S4 E9 Joe and Frank Stumble into a REAL Mystery!

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Good evening and welcome to the Comforting Voice podcast. I'm your host, Shastere, and I'm coming to you live pre-recorded from the bird room. We'll see how this goes for a reading tonight. They were getting kind of noisy, and then they got all quiet. Then the giant dog started to snore. So I hope I can get the editing to your liking, but I'm kind of limited right now, ramping up for that surgery I mentioned, so I'm just doing stuff to keep myself comfortable right now. Nothing more. Now, speaking of my leave of absence, I'm gonna be reading on Friday nights. We're gonna continue that, but we are doing some tried and true favorites on Tuesdays. It gives me just a little bit of a break while I recoup. I'm gonna be getting abdominal surgery, so I'm gonna be kind of in a recovery state for a while. And I'm trying to get this stuff all done in advance. Uh, no worries though, this is routine, and I'm I'm okay. So you don't need to worry about me. I do think, however, we need to worry about your comfort levels. So let's take just a minute before we get started, go through your sleep prep and get you comfortable, ready to go, and cozy so you can drift off or just enjoy a story tonight. So once you've got your pillow all mushed up in that perfect position, you've got everything you need at your fingertips, and your listening device set at that perfect volume for you, then go ahead and engage in a really good end-of-the-day stretch. Reach into your arms and legs, your feet and hands, fingers, toes, and once you've got that stretch fully engaged, wiggle your fingers and toes really quick and release that stretch and just feel all that relaxation just kick in immediately. It just takes the place of the stretch. And it is it is the most wonderful thing you can do for yourself any time of the day, really. Follow that up with our dual action deep breath of air. First off, take your finger, doesn't matter which one, and lightly touch right between your eyes at the bridge of your nose, kind of where your nose dips down a little bit. You're gonna want to either just put just the lightest pressure there, or tap very, very lightly, or even go in tiny, tiny little circles with the tip of your finger. Again, you don't need to press very hard, just very light pressure so you can feel it. And when you do that, at the same time you're doing that, you're gonna take your deep breath of air. You're gonna inhale to about the count of four, hold it to about the count of three, take another quick little inhale, hold it for another count or two, and then exhale preferably through your teeth, preferably to about the count of eight, or as long as you can stretch out that exhale. And between that stretch and touching your bridge of your nose and doing that deep breath of air, you're gonna be ready to doze off instantly. It's wonderful. You can do that any time of the day when you feel some tension coming on that might trigger anxiety or anything of the sort, or if you just need to wind down and relax for a few minutes, or just any time at bedtime when you're ready to go to sleep. Wonderful tool, totally free, and works like magic. I I've been doing this every night myself and I listen to podcasts all night. Couldn't even tell you what I start listening to. I'm usually asleep that quick. Oh gosh, very effective. And oh my gosh, I keep getting technical difficulties here, so I hope I don't cut you off. That's just terrible of me. I shouldn't be doing that. What I've been doing is touching the microphone, and I'm I guess it's real sensitive or something. If I barely move it, it just shuts off the recording, and then I have to figure out where I left off. So I'm gonna try not to cut you off at any point in time during this recording. We're gonna get going on our story for tonight, and you may hear some chirping of birds. Let's just call that ambiance. Last week we left off on our adventure story. Joe, Frank, Chet, and a group of their friends were off enjoying a wonderful day, and it turned even more wonderful when they found Chet's car. So they were celebrating and they all got to ride back into town. They were all anxious to go tell the detective and the chief of police, and everyone in town looked kinda inquisitive and serious. Come to find out there was a robbery at the Tower Mansion, and that's where it left off. So let's find out what happens this week. Again, we are reading The Hardy Boys at the Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon. Tonight we are reading chapter seven titled The Mansion Robbery. Tower Mansion was one of the show places of Bayport. Few people in the city had ever been permitted to enter the place, and the admiration the building generated was solely by reason of its exterior appearance. But the first thing a newcomer to Bayport usually asked was, who owns that magnificent house on the hill? It was an immense rambling stone structure situated on the top of the hill overlooking the bay, and it could easily be seen for miles silhouetted against the skyline like some ancient castle. This resemblance to a castle was heightened by the fact that at each end of the mansion rose a high tower. One of those towers had been built when the mansion was first erected by Major Applegate, an eccentric old army man who had made millions by lucky real estate deals and had laid the foundation for the Applegate fortune. The mansion had been the admiration of its day and in its time had seen much gaiety. But as the years passed the Applegate family became scattered until at last there remained but Heard Applegate and his sister Adelia, who continued living in the vast and lonely old mansion. Heard Applegate was a man of about sixty years of age, he was a tall, stooped man eccentric in his ways, and his life seemed to be devoted to the collection of rare stamps. He was an authority on the subject, and nothing else in life appeared to hold a great deal of interest for him. The only visitors at Tower Mansion were the experts from New York appraising some new stamp that Heard Applegate had managed to secure from some remote part of the world. It had often been said in Bayport that Heard Applegate had accomplished only two things in life he had collected stamps, and he had built a new tower on the mansion. The new tower, a duplicate of the original tower at the opposite end of the great building, had been built but a few years, even well within the memory of the two Hardy boys. Adelia Applegate, who lived in the Tower Mansion with her brother, was a maiden lady of uncertain years. The records in Bayport City Hall gave her age as fifty five, but Miss Applegate admitted it to nobody. She was as eccentric as her brother and lived very much to herself, being seldom seen in the city. She was at one time a blonde, but she had endeavoured to retain her youth by dyeing her hair, with the result that it was now a sort of dusty black. Chet Morton was fond of saying that Miss Applegate used to be a blonde, but she died. She dressed in all colours of the rainbow, and her infrequent excursions into Bayport stores, when she would order the clerks about like soldiers shouting at them in her high cackled voice, had become historic on account of the wild and colorful garments she would carry off with her. These eccentric people were reputed to be enormously wealthy, although they lived simply and kept only a few servants. So when Heard Applegate came into the Bayport police station that afternoon and reported that the safe in his library had been broken open and that it had been robbed of all securities and jewels it contained, the rumors that soon spread about the city magnified the actual loss until it became common talk that the loss amounted anywhere from one hundred thousand to a million dollars. When Frank and Joe Hardy arrived at home that evening, they met Heard Applegate just leaving the house. The man tapped the steps with his cane as he came out, and when he met the boys he gave them an abrupt, piercing glance. Good day, he growled in a grudging manner, and went on his way. He must have been asking Dad to take up the case, said Frank to his brother, as soon as Heard Applegate was out of earshot. They hurried into the house eager to find out more about the robbery, and in the hallway they met Fenton Hardy, who had just seen Mr. Applegate to the door. I hear the Tower Mansion was robbed, said Joe. Mr Hardy nodded. Yes, Mr Applegate was just here. He wants me to handle the case. How much was taken? Quite curious, aren't you? remarked Mr. Hardy with a smile. Well, I don't suppose it'll do any harm to tell you. The safe at the Applegate Library was opened. The loss will be about forty thousand dollars, I believe. We heard it was over a hundred thousand, exclaimed Joe. Rumors always exaggerate. Forty thousand dollars is the figure Mr Applegate puts it at, and that's quite enough too. All in securities and jewels. Wow, exclaimed Frank. Quite a haul. When did it happen? Either last night or this morning, he did not get up until after ten o'clock this morning, and he didn't go into the library until nearly noon. Then he discovered the theft. How was the safe opened? It was either opened by someone who knew the combination, or else by a very clever crook. They didn't use dynamite. I'm going up to the house in a few minutes. Mr Applegate is to call for me. Can't we go along? asked Joe eagerly. Mr Hardy looked at his sons with a smile. Well, if you're so anxious to be detectives, I suppose it is about as good of a chance as any to watch a crime investigation from the inside. If Mr Applegate doesn't object, you can come along. In a few minutes an automobile drew up before the Hardy home. Mr Applegate was sitting in the rear seat, resting his chin on his cane. When Mr Hardy mentioned the boy's request, he merely grunted in agreement, so Joe and Frank clamoured into the car with their father. They were tremendously excited at the prospect of being on the inside in this mysterious case. While the car drove along city roads toward the Tower Mansion that was gloomily silhouetted against the sky, Mr Hardy and Mr Applegate discussed the robbery. I don't really need a detective in this case, snapped Heard Applegate. Don't need one at all. It's as clear as the nose on your face. I know who took the stuff. I just can't prove it. Who do you suspect? asked Fenton Hardy. Only one man in the world could have taken it. Robinson. Robinson? Yes, Harry Robinson, the caretaker. He's the man. The Hardy boys looked at each other in concern. Henry Robinson, the caretaker of the Tower Mansion, was the father of one of their closest friends. Perry Robinson, nicknamed Slim, was to have accompanied them on their jaunt to the woods that day, but had failed to appear. The reason was now evident. But the fact that Henry Robinson should be accused of the robbery seemed absurd. The boys had met Slim's father, and he appeared to them as a good natured, easy going man, the soul of truth and honesty. I don't believe it, whispered Frank. Neither do I, returned his brother. What makes you suspect Robinson? asked Mr. Hardy. He's the only person besides my sister and me who ever saw that safe opened and closed. He could have learned the combination if he kept his eyes and ears open, I believe he did. But is that your only reason for suspecting him? More than that, this morning he paid off a note at the bank. It was a note for nine hundred dollars. I know for a fact he didn't have more than one hundred dollars to his name a few days ago. The Robinsons have been hard up, for they had sickness in the family last winter, and Henry Robinson has had a hard time mating his debts since then. Now where did he raise nine hundred dollars so suddenly? Well, perhaps he has a good explanation, said Mr Hardy timidly. It's not good to jump to conclusions. Oh, he'll have an explanation all right, sniffed Mr. Applegate. But it'll have to be a mighty good one to satisfy me. Luckily he won't have to satisfy Mr. Applegate, but he's gonna have to convince a jury if it gets that far, whispered Joe in his brother's ear. The automobile was speeding up at the wide driveway that led to the Tower Mansion, and within a few minutes it drew up at the front entrance. Mr. Applegate dismissed the driver, and Mr. Hardy and the two boys accompanied the eccentric man into the house. Nothing had been disturbed in the library since the discovery of the theft. Mr. Hardy examined the open safe, then drew a magnifying glass from his pocket, and with minute care inspected the dial of the combination lock. Then he examined the windows, the doorknobs, all places where there might be fingerprints. At last he shook his head. A smooth job, he observed. The fellow must have worn gloves, not a fingerprint in the room. No need looking for fingerprints, said Applegate. It was Robinson, that's who it was. Well, better send for him, advised Mr. Hardy. I'd like to ask him a few questions. Mr. Applegate rang for one of the servants and instructed him to go tell Mr. Robinson he was wanted in the library at once. Mr. Hardy glanced at the boys. You'd better wait in the hallway, he suggested. I want to ask some questions, and it might embarrass Mr. Robinson if you're here. The boys agreed, and in the hallway they met Mr. Robinson, the caretaker, and his son Perry. Mr. Robinson was calm but pale, and at the doorway he patted his son on the shoulder. Don't worry, Perry, he said, it'll be alright. With that he entered the library. Slim Robinson turned to his two friends. My dad is innocent, he cried. And apparently the story has the birds excited. Oh my gosh, they're singing and going crazy. For our next chapter, I will try to record in a little bit different, quiet setting so we don't disturb you too much. But I guess sometimes there's a little bit of fun in having some differences. At least you know I'm not an AI-generated voice, right? Okay, that's all I got for you tonight. I've got a super duper episode lined up for you for Tuesday. So until then, sleep tight, good night, and bye bye.