Hello! Thanks for reading. Always good to hear from anyone by Reviewing or PM! Feel free to put in your opinion. Hopefully my transition to this style of dialogue writing settles well and it is kind of those who have spoken up. I actually appreciate the guest review which reminded me that my OCD writing style was making it difficult to read. While we both knew it was incorrect, my OCD/Autism just liked seeing it that way. I'm glad I was able to break the habit and make your reading more enjoyable! FlwrGrl, thanks for the review and yeah, my sense of humor does tend to bring out my age! It's kind of you to take the time to make the observations you have. Am glad you like it! Always willing to hear the input from others. Thanks -Carly
-6-
1:52AM
Frank yawned and blinked several times, trying to keep a focus on the windows. There had been nothing out of the ordinary happen the entire time he had been stationed there. No lights, nor voices or anything which would lead him to think anything was wrong or anyone was even in the home. A moment later his phone vibrated, and he looked down at the screen.
Joe: Hey, bro, I am getting bushed myself. Any idea when Cal wants to wrap this up for the night? Chet is complaining more than usual, and I can't really blame him.
Frank stretched his arms and back. His whole body was beginning to ache, and he could certainly use some sleep himself. As much as he wanted to indulge Callie, he thought it best to contact her and advise they continue this another night, if at all. He began typing.
Frank: Let me text Cal, then will advise. I am with ya though. I need a bed soon!
Frank paused, then opened the text box for Callie.
Frank: Cal… Joe, Chet and I are about all in for the night. What say we try another time?
He sat there patiently waiting for her to return the message. After several minutes he looked back down at the screen, but no reply had come. Frank figured he may have upset her with his request to call it a night. Still, he was getting more weary and typed another message to prompt her reply. Several more minutes passed and Frank heaved a sigh. He looked back down at his phone and started typing again.
Frank: Iola, we are getting pretty sleepy on this side. I tried texting Cal twice already to ask if it was ok to wrap it up for the night. But she hasn't replied. She might be upset. Can you walk over and plead our case?
Less than a minute later his phone vibrated.
Iola: Sure, Frank. Tired too! I will walk over and persuade her.
At this point, Frank chose to rejoin Chet and Joe. He stealthily moved along the front and finally made his way to where his chums were stationed.
He gave a weary look at them. "You two look how I feel."
Chet put his hand over his mouth as he gave a wide yawn, then looked up at him. "You get Cal to agree to finish this for the night? She didn't respond to my last text."
Frank raised an eyebrow. "You either? I thought she was just mad at me."
Joe managed to look up himself. "What do you mean, bro?"
His brother shrugged. "Dunno, but I texted her twice about leaving and she never replied. Just figured she was upset I was wanting to go and not responding." Before he could construct any further thought his phone vibrated, prompting him to look down at it.
Iola: Frank, you guys better get over here! I can't find her!
Both Chet and Joe could read Frank's face as having received some troubling news. His face was clearly distressed.
"Who was that bro?" Joe inquired urgently.
Frank gestured to them as he began running from their hiding spot. "C'mon!" He yelled over his shoulder. Without waiting for further information both Joe and Chet immediately followed. In less than a minute all three had joined a distressed looking Iola near the garage.
"What's going on?" Chet demanded impatiently.
Iola, looking clearly distressed threw her hands up. "I can't find Callie! I searched this whole area, and I can't find her!" She repeated. Frank immediately pulled a large flashlight from his pack and turned it on.
He looked at his brother. "Joe, search behind the garage. Chet, you look over by the back of the house and check the doors!" Both went into action.
Chet took out his own portable LED flashlight and flipped it on. A strong beam illuminated the area in front of him and he went into action.
"Callie!" The group called out, completely abandoning any previous notion of discretion. But as much as they scanned the area with flashlights bobbing throughout the area and called her name, the more they became frightened.
Chet tried the rear door, but his efforts were in vain. He then bent over the storm cellar doors and confirmed that the heavy chains holding it closed were still locked tight. He returned to the others and shook his head.
Joe emerged from behind the garage and also gave a negative report. "I don't see evidence of anyone having been there at all." He reported.
"Hold up!" Iola's voice called. All eyes turned to where she stood a few feet away. She held up a cell phone, her face painted in concern.
"Her phone!" Chet cried out. He stepped forth and took the phone from Iola. "Where did you find it, sis?"
Iola pointed down at the ground a few feet away. "Was just lying there." She turned nervously, running her hand through her hair, uncertain of what to do.
Frank seized the situation. "Alright, first things first. Chet, check her phone for any messages typed in the noted app or any pictures she might have taken."
Chet nodded. "Right!" he said, taking to the task.
Frank turned to his brother. "Joe, try to see if those garage doors are locked solid. Maybe she went inside to investigate." Joe turned and jogged over to the nearby garage. Frank turned to Iola, leaning over to hold the distressed friend. "Easy now, Iola. Let's keep our heads." He ran his hand along her back, then looked over to Chet. "Anything on that phone, pal?"
Chet held a hand up as he kept his eye on the screen. He then took a couple steps over to show Frank the gallery on Callie's phone. "If I am figuring this right, she used this phone to focus in and take pictures of all the windows. Sometimes videos as well. I'm guessing by the sheer number of them that she would take a photo or video then go back and review them."
Frank nodded his understanding. "Seems to make sense. Can you find anything out of the ordinary?"
Chet continued to scroll through the gallery, then briefly looked over at him. "Might take me a bit to figure that out. There must be hundreds of files from tonight. All of these damn windows!"
Frank shook his head and pointed down at the phone. "Go in reverse order and check the most recent photos or video first."
Chet blinked a few times thoughtfully. "Yeah, that would make sense." He muttered tensely. He took Frank's suggestion and started with the most recent video, holding the screen down for them to see. The video started like the earlier ones. Callie would start with the eastern most windows in her line of sight, leave the camera focused on each pane for about five seconds, then move to the next. About a minute and a half into the video they noticed Callie move the phone down to her side, then back up to the windows. A few moments later the trio gasped as they saw the window flash with light. A moment later they heard a voice. What the hell?
"That's Callie's voice!" Iola cried. They continued to watch the video and it appeared that Callie stepped forward a few steps and refocused on the window. Within five seconds the camera took on a drastically erratic angle and several images flashed quickly as they heard a grunting sound and the phone apparently fell to the ground as the screen when mostly black. They waited tensely for Callie to pick her phone back up, assuming she had dropped it or tripped. But she did not retrieve it. Instead, they heard what they thought was a voice.
Frank looked at Chet. "Was that a voice?"
Chet blinked several times, then slowly nodded. "I want to say it was, but I'll be damned if I know what was said."
Joe came back and shook his head. "Can't get in there! Damn door had no handle on it, but sure was stout and wouldn't move when I put my weight into it! Have you found anything?"
Chet showed Joe the video clip they had just watched. The younger Hardy brother's face clouded instantly. "That light in the window?" He looked up and identified the corner window in the rear of the house. "Did it really light up?"
Frank gestured to the phone. "Pretty hard proof right there, bro. What is more concerning is that she dropped the phone just a few seconds later."
"Could she have tripped?" Joe asked looking about the ground with a light. "Where was the phone found?"
Iola pointed down at a spot. "Right about there." She indicated. Frank and Joe aimed their lights throughout the immediate vicinity. In less than five minutes they had made their determination.
"I don't think she tripped." Frank stated grimly.
Chet looked about fearfully and swallowed hard. "Which only leaves one other option. She was attacked, likely from behind."
Joe nodded his agreement. "You're probably right, Chet. But who? And why?"
Frank took a step towards the house and looked up at the window. "And who is inside that house? That light didn't go on by itself."
Joe looked down thoughtfully. "True. But the bigger question might be why did it go on at all?" All three looked at him questioningly.
"What do you mean, bro?" Frank questioned, not following Joe's train of thought.
Joe gave a confused shrug. "I'm not all that sure to be honest. But why would someone turn the light on and off like that?"
Iola looked up at the window pane. "Especially at one in the morning. No other light had been on in any other window all night."
Chet did his best to maintain his composure and focus. He tossed up his hands in the air. "Uh, I duuno. Maybe they wanted the light to be seen?"
Frank nodded slowly. "I think you are on to something there, Chet. If you know the place is being watched and you want to draw the party out, maybe flashing the light would do the trick."
Chet pointed to the area where the phone was located, then pointed back about 5 feet where the woods started. He walked over to the woods and flashed his light about. A few moments later he came back out with a sober look. "I think she was parked in that little patch of woods by the garage. Lots of crumpled down leaves. So…" He pointed up at the window. "If she saw the light, then instinctively took a few steps forward to come out of her hiding spot, she was fair game and easy to spot."
Joe nodded, following his thought. "And easy to knock out!"
Chet turned to Iola. "Sis, did you hear or see anything coming from Cal's side?" Iola looked down at the ground, then cautiously over at Joe.
Finally, she looked back over at Chet with an embarrassed look. "Bro, I hate to admit it, but that last hour or so, I was not really looking all that much. I figured this was a wasted trip and nothing was going to happen. So, I was texting with Joe just to stay awake." She looked down, clearly feeling bad for not having been paying attention.
Chet put an arm on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up, sis. I think we were all pretty groggy by the time midnight hit."
2:31 AM
Frank looked down at his watch, then at the others. "I don't like this one bit. I am calling the sheriff's office."
Chet gave a desperate nod. "Yeah, man, do it now! We need more feet on the ground to make a search!" Frank nodded, but knew in his mind that the protocol would be more conservative, at least initially. Chet and Iola may fully expect to see twenty men on the ground with dogs and infrared headgear, but that wouldn't be the case. First they would send a standard cruiser with no more than two officers, who would then determine if there was a legitimate need for additional manpower.
He took out his phone and started dialing. Momentarily he stepped away and began talking. Chet held Iola as she stood there thinking the worst.
"This is just crazy!" Iola gasped between tears. "First Maddie and now this!"
Chet rubbed her back as he held her. "Easy, sis, we don't know much yet. Let's have the police get here and look the whole place over. She may well be just in the house or the garage. The cops can look both over and find her!"
Meanwhile, Joe had been standing before the back door studying the size and the intricate carvings in it.
Frank walked up to him. "Should be a deputy here in a few. Any clues on this door?"
Joe nodded. "Looks like the Mead case all over again. Do you think he lent his hardware expertise to others in Bayport?"
Frank shrugged as he ran his fingers over the carvings in the door. "Hard to say, but this does seem very reminiscent of that case."
"Got to wonder if this place has a secret panel too." He said as he looked up at the massive structure.
Frank looked over at Chet and Iola who were still consoling each other, then glanced at his brother. "If the deputies don't tear this place apart, Chet will blow a gasket."
Joe nodded. "Well, maybe he should. His wife just disappeared, and she has to be in the house or nearby."
Frank looked about nervously. As a seasoned police officer he knew that it was paramount to keep a level and cool head in times of crisis. As much of a sinking feeling that he had personally, he knew that he would be of no help if he defaulted into an emotional state.
He nodded his agreement. "Between the time we discovered her missing and the timestamp on the video, is about an hour. I didn't hear any vehicles at all, so one must reason she is relatively close."
Within ten minutes they saw the colored lights of a patrol car's flashers cut through the darkness.
Frank and Joe started towards the road to greet the officers. "Maybe we will get something going." Joe said fretfully. "We are eating time. Valuable time."
Frank nodded tersely. "Yeah."
Callie Morton blinked several times as she tried to focus in the darkness. She had just started to regain consciousness. She felt the floor she was laying on move back and forth and it soon became apparent she was in a vehicle. More specifically, in the trunk of a vehicle! She began to hyperventilate as she tried to raise her head, only to be met with the trunk lid. She looked towards the back which offered the only light. A slight trace of the rear taillights glowing eerily into her small prison.
Callie could tell the car was traveling at a high rate of speed. She felt to her pockets, but then remembered she had dropped her phone when she was knocked out. "Damn!" She muttered, realizing she had no means to communicate with anyone. Her pockets which had contained a small wallet and the flask she had were gone. She pressed up hard on the trunk lid, but it did not yield. Desperately, she felt around hoping to find an emergency trunk release cord. She wasn't too surprised when she couldn't find one. She smiled wryly to herself. "Sure, Cal, they are gonna leave the trunk release intact for you to use!"
She wondered how long it had been since she was knocked out and taken to the car that she was presently captive in. She further wondered who had knocked her out. All she could really recollect was that she saw a light flash in the window of the mansion, then her own lights went out! Her body and head ached badly. Callie winced when she rubbed the back of her head, which now had a fairly large knot protruding from it. She sighed wearily, but knew there wasn't much she could do until the car stopped and she was allowed to get out. When that happened, she would have some questions!
The car continued on, but Callie noticed a pattern from constantly moving to eventually doing a series of starts and stops. As if they had entered an incorporated area with stop lights. Without having been awake the full time it was difficult for Callie to determine how far away from the Daniel's house she was.
Callie tensed when the car stopped, and she heard the sounds of something moving. A grating sound of metal. The sound had a slight ring to it, like the sound of galvanized metal that fences were made of. Perhaps it was the opening of a gate. She wasn't sure. The car started moving again and traveled slowly. A few minutes later the car came to a halt and the engine was turned off. Callie's pulse quickened as she realized it was highly likely she would soon meet her captor!
She steadied herself for possibly attack as she heard a pair of boots scrape against the hard ground. Her breathing increased more as she heard the trunk lock disengage by remote. A moment later the trunk was filled with a powerful beam of light! Callie blinked a few times, then held up her hand to deflect the strong beam of a flashlight shining on her. She kicked and clawed with her hands, and the beam lowered.
"Easy, momma!" a female voice commanded. "Unless you want a second knock on the head, mellow on the kicking."
Callie tried to focus on the silhouette of a slender female. She had completely lowered the flashlight and stood a few feet from the trunk opening with her hands on her hips. Callie cautiously edged forward from her spot deep inside the trunk. She finally was able to make out more detail of the woman. She appeared to be in her thirties, with blonde hair and green eyes.
Callie looked at her for an extended period but determined she didn't recognize her. "What do you want from me?" Callie asked, finding her voice.
The woman took a step forward and gestured at her. "Get out of there, we are running late!"
Running late? For what? Callie thought, quite mystified. She moved slowly as her body ached, but eventually managed to slide from the trunk and stand up. She felt a bit unsteady but was able to maintain balance.
She looked at the woman, who hadn't offered her any indication of what they were late for. "What are we running late for?" Callie managed to ask. The woman gestured around them. Callie took a couple steps and turned her head. It became quickly apparent to her that they were at the Bayport Regional Airport. There were several private aircraft nearby, one of which had the steps lowered and a dim light coming from the doorway. "We are going on a trip?" she asked nervously.
The woman smirked, then rolled her eyes. "Very good, momma."
Callie wondered why the woman referred to her as momma. She had used the term twice now and it seemed odd. She looked at her pale face and the piercing green eyes. She looked down thoughtfully, recollecting the previous night where Frank had given them information about Melanie Daniel's granddaughter. Her eyes flashed and met her captors. "Lila Crane, I presume?"
A sadistic smile crossed the woman's lips. "Very good, mamma. Now stand still." She took out a phone and the way she was holding it, Callie assumed she was getting her photo taken.
Callie pushed a pretentious smile to her face. "Will this do?" Lila Crane appeared agitated by Callie's attempted sarcasm. She took a step forward and was almost face to face with her. Lila then raised her phone again to take another photo of Callie. But despite the situation, Callie was becoming aggravated on top of her anxiety. With a mighty swing her hand made contact with Lila's and the phone flew out of her hand. Without further prompting Lila immediately placed her hand around Callie's throat and pushed her against the car.
Callie looked about. Even though it was the middle of the night, she knew the airport had an abundance of security cameras. Perhaps in causing a scene she could buy more time for anyone who may be monitoring the airport security to see her and offer assistance.
Lila Crane seemed to be reading her mind and quickly lowered her hand from Callie's throat. This offered her captive a bit of security in knowing they were on equal ground. But the security would be short lived. Lila partially opened her jacket to reveal a pistol resting in a holster. Any remaining humor had long since left her face. She looked at Callie sternly. "Look, momma, I can see you are the spirited type. But make no mistake, I am in control here. Make the wrong move and I will not give a second thought to ending you here and now. Do we understand each other?" She asked in an icy voice.
Reluctantly, Callie nodded. She didn't know why this woman was abducting her or what was really happening, but she was clearly giving a serious warning. Callie had enough education in criminal psychology to know when someone was likely bluffing and when they weren't. The body language of Lila Crane clearly told her that she was not bluffing. "Yeah, we understand each other."
Lila nodded, then looked about the ground for her phone. In the dimly lit area, she could not find it. A moment later a figure appeared in the doorway of the plane and looked over at her.
"We got to go now!" the man said gruffly. Lila nodded hastily, then looked back down on the ground for her phone.
Failing to find it she sighed, then glared at Callie. "Ok, walk to the plane and don't even think about running off. I've got a laser sight on this Sig, and you'd be an easy target."
The idea of being abducted was bad enough, but Callie was not a fan of air travel at all. She looked at the plane nervously. The only thing worse than flying on a commercial airliner was flying in a small private jet. She had never quite gotten over the crash she was in years ago with her friends. With Lila prompting her, she relented and walked towards the plane with her captor close behind. They ascended the steps and Callie found herself in an empty cabin. She peered towards the cockpit, but the door was closed. Lila Crane entered behind her and gestured towards a seat. "Sit there." She ordered. Callie complied and watched as the woman dropped the cabin door into place and secured the locking arm. She then took her own seat which faced Callie.
Callie looked across to her kidnapper. "So, is this your normal line of work? Kidnapping?"
Lila Crane raised an eyebrow at Callie and smirked. She knew she might be subject to a lot of questions given that the woman was also a detective. She took a deep breath. "I prefer the title procurer."
The small jet powered up its engines and a nearby phone buzzed.
Lila picked it up. "Yes?" She sat quietly for a moment as she listened. "Yeah, we are good to go. Get us going before we run into any issues. Right." She hung up the phone. A few moments later the plane started moving slowly. Callie tensed up. "Would you like a drink?"
Normally, Callie would never consider drinking in such a situation, but the prospect of air travel in a small jet had been making her anxiety spike. Reluctantly, she nodded. "Yeah, what the hell."
Lila managed a smile as she opened a nearby cabinet which held several liquor bottles. She glanced up. "I suspect you are an Irish whiskey kind of gal." She proceeded to fill a glass with ice.
Callie was a bit disturbed by the statement, which suggested that she had been under this woman's surveillance to some degree. She observed that the plane had reached its spot on the end of the runway. The sound of the engines spooling up caused her to swallow hard. "Yeah, a tall Bushmills would be nice." She rasped nervously.
Lila who seemed unaffected by the fact the plane was taking off, continued with pouring her captive a tall Irish whiskey on the rocks. As the plane traveled down the runway at high speed, she noted Callie's fingers digging in the armrest. A moment later the plane launched into the air. Callie's head fell back, and her eyes clinched tightly closed. Lila looked at her in amusement and thrust the drink into her hand. "Take this. You seem to need it!"
Callie's eyes opened and she managed to take a breath, realizing they were airborne, and the plane seemed stable. She accepted the drink and took a long gulp. Soon she had emptied the glass and looked at Lila. "Can I have another?"
Lila smirked, then nodded offering her a refill. "All the amenities of first class, momma. Besides, had you resisted the alcohol I would have probably had to inject you with something which would have made you pass out completely. Or worse yet, put a Maglite to your skull again."
Callie glared at her, but was still puzzled as to why Lila kept referring to her as momma. She took another long drink. The alcohol had granted her a modicum of bravery. So, she assumed she might be able to get away with asking some questions without being shot. After all, it was quite unlikely the woman would discharge a firearm inside a plane and kill them all with the explosive decompression. "So, you were saying that you are a procurer?"
Lila Crane nodded as she looked at her glowing captive. "Yes."
Callie raised her eyebrows. "Of what?"
Lila blinked and made a gesture. "It should seem obvious, shouldn't it? Well, I suppose this request is not the usual one. After all, you are a bit older that the usual. But as I understand it, this is personal, so I guess he made an exception."
"He?" Callie echoed.
Lila Crane nodded in a relaxed fashion and leaned back. "Think of me as being his Ghislaine Maxwell."
Callie's lower lip quivered slightly. "And who is he…exactly?"
Lila gave her a sardonic look. "Well, certainly not Jeffrey Epstein, dear momma."
Chet sat on the stoop near the front door of the Daniel's home. There were three groups of officers from the sheriff's department combing through the woods in search of his wife. He was fatigued and wrought over Callie's disappearance.
Frank approached him with a cup of coffee. "Drink this, man." He offered. His friend reluctantly accepted the drink and took a brief sip.
Chet heaved a heavy sigh and looked up at his friend. "Frank, when the hell are they going to break this door in and find her?" Frank knew that there was a reasonable belief that Callie could indeed be inside. But the sheriff's department didn't see it so cut and dry.
Frank made a gesture towards the house. "Chet, if it were up to me, man, well we'd be inside already. But they are working on getting a warrant. As you well know, they have to give a judge good reason with actual evidence."
"Or simply have probable cause." Chet finished, raising his eyebrows. Frank nodded in a roundabout fashion.
He tossed his hands up. "Man, if it were my call, yes, we would have probable cause and be in there! Without a doubt, Collig would defer to my judgment and order it. But we aren't dealing with Collig or Bayport PD."
Chet tossed his hands up. "Frank, my wife is gone. We have a phone video recording of her getting conked on the head."
Frank pointed down at him. "Or tripping."
Chet's eyes narrowed. "Surely, you don't think that!"
"Well, no, I don't. I think something more sinister is at play here. But you have to understand that we don't have any solid evidence that anyone that lives in the house has any direct connection to Callie disappearing. The sheriff is playing this card because if they are to go by the book, well, they must. When I said that Collig would concur with my probable cause finding, it meant that he would do it as a favor to me and the family."
Chet shook his head in aggravation. "Well, what are they doing now then by searching the woods? Doesn't that mean they suspect something is afoul?"
Frank looked down and kicked the leaves, then looked at Chet. "They are doing that as a courtesy to me and the family. It's one thing to do a courtesy search of the property around the premises. It's quite another to go inside the premises and look for a connection to a crime."
Chet's head sank into his hands. A short time later Joe, Iola and a deputy walked up to the front stoop.
Chet looked up with hope. "So, what's the verdict?" He inquired with urgency. The deputy in charge was named Stillman.
The officer looked down with a kind expression. "Sir, we could find no trace of your missing wife. And while the circumstances are fishy, they are not enough for the judge that we woke up to be able to issue a warrant." The deputy looked down. "He made that rather clear, in fact. And we simply do not have enough to call it probable cause and enter."
Chet again shook his head in frustration. "So, where does that put us?"
Deputy Stillman looked at the group and sighed. "Well, we have been ordered to return to duty. Now, I suppose that a private detective who had a solid gut instinct could follow said instinct. I would further speculate that even if nothing turned up and some owner caused a ruckus, it's unlikely any member of a prominent family of detectives would have any legal fallout from it."
Iola's eyebrows perked up. "Are you suggesting that my husband and brother-in-law take their instinct and make entry to the house?"
Deputy Stillman shook his head. "No, ma'am. That would be illegal, and I could never make such an advisement." He paused and turned. "On the record." He added under his breath. He coughed abruptly and grabbed his walkie-talkie and held the send button. "This is 417, we are going to wrap this up on the double." A moment later a series of replies came back affirming the message. The deputy looked back at them. "I'm sorry we could not find any indication of foul play. But I imagine the Hardy family is resourceful enough to think of alternatives. Please feel free to contact us if you happen to find anything which would tip the scale of probable cause."
Frank smiled and patted the deputy's arm. "Can do, deputy. Thank you for your assistance in sweeping the property."
Stillman nodded and looked seriously at them. "For what it's worth, we went half a mile in all directions and couldn't find anything. At least not in the dark like this. But again, off the record, I would do exactly what I thought was best to do." He turned to Chet. "Sir, you are of course welcome to file a missing person's report after 24 hours have passed."
Chet nodded to the officer. "Alright, then. Understood and I will do that when the 24 hours has passed. Thank you, deputy." Chet was not thrilled with the attention the matter had received up to this point. But he also knew that being a law enforcement agency, the sheriff's department had to follow the letter of the law. Breaking into a mansion based on gut instinct would lead to a short career in law enforcement for any officer.
Deputy Stillman gave a brief wave to the group and went to join the other officers who were already putting away their search gear and returning to their cars. The group watched as 4 patrol cars turned around and headed back out the private lane towards the county road.
Chet and Iola turned to the Hardys. Both Frank and Joe knew they were on the spot, and truth be told were happy to oblige.
Frank sighed deeply then looked at the door. "Ok, we tried to do it by the book. Now we do it our way! We need to get in there since there is a good chance Cal is inside."
Chet was still quite nervous but was glad to hear Frank was willing to put the law aside and take action to help a friend. "Good man. So how do we get inside?"
Joe turned towards the front door and pointed at the intricate carvings. "I am of the opinion that this was a door designed by John Mead back in the day. It has no knob or keyhole. So, I suggest we start working these carvings and see if we can't get a keyhole to appear."
Frank grunted. "If this belief is indeed true, we are going to run into a problem when we find the keyhole."
"No key?" Iola guessed.
Joe nodded soberly. "Unfortunately, baby. And these doors are built even more solid than the doors at the Mead house. So, they aren't something we can simply open by pushing with enough force. That door must be six inches thick. Unless we are going to drive a car into it, she isn't going to open without a key."
Chet sighed, chaffing at the long delay. "Guys, why not find the damn hole first and then we can worry about the key. If anything, I can pay a good locksmith to come here early and get us in if we can find the hole. And if all else fails, I will go get my truck and drive it into the front door."
Frank placed a hand on his stressed friend's shoulder. "Let's hope we don't need the truck, pal. But I hear what you're saying. One step at a time. Come on, Joe, let's work this door!"
Joe joined Frank as Iola held a flashlight steadily on the door. The pair of detectives pushed, pulled, and twisted several of the intricate wood carvings to no avail.
Frank snapped his fingers. "Let's try using combinations of manipulations. Remember how that was the case at the Mead house, Joe?"
His brother nodded eagerly. "Right! Sometimes we had to move two objects at once. Let's give it a try."
The brothers worked with renewed effort and tried to move multiple parts of the carvings at once. Frank had found that a tail of one of the cat like animals carved in the upper left hand corner of the door moved. At the same time, he pushed on one of the eyes of another cat carving to the right. The Hardys were surprised when the eye pushed into the door frame. But instead of revealing anything they heard a distinct sound. As if a ball bearing or a marble was traveling along a channel in child's toy maze.
Joe looked utterly mystified as they listened to the sound of the alleged ball traveling through the door. "What the hell is that?" he asked aloud. The sound continued until it seemed like the ball had reached the center of the door. At this point it stopped and they heard a distinct click.
Hoping that this had engaged some kind of lock release, the group pushed on the door, but it was still holding firmly in place!
Frank scratched his head. "That was just weird. We did something, but what?"
Joe looked thoughtful for several moments, then turned back to his brother. "Frank! You remember how the secret panel at the Mead house was activated by a magnet?"
Frank nodded. "Well, yes. But I don't see any panel of metal that we can access to insert a magnet."
Joe shook his head. "No, but let's try to think of taking it to the next level. Now that thing rolling around inside seemed like what? A marble or maybe a ball bearing the size of a marble?"
Frank nodded. "Well, yeah."
Joe gestured towards the door. "Now hear me out. What happened when the ball reached this general area in the center of the door?" he gestured towards the middle of the door.
"It clicked!" Chet cried.
Joe nodded. "Exactly! It clicked and I think at least partially engaged the tumbler on some kind of electromagnetic lock."
Frank was beginning to catch on. "Right, bro! And most any lock I've heard of has more than one tumbler. Maybe there are multiple tumblers that need to be triggered. Which would mean that a very sophisticated lock might have a series of marbles or bearings that need to be released to engage the lock release completely."
Iola shook her head. "Who makes such a lock?"
Joe offered a brief laugh. "A pretty eccentric guy like the older John Mead. This kind of thing would have been right up his alley!"
Iola made a face. "Clearly Mr. Mead never rushed home needing to use the bathroom with a system like this!" Her husband again laughed at this thought.
"Let's search for more triggers!" Chet urged. Within twenty minutes the group had managed to trigger two more ball bearings to fall to the center of the door, triggering a distinct clicking sound. Still, the door held firmly in place.
Frank sighed as he looked at the door. "The average door bolt has four tumblers."
"If you ask me, there was nothing average about this guy or this door." Chet muttered. But as he continued to work the carvings, he managed to find the correct combination to cause another ball bearing to release. The sound of it traveling through the chambers of the door lent them faith that they were on to something.
Finally, the sound stopped, and once again a distinct clicking sound occurred. But this time an additional sound echoed through the large door and then a faint buzzing sound was heard!
Before they knew it, the huge door crept open with an eerie creaking sound.
Chet closed his eyes and said a prayer. "Thank God! Now let's find Cal!"