Judge Lane looked at Matt in surprise. "How?" he asked. "The police haven't had any luck and Hardy and his son are driving everyone crazy by going over every bust O'Neil has made."
Matt sat down in the easy chair. "O'Neil is smart, I'll give him that," he said. "The only thing I could come up with were his gas purchases."
"What?" Lane asked looking utterly confused.
"You're on the run with a hostage," Matt began. "You can't use credit cards because they are too easily traced. If you pay cash then you have to go to a station that is open and someone would see you. But if you pay with gas gift cards you can get gas without worrying about any of that. Normally," he added, smiling.
"Gift cards have serial numbers that are activated when the card is inserted into the pump," Matt continued. "One of our men traced the purchases made beginning here in Bayport and ending in Amarillo, Texas."
"But how do you know it was O'Neil?" Lane pushed.
"The serial numbers were on cards issued to O'Neil two weeks ago," Matt answered. "Now, the problem is how to let the Hardys know the cards were used and can be traced?"
"Camille could mention it somehow," Lane suggested. "Since they have no actual leads, Fenton and Frank should be home for dinner tonight. I can call her now and give her the heads up."
"Do that," Matt agreed, stretching his arms and yawning. "I'm going to go catch some shuteye."
"This is worse than when Matt kidnapped Joe last month!" Frank moaned, wearily running a hand through his hair for the umpteenth time.
Fenton giggled. "I'm sorry," he apologized when Frank turned to glare at him. "Really. I know it's wrong. But you must admit, your brother is quite possibly the only person ever to average being kidnapped once a month. A man could make a career just out of rescuing him."
Frank sighed and closed his eyes. Lying his head back, he was grateful his father was driving. He couldn't argue. The term 'high maintenance' had been invented just for Joe and even that was an understatement at times. But he was worth the effort. "What do we do next?" Frank asked as they neared home. "It's pointless to wait for a call. O'Neil is too smart to allow Joe to talk to us for even a second."
"I don't know," Fenton admitted, his smile gone like a streak of lightning. "Chief Singleton is doing what he can in Miami. So far, no one has seen O'Neil and no one has heard from him for about six months." He sighed heavily as he pulled to a stop in the driveway. "At times like these, I wish Vanessa were still here. She had a knack for keeping Laura from worrying too much."
The two got out of the car and went inside to find Laura and Camille laughing gaily. "What's so funny?" Frank asked curiously.
"Your mom was telling me about the first time Joe lost his tooth and was afraid of the tooth fairy because she could go into his room while he slept and no one would know," Camille answered. "Poor kid," she added affectionately.
"Why don't you two wash up?" suggested Laura, rising from her seat and going over to kiss her husband on the cheek. "Camille and I will have dinner on the table when you get done and then you can tell us how close you are to finding Joe."
"Looks like Camille has the knack too," Fenton murmured , following Frank upstairs.
Soon the two returned and joined the ladies in the dining room. "Don't you even know if O'Neil took Joe away by plane, bus, train or car?" Camille inquired, looking upset after the two males revealed what little they had discovered.
"He hasn't left town by rail, bus or plane," Fenton stated with assurance. "Chief Collig has been having all departures checked since Frank called at school yesterday."
"So they are either still in Bayport or left by car," Frank said.
"I doubt they are still in Bayport," Camille stated.
"Why?" Laura asked her.
"Dad was talking about it last night," Camille explained. "He said O'Neil was too smart to hang around where he might be spotted."
"Good point," Laura acknowledged, scowling.
"And if they have already left Bayport we may never find Joe," Frank declared in despair.
"Maybe someone will recognize him when he stops for gas," Camille said hopefully. "O'Neil's and Joe's pictures are all over the media now."
"Unless he pays at the pump," Laura interjected.
"But that would be great!" Camille enthused. "You could track him through his credit purchases."
"He's too smart for that," Fenton said, shaking his head. "Even though we are keeping an eye on his cards. No," he continued. "He is probably using those gift cards."
"Can't you trace those?" Camille inquired.
"How?" Frank demanded. "They are readily available and you toss them after you use them."
"But don't they have a serial number or product code on them?" Camille asked. "If there was a problem with one the company should have some way of identifying the card."
"Maybe they do," Fenton said thoughtfully.
"But anyone could have purchased them," Frank said, shaking his head.
"True," agreed Fenton. "But it is an idea. Who knows? Every criminal messes up somewhere along the line. Maybe if he is using gift cards, he bought them with his credit card."
"How soon can you check it out?" Laura asked anxiously.
"Now," Fenton said, standing up and ignoring his dinner which hadn't been touched. "I'll call Jeb Marrow at FBI headquarters and have him check out past purchases on all of O'Neil's cards."
Fenton headed out of the dining room. On his way through the living room he stopped when the phone rang. He picked it up after the first peel ended. "Hardy residence," he said. "Fenton Hardy speaking."
"Just one moment," the voice on the other end said. Seconds later another voice came over the line. The words spoken made Fenton fall against the end table as his knees gave out. Tears fell from his eyes as the person continued to speak.