The Genius Thieves by Franklin W. Dixon Read Free Book Online

have a case?"
    "You bet. He's a real go-getter. Comes from a poor family in Rockchester. But the guy's a computer genius, so Chartwell gave him a full scholarship. He set up his own electronics and software company at age sixteen. A company that has been showing steadily increasing profits these past few months.
    "Not to mention the deposit and withdrawal into his company's account of the twenty-five thousand dollars that was stolen from Bayport Bank and Trust last week."
    "Looks like an open-and-shut case to me," Joe said.
    "No, there are still too many loose threads," Frank answered. "Let me show you my notes. Come on, I'll drive the van into campus. You lay low—someone may recognize you."
    "Not necessarily," Joe said. He reached into the backseat for a red, curly wig, which he slipped over his black-sprayed hair. Frank just looked at him blankly.
    "It's the only disguise I could get on quick notice," Joe said, shrugging his shoulders.
    "Terrific. Now you've gone from Dracula to Little Orphan Annie."
    Frank drove slowly to the parking lot near his dorm and parked the van next to Arnie's car.
    Then he and Joe walked along the darkened pathway to Mansfield Hall. They entered through the basement.
    "You live in this dump?" Joe whispered. "It smells like a locker room."
    Frank rolled his eyes and led Joe to the back stairwell. They took the stairs up to the third floor, where a different smell greeted them. Burning food. Frank and Joe looked down the hallway to see smoke puffing out from beneath Frank's door. Crazy Arnie and his popcorn again, Frank thought. At that moment the smoke alarm began shrieking.
    Joe started running for the room, but Frank pulled him back.
    "What are you doing, Frank?" Joe asked, furious. "Maybe someone's in there!"
    Frank stood still, sniffing the air. "Wait a minute!"
    "Come on, I was kidding about the locker-room smell—" But Joe caught a whiff of something unexpected, too. "I think I smell gasoline. We'd better move!" he said. "If this thing spreads, we're all in trouble!"
    Joe ran to the door of Frank's room. Frank took out his keys. "We don't need them," said Joe, reaching for the doorknob. "It's open."
    "Careful of the smoke!" Frank warned Joe. "Push the door open and stand back!"
    As Joe threw the door open, smoke billowed out into the hallway. From on top of the door, a bucketful of clear fluid cascaded down.
    Frank took one sniff of the air and lunged for his brother, pulling him back out of the way. "Get back, Joe!" he shouted. "We just found that gasoline!"

Chapter 8
    THE BUCKET CLATTERED to the floor, spilling liquid all over.
    "What the — " Joe's eyes narrowed.
    "Did you get any on you?" Frank asked.
    "A little splashed on my wig—"
    "Take it off and throw it up the hallway. Let's go!" Frank leaped across the puddle of gasoline and into his room.
    He cupped one hand over his nose and made his way toward the flames that were shooting up through the smoke. Coughing violently, he tried to get to the sink. With his other hand, he waved away smoke and noticed the source of the fire — a pot on Arnie's hot plate!
    Just as Frank felt as if his lungs were going to collapse, he heard a whooshing noise. "Wherever you are, Frank — duck!" It was Joe, with a fire extinguisher.
    The chemical stream hit the hot plate and sent it flying off the table, which in turn yanked the plug out of the wall. Joe doused the flames and then spun around to see the doorway behind them blocked by a wall of fire. The puddle of gasoline had just caught.
    Joe's fire extinguisher was low. But there was enough to put out the new blaze. Joe shot a steady stream at the doorway as he grabbed Frank and dragged him through the flames and into the hall. He propped his brother near an open window and told him to breathe deeply. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the fire trucks arriving below.
    "Frank! Are you all right?"
    Frank's eyes fluttered for a moment and then flicked open. "I'm okay," he said, coughing. He