Because I'm not up for another mauling right now."

OOOoooOOO

Kathy stepped to the door of her bedroom, feeling smug about Joe's affection for her, until she heard Emily's laughter. She stopped short and stared at the brunette who was giggling over something Bess had said to Frank.

Kathy thought she had truly never seen anyone that pretty before. And it wasn't just her undeniable physical beauty. There was something else Kathy couldn't put her finger on. But it was something she knew Emily had...and she didn't.

"Kathy? Hello?" Tammy's voice pierced through Kathy's thoughts from across the room, and she jumped.

"Um, what? Did you call me?"

"Yeah," Tammy said. "Hey, we were all going shopping for a little while. I know you can't come without Joe, but if you toss me my purse, I promise I'll pick up something cute for you."

Kathy turned and reached for Tammy's bag which was lying on the dresser.

As she began to walk through the doorway to bring it to her friend, her eyes settled on Emily again. She'd gotten to her feet and was headed toward the bar…presumably to refill the icepack in her hands.

Suddenly a flash of anger more intense than Kathy had ever felt in her life coursed through her. It was followed by a feeling of jealousy that was so strong, Kathy wasn't even completely aware of what happened next.

She threw Tammy's purse toward her, but enough off target that she knew exactly where it would land. She was aiming for Emily's injured shoulder.