When the museum closed, Frank and Joe decided to split up, covering different areas along with local cops.

"There’s no way there would be a hit tonight," Joe said to Frank. "Look at all the security in the area."

"I guess not," Frank replied, slowly. "But it’s not like we said it would happen tonight! They'll have to keep an eye on this place for a while."

"Or until they prove us wrong and another museum gets hit, instead," Joe said wryly. He then added, more seriously, "But it is a good guess. We’ll have to thank the girls for their input on that one…. If they forgive us! Anyway, there were a lot of portraits having to do with ‘escape’. It’s not a totally lame idea."

Frank shrugged. "Well, it’s better than nothing, which is what everyone else had," he said. "We just- ah- focused the investigation a little more!"

"Sure," Joe said with a smile.

And then…. Just as the museum closed, the lights went off again.

"What the…?!" Joe asked, and he heard panicked cries from employees and tourists alike. The lights were off for no more than three minutes when they came on again.

As the guards rushed to the door, Frank and Joe looked at one another, each thinking the same thought- get to the basement! They rushed as fast as they could through the back area, and found a small group of about 2 or 3 officers standing around an empty display case. They were looking at each other in amazement.

"What happened?!" Frank asked, already knowing that at least one officer there knew who he was.

Stunned, the officer raised his hands. "How on earth did this happen?" he asked, already dreading getting in trouble with his superiors. "TWO minutes! That’s all the lights were out for- TWO minutes! It’s impossible to rob anything in that time. B… but they did it," he stammered.

Frank’s eyes grew wide. The officer was absolutely right. How could a robbery occur in that amount of time, with a full security team?!

Suddenly, the officer’s common sense snapped in. "Wait!" he said at last. "If it just happened, then the perpetrator’s got to be here! Secure all areas!" He spoke into his radio and repeated the message, rushing off to check the various areas of the basement, gun drawn. His fellow officers did the same.

Joe looked at his brother, and then at the case in question. Like the others, this case was on a similar stand and, like the others, glass had been broken. This time, there was a Brown envelope, on which the words "AGIB" and "So Defendants Will Prevail" were written. From the inscription on the bottom of the case, he could see that the portrait that had been stolen was entitled, "Swiss Alps- Escape."

He turned to Frank in amazement. "Frank!" he said. "The girls were right! This thing DID have to do with escape!!"

"But what does it all mean?!" Frank asked back, growing increasingly frustrated.

"I don’t know," Joe said, excited. "But I have a feeling we’ll find out."

All around them, officers were running to and fro. They were willing to bet that for as many officers that were there presently, as many would soon be following, hot on the trail of whomever did this.

"What are the chances of whomever did this escaping?" Joe asked. "Come on. They- or he or she- has got to be in here somewhere! Let’s help!"

Frank threw a cautious glance at his brother. They had already been warned to be careful and to stay out of the way. Frank couldn’t help but to think that was a good suggestion. Something about having a lot of people with guns drawn and willing to shoot wasn’t exactly appealing to his sense of safety.

"Just be careful," Frank warned, and he split up with his brother. Soon Frank found himself on the opposite end of the museum, speaking with an officer about where to possibly look for the thief.

Joe, on the other hand, was getting anxious. He hadn’t seen anyone, but it stood to reason that no one could have escaped in the given time frame. Then again, he also thought, No one could have committed a robbery this fast, either. With that thought in mind, he decided to head back to the area of the theft. Something about the similarity of the containers, or cases, in which all the objects were taken, was starting to irk him.

To his surprise, the area had been left unsecured. Well, why not? he then thought. The only people around here are officers, anyway. Still, seeing the opportunity, he took a moment to inspect the case. The glass was shattered, as it had been in other instances. Everything looked the same.

Everything, that is, except….

Joe couldn’t swear to it, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small burst of color. Going over to the case again, he saw that he hadn’t been mistaken. "Huh?" he asked himself, and then he pulled back on the case, noting that the wood frame looked off, for some reason.

Joe gasped out loud when he realized what he had found. "Oh my God!" he shouted. Turning around, he realized that Frank and other officers were heading back in his direction. "Over here, guys, look!" he called, waving them over.

At that very moment, however, there was the sound of something or someone scurrying right next to Joe. In panic, and officer called "Come out!" drawing his gun.

The lights blinked off again and the last thing Frank Hardy saw was a quick flash as a gun was fired, right in the direction of his brother.

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