Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Whoops! For just a fraction of a second, Frank was startled; then he smiled quietly as understanding dawned. He watched the steady colors emanating from the screen, and leaned back in his chair, still smiling. Wonder when the lights will go on again? He was fairly sure he knew what was going on; this was one of his father’s favorite little tests having to do with observation.

Frank knew that he, himself, wouldn’t score all that high, if he was one being tested. He had to admit that he hadn’t been paying too much attention to the room during his father’s opening talk. He’d been doing something he found much more enjoyable: Megan-watching. Megan-watching was an occupation he found fun and entertaining; much more so than meticulously trying to figure out the placement of every single object in the room! Dad would be disappointed if he knew, he admitted to himself. Or, at least, he’d be disappointed that I didn’t take full notice of my surroundings before or while Megan-watching! Guess I’d better work on that skill – splitting my attention!

The crowd was starting to grow a little restive now, in the unnerving silence and darkness. There were some mutters from various spots having to do with finding out what the problem was and getting it dealt with. But before anyone could make a move to go investigate, the lights abruptly flashed on again. Frank, blinking in the sudden illumination with the rest of them, took a quick look around the room, knowing from experience what was coming.

What’s changed?

He found several things that were different, right off the bat. Megan’s chair had been moved from the right side of the double entrance doors to the far left side. The podium where Fenton stood was no longer just to the right of the screen, but had moved over a couple of feet. The curtain backing the screen was now partially open, revealing an elegant rock wall behind it.

And another difference: Joe, who had been conspicuously absent before the lights dimmed, was now sitting near the front of the room, in a seat near the end of one row; and Vanessa was seated just below Frank’s chair at the back of the room. She turned her head, and as Frank caught her eye, he winked – and then turned his attention to his father.

“All right, ladies and gentlemen; this was a little test for your powers of observation,” Mr. Hardy said genially. “Can you tell me what things you notice have changed in this room during the time the lights were out? Just raise a hand; I’ll call on you. Be sure to speak up so that everyone can hear, please.”

The responses were heartening; these people were professionals, after all. Nearly everything had been caught by someone; many had been noticed by a great percentage of the police officers. No one, however, had picked up Vanessa’s presence in the back; and no one, not even Frank, had noticed that Mr. Hardy had changed his tie!

“Good job,” the detective commended them, after he had pointed out the ‘missed’ items. “In a criminal investigation, everything is important, or can be; from a pebble in the dirt to the blood spatters on the wall; to a dead body on the ground, to the car rocking precariously on the edge of a cliff. Everything has to be taken into account, when you’re at a crime scene. You all know that.

“And in matters of security, it’s equally important. Sure, security systems are becoming ever more sophisticated – but nothing will ever completely replace or improve on human eyesight and observation skills and ingenuity. A computer has to be reprogrammed…which takes time. Humans can reprogram, as it were, instantly. And also, they can immediately process something that’s out of place. A security program might report something out of place…but it takes a human to decipher what that might mean.”

The lecture continued in a similar vein, and the class listened intently. Even though he’d heard it all before – years of dinner-table conversations had revolved around things like this! – Frank listened as well, nearly as interested as the police officers. He noticed that Megan was drinking it all in, her eyes fixed on Fenton’s face as he lectured; her hand gripping a pen tightly as she jotted down notes. Frank was amused by her fascination, but he was well aware of Megan’s near hero-worship of his father. And after all, she was a Criminal Justice major too! This stuff was right up her alley, and she hadn’t heard it from childhood, after all!

Frank returned his attention to the task of monitoring the slides illustrating his father’s talk, but he found time to keep an eye on the room. Occasionally Megan glanced around, and once or twice Frank caught her eye and exchanged a smile with her. Joe and Vanessa, once the point about noticing changes had been made, slipped quietly away; they were ‘off duty,’ after all. Joe dropped a note on Frank’s lap as he walked by, and the elder brother unfolded the slip of paper. Be back later – meet you for lunch!

Finally the seminar broke for lunch, and Frank powered down the screen. He left the computer running, realizing it would save Joe and Vanessa a few minutes of time during the afternoon session. He accepted his father’s quiet ‘Good job, son; thanks,’ with pleased appreciation, and headed across the big room, threading his way between knots of police officers toward the far wall, where he saw Megan talking to Vanessa and Joe. The girls both turned to him with bright smiles on their faces as he neared them; Joe tilted an eyebrow and nodded in silent greeting.

“I’m starving!” Megan announced as Frank joined the group. She reached for his hand and repeated her declaration. “STARVING, Frank Hardy, you hear?”

He grinned, squeezing her hand. “I hear. What about you? You starving too?” he asked Vanessa.

“Not me, no way,” Vanessa replied, shaking her head. “Joe and I ate our fill – and then some – at the breakfast buffet! I doubt that I’ll be able to eat anything for a month, after all that fresh fruit I scarfed down. I don’t think I’ve ever had such good fruit; at least not so many kinds. If we eat like that the whole time we’re here, I’m going to have to go on a serious diet when we get back to Bayport!”

Joe regarded his girlfriend thoughtfully for a moment. “You’d have to gain about a hundred pounds before you’d need to go on a diet,” he scoffed. “Anyway, you’re beautiful no matter what – so eat all you want, babe. Besides, fruit’s good for you.”

Vanessa’s blue-gray eyes twinkled. She smiled at Frank and Megan as she murmured, “He’s not so bad…I think I’ll keep him, even if he can be sort of a brute at times. Come on, let’s go find something to fill the little bottomless pit, here.” She winked at Megan and led the way toward the exit.

“Excuse me? Little bottomless pit?” Megan repeated, stalking after her friend. “Just who ate the enormous breakfast here? SOME of us only had coffee and a croissant – and I fed my toast to a FISH....”

“A brute? A BRUTE? I’m not a brute!” Joe whimpered plaintively as he followed his brother and the two girls from the meeting room. “Frank, tell her I’m not a brute!”

Frank glanced over his shoulder and snorted derisively. “Coulda fooled me, Conan.”

Joe trailed behind for a few yards, still protesting, then caught up to Vanessa and took her hand in his. They found a conveniently nearby delicatessen that served sub sandwiches, and settled into a booth; Megan and Frank to eat, Joe and Vanessa to watch and drink iced tea with pineapple in it, and make conversation.

While they ate, Megan and Vanessa’s eyes kept straying to the windows. Eventually, the boys looked too, and found their girlfriends were apparently evaluating the window displays in a nearby clothing shop.

“Want to hit it when I finish?” Megan inquired, tilting her head toward the store.

Vanessa smiled happily. “I don’t mind if I do.”

Frank and Joe exchanged apprehensive looks. Shopping…already?

“I’d like to get a jump-start on my shopping,” Vanessa continued, absently taking a pickle slice from Megan’s plate and crunching it thoughtfully. “Just look at that scarf in the front – don’t you think it would make a great wrap to go with my new swim suit?”

“I think it would be lovely,” Megan concurred, grinning at Frank, who shook his head in defeat but had to smile…just because it was Megan, and Megan’s sparkling personality, and because he loved her so much he could even face the horrors of…shopping!

“Hello, Mr. Hardy.” The new voice broke through Joe’s despairing groan. They looked up in surprise, and Frank recognized the police detective from Hana they’d met earlier. “I thought I’d drop by and mention that I thought you do a nice job assisting your father. Are you going to have a chance to see some of our beautiful Hawaii today?”

“Detective…Ekela – right?” Frank hesitated. “Thank you, and yes, I’ve got the afternoon free.”

The detective nodded, smiling at Frank’s remembering his name, and grinned a sort of ‘hello’ at Megan, who smiled too, turning the full wattage of her eyes and dimple-accented smile on the older man.

“This is my brother, Joe…and his girlfriend, Vanessa Bender. You met Megan earlier, of course. Joe, this is Detective Meka Ekela from Hana, on Maui.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Joe half-rose, and extended his hand cordially.

Ekela drew his attention from Megan, whom he had been studying with that same intent, focused expression he had worn before, and shook hands with both Joe and Vanessa.

“Aloha and welcome to Hawaii,” he said. “I see that associating with beautiful women is a commonality with your family,” he noted to Frank, with an extravagant bow over Vanessa’s hand. “I’m very glad to meet you both;” he went on. “Are you enjoying your stay on the Big Island so far?”

“Well, we’ve only been here one night,” Joe admitted, “but we like it here very much!”

“We’ll have a chance to play tourist later, after the seminar; we’re kind of tied up with helping Dad with that right now,” Frank explained. “When it’s done, though, I’m looking forward to seeing the whole island.”

Detective Ekela nodded his understanding. “The Big Island has beautiful scenery and a lot of history,” he told them. “Of course, I’m partial to Maui, but even I have to admit that the Big Island is special. If you can, do take the time to go see Kilauea, the fiery mountain. It’s definitely worth the trip! There are places where you can view it from a safe distance – and it’s a part of nature unlike any other!”

“I want to see it very much,” Vanessa confided. “I’ve been intrigued with the idea of the home of Pelè since – well, even before we got here! I’m looking forward to seeing it up close!”

“Pelè would be honored by your visit,” Ekela said graciously. He gazed at the tall blonde girl with the same intensity that he had Megan, and Frank watched him, feeling slightly disturbed by this scrutiny and wondering if he was actually jealous of the police detective!

Ekela extended his observing to include Joe now; studying him and Vanessa as the two of them interacted. They were sitting close together, holding hands; occasionally leaning in for a quick kiss or touch. Ekela smiled sympathetically and returned his attention to Frank and Megan.

“I’d better go now,” he said. “If you need a tour guide to look around the Big Island later, just let me know. I’d be more than willing to show some interested tourists around.” He winked, blew kisses at Megan and Vanessa, who both laughed and blushed, and departed, with a friendly wave.

“Have you noticed how friendly the men are in Hawaii?” Megan murmured to Vanessa. “That nice Lt. McCullough, and now Detective Ekela?”

“I’ve noticed.” Vanessa’s eyes sparkled wickedly as she took in the sulky expressions on both the Hardys’ faces. She glanced at her wristwatch. “Well, I think our shopping time got used up in making polite conversation.”

“We still have time for a walk before we have to be back for the afternoon session,” Joe said, and pulled her to her feet. “Come on, beautiful; some sunshine will be good for you. Vitamin D, you know.”

“Never eating that much for breakfast again…no matter how good the fruit is! I may not even want dinner!” Vanessa reiterated, allowing herself to be taken away. “Have fun with your afternoon off!”

“We will,” Megan assured them.

“C’mon, let’s check out the miniature golf course,” Joe urged Vanessa. “It’s at the other end of the hotel complex, according to the map I was looking at. If it’s nice, maybe we could try that out this evening, you think?”

“Sure, if you think Frank and Megan would want to.”

Joe grinned maliciously. “I hope Frank gets really tired this afternoon…his golf shots are always way, way off when he’s tired. That way I could give him a run for his money – for once!”

Vanessa laughed. “Wicked, wicked Joe,” she chastised. “Wanting to take advantage of your older brother like that!”

“It’s a rule!” Joe informed her, with some indignation. “It’s in the Younger Brother’s Official Handbook. Rule Number 11439, Subsection B. The younger brother must take advantage of the older brother whenever – and however many times – it is possible.”

“I want to see that handbook,” Vanessa giggled. “Why haven’t I ever seen it before?”

Joe shook his head vehemently. “Nope. Rule #1, Section A, states clearly that only younger brothers may see the book. No one else. No mention of girlfriends, no matter how beautiful they are.”

Laughing and teasing, the two made their way along the rock-laid pathway which stretched across the front of the hotel. They stepped out into the parking lot, to cut to a new section of sidewalk, sauntering slowly and enjoying the brilliant sunshine and beautiful scenery – when suddenly, Vanessa glanced up, and let out a sharp cry!

A large, brand-new Mercedes sedan was heading straight for them!

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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.