Free Peril at Granite Peak by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

to mention it to the Gallaghers the next time I saw them.
    I started down the second flight at a jog, my shoes clattering on the metal steps. Less than halfway down, my feet suddenly shot out from under me.
    â€œWhoa!” I yelled as I felt myself falling.

TOO SLICK
9
FRANK
    A FTER PARTING WAYS WITH JOE and Chet, I’d started looking for Rick. A few minutes later I still hadn’t found him, but I ran into Mr. Richmond in the hall leading toward the kids’ playroom, which was located near the side door across from the employees’ quarters.
    â€œFind your son’s boots yet?” I asked with a smile.
    He chuckled. “Not yet. I’m sure he left them somewhere and forgot where. He’s always misplacing his toys, and—”
    He was interrupted by a faint shout. It sounded frantic and echoey—and kind of familiar.
    â€œIs that Joe?” I muttered. “But where . . .”
    Not bothering to finish the question, I rushed down thehall. Spotting the door leading to the back stairwell, I flung it open.
    â€œFrank!” Joe shouted.
    â€œJoe!” I took a step inside the stairwell and skidded. Glancing down, I saw a gleaming puddle on the concrete floor. No, not a puddle—a patch of ice.
    â€œCareful, there’s ice in here!” Joe called. “On the stairs, too!”
    He was clinging to the metal railing embedded in the wall about halfway up. His feet were slipping and sliding on the steps. I gulped as I realized what must have happened. Joe, in a hurry as always, had hit a patch of ice on the stairs. If he hadn’t grabbed the railing in time to stop himself, he would have gone flying down the rest of the way.
    Mr. Richmond peered into the stairwell behind me and caught on right away. “Oh no! Hang on there, buddy. I’ll get help.” He took off in the direction of the lobby.
    Meanwhile I stepped forward, being careful to avoid the ice on the floor. “Easy, bro,” I said. “Just hang on.”
    â€œNo, I’m okay.” Joe started lowering himself carefully, hand by hand, along the railing. “Stay right there to break my fall just in case, okay?”
    I rolled my eyes. Then I held my breath as I watched him make his way down like an oversize spider monkey. As he reached the bottom step, I heard footsteps coming.
    â€œCareful, there’s ice in here,” I said, stepping into thedoorway. Mr. Richmond was back, accompanied by Mr. Gallagher, Chet, Nate and Cassie, and Josie, who was clutching her tiny dog.
    â€œIce?” Mr. Gallagher said. He pushed past me and looked around. “How’d that happen?”
    â€œDon’t know.” Joe carefully lowered himself to the floor, picking his way to the safety of the carpeted hallway. “It goes almost up to the landing, though.”
    Chet shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. “Why’s it so cold in there?”
    â€œThe window was open,” Joe said. “I closed it on my way down.” He shot me a look, and I guessed what he was thinking. If someone had done this on purpose, Joe had accidentally messed up any fingerprints that might have been on the window.
    â€œGood thing you didn’t slip down the stairs and crack your head open, Joe,” Nate commented.
    â€œHe almost did,” I said grimly.
    â€œYeah,” Joe said. “I grabbed the railing just in time.”
    â€œAre you all right, Joe?” Mr. Gallagher asked. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Josie. “Get Rick—ask him to block the doors until we get this cleaned up.”
    Josie didn’t respond. She was staring wide-eyed at Joe. “Oh my gosh,” she exclaimed. “You could have been killed! How could something like this happen?”
    â€œIt’s all right, Josie,” Cassie spoke up soothingly, putting a hand on Josie’s arm. “He’s okay. See?”
    â€œBut what if he wasn’t?” Josie