Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - Lost Sons

“JOE!” Frank cried as he watched his brother plunge into the water. Quickly he let go of Callie and readied himself to dive over the side. Tony, however, grabbed his arm and forced him to sit.

“Frank! What are you doing?”

Frank was about to open his mouth to retort when Joe’s head broke the surface of the water several yards away.

“See?” said Tony. “Joe was fine, he just fell over.”

“Uh-huh,” said Frank anxiously, watching as Joe started to swim back towards them.

But Kenneth Nash wasn’t finished. His boat came tearing towards them again and Joe was right in his path.

“JOE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Frank screamed, watching horrified as Joe tried to dive out of the way of the big motorboat.

He nearly made it. However, the big boat started to swerve a little and smacked his head hard. Joe disappeared beneath the waves.

This time, Frank and Biff both sprang to their feet and pulled off their shoes. Tony killed the engine as the two boys dived overboard. Kenneth Nash, he noted angrily, was speeding away.

He must have realised he hit Joe! Tony fumed, then returned his attention to the water.

Frank had headed straight for where his brother sank and dived down. Biff, on the other hand, had dropped straight below the water surface where he had landed. The teenagers in the boat sat in agonised silence waiting for them to return. Two minutes later, Biff appeared followed closely by Frank. Both boys gasped in another lungful of air and dived again.

Frank was starting to panic. The waters of Barmet Bay were dark and murky. It was difficult to tell what direction he was diving towards. He could feel the current tugging strongly at him and was terrified that it had dragged Joe away from the boat. His lungs screaming for air, Frank swam quickly upwards and as his head broke the surface of the water, he saw Biff’s blond one diving down again. He glanced briefly back at the boat to gather his bearings then took a deep breath and dived again.

This time, he swam as far downwards as he could. Maybe Joe had just sank, maybe he hadn’t drifted out? Frank was praying as he swam lower and lower. Frantically, he scanned the sea bed and got lucky. His brother floated limply in the water several feet away, his foot caught in some netting. His own lungs were near to bursting point as he swam quickly towards Joe. Quickly, he reached down to free Joe’s foot, but it was utterly snarled in the netting. Frank tugged desperately at it but it wouldn’t budge. Terrified and desperate, Frank tried to pull Joe upwards but he couldn’t lift him. The dark haired boy glanced down and saw that the net was anchored.

Almost at the point of passing out, Frank was forced to swim back up again. Choking and spluttering, he sucked in a lungful of air before screaming, “BIFF! OVER HERE! I CAN’T GET HIM LOOSE!” Another deep gulp of air and Frank was sinking again.

Oh God, Joe! Please be alright! he prayed as he reached his brother again and started to tug at the net. He felt movement to his right and turned to see Biff and Tony. They didn’t even look at Frank as Tony reached into his back pocket and pulled out a knife. Together, he and Frank hacked at the net while Biff positioned himself behind Joe.

Almost free, thought Frank, cutting his hands on the net as he pulled the strong ropes apart where Tony had slashed them. Suddenly, he froze, horrified. There were eyes in the net staring back at him!

He didn’t have time to wonder. Tony yanked his arm and pulled him upwards. Joe was free and Biff was swimming topside as fast as he could with him. Frank quickly tore after them, Tony beside him.

“CHET! GET THE BOAT OVER HERE!” Tony yelled, as soon as they broke the surface again. Frank swam over to Biff who was holding Joe’s limp form and trying to keep his head above water. All three boys were exhausted.

The Napoli glided up beside them. Immediately, Chet and Phil reached down and pulled Joe aboard. Then they heaved Frank back in.

As he stumbled into the boat, he saw they had laid Joe out on the bottom. Iola was frantically trying to resuscitate him, blood running down the side of her face.

NO! Frank’s mind screamed at him, and he dove towards them and shoved Iola out of the way before forcing air down Joe’s throat with mouth-to-mouth breathing.

Iola didn’t comment. Instead, she placed her hand over Joe’s chest and started chest compressions. “One…Two…Three…Four…Five…” she counted, keeping a steady rhythm. Every time she reached five, Frank blew more air down Joe’s throat.

Come on, Joe! Breathe! Please! Frank begged, as the boat started up. He could hear Biff shouting at Tony to get back to the dock.

Joe was not responding. He was ice cold and his skin was blue. Frank could feel hot tears burning his eyes as he leaned forward and continued to blow air down his brother’s throat. Iola was still counting as she pumped on his chest, but her voice was quavering.

Terror and panic started to take hold of Frank as the boat bounced over the waves. “JOE! WAKE UP!” he yelled and thumped his brother’s chest. Immediately, strong hands pulled him back and Phil took over giving Joe mouth-to-mouth. Frank looked around to see Biff holding him in place.

“Easy, Frank,” he said in a low voice, but Frank could see he was pale with fear. Chet had taken over the chest compressions from Iola, who was kneeling, exhausted and scared, beside him.

As they pulled into the dock, Tony roared for help. Several men came running up and helped to lift Joe onto the dock, where they took over from the teenagers in giving CPR. Frank clambered up the steps wildly behind them.

“I’ve called an ambulance!” someone yelled as he knelt beside his brother and the men trying to save his life.

“Joe, come on, breath! Please!” Frank begged.

But the minutes were ticking past and nothing was happening. Frank closed his eyes and prayed. Please, God! Please! Come on, Joe…

And then he heard it…coughing.

Frank opened his eyes just in time to see the men rolling his brother onto his side, while Joe spewed out a mass of dirty sea water.

“Atta boy, cough it up!” one of the men murmured as Joe choked and heaved, then lay still. The man reached for his wrist and nodded. “He has a pulse.”

“Thank you!” Frank gibbered at the man, relief washing over him. “Thank you!”

“The ambulance is coming,” said Tony, kneeling down beside Frank as an approaching wail was heard.

“What were you kids doing out there?” demanded a wizened old sailor from where he stood watching them. “I saw you playing chicken with that other boat! Are you crazy?”

“That wasn’t us!” snapped Biff at once. “The other boat drove at us and kept trying to capsize us!”

“It’s true,” said Phil quietly. “We all saw it.”

“And we know who it is too!” declared Iola angrily. “Kenneth Nash. And he nearly got Joe killed!”

Frank’s head snapped up. Iola was right. Cold fury took over and he swallowed as he glanced back at his brother’s unconscious form. Kenneth Nash was going to be sorry…

A loud siren told them the ambulance had just pulled into the dock. Frank looked up and saw the paramedics jump out and come hurrying towards them. The men beside him quickly stood up to make room for them.

“Will he be okay?” Frank asked anxiously as the paramedics examined Joe.

“And you are…?” one of the paramedics queried.

“His brother.”

“He should be fine. But we need to get him over to the hospital to get checked out. Do you want to come with us?”

“Yes,” replied Frank at once, getting to his feet.

“Sorry, sonny,” said one of the men who had helped Joe. “But don’t you think the little lady should go with him? She looks like she needs the hospital too.” He pointed towards Iola and everyone turned to look.

The petite girl was still bleeding, and Frank could see she had a nasty gash on the side of her head. His stomach sinking, Frank nodded. “Okay, I’ll follow in the car,” he whispered.

“No!” said Iola loudly and everyone turned to look at her again. “Frank, go with Joe. I’m sure one of the guys will drive me to the hospital.”

“Iola, you can’t-” Frank tried but she scowled crossly at him.

“Frank, I’m fine! Go with Joe.”

“I can drive her in your car,” Tony offered and Frank smiled gratefully at him.

“Okay. Thanks, Tony. Just let me get you the keys.” He reached into his sopping wet pocket and found nothing. “They’re gone!” he exclaimed, looking up. “My keys are gone!”

“They must have fallen out when you were in the water,” said Phil and Frank groaned.

“What are you going to do?” asked Chet.

“My Mom has a spare set, but…” Frank’s voice trailed off and he stared miserably at Joe, whom the paramedics had now loaded onto a stretcher.

“You need them now?” finished Biff quietly and Frank nodded.

“We need to go now,” one of the paramedics interrupted them and Frank stared at the ground. He really wanted to go with his brother.

“Um, I can drive Iola to the hospital,” a voice volunteered and they all turned around to see Callie staring at Frank tentatively. She was pale and scared looking, and Frank realised that in all the panic, he had forgotten she was even there.

“You sure you don’t mind?” he asked quietly.

She shook her head. “Of course not. I can bring anyone who needs a lift.”

“Thank you, Callie,” said Frank with a grateful smile.

The paramedics started to move towards the ambulance and Frank moved to follow them, then froze. “Tony! I nearly forgot, we need to call the police.”

“Don’t worry, Frank,” said Tony, his face grim. “I’ll call them. Kenneth Nash won’t get away with this!”

“No!” said Frank confused. “Not just about…Tony, didn’t you see it?”

Now it was Tony’s turn to be confused. “See what?”

“There was a body in that net,” Frank answered quietly.

***

Frank’s mother arrived at Bayport Hospital not long after the ambulance. Tony had called her from the Marina.

“Frank!” she cried, pale with fright. “What happened? Where’s Joe?”

“With the doctors,” said Frank as he hugged his mother. “They haven’t said how he is yet.”

“What happened?” Laura asked again.

Frank gave his mother a brief explanation of the events on the bay. When he was finished, she was white with rage.

“That stupid boy!” she hissed. “He could have killed someone!”

“Tony’s going to call the police,” said Frank. “Mom, I think there was a body in the net!”

“A what?!” she gaped at him.

“A body, I could see its eyes,” said Frank and shuddered.

“Oh, honey!” Laura leaned over and hugged Frank tightly. In all the panic, she hadn’t noticed how pale and shaken he looked. “Are you okay?”

Frank nodded numbly. “Did you call Dad?”

Laura shook her head. “I couldn’t reach him. I left a note for Gertrude and asked her to call him.”

They fell silent and glanced at the doors into the exam room. What was taking so long?

They thought had no sooner crossed their minds when the door opened and a tall, pretty doctor walked towards them. Frank could see that her name badge read Dr. Geller. “Are you the Hardys?” she asked.

“Yes. How’s Joe?” demanded Laura.

“He’s one very lucky boy,” the doctor answered. “He’s taken a nasty knock to the head and he’s pretty shaken up, but he should be fine. We’ll be keeping him in overnight for observation just to be safe.”

“Where is he?” Frank asked.

“Exam room three,” replied Dr. Geller. “You can go in and see him but I’m afraid he’s still pretty out of it. He’ll need to rest a for a day or two to get back on his feet.”

“Where is exam room three?” Laura asked.

“Straight down and to the right,” she replied, indicating with her finger to the end of the hall.

“Thank you, Doctor,” said Laura as she and Frank set off down the hall. They nearly collided with Chet as he exited from another room.

“Frank! How’s Joe?” he asked at once.

“He should be fine,” said Frank tiredly. “They’re keeping him in overnight just to be sure. I never saw you guys arrive. How’s Iola?”

“She needs stitches,” Chet grimaced. “She’s getting them now. I didn’t really want to watch so Callie stayed with her.”

“Has someone called your parents?” asked Laura.

Chet nodded. “Tony did, right after he called you, Mrs. Hardy. They’re on their way now.”

“What about the police?” Frank wanted to know.

“They’ve been called. They’re going to want a statement from all of us,” Chet answered. “Search and rescue are heading out there too…Frank, did you really see a body in the water?”

The dark haired teenager bit his lip. “I thought I did, but I can’t be sure.”

“Boy, I sure hope you’re wrong,” Chet muttered.

“So do I,” said Frank grimly. “Look, Chet, we’re just going down to see Joe now. Can I call you later?”

“Sure, Frank, no problem.”

“Thanks-Oh, Chet!” Frank had started down the hall when he turned again. “Do me a favour? Tell Callie I said thanks for bringing Iola in and letting me go with Joe.”

Chet nodded. “I’ll tell her. See you later, Frank.”

“Bye.”

Frank and his mother set off down the corridor again. “This Callie sounds like a nice girl,” Laura prompted carefully.

“She is,” Frank mumbled, blushing.

“Maybe you should call her and thank her yourself instead of having Chet do it?” Laura suggested, smiling a little.

“Maybe,” Frank mumbled again as his mother stopped outside a door with the number three on it and pushed it open.

The entered the room. Joe was asleep, but a nurse stood beside him giving him an IV. “Hello,” she greeted them in a soft whisper. “Are you his mother?”

“Yes,” Laura answered quietly. “What’s that for?” She pointed to the IV.

“Just some antibiotics to counteract any after effects of being immersed in the bay,” the nurse smiled. “It’s nothing serious and I’m just about finished.”

As the nurse gathered up her things, she addressed them kindly. “He’s still out of it, but he should be coming around soon. If I can get you anything, just buzz me.”

“Thank you, Nurse,” said Laura and sat into the chair beside Joe’s bed. She waited until the nurse had closed the door before turning to Frank. “Honey? As soon as Joe comes around, I want you to go home.”

“What? But, Mom-”

Laura held up her hand. “No arguments, Frank. Your clothes are still wet and you’re shaking. I want you home before you catch pneumonia.”

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted.

“Please, Frank?” said his mother softly. “You can pick up the car on the way - here are the spare keys - and you can let Gertrude know how Joe is. It would be a big help to me.”

“Besides, you look like a drowned rat!” a hoarse voice said weakly and they turned to stare at Joe. He was awake and peering at them tiredly.

“Joe!” Frank exclaimed. “Are you okay? Man, you scared the hell out of me!”

“Why? What’d I do?” he mumbled, his eyes closing.

“Took an extensive dive,” Frank answered with a smile as Joe drifted off to sleep again. His brother would be fine, but he was obviously too exhausted to hear the whole story right now. Frank glanced at his mother and realised how stressed she looked. He sighed.

“Alright, Mom. I’ll go home and collect the car on the way.”

“Thank you, honey,” said Laura gratefully. “I’ll be home later.”

***

“FRANK!” Gertrude shrieked at him as soon as he got home. “I’ve been so worried! Is Joe okay?”

“Joe’s going to be fine,” said Frank soothingly, raising his hands to placate his frantic aunt. “The doctors are just keeping him in for observation.”

“Where’s Laura?”

“At the hospital. She’ll be home later.”

“Why didn’t you stay?” his aunt demanded peering at her nephew’s pale face. “That’s not like you…are you alright?”

“Fine,” said Frank wearily, although he was exhausted. A taxi had dropped him to the Marina where he had picked up his mother’s car. He had driven home very slowly, afraid that he would fall asleep at the wheel.

Gertrude looked at him suspiciously. “You don’t look fine. You’re very pale and…why are you wet? Frank, what exactly happened this afternoon?”

The teenager sighed and quickly recounted the afternoon’s events. As he expected, his aunt exploded with anger.

“That young scoundrel!” she shrieked, pacing the floor and shaking her fist. “They should lock him up! Have they locked him up? Frank, call the police right this minute! What way did his parents raise him? Do they know what that young pup has done?

Frank would have laughed at his aunt’s dramatic anger and indignation if he hadn’t been feeling so furious himself. He was ready to kill Kenneth Nash. His stupidity had nearly cost his brother his life and Frank wouldn’t soon forget it; Nash was going to be very sorry when he got his hands on him.

Gertrude calmed down a little when she saw Frank’s grim expression; she recognised the flash of dangerous anger in the teenager’s eyes. “Frank, call the police and let them handle it,” she told him firmly. “Don’t go getting into trouble on that brat’s account.”

“The police have already been called,” said Frank shortly.

“Well then, there’s nothing more you can do!” his aunt declared. “Go upstairs and change out of those wet things, I’ll make you some hot soup and a sandwich.”

“Thanks, Aunt Gertrude,” said Frank tiredly, heading up the stairs.

Quickly, he took a hot shower and changed his clothes. Then he called Phil.

The quiet boy answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Phil? It’s Frank.”

“Frank! How’s Joe?” he asked at once.

“He’ll be fine,” said Frank. “The doctors are keeping him in overnight for observation.”

Phil heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s good. What about Iola? Did you hear from Chet?”

“She needed stitches.”

“Stitches?” Phil gave an angry snort. “Poor Iola. And Joe was very lucky, Kenneth Nash could have killed him! What was Nash thinking?”

Frank didn’t reply. He could feel hot anger rising again at just the mention of Nash’s name.

“Frank?” Phil’s voice sounded on the line. “Have you talked to the police yet?”

“No. Have you?”

“Yeah, we all did after you guys left for the hospital. They questioned Biff and Tony for ages about the body!”

“About the body? What about Kenneth Nash?” Frank demanded.

“They questioned them about him too!” said Phil hurriedly. “But they wanted to know about the body as well. The only thing is, neither Tony or Biff saw it.”

“I’m still not really sure if I saw it,” Frank admitted. “I think I must have been hallucinating.”

“You weren’t. Search and Rescue pulled a body from the water,” Phil told him quietly.

“There really was one?” Frank was shocked. He had convinced himself that in all of the panic he had only imagined it. “Do they know who it is?”

“No.”

“Did they say what happened?”

Phil gave a weak chuckle. “Ever the detective. Frank, do you really think they’re going to tell a couple of teenagers about their findings?”

“Good point.” Frank sighed. “Look, Phil, I’m really exhausted. Would you mind calling the rest of the guys and letting them know that Joe is okay?”

“Of course. Will you be in school tomorrow?”

“Probably.”

“Okay. See you then, Frank.”

“Bye.”

Frank hung up the phone and made his way slowly downstairs. He was feeling rather shocked. The afternoon’s events had taken a lot out of him, and the revelation that he had really seen a body left him felling rather ill. The teenager entered the kitchen and the smell of his aunt’s tomato soup hit him.

“It’s about time!” said Gertrude. “I was beginning to think you’d fallen asleep up there.”

“I called Phil,” Frank explained, sitting at the table. “I wanted to let him know about Joe, and asked him to call the others.”

“Good idea,” smiled his aunt approvingly. “You’re far too tired to be calling everyone this evening. You should have an early night.”

“I’ll go to bed once Mom comes home,” said Frank as his aunt placed a bowl of soup and a sandwich in front of him. “Thanks, Aunt Gertrude.”

Just then the phone rang. “I’ll get it!” said his aunt at once. “You, eat!”

She hurried into the hall to answer the phone while Frank remained at the table. He hadn’t realised how chilled he was until the delicious warmth of the soup heated him up as it slid down his throat.

Frank had nearly finished his meal when his aunt returned to the kitchen.

“That was your father,” she announced. “I couldn’t reach him earlier and left him a message to ring home at once.”

“What did he say?”

“He’s furious,” Gertrude told him. “He’ll be home tomorrow afternoon to have a word with that boy’s parents himself.”

“I hope he gets Nash arrested!” Frank muttered.

His aunt smiled grimly as she filled the kettle and started to make some tea. “I’m sure Fenton will see to it that that boy gets what he deserves!”

Frank got up and carried his plates to the sink. He was just about to offer to clean up when the doorbell rang.

“Now who is that?” asked his aunt irritably.

“I’ll get it,” Frank offered and headed out of the kitchen. He crossed the hall and pulled open the front door. Con Riley stood there on the doorstep along with another officer. They both looked very serious.

Evening, Frank,” Con greeted him. “Can we come in?”

Frank nodded and stood aside to let them in. They stepped into the hall just as Gertrude appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. She looked rather surprised to see them.

“Evening, Miss. Hardy,” said Con quietly. “Sorry to barge in unannounced like this, but we need to ask Frank a few questions about this afternoon.”

Gertrude’s mouth thinned. “Would you like to go into the living room?”

“Yes, please,” Con responded and she led the way. As soon as the men were seated she offered them some tea.

“No thank you, Miss. Hardy,” Con replied politely. “I’m sure Frank is tired and we won’t keep him anymore than we have to.”

Gertrude nodded. “I’ll leave you to it then.”

“Actually, Miss. Hardy, we need you to stay,” said Con. “Frank is a minor, and we can’t question him without a parent or guardian present.”

“Frank isn’t in any trouble, is he?” demanded Gertrude sharply.

“No,” Con reassured her. “Frank isn’t in trouble.”

Gertrude seated herself beside Frank, but kept a suspicious glare directed at the two officers. Frank saw her face and swallowed. He hadn’t told her about the body.

“Frank, why don’t you tell us everything that happened this afternoon?” Con asked quietly.

Frank told them everything that happened in detail, from when they had left the Marina to the point when Kenneth Nash had hit Joe. He could hear his aunt sniffing and muttering furiously under her breath as she heard the story in detail. When Frank got to the part about the body in the net, she let out a horrified gasp.

“Frank! You never said!” Gertrude was white with shock. “Con, did he really…I mean, was there…?” she stopped, unable to get the words out.

But Con understood her question. “Unfortunately, Frank did see a body in the bay. Search and Rescue recovered it a few hours ago.”

Gertrude put one hand to her mouth, too appalled to speak. She grasped Frank’s hand with the other while Con watched her sympathetically.

Frank, however, had another worry.

“Con, you all seem more interested in this body than in the fact that Kenneth Nash nearly killed Joe!” he accused.

“We’re taking Kenneth Nash’s actions very seriously, Frank,” Con replied. “But this business with the body is rather serious too, and we have to look into it.”

“I understand that,” said Frank. “But what’s going to happen with Nash?”

“We don’t know yet,” Con admitted. “He’s a minor and can’t be charged as an adult. And his father has already started legal proceedings to protect him.”

“I’ll bet!” snapped Frank bitterly. William Nash, Kenneth’s father, was a successful lawyer and had gotten his son out of many scrapes before.

“Don’t worry,” Con consoled him. “We’re investigating today very thoroughly, Frank, and I’m sure your mother and father have no intention of letting this go either.”

“You’d better believe it!” Gertrude cut in furiously. “Fenton will be back tomorrow and I know he’ll ensure that this boy gets what’s coming to him!”

“I’m sure he will, Miss. Hardy,” said Con gently. “And there are a lot of eye witness accounts to what happened today, along with the fact that Joe and Iola Morten had to be taken to hospital. I’m sure even William Nash will have a hard time getting his son out of this one.”

“Is that everything?” Frank asked and Con nodded.

“We’ll call you if we have any more questions, Frank. And when Joe is feeling up to it, we’ll talk to him too. We’re just on our way out to the Morton’s to speak with Chet and Iola.

Frank and Gertrude smiled at Con, mollified. They knew he would do everything he could to see that Kenneth Nash was punished for this.

“Con?” said Frank, as the officer stood up. “Have you identified the body yet?”

The officer looked uncomfortable. “No, we haven’t, Frank. And it may take some time.”

“Why?”

“I can’t say,” Con told him, not quite meeting Frank’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Frank, but it’s a police investigation.”

“Okay,” said Frank, but he was troubled. Con had sounded spooked and in all the years he had known him, Frank had never seen Con scared.

He had a feeling things were about to get very messy in the quiet town of Bayport.

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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.