We do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand other worlds ...

The elevator was empty; there was no trace of the newborn Jasmine Cory.

"Mah Baby!" Lila shrieked, "Wheah's mah baby?"

In the ensuing pandemonium, no one noticed Remy slipping away from the party and entering a door marked Private.

Jordan Stark's office was dimly lit by a small lamp. The man behind the desk was shrouded in shadow.

"Hello, Zoe." he said.

"How much longer do I have to be a waitress, Daddy?" Remy demanded.

Jordan Stark, or rather, Alexander Nikos, turned up the lamp.

"For as long as I need to know what the Corys are thinking." he said.

"Well, right now, the Corys are running around like a flock of headless chickens."

"Are you certain that Paulina Cory trusts you?"

Remy nodded. "Ever since I used my 'psychic powers' to save her life when the ceiling fell in, she acts like I'm her long-lost daughter. You know, Daddy, that was dangerous! I could have been hurt - or even killed!"

Nikos gave a sigh of impatience. "I told you at the time, you were in no real danger. After you pressed the remote control to cause the collapse, you had sixty seconds to get into the kitchen, grab Paulina and get out again. That was plenty of time!"

"But what if that stupid cop she's married to had realized that the ceiling was rigged? "said Remy, "I know he's got a brain the size of a dried pea, but - "

Ms Allen entered the office. "Excuse me, Mr Stark, Captain Carlino is demanding to speak to you. He's becoming quite abusive."

"Send him in." said Nikos.

"If Joe sees me here, I'm toast!" said Remy.

"Go into the lab." said Nikos, turning the lamp down as low as possible.

Remy ducked out of sight just as Ms Allen ushered Joe into the office.

"Mr Stark, this is Captain Joseph Carlino of the Bay City Police." she said stiffly.

"How do you do, Captain?" said Nikos, in his phony 'Stark' voice.

Joe didn't waste any time being polite.

"I want a complete list of everybody who was invited to this shindig, and I want it now!" he snarled.

"Certainly." said Nikos, "See to it, Ms Allen."

"Yes Sir," she sniffed.

"Now if you will excuse me, Captain, I have work to do."

"Not so fast!" grated Joe, "I figure a guy who sits in a dark room has somethin' to hide! Let's see your face!"

He reached for the light switch. Nikos grabbed his wrist.

"Excuse me, Captain?" It was Officer Toni Burrell, "We found something you ought to see."

What Josie and Toni had found was a man in his underwear, tied and gagged, behind a dumpster in the Lumina Building's parking lot.

"Somebody jumped me!" he said, as soon as the gag was removed, "They took my clothes, my mask and my invitation to the Lumina Ball!"

"Then - one of the guests is a ringer!" said Toni, stating the obvious. "Maybe He kidnapped the Cory baby!"

"It could be anybody." said Joe, "Everybody's wearin' masks."

"Not quite anybody." said Josie, "It would have to be somebody tall and thin, or this man's clothes wouldn't fit him."

"Okay, everybody take off their masks!" said Joe, with his usual knack for locking the barn door after the horse had escaped.

Naturally, the BCPD found nothing, since the man who had stolen those clothes in order to attend the Lumina Ball had already left the building, and had changed back into his usual attire.

"Put these in a dumpster." he told his henchman, with a deep sigh, handing him the tuxedo etc.

"Are you okay, Carl? Do you have a headache again?"

"No - I have a heartache. It was painful, seeing Rachel again, and not being able to speak to her or touch her."

"Why don't you just tell her that you're alive?"

"No. I can only protect Rachel and our children if Nikos doesn't suspect me."

"If you say so."

To be continued.