Double Exposure by Franklin W. Dixon

bad habit of disappearing," Joe said.
    "I don't believe this!" Frank shook his head. "Come on, he must still be inside."
    He and Joe raced back upstairs. At the entrance to the stairway, where Joe had knocked down the door, Frank stopped and picked something up off the floor.
    "Liehm's gun," he said and frowned.
    "What?" Joe asked.
    "Why would he leave this?"
    "I don't know!" Joe said angrily. "Nothing he's done so far has made any sense!"
    Frank shook his head slowly. "I really thought Chris was going to level with us this time. Whose side is he on?"
    "His own, apparently," Joe said.
    Frank looked around the offices. "Liehm's gone!" he said. "We should have tied him up. How could we be so dumb? You know, this place has even more computer equipment than Chris's basement."
    "That's obviously the link between Chris and Gregor and Liehm — but what's it all mean?"
    "I don't know," Frank said. "If we could get a look at that tape they sent Eykis, that might help us."
    Joe nodded, then slapped his forehead. "Whoa. Hold on a minute." He ducked into another room.
    When he came out, he grinned at Frank. "Almost forgot my skateboard."
     
    ***
     
    Eykis seemed surprised to see Frank again so soon. After he introduced Joe, he told her why they'd come.
    "We think whatever they sent you is the key to this whole case we're working on," he said.
    "It might be some kind of setup, or a frame," Joe added.
    She shook her head sadly. "I don't think so." She put her hands on her desk and stood up, leaning on her fingertips. "Well—you might as well watch it. You'll see it sometime soon."
    She led them down the hall into a small room that was empty except for a desk with a TV set and VCR and a few chairs.
    "This came about an hour ago," she said, unlocking the top drawer and taking out a videocassette. "The man who gave it to me asked me to call Liehm if I had any questions."
    She inserted the cassette into the machine and turned back to them.
    "Before I play this, I want you to know something. I've been writing for the Tribune for five years—and I've admired nobody in the world as much as I've admired Alexander Janosik." She sighed heavily. "This tape broke my heart."
    Frank met her eyes and nodded but said nothing.
    "That's the only reason I'm showing it to you—because I think it will break yours too. And because if there's any chance you can help prove it is a fake or a setup," — she managed a tired smile — "well, I'll take that chance. Otherwise, I'm stuck with a story that I really don't want to write."
    She started the tape and sat down with them to watch.
    It looked like the kind of film a bank's security camera would take, only with sound. The camera showed two men sitting at a table in an otherwise empty room. Frank didn't recognize either of them. Then Alexander Janosik entered.
    Frank sat up and watched closely as the two men on screen rose to greet Janosik. They obviously knew one another, though their greetings were more courteous than friendly.
    Janosik sat down at the table, facing the two men. They handed him a sheaf of notes and an envelope. Janosik glanced over the paper and opened the envelope.
    It was full of hundred-dollar bills. Smiling at the two men, Janosik stood, shook hands again, and left the room.
    The reporter stopped the tape.
    "I assume you recognize Janosik — the two men you saw with him are Roger Douglas and David McCormick. They're both CIA."
    Frank shook his head, unable to believe what he'd seen.
    "Still think he's being framed?" Eykis asked bitterly. "Or are we the patsies in this picture?"
    The Hardys said nothing. There was nothing they could say.
    "Well, then, you'd better show yourselves out." Eykis stood and turned to go. "I have to get busy. I have a story to write."
     
    ***
     
    Frank and Joe took the subway back to the Charles. Both were silent for most of the ride. Earlier that day, when he had listened to Janosik talk about what had happened to his country, Joe had thought of him as a