A TIME FOR THANKS
by
RM
Chapter 12
The Chapters
“Did you forget I was taking the crew out for dinner?”
“Well, I thought you’d be back by the time we got here.”
“Just how did you get in here? I distinctly remember locking the door.”
“It was open when we got here,” Melissa said, sounding confused. She looked at Frank and Joe. “Oh, by the way, Jake, I forgot to introduce you to Jeremy’s cousins. This is Frank and Joe Hardy. Guys, this is Jake Marshall, my manager.”
“It’s nice to finally be introduced,” Frank said enthusiastically, reaching out his hand.
Frank noticed Jake pointedly ignoring his hand and staring at him. Jake pushed past Frank and moved toward the filing cabinet. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a handful of pictures. He turned and shoved them into Melissa’s hand. “Is there anything else?”
“Jake, is something wrong?” Melissa asked, concerned. “You seem upset.”
“I’m fine,” Jake snapped. “I just have a lot on my mind with this concert schedule.”
“Well, then, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Melissa said.
“Bye,” Jake said and the three of them left the trailer.
They headed for the van and Frank warned, “Just keep walking. Don’t look back.”
Once safe inside the van, Frank quickly started the engine and put it in gear. He drove out of the parking lot and gave a sigh of relief.
Melissa said, “I can’t believe we got away.”
“We haven’t gotten away until we figure out what is going on.” Frank glanced in the rearview mirror checking to see if anyone was following them.
As Frank drove, Melissa asked, “Why on earth did you bring the ledger?”
“Something weird is going on. The other ledger I found probably holds the key.”
“What makes you think that?” Melissa asked looking at Frank.
“Because it was hidden,” Frank said. “I don’t think a legitimate ledger would be hidden under a desk.”
“Jake is honest. He wouldn’t do anything wrong.”
Frank glanced at Melissa. “I hope you’re right.”
* * * * *
When they returned to the house, they realized most of the lights were out except for the one in the living room. They quietly went inside and hung their coats up. Joe and Melissa started up the stairs with Frank behind them. Frank went into his room and pulled out his laptop computer. Joe hearing the noise stepped into Frank’s doorway and watched him.
Frank turned and started back out of the room. Joe asked, “Aren’t you going to bed?”
“I’m not tired.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to check these numbers. There’s something about them that bothers me.”
“All right,” Joe said stifling a yawn. “See you in the morning.”
“Night,” Frank said.
Frank headed downstairs as Joe went to his room. Frank set his computer down and turned it on. As he waited for the computer to warm up, he moved to the fireplace and got the logs burning. Once the fire was going, he went over to the table. He opened the ledger and looked at the numbers. When the computer was ready, he loaded the disk.
When the file came up on the screen, Frank started comparing the ledger to the computer screen, line by line. As he worked, he noticed there was a significant difference between the two copies. The ledger had much higher numbers than on the computer screen. The hard copy of the ledger appeared to account for actual money being brought in. It looked as if the computer had adjusted entries so it would appear they weren’t making as much money as they were. Frank was figuring someone was obviously doctoring the books, probably Jake.
* * * * *
Nancy made her way slowly down the stairs. She had some trouble getting warm in her room. She figured she’d be warmer by the fire. Pulling her blanket around her, she went into the living room. Much to her surprise, she saw Frank asleep. He had his head on a pile of books on the table.
She moved over to the fireplace and quietly got the fire going. She wondered what Frank had been reading and why he had his computer out.
Once the fire was going, she moved toward Frank. She noticed the computer was on and looked to see what he was working on. She guessed he was comparing numbers on the computer screen with the numbers in the book he was asleep on.
Nancy noticed Frank was starting to stir and hoed she hadn’t wakened him. She stood quietly as Frank sat up, stretched his arms above his head and then rubbed his face. As he pulled his hands away, he jumped when he realized someone was standing beside him.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t,” Frank said and tried to stifle a yawn.
“Where did all this paperwork come from?”
“From Melissa’s manager’s office,” Frank said looking at his computer screen. “Have a seat and I’ll explain what’s going on.”
Nancy pulled a chair up beside Frank and wrapped the blanket around herself as he started to explain. He told her about Melissa’s threatening notes and also about their trip to the arena the previous evening.
“Well,” Nancy said when Frank finished. “Let’s see how much of a difference there is between the book and what’s on the screen.”
* * * * *
Nancy and Frank worked for three hours comparing numbers. When they finished going through the books, the ledger had twenty million dollars more than the computer.
Frank leaned back in his chair and let out a long whistle. “That’s a lot of money.”
“It sure is. But the question is, which file is the actual sales?”
“This one,” Frank said touching the ledger book. “Jake had another ledger that matches the computer perfectly.”
“Then, where is the missing money?”
“Jake probably hit it somewhere.”
“Do you really think Jake is involved? There’s a possibility someone else may have doctored the books.”
“It’s possible someone else sees these books, but I don’t think so. If someone else saw these books, then the books wouldn’t be hidden in Jake’s trailer under his desk.”
“Someone could be setting Jake up,” Nancy said.
“If someone was setting Jake up, I don’t think it would be this way.” Frank got to his feet. “Somehow, I think Jake is involved. From the books, it seems as if he’s embezzling most of the profit.”
“But where is the money hidden?” Nancy asked looking at the computer screen. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
“What’s also weird is Jake is named the beneficiary of Melissa’s life insurance policy.”
“Jake? I thought her parents would be.”
“Jake is the only one listed,” Frank said sitting back down. “But if Melissa dies in an accident, he gets twenty-five million dollars.”
“So, if he’s behind her so-called accidents and succeeds in killing her, he won’t only get the twenty-five million dollars from her policy, but also all the money he could allegedly be embezzling.”
“We’re not sure he’s the embezzler,” Frank said. “We know there’s money missing from the tour.”
“We also know he’s the recipient of a lot of money if something happens to Melissa.”
“And there were two sets of books in Jake’s desk.”
Nancy looked at Frank. “This is all circumstantial. Without seeing him transfer the money, we don’t have a case.”
“You’re right,” Frank said leaning back in his chair.
They sat in silence trying to figure out their next move. They heard a creak in the floor. The two of them turned to see Ned making his way into the room. Ned was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt.
Nancy got to her feet, dropping her blanket over the papers and computer, and moved to Ned. She saw his face was paler than the day before. She gave Ned a hug and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m freezing.”
Nancy reached up and felt Ned’s forehead. It was warm. She noticed there was perspiration all over his face. She said, “You feel very warm.”
Before Ned could reply, he crumbed into Nancy’s arms.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors 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.