The Hardy Boys (2020) s01e05 Episode Script

The Drop

1
Previously on Hardy Boys
Your wife was investigating something,
and my nephew Rupert was her source.
Do you remember any stories
that your mother was working on?
I mean, did you even know
that she was writing again?
- Uh, no.
- We made a copy of the report.
We gotta take this to Dad's partner, Sam.
JB Cox. This is the guy from the beach.
- Take this envelope.
- Go to Stoney Creek Park.
Find a bench. You put it under it.
I'm just telling them where to meet me.
Oh, you're home!
He hid this in the vent in my room.
I think that's what the tall man
was looking for.
I had it with me during the carnival,
and I didn't lose a single game.
The tall guy killed
all the people on the Astghik.
Probably for the idol.
Him and the guy from the beach.
They're after the same thing.
Have the doctors got any idea
on when he might come out of the coma?
Could be weeks. Months. Years.
Thanks.
Smells better than the mud
your dad makes.
It's all Trudy.
Did you find out anything?
I did.
But first you gotta tell me why
you wanted me to look into JB Cox.
Joe ran into this guy at the beach.
He offered him a couple bucks
to fix his radio.
The guy turned out to be Cox.
Joe's hanging out with JB Cox?
Yeah.
Of course he is.
He told the local police, right?
Yeah. Joe told them everything.
So they went down to the beach.
They found his camp,
told us to call them if we saw him again.
But they wouldn't tell us
anything about him, so I called you.
And that's the extent
of your trouble with this guy?
Yeah. Joe's a bit freaked out, so
I needed to know who he was.
And it feels like you don't want
your Aunt Trudy to hear this.
Just don't want her to be
more worried than she has to be, you know?
JB Cox is a thief for hire.
A good one.
He's only been caught once,
and even then,
he escaped so quickly it looks like
he let himself get caught
just so he could bust himself out.
So he likes being dramatic.
Yeah. Likes the high risk jobs
for anonymous clients.
If you see him again,
you gotta tell the police.
Is Cox connected to
Kanika Imani Khan?
Who's that?
Sam, it's okay. Dad told us everything.
Said that she hired him
to find her nephew Rupert.
Well
No connection to Khan,
as far as I can tell.
He probably came here,
did what he had to do, and is long gone.
Sam!
Hey, Trudy.
Hi.
Fenton have you checking up on us?
Mm, you got me.
I just wanted to see if you'd
heard from Fenton, but, uh
Frank says you haven't.
No. Not for a few days.
You want to give me a minute
with your aunt?
Yeah.
- Stay out of trouble, kid.
- I will.
This isn't the first time
Fenton's gone dark on a case.
That was before.
Things are different now.
He should know better.
So when should I start to worry?
It's up to you.
Are you worried?
Not yet.
Call me if you need anything.
- Let you know if I hear from Fenton.
- All right.
It's good to see you, Sam.
Yeah. You, too, Trudy.
What'd Sam say?
He said that JB Cox
was a thief for hire
working for an anonymous buyer,
and that we should stay away from him.
Like that's gonna happen.
How's it going?
If I'm right, today's the day
JB's gonna meet his buyer.
I think this message spells out where,
but I've been staring at this thing
for ages, and all I have is a headache.
JB really doesn't like to
make things easy.
'Course he doesn't like to
make things easy.
He doesn't want people
showing up uninvited.
Like we're trying to do right now.
Do you think JB knew that thing
was inside the idol?
You mean my lucky charm?
I'm not calling it that, but sure.
No. I don't think he knew.
The tall man, or whoever hired him knew.
What if Mom knew, too?
What if she figured out the secret?
If we find out who was after this thing
Then we find out who killed Mom.
We need to break this code.
Magnolia. Iberis.
Carnation. Begonia. Hibiscus.
They're all flowers, Joe.
Aunt Trudy!
Joe, we're in the same house!
Sorry.
Is there any place in town named
"five flowers," or something like that?
That's why you're yelling?
Yeah.
No. Nothing like five flowers.
All right, so flowers wasn't the pattern.
Mic-buh.
Yeah. It's not the first letter
of every word, either.
What's this little arrow?
JOE
Start on the "M," and follow the line.
The arrow's a guide.
M.B.R.O.S.?
M Brothers.
What about M Brothers?
I swear to God, Joe.
M Bro
Like, a name that starts with "M."
Yeah, I get it. Uh
The Mentzer brothers have
a towing company.
No. Towing company would be too busy.
Trucks coming and going.
And the old Matthew Brothers
brick factory,
but that closed years ago.
So stop yelling!
Okay! Sorry.
An old factory would work
for a hand-off, right?
So, if that's the where, then
what's the when?
Eight-thirty?
- There you go, smart guy.
- Good thing we woke up early. Let's go.
Here you go.
The first waffles of the last week
of the summer.
- Wilt.
- Really? You just had to throw that in there?
- Sorry, guys.
- I couldn't resist.
Well, just one more year to go
in this boring town, huh?
You think you can handle it?
I'll try.
But I have to get accepted
to Rose grave first.
So you'll get accepted
to Rose grave first.
Enjoy it.
Thanks, Wilt.
You know he's right, though.
You'll get in.
Even if I do get in,
it's way too expensive.
Okay, so what happened to
Mrs. Estabrook sponsoring you?
You know my dad. I don't think
he's gonna be okay with that.
He'll get over it.
Callie, you gotta follow your dreams,
no matter where they take you.
Yeah, same goes for you.
Yeah, and even if I don't make the bigs,
it's looking good for that
agricultural scholarship.
And I'd rather stay
closer to home, anyways.
So, where does this leave us?
Leaves us in front of
a plate full of waffles,
and they're getting cold now.
So, we should dig in.
Chet, we have to talk about this
at some point.
Yeah, at some point,
but I can't hear you right now,
'cause I'm eating waffles.
Okay. Well, I guess I'll join you.
Um, need that syrup on it, too.
This doesn't look like the kind of
place where people go missing, at all.
We'll be fine if we're careful.
How many dead mountain climbers
do you think have said that?
You sure you're up for this?
Yeah. I'm just lightening the mood
by being hilarious.
Okay. Just tell me if you want to leave.
Thanks.
This place is huge.
Where were they gonna meet?
I don't know.
There was nothing specific in the message.
I think we get to pick.
This looks good.
All right. And now, we wait.
Maybe we should go hide.
- Yeah, yeah. Hide.
- This way.
Trudy?
Oh, hi.
Gloria.
What brings you to the wrong side of town?
- Well, that's interesting.
- You have a hobby.
It's not a hobby. I sell them.
Do you?
How many have you sold?
Enough to earn a living.
You ever made one of those?
Trudy.
Do we have to do this?
Okay.
How can I help you, Gloria?
You are the aunt of two young boys.
And you've been asked by your brother,
and by fate,
to be their surrogate mother.
And it's not fair.
And I haven't been fair to you, either.
Gloria, I'm sorry,
but you're gonna have to convince me
that you're here to bury the hatchet.
You've been so good at swinging it.
I just want to help.
Suddenly.
You've never been kind to my family.
To my parents, to Fenton.
Till the boys moved here,
I hadn't seen you in two years.
The past will have to remain in the past.
There's nothing I can say now
to change it.
And Fenton will never like me, because
my daughter didn't like me.
Won't you come and sit down?
I want to talk to you about the boys.
Perhaps we could have some tea.
Okay.
But you have to come back later.
I'm busy working.
Oh, oh. Of course. Of course. I shall.
You know, I have some good friends
who own galleries in the city.
Perhaps I could talk to them.
See if they might be
interested in showing your work.
I don't think we have the same taste.
- Oh, Trudy.
- Not all my friends are stuffy.
Hey. Want a sandwich?
- You brought sandwiches?
- Yeah.
What if the note meant 8:30 p. m.?
I hadn't thought about that.
Point for Joe. Keep score.
I'm good. Thanks.
Suit yourself.
I don't get it.
What kind of guy steals something
without knowing what it is,
and then delivers it to someone
without knowing who they are?
It's like Dad says
"It's always money, boys."
"It's always money, boys.
You can have too much,
but never enough."
You know, Dad's been gone longer before,
but I don't think
I've missed him this much.
You sure you're okay?
How do you tell if you're okay?
- We should go.
- What?
Joe, this isn't safe.
Dad wouldn't want us doing this.
Neither would Mom.
We can't leave, Frank. All right?
We only have questions,
and this might be the first answer we get.
- Joe, I can tell you're scared
- Of course I'm scared.
So what if I'm scared?
Joe!
Get him!
Where'd he go?
This way.
Joe?
Joe!
Let me go!
What the hell are you doing here?
What the heck are you doing here?
- Frank!
- Shut up!
It isn't safe here.
Yeah, yeah. 'Cause you're here!
Frank!
What are you guys doing?
Get off me, man! What the hell?
You've gotta get out of
here. Listen to me. No, I can't.
- Stop, stop, stop, stop!
- Whoa. Listen to your brother, Frank.
This is JB Cox.
- What are you doing here?
- That's my question for you.
We cracked your dumb code.
You cracked my code.
I feel betrayed.
And impressed.
- Wait, what are you doing here?
- You don't have anything to sell.
I know. I went back to your place.
It wasn't there.
Hey, something's in my room
for two days, it's mine.
- Is that right?
- Yeah. It is.
You're here to find out
who your buyer is.
And you guys cost me fifty grand.
Your buyer has something to do
with our mother's murder.
You didn't tell me she was murdered.
But unfortunately, it's not my problem.
Our problem right now is figuring out
how I'm gonna get paid.
Let's not run into each other again.
No. You gotta tell us
something right now!
You want something? Here's something.
I stole a golden idol from a killer.
The people who hired me are probably
just as dangerous,
so, what were you gonna do
if you caught up with him, huh?
I don't know.
I hadn't thought that far ahead.
Think ahead now.
You let this go.
If somebody killed your mother,
would you let it go?
No. I wouldn't.
But I bet your mom wouldn't want you
to end up like her.
Get out of here.
Gloria Estabrook is coming over for tea?
Yeah.
But you don't like her.
You don't miss anything, super cop.
Watch it, or you'll have to start
paying your parking tickets.
Look, I don't want
more Gloria in my life,
but what am I gonna do?
Keep the boys away from their grandmother?
Fair point.
You can sit down, you know.
You look like you're responding
to a noise complaint.
I'm working.
You already caught me, remember?
- And you don't have a record.
- You're welcome.
Officer Hooper
has something she wants to say.
Come here.
The guy who got electrocuted
at the carnival the other day
came out of his coma and attacked
a hospital orderly on his way out.
Until we have him in custody,
be careful.
Okay? Stay in groups, and stay indoors.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
No problem.
Where were you guys?
Uh, I had an early shift at Wilt's.
Early pancakes at Wilt's.
Okay.
Well, let me know next time.
I don't want to guess.
Yeah. Yeah, sorry.
Frank.
Jesse, um,
did you get the name of the big guy
from the carnival?
Still no ID, but we'll find out.
- Right.
- Frank, come on.
Does Biff sneak around like that?
Trudy, she does patrols in the house
in the middle of the night
in case of burglars.
Right.
- Okay. I'm out.
- Okay.
See ya.
Where have you been?
I was delayed.
- Do you have it?
- No!
Do not fail me.
Well, that didn't go according to plan.
Wait, there was a plan?
Not helpful, Joe.
That was our best lead.
I bet Dad would know what to do.
So we need to start thinking like Dad.
What's all this stuff?
It's Dad's books I've been reading.
"Any crime scene should be studied
as quickly as possible
"to preserve evidence.
Degradation and contamination
increases with time."
So are you saying we need to go back?
I can go on my own, Joe. It's okay.
- You calling me chicken?
- No, I just
I don't want you to do something
you don't want to do.
I'm in.
Okay. Let's go.
Heading back out already?
- Uh, yeah.
- I got a double shift at Wilt's.
Double pancakes at Wilt's?
Uh, no. I'm gonna go hustle
some people at pinball.
Okay.
See ya.
Is this the last time
we're coming to a creepy warehouse?
Probably not.
This is where we lost him.
Let's retrace his steps.
See if we can find anything.
Looks like he didn't drop anything.
Well, I lost him at one point.
Something's always in
the last place you left it.
Did you get that from the manual?
That's weird.
That normally shines right through.
Maybe he went through there.
Frank, look.
What's that?
Does this look like the same thing
he was wearing?
It's the same color, I think.
Run!
Go, go, go!
Joe, the door!
Run!
Run.
And when we went back,
the tall man found us,
but Frank barred the door,
trapped him in the building,
and we ran right here.
So, the guy we helped at the beach
stole the idol from the guy
who attacked you at the carnival?
And killed everybody on Ern's boat.
So where is this thing
that everyone wants?
Put it away, Joe.
Why is it so important?
It made me really lucky at the carnival.
Like, I won every single game
that I played.
It's magic? Can we cast spells?
I have a wizard hat at home.
Of course you do.
We don't know what it is.
We just know that people want it.
Including a seven-foot-tall freak
who can survive enough electricity
to light up a carnival.
Yeah, and he's not gonna
stop looking for it,
so we're gonna use that
to our advantage.
- We're gonna trap him.
- You want to trap this guy?
He's probably an assassin.
Or a mercenary.
Or a spy.
That's a huge ask, guys.
Luring this guy out
and catching him ourselves?
That's crazy.
Look at this note my mom wrote.
She knew what it was.
See? She knew about the Astghik.
The boat that found the idol.
We think that all of this
has something to do with what
what got our mom murdered.
Oh, man.
She was she was murdered?
Yeah.
I'm so sorry, guys.
Listen, we just want to know
what she knew.
All right? And this tall guy
might have the only answers.
JB's gone, and we have no idea
who showed up at the warehouse
this morning.
If it was my mom, I'd do the same thing.
I'm in.
I'm in, too.
My mom's a cop.
Why don't we just tell her?
She's looking for this guy, anyway.
Because we don't know
who we can trust, Biff.
- You can't trust my mom?
- Listen, Biff.
He's not saying that
your mom's in on this.
He's just saying that
we don't know who is.
I'm sorry.
But if you can't trust my mom,
I'm out.
I'm not gonna tell anyone
what you guys are doing,
but I can't help you.
Phil?
Yeah, well
Well, I mean, this is, like,
everything I've ever wanted.
What do we do?
We know what he wants.
So we let him think that he can have it.
How are we gonna find him?
We won't need to.
He'll find us.
And when he does, we'll be ready.
We just have to figure out a way
to get him to Chet's farm.
But I think I know how we can do that.
Chet, we're going to need
to borrow your truck.
- I threw a bag of wet trash at him.
- Why would you do that?
I don't know. Just go!
- You think this thing's fast enough?
- He just needs to see us in it.
Go, go, go, go!
Scones can be very tricky, I know.
The top bit's okay.
So, I imagine Joseph
is a fairly accurate
facsimile of a young Fenton?
Oh, yes.
Fenton was such a terror.
I could do whatever I wanted.
No one was paying attention.
And what sort of mischief
did you get up to?
None.
Nothing at all.
Figured someone had to be good.
That's sad, isn't it?
Oh, no. You're young.
You have plenty of opportunities
to make up for lost time.
You're not telling me to be proper?
Oh, perish the thought.
Folks around here do not respect me
because they think I'm proper.
One is never obliged to be
what people expect.
I'm worried about Joe.
I'm afraid he might be acting out.
Well, you know,
that, that crazed teenager
held a knife to his throat.
And then that dreadful incident
at the carnival.
And you add to that
the loss of his mother
His father being away
It's a lot.
I imagine he'll settle down.
- Hope so.
- Well, he's not just his father's son.
He's also his mother's boy.
It's funny, I
Always thought more of Laura and Frank.
I agree.
Which is why I'm more concerned
about Francis right now.
He is exactly the same age as Laura was
when she decided to turn her back
on the Estabrook family.
And on me.
She was complicated.
And
I wouldn't have complications.
I was not a good mother, Trudy.
I'd like to be a good grandmother.
Would you help me try
for the boys?
I think it might be good for you, too.
- Oh, please.
- Don't ever try to analyze me.
We don't have enough time.
You sure he'll come?
Yeah. The truck definitely
got his attention.
Thanks for letting me borrow it,
by the way.
No problem.
If I can sneak up on you guys,
you might wanna rethink your plans.
I'm surprised you're here.
You know, you're dead wrong
about my mom, and you'll eat that.
But I wanted to help.
Even though you guys
are luring a killer
to an isolated location with no one to
hear you scream for miles around.
Well, I'm glad you're back.
A guy who could
barely fit in his car just drove by.
Get ready.
That's him.
- Okay, Joe. Go.
- All right.
You want it?
Come get it.
If I give this to you,
do you promise to leave me alone?
You will never see me again.
Then go get it.
Aw, I missed it?
Long run
from
Who are you?
We know you killed
all those people on the Astghik.
Who do you work for,
and what happened to Laura Hardy?
She was our mom. Why was she killed?
Okay, this isn't working.
You wanna get him to talk?
We should break a finger. Or two fingers.
Or no fingers. Yeah, never mind.
So, is this a good time
to call my mom?
Yeah, that sounds like
a good idea. Wait, guys.
I know this might be a little late
asking this now,
but how do we explain this?
We've literally got a guy in a cage.
It's not just the cops that
we have to explain this to.
Hello?
What's going on?
Uh, remember the tall guy?
We were hanging out at Chet's,
and he was just there.
He must have been hiding
in the corner or something.
- He's in custody.
- We'll find out who he is.
Everyone at the station is actually
kind of impressed with how
the kids handled this.
Impressed?
They trapped him in a cage.
I'm just glad you guys are okay.
- Thought you'd be angrier than this.
- Hey, boys.
- Thought I heard your voices.
- Grandma. Hi, Grandma.
- Hi, Jesse.
- Hi, Gloria.
- What are you doing here?
- What's this about?
I was just giving the boys a ride home,
and thought I'd, uh,
drop in and visit Trudy.
Oh, I see.
Well, that's nice.
I guess I'll be on my way.
And you, young man,
you have to take some time this evening
and fill out this application form
for the exam tomorrow.
- Okay.
- No excuses.
All right. Night-night.
Nice to see you, Jesse.
- Bye, Gloria.
- Thanks for the tea.
Anytime.
Okay, so what's going on?
Um where to start?
You feel better?
Nice big cage.
Not like the last one.
I have a few questions for you.
What's your name?
Do you know anything
about a boat called the Astghik?
Do you know a man
by the name of Ern Cullmore
who was on the Astghik?
Okay.
Can you tell me what happened
at the carnival?
Your prints are being circulated.
We'll find out who you are.
And what if I don't exist?
Last night, you guys
helped us with something huge.
And crazy.
And you didn't have to do that.
You're kidding, right?
That was like, the only exciting thing
that's happened in this town.
Well, besides the Ern stuff,
and the carnival, but
Okay. The point is, this town seems
a lot cooler since you guys got here.
Yeah.
And we're here to help you guys.
- However long it takes.
- Whatever it takes.
Thanks.
Our mom would really like you guys.
So
What's on this board?
That is what we think we know.
What we know we know is that
all the people we can trust are here
in this room.
So, it's up to us.
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