Lydia sat in the kitchen with her foster mother. Betsy had been worried when Lydia had called informing her that classes had been cancelled, and had become even more alarmed when she read Principal Hayden’s note informing her of Anne Tanner’s death. Lydia had spent the last fifteen minutes assuring Betsy that she was fine and hadn’t seen anything. They were now enjoying some hot chocolate when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll go see who it is – maybe it’s the mailman delivering that sweater you ordered!” Lydia giggled as she went to answer the door.

“Oh I hope so! It feels like it’s taking forever to get here!” laughed Betsy Chase.

Phil stood nervously at the front door. When he had finished talking with Frank, he borrowed his mother’s car and drove to the Chase home. Phil had been so worried that he didn’t even think about how he got so flustered around Lydia. But if the young girl had seen someone other than the janitor…Phil shuddered and didn’t want to think of the consequences.

“Phil, this is a nice surprise!”

“Hello, Lydia – I was…Frank called me and I, uh…I was worried about you.”

“You were? Oh, I’m sorry – come in before you catch cold!” Lydia stepped back to let Phil inside the house.

“Oh, hello, Phil.” Betsy had come to check on Lydia. “How are you – is the school going to provide any counseling for the students?”

“I’m not sure but knowing Principal Hayden I’m sure they will.”

“Why don’t you come into the kitchen? Lydia and I are having some hot chocolate – come join us.”

As he sat in the cozy kitchen, Phil found that he couldn’t question Lydia. He would call Frank later to tell him he couldn’t do it. Besides, Phil thought, Frank would know what questions to ask Lydia.

*****

When Phil told Frank that he couldn’t bring himself to question Lydia, the other boy called Ms. Chase to arrange taking Lydia to school. That morning as he and Joe waved to Ms. Chase as Lydia got into the van, Frank waited till Joe turned the corner before speaking with her.

“Lydia, Phil told us that you arrived at the school early yesterday morning.”

“Yes I did. I was in the library – why do you ask?” A curious expression was on her face.

“Principal Hayden asked us to look into the…accident. Joe and I were wondering if you saw anyone suspicious.”

“I thought I saw the janitor on my way to my locker but I didn’t see anyone else…well, except for Mrs. Baxter!”

“Where’s you locker located?” asked Joe.

“Fairly close to the school office.”

“That’s in the new part of the school,” mused Frank.

“Actually, Frank, it depends on how close to the school office her locker is located!” commented Joe. “They did remodel part of the original structure.”

“True but it’s not considered the new part of the school! The stairs that Mrs. Tanner fell from are in the old building and those are closer to the library.”

“Oh, I didn’t use those stairs. I know it’s a longer route but…my shoes felt slippery and I didn’t want to go up those steep steps. So I went up the stairs on the opposite side.”

“Oh,” sighed a disappointed Frank.

“At least now we can tell Phil not to be worried anymore,” Joe said, trying to lighten up the mood.

“Why is Phil worried? Was he worried about…me?!” Lydia moved forward, squeezing Frank’s arm.

Frank patted her hand reassuringly. “Since you were at the school when the accident happened – Phil thought…”

“Thought what? It was an accident – wasn’t it?!”

Frank and Joe glanced at each other. His eyebrows raised, Joe gave Frank a slight nod then turned his attention back to driving. Frank turned to face Lydia, giving her his full attention.

“Principal Hayden has doubts about Mrs. Tanner’s fall being an accident. She asked Joe and me to look into it. Phil was worried that you may have seen someone at the school – and that person could have been the murderer.”

“And if I had seen anyone…they might think I saw what happened – right?” asked Lydia fearfully.

“Yes, that’s why we offered to take you to school – so we could question you.” Frank gave Lydia an apologetic look.

“You guys are so sweet,” smiled Lydia. “And Phil – is that why he came by yesterday?”

“Yeah, we thought it might be easier for you to talk to him but in the end he couldn’t bring himself to ask you anything,” Frank smiled in return.

“My poor Phil!”

Frank and Joe smiled at each other. They were happy for their friend. Lydia seemed like a really nice girl and they were glad that she cared for Phil. Joe reached the school and turned into the parking lot and found a close parking space. Frank was helping Lydia out of the van when Phil ran up to them.

“Oh Phil – you are so sweet!” Lydia flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tight.

The rest of the day Phil felt as if he were walking on a cloud. Several times Frank had to nudge him, once when Chet asked him a question, then when he almost walked past his locker. Phil kept reliving that hug. He could still smell the fruity scent of Lydia’s shampoo. He couldn’t believe that someone as pretty and smart as Lydia cared for him! He let out a happy sigh as he walked to his locker.

“Oh jeez, Phil! Will you quit smiling already?!” teased Tony who had heard from Joe about “the hug.”

“Yeah, Phil – people are starting to stare!” Chet smiled at his friend.

“Don’t listen to them, Phil,” said Vanessa, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “They’re just jealous that they don’t have someone who would want to hug them!”

Blushing, Phil laughed along with his friends as he put away his books.

“Will you be riding home with Frank and Joe?” asked Vanessa.

“No…Tuesdays and Thursdays I tutor a few freshmen in the computer classroom. My mom will be picking me up later.”

“There’s always tomorrow!” Vanessa gave Phil a small smile.

“See you tomorrow, Phil.” Tony lightly patted his friend on the back as he left.

“Yeah, see ya later, Phil!” Chet waved goodbye, running after Tony.

Sketching a wave, Vanessa hurried to meet Joe before he left, leaving Phil alone in the hallway. Glancing at his watch, Phil closed his locker and walked quickly to the classroom.

*****

Later that night, Lydia sat quietly on her bed. Her room was bathed in darkness. She couldn’t sleep – her thoughts were running amok. She kept replaying the conversation with Frank and Joe. What did Principal Hayden know? Had Mrs. Tanner told her of her suspicions? Lydia didn’t think so – otherwise the principal would have called her into the office.

Just how good were the Hardy brothers as detectives? Lydia chewed on her lower lip wondering just how much trouble the Hardys were going to be. So far they didn’t suspect her – in fact they had thought she might be a potential victim! Maybe she could use that to her advantage!

A small smile on her face, Lydia got under the covers. She closed her eyes – ‘Yes, it could work’, she thought as she drifted to sleep.

*****

Sean Tanner stood nervously on the porch, not sure if the man would be able to help him. He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. He could hear soft footsteps, then the door opened. A pretty petite blonde woman stood smiling at him.

“Hello, are you Mr. Tanner?” asked the woman.

“Yes ma’am, I’m here to see Mr. Fenton Hardy.”

“Come in, I’m Laura Hardy – Fenton is my husband. He’s in his office, follow me.”

Sean followed Laura to a room that was located next to the stairs. Knocking once, Laura opened the door.

“Fenton, Mr. Tanner is here.” Moving aside to let Sean pass, Laura gave him an encouraging smile.

Fenton stood up, holding out his hand towards Mr. Tanner. “Hello Mr. Tanner. How can I help you?”

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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.