She jumped back as two figures stepped through the door. She immediately realized it was Ned and Joe, because she recognized Ned’s tall body.

"Ned," Nancy said breathlessly.

"Are you all right?" Ned asked pulling her close.

"I was fine until you two scared me half to death."

"Where’s Frank?" Joe questioned shining his flashlight down the hall.

"He’s checking out the second floor," Nancy replied. "He should be back in a few minutes."

"Did you find out anything?" Joe asked.

"No. As far as I can tell, there’s no one on this floor. I was on my way upstairs when you two arrived." Nancy paused. "But why are you two here?"

"When we didn’t hear from you, we thought there might be something wrong," Ned said looking rather sheepishly. "We came in as reinforcements."

Suddenly, they heard a door slam on the second floor and the sound of breaking glass. Joe said, "That didn’t sound good. Let‘s go."

He ran up the stairs two at a time with Nancy and Ned close behind. When they reached the second floor, they turned off the flashlights and raced down the hall. They checked each classroom through the windows on the doors and tried all the knobs looking for some sign of Frank. All the doors were locked. They turned down the hallway and found a door unlocked with the glass broken. They stopped for a moment and listened to see if they could hear any movement inside.

When they heard nothing, Joe slowly pushed the door open and turned his flashlight on. the floor by the open door was covered with pieces of glass. In the tiny shards was a single earring made from a pink and purple feather.

Joe picked up the earring and handed it to Nancy. He knew he’s seen the earring before, but couldn’t remember where. He shined his light along the floor and saw a small patch of blood. Joe said softly, "Someone got hurt."

Nancy and Ned walked farther into the classroom toward the teacher’s desk. Nancy got tot he computer and put her hand on the tower. She felt the heat coming off it.

"Someone’s been using the computer," Nancy said.

"But why?" Joe asked.

"Could the instructor have left tests on the hard drive?" Ned asked.

"It’s possible," Joe said. "But only the teacher would know for sure."

"If the tests are on the computer, then it’s possible for someone to steal the tests before hand," Nancy said. "But could the teacher’s computer be hooked to the mainframe?"

"It’s possible," Joe said.

The three of them searched the room for a little longer but came up with nothing. Joe glanced around. "We need to find Frank."

"Is there another way off this floor?" Ned asked.

"Down the hallway at the end," Joe said. "He might have gone that way."

"Let’s go," Nancy said heading for the door.

For the next hour they searched the school looking for any sign of Frank. When they got back to the gym, Joe said, "I can’t believe he’s nowhere to be found."

"Could he be following them?" Ned asked.

"If that was the case, Frank would’ve left us a clue as to where they’re going," Joe said. He shook his head. "Let’s get out of here."

When they got outside, they started toward the van. Joe suggested, "Why don’t you guys head back to the hotel. We have to assume the people we saw probably have Frank. We just have to wait to hear from them."

"Joe, is there anything we can do?" Nancy asked putting her hand on his shoulder.

"No," Joe said opening the door to the van. "I’ll see you tomorrow."

Nancy and Ned watched as Joe drove off. They walked to the car which Joe and Ned had pulled up behind the van and got in. As Ned started for the hotel, Nancy said, "I should have never gotten Frank involved."

"You wouldn’t have been able to stop him."

"I feel really bad," Nancy said looking down at her hands. "Frank has to be following them."

"You’re really worried about him, aren’t you?"

"He asked me to com investigate and look what happens. We follow some people into the school and Frank disappears."

"I’m sure Frank will turn up," Ned said. "He’ll probably bee at school in the morning and tell you what happened."

"I hope so," Nancy said, but deep down she was unsure.

*****

The next morning was foggy and dreary. Joe woke after only an hour’s sleep to a downpour. He had been up most of the night with his father. After explaining what he suspected had happened, Fenton Hardy agreed to call the school and tell them Frank was sick.

Joe drove the van through the pouring rain to school. He walked down the hall toward his locker without acknowledging anyone. As he was hanging his jacket on the hook inside, he noticed a manila envelope on the top shelf of his locker. Joe hung up his jacket and grabbed the envelope. He started to open it when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

He turned and saw Callie coming toward him. "Hi, Callie."

"Hi. Have you seen Frank? We were supposed to meet before class to do research on a project."

"He’s at home," Joe said. "He’s sick."

"Is he all right?"

"Just a bad case of the stomach flu. He’ll be fine in a few days."

"Poor Frank," Callie said. "I’ll talk to Mr. Andrew’s and see if we can get an extension. I hope he feels better soon." She gave Joe a wave as she turned away. "I’ll see you at lunch."

"Bye," Joe said as Callie walked off.

Joe opened the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper as someone put a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, startled by the touch and saw Nancy standing there.

"Hey, Nancy," Joe said facing her.

"Any word?" Nancy asked looking at Joe. She could see the bags under his eyes and the tired look on his face.

"I just found this," Joe said showing her the folded piece of paper.

"What’s it say?" Nancy asked quietly.

Joe unfolded the piece of paper and read it aloud. "That was a stupid move on your part. Stop snooping or your brother checks out permanently."

Nancy took the paper from Joe and saw it was typed on a standard piece of notebook paper. "Oh, Joe. I’m so sorry I got Frank involved."

"Look, this isn’t your fault," Joe said. "Frank must have gotten too close and they grabbed him. Unfortunately, we really can’t do anything until after school."

"I’m going to call Ned," Nancy said. "I’ll have him drive around and see if he can spot Frank."

"I guess it wouldn’t hurt," Joe said slamming his locker door shut. "I’ll meet you here at the end of the day."

"See you later," Nancy said.