Running on Empty Read Online Free PDF Page A

Bayport without our friend."
    A heavy burden seemed to weigh on Cronkite's shoulders. He sighed, then threw his hands into the air.
    "All right. I'll phone Con. But that doesn't mean I'm going to open the doors and welcome you yahoos with outstretched arms. I ought to call your bluff and let you spend some time in a Southport holding cell with the other derelicts."
    Cronkite shook his head and reached for the phone.
    Frank motioned Joe over to the opposite side of the room while Cronkite made his call.
    "We've got to convince him that he can't do without us," Frank whispered to Joe.
    "Got any ideas?"
    "Yes," Frank answered.
    Minutes later, Cronkite hung up the phone.
    "You boys have quite a rep for putting bad guys away. I'm impressed."
    "Good," Joe said, excited. "What do you want us to do?"
    "Whoa, cowboy! I didn't say I wanted you two to do anything," Cronkite said, his hands raised. "I just said I was impressed. You may have Con convinced that you're a pair of heroes, but to me you're still two kids interfering in a police investigation."
    "Why haven't you busted Smith's operation before now?" Frank asked. "You obviously know he's chopping cars."
    "Smith is just the icing. We want the whole cake - the fencer, the guy who's actually moving the parts. So far we haven't been able to get anyone undercover to find out who that is."
    Frank rubbed his chin. He looked at Joe, winked, and smiled, then back at Cronkite.
    Innocently, he asked, "You mean that in several months of investigation by the South port Auto Theft Division you haven't been able to accomplish what two junior detectives from Bayport did in a couple of hours?"
    Cronkite's bulldog jaw dropped. "I - I - I ... "
    Frank could tell Joe was stifling a laugh, and he, too, had to control himself.
    "How much longer is it going to take before you get someone on the inside as deep as Joe and I are right now? But that isn't our concern, is it, Joe?" Following Frank's lead, Joe shook his head. "Joe and I have to get back to Bayport, tell Officer Riley how his old buddy passed up an opportunity to shut down one of the biggest chop shop operations in the area. Let's split, Joe."
    They headed for the door. Frank held his breath, hoping his bluff would work.
    "Hey, wait a minute." Cronkite nervously laughed and put himself between the Hardys and the door. "I didn't say you couldn't help somehow. I just needed to be sure, that's all."
    Neither Frank nor Joe returned the detective's plastic smile.
    Cronkite stared at them for a few seconds, sighed, then raised a finger. "Rule Number One: I'm in charge and you follow my orders. Rule Number Two: When in doubt, refer to Rule Number One. Do we understand each other?"
    "Clearly," Frank said.
    "All we want to do is find our friend," Joe added.
    "Okay," Cronkite replied without hesitation. "How is Smith going to contact you if he needs you?"
    Frank pulled the beeper from his belt and held it up.
    "These modern horse thieves have it easy," Cronkite said, back to his cynical self. "I've got an undercover officer who hasn't been able to get on the inside of Smith's gang yet." Cronkite paused. "Emerson Sauter. A rookie, but a good cop."
    "A rookie?" Frank couldn't believe it.
    "I wouldn't be choosy about my partners, young man," Cronkite replied, one eyebrow cocked. "Officer Sauter was especially chosen for this assignment. You'll find out why tomorrow. Know where Royce's Garage is located?"
    "We can find it," Joe said.
    "That's right - you're 'detectives.' Report to the officer for further instructions at oh-nine-hundred hours, sharp!"
    "Does he use an undercover name?" Frank asked.
    "He?" Then Cronkite laughed. "Oh, no, he uses his real name."
    Frank wondered what Cronkite thought was so funny, but dismissed it as part of the detective's strange sense of humor.
    "You'd better introduce us by our aliases," Frank advised.
    Cronkite nodded as he opened the door. "I still can't believe I'm putting my career into the hands of a couple of junior