Across the street from where the Hardys lay, was parked an ancient ‘beater’ car, with three teenage boys seated in it. They were emitting shouts and catcalls and howls of ridicule, very evidently enjoying the spectacle of the tourist couple who had been so very alarmed by the sound of their car’s backfiring engine! With a few more sharp backfires, the engine of the car caught, and the boys drove off down the street, the sounds of their laughter trailing behind them.

Fenton scrambled to his knees and reached to help Laura up.

"Honey, I’m sorry – so sorry—but I thought—" Fenton’s apology was halted by the sight of Laura’s face. She was laughing and shaking her head, apparently not hurt, and also, evidently not the least upset by having been flung facedown on a lawn.

"It’s okay; it’s okay…" She brushed ineffectually at the grass stains on her skirt, then attempted to wipe a smudge of dirt from Fenton’s cheek. She was laughing so hard she could barely get to her feet, as Fenton took her arm and tried to assist her, and tears of mirth stood in her eyes. "What those kids must have thought….We must have looked a sight!"

Fenton glowered for a moment, then sighed and joined in Laura’s laughter. She was right – they probably did look pretty silly…diving to the ground like that, just because they’d heard a car backfire! He brushed at his slacks, noting that they were beginning to look much the worse for wear after all the things he’d done today.

Hand in hand, and much more smudged and rumpled than before, the Hardys continued into the police station.

When they reached the front desk, Fenton introduced himself to the sergeant manning it, and told him that he’d become interested in the sudden spate of illnesses aboard the Royal Tahoe and was attempting to investigate them.

The desk sergeant, however, was grumpily uncooperative. He had his own business to take care of, and he was in no mood to cater to curious tourists from back east, even if this man did claim to be a private investigator. His replies to Fenton’s questions were monosyllabic and uncommunicative; his attitude was plainly Leave it to the local authorities, Bub!

Finally, Fenton had had enough. He curtly demanded to talk to someone else; preferably someone of a higher rank. The desk sergeant rolled his eyes expressively, but acceded to the request, and summoned his superior.

Lieutenant Byron Hunt politely ushered the Hardys into his private office and offered them seats, then sat down himself, behind his desk. A man of medium height, with blonde hair going gray, and hazel eyes, Hunt appeared to be a little older than Fenton, and his expresssion indicated a man of good humor and kindness. He listened to what Fenton had to relate about their experiences aboard the Royal Tahoe, and then thoughtfully responded.

"It’s more than just the Tahoe, Mr. Hardy. There have been more suspected poisonings, but not very many of them are getting reported. And of the ones which were reported, only two people saw their doctors."

"What? Why so few?" Laura blurted, surprised.

"Because," the lieutenant explained, "once they’d vomited, the victims usually felt quite a bit better. People who feel okay don’t usually consult a doctor. The Nevada Department of Health was called in after the second… no, third, reporting. They’ve been running tests on the food samples that they took. 99% of it came up clean, nothing to it -- but 1%, an apple pie that they picked up from the Grand Tahoe Resort, had an emetic – namely, zinc sulfate – in it." 

"Zinc sulfate?" Fenton frowned at this news. "Why would someone purposely add something to food that is known to make people throw up? Physicians use that to cause people to vomit if they’ve ingested poison." 

Hunt shrugged; it was obvious he was as confused about the mystery as Fenton was.  

"Could I get a list of where and when the other victims fell ill?" Fenton requested.

Lieutenant Hunt eyed him speculatively. "You think I go around just handing out things like that to anyone who asks?" he asked in derision. "Even assuming I believe you’re who you say you are – yes, yes, I know you can produce credentials; I didn’t mean to imply you aren’t Fenton Hardy of Bayport, New York – it isn’t like we called you in to work on this case with the Stateline police, you know!"

"Lieutenant Hunt, I realize that I’m coming out of nowhere here, but I really am interested, and I would like to help if at all possible." Fenton coaxed. A little more wheedling finally produced results: Hunt opened the file folder pertaining to the case, and jotted down a short list of names, dates, and places, which he handed over to a grateful Fenton.

Shortly afterwards, the Hardys took their leave, and found themselves out in the warm evening air once more.

"It’s still early." Laura commented, glancing around at the brightly lit shops lining the streets, and the throngs of tourists. "We can get in some shopping on our way back to the hotel."

"What? Shopping?" Fenton said in disbelief. "Laura, we’re on a case, remember? We can’t just go gallivanting off shopping—"

"All work and no play, darling." she said sweetly. "Besides, you can’t go charging off to see those people at this time of night, anyway! And now that I think about it, I suspect most of them were tourists who may not even be in Stateline anymore!" She stepped into the shelter of a back-set doorway, pulling him to a stop perforce. "All work and no play, Fenton…" she repeated, and reached to wrap an arm about his neck, pulling his face down close to hers.

Passers-by ignored the couple kissing in the doorway, and eventually Laura and Fenton moved on down the street, window-shopping. Fenton made no more protests.

As they neared Caesars, Laura managed to move from window-shopping to going into a few of the boutiques and gift shops lining the street. In one which featured kitchenware, she discovered what she declared was the perfect gift for Fenton’s sister Gertrude: a gold and porcelain teakettle, with a blue and gold crest on the side, bearing the legend South Lake Tahoe.

"Fenton, it may only be August, but I’m starting my Christmas shopping right this minute – Gertrude will love this! It’s absolutely perfect!"

"Mphm." was all the response she got from her husband. Picking out Christmas gifts for Gertrude was not Fenton’s fortè; he’d left it to Laura for twenty years, and intended on keeping it that way.

While Laura was paying for the teakettle and having it carefully packed up, Fenton questioned some of the employees of the little store about the strange occurrences of illnesses happening in the community. To his surprise, he got differing stories. One salesgirl assured him that two people at the Portico Bar had become sick. The manager said no, it was two people staying at the Grand Tahoe Resort. Fenton compared this with the list Lieutenant Hunt had given him, and wondered ruefully if the best bet might not be to contact the Health Department. Nothing he was gleaning from all these questions seemed to match!

"I’m ready now," Laura nudged his elbow. She was carrying the large package with the teakettle in one arm, and the sack containing her coffee cups – which fortunately hadn’t been damaged when Fenton flattened her earlier. He took the teakettle bundle, without comment.

Twilight was falling when they finally emerged back onto the street, and Fenton had a suggestion to make.

"What do you say we sit down and watch the sunset for awhile, before we head back to see what the kids are up to? There’s a nice little bench over there." He pointed towards the lake shore.

"That sounds wonderful," Laura responded, tucking her free hand into her husband’s arm. "I think I’d like some quiet time right about now."

They settled down on the bench, stowing their packages beneath it, and Fenton put his arm about Laura, cuddling her close. "Now if those blasted mosquitoes don’t home in on us…" he muttered.

"I’ve put on insect repellent," she chuckled. Then, as his lips traveled over her hair down to her neck, she added, "of course, it may repel you, too!"

"Well…" Fenton’s words came slowly, interspersed with the kisses he was planting along her jawline. "…in most instances…I really prefer your perfume…that Island Gardenia stuff you wear…but in this case…I’ll make do…with DEET."

This struck Laura so funny that she burst out laughing, which somewhat spoiled the romance of the moment, but since Fenton appreciated his wife’s sense of humor, it created something of a special joke between them, and they both referred to it several more times as they watched the first stars emerge from the deep-blue sky above the lake.

When they could put it off no longer, the Hardys reluctantly left their secluded little bench and walked into the bright opulence of Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino. They made their way through the glitter and clamor of the casino to the banks of elevators, and were wafted upwards to the floor where their rooms were.

But when they emerged from the elevator, they were startled to see both Frank and Joe in the hallway, evidently waiting for an elevator down!

"Mom! Dad!" Frank seized Laura’s arms tightly, his face suffused with relief. "Where have you been?"

"We’ve been worried sick!" Joe chimed in.

Their parents exchanged bewildered glances. "Why were you worried?" Laura asked in confusion.

"We saw that the boat was docked, and you didn’t come back…" Frank’s voice trailed off in some embarrassment. He was beginning to realize he sounded pretty lame.

"We ran into a mystery on the cruise ship," Fenton began, just as Joe burst out with "Dad, we’ve run into a mystery here in Stateline!"

Laura, meanwhile was trying to remind Frank of something: "Frank, honey, we said we might be back late!"

"Oh…yeah. I guess I – um – forgot." Frank admitted sheepishly. Joe, hearing this, turned astonished, reproachful blue eyes on his brother, and Frank flushed.

"That’s not exactly like you, son." Fenton commented with a grin.

"I had a good excuse," Frank defended himself. "We’ve had – quite a day."

Both boys began talking rapidly, attempting to fill their parents in on the strange occurrences which had befallen them during the day. Fenton and Laura listened, shocked that someone had tried to hurt Frank merely to steal his camcorder.

"Son, maybe you’d better leave that camera in the hotel tomorrow," Fenton advised.

"No!" Frank shook his head determinedly. "I bought it to take pictures of this trip, and that’s what I’m going to do. And no half-witted robbery attempt is going to stop me!"

They walked up the quiet, carpeted corridor to the room Frank and Joe were sharing; Laura ducked quickly into her own room to leave her packages, while Frank unlocked his door. Finally, all four Hardys gathered in the boys’ room, finding Megan and Vanessa still seated on the balcony admiring the view. The girls greeted Fenton and Laura, emphasizing how relieved they were to see them back safely.

"We didn’t have any idea you were worried about us," Laura tried to reassure them. "We really did tell Frank we might be late…."

"I remember that now," Frank muttered. "But so many weird things had been happening, it sort of slipped my mind."

"Tell us about the mystery on board the cruise ship!" Joe pressed, sprawling across one of the beds, while his parents seated themselves in chairs near the table. Frank sat down on the couch and beckoned Megan over, patting the seat next to him invitingly. Vanessa perched on the end of the other bed.

Laura and Fenton related the story while their listeners sat mesmerized. When they got to the part where Fenton had leaped into Lake Tahoe after the fleeing crewman, the girls gasped in shock, and Joe yelped "You WHAT?"

"Why are you so surprised?" his father demanded, grinning. "Think you’re the only Hardy allowed to take a risk occasionally?" He resumed his narrative, leaving out the part about the car backfire, and the view of the sunset, however. There were some things he didn’t feel it necessary to share with his sons.

"Let’s hear the details of your day again." Fenton requested, when he reached the end of his story. Frank and Joe complied, taking turns talking about what had happened, with an occasional comment from Megan or Vanessa added.

When the story reached its conclusion, a thoughtful silence descended on the group, to be broken by Joe.

"It’s weird how such a small place as Stateline could have two big problems like this at the same time." he commented.

Laura and the girls shared amused looks. Not one of them was surprised to have run into two mysteries like this – it was pretty typical of a Hardy vacation, after all!