Amber came down the spiral staircase and headed for the main dining room. She pushed her glasses up; her parents didn’t know that she had gotten contacts. Running her fingers through her hair and making sure her clothes were wrinkle free, Amber entered the dining room and took her seat at the dinner table.

Edwina Camille Sutherland glanced at her daughter, a slight frown on her face. “Really Ambrosia – how many times must I tell you we do not wear casual wear at the dinner table? Couldn’t you have found something more appropriate to wear?”

“I’m sorry Mother. I just came in and didn’t have time to change.”

“I hope you at least washed up!” said a scandalized Edwina.

“Now Edwina darling, you know our little princess would never come to the dinner table with dirty hands!” Alfred Sutherland smiled warmly at his only daughter.

“Humph! You coddle the girl too much Alfred! You always have – I’ll be the judge on her dirty hands.” She turned to face Amber, a stern expression on her face. “Well, don’t just sit there like a lump on a log! Show me your hands!”

With her eyes lowered, Amber quietly stood up and presented the palms of her hands to her mother. She waited with bated breath; if her mother thought that she had not washed her hands thoroughly….Amber breathed a sigh of relief when a small smile appeared on Edwina’s face.

“You may sit down, Ambrosia, and please ring the bell for dinner.”

Edwina gazed at her only child and sighed. She had such high hopes when Amber was born. Attending the best schools…going to the best parties…her coming out party…meeting only the finest people….becoming engaged to a member of a good family. Unfortunately things didn’t work out that way. Edwina had thought Amber was a beautiful child when she was born.

‘She was a beautiful baby,’ Edwina reminisced, her eyes glazing over with fondness. She glanced over at her husband and frowned. Instead of the fine smooth features of her family, Amber’s looks leaned more towards the Sutherland side of the family – with their pinched features and mousy-colored hair. Although, thought Edwina – Amber was trying to better herself! She had, after all, changed the color of her hair. If she would only get rid of those God-awful glasses!

Edwina cringed, Alfred was laughing at something Amber had told him. Every time he laughed she was reminded of a barking seal. She once again turned her attention towards Amber, wishing not for the first time that Amber had taken after her side of the family. The Andersons may not have come from money but at least they looked like they did! And why, oh why, did Amber have to take a position as a waitress!? When Edwina had forced Amber to find a job, she had thought her daughter would work in an executive office or as an assistant to the Mayor! One call from her husband and Amber could have had any city job! Instead she was a lowly waitress. Edwina came out of her reverie; something Alfred said caught her attention.

‘What did you say, Alfred?”

“I was telling Amber that tomorrow I would take her out riding. It’s been a long time since we’ve done that.” Alfred smiled fondly at his daughter.

Edwina let out a loud sigh. “Alfred, once again you have forgotten – Ambrosia, you’ll have to go out riding on your own. Your father and I are leaving early tomorrow morning for Cancun.”

“You’re going on another vacation? You just got back from visiting Australia two days ago!” Amber stared down at her plate – she didn’t want her mother to see the happy gleam in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, darling but I can’t cancel the reservation. You did a fine job of taking care of the house. I’m sure you’ll do another fine job while we are away.”

“Thank you, Mother. I’ll do my very best!” Amber gave Edwina a shy smile, all the while thinking of the time she would have with her Prince Charming.

Joe shifted, trying to get in a more comfortable position, but there wasn’t one. His shoulders and arms were aching and his head was still pounding. He had become accustomed to the darkness and could make out several shelves. He could just make out a bottled shape resting inside the shelves. Joe wondered if he was in a wine cellar, although he always thought that they were cooler and dry, not wet and dank.

His stomach rumbled, causing Joe to wonder if Amber was going to come back with some food. He hoped so, he was really hungry.

*****

Mr. Prito was surprised to see his son and his friends enter the restaurant. He had locked up an hour ago and was now going through the day’s receipts.

“The party over already?” he asked.

“Pop, is Amber’s job application still on your desk?”

“Yeah, I think so. Why, is something wrong with Amber?”

“Something’s wrong, all right,” mumbled Tony as he entered the back room. He came out a few seconds later with a piece of paper in his hand. “Found it! Here’s the address she gave us.”

“Ritzy neighborhood,” said Biff.

“Yeah, wait till Frank sees this.” Chet was peering over Tony’s shoulder.

“We better get going if we’re going to meet up with Frank at his house.” Phil nudged the group towards the door.

Saying their goodbyes to Mr. Prito, they left the restaurant and drove to the Hardy home.

*****

The convenience store was located on the outskirts of Bayport’s city limits. It didn’t take Frank all that long to reach his destination, as he was driving over the speed limit. Callie kept glancing anxiously at her boyfriend, noting the tense expression on his face. They saw Vanessa standing outside the store, pacing nervously. Frank barely had time to stop the car before Vanessa was attempting to open the back passenger door. She jumped in, buckled her seatbelt and urged Frank to hurry.

“Do you think you can take us back to where you were held?” asked an anxious Frank.

“I...I think so…I don’t know! I was sooo scared and agitated because I didn’t know where I was!”

“Take it easy, Van.” Callie had turned around in her seat to face her friend. She held out her hand to Vanessa who took it gratefully. “Take a deep breath and try and calm down – I know it’s hard but you’ve got to! Close your eyes and think…go back to where you started out.”

“Okay….I know I was in a stable because when I first came to I was wondering why I was in the Morton barn….I thought…I thought I saw some lights….There was a house but it was too far away…my Jeep was gone so I took that girl’s….Amber, you said?”

“Yeah, Amber…she’s the waitress Joe helped out.”

“She left the keys in the car and thankfully forgot to lock the doors. I drove away from the house and came across a dirt road…I drove around a lot because I kept making a lot of wrong turns until I finally found the main road.”

“All right….just keep a sharp eye out and see if you can remember which road you turned off from,” Frank said, trying to sound calm.

After an hour of searching Frank reluctantly gave up and headed to meet with the rest of the gang. He had only wanted to go to the stall to search for clues. A part of him thought that Joe might be there also, but he had another strong feeling that he was not.

“I’m sorry, Frank! I should have paid more attention to my surroundings!” Vanessa said, choking on tears.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Vanessa. You were in an area that you’re not familiar with – you were scared, and don’t forget, drugged!” replied Frank in a soothing tone.

“What are your parents going to say when we all show up at the house?” asked Callie.

“They may not be home just yet. Chief Collig took the night off and they went to his house to play bridge.”

“Your dad and Chief Collig play bridge?!” laughed Callie. “I can picture them playing poker but not bridge!”

“Oh yeah, and from what I heard from Mom, they get pretty vicious!”

The laughter that followed helped to relieve some of the tension they were feeling. It didn’t last very long but it did help.

*****

Joe was nodding off to sleep when he heard a door open and shut. True to her word, Amber had come back with some food. She walked in carrying a tray which she placed on the floor. She turned to face him, a solemn expression on her face.

“If I unlock your arms you have to promise not to try and hurt me. Because if you do….” Amber left the threat hanging. “I’m going to leave your leg irons on but you’ll be able to sit down and feed yourself…unless you want me to feed you?!”

Joe knew he outweighed Amber and could easily subdue her but…he wasn’t sure if she had a weapon. He didn’t see one but that didn’t mean anything. For now he would play it safe and wait.

“I won’t hurt you Ambrosia…that’s a promise.”

Amber smiled as she took a key from her pants pocket, her hand brushing lightly against the syringe. She unlocked the iron cuffs around his wrists and backed away. Joe slid down on the floor, trying not to groan.

Amber sat across from Joe and then lifted the cover, revealing the food she brought. She handed him a small bowl of soup and a plastic spoon.

“It’s chicken chowder….mother isn’t too fond of seafood.”

Joe tried not to make a face….he’d much prefer clam chowder but he didn’t have a choice. He took a small sip…it was a little cold but good. When he was done Amber handed him a plate that was filled with what looked like linguini.

“That’s black truffle and parmesan linguini with grilled chicken, Cook’s specialty!”

“Is that asparagus?”

“Yes! And for dessert I brought berry cheesecake! Also here’s some mixed berry lemonade.”

“Thank you.” He gave Amber a smile as he took a drink.

When he was done, Amber moved the tray aside and got up. She walked around one of the shelves and dragged out a cot. She went back and brought back a pillow and blanket. She made Joe’s bed, then picked up the tray.

“Um…Amber….What if I have to um…well…go to the little boy’s room?”

“Oh! Don’t worry….Once my parents are asleep I’ll sneak you upstairs to one of the guestrooms. Rest for now!”

As Amber climbed up the stairs Joe began to plan a way to escape.

Dear Diary,

Tonight is the night…tonight he will realize that we belong together!

Let the author know what you think of this story

Home Library Authors Rogue's Gallery Vehicles Chums Message Board Rap Sheet Links Contact

Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency 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 original characters without express permission of the authors.