Trial and Terror Read Online Free Page A

prompted.
    â€œThen I heard a scream that made me jump out of my skin,” Mrs. Petrowski said. “I realized the scream must have come from Karen’s place. Several of us rushed right over there, but none of us saw the man in black she told us about.”
    â€œDo you know of anyone who may have had reason to harm Karen Lee?” Frank asked.
    â€œI certainly don’t,” Mrs. Petrowski said. “She’sthe sweetest young woman in the world. Why, if it weren’t for Karen, I might not have a home.”
    â€œWhy do you say that?” Joe asked.
    Mrs. Petrowski thought a moment, then spoke in a lower voice. “Well, some of the tenants in this building are older, like myself, and we’ve lived here a long time. And because of the city rent laws, our rents are low. But the building’s landlord is trying to evict all us old folks so he can renovate our apartments. That will allow him to bring in new tenants and charge much higher rents.”
    â€œWhat does Karen Lee have to do with this?” Frank asked, his interest increasing.
    â€œYou see,” Mrs. Petrowski said, shivering inside her heavy coat, “Karen used to work in the district attorney’s office, and she knows something about the law. So she organized us seniors and filed motions in court to stop Mr. Garfein, the landlord, from evicting us.”
    When she heard the mechanical sound of the elevator returning to the third floor, Mrs. Petrowski stopped her story. “I hear Alex coming,” she whispered to the Hardys. “Do me a favor. Don’t tell him I was talking about Mr. Garfein.”
    â€œWhy not?” Joe whispered back.
    â€œAlex isn’t a bad fellow,” Mrs. Petrowski said, “but he works for Mr. Garfein. I just don’t want it getting back to Garfein that I was saying bad things about him. He might try to make things even more difficult for me.”
    â€œI take it Mr. Garfein isn’t the nicest guy around,” Frank said with a chuckle.
    â€œFred Garfein is as mean as Karen Lee is sweet,” Mrs. Petrowski whispered.
    â€œWe won’t say a word,” Joe assured her.
    The elevator doors opened, and Alex handed Mrs. Petrowski a set of keys. Not wanting to appear too inquisitive, the Hardys rode the elevator back down with Alex and left the building.
    Outside, Frank and Joe sat on the building’s stoop to collect their thoughts. The afternoon light was already fading, and the air was turning chillier. Joe watched two boys go in-line skating down the block.
    â€œWe may have our first suspect,” Frank said.
    â€œWho?” Joe asked. “Fred Garfein?”
    â€œIt sounds as if Karen Lee is the one stopping him from his renovation plans,” Frank said, zipping up his coat. “I doubt a businessman like Garfein would do it himself, but he could have hired someone to scare Lee.”
    â€œIt’s possible. Remind me not to rent an apartment from Garfein when I’m out on my own,” Joe said with a chuckle.
    Joe noticed a young man in his early twenties sitting on a stoop across the street. He was a clean-cut guy with wire-rimmed glasses and a down ski vest.
    Joe nudged Frank. “Hey, look. I remember seeing that guy at the trial.”
    â€œHey!” Joe called out to the man. “Are you one of the reporters from the trial?”
    The young man gave a nod. Joe gave him the thumbs-up sign.
    â€œHe must be waiting to ask Lee some questions when she comes home,” Frank told Joe. “I’d like to ask her some questions myself.”
    â€œLike what?” Joe said.
    â€œWell, if those gloves and ski mask didn’t belong to Nick,” Frank said, forming a thought, “then someone must have put them there. Someone who had access to Nick’s apartment. So I’m wondering if Lee had keys to Nick’s apartment that the culprit could have stolen.”
    â€œHmm, worth checking out,” Joe said, his