The Desert Thieves (7 page)

Frank went to the back and climbed in with Joe and Perez. They sat on the floor of the truck bed as Townsend started off down the road. The truck had metal shelves built along the front and sides, and the shelves were filled with transparent plastic boxes containing tools, spare parts, and various kinds of measuring instruments.

“Looks like a laboratory on wheels,” Joe said. “I wonder what his project is all about.”

“Well, if we ever get on speaking terms with him, we can ask,” Frank said.

“That might be easier said than done,” Joe said.

“Boy,” Perez said, “isn't that the truth! He really doesn't like you guys, does he?”

“Nope,” Joe said.

“What did you do, tell him he was a suspect or something?” Perez said. “Does he know about the cactus thefts?”

“We don't know,” Frank said. He started to say more but felt a slight push from Joe's foot. At the look in Joe's eye, he shut up.

After a few minutes the truck slowed down and pulled off onto the shoulder of the road. Diane and her father walked around to the back as the Hardys and Perez piled out.

The professor asked, “What size tubing do you need?”

Joe said, “I'm not sure. This is a rental car, and we don't have any tools with us. Maybe half-inch tubing will do.”

Townsend frowned for a moment, then said, “Don't think I have any. I've got a better idea.”

He climbed into the truck as Diane asked, “Have you guys been walking long?”

“Not long,” Frank said. “Maybe ten or fifteen minutes.”

“It's a good thing this isn't July,” she said. “It gets awfully hot out here in the summer.”

“That's what we heard,” Joe said. “We—”

Townsend came out with a roll of gray duct tape
and a small toolbox. “Here,” he said, handing them to Joe. “See what you can do with that.”

Joe took the tape and the toolbox and scrambled under the car.

“Let's go, Diane,” Townsend said. “We've got work to do.”

“Thanks a lot,” Frank said.

“Don't mention it,” Townsend said stiffly. “I'll get my tools back later in the day.” He started off, then turned back. “And next time you think I'm doing something wrong, talk to me first, before you call in the rangers.”

“I tried to, Professor,” Frank said. “You wouldn't—”

“Aah!” Townsend exclaimed with a wave of his hand. “Never mind.” He got into the truck, started it up, and as soon as Diane closed her door, drove off.

“Like I said—Dr. Crabby,” Perez said. “What was he talking about—calling in the rangers?”

“Oh,” Frank said, “last night we found—”

“Hey, Frank!” Joe called from beneath the car. “I need you to hold something.”

Frank bent down. Joe scooted over to him and whispered, “Don't tell him anything. I'll explain later.”

Frank straightened up and looked at Perez, wondering what was bothering Joe.

“Frank,” Joe called again, “open up the hood. I need to poke this hose up toward the carburetor.”

Frank did as Joe asked, and before long they'd
repaired the fuel line and were ready to get back on the road. As they piled into the car, with Joe at the wheel, he said, “I want to check out something at the spot where Kidwell was parked. It will just take a second.”

He pulled the car around the bend to the grove of mesquite trees and got out, with Frank and Perez following him. “Perez, cross the road and stand over where the truck tracks start.”

“Where the cactus thieves pulled their trucks off the road?” Perez asked.

“Yeah,” Joe said. He watched as Perez walked across the road and down the shoulder. As soon as he was out of earshot, Joe said quietly to Frank, “Without making a big deal out of it, I want you to look at the footprints beside my right foot.” He raised his voice and called, “That's the spot, Perez. Stand still for a second.” Joe raised his arm and pointed toward Perez, as if he were showing Frank something.

In the meantime, Frank nodded and then glanced down at the footprints. “I see a set of prints that look as if they were made by sneakers,” Frank said.

“Okay, Perez,” Joe called, looking into the distance at Perez. “That's it.”

Raymond trotted back as Joe walked Frank several feet in the direction Perez had come from.

“So what's up?” Perez asked, clearly puzzled as to what the Hardys were doing. “Did you figure something out? What's happening, guys?”

“Don't sweat it, Perez. We're just trying to get a better picture of things,” Joe said. “We'd better get back to the office now.” When Perez turned and headed toward the car, Joe pointed to Perez's footprints. They were identical to the footprints Joe and Frank had just studied.

“I get you,” Frank said. “Instead of sneaking up on Kidwell, Perez came down the hill to talk to him. He walked right across the road. Kidwell couldn't possibly have missed him.”

“Perez and Kidwell must be working together,” Joe said, shaking his head in disgust. “And we're the ones who talked Grish into letting Kidwell's accomplice work with us.”

Lost in thought, Frank and Joe got into the car. Joe took the wheel and, every now and then, cast a suspicious glance in the rearview mirror at Perez. I can't believe Frank and I were so easily taken in, Joe thought. That weasel! He wanted to give the guy a piece of his mind, but now wasn't the time. If Frank and Joe pretended to keep him in their confidence, maybe Perez would lead them to the rustlers.

Perez was in a talking mood. “Man,” he said, “what a day! You guys sure do interesting things. I never had anyone cut my fuel line before. I'll be glad when we catch up to those people in the yellow van. What a hassle they caused us.”

As Perez chattered on, Frank focused his thoughts on this new turn of events. If Kidwell was
indeed involved in the cactus thefts, and if he and Perez were working together, then Perez was keeping track of the investigation. He could even be providing evidence to steer the investigation in the wrong direction. The Hardys would have to talk this over once they returned to the campground and got rid of Perez for a while.

“Hey!” Perez yelled. “There's Professor Townsend's truck. He must be doing his research somewhere around here. His research”—Perez lowered his voice—“or something else.”

“Something else?” Joe asked. “Like what?” He pulled over and stopped behind Townsend's pickup.

“You know what I mean,” Perez said. “Something like the cactus thefts.”

“Oh, well, why don't you share with us what you know about the cactus thefts, Detective Perez?” Joe said sarcastically.

Frank opened his door to get out, then said, “Let's be careful how we discuss things where other people might overhear us, okay?” He glared at Joe.

“You got it,” Perez said, getting out. “I wonder where they are.”

There was no sign of either Professor Townsend or Diane. The mesquite and creosote were thick in this area, and half a dozen organ pipe and saguaro cacti grew within a hundred yards of the road. Townsend and his daughter could be anywhere in such a wild landscape.

“Too bad we can't climb up there,” Perez said, pointing to a steep mountain that overlooked the area. “From that vantage point we could see anybody along the road for miles, but the soil on the mountainside is so crumbly you can't climb it directly. You'd have to go up the cliff face.”

“Actually, we could,” Joe said, “if we had some time. Frank and I are pretty good climbers. But I only stopped here to drop off Professor Townsend's tape.”

“Joe,” Frank said, “why don't you and I take a short hike back through the trees to see if we can spot the professor. Raymond, just in case they come back while we're gone, why don't you wait here? We won't go far.”

Perez looked anxious at first but finally smiled and said, “Sure. If they show up, I'll give a yell.”

“Good,” Frank said. “We'll be back in no time.” He glanced behind him at Perez, who was leaning on the car with his arms folded, then headed into the desert with Joe.

“So what are we going to do about this guy?” Joe asked. “If he's in cahoots with Kidwell, there must be some way we can make him give himself away.”

“Yeah, but how?” Frank said. “Meanwhile, we still have some unanswered questions. What's the professor's connection to all this? I'm hoping we can find him and Diane out here so we can see what they're doing. It would be handy to rule them out as suspects so we could concentrate on Kidwell and Perez.”

Joe held up a hand. “Look,” he whispered. “Here comes Diane. She's headed back to the truck.”

“Great,” Frank said. “We can talk to her without her father around.”

At that moment she spotted them, too, and started toward them. “Hi, guys,” she said with a smile. She was wearing an orange day pack, which seemed to be full. “Looking for my dad?”

“Yeah,” Joe said. “We were on our way back to the campground, and we saw your truck. Thought we'd return the tape.”

She shook her head and removed her cap. “He's busy with his work, and he absolutely hates to be interrupted. You're already on his bad side, if you know what I mean. So if you really want to blow it, interrupting him would be a good way to do it. You can bring the tape back this evening at the campground. By the way, it's about time we officially met,” she added. “I'm Diane.”

Joe and Frank introduced themselves, and she began walking toward the road, motioning the Hardys to walk with her. “I'm just bringing out samples for him to run tests on later,” she said.

“What exactly is he doing his research on?” Frank asked.

“He's investigating possible medicinal properties in cacti such as the organ pipe,” she said.

“Is he always so hard to get along with?” Joe asked.

Diane bristled. “He works very hard, that's all,”
she said. “So do I. I'm a freshman at the university, and this is how I'm paying my expenses. I've been working as his assistant since last year, when I graduated from high school.”

“Why did he get so mad when we found that piece of cactus under his truck?” Joe asked.

“I'm not sure,” she said. “Maybe because in his line of work he can't afford to get a reputation for being careless about protecting the desert.”

“That makes sense,” Joe said.

As they walked around some tall bushes, the two vehicles came into view. Perez was standing exactly where he'd been before, only now he was wearing a broad smile and was nearly trembling with excitement.

“What's up, Perez?” Joe asked.

Perez's grin grew wider. “Just glad to see you guys, that's all,” he said. After greeting Diane, he said to the Hardys, “I'm ready to head back if you are.”

“Why the sudden hurry?” Joe asked.

“No reason, especially.” As Perez spoke, he glanced significantly at Diane, as if he was trying to tell Joe something.

Joe opened the driver's door of the car. “Tell your father thanks,” he said to Diane, “and we'll bring back the tape tonight.”

Diane slid her pack off and opened the door of the pickup. “I'll tell him,” she said. “See you there.”

Frank and Perez got into the car. As Joe started it
up, Perez said, “I want you guys to look on the other side of the road, by that clump of dead grass. Don't let Diane see you looking. What do you see?”

“A pile of rocks,” Joe said. The pile was four stones high, made with flat rocks stacked one on top of the other. “That's a common way for hikers to mark a trail. What about it?”

“Do you see any hikers around here?” Perez asked.

“What about it? What are you saying, Perez?”

“I'm saying that you're right,” Perez said. “That's a marker. But you know what? I saw a marker like that at that first place we looked at this morning, the one I found for you.”

Frank exchanged glances with Joe. This could be important, he thought. “So you think that marker might show where the thieves are going to hit next?” he asked.

“Maybe not where they'll hit next,” Perez said, “but probably where they'll hit soon.” He elbowed Joe lightly in the arm and said, “And you said I don't notice things, Joe. I'll bet you missed that marker this morning, didn't you?”

Joe nodded. “I did,” he said flatly, pulling the car onto the road. As they passed the professor's pickup, Diane looked back and waved.

“There's more,” Perez said. “While you guys were out walking, I took a good look in Professor Townsend's truck. Know what I found? A winch! A big one. A winch big enough to handle a good-size cactus.”

“I didn't see a winch when we got a ride with him before,” Frank said.

“That's because it's anchored at the front of the truck bed, not the back,” Perez said, “and it has a cardboard box over it. Looks like a box of parts or tools. The winch is heavy-duty, with steel cable. If he ran the cable up and over a high frame, it could lift a pretty big cactus right out of the ground. Not a giant cactus, but certainly a small- to medium-size one.” Perez folded his arms across his chest. “Personally, I think I just solved the case.”

Neither of the Hardys said anything. They both knew Perez hadn't solved the case. If they assumed he wasn't one of the accomplices, he might have discovered some important clues. But they couldn't assume that. He might have made up the winch story to throw suspicion away from himself and onto the professor. Still, all the way back to the campground, they found themselves watching the sides of the road for little rock piles.

When they arrived at the campground, it was midafternoon. “I'm thirsty,” Perez said. “You guys want some iced tea?”

“I think we'll just drop you off,” Joe said. “I'm kind of curious about what our father's been doing all day.”