THE NIFTIEST IDEA IN THE WORLD

by

Duckling

Chapter 2

The Chapters

INTRO

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

Joey watched horrified as the woman fell, his eyes wide with fright. Suddenly he rushed over to help her.  

Mrs. Willows sat up and groaned in pain, clutching her ankle. Joey panted up to her, his blue eyes filled with dismay.  

Mrs. Addleson emerged from her house like a vengeful fury, seizing the hapless boy and shaking him in her anger.  

“Joseph Hardy!” She roared. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Setting up a trap like that! It’s a wonder Mrs. Willows hasn’t broken her neck!”  

The small boy was speechless with surprise. They thought he had done this?  

Mrs. Addleson turned to Mrs. Willow, with Joey firmly still in hand. “ Aurora , are you alright?”  

“Oh-hh,” Aurora Willows groaned. “I don’t think I broke anything, but it sure hurts.”  

“Nasty sprain, most likely,” Jane Addleson declared, shooting daggers at the shocked child. “I saw the whole thing,” she added fiercely, turning to Joey. “I saw you crouch down by that trap of yours…and I saw you hiding in my hydrangea. You should be mighty ashamed of yourself.”  

“But . . . I . . . I didn’t do anything,” the blond child stammered.  

“Are you trying to make a liar out of me?” Jane Addleson shook the boy angrily.  

“No . . . no ma’am,” Joey replied, tears in his eyes. This was just awful. How could he tell them his brother had done it?  

By now, several other neighbors had emerged from their respective houses and were tending to Mrs. Willows.  

“I should hope not,” Mrs. Addleson asserted. “Now, you’re coming with me. We’re going to your house where you can explain all this to your mother.”  

The small boy obediently followed Biff’s neighbor to the Hardy home, his small frame slumped in misery.  

***

A rather bewildered Gertrude Hardy ushered an irate Jane Addleson and a quivering Joe Hardy into the living room. The boy’s aunt noted the child’s pale face before turning her attention to her visitor.  

She listened with growing disapproval as Jane Addleson recounted her version of Aurora Willows’ fall. The blond child stood trembling the whole time, his blue eyes averted from those of the condemning adults.  

“And,” Mrs. Addleson added indignantly, “this child had the gall to deny he ever did it, too!” She pointed at Joey, her hand shaking with fury.  

Now, the little boy looked up. “But I didn’t-” the child began, only to be cut off by his aunt.

“Joseph Hardy! I will not have you insult a guest in this house. Now, young man, up to your room. We’ll discuss this more fully once your parents get home.”  

Sadly, the boy dropped his head and trudged obediently up the stairs.  

As the two women watched the child go, Gertrude turned to Mrs. Addleson. “Jane, I sincerely apologize for my nephew’s comment. Laura and Fenton should be home soon, they’ll see that everything is set to rights.”  

Mollified, Jane Addleson at last prepared to leave. “And to think I thought he was such a nice little boy, too,” she harrumphed. Then exchanging a grimace with Gertrude, she hurried away.  

***  

Tall, dark-haired Fenton Hardy smiled at his petite blonde wife as she modeled a dress for him in a fashionable boutique in the heart of town. He always thought of her as beautiful, but in this dress, well, she was just down-right stunning.  

“Well?” Laura asked as she twirled for him.  

He allowed his eyes to run appreciatively over her body before walking up to her and slipping an arm around her waist. Leaning close to her, he whispered: “Darlin’, that dress is absolutely devastating.”  

Laura blushed and then swatted him away. “We should be heading back anyway,” she said. “You promised to spend time with the boys this afternoon.”  

Smiling, Fenton waited while his wife changed back into her clothes. The couple then quickly paid for the dress and headed home.  

***  

Frank and Biff stood in dismay as they regarded the tangled heap of cans on the sidewalk.  

“Someone did fall,” Frank said softly, fear in his voice.  

The two boys glanced at each other anxiously. They hadn’t intended for anyone to get hurt, but apparently, someone had.  

“Yeah,” Biff agreed with a gulp. “But they won’t know who put it here. Hurry, let’s throw this away!”  

As quickly and as silently as they could, the boys gathered up the cans and tossed them into the Hooper garbage bins.  

“There,” Biff announced with a sigh of relief. “Now no one will know.”  

***  

Fenton and Laura arrived back home just as Gertrude was putting lunch on the table. A minute later, a rather grubby Frank rushed in and upstairs to wash his hands. Soon, the family, minus Joey, was seated at the table.  

“Where’s Joey?” Laura asked her sister-in-law, concerned by her youngest son’s absence.  

“Upstairs,” Gertrude sniffed. “He says he’s not hungry. And I’d daresay he isn’t.”  

“What do you mean, Gert,” Fenton inquired of his sister.  

Silence settled around the dining room table as Gertrude relayed Jane Addleson’s account of Joey’s prank.  

Fenton was surprised by the reaction of his eldest son: the nine year-old was positively white.  

Now the dark-haired boy spoke up cautiously. “But Joey wouldn’t do that.” While anxious to avoid punishment himself, he couldn’t let this fall on his brother’s shoulders.  

“I agree with you son,” Fenton answered slowly, noting the boy’s demeanor. It appeared to the trained detective that there was something Frank was hiding. “That doesn’t sound like something Joey would do.”  

The tall investigator turned to his sister. “Did you ask him for his version of the story?”  

“Why should I?” Gertrude answered testily. “Jane Addleson witnessed the whole thing. She saw him set up the cans up herself.”  

“She couldn’t have had,” Frank exclaimed without thinking.  

“Why do you say that, son?” Dark brown eyes narrowed thoughtfully as Fenton regarded his eldest child.  

“Um,” Frank bit his lip as he thought up an answer. “Because Joey wouldn’t do that,” he breathed out in a rush, silently congratulating himself for coming up with what he thought was a suitable answer.  

“I see,” Fenton said softly. And he thought perhaps he did. He scooted his chair back and stood up. “I think this bears investigating.”  

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