Collision Course Read Online Free PDF

where he was going. I figured he was headed back here."
    "Did you two have a fight?" Gertrude asked, a feint of concern edging into her voice.
    Joe took a big bite of his sandwich to buy time while he chose his words. Finally he said, "I wouldn't call it a fight, exactly. We just didn't agree."
    "Oh?" Gertrude replied. "And what, exactly, didn't you agree about?"
    Just then the telephone rang. Joe jumped up and said, "I'll get it!" And then he muttered under his breath, "Saved by the bell."
    "Hardy summer home," Joe spoke into the receiver. "Some are home and some aren't."
    "Hi, Joe. Is Frank there?"
    Joe recognized the voice right away. "Hey, Phil. No, he's not here. And I don't know where he is. Did you see him at all today?"
    "Yeah," Phil said. "He came by this afternoon. There was something he wanted me to check out. Have him call me when he gets in, okay?"
    "Sure thing," Joe said. "Say, did Frank tell you where he was going when he left your house? Aunt Gertrude's getting a little worried about him," he added in a soft voice so Gertrude wouldn't overhear.
    "No—he just said there was something else he had to do. I doubt if that's much help."
    "Maybe more than you think," Joe said. "Thanks, Phil."
    He hung up the phone and turned to his aunt. "I've got to go out again."
    "What for?" Gertrude asked suspiciously.
    "I think I left something at Scott's place," came the reply as Joe shot out the front door.
    "Couldn't it wait until tomorrow?" Gertrude called after him. But there was no answer. Joe was gone.
    Joe didn't know where Frank had gone after he'd left Phil, but he had a hunch where his brother might be now. Since Frank had taken the van, Joe had to walk. He could have asked his parents for their car, but he didn't want them asking any questions. Aunt Gertrude's were bad enough.
    Besides, he wasn't sure if his hunch was right. And if it was, what was he supposed to tell his aunt? He shook his head as he imagined himself saying, "Gee, Aunt Gertrude, I think Frank's trying to break into Scott's garage, and I just thought I'd go down to see if he needs any help." Somehow he doubted that that would make his aunt feel any better. Of course, the only "help" he intended to give Frank was to try to stop him before it was too late.
    Joe wasn't sure what Frank was up to, but he knew his older brother pretty well. If Joe was right, he wanted to get there before anybody else did. He broke into a jog as he backtracked along the route he had taken just a little while earlier. Joe was breathing heavily by the time he reached Scott Lavin's garage. He slowed to a walk about twenty yards from the door and let himself catch his breath as he scanned the area. His eyes had adjusted to the dark, and he could make out the faint outline of the van in the alley across the street. He headed for the van and tried the door.
    Locked. Joe pulled his key chain out of his pocket, fumbling in the dark for the right key. He opened the van door and poked his head inside. Frank wasn't there, but Joe did notice something in the back of the van.
    The tool chest was open. Joe climbed inside and over the front seat, switching on the overhead light as he went. He already suspected what he would find in the tool chest — or, more exactly, what he wouldn't find. He was right — the lock-pick set was missing.
    Joe climbed out of the van and doubled back across the street in the direction of Scott Lavin's garage. From the middle of the street he could now see that the door to the garage was ajar, even though all the lights were out.
    A mental warning alarm went off in Joe's brain. Frank wouldn't be so careless. The slightly open door was as obvious as a flashing neon sign proclaiming, "Burglars at work!" Joe stood at the threshold and tried to get a look inside the garage, but his eyes couldn't penetrate the darkness within. He drew in a deep breath, gritted his teeth, plunged through the door—and almost tripped over his brother's body, slumped on the