"What a mistake they made!" Joe laughed. "They picked the most unique street name in New York City! We have to get there!"
"We need to figure out how we're getting there," Frank pointed out. "The van is still bugged, remember? And this guy, or these guys, whatever the case is, know what the station wagon looks like."
"We have to figure out something," Joe said. "I have a feeling that guy isn't working alone. There's at least one other person working with him – the one who threw the dummy out of their van. And I have a funny feeling that they're watching the Bayport police to make sure we don't talk to them."
"Let's call Chet," Frank said. "Maybe he has an idea or two."
"On it," Joe said as he dialed Chet's number.
"Chet, old buddy," Joe greeted him. "Hey, how soon can you get to our house?"
"Come on, guys, I just ate," Chet complained. "And I need a nap!"
"Chet, this is important. We just figured out where you-know-who is!"
"Well that was quick! I'll be right there!" Chet hung up.
Fifteen minutes later, Chet arrived at the Hardy home.
"Aunt Gertrude!" Chet exclaimed. "Do you have any pie for this growing boy? I haven't eaten since yesterday!"
Joe laughed. "You mean you didn't eat at home when we dropped you off?"
Chet turned red. "Um, well, yeah, I did, but—"
"I have a deep-dish caramel apple pie with your name on it, Chester!" Aunt Gertrude smiled as she rushed into the kitchen. A minute later, she came out with 3 plates, each one with a large slice of her apple pie.
"You could have put all 3 slices on one plate, Aunt Gertrude, and saved yourself the dishes!" Chet exclaimed.
Frank and Joe took their respective plates of pie. "Not so fast, Morton!" Frank exclaimed, laughing.
The boys hungrily ate their dessert and then headed upstairs. Frank and Joe filled in Chet on the house bug being removed, and how they swept their home for bugs and found nothing else.
"And check this out! The address Dad put on that paper scrap is an address on Staten Island!" Frank said, explaining the uniqueness of the street name.
"Well, I have a surprise for you guys," Chet said. "Remember when I ran to the van as their van was approaching us? I got pictures of it with my miniature camera!"
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Joe asked, flabbergasted.
"Um, Joe, the van is bugged, remember?" Chet pointed out.
"Oh, right," Joe said, his face reddening. "My mistake"
Chet and Frank laughed. "It's ok," Frank said. "Let's get that film developed!"
The three boys went to the lab in the attic, where Frank and Joe also had an area for developing film. Within an hour, the pictures were developing as they were hanging to dry.
Frank looked at the pictures. "Get a load of this, guys! The van has New York plates! It's a Ford van with a large dent in the passenger side front door! From the looks of it, it has to be a model from the 1970s. And you got a picture of the dummy! That looks like the scrap paper falling out of the shirt pocket!"
"We can't get the van color, though," Chet grumbled. "Sorry, guys, I forgot my camera is a black and white one."
"Don't worry about the color!" Frank exclaimed. "We have the license plate number, the model and make of the van. That's good enough for us!"
"So, here's the million-dollar question," Joe said. "How on Earth are we getting to Staten Island? We can't take the van! It's bugged, and they'll know we're coming there. They'll kill Dad. We need to come up with a game plan, and quick!"
"What if we found a way to get rid of the bug?" Chet wondered.
"Chet, they heard you getting close to removing the bug," Joe pointed out.
"True," Chet said, "which means we need an electronics genius to help us out."
"You're thinking Phil Cohen?" Joe asked, referring to their good friend who was very studious and love tinkering with electronics.
"Why not?" Chet shrugged. "He may know something about these bugs. After all, he is THE electronics genius!"
"That's a great idea, Chet!" Joe exclaimed, clapping Chet on the shoulder as he dialed Phil Cohen's number.
"I do have great ideas, sometimes," Chet smiled.
Joe explained everything to Phil Cohen over the phone, and he readily agreed to come to the Hardy house.
Minutes later, Phil Cohen arrived at the Hardy home. He was slight built, with dark wavy hair and glasses. He was considered the most intelligent guy at Bayport High School, and was known for his knack for computers and electronics. Frank and Joe quickly gave Phil the rundown on their situation.
Phil sat thoughtfully. "You know, I have a bug scanner in my car. Let me use it and walk around your van with it."
"Phil, we already know that the van is bugged," Frank pointed out.
"True," Phil said. "but I bet your bug scanner can't determine the operational frequency of the bug in your van. My scanner can do that. I installed a device on my scanner that can measure that frequency."
"I never knew that device existed," Frank confessed.
"That's because," Phil grinned, "I invented it."
"Are you serious?" Joe asked. "That's awesome!"
"Follow me, and I'll show how this works," Phil said.
A couple of minutes later, all four boys were in the driveway. Phil pulled a device from the trunk of his car.
"Stand back, and let it do its thing, guys," Phil said as he walked up to the van with the device in hand while Frank, Joe and Chet sat on the porch. He walked around the van twice in a clockwise direction, and then twice in a counterclockwise direction. Phil then walked back to the Hardys' front porch.
"We're definitely out of earshot from this bug," Phil said. "I have the megahertz frequency of the bug. It's a sophisticated bug that's pretty impressive. It can broadcast the signal in a 400-mile radius, meaning whoever these guys are that you're dealing with can easily monitor you from New York City. The bug's weakness is that it can only pick up conversations from 15 feet away. It worked as those guys intended – to overhear your conversations in the van. Outside the van, they can't catch too much."
"I wonder if that was the same type of bug that was in the house, then?" Frank wondered.
"Do you have the bug?" Phil asked.
"No," Frank said. "We destroyed it as that guy ordered us to do."
"That's too bad," Phil frowned. "But I bet it's a similar type of bug."
"So what do we do, then?" Joe asked.
"Depends on what your objective is," Phil said. "What do you need done?"
Frank thought for a second. "Can we get our equipment moved from the van into another vehicle without the bug catching the noise? As crazy as that sounds. And we would need tracking devices that would be compatible with the radar we just installed."
"Let's do one thing at a time, Frank," Phil said. "Let me get back to the house and create something that will block the bug. If I can get it to block the bug, then you could use the van without them knowing it."
"The problem, though," Frank pointed out, "is that these guys know what the van looks like. We may need to move equipment into another vehicle, but do it without the bug knowing it."
"Then let me go home and create a bug scrambler," Phil said. "I'll come back in the morning and we'll try this out."
"Thank you for helping us," Joe said.
"Think nothing of it," Phil said. "I love a good challenge, and I'll buy some espresso at that coffee stand near my house. I may be up all night making this."
Frank took some money out of his wallet and gave it to Phil. "Then the coffee's on us. That's the least we can do for putting you out like this."
Phil smiled. "Thanks, Frank! This will get me a couple of good strong lattes. I'll see you guys in the morning."
Frank and Joe were woken up by a phone call at around 8 o'clock the next morning.
Frank picked up the receiver in the hallway. "Hello?" he said sleepily.
"Frank, it's Phil! I think I have the perfect setup for you guys. Can I come over in say, ten minutes?"
"Yeah, I'll wake up Joe, and we'll meet you in our driveway."
Ten minutes later, Phil pulled his car into the Hardys' driveway. Frank and Joe were sipping cups of coffee, trying to wake up.
Phil laughed as he greeted them. "Now it's not often that I catch Frank and Joe Hardy with severe cases of bed-head!"
Joe chuckled. "We're only doing this for Dad's sake. What did you come up with?"
Phil smiled. "I actually created two devices. The first one will jam the bug in your van. The second device is a receiver. I set it to the bug's frequency. This will allow me to check the effectiveness of the bug jammer, and if they're listening, they'll hear what you're hearing."
He handed a device to Frank. "You're more than 15 feet from the van, so we're safe. What you have in your hand, Frank, is the receiver that picks up what the bug is saying. So, I'm going to stand by the van and say something. Let me know if you can hear it on the receiver."
Phil walked up next to the van, and said, "Boy, I hope Frank can help me out this morning."
Frank heard Phil on the receiver, and gave Phil a thumbs up. Phil came back to the front porch.
"Let's throw the gang off, just in case," Phil said. "Frank, you come with me, and we'll have a conversation. Joe, you listen to the receiver and do like Frank did. Give me a thumbs up if you can hear us on the receiver. Thumbs down if you can't hear us."
Frank and Phil walked up to Phil's car.
"Thank you, Frank," Phil said. "Do you think you can help me fix my car? I think I have a clogged fuel line."
"Yeah, I'll take a look at it," Frank said. "Pull your car up to the garage door, and I'll let you in the garage."
Joe gave a thumbs-up. Phil then started his car, and stepped on the accelerator while turning a knob on the device in his hand. Joe was amazed! Phil's device made it sound like the car's engine sound was fading as if it was going into the Hardys' garage. Phil ran up to Joe.
"Did the sound fade out to nothing?" Phil asked excitedly.
"It did!" Joe exclaimed. "That was crazy!"
"Yes!" Phil exclaimed as he punched his fists in the air. "I jammed the bug!"
"And made it sound as if you drove off your car," Joe said, impressed.
Phil went to his car to turn off the engine and then Phil and Frank went back to the front porch.
"Ok, guys, the bug is jammed. But my device will only be good for about 4 hours before the battery dies. So what do you need done at this point?"
"We need to figure out another vehicle to use to get to New York," Frank said.
"If I can use your phone, let me call my uncle. He has a used car lot near Shoreham. Maybe he can hook us up with a van that you can borrow."
"That would work!" Frank said. "Something low-key. Our police van, even if it wasn't bugged, would be a dead giveaway. In the meantime, let me get Chet over here. I have a plan."
A half hour later, Chet showed up, eating a breakfast sandwich and carrying a coffee thermos in the other hand.
"What's up, guys?" Chet asked.
"Phil jammed the van's bug," Frank said, "and Phil is seeing about getting a van for us from his uncle."
Almost on cue, Phil stepped out of the front door and sat with Chet and the Hardy boys.
"My uncle has a van you can use," Phil said. "We should head up there."
On the way to the car lot owned by Phil's uncle, Frank laid out his plan to Chet and Phil.
"I can make that for you," Phil grinned. "I should have it ready this afternoon."
"Sounds like a bit of a crazy plan, but I love it!" Chet exclaimed. "I feel like a true detective! Let's do this!"
Later that morning, they had the new van, and Phil was able to finish that device quicker than he expected. Phil installed the device in the van, and said, "You guys are good to go! This should work like the radar in your van!"
"Thanks, Phil!" Frank exclaimed, shaking Phil's hand. "I owe you big time!"
"Hey, as long as my uncle get the van back, that's all that matters," Phil said. "Helping the Hardys on a case is my pleasure. Now make sure you park the van more than 15 feet away from your police van. I have to turn off the bug scrambler before the battery dies."
Frank parked on the street far enough away from the van. Phil waved good-bye and headed home.
"Time to give Mom and Aunt Gertrude a reason why we're leaving again, and then let's get out of here," Frank said as he headed for the house.
Minutes later, Frank walked out of the house and into the new van.
"What did you tell them?" Joe asked.
"That we're taking that camping trip with Chet that we've talked about doing," Frank said with a wink. "Now let's go to Staten Island and rescue Dad!"