Fellowship & Fairydust

Frank and Joe gathered the guys together during lunch to lay out the plans for that day. They made it perfectly clear that talking to Pretzel Pete was of the utmost importance, but so was keeping an eye on the Pollitt place. Slim and Pete quickly voiced that they might be able to do the lookout, provided that there was at least one other person so they could concentrate on their homework as well. 

Biff shrugged. “I could help with the lookout again. I am the only other person besides you two who knows what that ship looks like.”

Frank nodded with appreciation and relief. “That is true. Thanks Biff, I really appreciate it.” 

Biff shot him a grin. “No problem man.” 

Chet spoke up. “I’ll help too. You guys did find my car pretty quickly, it’s the least I could do.” 

“Thanks Chet. Well, with the four of you, I think that’s covered.” 

“But, what should we do?” asked Jack, indicating himself, Jerry, Tony, and Phil. 

“Besides homework,” Jerry quickly added with a quick glance at Pete. Pete grinned. 

Frank chuckled. “As long as you do your homework, you can follow us.” 

They glanced at each other before Tony asked, “But, you said that just you and Joe were going to meet this Pretzel Pete.” 

Joe nodded. “He did, and we are, but we do need people to be on the lookout if something were to happen. It was the only way mom would agree to let us go meet him.”

A grin began to spread on Tony’s face. “Can Phil and I keep an eye from the Napoli?” 

Frank grinned. “Sure! That’s a great idea! You two keep an eye from the ocean side, while Jack and Jerry can keep an eye from the land side. Perfect!” 

“Which means that Jack and Jerry will be our communications. If something happens at the Pollitt place, text Jack and Jerry first. They’ll let you know if it’s alright to contact us,” Joe told the other four. 

Frank nodded. “We don’t want any unnecessary interruptions while we’re in this meeting.” 

“Do you really think it’s going to take that long?” asked Slim. 

Frank shrugged. “We don’t know, we’re just going to be prepared for anything right now.” The others nodded. The bell rang, startling them. 

“Lunch is over already?” blurted Joe as he tried to quickly eat as much as he could. 

“Joe, just come on!” blurted Frank as the group dashed off to their classes. 

“We’ll meet you at your house!” blurted Pete before he and Slim left the group. 

Later, as the boys pulled into the garage, Joe let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t wait for school to be over. Solving mysteries would be so much easier when we’re not having to worry about schoolwork.” 

Frank chuckled. “Just a couple more days, Joe, you can hold out until then, right?” 

Joe shot him a look as the two walked towards their house. “Are you nuts? We still have Field Day on Friday, finals on Tuesday, and the graduation on Wednesday! Ugh, why can’t they just finish it all this week?” 

Frank sighed. “You know why. That blizzard pushed us back a few days.” 

Joe threw up his hands. “I know, it was a rhetorical question, sheesh.” He opened the door, and the two walked in to find their mother sitting on the sofa with a bright smile on her face. 

Frank gasped. “Did Dad call?” 

She laughed, but she nodded. “You know my signals way too well.”

“Well yeah, you are our mother,” quipped Joe as he just about bounced onto the sofa. “So, what did he say?” 

She patted his cheek. “The majority of it was for my ears only, young man. He’s still going to call after supper to talk to you two. But I can say that apparently your wigs came through, and he might have figured out who your thief is.” 

“Alright!” whooped Joe. 

“Wow, that’s the closest we’ve ever gotten. But now we have to find him and get the police to arrest him.” There was a knock at the door, and Frank went to open it for their friends while Joe quickly explained to Laura their plans. 

She nodded gratefully at the large group of friends. “I’m so glad you have my sons’ backs.” 

Biff grinned. “We’ve always got them.” 

“After everything they’ve done for us, how could we not?” said Chet. 

Tony placed his hands on his hips and gave them a broad grin. “We are the Bayport Buddies after all!” Everyone eyed him. 

“Did you just come up with that?” asked Phil. 

Tony shrugged. “Maybe.” 

“It’s horrible,” said Jack. 

“No,” said Biff, “it’s not horrible. It’s just something you would use for a group of middle-schoolers, not us.” 

“Bayport Detectives is more of our thing,” said Joe as he got up from the sofa. 

“Bayport Detectives does sound better,” said Jack, “but isn’t your dad already a Bayport detective?” 

“Another word for detective is sleuth,” said Frank. “We could be the Bayport Sleuths, but, we can worry about that later. We have a meeting to get to.” 

“Right,” chorused the boys. Frank and Joe made sure that Biff, Chet, Slim, and Pete were situated with the telescope before they rejoined the other four and took off. They dropped Tony and Phil off at Tony’s boathouse before they went towards the commercial docks. Jerry pulled the minivan into a parking lot. 

“Alright, gentlemen, here is your stop. Good luck finding Pretzel Pete.” 

Frank chuckled as he and Joe unbuckled. “Thanks. Watch, the majority of the time we spend out there is looking for him and the meeting itself is short.” 

“I certainly hope so. We do have to be back home for Dad’s call,” said Joe as he opened the door. “See you later!” The two quickly got out of the minivan and began walking casually onto the docks, their eyes peeled for the pretzel vendor. They saw men coming to and fro, loading and unloading crates. There were men cleaning the ships, men checking to make sure that the right crates were loaded on the right ships, and guys who looked like officers making sure that everything was on schedule. There were also men helping unload luggage while passengers hailed taxis or entered the nearby restaurants. They also noticed the sleek brow of the Napoli, but gave no indication that they recognized it, much less saw it. 

“Spotting a pretzel vendor should be easy among all these sailors,” remarked Frank. 

“Then where is he?” 

“This is a pretty large area, Joe, he could be anywhere right now.” 

“Well, I hope we find him soon, I’m starting to get hungry, and a pretzel sounds good right about now.” 

Frank sighed. “Of course . . . wait, did you hear that?” The two strained their ears. There was a faint call of “Pretzels!” 

Joe shot Frank a grin. “You see? If there’s food we’re looking for, my stomach does the detecting.” 

Frank rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure Chet’s better at that than you.” 

“Whatever you say, sourpuss, let’s just go get some pretzels.” 

“Alright.” The two dashed off in the direction of the sound of “pretzels! Pretzels for sale!” The two paused to pant when they came across a guy with a full, greying beard and a box full of pretzels. He blinked in surprise as Joe held up a finger. 

“We’d, we’d like a pretzel,” said Joe. 

“Two pretzels, and the nearest fountain,” said Frank between breaths. 

“Well, I can help with the pretzels,” said the vendor, “but you’ll have to go buy a water bottle from one of these fancy joints.” 

Frank sighed. “Go figure. But you are Pretzel Pete, right?” 

Pete nodded slowly. “Yeah, why do you ask?” 

“We’re Fenton Hardy’s sons, he told us to come talk to you.” 

“He was wondering if you had any more information for him. He’s currently out of town on business, so he sent us,” Frank explained. But then Frank looked closer at Pretzel Pete. There was something familiar about him, especially those eyes. Where did he see those eyes before? 

“Oh, you’d better follow me. Too many prying eyes and ears.” The Hardys nodded and followed Pretzel Pete to an abandoned warehouse. 

“Good place for an ambush,” muttered Joe as he and Frank glanced around the building. 

Pretzel Pete chuckled. “You think so, eh? Good thing there’s no one here but us then. I’m on your side, after all.” 

Frank shot him a nervous smile. “Right. So, um, what information did you find out for our dad?” 

Pete handed each of them a pretzel. “Go ahead and eat it, and I’ll tell you what I found out.” The boys each began munching on the pretzels while Pete helped himself to one. “Well, your dad came to me, asking me to keep an eye out for any suspicious people, especially when it came to smuggling.” He took a bit of his pretzel before continuing. “There was this guy I found out was smuggling items out of America to India, only recently found out his name is Ali Singh.” 

The boys glanced at him in surprise. First, because this news was a great surprise, they were getting somewhere! Secondly, Pete’s voice had changed, and they knew that voice. 

“Jack? Jack Wayne?” blurted Joe, nearly choking on his pretzel. 

“Wh-what?” 

“Your voice, it changed!” blurted Frank. 

Pete’s, or Jack’s, mouth dropped before doing a facepalm. “Fenton was afraid I would do that too.” He sighed before taking off his beard and nodding at the boys. “Yeah, you found me out. I’ve been playing as Pretzel Pete over the years whenever your dad needed someone to watch the docks. He often warned me that I tended to switch back to my normal voice when I got too comfortable.” He grinned at the boys. “But what he forgot was that I only get comfortable around him and his family.” 

“And that’s why we’ve never heard of Pretzel Pete before!” said Joe. 

“Or seen you when we visited the docks!” said Frank. “Dad usually got his info.” 

Jack nodded. “Fenton figured the fewer people who knew about this, the better. Well, now we’ve added two more busybodies to the gossip list.” 

“Hey!” 

Jack merely shot Joe a grin. 

Frank cleared his throat. “So you found out that Ali Singh is the go-between for the smugglers and their customers in India.” Jack nodded. “Anything else?” 

Jack shrugged. “Only that he’s working for one of the passenger ships. I’ve narrowed it down to a couple, but I strongly suspect it’s the Marco Polo.” 

“How come?” asked Frank. 

“First of all, the size of the boat. It’s the bigger one of the two. Secondly, their captain leaves his crew unsupervised. I guess he thinks he can trust them all, and to be fair, I don’t see why not, they’re a bunch of great sailors. But, Ali Singh, well, he’s obviously a better actor than I am.” 

“And you’re pretty good, which means he’s really good,” said Joe. 

“Oh thanks.” 

Joe smirked. “You’re welcome.” 

“But not good enough if he’s let slip that he does the selling for the gang, and that it’s easy to figure out he’s working for the Marco Polo.” 

“Well, mostly easy,” said Jack. “But the third reason why I think so, and the main reason, to be honest, is that Ali tries to avoid going to the Marco Polo. Only problem is, he keeps going to a different ship each time, and I don’t see him after the Marco Polo has left port. So, you know, not exactly the best distraction.” Joe and Frank chuckled. 

“Nah, he just didn’t realize that a seasoned detective was watching him,” said Joe.  

Jack scoffed. “A regular vendor would have come to the same conclusion. Still not the greatest.” 

“True. Did you find out anything else?” 

“Just something of a confirmation that Snattman is the ringleader of the smugglers, that their center of operations is at the Pollitt place, and they somehow found out that there’s a big order of medicine coming into our pharmacy.” 

The boys gasped. “Biff’s dad!” 

“We should warn them!” said Joe. 

“Don’t! The medicine won’t be here until Monday. That should give us enough time to plan a trap. Your dad’s the best one when it comes to that, so we should wait until he gets back.” 

“We don’t even know when that will be!” 

“If you’re gathering this info for him, this should get him back in Bayport by tomorrow night. But no word, I mean none, about the medicine or me being Pretzel Pete is to be spoken to anyone else, understand?” 

“Yes sir.” 

Jack picked up the beard and began putting it back on. “Good. Now, you two better get out of here, or the questions really will be flying.” The boys nodded and dashed out of the warehouse. They slowed their pace to a quick walk, but as soon as they saw the minivan, they booked it. 

“Text Tony and Phil, it’s time to head back to our house,” said Frank as he and Joe buckled in. 

“Got it,” said Jack as he pulled out his phone and sent the text. They went to pick up Tony and Phil, and Jerry drove as fast as he dared back to the Hardy residence. They made it just in time for dinner, and got a report in the negative from Biff, Chet, Slim, and Pete. They had just barely finished tidying up the kitchen after dinner when the phone rang. Frank and Joe dashed up the stairs to the study to answer it. 

“Hi boys.” 

“Hi dad!” 

“Did Pretzel Pete have anything?” 

“Oh boy did he,” said Joe with a chuckle. 

“What’s so funny?” 

The boys took turns giving their father the entire conversation. 

Fenton chuckled. “I warned him about that. But, I guess if we are the only ones he’s comfortable around, then he’s fine. And it’s a good thing I was planning on coming back tomorrow, looks like we might have this gang rounded up by Monday is everything works out. And a good thing too, I’m going to have another case right as I finish this one up.” 

“Phew,” said Joe with a low whistle. “Nonstop, huh?” 

Fenton chuckled. “Still sure you want to become detectives?” 

“Yes!’ chorused the boys. 

“What about the wigs? What did you find out?” asked Frank. 

“They were made here in New York, definitely, and custom-made for a local theater actor. They were stolen some time before Chet’s car was stolen. And before the wigs were stolen, another car was stolen.” 

“Oh wow,” said Joe. 

“Hmm,” said Frank. 

“What?” 

“Maybe he stole Chet’s car because the car he took ran out of gas, or he crashed it?” 

“It’s a possibility. Maybe you can have Chet look for an abandoned car near his farm. It was a dark blue sedan. And if you do find it, let Collig know immediately.” 

“And maybe there will be clues!” 

“If it’s the guy the police are sure it is, it’s doubtful.” 

“Who do the police think it is?” 

“A guy by the name of John Jackley, nicknamed Red by, well, just about everyone because of his red hair. He hardly ever left any clues.” 

“Is it the same shade of red hair as Greg Mason?” asked Joe. 

“Oh definitely not. Greg’s looks lighter, and has a little more orange than what Jackley does. In fact, Jackley’s hair is a little more commonly found than Greg’s. That wig he used was for a Shakespearean play.” 

“Wow, Greg has the same hair color as a Shakespeare character. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled with that,” said Joe with a soft chuckle. 

Fenton chuckled. “I’m sure he will. Listen, I have one more thing to look into for my case tonight and then I have to hit the sack early so I can get home early.” 

“That will be swell Dad, Mom will definitely be happy.” 

“Her and me both. Goodnight, boys, I’ll see you two after school tomorrow.” 

“Well,” said Frank, “if there is a dark blue sedan at the Morton farm, we might head over there first.” 

“That sounds fine. Just get back home as quickly as possible. I’ll need you to take over watching the Pollitt place so I can plan the trap. Bye!” 

“Alright, bye Dad!” Frank hung up the phone and they dashed down the stairs to let the others know what they had found out. Laura and Trudy were both relieved to hear that Fenton would be coming back the next day and Chet promised to look for a dark blue sedan on his way home. 

Sometime later, after all their friends had left, Frank and Joe were taking turns looking out the telescope and quickly getting their homework done when the phone rang. Joe, who had been working on some math problems and was the closest, lunged for the phone.

“Hello?” 

“I found it!! I found the dark blue sedan!!”

 

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