The Karate Clue Read online

Joe went on. “We were watching you from inside the closet.”

  Frank nudged Joe with his elbow.

  “The door was open a bit, so we couldn’t help it,” Joe explained. “And you were one mean karate machine.”

  “Why don’t you show your stuff to the class one day?” Frank asked.

  “Yeah,” Joe said. “We’d love to see you in action.”

  Bobby picked up a trophy. He looked at it and smiled. “I’ll think about it.”

  Frank and Joe said goodbye to Bobby and left the office.

  “I think that the belt he’s wearing does belong to him,” Frank whispered to Joe. “But there’s just one thing I have to do.”

  Frank ran back into the office. “Bobby? I mean, Mr. Lee? May we have your autograph?”

  Bobby looked confused. “My autograph?”

  “Sure.” Frank nodded. “You’re the closest we’ve ever come to a real karate star.”

  Bobby reached for a pen. He scribbled on a piece of paper and handed it to Frank.

  “Here you go,” Bobby said. He smiled warmly.

  “Thanks,” Frank said.

  “You’re welcome,” Bobby said.

  “Well? What does it say?” Joe asked as the brothers hurried out of the school.

  “It says, ‘Your friend, Bobby Lee,’ ” Frank said. He grinned from ear to ear. “And the loops of the first B are perfectly even.”

  • • •

  Sunday morning passed quickly for Frank and Joe. After a late pancake breakfast, their mom drove them to the Bayport Cinema.

  Chet and Iola were already there. Brian wasn’t coming. He had tennis lessons on Sundays.

  “There it is.” Chet pointed to the movie marquee. “The newest Jimmy Han movie—Tumble Till You Crumble.”

  “Don’t forget what we really came here for,” Frank reminded everyone. “To check out Zack’s black belt.”

  “If Zack shows up,” Chet said.

  “I told you,” Iola insisted. “Zack told everyone he would be here.”

  The line to the box office was getting longer and longer with excited kids. Tanya and her fan club were already at the front.

  “We’d better get our tickets,” Joe said. He stepped forward and grinned. “Last one in line is a rotten egg!”

  Joe raced for the ticket line. He could hear the others running after him. But just as he reached the end of the line, he stopped short. Frank, Chet, and Iola plowed into him.

  “Hey, Joe,” Frank said. “What’s up with stopping short like that?”

  Joe pointed to the white brick wall of the theater. Written across the bricks in bright blue chalk were the words “Jimmy Han Rules Big Time—Dragon Man Is Boss!”

  “Check out the B’s,” Joe said. “The loops are uneven—just like in the message on the sidewalk.”

  “Do you know what that means?” Frank asked.

  Chet looked at the message and shrugged. “Bad penmanship?”

  “No,” Frank said. “It means that the karate thief was here!”

  7

  Snack Attack!

  A giant-size popcorn and an extra large soda,” Chet said happily. “Now I can watch the movie.”

  Frank, Joe, Chet, and Iola sat in the tenth row. As they waited for the movie to begin, Joe explained everything they had learned about Bobby Lee.

  “Wow! A black belt karate champ,” Chet said.

  “Never mind that,” Frank said. “Keep an eye out for Zack. We have to check out his belt.”

  Frank and the others glanced around the movie theater. Many of the kids were dressed in karate clothes.

  Then Frank pointed to the row in front of them and to the left, “You’re not going to believe who’s sitting right there.”

  Joe stood up to look. It was Zack!

  “Are we lucky or what?” he whispered.

  “And check out what he’s wearing,” Iola said proudly. “A gi and a black belt.”

  Frank and Joe could see that Zack was already up to no good. He was bullying some younger kids into sparring with him.

  “Come on,” Zack was saying. He threw some fake punches at a boy wearing a hat.

  “When my big brother comes back from the bathroom, he’s gonna get you!” the boy said angrily.

  “Oh, yeah?” Zack snickered. “Get this!” Then he karate-chopped the hat right off the boy’s head.

  “Creep,” the boy muttered.

  “Hey, Zack,” Frank called from his seat. “Knock it off.”

  Zack pointed to the hat lying on the floor and laughed. “I already did!”

  Frank and Joe watched as Zack started to bully another little kid.

  “That’s it,” Joe said. He reached over and grabbed the giant popcorn box from Chef’s greasy hands.

  “Hey, I was working on that,” Chet complained.

  Joe pushed his way past some seats until he was standing right behind Zack. Then he said, “Whoops,” and dumped the whole bucket of greasy popcorn over Zack’s head.

  Zack stumbled into the aisle. He tried to shake the popcorn off by wiggling his arms and legs.

  “Hardy, you jerk!” Zack yelled.

  The theater was silent as the kids stared at Zack. Then they broke into roars of laughter.

  Iola pushed past Joe. With one speedy move, she yanked the black belt off Zack’s waist. She waved the belt in the air.

  “Is this what you were looking for?” Iola called to Joe and Frank.

  “Way to go, Iola!” Frank said. He joined her in the aisle and took the belt.

  “Give me back my belt!” Zack said with a snarl.

  Frank hid the belt behind his back.

  “I will,” Frank said. “As soon as you confess.”

  “Confess?” Zack said. “What are you talking about?”

  “You know what you did,” Iola insisted.

  “I did a lot of things,” Zack said. He held his hand out to Frank. “Now, will you give it up—or else!”

  Frank stared down at Zack’s palm. It was smudged with blue. It was the same bright blue as the chalk on the sidewalk and the wall.

  “Write any good messages lately, Zack?” Frank asked with a grin.

  Zack looked at his hand. “Is this what you want me to confess to?” He laughed. “Writing on the wall? Big deal.”

  “How about the message on the sidewalk after karate class?” Frank asked. “Did you write that, too?”

  Zack eyed Frank and Joe. He pulled a stick of blue chalk from his sneaker and flipped it in his hand. “Maybe I did . . . maybe I didn’t.”

  Frank swung the black belt in front of Zack’s face. But just as Zack reached for it, Frank yanked it away.

  “I did write it. So what?” Zack sneered. “Now give me back my belt!”

  Joe pointed to the belt. “You stole that from Brian, too, didn’t you?”

  Zack began to laugh. “Are you crazy? If I had Jimmy Han’s black belt I would have worn it today.”

  Frank flipped over the black belt. Instead of an autograph written in gold, there was a label from a necktie company.

  “It’s my dad’s tie,” Zack explained.

  Joe examined the tie. Zack was right.

  “Now do you feel like jerks?” Zack said.

  Joe grabbed the tie from Frank and threw it back at Zack. “You shouldn’t write on the walls or on the sidewalk.”

  “Hey, you guys,” Chet called from his seat. “The movie is starting.”

  Chet was right. The lights were dimming. The curtain was rising.

  “Let’s go,” Frank told Joe and Iola. They hurried back to their seats.

  As Frank sat down, he sighed. “I guess Zack is clean after all.”

  Iola pointed to Zack. Butter was trickling down his shoulders. Pieces of popcorn stuck to his clammy hair.

  “I wouldn’t exactly call him clean.” Iola laughed.

  Jimmy Han appeared on the movie screen. Everyone clapped and cheered.

  “Jim-my! Jim-my! Jim-my!”

  • • •
>
  “What did you think of the movie?” Joe asked Frank when the show was over. The brothers were standing at the corner, waiting for their dad to pick them up. Chet and Iola’s parents had already come for them.

  “It was awesome,” Frank said. “But I kept thinking about Brian. How will we tell him that we’re out of suspects?”

  Joe shrugged. “Maybe the butler did do it.”

  Frank shook his head. Suddenly he saw something in the window of a nearby gift shop. It was a poster of Sir Ted, the movie horse. Next to the poster was a sign that read Sir Ted’s Feed Bucket for Sale.

  “That must be the bucket they auctioned off at Weatherby’s yesterday,” Frank said. “Let’s check it out.”

  Frank and Joe entered the store. A thick red carpet covered the floor.

  Joe peeked at one of the price tags and whistled. “This stuff is expensive.”

  Just then the boys heard a familiar voice. They turned and saw Brian in the back of the store. He was holding a shiny silver bucket and talking to a salesman.

  Frank and Joe walked over.

  “Hi, Brian. Is that Sir Ted’s feed bucket?” Frank asked.

  Brian spun around.

  “That would be great for holding potato chips,” Joe said.

  “I’m thinking of buying it for my dad’s birthday,” Brian said.

  The salesman smiled at Frank and Joe. “Brian is one of our best customers,” he said proudly.

  “No, I’m not!” Brian said, shaking his head.

  The salesman went on. “Why, just last week Brian bought a black karate belt signed by Jimmy Han.”

  The store became very quiet.

  “You bought the black belt?” Frank asked.

  “You mean it wasn’t a present from Jimmy?” Joe asked.

  Brian tried to speak. “I—I—”

  He tossed the feed bucket at Joe and dashed out of the store.

  The Hardys ran after Brian. The salesman ran after the Hardys.

  “The feed bucket!” the salesman cried out. “Stop!”

  Joe realized that he was still holding the bucket. He tossed it to the salesman. It soared through the air like a silver football.

  “Touchdown!” Joe whooped as the bucket dropped right into the salesman’s hands.

  “Let’s go,” Frank said to Joe.

  “Hey, I know you,” the salesman shouted after Frank and Joe. “You were those rascals under the table at Weatherby’s.”

  The boys raced down the street just as Brian was jumping into his car.

  “Brian—wait up!” Frank called.

  But it was no use. Brian slammed the door, and the car drove out of sight.

  8

  Truth or Dare

  Brian told everyone that Jimmy Han gave him the black belt,” Joe explained to his dad in the car.

  “But the man in the store said that Brian bought it,” Frank added.

  “What did Brian say?” Mr. Hardy asked.

  “Nothing,” Joe said. “He just acted weird and ran out.”

  Mr. Hardy stopped the car at a red light. “Why don’t you try to speak to Brian again?”

  Frank sighed. “I don’t want to accuse Brian of lying, Dad.”

  “Me, either,” Joe said. “Brian is our new friend.”

  The light turned green, and Mr. Hardy stepped on the gas. “Sometimes even friends make mistakes,” he said.

  Frank stared out the side window. Then he turned to his dad.

  “Could you please drop us off at Brian’s house?” he asked.

  • • •

  Frank rang the Ludlows’ doorbell. It made a loud gong sound.

  “Wow,” Joe said, gazing up at the white mansion. “I’ll bet you could fit a whole basketball court in here.”

  Just then Brian opened the door. He looked at the Hardys and sighed. “That salesman sure had a big mouth.”

  “Then you did buy the belt?” Frank asked.

  Brian nodded slowly.

  “Why did you tell everyone that Jimmy gave it to you?” Joe asked.

  “Because I was afraid I wouldn’t fit in with the rest of the class,” Brian said. “I thought if I told the kids that I knew Jimmy, I would make a lot of friends.”

  “Having a belt signed by Jimmy Han was great,” Frank said.

  “Sure,” Joe agreed. “We all flipped when you showed it to us.”

  Brian’s frown turned into a smile. “You can look at the belt again if you want. It’s up in my room.”

  Brian clapped his hand over his mouth. “I mean, it’s—”

  Frank put his hands on his hips. “Did you say the black belt is up in your room?” he asked.

  “I guess I’m the one with the big mouth,” Brian said slowly.

  “I don’t get it,” Joe said. “Does that mean the belt wasn’t stolen?”

  “I knew I couldn’t bring Jimmy to class on Tuesday,” Brian said. “So when I was alone in the cubby room, I stuffed the belt into my knapsack.”

  Frank and Joe stared at Brian. They couldn’t believe what he was saying!

  “I pretended the belt was stolen so I would have an excuse to call the whole thing off,” Brian went on.

  “You mean we spent two whole days looking for a fake thief?” Frank cried.

  “That stinks,” Joe said angrily. “How could you do that to us, Brian?”

  “I would have told the truth sooner, but I was afraid of what everyone would say when they found out I lied,” Brian explained. “Besides, I was having too much fun with you guys.”

  “Brian, if you don’t come clean to the karate class on Tuesday,” Frank warned, “you won’t have any friends.”

  Brian’s eyes opened wide. “You mean confess? To the whole class? I can’t!”

  “Sure you can,” Frank said. “Honesty is what karate is all about.”

  Joe grinned. “Yeah! It’s more valuable than gold.”

  Brian didn’t say anything.

  “Will you at least think about it?” Frank asked Brian.

  Brian nodded. Frank and Joe turned to leave.

  “Oh, by the way,” Brian called. “You really are as good as the detectives on TV.”

  Joe looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Better!”

  • • •

  “I’ll bet a whole box of chocolate peanuts that Brian doesn’t do it,” Chet told Frank and Joe Tuesday afternoon in karate class.

  Frank looked across the room. He saw Brian talking to Sensei. They looked very serious.

  “I’ll bet he does,” Frank said.

  “Will everyone please take a seat on the floor,” Sensei called out to the class. “Everyone except Brian.”

  Frank and Joe watched Sensei put his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “Brian has something to tell you all,” he said.

  Brian took a long, deep breath. He reached into his knapsack and pulled out the black belt.

  “It’s Jimmy Han’s belt,” a girl cried out. “The one that was missing!”

  “Who stole it?” a boy asked.

  “I did,” Brian told the class.

  The room became very quiet. Then Brian explained everything.

  “I told you he was a liar,” Zack said when Brian was finished.

  “We’re all disappointed that Brian lied,” Sensei said. “But it took a lot of courage for him to apologize the way he just did.”

  Frank and Joe began to clap. Soon all the kids were clapping for Brian.

  Brian thanked Sensei. Then he turned to the class.

  “This doesn’t make what I did right,” he said. “But I want to invite you all to my house next Saturday.”

  Excited whispers filled the studio.

  “You can swim in the pool,” Brian went on. “And watch a Jimmy Han movie in the private screening room.”

  The class really clapped now. This time they even cheered.

  “Bri-an! Bri-an! Bri-an!”

  Chet raised his hand. “Should we bring our own popcorn to the movie?”

  “Popcorn?” Za
ck cried. He pretended to gag. “I hate popcorn!”

  “Gee,” Iola said, giggling. “I wonder why.”

  Frank and Joe looked at each other. They exchanged a high-five. The case of the missing black belt was officially closed.

  “Now I have a surprise for the class,” Sensei said when the excitement died down. “A black belt expert is here to perform for us today.”

  “Who?” Tanya called out.

  Before Sensei could answer, the door to the office opened.

  “It’s Bobby Lee,” Joe whispered to Frank.

  Bobby walked out wearing his gi and black belt. He looked around the room.

  “Okay. I need two kids to help me out,” Bobby said.

  Every hand in the studio shot up.

  Bobby pointed to Frank and Joe. “How about you guys?”

  “You bet,” Joe said.

  Bobby asked Frank and Joe to hold a heavy wooden plank in front of him. Frank held one end. Joe grasped the other.

  “What’s he going to do?” Joe whispered to Brian.

  But before Frank could answer, Bobby lifted his foot and kicked the plank in half. “Haaaai-yaaaaa!” he yelled.

  The kids in the class went wild.

  “How did he do that?” Chet asked Frank and Joe when they sat down.

  Frank and Joe shrugged and smiled.

  “Chet,” Joe said. “We don’t have a clue!”

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A MINSTREL PAPERBACK Original

  A Minstrel Book published by

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 1997 by Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Front cover Illustration by Thompson Studio

  Produced by Mega-Books, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN: 0-671-00403-4

  ISBN 978-1-4814-0201-9 (ebook)

  First Minstrel Books printing September 1997