Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Callie pulled into the garage, relieved to see Frank’s car already there. Getting out of her car, she locked it and turned towards the connecting door to the house as the garage door automatically closed behind her.

“Frank?” she called out, dropping her things on the hall table.

“In here.”

Frank’s voice echoed towards her and Callie felt the familiar tingle that was an automatic response to the sound of his voice. As she walked into the living room, Frank met her halfway and scooped her up in his arms. “Welcome home,” he whispered seductively, gently nuzzling her neck.

Callie sighed contentedly and melted into his arms as the tingle grew into a warmth that quickly spread from her head to her toes. It was the same feeling that had raced through her the first time they’d kissed and it was a feeling she hoped would continue well into their twilight years.

With the long hours Frank had been working lately, Callie hadn’t seen much of him except on the weekends. During the week, he was usually out the door before she even woke up, often returning home just in time to catch the eleven o’clock news and fall asleep. Despite her eagerness to tell him about her conversations with both Liz and Vanessa, she stood and savored the warmth of his embrace.

Several minutes later, Frank slowly pulled away from her only to lean down and give her a long lingering kiss. “You have no idea how happy I am knowing I get to spend a nice, quiet evening all alone with my wife,” he said huskily, guiding her towards the couch.

Frank stretched out and pulled Callie down onto his lap. Nestling herself against his chest, she asked, “So, have you talked to Joe today?”

Frank looked at her in surprise and then began to chuckle. “Boy, talk about a mood-killer!”

“I’m sorry,” Callie quickly apologized, blushing in embarrassment. “But did you?” she repeated, glancing up at him.

“Yeah,” Frank replied still smiling. “I talked to him on the phone this morning.”

“How did he seem to you?” she asked anxiously. “Was he acting normal?”

Frank thought for a moment and then shrugged. “I guess so. As normal as he gets anyway!”

“He wasn’t acting…strange?”

“Cal – this is Joe we’re talking about. He’s always a little strange,” Frank joked. “But now that you mention it, I guess he was acting a little stranger than normal. Kind of evasive; wouldn’t really answer any of my questions. Dad thinks it’s just because he took a new case where the client requested confidentiality.”

“Did he say anything about Vanessa?”

“Vanessa? No, why?” Frank asked, a look of mild concern crossing his face. “Is something wrong? She’s okay isn’t she?”

“Yes…well, as far as I know she’s fine. Did Joe tell you he was going out of town? I mean before you talked to him this morning?”

“No,” Frank murmured with a frown.

“He didn’t tell me either,” Callie said. “And neither did Vanessa.”

“Well, it was pretty last minute. Apparently he just got this case yesterday,” Frank said, trying to come up with a logical reason for Joe’s abrupt change in behavior. “Still, that should’ve given him time to call before this morning, just to let us know he was leaving.”

“Did he tell you anything about the case? Anything at all?”

“Not much. And what I did manage to get out of him was like pulling teeth.” Frank eyed Callie questioningly. “Why are you so interested in Joe’s new case?”

“I’m not, really…I’m more interested in him,” Callie admitted. “I talked to Vanessa today and she was acting really strange, too. Evasive. I invited her out to dinner tonight – her and Joe, before I knew he was out of town – and she turned me down.”

“So? Maybe she’s tired or just doesn’t feel like going out tonight,” Frank shrugged.

“If that were the only thing I’d let it drop, but it isn’t,” Callie said, trying to figure out exactly how to tell him about her conversation with Liz.

“Oh?” Frank sat up a little straighter.

“She said she’s not going to her mom’s while Joe is away.”

“Really? Is it because Andrea’s out of town? If that’s the case, Vanessa knows she can stay with us.”

“I know and I told her that,” Callie said, her brow creased in a worried frown. “But Van said she’s going to ‘go it alone’ tonight. Not necessarily because she thinks she’s ready, but because the opportunity presented itself.”

Frank shook his head in confusion. “That’s odd. And I’m not sure it’s such a good idea. I mean if she thinks she’s really ready that’s one thing, but…”

“That’s what I said. I tried to talk to her about it but she pretty much hung up on me. It was like she couldn’t end the conversation fast enough.”

“Joe did the same thing to me,” Frank muttered, recalling the abrupt end to their conversation that morning. “Do you think there’s something going on with them?”

Callie just stared at him, suddenly unsure how to tell him what Liz had seen.

“Cal? What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?” he pressed, staring at her intently.

“I had lunch with Liz today. She told me she went to the beach yesterday at lunch time and she saw Joe there,” Callie began nervously.

Frank shrugged. “What’s so strange about that? It’s been pretty warm lately for spring.”

“He wasn’t alone. He was with a woman and it wasn’t Vanessa.” Callie stopped for a moment, wondering how best to relate what Liz had seen. “She said they were on a blanket on the beach with their arms around each other. She said this woman was holding on to Joe for dear life and they were…they might’ve been…” Callie tripped over her words finally blurting it out in a rush. “They looked like they were kissing.” She watched as Frank’s expression changed from surprise to disbelief to something that looked like anger.

“If that’s the case then Liz obviously made a mistake,” he said, icily. “If Joe was kissing some woman on the beach, it had to be Vanessa.”

Callie reached out and took his hand, knowing exactly how he felt. She’d had the same initial reaction when Liz told her about Joe and this mysterious woman. “Liz didn’t make a mistake. This woman had dark hair….It wasn’t Vanessa.”

“Well then, she misinterpreted what she saw,” Frank said. He looked away briefly and Callie was sure he was remembering his own misinterpretation of Joe’s actions over a year ago. “You can’t believe everything you see.” Swinging his gaze back to Callie he demanded, “Did she say anything to Joe? Confront him? Talk to him at all?”

“No. She wasn’t sure what to do so she left before he saw her.”

“She just left? And now she’s spreading rumors about Joe and some woman without bothering to find out the truth?” Frank spat out angrily. “I thought she was their friend!”

“She is!” Callie insisted as Frank stood up and began pacing. “And she’s not spreading rumors. She came to me because she didn’t know what else to do. And she even had second thoughts about telling me. I had to drag it out of her. She hasn’t told anyone else what she saw.”

“And she better not!” Frank fumed. “If I hear even one rumor that Joe is cheating on Vanessa…” he let the unspoken threat hang in the air.

“She’s not going to tell anyone. She came to me because she is their friend and she’s concerned about them. We both agreed that no matter what it looked like, there had to be some kind of logical explanation for it. I mean, the idea of Joe cheating on Vanessa is just…just…” Callie couldn’t even finish the thought, but Frank did.

“Ludicrous!” he spat out. He stopped pacing and stared out the big bay window overlooking the front yard.

“I agree,” Callie said. “But, Frank, they are acting strange. We both saw that. I mean Joe just up and leaving town without telling anyone?! He’s never done that before!” Callie stood and walked to Frank’s side. Automatically he put his arm around her and drew her close. “That’s why I invited them to dinner tonight,” she confessed resting her head on his shoulder. “I knew if we could see them together we’d know immediately if something was wrong.”

“It was a good idea,” Frank murmured absently, a sure sign she didn’t have his full attention.

“Yeah, but it didn’t work,” Callie said dejectedly. “And we can’t very well call Vanessa and say ‘Hey, heard Joe was getting cozy with some woman on the beach yesterday. Wanna talk about it?’ “

“No, we can’t,” Frank replied with sudden enthusiasm. “But we can still see Vanessa for ourselves.”

“How?” Callie looked up at him.

“If she won’t come out to dinner with us, we’ll just have to take dinner to her,” Frank smiled.

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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.