Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Nancy and Frank exchanged anxious glances. Sheriff Vaughn looked at Nancy and Frank and then pushed past Deputy Andrews. Nancy and Frank followed closely behind her. When they got into the lobby, Nancy saw a young woman standing in the middle of the bustling room, waiting.

Nancy did a double-take when she saw the woman’s face. If that wasn’t Madelyn Fields that she was looking at, then she must have a twin that magically dropped down from the sky.

“What is going on here?” Vaughn asked, angrily.

Nancy saw everyone stop what they were doing and stare at Sheriff Vaughn. No one spoke up so the woman stepped in front of her.

“Sheriff, I think there has been some kind of mix-up.” The woman said.”My name is Madelyn Fields.”

Sheriff Vaughn didn’t look convinced. “Ms. Fields, I think we need to step into my office so we can talk. Nancy , I want you to come as well.”

Nancy looked at Frank and he nodded. “I’ll wait right here for you.”

Nancy nodded and followed Madelyn and the sheriff into her office.

“Everyone get back to work!” Sheriff Vaughn barked. She slammed her office door, causing the girls to jump. She stood in front of Madelyn, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Ms. Fields, you’ll have to forgive me for not believing you and being just a tad angry right now. I am trying to work a murder case and you are making that incredibly hard for me because I now have you here telling me that you are Madelyn Fields. So, I really think you need to start explaining things and explain them well.” Sheriff Vaughn said.

“I know.” Madelyn said. “And I am terribly sorry I didn’t come forward sooner, but I was out of town on a business trip. I just found out about everything.”

“Really?” Sheriff Vaughn asked. “And where was this business trip?”

“ Pittsburgh .” Madelyn answered.

“Do you have any proof of this?” Vaughn asked.

“Of course.” Madelyn said. “I can get you the credit card receipts.”

“Then why did you parents file a missing persons report on you?” Sheriff Vaughn asked.

“I didn’t tell them I was going out of town. They decided to visit me in Holly Springs and when I wasn’t there, they kind of overreacted.” Madelyn explained.

“Then how is it that Nancy witnessed your murder the other night?” Vaughn asked.

“I don’t know.” Madelyn said. “I’m sure that it was all just an honest mistake.”

“It wasn’t a mistake.” Nancy said, softly.

“ Nancy ...” Sheriff Vaughn cautioned.

Nancy ignored the sheriff and looked at Madelyn. “I know what I saw. I’m not blind. I looked out of my window and I watched as you were murdered.”

“Well, how do explain the fact that I am sitting here right now if I’m supposed to be dead?” Madelyn asked.

“I don’t know.” Nancy said. “And if this is some kind of game that you are playing with him, I swear–“

”Watch it, Nancy !” Vaughn cautioned again.

Nancy got out of her chair, walked over to the window and stared outside. Vaughn watched her, concerned and then turned to Madelyn. “Well, if you are, in fact, who you say you are, then I’m sure you won’t mind if we fingerprint you.”

“Of course not. Especially if it will put this nasty rumor about my death to rest.” Madelyn said.

Sheriff Vaughn opened her door.

“Andrews!” she called.

“Yes, ma’am?” Deputy Andrews said.

“Take Ms. Fields up to get fingerprinted.” Vaughn said.

“Follow me, please.” Andrews said. Madelyn grabbed her purse and followed him out the door.

Vaughn shut the door to her office and turned to look at Nancy . Nancy rubbed her neck and sighed.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be.” Sheriff Vaughn said, sitting at her desk. “You were upset and you were just acting on it. Believe me, if I could have done that and not be fired in the process, I would have.”

“How can this happen?” Nancy asked.

“I don’t know.” Vaughn said, sighing.

“This had to be planned.” Nancy said. “It’s the only logical way to explain it.”

“How could he have planned it?” Vaughn asked. “I mean, he would have had to go through a whole hell of a lot of planning to pull this off.”

“I know.” Nancy said. “That’s what worries me.”

“Why is that?” Vaughn asked.

“Because if Madelyn Fields is really alive, was this some kind of practical joke? Or is there something much deeper going on?”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out.” Vaughn said.

“Now you have a bigger problem, though.” Nancy said.

“What’s that?” Vaughn asked.

“If that woman really is Madelyn Fields, then you can’t hold him for murder anymore.” Nancy said.

“But I can hold him for attempted murder.” Vaughn said.

“I need to get away from here.” Nancy said.

“Go.” Vaughn said. “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”

Nancy nodded and walked to the door. She had her hand on the doorknob when Vaughn spoke again.

“And Nancy ?” Vaughn said.

Nancy turned around to look at her.

“Try not to worry too much.” Vaughn said.

Nancy walked out of the office and where Frank was waiting for her. How could I not worry about this? she thought. He’s tried to kill me once, so what’s to stop him from doing it again?

“Not to sound like a broken record, but are you okay?” Frank asked.

“Let’s just get out of here.” Nancy said.

*****

Frank tried to get Nancy to talk to him on the way back to Luke’s, but she remained silent. He knew that everything was just piling up on her, and he was worried about that. That had never been on a case that had so many twists and turns and it was just bringing them all down. What was bad is that they had the culprit–right from the beginning. It should have been an open and shut case, but it was anything far from it.

When Frank finally pulled up to Luke’s house, Nancy got out of the car and went straight to her room. She didn’t even say a word to Joe and Luke, who were sitting in the living room watching one of many reality shows that were on TV these days.

“What’s going on with Nancy ?” Joe asked.

Frank shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t say anything in the car. But we just had a major curve ball thrown at us.”

“What happened?” Joe asked.

Frank sat down on the sofa and stretched out his legs. “A woman came into the station claiming to be Madelyn Fields.”

“What?!” Joe exclaimed.

“Maddie’s alive?” Luke asked. Frank looked at him to see that he had turned very pale in the face.

“Supposedly.” Frank said. “The sheriff was having a hard time believing it, so they were fingerprinting her when we left.”

“I can’t believe it.” Luke said, almost dazed.

“Neither can we.” Frank said.

“Is Nancy okay?” Joe asked.

“I hope so.” Frank said, looking up at her closed bedroom door. “She seemed to take the news pretty hard.”

“Maybe she just needs time to process everything.” Joe said.

“I think it’s all starting to wear thin on her. I don’t like seeing her like this.” Frank said. He looked back at Joe. “I think I’m going to talk to her about leaving tomorrow morning.”

Joe looked at his watch. “It already is morning.”

Frank looked at his own watch. “I’ll let her sleep for a few hours. I think we all need to try to get some sleep.”

“I’m going to go out for a drive.” Luke said. “I need to clear my head.”

Frank watched thoughtfully as Luke grabbed his truck keys and walked out the door. He didn’t want to start another fight, but he still couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that Luke was hiding something.

*****

Nancy didn’t sleep well. She spent most of the time tossing and turning. Whenever she had went to bed, she turned her cell phone to silent. When she got up, she saw that she had one message on her phone. It was from Sheriff Vaughn telling her that the woman at that station was, indeed, Madelyn Fields.

Nancy got dressed and went downstairs to find Frank, Joe and Luke at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. She fixed herself a cup and sat down between Luke and Frank.

“Did you get any sleep?” Frank asked.

“Not really.” Nancy said, taking a sip of her coffee. “I got a call from Sheriff Vaughn. She said that the woman that showed up at the station yesterday really is Madelyn Fields.”

“How does that explain what you saw the other night?” Frank asked.

Nancy shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. Sheriff Vaughn and I think it could be some kind of prank or something. I’m not even sure if I want to stick around and find out.”

“Meaning what?” Frank asked.

“Meaning, I think I’m ready to get back home. I’m just tired of everything and I’m ready to get back to normal.” Nancy said.

“Are you sure?” Frank asked.

“Yeah.” Nancy said.

“If that’s what you really want, then we will.” Frank said.

“It is.” Nancy said, draining the last bit of coffee out of her cup. “I’m going upstairs to pack.”

Nancy put her cup in the sink and then went upstairs to her room. Just as she was walking in, her cell phone started to ring. She answered before it rang a second time.

“Nancy, it’s Bethanie.” Sheriff Vaughn said.

“Hey, Sheriff. I was just about to call you.” Nancy said. She grabbed her duffel bag and put it on her bed.

“Really? Why?” Vaughn asked.

“I’m leaving. It’s time for me to get back home.” Nancy said.

“I think that may be a good idea.” Vaughn said.

“Why do you say that?” Nancy asked, as she started to put clothes into the bag.

“I was calling to tell you that Eric made bail about three hours ago.” Vaughn said.

“What? How?” Nancy asked. She stopped packing and sat down on her bed.

“The mayor was breathing down my neck to let him go. There was no murder and he said there isn’t enough evidence in the murder attempt on you.” Vaughn explained.

“Well, what about my statement?” Nancy asked.

“Bryan Hodges, Eric’s lawyer, got the statement thrown out. I should have known he would figure a way around it.” Vaughn said, disgustedly.

“You don’t seem to like him that much.” Nancy said.

“Is it that obvious?” Sheriff Vaughn snorted.

“Oh, yeah.” Nancy said.

She heard Vaughn chuckle. “Well, listen Nancy . I’m really sorry that things happened the way they did.”

“Don’t be,” Nancy said. “It’s not your fault.”

“I feel like it is, though. I feel like I didn’t do enough for you.” Vaughn said.

“Please don’t worry yourself with it.” Nancy said.

“Thank you.” Vaughn said. “I’ll give you a call if we have any other developments.”

“Thank you.” Nancy said.

“Be careful, Nancy .” Vaughn said.

“I will.” Nancy said. She hung up the phone and stood up to finish packing. Just as she was starting again, there was a knock at her door.

“Who is it?” Nancy asked.

“It’s Luke.”

“Come in.” Nancy said.

Luke opened the door. “Hey, “ he said.

“Hey.” Nancy said.

He closed the door and sat down on her bed. “So, you’re really leaving, huh?”

“Yeah.” Nancy said. “I think I need to.”

“I wish you weren’t.” Luke said. “I like having you here.”

Nancy gave him a small smile. He smiled back at her and he took her hand. “I mean it. You’re a very special girl, Nancy. I think we have a connection.”

“I think we do, too.” Nancy said. “But I really think I need to think things through.”

“I’m not trying to rush you, Nancy. Please, take your time. Just know that I’m here.” Luke said.

Nancy smiled warmly at him. Luke stood up and cupped her face in his hands. He softly kissed her on the lips and then stood back.

“I’ll let you finish packing.” Luke said. “Let me know before you leave.”

Nancy nodded and he left her alone to finish packing. She sat back down on her bed and sighed.

Luke surely knew how to complicate things for her.

*****

Nancy, Frank, and Joe were finally ready to leave by two o’clock that afternoon. After calling the local auto shop, Nancy arranged to have a tow truck drive her car back to River Heights . They packed everything into Frank and Joe’s car and Luke walked Nancy to the car.

“I mean it,” he said. “Think about what I said.”

“I will.” Nancy said.

Luke kissed her on the cheek and Nancy got into the back seat. Frank handed Joe the keys and slid into the passenger sear. Soon, Joe was on the road, driving away from the small town of Huntingdon .

Nancy began to notice that Joe kept glancing the rearview mirror about thirty minutes into the drive.

“What is it, Joe?” Nancy asked.

Joe glanced up in the mirror again. “I think we’re being followed.”

“What?” Nancy asked. She turned around in her seat to see a blue pick-up following behind about two car lengths.

“That truck has been behind us for about twenty minutes now.” Joe said.

“Are you sure?” Frank asked. He glanced out the rear window to see the truck.

“Of course, I’m sure.” Joe said, a little irritated.

Nancy looked out the window to see the truck gaining on them. “I think he’s right, Frank. That truck is getting closer.”

Joe sped up a little as did, the truck behind them. “Do you think we should try to lose them?” he asked.

“Where Joe?” Frank asked. “This long stretch of road that doesn’t have any turn-offs.”

Before Joe could answer him the truck rammed into the back of the car. The force of the impact made them jerk against their seatbelts. Joe managed to keep control of the wheel and sped up.

The truck hit them again, causing the car to spin.

“Joe, do something!” Nancy screamed.

“I’m trying!” Joe yelled back to her.

The truck drove up to the side of their car and rammed into it. Joe tried to maintain control of the car, but was unable to. The car ran off the side of the road and slammed into a ditch.

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Disclaimer

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.