"How'd they get in?" the old man asked.
"I haven't looked yet. I've been too busy rescuing you."
"You took your sweet time getting to it," he grumbled. "I must have been there three hours. What time is it?"
"After four. Now tell me what happened."
Fred took a long drink from the scotch. "I was in my room and thought I heard a sound down below. I figured you'd come home early so I called out to you. When I got to the top of the stairs, they must have been hiding back of the door 'cause the next thing I knew they had a towel over my head and were dragging me into the bathroom."
"How did you know there were two of them?"
"'Cause they talked to each other."
"What did they say?"
Fred took another swig from the scotch. "Can't hear much with a towel over your head. Besides, I was concentrating on how to escape and teach them guys a thing or two."
Dean smiled and patted Fred on the shoulder. "How long were they here?"
"Not as long as they wanted. They turned your music up loud and started tearing the place apart but then someone rang the bell and they hightailed it out the back. It must have been Cora Abernathy. She watches the place like a hawk and as soon as you're gone she's at the door-comes socializing." He paused. "You don't have to tell the cops about them pulling down my pants, do you? That's kinda embarrassing. Why do you suppose they did that?"
Dean shrugged but shuddered when he remembered how information was extracted from Billie Wassermann.
Fred insisted over Dean's objections that they try and find if anything was missing. Dean was sure it was Nota and Homer Flanders, looking for information on where Vinnie Baratto was hidden, but there was nothing in the house to tell them. He was still searching and putting things back together when Officer Jack McCarty and his female partner Jenny Nachman arrived, with the doctor close on their heels. Dr. Blanchard went up to Fred's room while the police followed Dean around the downstairs, filling out their report.
"Second break-in today," said Jenny, a pretty blonde and the brightest in her recent graduating class. "I'm going to be an expert if this keeps up."
Although the intruders had started to search, it was apparent they hadn't gotten far. Only the living room showed signs of any activity. Nothing was seriously damaged, simply strewn about. A drape had been torn from the dining room and the cord used to tie Fred.
The pair finished their burglary report and agreed to try and keep the matter out of the papers in deference to Dean's other police activities. Nothing had been stolen and after yesterday's encounter with the blue Ford, all agreed they had a line on the prime suspects. Before the uniformed officers left to interview the neighbors, Dean called Lieutenant Anderson to inform him of this latest development. The lieutenant's wife Marian answered the phone.