7 Colin Is in Danger
* * *
Mr. Brooks was so angry about what Colin had just said that he was turning purple. In fact, he looked like he was going to choke to death.
Joe glanced over at Frank and knew he was thinking the same thing. Should they try to perform CPR on the assistant principal?
Just then, a gurgling sound came out of Mr. Brooks’s throat, and his color began to return to normal.
“You’re nuts! You’re totally nuts, Randles,” Mr. Brooks managed to say. “You should be locked up somewhere.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to say things like that to students, Mr. Brooks,” Joe said. “It could probably get you in trouble.”
Frank rolled his eyes at Joe. He agreed with his brother, but he also didn’t think this was the time or place to suggest that someone be politically correct.
Fortunately, Mr. Brooks either wasn’t paying attention or chose to ignore Joe’s comment, because he didn’t take his eyes off Colin.
“I know all about your family, Randles, about how they’re psychic and everything,” Mr. Brooks continued. The way he said “psychic” made it sound like a dirty word. “It was people like you and your family who caused problems for me and my family. This . . . psychic took my poor mother for almost every cent we had, telling her all kinds of things, promising her that she’d be rich, if she kept coming to the readings.” Here he took a deep breath, let it out, and through gritted teeth added, “I despise people like you!”
Wow! Frank thought. Does this man have an agenda or what?
Joe was amazed at how Colin simply sat there and listened, not showing any emotion whatsoever. He’s probably heard this all before, Joe thought.
The bell rang to start the next class.
“As you know, Mr. Brooks, Colin’s new in town—and this was all just a big misunderstanding,” Frank said. “You shouldn’t take out your frustrations on him. Why don’t you just let us go on to class and we’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again?”
Mr. Brooks turned to him. Frank felt like the man was seeing him for the first time. “What?”
Frank repeated what he had said. He could tell that Mr. Brooks wanted to lash out at him, too, but seemed to realize that he had gone too far in what he had said to Colin. He looked like he was weighing his options.
Mr. Brooks picked up a pad and started writing. He handed each of the boys a slip of paper. “Tardy passes,” he said. “And if this happens again . . . well, just make sure it doesn’t.” He opened a file on his desk and started reading it.
Frank motioned for Colin and Joe to follow him out. He didn’t want to give Mr. Brooks a chance to rethink his decision.
When they got back to the hall, Joe let out a big sigh. “Wow! I hope that guy finds another job and fast. I can’t imagine having to deal with him again.”
“Assistant principals don’t stay for more than one year. They’re really just principals in training,” Frank said. “Sometimes prisons hire teachers to teach the inmates. Let’s hope one of those jobs opens up soon. Brooks would be perfect for it.”
They boys separated to go to their individual classes, but they agreed to meet after school to go to the Hardys’ house to talk.
On the ride home, Colin was quiet as usual. Frank and Joe were busy thinking about what had happened earlier, so they weren’t talking much either.
Mrs. Hardy had a big plate of cookies and cold milk ready for them. They took everything into Joe and Frank’s room and shut the door. After they had each eaten a few cookies, Frank said, “Okay, Colin, first let me tell you that I believe what you said about Melanie Johnson—even if it does sound really wild.”
“I do, too, Colin,” Joe added, “but you really can’t go around accosting people like that, if you want to live a normal life here in Bayport.”
Colin grinned. “I know. I know. It’s just that I’ve had this really dark feeling ever since we’ve been in Bayport about someone. When I bumped into Melanie in the hall today, I knew immediately she was the person I ‘saw’ things happening to when she was just two or three.”
Frank shook his head. “Colin, you have to understand how hard this is for people to accept,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, you’ve proven yourself, but from here on out, you just have to be careful how you handle the information you receive.”
Colin nodded. “I know.”
Joe looked over at Frank. “What are we going to do about this?” he said. “We can’t just forget it.”
“I know,” Frank said. “And I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon.”
“Well?” Joe said.
“We’re going to start investigating,” Frank replied. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“That’s what I was planning to do,” Joe said. “And I was hoping you’d be up for it.”
Frank looked at Colin. “We need to know everything that you’ve seen about Melanie,” he said. “Don’t leave out any details.”
Colin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “The first day we were in Bayport, I got this really heavy feeling. I don’t know how else to describe it. I also got a terrible headache and started receiving images—well, really they were like blinding flashes—of a little girl. She wasn’t more than two or three years old, and this man was carrying her out of a house. She was crying, and calling for her mother.”
“What else do you remember about the little girl?” Joe asked.
“She was holding a little stuffed lamb.” Colin hesitated for a moment. “I think the man had to go back for it. I don’t think the little girl had it at first. I think the man went back for it to stop her from crying so much.”
“That’s strange,” Frank said. “Kidnappers won’t usually do things like that.”
“No,” Joe agreed. “They snatch a kid and are out of the place as fast as possible.”
“Anything else?” Frank said.
“That’s it.” Colin leaned his head back against the edge of Joe’s bed. “I might have been able to receive more images, but I kept trying to block them.”
“That’s too bad,” Joe said. “We need all the clues we can get.”
“I didn’t want to cause my family any more trouble, but I haven’t been too successful at blocking all the images,” Colin said. “Sometimes the visions are just too strong to keep out of my head.”
“What does that mean?” Joe asked.
“It usually means that whoever I’m getting them from is under a lot of stress,” Colin replied.
Frank frowned. “Well, if Melanie is sending them, she sure didn’t look like she was under a lot of stress today.”
“She may not be the only one,” Colin said. “Whoever kidnapped her may be thinking about what happened and I may be receiving both their thoughts. That’s what could be making the signals so strong.”
“You mean Melanie and whoever kidnapped her are psychic?” Joe asked.
Colin shook his head. “You don’t have to be psychic to think, Joe,” he said. “We can all think. But you do have to have a well-developed psychic ability to receive the messages. I was born that way. And, like I said, people can develop their psychic abilities over a period of time.”
“Well, I’m not having much luck,” Joe said. “I haven’t received any messages since yesterday when Mom was thinking about the CDs I ordered.”
“I’m not having much luck, either,” Frank added. He didn’t say that he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to be psychic. Truly, if it meant dealing with what Colin had to deal with on a daily basis, he’d turn it down. “But that’s not solving this mystery.”
“Should we tell Dad?” Joe asked.
Frank shook his head. “We’ll keep it among the three of us for the time being,” he said. “We need to figure out a plan of action first. We also need to decide why we’re really doing this.”
“I can tell you why,” Colin interjected. “Melanie didn’t want to leave. The man was taking her by force.”
N
o one said anything for several minutes. The three of them continued to eat cookies and think about how they wanted to proceed.
Finally Frank said, “From what I’ve heard, Melanie Johnson is never at home in the evenings. She’s always at a party or at the movies or just driving around. I think Joe and I should follow her and see if we can pick up some clues.”
“I’ll come along,” Colin said.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Frank said. “You’re not exactly the most popular person at Bayport High School now.”
“If Melanie saw you with us, she’d really be suspicious,” Joe added. “As it is, we’ll still have to make sure she doesn’t spot us.”
Colin reluctantly agreed. “What I can do, though,” he added, “is to stop blocking the messages I’ve been receiving about Melanie.”
“That would be good,” Joe said. “We’ll need every bit of information we can put together to solve this mystery.”
Joe had some homework he had to get started on, so Frank drove Colin home. He got back just in time for dinner.
Neither one of the boys felt like talking much at the table, but Aunt Gertrude seemed interested in what was happening to Nella and Colin.
“What do the kids at school think about them?” she asked. “Do they make fun of their psychic abilities?”
“Sometimes,” Joe mumbled. He took a big bite of mashed potatoes to keep from having to explain.
“Figures,” Aunt Gertrude said, more to herself than to anyone else. “I’ll never understand people who don’t keep open minds.”
Frank looked over at Joe. They were thinking the same thing—that that sounded strange coming from Aunt Gertrude. She was one of the most opinionated people they knew.
Through the rest of dinner, Aunt Gertrude complained about how hard Fenton was working, that he was away from home too much, that he should spend more time in the yard, and that he had promised to fix the window in her bedroom, and he still hadn’t done that.
Finally, Frank and Joe had a chance to excuse themselves and go to their room. Joe finished up his homework, and Frank searched the Internet for information for a project in one of his classes.
Joe looked at his watch. “It’s six-thirty, Frank. If we’re going to follow Melanie tonight, we’d better leave. She’s probably finishing dinner about now.”
Frank shut down the computer, and Joe shouted to Mrs. Hardy that they were going out for a while.
Melanie Johnson lived in a part of Bayport that had million-dollar homes. It also had several busy streets that crisscrossed the area, so the Hardys knew they wouldn’t be stopped—if they didn’t act too suspicious.
When they got to Melanie’s house, they found several cars parked along the curb in front.
“She may be having a party,” Joe said. “She may not be going anywhere tonight.”
Frank pulled the van in behind an SUV and turned off the engine and the headlights.
“Or some of her friends could have met here, with plans to go somewhere else, all in one car,” Frank said.
“Let’s hope,” Joe said.
After a few minutes, several girls came out of a gate that led to the back of the Johnsons’ house. They were laughing about something as they headed down the driveway toward one of the vehicles parked in front.
“Duck!” Frank said to Joe.
The boys ducked just in time. The vehicle the girls all piled into was the SUV that was parked in front of the van. Frank hoped he hadn’t parked so close that the driver couldn’t get out.
The girls must have rolled down the windows of the SUV, because Frank and Joe heard someone mention Colin’s name, which was followed by hysterical laughter.
Whoever was driving ended up bumping the front fender of the van, but Frank didn’t think it was enough to cause any damage, so he decided not to get out and examine it. He knew he would have a lot of explaining to do.
The SUV headed down the street at a relatively fast pace. Frank started the van and pulled out after it.
“I think we can stay pretty close to them,” Frank said. “Being tailed is the last thing they’ll be thinking about.”
Joe laughed.
The traffic was relatively light, and the SUV had big taillights, so it was easy to keep the girls in sight.
“I wonder where we’re going,” Joe said.
“Who knows?” Frank said.
They didn’t have to wait long for an answer. The SUV pulled into the parking lot of a multiplex theater. All of the girls piled out and headed up to the box office.
“I hope it’s something I want to see,” Frank said.
“If it’s a romance, I may just stay in the lobby and eat popcorn,” Joe said.
“I don’t think so. We need to sit as close to them as possible and listen to what they say,” Frank said. “You can ignore what’s on the screen.”
As it turned out, the movie Melanie and her friends bought tickets for was a comedy that both the Hardy boys had been wanting to see.
“Even if we don’t find out anything tonight,” Joe said, “it won’t be a total waste of time.”
Frank bought their tickets. He and Joe held back from going into the theater while Melanie and her friends nearly bought out the concession stand and went into the theater.
The movie was scheduled to start in a couple of minutes. Frank suggested they wait to enter until the movie started, so it would be dark.
“Uh-oh,” Joe whispered. “There’s Chief Collig and his wife.” Ezra Collig was the chief of the Bayport Police Department and a friend of the Hardys. “If he sees us, he’ll want to know if we’re working on a case, and may give us away.”
They weren’t too far from the men’s restroom, so they ducked inside and both headed to separate stalls. After several minutes, when they thought the Colligs had already gone into their movie, they slipped out and headed to their theater.
Inside, the previews were just starting. Frank and Joe stood at the back of the auditorium until their eyes had adjusted. The theater wasn’t too crowded, but there were enough people that they wouldn’t be too conspicuous.
“There they are, in the middle, and there are some seats behind them,” Joe whispered.
Frank looked. They’d have to pass in front of some other people, but the middle seats would be perfect.
They made their way down the aisle until they reached the row behind the one where Melanie and her friends were sitting. They had to squeeze past many people, but they finally made it to their seats.
They sat down quietly, hoping that neither Melanie nor her friends would turn around and recognize their profiles.
They didn’t. The girls were whispering to each other, giggling about what they had just said, and were totally ignoring what was on the screen.
Once, someone at the end of the Hardys’ row made a loud shushing sound, but Melanie and her friends ignored it.
Joe was glad, because if they didn’t stop whispering, maybe one of them would give the boys a clue that would help them solve their mystery.
Most of what the girls were whispering about was innocuous and silly, Joe thought, until right before the opening credits of the movie.
Melanie leaned over to the person next to her and said, “Don’t worry. My boyfriend has plans for Colin Randles. He won’t be bothering me anymore.”
8 The Deserted Building
* * *
The Hardy boys jumped up from their seats. They startled Melanie and her friends, but Frank was sure they did not give away their identities. The boys made their way back down through the aisle, whispering “Excuse me” as fast as they could.
As they hurried toward the exit, Joe said, “We should have suspected something like that from her, Frank.”
“I guess, but we really don’t know her that well, Joe,” Frank said. “She’s in the really rich set, and she normally keeps to herself.”
“Well, we know now,” Joe said.
They had reached the lobby and were running
toward the outside doors.
“Is there anything wrong?” a voice called. “Is there a problem with the projection?”
“It’s okay!” Joe shouted. “We forgot to do our homework.”
Several people in the lobby started laughing. Frank hoped that nobody recognized them.
Just as they stepped outside, a loud clap of thunder shook the area.
Frank looked up. “Oh, great!” he muttered. “Just what we need.”
Flashes of lightning streaked across the sky, creating spiderweb-like patterns above Bayport.
“When that hits, we’re going to get soaked,” Joe said.
The Hardy boys jumped into the van and raced out of the parking lot.
“Where should we go first?” Joe asked.
“The Randles’,” Frank replied. “We need to find out where Colin went tonight. That’s probably where he met Melanie’s boyfriend.”
“Good idea,” Joe agreed. “Maybe somebody there could give us a description of the guy.” He looked over at Frank. “Do you think Melanie’s boyfriend actually kidnapped Colin in broad daylight?”
Frank shook his head. “No. I think he probably said something that made Colin go with him willingly.”
“I’ve got it,” Joe said. “He probably told Colin that Melanie wanted to talk to him in private.”
“That would have done it!” Frank said. “In fact, that might be the only thing that would make Colin go with someone he didn’t know.”
The street in front of the multiplex led the Hardys to another one of Bayport’s main thoroughfares, which at this hour wasn’t so crowded that they couldn’t make good time. They missed a couple of lights, which slowed them down, but fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of the Randles’ house.
“Good! Lights!” Joe said. “Somebody’s at home.”
More thunder and lightning greeted them as they ran up the walk to the Randles’ front porch. Frank quickly rang the doorbell.
Joe stepped off the porch and scanned the sky. “Maybe the storm’ll go around us,” he said. “Most of the heavy stuff seems to be over toward the west.”
The Case of the Psychic's Vision Page 5
