One False Step
Authors: Franklin W. Dixon
Two Shows for the Price of One . . .
“Anything wrong, dear?” Gina asked.
“No, it's just that high-rise robbery,” Mario said. “We thought those marks on the railings of the balcony might lead somewhere, but it was a dead end.”
Frank shot a questioning look at Joe.
“I saw Aérocirque's first performance last night,” Mario said, “and you all are in for an amazing treat.”
“Matt saw them in New York, but it'll be the first time for the rest of us,” Tony said. “We can hardly wait!”
Frank was looking forward to the performance too, but the high-rise burglary suddenly seemed more interesting.
Chapter 2:
Detective Zettarella's Problem
Chapter 3:
The Mystery of the Missing Acrobats
Chapter 5:
Clues on the Balcony
Chapter 7:
Can Elisabeth Be Trusted?
“I wish you two could have gone with me to see Aérocirque in New York last Saturday,” Matt Jenkins said to Frank and Joe Hardy. “It was amazing!”
“Aérocirque?”
seventeen-year-old Joe Hardy said. He sprayed some mousse on his blond hair and started combing it in. “I've never heard of it before.”
“The New York show was their first,” Matt said. “The owner is a rich European who's hired some of the best pilots and aerialists from all over Europe and turned them into âAérocirque.'”
Frank Hardy, who was a year older than his brother, pulled a blue sweater over his head, recombed his dark hair with his fingers, and said,
“We were in Montreal helping Dad on a mystery case, so we couldn't have gone anywayâbut I've never heard of Aérocirque either. It sounds like something Joe and I would really like to have seen. Maybe next time.”
Frank and Joe often helped their famous father solve mysteries all over the world. When police departments from Calcutta to Calgary, from Dallas to Dubai were confronted with cases that stumped them, they called on Fenton Hardyâand he called on his sons for assistance.
“Well, I've got a copy of their schedule in my backpack,” Matt said, “so if their next performance is not too far from Bayport, maybe we could go.”
“Great idea,” Joe said.
The three of them headed out of the Hardys' house to Frank and Joe's van.
“I appreciate the ride to school, guys,” Matt said. “My car won't be ready for several days. They had to order a part.”
“It's no problem,” Frank said. “We're glad to have you along.”
Matt and his mother had moved into the house next door a couple of weeks before, and Matt had immediately fit in with Frank and Joe and their friends. Dr. Jenkins had just recently retired from the diplomatic service. She had grown up in Bay-port and wanted Matt to spent what was left of his high school years there. Matt's father, a well-known
mystery writer, had died of cancer when the family was living in Botswana.
Joe looked at his watch. “We're going to be late if we don't hurry,” he said. “I didn't finish reading chapter seven in my world history book, and we're going to have a test on it this morning.”
“What's the chapter about?” Matt asked.
“The apartheid years in South Africa,” Joe said.
“Well, we never lived in South Africa, but Botswana is right next door,” Matt said, “so I know all about that period. Apartheid affected all the surrounding countries.”
While Frank drove them to school, Matt told Joe all he knew about the South African policy of racial separation from the late 1940s through the 1990s, when Nelson Mandela became the country's first black leader.
As Frank pulled into the student parking lot of Bayport High School, Joe said, “Thanks to you, Matt, I should get an A on that test! We need to do this more often. You're better than a textbook.”
“I learned a lot of things about that time too,” Frank agreed. “Hey, there's Chet!” Frank gave a short toot of his horn to get Chet Morton's attention. “I need to ask him what the track coach said about tryouts next week. They were talking the other day.”
Matt unzipped his backpack. “I got so busy talking about apartheid, I forgot about the Aérocirque schedule,” he said. He pulled out a piece of paper.
“Here it is. Hey! They have several performances in Philadelphia this week.” He looked up. “We ought to get some of the gang together and go.”
“Sounds like a great idea to me,” Joe said.
“Let's talk about it at lunch,” Frank suggested.
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Frank surveyed the crowded cafeteria. “Do you see Joe and Matt?” he asked Chet and Tony Prito, who had just joined him.
“Looks like they're sitting down by Callie and Iola at that back table,” Tony said, nodding in their direction, “but there are still three empty chairs.”
Iola Morton was Chet's sister and a frequent date of Joe's. Sometimes Iola and Joe double dated with Frank and Callie Shaw.
“Do we
have
to sit with my sister?” Chet said. “I see enough of her at home.”
“Don't be so hard on her, Chet,” Frank said. “Anyway, I promised Joe and Matt that we'd talk about going to see Aérocirque this weekend.”
The three of them headed for the serving line to get their trays.
“I saw some pictures of that in the Sunday newspaper,” Tony said. “There were these two helicopters with a wire between themâand this guy was walking it!”
“How can the person keep his balance?” Chet said. “Could you please give me double mashed
potatoes?” he asked Mrs. Conroy, one of the cafeteria servers. He gave her a big smile.
“I always give you double servings, Chet,” Mrs. Conroy said. “You don't have to ask.”
Chet grinned. “Thanks, Mrs. Conroy,” he said.
“What about us, Mrs. Conroy?” Tony said. “Frank and I are really hungry too.”
Mrs. Conroy shook her head. “Your coach told me you two are in training, so there are no doubles until track season is over,” she said. She leaned closer to them. “If you win district, I might even think about tripling your servings.”
Frank smiled.
As soon as they got their drinks, Frank, Chet, and Tony headed for the back table.
When they arrived, Frank said, “Hey, Callie! How'd you do on that math test?”
Callie shook her head. “I can't believe I studied so much and knew so little,” she said.
Iola rolled her eyes. “That means she must have scored ninety-nine instead of a hundred,” she said.
“What were you guys talking about before?” Chet asked. “I hope it's something that will be good for my digestion.”
Joe looked at Chet's plate. “I'm not sure
anything
is going to help your digestion if you eat all of that.”
“Callie was telling us about a friend of hers in New York City whose family's apartment was robbed Saturday night,” Matt said.
“Oh, I thought it was something really interesting,” Tony said. “Those things happen all the time in big cities.”
“This is different,” Callie said. “The police are totally stumped.”
“What makes this crime so different, Callie?” Frank asked. He tasted the green beans, then moved them to the side of his plate. “Too salty,” he said.
“Do you remember Mary Beth Edwards? She's visited me here in Bayport several times,” Callie said. “Our families are distantly related in some way.”
Joe nodded. “She's the one who looks like she could be your twin sister, right?”
“Right,” Callie said. “Well, she and her family live in the apartment just below the penthouse in a new high-rise on West Sixty-ninth Street in Manhattan, and they were robbed Saturday night,” she continued. “What makes this so different is that the thieves got in through the French doors off the balcony.”
“Window washers!” Tony said.
Callie shook her head. “Nope. The police have ruled that out.”
“Maybe it was one of those building climbers,” Matt suggested. “You know, the people who'd rather climb up buildings than mountains.”
“The police don't think so,” Callie responded.
“Anyway, somebody always spots those people before they get to the top.”
“Well, there has to be an explanation,” Chet said. “It couldn't be somebody who just flew in and landed on the balcony, like one of those super-heroes.”
“If you're saying that you don't believe in super-heroes anymore, Chet, then I guess we can throw away all those old comic books in the attic,” Iola said, smiling. “I need more space to store my things.”
“Don't you touch those comic books!” Chet said. “They're worth a fortune!”
Everyone at the table laughed.
Callie looked at Frank and Joe. “Mary Beth wanted me to tell you about it,” she said. “She was hoping you two could suggest some ideas about who might have committed this crime to the New York police.”
“You know, someone they might have missed,” Iola added.
“Sure,” Joe said. “We'd be glad to.”
“We'll also talk to Dad,” Frank added. “If I know him, he probably already knows about the case and has some theories of his own.”
Matt looked at his watch. “I hate to change the subject, Callie, but we were going to make some plans to go see Aérocirque this weekend in Philadelphia.”
“Aérocirque!
That's where Mary Beth and her parents were when their apartment was robbed,” Callie said. “She said she had never seen anything so exciting.”
“It was like nothing I had ever seen before either,” Matt said. He unfolded a piece of paper and laid it on the table. “Here's Aérocirque's schedule. They'll be in Philadelphia for five days. If we leave Bayport Friday after school, we can see several performances.”
“Why do we need to go so many times?” Chet asked.
“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “It sounds interesting, but wouldn't one performance be enough?”
“They have several troupes of acrobats,” Matt explained. “They don't all perform every night.”
“I don't know,” Chet said. “I had some other plans for this weekend.”
“I hate to be a killjoy,” Tony said, “but . . .”
“It won't be as much fun if we don't all go together. I was really looking forward to it,” Matt said. He looked around the table. “Look, guys, I'm sorry. I know I come on strong sometimes. You have to understand how much I'm enjoying having a normal American high school experience after spending so much time overseas. But anyway, who knows? Aérocirque will probably be on television in a few months. That'll be just as good.”
“Not really,” Joe said.
“Well, if we don't want to stay after the show Friday night, we can get up Saturday morning and come back to Bayport,” Frank said.
“I guess that would work,” Chet said.
Tony nodded his agreement.
“If Mom and Dad don't have a problem with it, then we'll drive down to Philadelphia Friday after school,” Frank said.
“You won't regret it, I guarantee it!” Matt said.
They all gathered up their trays and headed for the conveyor belt.
“Don't forget about Mary Beth's robbery,” Callie reminded Frank.
“We won't,” Frank said. “I promise.”
As Frank and Joe headed to the first of their afternoon classes, Joe said, “You know, this is a lot like one of those âlocked room' puzzles that Aunt Gertrude enjoys reading about so much. You know, when a crime is committed in a locked room, and nobody can figure out how it could have happened.”
“That could be, Joe,” Frank said, “but at the end, the detectives always figure the puzzle outâand I'm sure that's what'll happen this time.”
When Frank and Joe got home after school that day they went straight to the kitchen, where Mrs. Hardy had thick slices of chocolate cake and glasses of cold milk ready for them.
“Thanks, Mom!” Joe said. “My favorite!”
“If it's
food
it's your favorite, Joe Hardy!” Aunt Gertrude said, breezing into the kitchen, a finger holding her place in the latest romance novel she was reading. She gave both Joe and Frank a peck on the cheek. “I don't know how you boys can eat so much and stay so slim. I just need to look at a slice of cake to put on ten pounds.”