Eye on Crime Page 2

  “Security camera,” Frank said.

  “She must have remembered that from the newspaper report on Rojas and Wingfoot,” Joe offered. Frank nodded.

  Satisfied that they had foiled the security camera, Callie and Iola tiptoed over to the glass-top counter. Iola made a circle with her hands on top of the glass. Then she reached through the “hole” she had just cut in the countertop and pulled her hand back out. She smiled triumphantly at whatever she believed she had just retrieved. Meanwhile, Callie went over to the cash register. She popped behind the counter, looking for something.

  “Okay,” Monty said, “they’re in and they’ve found something. Now let’s see how they handle trouble.”

  Monty looked at Callie and Iola. “Hardy Girls,” he said, “you’re doing great. But suddenly, you hear the sound of police sirens outside. You forgot to check for a silent alarm.”

  Both Callie and Iola got shocked expressions on their faces. But like any good detectives, they quickly regained their composure. Iola pointed to the window. Callie nodded. Iola used her screwdriver to jimmy open the window. Then Callie hung the rope outside the window. The two girls climbed through the window, holding the rope as if they needed it to lower themselves. When safely on the “street” they began to run.

  “Okay, ladies, that’s enough,” Monty said. Callie and Iola stopped in their tracks. “Come back over to me.” The girls walked over to Monty.

  “Weren’t they wonderful detectives?” he asked the audience. Everybody applauded. “How’d they do, Frank and Joe?”

  “Oh, they were wonderful!” Joe said with mock enthusiasm.

  “Yeah,” Frank added, “but we never would have missed the alarm.” The audience burst out laughing.

  “Well, I guess it’s time to snap these good-natured ladies out of their trances,” Monty said. He turned to face Callie and Iola. “Okay, Hardy Girls, when I count to three, you will no longer be hypnotized. And just to make sure you carry some of the embarrassment home with you, you’ll remember everything that you did up here. One, two, three!”

  Callie clasped her hands to her mouth. She laughed with embarrassment. Iola smirked up at Frank and Joe. The whole audience laughed.

  “Now, if you’ll just go backstage, our assistant producer will have some lovely parting gifts to give you for being such good sports. Let’s give our Hardy Girls a great big round of applause!”

  The audience sent Callie and Iola backstage with the sounds of hoots and clapping ringing in their ears.

  Frank and Joe watched their girlfriends walk behind the curtain.

  “That was great!” Joe laughed.

  “Yeah,” Frank said. “Except it makes the two of us a little more famous than detectives should be.”

  “Aww, people will forget us soon enough,” Joe replied. “Then we can be good old anonymous sleuths again.”

  The two brothers sat together, watching the end of the show. After Monty wrapped up, Frank and Joe got up to leave. The large crowd moved sluggishly through the studio toward the exit. Frank and Joe had to wait several minutes before they could get on an elevator to take them to the ground floor. When they got to the parking lot the space next to theirs was empty.

  “Didn’t Callie say she parked right next to us?” Joe asked.

  “Yeah, she did,” Frank answered. “From what the guy said before the show, we figured they wouldn’t leave until after everybody from the audience was gone.”

  “Hmm,” Joe said. He unlocked the driver’s door and got into the van. Then he leaned across the seat to unlock the passenger door for Frank. Frank climbed in and buckled his seat belt.

  “Maybe they went out some backstage entrance. We did have to wait awhile for the elevator.”

  “That must be it,” Frank replied. “They’re probably already at the pizza place with Chet and Tony.”

  Joe turned the key in the ignition. “So let’s jet.”

  Twenty minutes later as the hour alarm on Joe’s watch chimed seven the brothers pulled up in front of their favorite pizza place, which also happened to be where Tony Prito worked as a waiter.

  “I don’t see Callie’s car anywhere,” Frank said.

  The brothers got out of the van and went into the pizza place. Joe inhaled the hearty aroma of garlic and cheese.

  “I love the smell of pizza when I’m hungry,” he said.

  “Well, I always love that smell,” shouted a voice from across the room.

  “Yeah, because you’re always hungry, Chet,” said a second voice.

  Frank and Joe walked over to the table where their friends Tony Prito and Chet Morton sat. On the table between them was a pitcher of soda.

  “Hi, guys,” Joe said. Tony got up as the brothers sat down.

  “I’ll go get some more glasses and pop the pizza in the oven,” Tony said.

  “Shouldn’t we wait until Callie and Iola get here?” Frank asked.

  “Wait for food? Never,” Chet replied. “But where is my sister anyway?”

  Tony walked into the restaurant’s kitchen.

  “We’re not sure,” Frank said. “We thought she and Callie would be here already.”

  “Maybe they’re too embarrassed to show up,” Joe said.

  “What do you mean?” Tony asked as he returned to the table. He put two more glasses on the table and filled them with soda as Frank began to tell them about Callie and Iola’s television debut.

  “You have got to be kidding!” Chet howled as Joe finished what Frank had begun.

  “A horse!” Tony laughed and shook his head in disbelief.

  “Not just that,” Chet said. “The whole we-want-to-be-the-Hardy-Girls thing! It’s great. I’m never going to let my sister live it down.”

  “Hey, wanting to be us isn’t such a bad idea,” Joe said.

  “Well, I can’t wait to see it on television next week,” Tony said.

  Just then Tony’s boss came out of the kitchen, carrying a pan of piping-hot pizza.

  “Oh, I would have gotten that,” Tony said, jumping up to help with the tray.

  “It’s no problem,” Tony’s boss said. She smiled at the boys. “Just go get some plates.” Tony headed for the kitchen.

  “And please turn up the television,” Frank said. He pointed to the television that hung on a wall bracket a few feet from where they were sitting. “News Update should be on in a minute.”

  “You and the news,” the pizza shop’s owner said as she put the pizza pan down on the table. “You sure do like to watch the news.”

  “Yeah,” Chet said. “Isn’t there a sitcom on or something?”

  “It’s good to stay informed,” Frank said. “Besides, I want to catch the baseball spring-training report.”

  Tony returned with four plates, and the boys served themselves.

  “Spring training, huh?” Chet asked. “Is it time for baseball season already?”

  “Sure is,” Joe replied. “And I am raring to get back out on the diamond again.”

  “Of course you are,” Frank said. “You have a shot to break Bayport’s all-time home-run record.”

  “And if you pitch as well as you can,” Joe said to his brother, “we’re sure to rack up lots of wins.”

  “Bayport High has a shot at the championship this year?” Tony asked.

  “We sure do,” Joe answered.

  “All we have to do is get past Shoreham High and we’re a lock,” Frank said.

  “Do you think you can?” Chet asked.

  “If Bobby Rojas and Pepper Wingfoot end up in jail, we’ll murder them.”

  “What are you talking about, Joe?” Chet asked.

  “You really need to watch the news more,” Frank said. “Rojas and Wingfoot were arrested today for robbing the Bayport Jewelry Exchange.”

  “Whoa, that’s big-time stuff,” Tony said.

  “Frank, don’t you mean to say ‘allegedly’?” Joe chided his brother.

  “What do you mean?” Chet asked.

  “Frank d
oesn’t like to convict anybody before all of the evidence is in.”

  “So does that mean you two plan to get involved?” Tony asked. “Or maybe the Hardy Girls are off investigating the case while we all eat pizza.”

  “Ha-ha,” Frank said with a mock laugh. “I doubt that’s where they are. And, no, we don’t plan to get involved with this case. The police seem to be on top of it.”

  “Speaking of the girls,” Joe said, “it’s getting awfully late. I wonder where they could be.”

  “I think I’ll call home to see if Iola is there,” Chet said. He got up and went behind the counter to the phone.

  “Good idea,” Tony said.

  A minute later Chet sat back down at the table. “No dice,” he said.

  “I’ll call Callie’s house,” Frank said. He went to the phone. When he came back, he just shook his head.

  For the next hour the boys all sat quietly, watching television. None of them really noticed what was on the screen. They just waited to see if Callie and Iola would show up at the restaurant.

  At nearly ten o’clock, Chet broke the silence.

  “I’m getting worried, guys,” he said.

  “We all are,” Frank said.

  “I’ll go call Iola,” Joe said.

  “Let’s drive over there,” Chet suggested. “No reason to spook my folks if there isn’t something to worry about.”

  Tony got up and began to clear the table. “Why don’t you guys check to see if they left any messages. I’ll clean up here.”

  “Do you want some help?” Joe asked.

  “I got it,” Tony said. “Just give me a call at home later to let me know the girls are okay.”

  Frank, Chet, and Joe left the pizza place. The three friends got in the van, each with a worried expression on his face.

  “Let’s drive over to Chet’s house,” Frank said. He got in the driver’s seat. After everyone buckled his seat belt Frank put the car in gear. The silent drive to Chet’s house seemed to take forever.

  It was ten-thirty when the van pulled up in front of the Morton home.

  “Callie’s car isn’t here,” Frank said.

  They walked up to the front door. Chet got out his key, but the door was unlocked.

  When they entered the house, they saw that the light in the living room was lit.

  “Iola?” Chet called as they headed toward the light.

  “You mean she’s not with you?” answered Chet’s father as the boys entered the room. Mr. Morton, a large man who looked like an older version of his son, sat on a couch with his wife, a dead ringer for her daughter.

  “Nope,” Chet shook his head.

  A worried look crossed Mrs. Morton’s face.

  “Then where can she be?”

  3 Girls in Trouble

  * * *

  Mrs. Morton’s words hung in the air. Joe Hardy looked around the room. Everywhere he turned, he stared into a worried face.

  “It certainly isn’t like Iola to go off without telling somebody where she’s going,” Mr. Morton said.

  “She was supposed to meet us at Pizza Palace after the television show,” Frank said.

  “Did something happen to change those plans?” Mr. Morton asked.

  “Well, Sis and Callie did end up being guests on the show,” Chet said. “Maybe they’re hanging out with some of the people from Monty Mania.”

  Chet’s parents both gave their son quizzical looks. Chet began to fill them in on the details, drawing on the story that Frank and Joe had related to him earlier that evening.

  Meanwhile, Frank had gone into the kitchen to use the phone. First he called his own house to see if the missing girls had left any word there. Then, after that phone call came up empty, he tried Callie’s house. Nobody answered.

  “Nobody’s home at the Shaws’,” Frank said when he returned to the living room.

  Just then they heard a key in the front door. Everyone raced to the entryway.

  “Iola!” Mr. Morton shouted as his daughter entered the house. “Are you all right?” Mrs. Morton gave her daughter a hug.

  “Where have you been?” she asked.

  Iola seemed taken aback by all of the attention.

  “Oh, just around.”

  “Where did you and Callie go after Monty Mania?” Frank asked. “Where’s Callie?”

  “She dropped me off and headed for home,” Iola answered.

  “Why didn’t you meet us at the pizza place?” Joe asked. He crowded past Chet to put a reassuring hand on Iola’s shoulder.

  “Uh, no reason,” Iola replied.

  “Were you angry for what happened at the taping?” Joe asked.

  “Or embarrassed?” Chet added.

  “Not really,” Iola responded. “Well, a little embarrassed, I guess.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Well, Callie and I went backstage to sign the papers. Then Monty came back to talk to us. And then Callie and I just decided to go to the park.”

  “The park?” Joe sounded incredulous.

  “Yeah, it’s the weirdest thing. Callie and I got in the car, and we just sort of realized, ‘Hey, we never spend any time together, just the two of us.’ So we went to the park to talk.”

  “What did you talk about?” Chet asked.

  “Oh, it’s probably private,” Mrs. Morton interjected. “Okay, everyone, it’s late. Off to bed.”

  Joe gave Iola a hug. “I hope everything is okay. Call me if you want to talk.”

  “I’m fine, Joe.” Iola briefly put her arms around Joe’s back and gave him a squeeze.

  Frank and Joe said good night to the Mortons, went out to the van, and headed for home.

  • • •

  The next morning Frank and Joe met with Chet in front of Bayport High School a half-hour before classes were to start. It gave the brothers a chance to fill in Chet on whatever case they might currently be working. Chet often proved a valuable asset to an investigation, acting as a sounding board for ideas and sometimes providing a little extra muscle if it was needed.

  “Where’s Iola?” Joe asked after he said good morning to Chet.

  “She’s with Callie,” Chet responded. “Callie picked up Iola real early, but I haven’t seen them yet.”

  “Strange,” Frank said. “Callie and Iola have always been friendly. They’ve been out with us on enough double dates to spend a lot of time together. But I wouldn’t call them close. Not until the last sixteen or so hours.”

  Just as Frank finished his observation, Tony Prito arrived on his bicycle.

  “Hey, gang,” he said. He gave Joe a friendly pat on the shoulder. “How’d things wrap up last night?”

  “Oh, man,” Joe said sheepishly, “I was supposed to call you with an update. I’m so sorry. I hope you didn’t sit around worried.”

  “Well, I was a little worried, but I managed to sleep.” Everybody laughed. “So what happened? When did the girls show up?”

  “It was around eleven,” Chet said. “Iola and Callie just hung out with each other all evening.”

  “That’s it?” Tony asked. “That’s the great mystery?”

  Before anybody could add anything to the conversation, Frank’s attention was drawn to the school parking lot.

  “Hey, there are Callie and Iola now,” he said, pointing to Callie’s car as it pulled into a parking space. The four boys began to walk over to the car. Tony waved to the girls and then veered off toward the bike rack to lock up his ten-speed.

  “Good morning, you two,” Frank said. The group of friends stood in the parking lot in silence for a moment.

  “So, are you two completely avoiding us since yesterday?” Joe asked.

  Iola leaned against Joe. “Oh, don’t be silly, Joe. What could possibly be wrong?”

  “Well, you have been a little mysterious since the television taping yesterday,” Frank said. He gave a worried glance to Callie. “Are you guys mad at us?”

  Callie reached out and took Frank’s hand. “Nothin
g is the matter,” she said. “Iola and I just realized after our starring performance yesterday, that we really know each other only through you and Joe.”

  “And me,” Chet interjected. His face was animated, trying to break a little of the tension with humor.

  “And Chet,” Callie added. “Anyway, we took the opportunity to spend some time alone to see if there was more of a connection between us than just the Brothers Hardy.”

  “And?” Joe asked.

  “And we found out—” Iola began to say. But a loud blaring of car horns and the call of a booming voice crackling through a bullhorn drowned out her words.

  “Bayport’s ballplayers are bums!” shouted the disembodied voice. Joe craned his neck, scanning the parking lot to see where the ruckus was coming from. He spotted a large red classic convertible car slowly wending its way through the rows of parked cars.

  “Who are the rich kids?” Joe began to say, but again his words were drowned out by the blaring car horn.

  “Shoreham is gonna show Bayport who’s boss!”

  The speeding car made its way into the row where the group of friends stood. They could all read a large sign that was being waved in the air by one of the car’s occupants.

  “Shoreham baseball rules,” Frank read aloud.

  “The nerve of those guys!” Chet said. “Coming to our turf before the season’s even started.”

  The convertible drove closer to where everybody was standing. As it approached the group, it began to accelerate.

  “Whooh! Yeah!” shouted a boy as the car sped past. He raised both arms and hurled two large, round, wobbly projectiles. The missiles careened through the air, straight at Joe and Callie. Before either of them could move, they were hit, leaving them soaking wet as the Shoreham students sped out of the parking lot.

  “Why those . . .” Joe growled through gritted teeth.

  “Water balloons!” Callie shouted at the same time. “I’m soaked, and so are my books!”

  Frank reached into his gym bag and took out a fresh towel and handed it to Callie. Joe just stood there dripping.