Flesh and Blood by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

smiled at Callie. He returned his gaze to the photos. "I missed it the first few times I went over them, but then I spotted him."
    "Who?" Chet asked.
    "Bobby Mock. There." Frank pointed at a kid in the first photo who was half hidden by the crowd pressing around Leonard Mock. "And there." He pointed at the second photo, and again, the same kid was present. "And there, and there." In the third and fourth photos, the kid was more visible.
    For the first time they all got a good look at a young Bobby Mock, his white blond hair uncombed, a half moon birthmark just above his upper lip.
    "He's tall for six years old," Joe said.
    "That's been our mistake from the beginning," Frank said. "We all assumed Bobby Mock was our age. He's not five in those photos. He's at least eleven or twelve."
    "That means we're looking for someone who's twenty-three or twenty-four," Joe announced.
    "I still don't understand how I picked up the wrong file," Don said.
    "It's not your fault. You got the file you were meant to find," Frank replied. "Didn't they used to write all the case numbers in a big log?" Frank asked Don.
    "They still do," Don answered. Then he snapped his fingers. "Bobby Mock's real case file could be found in the old handwritten log."
    "Right," Frank replied with a smile.
    Don darted down a row of shelves and disappeared. He returned moments later.
    "Here it is," he announced, holding up a thick two-by three-foot book. "The old case log." He laid the book gently on the desk as though it were a valuable volume of literature.
    Frank flipped through the yellowing pages. "Look at this." The others looked over Frank's shoulders. "Mock, Robert Edward, adoption granted."
    "Does it say who adopted Mock?" Callie asked.
    "No." Frank leaned up. "But it gives us the case number."
    "Chet, I'll need your help getting the file box down from the shelf," Don said as he wrote down the case number. Then he and Chet disappeared toward the rear of the file room.
    "That still doesn't explain why Mangieri's involved," Callie said.
    "For money," Frank replied. "What bothers me is how he got out of jail," Frank added.
    "Got it!" Don announced as he and Chet trotted back up to the desk. He handed the file to Frank, who placed it on the desk. He turned the cover back.
    Staring back at them was a small photo of the same kid they had seen in the news photos, his eyes dark with fear and worry, his face a scowl, his hair mussed.
    "Bobby Mock," Frank said.
    "He looks so scared - and lonely," Callie whispered.
    Frank flipped over the first page. The second page was a court order taking custody of Bobby away from Leonard Mock.
    The third page was a request by a young couple to adopt Bobby Mock and legally change his name.
    The fourth page granted the request.
    Frank cleared his throat and said, "Robert Edward Mock then became - "
    "Robert Edward Stewart," a deep voice said from behind them.
    They all spun around. Officer Stewart stood at the base of the stairs, his .357 drawn and pointing at the group.
    "Now, who'll be the first to die?" Stewart asked with a smile.
    The fluorescent light bounced off Stewart's white blond hair and created a shimmering halo over his head like that of an angel of death.

Chapter 12
    "I always liked the meticulous way you thought, Frank," Stewart said. A sly grin spread across his face. "I made only one mistake - keeping that old file down here."
    "That wasn't your only mistake," Frank said. "Officer Riley knows we're down here, and he'll - "
    "Ah, yes. Officer Riley," Stewart interrupted. "My partner. Supposed to be watching the front, isn't he? He told me what you were up to, thought I would want to help, being a fellow cop and all. Quite a weird twist of fate, huh? I mean the son of the man who killed his partner now kills him."
    "What?" Joe blurted.
    "Don't get so excited, Joe," Stewart said. "He's not dead - yet. Let's just say he's resting. He's at the top of the stairs, unconscious. He's safe. For now."
    "How did you get the file