Author’s Name: CQB

Title of Story: “Desert Deceit”

Type of Story: Casefile

Rating of Story: PG

Characters in Story: Frank, Joe, Chet, Biff, Phil, Luke (returning OC), Mr. & Mrs. Hardy, and several new original characters – Also, a return of Chris Bayer from Casefiles #22 – “Double Exposure”

[SPOILER ALERT – If you haven’t read “Double Exposure”, be warned that I give a brief synopsis of the book in chapter 1 of this story.]

Plot Blurb: The Hardy boys and their friends go to Colorado for the wedding of a family friend - their unofficially ‘adopted’ older brother, Chris Bayer. In usual Hardy fashion, the innocent trip turns into a mystery with a deadly edge.

Splash Page: “You smell that?” Joe asked, suddenly dropping the light-hearted banter and seriously looked at his friend.

“Weird, like rusty water or something,” Biff replied, sniffing the air.

Joe swallowed as he moved forward. He couldn’t be positive, but he was quite sure he recognized the odor. It smelled like blood.

NOTE: Mesa Verde National Park is a real place, as are many geographical places mentioned in this story. We visited the location while in the area a couple years ago, and it was absolutely breathtaking. However, I have fictionalized many aspects of the park and the surrounding area. If you want to know more about Mesa Verde and the area nearby, check out