Free Darkness Falls by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

anyone of anything,” the foundation manager said nervously. “Listen, I need to be alone for a while.” He walked over to the door and opened it. “Please leave.”
    â€œIf you want to talk, we’re staying right here in the hotel,” Frank told him on their way out. De La Rosa nodded, but said nothing more, and closed the door firmly behind them.
    â€œI don’t know what to make of that guy,” Joe said as the boys walked down the one flight outdoors to the second floor. “He’s completely nuts! I thought he was going to kill us!”
    â€œCalm down, Joe,” Frank cautioned him. “You’re fine, and we just learned a whole lot.”
    â€œI guess you’re right,” Joe said, smoothing his shirt. “So where are we now?” he asked, leaning against the railing that overlooked the street.
    â€œAt this point we’ve got a few suspects in Ebersol’s murder,” Frank said. “Michele, De La Rosa, MacLaughlin, and Wheeler. But of those four, only Wheeler and Michele had obviousmotives, and they had the best opportunity to kill him, too. De La Rosa was in an airplane—at least as far as we know. As for MacLaughlin, he was with us in the tent when the murder happened.”
    â€œDe La Rosa has a possible motive,” Joe pointed out. “If Ebersol knew he was stealing from the foundation, De La Rosa might have wanted to shut him up: We have to check on his flight. Come to think of it, we should check in with Everett, too. He’s probably at the observatory.”
    â€œI don’t think so,” Frank said. “I see his van in the lot over there.”
    The Hardys found Everett in his room, surrounded by papers and charts, a pencil in his hand. Sheets of data from the eclipse were spread out all over the bed and floor.
    â€œThere was too much commotion at the observatory, with the police and all, so I brought my data back here,” he told them. “The only time I’ve been out was for breakfast this morning to show Michele the data from my sensors. This is spectacular stuff! From the preliminary results, I’d say we have convincing proof of the exploded planet!”
    â€œThat’s fantastic, Everett,” Joe said, slapping the research assistant on the back.
    â€œIf only Dr. Ebersol were here to see this,” MacLaughlin said with a sigh.
    When Joe and Frank told him about the theft of their film from the tent, MacLaughlin was aghast. “This is a disaster,” he said. “We need that film to corroborate my findings!”
    â€œWe did manage to save the roll of film that was still in the camera,” Joe told him consolingly. “We might get a few good pictures yet.”
    â€œHave you developed it?” MacLaughlin asked.
    â€œNo,” Frank said. “It’s in the refrigerator in our hotel room. So far, we’ve been too busy.”
    â€œToo busy?” MacLaughlin said, his face flushing. “Which do you think Ebersol would have wanted you to investigate—his murder or the existence of a possible tenth planet? It’s science that matters, not whether any one scientist lives or dies!”
    â€œTake it easy, Mr. MacLaughlin,” Joe said. “We’re detectives, remember? We only got invited here because we did a science project.”
    â€œI don’t care why you think you’re here,” MacLaughlin said, acting more forceful than the brothers had ever seen him before. “The foundation paid for you to come here, and you’re responsible for certain things. I’m the head of this research project now, and I expect you to be at the observatory first thing tomorrow morning, getting that film developed. I want a report ready for our team meeting at four P.M. Understand?”
    Frank and Joe were stunned. Obviously, MacLaughlin didn’t know about Michele’s plans to drop him from the team and take credit for the discovery