Fellowship & Fairydust

No sooner had Frank told their father what had happened than Fenton ordered them to go to the Morton’s house. He would call the police and tell the women where they had gone. Without another word, the boys dashed down the stairs and into the garage. They quickly put on their helmets and started up the bikes. They sped towards the Morton’s, hoping Chet was alright and that nothing else bad had happened. Joe reached the farmhouse first. He parked his bike and nearly threw off his helmet as Chet came dashing down the patio steps. Frank parked his bike and quickly joined them. Their friend’s face was lined with worry. 

“Chet, what happened?” Frank asked as calmly as he could, though his heart was racing a mile a minute. 

Chet wrung his hands. “Oh, why did I have to go and do something stupid like that?” 

“Chet,” said Joe firmly as he placed a hand on Chet’s shoulder, “just tell us what happened.” 

“I pulled Queen out of the garage to the front porch,” said Chet, indicating the path he drove from the garage, “so I could get my bags in the trunk and take off. Mom and dad had already gone by then, so I had to lock up.” Frank and Joe nodded. The Mortons often pulled their cars to the front porch before doing anything else. They had forgotten to lock their front door one too many times and they had come home a couple of times to find a few homeless men wandering around. They hadn’t stolen anything besides some food, but Mr. Morton hadn’t wanted to take another chance. “I opened the trunk and went back into the house for my bags. I did a quick check over to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything when I heard the trunk slam shut followed by the driver’s door. I rushed outside just in time to see the guy drive away. I tried to run after him, but he was off. Oh, why did I leave it unlocked!” 

Joe patted Chet’s shoulder reassuringly. “You didn’t know there was a car thief hanging around, just waiting for you to leave your car alone for a few minutes.” 

“Huh?” 

Frank nodded. “Joe’s right. He had to have been watching you. And with as quickly as he worked, that means he’s done this before.”

“Oh great, Queen’s been stolen by an experienced car thief! She’s long gone by now!” He placed his head in his hands and moaned.

“Did you see which way he went?” asked Frank. 

Chet nodded solemnly. “Towards Bayport.” 

Joe glanced at Frank. “But, we didn’t see it when we were on our way over.” 

Frank’s forehead furrowed. “He must have been booking it.” 

“But if he was booking it towards Bayport, someone would have seen him,” said Joe, his excitement rising. 

Frank’s eyes widened. “You’re right! Chet, get your things and let’s get going! We’ll head to the police station and file a report . . .” 

“But we can keep an eye and ear out for anyone who might have seen it!” exclaimed Joe before dashing off towards his bike. Frank followed Chet into his house and grabbed one of the two bags. Chet grabbed the other and made sure the door was locked before following Frank to the bikes. They loaded the bags onto Frank’s bike before Chet climbed on Joe’s bike. They took off towards Bayport. They passed a few farms before reaching the outskirts of town. They slowed down to keep to the speed limit and keep an eye out for anyone who might have seen someone. Though, Joe was figuring that, since nearly everyone knew the Queen by sight, would recognize Chet and tell them something. His eyes nearly bulged when he saw a girl his age standing off to the side, her fists clenched and shaking with rage. 

He came to a stop in front of her, Frank slowing down behind him. “Vanessa! Are you alright?” Vanessa Bender used to be Joe’s girlfriend, but the two cordially broke up. She was now going out with Greg Mason and strived to bring peace between the two families. At least Greg and Joe stopped their fights when she asked. They respected her too much not to comply. 

The blonde turned to him, but her green eyes widened when she saw Chet. “Chet! That guy . . . your car . . .” 

“He stole it!” blurted Chet. 

“What happened?” asked Joe. 

“He was driving so fast, he, he nearly ran me over!” 

“Are you alright?” asked Joe. 

She waved her hand. “I’m fine, just taken by surprise, and furious. I’m late for a date with Greg!” 

“Which way did he go?” asked Frank. 

Vanessa pointed. “He took a right down Main Street.” She looked at them. “You catch him and make sure he pays.” 

“If we can catch up to him now,” said Frank. “Did you get a good look at him?” 

Vanessa shook her head. “All I could see was that mop of red hair, it . . .” Her eyes widened. “It made me think of Greg’s hair!” 

“Well that should help us find him in a crowd,” said Joe. “We see two guys with that shade of red hair and one of them’s Greg, the other guy’s our man. Don’t worry, Ness, we’ll get him. Even if it’s not today, we will get him.” 

“Yeah, we have to. He’s got my car!” 

“And we’re going to lose him if we don’t get going. Thanks for everything Vanessa!” said Frank. 

“No problem!” she called out, waving as the trio took the right down Main Street. They met up with a few more people who pointed them in the direction of the Queen. They finally had to stop the chase when their search took them to the highway heading north out of Bayport. They could see miles of road, but no yellow jalopy could be seen. They turned around and went back into Bayport, heading for the police station. They parked and dashed into the police station, rushing towards the chief’s office. 

“Chief Collig!” blurted Joe and Chet as they dashed into the office, but were stopped dead in their tracks by an odd sight. A few townsfolk were surrounding a rather miffed Greg Mason. Adam and Mr. Mason were arguing with the townsfolk while Chief Collig was trying to calm everyone down. 

“You can’t forget that shade of red!” blurted one man. 

“But why would my son do such a thing?” asked Mr. Mason with a snarl. 

“There’s no doubt it was him! No one else in Bayport has that shade of hair!” 

“Besides, it was the car of Chet Morton, the close friend of the Hardy boys!” said another man. 

“You saw my car?” Chet shouted. The commotion in the office paused long enough to look at the three newcomers. 

“Frank! Joe! Chet! It’s good to see you!” said Chief Collig. A look of relief passed over his face as he mouthed the word ‘help’. 

“How could I forget seeing it?” grumbled one man. “It ran over my vegetable display!”

Chet gasped. “Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that, Mr. Rocco! I’ll help you put it back together!”

Mr. Rocco shook his head. “No need, it was your car, but you weren’t the one who drove it.” He pointed a menacing finger at Greg. “He did!” 

“So where’s the Queen now?” asked Frank. 

The men glanced at him in surprise. “Say what?” said Mr. Rocco. 

Joe nodded. “If Greg drove it, he would have had to have stashed it somewhere.” He looked at Greg. “Where did you hide it?” 

“I didn’t steal it.” Greg’s eyes flashed, but Joe could tell he was telling the truth.

“Then what were you doing near my store?” asked Mr. Rocco. 

“I was on my way to a date with Vanessa Bender, that’s what!” 

At that moment, Vanessa burst into the room. “Greg!” She rushed into his arms.

Greg’s eyes softened at the sight of her. “Vanessa! I’m so sorry I didn’t text you, but . . .” 

She glanced at him in shock. “Then you didn’t get my text?” 

Greg slowly shook his head. “No.” 

“That jerk who stole Chet’s jalopy nearly ran me over!” 

Greg’s eyes widened. “What?” 

Frank stepped in. “Yes, we found her by the side of the road and she told us where she saw the Queen going.” 

Chief Collig glanced between the Hardys and the Masons. “Something tells me you have more information on this than we do. What did you boys find out?” 

Frank, Joe, and Chet took turns telling what they had found out, and where the trail ended. Collig quickly sat down at his desk and picked up his phone. 

“Stephanie, put out an APB on a man with fiery red hair. He stole a yellow jalopy, Chet Morton’s yellow jalopy, to be exact. He was last seen heading north out of Bayport. Sounds to me like he’s making a quick getaway. Look for any recent crimes in the nearby vicinity that were committed by a guy that match this guy’s description.” 

“Yes sir,” came the voice on the line before Collig hung up the phone. 

Collig turned to everyone else. “Well, looks like the Hardys have done it again. They’ve cleared the Masons of a crime they didn’t commit. Now everyone get out of my office!” The group grumbled and mumbled as they walked out of the office. Greg held Vanessa close, but the two, Adam, and Mr. Mason nodded cordially at the Hardys on their way out. Collig let out a sigh. He glanced at the Hardys once everyone had cleared out. “Something tells me a crime they would have never stooped to committing.” 

Joe cracked a smile. “Even though we’re not on good terms, Chief, you are right about that.” 

Collig nodded. “Good. Now, why are you still here? I thought I said everyone clear out.”

“I just wanted to give  you this, sir,” said Frank as he pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and placed it on Collig’s desk. “It’s a list of people who saw the route of the Queen. If you needed more information, you can talk to them.”

Collig nodded with approval. “Thank you Frank.” Collig turned to Chet. “Sorry about your car, Chet, but I will contact you as soon as we’ve heard something.” 

“Thanks chief. I know you’ll find her soon,” said Chet. 

“I definitely will, unless the Hardys beat me to it,” said Collig, glancing at the Hardys with a grin. 

Joe and Frank grinned back. “We can try,” said Frank, “but our dad needs our help on a case. So, I think we’ll leave this to you.” 

Collig chuckled. “Good to know. Good day boys, and thanks for helping me keep the peace.” He let out a breath. 

The boys chuckled. “Anytime Chief,” said Joe. “We’ll talk to you later.” 

“Sounds good. You boys take care.” 

“We will. Bye!” The three waved at Collig as they left the office. They quickly made their way back to their bikes, climbed on, and raced towards the Hardy residence. When they got back, it was close to eight o’clock, and their parents and aunt were waiting for them in the living room. 

“Goodness gracious, did you take it upon yourselves to try and catch the crook?” blurted Trudy the instant they walked into the house with Chet’s bags. 

“Aw, come on Aunt Trudy, we had to at least figure out where he went! This is Chet’s precious car we’re talking about!” blurted Joe. “We couldn’t just leave him hanging!” 

“Besides, it was a good thing we did. A few people were blaming the whole incident on Greg Mason, whose only fault was that he had the same shade of red hair as the guy who stole the Queen,” said Frank. 

Trudy huffed. “If you ask me, you should have just let the police jail that boy. He’s picked on Joe often enough.” 

“Well then, it was a good thing we didn’t ask you, Trudy,” said Laura, eyeing her sister-in-law. Trudy clamped her mouth shut after that. 

Fenton smiled warmly at his sons. “You’ve left it in the police’s hands?” 

Frank nodded. “We had no choice but to, the guy took Queen out of Bayport. There was no way we could have caught him.” 

Joe plopped on the sofa next to his father. “So Dad, about that case you have.” 

“What about it?” 

Frank’s and Joe’s mouths dropped open. “But, but you said you needed our help!” 

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” said Fenton with a mischievous sparkle in his brown eyes. 

“Dad!” 

Fenton chuckled. “How about you two get Chet’s things set up in the guest room and then come eat. We’ll talk then.” 

Joe groaned. “Oh, fine. Come on Chet, let’s hurry!” Joe grabbed one of Chet’s bags, Frank grabbed the other, and the three boys dashed up the stairs. They helped Chet get set up in the guest room before dashing back down the stairs and into the kitchen for a late dinner. Laura had heated up the boys’ plates and set them on the dining room table. Fenton had his briefcase set by the table and was pulling papers out of it when they came in. 

He nodded at them. “Go ahead and eat.” 

The boys sat down and began to eat their food eagerly. Chasing a car thief had proved to be hungry work. 

“So, do you need our help with your case?” asked Frank after swallowing a bite of food.

Fenton rubbed his chin. “I’m wondering if you should concentrate on finding Chet’s car though.” 

“Well, may we invite the gang to spend the night tomorrow night?” asked Joe. “We were thinking of hanging out with them tomorrow. Maybe we can include a search for Chet’s Queen in the day’s activities.” 

Chet let out a pleased gasp. “You would? That would be swell, fellas!” 

“You know,” said Joe, feeling a little overconfident, “maybe we can find Chet’s car and help you solve your case!” 

Fenton smiled. “That would be nice, but a detective should focus on one case at a time. The clues could become muddled.” 

“But, Dad!” 

Fenton eyed his youngest son. 

“Sorry Dad,” mumbled Joe. 

“Isn’t there something, anything, even something small, that we could help you with?” ventured Frank.  

Fenton rubbed his chin again as he thought for a moment. “Well, maybe you guys can include one more thing in your list of activities tomorrow.” 

“Really?” blurted Joe excitedly. “We’ll do it!” 

Fenton chuckled. “Alright. You know that house on the cliff, the old Pollitt place?” 

Chet gulped. “That old haunted place?” 

Fenton chuckled. “It’s not actually haunted Chet, it’s just old and rundown. And it’s really not that old either, it’s only fifty years old.” 

“Stil old enough to have a ghost,” mumbled Chet. 

“Well, there are no reports of ghosts from the Pollitt place, just overactive imaginations,” said Fenton. 

“What would you like for us to do tomorrow?” asked Frank. 

“Take a look around, see if there’s any activity going on. You can even use looking for the Queen as a cover for your being there if anyone should ask. Which, if there are smugglers there, they definitely will ask.” 

Joe gasped. “Smugglers?” 

“Smugglers of what?” asked Frank. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” said Chet, concern evident in his voice. 

“Seems to me that they’ll smuggle anything that’s worth a pretty penny, rare artifacts, expensive medicine, precious jewels, and the like. Don’t worry Chet, I’m asking you boys to do the least dangerous job. They’ll figure out quickly I’m onto their trail if I go sneaking around.” 

“But not a group of teens looking for a friend’s stolen car,” said Frank, his eyes widening with realization. 

Fenton grinned. “Exactly.” 

“Wait a minute,” said Joe. “Isn’t the Pollitt place to the north of Bayport?” 

Fenton blinked as he glanced at his youngest. “Well yes, why?” 

Chet let out a gasp. “Could one of the smugglers have stolen my car?” 

Frank gasped. “And if so, then the cases would be connected!” 

“Let’s not jump to any conclusions, boys, these could still very well be two unrelated cases.” He pointed at Frank and Joe. “And your first priority right now is finding Chet’s car.” 

“Well, of course . . .” began Frank. 

“But Dad, all we’ve ever done is solve cases for friends and little schoolyard mysteries. We want to get into the big cases, like you!” 

“What do you mean? The vandalism of the Cohen property and the Prito property was a pretty big one,” said Fenton. 

“And just like with Chet’s car, everyone in town was so sure that the Masons had done it,” said Frank with a sigh. 

“It still wasn’t smuggling,” said Joe with a huff. 

Fenton rolled his eyes. “Joe, do you want to help or not?”

“Well, yeah!”

“Then check out the old Pollitt house tomorrow.”

Joe sat back in his chair, crossed his arms, and sighed. “Yes sir.”

“Thank you. I will let you know if I need any more help on the case. Now, finish your food, contact your friends, they may spend the night tomorrow, and get to bed. You’re going to have a long day.” 

“Yes sir!” The boys quickly finished their dinner while Fenton cleared the table of his papers. They contacted their friends and told them of the plans for the next day. All but a couple of them could make it. Joe thought he would never get to sleep because he was so excited. But as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was sound asleep. Frank and Chet soon followed suit.

 

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