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

–PAST...
Adam Whiteside led Laura Hardy inside the cave. It was like a small room. Laura could see all four walls and no other openings. Other than an outcropping of rocks near the far wall, there was nothing to indicate that Joey had ever been here.

"He’s not here," Laura said with a heavy heart. By coming with Adam, she may have lost her only chance to get Joey back. ‘No,’ she told herself, ‘Trust your instincts. Adam is involved in this somehow.’

"I think he is," Adam said, "Listen." Laura looked at Adam, but then focused on the sounds around her. At first, she didn’t hear anything. Then, she heard the soft, barely audible sobbing of a child.

"Joey! Baby! Where are you?" She frantically screamed, "Mommy’s here! I’m coming!" She moved deeper into the small cave, thinking maybe Joey was stashed behind the rocks. She was shocked to find a stepladder behind the rocks. Looking more closely, she saw the hole in the floor of the cave. "Oh God!" She cried, "Baby? Are you down there?"

"Let me put the ladder down and we’ll see if he’s there," suggested Adam. Laura nodded and watched Adam lower the ladder. "Go on, Laura," Adam said, "I’ll hold the ladder for you." He handed her a flashlight as she moved toward the ladder.

Without thinking about where the flashlight came from, Laura took it and descended into the hole. She clicked the light on and shone it around the floor until it came to rest on a small, huddled form in familiar Superman pajamas.

Laura fell down next to her son and cried as a pair of tired blue eyes looked up at her. She started to pick him up when the first spider crept up her arm.

"Ah-h-h!" Laura screamed, scaring Joey and causing him to cry. She tried to sooth him as she brushed several more spiders off of the child.

"You just hold him," Adam said, "I’ll chase the bad spiders away." Laura stood up with Joe in her arms, while Adam quickly plucked spiders off the boy. Laura had noticed that when Adam spoke, Joey stiffened, as if he were suddenly more afraid.

* * *

"Here’s the car, but where did they go?" Fenton Hardy asked, searching the area around Adam Whiteside’s maroon Buick.

"Over here," called Police Chief David Waters, "There are shoe prints. Looks like Laura’s sneakers and a pair of men’s dress shoes."

Fenton, Sam Radley and four police officers made their way along the slope toward the rocky shoreline.

~ ~ ~ PRESENT...

Frank Hardy arrived at the Bayport Police Station early the next morning. He’d hardly slept during the long night. His brother’s scream and the whimpering had haunted Frank. He knew his parents hadn’t slept much either. He’d noticed how tired they both looked at breakfast.

"Frank," Ezra Collig called out to the young man as he saw him enter the building. The Chief of Police noticed with concern, the dark circles under the youth’s eyes. "Rough night?"

"You could say that," Frank answered, and proceeded to fill Collig in on the events of the night.

"I’d heard about the pizza and the jar of spiders from Officer Lane. He must have moved to his car for night patrol before the call came in," Ezra concluded. He ushered Frank into a room where a female officer was sitting with a sketchpad and a box of pastels.

After Frank gave his detailed description and Officer Candy Hewett had completed the sketch, Collig held it up and looked it over carefully. He’d personally interviewed the man, but had only seen him the one time.

"If I remember him correctly, Frank," the Chief stated, "This looks just like him." Ezra frowned as he continued to stare at the picture.

"Candy, will you do me a favor before you pack up here. Draw this face again, leaving out a few lines to give him a younger appearance. Then, I want you to give him dark, red hair."

"Red hair?" Frank asked, "I thought we already determined that Reed stole someone’s identity. Why red hair?"

"Reed stole the identity," Collig conferred, "but maybe not the nickname. I’ve been going though the files of Joe’s kidnapping 13 years ago. Something’s clicking. Let’s see if I’m right first."

* * *

Andrew Whiteside had removed all of the spiders from the bed where Joe Hardy was tied. Even after they were removed, the boy continued to whimper, staring into space. The kid’s eyes were glassy and his skin was clammy and warm. Whiteside set the jar of arachnids outside.

He looked at Joe once more and frowned. He re-taped the boy’s mouth, and left the room. He went into the next room of the motor lodge. He remembered that he needed fresh towels and headed for the office. Entering the office, he almost gagged on the smell. The owner’s body was on the floor, surrounded by a pool of stagnant blood, just as Andrew had left him.

Andrew grabbed some towels and left the office, checking to see if the ‘No Vacancy’ sign was still on and the office door was locked.

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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.