The name listed on the website left the both of them speechless. Frank could hear Callie’s heavy, rapid breathing next to his and he reacted in the completely opposite way. He could not breathe. Tried as he might, he could not draw in a breath.

"Frank. Are you seeing what I’m seeing?"

Can’t breathe. Can’t talk to her. BREATHE FRANK HARDY OR YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!

He shocked his system back to reality. The first breath sounded like a sob. He had suspected Andrea to be the one playing the pranks on Joe but seeing her name set in concrete as one of the talented freelancers for the project was still too surreal.

He nodded.

"I think we should go to the party now. There’s no need for my plan, right?" Callie asked hesitantly.

"There’s a need. Bringing them to the place where Vanessa died and interrogating them may cause the guilty one to break. What if it’s one of them? I don’t think I can take another hit like this."

"We have to. Let’s go. This is the night for answers to our long-standing questions."

"Chet’s going to hate his birthday from now on." Frank commented.

He had no idea how prophetic he could be. They were shocked when they saw that there were no cars, except for Tony and Phil’s, in the Morton’s driveway and even more so when they entered to hear no loud music. With a creepy dread, Frank and Callie stepped inside the basement to find everybody sitting on the floor with their hands tied up.

"You sure have a weird way of celebrating your birthday, Morton." Frank surveyed the scene before in mild shock.

"Joe’s going after Andrea! Frank, go stop him before he does something he’ll regret for the rest of his life!" Mina shouted and Frank gazed at her, not comprehending for a moment.

"Andrea?"

"He seemed to be convinced that Andrea killed Ness. Frank, go after him. He’s not himself…" Mina struggled against her bonds and Frank saw that her hands were bleeding from the friction. "Please…"

Quickly, Frank took out his Swiss Army knife from his pocket and cut Mina loose. Helping Mina up, he realized that she was having trouble standing.

"Are you all right?"

"Joe drugged all of us. My legs are still a little numb but they’ll run if I want them to. We have to go after him." Mina grabbed his hand and Frank turned to see Callie already sawing the rope that tied Maggie’s hands together with a slicing knife. Callie looked up at him and waved him on.

"Go with Mina. Andrea’s her aunt. I’ll free them and join you guys later. Hurry!"

Frank took Mina and the both of them hurried out of Chet’s house. They got into his Mustang and Frank never needed his car to live up to its moniker more than then. Mustang. His car must not be anything but the fastest of all cars that night.

"What happened?" Frank asked as he negotiated round a bend. Mina was sobbing next to him, still shaken.

"He tied us up after drugging us through the punch. Then he asked us questions and at intervals, just became so crazy… I don’t know… then he became sane again and asked Biff why he left. Biff rambled and from his ramblings, Joe saw something and with his knowledge, became convinced that Andrea killed Ness. Frank, Andrea is Ness’s mom and my aunt. She’s all I have… don’t let Joe hurt her…. I didn’t know he’s so…"

"We’ll save Andrea. We’ll get Joe back too if we’re lucky." Frank’s voice was dripping with more acid than he intended. If Andrea was the culprit, how could he ever forgive her?

Already the hatred and resentment was finding its way through the cracks in the shield of compassion.

"You’ve already damned Andrea. How can all of you be so quick to judge?"

"If it’s her, Mina… then she stood by and did nothing while Joe got incarcerated. And she had the audacity to torment him further reminding him of his guilt. Joe was hurt so badly in prison and now, I may just lose my brother forever. Don’t tell me I’m quick to judge!"

"If you doubt Joe’s sanity, then maybe the idea that Joe’s mind was just looking for someone else to blame when Biff turned out to be innocent…"

Frank ran pass a red light and snorted. "Someone to blame? Joe never blamed anyone except himself. If Andrea really killed Ness, Joe would think he somehow caused Andrea to push her. And I thought you loved Joe. You told me you loved him. How can you be saying such things…"

"I love the both of them. Andrea’s my aunt and my only family. Don’t expect me turn against her. If she’s guilty, don’t expect me not to do everything within my means to engage the best lawyer for her."

"And Joe’s only a passing fancy? Do you even know what happened to him? He was raped, Mina. Then they burned his hands and stabbed his side and we almost had to bury him! Do you want to make jokes about his plight? I know some sick perverts actually find pleasure from such devastating stories. Or maybe you have some romantic notion in your head about saving a lost soul. Whatever it is, Andrea could have stopped it by just telling the truth! Maybe it’s good the both of you did not start anything." Frank spat. He could not put himself in her position. Anger rose and bubbled in his blood- blinded him to her tears. Mina grew silent with the revelation and after a while, she spoke quietly.

"I thought better of you, Frank Hardy. I’m not having this conversation with you."

The both of them drove the rest of the way to Bender’s place in silence.

"Her car’s not here… Chet’s isn’t here either." Mina voiced out her observation and Frank felt his ire rising.

"I can see that for myself!" He snapped at her. Worry for his kid brother was costing him his rationality.

"I thought you were blind." Mina simply stated. Frank stepped into the Bender’s home. The door was wide opened and he feared for the worst.

"Their vehicles are not here… don’t you think we should give chase?"

"Are you dumb? Do you even know where they’ve gone?" Frank growled at the simplistic question and Mina gave him a sharp push, catching him by surprise.

"I know you’re worried but your attitude will get you nowhere. Either we work together or we lose them both! Don’t vent your damn frustrations on me! I’m just as anxious as you to find them!"

What’s wrong with me?

Frank rubbed his temples and willed himself to calm down. He could always be cool. Joe had gotten himself into menacing situations before but Frank could always stay clear-headed and it was because he was in control of himself and his thoughts that he managed to pull his brother out of the messes Joe liked to jump into without thinking.

Need to be clear-headed now, Hardy. More than ever. Joe depends on you. You cannot let him hurt Andrea. You cannot let him do anything that will definitely put him back into the slammer again.

You cannot. You cannot let him kill himself.

"I’m sorry."

"You’re forgiven." Mina smiled at him and nodded towards the interior of the house. "How do you propose we start?"

"We go into her room and see if there’s anything that will lead us somewhere." Frank pointed at Andrea’s room. The door was closed.

"She locks her door…"

"I can pick it."

"Joe picked Ness’s door once too." Mina said with a regretful smile. Frank patted her shoulder and proceeded to illegally unlock Andrea’s room and found that the lock was tampered with. Someone tried to pick it as well but left the job undone.

Frank finished it for the person and stepped in. The lights in her room were switched on. Andrea’s room windows were wide opened. The curtains blew like the fluttering crows’ wings, directing him to what had transpired. On Andrea’s bed was a journal. A trinket on the opened journal caught part of the bright light and reflected it out with even more dazzle than the photons in its surrounding.

Joe came in. He must have been shouting for Andrea. Andrea was home, locked in her room, reading her journal, holding on to Vanessa’s bloodied cat- pin. He knew she was inside and tried to pick the lock. She got scared and climbed out of her windows. He stopped- his skills compromised by his mental state of being. He heard her take her car and dashed out to give chase.

Where could she have gone? The first place that popped into her mind. Guilt. She was reading her journal…

Frank quickened his steps and picked up the journal from the bed, passing the cat-pin to Mina who peered into the journal with him.

I went back to the tree house where I last saw her. I saw fresh footprints and knew that someone must have visited the place as well. Two fresh footprints.

They are investigating. How dare they! To absolve him? He killed my baby!

"We have to go back into the woods." Frank muttered. Mina looked at him, baffled.

"Are you sure?"

"Andrea was reading the journal. From the looks of it, she has this idea that Joe killed Vanessa. Vanessa’s cat-pin was gone and we have been trying to look for it, remember? It’s been with her all the while…" Frank shut the journal and placed it back onto the bed, heading out of the bedroom and out of the house, explaining to Mina as he did so.

"If she really believed in what she wrote, she will want to confront Joe at the tree house. Besides, she was reading it and the impression will be fresh. She will most probably think of going to the tree house first."

They got into the Mustang and Frank hoped with all his heart that his guess was right- that he was not too late. Mina seemed impressed.

"You just know all that?"

"Intuition comes with experience. I have too much of it." Frank replied her, regretting the skills that came with too much heartache over the years.

***

Joe stepped on the gas pedal. Andrea proved to be a very seasoned driver. She drove weekly across long distances, across states to attend meetings and shows. That was where her ability came from, he guessed.

But it was not time to be in awe. Andrea’s escape ascertained her guilt. As he drove, the voices in his head argued among themselves. The sinister voice hushed all others up and Joe wished he could just dig inside his brains and do some re-adjusting.

Joey, Joey. So what if you asked Andrea why? You shouldn’t have wanted Ness to go to Boston with you.

And now, both of you are not going anywhere.

He ignored the voices which sounded like him anyway and if he could shut himself, he could shut them out.

The places he was driving past seemed familiar and he realized that he was taking the route back to Chet’s house. However, Andrea did not stop at Chet’s house. Andrea stopped a distance away, perhaps where she stopped on that terrible night.

She got out from her car and ran between two houses. She was taking an alternate trail, which was how she avoided discovery on that night. Joe pulled up behind her and followed closely behind.

***

"Callie! They are over at the tree-house! Yes! I’m very positive…" Frank tried to convince his girlfriend about Joe and Andrea’s speculated location.

"Call it gut instincts." He added with in a softer tone, thick with remembrance at the cheeky voice who once threw the same phrase into his face many times- a phrase he was glad that he complied with on more than a few occasions, Joe’s gut instinct was uncannily sharper than logic.

"We’ll be there…"

"Hurry, Cal! Please… you’re all nearer to them than I am." Frank begged and he heard the sounds of somebody running up the stairs.

"I’m already on my way…"

"But don’t scare Andrea or Joe... don’t agitate them with your presence…"

"Noted."

Without bidding her farewell, Frank disconnected the call and sped up from his already maniacal speed. Mina passed her phone’s earpiece to Frank who took it hastily and tried to hook it to his right ear while slowing down before maneuvering a sharp turn.

Please, God. Watch over them. Watch over me. See I don’t get killed before I reach my kid brother.

"Frank! You have news of Vanessa’s killer? What’s this about Joe running away?" Jacob Kenzer’s voice sounded heavy with so much fury and hope all mixed in one oddly upsetting concoction that caused Frank’s irritation with the man to intensify.

"It’s not my brother. But we may need you to save someone else…" He calmed himself down and gave Jacob the answer that he sought for so long.