"Callie!" Joe glared at his brother's girlfriend from the chair she had just handcuffed him to."Why would you do this? Where did you even get these?" Callie just smiled infuriatingly at him.

"You know Frank's going to kill you for this." Joe said. Callie finally spoke, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "No, he isn't."

"And why isn't he?"

"Because it was my idea." said a voice from the doorway. Joe was speechless. He knew that voice. Frank came in, the smile on his face betrayed by the worry in his eyes. He gave Callie a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Cal."

She grinned evilly at Joe. "It was my pleasure."

"I'll drive you home." Frank told her. She nodded and went downstairs. Frank walked over to his brother. Joe, finally recovering his voice, exclaimed, "Frank! We're on a case! We can't stop now."

"No, we aren't on a case," Frank corrected. "You have a broken arm and a concussion. You are staying right here to rest, like the doctor ordered. Mom will be home soon, and she'll release you then." Frank turned to go, then turned back to Joe. "Tell Dad, clause two will not be applied." With this final cryptic remark, Frank left Joe's room.

Joe was frustrated and worried. He couldn't do anything, because he had been handcuffed to a chair, by his brother's girlfriend, and on his brother's orders, no less! What was Frank thinking? He must have been planning something dangerous, or he wouldn't have looked so worried. What had he planned?

As he walked down the stairs, Frank was lost in his thoughts. He couldn't have let Joe come with him. With his broken arm, it was too risky. His job would be dangerous enough without worrying about Joe. Now Joe would be stuck in his room, at least until their mother came home, and probably longer. Joe didn't know where he was going, so he couldn't follow him. If Joe searched hard enough, he could probably find some clue, but hopefully he wouldn't think of that, at least until the job was done.

Frank got into the car and drove Callie home. As the van pulled up outside her house, she turned to him. "I don't know what you have planned, and I know you won't let me come, but please be careful," she pleaded. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"I will," Frank promised. Callie got out and Frank started the van. Callie watched as he drove off. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Help!" Joe shouted, hearing the front door open. Laura quickly climbed the stairs and ran down the hall to Joe's room. At the doorway she stopped in shock. "Joe!" she exclaimed, running over to him. "What happened? Who did this? Where's Frank?"

"Callie did this," Joe scowled. "Mom, you'll need a key. Call Dad, he should have one."

"Why would Callie handcuff you to a chair?" Laura asked in confusion.

"Because Frank asked her to," Joe answered. Laura almost dropped her mobile phone. "Frank told her to? Why would he do that?"

"I think he's planned something. Mom, you really need to call Dad. Now."

Laura rang Fenton, and within twenty minutes he was at the house with a key for the handcuffs. "Now," Fenton said as he unlocked the handcuffs. "What happened?"

"Callie came in. She handcuffed me to the chair. Then Frank came in. He thanked her, then she left. Frank said that I was going to stay here, like the doctor ordered, and that Mom would be home soon to release me. Then he said to tell you that clause two will not be applied. What does that mean?"

Fenton's brow furrowed in thought. "The only thing like that I can think of would be a contract from when you were six. You asked me what you do to become an investigator. I came up with a silly contract, but I can't remember all of it offhand. I'd have to go find it. It's probably in the attic somewhere." He paused, then asked. "Do you have any idea where Frank was going?"

"None," Joe replied.

"I'll have a look for that contract. Frank might have it, he mentioned it a few weeks ago. Maybe that will give us a clue." Fenton said.

The contract was found sitting on top of Frank's desk. He had obviously looked at it recently. Joe picked it up and started reading it aloud. " 'Clause One. To do my best as an investigator. Clause Two. To try and stay unharmed and alive in any and all investigations.' " Joe looked up. "Why would Frank say that Clause Two will not be applied? Is he trying to put himself in danger?"

"Are there any clues to where Frank went?" Fenton asked. Joe quickly skimmed the page. "Nope, nothing. Maybe Callie knows."

Joe pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Callie's number.

"Hello, this is Callie speaking."

"Hey Callie, this is Joe."

"So you got out of the handcuffs?"

"Yeah, I did. Do you know where Frank went?"

"No."

Fenton took the phone. "Callie, this is Mr Hardy speaking. Are you sure you don't know where Frank went?"

"He told me not to say anything."

"Callie, this is important. Frank could be in real danger."

"Well, he didn't actually mention you. He just said I couldn't tell Joe. So, he went to a warehouse."

"Do you know what warehouse?"

"I think it's somewhere in New York. He wouldn't tell me much."

"Thanks Callie." Fenton handed the phone back to Joe. "Yeah, thanks Callie. I'll pay you back for the handcuffs though." Joe hung up.

"Do you know what warehouse Frank could be at in New York?" Fenton asked Joe.

"No, I don't. Wait...a witness to one of the robberies that we're trying to solve said that they heard a warehouse mentioned." Joe quickly went into his room and searched among the many papers and other assorted junk on his desk. "Here it is! Warehouse 20."

"Do you know where Frank is yet?" Laura asked, appearing in the doorway.

Joe nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. We think he's in a warehouse in New York."

Laura's knees buckled, and she gripped the door frame for support. "A warehouse in New York?" she asked weakly.

"Yeah. Mom, what's wrong?" Joe rushed to his mother's side. With his and Fenton's help, she stood up. "It was just on the news. A warehouse blew up in New York." Laura turned to look at Fenton, her eyes filled with fear. "What if Frank was in there?"

"Maybe it was a different warehouse?" Fenton suggested.

"Warehouse 20. Was that-" The look in their faces told Laura that this was the one, and she fell sobbing into Fenton's arms.

"We don't know he was there, Laura." Fenton tried to calm his wife. Joe stood to one side, his eyes bright with tears. "Dad, we have to get over there."

Laura straightened up, wiping her tears away. "Yes, you have to get over there," she said firmly.

Fenton was reluctant to leave while Laura was still so upset. "Dad, we have to go." Joe said before bolting out of the room. Casting one final worried glance at Laura, Fenton followed his son out the door and to the garage.

They arrived at the warehouse, immediately spotting it by the police, firefighters and press gathered around. Joe jumped out of the car and ran towards the site. A policemen came out of nowhere and grabbed him.

"Whoa, kid, you can't go in there," the officer said. His name tag read Dime. "That area is off limits."

As Fenton came over, Joe stopped struggling and the policeman let go of his arm. "I'm Fenton Hardy, and this is my son Joe. I have reason to believe that my other son was in this warehouse at the time of the explosion."

The officer shook his head. "There was no one in the building when the explosion occurred. We would have found bodies, and there were none."

Fenton looked gratefully at the officer. "Thank you." He and Joe walked off to one side. Joe looked confused. "If Frank wasn't at the warehouse, where was he?"

"I don't know, Joe, but that's what we have to find out." Fenton replied grimly.