A/N: Thanks for the reviews, Leya, Killian and Virtute! Glad your theory was close, Leya, and that you enjoyed the scene with Fenton. I like putting every day stuff into a story, since it's a rare case in real life that proceeds without significant periods where nothing is happening, not to mention that they do still need to keep up with their college classes. LOL

Killian, thank you so much for saying you actually "hear their voices" when you read. That made me giddy. LOL The TV characters are fun to write, mainly because Joe is so snarky and the banter between them is great. There will be lots more of that to come!

Virtute, I did want a bit of a backstory for Emily, since I want her to be a little deeper than the usual "guest star of the week" they had on the show. And it is fun to have someone Joe will have to do some work to get (not how it usually happened, lol). But, yes, he is a sweetheart, and hopefully she'll soon realize it. ;-)

Chapter 23

"Hey," Frank called out from the living room as Joe and Emily returned to the house. "How was the photo shoot?"

Joe set his camera bag down on the game table. "Great. With Emily as my model, I have no doubt I'll be getting an 'A' on this project."

Emily's cheeks colored as she stepped in the room behind Joe. "I don't know about that."

"I do," Joe replied. "In fact, I want to get down to the darkroom and start developing these as soon as possible." He winked at her. "I'm going to have so many to choose from, it's going to take me awhile to figure out which ones to turn in for the assignment."

Emily felt her cheeks getting hotter under Joe's gaze. She smiled gratefully when Frank shut the textbook he'd been reading and stood. "Well, good. Glad you guys had fun. Did you grab lunch while you were out?"

"No, we didn't," Joe said. "I was too distracted by my subject. Are you hungry?" he asked Emily.

"Not really," she said. "I guess my mind has been a little too preoccupied over the past few days to think much about food."

"Well, my brother doesn't usually let anything distract him from his next meal." Frank chuckled. "You're something special Emily, if you rate higher than a hamburger in Joe's mind."

Joe shot Frank a look and Emily giggled. "Um, would it be okay if I made you lunch here?" she asked.

"Seriously? You'd do that?" The note of eagerness in Joe's voice was unmistakable.

"I would really love to if it's all right with you. Cooking relaxes me and it'll help me keep my mind off...everything."

"I think I can safely speak for Joe here," Frank said. "If your lunches are anything like your breakfasts, we would be thrilled to have you cook."

Emily's eyes lit up and she looked to Joe who smiled and nodded at her. "Great. I'll just be in the kitchen," she gestured as she hurried off.

Frank turned to Joe. "I've been thinking. We need to go over to Professor Ayres' house this afternoon. There may be something there that could help us piece this whole mess together."

"Something the police haven't already found?"

Frank nodded. "Yeah, I'm not talking about the kind of evidence they'd be looking for. We need information on his work. He clearly was the one to request the charmstones, not Duncan. We need to find out who he got them from and why."

"You sure his house hasn't been cleaned out yet?"

"I overheard Collig say they're still trying to locate his next of kin. The police are finished with it though."

"Did they find anything?"

"Not really. I think they were looking for more personal information. A reason why someone would want him dead. I think what we're looking for would be a work contact of some sort. A colleague."

"So you don't think that Ayres wanted the charmstones to intimidate Duncan?"

"Well somebody did, but I don't know if it was Ayres. He may have wanted them to legitimately be a part of the exhibit. Hopefully if we can find his contact in Scotland, they'll have that information." He nudged Joe's arm and pointed to his camera bag. "Hey, I think we've got a little time before lunch. Let's get started on your photos. I want to see if they're any good."

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

After soaking Joe's film in the darkroom and hanging up the photos to dry, Frank and Joe followed their noses into the kitchen where Emily was mixing something in a large pot on the stove.

"That smells incredible," Joe said with a moan.

"Just some pasta carbonara," she said. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure we will," Frank said with a smile. "Can I help you with something, Emily?"

"You can put the salad on the table," she gestured as she scooped her completed pasta dish out of the pot and onto a platter.

Frank reached for the salad bowl on the counter and Joe glared as he snatched it from him and set it on the table. Frank chuckled and went to the refrigerator for the pitcher of ice water that was always kept inside, while Joe returned to the counter for the cruet of salad dressing Emily had made.

She placed the platter on the table and stood back. "I didn't have time for bread, but it looks like your aunt has some rolls. Do you want those?"

Frank surveyed the heaping platter of pasta. "This will be plenty for me."

"I'll take a roll," Joe called over his shoulder.

"I knew you would want one," she teased, putting them into a napkin lined basket and returning to the dining area.

Frank chuckled. "Your reputation for eating precedes you, Joe."

"You forget, I had breakfast with him the other day," she said as she approached the table. "His appetite was impressive."

Joe grinned as he took the basket from her and pulled out her chair.

"Thank you, sir," Emily smiled as she sat down.

"You're welcome," Joe said in a low voice close to her ear, as he winked at her and sat down in his own chair, setting the basket of rolls between them.

"So Emily," Frank began as he heaped some pasta on his plate, "do you know if Duncan and Professor Ayres ever had any disagreements over the Scottish clans exhibit?"

"Well," she said slowly, "not any disagreements exactly." She smiled as Joe handed her the salad bowl. "More like a different perspective on the whole thing."

"What do you mean by that?" Frank wanted to know.

Emily sighed. "Duncan is very proud of his Scottish heritage, and rightly so. His family really celebrates it. They're very active in their clan organization."

Joe paused in mid pour, holding the salad dressing cruet above his plate. "Clan organization?"

"Yes, all the clans are still organized today, with a chief and everything." She smiled. "They're not out on the battlefield slicing each other with their claymores anymore, but they still have festivals and celebrations and dress in their traditional plaid. It's a fiercely proud tradition." She reached for her water glass. "In fact, I think Duncan's grandfather was the chief of the MacLean clan."

"Really? They have a chief?" Frank gestured to Joe to pass him the salad dressing.

"Yep, like I said, they're very proud of their heritage and they want it to continue."

"So how is Duncan's view of the clan different from the professor's?" Joe asked.

"Well, the professor wanted to present the exhibit in a more scholarly fashion. You know, the good, the bad and the ugly."

Frank chuckled as he twirled his fettuccine on his fork. "And, I'm guessing Duncan didn't want any of 'the bad' or 'the ugly' on display."

"Exactly." She sighed. "I thought they'd worked it all out though. Of course with what happened, I'm not sure."

"Do you think Duncan could have murdered the professor?" Joe asked.

Emily shook her head. "No. I don't think one exhibit at a university museum in a college town would be worth that to him. Duncan has bigger fish to fry. When he's finished with his year here, he's moving on to New York. He has an appointment with the Met for two years. I can't see him jeopardizing that."

Frank nodded. "Well, we still need to do some more investigating. We need to find out where Ayres got those charmstones."

"Do you mind if my brother and I go to the professor's house after lunch? Will you be okay?" Joe asked.

"I'll be fine." She smiled. "I feel very safe here. And I have some studying to do. I've really been slacking in that department."

"Understandable," he replied. "We won't be long, I promise." Joe reached for the platter of pasta. "But before we do that, I have to tell you that this is the best stuff I've eaten in a long time." He shoveled another heaping serving on his plate. "Awesome."

Emily blushed. "I'm glad you like it. It's super easy to make."

"You need to leave the recipe for our Aunt Gertrude," Frank said.

"Yeah, she would never have thought to put bacon in pasta." Joe inhaled a large mouthful. "That is genius."

Emily giggled. "It's a pretty old recipe."

"Well, Aunt Gertrude's pretty old, but it's not in her repertoire."

"Aunt Gertrude is not very exotic," Frank said with a grin. "She's solidly meat and potatoes."

"Pasta carbonara is exotic?" Emily seemed surprised.

"An eggroll is exotic to Aunt Gertrude," Frank said.

"She sounds like quite the character," Emily smiled. "I can't wait to meet her."

Joe choked on his pasta. "Meet her?"

Frank chuckled. "That should be fun."

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Frank and Joe pulled up to Professor Ayres' small bungalow on a quiet, tree lined street just off campus. They got out of the van and paused on the sidewalk.

"The crime tape is gone," Joe commented.

"Yeah. And when I spoke to Collig about the place he said they didn't find much of any interest."

"What did they take?"

"Personal stuff. Appointment books, things like that."

"What makes you think there's anything here we can use."

Frank shook his head. "Nothing in particular. Just that brick wall we keep hitting. We need to bust through it."

"Yeah." Joe started up the walk. "Let's get going." He paused as he reached Professor Ayres' front door. "Frank? Does this lock look like it's been jimmied open?"

Frank bounded up the porch steps and stood next to his brother. "Yeah, it does."

"Not usually Collig's style," Joe commented as Frank reached into his pocket for a handkerchief he kept there for just this purpose.

"No, it's not." Frank put his covered hand to the doorknob and the door easily pushed open without having to turn it. The brothers exchanged glances and Joe reached for a sturdy log from the wood box next to the door.

"One, two, three," Frank mouthed and the brothers burst through the door, Joe brandishing the log in both hands in a position where he could easily strike an intruder.

They were met with silence.

Frank glanced around the living room. Furniture had been upended, and books and papers were scattered everywhere. He turned to Joe. "I think I know where Emily's intruder went after he left her house last night."

Joe lowered the log. "Yeah."

Frank motioned to his brother. "Let's check the rest of the house." He walked over to the fireplace, grabbed an iron poker and then gestured for Joe to follow him down the hallway. They quickly went through the remaining two bedrooms, a bathroom and the kitchen before returning to the living room.

Joe dropped the log onto the fireplace hearth. "I take it we now begin our usual task of looking through piles of paper trying to find...what?"

Frank sighed and moved towards the professor's desk. "I wish I knew. All I can say is I hope I know it when I see it."

"Yeah, you and Justice Potter Stewart," Joe said, reaching for a file folder on the floor. "But he was talking about pornography, not this needle in a haystack."

Frank stared at his brother. "Were you actually paying attention in American Government?"

Joe shrugged. "Don't look so surprised. It happens."

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Emily quickly cleaned up the dishes in the Hardys' kitchen and then sighed. She was so tired. Exhausted was more like it. Mentally and physically. Maybe if she could just lie down for a few minutes while Frank and Joe were at the police station.

She headed up the staircase and paused, looking into the guestroom. She'd made the bed that morning, and really didn't want to tear it apart again. Not with all the lace and pillows she'd had to arrange on top of it.

She glanced across the hall into Joe's room. His bed wasn't made. She bit her lip and hesitated for only a moment, then entered his room and climbed under the covers, letting out a deep sigh of satisfaction as she sank into his pillow. His scent surrounded her, leaving her feeling safe and warm and drowsy. She decided not to analyze that for the moment, the lure of sleep was just too strong to resist. Her last thoughts before she drifted off completely were of Joe holding her tightly in his arms.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

"Joe, I think I might have something." Frank moved away from Professor Ayres bookshelf, holding an open volume in his hands.

"Oh, yeah, what?"

"A name." He came over to where Joe was sitting on the edge of the professor's desk, searching through papers and pointed toward a notation on the inside cover of the book.

"To Ron, with my deepest regards, Iain Campbell." Joe looked up at his brother. "So?"

"So, we're looking for someone connected with clan Campbell that could have supplied Professor Ayres with the charmstones. This might just be the guy."

Joe stood. "Okay, then let's see what else we can find around here."

"A phone number or address would be ideal."

"And since when do we ever have 'ideal' investigations?" Joe began rummaging through a desk drawer while Frank reached for an accordion file, its contents strewn across the floor. He picked up a small scrap of paper and smiled.

"Since today."

Joe turned around and Frank held up the paper with the name "Iain Campbell" scrawled across it and a phone number underneath.

Frank moved toward the desk, fished out his handkerchief again, and reached for the telephone. Picking up the receiver he grinned. "There's a dial tone."

"Well, hurry then," Joe demanded. "What are you waiting for?"

Frank quickly dialed the number. "Hello? May I speak with Iain Campbell, please?" He turned to Joe and nodded with a smile. "My name is Frank Hardy and I'm an investigator with the Bayport Police Department in the United States. I need some information about some charmstones that were sent to the museum here or to a Professor Ron Ayres."

"What's he saying?" Joe whispered.

Frank shook his head and then made a writing motion with his hands. Joe hurriedly reached for the small notebook and pen in his back pocket and laid it on the desk. Frank took the pen and began scribbling furiously.

"I see," Frank began. "So did Professor Ayres request the charmstones for the exhibit? He did. And where were they supposed to be sent? To his home? Why not the museum? I understand. And when were they shipped? Really? And were invoices sent with them?" Frank noted some more information. "Three charmstones? Okay. Um, no. No problems with them. Yes, I believe the museum is still planning to go on with the exhibit. Of course. And, may I call you again if I have more questions? Thank you, sir. Yes, you too. Goodbye." Frank hung up the phone.

"So, what does he know?" Joe asked anxiously.

"Not much more than we do. Professor Ayres requested three additional charmstones because he thought they were a vital part of clan legend. Duncan thought they were 'bewitched' and didn't want them. Mr. Campbell was a colleague of the professor's when Ayres worked in Scotland. He also agreed that they should be part of the exhibit."

"Let me guess," Joe interrupted. "Campbell had them sent here to Ayres' home so Duncan wouldn't find out about them and Ayres was going to try to talk Duncan into putting them in the exhibit when the time came."

"Bingo," Frank said. "Nothing sinister about it."

Joe began pacing back and forth. "But what about the charmstone that turned up here that was reported stolen? The one we found in Emily's office? How the heck did that get here? And as for the others, someone else obviously knows Ayres had them, took them, and is now using them to their advantage to try and scare Duncan for some reason."

"But who?"

Joe shook his head. "We're back to square one. We still know nothing. Not to mention, we've only seen two charmstones. Where are the others?"

Frank sighed. "There's another thing we need to put on our list. 'Find missing charmstones.'"

Joe looked around the room. "You think they might be here?"

"They might," Frank admitted. "But we can't search enough to disturb stuff. This is a crime scene again. And, I know we've tried not to contaminate it, but..."

"Yeah," Joe agreed. "Let's give Collig the heads-up on what we're looking for. Maybe he'll find them when he comes out here." Joe picked up the phone to dial the chief. "After he chews us out for entering the house."

"Well, we never would have known what happened here if we hadn't come in."

"Yeah, this is Joe Hardy," he said into the receiver. "I'm calling to report a break-in at the house on 355 Danforth Lane. Yeah. Could you tell the Chief that my brother and I were doing some investigating on the Bayport Museum case when we noticed it. Yes. Let him know that we're following up on a lead and if he needs to talk to us, he can call us at home. No, I'd rather not wait to speak with him now. Oh, I'm positive. Thank you. Bye."

He hung up and turned to his brother. "That buys us a little time. Let's get out of here."

Frank glanced at his watch. "Yeah. Let's head back home and pick Dad's brain about it. He should be back from the police station by now."

"Let's hope he had more luck digging up information than we did."

"Well, I asked him to look more closely into Duncan's background. Maybe he's turned up something that will give us a clue."

Joe sighed. "I'm really not looking forward to going home and telling Emily we don't have a lead yet."

Frank grinned. "Don't worry, you're still her hero, Joe. And we will catch this guy." His mouth pressed into a thin line. "Because now, he's really starting to tick me off."