Free Skin and Bones by Franklin W. Dixon Page B

blood,” Joe said, looking at Dave’s jeans and shirt. “Your clothes are a mess.”
    â€œCome on,” Cody said to Dave. “I’ll get you some clean clothes. I’ve still got stuff here in my old room.”
    â€œNo, I’m going home,” Dave said. “This shook me pretty good. I’ll talk to you later.”
    While Joe changed his blood-smeared sweatshirt for a sweater, Frank and Cody laid out their meal in the dining room—a feast of Mexican favorites.
    The three eagerly dug into their dinner. “What a day,” Joe said. “I am so hungry.”
    â€œWhat about tomorrow?” Cody asked. “I’m going tohave to stay here again tonight. In fact, I have to close the shop for twenty-four hours. The smell’s pretty gross. So I’m available to help you dig into my case.”
    â€œWe finally have some real leads,” Frank said. He told Cody about what he’d learned from the delivery service. “In fact, that’s where I was before Dave got here.”
    â€œDid the courier have any more information to offer?” Joe asked.
    Frank reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “I say we check this out,” he said.
    He laid the paper on the table. It was a rough-drawn map in an area of Muir Woods. He pointed to an X at the top. “I had the courier draw it for me. This is the tree where he picked up the anteater claw.”
    â€œYeah, I sort of know where that is,” Cody said. “I mountain bike up in that area.” He hoisted himself up to sit on the counter.
    â€œBut isn’t Muir Woods a public park?” Joe asked. “Wouldn’t somebody see the package and rip it off?”
    â€œThere are regular trails,” Cody said. “But there are some very secluded areas in the fringes of the forest, off the public trails. You’re not supposed to go there, of course. Most people don’t. But if you really know your way around, you could probably pull it off.”
    Frank could see that Cody was excited about theprospect. “It’s so dark in there,” Cody added, “even during the daytime. The trees are enormous and block out most of the sunshine. It’s still very primitive and wild. There’s no real development except for the visitors’ center and a few marked trails.”
    â€œWe’ll go tomorrow,” Frank said.
    â€œSounds like a plan,” Joe agreed.
    â€œI’ve got more information,” Frank said. “While I was out, I stopped at the mailing station. The private boxes and lockers are open twenty-four hours a day.
    â€œAnd?” Cody urged.
    â€œThe good news is that I found the locker that matches the tag Joe found,” Frank said.
    â€œDid the combination work?” Joe asked.
    â€œIt did,” Frank answered, taking a gulp from his soda.
    Then Cody turned to Frank. “So what’s the bad news?” he asked.
    â€œThere was nothing in the locker but a few scraps of brown paper,” Frank said, dropping the fragments on the table.
    Joe turned a couple of them over. They were blank on both sides. “No clues here,” he agreed.
    â€œI did get a look at the locker register,” Frank said, “while the night clerk was busy on a personal phone call. There was no name matched to my locker—only the code b-two-g.”
    They all thought about what Frank had said. Finally Joe stood up. “I’m going for ice cubes,” he said. “Speak now if you want anything.”
    Joe went to the kitchen. As he walked toward the refrigerator, a movement in the driveway caught his attention.
    He walked to the back door and stared out the window. But he could see nothing but the shadowy forms of Sergeant Chang’s trimmed hedges and bushes. As he turned toward the refrigerator, a faint noise outside pulled him back to the door.
    Joe turned the doorknob on the back door slowly, so it wouldn’t make