She was awake for only a few minutes before she noticed something was different.

At first, it was a subtle difference; just the faintest sense that something was amiss. Sort of the feeling she often got when she awoke from a nightmare, a feeling that something in her surroundings was wrong, somehow, out of place. Then, Lady Penelope Creighton Ward opened her eyes, sat upright in her soft bed and looked around her bedroom, which was filled with the pale gray light of another gloomy October morning in London.

At first, as she slowly scanned the large room, with its pink draperies and brocade window shades, Penelope didn't see anything out of place or odd. She was about ready to write off the unusual feeling as leftover uneasiness from a forgotten dream, when she noticed something odd. Actually, the absence of something. Her tea tray, which Parker usually brought in and set on the round mahogany tea table, wasn't where it ought to be. In fact, she noticed in increasing dismay, it wasn't anywhere in the room at all.

"Dear me." Penny eased her way out of bed, pulled on her robe and walked about the room, looking for anything else that might be out of place. But except for the missing tea tray, everything was as it should be.

"Now what has Parker gotten up to?" Shaking her blonde head, Penny went to the braided bell pull that hung within reach of her bed and gave it two brisk tugs. "He knows I'm useless for the day without my morning tea." And just for good measure, she tugged on the bell pull twice more.

And then, the second strange thing happened. Parker did not appear.

"How very odd." Penny felt a faint tingle of worry crawl down the back of her neck. Rubbing the spot, she walked over to the windows and looked out; maybe the erstwhile chauffeur was outside tending the garden or engaged in some other chore, where he couldn't hear the bell.

Her bedroom window overlooked her well-tended back lawn, with its trees and flower gardens that in spring were a splash of color and fragrance. Now, however, only a few late fall flowers bloomed, their colors faded and drab amid the dampness of the morning. The wrought iron chairs and table she kept outside for warm afternoon teas was dripping and no birds or butterflies bobbed in the shrubbery.

And there was no sign of Parker.

"This is odd." Penny shrugged out of her robe and quickly dressed for the day, then ran a brush through he tousled hair and headed for the hallway. Whatever Parker was up to, it was starting to look as if she'd have to get her own tea.

"But when I do find that rascal," she muttered as she walked briskly down the stairs. 'I shall give him a piece of my mind, for certain."

But Penny sound found that her anger would have to wait, for not only was Parker not outside nor answering the bell - he wasn't anywhere in Foxleyheath Manor at all. Nor did Penny find any sort of message from her butler indicating where he might've gone, had there been an emergency or other situation calling for his absence.

That tingling down the back of her neck grew stronger. Despite his somewhat shady past as a burglar and safecracker, Parker had always been fairly reliable in his duties—not counting the time when he gambled away FAB 2. her beloved yacht -

Penny frowned, her stomach tightening. FAB 2. What if this time he's taken the Rolls?

She sprinted to the garage, where she found that her worst fears were true. FAB 1 her pink Rolls Royce was gone.

"Well, I never!" Putting her hands on her hips, Penny glowered at the empty spot that marked where the Rolls usually sat, as if by sheer force of will, she could make it reappear. When that of course didn't happen, she stamped her foot on the concrete. "Parker, whenever you do turn up, you're going to have to answer to me for whatever's going on here."

But even as she spoke, her voice echoing in the empty garage, Penny remembered something she'd thought a trifle odd last night. Instead of her customary cup of hot cocoa before bed, Parker had brought a glassy of brandy in an elegant snifter. When she'd asked the butler about it, Parker's reply had been, "Well, madam, I know that you've been 'avin' trouble sleepin', so I thought this might 'elp."

Parker was right, of course; the past few nights, she'd lain awake for hours, struggling to doze off, plagued by memories of some of her recent and more troubling escapades for International Rescue. Smiling, she'd told him. "How very thoughtful of you. Thank you, Parker."

And indeed, the brandy had helped her drift off - she barely remembered lying down. And no doubt, it had been the cause of her waking a bit later than usual this morning…

But what if there'd been some ulterior motive in Parker's choice of beverage last night? Penny frowned. Had he given her the brandy to ensure that she slept for some particular reason? So that perhaps he would not disturb her by slipping away? Was Parker - she hated to think this - sliding back into his criminal ways? Was he even now out somewhere with friends the likes of Light Fingers Fred, who'd once robbed the Bank of London, perhaps engaged ins something more sinister than gambling away her possessions?

Or maybe he was in trouble?

Mingled worry and anger churned inside her and, after staring a bit longer at the empty spot where the Rolls usually sat, Penny whirled and hurried back into the manor house. "There's only one way to deal with this," she said as she hurried over to her vid phone. "Call International Rescue."

"What's taking so long?" Penny tapped her foot on the tiled floor of the terminal at London Airport, where Jeff Tracy had made arrangements to land his sleek jet Tracy One. Despite the jet's supersonic speed, she felt as if she'd been waiting for hours. Of course, the taxi she'd hired to bring her here had been rather prompt...

"Penny!" Jeff Tracy's deep voice boomed through the cool afternoon air, drawing her attention to the head of International Rescue, who was now coming through the gates at London airport. Penny let her stiff face relax into a brief smile as she accepted a hug from Jeff. "Good to see you again, " he continued. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has, I'm afraid." Penny leaned against him briefly, some of her worry fading in the face of Jeff's bold confidence. As she stepped back, she noted with surprise that two of Jeff's five sons were coming to greet her as well. She just had time to notice that they were wearing civilian clothes, but both carried small black bags that looked a bit ominous before, one at a time, Virgil and John gave her quick hugs and gentle smiles. John said softly, 'Don't worry, Penelope. We'll help you find Parker."

"Jeff?" She arched her eyebrows at him. "Do you really think this is that serious - that you need involve the boys? What if you get an emergency call while you're here?"

"Scott's minding the store," the Tracy patriarch said easily. "He'll notify us if we get a call. And Gordon's standing by as well. Alan's on alert status just in case, so we should be able to handle anything that does happen. But it's been quiet enough that I figure we can take a little time away to help you out. "

"Yes, Penny, and the more eyes we have looking for Parker, the quicker we'll find him. " Virgil added, his brown eyes twinkling at her.

"Right, of course." Penny ran her hands through her wind-tousled hair. As she moved her hands, her gaze fell again upon the torn scrap of crumpled piece of paper she'd been holding all this time. She smoothed it out, handed it to Jeff. "I found this is the dustbin while I was searching the house for clues. But I'm not sure what it means."

John and Virgil gathered around their father and Penny, and Jeff smoothed out the paper and frowned.

"Strange," Virgil said. "It looks like part of a note—but there's only some scribbling and 2 words on it." he frowned trying to decipher the clue.

"Looks like it says "Lover's Leap." John's blue eyes turned serious. "Sounds like a place, but where is it?" He raised his head, brushed at the stubborn curl that kept slipping into his eyes.

"It does sound like a place." Jeff studied the paper a moment, then added, "And these scribbled marks could be part of a map of some sort." He looked at Penny now. "Is there a place like that around here?"

Penny thought for a moment, then nodded. "Why, yes, there is. I'd neatly forgotten, but it's an isolated spot west of London. We drove past it once when Parker was trying to keep me from getting Lord Silton to the bank of London that one time. When that poor man was trapped in their new vault." She took the crumpled scrap of paper from Jeff, frowned at it herself. Now that Virgil had deciphered it, she could see the words "Lover's leap" in Parker's rough, loop printing. Why hadn't she been able to make them out before?

"But why would Parker write this down and then tear it up?" Virgil wondered, his forehead creasing. "Do you think he's gone there himself, with FAB 1?"

"But why?" John put in. "What could be out there in the countryside that's so urgent?"

Penny frowned at the three Tracy's, feeling a twinge of anxiety. If they couldn't figure this out, then who could? Still, she thought, the longer we stand here debating, the greater the chance that something had happened to Parker -

"Maybe we should just go out and try t find him ourselves," she suggested when the three men were quiet, all wearing nearly identical thoughtful expressions. "We can hire several cars and split up. I can drive out to Lover's Leaps and Virgil and John can drive around the city and look in some of Parker's favorite haunts. I think I know at least some of his favorite places in the area. It's a place to start," she said to their dubious expression. "I hate the thought of just standing around here trying to figure out what this -" She held up the scrap of paper. "means."

"Well, someone had better stay back at your place, Penny," Jeff told her. "In case Parker returns there - and to coordinate the search." He looked at John, who was already shaking his head.

"Sorry, father." John grinned slightly, though his eyes stayed serious. "I'm on leave, remember? No more communication coordinating for me for the next three weeks."

Jeff chuckled, then said, "Oh, very well, I'll stay. Virgil, you can drop me off. John, why don't you and Penny go together? You boys can use your wrist coms to keep in touch and I'll let you know if anything turns up back at the manor."

"Sounds like a plan, " Virgil said.

Penny nodded. "All right. "

And the four of them headed fore the nearest car rental kiosk.

"Turn here." Penny pointed to the left at an intersection of two narrow roads out in the countryside west of London. "It's only about 10 kilometers." As John made the turn, she frowned. "I still don't understand why Jeff wouldn't let me take the car myself. It's not as if I need a chauffeur or anything like that." As John drew breath to reply, she added hastily, "Oh, not that I don't enjoy your company, John, but really, I am quite capable of driving myself around."

"Right," John said, though Penny thought a faint hint of amusement quivered in his voice. But his expression was neutral as he watched the road carefully. "I think father was doing it more for me. I don't get earth side a much as the others—so I really don't know my way around London very well. Virgil's better at directions anyway, so it's logical that he'd be the one to drive around London and talk to Sir Jeremy and some of Parker's other acquaintances. And you and I can handle the countryside together. That way, you can keep me from getting lost."

Penny sighed. "Well, I suppose you're right, John."

"Besides," Now, all traces of amusement or levity vanished from John's voice. "If Parker is in some kind of trouble, better that there's two of us." He shot her a quick sideways look. "Not that you can't handle yourself, Penny. But there is advantage in numbers."

"You're right, John, of course." Penny winced and a knot tightened in her chest. John's words reminded her again of the dire possibility that Parker was in some sort of danger. Perhaps he's even been kidnapped or abducted as a means of getting to me, she thought, and the notion sent a chill washing through her. Or perhaps he's gotten involved in some sort of scheme with his underworld pals and is injured somewhere, unable to phone for help -

Stop worrying, she told herself firmly, squaring her shoulders and sitting up straighter in the car seat. It's no use brooding about it. You won't solve anything that way. Just stay focused and you'll find Parker. You know John and Virgil and Jeff will do all they can to help.

But her worry made her realize something she sometimes forgot: how deep her friendship with Parker went. They were, really, more than just employee and employer. Funny how sometimes she forgot that.

John let the silence ride a while before saying softly, "You're really worried about Parker, aren't you Penelope?'

She smiled at John's obvious attempt to get her talking about her fears. "Yes, I am." Penny shook her head, frowning. "He's usually pretty reliable—though he has the occasional lapse." She allowed herself a faint smile now, thinking about some of her butler's escapades. "And I know he'd never do anything deliberately wrong or illegal. He's just—" She groped for the right words, then added weakly, "—easily tempted, shall we say?"

John laughed gently. "That sounds like Parker." A pause, then he added, "Did you notice anything unusual about him last night? Or the past few days? Anything odd he said or did that might give us a clue?"

"I've been thinking about that." She brushed at a windblown strand of hair. "And I talked to Lil, my cook, this morning before I went to meet you at the airport. She acted very strange -" Penny frowned, remember how reticent the cook had been when she questioned her. "All she'd say is that Parker had been 'acting a mite strange" the night before." 'As if 'e was up to something," Lil had explained with a wise nod of her head. But when Penny had pressed her for details, Lil had only shrugged and said she didn't know anything else. "'e's a close one, 'e is," she said. "never tells me anything."

"I couldn't get her to tell me anything else. But -" Penny frowned. 'There was one other odd thing. " And she told John about Parker's choice of beverage last night, adding, "I woke up late this morning - and Parker was gone." She sighed and shook her head, feeling a twinge of remorse. Maybe if she'd questioned the butler last night, if she hadn't been so ready to drink that brandy, maybe she'd have been awake, been able to stop Parker from doing whatever he'd done -

"Is this the place?" John's question pulled her thoughts back to the present. She blinked, saw that he'd slowed the rented car near a dirt lane. off to the left, Penny saw a steep green slope, an at the top, a crude sign that read "Lover's leap.:"

"Yes, this is it."

As John parked the car at the entrance to the lane, Penny felt her pulse quicken. Maybe if Parker had come here they could find a clue that would lead them to him or at least, tell them what had happened.

At John's insistence, they sat in the car for a few minutes, staring up at the slope and the sign, looking for, as he said, "anything unusual or out of place." Penny guessed that he was thinking about the possibility that this was a trap of some sort.

But nothing moved anywhere that she could see. At the top of the slope, the remnants of a wooden fence stood out stark against the pale October sky. A few rocks and other objects lay scattered about in the grass. Wind stirred the long blades of grass and drifted a few dried leaves about, but otherwise, Penny could see nothing out of place.

"Well, there's no sign of the Rolls," she said finally, getting out of the small rental car and stretching. "Or of Parker."

"Let's see what we can see from the top." John got out as well.

Together, they climbed the steep slope, John's long strides carrying him a little ahead of Penny. As they neared the top, Penny felt a twinge of apprehension. What would they find here? Had Parker come to this place? And if so, why?

The top of the hill afforded a wide view of the rolling English countryside in all directions. But as Penny looked around, she wasn't interested in the view; she was looking for any signs of the pink Rolls - or of Parker.

But the landscape yielded nothing out of the ordinary: just trees, grass, farmhouses and the arching gray sky, threatening more rain, over their heads.

"No sign of FAB 1," John said needlessly beside her.

"Nor of Parker." Penny sighed. I do wonder what he's up to -"

She broke off as a startled exclamation from John caught her attention. Turning, Penny saw that he knelt at the base of the fence, where a brown object had caught his attention. When she crouched beside him, Penny caught her breath and a chill crawled down her spine like a trail of ice. Because the object John now lifted off the ground was Parker's cap.

For a moment, neither of them spoke as they both struggled to understand the possible implications of this find. Penny swallowed hard and found her voice first.

"Oh, dear. So Parker was here." She gently reached out and took the brown chauffeur's cap from John.

"Or someone wants us to think he was," the blonde haired Tracy pointed out. "It could be some sort of ruse or red herring -"

He said more, but Penny barely heard him., She was busily turning the cap over in her hands, examining it for any clues, any hint as to what had happened to its owner.

The outside of the cap seemed intact, though it was smudged in a few places with dirt. but when she looked inside, Penny choked back a gasp.

The lining was stained in several places with something dark red that looked like blood. And a small folded piece of paper had been wedged into a tear in the cap's lining.

Gingerly, she plucked the piece of paper free, then handed the cap to John, asking, "Is that - blood?"

He examined it closely a few minutes, touching the stain - which she now saw was still a trifle sticky - and then raising his fingers to his nose. When he inhaled, John's handsome face creased into a frown.

"Yeah. Blood. But is it Parker's or someone else's?"

"Well, unless someone else was wearing his cap, we have to assume it's Parker's." Penny swallowed hard, then quickly turned her attention to the piece of paper in her hand. Carefully unfolding it, she saw that it, too, had a ragged edge, as if it had been torn from a larger piece. And a single line of ragged block printing snaked across the page, smudged and dirty, so that it was hard to read. After a few minutes' scrutiny she thought that the first two words looked like they might read 'Parker and wheels." These were followed by a row of numbers, and then the letters "ELD."

"John, what do you make of this?" Penny handed the paper to her companion.

He frowned thoughtfully a moment, then said slowly, "Well, the first word is Parker. And those numbers are location coordinates. I don't know what ELD means." He activated his wrist comm. "But I can get Alan to input those coordinates. They might be a clue."

Penny nodded and while John talk softly to his younger brother, she stared at the smudged letters again, muttering to herself, "ELD, ELD - now what would that mean?" She couldn't shake the feeling that she should know, somehow, what the letters meant. "They almost look as if they form a word. But eld isn't a word -" She repeated the sound softly to herself several times, trying to figure it out.

Just as John was saying, "Okay, thanks Alan, I'll keep in touch, " realization dawned on Penny. The last letter wasn't a d, it was a p. Which meant the word was

"'elp." she said loudly, drawing an odd look from John. When he arched his eyebrows at her, she explained, "Those letters here - they're the word 'elp . Help," she clarified. "It figures Parker would write it like that -" She scrambled to her feet, still holding the chauffeur's bloody cap. "What did you learn, John?"

"Well, the coordinates point to an old farmhouse about 100 km west of here." He pointed. "Though how Parker would've known those numbers -" John shook his head.

"Well, maybe he didn't write that part, " Penny broke in, feeling a renewed surge of impatience. "Maybe his kidnapper or whoever did this to him wrote them -"

"But why?" John asked. "Why tell us where he is? Unless it's some sort of trap -"

"Well, if it is, we'll be ready for them." Penny pressed her lips together tightly. "Come on, John - we're wasting time and it's late afternoon already."

She climbed back into the car, John got behind the wheel and they set off. As he turned west, John activated his wrist comm again, saying, "I'd better check in with Virgil and see if he's having any luck."

"No, I haven't' found out very much," the dark haired Tracy said when John established the connection. "I did talk to Sir Jeremy's chauffeur, though. Apparently, he and Parker are pretty good friends. Abrahms said that Parker's been acting rather odd the past few days. Called him a couple times to ask some odd questions."

"What sort of odd questions?" Penny asked leaning over so she could speak into John's wristwatch.

On the small screen,. Virgil's face twisted into a thoughtful frown. "Well, he asked Abrahms if he knew where he could buy dark clothing and a mask. And he also asked about knives. Said he needed to buy a couple new ones - and that they needed to be very sharp."

A renewed surge of apprehension washed over her. "Are you quite certain, Virgil?" she asked. "I mean, Abrahms couldn't have misunderstood what Parker wanted, do you suppose?"

"It's possible, I guess." Virgil's shrug was barely visible. "but Abrahms seemed pretty sure of himself."

Penny frowned. "But what would he want a mask and dark clothes for? Unless he was planning something - clandestine."

Her mind produced several possible answers: maybe he's planning to rob a bank or a store, or to help out one of his old friends by breaking them out of jail or..

"- anything else, Virge?" John's question pulled her out of her brooding.

"Not really, John. Except -" Now, the dark haired Tracy hesitated a moment, then added, "Well, I tried to find a couple other people on Penelope's list - but they weren't home. It may mean nothing, but it seemed rather odd that they'd all be out somewhere, especially this late in the afternoon. Even Sir Jeremy was out - only Abrahms was there."

"You're right, Virgil," Penny said. "Though I suppose there may be a logical explanation for it all."

Silence wrapped itself around them while John drove steadily westward. Finally, Penny sighed and said, "Were you able to contact anyone on that list?"

"Not so far. But I've got a couple more names to try, so I'll keep at it."

"Right, Virge," John cut in. "Stay in touch."

And he broke the connection.

Penny was quiet, staring at the trees and landscape rushing past. John made another turn, then said gently, "Well, maybe we'll find something significant at this farmhouse."

"It looks deserted." Penny thought her own voice echoed terribly loud in the early evening stillness. She and John stood at the edge of a gravel pathway that led up to the farmhouse, which did, indeed, look empty and deserted in the growing gloom. No lights burned within, there were no cars or other vehicles visible nearby and the lawn was weed choked and overgrown.

"Why do you suppose Parker would have come here?" Penny lowered her voice to a whisper. "There's nothing here or anywhere nearby for that matter."

"Maybe he didn't come here," John also kept his voice low. "If he's here, perhaps he was brought here by someone."

"Perhaps." Penny winced at the thought, which produced an image in her mind of her butler bound and gagged and perhaps lying unconscious somewhere in a dark place. "Then we'd best explore and see if he is here - or if there's any clues."

"Right. But we'll stay together." John opened that small black bag and pulled out a flashlight and a small handgun. "Just in case," he said to her questioning look.

Penny wanted very much to argue that she could take care of herself - but then the practical side of her insisted that it would only waste time, So, holding back a sigh, she followed John around to the back of the darkened farm house.

The evening had darkened enough that it was difficult to see very far without a light, but it didn't take a high-powered torch to show that FAB 1 was nowhere to be seen. The landscape around the farmhouse was level and only a few trees grew sparsely - there was no visible place to hide the large pink Rolls. All the same, they circled the house twice, widening their search area each time, before John said finally, "Well, obviously, no clues here - and no sign of your car." His shoulders lifted as he drew in breath, "Let's check inside."

The sagging porch creaked under their weight. Penny expected the door to be locked but it swung easily inward at John's push. Producing a small flashlight from his pocket, John led the way inside.

The house was small and empty of furnishings; there weren't even any curtains or rugs remaining. Dust and dried strands of grass and weeds swirled about their feet as they walked. They check all the rooms, beginning upstairs and working their way back down and out to the kitchen, ending finally with the basement,.

Here, they found a clue - the hard way. As he led the way forewarned in the dim glow of their torch, John's foot kicked something that made a metallic clang as it skittered across the dirt floor. After that, it took a few minutes to retrieve the object, but when Penny finally closed her hands about it, she gasped.

"It's one of FAB 1's wheel covers."

She held it up while John played the beam of the flash across the polished chrome surface. Hard to be certain in the darkness pressing about the, but Penny thought it looked as if a dark stain marred the finish on near on edge of the wheel cover.

'Let's get back outside, " John suggested after a moment. "We'll be able to see it better."

Out in the gray gloom, with the aid of the torch, it was clear to see that indeed, something dark and sticky stained part of the hubcap, a substance that looked disturbingly similar to the stain inside Parker's cap.

"Oh, dear. John, is that what I think it is?" Penny asked, surprising herself with the steadiness of her voice.

He nodded, his blonde hair glinting in the torch's beam, "Yeah. More blood." A brief pause as he ran his hands along the inside edge of the wheel cover, then, with a soft exclamation, he produced yet another folded scrap of paper. "Looks like another message from whoever's behind this." John unfolded it, then handed the paper to Penny.

She wasn't even surprised by now to find the note contained a series of numbers similar to those on the other note. Below numbers was written, in all capital letters :'URRY."

"More location coordinates," John mused, activating his wrist com again.

"And the word 'urry – hurry." Penny rubbed the back of her neck where that tingling uneasiness was back, stronger than before. "Parker's way of telling us to hurry up and find him, maybe?"

John was already talking quietly with Alan in TB 5. Penny walked over to stand beside their hired car, waiting for John and Alan to determine the location of their next destination. It's like some twisted game of cat and mouse, she thought grimly, tipping her head back to look up into the twilight blue sky. Bunt what's the purpose of sending us chasing all over the English countryside? What does this person want from me - from us?

She sighed. No easy answers. though perhaps when they got to the end of the chase, they'd know the truth.

"Let's go, Penny." John appeared beside her, climbing behind the wheel of the car. "Alan says the next place is about 50 km from here. But he's going to have to guide us—there's no visible structure there."

"How strange," Penny got in beside him. "Why would whoever this is lead us out into the middle of some field?"

"It could be a rock formation or a stand of trees," John pointed out as he set the car in motion with a jerk. "Whatever it is, it's too minute for Alan's instruments to detect. but he'll be able to tell us when we've reached the right spot."

"And maybe this time, " Penny said grimly, "We'll find Parker or the Rolls."

"Are you sure this is the right location?" Penny looked around. in the reflected glow of the rental car's headlights. It was almost completely dark now, the sky that deep purple blue it gets right before night has completely overtaken the land. "There's nothing whatsoever here."

They stood in the middle of what looked like a vacant field of windblown and dried grass. As she looked around, Penny could see no lights, no fences, no signs of habitation at all.

"Let me check." John spoke quickly into his wrist comm., then turned to her and nodded. "Alan says we're standing about 3 meters from the spot." He switched on the flashlight, led the way forward. "This direction."

They walked slowly, both of them taking their turn to stumble over small round stones hidden in the tangle of long grass at their feet. John kept his left arm upraised as he listened to Alan's quiet directions. Finally, just as he said, "Right here," Penny saw what surely must be the spot they'd been led to.

A small cairn of rocks sat in the middle of the open field. Perhaps its purpose had once been to mark a significant place - maybe a gravesite or the location of some important historical event. Now, all that remained was this somewhat lopsided pile of gray and white stones, looking like some of sort dead tree or plant that had sprouted from the ground.

"We found it, Alan, thanks," John broke the connection to TB 5, then he led the way right up to the cairn. Standing beside it, he turned lowly round in a circle, sweeping the beam of the torch through the thick gloom. In its glare, Penny saw a few stunted trees about 10 meters distant, the ruins of a wooden fence and the glinting eyes of an animal of some sort, perhaps a fox. But no sign of human life. No sign of Parker. And no sign of the Rolls.

She sighed. "Dear me, we've hit another dead end, it seems, John."

"Maybe." He began to walk around the cairn in a tight circle, dropping the flash's beam so that it illuminated the ground at their feet. They made three circuits, gradually widening the circle, before Penny spotted something pale lying in a heap a short distance from the cairn.

When her hand closed about the object, she felt a surge of dismayed recognition. It was her favorite pink silk scarf, now dirty and tattered from lying outdoors. And near the hem, she spotted that same deep red stain, still wet and glistening in the light from John's torch.

"More blood." She didn't make it a question, but John nodded anyway.

"And look -" He moved the flashlight beam a little and now she saw what had caught his attention. A small wrinkled piece of paper had been pinned to one end of the scarf. "Another message."

Impatiently, Penny unfastened the note from the fabric and began unfolding it. "This is getting a trifle old," she said angrily. "I'm sure whoever's behind this is somewhere laughing at us, at his ability to make us go chasing round the countryside after a trail of false clues."

Once again, the paper contained a series of location coordinates and ended with the words "'ate for u to be late."

"hate for you to be late," Penny read, feeling a mixture of irritation and astonishment. 'What do you suppose that means?"

"Not sure." John lifted his wrist again. "But I'd better get Alan working on those coordinates."

While he relayed the numbers to his brother, Penny turned the scarf over in her hands, frowning at the stain that marred it. If it really was blood - as it looked to be - then was it Parker's? Someone else's? Someone's weird idea of a joke or a gag?

"That's strange."

She looked up to see John frowning thoughtfully, his forehead creased.

"What's strange?"

"These coordinates -" He held up the piece of wrinkled paper. "They're for Foxleyheath. Your house."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Penny spun and ran back to the car. "Let's go."

"That's very strange." Penny frowned as John pulled into the long driveway leading towards the manor house and its accompanying garage. "It's dark. As if no one's there. But I thought Jeff was going to stay here and coordinate everything." She pressed her lips tightly together. "Come to think of it, John we haven't heard from your father at all, since we left him at the airport, have we?"

"You're right." John climbed out of the car and slammed the door, harder, Penny thought, than was probably necessary or good for the vehicle. "And I haven't been able to raise Virgil either." In the moonlight, his scowl was clearly visible. "Do you think something's happened to them, too, while we were out on a wild goose chase? I mean, maybe the whole point of this snipe hunt was to separate us, so that whoever's behind this could get Virge and my father alone -" His voice cracked briefly and he shook his head turned away from her. "Sure wish I hadn't made that wrong turn on the way here. Maybe we're too late. If they're in danger - or hurt -" He left the sentence unfinished.

Penny climbed out of the car, moved quickly to stand beside him. "Well, John, there's only way to find out. Let's go inside and see if your father's here. Maybe there's been some sort of outage or something that logically explains all of this. And if there is trouble, we can use my vid phone to call Scott and Gordon and get them over here to help."

In the darkness she heard John breathe out a gusty sigh. "You're right, Penny. Let's go." And he let her lead the way over to the main doors of the manor house.

"That's funny." Penny tugged on the brass handles, then frowned. "It's locked. But why would Jeff lock the doors?"

"Maybe he didn't," John said quietly. "Maybe - whoever is doing this - locked them. So they'd hear us coming and be ready for us -"

Now, Penny heard a quivering in John's voice - worry, perhaps? But something about all this nagged at her. Something that didn't seem quite right…

"Well - only one way to find out," she said briskly, brushing the thought from her mind and taking out her keys. "Let's go in."

And in one swift motion she unlocked the door and shoved it inward.

Penny groped her way across the threshold, reached for the lamp on the hallway table. But when she clicked the switch, nothing happened.

"Guess the bulb's burned out." Opening her eyes very wide, Penny turned to the right and groped her way to the double doors leading to her best parlor. She tugged the right hand door open and stepped over the threshold—and some part of hr mind noted two things: the foyer inside was pitch dark and John hung back, as if hesitant to enter the darkened room. Again, she thought she heard a choked sound from him, a sound that, oddly enough, resembled muffled laughter.

"John -" She started to turn, then thought the better of it and reached for the nearest light switch instead.

But before she could turn on the lights, they came on as if by remote, and a chorus of voice shouted, "Happy Halloween, Penny!"

When her dazzled eyes adjusted, Penny gasped in surprise. For in her living room stood an array of masked and costumed people—all of whom she recognized. There was Sir Jeremy, dressed as a very convincing magician, with top hat and tails. Jeff Tracy - very much unharmed - stood there, wearing a sea captain's uniform and cap. The strangely silent Virgil was there, clad in his version of a 20th century lounge act's costume: sequined jacket, black trousers and a pleated white shirt. Gordon and Scott Tracy were also in attendance, dressed as a clown and an Air Force pilot respectively. And at the front of the group, coming forward to greet her was -

"Parker!" She exclaimed, feeling a mixture of relief and irritation. The chauffeur wore the garb of an English Lord and a very sheepish smile on his face. "Parker - was this what you were up to then?"

"Yes, m'Lady," the butler said a bit hesitantly. "'ope you don't mind all the trouble, But I 'ad to get you out of the 'ouse so we could get ready. Mr. Tracy here 'elped." He nodded at Jeff, whose gray eyes twinkled.

"Jeff!" Penny crossed the room to give him a quick hug. "I might've known you'd be in on something like this!"

"Well, I can't take all the credit, Penny." The Tracy patriarch grinned at her. "The boys helped. Especially John -" He looked over her shoulder at his tall blonde son who had finally closed the door behind him and walked all the way into the parlor, also wearing a broad smile.

"Of course - all those suggestions about sinister things happening to Parker and the Rolls -" Penny rolled her eyes. "You put on a great performance, John. You had me convinced."

"I always knew John had the soul of a ham," Gordon piped up and everyone laughed.

"Quiet, you," John ordered with a grin.

Penny was still looking round at her friends gathered in the parlor. "This was a very elaborate plan," she said finally. 'Who came up with it, anyway?"

The Tracy's all exchanged looks, then Scott said, a bit hesitantly, "Well, um, much as I'd like to take the credit, it was Parker's idea, really. We just sorta played along."

"Parker?" Penny arched her eyebrows at her chauffeur. "This was all your idea?"

"Yes, m'lady." He avoided meeting her eyes. "Y'see, you been workin' so 'ard these past few months so I thought you could use some relaxation. I knew you'd never go for it if I just told you. So I 'ad to figure a way to set it up just right, so you'd 'ave to come."

"And that's where we came in," Scott put in, adjusting his leather bomber jacket on his broad shoulders. "Once Parker called us with the idea, we all put our heads together and came up with the clues you two followed to get you out of Foxleyheath long enough to set everything up."

"But you drive too fast, John," Virgil said with a grin. "You almost got here before we were ready."

"Sorry." John helped himself to some punch. "But I was starting to lose it. I was afraid if it went on too long, Penny'd figure something was up. Thought if I kept us moving fast enough, she wouldn't have time to puzzle it out. Then, when I couldn't raise Virge, I knew I was running early - so that's when I pretended to get lost. Only trouble was -" He grinned sheepishly. "I really did get lost for a few minutes there. I was afraid I'd have to call International Rescue for directions."

His brothers all laughed.

"But what about the blood?" Penny asked, accepting the glass of punch Parker handed her. "It looked so real -"

"Fake blood." Gordon answered. 'You can still get it at almost any costume shop."

"And the dark clothes Parker wanted to find -" Penny looked at the chauffeur's black evening suit and shook her head. 'Your costume, of course."

Parker nodded.

"And the knives -"

"Well, we do need new ones," the chauffeur said practically. "And it seemed like a fitting touch."

Penny started to laugh, feeling a rush of mingled relief and irritation. "Parker, you old devil, you. I didn't even suspect anything like this. But thank you." She sipped at her punch and nodded her approval. "You're right, too, of course. I need a chance to relax." She held up her punch cup and looked round at her friends. 'Happy Halloween to all of you."

A chorus of cheers and laughter went up from the gathering.

When it faded, Penny narrowed her eyes at Parker once more. "But I warn you, Parker. The next time you bring me brandy at night, I shall think twice before drinking it."