Joe ran flat out for his brother’s car, disregarding Laura’s elegant gold sedan in favor of the sporty little Saturn.  He heard Frank and Matt pounding along behind him, and also heard Frank’s gasped imprecations.  He suspected Frank thought he’d lost his mind, but his older brother was coming along to back him up, just the same.  He flung himself into the front passenger seat and slammed the door; a few seconds later Frank was behind the wheel and shoving the key into the ignition.  

Matt yanked open the back door and dove into the car, barely getting the door shut before Frank pushed the accelerator toward the floor and peeled out of the parking lot.  “Whoa!  Frank, dude, lemme at least fasten my seat belt, here!”  

Frank, clicking his own belt into place, depressed the gas pedal once again.  “Hang on,” he muttered, and set about the pursuit of one Mallory Rutledge.  

A thousand and one disguises, that one!  Joe marveled at the sheer audacity of the woman who headed the gang of jewel thieves.  First, she’s a woman planning a wedding – blonde hair, always wore those sunglasses, though.  Yesterday, he’d seen her only in the dark, with flashlights’ beams, but she’d had chestnut hair and chillingly cold gray eyes.  And now – a state police officer, for Pete’s sake!  It didn’t matter, though; he was sure it was all the same person, no matter how her appearance changed.  Those pseudo-sweet tones – charm overlaid with ice!  She might disguise her looks, but she sounded the same, every time!  

“You sure about this?”  Frank was asking him now.  “I didn’t see her all that well last night.  It was dark, and my head felt like it had been split open.”  

“It’s her,” Matt confirmed from the back seat before Joe could reply.  “It’s the voice, man.   Totally the same.  Her hair color’s different today, and I think she may have been wearing colored contacts, but – it was Rutledge, all right!”  

“I agree; it’s the same woman.  And we’re not letting her get away,” Joe added.  “Put your foot down, Frank.”  

“Fasten your seatbelt, then,” his brother admonished, and Joe guiltily obeyed.  Frank put on some more speed, happy to be driving something with good pickup, and diminished the distance between the fake police car and his own.  Then, much to his passengers’ surprise, he decelerated, and dropped back again.  

“Hey, what’s the deal?”  Joe protested.  “What the heck are you doing, Frank?  You’re gonna lose her!”  

“No, I’m not going to lose her, at least that’s not my intent,” Frank replied calmly.  “What I am going to do is give her a chance to lead us to her hideout.  It can’t be too far away, she and her ‘boys’ have been staking out the lighthouse for days.  If it is Mallory, and she doesn’t realize we’re behind her, she just might take us to where she lives.  We just have to be careful.”  

“Do you think she might live on the boat we saw?”  Matt suggested.  “Either that sailboat we saw the first time, or the big motor boat?  These guys seemed to always be hanging around the light house in some boat or other – and if Rutledge isn’t from around here, she might be staying on one of the boats.”  

“Which means that it might be in a marina,” Joe put in.  “Good thinking, Eckersley!”  

“Definitely a possibility,” Frank agreed.  “Joe, get out a map and see if you can locate marinas, especially any in the direction we’re going.”  

“Hmmm…”  Joe didn’t immediately check the glove box for the maps; he was apparently relying on his memory.  “I can think of two – maybe three – along this road.  But I’m betting I can guess where she lives.  Crystal Waters, Frank, don’t you think?  We should try to get there not too long after she does; otherwise she might try to take off in her boat – assuming she’s given up on getting the jewels, that is.”  

“You’re probably right.  We need to make sure there aren’t any more of her goons around, too,” Frank noted grimly.  “After all, there are only three in custody, and we have no way of knowing just how many people Rutledge has working for her!”  

He could still see the patrol car in the distance, the wan November afternoon sunlight glinting occasionally off the light bar on the roof.  She was speeding along the back road toward the marinas along the far eastern edge of Long Island.  Like Joe, Frank was fairly sure he knew where she was going, assuming she was going to a marina.  A woman like that wouldn’t dock her boat just anywhere, after all, and Crystal Waters Beach Plaza was not just any marina.  It housed the boats of the rich and famous.  He increased the pressure on the gas pedal just slightly.  He didn’t want to miss her turning off.  

As both Frank and Joe had expected, the patrol car swung off the road at the Plaza entrance, and zoomed through the gate with barely enough time to stop and show a membership card.  Wondering just how they were going to get in – after all, they weren’t members of this posh facility or driving a police car – Frank pulled into the same driveway.  

“Anyone have any suggestions about getting in?” he murmured, letting the Saturn creep along at a snail’s pace.  

“Leave this one to me,” Matt said.  He dug into the camera case he’d put in Frank’s car earlier, and pulled out a card, then another, then one of his cameras – the smallest, lightweight one.  “Here, Frank – pass card,” he explained, holding one of the cards out to the elder Hardy.  “You’re the reporter; I’m your camera man.  We’re here to do a report on the luxuries of the Plaza for the Bayport Gazette.”  

Frank grinned.  He wasn’t sure it would work, but he was certainly willing to give it a shot!  “And Joe?”  

At the same time, Joe had piped up:  “What about me?”  

“You’re the lackey who carries everything,” Matt informed him, his green eyes twinkling.  “You don’t need a card.  Frank, talk fast, dude!”  

Frank nodded and pulled up to the gate with its little guardhouse. He flashed a wide, friendly smile, and launched into his spiel:  “Hi there, I’m Franklin Morton, with the Bayport Gazette.  We’re here to do a feature article on the Crystal Beach Plaza; I’m going to need an inside look, and of course, we’ll be taking just oodles of publicity shots, and interviewing employees such as you, as well as club members, regarding all the luxuries that are available at the Plaza.  This could mean lots more business for the Plaza, and of course, everyone can always use more business, right?  So if you’ll just let us through, we’ll get started, and I’ll be sure to get back to you for an interview and photos before we leave….”  

Looking completely bowled over by the rushing spate of words, the guard weakly waved a hand in acquiescence, and buzzed them through the gate without a dissenting word.  Frank smiled sweetly at him and drove through, disregarding the muffled chuckles and snorts from Joe and Matt.  

“Dude, you’re something else,” Matt hissed, as Frank pulled into a parking space and killed the engine.  “I didn’t know you could talk that fast!”  

“Without breathing, too,” Joe added as they got out of the Saturn.  He sighed as Matt tapped him on the shoulder and handed him the camera case, but accepted it meekly.  “I’m not a lackey, I’m a detective,” he grumbled beneath his breath, following the other two as they set out.  “The things I do for this partnership!”  

Matt, completely in character, stopped every so often and took pictures while Frank and Joe looked around, searching for any sign of Mallory Rutledge.   

“There!”  Frank hissed, and indicated one of the piers.  They saw the fake police officer running down the dock, evidently heading for the boat moored at the far end.  “Let’s go – cautiously!”  

The three raced along the docks, keeping Mallory in view; when they neared the boat, they stopped, then proceeded at a soft-footed walk.  As they got closer, they could see Mallory up on the top deck, and heard her voice raised in what was evidently an argument with someone.  

“Well, and who might you be, and what are you doing here?”  A voice behind them made them spin around.  A hulking individual whose very appearance screamed ‘hoodlum’ was standing behind them, his hand already reaching for something in the waistband of his pants.  

Joe spotted the gun and reacted instantly, without even thinking.  His leg flashed out, knocking the man backwards; before he could recover his balance, Joe’s right fist went hard into his face.  

“Hello—“ the younger Hardy said politely.  He narrowed his eyes.  “Well, if it isn’t ‘Mr. Baker,’ the man whose car so conveniently broke down near Stone Point,” he observed.  “And—“  the narrowed gaze grew flinty.  “Well, whaddya know?  Done any more BASE-jumping lately?  You creep – consider that kick compliments of my girlfriend!  Anyway – hello and goodbye.  I’ve had it with being your victim, scumbag!”  He nudged the man’s dropped weapon with his toe, then gave it a swift kick.  It skidded across the wooden planking and fell into the water with a small plop.   

Matt raised an eyebrow, lifted his camera and took a picture of their fallen foe, smiling impishly.  “We’re reporters, dude – don’t you have any respect for the press?”  

Frank stared at their friend for a moment, hardly able to believe Matt’s composure – and then shrugged, and made his way towards the boat again.  He left Joe to deal with the man he’d hit, seeing as how the guy was so stunned he was still unable to move.   You knocked him out, you handle it!  

He hunkered down and crept closer to the boat as quietly and slowly as he could, then eased himself onto the gangway.  Using every precaution, he stole onto the boat itself, trying his best to move without rocking the large craft unduly.  Actually, he doubted that he could rock it too much – the thing was huge; a yacht, rather than a small cruiser.  

“Which way?”  Matt breathed in his ear.  

Frank jumped, startled.  He hadn’t realized Matt was right there behind him!  “Shhh,” he whispered.  “I’m still thinking…stay close.”  Silently, he walked towards the stairs toward the bridge.  

The afternoon’s quiet was abruptly shattered by the sound of a woman’s scream, from the upper deck – and then another, this one an eerie banshee’s wail!  Frank froze in disbelief for just an instant, and felt a cold swirl of wind encircle him – a wind that grew intensely colder and more vicious.  He raced forward, followed closely by Matt, knowing what that wind and that banshee screech entailed.  Emily’s here – EMILY’S HERE!  She’s here, and she’s obviously up to something again!  

“Who are you?  What do you want?  Go away!”  It was Mallory Rutledge, sounding utterly terrified.   

“It’s time,” he heard that familiar, sweet, disembodied voice say.  He doubled his speed and clattered up the stairs, heedless of making noise now.  He leaped onto the deck and stopped, mesmerized by the sight before him.  Mallory Rutledge stood inside the small top cabin, facing a slightly translucent figure wearing old-fashioned clothing…and a very angry face!  

“NO!  Go away!  Leave me alone – awwwk!”  Rutledge screamed again, then clutched at her throat as if she couldn’t breathe, even though she was still screaming.  Frank felt a tiny twinge of pity for her; he’d been there.  

“You took these.”  Emily pointed an accusing finger.  Frank looked where she was pointing, and saw, to his shock, the old trunk!  The one which had been in the underground storage room, which had disappeared so mysteriously!  It stood open, and he could see the soft fluff of more old-fashioned clothing inside.  “These are mine.  MINE!  My own.  And you have taken them.  I followed – I followed you because you took my things.  And I have learned many things about you, you evil witch!  You have killed.  You murdered to gain your own way, and you tried to kill innocents to get what you wanted.  You don’t deserve to live!”  

Emily raised her hands then, and the cold, swirling wind rose about them.  She stepped forward, pushing her hands outward, and Mallory Rutledge was forced back, step by step.  Toward the doorway behind her – toward the railing – toward almost certain death!  

She’s a ghost – she couldn’t be punished for it!  Frank thought wildly, watching Emily’s slow, relentless march.  But even so, I can’t let her do it!  She mustn’t do it, even if she’d never pay the price for having killed someone in cold blood!  First of all, there’d be no way to prove who did it, and with him and Matt right there, it was almost a sure bet one or the other of them might be implicated.  But more importantly, she mustn’t do it because…because Emily herself was still innocent of bloodshed.  There was no way he would allow her to do this!  “Don’t let her get by you,” he murmured to Matt, as Mallory backed up further, nearing the door, and heard a soft sound of assent from the other man.  

And then Frank stepped forward and placed himself between Emily and her potential victim; he stopped and waited, until Emily’s gaze focused on him instead of Mallory Rutledge.  

“Frank,” she whispered, “don’t try to stop me.”  

“Emily, I’m not going to let you do this,” he said softly.  “I can’t let you do this.”  

“She deserves to die!” she cried.  “Her death is richly deserved!  Get out of my way, Frank – don’t you know what kind of a woman she is?  She tried to kill you and the others, don’t you remember?”  

“Of course I remember,” he said gently.  “Of course I know what she is.  That’s why she’s going to go to prison, Emily, for a long, long time.  She deserves to be punished – for trying to kill me, and Joe and Matt, and Cherise – but that punishment isn’t yours to give.  I can’t let you kill her, Emily; I think too much of you for that.”  He wasn’t sure where the words were coming from, and he was almost surprised to hear himself say that last – but he realized it was true.  He’d gained some respect and a certain affection for ethereal Emily, somewhere along the way.   

Behind him, he heard a tiny sound of amusement from Matt – and Mallory Rutledge’s panicked breathing as she realized Frank was bargaining for her life!  

“Emily – tell me.  Do you really think that killing this woman is the right thing to do?”  Frank persisted.  

She narrowed her eyes, apparently considering his words – and then her lips tightened.  “Yes.  It is.  I will make her pay.  There have been too many injustices, too many people have gone free and not been made to pay for their crimes!  This woman is just like them.”  

Frank put up a detaining hand.  “No, you can’t.  I know you’re thinking of Elliott…but I won’t let you do it.”  

Before Emily could continue the argument, Frank felt himself shoved roughly from behind.  Mallory Rutledge whirled and darted towards the door, trying to get around Matt, who valiantly attempted to block her way.  Frank staggered forward, nearly falling into Emily – who emitted another banshee screech, summoned her ghost wind, and slammed the door in Mallory’s face!   

Mallory spun about, her cold eyes wide, filled with both fear and hatred.  She watched as Frank picked himself up, glaring at him and Matt, who prudently moved to the side of the cabin.  “All right, just what kind of a game is this, anyway?  Just what do you think you’re doing?  And WHO is this strange young woman, and how did she get here?”  

Frank smiled thinly.  “I’m not trying to do anything except save your life, Ms. Rutledge.  If you want me to continue trying to do it, I suggest you shut up.  And as for Emily…Emily’s a – friend of mine.  From the past.”  He turned back to Emily, who had remained silent through this, her eyes still narrowed and her mouth twisted in dislike.  “Emily – what would it take – what would this woman have to do, to make you change your mind?”  

Emily obviously had not expected this question.  The grimace left her face, and she looked thoughtful.  Finally, she replied.  “She will have confess what she has done – admit to all her crimes.  And leave nothing out – for I will know.”     

Rutledge laughed scornfully.  “Honey, there’s no way I’m admitting anything to anyone!”  

Instantly, Emily’s ghost wind whipped up, filling the cabin with icy blasts of swirling air.  Mallory Rutledge was flung back against the closed door.  She let out a startled scream, and attempted to break free, but it was apparent that she couldn’t move – and after a moment, also apparent that she could barely breathe!  Frank saw Emily’s fist tighten ever so slightly.  

“You have to tell her what you’ve done,” he said quietly.  “It’s the only way you’re getting out of here alive.”  

Rutledge glared hotly at him, her lips pressed tightly together.  

Emily didn’t flinch…and then she gently closed her fist a little more.  Mallory clutched at her throat, gasping.  And finally…  

“All right!  All right!  I’ll tell!”   

The ghost glided past Frank, moving close to the panting woman pressed against the cabin door.  “Hear this, evil woman:  if you leave out anything, one single thing, there will be no saving you.  You will tell.  You will tell Frank and the others, and then you will tell the police.  For if you do not, know this – I will find you again, wherever you may be, and you will pay.  You will pay for all you’ve done, in the coin of MY choosing!”  

“All right, all right.”  Mallory Rutledge was sobbing now, broken at last.   

Frank and Matt gripped her arms and moved her away from the doorway, and Joe quietly opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind himself.  He gazed at their captive grimly.  

“Let’s hear it,” he invited.  

Once she got started, Mallory Rutledge had a great deal to tell.  Frank was stunned, for as well as the things he already knew, there was a lot more he had had no inkling of.   

“I read about the jewels in the magazine,” Rutledge said.  “I knew then that I had to have them!  I thought they’d be an easy pickup.  No one else had been able to find them, but that’s because they weren’t smart enough.  I know I’m smart enough.  I’m the person who’s supposed to find the jewels and make them my own.  They’re supposed to be mine!  I was meant to have them!  So I and my partner, Jared Blake, came up with a plan.”  

Frank heard Joe’s indrawn breath at that – a partner?  Where was this Blake, then?

“We decided to scout out the lighthouse, and make people think that if anything, we were looking to steal the lens.  It’s well-known that they’re worth a lot of money.  And use any other excuse to get near the lighthouse and the keeper’s cottage, so we could look for the jewels.”  Rutledge smiled, an evil, complacent smile.  “So after we decided all that, I killed him.  I could do it as well alone, and why share if I didn’t have to?  Besides, he had great taste in boats, and now they belong to me.”

Matt gulped, audibly, and the three young men exchanged stricken looks.  Mallory Rutledge was far more ruthless than they’d imagined.

“What about the men working for you?”  Frank inquired.

Rutledge made a scoffing noise.  “I found them easily, and they were cheap.  Easy to buy and they would have been easy to get rid of, once we’d located the jewels.”  She scowled petulantly.  “I was all set to move to Tahiti, or somewhere like that – someplace warm, where I could live off the money from the gems and never have to work again!  But you – you boys! – you got in the way.  You spoiled everything!” she said hotly.  “I didn’t plan on so much action at the lighthouse, after all.  There was never anyone there except that fussy caretaker, until you all started coming around all the time!  So I decided to capture you – and that pesky Cherise LeGault!  I knew if I put you in that cave we’d found, the weather or the water would finish you off without any more effort from me, and without having to hide your bodies later on.  The skeleton that was already there had obviously been there for years, and no one had found it, after all!”  Luckily for Mallory’s peace of mind, she didn’t notice Emily’s glittering gaze at this last remark!

“I’d seen the cave from the boat, and explored it.  It was perfect, and we could get to it using ropes.  The chains and shackles were already there, with the key.  But I was positive that that underground storage room – sort of a glorified root cellar! – was the secret to those hidden jewels!  That’s why I brought the trunk back here.  And I still can’t figure out why they weren’t there!”  Rutledge finished, with a wail of frustration.

Frank smiled.  “I can tell you that,” he said mildly.  “They weren’t in the storage room because they were in the cave the whole time.”

“WHAT?” she screeched.  “NO!  That’s not possible!”

“And now the police have them,” Frank finished gently.

It was too much for Mallory Rutledge.  She deflated like a pricked balloon.  Frank approached her warily, but she made no attempts to put up a fight.  He pulled her arms behind her, and bound her wrists with a piece of rope Joe handed him.

“I already called the police, once I’d tied up that goon outside,” Joe announced.  “Con should be here any time now, to take them into custody.”

Emily had remained silent throughout Mallory’s recital.  Now she moved close to the woman and glared at her fiercely.  “Remember,” she murmured, “you are going to tell the authorities what you recounted here.  If you do not, I will be back.  You cannot hide from me, no matter where you go.  You will pay for your crimes their way—“ she pointed to Frank and Joe.  “Or my way.”

And then she disappeared, leaving a half-hysterical Mallory Rutledge cowering in fear.

“Dude,” Matt murmured in awe.  “I am soooooo glad she’s on OUR side!” 

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.