The Crisscross Crime Read Online Free Page B

started.
    â€œPolice have not confirmed how much money was taken from the Bayport Savings Bank, but sources have informed Channel Five that the suspect got away with at least two hundred thousand dollars.”
    â€œNo way!” Joe gasped, leaning forward.
    As the broadcast continued, the Hardys learned the full story. The police had responded to the false alarm that Frank and Joe had witnessed earlier in the evening at First City Bank. While the police were checking that out, Bayport Savings had been hit by someone armed with a semi-automatic pistol.
    â€œPolice confirm that the robbery took place at just before six this evening,” the newscastercontinued, “minutes before Bayport Savings was scheduled to close, and only fifteen to twenty minutes after the alarm sounded at First City. Police speculate that the thief, unable to break into First City Bank, decided on Bayport Savings as a secondary target.”
    Frank and Joe looked at each other. The police were wrong. The Hardys had been chasing the two First City thugs at exactly the time the Bayport robbery had gone down. There was only one explanation.
    â€œIt’s got to be Meredith,” Frank said, clenching his fist. “He robbed Bayport Savings, then came to the junkyard to meet up with his buddies.”
    Joe’s eyes narrowed. “Next time we meet up with him, he won’t get away so easily.”

4 Caught Stealing?
----
    Frank picked up the video camera from the coffee table and ejected the tape. “I want to see if you recorded the license number.” He put the tape into the VCR and sat back down.
    The tape started with the view out the windshield of their mother’s car. There was a glimpse of the black sedan, then it disappeared from the frame as Frank drove the car out of the strip mall parking lot and on to the street. The picture bobbed up and down, making Joe feel almost seasick.
    Their mother came into the living room and sat down just as the film showed the black sedan careening through the red light and smashing into the station wagon. The video camera hadpicked up the crunching sound of the impact as well.
    Joe watched his mother, waiting for her reaction. But she sat quietly, her lips set in a tight line.
    They could see the black sedan weaving through traffic ahead. The picture was steadier now, with only an occasional lurch or jolt.
    Joe saw his mother’s expression change. “That’s my car you’re driving, isn’t it?”
    Frank nodded.
    â€œOh, I can’t believe this.” Laura Hardy put her head in her hands. “And I thought you were late because the game went long.”
    Frank punched a button on the remote, freezing the picture. The frame stopped with the view out the windshield. The black sedan was only a few car lengths ahead. “Can you read the plate?” he asked Joe.
    Joe got close to the screen. “No, it’s too blurry. All we’ve got on these guys so far is reckless driving.”
    â€œAnd leaving the scene of an accident,” Mrs. Hardy added. “They smashed right into that station wagon.”
    Frank started the film again, and the sound of screeching tires and racing engines filled the living room.
    â€œWhat show is this?” a bright voice asked.
    The Hardys turned to see Aunt Gertrudestanding in the doorway, clutching her purse in front of her. “This program looks much more exciting than my book group.”
    â€œThis is just a short home movie Joe shot this afternoon,” Frank said.
    â€œOh, my” was Aunt Gertrude’s reply.
    The video now showed the black sedan hitting the railroad tracks and flying two or three feet into the air. The Hardys’ car followed. The picture jumped with the impact—the ceiling of the car suddenly filled the screen, then a quick flash of Joe’s feet as they landed. The picture focused on the road ahead just in time to see the sedan’s muffler fly past.
    Aunt Gertrude