"Stop!" shouted Conner. "If it's found away from the others it will draw suspicion. It'll do the same job left with the other cans."

Shrugging his shoulders with an air of indifference, Jack replaced the can and the two left the room.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Frank and Joe opened the closet door and stepped out. "Let's get out of here," Joe urged, walking over to the door.

"Wait!" hissed Frank, grabbing Joe's arm and jerking him to a halt. "We've got a little time and we need to check out Dawson's office."

"How do you know we have enough time to do it?" Joe demanded.

"Conner said putting the can in the closet would draw suspicion. How could it do that at night when no one is here?" Frank reasoned. "We'll check out Dawson's office and then phone Con."

Going to the door in front of Joe, Frank opened it a crack and looked at the surveillance camera. "They're back on," he told Joe, pulling out Phil's invention. "Get ready," he warned, then aimed it at the camera. After pausing on the stairwell and under the receptionist's desk, they finally made it to Dawson's office.

"You take the desk and I'll take the file cabinets," Frank said after closing the door.

"I think I know what those two were doing in here earlier," Frank said after a few minutes. "Someone's already been in these," he added, waving a hand at the files.

"How can you tell?" Joe asked with a frown.

"Some of them are out of order," he replied. "Those two goons aren't very neat."

"Why would they be in Dawson’s files? You think they're planning a double-cross?" asked Joe.

"Maybe," responded Frank absently as he scanned one of the files. "Joe, why would Dawson need to copy parts of his own files?" Frank asked, looking up with twinkling brown eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Joe demanded.

"Look," Frank said, showing him the page he had been looking at. "See the indention here." He pointed to a few light lines on the page. "Someone copied part of this file."

"Then they are planning a double-cross," Joe stated.

"Are they?" Frank asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You're not making sense," Joe grumbled. "Dawson would have no reason to copy his own files."

"Exactly," Frank agreed, grinning.

"Frank..." Joe began, prepared to argue.

"Where's the bomb?" asked Frank, caving in and giving Joe a hint.

"Upstairs in Kurtz' office," Joe answered.

"Okay," Frank said. "What could they have been after at Kurtz' house?"

"I don't know," Joe said after a minute's thought.

"Maybe they were leaving instead of arriving," Frank suggested.

"Through the window?" Joe asked in disbelief. "Why?'

"To avoid being seen by us," Frank told him.

"I don't get it," Joe said, sitting down and cupping his chin in his hand thoughtfully.

"They had been visiting Erma Kurtz and saw our van coming. They didn't want us to see them leaving, so they left through a window."

"But we did see them," Joe interrupted. "And Erma called the police."

"We went there straight from the station, where we left Con. Yet, he was the officer who answered the call," Frank stated.

"You're saying Erma didn't call the police until we got there?" Joe asked. "You're implying she was involved with the murder of her own brother?"

"Yes and no," was the answer Frank gave.

"I give up," Joe said, shaking his head in defeat.

"Uh-uh," Frank shook his head, smiling. "Let's get out of here. If you still haven't figured it out by the time I've finished calling the police, then I'll tell you my theory."

They left using the same route they had come, filling in the hole beneath the fence hiking back to the van. Frank used the car phone to tell Con about the bomb and then he and Joe headed home.

"Well," asked Frank, as they neared home. "Have you figured it out?"

"Maybe," Joe replied thoughtfully. "Since I never actually saw the boss' face, I can't give a positive identification that Dawson was the man at the warehouse. So let's say the boss is Mr. X."

"Okay," agreed Frank.

"Mr. X wants to frame Dawson for some reason. The reason we have yet to discover. Anyway, Mr. X pretends to be Dawson, dressing like him and even imitating his voice," Joe said looking over at Frank, who nodded his head for Joe to continue. "Taking your theory about those creeps being guests at Kurtz' house into consideration, and considering Erma doesn't work at Dawson Chemical, and the fact that Kurtz' lied about the air shaft, the most logical suspect is Samuel Kurtz. But," Joe emphasized, "he's dead."

"Is he?" asked Frank, casting a sideways glance at his brother.

"Of course he is," Joe argued. "The police have a body."

"That's right," Frank agreed. "The police do have a body. That doesn't mean it's Kurtz' body. Why would whoever killed him mess up his face like that?"

"I don't know," Joe answered, shrugging. "They're sick?" he guessed.

"Suppose Kurtz is the boss and he doesn't want anyone to suspect him so he stages his own murder. He finds someone with the same basic features as himself and either kills him or has someone do it for him."

"But the fingerprints proved the body was Kurtz," Joe pointed out.

"The fingerprints the police used to identify him were taken from a file at Dawson Chemical. Kurtz could have switched them," Frank reasoned. "That would explain the body your kidnapers were talking about when you were abducted. It would also explain how you saw a man on Saturday morning that had allegedly been killed on Friday."

Joe thought it over. "All right," he said. "If what you're saying is true, then Dawson is the target of the bomb."

"Right."

"What about the fires and the sabotage?" Joe asked. "How do they fit in?"

"I don't know," Frank replied, as he pulled into the Hardy's drive and came to a halt. "We need to take a trip to Doreson Road and find the warehouse mentioned on the paper I found."

"Let's go," urged Joe, rebuckling the seat belt he had just unfastened.

Frank shook his head. "We had better tell Dad first. I could be wrong and Prince Rashid could still be the real target."

They found their father still in his office. "That took longer than expected," Mr. Hardy greeted his sons as they sat down in chairs facing his desk.

"We also paid a visit to Erma Kurtz and went by Dawson Chemical again," Frank explained to his father. He then explained his theory about Samuel Kurtz.

"It's plausible," Mr. Hardy said, rising from his chair and moving to sit on the front of the desk by his sons. "Of course, to prove it, you will have to find Kurtz."

"We will," Frank vowed.

"Prince Rashid may still be the target," Mr. Hardy informed them. "Doreson Road was the route I had planned for the prince because it would be easier to blockade than the highway. Perhaps we should go by the highway after all," he added, almost to himself. Picking up the phone, he glanced at Frank and Joe, "I'll call and arrange a meeting with my security team to schedule the change. The prince arrives tomorrow. You two keep me posted," he ordered his sons before giving all of his attention to his call.

After Mr. Hardy had hung up, Joe looked at his father. "I thought you said he wouldn't arrive until the day after tomorrow."

Frank snickered. "It's after midnight, slow one," Frank kidded his brother. Stifling a yawn, he stood and told his father good night. Joe followed suit and soon they were both in bed asleep.

Dawn found them on their way to Doreson Road. "The farm's about a half a mile up," Joe informed Frank as they neared their destination.

Frank pulled off the road and the boys covered the van with some branches. "We don't want them to think anyone might be in the area," Frank said.

"Keep your eyes peeled," warned Joe as they neared one of the barns. Looking in the first barn they soon realized it had been deserted for some time so they went to the second one. It, too, was filled with cobwebs and debris. The third and fourth barns were likewise vacant. "Why are there so many barns?" asked Frank, peering around.

"This used to be a dairy farm," Joe told him.

"Then this place should have a feed barn or silo," Frank said, snapping his fingers. "Let's see if we can find it." After battling weeds and briars, they emerged near a path. Following it, discreetly, they reached a two-story barn that appeared to be in better condition than the previous ones.

"What do you want to bet we found the warehouse?" Joe whispered as they crept closer. Frank nodded and motioned for Joe to go to the left of the building while he went around the right side. Once he reached the back of the building he discovered the back entrance had been sealed shut. He walked on around and found Joe peering in a window.

"Conner and Jack are in there," Joe whispered. "Look there," he added, pointing to a corner where several crates stood. One was open and showed canisters with toxic warnings plastered on them. "Those are some of the ones on the list you found, right?"

Frank nodded grimly. "We've got to go for help. If they let this stuff loose, there's no telling how many people will die. Even if the town were to get evacuated in time, it would still do irreparable harm to the environment."

"Indeed," came a steely voice from behind them. They spun around only to be confronted by Jared and the gun he held in his hand.

"Be good little boys and march," he ordered, motioning with the gun for them to precede him into the converted barn.

"Where's your boss, Kurtz?" Joe asked, once they were inside.

Jared's eyes narrowed to slits and his malicious grin faded as he stared at Joe. Then without warning, he punched Joe in the stomach.

"Hey!" Frank protested and started for Jared, but the gun was quickly swung around and aimed at Frank, forcing him to stay where he was.

"I thought you only liked to kick," Joe goaded Jared.

Jared grabbed Joe by the collar and pulled him up so their faces touched. "The only reason you are still alive," he told Joe in clipped words, "is so I can relish the idea of you dying by degrees from the chemicals."

"Silly me," replied Joe sarcastically. "And here I thought the only reason I was still alive was because of your bungling all the attempts on my life so far," Joe added, watching Jared's face turn purple with rage.

"Now, now, Jared," came a soothing voice from behind him. "It was our idea to involve this young man in the first place. We can't really hold him and his brother responsible because we underestimated them."

"Why did you get Joe involved?" Frank demanded.

"I wanted Charles Dawson to be charged with my murder," Kurtz told them.

"You messed up," Joe told him. "I saw you Saturday but you faked your death on Friday."

"Actually," Kurtz responded, "you were supposed to tell the police about my suspicions when I spoke with you on Saturday. The body was going to be found near Dawson Chemical that evening. However, someone found the body before that could be arranged. Also, when I found out who you were, I felt it too risky to carry on with the plan."

"So you decided to kidnap him," Frank put in. "Why didn't you try to kill him at the Bayport Times office instead of waiting until later?"

"I had planned to let him go," Kurtz said sadly, shaking his head. "I put on a bald wig and a suit like Dawson's and practiced imitating his voice. I was going to pay Joe a visit in a semi-dark room so he couldn't distinguish my facial features."

"But I escaped and saw more than what you wanted me to see," Joe said, guessing what he was going to say next.

"Precisely," acknowledged Kurtz.

"So when Jared threatened me the first time, he was just trying to scare me," Joe deduced.

"What do you have against Dawson?" Frank wanted to know.

"Dawson Chemical should have been mine," Kurtz declared angrily. "Larry and Charles never got along until Charles' last visit. I found out after Charles had left for California that Larry had changed his will. I was no longer the heir to the plant, Charles was."

"So you killed Larry and set out to frame Charles," Frank guessed. "But when Charles wasn't arrested for your murder, you decided to kill him by planting a bomb in your office."

"You don't know the half of it," Jared said, laughing. "That bomb will kill more than Dawson."

"What do you mean?" Frank demanded, his eyes narrowing in fear.

"Prince Rashid will be going through Bayport," Jared explained. "Doreson Road is the road he'll be taking, so we've set up a surprise for him," he added, moving his arm in a sweep that encompassed the barn. "However, since your father may change routes at the last minute, taking the highway past Dawson Chemical, we've also arranged a surprise there."

"The bomb you obviously found in my office is only one of two," Kurtz explained. "The second is in a sub-basement with enough chemicals to kill half of Bayport," he concluded.

"The fires were a cover-up," Joe guessed. "They were set so you could move the chemicals without arousing suspicion."

"That's the reason none of the chemicals were a problem in the fires," Frank added. "The only canisters there were empty. What you hadn't brought here, you stored at the plant."

Kurtz smiled and gave a slight bow, as if he were accepting applause. "You two are very bright," he complemented the Hardys. "How did you know I was still alive?" he asked.

"Your letter," Joe told him. "You lied about there being an airshaft in your closet."

"And your sister said you told her about the conversation you had overheard in your office on the day you disappeared. But your letter mentioned the conversation as having happened sometime before," added Frank, finally remembering what had been bugging him since they had left Kurtz' house.

"Simple mistakes," Kurtz said, shaking his head ruefully. "However, all has ended well and..."

"Sir," Kurtz was cut off by a nasal voice. Jack had joined the group while Kurtz had been talking and his blue eyes were worried. "Your sister just called to tell us the prince is arriving today. Hardy changed plans."

His eyes growing cold once more, Jared shoved the Hardys over to the crates. Conner came over and together they tied their hands and feet.

"Jack," Jared shouted over his shoulder as he gave Joe's bonds a pull to further tighten them.

"Yeah?"

"Did you get the timer set?" Jared asked.

"It'll go off in exactly two hours," Jack said, walking over and grinning when he saw Frank and Joe trussed up. "Erma's gone over to the plant to reset the other ones.'

"Good," Jared declared. He looked down at the boys. "You can thank your old man for this one," he said. "You could have lived until tomorrow. But don't worry," he added. "The explosion will kill you before the toxins will."