The Prime-Time Crime Read Online Free PDF

job on the show this afternoon, Frank.”
    â€œThanks, Matt,” Frank said. “You haven’t heard anything from Clarence since then, have you?”
    â€œNot yet,” Matt said, “but he’ll turn up. He’s just grandstanding again. Clarence likes pulling silly publicity stunts.”
    â€œCome on, Matt,” Marcy said. “You don’t think Clarence would vanish like this just to get attention, do you?”
    â€œWhy not?” Matt said with a shrug. “Remember that time he pretended to break his leg when he fell off the edge of the set, then took the cast off in the middle of the show a week later and danced around the studio? We got angry phone calls all day from people who had sent sympathy cards thinking he was really hurt.”
    â€œThat’s not the same thing,” Marcy insisted.
    â€œMaybe not,” Matt said, “but I bet Clarence turns up safe and sound during Tuesday night’sshow. He’ll probably pop out from backstage and announce, ‘Your old buddy Clarence is back!’ ”
    â€œIf he does,” Marcy said, “Ted Whalen’ll fire him so fast his head will spin.”
    â€œThat’s a pleasant thought,” Matt said, a gleam in his eye.
    â€œYou sound like you’d be happy if Clarence got fired,” Frank said.
    â€œNot me. I love the guy,” Matt replied. Frank could tell that Matt was being sarcastic. “And I certainly wouldn’t want anything to happen to the host of Bayport’s longest-running TV show,” Matt went on. “Why, he’s an institution in this town.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Marcy said.
    â€œListen, you guys,” Matt said, “I’ve got to get moving. Got a hot date at the dry cleaner’s to get my jacket pressed.”
    â€œSorry about the damage to your suit, Mr. Freeman,” Debbie said.
    â€œNo problem,” Matt said. “I get a special discount at the cleaner’s. They’re great at taking out coffee stains, and I doubt that this will give them much trouble.”
    â€œI’m leaving, too,” Steve said, after Freeman had left. “Got to find more clues to Clarence’s whereabouts.”
    â€œYou don’t think Matt Freeman’s right about Clarence pulling a publicity stunt?” Debbie asked, following Steve to the door.
    â€œI don’t know.” Steve shrugged. “Even if he is, there’s still a mystery to solve, right? If I can findClarence before he pops out from behind the curtain Tuesday night, it still proves what a great detective I am.”
    â€œTrue. But that’s not going to happen. I’ll be the one to find him first,” Debbie said as the door shut behind her.
    Frank and Joe stared after them in exasperation.
    â€œWhere’d you find that pair?” Marcy asked with a frown.
    â€œThey found us,” Frank said. “Now we can’t get rid of them.”
    â€œWeren’t you going to introduce us to the new station manager?” Joe reminded Marcy.
    â€œOh, right,” Marcy said. “Come on. His office is upstairs.”
    Marcy led the Hardys out of the studio and up a flight of stairs to a luxurious suite of offices on the second floor. Frank looked around at the expensively framed paintings that hung on the wall, and the thick pile carpeting that lined the hallway.
    â€œSomebody’s been redecorating,” he commented to Marcy. “These offices didn’t look this nice the last time Joe and I were here.”
    â€œMediagenic’s pumping a lot of money into the station,” Marcy explained. “They have big plans. They want to turn it into a showcase.”
    When they arrived at Ted Whalen’s office, the door was open. Whalen held up a finger to tell Marcy he’d be with her in a moment.
    Frank was impressed with the size of the office. It was at least fifty feet deep and just as wide, withsleek, ultra-modern