The Dangerous Transmission Read Online Free Page A

hair.” Joe stopped for a moment to think back. “Medium build,” he continued, “a few inches less than six feet tall, maybe.”
    â€œThis person didn’t speak?” the policeman asked.
    â€œNo,” Joe said, shaking his head. “Have you had a chance to look around?” he asked Jax. “Is anything missing?”
    â€œNot that I’ve discovered,” Jax said.
    â€œI found something,” Frank said. He reached inside the envelope, pulled out the lumpy piece of tissue, and peeled back the ends of the paper to reveal the small piece of pewter.
    â€œIt could be a piece of jewelry or an ornament of some kind,” the policeman suggested. Frank refolded the package and put it back in the envelope. Then he handed it to the officer.
    Frank, Joe, Jax, and the policeman made another quick tour of the flat but found nothing else. “Let me know if you discover anything missing or find anything suspicious,” the policeman told Jax, handing him a card with a telephone number.
    After the officer left, the Hardys helped Jax make one more security check around the second floor. They checked all door and window locks.
    When the Hardys finally hit the beds in Jax’s guest room, it was two o’clock in the morning. Frank was still wired from the day’s excitement. “Looks like this is going to be a working vacation,” he said to Joe.
    â€œAre you talking about the fire at the Tower or the break-in here?” Joe asked.
    â€œThe break-in,” Frank said. “It looks like the fire could’ve been an accident. I’m not sure why anyone would burn the exhibit. But I can see why someone might rob Jax, can’t you?”
    â€œYou’re talking about the Molar Mike, right?” Joe guessed.
    â€œYou got it,” Frank answered. “That thing’s rigged so people can get messages from a computer or a cell phone. It opens up all sorts of possibilities.”
    â€œUh huh,” Joe agreed. “For good and bad. Ifsomeone can program a computer to communicate with a tooth receiver—”
    â€œSomeone else can hack in and change the program,” Frank said, finishing his brother’s sentence.
    â€œExactly.”
    â€œThat pewter piece might help us,” Frank pointed out. “I took a photo of it before the policeman got here.”
    Joe heard the rhythmic breathing that told him his brother was falling asleep.
    Joe turned over and tried to get his mind to shut down. As he finally felt sleep coming on, a peculiar sound reached his ears.
    Joe fought back the drowsiness and turned on his back. Skrrrrt. Skrrrrt. The odd sound drifted through the air again. It’s like a scraping noise, Joe thought. And it’s coming from up there. He looked at the ceiling. When he heard the sound again, he reached over and punched Frank’s bed.
    â€œWake up,” he whispered. “Frank! Wake up.”
    â€œMmmmmmm, this better be good. What’s up?”
    â€œListen,” Joe whispered.
    Frank sat up and shook his head.
    The Hardys sat still. Joe strained to hear the sound again, but there was nothing. Then, as he turned to swing his legs out from under the blankets, he heard a thump on the ceiling.
    â€œWhoa,” Frank said. “There’s something up on the third floor.”
    â€œI heard a scraping sound earlier,” Joe said, his voice low. He pulled sneakers on as he talked. “There’s definitely something moving around up there.”
    â€œThat’s supposed to be an unoccupied flat,” Frank reminded his brother. “Jax told us that he and the other shopkeeper in this building use it for storage since there’s no one living there. Maybe it’s the jeweler, checking some of his stuff.”
    â€œAt this hour?” Joe wondered. “Maybe. If it’s not him, though, who—or what—could it be?” Joe asked.
    â€œCould be just a rat or a mouse,” Frank