120-The Case of the Cosmic Kidnapping by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-07T15:13:48+00:00

Chapter 9

The Grounded UFO

"What did you find?" Frank asked as he approached Joe.

Joe carefully handed him the bandanna and the paper. "I think Fred Hawkins was trying to communicate with us."

Frank frowned as he turned over the paper and studied both sides. "We don't know he wrote it."

"What about the fact that it's on Happy Burger note paper?" Joe pointed out.

"True. But anyone could've swiped a piece of memo paper from the restaurant."

"Excuse me!" called Sandra Rodriguez, bounding toward them from across the field. "Did you boys discover some exciting clue that a UFO landed here?"

Frank quickly wrapped the paper in the bandanna and stuck it in his pocket. The talk show host must have noticed because she thrust the microphone in his face and inquired in a frosty voice, "I hope you're not withholding important evidence?"

Frank shook his head. "No. I'm taking it right to the police." He gestured toward two officers in the distance directing traffic. "The detective on this case will want to see it."

Ms. Rodriguez signaled to the crew to stop the cameras. "The - the police?" she stammered. After handing the microphone to an assistant, she shot Frank a haughty look. "The police think this whole UFO thing is a fraud. I'm the one who will use the information to discover the truth."

Frank heard Joe chuckle.

"The police may think the UFO is a fraud, but I'm sure they take Fred's disappearance very seriously," Frank said. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Sandra's face turned red. Then she turned and motioned toward the crew. "Follow those boys to the police officers and find out what they've got. Quick!"

Frank winked at Joe as the two took off across the field, Sandra and her crew tagging along behind them. The Hardys handed over the paper to an officer and explained where they'd found it.

Sandra Rodriguez made certain she heard every word the Hardys said.

Then, microphone in hand again, she turned back to the camera. "You heard it right here, ladies and gentlemen!" she exclaimed in a theatrical voice. "The latest development in the Bayport UFO kidnapping case. A note has been found in the middle of what appears to be a UFO landing site. And the terse message written on it was 'Help.' Was this Fred Hawkins's desperate cry to be rescued from his alien abductors?"

"Or was it a note from a viewer sick of watching Sandra Rodriguez's stupid show?" Joe whispered in Frank's ear.

Frank chuckled. "You've got that right. Now that I think about it, it seems pretty hokey to think a UFO would land long enough in Bayport Meadows to let Fred Hawkins drop his message, then take off into outer space again."

"Agreed," Joe said, pulling his brother back into the crowd. "Come on, let's check out the UFO landing site before a hundred gawkers trample it flat."

When they left, Frank could still hear Sandra Rodriguez droning on about poor, desperate Fred Hawkins out in space trying to escape his evil abductors.

Joe stopped so suddenly that Frank almost ran into him.

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