HDA - Where Troubles Melt by Cherylann Rivers Introduction

Back in Bayport the next day, the boys decided to discuss the case with their father. They'd been given a lot of clues, and it was now a matter of putting them together. Although they didn't necessarily want to involve their father, they were beginning to run out of ideas. So, they sat down in their living room before dinner the following evening, where Frank just finished filling his father in on the developments they had discovered.

"Hmmm," Fenton said thoughtfully, once Frank had finished speaking. "This certainly seems to be the same pattern, or a similar pattern, at least, to the case I cracked."

"And they used your name, dad," Frank reminded his father.

"Yeah, I definitely think that these guys were giving us clues for some reason. It's almost like they want us to pursue them. Vanessa came up with that," Joe added at the last moment.

Fenton smiled, and replied, "Well, Joe, it is an interesting idea that your girlfriend has, and I think there may be something to it." The smile then slowly disappeared as he continued. "But, if this is true, then you boys should, perhaps, lay off this case for a while. I'll certainly use any resources that I have to contact federal authorities, since the local police and detectives only have so much jurisdiction. Clearly, there's a pattern somewhere."

Frank felt troubled by this, and finally, clearing his throat, he cut in. "Dad. We're not getting off this case. We've come this far. Look, you should just be careful here while we go away and check these robberies out. Any help you could give, though, in terms of maybe interviewing the Wilkins or Smith families yet again, would be a help to us. Maybe the national computers can detect things we can't." Frank continued, with a sigh. "That is, if the government is even willing to help on this. I mean, these robberies aren't exactly serious."

Fenton reached over and gently touched Frank's shoulder. "Son," he said, "Your mother, aunt, and myself will be just fine. Worry about yourselves. I'll certainly pull strings; it was my case, after all, and you seem to have some new circumstantial evidence that these families are aware of the robberies and may be in contact with the men. If the government won't help, I have friends who will. AND," he added, as a final thought, "if these men are behind the robberies, that means that they will be leading you to something, and whatever that something is, it's serious. Remember, they promised the world's greatest heist. Please, be careful, and keep me informed."

"We will, dad," Joe promised his father.

"Now," Fenton said, standing up, "dinner should be ready in a few minutes. Make sure you're upstairs. And, I should warn you-your aunt Gertrude made her cauliflower surprise to eat with mom's lamb, and you WILL eat it and compliment her on her effort. Do I make myself clear?"

Joe groaned. "Could the surprise part be that I toss it out the window when she isn't looking?" he asked, timidly.

Fenton laughed despite himself, and then quickly rearranged his face to look serious again. "No, Joseph, that cannot be the surprise. See you in a few." He turned, and ventured into the kitchen.

Left alone, Joe faced his brother. "Okay, Frank, so what do we do now?" he asked. "Anything to delay going to dinner is fine by me."

Frank gave Joe a small smile, but Joe could still see the sadness in his eyes, and he immediately wanted to help. "Um, have you heard the news from Callie's doctor yet?" he asked, hoping to get some sort of response from Frank.

His brother glanced at his watch. "No," he said, softly. "But her doctor keeps later hours in the summer, since he's in practice with a lot of people. So, maybe she'll hear tonight." Joe heard Frank's voice quiver a bit as he had finished his last sentence.

"It'll be okay, Frank. Really," Joe replied. He hated to see Frank hurting, and he had a feeling that the worst was still yet to come.

"Yeah, thanks," Frank responded, unable to meet his brother's eyes. He wanted to break down, but he couldn't. Frank took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking about the whole irony of the situation. He was trying to be strong for Callie, and she was trying to be strong for him. Sooner or later, Frank knew, if the news was bad, the facade would all come crashing down- it had to. He only hoped it would be Callie's facade, and that he wouldn't be the one to lose it in front of her. He opened his eyes and looked at Joe, who was studying him with intensity. Thank God he knows, Frank said silently to himself. I don't think I could get through this without him. Still, Frank hated to rely on Joe. He was the older brother, and he'd always taken care of Joe. That wasn't about to start to change now.

He forced himself to give Joe a smile, saying, "Joe, man, I'm here. You're making me nervous staring at me like that. Do I have something wrong with me?"

Joe sighed, having missed yet another opportunity to get Frank to talk to him. With an equally forced smile, he responded, "Not anything more than usual "

"Thanks," Frank responded, wryly.

Joe chuckled. "That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"Well, "Joe said at last, "Do you think we should check the computer one last time before dinner? You know dad has it set with national coverage, and we should check out any robberies that may have happened yesterday or today that were headed West."

"Sure," Frank replied, happy to have his thoughts diverted. He booted up the laptop that his dad always kept in the living room, much to his aunt's chagrin, who constantly complained about how it ruined the décor. In a few moments, Frank and Joe were looking at the computer with eyes hungry for more information.

"Oh, man…." Joe muttered under his breath. "There," he said, pointing at the screen. "That's got to be it."

Frank squinted, and saw the caption to which Joe was referring on the CNN channel. "Stupid Robbery or Stupid Thieves?" it read.

"Okay," Frank said with a sigh. "Let's see what this one is about."

Frank and Joe read the article, which indicated that another heist had taken place, in broad daylight. Somehow, no alarms had been activated. The car was the same, as was the license plate, and the time of the robbery was 1:00, which would fit the pattern as well. Joe's eyes grew wide as he read what was taken. "Gold bangles?!" he exclaimed, surprised. "Are these guys out of their minds or what? Who on earth would go to a jewelry store filled with probably millions of dollars of stuff, and take gold bangle bracelets?"

"That's because they don't care what they're taking, Joe," Frank replied, looking at his brother. "They're sending US a message, and they're not in it for the money. They're in it for revenge," he said, simply.

"That's a lot to risk, Frank. I mean, any robbery in the daylight…. Come on. This is crazy!" Joe said, frustrated. "It makes no sense!" He HATED being this puzzled by a case.

"Well, let's see what we do know," Frank replied calmly, ignoring Joe's outburst. He had long experienced the fact that the best way to handle Joe's impulsiveness and temper was to let it simmer on its own. Joe was like a bright fire that would rise quickly, but burn out just as fast.

"Fine!" Joe sighed. "This time it was at a town called Klarksville, in Nebraska. The jewelry store is called Owen's. It took place at 1:00- bingo!- and gold bangles, of all things, were taken. Everything else is the same, right down to the car, license plate, and general modus operandi."

Frank was silent for a moment, studying the screen. "Hey, Joe," he replied, after a few minutes, "Look at this." He pointed to a general map of the United States. "See how the progression of these events has been West? New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Missouri, and now Nebraska. What do you make of that?"

Joe's mind was blank. "I thought we already said that it's moving west."

Frank tried to be patient. "Yes, I know that, Joe. I just said that. But look at the last two states-they're a lot closer together than the former ones. I mean, that may not mean anything necessarily, but… well, maybe it does."

Joe shook his head. Frank was too much sometimes. "Yeah, well, we'd need to see where the next robbery would be before we can say if it has any significance or not, right?"

Frank was still bothered by it. "You can't go too much further west, that's all I'm saying."

"Do you want to go all the way out there and check it out?" Joe asked. He was beginning to get jet lag from all of this traveling. Plus, he had to ask what he hoped to find out there. They knew it was related just by the facts on the screen.

"Actually," Frank said slowly, "Yeah, I would. And I don't want to come home this time. I just have a hunch-that's all it is, really- that based on the pattern, the next one will be in the general area. AND, I'd like to find out what the heck is out there that we're mysteriously being summoned to."

"Um, okay, I guess," Joe responded, hesitantly. He ignored the phone that was ringing upstairs, presuming his aunt would get it. Sure enough, it soon stopped ringing. "Well," he said, a smile beginning to form, "Maybe if Vanessa is available I can take her, too. We may not be getting answers, but I am having a good time spending all this quality time with my girlfriend!"

"Do you really want her out there, if there's danger?" Frank pushed.

"There won't be any danger. There hasn't been thus far," Joe countered. There was no way he'd be leaving for who knew how long without Vanessa, if he could help it.

Frank was about to reply when he heard his mother call into the room. "Boys, dinner is ready! Frank, before you come, Callie is on the phone. She says she needs to talk to you. Just ask her to make it quick, okay? You can call her later."

Frank's face drained of color as he met Joe's eyes. "Go ahead," Joe said softly, tilting his head in the direction of the phone. "I'll be right here."

"I'd prefer to get this one alone, for now," Frank replied uneasily.

"Okay, then," Joe said. He looked closely at his brother before leaving the room. "I'm right here. Remember what I told you before-everything will be okay." He left the room.

With trembling hands, Frank thought, I hope so, as he picked up the receiver…..

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The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow them without express permission of the authors.