Free Skin and Bones by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

against Joe, who tried to catch him, but Dave slipped from his grasp and slumped to the floor. Joe’s sweatshirt was streaked with blood where Dave had fallen against him.
    Joe knelt next to Dave and took his wrist.
    â€œWhat happened?” Frank asked, running up the front walk.
    â€œIt’s Dave,” Joe said. “His pulse seems okay.”
    Dave’s head rolled from side to side, and his eyes opened. “Hey, Joe,” he mumbled. “What’s up?”
    Dave sat up and took a deep breath, but before he could say anything, Cody burst up the front walk, too, his arms full of sacks.
    Frank and Joe were helping Dave stand. “It’s not asbad as it looks,” Dave said, brushing at his bloodstained jacket.
    Cody put down the bags of food and helped the Hardys get Dave into the house and into a chair. “Here. Sit,” he ordered Dave.
    â€œReally, I’m not hurt that bad,” Dave said with a slight smile. While he peeled off his jacket, his expression turned to anger. “It was Brando.”
    â€œMan, that guy is really getting around,” Joe said.
    â€œLook,” Frank interrupted. “While you’re talking, I’m going to take you to the hospital. You could be seriously injured.”
    Frank stood up and started toward Dave, but Dave stopped him. “Nah, I don’t think so,” he said. “I’ll be okay. I’ll get cleaned up and you’ll see. It looks a lot worse than it is.”
    Dave rolled up his shirtsleeve to reveal a cut on his forearm. While he washed his wound in the bathroom, Dave told the others what had happened.
    â€œI was getting ready to come over here,” he began. “I thought I heard a noise outside my apartment, but I checked and didn’t see anyone. I made a couple of calls, then left. Someone jumped me as I walked to the car.”
    â€œAnd you’re sure it was Mike Brando?” Frank asked.
    Dave had a small cut on his chin. He dabbed it withan ice cube to stop the bleeding. “It was dark,” he finally answered. “So I didn’t get a good look at his face, but I’m sure it was Brando.”
    â€œWhy?” Joe asked.
    â€œHis voice,” Dave answered. “I’d know that sound anywhere.”
    Frank flashed back on his encounter with Brando. Dave was right. Brando’s voice was different. It was deep and rumbly, like a wildcat’s growl.
    â€œWhat did he say?” Joe asked.
    â€œNot much that made sense,” Dave replied. He dried his hands and dropped the towel on the counter. “He mumbled something about payback and settling scores with old enemies. Oh, and he mentioned your name, Cody.”
    â€œYeah?” Cody said. “Sent me his best wishes, I’ll bet.”
    â€œNot exactly.” Dave gave Cody a crooked smile. “He said to tell you that Skin and Bones is going down—and you and I are going with it. He’s angry with me because I was your partner when he was caught.”
    â€œSorry about that,” Cody said. “You had nothing to do with Brando’s troubles.”
    â€œWell, you’ve heard the old saying about the company you keep,” Dave said with a weak smile. “Just kidding, of course. He still associates me with the business, I guess.”
    Cody handed Dave some antiseptic lotion.
    â€œHow’d you get that cut?” Frank asked. Dave’s arm had stopped bleeding, but it was swollen and looked sore.
    â€œBrando had a knife,” Dave said. “He came right at me with it. I was able to deflect the blow, but he swiped my arm.” Wincing, Dave dabbed some of the antiseptic on the cut, and Cody and Frank bandaged Dave’s arm.
    â€œDid you report your attack to the police?” Frank asked.
    â€œSure,” Dave said. “I stopped at a station on my way over here. I was okay then, but by the time I got here, I was pretty shaky.”
    â€œYou lost a lot of