The Case of the Psychic's Vision by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

kept trying to block them.”
    â€œThat’s too bad,” Joe said. “We need all the clues we can get.”
    â€œI didn’t want to cause my family any more trouble, but I haven’t been too successful at blocking all the images,” Colin said. “Sometimes the visions are just too strong to keep out of my head.”
    â€œWhat does that mean?” Joe asked.
    â€œIt usually means that whoever I’m getting them from is under a lot of stress,” Colin replied.
    Frank frowned. “Well, if Melanie is sending them, she sure didn’t look like she was under a lot of stress today.”
    â€œShe may not be the only one,” Colin said. “Whoever kidnapped her may be thinking about what happened and I may be receiving both their thoughts. That’s what could be making the signals so strong.”
    â€œYou mean Melanie and whoever kidnapped her are psychic?” Joe asked.
    Colin shook his head. “You don’t have to be psychic to think, Joe,” he said. “We can all think. But you do have to have a well-developed psychic ability to receive the messages. I was born that way. And, like I said, people can develop their psychic abilities over a period of time.”
    â€œWell, I’m not having much luck,” Joe said. “I haven’t received any messages since yesterday when Mom was thinking about the CDs I ordered.”
    â€œI’m not having much luck, either,” Frank added. He didn’t say that he wasn’t quite sure he wanted tobe psychic. Truly, if it meant dealing with what Colin had to deal with on a daily basis, he’d turn it down. “But that’s not solving this mystery.”
    â€œShould we tell Dad?” Joe asked.
    Frank shook his head. “We’ll keep it among the three of us for the time being,” he said. “We need to figure out a plan of action first. We also need to decide why we’re really doing this.”
    â€œI can tell you why,” Colin interjected. “Melanie didn’t want to leave. The man was taking her by force.”
    No one said anything for several minutes. The three of them continued to eat cookies and think about how they wanted to proceed.
    Finally Frank said, “From what I’ve heard, Melanie Johnson is never at home in the evenings. She’s always at a party or at the movies or just driving around. I think Joe and I should follow her and see if we can pick up some clues.”
    â€œI’ll come along,” Colin said.
    â€œI don’t think that’s a good idea,” Frank said. “You’re not exactly the most popular person at Bayport High School now.”
    â€œIf Melanie saw you with us, she’d really be suspicious,” Joe added. “As it is, we’ll still have to make sure she doesn’t spot us.”
    Colin reluctantly agreed. “What I can do, though,” he added, “is to stop blocking the messages I’ve been receiving about Melanie.”
    â€œThat would be good,” Joe said. “We’ll need every bit of information we can put together to solve this mystery.”
    Joe had some homework he had to get started on, so Frank drove Colin home. He got back just in time for dinner.
    Neither one of the boys felt like talking much at the table, but Aunt Gertrude seemed interested in what was happening to Nella and Colin.
    â€œWhat do the kids at school think about them?” she asked. “Do they make fun of their psychic abilities?”
    â€œSometimes,” Joe mumbled. He took a big bite of mashed potatoes to keep from having to explain.
    â€œFigures,” Aunt Gertrude said, more to herself than to anyone else. “I’ll never understand people who don’t keep open minds.”
    Frank looked over at Joe. They were thinking the same thing—that that sounded strange coming from Aunt Gertrude. She was one of the most opinionated people they knew.
    Through the rest of