Callie couldn't believe it. There Joe was, the focus of everyone's attention, out cold, and they were still chanting and carrying on as before.
They lifted Joe from the barrel, placed him in a white robe and carried him from the cavern. Callie pulled her hands free then untied her ankles. When she stood, she nearly toppled over but she leaned against the wall and bent over to give her ankles and calves a massage. She felt a prickling sensation as her circulation returned, then she stood and took a few tentative steps. Sure she was going to collaspe, she made her way out of the cavern.
She followed the tunnel to the cave's entrance and gasped as she saw Joe. His robe had been removed and he had been tied to a wooden cross. His eyes were still shut and she wondered if perhaps he had died in the barrel and they had decided to continue with the sacrifice anyway. She heard various animals and saw one man standing with knife in hand as another man brought forth a white rabbit. She knew the poor rabbit was about to die and simply couldn't watch. She shook her head and turned away. She had to get help.
Callie made her way back to the clearing. She paused behind the last set of stones before the clearing and unobtrusiviely looked around. Seeing no sign of anyone, she ran across the clearing for the woods. Making it behind some trees stopped to catch her breath and check that no one had followed her. When she could breath the normally once more, she headed through the woods, praying her car hadn't been found.
As she neared the dirt road, a figure in black jumped out in front of her. She stepped back in surprise, tripped on a fair sized stone, and falling to all fours.
"Not this time," she mumbled, rising to her feet, stone in hand and smashing it into the side of the man's head. He fell to the ground unconscious. Callie checked to see if she had hit him too hard, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse.
Wasting no more time, Callie high-tailed it to where she had left her car. It was still there! She raced forward and grabbed the handle on the driver's door. The lock had been broken for two weeks and she had put off having it fixed. Now she was glad she had.
She didn't have her keys to start the car with but she could use the CB to contact Frank. She sat down and reached for her CB. "What the....?" Callie exclaimed in dismay. The CB had been broken. All the wires had been cut and even the channel select had been rendered useless. She opened the glove compartment and reached for her cell phone which she had put in there when Frank had ordered her to use the CB. Unfortunately, it was gone. There was no way to get help.
Not ready to give up, Callie got out of the car and headed down the dirt road toward the highway.
When Mr. Hardy came downstairs the next morning, Frank had already left. A note was attached to the kitchen message board telling his dad he was going back to the hardware store to see if the clerk, Liam Maurice, had left anything there which might prove useful.
Mr. Hardy picked up the phone and called Chief Collig. He had had a fitful night's sleep, dreaming about cults and the gore and rituals associated with them by the press. He thought it couldn't hurt to see if anyone had reported any animal mutilations or even any animals missing over the past few weeks.
After being connected with the chief, Mr. Hardy put his question to him. "Actually, we had a report of a cow missing just two days ago," Chief Collig replied. "From Dharmer Howell's farm. Said he had lost a goat the day before that."
"Where is his farm located?" Mr. Hardy demanded.
"Off of I88," Collig replied. "Just past where they are doing construction, take a left onto Hammer Hill. The road dead ends in Howell's drive," he directed Mr. Hardy. "Want someone to go with you?"
"No, I got it," Mr. Hardy answered, not wanting to waste time waiting for an officer to arrive. "I don't suppose anyone has reported seeing Callie?" he asked, expecting a negative answer.
"Sorry, Fenton," Chief Collig answered. "If we hear anything, you will be the first to know," he promised. "Keep in touch," he added, hanging up. Mr. Hardy went upstairs and let his wife know where he was going.
At the hardware store, Frank had finally managed to convince George to let him search the back of the store where the employees kept their things. Frank went through every item in the back of the store. He had just about given up when he spied a strip of negatives lying wedged between two boards near the trash can. It had become stuck on a sharp snag and had all but ruined one of the negatives, but Frank held it up and sucked in his breath.
There were five visible negatives. Each one was of Joe and Vanessa sitting in a booth at Barney's Burger Barn. Frank knew exactly when these pictures had been taken. The night Joe had called him at Callie's and told him he had been followed. Why hadn't he paid more attention, he berated himself? If only he had started looking into the matter then, Joe might be safe now.
He put the negatives in his shirt pocket and left the hardware store with a heavy heart. He couldn't help but feel this was all his fault. No matter what his dad had said last night, he had let Joe down. But he never would again.
Frank got in the van abd headed toward I88. That was where he had lost Callie and that was where the brown sedan...Wait a minute! A brown sedan had been parked beside a green Toyota in the parking lot of Barney's Burger Barn when he had dropped Joe off. He pulled his cell phone from his shirt pocket and rang Vanessa.
"Vanessa, do you remember who was in Barney's Burger Barn that night you and Joe were followed?" Frank asked, as soon as he heard the phone picked up.
"Hold on," answered Mrs. Bender, handing the receiver to her daughter.
Frank repeated his question. "It wasn't very crowded," she replied. "When we left, there were only us and the party behind us."
"Can you remember what any of them looked like?" Frank demanded.
"I remember one very well," Vanessa answered. "Joe tripped over him. He was a nice guy with curly black hair and red cheeks."
"Would you go to the police station and tell Chief Collig about him?" Frank requested. "Get someone to do a sketch of him. I'll meet you there."
Callie had almost reached the main road when she saw the big stone blocking the path. So that's how they keep people out of here. It must take four of five guys to move it. She leaned against the stone and pulled off one of her shoes. She rubbed a sore spot and tipped her shoe, sure there was a rock lodged in it. Sure enough, one fell out. Grimacing, she put it back on and kept going. Only about another mile to the highway she thought as she trudged on.
Mr. Hardy stopped at the Howell farm and got out of his car. The door opened before he had set foot on the porch and a tall , heavy-set man with graying black hair and brown eyes filled the doorway of the house. "Who are you?" the man demanded, his deep voice booming in the morning air.
"My name is Fenton Hardy," Mr. Hardy introduced himself, climbing the steps to the door.
"Fenton Hardy? The detective?" the man asked,looking at him suspiciously. "Why are you here?"
"I spoke with Chief Collig this morning and he told me you had reported some animals missing," Mr. Hardy stated.
"You mean he called you in to look for my critters?" the man demanded in disbelief.
"Not exactly," Mr. Hardy said. "You are Dharma Howell?" he asked.
"That's me," the man admitted. "Then why are you here?" he asked, stepping aside and letting Mr. Hardy enter the house.
Mr. Hardy admitted he was looking into the animals' disappearance in correlation with another mystery. Howell looked at him in a peculiar way then asked a question that set Mr. Hardy's heart racing. "Would this other mystery have anything to do with them crazy people in black robes?"
"What people in black robes?" Mr. Hardy demanded.
"The ones that I saw taking my cow yesterday morning," Howell answered. "It weren't the first time I saw them either."
"When was the first time you saw them?" inquired Mr. Hardy.
"About three weeks ago," Howell informed Mr. Hardy. "I was fishing and I saw some of them down by the river. They was burying something."
"Do you know what it was?"
"'Course I do," Howell answered. "I waited for them to leave then I went over and dug it up." He got up and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a set of clothing and a pair of shoes.
Mr. Hardy's face paled when he saw the items. "You okay?" Howell demanded in concern, seeing the detective about to faint.
Mr. Hardy took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and nodded his head. "Can you show me where you found these?" he asked.
"Sure enough," Howell agreed and led Mr. Hardy outside. After almost an hour and a half of walking, they ended up down by the river. Howell showed Mr. Hardy a spot about ten feet from the river's edge.
"That's where I found them," Howell said. "Don't know why anyone would bury good clothes like that."
Mr. Hardy looked around the area and found nothing to indicate anyone had been there recently. Sighing, he returned to Howell and told him the clothes he had found belonged to his son who has been missing for three weeks.
The two returned to the farmhouse and Mr. Hardy took the clothes with him after exacting a promise from Howell to show the police where the clothes had been found upon their arrival.
Mr. Hardy got into his car and left Howell's farm. Pulling out onto I88, he made a left turn and headed back to Bayport.
Callie reached the highway and started the trek into Bayport. She groaned as the heel of one of her shoes broke. Why couldn't I have worn sneakers? she wondered. Grumbling, she sat down to break the heel off the other shoe so she could make better time. She heard the rumble of a car coming down the road and looked up. It was Mr. Hardy's car! She scrambled to her feet as the car flew past.
"Wait!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Mr. Hardy! Wait!" she screamed again, running behind it. The car kept going, turning a corner out of sight. Callie slowed back down to a walk, her energy almost depleted.
They lifted Joe from the barrel, placed him in a white robe and carried him from the cavern. Callie pulled her hands free then untied her ankles. When she stood, she nearly toppled over but she leaned against the wall and bent over to give her ankles and calves a massage. She felt a prickling sensation as her circulation returned, then she stood and took a few tentative steps. Sure she was going to collaspe, she made her way out of the cavern.
She followed the tunnel to the cave's entrance and gasped as she saw Joe. His robe had been removed and he had been tied to a wooden cross. His eyes were still shut and she wondered if perhaps he had died in the barrel and they had decided to continue with the sacrifice anyway. She heard various animals and saw one man standing with knife in hand as another man brought forth a white rabbit. She knew the poor rabbit was about to die and simply couldn't watch. She shook her head and turned away. She had to get help.
Callie made her way back to the clearing. She paused behind the last set of stones before the clearing and unobtrusiviely looked around. Seeing no sign of anyone, she ran across the clearing for the woods. Making it behind some trees stopped to catch her breath and check that no one had followed her. When she could breath the normally once more, she headed through the woods, praying her car hadn't been found.
As she neared the dirt road, a figure in black jumped out in front of her. She stepped back in surprise, tripped on a fair sized stone, and falling to all fours.
"Not this time," she mumbled, rising to her feet, stone in hand and smashing it into the side of the man's head. He fell to the ground unconscious. Callie checked to see if she had hit him too hard, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse.
Wasting no more time, Callie high-tailed it to where she had left her car. It was still there! She raced forward and grabbed the handle on the driver's door. The lock had been broken for two weeks and she had put off having it fixed. Now she was glad she had.
She didn't have her keys to start the car with but she could use the CB to contact Frank. She sat down and reached for her CB. "What the....?" Callie exclaimed in dismay. The CB had been broken. All the wires had been cut and even the channel select had been rendered useless. She opened the glove compartment and reached for her cell phone which she had put in there when Frank had ordered her to use the CB. Unfortunately, it was gone. There was no way to get help.
Not ready to give up, Callie got out of the car and headed down the dirt road toward the highway.
When Mr. Hardy came downstairs the next morning, Frank had already left. A note was attached to the kitchen message board telling his dad he was going back to the hardware store to see if the clerk, Liam Maurice, had left anything there which might prove useful.
Mr. Hardy picked up the phone and called Chief Collig. He had had a fitful night's sleep, dreaming about cults and the gore and rituals associated with them by the press. He thought it couldn't hurt to see if anyone had reported any animal mutilations or even any animals missing over the past few weeks.
After being connected with the chief, Mr. Hardy put his question to him. "Actually, we had a report of a cow missing just two days ago," Chief Collig replied. "From Dharmer Howell's farm. Said he had lost a goat the day before that."
"Where is his farm located?" Mr. Hardy demanded.
"Off of I88," Collig replied. "Just past where they are doing construction, take a left onto Hammer Hill. The road dead ends in Howell's drive," he directed Mr. Hardy. "Want someone to go with you?"
"No, I got it," Mr. Hardy answered, not wanting to waste time waiting for an officer to arrive. "I don't suppose anyone has reported seeing Callie?" he asked, expecting a negative answer.
"Sorry, Fenton," Chief Collig answered. "If we hear anything, you will be the first to know," he promised. "Keep in touch," he added, hanging up. Mr. Hardy went upstairs and let his wife know where he was going.
At the hardware store, Frank had finally managed to convince George to let him search the back of the store where the employees kept their things. Frank went through every item in the back of the store. He had just about given up when he spied a strip of negatives lying wedged between two boards near the trash can. It had become stuck on a sharp snag and had all but ruined one of the negatives, but Frank held it up and sucked in his breath.
There were five visible negatives. Each one was of Joe and Vanessa sitting in a booth at Barney's Burger Barn. Frank knew exactly when these pictures had been taken. The night Joe had called him at Callie's and told him he had been followed. Why hadn't he paid more attention, he berated himself? If only he had started looking into the matter then, Joe might be safe now.
He put the negatives in his shirt pocket and left the hardware store with a heavy heart. He couldn't help but feel this was all his fault. No matter what his dad had said last night, he had let Joe down. But he never would again.
Frank got in the van abd headed toward I88. That was where he had lost Callie and that was where the brown sedan...Wait a minute! A brown sedan had been parked beside a green Toyota in the parking lot of Barney's Burger Barn when he had dropped Joe off. He pulled his cell phone from his shirt pocket and rang Vanessa.
"Vanessa, do you remember who was in Barney's Burger Barn that night you and Joe were followed?" Frank asked, as soon as he heard the phone picked up.
"Hold on," answered Mrs. Bender, handing the receiver to her daughter.
Frank repeated his question. "It wasn't very crowded," she replied. "When we left, there were only us and the party behind us."
"Can you remember what any of them looked like?" Frank demanded.
"I remember one very well," Vanessa answered. "Joe tripped over him. He was a nice guy with curly black hair and red cheeks."
"Would you go to the police station and tell Chief Collig about him?" Frank requested. "Get someone to do a sketch of him. I'll meet you there."
Callie had almost reached the main road when she saw the big stone blocking the path. So that's how they keep people out of here. It must take four of five guys to move it. She leaned against the stone and pulled off one of her shoes. She rubbed a sore spot and tipped her shoe, sure there was a rock lodged in it. Sure enough, one fell out. Grimacing, she put it back on and kept going. Only about another mile to the highway she thought as she trudged on.
Mr. Hardy stopped at the Howell farm and got out of his car. The door opened before he had set foot on the porch and a tall , heavy-set man with graying black hair and brown eyes filled the doorway of the house. "Who are you?" the man demanded, his deep voice booming in the morning air.
"My name is Fenton Hardy," Mr. Hardy introduced himself, climbing the steps to the door.
"Fenton Hardy? The detective?" the man asked,looking at him suspiciously. "Why are you here?"
"I spoke with Chief Collig this morning and he told me you had reported some animals missing," Mr. Hardy stated.
"You mean he called you in to look for my critters?" the man demanded in disbelief.
"Not exactly," Mr. Hardy said. "You are Dharma Howell?" he asked.
"That's me," the man admitted. "Then why are you here?" he asked, stepping aside and letting Mr. Hardy enter the house.
Mr. Hardy admitted he was looking into the animals' disappearance in correlation with another mystery. Howell looked at him in a peculiar way then asked a question that set Mr. Hardy's heart racing. "Would this other mystery have anything to do with them crazy people in black robes?"
"What people in black robes?" Mr. Hardy demanded.
"The ones that I saw taking my cow yesterday morning," Howell answered. "It weren't the first time I saw them either."
"When was the first time you saw them?" inquired Mr. Hardy.
"About three weeks ago," Howell informed Mr. Hardy. "I was fishing and I saw some of them down by the river. They was burying something."
"Do you know what it was?"
"'Course I do," Howell answered. "I waited for them to leave then I went over and dug it up." He got up and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a set of clothing and a pair of shoes.
Mr. Hardy's face paled when he saw the items. "You okay?" Howell demanded in concern, seeing the detective about to faint.
Mr. Hardy took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and nodded his head. "Can you show me where you found these?" he asked.
"Sure enough," Howell agreed and led Mr. Hardy outside. After almost an hour and a half of walking, they ended up down by the river. Howell showed Mr. Hardy a spot about ten feet from the river's edge.
"That's where I found them," Howell said. "Don't know why anyone would bury good clothes like that."
Mr. Hardy looked around the area and found nothing to indicate anyone had been there recently. Sighing, he returned to Howell and told him the clothes he had found belonged to his son who has been missing for three weeks.
The two returned to the farmhouse and Mr. Hardy took the clothes with him after exacting a promise from Howell to show the police where the clothes had been found upon their arrival.
Mr. Hardy got into his car and left Howell's farm. Pulling out onto I88, he made a left turn and headed back to Bayport.
Callie reached the highway and started the trek into Bayport. She groaned as the heel of one of her shoes broke. Why couldn't I have worn sneakers? she wondered. Grumbling, she sat down to break the heel off the other shoe so she could make better time. She heard the rumble of a car coming down the road and looked up. It was Mr. Hardy's car! She scrambled to her feet as the car flew past.
"Wait!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Mr. Hardy! Wait!" she screamed again, running behind it. The car kept going, turning a corner out of sight. Callie slowed back down to a walk, her energy almost depleted.