Note: While I do not typically add a chapter per day, I have been lately just to post long finished chapters that were waiting to be posted. As always, thanks for any reviews or PMs. Always nice to hear from those who give input in either direction. FYI, the critical input usually comes in the form of a PM asking why my content is the way it is. I don't want anyone who leaves a review to think I thought they were being critical. I don't think I have received a critical review since I wrote Atlantic City. That one did receive a few gasps! You can't please everyone ;) I am still always interested in hearing input, be it positive or negative. Thanks -Carly

-8-

Chet and Iola rode silently in the back of the police cruiser. The deputies had converged on the home earlier after Frank advised them of the deceased Melanie Daniels located in the secret room. After collecting a statement from the two, they were cleared to leave the crime scene. Both Chet and Iola had seen the body sitting in the wheelchair. A nightmare vision that Iola had seen after breaking away from Joe outside of the library thinking Callie was inside.

Iola, tears running down her cheek looked out the window as they made the short trip back to the farm. "I should have let Joe hold me back." She rasped as she recalled the ghoulish sight. "I just thought you all had found Callie in there."

Chet placed his hand on his sisters and took a deep breath. "I'm so glad it wasn't Callie. But who does that? To an elderly, handicapped woman?!" He shook his head with a blank expression. The combination of their discovery, along with the fact that Callie was missing and now presumed kidnapped, added with the sleep deprivation had taken a toll on the brother and sister.

Iola, also wearing a drained and blank expression shrugged. "Clearly, a monster."

After four double whiskies in a row, Callie had passed out in her seat. She probably could have slept for several hours. But her predicament had penetrated her dreams and she found herself awake and looking about the plane's cabin in a surprised state. She had hoped it had all been a dream. Sadly, she realized it was anything but.

She looked across the aisle at her captor, who had been texting on her phone. Upon seeing Callie had awaken she offered her prisoner a sickening smile. "I thought you lost your phone." Callie said absently, forgetting that Lila Crane didn't seem very tolerant of her sense of humor.

Lila curled her lips at Callie. "Lucky for you, I have a few. But consider yourself fortunate that stunt at the airport didn't get you another knock on the head."

Callie rubbed her head ruefully and gave her a brief scowl. "How long have we been flying?"

Lila glanced at her phone. "Just under four hours, momma."

"Are you going to tell me where we are going?"

Lila smirked at her. "How is your Portuguese?"

Callie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't suppose we are going to Mozambique

By chance?"

Lila looked at her with amusement. "You know better."

Callie sniffled, and a tear fell along her cheek. She knew that it was quite probable that all of this had been orchestrated by Maddie's kidnapper, Reese. She did her best to control her emotions. Glancing back hesitantly at Lila she managed to rasp a single word. "Brazil?"

Crane seemed to take relish in Callie's distress. She nodded affirmatively, again smiling. "Yes, momma."

Callie sniffled, then took another deep breath. She was still wondering just how Reese had managed to create the whole plan with getting Callie to investigate the Daniels house. If that is who actually owned the property. Despite her clear distress, she wanted to know how it happened. "So, uhm, there is no Melanie Daniels?"

Lila knew this interrogatory was coming. She smiled at her prisoner. "Yes, there is, or perhaps I should say there was a Melanie Daniels. I think the fictional character you are looking for was Marnie Daniels."

Callie blinked several times trying to connect the dots. "So, this woman who called me was not a relative of the owner of the home we were investigating?"

Crane shook her head. "No, momma. She was just someone who played the part."

Callie exhaled slowly, realizing how utterly stupid she was to not think that it was all some well-orchestrated trap. She looked at Lila with a curious expression. "So, you are acquainted, somehow, to Melanie Daniels? No doubt sending her to France so you could have run of the house."

Lila tilted her head, then burst out in laughter. "Sent her to France?" She repeated, continuing her laughter. "Try sent her to Hell. It's much cheaper and you don't need a passport."

Callie swallowed hard as she looked at the woman who was clearly joyous over the question and her answer. The implication of which made her sick to her stomach. "You are serious? What did you do?"

Lila's eyes narrowed and she sat up straight. "You do not believe me?" She accused with a hiss.

Callie was taken back by her sudden change in personality. A distrust or challenge of her word was apparently something she didn't care for. Callie nodded slowly. "I believe you. But you killed her?"

The woman suddenly reverted back to her previous bout of laughter. She quelled her giggling and looked back at Callie. "Let us just say we did not see eye to eye."

"So, you killed her?"

Crane's lips curled in a sickening fashion. "How about another drink?" She offered.

Callie nodded slowly. The tenseness of the overall experience was wearing upon her, and she needed any drug possible. "Yes, I believe that would be good." She admitted as the plane struck a pocked of turbulence. "A tall one."

Crane gestured towards her empty glass. Callie picked it up and handed it to her. "You want that neat or with…"

"Ice." Callie said.

Lila crane smiled, then nodded to her approvingly. "Of course, momma." She filled the glass part way with whiskey then turned away towards a cooler that sat behind her.

Callie leaned back doing her best to not jump up with every pocket of air the small jet hit.

A moment later she felt a glass pushed into her hand. "There you go. Take a drink, it will do you good."

Without looking, Callie drew the glass to her lips and sipped. She noted that the drink was not cold. She looked down at the glass and her mouth opened widely and a look of shock covered her face. For in the glass of light golden colored alcohol there appeared to be two human eyeballs! She immediately dropped the glass and looked at Lila Crane.

Her captor burst out in laughter and gestured towards her. "Well, you did ask for eyes in your drink, didn't you?"

Callie Morton looked at her in horror. "You are sick! You are fucking sick!" She cried out.

Lila's eyes flared in anger. Almost instantly she pulled a knife from her boot and deployed the blade. She lunged forward and held the knife against the artery in Callie's neck and came within two inches of her face. "Watch what you say, momma. I may be forced to end you right here and now. Maybe I will cut your eyes out as well and send them to your daughter! How would you like that, bitch?!"

With tears streaming down Callie's face, she did her best to maintain composure. She knew at that point she was clearly dealing with a psychopath and admitted murderer. "I…I'm s..sorry." She stuttered. "Please don't hurt me."

Lila Crane did not seem inclined to pull her threat back. But before she could determine her next actions the door to the cockpit opened and a thin man with dark complexion stood looking at them. It was safe to assume that there was a camera in the cabin and Lila Crane's actions warranted intervention. "Enough, my dear." He said with a slight accent.

Lila turned about abruptly and looked at the man. "But she must be punished!" She rasped.

The man, presumably the pilot pointed his finger in the down position and looked at her sternly. "Sit down and put the blade away. You can off all the old ladies you want, but he wants this package to arrive intact. And I wish to be paid!"

Lila took a deep breath, and finally placed the blade back into the knife and stuck it back inside her boot. "All right then." She muttered then looked at Callie. "Consider yourself lucky, momma." She said then sat back, exhaling slowly.

The man seemingly convinced that Lila's threat of physical harm to Callie was under control quickly vanished back into the cockpit.

Callie dropped back into her seat, tears falling, did her best to stay quiet. She knew at this point that further questions would be unwise to ask the unstable woman. She folded her hands and said a long prayer.

Maddie had taken the news of her mother's disappearance hard. It took everything for her father and aunt to help calm her and assure her that the police were doing all they could to find her. Chet had thought it best to not tell his daughter about their finding the home's owner deceased, much less the manner of death. Aimee too was quite distressed by the news and did her best to calm Maddie's fears.

Chet and Iola had both ended up falling asleep on the sofa that morning. Worn out from lack of sleep, stress, and sheer exhaustion.

Aimee and Maddie sat at the kitchen table of the Morton farm. Both were fearing the worst but hoping that Callie would still show up by the end of the day.

"How could this happen?" Maddie asked with a worried expression. It was all she could do not to think about the horror of her own abduction. She was also puzzled by how her father had been vague and suggested that her mother had simply gone missing. "Where could she be? How do you just disappear in the middle of the woods while watching some old lady's house?"

Aimee set her coffee cup down and looked soberly at the youth. She knew that Chet had told Maddie it was a disappearance, but later confided to her that it was likely an abduction. "Well, baby, your mom is a smart woman. She could perhaps be searching for the owner at some other location." Aimee knew her suggestion was a poor one. While Chet had also indicated to her that the owner had been located, even she knew what that meant. And it had her scared for Callie's life. She looked out the kitchen window, remembering back over a year ago when she had been abducted by the sick bastard who beat and raped her. The same man who had abducted young Nicole Rose. How she had come so close to being killed by the man. And then Callie came in and saved her, taking a bullet meant for her. Aimee sniffled at the recollection. "Yeah, we need to find her."

Maddie saw the way Aimee looked as she stared out into space thoughtfully. No doubt remembering how her mother came to her rescue. Now, she wanted to do the same for her mother. "We need to find her, Aimee!"

Aimee blinked a few times, then focused back on to Maddie's face. "Maddie, the police are all over this as we speak. Even your uncles, Frank and Joe are on the case, and they can find anyone! I know it's hard, but we must be patient and pray your mom is safe and will be found soon!" Truth be told, Aimee would like nothing more than to find Callie and rescue her away from whatever bad situation she had been taken into. Hopefully when Chet woke up, he would be able to get an update!

After allowing themselves a minimal amount of sleep, Frank and Joe were back at the home at 609 Rutger Road. They were just being brought up to speed on the progress during their absence.

Deputy Stillman shook his head at Frank. "Man, I am so sorry I didn't just follow my gut based on your own leanings!"

Frank shrugged. "It's alright, not like by that time it would have made any difference. At least not for Melanie Daniels." A moment later another officer came up to Stillman and handed him a sheet of paper. Deputy Stillman took the paper and dismissed the officer.

After studying the information his brow furrowed thoughtfully, then he looked at Frank. "You did say that Mrs. Morton was contacted by a sister? Someone calling themselves Marnie Daniels?"

Frank nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, that's right."

Stillman tilted his head and looked back at Frank. "Well, that is interesting. Considering that there is no such person. At least not a relative of the deceased victim. Our intel report has Melanie Daniels as an only child."

Frank and Joe exchanged surprised looks. "So…" Joe began. "This Marnie was likely a character represented by some member of this gang who took Callie."

"That would appear to be the case, Joe." Stillman said soberly. "But I am still at a loss to figure out motive for such a grisly killing and why Mrs. Morton was a person of interest to the perpetrator."

"Did Ms. Daniel's have any relatives?" Frank inquired, wondering if there were any familial contacts.

Deputy stillman shook his head. "So far we can't locate any."

"And certainly, no record of any granddaughter named Lila Crane?" Joe finished.

Stillman sighed and shook his head again. "Nope. The deputy who did that well check is working up a composite sketch with our artist on what he can remember about the woman. But she will definitely have her image in the works by nightfall as a person of interest. We figure there is at least one other party involved."

Frank's eyebrows went up. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, the 'granddaughter' was a small woman in her early thirties. Her overall demeanor suggests she would be incapable of such an act."

Frank glanced at Joe. For all the good done by the Bayport County Sheriff's Department, he knew they were not especially astute when it came to profiling criminals. One thing their father had always taught them was to never assume a violent crime was only something which could be committed by one who appeared violent. There were many cunning psychopath killers who came off as very docile and pleasant people under the right circumstances.

Joe did his best not to roll his eyes. He looked over at the deputy with a curious expression. "Any other leads?"

Stillman shook his head. "No, but as soon as we can get that phone number of the phone sister from Mr. Morton, we would like to run it down."

Frank nodded, then shrugged. "Probably a burner phone, but obviously we should run down any lead possible."

Stillman's radio went off, and he scooped up the transceiver. "417, over?" A moment later a voice came over his radio.

417, we have a lead on that 3822. Please see Detective Hernandez of BPD at the Bayport Regional Airport. They have just uncovered some surveillance footage from early this morning.

Stillman pressed his transceiver. "417, copy that."

Frank couldn't help but perk up noticeably when he heard of the potential lead. He worked with Detective Hernandez on several occasions and immediately picked up his cell phone.

Stillman offered a smirk. "Well, guess you guys heard that. I will contact them but assume you two will be on the scene ASAP."

Joe nodded as he saw Frank summon him as he started walking back towards his car. "Yeah, we will check back later with you, deputy." He followed his brother who had his phone attached to his ear while picking up the pace as he walked quickly towards the car.

By the time Joe had caught up and hopped in the passenger seat Frank was off the line. He looked seriously at his brother. "Hernandez says they have Callie on video from this morning at the airport. We are heading there now!"

Joe gestured for Frank to waste no time as his brother hit the gas doing a 180 degree turn and sent his unmarked cruiser heading back towards the county road at a high rate of speed. Within minutes Frank's fast trip to Bayport Regional Airport had him being waved through the security gate and he navigated to the area where private planes prepped for departure.

He and Joe quickly got out of the cruiser just as a uniformed officer was starting to cordon off a parameter of a crime scene. Within a few minutes Frank had spied fellow detective Juan Hernandez, a ranking detective of the Bayport Police Department. Upon seeing Frank, the detective, a man of about 40 and medium build with dark complexion walked towards Frank.

He offered his fellow officer a quick handshake. "Hey Frank, looks like we have some news on your family friend."

Frank nodded tensely. "What ya got, Juan?"

"We put the alert out this morning when we found out about the homicide you uncovered. Subsequently, a review of video footage had a scene unfolding in this pre-flight area around 2:27AM. Looks like your missing person was escorted on to a private jet by another female."

Frank's eyes went wide for a moment. "Can we see the video?"

Hernandez nodded and gestured towards a mobile command unit that was setup nearby. "Sure, we have a copy in the van."

Frank and Joe followed the detective to a large mobile command unit van which had the Bayport Police Department's symbol on it. They stepped into the dimly lit van which had two uniformed officers sitting in front of several flat screen monitors and various computer components.

"Maxwell, play back the copy for Detective Hardy, please."

The young officer, a man of about 26 with sandy colored short hair and green eyes looked up at them. He gave Frank a sympathetic look. "Sure. I am sorry about your friend, Frank."

Frank nodded tensely and waited for the officer to recall the video clip on the viewer. "Thanks, man."

Within ten seconds the officer started a clip of the video from early that morning. Detective Hernandez cleared his throat and gestured towards the screen. "Ok, 2:21AM we have a 2015 Toyota Camry drive up to the location."

Joe glanced out the window, seeing no car he looked back at the detective. "Where is the car now?"

"Crime lab." Hernandez answered without looking away from the screen. "The old man ordered a full forensic on it, so we towed it after initial photos." He then pointed to the screen. "We have this twin engine Bombardier jet with the door open. Then as you can see, this small woman gets out of the Toyota and goes to the trunk." Frank and Joe watched with intense interest as they watched the woman prompt the missing Callie Morton to emerge from the trunk.

"Callie looked a bit disoriented when she got out of the trunk." Joe observed.

Frank nodded. "To be expected of pretty much anyone who gets clubbed on the head and shoved into a trunk."

Hernandez nodded, then pointed to the screen. "But as you can see here, she wasn't that disoriented. The perp attempts to photograph the victim and as you can see, Mrs. Morton did not care for that." They watched Callie slap the phone out of the woman's hand.

"Yeah, that's Cal." Frank managed a half smile.

"But then…" Hernandez continued "The perp throttles her back against the car and it's like she then becomes aware there may be a camera or two recording, so she backs off. But you can see by her body language she is still asserting her authority."

Frank nodded. "Looks like she opens her jacket for a moment there." He pointed at the screen.

"Might be flashing a gun." Joe speculated.

"Quite possible." Hernandez agreed, then pointed to the screen. "We then see someone in the doorway of the jet. Likely prompting her to move things along since they seem to board the jet soon after. As you can see, Mrs. Morton does not look at all happy about this plane ride to come."

Frank took a deep breath. "No, she wouldn't. Callie is very afraid of flying on small planes. She was in an air crash years ago with Joe and other friends."

Hernandez gave an understanding nod. "Well, that would explain that. Compounded with the fact she was being abducted had to create enormous pressure and anxiety."

They watched the rest of the video which showed the small private jet soon taxi and leave the area. Joe shook his head thinking how terrified that Callie must have been. "Do we know anything about the plane?" he asked with hope.

Hernandez shook his head. "We have nothing on it yet. We have traced the registration and it comes back to a corporation in New York City. We have contacted them and are waiting to hear back."

Frank nodded "How about a flight plan?"

"That's the kicker." Hernandez smirked. "They took off filing a false report. Or at least one they didn't seem to follow. It indicated they were bound for JFK, but according to radar, it has them heading south instead."

"No surprise there." Frank muttered, then took a deep breath. "Let's have a look at the scene."

The group stepped out of the van and assessed the area. Frank gave a shrug. "Not much here to go on." He lamented. "Hopefully they can lift some prints off the car or find other physical evidence."

A moment later Joe snapped his fingers, at which Frank and Hernandez looked at him questioningly. "The phone!" He said excitedly.

Frank thought for a moment and his face lit up. "She didn't pick it back up. I remember now! She glanced around for it, but then got distracted with Callie and seemed to forget about it."

The group walked over near the area the guessed was roughly where the initial altercation took place. Nearby was a tall chain link fence with tall grass on the other side. They searched the fence line for some time, then Frank looked down the line and saw the main gate opening to that area. "I'm going to go over and take a look in the grass."

"I'll go with you!" Joe volunteered and the pair jogged down and around through the gate. They walked back up on the other side of the fence and started searching through the grass.

Within ten minutes Frank let out a triumphant grunt. "Found it!" he exclaimed, then looked across the fence at Hernandez. "Get me an evidence bag. Let's get this thing dusted and analyzed quick!"

Detective Hernandez summoned a uniformed officer and quickly obtained an evidence bag then handed it through the fence to Frank. With the help of his brother, the pair managed to get the phone into the bag without touching any surface. Joe handed it back to Hernandez, who relayed it to a uniformed officer with orders to dust it and check the phone's content.

The Hardys returned to the other side of the fence and looked around for several more moments until Frank sighed. "I don't see anything else here. Hopefully between the car and the phone we can get a clue as to who this woman is and where they took Cal."

Hernandez placed his hand on Frank's shoulder. "You will be the first person I call when the report comes back."

Frank nodded gratefully. "I appreciate it, Juan. For now, Joe and I are going to head out to the Morton farm and see how Chet and his family are. Hopefully they got some rest, and we can all get some information soon."

The detective nodded. "It sure looks like you guys stepped into another one. I'm sorry it had to have a personal connection for you."

Frank nodded slowly. "Yeah, me too."

"Thank you for coming over." Maddie said with worry. She sat on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest and arms wrapped around them.

Jaime nodded with understanding. "It's ok, girl. Do you know anything about your mom's disappearance?"

Maddie shook her head as she rocked back and forth nervously. She sniffled and her eyes were red from crying. "No. They won't tell me anything specific. Dad suggested I come up here to rest when Uncle Joe and his brother showed up. They don't want me to hear anything. Probably think I can't handle it." She said with resentment.

"They just don't want you freaking out." Jaime tried to assure her.

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Little too late for that." She said tensely. "I need to know what they are talking about."

"Well." Jaime managed a half smile. "You know how well sounds carry in this house. One probably wouldn't need to be in the same room to hear things."

Maddie looked back at her, then nodded. "No, I suppose one wouldn't." She turned out of her bed and slipped her sneakers off.

Chet fidgeted nervously from his seat at the kitchen table. He looked across at Frank and Joe in disbelief. "She was abducted and put on a plane? But how did they get her from the spot by the house past us to the airport? And why? Do we know where they went? Why Callie? Oh my God!" His head fell into his hands as he felt his emotions build. Aimee sat silently at his side and placed her hand on his back. She too was utterly mystified as to why Callie had been abducted.

"I wish we had answers, Chet." Frank offered calmly. "But we do have leads and we hope we can pull some fingerprints off the car and phone. I expect to hear from one of my partner detectives very soon. As to how she got by us and taken to the airport, it's hard to say."

Joe rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he sat back. "I bet that house hasn't given all of its secrets up, just yet. Perhaps there was some passage. Maybe they were hiding in the garage and slipped out later. Might have had a car stashed up near the county road. But I expect the sheriff's office will get us a better picture soon."

All of this was of little consolation to Chet. His wife was missing and the only thing he knew for sure was that a smaller framed blonde haired woman had managed to abduct her, and then somehow get her onto a plane in the dead of night. "This makes no damn sense!" he persisted.

"So, this woman…" Aimee spoke up. "Is she the same one who told the police she was a granddaughter of the owner?"

Frank nodded. "Yeah. She matched the description the deputy gave. And since Melanie Daniels truly had no granddaughter…" Frank's voice faded as he took on a thoughtful look. A moment later he looked at Chet. "Chet, do you have the phone number of this woman who called herself Marnie?"

Chet blinked a few times, then nodded. He gestured towards a basket in the center of the table. "Uh, yeah. It should be in that basket. What are you getting at?"

Frank looked through the basket of papers and soon found the sheet of paper that Callie had written on the day she received the phone call. He took out his phone and dialed the number. Frank was not surprised when the call did not go through. Instead, a prerecorded message from the carrier saying that the number was not in service could be heard.

Chet tilted his head with a confused look. "What the hell? Why would it be disconnected?"

Frank sighed. "The intel from the sheriff's department says that Melanie Daniels had no sister."

Chet looked from Frank to Joe, shaking his head with confusion. "So, if that is true, then this whole this was a setup?" He rubbed his temples trying to absorb all the information.

Frank nodded soberly. "Yeah, it would seem so. And no surprise that this number is now dead. But was makes me think it even more is that this Marnie claimed that Melanie had no granddaughter. She knew that in saying that it would set the hook. Any detective would have taken that little plumb and dove in with both feet!"

"That's a fact!" Joe muttered. "It was bait, and Callie fell for it."

"We all did." Frank admitted. Before he could speculate further his phone rang. Frank looked down and quickly put the phone to his ear. "Frank Hardy here. Yes, deputy, what do you have?" He sat in silence as he listened for several moments. His expression had told the others that he was being given some new information. "Well, that is very interesting indeed. And yes, I am waiting for a detective from my office to get me some information on prints. Maybe they can match them up to what you may find at the house." He paused and listened again, then finally nodded. "Alright, deputy, thanks again and keep in touch!"

Frank disconnected the call and looked over at the others. Everyone sat with expectant looks, Chet especially so. "Come on, Frank, out with it!" he snapped.

Frank exhaled slowly then sat up. "Alright, we have a couple answers anyway. First off, they broke down the door of the garage, and while they did not find any physical evidence in it, they did find an opening in the floor. A metal grate that seemingly was for drainage purposes for when it rains. They lifted the grate and found a passageway that extended all the way to the house down the road at 606 Rutger Road! So, that is how they got Callie out of there!"

"Damn!" Chet muttered. "What would a passageway be there for?"

Frank shrugged. "Not sure about that, but it came in handy for their needs. The sheriff is having full forensics done for both homes."

"Whew!" Joe sighed sitting back in his chair. "Anything else, bro?"

Frank nodded. "Yeah, one more thing. They found a small radio-controlled relay up on the third floor. Specifically, it was attached to a lamp in the mysterious window. So, there was never anyone in the room flipping the light off or on. It was someone outside hitting a remote that allowed it to go off and on by command."

"Pretty slick." Joe noted thoughtfully. "They had this all planned out quite well."

"To abduct Callie, yes." Chet admitted. "But I still don't get why they killed Melanie Daniels? Much less the manner in which they did it. I mean it doesn't seem to be part of any orchestrated plan. What was it? Step 14, kill the old lady and cut out her eyes?"

Aimee gasped audibly when she heard this. Up till now she was uncertain that the owner had actually been killed, much less the manner in which it happened. "Oh my God! How horrible!" she exclaimed.

Chet turned to her and offered an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to mention that in front of you. It was quite disturbing to me for sure. Not a sight I will soon forget." He shuddered visibly.

"I think once we get a make on this woman, or anyone else we can pull prints on, we might get some answers." Frank said thoughtfully, then glanced over at Chet. "How is Maddie holding up?"

Chet drew a hand to his forehead and rubbed it with his eyes closed. "How do you think she is? Not good. She has questions that I can't answer and is clearly scared for her mom's life. I have been trying to shelter her as best I can. But.." His words fizzled into silence as he felt overwhelmed thinking about his daughter.

The group sat in silence for a short time. Frank had been expecting a call from Detective Hernandez and twenty minutes later it came. He scooped up his phone off the table and held it to his ear. "Yeah, Juan, what ya got?" He asked briskly. He stayed silent and listened intently. The only clue that there was new information was by the way his eyes would occasionally shift back and forth and occasionally grow wide in surprise. "So, the lab boys think it's some kind of residue that she would have used? How long would that last with each application?" Frank shook his head and sighed. "Ok, what else?" After several more moments, Frank's eyes widened again. "Are you sure about that?" Joe and Chet both looked at him with impatient expressions as Frank's face took on a very upsetting look.

Chet pounded his fist down. "Damnit, Frank, what is it?" He questioned.

Frank's eyes shifted over to him, and he held up a finger. "Ok, Juan, give me a call with any, and I mean any new information! Thanks." He set his phone down and looked at the others. Frank took several breaths and then looked from Chet and Joe.

"Out with it, bro!" his brother demanded.

Frank nodded. "Ok, obviously we have news." Joe, Aimee, and Chet all leaned forward in anticipation. "First off, there were no prints on the car or the phone."

"What?" Joe threw his hands out in disbelief. "Frank, we saw the video of her getting out of the car, without gloves, and then hold up the phone we recovered. Then she got on the plane and took off. There had to be prints left behind!"

Frank nodded. "And normally there would be. The lab found residue on both the phone and the steering wheel and shifter of the car."

"What kind of residue?" Chet inquired not understanding.

"A form of epoxy." Frank revealed. "Apparently, it's a substance not much different than say rubber cement. What this woman did was apply this stuff to her fingers. It essentially created a barrier over her fingerprints."

Joe nodded understanding. "So, it's just like wearing gloves, but not as noticeable."

Frank nodded. "Yeah. It lasts for hours and as long as its reapplied you never leave your prints anywhere."

Chet again started rubbing his temples. "Great, so this woman goes all James Bond on us, and we still have no clue who she is."

"Well, we are doing our best to enhance the footage at the airport and the composite sketch based on the deputy who did the well check. Once that is done, we can put the image into the computer and see if there are any known offenders with similar characteristics.

Chet offered a dull intentional blink. He knew Frank was doing what he could, but was still trying to absorb how his wife had been abducted and taken away, apparently a great distance away. He finally looked up to Frank with a pleading expression. "Well, tell me there is more news."

"There is." He sighed deeply.

"That isn't encouraging, pal." Chet noticed his friend's hesitancy.

"Wasn't meant to be. But, ok, here goes. The forensics boys got something off the phone. Apparently, this Lila Crane was communicating with someone. They found several photos of this farm, as well as Callie in the grocery store and at the coffee shop. Obviously, surveillance photos being relayed. There also was a good quantity of photos of Maddie being sent as well."

These last words made Madeleine Morton, who had been concealed in a nearby closet, swallow hard and tremble. She looked over at Jaime, who was also in the closet. Her friend immediately put her arms around her.

"Maddie?!" Chet roared in anger. "What the hell were they doing taking photos of my little girl for?" Chet Morton had, at least temporarily, put his sadness to the side and became instantly enraged.

Frank tapped his finger nervously on the table top and glanced cautiously at his friend. "The phone number they found on the phone was some distance away. Combined with a ping we got when sending a text, it has given us some direction."

Chet made a circular motion with his fingers, prompting Frank to get to the point. "Alright already, man. Where was she texting photos to?"

Frank's eyes met his. "Brazil."