15-Blood Relations by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Juvenile Fiction, Mystery and detective stories, Family, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Boys & Men, Siblings
ISBN: 9780671687793
Google: kwDVmJnEXr8C
Amazon: 0671687794
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 1989-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

THE MAN WITH the gun instantly recognized them.

"Well, well, look who's here," he said with a nasty grin. "What a surprise."

They recognized him too. The gunman who had kidnapped them and herded them into the abandoned building.

"Yeah, we're getting to be old friends," Joe wisecracked. "And we haven't even been introduced."

"You can call me Max," the man said. "And I got your names already. Frank and Joe Hardy, right?"

"What makes you so sure this time?" asked Frank.

"Let's say we have a mutual friend," Max said. Then his eyes lit up as a thought hit him. "In fact, we got two mutual friends." The gunman indicated the body on the floor. "I didn't know you were pals with this Clark character. But that's fine with me. You can help me find what I was looking for when you barged in."

"What's that?" Frank asked, sizing up the situation and trying to spot a way out of their jam. But Max was alert as well, the gun steady in his hand. The guy was a pro.

"The company books," Max said. "There's a copy of Rawley's company's records here somewhere. Clark wouldn't tell me where they were and you see what happened to him. I advise you to tell me while you still got breath to do it with."

"We don't know anything about that, honest," Frank protested.

"Then what are you doing here — selling Girl Scout cookies?" Max asked. "Talk, or I'll lay you down next to this piece of meat."

"Look, you're making a mistake," said Joe, trying to sound convincing.

"You're making the mistake," Max said. "The last one you'll ever make."

"Joe's telling the truth," said Frank, trying one last time to persuade the gunman. "We don't know anything about these records, but we'll help you search for them. That's right up our alley. We're experienced investigators."

"What kind of jerk do you think I am?" Max said scornfully. "You'd jump me the first time I took my eyes off you. Well, I'm not giving you the chance. I'll find the stuff alone, without either of you getting in my way."

He pointed the gun so it was aimed directly between Joe's eyes.

"Bye-bye, Joey," he said. "Your brother Frank will be along in a minute."

With an effort, Joe kept his eyes open. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be. No way it could end like this, so fast.

"Bye-bye," Max said, and Joe tensed, cold sweat on his skin.

Sound exploded. But it wasn't the bang of a gun. It was glass shattering.

A rock had come through the hall window and knocked Max's gun aside.

"Drop it," a voice commanded.

Max didn't obey. But he didn't shoot Joe either. He had a better use for his time. He wheeled around and ran for the back door.

Frank and Joe took off after him at breakneck speed. As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, Joe caught his foot in a scatter rug and down he went. Frank tripped over him and sprawled spread-eagle on top of Joe.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.