Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the Hardy Detective Agency Presents "In the Name of Love" by CQB

–PAST...
Fenton Hardy stared at the car in the distance. ‘I know that car,’ he thought, watching the maroon vehicle take the bend, ‘Where have I seen it before?’

Behind the car Fenton was riding in with Sam Radley, Officer Ezra Collig and rookie Officer Con Riley were also watching the maroon car with intense interest.

"You know what, Riley?" Collig asked, keeping his eyes straight ahead, "I think that friend of the Hardys, that Whiteside guy drives a maroon car."

* * *

Adam Whiteside pulled off to the shoulder of Shore Road, where a grassy embankment sloped toward the rocky shoreline of Barmet Bay. Laura Hardy got out of the car and glanced down the road, hoping to see Sam’s car, but the road was deserted.

"He went down here," Adam said, taking Laura by the hand and leading her down the slope. Laura’s stomach was queasy and her throat was dry. ‘Please God, let Joey be here. Let him be alright!’

As they neared the large rocks that covered the shore, Adam was leading with an assurance that told Laura he had been this way before. There was no clear path, yet Adam seemed to know exactly where to step next.

‘If Fenton or Sam are following,’ Laura thought, ‘they might not see me if I’m in a cave. I’ve got to stall him and leave a trail of some kind.’ Laura gazed at the back of Adam’s head. ‘Why Adam? Why did you take my son?’

"Look here, Laura," Adam grinned, "A cave. I knew there was a cave. I bet Fenton wouldn’t think to look in a cave."

"Adam," Laura said, "What if Joey’s kidnapper is in there now? Maybe we should call the police?"

Adam stared at her for a moment, but then said, "I’ll protect you Laura. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you."

~ ~ ~ PRESENT...

Laura Hardy felt nauseous as she listened to the man on the phone. The spiders in the jar had terrified her, bringing back horrid memories of her 4-year-old son in that dark cave so many years ago. But more than that, she thought of Joe now, at seventeen, so strong and brave yet he could be reduced to a terrified child at the sight of a spider.

"Please," Laura begged, tears streaming down her face, "Leave Joe alone! What do you want from me? Why are you hurting him?"

Andrew Whiteside smiled at Laura’s obvious distress. It was exactly what he wanted her to be going through. He laid the phone down on the nightstand and picked up the jar. He pulled the tape from Joe’s mouth, causing the boy to wake abruptly from a sound sleep.

"W-what’s going on?" Joe asked in a hoarse voice, peering up at Andrew. He was suddenly aware of the sound of crying coming from the small cell-phone on the nightstand. "Mom? What did you do to my mom?" Joe asked, anger in his voice.

Without a word, Andrew grinned wickedly as he lifted the jar into the light from the window. He carefully turned it so Joe could clearly see the crawling, creeping spiders contained within the glass walls.

"No," Joe whispered, his eyes filled with terror. He hated spiders. As long as he could remember, he’d always hated spiders, but he didn’t know why. No, Joe realized as he stared at the jar, it was more than hate. Actually, he was terrified of spiders, but that was his deepest, darkest secret. His family knew he didn’t like spiders and Frank even kidded him about it. But he never told anyone how he really felt. What would they think of him if they knew he was afraid of a little spider?

"Please," Joe said in a desperate whisper, "Please, no. I don’t l-like s-spiders."

Fenton Hardy had moved beside Laura and held her close as they listened in horror; Joe was begging his captor to keep the spiders away.

Frank listening on the extension, couldn’t contain himself any longer, "Stop, you monster! Leave my brother alone! Leave him alone!"

Andrew ignored the boy’s family and smiled at the raw terror he saw in Joe’s dark blue eyes. He slowly tilted the jar that contained over 70 arachnids of various sizes. Joe felt his heart racing, pounding against his ribs. He broke out in a sweat as he watched the jar tilt. Andrew pulled off the lid and the spiders began to fall from the jar, landing on Joe’s bare chest. First, just a few scurrying for cover, then suddenly, the bed was alive with the small creatures.

Joe Hardy had screamed as the first spiders landed on him, but his screams quickly faded into whimpers. In the darkness of the room, Joe was no longer there. He was no longer tied to the bed. He was no longer 17 years old. Instead, in his mind, he was in a cold, dark cave. Spiders were crawling all over him, biting him. He was 4-years-old again.

Fenton Hardy listened to his wife’s sobbing, he had heard Frank’s angry voice, but the sound that haunted his heart, was the sound of his 17-year-old son whimpering like a child on the other end of the phone before the line clicked off.

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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.