Fright Wave (7 page)

***

They were in the air for over an hour. Frank checked the position of the sun and guessed they were headed northwest. They flew over the small island of Lanai. They saw Molokai in the distance. Oahu passed by on the right. After that, there was nothing but blue for a while. Blue sky above them, and blue ocean below.

Finally a lush, green island loomed ahead.

Jade pointed out the window. "That's Kauai. They call it the garden island. That must be where we're going."

"What makes you think that?" Joe asked.

"Because if it isn't," Doyle answered, "it's an awfully long way to the next island big enough to land on." He turned to Frank and grinned. "Hang on - we're going in hard!"

The helicopter banked to the right and swooped down toward the island. As they got closer, Frank could see a vast, tropical jungle.

"Yee - hah!" the pilot whooped, skimming the tops of the trees. "I love this job! It's the most fun you can have without getting shot at."

Frank spotted a small cabin in a clearing in the jungle. Doyle pulled back on the stick, and the helicopter slowed down. It hovered over the clearing for a moment. Then he pushed down on the lever at his side, and the flying machine eased to the ground.

Doyle cut the engine power and unbuckled his safety harness. "One of the fringe benefits," he said, gesturing at the small cabin surrounded by forest, "is being able to live someplace where you never get uninvited visitors."

They all got out of the helicopter. Joe looked around. Something was missing. "Is there a road anywhere near here?" he asked.

"Depends on what you mean by near - and what you mean by road," Doyle replied. "There's an old dirt trail about a mile from here. I guess you could run a four-wheeler down it."

"So you can get here only by helicopter," Frank said.

"You got it," the pilot answered. He opened the cabin door. "Welcome to Chateau Doyle. Try to ignore the mess. It's been a while since any guests have been here."

They followed him inside. "Looks like it's been a while since anybody has been here," Jade said.

There were cobwebs everywhere, and a faint mildew smell filled the air. The sparse wood furniture looked handmade, Frank noticed. Probably carved from trees that grew in the area.

"Well, it has been a while since I was last here," Doyle admitted. "I don't really live here anymore. I just use it as a retreat - a place to chill out when the world gets too weird."

"Like now?" Joe ventured.

A grin spread across the pilot's bearded face.

"Are you kidding? I can't remember the last time I've had so much fun."

"Well, all this fun is making me hungry," Joe said. "I don't suppose you've got anything to eat in the refrigerator. That is, if you have a refrigerator."

Doyle laughed and slapped Joe on the back. "Let me show you the kitchen. We've got all the modern comforts. Refrigerator, stove, trash compactor - "

'Trash compactor?" Jade echoed.

'Sure," Doyle replied. "There's not a lot you can do with garbage. You can either bury it in the yard and end up living next to a dump, or - "

"Or you can haul it away," Frank cut in. "And if you have to carry it away in a helicopter that doesn't have a lot of extra space, a trash compactor makes a lot of sense."

"What do you do for power?" Joe asked. "I bet the electric company doesn't run any lines out here."

"If they did," Doyle answered, "I'd have neighbors pretty soon, and then I'd have to move. There's a diesel generator out back. It's not much, but it'll give us all the power we need. Come on, I'll show you."

He started to walk to the door and then stopped. He scratched his beard. "Of course, it isn't going to start without any fuel in it." He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. Any food in the refrigerator would be pretty rank by now, anyway. So I'll just have to jump in the old station wagon and drive down to the Food 'n' Fuel."

"You want any company?" Frank asked.

The pilot waved him off as he headed out the door toward the helicopter. "Nah. You just hang loose for a while. I'll be back before you know it."

***

For the next few hours, while Joe and Jade sat in the cabin, talking, Frank stared out into the forest and reviewed the case. He glanced at his watch finally and started to get worried. Doyle hadn't returned and the sun was getting low in the sky. He doubted that even Skydog could find the cabin in the middle of the jungle in the dark.

Joe didn't notice the time go by - he was too busy talking to Jade. Eventually he did notice that something was bothering his brother. He walked up behind him and put his hand on Frank's shoulder. "What's up?" he asked.

"Doyle should have been back," Frank answered.

Joe shrugged. "Maybe he had too many items for the express check-out lane. Besides, it's given me a chance to find out some interesting things."

"Like what?" Frank replied. "Jade's favorite rock band? Her shoe size?"

Joe put his hand over his heart. "You wound me." He glanced over at the girl and then turned back to his brother. "Let's go outside and get some fresh air." He held the door open for Frank and then followed him out.

"So what'd you find out?" Frank asked.

"Do you know why Jade's father doesn't like her surfing?" Joe answered Frank with another question.

"Because it's dangerous?"

"No. Because of the publicity."

Frank frowned. "Replay that for me."

"When Jade first started to get known in competition, some dinky surfing magazine did a feature on her. She gave them this old picture of herself with her first surfboard. It was a present from her father - and he was in the picture, too. When her old man saw the article, he almost grounded her for life."

Frank pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "You mean this picture?"

Joe looked at it. "Where did you get that?"

"Off one of those thugs that took you and Jade for a joyride," Frank replied.

"It all starts to fit together, doesn't it?" Joe said.

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "No family, no past, no publicity - sounds like Kevin Roberts has been on the run for the past fifteen years."

"And whoever he was running from finally caught up with him," Joe added.

Frank looked at his brother. "There's something else bothering me."

"What's that?"

"How did those hoods back on Maui know where to find us?"

The whup-whup-whup of a helicopter cut through the air.

"Doyle's back," Joe said.

Frank looked up and spotted the helicopter close by. Something was wrong! It was weaving through the air, its tail swinging from side to side. Then it just dropped.

***

As the helicopter flew across the water, Joe told Jade what they had pieced together.

"Who was my father hiding from?" she asked. "What did he do?"

"We don't know," Joe said. "But a safe bet would be that it has something to do with the mob and the FBI - and it happened a long time ago."

"You mean before we moved to Hawaii," Jade said.

Joe nodded. "The government might even have relocated you as part of the witness protection program."

"It doesn't make any sense!" she protested. "Why now - after fifteen years? You can't tell me they've been looking for us all this time!"

"It does sound kind of farfetched, doesn't it?" Joe admitted. "But maybe they weren't looking at all. Maybe they just stumbled across you by accident."

Jade's shoulders slumped. "It's all my fault."

Joe reached out and took her hand. "You were only two when it happened - whatever it was. How could it be your fault?"

"The magazine article," she said. "No wonder my father was so upset."

"You had no way of knowing," Joe assured her.

She turned and looked at him. "What do we do now?"

"We fly to Waikiki," Joe explained, "and grab your father out of the hotel before anybody else finds out he's there."

"And then?" she asked.

Joe cleared his throat. "We're still working on that part."

"How do you know we're not already too late?" she pressed.

Joe didn't answer right away. He looked into her green eyes. "We don't," he finally said. "But we've got to try, right?"

The sun had set, and a full moon sparkled on the water. The only other source of light lay straight ahead. "That's Honolulu," Doyle announced. "I'll take her down over Waikiki Beach. But you're going to have to jump the last couple of feet - I can't risk landing more than once on that skid I busted back on Kauai."

"After we jump," Frank said, "you better get out of here. I don't know what we'll run into, and I don't want you to get stuck in the middle again."

The pilot grinned. "I like the fireworks. They make me feel alive, but I don't think I'll be much help in this crippled chopper. We're coming up on the beach now. Get ready to bail out."

The helicopter hovered a few feet above the sand. Joe pushed the back door open and jumped down. Jade stood in the opening. Joe reached out, and she jumped into his arms.

Frank watched to make sure they were all right. Then he turned to the pilot. "I don't know how to thank you for all you've done," he said.

"I'd send you a bill," Doyle replied, "but I don't have your address. Now, get out of here so I can go find some paying customers."

Frank opened the door and climbed out. The wind from the rotor blades whipped his hair around, and he had to shield his eyes from the blowing sand that pelted him. He flashed a thumbs-up gesture to the pilot, and the machine lifted off. Frank ran up the beach to join his brother.

Frank led the way back to the hotel through the beach entrance. When he walked into the hotel suite, the first thing he saw was his father sitting at the writing desk.

When Fenton Hardy saw his son standing in the doorway, he said, "I thought you were still on Maui. Why didn't you call and let me know you were coming back here?"

"It's a long story," Frank said.

"A very long story," Joe chimed in.

"Well, I dug up quite a story of my own," Fenton replied. He looked at Jade. "I got most of it from your father."

"Does it have anything to do with the witness protection program?" she asked.

Fenton looked surprised. "He told me you didn't know anything about it."

"She didn't," Joe said. "We just put it all together today."

"But we don't have any of the details," Frank added. "How about filling in the gaps for us?"

"Sixteen years ago," Fenton began, "an undercover FBI agent penetrated the heart of a West Coast mob bookmaking and loan-sharking operation. They took bets on anything and everything. They'd even lend you the money to bet with."

"Then break your legs if you couldn't pay them back," Joe said.

His father nodded. "Something like that. Anyway, this undercover agent broke the whole case wide open. His testimony sent the ringleader, Thomas Catlin, to prison. Catlin swore he'd get revenge.

"But criminals make threats like that all the time," he continued. "Nobody took it seriously until a bomb demolished the agent's house. The agent was in a nearby park with his daughter when it happened. The only person in the house was his wife."

"My mother," Jade whispered.

"I'm afraid so," Fenton replied. "She was killed instantly. After that, you and your father got new identities and moved to Hawaii to start a new life. It should have ended there. But two years ago Catlin got out of prison and took up where he left off. About a year ago he started expanding his operation into the islands."

"Wait a minute," Frank cut in. "Jade's father couldn't have known that."

"He didn't," Fenton said. "Until I told him. That's why he came to me - the Bureau told him I was his contact. That's the real reason I'm in Hawaii. Catlin imported some heavy talent from New York. I've busted a couple of them before, and I know how they work. So I was brought in as an adviser."

He turned to his sons. "All this is strictly classified information. Top secret."

"I'm afraid it's not much of a secret anymore," Joe replied.

"What do you mean?" his father asked.

"He means somebody inside the FBI is working for Catlin," Frank said. "Every time I called to let you know where we were, a couple of trained gorillas homed in on us."

Fenton Hardy frowned. "The only person I told was Pete Gordon, the special agent I've been working with."

"I don't suppose this Gordon guy has a scar over his left eye," Joe said.

"Yes," Fenton replied. "How did you know?"

"Because a friend of ours saw him on Maui late this afternoon, trying to track Jade down," Frank explained.

All the color drained out of Fenton's face, and he slumped back in his chair. "Then it looks like we've got a very serious situation," he said gravely. "Gordon was supposed to be out setting up a safe house this afternoon - a place for Jade and her father to stay awhile."

"So we'll just get them out of here now," Joe said.

"Where is my father?" Jade asked. "He's all right, isn't he?"

Fenton Hardy raised his eyes slowly to meet hers. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know. Gordon picked him up an hour ago."