Five
As Frank pulled up in the parking lot of Luigi's, he had the bite back a chuckle at the rumbling that came from Joe's stomach, almost as if it was timed to go off the exact moment they pulled up at the Italian restaurant. It was just a reminder to him, that no matter how crazy things were at any given moment, there would always be one constant—Joe's endless appetite.
It was something that Frank could count on, something he desperately needed since he felt his world had been on unstable ground for the past few months.
"You can't possibly be hungry again, Joe," Frank grumbled as he took off his seatbelt and got out of the car. "We ate breakfast on the way here."
Joe shrugged as he joined his brother around the front of the vehicle. "Yeah, but that was some drive-thru sausage biscuit. It barely even made a dent."
"Obviously." Frank turned his head to fix Joe with a pointed glare. "Just remember we're here to find out information about Ella Jacobs—not lunch."
"While we're here, why don't we just kill two birds with one stone? We question everyone while enjoying a great meal."
"No," Frank said as he opened the door to the restaurant where they were instantly greeted with the zesty Italian aromas emanating from the kitchen. Frank felt his own mouth watering, and he considered caving in to Joe's idea. Almost.
"You're no fun," Joe grumbled as he followed Frank.
"I'm plenty fun," Frank argued, as they approached the smiling hostess. "You're just never around me when I'm fun."
"I'm around you all the time."
"Not necessarily."
"Whatever." Joe nudged Frank out of the way to smile at the cute hostess. She was petite with blonde, wavy hair that hung past her shoulders and blue eyes that sparkled in the dim lighting. Her name tag said her name was Holly. "Hi. We were wondering if you could help us."
"Would you like a table?" she asked.
"Unfortunately, no," Joe answered with a disappointed glare in Frank's direction. "We're actually here to ask a few questions about this woman." Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a picture of Ella. "Does she look familiar to you?"
Holly frowned as she studied the picture before recognition flashed in her eyes. "She was in here a couple of days ago." She narrowed her eyes at the brothers. "Who are you?"
"My name is Frank Hardy and this is my brother, Joe. We're private investigators from near Chicago," Frank answered.
"What are you doing all the way up here in Wisconsin?"
"We're looking for the woman in this picture."
"Why?"
"Because we think it may be connected to another case we are working on," Frank said, trying hard to have patience with the young woman before him. He knew she was weary of them, and rightly so. But it wasn't exactly helping with their investigation.
"But the police have already been here, questioning all of us," Holly stubbornly went on.
"We're not working with the police," Joe said, smiling softly at her. He lowered his voice so he was speaking gently to her. "We really would appreciate any help you can give us."
Holly studied Joe for a few long moments before slowly nodding her head. "Let me let my manager know I'm taking a break."
"Sure," Joe said, flashing her another smile.
Frank rolled his eyes as Joe turned to smirk at him. "Could you at least tone down the flirting just a little bit?"
"I wasn't flirting with her," Joe argued. "I was being relatable and charming. You should try it some time."
"Why, when I have you around to do it for me?"
Before Joe could say anything, Holly was back and ushering them out the door, towards a little coffee shop next door. Frank couldn't resist the pull of coffee, so they each put in their orders before finding a quiet booth towards the back where they could have a little privacy.
"I only have thirty minutes before I have to get back to work," Holly said as she took a sip of her coffee. "I also called Karen to meet us over here."
"Who is Karen?" Frank asked.
"Ella's best friend. She's been hanging around the restaurant nonstop ever since Ella disappeared." Holly shrugged. "I think she kind of blames herself for what happened."
"Why would she do that?"
"I'll let her explain when she gets here."
"So, getting back to Ella," Joe said, leaning forward in his seat. "What time was she in the restaurant the other night?"
"She got there a little before seven."
"Was she meeting anyone there?"
Holly nodded. "Apparently, she was meeting up with a man she had met online. At least, that's what the police were saying."
"Did you see what this man looked like?"
"He was really attractive, tall." She glanced over at Frank. "He had dark hair like yours and was kind of scruffy."
"Scruffy how?" Frank asked.
"Not in the horrible way…sexy in the five-o'clock-shadow-way." She smiled to herself. "Just enough to drive any woman to want to jump him as soon as she saw him."
Frank instantly felt heat creep along his face, slightly embarrassed by Holly's description of the mysterious man. Just went to show that women could be just as bad as men when it came to the opposite sex.
Joe cleared his throat, trading an amused look with Frank. "Is there anything else you can remember?"
Holly didn't have the grace to look ashamed. "They stayed around for hours, up until closing time."
"Do you have any security footage that we could take a look at?"
"No. Luigi's too cheap to fork over for video cameras." Holly glanced up as the bell above the door chimed and a woman came in, looking around the coffee shop. "Oh, there's Karen."
As the other woman came closer, Frank noticed how pale she was, her jet black hair making her look almost like a ghost. Dark circles were prominent under dark brown eyes, almost as if she hadn't slept the entire time since Ella went missing. She sank into the seat next to Holly, letting out a despondent sigh.
"Hi, Karen," Frank said, gently. "My name is Frank Hardy and this is my brother, Joe."
"Did you find Ella?" Karen asked, barely acknowledging the introductions.
"Not yet, but we're working on it."
Karen's face fell even more before she buried her face into her hands, sobbing softly. "This is all my fault," she whispered as Holly began rubbing her back, trying to comfort her.
"Holly said you were blaming yourself for what happened to Ella," Joe said softly. "Why is that, Karen?"
Lifting her head up, Karen took the napkin that Joe offered her, dabbing at her eyes. "I pressured Ella into online dating, even though she wasn't ready for it. I even set up a profile without her knowing about it and kind of threw her into it. She didn't really have a choice once she started getting inquiries."
"Why would you do that?"
"Ella had been through a lot in the previous year. I didn't like seeing her hiding away from the world. She wasn't like that before…"
"Before she was kidnapped a year ago?" Frank asked.
"You know about that?"
Frank nodded. "We know all about her case. She was lucky to have even survived what Jason Miller did to her."
"She was," Karen agreed. "And I understood her fear about facing people for the first few months, but by the time the sixth month came around, she still wasn't any better. She chose to work from home, barely having any contact with anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. I'd talked to her before about going out, but she refused—said she wasn't ready for it yet."
"So what made you set up a dating profile for her?" Joe asked, frowning.
"I knew if I didn't do it, she never would get brave enough to get out there again," Karen said with a shrug. "It's kind of like training a child to ride a bike. If you don't take the training wheels off and let go, then they'll never learn to ride on their own."
"How did Ella take the news when she found out what you did?"
"At first she was angry with me, but I think eventually she warmed up to the idea. She really seemed to be excited about one guy in particular."
"Do you know his name?"
Karen shook her head. "She just said that his name was Ben. That's all she would tell me about him. Last weekend, she tells me that she's finally going to meet him in person. That was a couple of days ago."
"Did she happen to show you what he looked like?" Frank asked.
Karen nodded.
Reaching into his jacket, Frank pulled out a picture of Wesley Levine. He had no proof to believe that he was the person that Ella was meeting, but he also couldn't overlook the possibility. "Is this the man that Ella was meeting up with?"
Karen took the picture with trembling hands, Holly leaning close to look at it as well. "That's him," Karen whispered. "He looked a little different, but this is definitely Ben."
Holly nodded her agreement. "He had facial hair when he came into the restaurant, but Karen's right. This is the guy who was with Ella."
Frank took the picture back from Karen, trying to keep his expression blank as he exchanged a look with Joe. There was no hiding the worried look on his younger sibling's face though. Joe was freaked out, and with good reason.
This was no coincidence that the last person Ella was seen with was Wesley. He definitely had something planned. The only question now was if they would find her in time before they found her body instead.
"Do you think Ben had something to do with her disappearance?" Karen asked, looking back and forth between the brothers with wide eyes.
"Possibly," Frank answered, not wanting to reveal too much. He wanted the girls to be cautious, but he also didn't want to cause panic, knowing that they would likely talk to other people. "But we can't be sure of anything. Ben is a likely suspect since he was the last person seen with Ella."
"You're going to keep looking for her, right?" Karen asked, tears forming in her eyes once again.
"We are," Joe answered.
Frank glanced at his watch, seeing that it was getting late. They needed to get on the road if they wanted to make it back to Nancy before dinner. Reaching for his wallet, he pulled out a couple of business cards and handed one each to Karen and Holly. "If you think of anything else, don't hesitate to give us a call."
"We will," Holly said as she helped Karen out of the booth.
"Please, let me know if you find out anything about Ella."
"You have our word," Joe answered, as they followed them out of the coffee shop, separating once they stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Looks like we finally caught our first break concerning Wesley."
Frank nodded as they made their way back to their car. "Yeah, but I was really hoping for a different outcome. Looks like he's just picking up where he left off."
"You think the girl is dead?" Joe asked as they slipped inside the car as a tandem unit.
"If she isn't, then I don't think she has much longer." Frank hit the steering wheel in frustration. "Why the hell couldn't it just be simple? We shouldn't have dragged our feet for so long. We should have gone after him as soon as we realized he escaped."
Joe frowned. "We were a little more concerned with Nancy at the time and the fact that she was dying. You can't blame yourself for that, Frank. I won't sit here and let you."
Frank let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. "He's going to come after her again, Joe. He's playing a game with us—I know he is."
"Then we don't let him win," Joe said firmly.
"That may be easier—" Frank was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled it out and glanced at the screen, seeing a number he didn't recognize. "Hello?"
"A little birdie tells me you've been looking for me."
Frank jerked the wheel to the right at the sound of Wesley's voice, nearly running off the road and into a stand of trees.
"Holy shit, Frank!" Joe yelled, gripping the handle above his head. "What the hell?"
Ignoring Joe, Frank pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park. His grip tightened on the phone as he tried to regain his composure.
"Are you still there?"
"I'm here," Frank said through gritted teeth. "How the hell did you get this number?"
Wesley chuckled. "Give me a little credit, Frank. I was an agent with the FBI for years. Finding your number was cake compared to what I used to do."
"Frank, who is it?" Joe asked, watching him intently.
"Why don't you tell your brother who you're talking to? I can wait."
"Frank!"
Frank turned to glare at his brother. "Wesley."
"See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Wesley asked.
"What the hell do you want?"
"I wanted to catch up. We left on such horrible terms, what with you punching me in the face and leaving me tied up."
"Believe me, if I had to do it again, I would have done far worse," Frank seethed. "Especially after finding out what you did to Nancy?"
"How is our girl, by the way?"
"None of your damn business."
"You don't have to tell me, Frank," Wesley answered with a dark chuckle. "After all, I can see for myself."
Frank felt his blood run cold at Wesley's words. No. No, there was no way in hell his insinuation could be true. "Where are you?"
"You know, you really shouldn't have left her alone. So helpless. So vulnerable." Wesley let out a sigh. "She's just ripe for the taking."
"Stay away from her, you son of a bitch!" Frank yelled as he jerked his seatbelt off and opened the door. "Joe, get us out of here and back home!"
Joe scooted over into the driver's seat just as Frank slid into the passenger seat, slamming the door as he kept the phone firmly pressed against his ear.
"That's a very wise decision, Frank. You really shouldn't be driving in your condition."
"If you touch one hair on her head, I swear to God…"
"You'll what? I happen to know you're nowhere near your apartment, thanks to GPS. I could take my time with her before I ripped her away from you."
Frank closed his eyes, trying to rein in his emotions. Wesley was just trying to bait him, he knew that. But God, it was so easy to give in, especially when Nancy's life was at stake.
"Would you like to know what I'm going to do with her, Frank?" Wesley taunted. "I won't be picking up where I left off. Instead, I plan to start over and take my time. She'll be begging for death by the time I'm finished with her…"
"Don't…" Frank begged, hating how weak he sounded. If Wesley managed to take her again, he would willingly find the closest cliff and take a swan dive. He honestly didn't know if he could live through it again. Hell, he didn't know if he wanted to.
"Why, Frank—I think it sounds like you're begging."
"Just leave her alone."
"I'm afraid that I can't do that," Wesley said, feigning sympathy. "She's the one, Frank. Hell, even you know that yourself."
"I will find you," Frank said, feeling anger swell in him once more. "If it is the last thing I do, I will hunt you down and kill you."
"I'm sure you will," Wesley said with a chuckle. "Goodbye, Frank."
"Wait!" Frank began, but Wesley had hung up.
"Frank…"
Frank shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road. If he looked at Joe, he knew he would lose it. He was barely hanging on as it was. He quickly dialed Nancy's number, silently praying as the line rang and rang.
"Come on, Nan. Answer the damn phone."
"Hi. This is Nancy. Wait for the beep—you know the rest."
"Nancy, it's Frank. It's extremely urgent that you call me as soon as you get this message," Frank said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "Call me back, Nan."
Joe glanced at Frank, but kept his mouth shut. Frank knew he didn't need to say anything as Joe pressed harder on the gas, increasing their speed.
Just because you guys are so amazingly awesome, I had to get the next chapter out for you! And have I mentioned how much I truly love Wesley? It's a sickness, I know…
A big thanks to everyone who has reviewed: Michelle Gallichio (We shall see how the fight goes…it's coming up!), Caranath (You already know how I feel about your review and again, I just want to say thank you!), MinecraftDanny (Welcome—and please don't die! If that's not incentive for me to write, then I don't know what is!), max2013 (It's good that you don't like Wesley…I'm doing it right if that's the case!), Cupcake (You just be as dramatic as you want because I love it!), Jabba1 (I could never leave Nancy that way for long—I don't like her being a weak little thing), catlover1033 (I don't have plans for including Frank's reaction in this story, but you have just earned yourself a oneshot from his POV as soon as I complete this story!), and SC15 (There will definitely be some butt kicking in the future…)
I also want to thank those who have added me to their alert lists. I really appreciate it!
I apologize for any mistakes and let me know what you think!
