The Borgia Dagger Read online

  "I guess you're right," Callie said with a pout. "After all, you're the detectives. Well, now I've got to go rescue my car from its hiding place. I didn't have the skill to just drive right up as you did."

  As she turned away, Frank could tell that she was only half joking. It seemed to him that Callie was not only jealous, but determined to crack this case herself. Joe and he could certainly use her on the case.

  "Listen," said Joe, interrupting his brother's thoughts. "What do you think of this bodyguard idea? It seems perfect to me."

  Frank nodded. "I'm afraid I agree with you this time, Joe. We're going to need a lot of close contact — "

  "I heard that!" came a voice from around a corner of the clubhouse. Callie came storming back toward them. "Close contact? I know what kind of close contact you want! I can't believe you're actually falling for her offer!" Frank exhaled with frustration. "And I can't believe you were actually eavesdropping. BeSides, you yourself said it was a fascinating case!"

  "It's the victim who's fascinating to you, Frank — the poor little glamorous redhead! You're going to become her slaves, just like Squinder! And, by the way," Callie added, her eyes blazing, "I wasn't eavesdropping, I came back to see what time we were going to the movies tonight. But you can forget that now!" With that, she stalked away.

  "Do I detect a note of anger?" Joe said with a wry grin. "Maybe you should drop the case. Then Callie will go to the movies with you tonight, and I'll be Tessa's bodyguard."

  Frank raised an eyebrow at his brother. "All I can say is, if I manage to crack this case and keep my instincts. If only they could all work - "

  Frank and Joe lurched to the left as the van took a sharp curve at forty miles an hour.

  "Hasn't she learned her lesson yet?" said Frank. "She's going to ruin that car too!" Joe kept the little blue convertible within his sight as it raced along Cliffside Road. A lo mane of scarlet hair billowed back from the driver's seat.

  "Can you believe that incredible machine is her second car, Frank?"

  "Well, I hope her third is a Model T. They only go twenty miles an hour." Frank reached out to steady himself as the van sped over a bump in the road. "We could have offered to drive her home from the club."

  "I know, but when I called her from our house she insisted she was well enough to drive!"

  The setting sun washed the woods in an orange glow as the two vehicles approached the Carpenter mansion. In a cloud of dust, the convertible stormed up the winding dirt driveway and skidded to a stop in front of the four-car garage.

  Covered with a thin film of dirt, the Hardy van followed slowly behind, its windshield washed squirting away., "Mom and Dad have Tessas phone number — right, Joe?"

  "Yeah," Joe replied. "And if they need to find us, it shouldn't be hard. Tessa's mansion has been mentioned in all the newspapers this week.' "How did I ever let you sucker me into this bodyguard idea, anyway?" Frank asked as they pulled up behind Tessa's car.!

  "Me? Wait a minute—" "Welcome home!" Tessa chirped, standing beside her car.

  "Uh, Tessa — " Frank began. "I can't believe how much better I feel after that nice, long nap!" Tessa went on. "Now, do you need help getting settled in the cottage?" §They shook their heads.

  She pulled open the van door and skipped away toward the house.

  "Amazing how fast she bounces back," Frank said as he and Joe stepped out of the van. They wandered through the mansion, until they found Tessa rewinding a cassette in a telephone answering machine in the sitting room.

  "I love these things," she said. "So much better than secretaries. They don't make mistakes or take lunch breaks—and they're much cheaper."

  Beep. There was only one message "Hello, Miss Carpenter. Albert Ruppenthal here. Just wanted to let you know, the staff in our upstate warehouse has located your grandfather's agreement. It was buried in some files that had been transferred there after the museum fire. I'm expecting it to be brought here late tomorrow, and expect you to be home The day when we pick up the collection. You will, of course, be responsible for the cost of the Greek statue. Have a pleasant day."

  Tessa sank into a leather armchair. Her rosy complexion had quickly become chalky white. "This was bound to happen," Joe said gently..

  He felt sorry for her. She looked more upset than he had expected.

  "Bound to happen! That's easy for you to say!" Tessa snapped.

  "Sorry, Tessa," Joe answered. "I didn't mean it to sound — " "I know, I know," Tessa said with a sigh. "Maybe it's just as well anyway. This stupid art collection has caused me nothing but trouble." She looked around at the paintings on the sitting-room wall. "Besides, most of the paintings don't even go with the wallpaper."

  "Even when you return the collection, there's still the small matter of our investigation," Frank said.

  Tessa snapped out of her gloom. "Right!" she said, looking at Frank with adoring eyes. "What comes next?" '

  "Well, I will have to check out the parlor, and Joe — "

  " No!" Tessa interrupted.

  "What's the matter?" Frank said.

  Tessa's bottom lip jutted out in a pout. She gave Frank a hurt look and said, "You're not going to leave me alone, Frank? I thought you were my bodyguard."

  "Uh — yeah, Tessa. That's right." He looked at Joe and shrugged. "I guess that leaves you to search the house for clues." "I guess so," Joe said listlessly. He nodded slowly, walking out the door. "Only who's going to guard you from her?" he muttered.

  "What?" Frank called out.

  "Never mind," Joe answered as he went - through the door.

  The Borgia dagger was in its glass case on top of the broken sideboard still. Joe lifted the glass case carefully and saw the carved-oak wall through the case. Was there anything unusual? he wondered — any electrical switches, bugging devices? ...

  He opened the case, lifted the dagger, and peeked under the satin cushion. Nothing. He put it down and then looked in the corner where the statue had been. No mechanical tripping devices.

  Maybe there was something in the room he wasn't seeing — a box of circuit breakers, a hidden TV camera.

  He stood in the corner and leaned back against the oak wall, surveying the room. His elbow bumped against one of the intricate carvings — and it moved!

  He sprang forward. The carving popped back to its original position.

  Creeeak! A sudden vibration at his side caught Joe's attention. As he watched in surprise, one entire section of the bookcase swung slowly out of the wall, sending several books toppling onto the floor.

  He grabbed the bookcase and pulled it out farther into the room. Behind it was nothing but pitch-darkness.

  A secret room, Joe thought. Just like the old movies. Now we're getting someplace.

  With great caution, he took one step into the unknown—and fell straight down through broken cobwebs into a black abyss.

  Chapter 9

  He hit the cement floor hard. For a moment he lay there, the wind knocked out of him. He flexed his arms and legs. Nothing broken.

  Gradually his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He looked around him. A weak shaft of light spilled in from the opening he'd just fallen through. All it enabled him to see was the large, empty room he was in. On the far wall there was a low, open doorway.

  He picked himself up and cautiously walked to this other doorway. To enter it, he had to stoop. Stepping carefully, he passed through. He reached out with both hands and felt rough plaster walls on either side of him. The ceiling scraped against his head. The absolute blackness in the tunnel gave him no clue as to his destination — except that he was moving on a sharp downward slope. Guiding himself with his hands, he groped along, slowly at first and then picked up speed. This has to lead to something, he thought. A storage room, a boiler room .. .

  Thunk. Before he could finish his thought, Joe had crashed into something. He rubbed his forehead where it had made contact with the object. With his other hand, he reached out and felt a wooden door that had bl
ocked his path. He found the doorknob and pushed the door open.

  Another dark room. Joe stepped inside—onto a small object that rolled out from beneath him.

  "Who - o - oa!" he called out, clutching at the doorjamb, next to which he felt the cool metal plate of a light switch.

  He flicked on the switch. The room was flooded with fluorescent light. As Joe's eyes adjusted, he saw trunks, boxes, garden equipment, and a floor cluttered with small objects, including the metal roller skate that he had just tripped over.

  On the near wall was something he had hoped to find — a metal panel of circuit breakers. He opened the front of the metal box, and saw about twenty switches. He read the labels beneath each one: Kitchen, Sitting Room, Parlor . . . Below them all was a large, main switch. "Now we're cooking," he said to himself. This was the place where all the lights in the mansion could have been blacked out.

  On the far wall were a few rickety wooden stairs that led up to two overhead cellar doors. Now Joe knew where he was. The tunnel had gradually led him down to the basement. He turned back and closed the circuit breaker box, climbed two of the four stairs, and pushed up to open one of the bulkhead doors.

  The smell of fresh flowers wafted down to him. Joe stuck his head out into the sunlight. He looked up and behind him to see the side of the Carpenter mansion. A flower garden stretched to the ends of the house on either side of him, and directly in front of him was a well-worn dirt path.

  A dirt path that led directly to the servants' cottage.

  A smile flickered across Joe's face. He jumped outside and ran around to the front of the mansion.

  As he passed under the window of the sitting room, he heard Tessa's voice: "Why don't you let me give you a massage, Frank. It will loosen you up. Being my bodyguard hasn't exactly been relaxing so far."

  Joe looked through the window to see Frank sitting nervously on the edge of the couch. Tessa was standing behind him and reaching for his neck.

  Frank shot up off the couch as Tessa's fingers made contact. "Uh, how about a walk in the — Joe!" he cried,- spotting his brother outside. "What are you doing out there?"

  "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Joe replied.

  "No, no, come on in!"

  Joe trotted around to the front door and then into the sitting room.

  "Where have you been?" Frank asked. "We missed you!"

  Out of the corner of his eye, Joe caught a glimpse of Tessa, slumped in an armchair, pouting. '

  "Well, at least one of you did," Joe said under his breath. "But never mind. I think we may have a breakthrough in the case. Tessa, do you have a flashlight?"

  "Sure. Do you want me to get it for you?" Joe nodded. Barely hiding her annoyed look, she left the room and quickly returned with a large greeny flashlight.

  "Okay, follow me!" Joe said. He led Frank and Tessa into the parlor. Tessa's jaw dropped as Joe walked over to the section of the bookcase that was swung away from the wall.

  "There's a room down here," Joe explained. He pointed the flashlight into the void. "But you have to jump a couple of steps to get to it."

  He circled the flashlight around, examining the dark room. Off to the side of the opening, a short metal ladder was leaning against the wall.

  "It all makes sense now," Joe said. "There's a tunnel that leads down from this room into a storage area that houses the circuit breakers. Whoever tried to kill Tessa could have used that route to come up here," — he turned toward the corner of the parlor at their immediate right— "and then walked two steps into that corner to shove the statue over."

  "Amazing," Tessa said.

  Frank nodded his head thoughtfully. "It could have been only one person then, instead of two."

  "Yeah, a real speed demon," Joe said. "He'd have had to kill the lights, run through the basement in the dark, climb up the ladder, push the bookcase back into place, topple the statue, and then go back to turn on the lights again."

  "Someone who knows the house backward and forward — "

  "And in the dark," Joe added. He turned to Tessa. "You knew nothing about this fake bookcase?"

  She folded her arms in front of her. "If I did, don't you think I would have said something, Joe?"

  Joe gave her an embarrassed look. "Well, it is your house, Tessa."

  "This whole thing is giving me the creeps," Tessa said. "Secret passageways, moving bookcases — I feel like I'm in a haunted house! Tomorrow I'm going to call someone to put a wall up behind that bookcase. I've had enough — "

  Frank touched Tessa's arm. "There's nothing to worry about," he said. "I'd prefer it if you just left it all alone for a while. We may pick up more clues."

  Tessa backed down instantly when she heard Frank's voice. "Well, all right, if you say so," she said softly. Just then her eyelids drooped and she raised her hand to her mouth, trying-to stifle a yawn.

  "You look exhausted," Frank said. "Why don't we continue this tomorrow?"

  Tessa nodded. "You're right, Frank. I think I'd better turn in. Sorry, guys. There should be some towels and sheets in the cottage. See you in the morning."

  As Tessa went upstairs, Frank and Joe made sure all of the first-floor windows were locked shut. Then they went outside and secured the locks to all the house's entrances and then got their bags out of the van.

  "How do you do it, Frank?" Joe asked as they walked toward the cottage. "She listens to every word you say and treats me like Jack the Ripper." Frank rolled his eyes. "Don't get hung up on her, Joe. She's already got a boyfriend, remember? Besides we're here to solve a case."

  "Yeah, you're right, as usual," Joe said with a sigh. Then his eyes narrowed. "Anyway, I think I have an idea who did it."

  "I guess we can rule out both Ruppenthal and Lansdale, since they were actually in the parlor the whole time the attempt occurred."

  "Not necessarily." Joe stopped in front of the cottage and looked back at the mansion. "Do you see what I see?"

  Frank scratched his head. "A dirt pathway that leads from the cottage to the house. So?"

  "Who did we see sneaking around the cottage after the party?"

  "Of course — Squinder! Squinder might have killed the lights to help anyone inside the room, like Ruppenthal or Dr. Lansdale — Or both." Joe gave his brother a knowing ok as he opened the front door of the cottage. Looks like we'll have to pay Edwin a visit tomorrow."

  ***

  Eighty-five degrees. Joe had to rub his eyes before he believed the temperature on the outdoor thermometer.

  "It's only eight in the morning!" he said. "Today will be a scorcher."

  The Hardys quickly put on shorts and T-shirts, then headed for the mansion. By the time they were there, Tessa was already heading out, dressed in a white terrycloth robe.

  "Good morning!" she sang. "I was just coming out to ask if you wanted to join me in a morning dim!"

  "Swim?" Joe said. "Uh — we didn't bring — Bathing suits." "Don't worry. The room on the cottage is a changing room. We keep extra suits there for guests."

  "Thanks," Frank said, "but I think we'd better continue — "

  "Sure we'll join you!" Joe interrupted, nudging Frank in the ribs.

  "Great!" Tessa said. "You go ahead and change while I call Harley. He loves to swim the morning."

  As Tessa went inside to call, Frank and Joe headed back toward the cottage. They were passing beside the sitting room window when a sharpness in Tessa's voice made them halt in their tracks.

  "Don't be a child, Harley! ... Of course ... I can't believe you're being so jealous. Well, I'm calling you, aren't I?"

  Frank and Joe glanced at each other. "I think we're creating a problem," Frank said.

  Joe nodded, then shrugged his shoulders, could use Harley on our side, but it looks though it's a little late for that. Come on, I'll race you to the changing room." The brothers dashed back to the cottage. "Last one in has to interagate Squinder!" Joe said, already slipping out his clothes.

  But it was Frank who emerged fir
st, running for the diving board. Joe followed behind him in a pair of baggy plaid trunks, trying to pull the drawstring tight.

  Frank ran down the diving board and took a jump. Bouncing down onto the board, he prepared for the dive.

  It was in that split-second he saw the electrical wire on the bottom of the pool. Instantly his eyes followed it to an outdoor socket.

  With every ounce of muscular control he had, he stopped himself from diving and jumped back onto the board. Behind him was the sound of Joe's feet slapping the outdoor tiles. He shouted in a voice so loud he thought his lungs would rip, "Joe! Don't jump!"

  But it was too late. With horror, he watched his brother plunge into the clear blue water.

  Chapter 10

  Thhhhhwopp! Still clutching the drawstring on his shorts, Joe did a belly-flop into the pool. That image froze in Frank's mind — it would be the final image he had of his brother.

  "NOOOOOOO!" Feeling more helpless that he had ever felt in his life, Frank let out a cry from the bottom of his soul. It seemed as though his mouth was the only part of his body that could move.

  There were a few seconds of eerie silence as Joe floated to the surface. Frank couldn't hel but turn away from the pool. He had seen some gruesome things in his life, but the sight of his brother's electrocuted body would be too much to bear.

  "What? Too much glare from the water? Come on in!"

  Was it a hallucination? The voice sounded exactly like Joe's. Frank spun around and looked into the pool, as a sheet of water hit him squarely in the face.

  Frank did a double take. There, treading water, was Joe.

  "Don't look so shocked. It was only a belly-flOp!" he called out.

  Frank's face broke into a broad grin. Immediately he ran around to the side and pulled the wire out of the pool—and out of the socket. "Pretty lucky, huh?" Joe called out. "It must be dead."

  "I have a feeling whoever put this here had nothing else in mind," said Frank. Just then Tessa scampered down to the pool a in a bright red and orange-striped one-piece thing suit. "Hey, why didn't you wait for me?" Joe shielded his eyes. "I didn't want to be blinded by the suit before I went in!" "Very funny." Tessa gasped as she saw Frank. Frank, what are you doing with that wire?" "It was in the pool. It must have been put in the night."