A/N: Thank you so much Caranath, BurnedSpy, Kenna, Stork Hardy, max2013, Guest, Jackie, zenfrodo, Guest, Future Animator, Lady Emily, Leya, bhar, and Vinsmouse for taking time to leave a review! They are so appreciated! Thank you also if you are reading!

Chapter 33

"What are you doing at my desk?"

Nancy looked up as Dr. Delacroix strode toward her, an angry expression on his face.

She hastily reached for a medical book, sandwiched between a pair of bookends.

"Are you searching through my things?"

She stared the doctor straight in the eyes as he approached.

"You weren't here, so we were trying to find a medical manual. Joe's been shot."

"Shot?" Dr. Delacroix spun around to look at Joe, who was still resting on the cot.

Nancy breathed out a sigh of relief as the doctor hurried to Joe's side.

"Who shot you? Where?"

"Kathy Martin, and by where, I'm going to assume you mean 'where on my body', but I'll answer it both ways. In my leg and in the cathedral."

"The senator's daughter, in the cathedral, with the revolver," Bess quipped. "I win."

Frank laughed, and Nancy rolled her eyes as they made their way toward Joe.

"Emily patched him up, but we weren't sure what else we should do. We thought we might find some information in the books over there," Nancy offered, hoping the doctor would accept her explanation.

"Sorry, I was at the convent. One of the sisters fell, and I needed to be sure she was all right before I left," Dr. Delacroix explained, as he removed the dressings Emily had placed on Joe's wound.

"Is he going to be okay?" Emily asked.

"Yes. For a gunshot wound, he's extremely lucky. She just grazed you." The doctor moved to the other side of the room and began collecting supplies. "Let me clean it out a little more, give you a stitch or two, and then you can be on your way."

"Sounds great. I've had enough of this place." Joe glanced at the doctor as he returned to his side. "No offense."

"None taken." Doctor Delacroix smiled. As he clicked on the bedside light and examined Joe's injury more closely, he said, "Now, does somebody want to explain why on earth Senator Martin's daughter would be discharging a weapon inside the cathedral?"

OOOoooOOO

Two hours later, after Joe had received a couple stitches, and they'd given their statements to a local police officer, Frank, Joe, Nancy, Emily and Bess gathered in the monastery foyer to wait for Father Xavier.

Frank put his arm around Nancy and pulled her close. He was relieved that this whole nightmare with Kathy Martin was over. Now he could concentrate on Nancy's case and be there to protect her…whether she liked it or not. He kissed the side of her head, then looked across the room as Father Xavier entered.

The priest raised his hands then dropped them down helplessly. "I'm so sorry that your experiences in this cathedral and monastery have all been such unpleasant ones. It shouldn't be that way in a house of God."

Nancy touched him gently on the arm. "Father Xavier, please don't worry about that. We're here to help you solve your problems."

"And besides," Joe inserted, "this is all in a day's work for us."

"Getting shot?" the priest asked. "That's normal for you?"

"Well, actually, we get kidnapped more than we get shot," Joe said with a grin. "But it's probably in second or third place."

Father Xavier pressed his hand over his heart. "Goodness gracious."

"How is Father Bertrand doing?" Emily asked.

"He's still in a coma," Father Xavier said. "Medically induced. The doctors want him to rest completely to allow the swelling in his brain to go down more. But they're very optimistic about his prognosis."

"Did Father Bertrand spend much time in the infirmary here? Had he been sick recently?" Frank wanted to know.

He'd thought about asking that question of Dr. Delacroix, but if the man was behind any of the thefts, it might arouse his suspicions. And there was no way he was going to put Nancy in more danger than she already was.

"Not that I can recall," Father Xavier said. "Oh, wait. Yes, he was in the infirmary about three weeks ago. He's diabetic and sometimes he has a hard time keeping his blood sugar levels where they need to be. Dr. Delacroix had him stay there for a couple of days so that he could put him on an IV and adjust his medication."

Nancy nudged Frank as she smiled at the priest. "Well, I'm glad he's in a regular hospital now."

"Yes, they're doing all they can for him."

"If you don't mind, Father, I think we'd better head back to the hotel now," Frank said, reaching out to shake the priest's hand. "We still have to tie up some loose ends with Senator Martin and his daughter."

Father Xavier made some sympathetic clucking noises as he opened the front door for them. "Yes, that poor girl. I do hope she can get the help she needs. Tell the senator we'll be praying for her."

"We will," Frank assured him with a smile. "And thank you."

As Father Xavier closed the heavy wooden door to the monastery, Frank grabbed onto the sleeve of his brother's ski jacket.

"I need you and Emily to take the train to Usanne tonight. Nan and I will wrap things up here with Kathy's case, and then catch the first train tomorrow morning and meet you there. Unless my gut feeling is wrong...that's where we'll find the answers we need to solve this monastery case."

OOOoooOOO

Joe adjusted his and Emily's suitcases in his arms as he followed her up the steps of the train car. He read the numbers painted on the wall in front of him.

"To the left. Our room should be the third one down." He turned sideways as he tried to negotiate the hallway. "Wow, this is narrow."

Emily shifted her shoulder bag and moved the key for their sleeping compartment to her right hand.

"Yep, here it is." Emily opened the door and stepped into the sleeper car. "This is going to be cozy."

Joe filled the doorframe behind her. "No kidding. I think it's going to either be us or the luggage, babe. Who gets the bed?"

She laughed. "There's an overhead storage shelf, silly. Come in all the way and you'll see it."

Joe cocked his head. "If you want me to go in there, I think you're going to have to wait in the hall. There's no way we're both going to fit."

Emily climbed on top of the seat that would fold out to their bed.

"You can fit now."

Joe set one suitcase on the floor and lifted the other above his head, poised to place it on the shelf.

"Are you going to want something out of here tonight?"

She smiled at him. "Yes. Exactly five minutes after you put it up there."

"You wouldn't dare." Joe grunted as he shoved the suitcase into place in the netted storage area.

She giggled. "No, I think I have everything I need for tonight in my carry-on. Oh, except for pajamas."

Joe grinned at her. "You won't need those."

Emily reached out and poked him gently in the ribs as he was hefting the second suitcase over his head. "Awfully sure of yourself, aren't you, mister?"

Joe squirmed at the tickling sensation and managed to toss the luggage just hard enough to send it flying into the bin. He turned and reached for Emily, quickly pulling her against him.

"Yep, I'm very sure of myself. I was shot tonight, remember? You're going to need to make it all better for me."

Emily's eyes clouded. "Of course I remember. My heart was in my throat when I heard that gun go off. Oh Joe, I was sure you were–"

He cut her off by placing two fingers across her lips.

"Shh, stop. Everything's okay now. I didn't get hurt. And more importantly, you didn't get hurt."

"You did get hurt," Emily countered.

"This?" Joe gestured toward his thigh. "This is nothing."

Emily gave him a sly smile. "Oh, well, if it's nothing, you won't need me to kiss it better for you."

She turned to her overnight bag and began removing toiletries.

"That's not what I meant." He came up behind her, slid his arms around her waist, and nuzzled her neck. "Hey, did you just do that on purpose?"

"No. You fell right into it and I couldn't resist." She giggled as Joe's lips moved toward her collar bone.

"Yeah, I guess I did." He turned her in his arms. "But I meant what I said. There was no way I was going to let Kathy hurt you."

Emily sighed and rested her head on Joe's shoulder, hugging him tightly around the waist.

"What do you think will happen to her?"

He kissed the top of her head lightly.

"I don't know. It's complicated. I don't intend to press charges, but I have no idea what the international laws are on something like this. It did happen in a church...maybe that 'sanctuary' loophole applies."

"I hope she can get some psychiatric help." Emily's voice was muffled against Joe's chest. "That's what she really needs."

"I'm sure her father will take care of that." He leaned back slightly and tilted Emily's chin up with his finger so he could look into her eyes. "But let's not worry about Kathy anymore. She's taken up enough of our time, wouldn't you say?"

"Definitely."

"Good. Then let's get this bed thing figured out so we can finally spend some time together." He bent his head and kissed her lips gently. "I've missed you."

OOOoooOOO

Bess flopped backwards on a sofa in the hotel suite, across from the couch Frank and Nancy were seated on.

"Well, that was one of the most entertaining evenings I've had in a long time. Let's see the last time I had this much excitement in one night was...um...also when I was with Nancy and the Hardy brothers. What a coincidence. We were in Transylvania, I believe. Catacombs, vampires, all that good stuff."

"Even Count Dracula himself, if we believe Joe," Nancy chimed in.

Bess threw a sofa pillow in their direction, which Frank caught neatly in one hand.

"Honestly, what is it with you three?" Bess asked. "Can't you just have a normal case for once?"

Frank chuckled and tossed the pillow back in Bess's direction.

"Apparently not."

"And it's not over yet," Nancy reminded her as she snuggled under Frank's outstretched arm. "We still haven't found the monstrance and the statue."

"Do you really think Dr. Delacroix could be behind this?" Bess asked.

"Not sure yet, although he does fit the characteristics we were looking for in a suspect." Nancy lifted her eyes to Frank. "What do you think?"

"I think we need to check into his background." Frank looked at his wristwatch. "In fact, let me give Dad a call now. He probably won't be able to get back to us until tomorrow with the facts, but at least he can get started phoning his contacts."

Nancy slid her arms around his waist and hugged him.

"That's going to require you to move, isn't it?"

"Unless you have another way for me to reach the phone across the room, yes." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

At that moment the door to the suite opened and Lauren and Tammy stepped inside.

"Uh, oh," Bess whispered. "Forgot about them."

OOOoooOOO

"You know what?" Joe asked, as he finished converting the seat in the sleeper car into a bed.

Emily unfolded one of the sheets and began tucking it in around the mattress.

"What?"

"I don't think I've ever slept on a train."

"Really? With all the places you've been?"

Joe helped her spread out the top sheet.

"Well, I've slept on trains, just not in this kind of car." He glanced around at the molded plastic cabinets, sink and storage areas. "Are you sure this isn't part of some old airplane fuselage?"

"That's exactly what it looks like," Emily said, as she handed Joe a blanket.

He wrinkled his nose. "It's kind of what it smells like, too."

Emily giggled, then lurched forward as the train began to move. Joe reached out to steady her, pulling her against him tightly.

"Careful," he said in a low voice near her ear.

She shivered and playfully pushed him away. "The conductor's going to be here in a few minutes for the tickets."

"I can reach the door from the bed," he teased.

"Not a chance, buster," she said with a giggle.

She fished out the tickets from her carry-on, just as a knock sounded on the door of the compartment.

Joe took them from her and opened the door to hand them to the conductor. As the conductor punched the tickets, Joe looked absently down the hallway, then did a double take. Simone? Could that really be her? Joe startled as the conductor handed the tickets back to him.

"Bon voyage, Monsieur."

"Yeah, thanks," Joe replied absently. He closed the door and turned to Emily. "Honey? I need to go check something out for a minute. Stay here, okay?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"When the conductor was punching our tickets, I thought I saw Simone at the end of the hall."

"Isn't she back in St. Sylvie taking care of Kathy?"

Joe shook his head. "I don't know. I only saw the back of her head, so I'm probably mistaken, but I don't want to take that chance." He leaned in and kissed her quickly. "You stay here and don't open the door for anyone, understand? I have a key, so if someone knocks, it isn't me."

"Can I come with you?"

"No, if it is her, she's more likely to recognize both of us."

"Okay." Emily had a worried look on her face. "Be careful."

"I will."

Joe slipped through the compartment door, making sure it was securely locked before he headed down the corridor.

OOOoooOOO

"Hi, there," Bess said brightly as Tammy and Lauren entered the living room.

This could be interesting. How on earth were they going to break it to these girls that their friend had snapped and was on her way to jail via the funny farm?

"Where's Kathy?" Tammy asked.

Frank cleared his throat as he moved his arm from around Nancy's shoulders and stood.

"Well, there was some trouble earlier." He looked past the girls. "Where's Simone?"

"Um, she got paged from the restaurant about twenty minutes ago," Lauren said with a shrug. "She said she had to leave immediately and that we should go upstairs to the room when we finished eating."

Frank looked at Nancy. "Must have been Louis."

As Nancy nodded, Tammy crossed her arms in front of her. "Would somebody mind explaining exactly what's going on here?"

"Yeah, maybe that would be best." Frank sighed.

Bess stood and gestured to the sofa. "Have a seat. This may take a while. I'll get refreshments."

She strolled over to the bar and grabbed a bag of pretzels and some soda pop. Yep, this was going to be good.

OOOoooOOO

Joe slid open the door of the train car and walked down the corridor toward his sleeping compartment. He hadn't been able to find the woman he thought was Simone, or anyone else that looked like her, so he thought he must have been mistaken. Just in case though, he was planning on getting a good look at all the passengers when they disembarked in the morning. If Simone was on this train, Joe would find her.

He unlocked the door to his compartment and stepped inside to be greeted by...silence.

"Emily?"

There was no answer. Where could she be? Joe had told her not to leave, and he didn't think she would have. At least not voluntarily.

He glanced around. She was clearly not in the room and there wasn't that much of it to search. He opened the slim closet door next to the bed and found nothing. He scrambled over the mattress to another door he'd spotted earlier. Assuming it was another closet, he flung it open wide.

OOO

Emily screamed as the door to the bathroom, similar to the bathroom in an RV, which housed both the toilet and shower in the same small space, flew open. She was shampooing her hair and now struggled to see through the suds covering her eyes. She slipped on the wet floor and felt someone jumping in to break her fall. She struggled against the man holding her until she heard Joe's voice.

"Stop it, honey. It's me." Joe ducked to avoid her flailing fists. "Em, it's me, baby."

She wiped the soap from her face and stared at her boyfriend, standing in front of her, fully clothed and soaking wet.

"Wh-what are you doing? Are you insane?" She looked beyond him. "Shut the door! You're getting everything all wet."

Joe reached backwards and closed the shower door, trapping the two of them under the spray. He looked at her and began laughing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, honey. I came in the room and I couldn't find you. I thought this was a closet. I didn't mean to scare you."

Emily couldn't fight back the smile that was beginning to turn up the corners of her mouth. Joe was drenched. His clothes were stuck to him; his hair plastered to his head. He had his shoes on for heaven sake. She began laughing, and swiping some soap suds from her hair, dabbed them on the tip of his nose.

"You are such a nut."

He pulled her into him, causing her to squeal. "That's why you love me."

"Oh, is that why?" she teased. "Thanks for clearing that up. Some days I'm not quite sure."

He laughed and kissed her under the spray, letting the soap rinse out of her hair and over both of them.

"You know," she breathed, when they broke apart. "Most people take their clothes off before they get in the shower."

"Yours are off," Joe said, raising an eyebrow as he ran his hands along her bare back and down to the curve of her bottom.

"Which puts me at a distinct disadvantage."

"That depends on how you look at it." Joe backed her up against the shower wall and kissed her deeply. "I like it."

She giggled and stared down at his sodden shoes. "I don't think this is going to work."

She reached for the nozzle and turned off the steady stream flowing down on them. Twisting her hair to squeeze out the excess water, she opened the door handle and grabbed her towel. She dried off quickly, then wrapped her hair and stepped outside to put on her fluffy, white, terry-cloth robe.

"No fair," Joe protested, from his position on the closed toilet seat, where he sat, struggling to untie his wet shoelaces.

Emily rolled her eyes and went to help him, bracing herself against the shower wall as she pulled off first one shoe and then the other for him.

"Now for your clothes."

Joe grinned as he removed his shirt and handed it to her.

"Pants," she ordered.

He unbuttoned his sodden jeans. "You know, babe, this would be much better if you hadn't put that robe on."

She ignored his comment and gave him a concerned look.

"Isn't taking off your wet jeans going to hurt your leg?"

"You mean the gunshot wound you won't kiss and make better?"

"Joe, stop it. I'm worried. I don't want it to start bleeding again, and denim can be hard to remove when it's wet."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he said, trying to ease down the fabric over his hips.

Emily bit her lip as she watched him.

"Do you need my help?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

She swiped at him playfully as he lowered his pants to his thighs. His expression turned to one of pain as he reached the point of his injury and he gasped out loud.

"Joe!" she shrieked, reaching for him. "Oh, I knew it. Are you hurt?"

"Just kidding," he said, a huge smile on his face as he slid his jeans down to his ankles.

"Ooooh!"

Emily frowned and gave him a little shove, sending him into the shower wall and then forcing him to sit down hard on the toilet seat.

"That was mean, you stinker."

Joe laughed as he pulled off his jeans completely. "I'm sorry, honey, I just couldn't resist."

Emily gave him a teasing grin. "Oh, yeah, well, that's too bad. Because I can resist."

She stepped into the bedroom, threw Joe a towel, and shut the shower door without saying another word.