Warehouse Rumble Read Online Free Page B

as long as they could, though Ms. Allen and her cameraman managed to get some shots of the broken chimney and the skeleton beneath it.
    Ward Willingham decided to give the WSDS crew an interview after all. He kept talking about the game; Allen tried to steer him toward the “accident.”
    It was nearly midnight by the time the Hardys and their friends arrived home. They all went straight to bed and quickly fell asleep.
    •  •  •
    The four friends assembled in the Hardys’ kitchen early the next morning. Frank made pancakes while Joe handled the eggs and bacon. Daphne and Chet set the table and poured drinks. A radio on the counter blared the news and weather.
    Frank paged through the morning paper as they ate. “They discovered whose skeleton it was,” Frankannounced. “He had I.D. in what was left of his clothing. His name was Joss Orlando. He used to live in Bayport.”
    “I heard on the radio that he’d been missing for fifteen years,” Daphne said.
    “I thought he looked a little thin,” Joe added sardonically.
    “How did he get in the chimney?” Chet asked.
    “They think he fell in from the roof,” Frank said. “But why was he up there?” He shrugged.
    “Con Riley and the cops will figure it out eventually,” Joe said.
    “Well, I’m glad this is one mystery the police get to solve,” Daphne said, winking at the brothers.
    Chet looked at his watch. “You guys need to be getting to the auditions,” he said.
    “I’m surprised you didn’t sleep in—since you’ve already earned a spot on the show,” Joe said.
    “Hey, I’ve got to root for my friends, don’t I?” Chet asked.
    “Great—let’s get going, then,” Frank said, putting his dishes in the washer.
    They finished cleaning up, then piled into the Hardys’ van and drove out to the old warehouse. Ms. Kendall greeted them as they entered. The refreshment area had been moved to the other side of the warehouse, away from the crime scene, which now had yellow police tape around it. A number of local news crews were poking around,including Stacia Allen and her cameraman.
    They saw quite a few new faces among the crowd waiting to try out, though the overall group wasn’t much bigger than the one the day before.
    “It looks like some people from yesterday didn’t come back,” Chet said.
    “Too bad Bo Reid wasn’t one of them,” Daphne noted, spotting the big, black-haired teen chatting with Missy and Jay near the wall.
    “He has a guaranteed place in the show,” Joe said. “He’d be a dope to drop out. I wonder where the others are, though?”
    Joe shrugged. “Maybe the tryouts were too rough for them.”
    “Or maybe they didn’t like the decor,” Frank suggested.
    “I wasn’t going to come,” said a girl standing nearby. She had stringy, blond-streaked black hair and was dressed all in black, Goth-style. “That chimney accident sounded way dangerous.”
    “This whole place is falling apart,” commented her companion. He was a bit taller than Frank and Chet and was decked out in black clothes like the girl.
    “Then I thought,” the girl continued, “it would be pretty radical to be on TV—even the local news. I’m Lily Sabatine. This is my brother, Todd. We’re trying out.” She and the tall teen shook hands with the group.
    “Don’t let my sister fool you,” Todd said. “She digs danger.”
    Lily laughed. “Busted! C’mon, Todd, let’s see how close we can get to that police tape.”
    “Hmm . . . a little morbid?” Daphne asked as the siblings left.
    “Danger is bread and butter to some people,” Frank said.
    “Coffee and doughnuts to others,” Chet added with a grin at the Hardys.
    “Looks like your boyfriend is cornering the doughnuts,” someone said to Daphne.
    The four friends turned and saw Bo Reid lurking nearby, a smirk on his face.
    “What’s the matter, Reid?” Chet asked. “Couldn’t win at Creature Cards, so you’ve made acting like a sore loser your hobby?”
    “Maybe I