DISSONANCE
by
Duckling
Chapter 15
The Chapters
Bayport Police Chief Ezra Collig stood in the doorway to Joe’s room and sighed. The scene-of-crime officers had almost finished; now all that remained to do was to clean the blood-splattered walls and set the room, or what was left of it, aright. Although the scene was alarming, Collig and his men had been relieved to find that there hadn’t been as much blood lost as they had initially feared. The blood-smeared walls were probably intended more as a dramatic flourish than a grim testimony to a brutal assault.
Fenton Hardy stood beside his friend, his hand pressed to his forehead. He suddenly looked his forty-one years. He had returned home as soon as he had received the message. Laura lay sleeping in the room across the hall; it had been necessary to sedate her.
As Officer Riley read the note that had been placed on the center of the bloody bed, Collig turned to Fenton and stated quietly: “There’s no way that this could have been Frank.”
“No,” Fenton agreed. “Frank would never hurt Joe like that.”
“Does this note give you any ideas, Mr. Hardy?” Riley asked.
“No,” sighed Fenton despondently, “None at all.” He added suddenly “There have been no recent threats.”
The policemen nodded their heads. No one had forgotten what had happened the last time Joe Hardy had disappeared.
“Well, the note we have here at least gives us a start,” the grizzled police chief declared.
The three men were startled to hear the doorbell ring.
“Expecting anyone?” Collig asked with the lift of an eyebrow.
“No.”
The three men listened intently for a clue to the caller’s identity. Suddenly Sam Radley, Fenton’s long-time friend and associate materialized before them, followed by Biff Hooper.
“You may find this interesting, Fenton,” the tall sandy-haired man said by way of introduction. “It seems that Biff is here because he had been asked by Frank to keep an eye on Joe. The interesting aspect to all this, of course, is the fact that Joe had been checking in with him regularly for weeks now.”
“Is this the first time he’s failed to report?” Collig put in quickly.
“Yes, sir,” Biff answered.
“How long exactly has this system been going on?” Fenton demanded of Biff.
“Um, well, sir,” Biff gulped, “since about a week after Frank left.”
“And I take it that throughout this whole time, you, and presumably Joe, have both known how to get a hold of him?” Fenton’s voice remained calm, but it was laced with cold anger.
“Yes, sir.”
“I see.” And truth be told, he did see. He should have realized that Frank’s obsession with protecting Joe wouldn’t end once Frank left the house. No doubt he had every intention of persuading Joe to leave home too. That would explain his withdrawal of the funds from the boys’ joint accounts. And why Joe didn’t mind.
Suddenly, comprehension hit Fenton full force. Joe knew. Joe had known from the beginning what Frank’s plans were. And he had been quietly biding his time until his brother came back for him. Fenton had marveled at how well Joe had seemed to be coping with his brother’s abandonment. Now, Fenton understood only too clearly why.
***
Frank and Bix were happily discussing an astronomical magazine article on multiple universes when the cell phone suddenly rang.
Frank could tell by the ring tone that the caller was not Joe, although it was a tone he had one day expected to hear. With a quickened pulse he answered.
The look of mingled pain, fear and cold fury that flashed across the Hardy boy’s face at the sound of the phone caused Bix to sit back in uneasy surprise.
Frank’s face paled and he tightened his hold on the phone subconsciously as Biff rushed through the short chronology of events.
Finally, with an anguished glance at Bix, he found his voice and said curtly, “I’m on my way.’
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors 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.