"This is getting serious," he said. "Both Phil and Allison have been threatened about that darned violin. But for Pete’s sake, why? It’s a violin – a musical instrument! It seems so weird that someone would threaten to kill them if they don’t let it go. Yes, I know—" he continued, as Joe opened his mouth to interrupt. "It’s probably worth about a million dollars, and people have killed for less…"

"Exactly," Joe muttered, slightly nettled at being anticipated.

"But something about this case is starting to make me squirrelly, and I’m not ashamed to admit it." Frank concluded, still frowning.

The Hardys gazed at each other for a moment without speaking. Even Matt was temporarily stunned into silence – probably a rarity in itself, Frank thought to himself with a wry chuckle. He turned away from Joe’s intent stare, and looked thoughtfully out of the window. I don’t know. Nothing makes much sense…and nothing connects. I just don’t know.

"Well—" Joe broke the silence. "—what shall we do next? Allison’s not at her dorm, Phil’s not here, and we can’t find either of them!"

Frank didn’t have an immediate answer for that. Joe and Matt waited – both of them impatient, but with surprising forbearance – while the dark-haired sleuth thought the situation through once more, staring down at the worn carpeting and tapping his fingers against his thigh – a gesture Joe recognized as ‘Frank deep in thought.’ Finally, Frank spoke:

"I think it’s time we found dear Cousin Rodney."

"Excuse me, but haven’t I been saying that?" Joe muttered…very softly, so that Frank wouldn’t catch it.

Frank, hearing the mutter but not the actual words, favored Joe with a warning glance, and continued. "It’s a place to start, anyway. And we might want to check out that ex-boyfriend too…Robert. After all, he was there at the concert hall on Friday night. If he’s as obsessed with Allison as he seemed to be, he might be involved in all of this."

"Nah – can’t be!" Joe objected. "He’s interested in Allison – not Allison’s violin! He wouldn’t hurt her – at least, I don’t think he’d hurt her," he added, a trifle doubtfully. "Besides, he’s got that French accent; that would have been a dead giveaway with the phone messages."

"He could be working with someone else," Frank pointed out, reasonably. "Anyway, haven’t I always told you not to make quick assumptions about people?"

"Like, what do you mean by that, dude?" Matt asked, with interest. He had been watching the interchange between the brothers, his fascinated gaze bouncing back and forth as they talked.

"I mean that everyone’s a suspect until they’ve been ruled out with solid evidence, that’s what," Frank informed him with a tight grin.

"Even me?"

Frank nodded. "Even you."

"Cool!" Matt said enthusiastically. "I’ve never been a suspect before! Are you gonna grill me now?"

Joe burst out laughing at that, and even Frank had to chuckle. "Sure. Grill him, Joe," he said.

"You got it," Joe grinned, then spoke with mock severity. "Okay, Matt, I want the truth now – what can you tell me about Phil’s normal haunts?"

"Normal haunts, huh…let’s see." Matt stretched his legs out and stared ruminatively up at the ceiling. "The New York Public Library…the library at school. His job at Computer Wizardry. The computer lab at school – he spends a lot of time there, even though he’s got a sweet setup right here….Allison’s dorm. Sometimes – hey!" Matt yelped, and sat up, suddenly animated. "Allison’s parents live real close by, you know, like south of the city! Maybe they’ve gone to see her parents!"

"Matt, I think you just earned that high salary we’re paying you; that’s a great possibility!" Joe enthused, and slapped the other’s shoulder in congratulation.

"And if they’re going to see Rodney, they’ll have to go there too!" Matt continued, waving his hands in excitement. "I remember – I think I do, anyway – Phil and Allison talking about Rodney, before. They said he still lives with his parents, and it’s somewhere near Alli’s folks’ place. That guy’s a real loser," Matt commented with a disdainful twist of his lip. "A total geekazoid – like, he gives other geeks a bad name, man!"

Joe laughed at the observation. "Matt, you are one heck of a big help – really!"

"Do you have the address for Allison’s parents’ house?" Frank asked Matt, who nodded, and gestured at the card file box. Frank started to look, then suddenly stopped, struck by another idea. "Can I use Phil’s computer?" he asked.

"Sure, dude." Although mystified by the abrupt switch, Matt motioned towards Phil’s bedroom. "Help yourself."

Frank turned on the computer, glad to see that Phil splurged on a cable modem with instant Internet access. He hastily went to a site he had visited the previous night.

"What in the world are you looking for?" Joe had followed his brother into Phil’s room, and was now perched on the bed, staring over Frank’s shoulder at the monitor.

"I had an idea on the other instrument winners in that contest," Frank replied, scrolling down the screen. He jotted down some names on a piece of paper, then left that website and went to another. Again he searched, scrolled, and jotted names. Finally, he exited out and turned the computer off, then stood up.

"Okay – let’s go ahead and go to Allison’s parents’ house, and see if we can’t find her and Phil."

Joe, secretly contemplating fratricide for all the guesswork Frank made him do, agreed.

"I’d love to go with you guys, but I have to work in an hour," Matt mourned. "I just came home to get changed, really."

"Sorry, Matt." Frank commiserated.

"It’d be too fun to go along with you," Matt went on wistfully. "Can you at least keep me posted on what’s happening? Maybe I can help!"

"I promise, if we need your help, we’ll call you," Joe vowed. "You’ve been great, Matt!"

"Thanks, dude!" Matt smiled happily. "And if Phil calls, or anything, I’ll let you know."

Worried still, but glad to have a concrete objective in mind, the Hardys left the apartment and walked back to where Frank had parked his car. With Frank at the wheel, they went back into the New York City Sunday afternoon traffic.

"Okay – I’ve waited long enough." Joe said, finally. "Spill it. What’s with the names you wrote down, off the computer?"

"I just had a hunch," Frank told him, smiling obliquely. "I want to check into it after we see if Phil and Allison are at her parents’. Those instruments which were awarded as prizes in that contest were all expensive – top-of-the-line. Comparable to the Stradivarius violin."

"So?" Joe wrinkled his nose. "I doubt that that has anything to do with it. My money’s still on Rodney – or that sleazeball, Robert!"

Frank drove a while in silence, then glanced over at his brother. "I think I’m going to do something I may regret," he murmured.

"What’s that?" Joe turned inquiring blue eyes towards him.

As usual, Frank didn’t give him a straight answer. "When we get to where we’re going, I think I’d better go in and talk to Dear Cousin Rodney and maybe his parents. And you can go over to Allison’s, and see if you can locate Phil. See if you can find out what’s going on with those two."

Joe drew in an incredulous breath. "You mean you’ll let me drive your new car?" he gasped in mock-surprise. He slapped a hand against his chest, eyes wide. "I’m not sure my heart can take this shock!"

Frank snorted. "Against my better judgment," he grumbled. "But I don’t see any way around it." He glared briefly at Joe, then returned his eyes to the road. "But one scratch – just one, mind you! – and I take it out of your hide, little brother. And your paycheck!" he threatened.

"I’ll be careful!" Joe promised meekly. He knew how Frank felt; after all, he hadn’t let anyone else drive his Aztek, yet! "But are you sure you want me to go to find Phil? I’d rather take on Crazy Boy, instead!" His eyes lighted with anticipation. "Aw, c’mon, let me at Cousin Rodney, Frank!"

"Nope, no way, not a chance, forget it," Frank shook his head decisively. "That’s the reason I’m going to talk to Rodney and you aren’t. Your enthusiasm – shall we call it by its true name, overkill? – can take you so over the top, sometimes…."

"Maybe you’re right," Joe sighed as he made the admission. "But don’t ever expect me to agree with you like this again!" When Frank’s chuckles had subsided, Joe continued in a more serious vein. "Are you sure you’re okay with going to see Rodney alone? You won’t have any way to escape from Looney Boy, if I take the car. Maybe we should do both tasks together, instead."

"No, I’m thinking that we’d better split up this time. Time may be of the essence, and we can cover more ground faster that way. And Rodney’s not crazy. He didn’t look crazy, anyway."

Glancing at the slip of paper Matt had given him, Frank squinted at the scribbles. "I’m going to check a phone book," he said, and when they reached the desired area, began scanning for a gas station in the nearby vicinity. Spotting one, he pulled off the street, and hopped out to check the book dangling from its chain in the phone booth.

"We’re in luck!" he reported, upon returning to the car. "I’ve got addresses for both, and telephone numbers. Lucky that Matt knew Rodney’s dad’s name was Collin; there are a ton of people named Lewis!" Frank held up his notebook, and Joe saw names and addresses penned in Frank’s meticulous printing. "And I asked the station attendant for directions." He turned the key in the ignition, and prepared to re-enter traffic. "Let’s go!"

*****

Frank pulled up in front of Collin Lewis’ house, and got out, leaving his door open for Joe to take his place behind the wheel. "You’ll be careful, right?" Frank asked again, trying to mask his concern for his car as Joe slammed the car door.

"I promise, not a scratch on it," Joe vowed. "Now go on, before I decide to trade places with you and take on Weird Rodney!"

Joe waited until Frank reached the front door before putting the Saturn into gear, familiarizing himself with the switches and controls of this new car. He didn’t pull away from the curb until he’d seen the door opened, and Frank talking to someone. Then he accelerated into traffic, following the directions to the other Lewis home. From what he read, it wasn’t all that far – probably about six blocks, and, he surmised, in a slightly more upscale area of town.

When Joe arrived at Allison Lewis’ parents, he didn’t need special devices or extra-sensory perception to know that Phil and Allison were there. Simple observation was enough – Phil’s car was parked in the driveway! Joe parked the Saturn on the street, and hurried up to the front door, where he impatiently pushed the doorbell.

When the door was opened, he smiled impishly down at an astounded Allison Lewis. "Hey there! Long time no see!"

"J-joe!" she stammered. "I – didn’t expect to see you!"

"No, I’ll just bet you didn’t," he said sardonically. Joe looked over Allison’s shoulder as Phil came up behind her. "We came to help, whether you two wanted it or not. Ready to tell me what’s going on, yet?"

"Come on in, Joe." Phil looked both exasperated and resigned. "I guess I should have known this wouldn’t work, as far as keeping you guys out of it." Phil looked around, as Joe entered the house. "Frank’s not with you?"

"Not right now," Joe replied. "Why haven’t you answered our calls, you fuzz-brain?" he burst out. "We went to your apartment – saw a really nasty thing on the wall—"

"I already know about that," Phil said. He and Allison led the way to a sunny, wide-windowed room overlooking the street. "I’m sorry, Joe – but I got messages from the person who stole the violin – at least, I assume it’s who took it. Some guy, anyway. He said that if I got involved trying to recover it, or if anyone else got involved, that Allison would be hurt!" He slumped into a plushy chair and rested his head on his hand, disconsolately. "I couldn’t risk that!"

"And I was contacted too," Allison put in, seating herself on the couch beside Joe. "As much as I love that violin, and want it back, it’s certainly not worth anyone getting injured over, or killed!"

"I’m not going to let some jerk keep an instrument that they stole from you and don’t own!" Joe retorted hotly.

He was about to say something more when he happened to glance out the window, and saw a car parked just behind Frank’s Saturn. The car had darkened windows, but they weren’t shaded enough for Joe to miss seeing someone sitting in the interior with binoculars trained on Allison’s house!

"Hey! Somebody’s out there casing the place with binoculars – Phil, you and Allison stay put – I’m going after this goon who’s watching you guys!" Joe leaped from his seat and rushed for the door without a backward glance, or waiting for a response from Phil. He flung himself outside and raced down the walk, intent on a confrontation with the person inside the car. But as he neared the vehicle, he heard the engine roar to life and rev a few times; and watched helplessly as the car sped away down the street!