Joe picked the girls up from school yet again. Vicki’s car wasn’t going to be ready until the next day. They told him the events of the day, down to every detail.

“Are you sure you can trust this guy,” Joe asked, looking at both girls in the backseat from the rearview mirror, where they were discussing the plan, and where it was easier than yelling at each other from between separated seats.

“I trust him,” Vicki said, “He’s been helping us out a lot lately. He even agreed to investigate a key suspect.”

“Still, be careful,” Joe told her, “It could all be an act.”

“We know,” C. J. replied, “but this way, if he is the guy and he’s reassured that we think he’s innocent, he might slip up.”

“Right,” Vicki nodded, “Either way, he’s helping.”

“We still have Ron Davenport to investigate,” Joe reminded them, “Do you want to go by his place?”

“No,” C. J. spoke up, “If he was there yesterday, then he’s probably alerted whoever is behind this already. They might be waiting.”

“Just drop us off at my house,” Vicki told him, “I’ll call if there are any problems.” Although he was unconvinced of their safety, Joe dropped them off at Vicki’s and left for Ron’s house, hoping to catch him at home. “

“What do we do now,” Vicki asked once they were so-called ‘safe’ inside her room, “Just sit around and hope that they strike?”

Suddenly someone knocked on the door downstairs. They paused, listening. After a few seconds, the knocking persisted, more urgently than the first time.

Finally, Vicki headed downstairs. C. J. followed after her. Looking through the eyehole, Vicki suddenly laughed and unlocked the door.

“Hey Chris,” Vicki greeted their guest as she opened the front door for him. He grinned at the looks of relief on their faces.

“I didn’t scare you, did I,” he asked.

“Maybe a little,” Vicki reluctantly admitted, “but forget about that. What did you find out?”

“Not much,” Chris told them, “She didn’t want to talk to me. And whenever I brought you up, she pretended not to hear.”

“That is suspicious,” C. J. noted, “I barely know her, but she still ignores you when you mention me.”

“She never did seem like a people person,” Vicki pointed out.

“Just because she’s a loner doesn’t mean she’s guilty,” C. J. said, “but most new kids at least try to make friends. I don’t think she even has one.”

“Well, if she is behind this, we know she actually does,” Vicki told them, “But who could she get to do these things?”

“There’s Ron Davenport,” C. J. said, “He’s the only person with access to Caleb’s other car key.”

“And we haven’t been able to get in touch with him,” Vicki added. Chris watched the conversation between the two friends with confusion evident on his face.

“Is there something going on that I should know about,” Chris asked, glancing between the two girls.

“Don’t worry about it,” Vicki told him, “It’s our problem, not yours.”

“You’ve already done enough for us,” C. J. said, “The rest of it is too complicated to go into right now.”

Chris and the girls exchanged good-byes. Vicki immediately called Joe. He answered on the second ring.

 “Hello?”

“Joe,” Vicki said, “Did you find anything?”

“A little,” Joe replied, “Ron wasn’t home, but his mother was. I talked to her for a while and she told me that Ron was in football practice. That’s a little suspicious, seeing that it’s not football season.”

“That is strange,” Vicki agreed, “So, are you heading back?”

“Yeah, do you need a ride somewhere,” he asked.

“No,” she replied, “I’ll see you later.” They hung up. A short while later, the girls were startled by the sound of breaking glass. The window nearest to them shattered!

 

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.