"What about Joe?" asked Laura fearfully.
"It looks like they have taken him with them," the officer answered her. "There are signs of a struggle but we've found no blood," he added, trying to alleviate some of her fear.
"Keep me posted," Fenton ordered the officer before he left the house. "Frank," he said, turning to his eldest son. "I'm going to call the F.B.I. and see if any old enemies have been released or escaped from prison lately. I want you to go over this place and see if you can find anything that the police may have missed."
An hour later, Fenton still had no leads as to whom had broken in and kidnapped Joe. "Dad!" Frank shouted from the hallway.
Fenton hurried out of his office to see what Frank had found. "What is it?" demanded Laura as she met up with Frank and Fenton in the hallway.
"It's a key ring," Frank replied, holding up a silver key ring with a broken connector. The initials RT were inscribed on one side. "It was under Joe's bed," Frank informed his parents. "So was this," he added, handing his father a scrap of paper that he had found stuck to a leg on Joe's bed.
"It's part of one of my files," Fenton said, looking at it. "I believe it's a part of Tandem's file," he added, glancing fearfully at the key ring in Frank's hand.
"Who is Tandem? Is he out of prison? What did you get him for?" Frank fired off his questions.
"Ralph Tandem was a scientist who specialized in genetic engineering," Mr. Hardy stated. "He was fired and criminal charges were brought against him when it was discovered he had been experimenting on teenage boys."
"What?" gasped Laura. "You think that's why he took Joe?"
"I doubt it," he told her but Frank could tell the thought had obviously crossed his father's mind. "Joe probably caught him breaking in and he and his men took Joe as a hostage." That wouldn't explain why the paper and key ring had been found under Joe's bed but he hoped Laura would not pick up on that.
"He escaped?" asked Frank.
"He was never caught," Fenton stated. "He vanished two years ago and no one has seen or heard about him since."
"Until now," Frank amended his dad's words. "Why would Tandem want your file on him?"
"It contained information on his former associates, Dr. Paul Michaels and Sarah Jameson. Sarah was the one who discovered what he was up to and reported him. She and Paul were as far into genetic research as Tandem, but they refused to work on people."
"So Tandem may have taken his file to see where the others live or what they are working on now," Frank surmised, frowning. "And that means we start our search for Tandem by finding Sarah and Paul."
Later that evening Fenton walked into the living room where Frank and Laura were sitting while they waited for news from Fenton's search. "Well?" Frank demanded, getting to his feet.
"Sarah is working at Dulcity Labs in Ashton, North Carolina," Fenton told his son. "Paul died in a car crash two months ago."
"So we go to North Carolina," Frank stated.
"I've called Jack," Fenton said, mentioning the name of his friend and pilot, Jack Wayne, who owned and operated his own flight service in Bayport. "He is going to fly you to Greensboro, North Carolina where you will need to rent a car and drive to Ashton. An informer let the NYPD know Tandem was hiding out in an apartment on the west side. I'm going there to check it out. Keep in touch," he ordered Frank.
Frank nodded his consent then went upstairs to pack. When he came back down his father had already left. Frank headed out the door, stopping as the phone rang. "I've got it!" he called out to his mother.
"Hardy residence?" he answered on the second ring.
"Good morning!" came the bright, cheerful voice of his girlfriend. Frank looked out the window and saw the sun shining bright. They had been up all night worrying about Joe. "How would you and Joe like to go to the beach?" she asked.
"Can't," Frank replied tersely. He then told Callie about Joe's kidnapping.
"Is there anything I can do?" Callie asked when Frank had finished.
"Could you come over and coax mom into getting some rest?" he requested. "She's still sitting in the living room"
"I'll be right over," Callie promised at once.
"Mom," Frank said, poking his head around the corner. "Callie is coming over to stay a bit."
"Good," Laura said with a slight curve to her lips. She approved of, and got along with, both of her sons' girlfriends.
"There goes Hardy's other kid," observed a balding man from behind the wheel of a blue sedan. "Should we grab him?"
"No," denied a muscular man with a thick Mexican accent. His greasy black hair fell across his face as he shook his head. "I listened in at the window. They haven't found the other kid yet. Maybe we won't have to deal with Hardy after all."
"Should I follow him anyway?" asked the driver, lifting one bushy brow at his partner.
"No," replied the Mexican for a second time. "We know where he is going. Let's get in touch with Tandem and see what he wants us to do."
"Hey, Frank!" shouted chubby, blond headed Chet Morton as he came running up to Frank at the airport.
"What are you doing here?" Frank asked, looking at his seventeen-year-old friend in surprise.
"Callie called this morning and told me about Joe," Chet explained. "Dad said I could help you find him."
Frank smiled at his best friend since first grade. Chet had helped him and Joe solve more than a few mysteries and he knew he could count on Chet when the going got rough. "I'm glad you could come," Frank said. "Jack's got the plane ready," he added, leading the way to Jack's patch of the airstrip.
"What leads have you got?" Chet asked as they walked along.
Frank told him about Tandem and Sarah Jameson. "Do you think Tandem's going to experiment on Joe?" asked Chet, gulping fearfully.
"Not if I can help it!" vowed Frank, terrified that was why Joe had been taken. His being home when Tandem broke in may have been a fluke but he couldn't see someone like Tandem passing up the opportunity to acquire a new guinea pig. "Joe does fit the criteria though."
"What criteria?" asked Chet.
"Blond hair; blue eyes; athletic and intelligent," Frank answered. "Tandem was trying to isolate certain genes that could produce all four attributes in one individual."
"Why?"
"The perfect male," Frank responded. "Fast, smart, and good looking enough to be the ultimate spy."
"Joe's not that good," Chet protested.
"No one is," agreed Frank. "But if the gene, or genes, could be isolated, then it, or they, could be mutated to create such an individual."
"But that kind of research is expensive," Chet argued. "Who would pay for it?"
"Any country would pay if it meant results," Frank told him. "And besides," he added. "Since Tandem isn't allowed to work on this legitimately, he is probably stealing the supplies he needs." Frank stopped and snapped his fingers. "Why didn't we think of that?" he berated himself. He pulled out his cell phone and started dialing a number. "I'll meet you at the plane," Frank told Chet. Chet took Frank's bag and walked away as Frank began talking.
"Hi," Jack greeted Frank as he caught up with Chet at the front of the plane a couple of minutes later.
"Hello," Frank greeted his tall, dark haired friend. Jack Wayne had been a friend of the Hardys for over ten years. Ever since Mr. Hardy had become a private investigator and decided he needed a personal pilot he could depend on.
"I'm sorry about Joe," Jack continued. "Your dad filled me in so I called a friend of mine in Greensboro. He's promised to have you a car waiting and take care of your hotel accommodations in Ashton."
"That's great! Thanks," Frank replied. "Are we ready for take off?"
"Climb in," Jack told him and Chet. The three climbed aboard the small craft and soon they were in the air.
"Who did you call?" asked Chet once they were in the air.
"Sam Radley," Frank answered, naming an associate of his father's. "I asked him to see if he could find out if any items related to genetics have gone missing and if so, where."
"I get it," Chet said. "Tandem probably wouldn't be too far away from where the items are missing." Frank nodded.
Not much later the plane touched down at the Greensboro airport. Jack had to return to Bayport so he wished the boys luck and began making arrangements to have his plane refueled as Frank and Chet entered the airport to find Jack's friend.
It was going on four o'clock by the time they reached the Inn in Ashton where they had reservations. After filling out a small form they took their bags and rode up the elevator to the third floor. "Let's get something to eat," suggested Chet setting his bag down on his bed.
Frank looked at his friend who was always hungry and smiled. "Okay," he agreed. "It has been a long time since breakfast." And even longer since dinner last night, he realized. He had been too upset to even think about eating after he had arrived home the previous night.
"I think we passed a burger place on the way in," Frank said. "Why don't we grab a quick bite and then I will see about finding Ms. Jameson."
At a quarter after five Frank looked up the Dulcity Labs number in the phone book and put in a call. "May I speak with Dr. Jameson, please?" he asked the man who answered.
"Who is this?" inquired the man.
"My name is Frank Hardy," Frank replied. "I'm calling concerning a case my father was working on with Dr. Jameson a couple of years ago."
"Just a minute," the man said.
"Hello," came a female voice through the receiver less than a minute later.
"Dr. Jameson, my name is Frank Hardy. I was wondering if I could meet with you and discuss Ralph Tandem."
"Why?" Sarah asked. "I haven't seen or heard from him for going on two years."
"He broke into our house last night and took his file," Frank informed her. "We think he might be looking for you."
Silence met his remark.
"Please?" he begged. "Tandem also kidnapped my brother. You are our only lead."
Frank heard a deep sigh. "All right," Sarah agreed. "Where are you now?"
"I'm at The Brayson Inn in Ashton," Frank answered.
"Okay. I will meet you at the corner of 321 and 421," she said, naming two highways that intersected in Ashton. "I kind of live in the middle of nowhere so you will have to follow me home. It's best if we talk somewhere in private." They agreed on a time and then hung up.
"Chet," Frank said, turning to look at his friend. "I think I had better meet her alone. Could you see if Tandem has been seen around here?" He pulled out a picture of Tandem that had been taken two years previously and handed it to his friend.
"Sure thing," agreed Chet at once.
"I've got some time before I meet Sarah so I'm going to go to the police station and see if they have been notified of Joe's disappearance or have heard anything about Tandem."
Chet left first, walking since everything seemed so close. Frank was on his way out of the room when the phone rang. Expecting it to be Sam or his mother he rushed over and grabbed it before the second ring.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Frank, right?" asked an unfamiliar voice on the other end. "Stay away from Dr. Jameson or you won't live to see the sun rise."
