Chapter 7:
Frank and Joe sat in Chief Collig's room as their father paced the floor in front of them. Fenton Hardy had driven his sons right over to the local police station to give their statement as soon as he picked them up from school.
"What happened?" he asked in a terse voice. "Are you boys on a case?"
"No," Joe quipped. "But we sure are now."
Frank frowned at him. "Be serious, Joe," he admonished his brother. "But no, Dad, we're not." It was true. Cases were the last thing on his mind when he started the term. In fact, he had hardly even been himself lately. "Dad, you're not on a case now either, are you?"
"No, I'm not," replied his father. "But like Joe said, I probably am now."
Chief Collig entered the room a little while later, holding a thick manila folder in his hands. He shut the door.
"So, who have you Hardys been offending lately?" the police chief asked. His tone was serious.
"I wish we knew," Mr. Hardy answered. "But the thing is, we don't. And none of us are on a case. Does the police have any suspects so far?"
"I was hoping you could tell me that," said Chief Collig. "Well, I don't know what we can do for now. We've questioned the people around, but no one seems to notice anyone suspicious. It would be hard to catch the culprit now. He'll probably lie low for the time being. Still, we'll have someone to check on Brian Conrad, just in case.
"But it may not be him. After all, if Conrad could sneak into the school grounds, so could anyone else," continued the Chief. "And we'll also be tightening the security around the area."
"Was the bomb timed?" Frank asked. The question had been nagging his mind since he stared out of the window earlier.
"Probably. Or it could have been controlled via a remote. You know how advanced technology is these days," the police chief said.
"Terrorists?" Fenton Hardy offered.
"We seriously don't know yet, but we aren't ruling out that possibility." Chief Collig replied.
"Well, as usual I advise you boys to be very very careful," he continued. "Keep an eye on your surroundings. Stay together, and don't go anywhere unnecessarily." It was a familiar old piece of advice that he had given the Hardys time and again whenever they attracted these sort of trouble. And this time, he added something else too.
"Well, boys, things may be dangerous this time around. I would advise you not investigate this on your own." He paused when he saw the frown on the boys' faces. "Well, at least not without your father," he added. Mr. Hardy assured him that they wouldn't, but Frank and Joe said nothing. They weren't about to promise anything.