“Let’s hope so,” Frank said. He rang the doorbell again.
When nobody had answered after several minutes, Joe thought that maybe the lights had just been left on while the Randles had gone out for something. He said as much to Frank.
“I don’t think so, Joe. The Randles don’t have a lot of money,” Frank said. “They’d remember to turn out the lights.” Instead of ringing the bell again, Frank knocked as hard as he could.
That worked. In a few minutes, the porch light went on and Nella opened the door.
“Frank! Joe!” Nella said. She looked around. “Where’s Colin?”
“That’s what we were going to ask you, Nella,” Joe said. “You mean he’s not here?”
“No. I told him where you said to meet him, and that’s where he went,” Nella said. Suddenly, a frown appeared on her face. “That was you who called, wasn’t it?”
Frank shook his head.
“Shoot!” Nella said. “I hope it’s not happening again!”
“You hope what’s not happening again?” Frank asked.
“Everywhere we’ve lived, there’s been trouble, because of Colin’s psychic visions,” Nella explained. “I was hoping it wouldn’t happen in Bayport.”
“But this isn’t your fault, Nella,” Joe said.
“Oh, yes it is, Joe,” Nella insisted. She opened the screen door. “Come in. We’ve got to think this out. We have to find Colin.”
Joe followed Frank into the Randles’ living room. It was clean, but the furniture was from the 1950s.
“Have a seat,” Nella said. “Do you want something to drink?”
“No, we’re fine, Nella,” Frank said. “Let’s just figure out something quick. Colin might be in danger.” He looked around. “Are your parents here?”
“No. Mom and Dad have been working late, ever since they got jobs at Mr. Shaw’s hardware store,” Nella said. “It was just Colin and me when you—uh, whoever it was—called.”
Frank and Joe sat down together on the sofa, facing the chair that Nella had collapsed in.
“Start at the beginning,” Frank said.
“Don’t leave out anything,” Joe added.
“The phone rang about five-thirty, and I answered it. It sounded just like you, Frank,” Nella said. “You said you wanted Colin to meet you downtown, at . . .” Nella jumped up and ran over to a table where there was a telephone. She picked up a piece of paper. “. . . 2314 North March Street. You said you had followed Melanie Johnson there and had something really interesting to tell him.”
“Colin went there?” Frank said.
Nella nodded. “You . . . uh, the caller, said one of the city buses stopped at that address, so Colin walked to the corner one block over and caught the bus downtown.” She took a deep breath. “I had a feeling there was something about that call that wasn’t right, but our parents have told us to suppress our psychic ability, so we won’t keep getting into trouble. So I went with it.”
“I guess this was one time when you should have paid attention to what you were feeling,” Joe said.
Nella nodded.
“We’ve got to find Colin, Nella. The person who called was Melanie Johnson’s boyfriend,” Frank said. “We followed Melanie and some of her friends to a movie tonight. We overheard her telling them that her boyfriend had plans for Colin.”
Nella gasped. “Oh, Frank! Joe!” she cried. “I have to go with you. I can’t just stay here and do nothing.”
Frank shook his head. “We’ll take you to Callie’s house, though. I don’t want you staying here. I don’t know this crowd very well, but I do know they play rough, and they might not want to stop with Colin.”
Joe called Callie on his cell phone and told her they were on their way over with Nella.
Outside, it had started to rain lightly. “Well, we didn’t luck out entirely,” Joe said, once more scanning the sky, “but I think we’ll miss the really heavy rain.”
“That’s good,” Frank said. He didn’t have to add that it would be harder to find Colin in weather like this.
When they reached Callie’s house, Callie was waiting outside for them, under an umbrella. Frank only stopped long enough to let Nella out, and then they headed on downtown.
When they exited onto the street that would lead them to the address on March Street, Joe said, “I have a feeling this is going to be a wild goose chase, Frank. I don’t think Melanie’s boyfriend will still be there.”
“No, he won’t, but Colin might,” Frank said, “but there’s no telling what condition we’ll find him in.”
Joe hadn’t thought about that.
The downtown area was mostly deserted at that hour, because of the rain and because the new shopping centers on the outskirts of town had taken away a lot of business. There was an urban renewal plan to rebuild downtown Bayport, but it was still in the beginning stages of development. If it ever happened, the area would be hopping again.
“There’s 2314,” Joe said. “It’s an abandoned building.”
“Figures,” Frank said. “We still need to check it out and see if we can find anything.”
They parked the van directly across the street, got out, and, ignoring the drizzle, crossed to 2314. Halfway there, Joe remembered the flashlight they kept in the van, so he went back for it and then rejoined Frank, who was now waiting for him on the sidewalk in front of the building.
The streetlights didn’t give off much light, but the boys could see that the front door was padlocked. Above the address, Joe saw a date cut into stone: 1927. “This is a really old building,” he said.
“I think it’s one they’re planning to turn into expensive apartments,” Frank said. “They’re hoping to save most of the original buildings down here.”
Joe wasn’t sure he’d want to live in an apartment in this part of Bayport, unless there were other things going on downtown, too. Of course, he had heard there were plans for lots of restaurants and stores and movie theaters, so it might not be too bad. He’d wait and see.
Frank tried the door. It was locked. “Whoever called Colin obviously didn’t use this building for anything,” he said.
Joe looked around. “Do you think Melanie’s boyfriend was standing just inside that alley over there until Colin got here?” he said. “He could have watched him get off the bus and then called him over.”
“But if he thought you called, like Nella said, then why would he approach a stranger,” Joe said, “especially with all that’s happened to him in the last few days?”
“Think about it, Joe,” Frank said. “It’s dark over there. Melanie’s boyfriend might look like me in the dark.”
“You’re right,” Joe agreed. “If he can sound like you, he might have been able to fool Colin long enough to get him to the mouth of the alley.”
“I say we check out the alley,” Frank said. “Whoever was there might have left a clue of some kind. Maybe the rain hasn’t washed away everything.”
They soon reached the corner of the building. Joe switched on the flashlight, and they started walking slowly down the alley. The recent rain, mixed with all the trash that had collected, made for a very unpleasant smell, but they knew they couldn’t worry about that now.
Joe shone the flashlight up and down the side of the building. Suddenly he stopped and shone the flashlight back toward the street.
“What’s wrong?” Frank whispered.
“I just had the feeling that somebody was behind me, that’s all,” Joe said. He was suddenly thinking about what Colin had said about psychic readings. Was he receiving someone’s messages? “Now I wish I’d spent some more time working on what Colin said we needed to do to develop our psychic senses,” Joe said. “It might be easier to find him.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Frank said.
Just then they heard a noise toward the back of the alley.
“Who’s there?” Frank called. His voice echoed through the alley.
“Go away!” a voice said.
It was weak, but it sounded like a man.
Frank and Joe looked at each other.
“It’s okay,” Joe called to the man. “We won’t hurt you.”
“That’s what they all say,” the man said. “They don’t tell the truth.”
“Well, we’re telling the truth,” Frank called. “We’re looking for a friend of ours. We think he may be in trouble.”
For a few minutes, the man said nothing more. Frank and Joe heard a shuffling sound, and a homeless person came out from behind one of the garbage bins into the light of the flashlight.
“If you’ll give me some money, I’ll tell you about your friend,” the man said. The boys smelled alcohol on the man’s breath.
“I can guess what he wants the money for,” Joe whispered, “but we have to find out about Colin.”
The man stayed where he was. Frank and Joe walked slowly toward him, looking behind them from time to time to make sure this wasn’t some kind of a trap. They soon got to where the man was standing. The smell coming from him was even worse than the smell from the alley.
“Our friend thought he was meeting me here,” Frank said, “but it was only someone who said he was me.”
“We think he’s in serious trouble,” Joe added. “We have to find him.”
“They beat him up. They did a pretty good job of it, too,” the man said. “I saw them.”
“Is he still here?” Joe said. He started shining the light all around the area.
The man held out his hand. “Where’s my money?”
“You haven’t given us the information we need,” Frank said. “You don’t get your money until you tell us where our friend is.”
“He’s not in the alley. He’s in there.” The man pointed to the building at 2314 North March Street. “I saw them take him inside and beat him up.”
“We tried the front door. It’s locked,” Frank said. “I don’t think you’re telling the truth.”
“One of them had a key. He unlocked the front door,” the man said. “But he locked it again when they left.”
“What are we going to do now, Frank?” Joe said. “Colin’s inside that building, hurt, and we can’t get in.”
“Yes, you can,” the man said. He had his hand out for his money. “I know a way in that you don’t need a key for.”
9 Mr. Johnson’s Wrath
* * *
After handing the man a few bills, Frank and Joe followed him to the top of the alley’s T.
“There’s an old service entrance back here. It’s hidden behind a couple of Dumpsters,” the man said. “It looks like it’s boarded up, but it’s easy to take the boards off and get inside.”
“Does anybody else know about this entrance?” Joe asked. He didn’t want to run into another homeless person who might not be as accommodating as their newfound friend.
“No, they don’t,” the man said. “This is my alley, and the other homeless people stay out of here.”
“That’s good to know,” Frank said. “I mean, it’s good to know that you have a place to call your own.”
When they reached the service entrance, they squeezed behind the Dumpsters. Joe shone the flashlight on the boards so that the man could see to remove the nails.
All of this was amazing to the Hardy boys. The door really did appear to be nailed shut, but with just a little tugging from the man, the nails came right out.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do if they turn this place into apartments,” the man said, as he continued to remove nails and to stack the boards neatly at the side of the entrance.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” Frank said. “I think that’s a long way off.”
When all of the boards had been removed, the man gave the door a push. It creaked open.
The three of them stepped inside, and Joe shone the light around to help orient them.
“Now, where did you see them beating up our friend?” Frank asked. “This is a big building. It’d be hard to search through all of it.”
“It’s on the third floor. Follow me, but watch your step,” the man said. “The wood in the place is rotten.”
With the man in the lead and Joe’s flashlight showing them the way, the three of them headed into the interior of the old building.
“What were you doing on the third floor?” Frank asked. He was suddenly beginning to get suspicious.
“I saw those two guys bringing your friend in through the front entrance,” the man said. “So I went in this back way to check it out. I wanted to know what they were doing in my building.”
“Well, if they had a key, they may own it,” Joe observed.
“That’s what I thought. I wanted to know if they were going to do something that would force me to leave,” the man said. “I thought I might overhear their conversation. Instead, I saw them beating up your friend.”
Slowly, they twisted and turned down corridors that probably had once been bustling with the business of the residents of half a century or more ago.
“We have to take the stairs,” the man said to them. “The elevators don’t work.”
The man started up the stairs, followed by Frank, with Joe and his flashlight bringing up the rear. Suddenly there was a cracking noise, and Frank yelped as his foot went through a rotten board.
Joe rushed to his brother and shone the flashlight on the step. Together, he and the man helped pull Frank’s foot out of the hole.
Mindless of the dirt on the stairs, Frank sat down to rub his ankle.
“Did you twist it, Frank?” Joe asked.
“I don’t think so,” Frank replied. “It doesn’t matter, though. We can’t stop. We have to find Colin.”
The three of them started back up the stairs. From time to time, the man would tell them which boards to step over. They were able to make it to the third floor without another accident.
This floor wasn’t as cluttered as the ground floor, so it was easier to find their way along the corridors.
Finally they came to what looked like it used to be a complex of offices.
“Your friend’s in there,” the man whispered.
Slowly, Frank opened the door, and Joe shone the flashlight inside. There, lying on the dusty floor, curled up in the fetal position, was Colin Randles.
“I hope he’s still alive,” the man said.
“Colin!” Frank shouted.
The Hardy boys rushed to Colin’s side.
Melanie’s boyfriend and his friend had obviously used Colin’s face as a punching bag. His eyes were swollen shut.
“Colin?” Joe said. “Can you hear me?”
Suddenly, Colin groaned and tried to bring his hands up to his face.
“No, don’t move,” Frank said. “It’s Frank and Joe Hardy. You’re going to be okay.”
Frank turned around to ask the man something, but the man had disappeared.
“Oh, that’s just great,” Frank said. “Where did he go?”
“He probably got scared, Frank,” Joe said. “He showed us where Colin was at least.”
“Do you think the two of us can get him downstairs and out to the van?” Frank asked. “Can you hold the flashlight and his feet, too?”
“There’s no other choice,” Joe said. “It would take an ambulance a while to get here.”
“You’re right,” Frank said. “We’ve got to handle this ourselves.”
Frank grabbed Colin under the shoulders, while Joe, holding the flashlight in his right hand, picked up Colin’s legs.
“I’m just glad he’s not as big as Chet,” Frank said, as they headed out of the office and into the corridor. “We’d never be able to do this.”
With Joe leading the way, they made it to the stairs and started down.
“Let’s stay as close to the banister as possible, Frank,” Joe said. “That’ll be something to grab if we step on a rotten board.”
“Good idea. And the steps should be stronger at the edge,” Frank reminded him. “It’s usually in
the middle that the board’s rotten.”
Joe thought it was going to take them forever, but they finally made it down to the first floor. They started toward the service entrance.
“I just thought of something, Frank,” Joe said. “What if the man boarded up the door?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Frank said. “But a good shove should knock the boards down.”
As it turned out, they didn’t have to worry. The service entrance was still open.
“Our new friend is okay after all. He just didn’t want to be up there if an authority showed up, I guess,” Frank said, “but he knew we’d need a way out with Colin.” He surveyed the darkness. “He’s probably out there somewhere, Joe, watching us, and is planning to put the boards in place after we’ve gone.”
“I think you’re right,” Joe said. Raising his voice just a little, he added, “We’ve got him out. Thanks for your help! We’re taking him to the hospital. We won’t say anything about where we found him.”
Joe actually didn’t expect any kind of a reply, but just as they turned the corner of the building to head up the alley to the street where the van was parked, the man called, “I hope he’s all right. Maybe I’ll see you guys around sometime.”
“We think he’ll be all right!” Joe called to the man.
“Thanks again for your help,” Frank added.
When they got to the end of the alley, Joe stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Frank asked.
“I wanted to see if any cars were coming,” Joe replied. “Some people might think we’re carrying a dead body out of the alley.”
“Yeah—I see what you mean,” Frank said. “Anything coming?”
“No. It’s still quiet,” Joe said. “Now I’m glad this area is kind of deserted.”
When they hit the street, they picked up their pace. Seeing the van gave them an adrenaline rush.
They made it to the other sidewalk, opened the back door, and put Colin on one of the seats. Joe got in beside him to hold him in place.
Frank started the engine and made a U-turn. “Next stop Bayport General Hospital emergency room!” he said.
The Case of the Psychic's Vision Page 6
