Frank grabbed the phone and started dialing. Phil glanced at him curiously, but didn't say anything, and after a moment, it became obvious who Frank was calling.
"Hello, Vanessa? – oh, hi, Mrs. Bender. This is Frank Hardy. Is Vanessa there?"
"No, Frank, she's not here; she went to the mall a little while ago." came the reply.
"The mall – you're sure she was going to the mall?" Frank queried. "She wasn't going to the park?"
"No, she didn't say anything about the park," Andrea Bender told him. "She said she had some shopping to do."
"Thanks, Mrs. Bender – well, if she comes in, have her call me on my cell phone, okay?….she has the number. Thanks….Goodbye…." Frank hung up the phone. He was feeling decidedly worried, but didn't want to alarm Andrea unnecessarily. He dialed Joe's cell phone number, and listened as it rang…and rang…and rang. When it switched to voice message, he hung up, and turned to Phil, his face ashen.
"She has them."
"You're sure?" Phil was nearly as white as Frank, now.
"Yes, I'm sure." Frank was dialing again. "May I speak to Con Riley, , it's Frank again. Joe and Vanessa Bender are missing, and I think it's possible they may have been kidnapped!"
While Frank was on the phone, Phil had hastily located a map put out by the Bayport Geological Society, which showed the locations of the caves in the vicinity. He was scanning it intently, looking for matches to the cave in the story. As Frank finished his conversation with Con Riley, Phil shook his head, scowling darkly.
"There aren't any caves around here with that kind of topography!" he complained.
"All the chapters have little differences compared to what really happens," Frank reminded him. "But I can't see her leaving them lying out in the open on a cliff!"
"Maybe she plans on dumping them in the sea." Phil hazarded a guess, and then winced when he saw Frank's face. He realized he'd said something that wasn't very comfortable for Frank to hear. "I'm sorry, Frank; that was a really stupid thing for me to say…she won't have dumped them in the sea, don't worry."
"We need to find out what kind of car she drives." Frank said, without acknowledging the apology. "All these times I've been to her house lately, and we must have seen her car in the school parking lot, and I haven't a clue what she drives!" he moaned.
"Maybe someone at the park saw Joe or Vanessa get kidnapped." Phil suggested.
Frank's eyes brightened. "You're right," he said. "Let's head to the park."
When Frank and Phil arrived at the park, they found a police officer listening intently to a group of people who all seemed to be talking at once. Frank saw their van parked nearby, but no signs of either Joe or Vanessa.
"What's going on?" he asked one of the bystanders.
"A German Shepherd dog went after a boy." was the answer.
"Yeah, it attacked him and made him back into a van!" someone else chimed in.
"And someone opened the door and made him get inside, an' the dog got in too, and it took off!" said a little boy, who looked to be about eight years old.
"What kind of van?" Frank demanded eagerly.
"Do you mind?" the police officer interrupted. "I'm trying to fill out a report, here!"
Frank whirled towards him, his dark eyes blazing with incandescent fury. "The boy was in all probability my brother, and he's in a lot of danger!" he snapped. "The person who kidnapped him – and probably his girlfriend too – is planning on killing him! We need to find that van, right away!"
Immediately, several people were offering descriptions of the vehicle in question: Old Chevy…navy blue…rusted front bumper….No, no one had taken note of the license plates.
"It probably belongs to Danielle Westerman," Frank informed the officer in a soft tone so no one else could hear him. "We think she has been behind a number of attacks against my family and may have even murdered the history teacher, Mr. Bartlett, at Bayport High."
The police officer radioed in the information while the crowd dispersed. Frank and Phil, in the meantime, decided to split up and continue their search for Ms. Westerman's van. Phil took Mrs. Hardy's car, and Frank, with a heavy heart, dug out his keys to the Hardys' van.
"Keep in touch by phone, Phil!" were his last words to his friend.
Joe lay on his side in the back of the old blue van, bound and gagged. He had desperately wanted to struggle, to fight back when captured, but between the pistol held to his back and the snarling dog, he had had no recourse but to do as he was instructed. Plus, he thought bitterly, she made sure I wouldn't try anything, by capturing Vanessa first. He had tied his own ankles, and then laid on his stomach while his hands were bound behind him, with Caramel growling ferociously all the while.
They had driven for a time, and then stopped. Ms. Westerman had gotten out, commanding the dog to guard them, and warned the two that if they moved, Caramel would attack. She was gone a short while, then returned, and resumed the trip.
Now, Caramel was lying asleep between him and Vanessa, no longer a threat, merely a big, furry, playful dog, who snored fitfully and occasionally whined in his dreams. Vanessa, too, was gagged and tied, and her big, blue-gray eyes were wide with fear as she stared at Joe over Caramel's head. Joe tried to reassure her with his eyes…but he knew he wasn't succeeding.
At the wheel of the van, Ms. Westerman drove along calmly, maintaining a normal rate of speed.
Finally, they arrived at their destination. The van slowed, turned, and stopped. Ms. Westerman got out, and opened the van's side door. Caramel, instantly awake, bounded out of the vehicle, barking with glee at his release. Joe struggled to sit up as the teacher leaned into the van and untied Vanessa's feet, and then Joe's.
"Stay still until I tell you to move." Ms. Westerman ordered curtly, and reached to the back of her jeans to retrieve her gun from the waistband. She pointed it first at Joe, then Vanessa, then aimed it somewhere between them. "All right, get out of the van. You first," she gestured with the gun to Vanessa, who hastily scrambled to obey the command. "Get out, and stand still." Ms. Westerman added.
When both teens were standing in the driveway, Joe looked around. They were in front of a quaint, two-story house which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. He didn't recognize it.
"Go inside." Ms. Westerman ordered them, and marched them ahead of her into the house. Caramel followed along, docile as a lamb, and occasionally shoving one or the other of them, hoping for attention and a petting.
Joe kept glaring at his English teacher with all the fury he could muster – and Joe could work up a lot of anger when he chose! Finally, after seating her captives in chairs and tying them there, Ms. Westerman pulled Joe's gag down.
"Were you wanting to say something?" she asked sweetly.
"Where are we?" Joe demanded. It wasn't what he wanted to say most of all, but it would do for a start.
"My parents' place." she told him. "I actually sold this place a month ago," she went on, "but the new owners are still out of the country. Isn't it sad – when they return, they'll find their new home has burnt to the ground! Tsk, tsk, what a shame – but the insurance will cover their loss.!" She smiled, and Joe was irresistibly reminded of Maleficent, in the Sleeping Beauty cartoon movie. "You see, we're a long way from civilization, out here. A long way from the fire department, too."
Vanessa made a tiny, desperate sound behind her gag, and Joe saw tears fill her eyes. He tried to smile encouragingly at her, but it was a failed attempt.
"I can't believe Frank was right about you." Joe said, shaking his head. He wanted to convince her that Frank knew about her. If she thinks Frank knows, maybe she'll think twice about killing us! he reasoned.
"Your brother is very smart, I realize that." Ms. Westerman was still smiling. "As a matter of fact, I have already decided on the plot for my second story. Frank will be the star."
"It won't work," Joe declared. "We have your web site all figured out. And because of it, we have proof that you're behind everything that happened lately – everything that has been going on."
"What kind of proof?" Ms. Westerman demanded. "I have been very careful!"
"Oh yeah?" Joe retorted. "How about the money from the pop-up ads? Don't tell me your name isn't attached to that, some way. And we know that you were out of school for two classes when Callie's place and Vanessa's was broken into."
"Is that all?" She laughed scornfully. "The money goes into an account which is in my brother's name. And no one would possibly believe that I broke into two houses in the space of two hours, and took nothing of value."
Ms. Westerman leaned against the wall, folding her arms across her chest and surveying her captives with satisfaction. "As for your brother, I just posted the last two chapters of my story when we made a stop off at my place. Using a fire as a murder method twice in the same story would never be believable, so I wrote something entirely different." She smiled maliciously. "Frank will be searching all the caves near Bayport for you and Vanessa. He'll never think to look in a house in the country!"
She reached out to pull Joe's gag back into place. "I am sorry, you know. It wasn't supposed to get out of hand like this but once it got going, it just became impossible to stop."
"You can stop," Joe told her. "You haven't killed us yet."
"No, but I did kill Bartlett and there was no turning back after that." she said, putting the gag back in Joe's mouth. "Now, you will have to excuse me. I have the most perfect fire to build!"
"Hello, Vanessa? – oh, hi, Mrs. Bender. This is Frank Hardy. Is Vanessa there?"
"No, Frank, she's not here; she went to the mall a little while ago." came the reply.
"The mall – you're sure she was going to the mall?" Frank queried. "She wasn't going to the park?"
"No, she didn't say anything about the park," Andrea Bender told him. "She said she had some shopping to do."
"Thanks, Mrs. Bender – well, if she comes in, have her call me on my cell phone, okay?….she has the number. Thanks….Goodbye…." Frank hung up the phone. He was feeling decidedly worried, but didn't want to alarm Andrea unnecessarily. He dialed Joe's cell phone number, and listened as it rang…and rang…and rang. When it switched to voice message, he hung up, and turned to Phil, his face ashen.
"She has them."
"You're sure?" Phil was nearly as white as Frank, now.
"Yes, I'm sure." Frank was dialing again. "May I speak to Con Riley, , it's Frank again. Joe and Vanessa Bender are missing, and I think it's possible they may have been kidnapped!"
While Frank was on the phone, Phil had hastily located a map put out by the Bayport Geological Society, which showed the locations of the caves in the vicinity. He was scanning it intently, looking for matches to the cave in the story. As Frank finished his conversation with Con Riley, Phil shook his head, scowling darkly.
"There aren't any caves around here with that kind of topography!" he complained.
"All the chapters have little differences compared to what really happens," Frank reminded him. "But I can't see her leaving them lying out in the open on a cliff!"
"Maybe she plans on dumping them in the sea." Phil hazarded a guess, and then winced when he saw Frank's face. He realized he'd said something that wasn't very comfortable for Frank to hear. "I'm sorry, Frank; that was a really stupid thing for me to say…she won't have dumped them in the sea, don't worry."
"We need to find out what kind of car she drives." Frank said, without acknowledging the apology. "All these times I've been to her house lately, and we must have seen her car in the school parking lot, and I haven't a clue what she drives!" he moaned.
"Maybe someone at the park saw Joe or Vanessa get kidnapped." Phil suggested.
Frank's eyes brightened. "You're right," he said. "Let's head to the park."
When Frank and Phil arrived at the park, they found a police officer listening intently to a group of people who all seemed to be talking at once. Frank saw their van parked nearby, but no signs of either Joe or Vanessa.
"What's going on?" he asked one of the bystanders.
"A German Shepherd dog went after a boy." was the answer.
"Yeah, it attacked him and made him back into a van!" someone else chimed in.
"And someone opened the door and made him get inside, an' the dog got in too, and it took off!" said a little boy, who looked to be about eight years old.
"What kind of van?" Frank demanded eagerly.
"Do you mind?" the police officer interrupted. "I'm trying to fill out a report, here!"
Frank whirled towards him, his dark eyes blazing with incandescent fury. "The boy was in all probability my brother, and he's in a lot of danger!" he snapped. "The person who kidnapped him – and probably his girlfriend too – is planning on killing him! We need to find that van, right away!"
Immediately, several people were offering descriptions of the vehicle in question: Old Chevy…navy blue…rusted front bumper….No, no one had taken note of the license plates.
"It probably belongs to Danielle Westerman," Frank informed the officer in a soft tone so no one else could hear him. "We think she has been behind a number of attacks against my family and may have even murdered the history teacher, Mr. Bartlett, at Bayport High."
The police officer radioed in the information while the crowd dispersed. Frank and Phil, in the meantime, decided to split up and continue their search for Ms. Westerman's van. Phil took Mrs. Hardy's car, and Frank, with a heavy heart, dug out his keys to the Hardys' van.
"Keep in touch by phone, Phil!" were his last words to his friend.
Joe lay on his side in the back of the old blue van, bound and gagged. He had desperately wanted to struggle, to fight back when captured, but between the pistol held to his back and the snarling dog, he had had no recourse but to do as he was instructed. Plus, he thought bitterly, she made sure I wouldn't try anything, by capturing Vanessa first. He had tied his own ankles, and then laid on his stomach while his hands were bound behind him, with Caramel growling ferociously all the while.
They had driven for a time, and then stopped. Ms. Westerman had gotten out, commanding the dog to guard them, and warned the two that if they moved, Caramel would attack. She was gone a short while, then returned, and resumed the trip.
Now, Caramel was lying asleep between him and Vanessa, no longer a threat, merely a big, furry, playful dog, who snored fitfully and occasionally whined in his dreams. Vanessa, too, was gagged and tied, and her big, blue-gray eyes were wide with fear as she stared at Joe over Caramel's head. Joe tried to reassure her with his eyes…but he knew he wasn't succeeding.
At the wheel of the van, Ms. Westerman drove along calmly, maintaining a normal rate of speed.
Finally, they arrived at their destination. The van slowed, turned, and stopped. Ms. Westerman got out, and opened the van's side door. Caramel, instantly awake, bounded out of the vehicle, barking with glee at his release. Joe struggled to sit up as the teacher leaned into the van and untied Vanessa's feet, and then Joe's.
"Stay still until I tell you to move." Ms. Westerman ordered curtly, and reached to the back of her jeans to retrieve her gun from the waistband. She pointed it first at Joe, then Vanessa, then aimed it somewhere between them. "All right, get out of the van. You first," she gestured with the gun to Vanessa, who hastily scrambled to obey the command. "Get out, and stand still." Ms. Westerman added.
When both teens were standing in the driveway, Joe looked around. They were in front of a quaint, two-story house which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. He didn't recognize it.
"Go inside." Ms. Westerman ordered them, and marched them ahead of her into the house. Caramel followed along, docile as a lamb, and occasionally shoving one or the other of them, hoping for attention and a petting.
Joe kept glaring at his English teacher with all the fury he could muster – and Joe could work up a lot of anger when he chose! Finally, after seating her captives in chairs and tying them there, Ms. Westerman pulled Joe's gag down.
"Were you wanting to say something?" she asked sweetly.
"Where are we?" Joe demanded. It wasn't what he wanted to say most of all, but it would do for a start.
"My parents' place." she told him. "I actually sold this place a month ago," she went on, "but the new owners are still out of the country. Isn't it sad – when they return, they'll find their new home has burnt to the ground! Tsk, tsk, what a shame – but the insurance will cover their loss.!" She smiled, and Joe was irresistibly reminded of Maleficent, in the Sleeping Beauty cartoon movie. "You see, we're a long way from civilization, out here. A long way from the fire department, too."
Vanessa made a tiny, desperate sound behind her gag, and Joe saw tears fill her eyes. He tried to smile encouragingly at her, but it was a failed attempt.
"I can't believe Frank was right about you." Joe said, shaking his head. He wanted to convince her that Frank knew about her. If she thinks Frank knows, maybe she'll think twice about killing us! he reasoned.
"Your brother is very smart, I realize that." Ms. Westerman was still smiling. "As a matter of fact, I have already decided on the plot for my second story. Frank will be the star."
"It won't work," Joe declared. "We have your web site all figured out. And because of it, we have proof that you're behind everything that happened lately – everything that has been going on."
"What kind of proof?" Ms. Westerman demanded. "I have been very careful!"
"Oh yeah?" Joe retorted. "How about the money from the pop-up ads? Don't tell me your name isn't attached to that, some way. And we know that you were out of school for two classes when Callie's place and Vanessa's was broken into."
"Is that all?" She laughed scornfully. "The money goes into an account which is in my brother's name. And no one would possibly believe that I broke into two houses in the space of two hours, and took nothing of value."
Ms. Westerman leaned against the wall, folding her arms across her chest and surveying her captives with satisfaction. "As for your brother, I just posted the last two chapters of my story when we made a stop off at my place. Using a fire as a murder method twice in the same story would never be believable, so I wrote something entirely different." She smiled maliciously. "Frank will be searching all the caves near Bayport for you and Vanessa. He'll never think to look in a house in the country!"
She reached out to pull Joe's gag back into place. "I am sorry, you know. It wasn't supposed to get out of hand like this but once it got going, it just became impossible to stop."
"You can stop," Joe told her. "You haven't killed us yet."
"No, but I did kill Bartlett and there was no turning back after that." she said, putting the gag back in Joe's mouth. "Now, you will have to excuse me. I have the most perfect fire to build!"