Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Frank and Joe thanked Vanessa and headed back home. Once there they jumped out of the van and raced inside. Their mother was waiting for them. "It's a mess," she said.

"What were you doing in the lab?" Frank asked his mom.

"I saw the door was ajar and thought you two must have forgotten to close it so I went to do so but saw the condition it was in and thought I'd better call you," she explained.

"Did you touch anything?" Joe asked, running up to the lab.

"No," she said with a shake of her head.

"Why didn't you call us in the van?" Frank asked.

"I thought you had all ready reached Vanessa's," his mother explained. "Should I call the police?"

"No," Joe said, coming back down and looking over at Frank. "We'll clean it up and take care of it," he told his mother. "The lock wasn't picked," Joe told Frank after their mother had gone inside.

"Dad?" Frank asked.

"Had to be," Joe concurred. "But why?"

"Maybe he found out we were in his files and figured out what we're going to do," Frank guessed.

"Well, he's not going to stop us," Joe vowed.

"What if it wasn't Dad?" Frank asked, as they walked into the lab.

"Look around," Joe told him, grabbing a pair of gloves and starting to clean up. Frank did. Although there were various chemical bottles broken abd spilled everywhere, there no gases or other obvious reactions taking place. Whoever had caused the mess had been careful not to mix the chemicals. Also, none of their equipment had been demolished or taken.

"Okay," Frank said, pulling on gloves and picking up broken vials. "We'd better hurry. It's going to be after midnight before we get to the city."

Two hours later, they stopped by Vanessa's, left their duffels and headed for the city, grabbing some burgers at a drive-thru on the way. After checking into a hotel, they fell asleep and woke only through the insistence of the travel alarm they had brought with them.

"Where do we start?" Joe asked Frank, coming out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and another around his shoulders.

Frank had already showered and was reading over the file and print-out they had brought with them. "I think we have two possibles," Frank said. "Steve Davis and Donald Whitman." He passed the photos's over to Joe.

"Davis has been arrested three times," Frank told Joe. "Twice for burglarly and once for rape. He beat the rape charge, but served eight years for burglarly. Whitman was a lawyer until he was disbarred for unethical behaviour. He was aressted for the rape of Tanya Jones and Sarah Miller, who both positively identified him, but according to the report, he had solid alibis for both instances."

"What about the other rapes?" Joe asked. He knew there had been eleven women on the list in his father's file.

"He was in a line-up, but only Jones and Miller IDed him," Frank responded.

"What about Davis?" Joe asked.

"He was in jail during three of the rapes which is why Dad didn't seriously consider him the culprit," Frank said, looking at the file.

"Then let's start with Whitman," Joe said. "There should be a current address listed on the print out."

"Let's grab some breakfast before we head over there," Frank said. "You'd better call Vanessa and let her know where we're staying before we leave," he added.

"I called while you were in the shower," Joe said, slipping into his clothes. "Let's go."

A little over an hour later the boys were standing in front of Apartment B in a building on Forty-Fourth Street. Frank knocked on the door and a woman answered. "Yes?" she asked, through the peep-hole.

"We would like to speak with Donald Whitman," Frank said.

"Just a moment," she said. A moment later, the door opened and there stood a brown-headed, blue-eyed man with an athletic build.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"We would like to ask you some questions about Tanya Jones and Sarah Miller," Frank said.

"I have nothing to say," Whitman replied and slammed the door in Frank's face.

Frank knocked on the door until Whitman opened it again. "Sir, we aren't trying to accuse you of anything, we just need to ask you some questions.

"Harrassment is illegal," Whitman stated. "And if you two do not leave at once I'm calling the cops," he added firmly.

"Look, one of the women who was raped had a son," Joe told him. "That boy has a rare bone disease and is dying. If we can find his father he stands a chance with a marrow transplant." Frank hid his surprise at Joe's lie and held his breath hoping Whitman would buy it. He did.

"Come in," he said, opening the door fully and stepping back so they could enter. "How can I help?" he asked after they had come inside.

"Did you know Tanya Jones and Sarah Miller?" Joe asked.

"I know Ms. Jones, but I had never met Ms. Miller," Whitman said. "Ms. Jones was a client of mine," he added with a grimace.

"Did you rape her?" Joe asked flat out.

"No," Whitman answered. "Nor did I accept bribes from her."

"She was the reason you were disbarred?" Frank asked. At Whitman's nod, he continued. "What were the alleged bribes for?"

"She accused me of accepting bribes from Jeff Blevins. He was suing her for vandalism. She did paint graffiti on his fence, there were witnesses, but she said I paid them to lie on her because I took money from Mr. Blevins."

"But to be disbarred? There had to be proof," Joe stated.

"After the accusations had been made, Mr. Blevins called and suggested we have lunch to discuss the matter. I had no idea he was involved. We met, talked, and went our seperate ways. The next day there were pictures of Mr. Blevins and myself at lunch submitted to the review board. Mr. Blevins admitted to paying me to lose the case."

"He admitted it?" Frank asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh, yes," Whitman said. "I found out Ms. Jones and Mr. Blevins were...associated, shall we say."

"What do you mean?" Frank asked quickly.

"She worked for his boss," Whitman explained. "They both worked for Timothy Bledsoe. I was the prosecuting attorney who had sent Bledsoe's son to prison two years earlier."

"You're saying you were set up?"ked.

"You got it," Whitman said. "I don't know how this is going to help the boy who is sick, but I wish him well. My younger brother died from bone cancer," he added.

"I'm sorry," Joe said. "But thank you for your help," he added as he and Frank left.

"Now we find Tanya Jones," Frank said as they left the building.

"You don't buy his story?" Joe asked.

"Not really. If there was a connection between Jones, Blevin, and Bledsoe, why didn't he bring it up? Even if he didn't find out until later, he could have been reinstated." They walked back to the subway. "Let's go to the library," Frank decided. "We can look up their addresses and check out articles on the attacks."

"We'd better check in with Vanessa first," Joe said. "Dad may be trying to contact us."

"You're just looking for an excuse to call your girlfriend," Frank kidded him. Joe just smiled and headed for a payphone. After talking for a few minutes, he motioned Frank over.

"Mom's called twice today," he told Frank. "Vanessa told her we had to go to Southport to pick up some pardts for the sound equipment her mom got in. Vanessa said mom's not buying it."

Frank took the phone from Joe. "Vanessa, if Mom calls again, just tell her the truth. We'll call her as soon as we hang up," he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah," Frank said. He said bye and handed the phone back to Joe. Joe talked another minute before hanging up. Joe dialed home. His mother answered on the first ring. "Hi Mom," Joe said.

"Don't hi me," she said angrily. "You lied to me."

"You lied to me for seventeen years," Joe retorted but was immediately contrite. "I'm sorry," he said. "I had no right to say that."

Frank took the phone from Joe who seemed at a loss for words. "Mom, don't be mad at Vanessa," he said. "It was my idea."

"I believe it," she said, clearly exasperated. "Where are you?"

"We're in New York City," he replied. "Joe wants to find the man who attacked you."

"I thought so," Laura replied softly. "Please don't," she begged. "It was so long ago. There's no point in bringing up that horrible mess."

"I'm sorry Mom," Frank siad. "Joe needs this," he explained. "I have to help him."

"You have to make Joe understand this won't help anyone," she begged Frank. It's over. Leave it alone."

"Easy Mom," Frank soothed. "We'll be home soon," he added befoe saying goodbye and hanging up. "She's terrified," Frank told Joe after he had hung up.

"All the more reason for us to find this guy," Joe asserted. "What?" he asked on seeing Frank's concerned frown.

"Look little brother, I'm behind you a hundred percent and whatever you want to do, we will. But have you thought about the impact this might have?" Frank asked. "Those women have gotten on with their lives. Even if we find him, there isn't anything we can do. The statue of limitations has run out."

"I know," Joe said softly, looking at his feet. "I just..." he broke off and looked pleadingly at Frank.

"I know," Frank said, putting an arm around Joe's shoulders and squeezing. "Let's go to the library."

"This is weird," Frank siad three hours later.

"What is?" Joe asked, sitting back and rubbing his eyes.

"Tanya and Sarah are the only victims who could identify their attacker. All the other women were grabbed from behind and blindfolded and tied up before they were raped."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Joe agreed. "Maybe Tanya and Sarah were lying."

"Let's grab some lunch and check out Davis," Frank said. "I think we've found out everything we can here."

After lunch, Frank and Joe made their way to Davis' address. Frank knocked on the door. "What d'ya want?" a rough voice shouted from the other side.

"We would like to speak to Steve Davis," Frank said.

"I don't know no Davis!" the voice shouted back. "Get lost!"

Frank started to say something when heard a muffled sound. He turned his head and saw Joe being held at gunpoint, a dirty hand clamped over his mouth.