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

Frank sat in the van, waiting on his brother. In the last two hours, he'd heard so many variations of the story, he needed to hear it from Joe to find out the truth. He glanced at his watch for the fourth time in as many minutes and was about to go looking for his brother when he saw Joe stride across the parking lot, a sullen look on his face.

Joe yanked open the passenger door, glared pointedly at the steering wheel and then got in the van. "No."

Frank arched an eyebrow. "No what?"

"No, I don't want to talk."

Frank paused with his hand on the key to start the van. "Joe—"

"Damn it, no." He smacked the dashboard with his palm. "Damn it," he said again in a slightly softer voice. "I kissed her."

Frank frowned. "Joe—"

Joe sighed heavily and slumped down in his seat. "And Vanessa saw it," he muttered in a low voice.

Frank winced. "Joe, I'm sorry. It was a bad idea."

"I was the one who fouled up." Joe shook his head. "I can't believe—"

"She does look like—"

Joe shook his head even more vigorously. "No, no, no. Iola wouldn't be that way. Iola had a temper but she wasn't vindictive, damn it."

Frank started the van and backed out of his spot. "Let's head for home." He pulled out onto the street and drove toward their house. He spared a glance at his brother and saw Joe glaring out the side window. "Joe, don't beat yourself up over it."

"I told Vanessa in the library that she was the love of my life. That just because Ione looks like Iola or thinks she's Iola, I wouldn't go back to her." Joe sighed. "What the hell do you think it looked like, me kissing Ione – especially to Vanessa?"

Frank didn't know what to say. It had been his suggestion for Joe to befriend Ione, to find out the truth and now it looked like he'd just broken up a great relationship. "Joe—"

"Forget it, Frank. It's not like you're psychic and knew it would play out like this."

"Psychic." Frank nearly slammed on the brakes but common sense prevailed and he drove on.

Joe roused himself to look over at Frank. "What?"

"I – um – asked Leigh to...to do whatever she does on Ione. She didn't sense anything other than puzzlement and confusion."

Joe arched an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

"If Ione is a fake, how did she fool Leigh?"

Joe shrugged. "I don't think it's like a precise ability, Frank."

"But she found us last year all the way from Elm Street." Frank drove past their driveway and headed for the Lancaster Estate.

"Where are you going?"

"To talk to Lyn – and Leigh."

Joe shook his head. "Frank—"

"If Ione is a fake, Joe, someone would have had to tell her that Leigh was psychic and that Merlyn was empathic. Who at school knows that?"

Joe winced at Frank's choice of words. He hoped it wasn't a case of 'if'. "Us. We know. Quinn blurted it out at the Christmas party."

"Not about Leigh, though." Frank pulled into the driveway and found he had just barely enough room to park behind a vivid blue Mustang convertible.

Joe grunted. "Okay, I must be dense today. What are you getting at?"

"Someone told her that Lyn and Leigh could sense things, emotions, thoughts and she acted confused for their benefit."

Joe's blue eyes widened. "But who?"

"That's what we need to find out." Frank shut off the engine. "Come on."

Joe sighed and got out of the van after Frank and followed his brother to the front door. It swung open before Frank could knock. Merlyn stood there, looking puzzled. "Hey."

Frank took a deep breath. "We need to talk."

Leigh Wolfe came up behind Merlyn. "Come in."

Frank remembered the last time they'd come to Lancaster estate. It had been after dark and the interior had been dimly lit by lamps. Now with early spring sunshine coming through the windows, Frank saw that the foyer and living room were quite nice with matching furniture and decorative touches.

Joe followed his brother inside and closed the door. Voices drifted from the living room and sounded as if there was a party going on. He nudged Frank. "Maybe we should do this later," he whispered.

"Well, hello again," came a new voice, one that both brothers recognized.

Joe turned to see Casi MacKensey seated on one of the sofas, her husband next to her. Joe sketched a wave. "Uh, hi." He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the front door. "Didn't see your car."

Casi laughed. "My dear husband insisted we fly down and rent a car." She rolled her eyes. "And he rents a Mustang convertible."

Her husband shrugged. "I happen to like Mustang convertibles. Wish mine was a convertible." He nodded to Frank and Joe. "Yes, I remember now. My twin and his brother."

Casi slapped his knee. "Be nice."

"I was being nice, I was being very polite, acknowledging the new arrivals." MacKensey grinned at Frank and Joe. "Casi's a stickler for manners and etiquette."

Willow Slade smiled over at them. "Have a seat and join in."

Frank cleared his throat. "Actually, Mrs. Slade, we just needed to talk to Lyn and Leigh for just a moment."

Willow arched an eyebrow but nodded. "All right. If you need a little privacy, head on into the kitchen."

Frank and Joe followed Merlyn and Leigh into the kitchen. Leigh turned to them and frowned. "What?"

Frank took a deep breath. "Can someone – if they know you can sense things – can they...um..."

"Fool me?" Leigh shrugged. "Telepathy is hardly as precise as one would think. It's possible. If someone knows I can pick up on their thoughts and didn't want me to, they could confuse or fool me." She narrowed her eyes. "Ione Martin, then, she fooled me?"

Joe cleared his throat. "We think she's planning something. She nearly freaked Chet out yesterday at school, wanting to see Mr. and Mrs. Morton."

Merlyn folded her arms across her chest. "So...you think she's not who she claims to be."

Joe shook his head. "No."

Leigh looked over at him and her eyes went wide. "Oh my..." She blushed. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to pry but—"

"Something's wrong, isn't there?"

Frank and Joe turned to see Casi standing there, two empty glasses in her hand. "I'm sorry. I came for more soda for me and..Mack. I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Joe looked over at her and took a deep breath. "I – I lost my girlfriend two years ago. Now someone's in town that looks just like her and..." His voice trailed off as Casi turned pale. "What?"

She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry. Mack..." She glanced over her shoulder. "I think Mack and you should talk."

Frank frowned. "Why?"

"Because I lost my girlfriend as well – to a sniper's bullet." MacKensey came up behind his wife. When she gave him a look, he shrugged. "Thought maybe Goliath had whisked you to Scotland or something."

Casi grunted. "I'm getting your soda. Patience is a virtue," she added in a singsong voice.

Mack smirked. "Not now it isn't." He turned to Joe and his expression became somber. "I can't go into a lot of details but I work for the government. Bryce and I had gone to a bar for some drinks, a little dancing and a sniper killed her and wounded me."

"It wasn't a sniper's bullet," said Joe quietly. "It was a car bomb."

Mack's blue eyes widened. "Oh my God." He looked around the kitchen and shook his head. "Now I—" He clamped his mouth shut and walked over to his wife. He took the two glasses from her hands and set them on the counter, and then steered her out of the kitchen and into the game room.

Frank and Joe shared a puzzled look and then turned to Merlyn and Leigh. "What was all that about?" asked Frank.

Leigh glanced toward the door of the game room and shook her head. "I'm not sure."

Before Frank could ask another question, Casi and her husband walked back into the kitchen. MacKensey nodded to Joe. "So you're the two guys who've made Arthur a nervous wreck."

Joe blinked. "Arthur?" Suddenly, it dawned on him. "You mean—?"

Mack grinned. "There's only one of him – thanks to you two."

Frank frowned, somewhat uneasy. "How much do you know?"

"Only what's passed down the grapevine. Arthur and I don't work together, never will. He runs one department and my...well, Jack runs another. You know the old phrase 'one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing'? That's how it's run. That and need-to-know basis." Mack shrugged and nodded seeing the brothers' expression. "They don't just do it for rookies."

Casi looked at her husband and then turned to Frank and Joe. "You said a car bomb. Were terrorists behind it?"

Frank gave her a surprised look. "Why'd you think that right off the bat?"

MacKensey pulled his wife close. "She's dealt with a few crazies in her time too. And she tends to be a conspiracy theorist, so...who knows how her mind works?"

Casi swatted his hand and rolled her eyes. "He's right. Were they?"

Joe gave a jerky nod. "Yes. But we took care of the guy who set the bomb and killed her."

MacKensey heaved a weary sigh and shook his head. "They multiply like Tribbles, for God's sake – or the Hydra. You cut off one head and two take its place."

Casi gave her husband a long look and then turned to the brothers. "So...what's going on?"

Joe and Frank shared a look and then Frank finally said, "It started when Dad worked security for the Walker campaign. We'd gone there with our girlfriends to help pass out leaflets to the crowd in support of Walker."

"My girlfriend..." Joe cleared his throat. "Iola accidentally set off the bomb meant for us."

Casi went white as a sheet and swallowed hard. When the brothers and Leigh and Merlyn gave her a look, she took a deep breath. "Memories," she said hoarsely. "Go on."

"Several months later, I saw her – I thought it was her, she had the same mannerisms, the same memories..." Joe Hardy's voice trailed off and he shuddered.

"But it had been someone else – she'd been programmed, brainwashed," said Frank, his tone disgusted. "I think that's what is going on now."

Casi gave a sharp nod. "How can we help?"

Joe looked over at her. "Why?"

"Why not? You don't deserve to be subjected to mind games. No one does." She looked at MacKensey. "You don't think—?"

"Hell, I don't know. I – shit, that had better not be the case. I might have to do some serious torturing."

"I wasn't talking about Jack," said Casi, trying to frown and not succeeding.

"Neither was I."

That wiped the smile off her face. "It's been awfully quiet lately."

"Don't borrow trouble, Casi. God, we don't need that." MacKensey shook his head and looked at the brothers. "I'll call Ethan. He'll call Jack."

"Why don't you call Jack?" asked Joe.

Casi smirked. "Because he's incognito. He's afraid if he calls Jack, Jack will want him back at work."

"No, I don't. I just don't want Jack to know where I am. He acts like he knows where I am twenty-four/seven."

Casi giggled. "Maybe he has you on radar."

MacKensey rolled his eyes. "Casi, stop."

"I'll try." Casi turned to the boys and then looked at Merlyn and Leigh. "Hmm, looks like you've been doing something about it."

Frank explained his idea of asking Leigh to 'check' Ione Martin out and Joe told how the girl had insisted Iola's brother Chet bring her home to see her parents and finally about what had happened earlier that day. Joe didn't even bother to leave out the fact he'd kissed her.

Casi shook her head. "Mind games. Don't beat yourself up over it. Do you want me to talk to Vanessa?"

Joe shook his head. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

MacKensey frowned. "True. Casi, don't meddle more than you have to."

"I'm not meddling. I'm just...just assisting." Casi sighed. "I'd like to meet her, though. This Ione Martin. I'd like to meet her."

"She'll probably be at the mall—" Joe's voice trailed into a groan. "Oh crap, I still haven't bought Vanessa her present for Valentine's Day."

Suddenly, Leigh smiled. "Why don't you let me tend to that?"

Joe frowned. "I don't know."

"I won't actually buy it – I'll just let you know what she wants."

"Oh," said Joe. "I guess that's okay."

Casi tugged on her husband's shirt. "Come on, I haven't been to the mall in ages."

MacKensey shook his head. "You went yesterday before we went to the airport."

"Okay," Casi said with a tone of patience one might reserve for a five-year-old. "I haven't been to this mall in ages."

MacKensey heaved a sigh and looked at the brothers. "I hate shopping."

"Does she linger in every store and fill up the back of the van with purchases, too?" asked Joe.

MacKensey grunted. "If we had a van, she would."

"I heard that. Just for that, I'll make you go with me into Victoria's Secret."

Joe and Frank watched the couple leave the kitchen and then turned back to Leigh and Merlyn. Joe cleared his throat again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," said Leigh. "It's the least I can do for a friend."

Frank and Joe nodded and left the kitchen. Joe slowed down for a moment. "Should we go to the mall too?"

Frank looked over at his brother. "Do you want to?"

"Not especially."

"Then let's go home."

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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.