A few minutes later, Bo found himself hiding behind a bush in front of Ms. Stratmann's office window with Shirley and Blake.
"How did you know?" Bo asked Shirley.

 "That girl who came up to Molly has office duty with Ms. Stratmann today," Shirley replied.

 All three watched as Ms. Stratmann, the school's headmistress, and Molly talked.  There was also a balding man in a suit present.
 Shirley recognized the man.  "Detective Tremain."

 "What's he doing here?" Bo wondered.
 Shirley put her finger up to her lips.  The window was open just enough for them to listen in.  Shirley noticed a piece of paper in Ms. Stratmann's hand.  She looked rather anxious.  "This is why I called you here, Detective," she said as she handed Detective Tremain the paper.  "This came in by fax about ten minutes ago."

 Molly looked impatient as Detective Tremain studied the paper.  "I don't see what the big fuss is all about," she remarked.  "It's probably just a prank."

 "I'm not so sure," Detective Tremain said after he finished reading the paper.  "This note sounds serious."

 Molly held out her hand for the paper.  Detective Tremain obliged her.
 "'For the sins of Mr. Hardy, his daughter will pay the price,'" Molly read out loud.  "Sounds overdramatic to me."

 "I wouldn't take this too lightly, Miss Hardy," Detective Tremain said.  "Your father's become unpopular with certain persons due to his recent business dealings."

 "Then why don't these 'certain persons' threaten him?" Molly asked.

 "Threatening loved ones is a guaranteed way of making someone cave in," Detective Tremain pointed out.

 "Well, I'm not convinced."  Molly folded her arms across her chest.

 "Molly, please be reasonable," Ms. Stratmann pleaded.  "You could be in grave danger."

 "If I were you, I'd be careful," Detective Tremain told Molly, handing her and Mrs. Stratmann each a card.  "Call me if anything else suspicious happens."

 "I think that's enough," Shirley told Bo and Blake.  They managed to sneak away without being seen.
 

 After school, Shirley, Bo, and Blake met at Blake's house.  In Blake's room, Shirley and Bo watched from the bed as Blake worked on his computer.
 Bo studied the bookcase filled with a large number of books, mostly mysteries.  He whistled.  "Blake, you sure have a big collection."

 "Yep," Blake said, his eyes still on the computer monitor.

 Bo looked at Shirley, who was reading on of Blake's books.  "So, how was your date yesterday?" he asked her, keeping his voice low.

 Shirley looked up from her book.  "My date?"

 "You know, the one you had with Blake at the museum," Bo reminded Shirley.

 "It was okay," Shirley said.  "Blake really knows a lot about Mayan culture.  Why do you ask?"

 "I was just...curious," Bo said, suddenly turning away.
 Shirley raised an eyebrow at Bo, then returned to her book.

 Blake turned to the others.  "Well, it seems that Molly's dad has been getting a lot of threatening e-mail."

"How do you know?" Bo asked.

 Blake pointed at the computer screen.  "I just hacked into Mr. Hardy's e-mail account."

"What?"  Bo was amazed.
"Good work, Blake," Shirley said.

 "Hold it.  How did you get Mr. Hardy's e-mail address?" Bo asked Blake.

 "When I hacked into Molly's computer in order to get control of her Y web site, I got some info I felt would come in handy in the near future," Blake explained.  "Accessing e-mail accounts is a cinch forme."

 "You never cease to amaze me, Blake," Shirley said, giving Blake a little smile.

 Bo rolled his eyes, trying to control the strange feeling in his stomach.  "What did you find out?" he asked Blake.

 "Well, besides the five e-mails from Molly, I'd say Mr. Hardy's been getting complaints from environmentalists, recently fired employees, and just some really ticked-off people upset with Mr. Hardy's current business projects," Blake said.  "I believe someone from Greenpeace e-mailed him."

"Why are all those people so mad at Mr. Hardy?" Shirley asked.

 "It seems that Mr. Hardy is involved in some oil drilling operations in various coastal areas.  Also, his company's been laying off people considered 'nonessential,'" Blake explained.

 "So some nut ticked off with Mr. Hardy wants to do something bad to Molly," Bo said.  "Maybe kidnap her or worse."

 Shirley put her book down and thought for a moment.  "Hmmmm..."
 

 "Hey, did you hear about Molly?"

 "Yeah.  Someone wants to kidnap her or kill her."

 "I heard it was some crazy environmentalist."

"Poor Molly!"

 The next day, while walking down the hallway, Shirley and Bo heard people talking about Molly's meeting with Ms. Stratmann.  "How did word about this spread so fast?" Bo asked Shirley.

 "The girl who took Molly to Ms. Stratmann is a big gossip," Shirley explained.  "She must have been listening in."

 Blake found Shirley and Bo and walked up to them.  "Man, can you believe how fast the news spread?"

 "Who knows about the threat to Molly?" Shirley asked.

 "Apparently, everyone," Blake responded.

"Great," Bo said.

 The gossiping suddenly came to an halt.  Shirley saw Molly walking down the hallway.  She was looking at everyone, her eyes narrowed.
Everyone tried to keep quiet under Molly's gaze.
 "What is going on here?" Molly demanded.

 Shirley looked at Molly.  "Apparently everyone believes that you're in grave danger."

 Molly was furious.  "Where would they...oh, that Jennifer Ashton!  She was listening in."

 Stink Patterson strutted up to Molly.  He was wearing a large grin on his face.  "You know, Molly, if you need a bodyguard, I'm your man," he said, still grinning.

 Molly rolled her eyes.  "The day I ask you for your help is the day I actually find you remotely attractive," she told Stink coldly.  She turned her attention to Shirley.  "Don't even think about it, Holmes," she warned harshly.

 Alicia Gianelli joined the conversation.  "Molly, you have to be a little worried..."

 "I am not worried!" Molly declared.  "Will everyone just leave me alone?"  With that, she left for her class while everyone stared ather.

 "She's either very brave or very stupid," a boy said, keeping his voice down.
 Or very smart, Shirley thought.

 Lunchtime finally came.  As usual, Shirley, Bo, and Blake shared a table, this time outside.
 Bo took a big sip out of his apple juice box.  "So, what do you make of all of this, Shirley?"

 Shirley took a bite out of her lunch.  "Although a good detective is supposed to maintain an unbiased viewpoint, I'm getting the feeling of deja vu."

 "Meaning?"

"This could be another one of Molly's stratagems," Shirley stated.

 "You mean that this could be all a trick by Molly to draw attention to herself?" Blake asked.

 "Exactly."  Shirley took a few more bites from her lunch.  "Of course, we must also take into account that Molly could really be in danger."

 "Of course," Blake said in agreement.

 "Speaking of Miss Moving Target, here she comes," Bo said, pointing towards Molly, who was carrying her lunch tray.  Stink was at her side, still trying to persuade her to let him protect her.  Molly simply looked straight ahead, ignoring him.

 "I will never understand what Stink sees in Molly," Bo said.  "She always rejects him and she used him once to steal her psychiatric examination."

 "Love isn't exactly logical," Shirley said.

"It just happens," Blake added.

 Bo looked quickly at Shirley, then returned to his lunch.  "Yeah, it just happens," he told himself quietly and regretfully.

 Stink was still bothering Molly, who was still ignoring him.
Suddenly, three men ran out from behind them.  They were all large and muscular and wearing stockings over their heads.  Everyone watched in horror as one of them grabbed Molly, causing her to drop her tray on the ground.  Another one shoved Stink to the ground.  "Have a seat, kid," he growled.

"What is the meaning of this?" Molly demanded hotly.

 The man took out a gun and showed it to Molly.  "Keep your mouth shut or else," he warned harshly.

 Molly nodded quietly.  The man with the gun pointed it upward and fired three times.  All the kids present, including Shirley and her friends, ducked underneath their tables.  Stink covered his head with his hands.  "Nobody try to be a hero!" he shouted.

 The third man looked around.  "We got the girl.  Let's go."
 "C'mon, sweetheart," the man with the gun said to Molly, grabbing her by the hand.

 Everyone watched helplessly as the three men ran off with Molly.  As soon as they were out of sight, the kids got out from underneath their tables.  Stink picked himself up and brushed himself off.
 "Somebody call the police!" someone shouted.

 A boy ran for Ms. Stratmann's office.
"This can't be happening.  This can't be happening..." Alicia was telling herself.

 "This is not good," Bo said to Shirley and Blake.

END OF PART TWO
 

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