this.â
âIâm surprised you donât recognize it,â the librarian said. âItâs been in the news enough.â
âWhat country is it from?â Joe asked.
âKormia,â the librarian replied.
âWhere a civil war has been fought for the last two years,â Joe said, turning to Frank. âJons was a mercenary in Kormia!â
âThank you,â Frank told the librarian as he and Joe headed for the door. âKormia is still a long, long way from Russia,â Frank said. âWhy would Jons have gone to Kiev?â
Joe shook his head, got into Katieâs car, and started it up. âThe soap!â Joe suddenly remembered. âThe return address was from some manufacturer in Kiev.â
âThatâs right!â Frank exclaimed. âIâll bet itâs Gus Jons whoâs been making raids on Konawa, trying to recover his shipment from Kiev.â
Joeâs smile faded. He stopped the car on the shoulder. âOne problem, Frank. Gus Jons couldnât have been at the asylum last night with those huskies, leaving wet boot prints. Mr. Craven said he spent most of the night talking to some guest in the lobby.â
Frank frowned. âCould Mr. Craven be lying?â
âI donât know whom to trust, Frank,â Joe said, pulling the car back onto the road.
âIf Jons really was talking all night with someone, and it wasnât Flatts,â Frank said, âthe next step is to find out who it was.â
âI think the key is finding out the secret behind the package from Kiev,â Joe said. âWhat was in that soap?â
âI have an idea how we can find out,â Frank replied.
â¢Â   â¢Â   â¢
The Hardys found Chet, red-faced and sweaty, sitting on the porch, sucking down bottled water.
âChet, I thought you were a soda man,â Joe said, dropping onto the bench next to his friend.
âNeed water. Heat. Clearing reeds out of drainage ditch,â Chet spoke in broken sentences.
âAre you being funny, or are you too tired to talk?â Frank asked.
âNo more maintenance,â Chet said, grabbing Frank by the front of his shirt.
Joe knew Chet was acting but that his exhaustion was real. âDonât worry, buddyâFrankâs taking over the afternoon shift.â
Chet held up a thumb, leaned back, and sprayed some water over the top of his head to cool down.
âIâm taking the afternoon shift because we need you to go undercover on the housekeeping crew again,â Frank said.
Chet turned the bottle on Frank, who backed away, laughing.
Joe caught Chet smiling. âChet! Chet! We knowyouâre beat,â Joe said, patting him on the back, âbut we need you and Julia to find all the Russian soap left at Konawa and replace it with the regular stuff.â
Joe told Chet everything they had discovered in town that day. âWow! Who knows what could be in that soap,â Chet said, sitting up, his interest and energy revived. âYou can count on me.â
âYouâre the man, Chet.â Joe grinned.
âDid you find out anything about Flatts or Tringle?â Frank asked.
âI stopped Mrs. Gregory on her way down to arts and crafts,â Chet said. âMr. Tringle is from Athens, Georgia, and has been coming here for years. Heâs a chronic grouch, she says, but he doesnât seem the type to be involved with criminal activity.â
âWe know from some of our other run-ins with crooks that looks can be deceiving,â Joe mentioned.
âMr. Flatts is new to Konawa this year,â Chet went on. âMrs. Gregory said the people who sit at his table say heâs very polite but doesnât talk much about himself. When he does talk, itâs very formal.â
âItâs not just formal, itâs military,â Frank pointed out. âFlatts uses military time and military
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