Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - Brain Child

Joe and Vanessa were on their honeymoon on a secluded beach with not another soul around for miles. Cloudless blue skies and water so clear they could see the fish swimming around in search of food. He was lying on the beach, eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun. He felt soft lips brush his cheek in a kiss, bringing a slight smile to his lips. A few seconds later another kiss, this one a little harder.

"Mmmm…" he smiled.

A soft, familiar giggle caused him to open one eye just a crack. "Come on, Sleepyhead. Time to get up."

He opened the other eye and saw Vanessa standing over him. Looking past her, he saw the familiar stucco of their bedroom ceiling. ‘Just a dream. At least this was a nice one.’

"Mornin’ babe" he said sleepily. Reaching up he grabbed Vanessa around the waist and pulled her onto the bed next to him.

Laughing again she wagged a finger at him. "Sorry, Romeo, not today. You have to get an early start, remember? You asked me to make sure you were up before I left for work."

Joe groaned as he remembered. After speaking with Frank and his father on the phone the night before, it was decided he would go to the newspaper morgue in both Southport and Kirkland to see if there had been any similar cases in the past. Grasping at straws, they were hoping this might be a copycat case. If so, they might be able to find the break they needed through accounts of the original assaults. Frank and Fenton were going to interview all of the victims to see if they could pick up anything that might have been missed when they gave their statements to the police.

It was going to be a long, tedious day and he had figured the sooner he got started the sooner he’d finish. But now he was trying to figure out a way to put off the inevitable just a little bit longer.

As Vanessa struggled to escape his grasp, he held her tighter, kissing her neck. "Why don’t we call in sick today?" he suggested.

"Believe me, I’d like nothing better," she finally stopped trying to wriggle free. "But I have a tight deadline for this project. I can’t miss it and we’re still having problems with the new graphics program."

Switching tactics, he tried again. "Ok, then why not just be a little late today?" Joe flashed her his best smile, the one he knew melted her heart and would always result in his getting exactly what he wanted.

Vanessa quickly held up two fingers, making the sign of the cross and holding it up to Joe. "Back! Back!" She said in mock seriousness. "Don’t be using that smile on me! Not today!"

"Aw, come on baby…"

"And no ‘Aw come on baby’ either!"

The sudden sound of the intercom buzzer, announcing that someone was at the front door of the apartment building, startled them both.

As Vanessa jumped up, Joe threw up his hands in mock disgust, crossed his arms over his chest and started to pout. Vanessa couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the look on his face as she ran out to the living room. God, he loved her laugh! She never held back when something made her laugh. It was contagious and caused everyone around her to join in.

Joe climbed out of bed and a few minutes later appeared in the living room, carrying the cup of coffee Vanessa had made for him.

"It was Callie." Vanessa told him, referring to the buzzer. "She’s dropping me off at work," she sighed and continued. "I’ll be so glad when the parts for my car come in and I won’t have to depend on everyone else for a ride."

"I can pick you up tonight. I should be done by then." Joe put down his coffee and helped Vanessa on with her coat.

"We can figure it out later. I don’t want you to rush and miss something important because of me." She gave him a serious look. "You have to catch this guy, Joe. There’s no telling where he’ll turn up next."

Actually, Fenton Hardy had a very good idea where the rapist would strike next, but Joe didn’t want to worry her anymore than she already was. He pulled her into a hug and held her tightly for a moment. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. He didn’t know what it was, but he loved the smell of her hair.

"Don’t worry. We’ll catch him." Joe said confidently.

"Call me when you get a chance." She said, pulling back from him. "If you’re not going to be back here by five I can take the bus home."

"Yeah, I know. I just feel better when I can pick you up myself."

She smiled and gave him a kiss goodbye. "Bye, hon. See you tonight. Love you."

"Love you too, Babe. Have a good day." He reluctantly let her go and watched her walk out the door.

*******************************************************************

Joe sat back in the chair and rubbed his eyes. He’d spent all morning at the newspaper morgue in Southport and now he was here in Kirkland doing the same thing. Normally he hated this part of investigative work even though he realized how important it was. This time, however, he had requested the assignment. He could have gone with his father and Frank to interview the victims again. He often got his best "instincts" when talking to victims of the crimes they investigated, but in this particular case he just couldn’t stomach it. Rape. It made his blood boil just thinking of it. The sheer terror the victims had to endure during the attack was bad enough. To have to live through it over and over again when police and investigators wanted to question them ‘just one more time, in case we missed anything’ was more than he could take.

He glanced down at his notes and with a growing dread realized his father had been correct. Fenton Hardy had picked up on the pattern of the serial rapist almost immediately. The first rape had occurred in Angel Beach. The next two had taken place 25 miles north of Angel Beach in Southport. Three more followed in Kirkland, located 25 miles north of Southport. According to the pattern, the next rape would occur in the town located 25 miles north of Kirkland…the town of Bayport. If the Hardys and the police were not able to catch the rapist, three more rapes in Bayport would follow that one. This animal was methodically working his way up the coast. Each town was exactly 25 miles north of the previous one. And in each town, he committed one more rape than he had in the town before.

‘Not in my hometown!’ Joe thought angrily. ‘Your time is up, Scumbag.’

Joe glanced at his watch – 4:35pm. If he left now he’d be back in Bayport shortly after five. Gathering up his notes, he left the library. Walking through the parking lot, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Vanessa’s work number. Getting her voice mail, he left a message letting her know he’d be there a little after five to pick her up.

At the same moment, Vanessa was dialing Joe’s cell phone and getting his voice mail.

"Hi, hon. I was just checking in to see how the research was going. I’ve had a horrible day; that new program still won’t work right. I’m about ready to fix it with a sledgehammer! I think I’m going to be able to sneak out early so I’ll take the bus home. See you there. Love you. Bye."

After shutting down her computer, Vanessa grabbed her things and headed for the door. She didn’t want anyone to stop her on the way out with ‘just a quick question’ and hurried to the elevator. Stepping out into the lobby, she waved at the security guard.

"Night, Greg!"

"Bye, Vanessa. Have a good weekend." He replied as he watched her exit the building and turn in the direction of the bus stop.

******************************************************************

Joe was on the Interstate, halfway to Bayport, when a piece of debris flew off the run down pick up truck in front of him. He swerved to miss it but he wasn’t fast enough. The rogue piece of metal embedded itself in one of his tires. He sighed as the tell tale "thump, thump, thump" of a flat tire forced him to pull to the shoulder. Once again, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Vanessa. Once again, he got her voice mail.

"Hi, Babe. I got a flat tire but it won’t take me long to put on the spare. I’ll be on my way again in five minutes so wait for me, ok? Love you. Bye."

Vanessa had been walking for almost twenty minutes when she saw the curve in the road. She quickened her pace, knowing the bus stop was just around the bend. As she emerged on the far side of the curve, she could just make out the receding taillights of the bus, fading into the distance. ‘This day just can’t get any worse’, she thought.

She trudged to the bench under the streetlight and sat down to wait for the next bus. As she settled herself on the hard, wooden bench she heard a buzzing sound, then a pop above her head as the streetlight blew out. It was the last straw. Now sitting in darkness, she felt her eyes start to tear up. She’d had a miserable day at work and now she was sitting in the dark; she was tired, cold, and hungry and had a splitting headache. She got up and began pacing in front of the bench to keep warm. When her day began, she hadn’t anticipated the temperature dropping so quickly and wasn’t dressed for it.

She was concentrating on what she would need to do to get the uncooperative computer software running when suddenly she was grabbed from behind and roughly spun around. She felt a hard punch to her stomach causing her to double over, gasping for air. Before she could process what had just happened she felt something hard hit her in the back of the head and she fell to her knees. She vaguely thought, ‘Now I know what it feels like to see stars.’

Still reeling, Vanessa was picked up by a pair of strong arms and carried towards what appeared to be a car. She could barely keep her eyes open and when she did, she was seeing blurred, double images. She heard what she assumed was a car door opening and felt herself being roughly thrown inside. The door slammed shut, causing her to wince.

‘Get up!’ she screamed silently to herself. ‘Get out and run!’

Even in her semi-conscious state, she remembered Joe once telling her that when a victim is removed from the original scene of the crime, escape is almost impossible. The door near her head opened. She tried to lift her head to see who had attacked her but even that slight movement made her nauseous.

Her left arm was grabbed and roughly pulled over her head. She felt cold, hard steel being put around her wrist. A few seconds later her right arm was also pulled over her head. She felt the same cold object and heard a click.

‘Handcuffs!’ Her wrists had been handcuffed to the door handle, effectively preventing any chance of escape. The car door slammed shut causing her to cry out in pain. Another door opened and she could tell someone had gotten into the car. The engine started and the car smoothly pulled away from the curb.

Silently, Vanessa began to pray. ‘Please, God, don’t let me die. I don’t want to die. I’m sorry I brushed Joe off this morning. Please let me see him one more time. We have our whole lives ahead of us. We want to get married; have children; grandchildren. Grow old together. Please, God, don’t let me die. Not now. Not like this.’ Before slipping into unconsciousness, her last thought was of Joe. ‘I love you, Joe. I love you.’

Vanessa was roughly brought back to reality when the same strong arms dragged her from the car and started pulling her away from it. She had no idea how far or how long they’d traveled. She opened her eyes and still found herself seeing blurry doubles of everything.

‘Fight, Vanessa, fight!’ she told herself. The handcuffs still dangled from her left wrist but her arms were now free. Whoever had attacked her was dragging her backwards, to where she didn’t know. She had to get away. With all the strength she could summon, she drew her arm forward and let go with an elbow to the head that would have made her Kickboxing instructor proud. A jolt through her arm told her she had connected with her target.

The arms that were holding her suddenly let go and she stumbled forward, catching herself before she fell to the ground. She heard a grunt of pain followed by swearing. She immediately tried to run. She needed to get away. Far away. Her legs felt heavy, as if she were running through quicksand. She heard footsteps and tried to quicken her pace. ‘Faster! Run faster!’ she commanded herself, but her body could not respond. She was grabbed around the waist and forcefully thrown to the ground

Vanessa felt her head strike the hard concrete and groaned in pain, her world becoming hazy once again. She heard and felt her clothes being torn; felt rough, unfamiliar hands on her body. ‘Please, God, no. Make it stop. I don’t deserve this!’ Her jeans were viciously pulled off. She found herself wishing, hoping, she’d slip into unconsciousness again. Instead, she hovered on the edge, fully aware of what was happening to her but powerless to do anything to stop it. She desperately wanted to fight back but her body was unwilling to cooperate.

She felt the weight of a body on top of hers, and then the rhythmic, searing pain began. As the tears started to fall she thought, ‘Oh, God, Joe. Why didn’t I just wait for you to call?’ Vanessa cried silently, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain. ‘Please, please let it end!’ After what seemed an eternity, when Vanessa felt she couldn’t take anymore, the attack finally ended. Without a word the man who had so brutally assaulted her untangled himself from Vanessa and stood up. She heard the sound of a zipper, receding footsteps, a car door open and slam shut. The engine started and she heard the car drive away.

Vanessa rolled onto her side and curled up in the fetal position. Her body was in agony, her head was pounding and she started to shiver from the cold and shock. She opened her eyes, saw the blurred image of a dumpster and began to sob. Her cell phone was in her purse back at the bus stop and Joe had absolutely no idea where she was. Was she going to die here? Or worse yet, in her mind, what if her attacker came back? The thought chilled her to the bone.

She tried to sit up but the pain of the assault made that impossible. Maybe she could crawl out into the open where someone might see her and stop to help. She groped around for her jeans but even that small movement made her nauseous once again.

Suddenly she heard footsteps and felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch.

"No," she whimpered. "Please, not again."

She felt something cover her body – a coat? A soft, unfamiliar voice spoke to her in a soothing tone.

"Ssssh. It’s ok. You’re safe now. Help is on the way."

She huddled, shivering under the coat and began to sob openly. Hearing the voice talking, asking for the police and an ambulance, she gratefully slipped into unconsciousness.

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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.