Chapter 5

Minutes later, they arrived at Vicki's house, which was in a nicer neighborhood than the ones that they had passed before. Vicki led the brothers up her driveway and to the door, pushing it open, "Well, Becky's here," Vicki said, "She never takes the time to lock the door when I'm gone."

"Vicki," a voice greeted her, "Where have you been? Mom and dad aren't going to be happy about this." A girl of about nineteen showed herself. She had blonde hair and green eyes.

"Frank and Joe," Vicki stated, "This is Becky, the one I told you about." Becky caught sight of their guests just then.

"Hello," Becky replied coolly, "What will they say now that you're bringing strangers into the house?" Vicki ignored her sister and walked up the stairs, heading towards her dad's office.

"Hello," Vicki asked, knocking on the door. It was opened a second later by Vicki's mom, who let her and her friends inside, "These guys are Frank and Joe Hardy." She got permission for them to stay and led them to their rooms. Vicki's parents were used to people dropping by and staying over by now.

"Look," Vicki said later that evening, "I'm sorry for earlier. I'm sure C. J. mentioned that we're detectives and told you everything. But when someone jumps me from behind, it takes me a while before I can trust them." Frank and Joe were sitting in her living room, listening to her explanation, "It's something I'm used to by now."

Frank returned to his room, leaving Vicki and Joe alone. Much to their surprise, Joe and Vicki found out that they had a lot in common. They were so alike; it was almost freaky to think about. Both were seventeen and were the more impulsive of their detective duo. They got to talking and Vicki almost jumped when the doorbell rang. Vicki immediately ran to answer it and came back seconds later, looking worried.

"What's wrong," Joe asked, seeing her concern. She held up a white envelope and sat down by him again.

"When I went to answer the door, all I saw was this on the doorstep. I'm almost certain that I didn't hear any retreating footsteps." She looked down at the envelope and took a deep breath before opening it. All that came out was a single sheet of notebook paper. She unfolded it and read what was written on it, "It says 'We know who you and your friends are. If you don't keep your noses out of our business, you'll regret it.' It's not signed."

Joe took the paper from her and read it over, "How did they find out that we're all detectives," he asked, "They would have to have heard about us before. It makes no sense."

"Let's check outside," Vicki suggested, "Just in case they might have left a clue." Joe agreed and they walked out onto the porch. The street was empty except for a few cars driving by slowly. Every house light except for Vicki's were turned off

"Well, whoever they are," Joe said, "They knew the right time to come over. There wouldn't have been any witnesses."

"You're right," Vicki said, "They also must have guessed that we would be awake. Otherwise they wouldn't have bothered to knock." She paused, "You know, something doesn't feel right about this."

"I know," Joe agreed, "It's like we're expecting something to happen, but it's not. I can't hear anything and the street's mostly deserted."

Vicki and Joe stepped outside now, down the steps and to the yard. Vicki checked the yard on the right side and Joe checked the left. The yard wasn't large, but it would take more than a few minutes to check it out.

"Vicki," Joe called out, "Come over here. I think I found something." Vicki came over right away.

"What did you find," she asked quickly, "Do you think it could be important?" Joe shrugged and picked the object off the ground.

It was a small square shaped object. When Joe picked it up, Vicki could tell that it was made of wood, "It looks like a tile of some sort," she remarked, "What's that symbol of Joe?"

"It's a snake," Joe replied, "I can't tell what kind by the picture, but it's definitely a snake of some sort." He handed it to Vicki, who looked at the picture. A snake, with its head drawn back, as if ready to strike, decorated the plain piece of wood. Two fangs were showing, obviously meaning that the people they were in for more trouble than they had originally thought.

"Could it be their symbol," Vicki asked, "I know some groups who have animals for logos or trademarks. Do you think that might be the reason for this?"

"It's a possibility," Joe said, "It could be a warning that they're onto us, but we weren't doing anything when we went up there. Frank and I would have left if we hadn't heard you. I'm kind of glad we did stay after all."

"It would have been easier if you had confronted

me," Vicki said, "I wouldn't have fought you for any other reason, but I know how you feel. I would have done the same thing."

They turned back to go inside when Joe suddenly stopped them both short, "Do you hear that," he asked. Vicki listened and then nodded, "Doesn't it seem strange to you?" He got another nod.

"What should we do," Vicki asked, "If someone's waiting for us, we can't just walk into the house like everything's fine and we can't jump them."

"Stay calm," Joe said, "That's all we have to do and there might be a chance that they'll show themselves." They walked forward, trying to ignore the figure. Then small explosions filled the air!