All characters and plot points belong to Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene except for Maddie Hardy
I clutched my brother's waist, as we noticed the car coming at us, at a speed that was far from safe on this cliffside road. I saw my older brother tense and exclaim, "We need to get off the road before that car hits us!" He quickly pulled his motorcycle over as my other brother Joe did the same. Just as quickly we abandoned the bikes and sprinted up the slope. I spun around just in time to notice the blue sedan turn onto a road that was a dead end.
"How did that car not turn over?" I asked my oldest brother Frank.
"I have no idea. That guy must have been one heck of a driver," he replied.
"Well let's go before he comes back," my other brother Joe said. We hurried back to the motorcycles and both my brothers gunned their engines. We were quiet for a stretch before Joe noticed the steep edges off the cliff. Frank was the one who commented on it though.
"I'd hate to fall off the edge of this road. It's a hundred foot drop."
"Thanks, Frank," I said sarcastically, gripping his waist just slightly tighter. "You are really making me feel confident for choosing to ride with you." Out of the two of my brothers, Frank was the better driver. Not that I didn't trust Joe. I did, but Joe is a little bit more reckless.
"Sorry Maddie, but Frank is right. You do want to be careful around here," Joe said. "Watch your step, Frank, or dad's papers won't get delivered."
"Why did I agree to come with you?" I groaned, knowing full well that it was my idea.
"I don't know. Something about it being your idea," Joe retorted.
"Joe Hardy, don't you know that these things are never my ideas. It was your guys' decision to come by the cliff pass. Besides dropping off dad's papers isn't the only reason, I needed to come to Willowsville."
"Fair enough." Frank moved to reach into his jacket to check if the papers were still there. Through my grip, I felt him relax, so I knew that they were. " With all the help we gave dad on his last case, he should set up the firm as Hardy and Sons."
"Don't you mean Hardy and Kids? I helped too, you know," I reminded my brothers.
"I guess, but Hardy and Sons sounds better," Joe replied. I stuck my tongue out at him and he winked.
I guess I had better introduce myself. My name is Madeline Hardy, though most people call me Maddie. I am 15, which is part of the reason my brothers were giving me a ride. I am three years younger than Frank and two years younger than Joe. People say I look more like Joe, with my blue eyes, fairer skin, and face structure, but act more like Frank in temperament. Our parents are Fenton and Laura Hardy, and we live in Bayport, New York. Anyway, enough about my family and I. Back to the story.
Suddenly over my brother's teasing and the noise of their engines, I heard the roar of a car coming towards us. We all looked back and saw the same car that had nearly killed us twenty minutes ago. My brothers stopped their motorcycles and pulled close to the edge. I paled but readied myself to jump out of the way.
Luckily the car didn't hit us. It swerved at the last moment and spen past. I didn't notice much of the driver, but I did observe that the car had no license plate. Weird.
After the car faded from view, Frank turned to me and asked "Maddie, are you okay?" I nodded, still unable to speak. I am NOT a huge fan of heights and standing at the edge of a cliff with a car speeding at me doesn't help.
"Did either of you get a good look at the guy?" Joe asked. I shook my head but remembered I had seen a glimpse of red hair.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure he had red hair. I didn't get a good look at his features, though."
"I noticed that too," Frank remarked. "Probably someone practicing for some kind of race." We all climbed back on the motorcycles.
"Around here? And without plates?" I asked. Frank looked at me sharply. "You guys didn't notice that there weren't any plates on the car?"
"I thought I saw some, but the car was going so fast that I couldn't be sure, " Joe answered.
I shrugged. "Oh well, not our problem. Let's get to Willowsville to drop off those papers and get my jacket. I have an appointment in…" I checked my watch, "less than half an hour."
We made it to the boutique with five minutes to spare. I waved. "Thanks."
Frank nodded, "We will be back in anywhere from thirty to forty-five minutes. If it goes beyond that we will text you."
I walked inside the boutique, excited to get my jacket. I had custom ordered a jacket with a lot of hidden pockets and other cool things. I figured I should get one, after all the detective work we might be doing. Plus I needed a new jacket, after outgrowing my other one. The jacket was pretty much done. The seamstress just had to check if it fit, before I could take it home.
Thankfully it did, and I paid going out of the store to sit on the steps to wait. I pulled out my phone to read, while I waited.
A short while later my brothers were back. "Nice jacket," Frank said.
"Thanks. It is so nice and warm. And the best part is, I don't have to steal yours anymore."
Frank laughed. "I suppose that is a plus, considering how much you spent on it."
"Hey, it pays to look this good."
"Why don't we take the other road back to Bayport? I don't care to go over that bumpy stretch again," Joe said.
"Please" As much as my older brother teased me, I knew that he did care for me. It's not that I'm scared of heights. It is more the insecurity about nothing to keep me from falling. I was really grateful my brother had noticed.
"Yeah, we can stop at Chet's, " Frank said. I groaned. Although Chet was a nice guy and one of my brothers' best friends, I didn't want to hear him talk about his car.
"Ok, fine. But you guys get to tell mom the reason, if we are late to dinner."
As we retraced our trip until we reached the dirt road that led to the Morton's farm, we saw a car overturned in the bushes. It was the blue sedan that had nearly ran us over earlier.
We stopped to investigate. Luckily, no one was underneath, but I saw some glass on the ground showing that the man had broken out of the car. The engine was still warm, so it couldn't have happened a long time ago.
"Look, there are no plates. Maddie was right," Frank said. "This might be a stolen vehicle!"
"Thank you," I said sarcastically. I sometimes think my brothers refuse to listen to me. I glanced around before I saw the grass had been trampled in the direction of the Morton's farm. It was not trampled by use because we had come down the other side. "Well at least whoever was driving was not injured enough to not be able to walk away."
"What do you mean?" Joe asked. Frank and Joe looked too where I pointed. "You're right. Well at the moment, it doesn't look like we are able to do anything, so I suggest we go on to Chet's."
In a few minutes we arrived at the farm. Chet came out to meet us. Usually Chet was a jolly person, but today he wore a frown. My siblings and I all glanced at each other.
"What's wrong?" Frank asked.
"I'm in trouble. I'm glad you three got here, right now. Have any of you seen someone driving the Queen?"
Oh yeah. The Queen is the name of his bright yellow jalopy.
"Your car? No, we haven't seen it." Joe glanced at the rest of us and we both shook our heads. "Why?"
"Because it's been stolen."
"Stolen! Don't you lock your car?" I asked.
"I did, though the garage was open. I can't believe I didn't notice!"
We looked at each other again. "It was likely a professional. Auto thieves carry tons of keys to do the job," Frank said. "Chet, how long ago did this happen?"
"No more than fifteen minutes ago," he replied.
" We need to go. Chet, hop on," Joe cried.
" I don't know which way he went," Chet said, as we sped out of his driveway.
" We didn't meet him, so it is safe to assume he went the other direction," Joe replied. " Don't worry, Chet. We will catch up to her. The Queen can't have gone far."
"Well, there isn't much gas in her anyway," Chet said as we turned onto the road.
"Why would someone steal a bright yellow car?" I asked. " Afterall, if I was a car thief, I would choose a car that is more inconspicuous."
"Perhaps it isn't to sell. It was just the closest car he could get to, to make his getaway," Frank said.
"I still wouldn't steal a yellow car." We passed a group of men hoeing cabbage plants. "Perhaps they know something." Frank brought the motorcycle to a stop.
"Did you see a yellow jalopy pass by here, in the last hour or so?" my brother asked well I stayed with his motorcycle. Clearly the old farm hands were past the point of needing hearing aids because my brother asked the question three times before they heard him. Even then, they still didn't seem to get the question. Oh boy, this could take awhile.
And it did. The four men got so off topic, that by the time they actually answered that they hadn't seen the car, I figured the jalopy could be in Florida by now. Plus I was getting a little hungry.
Frank came back and started the bike again. As we got closer to Bayport, we saw a girl walking up ahead of us. On closer observation, I saw that it was Callie Shaw, my brother's girlfriend. Don't get me wrong, Callie is great. I just think that Nancy Drew, a close friend to the family, is better for my brother. But my brother is happy with her, so I keep my mouth shut.
As my brothers pulled up beside her, she paused glancing back at us with a battered package under her arm. Callie was usually really sweet, but she looked pretty mad about something. She saw us, and her face softened. When she saw Chet, she frowned again.
"Chet Morton, this is all your fault." Callie held up the battered package.
"M-my fault? What did I do?" Chet gulped. I didn't blame him. Callie can be a force to be reckoned with.
"I was baking a cake for Mrs. Willis because she is ill," Callie began.
"Lucky Mrs. Willis," Joe interrupted. "Hey, Callie, I'm feeling mighty ill, myself." Curse my brother and his stomach. Though to be honest, I was getting hungry as well.
Thankfully, Callie ignored him. "That man you lent your car to, Chet Morton!" she said, poking him in the chest, "came up here so fast that I had to jump to the side of the road. I dropped my package and now the cake is ruined!" Callie pouted.
"Callie, Chet didn't lend his car to anyone. Someone stole it!" Frank said, consoling her.
"Oh, I'm sorry Chet," Callie said.
" Was he headed for Bayport?" Joe asked.
"Yeah and at the rate he was going, you'll never catch him," Callie replied.
The rest of us looked at each other. Chet groaned. "That's right. My gas gauge is broken. There is no telling how much gas was in the Queen!"
"We'd better go to the police," Frank said to Joe and me. He turned back to Callie. " Did you happen to see what this man looked like?"
"I didn't catch a good glimpse, but I did see that the man had red hair."
"I would bet that is the same person who trashed his car a few miles outside of Chet's," I said. " I would bet anything that the blue sedan was stolen as well."
"We need to go. Bye Callie." We all got onto the motorcycles and rushed towards the police station to report Chet's stolen car. We met with Chief Ezra Collig, a good friend of our dad's. Unfortunately three men were already there. Ike Harrity, the ticket seller for the ferry, Con Riley, the chief's right hand man and Oscar Smuff. Oscar Smuff is a self-declared private investigator, who is trying to earn a place on the Bayport police force. As a private investigator who really isn't much of an investigator, he has a love-hate relationship with our dad. As a result he doesn't really like us either.
Ike Harrity was reporting a robbery. The four of us walked closer to hear what he was saying. We only caught the last little bit " when this fellow comes in and sticks a revolver in front of my nose," before the chief notices us.
"Ah, the Hardy's. What can we do for you today?" He smiled at us.
"We would like to report a robbery," Frank said.
"My hot rod has been stolen!" Chet jumped in.
The chief's smile faded. "Ike was just telling us how it was someone in a yellow hot rod that robbed him."
"My Queen!"Chet yelled.
" What does a Queen have to do with anything?" the chief asked. On the other side of the room, Oscar Smuff was writing furiously in his notebook.
I rolled my eyes. "The Queen is the name of Chet's car. Don't worry. I don't get it either." I turned to Con. "We are pretty sure that this same man ditched a blue Sedan near Chet's family farm."
"I'll send some men to check it out," the chief promised.
"Mr. Harrity, did you happen to see what color hair the man who robbed you had? We have reason to believe the person who stole Chet's car is the same person who robbed the ferry."
Mr. Harrity looked puzzled. "Dark brown and short cropped."
"Wait, are you sure it wasn't red?" Joe asked.
" What information do you have about this, boys?" the chief asked Frank and Joe. Of course, he passed over me.
"We were told that the person who stole Chet's jalopy was red haired." Joe answered.
"Well perhaps he handed the car over to someone else," the chief concluded.
"Or perhaps he was wearing a wig," I put in. Nobody glanced my way. Suddenly a short man was led into the room. He was the passenger on the ferry during the holdup.
He introduced himself as Henry T. Brown. "Did you happen to see what color his hair was?" Frank asked eagerly.
"No, I was focused on his gun. Wait, actually it was red." This started a whole other debate about what color his hair actually was. Oscar Smuff was visibly miffed and kept mumbling something about the missing piece of the puzzle. Neither my brothers or I added any comment to the discussion. After a while, the chiefs paused the discussion to address us.
"I'll send out an alarm for this hold up man and Chet's car. We can't really do anything else at this time."
We headed out to take Chet home. I was really hungry at this point. My brothers tried to reassure Chet as we dropped him off. I don't know how much it helped though. "We will talk to dad tonight. Maybe he will give us some leads," Frank said.
As we drove away, I called out to my brothers. "Hey, think this will be our first case?"
"Our first case? I don't know about your first case, but it could be ours," Joe said referring to him and Frank.
"I don't think so. I am just as much a part of this as you two are, if not more. I am a lot more observant that you guys and who's going to get you boys out of trouble? Despite me being your younger sister, I am just as capable as you are at solving mysteries. You are not leaving me out of this! We are siblings. Just as I know you guys have my back, I have yours," I stated firmly.
"She's right. She does have our backs. We can't do this without her. And besides. I don't think we would ever hear the end of it, if we actually did leave her out," Frank reminded Joe. I hugged my brother. He was the best.
"We are just trying to look out for you, sis," Joe said sheepishly.
"I know and I appreciate it, but I am just as much of an adventure enthusiast as you are," I retorted as we pulled into the garage.
