“So, anything new,” Joe Clark asked over the phone. School had just ended and it was the perfect time to call his girlfriend.

“Not really,” Vicki replied, “I mean, I met someone, but he didn’t seem like a threat or anything.”

“He,” Joe asked, “Vicki, what have you been up to?” The joking was evident in his voice.

“Just some investigating,” she answered, “Even though it was weird that he moved here so close to the end of the year. School ends in a month.”

“That is strange,” Joe agreed, “but he must have a good reason. Maybe his parents got a job offer.”

“That’s just it,” Vicki told him, “He moved here with his brother. Apparently, he doesn’t have any parents. His brother even arrived today to give him money for Prom. I mean, why not wait until tomorrow?”

“Don’t worry about that for now,” Joe suggested, “You should really be concentrating on the case.”

“The case,” Vicki exclaimed, but quickly lowered her voice, “I almost forgot. We had a run in last night. Someone was in my yard. We chased him off, but he dropped this fake crown on the ground.” She briefed him on the note, “We told Chief Stevens all about it. Of course, he wasn’t too happy about it. I guess he was thinking that we could keep out of trouble for longer than a few weeks and was looking forward to the break.”

“Yeah,” Joe laughed, “but I’m glad that you’re okay. If anyone can solve this case, it’s you.”

“I’ll keep you updated,” Vicki said, “I’ll talk to you later. C. J. and I were going to see if we could find any clues in the light and I have to hurry home.”

Vicki met C. J. at her convertible and they headed for her house. They immediately started searching the yard. But like the previous night, it didn’t reveal anything that they didn’t already know.

“What now,” Vicki asked, turning to C. J, “This isn’t getting us anywhere.”

“We wait,” C. J. answered, “If this guy is desperate, he’ll be striking sometime today. It’s the only way to find out more.”

“We have four days until Prom,” Vicki pointed out, “I hope we can figure this out in time.”

“Why don’t we order some pizza,” C. J. suggested, “and plan what we’re going to do next.”

“That’s a great idea,” Vicki agreed, “Becky decided to stay at her friend’s for the week after I told her about the case when I called her earlier. Besides, you don’t want to taste my cooking…trust me.” C. J. laughed, Vicki could do a lot of things but cooking wasn’t one of them.

“I’ll go order,” C. J. told her and grabbed her phone off the hook. As soon as C. J. began to dial however, the phone rang. She glanced at the caller I.D. before handing it to Vicki, “I don’t recognize the number.”

“Hello,” Vicki asked after a second, having decided to press the ‘talk’ button.

“I hope you know how to dance,” a deep voice told her over the line, “I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.” The voice had a haunting sound to it, “I want the honor of doing it for you.”

“Why are you doing this,” Vicki questioned, knowing that asking who it was would only end with an unanswered question. Her voice lowered in anger at the person on the other end, “What have I ever done to you?” It took her a second to realize that she was talking to a dial tone. Vicki slammed the phone down.

“What did they say,” C. J. asked. Vicki told her friend what had happened, “You should call the police.”

“But it’s not helpful to the case,” Vicki pointed out, “Chief Stevens will just say to call back with more solid evidence.”

“It’s still a lead,” C. J. said, “He did know your phone number.”

“Anyone could get that out of the phonebook,” Vicki sighed, “My parents are lawyers and need to keep in touch with their clients. Practically the whole city has both the office and home numbers memorized.”

“At least let me stay tonight,” C. J. remarked, “If he strikes again, I want to be here. You’re not safe being anywhere by yourself.”

“Okay,” Vicki agreed, “Now, go order the pizza. I’m hungry!” C. J. laughed at her friend before reaching for the phone once again and actually dialing this time, “And make it extra cheese too!” C. J. rolled her eyes at Vicki as she gave the order.

“They’ll be here in thirty minutes,” C. J. said after she hung up.

“Let’s hope that nothing happens in those thirty minutes,” Vicki said, turning to look out the window once again.

“It’s actually been pretty quiet today,” C. J. commented, “I mean, besides that phone call, nothing has happened today.”

“I would think they’d strike again soon,” Vicki said, “Prom is almost here. They want to get to me before then.”

“I’d think they’d wait until the actual night of Prom,” C. J. argued, “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it seems like the most logical idea to me.”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out,” Vicki turned to look at her friend, “But one thing’s obvious, they’re playing for keeps!”

“We’ll catch them before they can,” C. J. said confidently, “They don’t know who they’re dealing with.”    

“You got that right,” Vicki laughed. At that moment, the doorbell rang, “That’s weird. The pizza guy got here really fast.” She exchanged looks with C. J. before standing up and going to the door, “Who is it?”
“Pizza guy,” the person said from the other side. Vicki slowly opened the door to find a man in an Ultimate Pizza uniform. He was wearing a hat pulled down low over his eyes.

“Thanks,” Vicki told him, thinking that he needed the money before he could give her the delivery. “I’ll be right back. Let me get your money.” The pizza guy nodded and Vicki left to get the money her parents had kept at the house for when they left on trips.

When she returned to the doorway however, she discovered that nobody was there. Surprised, Vicki walked up to the door and looked outside, thinking that maybe he had already left or had heard her wrong. Seeing nothing, she slowly closed the door, confusion clear on her face.

Right when she turned around again, the lights turned off. Surprised by the lack of light, she froze where she was. Vicki cautiously took a step forward, not used to walking around downstairs in the dark. When she turned to the left, she was greeted by a hand clamped over her mouth. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the hand and moved her feet back, making contact with another pair of shoes.

The move didn’t have much force, but it loosened the grip enough to allow her to call C. J. for help. Her voice was quickly silenced however. The assailant’s other arm, which was wrapped securely around her waist, tightened as he pulled her back, heading for the front door.

Vicki did everything possible to loosen the grip. She couldn’t get in a good position however to do much. He had pinned her arms to her sides after she had called out for C.J.

A sudden thudding came from the stairs, obviously C. J. A slight exclamation was heard as the darkness blinded her friend momentarily and she proceeded more carefully down the stairs.

The sound of the front door must have drawn C. J.’s attention, because even in the slight light from outside, it gave her enough confidence to descend quicker. 

The attacker, seeing C. J.’s silhouette approaching, muttered something under his breath. Vicki made a muffled sound of protest as he shoved a paper into the front pocket of her jeans. When C. J. reached the bottom of the stairs, he suddenly shoved Vicki forward and into C. J. Then he bolted out the front door. By the time the girls had gotten to their feet, he was gone.

 

 

 

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.