Read Online Shadows at Predator Reef by Franklin W. Dixon - Free Book Online Page B

her.
    As mad as I was at Mr. V, I believed that he hadn’t taken her and that he was heartbroken about the fact that someone had.
    But if Bradley Valledor didn’t do it, Frank and I had to find out who did. And we had to find out fast. Captain Hook’s life was in danger. Every hour that went by might turn out to be an hour too late.
    Since Mr. V had created this mess, I was hoping he could help us clean it up.
    â€œSo if we’re to believe you, you’re a criminal mastermind without actually being the criminal,” I said once we were back in his study.
    â€œI . . .” Mr. V hesitated. “I wouldn’t put it that way, but I suppose so, yes.”
    â€œWell, if you’re not the bad guy, then who is?” Frank asked the million-dollar question.
    â€œI don’t know how anyone would have found out about the hidden tank. My firm’s own architects didn’t even know, and neither did anyone on the construction crew. I made sure of it.”
    â€œI saw that escape hatch,” I said. “It’s not like you threw that thing together at the last minute with a handful of Legos. It’s a complicated piece of engineering. How do you build something like that into the exhibit without anyone on the construction crew knowing about it?”
    Mr. V smiled self-consciously. Things had gone terribly wrong, but you could tell he was still proud of his plan.
    â€œIt wasn’t easy, but by designing and overseeing the construction of the exhibit myself, I was able to divide up the labor so different workers handled only small parts of the secret holding tank without knowing what those parts were for . . . or what anyone else was doing, for that matter. That way no one would suspect anything out of the ordinary.”
    â€œYeah, but it didn’t work out that way, did it, dude?” I said.
    Mr. V looked down at his feet. “But I was so careful. I don’t know what went wrong.”
    â€œWhat about the rest of your staff ? Laura and Ron and the others?” Frank asked.
    â€œNo one knew who wasn’t supposed to,” Mr. V said. “Not my family, not Ron, not anyone else.”
    â€œI noticed you didn’t mention Laura’s name,” I pointed out.
    â€œOr Jonathan’s,” Frank added.
    â€œSo there were going to be other people in on the heist with you?” I asked, reading between the lines. “Couldn’t they have gone through with it behind your back?”
    â€œAbsolutely not,” Mr. V insisted. “I trust my inner circle completely. They wouldn’t betray me.”
    â€œPeople will do a lot of things you don’t think they would if there’s enough money at stake,” I told him.
    â€œNot my people,” he said.
    â€œWe’re still going to need to talk to them,” Frank said. “Even if they weren’t involved, they may have information that helps us.”
    Jonathan appeared at the door before Mr. V had a chance to respond.
    â€œYou have another unscheduled visitor, sir,” Jonathan announced.
    Mr. V’s face burst into a huge smile when he saw theyoung lady who walked in the door behind Jonathan. Mine, on the other hand, fell.
    â€œBoys, have you met my niece Aly?”
    Frank threw me a quick glance. Sometimes I wish we weren’t able to read each other so well. I knew he was thinking the thing about Aly that I was trying not to. Even if Mr. V was in denial about it, it was possible that someone close to him could have secretly gained access to his plans—making his favorite niece, and my favorite scuba instructor, even more of a suspect.
    Being an expert diver and a member of the BAD team, Aly had free, unsupervised access to Predator Reef. That gave her both the means and the opportunity to have committed the crime.
    Supercute Aly hadn’t just walked in the door of Mr. V’s study. She’d also moved straight to the top of our