AN: Please be aware that I have extended the previous chapter (9). If you read it before 10th June 2006, please go back and read the updated version! As always, comments and reviews very welcome.

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The Case of the Missing Paintings - Chapter 10

Joe looked up as his brother Frank strode into their room at the hotel where he had set up his equipment. He studied Frank's face, but although pale, his brother looked calm and controlled.

"Anything new, Joe?"

"Actually, I've made some headway. I've been working on Mr Featherstone's tape, eliminating various wavelengths to try and make it clearer. There's some background noise which could pinpoint possible locations, but I'm still trying to isolate it. Want to give me a hand?"

"Sure. Let me have a listen."

Joe passed Frank a second set of headphones, and switched on the tape recorder. "Here's the original recording. It's not very long, unfortunately." The brothers listened as Emily and her father exchanged a few hasty words, trying to ignore the fear and desperation in her voice. Emily's voice was rapidly interrupted by one of the kidnappers, his voice distorted to make it unrecognisable.

"I've removed the voices from the tape. Listen to this and tell me what you think it might be," Joe said, switching over to a second copy of the recording.

Frank listened intently. The background sounds were faint and muffled, but he thought he could distinguish a repeated rhythm and the sound of clanging bells.

"Hmmm." Now fully focused, Frank reached over and began manipulating the recording, slowly clearing up the sound while Joe tried to change various settings to improve the quality of the recording.

"Frank…I think it sounds like a train going past. The repeated pattern fades in and out, and the bells could be a signal crossing." Joe looked to his brother, who nodded in agreement.

"Yep, I think that's it. But that doesn't help us much. There are railways and signal crossings all over New York. We need to try and narrow it down further." Frank got up and began pacing, as he always did when he was deep in thought. Joe turned back to the tape, but kept half an eye on his brother.

After a few minutes, Frank turned and said, "Something's been bugging me, Joe. Something about this whole thing that just doesn't make sense."

Joe leaned back in his chair. "What do you mean?"

"Someone breaks in at the museum using the security override to gain access through the main doors. They use the museum director's daughter as leverage. But the code override doesn't do anything to manipulate the infrared cameras which watch over the museum at night. If there were people in the museum, something should have shown up on those. But the tapes are clean."

Joe shrugged. "I just figured that the thieves replaced the tapes, or somehow managed to wipe them."

"But why bother? Infrared cameras can't be used to identify them, and the alarm had been disabled. All that would have been on those tapes is a few colourful blobs moving around the museum taking painting off hooks. Why go to the risk of manipulating the tapes to make it seem like there were no people in the museum?"

"Maybe they're trying to be clever, to gain notoriety or fame or something like that? After all, invisible thieves make a great story," Joe suggested.

"Or maybe they wanted to set up a real mystery, something that would stump the police, so special investigators would have to be called in. Investigators who are familiar with this sort of thing and have a reputation for solving difficult cases, like…"

"Like Dad." Joe finished his brother's thought. "And us."

Frank resumed his pacing. "Don't you think it's weird that we're called into a case like this, at the same time as Nancy is in town? A case that her father was investigating before his death? I don't know, Joe, but I feel like we're being manipulated. Something tells me that us meeting Nancy and getting her involved in this case wasn't as much of a coincidence as we thought."

"You think they deliberately got us involved, so that we'd get Nancy involved, so they could kidnap her? It sounds crazy, Frank – why bother? If they were so desperate to get hold of Nancy, they could have just taken her without involving us." Joe raised his eyebrows. "Why go to these lengths?"

Frank shook his head and buried it in his hands. "I don't know, Joe. I just don't know."

Before they could speculate further, the door burst open and Fenton Hardy emerged, his normally calm demeanour exchanged for hurry that spoke of his deep worry for Nancy and Emily. He was just ending a phone call on his cell: "Yes. Thank you very much. We'll notify you if we need anything else."

"What's up, Dad?" Joe asked as Fenton hung up.

"That was the police bureau. They finally managed to get the location of the phone number Joe acquired at the newspaper. The last known location of that cellphone was here." Fenton spread out the map of New York he'd been holding and pointed to a street in one of the less affluent suburbs.

Frank was already out of his chair. "We have to go there, Dad. It's the only lead we have." But before his father could reply, Joe gave a surprised shout.

"Hang on a minute! This is the same street as the address you got from the university – of that chemistry student."

"That's got to be it. Maybe they're using his old house as a hiding place. Maybe Nancy will be there!"

Fenton nodded at Frank and Joe. "It's definitely worth a shot. But we need to be careful. I've asked for a squad of plain-clothes officers to meet us near that address, but we'll try and go in quietly. The last thing we want on our hands is a hostage situation. Let's go."

As they headed to their car, Frank was aware of a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was relieved to finally be able to doing something to try and help Nancy, but he was also too aware of the risks they were putting themselves, Nancy and Emily Featherstone in. Niggling doubts about the criminal's motives and their interest in Nancy and the Hardy's remained, but he resolutely pushed them aside and focused on one thing – finding Nancy as quickly as possible.