Eye on Crime by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

shouted as he put the van in gear. “And as for those two goons, I doubt they’ll be after you again. Johnson probably just wanted them to scare you.”
    When they were away from the studio, Joe questioned his brother.
    â€œWhy do we want to be on the show?”
    â€œBecause it’s the best way to see how things operate around there. And I want to stick close to Monty.”
    â€œSo you don’t buy the whole Ronald Johnson story?” Joe asked.
    â€œI buy into most of it,” Frank replied. “But I think Monty’s in it with him.”
    â€œBut now Monty’s scared that Johnson will have him killed,” Joe said.
    â€œHey, robbery and frame-up is a dirty business. But big money makes for strange partners. I figure Monty will be back in on the scam either to make more dough or to save his own hide.”
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    The Hardy brothers spent the rest of the weekend in relative serenity. They checked in on Callie and Iola and brought the girls up to speed on their investigation. The rest of the weekend was spent doing homework and catching up on lost sleep, except for the time Frank did a background check on Ronald Johnson.
    Frank fired up the computer Sunday night and surfed the Internet. He visited Eye Spy Security’s Web site, where he learned that the company provided security for countless businesses in Bayport. Their systems were state of the art. In fact, Eye Spy prided itself on using cameras of such high quality that even some television studios used them for inexpensive video filming.
    â€œI wouldn’t be surprised to learn later that Eye Spy Security provides cameras for the Monty Mania production,” Frank speculated. “That would give Johnson fast access to the film he wanted to splice into the surveillance camera footage at the stores.”
    As for Ronald Johnson himself, there was very little to be learned. He had graduated from a small-town business college, had no police record, and supposedly built Eye Spy from scratch. Some intense creative research did unveil that he was a distant relative of a small-time New York crime boss, but other than blood, there was nothing to tie Ronald Johnson into anything shady.
    â€œStill,” Joe pointed out, “that could be where the loan shark money originally came from. Then he turned that money into Eye Spy.”
    â€œPossibly. And being a security expert would help him get inside any place he wanted to rob. Especially places for which he provided the security system.”
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    At school on Monday, Frank and Joe gathered Callie, the Mortons, and Tony Prito together. The group sat in the cafeteria at their usual table by the window.
    â€œOkay, the timing is going to be tight,” Joe said. “We have baseball practice after school, so Frank and I will have to rush over to the station.” He took two tickets out of his pocket and handed one to Chet and one to Tony. “You two meet us inside. Get there early and see if you can get close to Monty Andrews, like you’re autograph hounds or something. Better yet, say you’re doing a story for the school newspaper. He’s such a ham, you mightbe able to get him talking. Maybe you can pick up some buzz backstage.”
    â€œHey, where are our tickets?” Iola asked.
    â€œAt first we were thinking Callie and Iola would go to the show with us,” Frank replied. “But I think seeing two of his former victims might spook Monty or Ronald Johnson.”
    â€œSo we get left out in the cold?” Callie sounded very disappointed.
    â€œExactly,” Frank said. “We need you to park and hold the space next to you for us. Then we want you stationed at that back entrance to the studio, where the guests come out after the show.”
    â€œThis is important,” Joe continued. “You’re our safety net. If we’re given a posthypnotic suggestion to get out of sight for a