Free The Secret of Sigma Seven by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

Crazy . . . and kind of scary, too.”
    â€œAll right,” Frank said. “How many suspects do we have?”
    â€œEverybody who was in this motel last night,” Joe said. “And probably a few who weren’t.”
    â€œLet’s narrow it down a bit,” Frank said. “Who do we know that has a motive?”
    â€œGeorge Morwood, for one,” Joe said. “He’s my favorite. He deals in videotapes of popular science fiction films and may have some shady dealings going. He’d probably love to get his hands on a copy of Devoreaux’s film so he can sell bootleg copies of it.” Joe opened the door and stepped into the motel.
    â€œBut we still don’t know why he would try to kill Devoreaux and Gillis,” Frank said as he settled into one of the thickly padded sofas in the middle of the lobby.
    â€œYou know, I was thinking . . .” Joe said, sitting in a chair opposite his brother. “The stolen copy isn’t really worth that much if the master is still in Hollywood. You heard what Gillis said about there being a master negative under lock and key.”
    â€œRight,” Frank said.
    â€œLet’s assume that Morwood also stole the master film,” Joe said, propping his feet on a coffee table. “Maybe he wants to guarantee that nobody canremake the film from scratch. If Devoreaux and Gillis, the two major creative talents behind the film, are out of the way and the master negative is gone, Morwood would have the only copy of The Secret of Sigma Seven that will ever exist. It can’t be refilmed by its creators, and nobody can make a new copy because the master negative is gone. The only existing copy would be worth a fortune to collectors.”
    â€œThose are pretty big assumptions,” Frank said. “How would Morwood get to the master negative in Hollywood? He’s been here in the motel all weekend.”
    â€œGood question,” Joe admitted. He paused to think over the problem.
    â€œIt sounds unlikely to me,” Frank said. “And I’m not so sure about the idea that the thief wants to kill Devoreaux and Gillis to keep them from remaking the film. It costs a lot of money to make a movie, particularly a movie with a lot of special effects. I can’t see the studio agreeing to finance a remake, especially if there are bootleg copies around.”
    â€œI guess you’re right,” Joe said. “But it’s something to keep in mind.”
    â€œNow, what about Richard Feinbetter?” Frank asked. “Think he might have done it?”
    â€œPossibly,” Joe said. “He’s got a motive, too. He thinks Devoreaux’s been ripping him off all these years.”
    Frank stared thoughtfully out the window at the parking lot. “Feinbetter hates Devoreaux,” Frank mused, “but he doesn’t necessarily hate Gillis.”
    â€œWe don’t know that he doesn’t,” Joe said. “Remember what Gillis said about how the Galactic Saga movies are as much his creation as Devoreaux’s?”
    Frank nodded. “We certainly can’t rule Feinbetter out. So that gives us two suspects. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we find some more before the day is out”
    â€œWhy would we want more suspects?” Joe asked. “We’re supposed to be narrowing down the list.”
    â€œI know,” Frank said. “But the list always has a way of growing before it gets shorter.” He glanced over his brother’s shoulder. “Speaking of suspects, look who’s on his way out of the motel.”
    Joe turned to see George Morwood, the videotape dealer that they had met in the huckster room earlier, approach the door with a large box in his hands. Inside was a jumbled pile of videotape cartridges.
    The Hardys stood up and walked over to him. When Morwood saw Frank and Joe coming toward him, he quickly pushed the door open and hurried