"Tim, I need to see the manager," Frank said.
"Sure," Tim agreed at once. "Dad!" he shouted, turning his head to where his father was pricing some items. "Can you come here?"
"Is something wrong?" Jennings asked as he approached the youths.
"Dad, this is Joe's brother, Frank," Tim introduced Frank.
"I need to see your security tape from this morning," Frank requested and told him about Joe's interrupted message.
"Of course," Jennings agreed at once.
Frank turned to his friends. "Split up. Ask around and see if you can find out where Joe was last seen," he instructed.
Frank followed Jennings into the back of the store and through a door marked personnel only. Inside was a desk with a computer setting on top of it and a printer on a side shelf. To the left of the desk was a file cabinet on top of which was a framed picture of Jennings, his son and a woman whom Frank assumed was Jennings' wife.
Further back in the small office was a thirteen-inch monitor and below it was a video recorder. Jennings stopped the recorder and turned the monitor on. He then hit rewind and the screen remained blank except for the letters REW in the top right. In no time at all, the recorder stopped and Jennings hit play.
Frank watched the screen as Jennings advanced the screen a few minutes at a time. "There!" Frank stopped him. Jennings moved his hand from the controls and watched Joe approach the men.
Jennings sensed Frank stiffen as they watched Joe wait on the men. When Joe turned to see who had yelled at him Frank saw the men look at Joe curiously. Their curiosity turned to fear and then anger as they realized who Joe was. They left hurriedly before Joe had turned around.
Jennings stopped the tape and looked at Frank who was still staring at the screen. "You know those two men," he observed.
Frank nodded. "They are wanted for murder," he said. "The one with the big shoulders just made number one on the FBI's most wanted list two days ago."
"And you think they kidnapped Joe because they thought he recognized them?" Jennings asked, his frown growing deeper.
Frank nodded again. "I wonder why they wanted shovels?" he commented, looking thoughtful. His cell phone rang at that moment.
"Frank?" his father's voice came through. "Any leads on Joe yet?"
"Oooh yeah," Frank drawled out. "The two men Joe almost recognized are Dorian Stevens and Fred Hamby. They wanted shovels."
Fenton let out a low whistle. "Call Chief Collig and tell him to alert the FBI then wait for him to arrive. I have an idea that I am going to follow up on. If I don't make it to the hardware store before you leave I will call you on your cell the first chance I get," he ended.
Frank called the police station and asked to speak with Ezra Collig, Bayport's tall and graying chief of police. He relayed his father's orders then hung up. Looking back at the kindly storeowner Frank sighed. Jennings looked positively sick with worry. "It isn't your fault," Frank told the man. "This kind of thing happens all the time."
"But it only happened because those men came into my store," Jennings said, scowling.
"Joe has a tendency to get into trouble," Frank said, trying to calm the man. "He can't help it. If something happens within a one-mile radius of him then he will end up involved head over heels. All he has to do is walk down the street."
"That's pushing it a bit, don't you think?" Jennings demanded sternly.
"No," denied Frank. He told Jennings about the time Joe had gotten involved with a murderer and drug dealers just by stopping to tie his shoe on the way home from the arcade.
Jennings didn't look like he felt any better by the time Frank had finished. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked.
"Well, the police are going to want this tape," Frank answered. "And if either of the men return, could you call the police and me?" he asked, pulling out a business care he had printed up in quantity only a month before when he realized how much easier it would be to give a card than find a piece of paper and a pen every time he needed to share the information .
"Of course I will," Jennings promised promptly. "And when you find your brother, please tell him he still has a job here if he wants it."
"I know he will be glad to hear that," Frank said with a smile. "I suppose we had better wait for the police out front."
Chet was the first to make it back to the hardware store. "He never made it to the food court," Chet informed them. "I asked at every stall."
"No one I talked with has seen him at all today," Callie said, coming in behind Chet. "But the clerks I spoke with all said it has been busy today and they hadn't really been paying attention to anyone who didn't enter their store."
Phil arrived a few minutes later. "They nabbed Joe at the phones," he informed Frank and the others. "I went to mall security. They have it on tape and they had another tape from outside the mall," he continued, his voice getting higher in pitch as he spit out the clue. "It shows Joe being forced into a hunter green Cadillac."
"Sure," Tim agreed at once. "Dad!" he shouted, turning his head to where his father was pricing some items. "Can you come here?"
"Is something wrong?" Jennings asked as he approached the youths.
"Dad, this is Joe's brother, Frank," Tim introduced Frank.
"I need to see your security tape from this morning," Frank requested and told him about Joe's interrupted message.
"Of course," Jennings agreed at once.
Frank turned to his friends. "Split up. Ask around and see if you can find out where Joe was last seen," he instructed.
Frank followed Jennings into the back of the store and through a door marked personnel only. Inside was a desk with a computer setting on top of it and a printer on a side shelf. To the left of the desk was a file cabinet on top of which was a framed picture of Jennings, his son and a woman whom Frank assumed was Jennings' wife.
Further back in the small office was a thirteen-inch monitor and below it was a video recorder. Jennings stopped the recorder and turned the monitor on. He then hit rewind and the screen remained blank except for the letters REW in the top right. In no time at all, the recorder stopped and Jennings hit play.
Frank watched the screen as Jennings advanced the screen a few minutes at a time. "There!" Frank stopped him. Jennings moved his hand from the controls and watched Joe approach the men.
Jennings sensed Frank stiffen as they watched Joe wait on the men. When Joe turned to see who had yelled at him Frank saw the men look at Joe curiously. Their curiosity turned to fear and then anger as they realized who Joe was. They left hurriedly before Joe had turned around.
Jennings stopped the tape and looked at Frank who was still staring at the screen. "You know those two men," he observed.
Frank nodded. "They are wanted for murder," he said. "The one with the big shoulders just made number one on the FBI's most wanted list two days ago."
"And you think they kidnapped Joe because they thought he recognized them?" Jennings asked, his frown growing deeper.
Frank nodded again. "I wonder why they wanted shovels?" he commented, looking thoughtful. His cell phone rang at that moment.
"Frank?" his father's voice came through. "Any leads on Joe yet?"
"Oooh yeah," Frank drawled out. "The two men Joe almost recognized are Dorian Stevens and Fred Hamby. They wanted shovels."
Fenton let out a low whistle. "Call Chief Collig and tell him to alert the FBI then wait for him to arrive. I have an idea that I am going to follow up on. If I don't make it to the hardware store before you leave I will call you on your cell the first chance I get," he ended.
Frank called the police station and asked to speak with Ezra Collig, Bayport's tall and graying chief of police. He relayed his father's orders then hung up. Looking back at the kindly storeowner Frank sighed. Jennings looked positively sick with worry. "It isn't your fault," Frank told the man. "This kind of thing happens all the time."
"But it only happened because those men came into my store," Jennings said, scowling.
"Joe has a tendency to get into trouble," Frank said, trying to calm the man. "He can't help it. If something happens within a one-mile radius of him then he will end up involved head over heels. All he has to do is walk down the street."
"That's pushing it a bit, don't you think?" Jennings demanded sternly.
"No," denied Frank. He told Jennings about the time Joe had gotten involved with a murderer and drug dealers just by stopping to tie his shoe on the way home from the arcade.
Jennings didn't look like he felt any better by the time Frank had finished. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked.
"Well, the police are going to want this tape," Frank answered. "And if either of the men return, could you call the police and me?" he asked, pulling out a business care he had printed up in quantity only a month before when he realized how much easier it would be to give a card than find a piece of paper and a pen every time he needed to share the information .
"Of course I will," Jennings promised promptly. "And when you find your brother, please tell him he still has a job here if he wants it."
"I know he will be glad to hear that," Frank said with a smile. "I suppose we had better wait for the police out front."
Chet was the first to make it back to the hardware store. "He never made it to the food court," Chet informed them. "I asked at every stall."
"No one I talked with has seen him at all today," Callie said, coming in behind Chet. "But the clerks I spoke with all said it has been busy today and they hadn't really been paying attention to anyone who didn't enter their store."
Phil arrived a few minutes later. "They nabbed Joe at the phones," he informed Frank and the others. "I went to mall security. They have it on tape and they had another tape from outside the mall," he continued, his voice getting higher in pitch as he spit out the clue. "It shows Joe being forced into a hunter green Cadillac."