"They have both been so sweet," Laura told her younger son. "They and Andrea, taking turns staying here at night – and Con Riley’s been lovely, dropping around to keep Andrea and me company." 

Joe narrowed his eyes at first, at the mention of Con, then smiled happily. He was anxious for Kiwi to meet his mother, and Vanessa. Engaged! His thought popped up, seemingly for the millionth time. Can’t imagine Kiwi engaged to be married!  He vowed to pump his friend for information, once the appropriate moment arrived.

When the taxi deposited them in front of the gray stone house, Kiwi’s stood for awhile, allowing his senses to take in the peaceful scene with appreciation.  "Nice place, Joe – really peaceful here; a real family place." 

"I know." Joe walked over to where his Aztek was parked, and patted the hood affectionately. "This is my car – we’ll use it, since yours is – um – indisposed." 

Kiwi stared at it silently for some seconds. "Interesting motor—" he eventually remarked. "I haven’t seen one like that before." Kiwi sounded as if he was trying to be diplomatic. His hands were thrust deeply into his pockets, and he didn’t meet his friend’s searching gaze. 

Joe grinned. "You don’t have to like it, Kiwi. I like it, and that’s what matters." 

"Don’t read me wrong, I’m just wondering how I’m going to fit in!" Kiwi corrected.

"Oh, don’t worry about that, this baby’s surprisingly roomy." Joe answered, giving his car another caress.

Escorting Kiwi inside, Joe introduced him to his mother, who greeted him cordially, and asked if he’d care for something to drink. Admitting his earlier blunder with the sugar, Kiwi requested tea. To Laura’s amusement, Kiwi kept referring to her as ‘Mrs. Hardy,’ despite her constant reminders to call her by her first name. He also kept hovering, offering to help with the chores. Eventually, Joe suggested he show him around the house, to allow Kiwi to get acclimated to the surroundings, while Laura went on with lunch preparations

Kiwi asked if that was okay, and upon receiving direct permission from Laura, timidly trotted after Joe, his cup clutched tightly in his hands, leaving her shaking her head in quiet amusement. She was accustomed to her sons’ more outgoing friends, who had been in and out of the Hardy home for years, and who thought nothing of wandering all over the place at will, or rummaging through the refrigerator if they so desired! This new friend of Frank and Joe was pleasantly ‘different.’ 

 

Frank arrived perhaps a half hour later, and was equally delighted with Laura’s news that the girls were expected for lunch. Three days without seeing Megan was three days too many, in the elder Hardy’s estimation.  After greeting his mother, however, Frank grabbed Joe’s and Kiwi’s arms and led them to a quiet spot where they could talk. 

"I’ve got a suspect!" he whispered, excitedly. "Just look at this!" He pulled the file folder from inside his jacket, where he had smuggled it out of the base, and opened it. He pointed out the matching initials, the father’s stint in the Military Police, the dishonorable discharge, and the death date. "Too many coincidences – and the dates…I can’t tell you why, call it a hunch – but I think they’re important – this has to be the guy – I don’t like coincidences!"

Joe had an idea: "After lunch," he proposed, "Kiwi and I will go over and check out the obituary notice for this guy – old issues of the Gazette. Maybe – just maybe, mind you – there will be articles about him as well, since he’d just been kicked out of the MP’s before he died." He smiled with deep satisfaction. "Now – let’s check out Dad’s car, before the girls get here!" 

Joe, Frank and Kiwi made a detailed search of Fenton’s car, looking for anything which ought to have been there, but was now absent. They were coming up empty until inspiration hit Joe. 

"Doesn’t Dad usually keep a pair of gloves in here?" he queried, indicating the door pocket on the driver’s side. "He might have taken them out if it was summertime, but it’s only April – so they should be here. Brown suede ones – remember? Aunt Gertrude gave them to him for Christmas a couple years ago." 

"You’re right," Frank concurred. "We can check with Mom, and see if they’re in the house anywhere – but chances are, we’ve found another ‘harvested’ item." He gave Kiwi a rueful look and grimaced. "Nasty feeling, every time I think of it in those terms." he admitted. 

Kiwi nodded grimly, and followed the Hardys into the house. 

Laura, Frank and Joe were doing a quick run-through of the closets and drawers in the house, looking for the gloves, when the doorbell rang. Kiwi was leaning in the living-room doorway, watching as the others searched, and looking slightly embarrassed once more. He wanted to help, but had no idea where to look, in this strange-to-him house. He felt like an intruder. 

"David, would you answer that?" Laura requested. He made a ‘who, me?’ gesture, and she nodded reassuringly. "Go ahead, it’ll just be Vanessa or Megan; they’re practically part of the family." 

Hesitantly, the young man crossed the entry hall and opened the front door. He looked outside, and his eyes met the blue-gray gaze of a very tall, slender, ash-blonde girl. He smiled bashfully, and was about to speak, when a pronounced gasp caught his attention. 

"…they’re already here; it seems like more than – ohhh!" 

Kiwi’s gaze dropped, as the speaker broke off whatever comment she was about to make. Standing just behind the tall blonde was a diminutive lass with copper-golden curls, and long-lashed turquoise eyes which were widening to an enormous size as she took in his presence. Her gaze tracked slowly up…upward…still up, until it reached his face.  

Kiwi watched as Megan’s facial expressions ran a whole gamut of changes in just a few seconds. At first she merely looked surprised at seeing a stranger open the Hardys’ front door – and then stunned at the unexpected height and muscles he possessed, for 6’5" Kiwi Dave towered over Frank’s tiny girlfriend. And then, startled recognition caused Megan’s mouth to open in shock – for she had seen the photo of "D. Barton," the detective accused of murder, in Con’s report…and she recognized him! 

Instinctively, she was backing away, pulling at Vanessa’s arm. "V-van – Vanessa – w-we – that’s…." The long-lashed eyes were huge with alarm. 

Vanessa looked down at her friend in complete bewilderment, but was allowing herself to be pulled away.  

"Megan?" Frank popped his head around Kiwi’s shoulder, smiling. "Hi, Vanessa – hey, come on in, you two! There’s someone we want you to meet—" He broke off, puzzled by his girlfriend’s expresssion. "Honey, what’s wrong?" 

Now Kiwi was beginning to look alarmed…and embarrassed. Scaring pretty girls wasn’t what he wanted to be known for! "I didn’t mean to frighten you – Mrs. Hardy asked me to answer the bell…" he began to explain. 

"You – you’re the – your picture…" Megan stammered, and stopped. How could she possibly say: You’re the accused murderer from Australia! ? 

Frank, realizing what was happening, began to laugh, and emerged from behind Kiwi to put a reassuring arm about his girlfriend. "She saw your photo in that list, Kiwi." he explained, and snuggled her close against him. "It’s okay, honey – he’s harmless!" He grinned at his friend. "Come on, everyone inside, and we can untangle all this confusion!" 

Once in the family room, introductions began.

"Vanessa, meet Dave Barton, who goes by the nickname ‘Kiwi,’ – do you remember?" Joe began, and then turned to his friend without waiting for a reply. "Kiwi, this is my girlfriend, Vanessa Bender."  

"Oh!" Vanessa exclaimed. "The guys have talked about you! Joe and Frank stayed with you in England, didn’t they?" 

"Well, actually they stayed with Helen…and Alex." Kiwi corrected, his voice dropping as he said the word ‘Alex.’ Alex, Helen’s husband, had been tragically killed while the Hardys were vacationing with them, three years previously, and they’d been thrust into investigating his death. This first case had set Kiwi and his friends the Randalls on the path to detective work themselves. 

Vanessa realized what memories she’d stirred with that one innocent question, and her mouth formed a silent ‘O’. 

"They didn’t tell me about you," Megan muttered, looking pointedly at her boyfriend. 

"Before your time, honey," Frank explained. 

Kiwi extended his hand towards Vanessa. "Glad to meet you." he said. "It’s nice to be able to look a girl in the eyes!" he added, anxious to have an excuse to change the subject.  

She laughed at that as she shook his hand. "It’s nice to meet someone I have to look up to!" she responded, with a teasing glance at Joe. 

"And this is my Megan." Frank interposed, pulling the little redhead forward. "Megan Wright. Kiwi’s originally from New Zealand, but now he and some other friends of ours have a detective agency in England." 

Kiwi was blushing hotly, for Megan’s glance still held a disturbing hesitancy. "I’m really sorry I startled you, Miss—" 

Now she was smiling, charmed by his accent, and he saw an enchanting dimple appear in one cheek. "I’m very happy to meet you, Kiwi," she murmured, and held out her hand. Still pink, he clasped it warmly, and she saw his eyes crinkle up at the corners, at the beckoning of his lazy smile. Both of them realized things were now going to be fine between them, despite Megan’s earlier scare. 

He bent towards her. "I’m not a murderer, by the way." he said confidentially, and she blushed as crimson as he had. 

Over lunch, they attempted to keep the conversation light, after stressing to the girls that Kiwi’s presence had to be kept confidential, since he was being sought by the authorities. "He’s calling himself Dave Randall, right now." Joe explained to them. "And pretty much keeping a low profile." 

Megan had just taken a sip of milk, and now started spluttering. "How can someone as tall as you keep a ‘low’ profile?" Megan teased her new friend, after recovering from her attack of giggles. Kiwi blushed again, but attempted to respond in kind:  

"Don’t you get tired of people trying to stuff you into their pockets, you’re such a teeny-tiny…." 

Megan laughed softly again, her rippling giggles infectious as always. "Truce." she proposed. 

Kiwi joined in the laughter with the others, but for just a moment he felt a pang – Fiona’s trilling giggles echoed in the back of his mind.

The boys told Laura, Megan and Vanessa the strange tale of how they had pursued each other about the city for so long, culminating in the fight at the warehouse, which Joe described in detail – until he got to the part where Kiwi had decked him with one punch. Joe lost a little enthusiasm at that point, and left Frank to finish the story. 

Vanessa chuckled. "Joe doesn’t often encounter someone who can do that to him." she observed. "It burns his pride." Joe turned slowly and gave her a reproachful stare. She considered him thoughtfully back. "Kiwi…will you do me a favor?" 

"Maybe." he hedged. 

"I’m going to ask Joe to do something…and if he says ‘no,’ will you punch him again?" 

Kiwi stuck his thumbs up and winked. "No worries." 

All her listeners looked surprised, and Joe stared at her apprehensively. 

"What are you going to ask me to do, for Pete’s sake?" he demanded. 

She smiled sweetly. "Shave off that awful beard." 

Laura, Frank, Megan and Kiwi burst out laughing. It was now Joe’s turn to flush beet-red. "But—" he began to protest. 

"Tell you what, Joe, buddy-boy…" Kiwi proposed. "I’ll make you a wager – I’ll shave mine off if you do yours, deal?" 

Joe considered it thoughtfully for a moment. "Done." he said, at last. 

*****

After lunch, Frank departed for the military base, and Megan stated that she had to return to campus for classes. Vanessa and Laura were in the kitchen, clearing up the dishes, and Joe and Kiwi retired to the boys’ bathroom to tackle the task of removing their beards. 

When they had finished, the two surveyed each other, and then observed their reflections carefully in the mirror. 

"You look a lot more like the Joe Hardy I knew in England." Kiwi said at last. "But not such a baby-face, now." 

"And you look more like you’re supposed to!" Joe grinned. "Except for the short hair and all the Arnold Schwarzenegger equipment."  

Kiwi sobered suddenly. "Hmmm….Will it make me easier to recognize?" he asked. "More like that picture on the police document?" 

Joe considered that a moment. "Maybe," he admitted. "We’ll just have to see that you continue the ‘low profile’ stuff, I guess."  

When the two of them returned downstairs, they were greeted by a smiling Vanessa, who ran her palm approvingly over Joe’s cheek, then kissed him. "Much nicer!" she enthused. "And you look real good too, Kiwi!"  

"Babe, when we were going through closets earlier, I found something of yours that you might have forgotten about." Joe said then. He opened the front hall closet door and retrieved a compound bow and a small quiver of arrows. "Did you remember you’d left these here?" 

She blinked. "I suppose I must have, but I hadn’t thought about it in a long time." She picked the bow up and patted it. "I have another bow at home, but I do like this one. I’m glad to get it back." 

Kiwi had listened with considerable interest. "You shoot?" he asked.

"She’s good, too—" Joe enthused, then paused, remembering something. "Hey – Vanessa, Kiwi’s a regular Robin Hood with a 12^th-century longbow!"  

"No kidding!" Vanessa exclaimed, surprised. "A 12^th-century longbow?" 

"Yeah, although I’m okay with a compound bow too…" 

"…he’s more than okay," Joe cut in. "He saved my bacon with that longbow, once!"

Vanessa raised her eyebrows questioningly, and for the next few minutes, she and Kiwi talked archery. Joe, although unable to participate much in the conversation, sat back and watched them, immensely pleased. For the first time since he’d seen Kiwi, his friend appeared absorbed and relaxed, discussing a topic that was dear to his heart. And it was Vanessa who did it! Joe exulted silently. I’m so proud of you, babe – you’ve made him feel at home! 

"Maybe sometime – after all this mess is cleared up – we can try shooting together." she was saying now, to Kiwi, who nodded, smiling. 

"I’d like that very much – but first things first." Kiwi got to his feet. "Joe, you said we could look up old issues of the newspaper – looking for obituaries. Could we do that now?" 

"Yep." Joe stood up too. "Want to come with us?" he asked Vanessa, but she shook her head.  

"I have a project I need to work on. I’m going to stay here with your mom for a little longer, then go on home. I’ll talk to you later."