Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Cindy Kai slowly opened her eyes, but even that slight motion brought waves of nausea and her head thumped in pain. Resisting the urge to just go back to sleep, she peered through the dimly lit gloom of the room, trying to get her bearings.

The floor consisted of packed dirt, and the walls were cement block. The ceiling was unpainted wood. There was only one metal door with a small window in the top portion of it.

Cindy tried to sit up and realized that both her wrists and ankles were securely tied. She scooted to the wall and pushed herself up. The only light was coming from the window. It was dark outside and only the moon provided any light in the small room.

‘I must be in some kind of shed or something,’ the brown-eyed woman surmised. ‘How’d I get here? I was going to call Sarah...Oh, Lord! My girls!’ Cindy felt tears filling her eyes as she thought how worried the girls would be by now.

"Get a grip, girl," she admonished herself out loud. "No time to be a whiney wimp. Never thought that was very becoming anyway." She pushed herself up the wall until she was standing. Hopping, she made her way to the door, finding it locked. Looking out the window revealed an empty field. No houses or roads were in sight as far as she could tell, but it was very dark. "Kinda figures since I’m not gagged," she reasoned.

She slumped back to the floor. ‘This is about Colt, I know it!’ she pondered, ‘Oh big brother, I think this investigation of yours is a whole lot deeper than any of us imagined!’

* * *

Ronnie Benson’s sense of duty and responsibility kicked in shortly after discovering Collin Anderson’s SUV. He quickly sent the Hardy men on their way, knowing there was no way to explain their presence at the Hiller Ranch. After seeing them off, he radioed for an ambulance and the sheriff.

The young deputy wearily wiped his sooty brow. He sat down beside Tanner, checking the sheriff’s pulse. It was strong and steady, thanks to Fenton Hardy’s first aid. He started to pull away from Tanner, when he noticed something sticking out of Tanner’s shirt pocket. Ronnie pulled the fabric scrap and knew right away that it was part of Collin’s uniform shirt. Ronnie swallowed down the emotion building in his throat, and tucked the fabric in his own shirt pocket.

Sirens tore through the night air as rescue vehicles came closer to the Hiller Ranch. Sheriff Marcus Williams was the first to arrive, gazing around with a deep frown. He walked to where Benson was seated on the ground beside his own SUV. Tanner lay still on the grass beside him.

"You okay, Benson?" the sheriff asked, noting the deputy’s sooty face and clothes.

"I’ve been better," the young man replied, avoiding the sheriff’s intense stare, "but I’m not injured."

"What the devil happened out here?" Williams questioned.

Ronnie sighed. He’d tried to come up with a likely story, but hadn’t been able to think of anything. He would have to tell the truth and that might be dangerous, if the sheriff was part of the conspiracy. Just as he was about to spill all, he remembered something that Collin had told him a while back.

"I was talking with Tanner tonight ‘bout how strange it is for Collin to be gone so long," the deputy started, looking at Colt Tanner a few feet away. The paramedics had begun working on the wounded sheriff.

"Anyway," Ronnie continued, "Got to thinkin’ ‘bout Collin wantin’ to hunt this year. He said somethin’ a few weeks ago ‘bout comin’ out here to the Hiller Ranch to hunt. I mentioned this to Tanner. Then we got to thinkin’ ‘bout how isolated this place is. If someone got hurt, could be days, maybe weeks ‘fore anyone would find them."

"So you two decided to come have a look," surmised Williams.

"Yes, Sir," Benson answered.

Ronnie Benson, his voice full of emotion, described what he and Tanner found in the machine barn. Ronnie however, did not tell Williams about the scrap of fabric Tanner had found.

"I’m sorry, Benson," the sheriff stated gravely, "With Collin’s SUV nearby, it certainly implies that the body remains ya’ll found are prob’ly his."

"If it’s alright," the deputy said, "I’ll take Collin’s vehicle ‘til someone can pick mine up for repairs."

"That’s fine, son," Williams replied, "You go on home now. I’ll handle things from here."

Benson watched Colt Tanner being loaded into an ambulance, and then climbed into his best friend’s Blazer and headed down the Hiller driveway, never considering going home.

* * *

"What makes you think the Fredricks kid’s not deaf?" the voice asked over the phone.

"We saw the old man ordering both the kids around," came the reply, "It was dark and smokey. No way was that blond kid lip-readin’. He heard ev’ry word his daddy was sayin’."

"If that’s the case," the voice on the other end of the line pondered, "why bother? Why are they at Wagner Ranch?"

"You want me to find out?" the other man asked.

"Yes," came the reply, "But be careful. I’m sure you can find a persuasive way to get information from the kid without drawing too much attention."

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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.