“Laura? Joe?” demanded Fenton, his face losing all color as he held the phone in a death grip.

Frank felt his stomach fall to the floor. They had been sent away to keep them safe. What had gone wrong?

“They’re both fine,” Sam quickly assured his friend.

Fenton breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Frank who was perched on his desk. “They’re okay,” he told Frank. “What’s the problem?” he asked Sam.

“The safe house has been compromised,” Sam informed him. “And since this one is, I would be willing to bet my back up one has been as well.”

“Why do you think it has been compromised?” asked Fenton, his concern mixed with curiosity.

“Because you sent the police here,” answered Sam with a tinge of irony lacing his voice.

“What?” gasped Fenton in surprise. “You’re in Edgewood,” he stated dully.

“That’s right,” acknowledged Sam.

“What’s the address for the other one?’ inquired Fenton.

“419 Fordam Drive in Southport,” was the reply.

Fenton blew out a breath. “Bring them home,” he instructed Sam. “I’m sorry.”

“I can rig up another one,” offered Sam.

“No,” Fenton replied. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead as it began to ache. “Not just yet, anyway. We need to know how he, or they, learned the locations of the safe houses to begin with,” explained Fenton. “I didn’t even know them.”

“We should be back in a little over an hour,” Sam told him.

“Thanks, Sam,” said Fenton before hanging up. He told Frank what had happened.

“Great!” Frank’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “This guy is playing cat and mouse and mom’s the mouse.”

***

“How do you set up the safe houses?” asked Joe once the three of them were on their way back to Bayport. He was trying to see how someone could have known about both places.

“This one, and the one in Southport, are rentals,” explained Sam. “Each one is rented with a one-year lease under different names.”

“The same rental agency?” asked Laura.

“No,” denied Sam, shaking his head.

“How do you keep them stocked?” inquired Joe.

“Every three months I bring in fresh supplies,” answered Sam. “Never from the same store and never on the same day.”

“When was the last time you stocked the one in Edgewood?” asked Joe.

“A little over a month ago,” said Sam. “The first Tuesday of last month to be exact.”

“And the one in Southport?”

“Two weeks ago,” was the reply.

“So if someone were following you to get the locations then they would have had to start at least a month ago,” Joe deduced.

“What are you getting at?” asked Laura looking at him curiously.

“Dad generally looks for recent releases,” Joe told her. “But what if this guy has been watching us, all of us, for months?”

“You may have something there,” Sam congratulated him. “If whoever is behind the threat had been watching for a long period of time then he would know your dad would call me to find a place for your mom to stay.”

“But what I don’t understand is why he sent the flowers in the first place,” Laura said. “Why not just try to kill you? Me?”

Joe shrugged. “Maybe he wants Dad to know that he can take any of us whenever he wants and there isn’t anything Dad can do to stop him,” he suggested.

“In that case, it would have to be someone your Dad made mad big time,” Sam put in. He grinned. “Not many criminals would put a lot of time and effort into revenge like that,” he said. “I think your Dad may be able to get a suspect for this crime after all.”

***

“That’s entirely possible,” said Fenton a little over an hour later when Joe told his dad and Frank his theory about being watched over a period of weeks. “I’ll run a check to cover the last six months,” he said. “In the meantime, I want the two of you to make sure the alarm system is in perfect working order and is connected to the police department’s surveillance system.”

“Before you start, could you run down to the corner grocer and get some milk?” Laura asked. “I was starting dinner and ours has gone bad.”

“I’ll go,” volunteered Joe. “Frank can get started on the alarm system. We need it in working order before dark,” he added as Frank started to object.

“Then you start and I’ll go for the milk,” Frank said.

“Relax,” Joe told him as their mother retreated to the kitchen. “I’ll be okay. The card was aimed at mom.”

“Was it?” parried Frank. “It was more of a warning to all of us.”

“Yes,” agreed Joe. “Us,” he stressed the word. “I’ll be careful,” he promised. “Besides, you know more about the system than I do.”

“Fine,” Frank caved in. “But take the van and keep the windows up.”

“I will,” agreed Joe, knowing Frank gave the order because the van’s windows were bulletproof.

Joe drove the five blocks to the small grocery store and parked close to the entrance. He got out of the van and started inside the store but stopped when he heard someone scream.

“Help!” a woman’s voice came from around the side of the building. Joe took off around the corner but stopped abruptly when he never saw anyone.

“I heard someone screaming,” said one of the store’s employees coming up behind Joe.

“It came from back here,” Joe said.

“Let’s look around,” the man suggested. “She might have passed out or something.” Joe nodded his agreement and moved down the alley beside the store.

***

“Is this the Hardy residence?” asked a male voice when Fenton picked up the phone after it had rang twice.

“It is,” acknowledged Fenton. “How may I help you?”

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident,” the voice informed Fenton. “Joe Hardy was attacked outside of Denny’s Groceries a few minutes ago. An ambulance is taking him to Bayport General.”

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.