Frank lay still for a moment, attempting to catch his breath, and now feeling the discomfort of his abrupt landing on the pavement. Ouch, ouch, ouch…! Gingerly, he started to push himself onto his elbows.

"You okay?" Joe was there now, crouching beside him. "That was a close one." Frank blinked at him, still a little dazed, and didn’t reply.

The rapid tap-tap of high-heeled shoes announced Megan’s and Vanessa’s presence, and Frank suddenly found himself enveloped in silk, velvet, and jasmine perfume as Megan knelt and put her arms about him.

"Are you all right?" she demanded. "You acted so fast, pushing me ahead like that, but I was afraid you were going to be hit…."

"I’m fine, I’m fine," Frank assured them, finally regaining his composure. He managed to achieve a sitting position, and kissed Megan’s cheek in reassurance. "I wish I could have gotten the license number of that creep who tried to flatten us, that’s all."

Joe and Megan helped him to his feet. "That’s just the way people drive in New York," the younger Hardy shrugged. "You come to the big city, you expect to be flattened at any given moment." He surveyed his brother critically, searching for undisclosed injuries.

"New York drivers aren’t usually quite that aggressive," Frank noted with a frown. He started to brush the dirt from his clothes, and winced at the resultant sharp pain in his left elbow. Checking more closely, he scowled when he saw the rend in his suit sleeve. "Great," he grumbled. "This was a new suit, too. Things are just getting better and better." He rubbed at his bruised elbow ruefully, still slightly shaken up by the close call. Megan hugged him comfortingly, without further comment, and Frank felt grateful for her quiet, reassuring presence.

"Come on, let’s get to the car," Joe suggested, marshaling the other three in front of him. "I don’t feel like taking on any more crazed New York drivers tonight."

They entered the parking garage and rode the elevator to the level where Frank had parked the Saturn. When they reached it, Joe suddenly sighed in exasperation. "We were supposed to change again at Phil’s! Now we have to stay in these clothes! And we forgot all about dessert!" he lamented.

Vanessa chuckled. "We can live without dessert for once – and is it really that bad to wear a coat and tie for another couple of hours, Joe?"

"The coat isn’t so bad," Joe conceded, "but the tie goes – right now!" He tugged at the offending article of clothing as Frank unlocked the car, finally yanking it loose. Frank followed his example as the girls got into the car, and removed his suit jacket, wincing again as the movements jarred his sore elbow.

"Hey, you sure you’re okay?" Joe’s intent blue gaze speared his older brother. "If you’d like me to drive…"

"Let you drive my new car?" Frank gazed at Joe incredulously. "Surely you jest! You don’t let me drive your Aztek!"

"I’d be careful, really—" Joe vowed, "so think about it. Because you look a little ragged around the edges, bro – and I don’t mean the suit, either!"

Frank’s eyes held gratitude at Joe’s concern, but he shook his head. "I’m fine to drive. You just sit in back and cuddle with Vanessa," he teased softly.

Joe arched an eyebrow. "Gladly!" he grinned, and got in the back seat without further argument.

*****

Ten o’clock the next morning found Joe Hardy at home by himself. Frank had departed for Wayne’s World two hours earlier, and the boys’ parents had gone to a large arts and crafts fair in the nearby town of Bayview, accompanied by Aunt Gertrude, who had arrived from Florida two days before, planning to stay until after Joe’s graduation.

Joe took a leisurely shower, turning over the events of the previous night in his mind. He realized that he couldn’t remember Cousin Rodney’s last name, if he had ever heard it. He wondered if it was the same as Allison’s, and decided to call Phil and find out.

"Yeah, Rodney’s name is the same as Alli’s – Lewis." Phil told him, when Joe reached him on his cell phone. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I wanted to check with some sources we have, to find out if there’s some particular reason Rodney needed that violin right now," Joe explained. "For instance, does he owe a lot of money to someone, or something like that? I can’t do that unless I know his last name."

"Well, I don’t know about anything like that; whether he needs money," his friend admitted. "But Allison’s going to see Rodney today, and ask him straight out if he has the violin. And if he does, she’s going to demand that he return it. After all, he can’t keep it legally. The ownership got signed over to Allison, and she has the paperwork for it."

"That’s a good idea, but be careful," Joe advised. "We nearly got creamed last night on the street. Maybe no connection, but—"

"What!?" Phil gasped. "Why didn’t you say anything before, you idiot? Are you guys all right?"

"Calm down; yes, we’re all okay," Joe reassured him. "I think it was just your average New York pedestrian hit-and-run, but no one got hit, so I can’t really be positive."

After finishing his conversation with Phil, Joe puttered around the house a bit more. He had to be at work by noon, and the first rehearsal for graduation was at four o’clock, but that gave him plenty of time. He dialed another familiar number – the Bayport Police Department – and added a frequently-called extension.

"Con? It’s Joe Hardy. Could I ask a favor? We need some checking done on someone in New York City, and I wondered if you might…." Joe let his words hang suggestively.

"Probably – but might I ask why?" Amusement tinged the police officer’s voice.

Joe explained the events of the previous evening, including the alarming near-accident with the speeding car, and gave Con all the information he had regarding Rodney, Robert, and the symphony orchestra.

"Did anyone call the NYPD about the missing violin?" Con asked.

"As far as I know, yeah." Joe frowned. "But actually, Con, I don’t know that for sure. I just assume Allison reported the theft – or Phil might have."

"Give me a couple of hours, Joe, and I’ll get back to you." Con promised. When Joe explained that he would be gone, Con assured him he’d leave a message on the answering machine, and then ended the conversation.

Joe poured himself a cup of coffee, popped a sliced bagel in the toaster, and settled at the kitchen table with the morning newspaper. He enjoyed having the house to himself.

When Joe arrived at the Wayne’s World hangar at noon, he found Jason Montgomery, his fellow cargo-handler, already hard at work. April Wayne and Frank were both flying runs, but Jack hadn’t left yet.

"Hi, Jason!" Joe waved and smiled at the tall young man, and immediately fell into the familiar work routine. "When does Jack have to leave?"

"By one o’clock, he said," Jason replied, hefting a carton and carrying it towards the cargo hatch of the green-and-gold plane Jack was still leasing. Business had picked up for Wayne’s World, and Jack had found it necessary to expand his operations. Fortunately, having Frank and April both available to pilot made it feasible.

The two young men quickly finished loading the plane with its assigned cargo, and double-checked the paperwork. Joe was just flicking dust off the instrument panel – he’d found his boss was fussy about that! – when Jack emerged from his office, ready to roll.

"Everything set to go?" the lean young pilot asked, glancing from Jason to Joe. The boys nodded, and Jack climbed into the cockpit. "I’ll be late getting back, so don’t worry about sticking around," Jack called down through the window. "Either April and I’ll clean things up, or you guys can do it Monday." He waved, slid the window closed, and started the engines. Jason and Joe backed away from the plane, and watched as it rolled across the tarmac towards the runways.

"Hate to leave you, Joe, but I’ve got to take off by two," Jason informed him, as they moved to check Jack’s lists for their next tasks. "Maybe you can coax April into helping you clean up her plane when she gets back. She lets you talk her into almost anything, I’ve noticed."

"Gee, thanks!" Joe chuckled ruefully. Since he was scheduled to work until three-thirty, he knew he’d have to clean out April’s and Frank’s planes when they arrived back at the hangar. Frank might help with his – well, April might, too, if he worked it right!

After Jason departed, Joe found time hanging heavy on his hands. He tidied everything he could find to tidy, checked the manifests for Monday’s runs, and was sitting behind Jack’s desk playing computer solitaire when the growl of an airplane’s engines alerted him. Either April or Frank had returned! Joe got to his feet and hurried out of the hangar.

It was April. She expertly steered her plane to its usual parking spot, and flung open the door, then sat for a moment enjoying the cool breeze blowing through the cockpit. Joe stepped over to the plane to help her alight.

"Hi, Joe!" She took his extended hand and jumped down, her caramel-colored pony tail bouncing.

"Hey, kid." Joe smiled down at her. April Wayne had driven him nuts a few years back, but they had become close friends in the past couple of months. "How was the flight?"

"Good." April grinned with satisfaction. "And not too much cleanup, either, so be grateful!" She reached back into the plane and grabbed her bag, then headed for the office, to log in her flight time. "Back in a minute," she tossed over her shoulder to Joe, who had already begun his task of tidying up the cockpit.

It’s still got that ‘new-car’ smell, Joe noted, leaning in. Well, ‘new-plane’ smell, I guess it would be. For this was the newest craft in Jack’s small fleet, replacing the one April had crash-landed two months earlier. Frank and Jack traded off in flying, taking whichever plane was ready when they needed to leave, but April jealously guarded ‘her’ plane, and seldom let either of the men use it. She had, however, intimated that she might use it for Joe’s flying lessons – that is, if he ever screwed up the nerve to take her up on her offer!

Joe heard giggles from the hangar, and when April emerged, Joe saw her freckled face was suffused with laughter. "What’s so funny?" he asked.

Shaking her head, she wiped tears of laughter from her hazel eyes. "You’ll never believe this one….There was a phone message from a potential customer," she explained, leaning against the plane. "Someone who wants us to transport llamas!"

Joe gaped at her incredulously. "Llamas?" he repeated. "Why? And where? And would Jack do it?"

"I have no idea," she gurgled, "but I’ll tell you this, he’s not using MY plane to carry them around! Can you imagine what the cargo hold would be like afterwards?"

Joe thought about it, and grimaced. "Remind me to schedule around that flight," he said. "I don’t want to know!"

"It’s better than elephants," April said, still giggling. She climbed back into the plane and headed for the rear cargo area.

"How’s it feel to be all done with school?" April called to Joe, a moment later, as they worked.

"Mah-vel-ous!" he exulted. "I’ve got the whole next week off, too – no finals!"

"Lucky you!" April popped her head into view and stuck out her tongue, then disappeared again. Joe chuckled.

"How’s Todd?" he queried teasingly. "Still the one-and-only?"

"Todd’s just fine," came the muffled reply from the interior. "He’s got summer league baseball practice next week, as well as finals." April didn’t comment on the one-and-only reference.

"Hope his team does well," Joe said. He liked Todd Mitchell; they had been teammates on Bayport High’s baseball team for two years, and Joe had introduced him to April.

Before the plane was spruced up to April’s satisfaction, Joe’s cell phone chimed in his pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it open. "Joe here," he intoned.

"Phil!" Joe was surprised to hear from his friend again so soon; after all, they had just chatted earlier that day. "What’s up, guy?"

"Uh – nothing too much," Phil sounded tense.

"Did you and Allison go to Rodney’s and get back the violin?" Joe queried. As he spoke, he saw April’s eyes alight with curiosity as she openly listened to his side of the conversation.

"Joe – I just wanted to tell you, you and Frank don’t need to come to New York tomorrow," Phil blurted. "Everything’s fine – I’m sure the police will take care of finding Alli’s violin."

Joe’s brow creased in a slight frown. "You don’t want us to come? But why? Frank and I are glad to help locate it. Did you see Allison’s cousin Rodney about it?" he repeated.

"Everything’s under control, Joe." Phil said. "You and Frank shouldn’t bother coming all this way for no reason."

He’s not answering my question about Rodney, Joe thought. Why? Aloud, he said: "Phil, you shouldn’t leave finding that valuable violin in the hands of the police – they’ll never find it! Has something happened?" he continued to press. "Why don’t you want us there, all of a sudden?"

"Just drop it, Joe!" Phil snapped. "Alli and I don’t need you, all right? Just stay in Bayport!" There came the CLUNK! of a receiver being slammed down, which made Joe wince and jerk the phone away from his ear…and then silence.

Phil had hung up on him!