Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Fenton snatched the receiver from him and put it to his ear. "Joe—” He went pale as he heard another fainter voice and the distinct click of a hang-up. "No."

Laura frowned. "Fenton, what is it?"

"It was Joe but then I heard a voice."

"Thank God, you have Caller ID," muttered Sheridan. "Who's Archimedes Slade and where does he live?"

Fenton stared at the other man, stunned. "Down the street, Lancaster estate." He hung up and started for the door.

Sheridan and Laura followed him out to the truck and they piled in. It wasn't until they were halfway down the street that Fenton realized they'd left the house unlocked and just about every light on. Fenton showed Sheridan where to turn and Sheridan pulled up behind a black van. Sheridan craned his neck to look at the huge dark house. "What is this, the resident castle?"

Fenton shook his head and got out of the truck, Laura right behind him. Suddenly the bottom half of the house was lit up. At the same time, everyone heard the screech of tires and the roar of an engine fading quickly away. Sheridan hadn't gotten out of the truck yet, so now he shifted gears and backed out. "I'll chase them. You find out what the hell is going on."

As the truck roared away, the front door to the Lancaster estate swung open. There was the faint sound of a wail, followed by a wolf howl. As Fenton and Laura moved closer to the door, a bright light switched on, nearly blinding them. "What the bloody—” The man froze on the stoop, pulled his robe closer and tied the belt. "What are you doing here? Who are you?"

"Fenton Hardy and my wife Laura. Our sons— "

"Yes, yes, they were staying the night. Probably would have been for the best but—” The man shook his head. "Well, what are you standing out there for? Come in. Arch, get decent, we have visitors."

"You're not Archimedes Slade?" asked Laura absently, too worried about her sons to really care.

"Oh, no, my dear. I'm Sullivan Graves." He took her limp hand in his and gave it a kiss. "Why, my dear, are you all right?"

A slim petite woman clad in black, with black hair and a pale face, tapped the man's arm. "Sully, you're crowding her." She smiled at Laura. "I'm Rowan, please come sit down in the parlor."

Another man hurried down the stairs. He glanced up and over his shoulder. "All right, Mona, my God, stop it. You'll wake the whole city. Damn it, Reiden shut Fang up." He took a deep breath and turned to see Fenton staring at him. "Bedlam, absolute bedlam. Mona goes and wakes up the whole house....You must be the detective, Fenton Hardy. I'm Archimedes Slade. We met on the phone two weeks ago."

Fenton nodded and shook the man's hand, wondering at niceties at this particular time. "Yes. This is my wife Laura."

Archimedes nodded. "Yes. I am sorry. I was going to ring you come morning. My daughter brought them here, and I was rather displeased about it. We like our privacy, good sir. We've endured too many rumors and name-calling over the years."

Fenton took a deep breath. "Where are they?"

"My God, I wish I knew. Reiden!" Archimedes sighed. "I wish he'd shut that wolf up."

Laura turned wide blue eyes to Archimedes. "Wolf? There really was a wolf?"

There was an odd tapping sound and suddenly a large hairy four-legged animal bounded toward them. The animal skidded to a halt between Archimedes and Fenton, dropped to the ground and rolled onto its back. Its mouth was open wide, its tongue hanging out one side – to Fenton it looked like an overlarge dog. "He's big."

Another man with hair almost the same shade as the wolf's fur hurried in. "Sorry, he got loose. Wires were cut, Arch. That's how the intruder got in. I don't understand it. Dyllan showed the boys their room. Why were they in the kitchen?" Reiden took a breath. "Fang, heel."

Fang scrambled to his feet and immediately moved to sit by his master. Archimedes sighed. "I don't know, Ray. Perhaps they had a need for a midnight snack or something." Another faint wail drifted from the upstairs. Archimedes frowned. "Sullivan, go quiet her down. She'll wake the neighbors."

"Don't know what you expect me to do, Arch. I never had much headway with Mother." Sullivan sighed and headed upstairs.

"Then get Willow to help. Where is she anyway?"

"Right here, dear. Mother's gone now, she'll come back when everything's quietened down."

Archimedes grunted. "Well, does she realize she was a part of that noise?" He turned to Fenton, but before he spoke his eyes scanned the foyer. "Hmm." He glanced up the stairs, past his wife. "Hmm." He turned to Reiden. "Where did you park your car?"

Reiden gave him an odd look. "In back."

Archimedes sighed. "I swear I will ground every one of them – when they get back."

***

"Don't you dare tell me how to drive," snapped Dyllan. It had only been sheer coincidence that he'd made it first to the car. He'd been awakened by a cold draft sweeping over his face. Since he'd locked his windows and his door, he knew exactly what – or rather who it was.

He'd heard someone going down the front stairs and a few moments later someone else. Suspecting their guests were wandering, Dyllan had dressed and headed downstairs to tell them to either leave or go back to their room.

Merlyn scowled at him. "I would have made it here faster and grabbed the wheel, if you hadn't tripped me."

"It's not like any of you had to come." Dyllan spared a glance in the rear view mirror and saw the twins sitting in the back seat. "Especially you two."

Quinn snorted. "You're just sore because I beat you."

"Stop, you're making it very hard to concentrate," said Leigh.

"So who was it? Uncle Orion?" asked Merlyn, a thread of anger in her voice. "He gloated about no jail cell holding him."

"Too short," said Dyllan. He kept his gray eyes on the brake lights of the vehicle speeding away from them. "You know, we'd all be sleeping, having visions of sugar plums, if you hadn't brought them home."

"It's a little early for sugarplums," said Quinn.

"I don't need your two pence."

"Then who was it?" asked Merlyn.

"Why don't you be quiet, let me catch up and we'll ask him. Does that work for you?" added Dyllan, gripping the steering wheel of the four-door sedan tightly.

Merlyn snorted, folded her arms across her chest and glared straight ahead. It was Leigh who had awakened her and Quinn, telling them there was something wrong. When she and the twins met up with Dyllan downstairs, Merlyn had known it was something bad.

She focused on the red glow of the brake lights. "Get closer, Dyllan."

"This is Uncle Ray's car. He's the only man I know who doesn't do hot rod."

"I'll tell him you said that. Don't expect anything from him for Christmas."

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my slippers here." Dyllan pressed the accelerator to the floor and slowly they narrowed the distance. "I wonder where he thinks he's going, anyway? Isn't this the way to the docks?"

Merlyn frowned. But before she could answer, Leigh leaned forward. "Swerve! Now."

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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.