Free The Pacific Conspiracy by Franklin W. Dixon Page B

the night before. There were bruises around his neck, as if he'd been strangled. "We have got to contact the police - and the Network."
    "The Gray Man's just going to put us on another plane back to the States," Joe said. "And we're never going to get a chance to clean this mess up."
    There was a knock at the door. "Housekeeping," a woman's voice called out.
    Frank shook his head violently.
    Joe nodded and cleaned his throat. "Come back later," he said, in a voice as deep as he could made it.
    He was rewarded with a burst of Indonesian from the woman outside, followed again by the announcement "Housekeeping."
    "Go away!" he shouted, hoping that the maid would get the message from the tone of his voice, even if she couldn't understand the actual words.
    "Housekeeping!" the woman repeated even louder, banging on the door again.
    Great, Joe thought. He strode over to the door and swung it open. "Listen, come back in a while, would you?" he began even before the door was halfway open. "Fifteen minutes - "
    He looked down, and his jaw dropped open.
    Endang was standing in the doorway, wearing a maid's uniform and an expression of shock that probably mirrored his own.
    "I might have known," she said. Before Joe could close the door she pushed the maid's cart inside and walked past him. "What are you two doing here?"
    "We could ask you the same thing," Joe said, shutting the door.
    "One of our agents spotted Forrester leaving the airport at Denpasar yesterday morning. We were hoping that he would lead us to the others. Unfortunately, he hasn't left the room since then."
    "There's a good reason for that," Frank said. He nodded in the direction of the bedroom.
    Endang brushed past him and returned a moment later.
    "You didn't move the body, did you?"
    "What do you think we are?" Joe asked indignantly. "Amateurs?"
    "Have you learned anything from the Assassins? Any sign of them at Krakatau?" Frank asked.
    She shook her head. "The Gray Man's been interrogating Bob for hours, but he hasn't said a word. As for the others, it's almost as if they disappeared off the face of the earth."
    "So what's our next step?" Joe asked.
    "Your next step?" Endang said incredulously. "Your next step is either a jail cell or a ticket back to the U.S. For real this time."
    "Now wait a minute - " Joe began.
    "Here's something interesting," Frank interrupted. He picked up a sheaf of papers from the floor next to Forrester's body and spread them out on the bed. Joe and Endang peered over his shoulder as he examined them.
    "These are architect's blueprints," Endang said. "What would Forrester be doing with them?"
    "Maybe he was planning to start a new career," Joe said.
    "Maybe you - " Endang broke off speaking and pointed to the TV. On the screen was a picture of a smoking volcano.
    "What's that?" she asked, her voice strained.
    Frank walked over and turned the volume up so she could hear.
    "Experts are calling last night's tragic eruption of Gunang Api scientifically inexplicable," she translated almost simultaneously to the boys.
    The camera pulled back. Everywhere people were crying, picking their way through the ruins of a small village.
    "The devastation is complete. The historic island of Bandanaira, one of the fabled Spice Islands, has been almost completely destroyed by the eruption."
    A sudden chill ran down Frank's spine. It couldn't be.
    Endang sat down on the couch heavily and reached for the phone. She punched in a series of numbers, then hung up.
    Ten seconds later the phone rang. She picked it up and whispered into it. Frank did hear her mention Forrester's name, though. Then she handed the phone to him.
    "You've seen the news, I gather." It was the Gray Man.
    "Yes, sir," Frank said. He motioned to Joe to pick up the extension in the bedroom. "We're both on the line now."
    "I suppose I should be angry at you for slipping away from Rivers and Drake, but I can't really summon up much emotion for that kind of thing right now." He sighed heavily.