HEY! THERE'S A BOMB IN HERE!" Joe bellowed, his blue eyes wide in shocked surprise.
Before Joe could move, one of the police officers was there, snatching the backpack from his grasp. He looked into the pack, noticed the timer, and ran to a fair-sized, heavy metal container they had brought with them. He stuffed the backpack, bomb and all, into the container, and slammed down the lid, twisting the lock on the top before hastily backing away. Before he'd moved more than a few feet, a loud noise erupted from the box, and it leapt briefly into the air before settling back down to the ground.
Frank encircled Joe's shoulders tightly with his arm. "Close call," he muttered. "You were that close—" He measured a fraction of an inch with his thumb and forefinger. "—to getting blown to Kingdom Come!"
"It had to have been planted in there after I took the backpack off and set it down." Joe realized. "I know it wasn't there when I left the building; I'd just put books in it!"
"Let's check around," Frank suggested, and accordingly, the two – and the police officers – circulated through the remains of the crowd, asking if anyone had seen anyone near Joe's backpack. They were doomed to disappointment; all eyes had been on the van, not a stray backpack lying in the parking lot. Eventually, the Hardys climbed into their van and went home, still wondering just what was going on at Bayport High School!
Laura was sitting at the desk in the den, absorbed in the computer, when they got home. She glanced up and smiled at them, somewhat abstractedly.
"Hi Mom, anything new up?" Joe bent down to hug her, and to view the screen with interest.
"Yes, there is," she replied, and then grinned at her sons. "You two are famous!" she added.
"Huh? Famous how?" Frank was beginning to be intrigued too. If both Joe and his mom liked this, maybe it had possibilities.
"You made the message board!" she announced, and pulled up the post in question. There it was: In re: Truth or Consequences. WOW! The excitement is so realistic, and the protagonists remind me of that detective duo, Frank and Joe Hardy!
Joe snickered. "We're famous!" he chortled, and offered his palm to Frank for a high-five.
Just then, the phone rang, and Frank reached to pick it up. "It's Vanessa," he said, after the initial 'hello,' and handed the receiver to Joe.
When Joe hung up, he was no longer grinning. "I need to go over to Vanessa's." he announced.
"What's wrong?" Frank asked.
"She said she needed me – something's scared her." Joe replied soberly. "She said it was probably silly, but that she'd explain when I got there. Frank, she sounded awfully jittery. You want to come?" he finished, looking at his brother with a hopeful expresssion.
Frank nodded. "Sure."
When they arrived at the Benders' farmhouse, Vanessa opened the door and came out before they could even knock. She threw her arms about Joe's neck, and clung tightly, becoming calmer just by being near him.
"Babe…babe, what's wrong? What's scared you?" Joe held her close, rocking her a little, trying to soothe her.
"I – I think someone's been in here, while I was at school!" she stammered, loosening her grip and taking a step back. "Come inside." she added, taking Joe's hand in hers. They followed her into the house.
"Why do you think someone's been here? Is something missing?" Frank asked.
"No – nothing's missing, that I've been able to notice. But things aren't where they're supposed to be. It's like someone came in and moved stuff around." Vanessa's voice trembled slightly.
"Maybe your mom moved things?" Joe suggested.
"No – Mom's not here. She's in New York City, at a meeting with some studio head who wants her to expand her show." Vanessa explained. "She won't be back for a couple of days."
"That's great about the show!" Joe exclaimed; he knew Andrea Bender wanted that very much. "But honey, you shouldn't be staying alone!"
"I wasn't worried about it…until now." Vanessa's blue-gray eyes were wide and startled. She looked around at the familiar rooms which had suddenly become so alien…and shivered.
"Let's look around outside," Frank suggested. "Maybe we can see some signs of an intruder. Vanessa, maybe you could try writing down things that look out of place in here, while we do that?" He figured giving Vanessa something concrete to do would help settle her nerves.
She nodded, and went to fetch pen and paper. Frank and Joe went back outside, and began hunting for clues, but their search was inconclusive. The ground was too dry to hold footprints, and nothing else turned up.
"I'm beginning to not feel good about this." Frank leaned against the porch railing, frowning thoughtfully. "If someone's broken into our lockers and put a bomb in your backpack and gone through Vanessa's house….Hmmm, I think I'll call Callie."
When he reached his girlfriend and questioned her about the possibility of her house having been disturbed, Frank was hardly surprised at her reply.
"I thought I was imagining things!" she exclaimed. "It sounds totally silly, but I'd swear things have been moved around in the house, and my mom agrees. But she thought I did it."
Frank explained about Vanessa's situation, and when he did, Callie immediately extended an invitation. "Tell her to pack a few things and get over here to stay!" she commanded. "It will be fine with my folks, don't worry about it. Just get her out of that lonely farmhouse!"
Vanessa was only too glad to comply. She hurriedly packed, left a note for her mother and a message on the answering machine, in case Andrea called, and climbed into the Hardys' van. Frank and Joe drove to the Shaw home, and dropped her off, then headed home, promising to call the girls later that evening.
After dinner, Frank got out his homework assignments, and Joe realized he had a problem.
"My homework got blown up!" he exclaimed in chagrin. "What am I going to do?"
Frank snickered. "Now that's an excuse you don't hear every day!"
"Honey, call your teachers and explain," Laura suggested. "Tomorrow you can get new textbooks, and perhaps you can do some of the assignments without a book."
"Good idea," Joe admitted, and went to the telephone.
Mr. Bartlett, his history teacher, was back from his conference in New York City, and assured Joe that he could catch up the next night, don't worry about it. He made essentially the same remark Frank had, about it being an original excuse, and Joe was chuckling as he ended the call.
Next, Joe dialed the number for his English teacher. When Ms. Westerman answered the telephone, Joe began to explain his dilemma, but before he could finish, he was startled to hear noises in the background. There was a definite sound of breaking glass – and then a cry from Ms. Westerman.
There was a scream for help, and then an ominous click as the receiver went dead in his hand.
Frank encircled Joe's shoulders tightly with his arm. "Close call," he muttered. "You were that close—" He measured a fraction of an inch with his thumb and forefinger. "—to getting blown to Kingdom Come!"
"It had to have been planted in there after I took the backpack off and set it down." Joe realized. "I know it wasn't there when I left the building; I'd just put books in it!"
"Let's check around," Frank suggested, and accordingly, the two – and the police officers – circulated through the remains of the crowd, asking if anyone had seen anyone near Joe's backpack. They were doomed to disappointment; all eyes had been on the van, not a stray backpack lying in the parking lot. Eventually, the Hardys climbed into their van and went home, still wondering just what was going on at Bayport High School!
Laura was sitting at the desk in the den, absorbed in the computer, when they got home. She glanced up and smiled at them, somewhat abstractedly.
"Hi Mom, anything new up?" Joe bent down to hug her, and to view the screen with interest.
"Yes, there is," she replied, and then grinned at her sons. "You two are famous!" she added.
"Huh? Famous how?" Frank was beginning to be intrigued too. If both Joe and his mom liked this, maybe it had possibilities.
"You made the message board!" she announced, and pulled up the post in question. There it was: In re: Truth or Consequences. WOW! The excitement is so realistic, and the protagonists remind me of that detective duo, Frank and Joe Hardy!
Joe snickered. "We're famous!" he chortled, and offered his palm to Frank for a high-five.
Just then, the phone rang, and Frank reached to pick it up. "It's Vanessa," he said, after the initial 'hello,' and handed the receiver to Joe.
When Joe hung up, he was no longer grinning. "I need to go over to Vanessa's." he announced.
"What's wrong?" Frank asked.
"She said she needed me – something's scared her." Joe replied soberly. "She said it was probably silly, but that she'd explain when I got there. Frank, she sounded awfully jittery. You want to come?" he finished, looking at his brother with a hopeful expresssion.
Frank nodded. "Sure."
When they arrived at the Benders' farmhouse, Vanessa opened the door and came out before they could even knock. She threw her arms about Joe's neck, and clung tightly, becoming calmer just by being near him.
"Babe…babe, what's wrong? What's scared you?" Joe held her close, rocking her a little, trying to soothe her.
"I – I think someone's been in here, while I was at school!" she stammered, loosening her grip and taking a step back. "Come inside." she added, taking Joe's hand in hers. They followed her into the house.
"Why do you think someone's been here? Is something missing?" Frank asked.
"No – nothing's missing, that I've been able to notice. But things aren't where they're supposed to be. It's like someone came in and moved stuff around." Vanessa's voice trembled slightly.
"Maybe your mom moved things?" Joe suggested.
"No – Mom's not here. She's in New York City, at a meeting with some studio head who wants her to expand her show." Vanessa explained. "She won't be back for a couple of days."
"That's great about the show!" Joe exclaimed; he knew Andrea Bender wanted that very much. "But honey, you shouldn't be staying alone!"
"I wasn't worried about it…until now." Vanessa's blue-gray eyes were wide and startled. She looked around at the familiar rooms which had suddenly become so alien…and shivered.
"Let's look around outside," Frank suggested. "Maybe we can see some signs of an intruder. Vanessa, maybe you could try writing down things that look out of place in here, while we do that?" He figured giving Vanessa something concrete to do would help settle her nerves.
She nodded, and went to fetch pen and paper. Frank and Joe went back outside, and began hunting for clues, but their search was inconclusive. The ground was too dry to hold footprints, and nothing else turned up.
"I'm beginning to not feel good about this." Frank leaned against the porch railing, frowning thoughtfully. "If someone's broken into our lockers and put a bomb in your backpack and gone through Vanessa's house….Hmmm, I think I'll call Callie."
When he reached his girlfriend and questioned her about the possibility of her house having been disturbed, Frank was hardly surprised at her reply.
"I thought I was imagining things!" she exclaimed. "It sounds totally silly, but I'd swear things have been moved around in the house, and my mom agrees. But she thought I did it."
Frank explained about Vanessa's situation, and when he did, Callie immediately extended an invitation. "Tell her to pack a few things and get over here to stay!" she commanded. "It will be fine with my folks, don't worry about it. Just get her out of that lonely farmhouse!"
Vanessa was only too glad to comply. She hurriedly packed, left a note for her mother and a message on the answering machine, in case Andrea called, and climbed into the Hardys' van. Frank and Joe drove to the Shaw home, and dropped her off, then headed home, promising to call the girls later that evening.
After dinner, Frank got out his homework assignments, and Joe realized he had a problem.
"My homework got blown up!" he exclaimed in chagrin. "What am I going to do?"
Frank snickered. "Now that's an excuse you don't hear every day!"
"Honey, call your teachers and explain," Laura suggested. "Tomorrow you can get new textbooks, and perhaps you can do some of the assignments without a book."
"Good idea," Joe admitted, and went to the telephone.
Mr. Bartlett, his history teacher, was back from his conference in New York City, and assured Joe that he could catch up the next night, don't worry about it. He made essentially the same remark Frank had, about it being an original excuse, and Joe was chuckling as he ended the call.
Next, Joe dialed the number for his English teacher. When Ms. Westerman answered the telephone, Joe began to explain his dilemma, but before he could finish, he was startled to hear noises in the background. There was a definite sound of breaking glass – and then a cry from Ms. Westerman.
There was a scream for help, and then an ominous click as the receiver went dead in his hand.