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

–PAST...
"Good night, Joey. Sleep tight," Laura Hardy said, pulling the red and blue comforter up to Joey’s chin. She gave the sleepy toddler a kiss, watching his blue eyes fighting to stay open.

"Joey’s not sleepy!" the child protested. Laura sat on the edge of Joey’s bed and gently stroked his blond curls.

She sang softly until Joey’s protesting quieted. "*Where did you get those eyes so blue? They’re from the sky that you passed through; Where did you that little tear? Did you find that it was waiting for you here? And what about your little nose? God knew you’d need it for the rose; And as for your soft, curly ear, He knew there would be songs for you to hear; For all you are and all you’ll be, For everything you mean to me, Though I don’t understand, I know you’re from the Father’s hand; How can it be that you are you? God thought you up and so you grew, Because you’re mine it must be true, That He was also thinking of me, too; For all you are..." Finally, Joey drifted off to sleep.

Making her way down the back staircase, Laura was greeted by her handsome husband. Fenton Hardy moved his family from New York City to the quiet suburb of Bayport earlier that summer. He had been a detective with the NYPD, but decided to go solo as a private investigator. So far, the move had been advantageous, as Fenton’s private detective work was in demand and his reputation for bringing some of the toughest criminals in the U.S. to justice was growing.

"Let me guess," Fenton murmured in his wife’s ear, "Joey said he wasn’t tired."

"He always takes a long nap before dinner," Laura smiled, "but he just wears himself out. Frank fell right to sleep. I think Joey wears him out, too!"

"Come on, my beauty," Fenton cuddled his wife’s neck, "Let’s go wear each other out. I’ve already closed up for the night." Fenton had double-checked all the doors and windows, making sure they were securely locked for the night.

"Fent, maybe we should think about getting some kind of security alarm system installed, like we had in the city," Laura said softly as they made their way upstairs.

"This is Bayport, not New York City," Fenton mildly protested, but then relented, "If it will make you feel safer, I’ll look into it first thing tomorrow."

~ ~ ~ PRESENT...

By late afternoon, the Hardy boys and Red Reed carried the few remaining boxes to the basement of the house. Walking into the finished basement brought a gasp of awe from the youngest Hardy.

"Whoa!" cried Joe excitedly, "What an awesome set up!" In the center of the carpeted floor was a ‘Bow Flex’, surrounded by a Nautilus rowing machine, stepper and treadmill. A large screen TV occupied the far wall of the room.

"You work out, Joe?" Red asked, having already noticed Joe’s athletic build.

"Yes, sir," Joe replied, his eyes as wide as a child on Christmas morning, "but I don’t have anything this fancy. Just a bench and free weights."

"I’d love to have company while I work out down here," Red smiled, "You’d both be welcome anytime."

"How did this all get set up down here?" Frank asked, then blushed, "I’m sorry. That was rude and it’s none of my business."

"Nonsense Frank," Red responded, "I have a confession. I moved all this in before I actually closed on the house. I was staying at a motel outside of town until I signed the final closing papers, but I couldn’t stand not working out. So I asked the Realtor if I could move the equipment in early. She agreed and I had it set up the next day."

A short time later, Frank and Joe joined their parents and their aunt around the dinner table. Aunt Gertrude, Fenton’s older, unmarried sister who lived with her brother’s family, had made a delicious meal of glazed ham, candied sweet potatoes and peas with pearl onions in a white sauce.

The boys excitedly told of their time with Mr. Reed. Joe gushed on and on about the equipment in Mr. Reed’s basement and the invitation to use it all.

Fenton Hardy had been smiling until Joe mentioned the invitation. "Joe, you cannot go over there to work out until I have Mr. Reed checked out."

"I know, Dad," Joe replied with a sigh. It was tough being a detective’s son sometimes. Whenever someone new came into their lives, no matter how innocent they seemed, they had to have a background check run on them to make sure they were no threat to the Hardy family. Fenton, as well as Frank and Joe, had made plenty of enemies doing the detective work they loved.

"Tell you what, I’ve got to head to Washington in the morning," Mr. Hardy said, smiling at Joe’s forlorn expression, "Before I head out, I’ll call Sam Radley and have him run a check on Reed. Don’t go over there by yourself ‘til you get the okay from Sam, understood?" Sam Radley was an operative of Mr. Hardys and a good friend of the family.

"Yes, sir," Joe replied, giving his dad a smile.

* "All You Are" by Michael Card – 1989

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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.