091-Shield of Fear by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-07T15:13:29+00:00

Chapter 9

Wild Shots

Frank gritted his teeth and turned the wheel hard to the left; he slammed on the brakes. They all heard the crunch of metal as the right side of the van scraped against the metal guard rail. The van spun around to the left and stopped.

Joe looked out the window and saw the black car and the green sedan speeding ahead down the road.

"Both of you okay?" Frank said breathlessly.

"Fine," said Joe. His seat belt had held him against the force of the sudden stop.

"Chet?" asked Frank, turning around.

"I'm okay," Chet replied. He got to his knees and leaned against Joe's seat. "I should have known that sightseeing with you guys would end up in a car chase!"

"I wonder who was driving Marino's car," said Joe, after he had caught his breath.

"Probably another one of Brannigan's goons." Frank opened his door. "We better check to see if there's any damage to the van."

The brothers jumped out of the van. Chet followed, more slowly.

Joe looked at the left rear tire. "Flat," he said, giving the tire a kick.

Frank looked up the road. "It's a good thing there isn't any traffic on this bridge." He opened up the back of the van and lifted out the spare tire.

After Frank and Joe had changed the tire, they dropped Chet off at his car and then drove back to the police academy to do some looking around.

"If O'Connor is working for Brannigan, maybe we can find something in his office that will prove it," Frank said.

"What about that missing ledger?" Joe suggested. "Maybe O'Connor's keeping it at the academy. An office in the academy might be the perfect place to stash it. No one would ever think of looking there."

"No one except us." Frank started walking in the direction of O'Connor's office.

The main building at the academy was deserted. The Hardys' footsteps echoed against the tiled floor.

When they got to Sergeant O'Connor's office, they knocked first, to check if anyone was inside. After a moment, Frank tried the knob.

The door was locked. Joe took a plastic card from his wallet, slid it between the door and the lock, and wedged the lock back. He pushed the door open a crack and peered inside.

"Empty," Joe said.

"He's probably still with Fielding and Marino."

Frank turned on the lights, closed the door, and examined O'Connor's desk. He pulled open the long top drawer. "Joe!" he exclaimed. "Look at this."

Joe hurried over to his brother. Half-hidden under a pile of test papers was the butt end of a service pistol.

"Weapons aren't supposed to be left unat-tended," Frank said. "They're kept in a locked vault in the arms room."

He looked at his brother. "So what's this one doing in O'Connor's office? I wonder if it connects O'Connor with the weapons and ammo Larry is accused of stealing."

Suddenly the door swung open and a voice asked gruffly, "What are you two doing in here?"

The brothers turned and saw Lieutenant Redpath standing in the doorway.

"We ... uh ... had something to ask Sarge," Frank stammered.

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