Joe caught up with Frank as Lacey was rounding the corner out of sight. The police officer was still at the hallway's end, looking at Frank and scowling.
"Pissed him off again, did you?" Joe asked, grinning at his brother.
"I think, maybe, he likes Lacey," Frank replied.
"Possible suspect?" Joe inquired, quirking an eyebrow at his brother.
Frank shook his head. "I really doubt it. He seems to genuinely like Dr. Reynolds as well. And before you ask, no, Reynolds doesn't have any known enemies," he continued. "But she did say that Reynolds was supposed to meet someone from the Bayport PD today. The officer was going to help out with the video they are filming."
"Who was the officer?" inquired Joe. "Maybe he can tell us something."
"Lacey had no idea," Frank answered, shaking his head and frowning. "But the appointment was only made today and was scheduled for two this afternoon."
"Did she make the appointment?" inquired Joe.
Frank shook his head. "He said the witness saw Reynolds being abducted shortly before two," he said, nodding in the officer's direction. "Reynolds must have been taken on his way to meet with the officer."
"Then we need to call Chief Collig and find out who Reynolds' liaison was and if he saw anything," Joe said.
"We'll swing by the station next," Frank concurred with Joe's suggestion. "Let's go."
Half an hour later, Frank pulled to a stop in front of the police station. "We need to see Chief Collig," Frank requested as he and Joe stepped up to the front desk.
"Why am I not surprised?" demanded the sergeant on duty wearing a big, friendly grin on his weathered face. "Go on up," he instructed them.
The boys hurried up the short flight of steps leading to the inner workings of the Bayport Police Department and made their way through the maze of cubicles and desks to the back of the room where the chief's office was located. "More problems?" tall and graying Chief Ezra Collig asked the two youths as they came to a standstill in front of the open door of his small office.
"Afraid so," acknowledged Frank. "It has to do with Dr. Craig Reynolds' kidnapping," he explained.
"I think you should really concentrate on your stalker and let us handle Reynolds' abduction," Collig stated, his lips turning down just a fraction at the corners.
"We believe they are connected," Joe put in.
Collig leaned back in his chair with a weary sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Come on in and have a seat," he invited the two boys grudgingly. "But leave the door open. The blasted air conditioning is on the fritz again."
Frank filled the chief in on his and Joe's previous meeting with Reynolds and gave him the description of the vehicle the witness had seen Reynolds being forced into. "What we need to know is who was supposed to be helping Reynolds with his project?" Frank inquired. "We would like to talk to that officer."
"I don't know," admitted the chief, frowning. "This is the first I have heard of it. I will find out and get back to you, though," he promised.
The teens thanked the chief for his assistance and left. "Where to now?" Joe asked once they were back in the van.
"Home," Frank answered at once. "Mom will be wondering where we are." He didn't add that he thought Joe had done enough since being released from the hospital.
Phil Cohen, Frank's closest friend since third grade, was waiting at the Hardy household when they arrived. A tall, slender boy with sharp hazel eyes hidden beneath wire frames (he kept losing his contacts), was deceptively geeky. Although very intelligent and creative, he was also a good fighter, which he had, on various occasions, proven to enemies of the Hardys.
"What are you doing here?" asked Frank, getting out of the van and hurrying up the walk to meet his friend.
"You know the robot I built for the science club last spring?" Phil asked, his eyes shining behind his lenses.
"The one that detects fires then rolls through the house with an alarm and at the same time alerting the fire department through a remote?" inquired Frank.
"That's the one," acknowledged Phil. "Citizone Animatronics wants a demonstration tomorrow. I was hoping you could come over this evening and help me to get it ready to go?" he asked. "Mom said to invite you to dinner as well."
"Of course, I'll help," Frank agreed at once. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked, turning to look at Joe.
"No way," Joe assured him at once, not in the least upset that he hadn't been invited to help as well. "Just keep Frank in your sights, huh?" he begged Phil.
"Don't worry," Phil assured Joe. "I'll even make sure he gets in the house when I bring him back. Any leads on who the creep is that's after you?" he asked, turning to look at Frank again.
"Not yet," Frank admitted with a grimace. "I'll bring you up to date on the way to your place," he promised.
"I'll tell mom where you've gone," Joe told him before heading inside.
"Where's Frank?" Laura asked, seeing Joe enter the house by himself. Joe told her about Phil and then asked if she would mind if he went to Camille's.
"Of course not, dear," Laura answered. "As a matter of fact, since both you and your brother are going to be out tonight, I think I will have your father take me out."
"What's this?" asked Fenton, entering the kitchen from the dining room in time to hear Laura's last few words.
"Frank is at Phil's and Joe is going to Camille's so I thought we could go out for dinner tonight," Laura said, looking at her husband with a pleading twinkle in her eyes.
"An excellent idea," Fenton agreed with the suggestion, smiling with loving tenderness at his wife before turning to look at his youngest son. "But don't stay out too long," he warned Joe. "It's a school night."
"Frank, buddy, I think we're being followed," Phil said as they neared his house.
"What kind of vehicle?" Frank asked, checking his side mirror.
"Dark blue Element," Phil answered. "It's too far back to see the driver but they have been behind us since we left your street."
"Let's turn the tables," Frank suggested. It wasn't the same type of vehicle as his stalker had been driving but then the person could have access to more than the one car. Too, after being used to abduct Reynolds, the forerunner had probably been abandoned by now.
Phil made a right turn. The blue car followed. He sped up and made another right turn a mile down the road. The Element picked up speed and followed suit. By now, the other car was no longer hanging in the background; it was trying to catch up to them. Several more miles and a few turns later, Phil and Frank were directly behind the car that had been following them.
Frank leaned over and hit the horn, startling the person in front of them. Seconds later, both vehicles pulled to the side of the road. Frank leapt out and ran to the driver's door of the Element. His eyes bulged in surprise when he saw the driver.