Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry about another semi-long wait. (Hopefully not as long as last time.) I don't own the Hardy Boys. Enjoy this chapter! =)

Frank and Joe each took a quick nap (as they haven't slept all night). When they woke up, they immediately prepared to go to 75 Pine Road Avenue. Frank shoved a mini flashlight and his fingerprint kit in his pocket. Joe brought a magnifying glass and small camera. On their way down to the lobby, though, they were stopped by someone.

"Joe!" They heard someone shout. "You are okay!" Kayla bounced up to Frank and Joe cheerfully. She had not seen him since they were kidnapped and never heard that Joe was safe.

"Hey Kayla," Joe waved. "Yeah, I escaped last night. You would not believe what happened then." Joe started to explain to Kayla last night's adventure excitedly, happy to tell someone the story.

Kayla was listening to the story with must interest. Meanwhile, Frank was checking his watch and looking around the lobby. He saw Patrick at his usual spot at the desk and eyed him nervously. Patrick caught Frank's eye and developed a panicked look on his face.

"Joe, we have to go," he said.

"Go where," Kayla wondered. "Where are you going?"

"We have a lead that we have to follow," Frank whispered, not wanting to tell her all of it in the lobby where people could hear.

"Can I come!"

"Yes," Joe answered at the same time Frank said, "No."

"You promised that I could help Frank," Kayla said defensively.

Frank sighed, running his hands through his hair with frustration. "I did, didn't I?" Kayla nodded. "Alright. You can come."

"Yes," Kayla exclaimed.

"Shouldn't you tell your sister first," Joe inquired.

"No, she is out skiing. I leave a note in the hotel room. I'll be right back," Kayla stated as she hurriedly ran off to write a note telling her sister where she was going.

As she was gone, Frank told Joe, "Patrick is over there."

Joe's face grew dark with anger. "Where! Why I ought to-," he said before Frank cut him off.

"Joe," he said cautiously.

"The nerve of that guy," Joe continued.

"Joe," Frank repeated. He put an arm protectively over his brother's shoulder to comfort him and to stop him from going up to Patrick. Mostly the latter.

When Kayla got back, she, Frank, and Joe climbed into the Hardys' car, Frank in the driver's seat.

"Can you tell me where we are going now," Kayla wondered.

"No, the car may be bugged," Joe joked. "Okay, we are going to 75 Pine Road Avenue."

"What is at 75 Pine Road Avenue," Kayla questioned.

"That's just it, we don't know," Joe stated.

After a while of quiet, Joe looked at his older brother. "Aah yes," he said to Kayla. "Frank has got his thinking face on," he teased. Kayla giggled.

"Haha, very funny Joe," Frank retorted.

Along the way of the drive, Frank noticed that the area was becoming less and less populated. They finally saw a large, old-looking mansion at the end of a long, deserted road. "This is a decent place to hide an illegal operation," he observed to himself.

"We aren't going in there, are we," Kayla asked.

"Well, if this is 75 Pine Road Avenue, then yes. Yes we are," Joe replied.

"We should park the car a safe distance from here so, if people are in there, they won't see us," Frank explained while doing so. He parked the car behind some bushes so that it couldn't be seen easily.

"What are we even looking for here," Kayla wondered.

Joe explained, "Anything that could prove who those men are and what they are up to. Fingerprints, photos, a body, stuff like that."

"A body!"

"Only joking," Joe laughed.

At this, Frank, Joe, and Kayla got out of the car. They were going to continue their way to the house on foot. Frank signaled for them to stick close to the bushes so that they wouldn't be spotted.

They kept walking in silence until they got to driveway to the mansion.

"How do we get in," Frank wondered, mumbling to himself.

"You mean, besides the front door," Joe quipped.

"Guys," Kayla whispered. Both boys turned to face her. "I don't think anybody is home. There is no car and all the lights look like they are off in the windows."

"She's right," Joe said, amazed.

"I watch a lot of detective movies," she said sheepishly.

"Okay, let's go," Frank stated. They started walking towards the front door. Frank tried it. "It's locked. How are we going to get in?"

"Maybe a window," Kayla suggested.

"No, I've a better idea. Look over there," Joe pointed to a door on the ground that probably lead to a basement or a cellar. "We can go into that cellar door."

"Do you think the stolen stuff is in there," Kayla said as they walked towards the cellar.

"It probably is," Frank stated. "Plus, it's a cellar. What wouldn't bad guys hide in a cellar."

Kayla gulped. "Isn't the cellar where the characters die in horror stories?"

"We better hope this isn't a horror story," Joe replied grimly while pulling on the door. With luck, it swung open.

Frank, Joe, and Kayla descended the steps to go down into the cellar. Joe noticed that it smelt musty and old, which made sense for this old house. When they reached the bottom, each person felt around for a light switch.

"Found one," Joe shouted and hit it. Light flooded the previously dark cellar. Each person took a moment to look at their surroundings.

The room was filled with neatly kept shelves of all kinds. Even through the through the old smell, it was clean and organized, something you wouldn't expect by looking at the front of the house. There were small cardboard boxes on the shelves, filled with jewelry boxes and expensive looking items.

"Wow," Kayla gasped. "So this must be all of the stolen stuff you told me about."

"There was a lot less in the truck I was kept in though. I wonder where all this other stuff came from," Joe explained.

"They were probably buying stolen goods from other hotels too," Frank concluded.

"Probably," Joe agreed. Kayla nodded.

"Okay, so, how do we go about doing this," Kayla asked the boys.

"Well, we do need proof for the police," Joe said. "So we could take pictures." Joe got the mini camera he brought out of his pocket and started taking pictures of the stolen goods.

"And I can look for fingerprints," Frank added, waving his trusty finger print kit in the air.

"I don't know if this is useful, but I can look around for anything that might help identify these people," Kayla suggested.

Joe smiled. "That would be useful."

After about thirty minutes of work, Frank had found five fingerprints, some identical. Joe had taken enough pictures to show the police. Kayla had found some articles of clothing near a locker that they assumed was one of the men's they saw at the bar.

"What next," Frank questioned. "Upstairs?"

"I'm game," Joe said. Both boys turned to Kayla for her answer. They saw that her face turned deathly pale.

"What's wrong," Joe said worriedly as he walked towards her.

"Someone is coming!"

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry Iif there are any typos. Glad you read it! =) Have a good day or afternoon or night!