HDA - Where Troubles Melt by Cherylann Rivers Introduction

The next day Joe sat in his room staring at the computer screen that lay before him. He was trying to search for any leads he could think of that would help him and Frank on the case. Clearly, the robberies in Bayport and Radley were connected—but how? And why? He had spent several hours searching a national database for a license plate that read "Totowa," but had no luck thus far. And, try as he might to track down Oldsmobile Toronados, he had no luck there, either. All he could do at this point was wait it out, and see if there was another robbery taking place. Joe sighed. He hated to wait.

Joe leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Maybe the reason he couldn’t concentrate on the case was because he was so concerned about Frank. He couldn’t believe that Callie was actually pregnant! The very thought caused him to shudder involuntarily. I’m all for being an uncle, he couldn’t help but to think to himself, but not for another few years, at least! He shook his head and sighed, exasperated. This was some mess. Frank was so bright, and had an incredible future in front of him—how could Callie ruin all of that?

Joe stood up and stretched, looking out the window longingly. He hated being cooped up. He couldn’t stop thinking about Frank, though. He knew, logically, that it obviously wasn’t all Callie’s fault, but he couldn’t help but to blame her for what was happening. Maybe, he thought, I should just take a ride over there and find out for myself what she’s planning on doing. He was pleased with the idea. If nothing else, it’d get him away from all this research for a while. That was normally up Frank’s alley, but Frank was speaking with his father and doing some research of his own, trying to track down the criminals who were involved in Fenton’s crime racket years ago. Personally, Joe didn’t think there was any connection, but Frank was right—sometimes odd things did happen on cases.

Just as he was about to leave for Callie’s, the phone rang. After the second ring, Joe picked it up.

"Hello?" He said into the speaker.

"Joe? Oh, hey. It’s Iola."

Joe froze. What could Iola want? He was still very close to her, but since their split, things were awkward, to say the least. Still, he did care for her. He paused, deciding what to say next.

"Um, hello? Joe? Are you still there?" Iola’s voice snapped him back to reality.

Not wanting to sound like an idiot, Joe finally spoke. "Oh. Hi, Iola! How are you? What’s new?"

Joe heard her take a deep breath on the other end of the line. Good. She was nervous, too. Suddenly, he didn’t feel so awkward.

"Joe? I’m sorry to bother you, but Tony was just here. He was hanging out with Chet. I happened to be home, and he was telling me about the robbery that Frank had been involved with. Anyway, I assume that’s the case you’re working on now. Is it? I mean… can you tell me that?" Iola felt awkward, as she found herself tripping over her words. Here heart was pounding in her chest. She had wanted so badly to speak with Joe, and now that she was, she felt ridiculous. Ease was a hard thing to fake.

Joe was surprised. Why did Iola want to know about their case? He didn’t see the harm in telling her, though. "Um, yeah. Actually, it is." Suddenly, Joe felt like he was talking to an old friend. Iola had always been smart—maybe she could offer some insight on the case. Joe found himself telling her all about their leads, his father’s theory, and the connection to the burglary in Radley. When he was done, he happened to glance at the clock. He had rambled on to her for fifteen minutes non-stop. He bit his lip. Maybe that had been taking things a bit too far, too soon.

Iola listened patiently at the other end of the line. She tried to be even-keeled in her responses to Joe, but secretly, she was hanging on to every word. It felt so wonderful for Joe to talk to her again like this! She longed for the days when she had been his sole confidant. However, as she listened to him go on and felt herself getting excited, she caught sight of her reflection in her bedroom mirror. The girl who stared back at her was not the same girl who had once been there. She was not, above all, Joe Hardy’s girlfriend any longer.

When she heard silence, finally, at the other end of the line, she shook herself out of her reverie. She had, after all, called Joe for a purpose. "Um—wow, Joe, that’s interesting," she said. With an inward groan, Iola realized how dorky she sounded. "Wow." Nice going, Iola, she thought.

"Yeah, it is," she heard Joe reply.

Iola continued to speak. "Joe, I don’t have any real ideas right now, but I did call you for three reasons. First, I wanted to tell you that I’ve been watching television, and they mentioned that another weird robbery had taken place. Until I called you, I had no idea that there would be so many similarities, but …. Well, now I think there might be. Second, I kind of wanted to offer my help. Remember when we were younger? One of my favorite subjects was always science, and I loved learning about rocks and stones. Remember that jewelry book you bought me once?" She laughed, then decided it might not be appropriate. "Um, the point is that I know a lot about stones, so maybe I could help you."

Joe’s interest was piqued. That’s right- Iola did know a lot about that stuff. "Thanks, Iola. I might take you up on your offer. What did you hear on the news?"

Iola answered. "There was some sort of robbery of sapphires, but nothing else in the store was taken. I happened to be watching the national news—I have a lot of time on my hands these days." She giggled nervously. "But- anyway, the store was called Larkin Jeweler’s, I think, and it took place in—hold on. Let me check. I wrote it down." She returned a minute later. "The name of the town is called Idaria, and it’s in West Virginia."

Joe was taken aback. "What made you even think of me, Iola?" he asked.

She paused, thinking to herself that she always thought of him. Out loud, she said, "Well, as I said before, Tony was here. Plus, I’ve always been interested in jewelry. The fact that only sapphires were taken is weird. And, the only sapphires that were taken were a rare type called and Iolite, which is like a water sapphire. They come in violet blue and yellow gray variations. I mean, who would think to take only those kinds?"

Joe whistled. "When did this take place?"

"Around noon, I think. Yeah- that’s it. Noon." Iola felt happy to be able to help.

Joe was excited. Today there had been a new robbery, albeit in West Virginia. He wanted to talk to Frank right away. Maybe this was related to their case. It sure sounded like it was. Still, he wanted to be polite. "Thanks, Iola. You’ve been a great help. You said you called for three reasons. What was the third?"

There was a pause. Finally, he heard Iola say, "To say hi."

Joe couldn’t help but to smile. "Well, I’m glad you did."

"Me, too." Iola cleared her throat. "I’ll let you get going. I’m sure you want to run things past Frank. I… hope I helped, and my offer still stands."

"Bye, Iola."

"Bye, hon…I mean Joe." She clicked off before Joe could respond. He stared at the receiver in his hand. That phone call had been informative, refreshing, awkward, and just plain confusing all in one.

Still, he placed the receiver back into its cradle, and ran down the stairs to speak to his brother. If this was a lead, then he knew that he and Frank had to figure out what the pattern was before another heist took place. There was no tangible pattern, and very little evidence. Still, it was just this type of impossible case that started Joe’s creative juices flowing more than anything else.

For the moment, all thoughts of visiting Callie Shaw vanished from his mind.

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Disclaimer

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.