Frank quickly parked the car in the garage, but by the time the boys got out of the garage and into the house, Mr. Edwards was long gone. The boys didn't see their father in the living room, so they dashed up the stairs and burst into the study. Fenton glanced up from some papers in his hands.

"Oh, hello boys. How did the outing go?"

"Oh swell dad," said Frank.

"It was the almost-taken-outing that was kind of thrilling," quipped Joe, "but we want to know why Mr. Edwards was here. What's going on?"

Fenton blinked and shook his head. "Hold on a second, what do you mean by 'the almost-taken-outing was kind of thrilling'?"

Joe grinned sheepishly. "Well, see, about that, we almost got taken out by another car."

"Say what?" said Fenton, turning his gaze on his eldest.

"It wasn't anyone's fault!" Frank quickly said, throwing up his hands.

"Yes it was!" said Joe. "That new guy at the mechanic didn't know what he was doing and put the tire on wrong. So technically it's his fault!"

Fenton raised his hands. "Hold on, hold on! Why don't you two tell me exactly what happened." The boys huffed and told their father everything about the near-run-in with John Mead, even about his house and that he hired them to look for his uncle's invention. Frank pulled the key out of his pocket to show him. Fenton was quiet after their narrative. He picked up the key and turned it over, looking closely at it. "This is a strange key."

"What do you know about John Mead and his house?" asked Joe.

Fenton glanced at his youngest. "What do you know about it?"

Joe blinked. "Besides what we were just told? Well, nothing else."

"I mean we've heard of the Mead Mansion," said Frank, "but that no one has gone near it for years."

Fenton nodded. "Yes, it's not the attraction that the Tower Mansion is, but from what I have heard, it's supposedly quite the sight." He gave a slight chuckle. "Also, unfortunately, I was never interested in looking more into the place. John Mead kept to himself, and I think most people forgot he was even here."

Joe nodded. "It would explain why not a whole lot of people talk about it." He shot a grin at Frank. "And why it wasn't on our need-to-see list for Ken."

Frank shrugged. "Not even born and raised Bayporters really think about it, so why would it be on our list?"

Fenton chuckled. "It's one of Bayport's best-kept secrets. But I think Ezra would be able to help you better in that part. He should have to know more about it, being the chief of police."

"We could check with him," said Joe. "But I want to see what an internet search brings up first."

Fenton nodded. "Sounds like a plan. And if you do head to the station to talk to Ezra, could you give him these folders as well?"

Frank nodded as he pocketed the key and picked up the folders. "Sure. Are these in regards to your case?"

Fenton let out a huff. "Well not anymore, none of these men are involved. Or should I say, they have pretty strong alibis."

"But what does it all have to do with Mr. Edwards?" asked Joe, leaning on the desk.

"Because I figured out it apparently started here."

"What did?" chorused the boys.

"Several stores, museums, and a few antique shops were broken into, here as well as the Big Apple. And all were done without forced entry. Mr. Edwards's museum was the first one in this chain of robberies, hence why I've been put on the case."

The boys's mouths dropped. "What?"

Fenton nodded. "It seems like an inside job, but we've checked out all the employees, they all check out. No one can explain it."

"Ghosts?" Joe shot his father a sheepish grin.

Fenton sighed. "I know you're trying to be funny, but it's a pretty frustrating mystery. We have a criminal, or criminals, who can get in and out of a store without needing a key or security passwords. This can be devastating. What am I saying? It is devastating. Thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and artifacts have been stolen already. Who knows how much more in the coming weeks, or even months, until I stop these crooks."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Joe.

Fenton huffed as he sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. "I don't know if there is anything you can do right now, except be on the lookout for suspicious characters whenever you go out." He glanced between the boys. "Did this John Mead seem suspicious?"

Frank shook his head. "No, not really. He seemed friendly and very genuine. He was sorry for the incident even though it clearly wasn't his fault and was in a hurry to get to the airport."

"Hmm, maybe you should make absolutely sure before heading to his house."

Frank nodded. "Good idea." He turned to his brother. "Well, guess we have to look up John Mead and the Mead Mansion."

"And that new mechanic and give him an earful," said Joe.

"Well that and talking to Ezra will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, you two need to get ready for dinner and do that research. Get back to me once you've found out more."

"Yes sir!" The boys dashed out of the study and went into their room.

"You want to look into John Mead himself and I'll check into the house."

Frank eyed his brother. "Oh really? Do you want to look in the house just because you're hoping to find house plans or something? You know, for secret passages?"

Joe smirked. "Maybe."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Go figure." He sighed, but he was smirking. "Alright, I'll take John Mead and you can take the house. But, don't get your hopes up. Not only might you not find the blueprints online, but there might also be no secret passages. That being said, good luck."

"Oh thanks, after popping my bubble," said Joe with a huff.

Frank shrugged. "Just making sure you don't get your hopes up too high, only for them to be completely dashed."

Joe lifted a finger. "Fair point." He cracked his knuckles. "Well, here goes. Let's see what the internet has on Mead Mansion."

Frank let out a huff as he turned on his laptop. "I think you'll find more faster, there's bound to be more than one John Mead."

Joe scoffed. "No kidding. Good luck with that."

Frank smiled ruefully. "Oh thanks." The next moment, the only sound heard was of the click-clack of keyboard keys. Their father came in a few minutes later to tell them dinner was on the table. The boys dashed downstairs to eat, and told their mother and their aunt of the near-crash. Before rushing back up the stairs to get back to searching. After several more minutes of searching, Frank sat back with a groan and a huff.

Joe also sat back in his chair and looked at his brother's screen. "Wowee, I need a break. What have you found out?"

"Nothing on the John Mead we met," reported Frank. "The only John Mead of Bayport I'm finding is the original owner of the house, and I'm only finding a brief obituary about him and his chauffeur, who also died in the crash that killed him too."

Joe whistled as he glanced at the details of the crash. "And to think his nephew, if he really is his nephew, nearly died in one today too!"

"Oh yeah, if he thought about it, I bet it spooked him." Frank turned to Joe. "What did you find out?"

Joe shrugged. "Practically nothing, at least, nothing more than we already knew about the house. Definitely no floor plans, as you predicted. Thanks for keeping my expectations low-"

"You're welcome."

"But I did find out that John Mead himself designed the place and that he had three different construction crews working on different sections."

Frank rubbed his chin. "Interesting." He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye. Joe was smirking. "What?"

"Which can only mean he could have put in secret passages!"

"Joe, don't get your hopes up," Frank said warningly.

Joe waved his hand. "I know, I know, but I can still hope, right?"

Frank shrugged. "I guess. Come on, let's tell Dad what we've found out." The boys dashed out of their room and into the study.

Fenton glanced up from his work expectantly. "So, what did you find out?"

Joe let out a huff. "Not much, actually." Joe tilted his head at Frank. "Apparently both John Mead and his house are pretty much under the radar."

"Looks like we'll definitely have to talk to the Chief tomorrow."

Fenton nodded. "Well, I hope you'll find out enough. And the nephew you met?"

Frank shrugged. "Not much on him either. The John Mead that lived here really kept everything private. No records of family, friends, or anything like that."

"But we could ask the Chief to look into him as well," said Joe.

"See that you do, the more you know about both men, the better. Especially considering I won't let you go to Mead Mansion until you do."

"Yes sir," chorused the boys.

The next morning the boys were up bright and early. After breakfast, they grabbed the folders Fenton needed returned and hopped on their bikes to head into town. They stopped at the mechanic's first since it was on the way, and Joe was itching to get that done with first. He specifically wanted to chew the man out for putting their lives at risk.

When they arrived, the lady at the front desk smiled and waved at them. Carrie Jones had helped her husband run his business for years. Seeing her behind the desk brought a soft smile to the boys's faces. But it also pained them to have to tell her and her husband about the incident.

"Hello Frank, Joe! How are you today? Do your bikes need a tune-up?"

"Hello Mrs. Jones! We're alright, well, mostly," said Frank, running his hand through his hair. "We're not here about the bikes."

"We're here because your newest employee didn't put a wheel on right and the guy nearly crashed into us yesterday!" said Joe.

Mrs. Jones blinked as she glanced between the boys. "What new employee?"

Joe snapped his fingers. "We should have asked John Mead more about who took care of his car, what he looked like, and all, but he was in such a rush!"

Mrs. Jones blinked again. "I'm sorry, who?"

"John Mead, he's from England and he's inherited his uncle's estate, the Mead Mansion. His uncle was pretty reclusive, and he probably liked that the whole of Bayport didn't really pay too much attention to him."

"Anyways," interrupted Joe, "he was driving a green Ford. He got his back right tire changed."

"What time was this?"

"Well, we nearly crashed around five-fifteen," replied Frank. "So he must have been here around four-thirty."

Mrs. Jones furrowed her brows as she typed on the computer. "Well, I wasn't here at that time, so I definitely wouldn't have seen him. Let me check real quick here . . . you said his name was John Mead?"

The boys nodded. "Yes."

"Hmm, I'm not seeing anyone here by that name, but since I wasn't here, maybe he wasn't entered into the system, or paid cash. Let me get Tom. I'll be right back." Mrs. Jones left the desk and walked into the mechanic shop. The boys sat down in two of the big chairs they had in the waiting room. They quickly stood up when Mrs. Jones came back in with her husband.

Mr. Jones greeted them and shook hands with them. "Now, what's this about a John Mead coming in yesterday?"

The boys quickly recounted their story. Mr. Jones's eyes seemed to widen with every word, but he kept quiet until the boys finished their story.

"So you see," said Joe, finishing the narrative, "I really wanted to give that mechanic a good talking-to, though, it might be better coming from you than me, but still, if he wasn't supposed to be changing a tire, he shouldn't have touched it!"

"But, that's the thing, that's impossible!" said Mr. Jones.

"How is it impossible?" asked Frank. "You're the only mechanic between that road and our house."

Mr. Jones shook his head. "That's not what makes it impossible. What makes it impossible is that we had closed early yesterday! And I haven't hired anyone new in the past three years!"

The boys stiffened as their eyes widened. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had no reason to lie. They glanced at each other. Had John Mead lied to them to throw them off his tail? But why throw them off? Was John Mead trying to hide something? If so, then what?

(Author's Note: Hello all my rosy readers! Welcome back to another chapter! I put off this story for a little bit to try and figure out the details on the two books I've decided to enter into the contest. It's a novella contest, so they're going to be no more than 40,000 words, but I have until May to finish them. Phew. Which gives me time to work on the other four as well . . . which I haven't exactly done, lol. Well, besides this one and the Nancy Drew one, which will be posted soon. There's a few details I'm reworking in the first chapter on that one, but I think I've finally figured it out and will be posting it soon. I know, I already said that, it just seemed the natural thing to say. Anyways, the next episode of the Hardy boys was pretty interesting, except for one thing, and I'm wondering if this is one of those problems you were mentioning, Elizabeth Joan-hbndgirl, the boys weren't working together. All three Hardys were working on the same case from different angles, and weren't really working together. It looks like the next episode might have the boys working together based on that ending scene, but based on the synopses of later episodes, it doesn't look like it will last long. Ugh. It's still way better than CW's Nancy Drew, but like Nancy Drew, I'm beginning to think calling it an original series would have worked better than tacking on the names of well-known characters, even though I will admit said characters are what getting us to watch. Joe still has all the best lines, Frank's actor is doing pretty good, still don't exactly like him. He just looks off in comparison to the rest of the Hardy family. Part of it could be that I've always found Frank attractive, and this Frank just isn't as attractive to me. But then again, I fit that "not like other girls" trope sometimes, i.e. always thought Elijah Wood more attractive than Brad Pitt, and while girls might find Frank attractive, I don't. Little Joe is cute, I can see him growing into the Joe I knew from the books. But Frank? Eh, not so much. I really wish they were closer in age, it would fit the Hardy boys dynamic better. Yeah, they can still argue and fight like siblings would because they are different, Frank's more the brainy one and Joe's more the brawn and their interests can show that. Batman and Robin work well together, but they were still different. And there was a larger age gap. So why we couldn't have that, I don't know. Does that mean the whole series is horrible? No, like I mentioned earlier, it's far better than the CW Nancy Drew, and what makes Nancy Drew worse were those two episodes without the supernatural as that was when Nancy really was allowed to shine. But it could be better. And that's not saying it has to be a word by word adaptation of the original books, that's not what I'm asking for. I understand that some things don't translate well to screen or needs to be changed for time, Lord of the Rings comes to mind. I'm asking for a Hardy boys and Nancy Drew series that actually follows the books rather than constantly giving us fanfiction. I can come here if I want fanfiction. But before you write a fanfic piece of media, you need to give us the original first, and the closest we've had on that front were the 70s series and the two most recent Nancy Drew movies. And even then those weren't exact either. Definitely far closer than what we're getting right now. And yes, we do have the books, but if Lord of the Rings can get a good adaptation, so can every other book and series. Anyways, I will continue watching because, like I've already said twice before, it's better than CW's Nancy Drew . . . it's better than anything CW is throwing out at us, which just seems to keep getting worse and no one is asking for it. Anyways, rant over. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the last one! And thank you so much for the quick reviews! Really appreciate it! Have a great week and God bless!)