057 Terror on Track by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: hbfiles new, hbfiles
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Joe stood frozen, staring—not at the crowbar but at the rest of the room. Glass refrigerated containers lined the walls. They were filled with violent splashes of4 colorful flowers — roses, tulips, brilliant tropical buds Joe couldn't even identify.

The man with the bar hadn't moved to attack. Nor had his partner, nor had the young woman in the apron Joe now noticed behind them. They stood in a protective group around the crate, and the vivid purple flowers it contained.

"Look, kid," the man with the crowbar said, "I don't know what your problem is, but we've got flowers to unload. So tell us—what do you want?"

Joe was too embarrassed to speak. He could feel his face turning as red as the case of roses at his elbow.

Frank stepped through the door and came to his rescue. "Sorry for bursting in. Did you see a small dog run in here?"

The man with the crowbar shook his head. "If your pooch ran away, he didn't come in here."

"Thanks," Frank said. "Come on, Joe, let's keep looking."

Joe pasted a smile on his face and escaped as quickly as possible. The brothers were silent all the way back to Union Station, feeling like complete idiots. After paying the taxi fare, they made their way inside to the waiting area. Their hour-and-a-half layover was almost over, and soon they'd be on the move again.

"Hey, Hardys!" a voice shouted from behind them. They turned to see Felix Delray waddling their way. He was carrying an overnight bag and wore a blue down jacket and blue slacks with a knife-edge crease that gave them away as being brand-new.

"I was looking for you guys," Delray said.

"We went out."

Joe smiled. Frank obviously wasn't going to tell him anything. „

"Me, too," Delray said. "Hear about the murder on board?" He watched their faces avidly.

"We know about it." Frank couldn't disguise the dislike he was feeling for Delray.

Delray wouldn't be shook off, though. "Someone told me the dead man was Andrew Driscoll. You knew him, right?"

Joe stared. What was it with this guy?

"Come on, is it true?" Delray pressed.

Joe had had enough. "I don't know where you come off, grilling us like this."

"Hey, I was just curious. I wondered if it had anything to do with that fight you two had in the lounge car." Delray stared eagerly at him.

Joe stared back. "How did you hear about that?"

"Are you kidding? You guys are the talk of the train." Delray laughed. "So why don't you give me the real lowdown?"

"Let's not and pretend we do," Frank cut in coldly. They were about to walk off when they saw two men in white wheeling a gurney away from their train. On the gurney was a body bag. A crowd had gathered and was slowly following behind.

"There goes Driscoll now," Delray said. "They say the poor slob was strangled."

Joe whipped around. "Andrew wasn't a slob."

Delray grinned in triumph. "So you did know him, huh? Why wouldn't you admit it?"

Frank grabbed his brother's arm before Joe punched the man.

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