"Guess I didn't quite make it," Joe said, starting to get up.
"Stay down," ordered Frank, gently pushing him back down. "You might be hurt."
"I'm not," Joe said, grinning at his brother reassuringly. "I did manage to toss the bomb far enough to avoid that before I hit the ground and covered my head," he added, sitting up again.
"Are you hurt?" Mrs. Hardy asked as she rushed over to her sons. She had been in the kitchen washing dishes when the explosion occurred. She knelt beside Joe as Frank stood.
"I'm fine," Joe told her as she leaned over and smoothed a few stray hairs from his forehead.
"What happened?" Frank asked, raising his voice a bit to be heard over the approaching sirens.
"I popped the hood and there was a bomb connected to the engine. I tried to disconnect it but when I unhooked it from the car, the timing mechanism kicked on showing ten seconds until detonation. I grabbed it and ran as far as I could before throwing it." They turned to look at the corner of the yard where a lone tree stood ablaze from the blast. "I tried to toss it into the empty lot next door, but my aim was a little off," he added, looking on as the firemen arrived to put out the flames.
A few minutes later one of the firefighters came over to them. "Joe!" Kevin exclaimed. "You're okay."
"Yeah," Joe replied, smiling. "I thought you were off after Sunday."
"One of the guys got the flu so I agreed to fill in for him. What happened to you?" Kevin asked, changing the subject. "Why were you kidnapped? How did you get away?"
"I'll tell you all about it later," Joe promised. "Right now though, we have a question for you."
"Shoot," Kevin obliged.
"Do you know what kind of bomb it was?" Frank asked.
"Not yet," was the reply. "But it would help if you could tell us what it looked like," Kevin added, becoming all business.
"It was about four inches long with a timer on the top," Joe informed him. "The timer wasn't activated until I tried to remove it from the van."
"Why wouldn't whoever planted the bomb activate the timer?" Kevin asked.
"It was probably rigged to activate after the van was started," Frank replied.
"Most people would have left it for the bomb squad," Mrs. Hardy said, looking pointedly at her youngest son.
"But these two aren't most people," Kevin said with admiration. "They're detectives."
"I know," Mrs. Hardy said with long-suffering patience. "I know."
"There has to be something we've missed," Frank complained, not for the first time since this case began, as he and Joe drove to the airport to pick up their father.
"There's a lot we've missed," Joe grumbled in agreement.
"Finding out what kind of bomb that was didn't help either," Frank added. Kein had called and told them the bomb had been made with a mixture of highly explosive chemicals. "We already knew chemicals figure broadly into this case."
Frank gave himself a mental shake as they pulled into the airport parking lot. "I'll go and see if Dad's flight has arrived yet," he told Joe after they had entered the terminal.
Frank walked up to the counter where a graying, robust woman stood. "Welcome to Bayport Air," she greeted him with a smile.
"Hi," Frank said, smiling back at her. "I was wondering if you could help me?" he asked.
"That's what I'm here for," she responded cheerfully.
"It's a little awkward," he began, nervously running a hand through his hair. "You see, my dad called and left a message for me to pick him up at the airport on our answering machine, but we live in Southport," he said, naming a city located southwest of Bayport which had no airport of its own. "And I'm not sure if he meant this airport or the one in Brayson." Brayson was a little larger city southwest of Southport. "I was hoping you could tell me if he was on the nine o'clock flight tomorrow morning."
"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically. "We don't have a passenger list this early in advance."
"Oh," came the forlorn reply from a downcast Frank. "If I only knew which airport he left from this past weekend."
"Well, now," she said, smiling as an idea took shape. "I can check to see if he left from here."
"You can?" Frank asked, brightening.
"Of course," she answered. "Just tell me his name and which day he left on."
"Samuel Kurtz," he told her. "I'm not sure if he left on a Friday or Saturday. I spent the weekend with some friends," he explained.
"Let's see," she said pushing keys on her keyboard. "Ah, yes," she said. "Your father is a frequent flier with our airline. The last flight he was scheduled for was on Friday at six p.m. to Boston."
"Great!" Frank said with relief. "Now I don't have to drive all the way to Brayson. I'll just spend another night here with my friends and pick him up tomorrow. Thanks for your help," he gratefully replied before leaving the counter.
After checking his father's flight on the schedule board, he returned to where he had left Joe. "I found out about Kutz' flight." He told Joe about his conversation with the receptionist. "Since you talked to him on Saturday, he never made his flight," Frank ended.
"Then why is he pretending he's out of town?" Joe wondered out loud.
"Maybe he's in hiding," Frank suggested. "Or he could have been kidnapped." He was about to say more when their father's flight was announced.
On the way home the boys told some of what had been happening in their father's absence and then Mr. Hardy filled them in on his trip.
"So who is this bigwig who's coming to Bayport?" Joe asked, munching on a bag of potato chips he had bought out of a vending machine at the airport.
"His name is Rashid and he's coming to Bayport to view our waste facility," Mr. Hardy told them.
"This prince is coming all the way from Asia to see a waste treatment plant?" Joe asked in disbelief. "Why?'
"Because our waste facility has only one other like it in the world," Frank informed Joe with an air of superiority only older brothers possess.
"Huh?" Joe asked, tilting his head to one side, allowing a lock of blond hair to fall across his forehead.
"Our facility is one of two experimental plants that uses swamp plants, bacteria, sunshine, and other natural elements to cleanse waste-water," Mr. Hardy explained.
"Right," Frank confirmed. "The process turns waste-water into drinkable water without the use of any chemicals."
"If it's such a good thing then why are there only two?" Joe asked.
"They're expensive to convert," Frank began only to be interrupted by an impatient Joe.
"If it's all natural, then why does it cost so much?"
"You didn't let your brother finish," reprimanded Mr. Hardy.
"The set-up is what cost so much. After the initial expense, it's actually cheaper. The problem is that most people don't understand how contaminated water can be fit to drink in just three or four days. And also worth mentioning is the fact that people are wary of investing large sums of money into projects they don't understand," Frank added.
"But it's the government who controls that stuff," argued Joe.
"The government is only an extension of the people," Mr. Hardy reminded him.
"But still, why are there only two?" Joe persisted. "Surely, in the long term it would be worth it?"
"You know how budgets are," Frank told him. "People want change to be evident in the short term and they want that change to be cheap. Besides, the new treatment hasn't been approved yet," Frank concluded.
"Approved by who?" Joe demanded.
"The Food and Drug Administration," Frank said.
"So why is the prince interested in this facility?" Joe asked his dad.
"His country is opening a new waste-treatment plant and this would be ideal. It would be the world's first, full-scale, all natural facility."
"When is he arriving?" Frank asked, pulling the van into the Hardy driveway.
"The day after tomorrow. He will be accompanied by his Prime Minister and six bodyguards. Our government has provided an additional eight bodyguards," Mr. Hardy informed them. "I'm responsible for the security from the airport to the hotel on the day of his arrival as well as the actual visit to the facility."
"Why so much security?" Joe asked, climbing out of the van and stretching his legs.
"There were threats against the prince before this trip was even proposed," Mr. Hardy told them with a concerned frown. He picked up the evening paper from the steps and went inside followed by Frank and Joe.
Over dinner Joe turned the conversation toward Dawson Chemical. "We still don't know why they would want a chemical spill," he concluded, after telling his father about their investigation.
"Did you see any of your kidnapers at the plant apart from the man you assume to be the boss?" queried Mr. Hardy.
"Uh-uh," Joe said, shaking his head.
"Perhaps a return visit is in order," Mr. Hardy suggested with the lift of an eyebrow.
"First thing tomorrow," Frank assured him as they rose from the table. Mrs. Hardy stayed to clear away the dishes from the table while Mr. Hardy and the boys went into the living room and sat down.
Joe flicked on the television to catch the evening news while his dad picked up the paper. "That's him!" Frank shouted, startling Joe and Mr. Hardy. "That's Kurtz!"