Last Laugh by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780671746148
Google: Bk1TBAAACAAJ
Goodreads: 1130316
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1990-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

Frank and Joe talked their way into the neighboring apartment building by explaining to a bewildered security guard about the kidnapping attempt. On the roof they found a large winch chained to an upright drainpipe.

"Here's the cable Whip Scorpion descended on," Joe observed, pulling up a length of strong steel cable.

Frank held up an aluminum mountaineer's D-ring. "He must have rappelled down the side of the building, then gotten hauled up with the winch for a quick getaway."

Joe joined him beside the winch. "Any clue as to where this equipment came from?" he asked.

"Nope." Frank pointed to the side of the winch, where an identifying metal plate had been pried off. "They took off the nameplate and filed away the serial number. This stuffs clean as a whistle."

Disappointed, Frank and Joe left the apartment building, and after a quick supper drove to Saint Mary's Hospital, where they joined Tom and Chet in Strong's room.

Strong's leg was broken and in an elevated cast; he was dressed in a white hospital gown. The old man looked sleepy from the sedation, but Frank thought he saw Strong's expression brighten when they came in.

"How're you doing, Mr. Strong?" Frank asked.

"I'm alive, thanks to you Hardys," Strong replied. "At least that's what Tom and Chet told me."

"Do you have any idea who these kidnappers are?" Frank asked him.

Strong's face hardened. "No, but I got a pretty good idea who hired them - Harry Saul! There's a lot of bad blood between Saul and Johns. It'd be just like old Harry to use his characters to get back at the enemy."

"Sounds pretty fantastic," Joe observed.

"Harry's about the meanest son of a gun I ever met," Strong said quietly. He paused. "Besides, I know where there's proof."

"Proof?" Frank asked urgently.

"A letter," Strong told them groggily. His voice was fading as the sedative was making him sleepier. "A couple of days before the kidnapping, I saw Barry reading a letter. He got - real scared. Told me - told me afterward it was a threat from - Saul."

Strong's voice became an inaudible whisper. Frank thought he'd fallen asleep, until Strong opened his eyes a crack. "Take my keys - Go to - the Zenith offices - Letter's in Barry's desk - "

Joe found the keys in Strong's pants, and the Hardys, Chet, and Tom left.

Out in the hall Joe tossed Strong's keys up in the air and caught them with a snap.

"You must be raring to go to find that letter, Joe," Frank said with a grin.

To Frank's surprise, Joe shook his head, and an intensely thoughtful expression came over his face. "That can wait," Joe said. "I have a hunch that now might be a good time to double back to the con and find Rockwitz."

Frank opened his mouth to argue, then changed his mind. Usually, when Joe had one of his hunches, it was worth acting on.

The dealers' room was abuzz with talk of the kidnappings when Joe, Frank, Chet, and Tom returned. Chet and Tom

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