Read The Great Airport Mystery Online
Authors: Franklin W. Dixon
The Great Airport Mystery (8 page)
“We'll be right over,” said Frank. “If Williams shows up first, try to stall him.”
“Okay.”
When the boys drove up to the camera shop, they saw a large, burly man who seemed to be arguing with Mr. Freeman.
“That isn't Zimm!” observed Joe. “Maybe he really does have a friend named Williams and he was delivering the rolls of film for him.”
“Possibly,” Frank agreed. “Then again, it might all be part of a clever plan to throw us off the track.”
The boys decided to demand a chance to inspect the films. As they entered the shop, Mr. Freeman turned to them with an air of relief.
“This is Mr. R. C. Williams,” he said, indicating his customer. Then he turned back to the man. “These boys believe that at least some of these pictures belong to them.”
“What!” shouted Williams. “That's crazy!”
“Then you won't mind if we have a look at the prints,” Frank said politely.
“Touch my pictures,” Williams bellowed, “and I'll sue every one of you!”
Mr. Freeman looked hesitant. He was thinking that perhaps the Hardys were being a bit hasty. At the thought of being involved in a lawsuit, he began to hedge.
“Maybe we have no right to ask Mr. Williams toâ” he began.
“We'll take the entire responsibility,” Frank interrupted. “Mr. Williams can show us the pictures himself. We won't touch them.”
Williams protested strongly. But seeing that the boys were determined not to let him out of the shop without seeing the pictures, he ripped open the big envelope, peered in, selected a few prints, and scattered them on the counter. None of the pictures belonged to the Hardys, they admitted.
“There!” Williams sneered. “You see? You guys ought to be thrown in jail!”
He quickly gathered up the prints and stuffed them back into the envelope.
“How much do I owe you?” he snapped at Mr. Freeman.
“Just a minute!” Frank said coldly. “We want to see
all
the pictures!”
all
the pictures!”
“Get out of my way!” Williams shouted.
The shop owner, now more suspicious of Williams himself, offered to call the police. But at the word “police,” Williams paled.
“You won't have to do that!” he blurted. Reluctantly he reached into the package and displayed several more prints.
“I said we want to see all of them!” Frank demanded.
“That's all there are,” Williams insisted.
Joe reached out and seized the envelope. Shaking it vigorously, he spilled more prints onto the counter. The boys were elated to find that their suspicions were justified. Among the pictures were several aerial views they had taken!
Suddenly Williams let fly with his fists. He caught Mr. Freeman under the chin, and the shop owner slumped down behind the counter. Williams then whirled around and rushed the boys with his head down and arms flailing.
Frank and Joe, taken off guard, skidded on the highly polished floor and went down. Williams grabbed the pictures in his large fist and crammed them hastily into a pocket.
As the boys sprang to their feet, they saw Williams fleeing toward the rear exit of the shop!
CHAPTER XI
A Questionable Friend
FRANK and Joe darted after Williams and succeeded in intercepting him before he reached the rear exit. A wild struggle followed.
The boys and their burly opponent crashed to the floor in a mass of entangled arms and legs. Mr. Freeman, having recovered from the blow he had received, rushed over to give his support. Williams was exceptionally strong, but three against one was too much for him.
“That's enough!” he panted. “Don't hit me again!” He dropped and lay on the floor like a whipped dog.
“You'd better do some explaining!” Frank said angrily as he and Joe stood up and brushed off their clothing.
Joe grabbed the envelope and extracted several pictures. “The aerial shots!” he exclaimed, and handed them to his brother.
“I've nothing to say.” growled Williams, trying to catch his breath. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair.
“Who stole our camera and films?” Frank demanded, glaring at their captive.
“I don't know about anything being stolen!” Williams insisted.
“Okay! Have it your way!” Frank declared. “Maybe you'd rather talk to the police!” The young sleuth walked to the telephone and began dialing a number.
Williams turned pale. “No! Wait!” he pleaded. “I'll tell you all I know! Honest I will. Don't call them!”
Frank put down the phone. “Go ahead!” he ordered.
“My name isn't Williams. It's Richard Tyson,” the man said, taking out his wallet. He displayed his driver's license and a few credit cards.
The boys examined the cards and found the man's address was the same as that of the apartment house in which Lieber lived.
“Then who is Williams?” Frank asked.
“Williams rents a room across the hall from my apartment,” Tyson answered. “Early this morning he asked me if I would pick up his pictures when they were ready. He told me to use his name.
“He explained that the pictures were confidential and not to let anyone see them. I'm sorry now I ever agreed to do it. I should have suspected something phony.” He got to his feet, brushed himself off, and looked at the boys nervously. “I'd like to leave,” he said, moving toward the door.
“Not until you tell us everything,” said Frank. “Who stole our camera?”
“I told you I don't know.”
“Does Williams live alone?”
“No, he rents the room from Mr. and Mrs. Lieber. The Liebers seem like nice people. I think Williams is Mrs. Lieber's brother.”
The Hardys did not disclose that Mr. Lieber was already one of their strong suspects in the case.
“Well,” Frank announced, “you can leave, but we're going with you to your apartment. We want to check your story.”
“By all means! Come along!” Tyson urged. He seemed eager for a chance to prove his innocence.
Frank asked Mr. Freeman to put the aerial pictures in his safe until the boys called for them. “We don't want to risk their being stolen again.”
The brothers took Tyson with them, explaining that they would bring him back later to pick up his own car. As they drove, Tyson volunteered the information that Lieber was an airplane mechanic and stand-by copilot. As a result, he was away a lot. In fact, he often slept at the airport.
In a short time the group arrived at the apartment house. Tyson unlocked the main door with his own key. As they climbed the stairs, Frank said that he would like to find out whether Lieber was at home.
Tyson pointed to the door of the man's apartment and Frank knocked. The door opened, revealing a stocky, handsome woman, with a tremendous amount of blond hair.
“Hello, Mr. Tyson,” she said, seeing her neighbor.
“Is Mr. Lieber at home?” Frank inquired.
“No,” she responded. “My husband has to fly very early tomorrow, so he decided to stay overnight at the airport.”
“Is Mr. Williams at home?” Joe asked.
“He's not here, either,” the woman said. “Is it anything important? Can I take a message?”
“No, thank you.”
Mrs. Lieber eased the door shut. Tyson led the Hardys to his apartment across the hall. There they met Mrs. Tyson, a short, middle-aged woman. She invited them to come in.
Frank casually conversed with her, selecting his words in such a way that the woman was not aware that he was probing for information. She told the young sleuth that Mrs. Lieber was a very secretive person who seemed extremely frightened of her husband.
“She tries to forget her worries,” Mrs. Tyson said confidingly, “by always going to the movies and to parties. Poor thing. The Liebers never have any company.”
Momentarily satisfied with Tyson's story, the Hardys drove the man back to the camera shop to pick up his car. He said little more to shed any new light on the mystery and was obviously relieved when the boys drove off.
When they reached home, Frank and Joe discussed the information they had gathered that day. “I'm convinced,” said Frank, “that Lieber and this Williams are mixed up in the Stanwide case.”
“So far, nearly all our suspects are company employees,” Joe commented. “How does this fellow Williams figure in?”
“It's possible that he's part of the racket, but working from the outside,” Frank suggested.
The boys recalled Jerry Madden's remark about Lieber's being Peterson's pal. They wondered if this meant that the chief pilot himself was involved in the thefts.
“And it doesn't surprise me that Art Rodax fits into the picture,” said Joe. “I knew he had a secret reason for not wanting us around the plant.”
At that moment the telephone rang. The caller was Randy Watson. The pilot said that he had managed to rent an aircraft suitable for a long-distance flight from an operator at Lockwood Airport. This field was about two hundred miles from Bayport.
“I've already been there and flown the plane back,” he said. “She checks out fine. We'll be ready to roll any time in the morning.”
“Good,” Frank answered. “Joe and I will be at the airport early. We can't risk missing Peterson and Lieber's departure.”
At dinner the boys packed some light luggage. Mrs. Hardy and Aunt Gertrude tried to hide their anxiety when they heard the coming flight was to trail Peterson and Lieber, but an expression of concern crossed Mrs. Hardy's face.
“Don't take any unnecessary chances,” she begged. “And keep in constant touch with us.”
Frank and Joe promised to do this. They assured the women that the trip was only routine, and that they would be away not more than two or three days.
“Two or three days!” Aunt Gertrude exclaimed. “If you catch those thieves the first day, why can't you come home? That's where you belong, anyway!”
The boys grinned and Joe said, “Why, Aunty, the longer the chase the more fun.”
“Fun nothing!” she stormed. “A lot of dangerâunnecessary danger for a couple of growing boys!” Miss Hardy's tirade ended only because she was called to the telephone.
Mr. Hardy, on the other hand, made no objection to the trip. “Best of luck, boys,” he said.
The following morning the boys started for the airport as soon as dawn broke. When they arrived, the Hardys spotted a sleek, highly polished twin-engine turbo-prop plane parked on the Ace Air Service ramp.
“That must be the plane Randy rented!” Joe exclaimed, pointing. “My, what a beauty! Wish I could fly her!”
Frank grinned in anticipation. “It sure looks as if we won't have any trouble keeping up with Peterson in that!”
The boys put down their bags and approached the plane for a closer look. Just then Randy Watson came running out of the operations building.
“Hey, fellows!” he shouted excitedly. “Come here, quick!”
The young detectives ran to meet him.
“What is it?” Frank called. “Something wrong?”
“I just tried to phone you at home,” Randy answered, “but you had already left. It's about the Stanwide cargo plane!”
“What happened?” Joe asked.
“Peterson and Lieber left hours ago!” Randy said, trying to catch his breath. “They took off late last night!”
CHAPTER XII
The Cave Clue
THE Hardy boys wasted no time. Moments later, they were dashing up the circular stairs to the Bayport control tower.
“Is Lou Diamond here?” Frank asked as they burst into the room.
“No,” answered a lean, middle-aged man, who was seated at a desk. “The chief doesn't come on duty for another hour yet.”
The brothers explained the situation to him and requested his help.
“I remember the Stanwide plane taking off,” the tower man recalled. “It departed soon after I came on duty.” He quickly checked through his listing of aircraft movements. “Here it is,” he said, pointing out a small card. “The plane took off shortly after midnight.”
“Did the pilot file a flight plan?” Frank questioned.
“Yesâan instrument flight plan to a field in California,” the operator responded. “I can't tell you exactly, because normally we don't keep a record of flight plans here in the tower.” He picked up a telephone and snapped a toggle switch mounted on the desk. “I'll check with our communications station.”
It was several minutes before the operator received the information he requested. Then he placed the phone down and turned to the young sleuths. “The Stanwide pilot canceled his flight plan at Chicago,” he said. “After taking on fuel, he departed without filing a new flight plan.”
Frank and Joe were dismayed. After thanking the tower man for his help, they left hurriedly.
“I want to call Mr. Allen right away and let him know what happened,” Frank said.
Mr. Allen's voice was heavy with sleep as he answered the telephone. When he heard the news, however, he snapped awake.
“What!” he exclaimed. “Peterson didn't have authority to leave before the scheduled time. Meet me at the Stanwide hangar! I'll be right over!”
The boys next called their father and informed him of the incident. Then they started walking toward the Stanwide hangar.
“Peterson and Lieber decided to vanish and keep everything for themselves,” Frank said. “That was a valuable load they were carrying. It could make them rich.”
“Peterson might also be trying to escape Clint Hill's ghost,” Joe added.
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