The Case of the Psychic's Vision (11 page)

“Forget that,” Frank said.

The boys and Colin made short work of packing up their van with the things in Colin's room, and just as the sun came up, they headed toward New York City.

Frank and Joe used the drive to let Colin know that they weren't going to give up trying to solve the Melanie Johnson mystery.

“It must be nice to have roots,” Colin said. “That's what I'd really like, to be able to call one place home for more than a couple of weeks.” He looked over at Frank. “I tried, you know. I really tried. It's just when these visions come to me, when I see things that I think might help other people, well, I have to talk about them.” He shook his head in disgust. “I just wish I could keep my mouth shut.”

“Quit beating yourself up, Colin,” Joe said. “You didn't do anything wrong.”

“My parents would probably disagree with you,” Colin said.

“I doubt that, if you really pressed them,” Frank said. “It's just that they're frustrated, trying to figure out how to deal with being psychic and living in a world where there are a lot of people who don't believe in psychics.”

Most of the rest of the trip was taken up by listening to music on the radio and talking about movies they'd like to see.

The Randles were planning to stay with friends of Colin's mother in Williamsburg, located just over the Williamsburg Bridge in the northern section of Brooklyn.

“It'll be crowded,” Colin said, “but there's a subway stop nearby that'll get me to Manhattan in a matter of minutes.”

Joe knew that Colin was trying to sound happy, but he wasn't doing a very good job.

When they finally arrived, Frank parked the van behind the trailer the Randles had been pulling, and they all piled out.

The friends were Joseph and Lydia Kopsky, and they were delighted to see everyone. As far as the boys could tell, the Kopskys were really excited about the Randles staying with them until they could get a place of their own.

First, Mrs. Kopsky showed Nella to her bedroom, which she would be sharing with the Kopskys' daughter, Julia, who was the same age. The bedroom was large, newly decorated, and had a pleasant view of the backyard. Frank and Joe could tell that Nella probably wouldn't miss Bayport. Mrs. Kopsky had turned her sewing room into a bedroom for Mr. and Mrs. Randles. It was small, but it also had a view of the backyard.

Then Mr. Kopsky showed Colin his bedroom, which Colin learned he was going to have to share with Mr. Kopsky's elderly uncle. He had just moved in about a week ago, because his wife had died, and he didn't want to live by himself. Nobody seemed to think Colin would be bothered by this. Nobody, that is, except Frank and Joe.

Joe suddenly had an idea—a plan. He was sure it would work, and was surprised no one had thought of it before now.

When they all went to the dining room, where Mrs. Kopsky had set out coffee and tea and a delicious-looking cake, Joe said, “We'd like for Colin to live with us in Bayport, Mr. and Mrs. Randles—at least for the rest of the school year. I mean, we'll need to make sure this is okay with our parents, but we're positive it'll be fine.”

You beat me to the punch!
Frank thought.

Colin gave both of the Hardys a puzzled look, but he didn't say anything.

Mr. and Mrs. Randles looked absolutely stunned.

“Oh, never! Never!” Mrs. Randles said. “I wouldn't sleep at night, for worrying about him.”

“He'd be with us most of the time, Mrs. Randles,” Frank said. “He could even call you every night so you wouldn't worry.”

“What would your parents say?” Mr. Randles asked. “You really would need to ask them about this.”

“They'd be totally fine with it, I'm sure,” Joe said. “They like Colin. They'd welcome him as part of the family.”

“Well, it might not be such a bad idea,” Mr. Randles said. Now he was looking at the Hardy boys with an understanding he had not had initially. Frank and Joe both were sure that they saw something in his eyes that told them he knew Colin had unfinished business in Bayport. “Colin's never had a chance to have friends like the Hardys. The more I think about it, the more I think we should let him do it.”

“Well, I need to think about this,” Mrs. Randles said.

“While you're thinking, we can have some coffee and cake,” Mrs. Kopsky said. “That always seems to make everyone feel better.”

Joe didn't normally like coffee, but he had to admit that Mrs. Kopsky's coffee tasted really great with the cake she had baked.

When everyone was finished, Mrs. Randles looked at Colin. “Nobody seems to have asked you how you feel about this, Colin,” she said. “So now I'm asking you.”

“I want to go,” Colin said simply. “I'll miss you, but I think it's the best thing.”

Mrs. Randles nodded. “You've always had a good head on your shoulders, Colin,” she said. “I'm sure you'll continue to use it well.”

“Then it's settled,” Mr. Randles said.

Frank and Joe got into the van, while Colin said his good-byes. He thanked the Kopskys for their thoughtfulness, hugged Nella and his parents, and then got into the van.

“When did you first get this idea, Joe?” Colin asked as they headed down the street toward the Williamsburg Bridge.

“I'm not sure. I think it was when Mr. Shaw fired your mom and dad,” Joe replied. “I knew we couldn't let Mr. Johnson get away with that.”

Colin grinned. “Are you sure your parents won't mind? Were you just saying that for my parents' benefit?”

“Mom and Aunt Gertrude are on your side, Colin. They were really upset about what happened,” Frank said. “And Dad, well, I know Dad is really angry about what Mr. Johnson did. He'll be glad you're back.”

Joe grinned. “I can hardly wait until Monday
morning,” he said. “When Colin shows up at school, there are going to be some really surprised people.”

Colin nodded. “I don't need to worry about my parents now. Nobody can run them out of Bayport,” Colin said. “And I've got some good friends. I don't have to suppress my psychic visions. I can concentrate and make them stronger.

“I'm going to find out why Melanie Johnson was kidnapped.”

Frank and Joe were right about one thing. A lot of the kids at Bayport High School were surprised to see Colin Randles walking down the hall, going to his first class. But the person they thought would be the most surprised, Melanie Johnson, acted as though there was nothing unusual about it.

“I don't trust her one bit,” Joe whispered to Frank. “She's got something planned, I'm sure.”

“If she doesn't, then it's probably safe to say that some of her friends do,” Frank agreed. “We need to make sure one of us is with Colin at all times.”

“Agreed,” Joe said.

Even though Frank and Joe didn't have all the same classes that Colin did, they arranged for one of them to be outside Colin's classroom door at the
end of every class. This kept them running through the halls most of the day, but they succeeded.

By the time school was out, not only had nothing happened, but the people Frank and Joe thought might cause Colin trouble—like Mr. Brooks and some of Melanie's friends—seemed to be ignoring him. This seemed weird.

Just as they were heading to the van to go home, Joe's cell phone rang.

He answered it, then stopped, and motioned for Frank and Colin to stop, too.

“Well, as a matter of fact, Melanie,” Joe said a little louder than he needed to, “Colin is right here. Do you want to talk to him?”

Colin had a puzzled look on his face. This was obviously something that none of them had expected.

He took the telephone from Joe. “This is Colin, Melanie,” he said nonchalantly. “What's up?”

Colin listened for about ten minutes. Joe and Frank tried to read his face but it remained passive. “Okay. We'll be there.” Colin punched the “end” button and handed the cell phone back to Joe.

“Where are we supposed to be?” Frank asked.

“Melanie wants us to come to her house tonight, at seven thirty,” Colin replied. “Her parents will be at a banquet. She said she has something very important to tell us.”

“You actually told her we'd be there?” Joe asked
incredulously. “Don't you think she might be setting a trap for us?”

“I don't think so,” Colin said. “I heard something in her voice.”

“Well, this could work out after all,” Frank said. “I had been wondering how to get this investigation started.”

“I still don't like it,” Joe said. “I would have suggested a neutral meeting sight.”

“We do need to work out some sort of a strategy,” Frank said. “We can't just walk into her house tonight unprepared.”

“Okay. I can understand that,” Colin said. “I'm not sure it's really necessary, but I won't argue.”

They got into the van and headed toward the Hardys' house. Their confrontation with Melanie was going to take place sooner than any of them had imagined.

At seven fifteen, Frank drove by the front of the Johnsons' house a couple of times, to see if any cars were parked in front. There weren't, but he decided that it would be smart to park the van one street over.

“Just in case,” he said. “I think a little caution here is important.”

Joe agreed.

Colin seemed lost in his thoughts.

“I say we scope out the place first,” Frank said, “just to make sure it's not a trap.”

The three of them got out of the van and started walking down the sidewalk. They had all worn dark clothing, so they wouldn't be any more visible than necessary.

At the corner, they turned left onto a side street that would take them to the Johnsons' house. They had planned to go in through a gate that led to the backyard and check out what was going on from there, but before they reached the gate, Joe stopped.

“That spotlight bothers me. If we use the gate someone might see us,” he said. “We've been spending a lot of time developing our track and field skills; why not just vault over this fence instead? It's darker back here.”

“Good thinking,” Frank said.

Joe went first, taking a running jump at the fence. As he jumped up, he grabbed the top of the fence, and vaulted over.

Colin took one look at what Joe had done and said to Frank, “I think maybe you'd better give me a handhold. I think I can take care of myself after that.”

Frank clasped his hands together for a hold for Colin's left foot and gave a heave, allowing Colin to catch the top of the fence and vault over.

Frank took a running jump and in one bounce was up and over the fence, landing soundlessly right in front of Joe and Colin.

“You should rethink throwing the javelin,” Joe
whispered. “You've got a brighter future in the hurdles.”

Frank grinned at him. “Well, I'd hate to take away all of the glory from you,” he said.

“Oh, don't worry about that,” Joe said, and grinned back. “You'd probably only get second place.”

Frank gave him a brotherly shove. “Yeah, right! In your dreams!”

“It sure is quiet,” Colin said.

Frank and Joe looked around, letting their eyes adjust to the darkness of the Johnsons' backyard.

“Maybe too quiet,” Joe said. He looked at Frank. “What do you think?”

Frank shrugged. “I think we should be prepared for anything.”

From where they were standing, they could see only one light on inside the house. It was in an upstairs room.

“That's probably Melanie's,” Frank observed.

“I have an idea,” Joe said. He took out his cell phone, punched in a number, and put the receiver to his ear. After a couple of seconds he said, “Melanie? This is Joe Hardy. Colin wanted us to come with him tonight. Okay? Uh, huh. Uh, huh. Uh, huh. That sounds good. Well, we should be there in about five minutes. See you.” Joe pushed “end” on the phone and said, “She told me to just ring the front doorbell when we got here.”

“How did she sound?” Colin asked.

“Tired,” Joe said. “And she didn't sound like she had a bunch of people in her room waiting to play a trick on us, either.”

“Well, let's wait a couple of minutes, just to see if more lights go on in the house and people start coming out of the woodwork,” Frank said.

After five minutes, when nothing in the house seemed to have changed, the three of them headed toward the side gate that would take them to the front of the Johnsons' house.

Colin rang the doorbell. In a couple of seconds, an interior downstairs light came on, and right after that the front door opened.

The Hardys were still prepared for anything that might happen, but there was nobody standing behind Melanie—and from their vantage point, they couldn't see anyone else in the interior of the house.

“I'm glad you came,” Melanie said. She stood aside so they could enter.