"What happened to your head?" Hank asked.

"I had a run in with Julius Monroe today," Will answered quietly.

"Julius did that to you?" Hank asked, showing a slight bit of agitation.

"Not exactly. The bookshelf gave me the gash," Will explained. "Julius just happened to throw me into the bookshelf."

"I know the guy hates your guts and doesn't need much of a reason to want to beat you up, but what did he want?" Hank asked.

"He came into the office asking if I had ever seen this woman," Will answered as he pulled out the woman's photo from his pocket and handed it to Hank.

Hank examined the photo and then handed it back to Will.

"I've never seen her before," Hank said, shaking his head.

"Me neither...and that's what I told Julius. Then he asked me to rat her out if ever I did see her," Will related.

"What did you say to that?" Hank asked.

"I told him to tell Moe that I don't work for creeps," Will answered.

"And that's when he introduced you to the bookshelf," Hank joked.

"Yup," Will confirmed.

"Did he say anything about why he was looking for the girl?" Hank questioned.

"He wouldn't tell me," Will replied.

"Sounds like she needs help," Max interrupted.

"Not you too? That's exactly what Em said," Will said, somewhat annoyed.

"Well, she's right," Max persisted.

"I'm not sure there's much we can do anyway, Max," Hank noted. "We don't even know the girl or where to find her."

"Exactly! She's not our client...not our problem," Will stated.

Steps were heard coming down the stairs, and everyone quieted for a moment.

"Emily's in bed, Will," Jennifer said as she entered the living room.

"And that's where I need to be," Hank said as he rose from his place on the sofa. "Ready to go, Jen?"

"Sure, uncle. I'm pretty tired myself," Jennifer replied.

Hank and Jennifer said goodnight to Max and then walked to the front door with Will. After seeing his friends out and saying goodnight, Will went up to tuck Emily in and give her a goodnight hug and kiss. He then returned downstairs to the living room.

"I'm going to sit out on the porch for a bit," Will said to Max.

"Would you like some company?" Max asked.

"Sure," Will replied.

The two friends stepped out onto the front porch and sat down on a large wooden bench chair. Will and Max sat quietly for some time, enjoying the cool of the evening after having had such a hot day. Finally, Max broke the silence.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Max asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Will replied.

"When you said that the woman was not your client and not your problem," Max clarified.

"I don't know, Max," Will said with some frustration. "I mean...it's true that she isn't our client..."

"But..." Max anticipated.

"But...I guess I don't really believe that she isn't our problem," Will admitted. "You and Em are right. She needs help."

"What are you going to do?" Max asked.

"I don't know. What can I do? I don't know who or where she is. All I have is this picture. Where do I start?" Will wondered aloud.

"You're an investigator, William. A good one. You'll figure it out," Max encouraged as he patted Will on the knee.

Another moment of silence followed. Suddenly, Will's attention was drawn down to the corner of the street.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Will whispered to himself.

"What is it?" Max asked.

"I think it's her, Max," Will said quietly as he motioned with his head toward the corner of the street.

There in the distance, Will and Max could see what appeared to be a woman cautiously making her way down the sidewalk. She seemed to be keeping to the shadows and was constantly checking over her shoulder. Upon reaching the corner, the woman checked over her shoulder again and suddenly froze. In the far distance down the street behind the woman, two headlights came into view as a car turned onto the street. The woman quickly ducked down, made sure she was out of the car's line-of-sight, and then rounded the corner and began to make her way down the street that crossed Will's. A moment later, she was out of sight.

"I guess you know where to start now," Max stated quietly.

"Not just yet. I want to see who's following her," Will said.

Will and Max watched as a black car reached the corner and hesitated for a moment. The car then slowly turned onto the cross street and headed in the same direction the woman had taken. Will could see two men in the car, but could not clearly make out their identities due to the distance and darkness.

"I'm pretty sure I know who's following her," Will stated as he rose from the bench. "Max, stay here, and watch over Emily."

"Of course," Max agreed. "Be careful, William."

Will bounded down the steps and ran across the street to an alley that ran parallel to Rose Street – the street which the woman had taken.

Meanwhile, the woman continued making her way down Rose Street, doing her best to avoid being seen. She looked over her shoulder and could see those dreaded headlights a fair distance behind her. She realized that she was going to have to do something to throw off her pursuers once again. They had already been tailing her on and off for a few hours now, and there was no way she could keep this up all night.

The woman saw another cross street up ahead. As she approached the corner, a large truck came down the cross street and rolled to a stop. The driver motioned for the woman to cross, and so she did, waving at the driver to show her gratitude. As the truck began to cross Rose Street to continue its journey, the woman suddenly turned and then quickly crossed the street, using the truck as cover so as to avoid being seen by her pursuers.

The woman continued to walk briskly down the new cross street, thankful to leave Rose Street behind. She turned to look over her shoulder, and suddenly, her heart leapt in her chest as she felt a hand cover her mouth as she was simultaneously grabbed around the waist and pulled behind a hedge.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you," whispered a male voice. "I'm here to help."

The woman – overtaken by fear – did not hear what was said. She struggled to break free, attempting to elbow her assailant and stamp his feet.

"Oof!" the voice grunted. "Listen! I know who's following you. I wanna help you get away from those guys. Honest...I'll let go now, but just don't make any noise or go running off."

This time the woman heard what the man said, and she stopped fighting. There was something sincere and calming in the man's voice. The woman felt the man slowly release his hold of her and step back. The woman quickly stepped away and then turned to see to whom the voice belonged.

The woman realized that she was standing at the edge of an alley, and although it was dark, she could see that the man standing before her was of moderate height, modest build, and most likely in his twenties. The man had a friendly face and a warm smile that reassured the woman even more.

"Who are..." the woman began to question.

"Quick! Get down. They're coming," the man urgently whispered as he reached for the woman's hand and gently pulled her back into the shadow of the alley.

The woman followed the man's advice, and together they carefully peeked through the hedge and watched as the black car with the two men slowly passed through the intersection and continued on down Rose Street.

"Finally," the woman said as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Will Irving," Will greeted.

"What?" asked the woman.

"I believe you were about to ask who I am," Will clarified. "Will Irving, private investigator, at your service."

Will put his hand out for the woman to shake.

"Forgive my suspicion, Will, but why are you trying to help me?" the woman asked, ignoring Will's outstretched hand.

"I'm not sure now is the best time to swap stories. Perhaps it would be best to get you someplace safe first," Will suggested.

"I'm not so sure any place is safe for me anymore," the woman replied.

"In that case, you're welcome to come back with me to my house," Will offered.

The woman eyed Will suspiciously.

"I know it sounds like a crazy idea. I don't expect you to trust me. Maybe this will help though. You bumped into my little sister earlier today and dropped your brooch. She's pretty adamant about wanting to give it back, and you would probably make her day – actually more like her whole summer – if you were there in the morning when she came down for breakfast," Will explained with a smile.

As the woman listened to Will speak, she felt her sweater in the place where her brooch had been pinned.

"I didn't even realize I had lost it," the woman said softly. "I remember bumping into a little girl today. I wanted to check on her and say sorry, but I was being followed. I'm sorry. Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Don't worry...So what do you say? Wanna hide out at our place?" Will offered again.

"Claire Ferryman," the woman said as she smiled and put her hand out for Will to shake. "And yes, I'll take you up on that offer. Thank you, Will."

Will smiled and warmly shook Claire's hand.

"You can thank my sister in the morning. She's the reason I'm here," Will said fondly. "Follow me. Our house is only a block away."

Will checked the street to make sure the coast was clear, and then he and Claire cautiously made their way back down the alley toward Will's house.