Angelic moaned and moved her head a little. "Shh," Joe said gently, kneeling beside her. He brushed the hair from her eyes. "Lie still," he ordered. "The paramedic's are on the way." She moaned again, but lay still.
The police arrived followed by the paramedics. Joe was answering questions with one officer when a second came over. "Apparently you prevented the robbery," he told Joe. "The money is still in the register."
"Maybe," Joe answered in disgust. "I should never have let her come in here alone."
"Explain that remark," ordered the first officer, suspiciously.
Joe told them about the attempts on Angelic's life and explained why they had come to Southport.
"What did you say your name was?" asked the second officer.
"Joe Hardy," Joe replied, pulling out his wallet and showing his driver's license.
"You're Fenton Hardy's kid," the second officer said, smiling in recognition. "I heard you and your brother were following in your father's footsteps."
"We're taking them to the hospital," one of the paramedics interrupted.
"Will Angelic be all right?" Joe asked anxiously.
"She appears all right externally," replied the paramedic. "But they can tell you for sure after they've checked her out at the hospital."
"You go ahead and follow the ambulance," the first officer told Joe. "I'll stop by after the manager arrives and we're finished here."
Almost three hours later, Joe called home. "Where are you? Are you okay?" Frank demanded upon answering the phone.
"We're at Southport Memorial Hospital," Joe told Frank. "I'm fine, but Angelic was hurt," he added, then told Frank about the day's events.
"Was Cavanaugh responsible?" Frank asked.
"I don't think so," Joe said slowly. "I may have spooked him, but he would be after me instead of Angelic if that were the case."
"What happened with Bryson?" Joe continued.
"He's clean," Frank said positively. "I'll tell you about it when you get home," he promised.
"They're keeping Angelic over-night for observation," Joe told him. "I'm going to stay with her. Could you please let her dad know? Oh, and call Iola. We had a date tonight," Joe added.
"Will do," Frank agreed. "Do you want me to come out?" he offered.
"No sense in it," Joe said. "We'll be back tomorrow morning," he added before saying good-bye and hanging up.
Angelic awoke as Joe came into her room and closed the door. "Joe," she said softly, opening her eyes and watching him walk over to her.
"Hey," he said, smiling and taking her hand in his. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," she replied. "What happened?"
"Don't you remember anything?" he asked her, absently rubbing the top of her hand.
She started to shake her head, then winced and said, "No. I have a crashing headache," she added.
"The doctor didn't want to give you anything tonight," Joe informed her. "If you're feeling better tomorrow, we can go home."
"I have to stay the night?" she asked in dismay.
"Don't worry. Frank will call your dad and let him know you're all right. And I'll be right here beside you if you need anything," he added reassuringly.
"I won't," she said. "Worry that is. You're very good at taking care of me."
"I shouldn't have let you go in by yourself," Joe chided himself. "This is all my fault."
"No it's not!" Angelic shouted as loud as she dared. "I'm the one who had you wait in the van," she argued. "It wasn't your fault any more than it was mine. The fault lies with the man who attacked me," she finished.
"You saw him?" Joe asked, picking up on her last sentence.
"No," she denied. "I just meant the person who attacked me was to blame." She paused for a minute, then asked, "Do you think Cavanaugh did this?"
Joe shook his head. "The police questioned him. He has a sound alibi. Don't worry about it tonight," he added. "Just get some rest and we'll work it out tomorrow."
"Okay," she agreed. "Good night," she murmured, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Joe stayed awake a little while longer thinking over the case. Cavanaugh and Bryson were innocent of the attempts on Angelic and that left their case at a dead end. He replayed some of the events in his mind before falling asleep.
"I'd like room 419, please," Frank said when the hotel operator answered the phone at the Bayport Inn.
"Hello," answered a voice seconds later.
"Mr. Deveraux," Frank began, "this is Frank Hardy."
"Who?" asked the voice.
"Frank Hardy," Frank said a bit more slowly.
"No," said the voice. "I meant, who did you want to talk to?"
"Daniel Deveraux," Frank replied. "This is 419, isn't it?"
"You got the right room kid, but there's no Deveraux here. He must have checked out this morning."
"Oh," Franks said thoughtfully. "Sorry to have bothered you," he apologized and hung up. He called Iola and explained what had happened in Southport then went into the kitchen.
"Mom," he said, coming up behind her. "I'm going over to the Bayport Inn."
"Why?" she asked, turning from the dishes and looking at him.
Frank picked up a towel and began drying the dishes in the drainer. "Something doesn't feel right about this case," he finally said. He told her about his conversation with Bryson and about what had happened to Angelic. "Now I've discovered her dad and isn't where he's supposed to be."
"It is possible someone has something against her instead of her dad," Mrs. Hardy said thoughtfully.
Frank nodded in agreement but was frowning. "I just can't help feeling I've missed something," he said, trying hard to think of what it could be.
"It'll come to you," assured Mrs. Hardy, giving Frank a quick kiss and taking the towel away from him hanging it on the towel rack. "Don't be out too late," she added, leaving the kitchen.
Upon his arrival at the hotel, Frank went straight to the desk. "Excuse me," he said to get the receptionist's attention.
"Frank," the man greeted him on turning around to face the front. The receptionist had seen the Hardy boys many times. "What is it this time? Need a certain room?" he inquired, lowering his voice and looking around.
"Not this time," Frank said with a smile. "Craig, I need to know whatever you can tell me about the former occupant of room 419."
"Let's see," Craig said, looking at the ledger. "Jeff Sorrenson. He's here with..."
"Wait a minute," Frank interrupted him. "I need the occupant before."
"Oh," Craig said and flipped a page. "Here it is. Daniel Deveraux. He paid in cash for two rooms."
"When did he check out?"
"Yesterday," Craig answered. "Both rooms," he added, looking at Frank, who was staring at him is surprise.
"What does he look like?" Frank asked.
"I've never seen the man," Craig stated. "But I can talk to who checked him out for you," he offered.
"No," Frank declined. "I'm pretty sure his daughter checked him out. See if you can find out who checked him in or if one of the maids has seen him," Frank suggested instead.
"Will do," Craig promised, his brown eyes twinkling because he could help with the case.
"Wake up Frank," he heard a voice calling from the edge of a haze. After returning home he had gone straight to bed, but had tossed and turned most of the night, finally losing complete consciousness as exhaustion took over. Now someone was pulling him out of his much needed rest.
"Frank," came the voice again, a bit louder and more insistent. "Sam's on the phone."
Frank's eyes popped open and he shoved the covers aside, jumping from the bed and rushing to the hall phone with a quick, "Thanks, mom," as he passed by her. Picking up the receiver he said, "Hi, Sam."
"Good morning to you too," Sam said brightly. "Ready for a beautiful day?" he asked with a little laugh.
"Huh?" Frank said, then looked out the window. "Great," he grumbled. "It's pouring the rain."
"Cheer up," Sam urged him. "I've got some news for you. First off, your man Deveraux has no priors. Next, I checked his credit history which is a bit of a puzzle."
"What do you mean?" Frank demanded, fully alert.
"The man seems to be wealthy. Up until eight months ago he owned Deveraux Industries. Then the entire place was put up for sale. His credit cards show the same thing," Sam continued. "He had an excellent credit standing with seven different agencies, then one day, all his credit balances were paid and the accounts closed."
"Any outstanding debts?" Frank asked.
"Not unless the man is into heavy gambling," was the reply. "I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone who knows him yet," Sam added.
"Don't worry about it," Frank told him. "You've helped a lot. Thanks."
"Let me know about this guy, hmm?" Sam asked. "If you didn't know this guy, I'd say he was dead."
"Why?" Frank asked, not understanding.
"Closing his estate would include selling his business and paying off all his debts," Same explained before hanging up.
Frank put down the receiver and walked slowly back to his room. He had a lot of questions for Angelic. He frowned as he thought about Joe. He had made a total turn around regarding his opinion of her and he had a sinking feeling Joe wasn't going to like the kind of questions he needed to ask.
After showering and changing he went downstairs for breakfast. He had just finished eating when the phone rang. "I'll get it," he told his mother as he stood.
"Frank!" came Joe's excited voice. "Cavanaugh may be our man. He skipped town after being questioned last night!"
