“I’ll be right over,” Joe promised Vicki, “What happened?” Vicki could hear the worry clearly in his voice.

“It’s all right,” she told him, and quickly explained the situation.

“You sure,” he asked.

“Yeah,” she reassured him, “I’ll call you after I find out more information, okay? Bye.” She hung up and turned to the other two.

“Why didn’t you ask him to come over,” C. J. asked, “He’s only trying to help.”

“I know that,” Vicki told her, “But it just might put Joe in danger as well. I’m not willing to risk that.”

“That’s so romantic,” Catlin sighed once Vicki was done talking. Vicki rolled her eyes at this, know how big a romantic Catlin was.

“I’d do the same if it was you on the other line,” Vicki said, “Romance has nothing to do with it. Ok, everyone stay together. Let’s check the yard first.”

“That’s where he was most likely to be,” C. J. finished her friend’s thought, “Hopefully, they left something behind.”

“Right,” Vicki agreed, “I bet they’re gone by now anyway.” She led the way downstairs and to the front yard.

The neighborhood was strangely silent. It wasn’t the usual silence that settled over it however, but more like a presence was watching over it. The dry ground made it impossible to find any footprints. A section of flat grass by the edge of the yard however gave them a general idea where the person had been standing.

“He made sure that he had enough time to get away,” C. J. said, “He was standing right by the sidewalk.”

“In other words, that’s all we can find for now,” Vicki commented and C. J. nodded, “Let’s check back inside at that box. Maybe they left fingerprints.” The girls went back inside and examined the small box. Dusting showed no sign of fingerprints anywhere.

“Whoever they are, they covered their tracks well,” C.  J. said, “They don’t want us to figure it out.”

“This makes no sense,” Vicki agreed, “Who would be after me now? All the criminals we put in jail are still there as far as I know. All new criminals in the area shouldn’t be stupid enough to mess with us.”

“Maybe they don’t know that,” Catlin said, nervously glancing out the window, “I mean, they all get caught eventually anyway. Maybe they aren’t that smart.”

“He’s definitely not if he plans on ruining Prom,” Vicki said, “I know it’s my night, but Joe’s going too. So threatening me, is just like threatening Joe.”

“I better go,” Catlin told the two, “I’m supposed to be home in thirty minutes.”

“We’ll walk you home,” C. J. said, “We don’t know if it’s safe yet.” The three girls headed out the door, Vicki making sure to lock the door behind her.

 

“Do you want me to stay over tonight,” C. J. asked once they got back, “I can pick up my stuff really quick. I don’t mind.”

“Let’s see what happens first,” Vicki said, “You don’t live far. I’ll be all right.”

“Promise to call if anything happens,” C. J. asked. Vicki promised and C. J. left for her own home.

The minutes passed by in silence. No sound came from outside to disturb the town and she began to get ready for bed. That’s when something caught her attention. The low sound of rustling leaves drew her to the window. She wasn’t taking the chance that it was just the wind. Seeing nothing however, she retreated from view. Suddenly, she decided that maybe she should have asked C. J. to stay. Vicki wasn’t scared of danger, but when she was home alone, sometimes it was best to have somebody else there. Especially since her sister, Becky, had insisted on staying at a friend’s house for a while since she was no longer in high school.

Vicki dialed the number that she knew by heart and waited for her best friend to answer. C. J.’s voice came over the line in seconds, “Vicki?”

“Yeah,” Vicki replied, “About your offer…that might be for the best, just as long as your parents don’t mind. It is a school night.”

“Vicki, I live two houses away,” C. J. said and laughed, “It takes me ten seconds to walk over there and you know that.”

“I know,” Vicki sighed, “It’s just that I don’t want to put anyone in danger. Of course, I should have known that wouldn’t stop you.”

“I’ll be right here,” C. J. promised. Vicki made sure to keep on alert while waiting for her best friend to arrive. Anything she saw could help out.

C. J. arrived in a few minutes and threw her things onto the floor, “I know this isn’t going to help you any, but have you ever considered that this person isn’t any normal enemy?”

“Thanks for pointing it out,” Vicki said sarcastically, “I really wanted to know that it could be an assassin or something like that. A hired killer or something that likes torturing his victims.”

“You watch too many action movies,” C. J. told Vicki, laughing, “I could be completely wrong, but you never know.” Vicki’s response was to throw a pillow at her friend, almost knocking C. J. off balance. Soon, the two were involved in a huge pillow fight. It felt good to forget about their problems for a while.

“Shhh,” C. J. suddenly said, holding her hand out and blocking the fuzzy pillow aimed at her face.

“What is it,” Vicki asked, dropping the object and approaching C. J.

“I thought I heard something,” C. J. replied. She stepped slowly over to the window and peered out. She jumped back seconds later, “There’s someone out there.”

Vicki was at the window instantly. She immediately spotted a dark figure dart through the two trees in her front yard, “Let’s go check it out.”

“What if that’s what they want us to do,” C. J. asked.

“Then we’ll just have to plan a surprise,” Vicki replied, already heading for outside. C. J. followed quickly.

The girls paused when they reached the door. Slowly, Vicki unlocked the door and turned the knob. Pulling it open, she took a step outside. A movement off to their right quickly caught their attention.

“That’s them,” Vicki pointed off and silently they walked over. Suddenly, the figure rushed out in front of them, shooting several bullets in their direction. The girls dove to the ground. Somehow, by some miracle, he missed every shot. Once the shooting stopped, they started heading off after the figure. The figure glanced back quickly, allowing the girls to see the black ski mask that they were wearing. 

“Where do you think he’s going,” C. J. asked.

“I don’t know,” Vicki answered, “I guess we’ll just have to find out.” She looked back up and was surprised when she saw nothing ahead of them, “Where did he go?”

“He was just here a second ago,” C. J. said, “People don’t just disappear.” C. J. immediately stopped and listened, while Vicki looked around. She pointed off to where something lay on the ground

“What’s that,” Vicki asked, walking over to it. When she reached it, she immediately knew what it was. It was a small plastic crown, the gold obviously painted on, fake jewels sparking dully in the dim light, “One thing’s obvious. He works fast. All his notes are delivered one after another. He wants to get a point across.” The new note read ‘Short Live the Queen.’ 

“He doesn’t waste any time,” C. J. agreed, “You really should watch yourself. All I can tell you was that it was definitely a guy. His build gave him away. For all I know, he could be anyone.”

“We should tell the police,” Vicki said, “Chief Stevens is going to love this.”

 

 

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.