-2-

Frank Hardy turned his cruiser onto the county highway and headed south. He had just received a rather cryptic message from Callie asking him to come to the farm. He was happy to oblige. Frank was in good spirits that day after having spent the afternoon with his son, James and his estranged wife. It was with Callie's assistance that he and Tiffany had managed to spend time together that day with a positive outcome.

A fifteen minute drive brought him pulling into the Morton farm. It was approaching eight in the evening. Frank parked his car and jogged up to the door and knocked. A moment later Chet Morton swung the door open and smiled.

"Frank, buddy! We have been pals since 1927, you don't need to knock to come in." Frank smiled and shrugged as he walked in.

"I know, pal, but old habits die hard. How are things going? Callie's message seemed a bit lacking for information. Is everything alright?" Chet nodded calmly and gestured towards the living room.

"Yeah, we just had a strange little thing happen earlier and were hoping you might be able to help out."

"I'll do anything I can, Chet." They entered the living room where they found Callie and her friend Aimee sitting on the sofa. Callie's face lit up when she saw him.

"Frank, great to see you! Thanks for coming out. I hope I didn't interrupt you." Frank shook his head.

"No, I just got done seeing James about an hour ago, so I am free for the rest of the night."

"How is he doing?" Callie asked. She knew he hadn't been able to see his son much recently and was glad he had a chance to see him.

"He is doing great, Cal. Getting so big and we spent the whole day together. Just James and I, and uh, Tiffany." Callie's eyes sparkled at the mention of his wife.

"Oh? You two have some time to chat? I think I saw Tiff recently." She said in an innocent tone. Frank's lips formed a goofy grin.

"Is that so, Cal? Imagine that, will you? I suppose I should ask what happened in that conversation, but I don't suppose it matters that much. Whatever you said definitely caused her to open the door for us to talk. I mean really talk!" Chet gave Callie a sideways glance and raised his eyebrows slightly. Callie flashed a smile at him as she knew he didn't care for her getting mixed up in such attempts at matchmaking.

"What's wrong, babe?" She asked innocently. Chet shook his head and waged his finger at her.

"Lucy! You've been meddling." He said in a thick Spanish accent. Callie started laughing.

"Thanks for that, babe. I needed to lighten things up tonight. That just hit the spot." Chet grinned at her and Frank put an arm around him.

"I hope you aren't really mad, pal. Callie was nice enough to talk to Tiffany for me and I think it really helped. Today was the first time that Tiff was, well, just nice to me. I really am hoping that we can continue with the positive vibes we had going on today." Chet nodded and looked back at him.

"I am really happy to hear it, Frank. You definitely seem to be happier than the last couple times I've seen you. I really hope that you and Tiff can reverse course for both your sake and for James." Frank slapped his chum's back.

"Thanks, pal. It means a lot to know there are those out who really care." His view shifted over to Aimee.

"Hey, Aimee. Good to see you again. I hope you are doing well." Aimee flashed him a smile and nodded.

"Hi, Frank. Good to see you, too. I am getting by alright. Thanks for asking." She said and began to giggle.

"Was it something I said?" Frank asked a bit confused. Aimee, still giggling shook her head.

"Oh, no, not you at all. I was just laughing at Chet's attempt to do a Ricky Ricardo imitation. Chet blushed and looked down. "No offense, hun. But you do a better Walter Sobchak. That one turns me on." Chet himself had to laugh as he recalled the character from his and Aimee's favorite movie, The Big Lebowski. He and Aimee had to infiltrate a child trafficking ring a couple months before and he took on a disguise that copied the character from the film.

"I agree with you, Brandy…er, I mean Aimee." Callie rolled her eyes as she recollected the case that had been thrust upon them when a child trafficker kidnapped their daughter, Maddie. With the help of Fenton and Frank Hardy, and the assistance of Aimee, they had been successful in getting Maddie back safe. But unfortunately, the kidnapper and murderer had managed to escape where he and his victims were holed up at an abandoned mental hospital in the West Virginia mountains. As distressing as it was, they were at least happy to hear that the kidnapper, whose name was Reese, was seen in South America. Far away from them. Maddie was recovering from the ordeal, but still feared knowing that he was at large.

"Alright, you guys. Maybe now we can get down to the matter at hand." She said, looking over at Frank with concern.

"Quite right." Frank agreed. "So, what is up? Your text was rather open ended, Cal. What happened?" Callie gestured for them to sit, then proceeded to recall the events of the late afternoon when she had received the mysterious call from Marnie Daniels who was concerned for her sister's sudden absence from their usual daily phone contact. Frank absorbed the story with great thought. He leaned back in his armchair and looked to Chet and Callie.

"Didn't we go exploring that house a time or two, back in the day?" Both nodded and Chet gave a wry smile.

"I know once when I think Cal, Iola and I went out there. Then there might have been another time come to think of it." Frank smiled back.

"There was, pal. You, me and Joe went out there once when we were about twelve or so. As I remember the place was kind of creepy. But you know, that never kept us from checking places like that out." Chet nodded knowingly.

"True. But I tell ya, pal, the place looks even more scary today. Do you happen to know anything about this Melanie Daniels?" Frank shook his head.

"I never heard of her. So, you went over there and didn't encounter anyone." Chet shook his head, but Callie looked down at the floor for a moment. "Cal? Anything you want to add?" She looked up, then gave Chet a sideways glance.

"Well, I did think I saw someone in the top floor corner window when we were in the back. Like a person or a shadow inside." Frank's left eyebrow went up slightly and he looked to Chet. "No, he didn't see anything!" Callie sighed. "But I swear I saw someone." Frank shrugged slightly.

"Not casting doubt on you, Cal. I was just trying to run through what happened. You knocked on the door several times and no sound at all from inside?" Callie shook her head.

"Nothing, and I tell ya, that door knocker has a big knock. We heard it echo all the way through this massive door. So I can't help but assume anyone living inside the place wouldn't have heard it." Chet nodded his agreement.

"I agree with Callie. You would have to be deaf to not hear it, even as big as the place was." Frank raked his fingers through his short dark hair thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess the first thing I can do is make an inquiry to the sheriff's department. I know one of the deputies pretty well, and I can probably get the story on what happened when they did their well check." Callie smiled tensely.

"Thanks, Frank. I know they don't give out info to private detectives the same way Chief Collig does." Frank grunted and smiled.

"That much is true. Not that Collig is a pushover, but he does have a soft spot for dad any any of the family or friends. Dad has helped him out way too many times over the years. They have always had a good working relationship as you know." He took out his phone and began texting. He glanced up at the others. "I am texting my friend now, and hopefully he will be able to give us whatever detail was logged when they did the check."

"I appreciate it, Frank." Callie said fretfully. "I just got some weird vibes when I was over there." He smiled back at her.

"Well, try to relax, Cal. So far as we know there isn't anything amiss yet. Anyway, how is Maddie getting along these days?" Callie looked about; she had been so focused on their visit to the home of Melanie Daniels that she had forgotten about her daughter. She looked over at Aimee.

"Where are Maddie and Jaime?" Aimee pointed her finger up.

"They are upstairs watching movies, drinking lots of caffeine and eating popcorn. It all seemed quite innocuous when I last checked in on them." Chet tilted his head towards her.

"So, they weren't uhm…" Aimee rolled her eyes.

"Fooling around?" Chet shifted uneasily, then managed to nod slightly.

"Well…" She looked to him, then to Callie who also seemed concerned.

"You know, I really can't believe you two. Your teenage daughter might have feelings for someone and you guys act like it's a bad thing. I mean when you consider what they have already done when they were being held by Reese, I think they are showing remarkable restraint now. Maybe they are taking their time and exploring their feelings. I know she is your first born, but you both need to lighten up." Chet took a deep breath and looked back at her, then over to Callie.

"Yeah, I guess you are right. It's just hard ya know? I know she isn't this naïve snowflake any longer, but it's still hard when you picture your teenage child in a relationship." Frank looked at them and smiled.

"Times like this I am glad my boy is only 7 years old."

"It's also not as bad when your kid is a boy." Callie smirked. "Something about when they are girls makes it harder. Especially when the girl is very pretty and is a magnet to all the local boys."

"And girls." Aimee finished. Callie held out her hand and nodded in a conceding gesture.

"So, Frank…" Chet said as he cleared his throat. "How are things with Joe? We haven't heard much lately."

Frank pursed his lips and looked up thoughtfully as he reclined back in his chair. The subject of his brother had been a sensitive one in recent times. Several weeks ago, he had apparently taken leave of his senses when he and his secretary, Vanessa, had left town for an extended vacation. This may not have been that big of a deal if it hadn't been for the fact that it was at the time when Chet and Callie's daughter had been kidnapped. There was also the consideration that Joe was married to Iola. At the time, Iola was at her best friend's side in Virginia, helping her work on getting Maddie back. To further add insult to injury, before Joe had left, he had confessed to Iola that he may well be in love with Vanessa. The devastating chain of events with Joe had caused his own family to express their shame of him for the first time ever. Frank understood why they were interested. Beyond the obvious fact that Joe was always a close friend, Chet was Iola's brother. He knew how much pain his sister was in.

"Well…" Frank finally managed to speak. "Joe is finally back, and he is living at mom and dad's house. I think he has gained some perspective, or at least I hope he has. Before dad left on his case, he managed to take several hours with Joe. I of course was not privileged to that conversation, but I can well imagine that dad didn't sugar coat his disappointment." Chet nodded thoughtfully.

"That much is certain. Did Joe manage to survive the carnage of Aunt Gertrude?" Frank offered a brief grunt.

"Barely. She let him have it with both barrels and is further punishing him by only feeding him frozen dinners." Callie and Chet's eyes both widened.

"Aunt Gertrude has frozen meals in her house? I had always thought there would be a better chance of her allowing cocaine in the house." Chet nodded his agreement.

"For sure!"

"Anyway." Frank continued. "Joe and Iola are supposed to meet tomorrow and have a talk."

"Interesting." Callie commented. "She hasn't even texted me for a few days. I was just giving her some space. Wow, I hope the two of them can keep it civil." Frank inhaled deeply.

"So do I, Cal." He looked down at the floor thoughtfully. Never before had he really felt the desire to express disappointment in his brother. The closest he had ever come in the past is when Joe had nearly lost his home after an uncontrolled gambling spree. But he had always remained dedicated to Iola through the good times and bad.

Callie got up and walked over to him. She ran her hand along his face and offered him a kind smile.

"You're his brother, not his keeper, babe. Joe is an adult, and he made a bad mistake. I just hope that he has seen the error of his ways. As much as Iola presents a front that it didn't bother her that much, I know that isn't true." Frank nodded slowly and looked up at her.

"I know, but it's still hard to know that he did something so irresponsible. He takes off right when your daughter gets kidnapped, and then cheating on his wife. It's a lot of digest for sure." Chet looked up soberly.

"It's easy to judge him. Trust me, I have been doing my best not to do that. We all go back a long way, and we have all had occasion to do something dumb. I just hope that he gets his direction back." He looked over at Aimee, then to Callie, then looked down. "But I guess we all kind of get lost from time to time." Frank gave his chum a sympathetic look then managed a smile.

"Well, pal, I don't think your unique situation and relationship dynamic is nearly as damning as what Joe did. I mean you are all pretty much transparent with each other, and well, ok with things the way they are, and have played out." Frank offered each of them a cautious glance, hoping he hadn't offended them.

While none of the three were overly proud of their current circumstance, they knew his words were true. Chet, Callie and Aimee were engaged in an open relationship which amounted to a bit of a unique circumstance. After all, it was not everyone who had a consensual love triangle to their credit.

Callie cleared her throat to break the awkward silence.

"Well, be that as it may, Frank, we just don't have it in us to offer a harsh judgment of Joe. We still love him and are worried for him and Iola both." Frank smiled at them.

"That is very good of you all." He pulled out his phone and looked down at the screen. "My deputy friend is looking into it for me. So, maybe we will have some information soon." Callie nodded with a hopeful look.

"Sounds good. I want to have a little more information before I call Marnie back. Something just seems odd about all of this. I swear I saw someone in that window!"

Laura Hardy set the plate down in front of his son. Joe looked down at the platter of steak and eggs with surprise. It was one of his favorite meals. He looked up as his mother offered him a kind smile.

"No Stouffers frozen meal?" He asked with a cautious smile as he dug into his late dinner. Laura looked back down at him.

"Well, your aunt is at her women's club meeting, so I think you can safely have a real meal without any judgment." Joe felt embarrassed, knowing he was still under some form of punishment from his family. But he knew they had good reason. The conversation he had had with his father the day before offered him some sobering thoughts to consider. Truth be told, he had already been feeling quite a bit of guilt, which had driven him to finally return home. He knew he needed to take his medicine, and figure out where his life would go from here.

Joe sighed heavily as he picked at his food. Laura returned and set two glasses of lemonade down on the table.

"If you would like some company, I thought maybe we could talk, son." Joe took the glass of lemonade and nodded a thank you to his mother.

"Well, I guess that would be nice." He said with some apprehension. After the scathing berating he had received from his aunt, and then intense disappointment expressed by his father, Joe was not feeling up to another round pointing out what he did wrong. He already knew.

Laura offered him a worried look, but her eyes suggested she was not there to lay any further guilt upon him.

"I am worried about you, Joseph." Her tone was that which only a genuinely worried mother could express. Joe nodded slightly, then continued to eat.

"Well, that is nicer to hear than I am disappointed in you."

"I think your father and aunt have already made that position clear to you, son. I also feel that you have probably told yourself a thing or two along those lines. I don't think I need to jump on the bandwagon. We all make mistakes."

Joe knew what he had done was a mistake. At least the timing of it all had been quite poor, as he had been very insensitive to his wife and the rest of the Morton family in a time of crisis. Still, with all that aside, he was still very confused as to how he felt in terms of his relationships. He had clearly treated his wife badly, and he knew it. Still, there was something about Vanessa which offered him something that he had not known before. He looked up at his mother with an expression clearly suggesting he didn't really know how to feel.

"I'm sorry for what I have done to the family, mom. I didn't mean to do it." Laura Hardy looked at him with great sympathy. She knew her son was hurting, but also knew much of it was done by his own hand.

"Why do you think you did what you did, Joe? Is this other woman, Vanessa, really someone you think you have things in common with? Do you know what caused you to take off as you did?" Joe offered an empty grunt. He had been trying to determine the answers to those questions, and more, for some time now. He offered a shrug as he honestly couldn't give her a good answer.

"Blame it on a simple twist of fate." He said, managing a weak smile. Laura sighed deeply. She supposed she had expected her son to give her something more of an explanation so she could understand. She took her glass and stood up, making her way into a nearby pantry. Joe looked up and glanced towards the area which was partitioned off by a fabric curtain. He could hear his mother twisting the cap off of a bottle and swallowed hard. He knew his mother was pouring a bit of vodka into her lemonade. He then heard the distinct click of the lid on her small metal pill box she always carried in her apron. Joe closed his eyes for a moment and his mother emerged from the pantry. He looked wearily at her. Laura's eyes shifted away from his.

"Something wrong, son?" An understatement for them both.

"What is it tonight, mom? Miltown? Valium?" Laura half turned and took a drink from her glass, then looked back.

"Does it make a difference?" Joe offered a half shrug.

"I suppose not." He looked back up at her. "I'm worried about you, mom." She took another drink and looked at her watch.

"Gertrude will be home soon." Joe nodded, supposing that she had perhaps taken to the bottle and popped a benzo in anticipation of that event. Not that he hadn't contributed to things. He knew that his actions had worn his mother to a frazzle along with other members of his family.

"Guess I better finish my dinner before she gets back. I don't want to upset her." Laura looked down.

"She loves you, Joe. We all do, and I don't want you to think otherwise. I just think Gertrude, being as high strung as she is, tends to display her displeasure in a much more direct way." Joe couldn't help but chuckle a bit at hearing this.

"Well, that is aunty for sure. I know I had it coming, so it's alright."

"I understand you are going to meet Iola tomorrow." He looked up from his plate a bit nervously.

"Uhm, yeah. Not entirely sure what I am going to say to her, in case you were wondering." Laura took in a deep breath. Between the pill and the alcohol, she felt relaxed and at peace.

"Words will come, son. Just don't burn your bridges."

Frank sat in an easy chair in the Morton farm living room, nursing the bottle of Guinness that Callie had offered half an hour before. He gazed over at the sofa where Chet and Callie were seated with Aimee lying across them. Her head was resting in Callie lap while she ran her fingers through her friend's short hair, while Chet was giving her a foot rub. Frank blinked a few times but said nothing. What could he really say in the face of the fact that the trio appeared to be content?

His focus was interrupted by his phone going off. He answered the call and held the phone to his ear.

"Detective Hardy here. Hey, Briggs, did you find anything out?" he remained silent for several moments. Chet and Callie glanced at him with curious expressions. Frank's eyes shifted back and forth as he listened. Something his friend was telling him had caused him to look perplexed. "And the party's age? Did they check her ID?" He sat in silence for another moment. "No, I don't suppose they would have had a reason to." He took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, man, thanks for that info. I may be in touch later. Alright, goodnight." After he pocketed his phone, he looked over at Chet and Callie.

"Well?" Callie prompted sitting up as Aimee shifted to a seated position as well. Frank tilted his head.

"Well, they went out there, as prompted by a call from Marnie Daniels. They made contact with a party who identified herself as Lila Crane. A woman of 35 years of age, blonde hair, green eyes and slender build. When they asked about Melanie, the respondent said that Melanie was her grandmother and was currently in France. She said Melanie was visiting friends in Toulouse and called her on occasion. Lila Crane said she was living in the house and taking care of it until her grandmother returned after the holidays. The deputy had no reason to be suspicious so he relayed a message that Lila should let her grandmother know her sister was worried and to contact her. And that is pretty much all that was in the well check report."

Callie tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess that sounds plausible." Chet nodded.

"It does. And a 35-year-old woman is certainly able to come and go without any issues. Perhaps she was simply not home this evening. She may not even be staying there full time. It's a big place and being there might creep her out a bit." Frank looked over at them.

"Deputy Briggs was not the responding officer, but her pretty much read the report notes word per word for me. The deputy who checked the place out reported that nothing out of the ordinary was evident, so he just relayed the message and left." Callie nodded then took out her phone.

"I'm going to give Marnie a call. I'm sure she will be glad to know that her sister is just away visiting friends and her granddaughter is keeping an eye on the place."

"Seems like a good idea." Frank agreed as Callie looked down at the number she had written on the pad earlier in the day. She dialed and set the phone to speaker. A few moments later the sound of the old woman could be heard.

"Hello?" Callie smiled and looked down at the phone.

"Hi, Marnie? This is Callie Morton. We spoke earlier and you wanted me to check in on your sister."

"Oh, yes, deary. Please tell me you were able to make contact with her. I have been so worried."

"Well, Marnie, there is no more reason to worry. While there was no one there when we dropped by this evening, we were able to access the sheriff's report and it does confirm that they made contact."

"Well, I already know what they said, deary. They called me back that same day and said they made contact and everything was fine." Callie looked down at the phone.

"Well, yes, they did. We got access to the report, and it states that the deputy made contact with Melanie's granddaughter and she said Melanie was fine. She was just visiting friends in France for the holidays." There was a period of silence after she said this.

"What are you talking about, Mrs. Morton?! My sister has no granddaughter and I assure you that she knows no one in France. Much less being physically able to travel there!" Callie immediately furrowed her brow and looked at the others.

"Excuse me, Marnie? Would you repeat that?"

"I said that Melanie has no granddaughter! Her only child died over 20 years ago and had no children!"