Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Chapter 5 - Courage

“18 hours. That’s how long we had been looking. 18 hours. It could be a lifetime, but it felt like five minutes.

Everyone was trying to help; Phil had offered to look through all our old cases on my computer, and was trying to compile a list of people with a grudge against either Joe or me. The list was…well….LONG. It’s a good thing that neither of us ever intends to get into politics, because we have a LOT of enemies.

Biff and Tony still weren’t back, even though it was close to 2 a.m. at that stage. They had gone back to where Joe’s van was hit and were talking to absolutely everyone within a 300 meter radius, which, at that time of night mostly consisted of drunks and homeless people.

Dad was on his way from the airport; he said that he had just gotten a message on his cell-phone from Sam Radley about a case that might be connected, and was going to follow up on it.

So far no one had been able to tell me ANYTHING. It was like Joe just vanished, disappeared into thin air. I couldn’t understand how no one except one eight year old boy had seen my brother being bashed over the head and dragged into the back of a police car in broad daylight.

I was just back from police headquarters, where I had found out a couple of things; the police car had apparently been stolen from outside a coffee shop the previous day, as the two police officers sat inside having breakfast. No one had thought of linking it to my brother’s disappearance, and they were reluctant to give me any information on the car.”

“I’m sorry Frank.”

The police officer standing in front of a by now irate and frustrated Frank Hardy was young and only on the job about six months. He knew the Hardys, having worked with them once before, and had been impressed by the boys’ depth of knowledge and experience. He also knew how close they were.

“Look,” he continued, “I know you’re worried about your brother, but that’s all that I can tell you. The car was stolen from outside Collandra’s Coffee Shop at eight o’clock yesterday morning. No one saw it happening, or could identify the person who took it. We don’t know if it was a guy, a girl, hell, it could have been a couple of kids.”

“Look, whoever took that police car also took my brother, don’t you understand that?” Frank knew his voice was rising, but didn’t feel he could control his anger.

“You know something, don’t you? If you do, TELL ME, please. I know the cops think that I am overreacting, that Joe disappeared in broad daylight to avoid getting a ticket or something. Now someone had better start taking me seriously very, VERY soon or…..”

Frank’s voice trailed off; he could feel his worry and rage getting the better of him, and decided to say no more.

The young officer sighed. He thought of his kid sister at home, and how he’d do anything for her.

“Look, I’m not meant to tell you this, but whoever stole that car had to have a key for it. There is no way those cars can be hotwired, and all the doors were locked. Whoever stole that car had access to a spare key, which means they were in the police station at some stage.”

“So it was another officer? Frank asked.

“I don’t think so, not an active officer in any case. But to be honest with you, those keys aren’t very well minded; anyone within these four walls has access to them, janitors, cooks, cleaners, you name it. That’s not something the ‘big boys’ will ever admit, but it’s the truth.”

“I asked him for a list of all employees, which he promised to try and get for me, but he didn’t sound very hopeful. It turns out that the station doors are all accessed by codes, which, as it turns out weren’t changed as often as they should be, so ex-employees, workmen, you name it, they could have access to the keys and could have taken that car.

It was a little bit worse than looking for a needle in a haystack, because I had a feeling that time wasn’t on my side.

I was back at the house, trying to figure out what to do next, when the phone rang again.

It was Mom.”

“Frank, honey, how are you? Has your father arrived yet, any word on Joe?”

Frank could hear the worry in his Mom’s voice, but even more that that, she sounded shaky, scared even.

“Mom, is everything okay, you sound awful.”

“I’m okay Frank, but Chief Collig is here. Frank, please don’t panic, but someone threw a brick through the living room window about an hour and a half ago.”

Frank felt like his heart stopped beating. “Are you okay?” was all he could manage to say.

“Yes, I am. I admit that it scared me half to death at the time, but I’m alright now; there’s no note, nothing, just a lot of glass and a pretty big rock.”

‘Dammit, first Joe, now Mom, does it ever stop?’ Frank thought to himself.

Out loud he said, “It doesn’t really sound like nothing, to be honest Mom, you can’t stay there alone, okay; tell Chief Collig…”

But Laura interrupted him. “Chief Collig has already posted two people outside the house at all times, Frank, stop panicking. And anyway, Sam’s on his way down as we speak, and he’ll stay here with me until you find your brother and bring him back here to see me.”

Frank couldn’t help but smile at his mother’s relentless optimism, and wished that he too felt the same, but at the moment, all he could feel was a steadily rising panic. This wasn’t the time to worry his mother anymore, however.

“Okay, that’s fine, once you’re not injured.. How come Sam is coming up, did Dad ring and ask him?” Frank asked.

“Well yes, your father was talking to him yesterday, and then I rang him this morning, and I was on the telephone to him when the brick came through the window, and of course I panicked at first when I didn’t know what it was. By the time I thought to call him back and explain that everything was fine, he was already preparing to leave.”

Laura paused, swallowed nervously, and spoke again.

“There’s something else, Frank.” Laura was hesitant, but knew she had to tell her son what Sam had relayed to her earlier. She told him of the case that Sam had been working on, and of the sad outcome.

As his Mom spoke, Frank could feel his knees giving way, and knew that he had to sit down, before he fell down. His heart was beginning to pound loudly in his ears.

‘Man about Joe’s age….description….found dead…..three days…..’

Three days.

THREE DAYS.

The words rang in Frank’s ears over and over again, and suddenly he knew, he realized, Joe only had three days too. He knew it, somehow from the minute he discovered Joe was gone he felt a sense of urgency, and this was why. That was the case that Dad told him about on the phone, the one Sam connected to this one.

“Mom, I’m scared.”

He had spoken the words almost without realizing it. But it was true. Frank Hardy was scared.

He heard his mother give the faintest of sighs, and then she said…

“Frank, your father once said to me that having courage means being the only one who knows you're afraid.

I know that you’re scared Frank, but you know what; you wouldn’t be human if you weren’t. Don’t fight it Frank, just channel your fear and use it to find your brother. I know you can.”

“Sometimes Mom comes out with statements like that, statements that render you speechless, take your breath away. She knew I was scared, no matter how much I tried to hide it from her, and even down a phone line from 2,500 miles away she was still able to comfort me.

As I hung up the phone I thought about what she had said to me. Courage. I needed to have courage. Courage enough to believe that Joe was all right, that Dad would turn up something, that together we would find the person responsible.

After talking to Mom, I went into my room. There’s an old wicker chair by the window. I’ve had it for years, and I remember Joe moaning at me when I insisted on spending a fortune having it shipped out west along with my computer when we started college.

It’s old and battered, the cushions have seen better days, but somehow, sitting in the chair, is comforting. It’s a link with home, a link to childhood, when I never seemed to have to worry. I sat in that chair and stared out the window, wondering where Joe was, and hoping that I’d have enough courage to find him.”