To clear up some confusion: I've made Joe seven, so Frank and Nancy are eight. Also, I've been spending a lot of time with kids lately, and it's STILL hard to write from that perspective! So I hope you guys forgive me if their actions and words don't seem ENTIRELY correct for that age.
I hope that helps some. Again, thanks so much for continuing with me and reviewing! You guys are great encouragement!
Hotel Hostages
Chapter 3
When the elevator chimed and the doors slid open, Joe's eyes widened in awe. "Cool!" he gasped.
He stepped out of the elevator cautiously and looked around. He was on the roof of the building. But instead of the space being wide-open, the walls were made almost entirely of glass. To Joe, it looked like a room only really fancy parties were held in.
Except this room was filled with brightly-colored balloons. Filled. As in, little room to walk, filled, Joe thought excitedly. He felt as if he were standing in the middle of a rainbow.
The elevator doors slid shut, and began its decent, as a voice called out, "Mario! Is that you?"
Joe heard a clicking noise and quickly hid behind a large planter, not wanting to be seen. Surely, if he were caught up here, he would be in all kinds of trouble. From his spot, he watched as man, dressed in a white apron, chef's hat, and black pants, entered the room from somewhere, his polished black shoes clicking on the floor.
"Mario? Are you playing jokes again?" the man asked again. He walked toward the elevator, heading straight for Joe's hiding place. Joe peeked through the branches, and slid to the side, slowing keeping the large plant between himself and the big chef.
Seeing no one in the room, the chef walked back through some swinging doors off to the side.
Satisfied that the chef was gone, Joe stood up and looked around. There were party hats stacked along a wall. He walked to the table and carefully inspected it. In front of each party hat was a gift bag. He picked up a gift bag and looked inside.
"Candy!" He dumped the bag out onto the floor and began sifting through the pile. He wasn't allowed candy very often. His mother always said he already had too much energy, and didn't need fuel. But Joe could never understand what she meant. He didn't need fuel, only cars did, he thought.
But this large pile of candy was nearly too much for Joe! He grabbed handfuls of candy and shoved them in his little pockets.
As he chose his preferred sugar, the elevator began whirring again. He scooped the rest into the bag and hastily placed it back on the table.
DING!
Just in time, Joe slid under the deep blue tablecloth as the doors opened. He hid under the table, peeking out under the heavy cloth. He could see two sets of legs walk in. The first person came into view, and Joe realized she was a lady, because of her her skirt. The second person ran over to the table and halted directly in front of where Joe was. He slid further under the table.
It was a little girl, wearing hot pink leggings and shiny black dress shoes. The girl's lacey skirt flared out from her waist.
"Mommy! Mommy! Lookie!" the little girl cried. Joe watched as the little rose up on her tip-toes. "Is all this for my party?"
The mother laughed softly as she walked over to where her eager daughter was busily admiring the party bags. "Yes, Annie. These bags are for your friends that you've invited to the party."
The small feet tapped anxiously as she shifted from foot to foot. "Are they gonna be here soon? I can't wait to open my presents!"
"Honey, I hope that's not the reason you wanted a party. You should have fun with your friends. Presents shouldn't be the most important thing," the mother admonished. "Now, let's go see Mr. Clark about your birthday cake."
Joe grinned. Cake, he thought excitedly. He would definitely have to stay for this party.
"Can we eat cake now, Mommy?"
The mother laughed. "No, honey. The party isn't for another two hours. Cake will be later."
Joe sighed heavily as the mother and daughter walked to where the big chef had gone. Two whole hours? I'll die by that time, he thought.
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Frank tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Nancy and Joe to return from wherever they went. He threw up his hands in exasperation when he saw Nancy round the corner. "You're late! I've been here for years!"
Nancy grinned. "Sorry. I forgot about the time." She looked around. "At least I'm not the lastest!" She popped her card in the lock and swung the door open so they both could enter.
"Last," Frank correctly her solemnly. "You keep saying it wrong."
"Saying what?" Nancy asked as she pulled out a notebook and a pen. The notebook had a pink unicorn on the front, and Frank rolled his eyes.
"Nevermind. I thought you didn't like pink!" Nancy had once thrown a fit and cried when someone had given her a pink stuffed animal. She got into a lot of trouble with her dad, he remembered.
She shrugged, as if pink had always been her favorite color. "Now," she started. "What did you see?"
Frank glanced around the room. "Shouldn't we wait for Joe?" he asked.
"Maybe." Nancy glanced at the clock. "I guess he has been gone a while."
"We should go look for him," Frank declared, jumping off his spot on the bed. "He's been a long time, and he's only seven," he emphasized. He had started to worry about his brother. His dad told him to watch out for Joe, and he didn't want to disobey.
"Oh! Maybe he's been kidnapped!" Nancy exclaimed excitedly.
Frank's brown eyes widened. "No way! That stuff only happens in movies and books!"
Nancy shrugged again. "Maybe. But we better go find him! Everyone knows how much Joe gets into trouble."
"He does not always get into trouble!" Frank said, defending his brother. After all, he thought. No one else was allowed to be mean to Joe, except for himself.
But Nancy was already out the door and headed down the hall.
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Carson Drew yawned inwardly as he listened to Robert Feldman drone on about forensic evidence. It wasn't the most interesting lecture he'd ever heard, nor was it the most appealing, he thought ruefully. Especially after eating lasagna for lunch.
The conference had, over all, been a well of information, and he'd enjoyed it thoroughly. But there was always a monotone speaker who could put him to sleep.
He glanced over at his friend. Fenton was listening attentively, pausing every few moments to jot down a note.. A topic of this nature interested him, though Carson could never understand how anybody would want to learn about something so ... so… nauseating.
But at long last, the lecture was over. And once again, Carson felt himself stand up for a much needed stretch.
He nodded politely to the other members of his table, excusing himself to go check on his daughter. She'd be more adventurous recently, and with the Hardy boys, there's no telling what might be happening.
As he headed to a hotel phone, Fenton caught up to him. "Carson! I'd like you to meet someone real quick."
Carson glanced longingly at the phone. "Let me just check on Nancy real quick."
The private detective laughed. "I know how you feel, but don't you think someone would have called us already if something had happened?"
Carson hesitated, knowing full well that his friend was right. "Alright. But next break, I'm calling!"
Fenton waved his hand. "Fine, fine. But for now, I'd like to you to meet a friend. Dr. Tabitha Dunnigan."
Carson groaned to himself as he turned to face Dr. Dunnigan, who just happened to be standing with Robert Feldman. At the moment, he'd rather be babysitting the three children than talking to Feldman. He nearly envied the childcare workers.
Nearly.
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I almost feel as if this is too boring. Hopefully you guys disagree, but if you agree, please say something. I don't want to bore my readers! Thanks for reading to this point!