Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Vernon Sagawi and Billy Moss arrived at Balcony House shortly after Bull Byron had moved everyone down to the old school room. Moss peered at the assembled group before following Sagawi up the ladder as instructed by Bull.

“Catherine,” Deputy Sagawi greeted the distraught young woman that met them on level five.

“It’s Mark,” Catherine said barely above a whisper. Chris stood at her side, having defied Longtooth’s orders to go below. No way was he leaving Catherine right now. Sagawi nodded his head in understanding. He then glanced at the youth sitting on the ground nearby. The kid looked ill and Sagawi figured he must have been one of the boys that found the body.

“Let’s go,” Sagawi stated and led Moss down the corridor.

Moss followed the deputy down the adobe corridor, following Sheriff Longtooth’s billowing voice.

* * *

“You,” Leroy Longtooth stuck his thick, brown finger in the center of Joe Hardy’s chest, “stand right here. Don’t move.”

Joe frowned, but silently obeyed. He leaned against the wall near the doorway, just inside the room where Mark Campton’s body lay.

Sheriff Longtooth didn’t bother to check for any vital signs. The stench was enough to convince him that Mark was cold dead. Besides, his Navajo ancestors taught that it was cursed to touch the dead, and while he had to deal with a corpse now and then in the line of duty, he never particularly cared for the task. He made a slow, wide circle around the dead man before stopping to face Joe.

“You touch him?”

“Yes, Sir,” Joe replied, meeting the sheriff’s dark gaze. “I checked for a pulse.”

“You turn him over, kid?”

“No Sir,” the blond Hardy answered. “I only touched his neck. There was no pulse, he was cold and laying just like that.” Joe pointed toward Campton.

“What did you do next?” Sheriff Longtooth questioned.

“I called Catherine. When she and Frank came up, I led them in here,” Joe replied.

“And?” Longtooth probed.

“I did what you just did,” Joe answered. “I walked around him looking for clues to what…”

“Looking for clues is my job,” Longtooth practically shouted in Joe’s face, “not yours, no matter what kind of Sherlock pedigree you have!”

Joe felt his face get warm and he reflectively clenched his fists, angered by the sheriff’s attitude.

“Hey Chief!” Moss greeted the sheriff as he emerged from the tunnel behind Sagawi. He watched as both the sheriff and a blond teenager turned to face him.

“Moss,” Longtooth snarled, “don’t call me that.” Moss just grinned and Joe got the impression that he was witnessing an on-going quarrel.

“Scene’s been compromised,” Longtooth nodded toward Joe. “Mr. Hardy and his brother have trampled through here ‘looking for clues’. Any real evidence has probably been destroyed.”

“That’s not true!” Joe shouted, unable to control his building rage towards the sheriff any longer. “I’m not some inexperienced amateur! We didn’t compromise anything!”

Moss stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Joe Hardy’s shoulder. Joe turned angrily to face the CSI man, but stopped short. Moss lightly squeezed Joe’s shoulder. Moss was experienced and very good in his field. He was quite sure from first glance, that Mark Campton had died exactly where and how he presently lay. There was also no initial indication that anything else had been disturbed in the room.

“Take it easy, Chief,” Moss said. “I’m sure these boys didn’t do much damage.” He gave Joe a quick wink before moving into the room. The younger Hardy nodded and smiled slightly.

“I’m going to go and question the others,” Longtooth stated through gritted teeth. “Bring the kid.”

Deputy Sagawi suppressed a smile as he walked past Moss and escorted Joe back into the tunnel.

* * *

“Sheriff Longtooth isn’t going to let us anywhere near this investigation,” Frank stated later that evening. The boys and Catherine had gone home with Chris after the sheriff finished questioning them. Now, the Bayport teens lounged in Chris’s small apartment in the town of Cortez.

“That’s an understatement,” Joe’s voice echoed his dislike for the sheriff. “What’s with that guy’s attitude, anyway? He treated us like we intentionally messed up his crime scene!”

“He’s alright,” Chris added, giving Joe a rueful smile. “You just met him at a lousy time.

“There’s been a lot of bad publicity because of the Indian protests. Longtooth has been getting a lot of flack from the media; ‘Why can’t you control things?’ kind of stuff. The guy’s under a lot of pressure.”

“And now he has a suspicious death on his hands,” Frank commented, nodding his head in understanding.

He glanced at Catherine who sat silently on the sofa beside Chris. Frank debated asking her any questions, but decided to give it a shot.

“Catherine?” Frank asked, “Do you think Mark could have fallen or, maybe tripped up there? I didn’t see any flashlight. Maybe he hit his head or something?”

Joe rolled his eyes and smirked. In his opinion, there was no way Mark had any kind of ‘accident.’

“I don’t think so,” Catherine answered quietly. “We are both so familiar with the layout of Balcony House, that it’s possible that Mark didn’t take a flashlight. There are few furnishings on the upper levels, so it is highly unlikely that he tripped over anything.”

“I only got a quick glimpse of the room,” Chris added, “but I certainly didn’t notice anything that he could have tripped on or hit his head on.”

“So it’s more likely that somebody was up there with him,” Joe said, looking intently at his brother. Frank sighed, but nodded in agreement with Joe.

“Who would do something so horrid?” Catherine questioned. Fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks. Chris immediately moved closer and protectively wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

* * *

Billy Moss sat in his dark living room holding a now cold cup of coffee. He had thoroughly checked the room and surrounding area where Campton’s body had been found.

When he’d seen the slight impression of letters near Campton’s right hand, he had been surprised by their implication. As he’d photographed the image, he wondered if Catherine Laeche had a strong alibi.

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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.