Fenton listened to Mr. Tanner as he spoke about his deceased wife. The man’s face seemed to glow as he reminisced. Mr. Tanner paused, his face filled with sadness. He shut his eyes and clenched his fists tightly. Once he controlled his emotions, Mr. Tanner opened his eyes and stared sadly at Fenton.

“Mr. Hardy – I know what happened to my wife was no accident. That’s why I came to you – I want you to find Clair Miller. If what my wife told me was true then this girl is responsible for Anne’s murder!”

“Mr. Tanner – I don’t know if you are aware but I have two sons who attend Bayport High. Principal Hayden had asked them to look into your wife’s accident…”

“What can two teenagers do?!” protested Mr. Tanner.

“You’d be surprised – Frank and Joe have helped me on quite a few cases and solved a few of their own!” replied Fenton proudly. “My boys told me about their investigation – they questioned a young girl who had been at the school at the time of the accident. They didn’t find anything suspicious, I’m afraid.”

Mr. Tanner slumped back into the chair, a defeated expression on his face. “I guess this means you won’t be taking my case?”

“I normally wouldn’t do this…but if it will help you with your grief, I’ll fly out to Chicago tomorrow morning and look up this Clair Miller.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hardy.”

*****

Holding hands, Phil and Lydia walked into the school cafeteria. Callie saw them walk in and beckoned them over. Kissing Phil on the cheek, Lydia went to join Callie and the rest of the gang. A few minutes later, Phil came back with two cups of hot chocolate.

“Hey, we’re missing two – where are Joe and Frank?” asked Phil as he sat down.

“That’s what we’d like to know!” laughed Tony.

“Well…speak of the devil! Here they come now!” Vanessa got up to greet Joe, with Callie following behind her.

Joe smiled when he saw Vanessa heading towards him. He drew her into a tight hug. Frank also gave Callie a hug before the foursome walked to the table. Joe popped the last remaining cinnamon roll into his mouth, much to Biff’s chagrin.

“Hey! Get your own food!” growled Biff although his eyes shone with laughter.

“What took you guys so long?” asked Chet making sure that Joe couldn’t reach his sweet roll.

“We drove Dad to the airport – there was an accident on the way back and we had to take a detour,” Frank explained as he swatted Joe’s hand away from Callie’s cheese Danish.

“Is your dad on a case and are you going to help him?” asked Vanessa.

“Yeah, will Van and I need to be prepared to get any missed school work?” Callie gave Frank a questioning look.

“I don’t think so,” replied Frank.

“Yeah, Dad just took the case to appease Mr. Tanner,” added Joe.

“Mr. Tanner – Mrs. Tanner’s husband?” Phil looked over at Joe.

“Yeah – poor man. He’s convinced that a former student murdered Mrs. Tanner.” Joe took a sip of Vanessa’s hot chocolate.

“Didn’t you say that Mrs. Tanner wanted to talk to the principal about a former student of hers?” asked Phil.

“Yeah, that’s what she said. Now Dad is going to Chicago to look up a Clair Miller,” Frank replied as he shared Callie’s hot chocolate.

Lydia quietly drank from her cup. She listened intently to Frank and Joe, her mind whirling. She had to do something – if Fenton Hardy found her class picture….Lydia wasn’t sure if Anne had shown her husband a picture of Clair Miller. She couldn’t take that chance.

Lydia took the bus home; she didn’t have to worry about Betsy. Ms. Chase was called in for jury duty. The young girl knew she had enough time before her foster mother came home. She didn’t get off at her designated stop; instead Lydia continued into town. She got off close to the warehouses near Barmet Bay. Lydia knew where to go – they all stayed at almost the same place.

She walked down the depleted streets till she spotted a small group of teens. One of the teens caught her attention; his stance and attitude made him seem to be the one in charge. Lydia walked over with a calm and strong manner.

“I heard you’re the guy to come to for…party favors.”

The teen straightened up, giving a silent signal to the other boys around him. They quietly walked away leaving their “friend” to tend to business.

“Who told you that?” he asked.

“I asked around…. So are you the guy or do I take my business somewhere else?” Lydia made a move to leave.

“Hold on, hot stuff!” The teen took hold of Lydia’s arm preventing her from leaving. “Tell Billy Boy what you need…and for a price I might be able to help you.”

“Roofies…I’m looking for roofies. I need two of them”

Billy Boy reached inside his coat pocket and took out a small plastic baggie with two pills inside. He held them out to Lydia.

“Fifty bucks and they’re yours.”

“An extra hundred and I was never here.” Lydia smiled as she showed Billy Boy the extra money.

“You were never here,” replied Billy with a sneer as he gave Lydia the pills and took her money.

*****

The following day, Lydia once again took the bus but not the same one as the previous day. She had mapped out her destination, and didn’t have any trouble getting to the street she was looking for. Ringing the bell to let the driver she wanted off - she got off a few blocks before her stop. There was a florist shop that she visited first. She then walked the remaining three blocks.

She stared at the small blue house with the white picket fence. Lydia thought it was a pretty house – a nice starter house for a newly married couple.

Sean Tanner poured himself another shot of Jack Daniels. He stared forlornly at the amber liquid. He knew he shouldn’t be drinking – it wasn’t going to do him any good. But it did help relieve the pain – for a little while anyway. Sean was about to take a drink when the doorbell rang. He set the shot glass down on the coffee table, stumbling as he went to the door. He was surprised to see a young girl holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Hello, Mr. Tanner – my name is…Melissa Caine. I’m a…Mrs. Tanner was my English teacher. I wanted to…extend my sympathies for your loss,” Lydia said with a sad smile.

Sean stared at the dark haired girl; he blinked a few times as his vision blurred. “I’m sorry…where are my manners? Please come in, Melissa.”

Sean led her into the living room, Lydia/Melissa noticed the half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels and the full shot glass. Sean gestured for her to sit down as he walked into the kitchen. Lydia took out the two Rohypnol pills and dropped them into the shot glass. Sean weaved his way back into the living room, a can of Coke in his hand.

“I brought you something to drink…please sit down.”

Sean slumped down on the sofa trying to appear more sober. Lydia saw him eyeing the drink.

“It’s all right Mr. Tanner….” Lydia pushed the drink towards him. “It’ll make you feel better.”

Sean smiled gratefully at her as he picked up the glass and drank down the whiskey. Lydia sat staring at Sean Tanner waiting patiently for the drugs to work.

“Oooh…room’s…ssspinning…” slurred Sean. He made an attempt to stand, and Lydia went over to him.

“Let me help you,” she said softly.

“Mmm….room…that…way.” Sean raised his hand to point towards his bedroom.

“Yes, yes…must get you in bed,” Lydia assured him as she led him towards the kitchen and out the side door to the garage.

Sean leaned heavily on the young girl – he wanted to tell her that she was going in the wrong direction but for some reason he couldn’t. He was having a hard time speaking. He was vaguely aware of being led into the garage…getting into the car…the turn of the engine…the click as the door was locked. He rested his head against the headrest. He wanted to get out but he was sooo sleepy. He made a feeble attempt to open the door but his hand fell to his lap.

“I’ll just rest a minute,” thought Sean. “Then I’ll open the door…go to bed.” He closed his eyes.

Lydia threw the flowers away in the trash can while she waited for the bus to take her home. She glanced at her watch and smiled. She would make it home in time for Phil’s call.

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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.