The Borgia Dagger Read Online Free Page A

a tall, dimpled guy with dark brown hair. He was about six-foot-one and eighteen years old, same age and height as Frank — only he looked as though he had just stepped out of a movie.
    "Frank and Joe Hardy, meet Harley Welles." Harley's teeth were blindingly white as he grinned and said hello. "
    Next to Harley was a tiny, white-haired woman who looked about fifty years older than anyone else in the room. Her gray-green eyes twinkled behind thick glasses as Tessa introduced her. "And this," Tessa said, "is my very dearest friend, Dr. Harriet Lansdale. I've known her longer than anyone in the world:"
    Dr. Lansdale's shoulder shook as she chuckled. "That's because I delivered her!" she said. "Welcome to Cliffside Heights. I hope the two of iu will come back in the daytime to see the grounds someday. Tessa has lovely gardens."
    "Aunt Harriet is semiretired," Tessa said. "She works only part-time now, at the Cliffside Country Club — the rest of the time she spends gardening here and at her own home."
    Frank nodded and looked around. They were in a huge parlor, its walls crammed with gold-framed paintings. A towering marble statue of a Greek warrior stretched to the ceiling in a corner between a bookcase and a sideboard.
    Just then the doorbell rang. "Harley, be a dear and go into the kitchen for some more cups! Excuse me," Tessa said, and she went to open the door.
    "Come and look at the collection," Dr. Lansdale said, leading the way for Frank and Joe to follow. "Personally, I'm trying to convince her to return everything, but we might as well appreciate it while it's here."
    : Joe looked longingly at the buffet table that stretched across the middle of the room and ended near the Greek statue. They were moving toward the old sideboard.
    Three teenagers dressed in fringed leather jackets were standing around a glass case resting on top of the dark carved-wood piece.
    "Excuse me, Muffy," Dr. Lansdale said to one of the girls in the group. They parted as the doctor edged up, pointing to the glass case. Inside it, on a purple satin cushion, was a long knife that reflected the light off its gold-and-jeweled handle.
    "Here's the centerpiece of the collection," Dr. Lansdale continued, "the Borgia Dagger that you've probably read about."
    "Oh, wow, it is incredible!" Muffy said, lifting up the lid of the case and taking out the dagger.
    Suddenly a voice bellowed, "See what I mean? Look at that—they think it's a toy!"
    Frank and Joe turned to see Albert Ruppenthal rushing across the room, followed by Tessa. Ruppenthal grabbed the dagger from Muffy and put it back on the satin cushion.
    "I really didn't mean to interrupt, Miss Carpenter," Ruppenthal said. "I thought I'd come over, apologize, and quietly try to persuade you to give back the collection — but this is outrageous!" He glanced at the dagger, which was now being examined by several other guests. "Do you realize how much that dagger is worth?"
    Tessa smiled sweetly. "Of course I do, Albert!" She picked it up, and a hush fell over the room as, carrying it, she sauntered over to the buffet table.
    Timidly, one of the teenagers said, "Tessa, remember the curse on that thing! If the owner touches it, it's curtains!"
    Tessa threw back her head in defiant laughter. She turned to Ruppenthal, pointing at him with the dagger. "Albert, you look hungry. Would you like an appetizer?"
    Ruppenthal's face went white with shock as Tessa sliced into a wedge of cheese with the Borgia Dagger. She stabbed the tip of the blade into the slice she had cut, then walked back to the sideboard and offered the cheese to the curator with a mocking smile. A split second later the lights went out, and the music cut off in midsong. All the partygoers held their breath in a silence that seemed to last forever.
    Then came a crash and a scream — Tessa's scream.

Chapter 4
    The lights came back on, and Frank and Joe stared at the marble statue—or rather, at its pieces on the floor. Part of the sideboard