HDA - Living in Darkness Trilogy - Pt 2 - The Search

His cheek burned where she'd slapped him. Joe looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers - and his hand throbbed from hitting the locker. Damn it, it isn't fair, he thought. She comes back and all she remembers is that day at the mall. Joe's stride slowed as he reached the exit and he glanced over his shoulders. Had Iola come back?

"Joe!"

Joe stopped, seeing Chet running towards him. "Yeah?"

"She-" Chet took a deep breath. "She wants me to tell Mom and Dad."

"No!" Joe said automatically. He shook his head and thought a moment. "I don't think it's such a good idea."

"But - but what if-?"

"What if she isn't, Chet? What if she's an actress?" Joe swallowed hard as memories crashed in on him. "What if she's one of the terrorists who killed...Iola?"

Chet went pale and glanced over his shoulder. "J-Joe-"

"I know, it's frightening and-"

Chet shuddered just as the door swung open. "Joe, where on earth have you been?" asked Frank.

Joe turned to look at his brother. "I think it's time for a serious talk."

Frank frowned and glanced past his brother to look at Chet. "What's wrong?"

"Not here." Joe looked back down the hall as if expecting something to come after him. "Our house. Come on, Chet."

"B-but..."

Joe shook his head. "We'll talk once we're at our house."

Chet gave a jerky nod and swallowed hard. "I'll follow you."

Joe watched his friend leave and looked at his brother. "She says she remembers."

Frank narrowed his eyes. "Is that why there's a handprint on your cheek?" he asked quietly.

Joe sighed. "Yeah. She said that was for the little hussy."

Frank grabbed his brother's arm and steered him toward the van. "Let's go."

Joe let his brother haul him to the van and got into the passenger seat as Frank got behind the wheel. He waited until they'd left the parking lot before asking, "Do you think it's really Iola?"

"Damn it, I don't know. I know they'd programmed Sally with everything to convince you that time."

Joe's expression hardened. "Yeah. So you're saying the Assassins are doing it again. But why? What the hell would they gain?"

"I don't know, Joe," said Frank, shaking his head. "I just don't know."

***

Once in Frank's bedroom, Joe was tempted to force Chet into a chair. He was tired of seeing him pace from the bathroom door to the bed to the computer desk and then back to the bathroom door. "Chet, for God's sake, please sit down."

"I - I'm sorry. This is just too weird. It's been so hard for Mom and Dad these last two years - especially around the holidays. How can I possibly go home and just tell them she's still alive?"

"Chet, I don't think it's Iola," said Frank carefully. "I think it's an actress. I think there's something else going on here."

"But what?" asked Joe, his anger finally coming to the surface. "What is going on?"

"I think it's time to find out," said Frank.

"How do you suggest that?" asked Joe.

Frank sat on the edge of his bed for a long moment. "Joe, I think you should talk to her. Take her out for coffee or something. Try to find a chink in her facade."

"Frank-"

Frank looked at his brother. "You've handled it twice before, Joe. Just don't dwell on it."

Joe stared down at his hands, remembered at that moment quite vividly the keys slapping with a loud clink against his palm, the weight of them as he tossed them up - Iola's slender hand reaching out and grabbing them. "Frank, I don't know."

Frank stood up and walked over to his brother. "Joe, it's not Iola. You don't owe this girl anything, least of all the memories."

Joe gave a start and looked at Frank. Slowly he nodded. "Okay."

***

Joe Hardy didn't usually visit the library much. It's not that he didn't like it - it was nice and quiet. It wasn't that he didn't like books. The library was a wonderful source when he needed information, especially if Frank didn't already know it. The school library was always hushed, the thick pile carpet muffled footsteps and the floor-to-ceiling windows on one side let in plenty of light.

He trudged over to a table and pulled out a chair. It was lunch period but he wasn't hungry. Joe hadn't known how to contact Ione Martin and also knew the school normally didn't give out a student's personal information; which meant he had until the end of the school day to talk to her. It hadn't helped that Chet was absent today. Joe suspected it wasn't an illness that kept his pal away today but understood why. Joe would've loved to play hooky today as well.

Joe sighed and slumped down in the chair. His eyes strayed to the microfiche machine and he shuddered. Reading the news articles about Iola's tragic death had been so eerie - like it happened to some distant stranger, no one he knew, and yet that wasn't true.

"Joe?" came a soft voice from behind him.

Joe jumped and turned around. "Oh, hey, Vanessa."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're skipping lunch again."

"Yeah."

Vanessa frowned and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Van, just need to think some stuff through."

"Liz told me something happened in your homeroom yesterday."

Joe arched an eyebrow. Liz Webling was Chet's girlfriend in a casual sort of way. She was also a reporter for the school newspaper. "Hmmm."

"She told me Chet freaked out about the new girl - Ione Martin."

Joe slumped lower in his chair. "Hmm."

"Her name sounds awfully similar to Iola Morton. And Liz said she heard the girl looks just like..." Vanessa's voice trailed off into silence.

After a moment, Joe looked over at her. "What?"

"You think it's Iola, don't you."

Joe straightened up in his chair. "No. Of course I don't."

Vanessa swallowed hard. "But what if she is Iola?"

Joe's blue eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"If she is Iola, you'll want to go back with her. I mean she was the love of your life, wasn't she?"

Joe shoved his chair back and stood up. He placed his hands on the arms of Vanessa's chair and leaned close. "It's not Iola. It's some actress messing with my mind - Chet's mind. I don't know why but I plan to find out. Vanessa-" He placed one hand on her cheek and made her look at him. "You are the love of my life."

Tears filled her gray eyes and she swallowed hard again. "Joe-"

Joe leaned down further and kissed her. "Come on, I think we have enough time to grab something out of a vending machine to snack on." He pulled her to her feet and grabbed his backpack with his other hand. It's not Iola, he repeated to himself, hoping, praying it was true.

***

Seeing Ione Martin in his next class almost made Joe change his mind - but he had to do it, memories be damned. For the first time in his life, he dreaded the bell ringing, dismissing the class.

"Joe?" Ione Martin nodded politely to him and touched his arm. "Is Chet all right? I noticed he was absent today."

"He's got a twenty-four hour virus." Joe took a deep breath. "Do you want to go have a cappuccino or something?"

Ione arched an eyebrow and frowned. "Are you trying to make amends?"

Joe opened his mouth to say no. Instead, he said, "Yes."

Ione tore her gaze from his. "I shouldn't. After what you did-"

Joe took a step closer, skimmed her dark hair with the palm of his hand. As he gazed down at her, she raised her head to look up at him. He swallowed hard, feeling as if he were teetering at the brink of an abyss. Memories crashed in on him and the past and present blurred together. He slowly lowered his head...and kissed her.

Something heavy thunked loudly to the floor and Joe jerked away from Ione. Still dazed, he turned to see what had caused the noise and realization hit with brutal clarity as he saw the books on the floor - and Vanessa in the classroom doorway. Joe cleared his throat. "Vanessa-"

Vanessa, her eyes full of tears, shook her head and took off running down the corridor. Joe took a step to go after her but a hand on his arm stopped him. He looked down at that small, slender hand and then slowly looked over at Ione.

"How does it feel?" whispered Ione, her violet eyes flashing. "How does it feel?" she asked again, almost savagely.

Joe shuddered at the thought that Ione had planned all of this. He yanked his arm free and took another step away from her. "Leave me alone."

"I can't do that. It's all your fault, Joe. And you've gotten away with it for too long." Ione's smug tone strengthened. "How the hell does it feel?"

Joe took a deep breath. "You're not Iola," he snapped in a low voice. "She didn't have a vindictive bone in her....body. You're not her. You're a damn imposter."

"You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you," said Ione softly. "It would absolve you of any remorse. It would free up your conscious so you don't have to blame yourself-"

"Ione."

She raised her hand as if she wanted to slap him again. "Call me by my name," she said in a low, angry voice. "Call me Iola."

Joe took another deep breath and squared his shoulders. He told himself to ignore the physical resemblance. "Your name isn't Iola."

Students walking into the classroom froze as Ione slapped his face hard enough to make Joe rock back on his heels. She gave him one last glare and stalked out of the room, pushing her way past students.

Joe heaved a sigh and gathered his books. This was turning into one hell of a lousy day, he thought as he left the classroom, ignoring stares and whispers. A really lousy day.

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors 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.