Scene of the Crime (12 page)

Looking up, Frank realized the source of Driscoll's discomfort. Janet Wynn stood before him with a wide smile on her face. She had reared back like a football kicker and booted Driscoll behind the knee. The saboteur moaned loudly, clasping his leg.

Meanwhile, Wesley and Ty placed the jewel heist on hold as they desperately tried to slide back on their pulleys to reach the landing.

Before they'd traveled ten feet, Joe cut them off. He grabbed the ends of the support ropes, shaking them up and down. The two stunters could do nothing more than hold on for dear life.

As a finishing touch, Joe twisted the ropes into a huge knot. The henchmen became so entangled that the pulleys wouldn't roll. Helplessly, they dangled in midair.

"Hang in there, guys," Joe called out.

He turned and untied Janet's wrists while Frank went down and picked up Driscoll's gun. The saboteur looked up to find Frank, Joe, and Janet all standing menacingly over him.

"Start talking," Frank commanded. "Who's the real brains of this operation?"

"What do you mean?" Driscoll blustered. "I'm running this show."

Even Joe and Janet stared incredulously at Frank. "If he's not in charge, who is?" Janet asked. "The very man who saved your life," Frank told her.

"Ed Kemble?" Joe was horrified that Frank was accusing his old hero. "How do you figure that?"

"There were too many little indicators that slowly added up," Frank explained. "First, Ed Kemble always seemed to be hanging around with the stuntmen. So he could easily have coordinated these guys' activities.

"Second, Gil seemed to protest a little too much when Ed was made stunt captain. That made me suspicious, since they had been such good friends."

"Third, there's the whole jewel heist setup. Gil kept referring to it as 'our' plan. This whole complex scheme needed information that would be tough for a bunch of stuntmen to get—but easy for a star. You'd just about have to live here to discover a way around the alarm system. If we asked Sy Osserman, I'd bet one of his stars convinced him to rent the Garfield mansion, specifically. And if we interviewed the Garfields, we'd find that Ed Kemble had been a guest sometime prior to the filming."

"It was last September, to be exact."

Frank and Joe whirled. Ed Kemble stepped out of the shadows, grabbing Janet around the throat and holding a revolver to her head. "Drop the gun," he ordered. Immediately, Frank tossed down his revolver.

"I must congratulate you, Frank," Ed Kemble said. "That was fine deductive reasoning. Have you any more points to add?"

"Just one," Frank told him solemnly. "The clinching point. When you and Janet performed the fall from the building, you heard us shouting and knew that we were on to the fact that the stunt had been sabotaged.

"So in midair, you came up with a master stroke. To divert any suspicion away from yourself, you saved Janet. You were almost perfect." "Almost?" Kemble asked, somewhat hurt. "Yes," Frank insisted. "Only someone who knew that her air bag had been deflated would have thought to draw Janet over to the safe one." Joe's eyes lit up. "Right! I was too busy admiring the old hero here to realize that."

"Old?" Ed Kemble gritted his teeth. "You'll regret that remark."

Ed ordered Gil Driscoll to untangle the support ropes. Then he told Wesley and Ty to complete the robbery. The henchmen got back to work. Before long, they swung back over the railing with a sack of jewels.

Ed took the goods from the bag and examined them carefully.

"Beautiful," he marveled. "Absolutely exquisite. And far more valuable than those gems we forfeited at the Garfield place."

He ordered Frank and Joe to walk ahead of him up another flight of stairs. From the top floor, the thieves directed them to an outdoor balcony.

Joe looked down and gulped. The balcony jutted out from the side of the mansion, directly overlooking the cliff. It was a long fall to the hard rocks and raging surf below.

Janet screamed as Ed Kemble pushed her hard against the low railing. Joe reached out and grabbed her just before she fell over.

Ed and Driscoll spread out to cover the three young people with their guns.

"It's such a shame that we'll have to sacrifice a few of the less precious gems." Kemble tossed a few of the valuables to Frank and Joe.

"But it's all part of my brilliant new plan," the actor assured them. "Since the police already believe that you're jewel thieves, we're going to provide them with more proof."

"At the same time taking the blame off yourselves," Frank growled.

"My thought exactly." Kemble grinned. "Tomorrow when the robbery is discovered, the police will also find your bodies smashed against the rocks below. With the jewels in your pockets, it will appear that the three of you had an accident escaping from your second heist. What's more, the rest of the jewels will never have to be accounted for, because everyone will believe they were washed out to sea."

Ty and Wesley arrived behind the other two crooks. Ed Kemble turned and gave them his famous movie star smile. "Okay, here's our final stunt," he said.

"Throw them over!"

FRANK AND JOE stepped forward, shielding Janet from the stuntmen's assault. They locked arms, forcing Driscoll, Wesley, and Ty to take them on together.

The three thieves charged straight ahead, lowering their shoulders as they barreled into the Hardys. Frank and Joe took the force of the blow but still found themselves pushed back. Only the support of the railing prevented them from falling into the sea.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ed Kemble asked Janet.

The stunt girl ducked down and squirmed out from beneath Wesley's arm.

Ed grabbed her by the shoulder as she ran for the door. He dragged her back, bending her slim body over the rail. Relentlessly, Janet kicked and punched at Ed. But he was too strong for her.

"Help!" she screamed.

Joe turned just as Janet slid completely over the balcony. She was gone!

He went wild, hurling himself at the henchmen. A fist slammed into Wesley's jaw sent him reeling, while a snap kick to Ty's stomach left him moaning in pain.

Joe stumbled over them to the railing. Janet wasn't dead! With the last of her strength, she clung to the bottom of the balcony. Her feet dangled helplessly in the air.

Ed Kemble laughed as he brought his foot down on her fingers, taunting her as he applied more pressure.

Joe grabbed the movie star and flung him around like a rag doll. Suddenly it was Ed Kemble who was struggling not to fall into the sea. Joe was on him, his hands around Kemble's throat. .

Janet lifted herself back onto the terrace.

"Joe, stop!" Janet shouted. "You'll kill him."

Slowly Joe's grip slackened, and he pulled Ed Kemble to his feet. The old star just stood there, smiling at him. Joe was puzzled. But when he turned around, he realized what made Kemble so happy.

Driscoll, Wesley, and Ty had Frank by the arms and legs. They swung him back and forth, ready to toss him out to sea. Frank struggled but, held tight by his limbs, was unable to break free.

One last time they swung Frank back, counting out loud as they prepared to send him flying over the rail.

"One — two — "

"Hold it right there!"

Suddenly the balcony was ablaze in light. Several spotlights shone brightly in the thieves' faces. Covering their eyes, they dropped Frank to the floor. Quickly he joined Joe and Janet.

Down below, four police cars had appeared on the cliff path. Through a bullhorn, Archie Fraser instructed the stuntmen to drop their weapons and give themselves up.

Ed Kemble stared astonished. His jaw hung open.

"But I don't understand," he mumbled. "How could the police possibly know we were here?"

With a slight grin, Frank slowly removed a piece of wire from his shirt pocket. He dangled it before Ed's eyes.

"I found this on the top of the doorway," he said casually, "and I thought you might want it back."

Kemble gritted his teeth. "You set off the silent alarm!"

The police continued to shout up through the bullhorn, telling the stuntmen to give themselves up. But Kemble didn't drop his weapon. Instead, he turned his gun on Frank.

"If I'm to be captured," Kemble said, "at least I can get my revenge on you."

Shielding his eyes from the glaring lights, he cocked his gun and aimed at Frank's chest.

A shot rang out, and Frank's body hurtled back against the rail!

"No!" Joe went for his brother, then turned to Kemble with murder in his eyes.

"Don't sweat it." Frank sat up. "I jumped back by reflex, but that wasn't Kemble's gun."

Turning to Kemble, they saw the old star tightly clasping a wounded wrist. His gun lay beside him on the floor.

Frank grinned. "Good shooting, Dad."

Fenton Hardy stepped onto the balcony, a smoking gun in his hand. "Chief Fraser let me lead the arrest squad into the mansion," he said. "Looks like we arrived just in time."

He smiled at Frank, Joe, and Janet. "Are all of you okay?"

"We are now," Joe replied.

The police disarmed Driscoll and the henchmen, locking handcuffs onto their wrists and reading them their rights.

"I flew cross-country as soon as I got your message," Fenton Hardy explained.

He turned and glared at Ed Kemble.

"But out in Hollywood," Fenton continued, "most of the pieces had begun to come together. Financial reports revealed that Kemble was broke. He lived high on the hog, and gambled most of his money away. In fact, he had to make this film without pay because he was so badly in debt to the producers. Isn't that right, Ed?"

Kemble hung his head. "I couldn't even get a role on a television show. Imagine, me, Ed Kemble, unable even to work on TV."

He clenched his fists. "Well, I was going to show them. At the same time as I was destroying their movie, I was going to steal enough money to pay off my debts and retire."

"It almost worked," Frank said, nodding. "Your sabotage shifted our attention from your real plans—for the robbery."

"Yes." Kemble nodded bitterly. "If it hadn't been for these two ... apprentices, I would be rich beyond my wildest dreams."

As the police began to bring the thieves down to the awaiting patrol cars, Chief Archie Fraser came onto the balcony. He held out his hand to shake with Frank and Joe.

"I knew all along you two weren't criminals," Fraser said by way of an apology. "I just had to keep you guys on a string, to make sure you didn't get hurt."

"You did a fine job of acting, Chief," Joe told him straight-faced as he shook Fraser's hand. "Maybe they can use you in the movie."

"What movie?" Slowly in a daze of disbelief, Sy Osserman made his way onto the balcony. His mouth opened but no words came out — just a few whimpers. "I got your message to meet you here, Chief."

He stared at Ed Kemble. "Don't tell me he's the saboteur. You can't arrest one of my stars. It will ruin my picture."

Fraser shook his head. "This time I can't oblige you, Mr. Osserman. We caught Kemble and the others in the act of attempted murder."

"Attempted murder?" The director's voice rose. "Well, in that case — " Slowly Osserman fumbled around in his coat pocket. "I have something for you, Chief. Thinking about it, I remembered that Frank and Joe were right. They had given me this reel of film after all. It had completely slipped my mind."

Joe gave him a squinty-eyed look. "I'll bet it did!"

He pointed an accusing finger at the director. "You were perfectly willing to have us rot in jail!"

Fenton Hardy abruptly stopped smiling. "Is that true, Mr. Osserman?"

Sheepishly, the director looked around. "Chill out, you guys. Of course I wasn't going to allow you to stay behind bars. It — it was merely a temporary arrangement—for your safety. Yeah, for your safety!"

Osserman slapped his forehead. "Only now, with Ed Kemble unable to work, I'm the one who's doomed."

"No, you're not," Frank told him.

"I'm not?"

"Think of the potential for publicity," Janet chimed in. "I can see the headlines now. 'Stunt Apprentices Stump Stone-Stealing Star!' "

The director thought it over. Suddenly his face lit up and his disposition seemed to change before everyone's eyes.

"I like it," he said, nodding. "Come to think of it, most of Kemble's scenes are already in the can. With clever camerawork, and some new stunts — "

"You're forgetting one thing," Joe reminded him. "Gil, Wesley, and Ty are under arrest, and the captain is in the hospital. Frank and I are heading back home to Bayport now that the case is complete — you don't have a stunt team anymore."

Osserman uttered a cry of despair. "You're right! I'm finished!"

"Well, I have some good news." Archie Fraser cut into the conversation. "Especially for you, Janet. Ray Wynn has pulled out of his coma. The doctors called just before we left. In fact, they say he'll be up and around in no time."

Janet's eyes gleamed. She grinned, broke out in a wild whoop, and wrapped Archie Fraser in a bearhug, practically bowling the fat police chief over.

"Good news?" she yelled. "That's great news!"

Suddenly Sy Osserman stepped forward. "And I have a great idea! The captain might not be able to perform yet, but he can still conceive new stunts. As always, Janet can do Kitt Macklin's stunts, and — " The director reached out and grabbed Frank and Joe by the arms. "If you two stay on for the rest of the summer, not as undercover types, but as full-fledged stuntmen, we can complete the picture."

Frank and Joe looked at each other. Then they turned to Janet.

"I'm game if you guys are," she said with a smile.

Frank grinned. "What do you say, Joe?"

Joe shook his head and threw up his arms.

"Why not?" he said, laughing. "It can't be any more dangerous than real life."

The End.