Inside the police van hidden farther down Route 19, Franklin Hardy and Officer Sherman Cobb sat listening to Fenton’s transmissions. They would then relay the messages to the officers hiding in the pine forest surrounding ‘Cliff Side Park’.

Franklin was feeling antsy. He had wanted to be in on the action, but understood Chief Collig’s choice to keep him in the van.

‘He’s afraid I’d act more like a grandfather than a police officer if something goes wrong,’ the elder Hardy deduced. Still, he hated sitting still, especially if Fenton was correct and little Joey was close.

Franklin nearly jumped when the cellular phone in the van rang. Franklin picked it up and greeted the caller in an official police manner.

“Captain Hardy,” Con Riley’s voice sounded through the invisible telephone lines. Officer Riley hurriedly told Franklin about the backpack.

“What are your orders, Sir?” Con questioned.

Franklin thought and bit his lip. Everything was pointing to the whole two mile stretch along the cliffs above Barmet Bay. Joey had to be close by. ‘If I could find the boy,’ Franklin pondered, ‘I could eliminate Conley’s threat.’

“Stay at your post, Riley,” Franklin ordered. “I’ll get the message to the chief and we’ll check it out.”

After he hung up the phone, Franklin turned to Officer Cobb, “Stay here and keep everyone posted. I’m going to check out ‘Tucker’s Trail’ a little ways up the road.”

“Yes, Sir,” Cobb responded as Franklin left the vehicle.

* * *

Esther Hardy searched every room on the second floor of the large house, but found no sign of her missing grandson. Finally, she decided to enlist Gertrude’s help in looking for the child.

Esther found Gert in the kitchen making sandwiches for the nice police officer and young Jack Wayne.

“Gertie,” Esther asked, approaching her daughter, “have you seen Frankie?”

Gertrude looked questioningly at her mother, “Laura put him to bed several hours ago. Why do you ask?”

“I just went to look in on him, but he wasn’t there,” she answered, shaking her head. “In fact, I looked all over upstairs and couldn’t find him anywhere.”

Con Riley stopping eating and stood up. “Let’s look again.” 

Con and Gertrude headed upstairs to look around again, while Esther went to check on Laura and Ethel; the two younger women had fallen asleep on the sofa. Jack also began a thorough search of the downstairs rooms.

* * *

David Conley approached the park from the north, creeping silently through the dense trees. He nearly ran into the first police officer he found, hidden in a thick scrub.

Conley swore to himself and backed up, hoping desperately that there were no cops behind him. “Stupid, Hardy!” Conley sneered once he was far enough beyond the cop.

Now he’d have to figure out his own way out of Bayport. ‘But first,’ he thought with an evil grin, ‘I kill Hardy’s kid!’

* * *

Sam Radley was worried about Frank in the car by himself. Conley was late and Frank had to be getting stiff curled up behind the seat, out of sight.

He turned for a moment and glanced back toward the roadway where his car was well hidden. He saw movement just to the right and slightly behind where Officer Greene was concealed.

‘Conley!’ Sam thought and swore under his breath. “Here! Conley’s getting away!” the detective shouted and made a mad dash in the direction Conley was headed.

* * *

Frank didn’t know how far he had walked when he came to the dirt road. He was still several feet away from it when a big brown car pulled out and drove away, heading out of Bayport.

Frank glanced down the road. ‘Wonder if there’re some houses down there?’ he pondered. Not sure where to look for Joe, Frank decided this was as good a place as any to start searching for his brother.

The seven-year-old sighed and began the trek down the dirt road he hoped would lead him to Joe.

* * *

Franklin Hardy made his way to ‘Tucker’s Trail’ along the highway on foot. When he figured he was close, he began cutting through the pines, keeping his eyes open for any clue that would tell him Joey had been here.

He had barely entered the woods when his eyes caught sight of a “Batman” key chain caught in a branch of a half-dead sapling. He knew the keychain because he was the one who bought it.

His grandson Joey loved super-heroes. The keychain he held in his hand had a space where Joey’s name was neatly printed in permanent marker. He’d given the keychain to the child when he’d started kindergarten that fall.

Franklin looked around a bit more, but finding nothing else, he went back out to the road.

He was about to head back to the police van when he remembered that old Wilbur Mills had a run-down house out this way above the cliffs.

‘That old place of his is well secluded,’ the experienced police officer considered. ‘It would make a convenient hide-away for someone trying to avoid being seen.’

With renewed determination, Franklin Hardy started walking toward an obscure side road that led to Mills bungalow at the edge of the cliffs.

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency 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 original characters without express permission of the authors.