The Prime-Time Crime by Franklin W. Dixon Page B

wheel.”
    â€œThat’s terrible,” Marcy said in a concerned voice. “Why would somebody do that?”
    â€œBecause the kidnapper doesn’t want us getting any closer to Clarence,” Joe said. “Yesterday’s fire was set up to release smoke into the basement. Someone locked us down there and then tried to kill us, Steve, and Debbie.”
    â€œThe funny thing is,” Frank said, “we’re not even close to finding Clarence. We haven’t got a clue as to where he could be.”
    â€œMaybe we’re closer than we think,” Joe suggested.
    Frank looked thoughtful. “You may have a point,” he said. “Maybe we almost found Clarence and didn’t know it. And maybe whoever kidnapped him is getting nervous.”
    â€œSo where have you been looking?” Marcy asked.
    â€œA few places around the station,” Joe replied. “But maybe we haven’t searched those places thoroughly enough.”
    â€œBy the way,” Marcy said, “I remembered something that might be of interest to you. The day before Clarence disappeared, he told me that he needed to talk to Matt Freeman. I don’t know what about, but he seemed a little worked up over something. I arranged for Clarence and Freeman to get together Sunday morning, since I knew both of them would be in the studios that day.”
    â€œThat’s the morning Clarence vanished,” Frank said. “I wonder if they ever had that talk?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Marcy said. “But it’s possible. Maybe you should ask Matt about it.”
    â€œGood idea,” Frank said. “That is, if he’s talking to us after the conversation my brother had with him last night.”
    â€œHey,” Joe said. “I was just doing my job. But maybe I did come on a little strong with him.”
    Frank rolled his eyes at his brother as they headed for the door of Marcy’s office. “Well, I guess we’d better get back on the investigation. Thanks for the tip, Marcy.”
    â€œI wonder where Steve and Debbie are?” Joe asked, as the brothers headed down the hallway. “Weren’t we going to talk to them today?”
    â€œYeah, but now I’m not sure we can spare the time,” Frank said. “They probably wouldn’t even listen to us. Anyway, we’ve got to get serious about this case. Finding Clarence is our top priority. We can’t worry about Steve and Debbie.”
    Suddenly a piercing scream echoed up and down the WBPT corridors.
    â€œIt came from somewhere outside the building,” Joe said.
    â€œLet’s go!” Frank exclaimed.
    The brothers dashed out the back door. A baffled guard was standing outside the door, looking around for the source of the screams.
    â€œKeep watching the exit!” Frank yelled to the guard. “We’ll take care of this.”
    The scream sounded again.
    â€œIt’s coming from over here,” Joe said, pointing around the corner of the building.
    The Hardys raced in the direction of the scream and then came to an abrupt halt as they rounded the corner.
    The first thing Frank saw was Steve Burke, standing next to the building and looking upward helplessly. Then, as Frank followed Steve’s gaze, he saw Debbie. She was hanging by her hands from the rain gutter that ran just under the jutting edge of the building’s roof, two stories above the ground. She was dangling next to the first of three long windows that faced out onto the rear parking lot. It looked to Frank as though she had climbed up the drain spout that ran down one corner of the building and tried to make her way along the gutter to the windows. She had a tight grip on the gutter with both of her hands, but Frank knew that her weight would soon cause it to come loose.
    â€œHelp me, someone,” Debbie gasped, looking down at the hard asphalt below.
    The gutter made a cracking sound as part of it came loose