''How's the case going?'' Fenton Hardy asked as he sat down and reached for the maple syrup.

Frank brought his dad up to date as they ate. ''Give me the phone numbers and names,'' Mr. Hardy instructed when Frank had finished. ''I'll go make some calls,'' he added, rising after Frank handed him the list. .

Mrs. Hardy rose and began clearing the dishes off of the table. ''I'll get these,'' Frank offered, standing there, reaching for the same dishes Mrs. Hardy was.

Mrs. Hardy smiled at her son, ''Actually, I was hoping you would work on the lawn if you had the time, sweety,'' she told him sheepishly.

''No problem,'' he answered, grinning. He went to the garage and pulled out the lawnmower. He yanked the start cord and wondered if Joe had left for work yet.

''Who are you?'' Joe demanded.

''I'm Agent Don Samuels with the Drug Enforcement Agency,'' the man replied to Joe.

''Do you have a warrant?'' Joe asked, still suspicious.

''Right here Harris,'' he was told as a piece of paper was shoved into his vision. He was quickly frisked and then allowed to turn around.

''What's your connection with Thomas Martin?'' Joe was asked.

''Before I answer that,'' Joe told him, ''I'd like to see identification.''

''Most people would consider a warrant ID enough,'' Agent Samuel told Joe, pulling out his badge and ID for Joe to see.

''I'm not most people,'' Joe told him with a remarkably straight face. Joe looked at the ID and ignored the badge. ''Anybody can get a badge at the dime store,'' he told one of the men in the room when asked about it.

''My connection with Thomas is professional,'' he told them.

''That's right,'' barked Agent Samuels and laughed harshly. ''I'm sure it is.''

''I'm a detective,'' Joe told him, looking at the stout man in front of him. Agent Samuels was large, but yet he wasn't quite what you would call fat. In fact, Joe would almost swear that Agent Samuels was solid muscle. ''Jonny's father asked us to find him,'' Joe explained quickly before he could be interrupted. ''Since I look so much like Jonny I'm taking his place for a while to look for him this way.''

''That's rich,'' cracked one of the other agents, and laughed for what Joe felt like was spite just to annoy him.

''It would be a lot easier if you would just cooperate,'' Agent Samuels told Joe, staring him straight in the face, his blue eyes watchful.

''You can call and speak with my father to verify,'' Joe told the man.

''And who might that be?'' asked the man in front of him with a sarcastic smile, his body tense and his eyes also watchful.

''Fenton Hardy.'' Joe replied. ''My name is Joe Hardy, I'm Fenton's son.''

''This kid can really tell them, can't he?'' cracked the same agent as earlier and broke into another fit of laughter. Joe was really beginning to dislike the guy.

''Can it Johnson,'' ordered Agent Samuels. ''Watch him,'' he added, leaving the room they'd been in. Joe watched the sunrise through the window while they waited for Agent Samuels to return. Almost a half an hour passed before he returned..

''His story checks out,'' he told the other men as he entered the room. ''Your dad said to give me the details since you were going to need my help on this case,'' he added to Joe as he sat down.

Joe brought the three agents up to date on the case that he and Frank were working on at the current time. ''Now can I ask what you know about this?'' he asked when he was through with the storyline.

''We've been following Tom Martin,'' Agent Samuels began. ''He was involved in a drug deal two months ago here in Southport.''

''Why didn't you bust him?'' Joe wanted to know.

''He's really small fry,'' was the answer. ''We want to find out where he gets the stuff.''

''Were any of your men at the party last night?'' Joe asked Agent Samuels.

''Negative,'' Agent Samuels shook his head. ''It was an invitation only and we don't have anyone inside.''

''How did you know Jonny was connected to Martin?''

''An anonymous tip.''

''When did you get the tip?'' Joe asked.

''Just last night. We trailed you to the party.''

''Male or female?''

''Male.''

'It could have been Jim,' Joe thought to himself. 'But why would he want to get me in trouble?' Out loud he asked, ''Do you have any idea who it might have been?''

Agent Samuels hesitated. ''No,'' he told Joe after a few moments. ''None whatsoever.

Since you're already in,'' he continued, ''keep your eyes on Martin. You can be our inside man.'' Joe looked at him in surprise. Civilians were rarely asked for help with an investigation, especially with ones dealing with drugs and stuff like that. ''If you've got your father's permission that is,'' Agent Samuels added upon catching Joe's look of surprise. ''You could help us put Martin and his suppliers out of business.''

Joe nodded his agreement to them and the DEA agents left the building.

Joe checked the time and quickly dressed himself. Upon reaching work, he was greeted by a harsh voice.

''You're about two hours late!'' David shouted at him.

''Something came up,'' Joe shouted right back at him. David stared at Joe, waiting for a more detailed explanation.

When he realized none was forthcoming, he warned Joe, ''Don't let it happen again.'' Joe nodded his head and headed over to the truck.

''You're late,'' Jim growled at him as Joe reached him.

''Sorry,'' Joe shrugged.

Jim grunted, ''Well, come on,'' he urged Joe. ''We've got a lot of ground to cover today.''

Mr. Hardy walked into the kitchen where Frank was polishing off a glass of lemonade after he'd finished the lawn.

''Find anything?'' Frank asked.

''Jim Cantrell served time for possession of drugs. He was released on parole a year ago. Tom Martin has no criminal record but he has taken the drug world by storm. He's grossing almost one hundred million dollars in his import/export business annually.''

''He could be using that to smuggle the drugs and launder the money," Frank speculated. He knew that to avoid trouble with the I.R.S. crooks had to make their income look very legitimate.

''It is a possibility,'' Mr. Hardy agreed with Frank. ''Nathan Miller,'' he continued, ''was busted for possession of drugs as well but the evidence disappeared and he was soon released due to the lack of evidence.''

''Sounds like someone on the DEA might be involved.''

''I hope not,'' Mr. Hardy said, frowning at the very thought of it. ''Agent Samuels called while you were still outside and mowing the lawn. He said he and his men went after Joe today by mistake because they thought that he might have been a drug smuggler too.''

''Did they arrest Joe?'' Frank asked hurriedly.

''No, actually, they want him to help with their investigation. He told me he would ask Joe to continue with the current charade.''

''Do you think it's too dangerous for him?'' Frank asked worriedly.

''Joe's got a good head on his shoulders, though sometimes I am tempted to wonder if it is screwed on tight enough. And you'll be right next door if he needs anything.'' Fenton Hardy answered a little worried himself about Joe's safety.

''Did you find anything out on the other two guys Joe met while at the party?''

Mr. Hardy shook his head. ''I'm going to shower and then head over to Zoe's place,'' Frank said. ''Maybe Zoe will tell me something about Jonny then.''

When Frank arrived at Zoe's place, Joe and Jim were already seated. Frank watched as Zoe cleared a table then walked over and sat down.

"What can I get you?" Zoe asked Frank.

"What's the daily special?" Frank asked, smiling up at her.

"Chilli with beans, served with garlic bread," she informed him.

"Sounds good," Frank said. "I'll have that and some milk."

When she returned with his order, he looked over at Joe and Jim. "That guy looks like a tough customer," Frank commented.

"Which one?" Zoe asked.

"The younger one," Frank siad, inclining his head toward Joe.

"Jonny's okay," she denied. "He just takes some getting used too."

"I bet he's been in trouble with the law," Frank pushed.

"Mister," Zoe said, her voice getting hard as she straightened her back and looked down into his brown eyes. "Stay away from Jonny. He's a good man, which is more than can probably be said about you." With that, she turned and went back to the kitchen.

Frank ate slowly, waiting for Zoe to return. She served fresh coffee to Joe and Jim, and then two more customers, then she started clearing another table. As Joe was leaving, Frank watched Zoe go over to him and whisper something in Joe's ear. Joe looked over at Frank, then whispered something to Zoe. She didn't look happy but she returned to the table she was clearing.

"I'll catch up with you in a minute," Joe told Jim as he headed out the door. Joe went over and sat down across from Frank.

"You've upset Jonny's fan club," Joe told Frank.

"I had noticed," Frank said and sat down his empty glass. Joe snickered, then brought Frank up to date.

"I don't know if I trust Agent Samuels," Joe concluded. "It's nothing I can pinpoint. It's just a feeling."

"Go with it," Frank stated, then proceeded to tell him about the information their dad had uncovered, ending with the disappearance of the evidence against Miller and the possibility of an inside man at the DEA.

"I better get going," Joe said, checking his watch. "Jim gets antsy when we're late."

"Who was that guy?" Jim asked when Joe got outside.

"He's got the room next to mine at the boarding house," Joe informed him.

"What did he want?" Jim persisted.

"To talk," Joe replied, then climbed into Jim's car. "Let's go."

"Why did Tom frame you?" Joe asked once they were on their way.

"I thought you didn't want to hear about it," Jim said, glancing at Joe. Joe shrugged and turned to look out the window.

After a minute Jim answered Joe's question. "I used to work at Martin Exports," Jim explained. "I was leaving work late one night when I overheard another employee talking on the phone near the exit. He told Martin that the export business was perfect. The government would never find out where the money was really coming from."

"What made you think he was talking to Tom?" Joe asked. "Did he mention his name?"

"No," Jim admitted after a slight pause, "but he did tell the guy he had nothing to worry about because he owned the place."

"Did the employee see you?" Joe asked.

"I thought not, but he must have," was Jim's reply. "Because the next night the DEA shows up at my house. They had got a tip that I was dealing and they found a brick, that's over two pounds, of cocaine in my car."

"Why didn't you report what you had heard?" Joe asked.

"I did. I called the police and they put me through with the DEA. They said they'd check it out but the next night, I got busted."

''But you had reported Martin the night before,'' Joe said, puzzled. ''Why would they believe you were dealing?''

''The guy I had overheard called the DEA and told them I had offered to sell to him,'' Jim said with disgust as he lifted his hand and ran it through his hair. Joe noticed that every time Jim got upset he'd run his left hand through his hair like he'd just done. This time was no exception.

''Maybe the guy set you up on his own,'' Joe suggested.

''He wasn't smart enough,'' Jim replied to Joe.

''What's his name?'' Joe asked, and then added quickly, ''Maybe I've met him.''

''Not a chance on that one, Joe,'' Jim said with a short laugh at the very thought of it.

''Why not?''

''He was killed in a wreck a week after I was set up. Martin had killed him,'' Jim stated with certainty. When he never said anything, Jim looked over at him again.

''Now do you understand why I don't want you getting involved with Martin? It's dangerous.''

''I can take care of myself,'' Joe told him. ''But,'' he paused briefly and then finished, ''thanks for the concern.''

Back at the cafe Frank was getting ready to leave when he heard Zoe was leaving for the day. He plopped a ten dollar bill on the table and followed her as she exited the cafe building.

''Zoe,'' he called out, as he ran to catch up with her. She turned and looked at him then continued on her way again.

''We need to talk,'' Frank told her, striding beside her now.

''We have nothing to discuss,'' she told him haughtily.

''If you care anything at all about Jonny, then we do,'' he said to her. He had already decided to let Zoe know what was going on. He agreed with Joe that she did care about Jonny.

''Don't hurt him,'' she said softly.

''I'm trying to help him,'' Frank said gently to Zoe, taking her elbow and steering her toward a bench to sit her down for a while.

''Why?'' she asked. ''What is Jonny to you?''

''First, how do you feel about Jonny?'' Frank asked.

''I love him,'' Zoe said simply.

''But he doesn't know,'' Frank guessed.

''I don't think so,'' she replied. ''He's always hanging around Kelly.''

''Do you know Jonny's dad?'' Frank asked her. She shook her head. ''He came to my father Fenton Hardy for help because Jonny had disppeared.''

''But Jonny's okay. He's back now,'' she told Frank, ''You saw him yourself.''

'That's not Jonny,'' Frank said. ''That's my brother, Joe. He and Jonny look so much alike that we thought he could take Jonny's place for a while so we could find out what happened to him,'' he explained before she could interrupt him.

''I need you to tell me about the last time you saw Jonny,'' Frank said. ''Did he tell you he was leaving? Did he seem nervous?''

''He was with Kelly the last time I saw him. He did seem a bit happier than usual but he never mentioned going anywhere at all. As a matter of fact, I overheard him and Kelly making plans for the next night, but the next day he was gone.''

''What did you and Jonny talk about Zoe?''

''We never talked much about anything. Jim was there most of the time with us, but once, about a week before he left, this really big guy came in and talked to him about something. He didn't stay long and all Jonny did was nod a couple of times. The other guy did all of the talking.''

''Did you hear any of their conversation?'' Frank asked and Zoe shook her head again. ''If you can think of anything that might help, can you let Joe or me know?''

''Of course,'' she responded. ''You do think Jonny's okay?'' she asked, hopefully looking at him.

''I'm pretty sure of it. I also think he may have taken off on his own too,'' Frank answered her question.

Frank left and headed back to the boardinghouse. He saw Craig waiting outside on the steps. ''What are you doing here?''