The snow was falling softly and lightly in the early morning in the beautiful town of Bayport. Shoppers were making their way from store to store with packages full of Christmas surprises. Other Bayporters were at the grocery store, getting that last minute ingredient for their Christmas feasts. Everything was quiet and peaceful as Christmas Eve had finally dawned on the seacoast town. Not too far from the hustle and bustle of town, the Hardy residence was getting ready for the holiday as well. The decorations were hung with care and great smells could be found roaming through the house. Mrs. Hardy was busy making pies, tarts and Christmas candy. Aunt Gertrude would be coming in the morning and she wanted everything to be perfect. Well, perfect enough to keep Fenton’s older sister happy. Fenton was finishing up some last minute shopping and paperwork in New York. He was expected home in the late afternoon, hoping for a nice Christmas Eve with his wife and sons.

Frank was busy cleaning his room and wrapping his presents. He had to smile when he wrapped Callie, his long time girlfriend’s package. The oldest Hardy had saved up for a single stone ruby ring with diamond chips on either side. It was Callie’s birthstone and her last ring was way too small for her finger. Frank recalled the many times that Callie and he had walked past the store window, staring at the rings. Each time Callie just looked and went on, not saying a word. But Frank was able to talk Mr. Leedy into a layaway plan and had made faithful payments on the ring since summer. Now it was time and Frank could hardly wait. Then he wrapped his father’s gift. Frank and his younger brother Joe had went together to by him an ocean fishing rod and tackle. Their father had spoke about wanting to go fishing again, but was never able to because he did not have the right supplies. The boys went together and bought the rod in hopes of maybe spending some time with their father one weekend. Then, the dark haired boy wrapped his mother’s gift. His mother always enjoyed gifts that her boys made her. So every year, her sons would make her a special gift. This year it was two scrapbooks that Callie and Iola had helped them make over a course of five months. Each photo album was for each son and the pictures were in chronological order. They had to do a lot of digging and research with Aunt Gertrude and their father to make the gifts, but they all knew that Mrs. Hardy was going to love them. Frank started to leaf through his pictures. As a baby and growing up, he could definitely tell he had taken after his father. His dark brown hair and eyes were almost identical to his father’s at the time. Now, Fenton’s hair was graying with age, but his dark eyes still were the perfect matches to Frank’s eyes. He looked past the pictures of Christmas’ past, first day of school, first computer, first case and even the first dance with Callie. There were also pictures of his younger brother, who mirrored Laura Hardy with his ocean blue eyes and blond hair that curled a little on the ends. Frank had to laugh. Joe was actually kind of cute when he was little with his chunky cheeks, sparkling blue eyes and blond curls. Frank put his scrapbook into a box and picked up Joe’s scrapbook. It was then that he sighed.

Joe had been working on the scrapbook with Iola, his long time girlfriend. However things came to a tragic end one day in early November when Iola disappeared into a ball of flames. A car bomb meant for the Hardy boys. The boys lost their convertible and most of all, a great friend. Joe had never really got over losing Iola yet. Frank would see him occasionally work on putting the pictures in the book from time to time, but he had all but stopped just a few weeks ago. Frank had been trying to do it here and there, but midterms and the debate team had taken most of his time. Actually all of his time lately. It was then that Frank spotted the last bit of pictures that were to be added to the scrapbook. Pictures of Joe and Iola at homecoming. Pictures that were taken just the week before her death. There were also pictures of Joe and Iola sitting in the swing, Iola sitting comfortably on Joe’s lap. Those were pictures taken this past summer, but were not developed until much later. Then there was the picture taken just hours before the explosion. It was a picture of Iola with her campaign sign standing in front of the yellow sports sedan. Iola never did like yellow, but agreed to have her picture taken with it since Joe loved it so. Her vivacious eyes and long black hair were just two small components of a beautiful girl of seventeen. Then there was the same picture, except this time it was with her brother Chet. Chet was the Hardys’ best friend since elementary and often helped on their cases. But lately, in the past week, Joe had been avoiding him. Actually Joe had been avoiding everyone! This was the best time of the year for Joe. But not this year. Joe was withdrawing more and more each day from everyone. Frank felt a ping of guilt in his gut.

Frank looked across the hall. Joe’s door was still shut. It was always shut anymore. It used to be that the brothers would romp and wrestle off and on. Enough that their mother would have to get after them because they were shaking the ceiling fan on the floor beneath Joe’s room. Frank loved to horseplay with his younger brother. But Joe was just not himself and the closer it got to Christmas break, the worse he got. The school always had a small program during the afternoon right before Christmas break. This time the choir, the one that Iola belonged to in life, sung her favorite Christmas song in her memory. Joe made it through "The Carol of the Bells", but got up to leave right after the choir performed it. Frank wished that he could have been sitting next to his brother, but he was sitting in the senior section while Joe was in the junior section. Before he could get up and out of the row, Joe was already driving the van out of the school parking lot. The school did report Joe as being truant, but dropped the issue after speaking with Mrs. Hardy. That was last Friday. Joe scared everyone that day by taking off and not returning until late that night. Laura and Fenton grounded him, but Joe did not seem to care. He simply apologized and went to his room. When it came time to decorate the tree, a favorite tradition of Joe’s, the younger Hardy chose to listen to his CD player and sit in his beanbag in his room. They were losing Joe little by little and no one even noticed until now. Frank shook his head in disgust.

"Maybe Mom and Dad will let him go with me somewhere, even though he is grounded," Frank thought to himself as he placed Joe’s scrapbook on his desk to finish later. He got up and went to the door and knocked on it.

But there was no answer. Frank slowly opened the door, expecting that the seventeen-year-old be still in bed. But Joe was no where to be found. His room was remarkably clean, almost spotless. That was very unlike Joe. Frank went downstairs to where his mother was cooking in the kitchen.

"Good morning Mom," Frank said, giving her a small peck on the cheek. "Where’s Joe?"

"He said he needed to go somewhere. So I let him go for a little while," Laura said with a frown. "I just don’t know what to do with him anymore. He is always so glum and quiet."

"Did he say where he was going?" Frank asked, picking up an orange.

"Not really, but I have an idea of where he went," Laura said, putting her first set of pies into the oven. "He had a batch of Christmas flowers and a small white box with him. He seemed to be dressed for outside weather so my mother’s instinct would say that he went to the cemetery."

Frank grimaced with the thought. "I wish he would stop beating himself up over it."

"Me too. I thought that he would feel better after talking to Chet, but it doesn’t seem to help," Laura said, stopping her chores and looking at Frank. "I am really worried though Frank."

"About what? I am sure that Joe will eventually get over it," the older Hardy boy said, hoping to be reassuring to his mother.

But Laura was not phased by Frank’s reassurances. She knew that Frank was just as worried. Then a small tear started to form in her eyes.

"Oh mom!" Frank said, hugging his mother tightly.

"I am sorry dear, but he just has me worried into knots! When he left school Friday and we couldn’t find him, I could not help but to fight the thought that he had done something to himself. I was afraid that they were going to find his body somewhere. I can’t believe that I even thought that, but he has been so different and unpredictable. He will not talk to me," Laura said, getting her thoughts out of her mind.

"I thought the same thing too. But he didn’t and I don’t think he will," Frank replied, wiping the tears from his mother’s eyes. He just wished that he could believe his own words. "Why don’t I take your car and drive out past the cemetery. I will get him to go shopping with me or something. We have not spent hardly any time together this past month. Maybe that will help."

His mother smiled sweetly. "That would make me feel better Frank. If there is anyone who can get through to him, it would be you."

Frank smiled and finished the orange. His mother’s last words haunted his thoughts as he drove to the cemetery.