HDA - Where Troubles Melt by Cherylann Rivers Introduction

Tony smiled, then answered, "Well, you have to admit, this is gonna set you back some bucks. Are you sure you don’t want to partially finance my education with all of this money?"

Frank responded, "Tony, when I hit the lottery, you’ll be among the first to know, I promise. I’ll hook you up."

"Yeah, yeah. That’s what they all say. Frank Hardy, Princeton man- remember the little folk - namely me- when you make your first million."

"As long as you promise me a lifetime supply of that pizza of yours!" Frank joked back. Tony ran Mr. Pizza in the mall, and was famous for his double cheese creations.

"Deal," Tony replied. "So tell me, seriously. If you and Callie get married some day, how are you gonna top this ring?!"

Frank sighed. "Tony, marriage is the last thing on my mind right now. Besides, the ring will be expensive, but not THAT expensive. Good lord!"

Tony squinted at Frank. "Well, it could happen, you know. You and Callie have been together for a long time."

Frank fought back his emotions. "I hope we’ll be together for a lot more."

Tony, missing the irony of Frank’s words, just grinned. "Well, okay then! Let’s do this. We’ll split up. You take the right and I’ll take the left."

Frank stared at him. "Tony, this isn’t a stakeout. It’s a jewelry store! How many ruby rings can they have?"

Tony, blushing, nodded. "True, true. That’s why you’re going to Princeton, and I’m not."

"Get out of here!" Frank laughed, as the two headed to the jewelry counter.

Almost forty-five minutes later, Frank to purchased the ring. It WAS expensive, but he didn’t care. Tony had actually found it first. It was a beautiful round ruby ring, surrounded by small diamonds. The moment Tony had picked it out, Frank knew it was the one. He inadvertently smiled thinking about how Callie would react to it. It was exactly what she had always described as "the perfect ring."

Looking around, Frank realized that a lot more people must have come in when he had been so intently looking at the rings. Well, he thought silently, I have to remember to be more alert. I didn’t realize what a daze I could fall into sometimes. As he and Tony turned around, preparing to leave the store, there was a loud crashing noise as glass was shattered. Frank instinctively ducked, as did Tony. He heard some women screaming. What he did NOT hear, though, was an alarm.

Seconds later, two masked gunmen entered the jewelry store. They were dressed all in black, and held rifles in their hands. Everyone froze.

"Get down! Everyone- Down on the floor!!!" One of the men was shouting. Frank wanted to try and stop them, but he realized how foolish that would be. He dropped the ring on the counter and, slowly, he dropped to the floor like everyone else. He kept a close eye on what was going on around him. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Tony, who was trying his best NOT to look at anything going on.

"Now stay still, and no one gets hurt!" One of the gunmen grabbed a little girl and Frank watched in horror as she sobbed for her mother. The gunman held the girl close and kept his rifle trained on her.

Frank turned his neck to the side. He had investigated enough crimes to know the general modus operandi for bank robberies. The safe was in the back. Usually, there was a silent alarm that could be triggered. These guys generally got caught. He hated to see innocent people involved though, and he tried valiantly to think of a plan to save the little girl.

However, the robbers did not go to the back, nor did they command that all the jewelry counters be emptied. Rather, they stared at the terrified clerks and made one demand. "The rubies. Clear all the rubies. Now!" One man went over to the jewelry counter with a black bag and followed the clerk behind the counter. Quickly, with shaking hands, she emptied the counter of the rubies, including the ring that was sitting on top of the counter, where Frank had left it.

Minutes later, guns still trained on everyone, they scurried out of the store, pushing the little girl back in before leaving. Frank was shocked that he still could not hear police sirens.

Slowly but surely, people began to get up. Some ran out of the store, others remained in shock. Tony turned to Frank. "Wh.... what are you gonna do?" he asked his friend, still shaken from the events of the past few minutes.

"I don’t know," Frank replied evenly. "What kind of thief would break into a jewelry store, steal only rubies, ignore all of the other open jewelry counters, and not attempt to break into the back safe? And why aren’t the police here? It doesn’t make sense."

"Let’s just get out of here," Tony squawked. He was used to Frank’s logical thinking and powers of deduction, but he wanted to leave, and now. There was no way he was going to hang around if these guys came back.

A few minutes later, Frank finally heard sirens. He wanted to stay and check it out, but he looked at Tony’s terrified face and, reluctantly, decided to leave.

As they headed to Tony’s car, Tony finally spoke. "Man, aren’t you glad that’s over with? I never want to think about that again."

When Frank didn’t respond, he looked at his friend. "Frank? Did you hear me? I said I want to forget all about this."

Frank turned to him as he opened the passenger door and was about to get in. The look of resolve on Frank’s face was not one that Tony could miss. Tony felt uneasy. "Frank?"

"Actually, Tony, I plan on getting back here as soon as I can to check this out," Frank answered.

"Man, are you crazy?! Those guys almost killed that little girl! Leave it alone. Have a nice summer, without any cases. This is your last chance to relax. " He got in the car.

Frank got in the car after him. "I can’t leave it alone, Tony. They took Callie’s ring. I plan on getting it back."

Tony shook his head in wonder and amazement at Frank, and started the car. They headed home.

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Disclaimer

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.