HDA - Where Troubles Melt by Cherylann Rivers Introduction

"Callie told us that she wasn't feeling great, and she's resting. She told us she'd help if we needed her." Frank gazed directly at his brother. "She was okay when she was with you, wasn't she? I mean, nothing upset her, did it?" Frank waited for an answer. Despite Callie's words to the group, she didn't look sick to him; she looked distraught. Still, he thought Joe would only offer his support to Callie-he was sure of it-so he was perplexed about what had happened.

Joe blushed. So, Callie really hadn't said anything and had stuck to her word. "No, nothing happened," he finally muttered.

Frank stared at him a second too long, and Joe knew Frank didn't believe him. Still, Frank decided not to pursue it. "Well, then," he said, taking a deep breath. "I guess we should look at the facts of this case, again. I know dad is working on continued interviews with Wilkins and Smith-well, their families at least-and he'll get back to us soon. Let's see what we have." He took out the notebook into which he had begun to write a few days prior.

1) Bayport, NY- (Yeats Jewelers) rubies were taken. That took place around 10:30.
2) Radley, Pennsylvania- (Eliot's Jewelers) amethysts were taken. That was at 11:00, I think.
3) Idaria, West Virginia.-(Larkin's Jewelers) Sapphires were taken, but only a rare type called an Iolite. That was at 11:30.

"Okay," Frank began. "We can add a few more things to this list." With that, he jotted down the other robberies.

4) Charlestown, Missouri- (Lee's Jewelers). This time, natural pearls are taken. Time- 12:00 or 12:30.
5) Klarksville, Nebraska- (Owen's Jewelers). Gold bangles are taken. The time- 12:30 or 1:00.

"So we have five robberies, and the time frame is consistent," Chet said.

Frank looked at him, surprised. Although they had already figured that out, it was a good sign that Chet could pick up on that. "They all lead away from Bayport, and we have the same guys, same car, same license plate, same method of operation," Frank said, filling the girls and Chet in on what they knew. "What we need to see is if there is more of a pattern here that we're missing. I told Joe that I had a feeling that another robbery would be in this general area, simply because the movement of the states to the robberies is getting closer. Here. Let me show you guys," Frank continued.

Booting up his computer, he pulled up a general map of the United States to show everyone the latest proximity of the crimes. He heard Iola gasp. Turning to her, he asked, "Iola? Are you okay?"

Joe groaned, audibly. Everyone turned to him. "Oh, man, I see what she sees," he said. "Frank, look at the news-flash when you pull up AOL. They've struck again! This is unbelievable!" Joe finished, angry. "I can't believe we can't catch these guys! But look, guys," he said, pointing to the screen. "Frank was right. This one took place today, earlier, in Rockland, Oklahoma. I mean, it's still two states away, but that IS closer than the distance the earlier heists took place."

Peering over Joe's shoulder, Iola read the news flash, which indicated that the same men were again following the same pattern, and again getting away with it. "Frank, add this to your list," she said.

"Go ahead," Frank said, hoping to make sense of this.

6) Rockland, Oklahoma- (Walcott's Jewelers)- Only opals are taken. Time- 1:30.

"Opals!" Joe burst out with. "These guys are crazy!!! I'm beginning to think they're just plain out of their minds, and maybe this has nothing to do with us!"

Vanessa sighed. "Joe, we've been over it. It HAS to do with you."

Joe plopped onto the bed, and put his hands over his eyes. "Uh," he groaned, again. "But it doesn't make any sense!"

Frank just shook his head at his brother, waiting for some epiphany to come to him. At that moment, Frank heard Chet say, "Hey, Cal!" and he looked up. Callie was standing in the doorway. She looked upset. Frank made a mental note to talk to her, later.

"What's up, folks?" she said with a small grin. "Any news?"

"How are you feeling?" Frank asked.

"Fine," Callie replied, nonchalantly. "Let me see what you all have. Maybe I can help."

Joe held his breath. This whole situation with Callie, Iola, and Vanessa was a time bomb waiting to go off. Still, he managed to say, avoiding her eyes, "Good luck. We haven't made much progress."

Frank watched as Callie took the list and stared at it. After a few minutes, he was about to tell her to give up when he heard her say to herself, "Hmmmm…"

"Did you find something?" Vanessa asked.

"Well," Callie began with hesitation. "I … well, it might be silly, but did you notice the names of the jewelry stores?"

They all gathered around her. "Yeah, so?" Joe asked. "They don't seem all that special to me."

Callie looked unsure of herself, and it took some gentle prodding by Vanessa and Frank before she spoke again. "It's just that… well, this year, in AP English, we studied a lot of poetry and classics. Remember, Frank? Am I crazy, or are these jewelry stores all named after authors?"

Frank's eyes grew wide. "Callie- you're right!" he exclaimed. "How did I miss that?!"

Joe, Iola, Vanessa, and Chet, all of whom were in Academic English, just stood there. "Um, I think you're on your own to explain this, guys," Chet said, sheepishly. "I couldn't tell you one author from another. I'm just glad I passed."

Joe smiled. "Me, too," he said. Iola agreed. Vanessa rolled her eyes. She loved English, but it wasn't her favorite subject. She recognized some of the names, though.

"What did they write?" Iola questioned.

"Let's look it up, and get down some of their most famous works," Callie replied.

Over the next several hours, well into the night, the teens, led by Callie and Frank, compiled a list of famous works composed by the authors.

At 2:00 a.m., Joe grumbled, "This could be nothing! I think it's a good call on the authors, Callie, and that's what we'll look for next. It should be easy enough to look up all jewelry stores in the surrounding states and narrow them down to authors. That's how we'll narrow it down and get the next target. Stop wasting time." Chet was sacked out on the bed, and Iola looked plain bored.

"Really, Joe?" Vanessa asked, wryly. "You really think that's easier-to find every jewelry store in about 5 or 6 states, and then find ones named after authors? You don't even know the authors' names!"

Joe blushed. "Neither do you!" he countered.

"Stop it!" Callie said, rubbing her forehead. Frank looked at her, concerned, but she appeared okay.

"Oh, Frank!" Callie gasped. "Look at this!" She pointed at the list.

"Yeats," Callie said. "He wrote a lot of poetry, one of his most famous being 'The Second Coming.'"

Frank swallowed hard. He saw exactly where Callie was going with this. "Joe! Guys! Look! There're messages encrypted in the names of the jewelry stores. If we can sort through all these lists, maybe we can make sense of it."

"Eliot," Callie went on. She and Frank looked at one another. "It's either "The Wasteland" or "The Hollow Men"" she finished.

"Larkin," Frank went on, scouring the list he and Callie had made. "An Arundel Tomb," or "The Explosion," he finished, growing pale. He didn't like where this was headed.

"Lee," Callie went on.

"To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel," Vanessa finished.

"Owen," Frank continued.

"Oh!" Callie gasped. "His most famous one was 'Anthem for Doomed Youth.'" She looked fearfully at her boyfriend.

"And Walcott," Vanessa finished. "We just read him in June. He wrote a poem called 'Midsummer'."

The friends all looked at one another. Joe spoke first. "Okay," he said, clearing his throat. "The message is pretty clear-It's their second coming, our wasteland or tomb. There's some sort of explosion to come, where they're hoping to kill us, and have us as the doomed youth. Obviously, it's almost midsummer."

Vanessa started shivering. "I don't like this at all," she said, unsteadily.

"It's pretty clever, though," Callie said, awe in her voice. "The problem is finding out what will be the next strike. Maybe Joe's idea wasn't so bad. We should start tracing and getting names of jewelry stores in accompanying states. Gosh," she said, leaning back. "Who on earth would think of this?"

"Oh!" Frank said, startled, and stood up. "Shelley Butler would! Remember, he's the literature expert from Harvard."

"And the Butler family said that an old friend of Shelley's had come to pick up books, remember?" Iola added, excited.

"Oh, man!" Callie cut in. "Shelley! The name of another poet!!! His first name was obviously Sheldon, right? Shelley, the name he went by, wrote things like…" Callie paused, trying to remember. ""Ode to the West Wind," "Sailing to Byzantium," and "Ozymandias," among others. Strange that he chose to take on the nickname of the poet, huh?"

"I wonder if that means anything," Joe asked.

"It must, I guess," Vanessa said. She, too, was getting excited.

Finally, Callie spoke up. Her voice held a soft, rational quality to it that was contrary to the growing ebullience of the others. "Guys," she said, quietly. "There's a big flaw with this theory that Butler's behind it."

"What?" Joe asked, confidant that they had their man.

"He's dead."

"She's right," Frank said, reminding them of the obvious fact.

"What do we do now?" Vanessa asked after a few minutes.

"I have no idea," Frank replied. They sat in silence…

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The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow them without express permission of the authors.