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might put someone's life in danger."
    "Greg already thought of that," Callie said as they headed for the house. "He told me all about it on the way here."
    "Right, she's part of the team now," said Mike. "She said it wasn't the first time she'd gotten involved with one of your cases."
    "Somehow she almost always manages to," said Joe with a sigh. Having Callie on a case bothered him. Since his girlfriend, Iola Morton, had been killed on one of their cases, Joe didn't like girls helping them. The fact that Callie had shown she was able to take care of herself time after time really didn't matter to him.
    Frank decided to get the subject back on track. It was time to use his deductive powers, if only to remind Callie that solving a case demanded calm, cool brain work, not merely quick reflexes.
    "I'm sure Callie can help us," he said, holding the door open for Joe and her. "But first, let's figure out why you two have become targets, since that guy certainly couldn't have been after Callie."
    "Not guy, guys — I spotted two of them in the car," said Greg. "Maybe they're on my stepfather's payroll. He might not want to take the chance that Mom told us whatever she found out about him."
    "That makes sense," said Callie, leading the way into the living room. "I see you think as fast as you drive."
    Frank tried not to notice the look she gave Greg. "Look, just because a guy dents your car, I don't think we should assume — " Joe began, but before he could continue, the phone rang.
    Greg walked into the hall to answer it. He listened, muttered something into the receiver, and hung up. Then he returned to the others.
    "It was my stepfather," he told them. "He said the kidnappers have gotten in touch to tell him where to bring the cash. And he said they insisted that he bring Mike and me with him to the drop."
    "But why?" Callie asked.
    "The kidnappers claim they want to keep the whole family in sight so we don't try to pull a fast one. But I have a different idea."
    "I think I have the same idea," said Mike. "That our stepfather is luring us into a trap?"
    "Yeah," said Greg grimly. "A death trap."

Chapter 6
    THE THREE OF them were standing under an unlit streetlight on a deserted midnight street in a rundown part of New York City. They looked completely out of place: a well-dressed, middle-aged man and two teenagers in windbreakers and neatly pressed jeans.
    They hoped they also looked like Walter Raw-ley and his stepsons, Greg and Mike.
    That was their plan. It was a long shot, but the only shot they had. It had been Dunn's idea.
    He had phoned the Rawleys' right after Walter Rawley had called about the ransom demand. Through the tap on the phones, Dunn had heard everything.
    He had left for Bayport immediately and must have broken all the speed limits driving there. He had arrived at the Rawleys' a little over an hour after the calls. They had decided to meet there since Walter Rawley had said he wouldn't come home that night. He had to go into New York to gather the ransom money. Greg and Mike were to meet him in the city later when the ransom was to be delivered.
    They all sat in the living room to discuss Dunn's plan. "I'd have bet that the kidnapping story was a phony," said Greg, shaking his head.
    "It still might be," said Dunn carefully. "Your stepfather could be covering his tracks because any kidnapping investigation would cover everything." He paused a second. "Especially if the victim turns up dead."
    Mike raised an eyebrow at his brother.
    Frank, who caught the look exchanged by the brothers, nodded. "Sure, Mr. Rawley could have staged the ransom call and put it on tape. That way he'd have proof that his story was genuine."
    At this Joe raised a hand, palm out. "Hey, Frank, nobody knows Rawley's the bad guy. He's always been our friend, remember. We have to keep an open mind."
    "Right," said Frank. "But we also have to explore all the possibilities. We can't let our feelings blind us."
    Dunn smiled at Frank. "It's