Chapter 12: Finding the Hideout
The next morning, long after Mrs. Cantanker had been arrested, the Chan Clan had rested, eaten, but were still terribly worried for their missing sister.
Their father had left early to continue his investigation and ordered his children to remain until he returned.
"I know Pop is worried we might get heisted, too," Flip anxiously spoke up, "but we can't just sit here. We gotta do something!"
"Yeah, do something!" Scooter agreed.
"But what?" Nancy asked.
"Perhaps," Tom suggested, "if we search the crime scene where Anne and Scooter were last present before being apprehended, we may find clues to the kidnappers' hideout."
"No good." Alan saw a flaw in that plan. "If we go to that gas station, there's a good chance Pop will be there. He'll spot us."
"Well…I don't know about finding clues," Henry pondered, "but there may be another way to find those crooks' hideout. If we go to the spot where Scooter was before he escaped, maybe Chu-Chu can pick up Anne's scent from there and lead us to where they got her and maybe the other kids who are kidnapped."
"Great idea!" Suzie smiled.
"Yeah!" Flip agreed, then turned towards Chu-Chu. "What do you say, Chu-Chu? Think you can do it?"
Chu-Chu, confident and eager to help his owners, barked in agreement.
"Alright," Henry instructed his siblings, "but we better stick close. We can't risk any more of us getting caught. Let's go!"
The Chan Clan and Chu-Chu headed to the Chan Van and took their seats inside.
"Isn't there a chance Pop might spot us out driving?" Stanley asked his older brother.
"Not if the van's in a good disguise," Henry replied. "Better hit Chan Plan 5."
Stanley obeyed his sibling. "Chan Plan 5 coming up."
After pressing number 5 on the controls, the Chan Van converted into a long, navy blue Limousine with tinted windows.
"Now we're…" before Henry could finish his sentence, he looked over to see Stanley in disguise again. "Just what are you supposed to be now?"
"I'm disguised as a chauffeur," Stanley answered as he lowered his disguised hat down a little. "Pop definitely won't recognize me now."
"Of course he won't," Henry retorted, "the windows are tinted! He won't even see you, you dum-dum! Now get out of that stupid disguise."
Stanley removed his disguise. "Yeesh! And I thought Cantanker was a grouch."
The Chan Clan children drove off.
They soon approached the gas station Scooter and Anne were on their way to the previous night and, as Alan guessed, their father was there with several other policemen investigating.
Fortunately, the children were able to drive by unnoticed. As they continued down the road, half a mile later, they eventually came to a temporary stop at a traffic light.
"This is it!" Scooter rowed down his side of the car window. "This is where me and Anne were before we got split up."
"Okay, Chu-Chu," Henry commanded, "see if you can pick up Anne's trail."
The loyal Pekingese leaped out of the disguised Chan Van and sniffed around the road. It didn't take him long until he caught his missing owner's scent and pointed straight ahead.
"Follow that nose!" Stanley called out.
Chu-Chu hopped back in the Chan Van and the kids drove off.
Several more miles later, the kids crossed a bridge and approached a large Keep Out sign blocking the road.
"Are you sure they went this way, Chu-Chu?" Henry asked their dog.
Chu-Chu barked and nodded, "Ruh-huh! Ruh-huh!"
"Where could they have gone?" asked a puzzled Tom.
"Let's get out and look for a lead," a determined Henry implied. "There's no way they could've just vanished."
The nine Chans exited the Chan Van and looked around for clues to the kidnappers' whereabouts. Nothing was found.
Suddenly while searching, Nancy ended up clumsily tripping over Chu-Chu and accidentally falling on the hidden switch in the road. The Chan children watched in amazement as the false Keep Out sign sank into the ground and showed the road going on further. They all rushed back into the Chan Van before the sign rose back up and drove on.
After several more minutes, the Chan Clan reached the wired gate and spotted the condemned building behind it. Henry parked the Chan Van and the children exited the vehicle to inspect the building.
"The trail leads here, Chu-Chu?" asked Henry.
Again, Chu-Chu barked and nodded, "Ruh-huh! Ruh-huh!"
"This has to be those kidnappers' hideout," Stanley pointed ahead to the driveway of the building where a brown truck was parked. "That's the same truck those goons had when they stole the battery thing."
"Yeah, and look!" Alan pointed next to the small brown truck, and the Chan Clan spotted the large green box truck. "That's the truck the kidnappers were driving when they grabbed those kids in leather."
"And it's the same truck me and Anne were in!" Scooter added.
"That settles it," Henry stated. "We gotta get in there."
"Hmm," the intelligent Tom studied the fence a bit. "I believe our first primary objective should be to enter the premises as well. If we could find a long wooden branch or flexible pole, we could pole vault over the fence."
"Uh, Tom…" Henry opened the gate. "The gate was already unlocked. We could just walk in."
"Oh, right…" Tom stuttered with embarrassment. "That works too."
The Chans walked through the gate, following Chu-Chu as he sniffed his way to the green box truck.
Fortunately, the back of the truck was unlocked. Unfortunately, they did not find their abducted sister inside.
"Maybe we got the wrong place after all," sighed the young Mimi.
Alan, however, caught sight of something else. "Hey, look!" On the floor of the truck, the inventing genius found a familiar-looking baseball cap and grabbed it on the spot.
"It's Anne's cap!" he said with glee. "She was here!"
With hope of finding their sister growing brighter, the Chans decided to search for a way inside the building.
"Hey, look!" Stanley pointed far down to their left side. "There's a busted open window."
The Chans walked towards the window and looked through it. It was completely empty and pitch dark inside the building. Nevertheless, the strong-willed children weren't going to let that stop them. They each climbed in through the window and started to search the deserted room they entered.
"It sure is spooky here," Mimi whimpered.
"This place is huge," Flip said in awe. "How are we gonna find Anne and the kids in this?"
"I don't know," Henry scratched his head, "but we're getting close. I don't know why, but I get the feeling the answer is right under our noses."
"It's way too dark in here," a frightened Nancy gulped. "Maybe we should turn the lights on." The slightly obese girl located a small square button on the wall close by her and pressed it. However, to everyone's surprise, it caused the whole floor beneath them to open up and everyone fell through as it closed up behind them.