Laura opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She was terrified she and Joe would never see Fenton and Frank again but she knew she had to be strong. Until they could get the cast off, they were pretty much at Stan’s mercy.

Her fear started to melt away as it became replaced with anger. How dare Stan Axemeyer do this to them? Did he really expect them to like him after this? Of course he did, Laura realized. He was probably going to drug them again.

She sat up and swung her legs off the side of the queen-size bed and looked around the room. Considering how well coordinated the entire room was she was sure a professional had done it.

Laura got to her feet and went to the door, wondering if it was locked. Only one way to find out. She took a deep breath and grasped the knob. It turned easily in her hand and she pulled the door open and stepped into the hallway.

It wasn’t a long hallway but there were three other doors visible and she knew Joe had to be behind one of them. She moved to the door across the hall and opened it.

Joe looked up when the door opened, expecting to see Axemeyer but gasping in surprise as his mother looked in. “Mom!”

“Hi, honey,” Laura said entering. “Your leg?” she asked wanting to be sure Stan hadn’t really broken it.

“Not broken,” remarked Joe with a scowl. “But it might as well be. I don’t know what Stan used to make the cast with but it’s a lot heavier than what the hospital uses.”

“Do you know where we are?” Laura asked sitting down on the bed beside Joe.

Joe shook his head. “It took me almost an hour just to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth,” he said. “And my room doesn’t have a window.”

Laura looked around and realized Joe was right. The room had a full size bed, a desk and chair, a stereo and even a television but there was no window. “Has he been in since you woke up?”

Joe nodded. “He brought me some breakfast but he never mentioned having you.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” Stan said from the doorway.

“A better surprise would be to let us go home,” Joe retorted.

“You are home,” Stan informed him with a slight frown. “And the sooner you come to terms with that the sooner the case will come off.”

“Okay,” agreed Joe fastidiously. “We’re home. Can I get it off now?”

Stan smiled at Joe’s silliness. “Come along Laura,” he said. “I will show you around and then you can unpack. I will help Joe with his things.”

“What things?” demanded Joe.

“Clothes and other personal items,” said Stan. “I took the liberty of purchasing some basic items. You two can choose other things later.”

“We get to go shopping?” asked Laura in surprise. Maybe she could leave a message with a clerk while they were out.

“In a manner of speaking,” Stan acknowledged. “I have several catalogs downstairs that you may order from.”

“How long do you intend to keep us prisoner here?” Laura demanded angrily.

“Until you have accepted your new life without reservations you will both remain on the premises,” replied Stan.

“Joe can’t stay in this room forever!” Laura snarled. “There isn’t even a window. He needs fresh air and sunshine.”

“And he shall have it,” Stan promised her. “I have a wheelchair for Joe and the house is equipped with an elevator. The previous owner was disabled,” he explained. “Joe can go downstairs and have lunch with us and then the three of us can go outside for a bit.”

“Aren’t you afraid the neighbors will see us?” Joe asked bitterly.

“There are no neighbors,” Stan informed them. “This house is in the middle of a two hundred-acre tract of land and there is a forest to the north, a river to the west and the next few miles east and south are pretty much devoid of human encroachment.”

“How can you afford all of this?” asked Laura.

“I never used my wife’s insurance money,” Stan answered with a shrug. “I decided not to unless there was a good cause.”

“And kidnapping us is a good cause?” Laura retorted.

“Not kidnapping,” Stan reprimanded with patience. “Rescuing.” He stepped to the side of the doorway. “Shall we begin the tour?”

With a sigh of defeat she stood up. “Can’t Joe come too?” she begged.

“After lunch,” Stan promised. “He needs to study for awhile.”

“It’s summer!” objected Laura indignantly.

“But he is being home-schooled now,” Stan explained. “He will be able to get his diploma earlier than he would have had he remained with the Hardys.”

“And then I can go to college,” Joe stated with only a hint of hesitancy. If worse came to worse he could get help after finishing his home-schooling.

“If you are ready by then,” acknowledged Stan. “If not, you can sign up for telecourses.”

“Or online?” pushed Joe.

“Afraid not,” denied Stan with a shake of his head. “I can’t allow you to contact anyone and being connected would prove too tempting. Now,” he continued, “do the assignment I gave you earlier and you can have the afternoon off.”

“Great,” grumbled Joe with a scowl.

Laura put a hand on Joe's shoulder and gave it a squeeze and leaned over and kissed his forehead before leaving the room with Stan.

***

Frank came downstairs early the next morning to find his father sitting at the kitchen table and staring blankly into the half-empty cup of cold coffee before him. “Dad?” he asked, putting a hand on his father’s shoulder.

Fenton looked up at Frank with bloodshot eyes. “I don’t know what to do,” rasped Fenton, his voice full of fear and his eyes filled with despair.

“Tarlton...” Frank began.

“Was caught,” said Fenton. “Oliver too. They submitted to a lie detector test earlier this morning. Neither of them have any knowledge of what happened to Joe or your mother.”

Dropping his arm, Frank fell into a chair next to his dad’s. “What about the other possibles?” he asked.

Fenton shook his head. “They were all under surveillance when your mother disappeared yesterday,” he said. “They still are under surveillance just to be sure but as it stands now, we’re out of leads.”

“We can’t be!” Frank objected forcefully. “What about Davies? Did he remember anything after he woke up?”

“He was attacked from behind,” Fenton said.

“So this guy was in the house?” demanded Frank. Fenton nodded. “But the alarm was on,” Frank said with a thoughtful frown. “Mom shut it off to let me in and I saw her turn it back on through the window after she shut me out.”

“So how did the kidnapper get inside?” asked Fenton.

Frank stood up. “I’ll check down here while you check upstairs.”

Fenton got to his feet. At least he had something to do and he knew from experience something as simple as finding an entry could provide a clue to the intruder.

Fenton had just finished checking the window in Frank’s bedroom when he heard Frank shout. He raced down the stairs and out the open front door. “Frank?” he called out.

“Over here!” shouted Frank.

Fenton rounded the corner and joined Frank at the window. “I see you found out how he got in,” Fenton commented wondering why Frank looked so excited.

“I know who took them,” Frank said, looking up at his father with a sparkle in his eyes.

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.