The Madman of Black Bear Mountain by Franklin W. Dixon

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    Bear Foot Lodge came into view around the next bend. With horses grazing serenely in the pasture and Chief Olaf wading into the river to reel in a big fish, it looked like a picture straight out of a travel brochure. You’d never know it was the source of so much danger.
    â€œThere it is!” I said. “Can you put us down in the field behind the lodge?”
    The propeller blast from the chopper pounded the river’s surface with wind, sending Chief Olaf’s fish flying off his hook. I had a feeling I was a lot happier to see the chief than he was going to be to see me.
    The soaking-wet chief stomped up, holding his fishless line, as Aleksei landed the helicopter behind the lodge. “What in the world is going on here? Do you have any idea how long it took me to land that trout? I—” Then he saw me. “Joe? I should have figured . . .”
    â€œHave you seen Frank?” I leaped out of the chopper, cutting him off.
    He looked at me like I was nuts. “Why would I have seen Frank? I thought you boys were supposed to be camping up on Black Bear Mountain.”
    â€œSomething terrible has happened,” I explained. “We have to get a search team upriver now! Frank’s raft went over the falls, Jim is hurt, and the rest of us are still stranded on the mountain!”
    The chief’s annoyance instantly turned to concern. “Slow down, son, and tell me exactly what happened.”
    â€œI’m still trying to put the pieces together, Chief, but—”
    A female voice cut in before I could finish.
    â€œWhat is that helicopter doing on my property?” Casey came running out of the lodge, sleeves rolled up, exposing the bear-paw tattoo on her forearm. “Joe? What are you doing here? Who is this guy?”
    She looked up at Aleksei, towering silently by my side.
    â€œAs if you don’t know,” I spat before turning to Chief Olaf.
    The chief looked just as stunned as Casey. “Her sister impersonated Dr. Kroopnik to deceive us as part of a conspiracy to commit theft,” I informed the chief. “And my brother and Dr. Kroopnik are still missing or maybe even worse because of it.”
    â€œM-my sister?” Casey stammered. “Is this some kind of joke? I haven’t seen Lana in weeks.”
    â€œI saw your family crest tattooed on her arm right before she pushed me off a bridge,” I seethed.
    Casey’s jaw dropped, and she reflexively rubbed at the bear paw on her forearm. “But that’s crazy! Lana’s off camping somewhere out west. She isn’t even in the state!”
    â€œLet’s slow down a second, Joe.” Chief Olaf put a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. “Now, I’ve known you long enough to know you’re being straight with me, but let’s not be hasty. I’m out of my jurisdiction up here, but even if I wasn’t, we need to gather more facts and make sure we’re not just jumping to conclusions. And if you’re right, I’ll do what I can to step in until the local authorities get here.”
    I took a deep breath and nodded. Seeing Frank’s raft torn up like that had my emotions running high, and I’d let my heart do the detecting instead of my brain.
    â€œYou’re right, Chief,” I conceded. “A good detective stays objective and doesn’t rush to judgment, but I know for a fact that the woman responsible for this has an identical tattoo on her right arm.”
    â€œI swear I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Casey pleaded. “My sister wouldn’t want to hurt any of my guests. She knows how much the lodge means to me. Are you sure it wasn’t a different tattoo? All kinds of people have tattoos up here.”
    â€œBear paws with squiggly lines down the center that match the path of the river through the valley?” I asked.
    â€œOh,” she said meekly. “But I don’t