Chapter Title: A Missed Phone Call

John paced in the kitchen of the Hardly home.  Fritz ignored this and took out a cup.  Fritz realized he didn't know what to say and was buying time.  He filled the cup with water.  He put that in the microwave.  He then got out a tea bag, a type without caffeine.  It had already been a long day.  Fritz looked forward to climbing in bed soon and getting some sleep, but knew he first had to get through a very difficult conversation with his brother.  Fritz unclipped his cell phone from his belt, which he had finally retrieved from Christine before leaving the crime scene, and set it on the table.

Fritz started with a safe topic, "It was different working with the Port City police than what I am used to.  They have strict paperwork requirements that we weren’t taught in the Entangle training program."

Still pacing, John said, "When Officer McCormick and I got there, you were bossing the police around, demanding they prepare samples for tests they had never even heard of before.  They didn't even know about Raman spectroscopy."

Fritz conceded, "True, but you, Christine, and I weren’t hired as consultants because we have pretty faces.  You and I were trained in bomb investigation by Entangle.  Somehow, Chief Clymer knows about that.  He also knows Christine had assisted us on many cases."

John paused and snarled in Fritz’s face, "I remember becoming interested in bombs after a certain explosion in Port City .  It was a few years back.  You might not have noticed Ivana’s disappearance, but surely you noticed we didn’t have the same car anymore!"

"Quit being sarcastic, John!  It’s been hard for me too.  And don’t blame me for you not paying attention to the lecture about autopsies after an explosion.  The teacher might as well as spelled out in big letters across the board, 'Ivana Morrow is Not Dead!'  How did you get an A in that class and miss that?  I don’t think you did miss it!"

John stopped pacing.  He felt like shouting at Fritz, but John’s therapist had been helping him work on controlling his temper.  John deliberately brought to mind calming thoughts.  He turned to gaze out the kitchen window.  He could see the moon, but the light from the many streetlights kept him from seeing the stars.  He thought of how he used to visit Ivana out at the Morrow farm.  Unlike here, there weren’t street lights out in the country, so the stars shone brightly.  He and Ivana used to take long walks and stare up at them.  Ivana could name many of the stars, while all John could ever find was the Big Dipper and Polaris, the North Star.  John kept his face toward the window.  He didn’t want Fritz to see his eyes were filled with tears.

Blinking tears away, John could see a car parked in the driveway.  He and Fritz had picked it up at a rental car place at the airport after they’d finally finished at the crime scene.  Officer McCormick had given them a ride there.  The car was so they would have some transportation.  Normally, someone who seemed seventeen like him or seemed eighteen like Fritz, and were still in high school, would not be allowed to rent a car.  Their father before he had retired and moved away had made special arrangements with a major nationwide car rental company.  That had proved useful many times as they had traveled around the country on their cases.  Being able to do that had made John feel more mature than his peers in high school.  Still, it was unusual having to rent a car in their home city of Port City .

It had been a tense drive home from the airport.  John had driven and he had felt his emotions were so strong that he couldn’t concentrate on his driving while saying what was on his mind at the same time, so he’d remained silent.

John thought of how they used to have the option of borrowing their parents’ sedan.  That vehicle was down in Florida , though.  Aunt Grace had also gone down to Florida .  Grace always had much to say on any subject.  He expected to miss both parents, and did, but was surprised that he wished Aunt Grace were here right now to speak her mind in her own caustic yet amusing and occasionally insightful way.

Fritz asked, "Want me to make you some tea?"

"No," John replied, his voice unsteady.

Quiet reflection and tears was not a reaction Fritz had expected from his brother, but rather angry yelling.

Still looking out the window, John calmly said, "Craig’s getting married in a couple months.  How about you?"

Fritz pretended not to understand, "How about me what?"

"Are you ever going to marry Christine?"

Fritz sipped some tea, surprised about this question, then replied, "I’m apparently younger than Craig.  I think even Craig’s too young for marriage, to tell the truth.  Maybe Christine and I will eventually go our separate ways.  Craig’s marrying a girl he met at college who is not even from this state.  I do not know how much Christine and I will change if we ever start college."

"We may not have been to college yet, but we went through the accelerated Entangle training program.  It was a good program, too.  I wish we’d known half that stuff during our early cases."

Fritz smiled as he thought of something his mother used to say, then said, "Unfortunately, we can’t get into law school or medical school by completing a program like that."

Knowing what Fritz meant, John wryly said, "I keep forgetting.  Does Mom want you to become the doctor and me the lawyer or is it the other way around?"

"I think she’d be happy either way.  Did you know that besides telling Dr. Rudy about this new case, Christine tried to get him to hire her into Entangle?"

"Figures.  She was probably just itching for an excuse like today’s so she could speak to him directly.  You know you were supposed to keep Entangle a secret from her."

"She figured it out when we went off on the training program for four months.  That’s a long time to try to pass off as just being away on another case."

John replied defensively, "Vicky accepted that excuse."

Fritz asked, "Well, you asked me if I’m going to marry Christine.  Are you going to marry Vicky?"

John continued to stare out the window, now not daring to face his brother, "How can you ask me that on the very day I learned Ivana was alive?"

Fritz said, "I think the lecture on autopsies of bomb victims was just as obvious to you as it was to me."

John wiped his eyes, then turned to face his brother.  John crossed his arms, which caused his massive biceps to bulge, "What are you implying?"

Given John’s posture, Fritz wondered if a fight was coming after all.  Fritz was better at karate, although John was still pretty good at it, being at the same level as Christine.  However, since Ivana’s death, John had worked out compulsively.  All that working out meant John had considerably larger muscles than Fritz now.  Their karate sensei indicated muscular strength wasn’t important in karate, only skill mattered.  For the controlled, judged tournaments, Fritz thought that was probably true, but for real fighting, Fritz didn’t believe it for a second.

Fritz remained seated and deliberately had another sip of tea, "Rather than implying it, I’ll state it directly.  I think you figured out Ivana was alive at the lecture."

John’s voice was rough as he said, "I didn’t, but you could have told me that you’d figured it out."

Fritz set down his cup and slowly stood up, "I thought you went to Dr. Ruby about it and found out what I did.  I thought that was something that upset you so much you didn’t want to talk about.  If you didn't figure it out, do you really want to be a detective as a career?  Maybe you’re just an adrenaline junkie who likes all the action and excitement of our cases.  I take being a detective seriously, John.  Any detective worth his salt should have figured this out!"

To Fritz’s surprise, John uncrossed his arms.  John turned away and stared back out the window.  Fritz just stood waiting, although he did grab his cup and have another sip of tea.

John said in a voice so quiet Fritz could hardly hear, "In one lecture, we were shown photographs of nearly naked human bodies.  The blast had been so great the clothes had been ripped off, but the bodies remained.  Even with lesser blasts, it was very common for a victim to have his shoes come off.  In another lecture, we watched videos of real autopsies.  The location and angle shrapnel entered the body can tell provide clues to the victim’s position when the bomb went off.  In yet another lecture, we learned about the effects of firestorms after a nuclear blast.  I was surprised that the firestorm effect could also come from intense conventional bombing in dense urban areas such as Dresden during World War Two.  The blast of a nuclear bomb can vaporize a human body, but generally even with a firestorm, some remnants of a body are left behind.  Yes, I was at those lectures.  Yes, I got an A in the course.  Yes, I still want to be a detective even after taking that gruesome class."

"Anything else?"

"I thought the teacher was going overboard telling us about firestorms and nuclear bombs.  Yet, later we stopped nuclear bombs from going off in Washington DC.  If we'd failed, then what that teacher had taught in those firestorm lectures might have been useful after all.  Not to us, though.  We’d have been at ground zero.  We probably really would have been vaporized."

Fritz insisted, "What about realizing what all this meant about Ivana’s body was not found in our car after the conventional bombing?"

"I really didn’t put two and two together until today.  I know I should have, but I didn’t."

Fritz retorted, "Sorry, John.  I really thought you’d figured it out and didn’t want to talk about it."

John said, "If she’s alive, I can't see why she’d stay hidden for a few years.  What about Conrad?  He’s her brother!  What about Mr. and Mrs. Morrow?  The only way I'd think she would not tell them she’s alive would be if she were brain-washed or imprisoned.  Did the Obliterators kidnap her?"

"I talked to Dr. Ruby immediately after we'd attended the lecture on autopsies, when I realized what it meant that there was not a body for Ivana.  No, the Obliterators didn’t kidnap her.  Entangle did."

"Entangle?  Was it called protective custody?"

"Yes," Fritz responded, then continued with a question, "Considering the situation, as a detective, what do you think went on our day the car exploded, knowing what you do now?"

"We’ve already established that Ivana’s body wasn't in the car.  Not even a trace was left.  Not very convincing unless you're gullible, which I guess I was.  I saw Ivana going into the car, but not coming out.  So, I’d guess she was quickly taken out the other side.  This means it was a planned operation.  I’ll bet it wasn’t Ivana that Entangle was after, but you and me."

Fritz nodded.

John asked himself, "Why would the Entangle go to that much trouble to make us appear to be dead?  Wait, I think I see it.  We’d already gotten famous because while still in high school we solved hundreds of cases.  This may sound arrogant, but we were probably the best detectives still in high school.  The Obliterators love to recruit people of high school age.  We’d have been the right age and had just the skills Entangle would want to place as a mole in the Obliterators, but our great fame would be a detriment.  This was clear because the Obliterators already thought we were a threat to their plan to assassinate the man who is now president, but was just a senator and candidate then.  The Obliterators tried having us killed.  I assume the Obliterators really did plant the bomb, then Entangle messed with it.  If we were thought dead, our appearance changed a little, and we were given new names, we could then have gotten into the Obliterators without being suspected."

Fritz said, "According to Dr. Ruby, things didn’t go according to plan.  Nobody expected Ivana to be going to our car on her own, then for the bomb to be set off.  Entangle couldn’t not let the bomb go off or else the Obliterators would have known what was going on."

"Why didn’t Ivana reappear after the case was over and the man who tried to assassinate the candidate was dead?"

Fritz explained, "She was doing the job we were supposed to be doing.  Dr. Ruby said she was surprisingly persuasive."

John protested, "She’s incredibly smart, but quiet and shy.  She’s not the type to become a secret agent."

"You’re forgetting our lessons.  The best type of spy is one who seems to not be a spy at all.  When out in the field, Dr. Ruby himself works hard at seeming quiet, unassuming, and sometimes even shy.  I hate to admit it, but Ivana has a better personality type for become a successful spy than you or I!  We’re both too flamboyant, and you’re worse than I am by about a factor of ten!  Have we ever been undercover and not ended up exposed before the end of the case?"

John said, "I’m sure we did, but I can't think of a time offhand.  I guess our undercover skills really aren’t as good as the rest of the work we do as detectives."

"Ivana’s been undercover successfully for a few years!"

John wondered, "Is that what you thought I didn’t want to talk about?  Being jealous of her success at undercover work?"

"Well, yes.  Something changed with you during that course.  You stopped losing your temper so often.  I thought that was because you realized Ivana was alive."

"I was told by Dr. Ruby that if I didn't keep my temper under control, he’d remove me from the program!  That’s when I went to see the therapist, with Dr. Ruby’s blessing."

"You never told me that.  Why not?"

"It’s not something I'm proud of.  I was told...privately...to shape up and, for the most part, I think I’ve done okay," John answered.

"Sorry, John.  I guess we have gotten where we keep secrets from each other."

"Keeping secrets is a way of life in this line of work.  It becomes a habit, even when not appropriate.  As for Ivana, did Dr. Ruby say why she agreed to do it?"

"He said she had some of the same reasons we do.  A need to see justice done.  Preventing pain, destruction, and death.  Patriotism.  However, he also said she wanted to prove to you how capable she was."

"She didn’t have to prove anything to me.  Especially not in a task that has taken years!"

"It was supposed to be only for a month, but her cover remained sound, so she stayed.  You know how bad the Obliterators are.  How many people has she saved in that time, John?"

"I'm sure it is more than I could count," John said, then slapped his hand to his forehead, "Ivana’s in danger, Fritz.  I didn’t know until you just told me that she was an Entangle agent like us, but undercover.  I just realized I let her continued existence slip to Vicky back in the hospital room!  I wasn't thinking straight after the explosion!  Who knows who Vicky told?"

Fritz dropped his cup, which overturned, spilling tea on the table.  He ignored the mess and ordered John, "Phone Vicky right now!"

John didn’t argue.  He grabbed the kitchen phone and dialed.  As John did that, Fritz picked up his cell phone and called Christine's number, thinking that she and Vicky often hung out together, just as she and Ivana had before.  Fritz got no answer and ended that attempted call.

John hung up his phone, "Vicky’s mother said she isn't home yet.  It’s nearly midnight, but she wasn’t worried because she thought Vicky and I were out on a date.  She didn’t watch the news today, so she didn't know about the explosion at the mall!"

Fritz clipped his cell phone on his belt and grabbed a jacket, as it had been chilly when they'd gotten out of the rental car despite it being late May, then said, "Let’s go try to find Vicky.  You know where she likes to go."

John grabbed his own jacket, then the two of them headed out to the driveway.  As John locked the door, he heard the phone inside the house ring.  Unlocking the door again seemed to take an eternity.  He ran in and yanked up the phone.

Fritz came in behind John and asked, "Who is it?"

"Just a dial tone and no message was left on the machine.  I didn’t get to it in time.  It could have been Vicky!"

 

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.