ILLUSIONS
by
AUTHOR D
Chapter 4
The Chapters
Frank followed his brother to the old shack, listening to Joe’s edgy, nervous chatter all the way. Once they arrived at the shack, however, Joe became eerily quiet.
“Okay, exactly where did you see her?” Frank asked.
“Over here.” Joe led him around to the broken window and pointed towards the back left corner. “She was right there, on the floor in the corner. She had light colored hair, dark blonde maybe, and she was wearing jeans, a red sweater and white sneakers. Her hands and feet were tied with rope and she was gagged with a dark colored bandana.” Frank stared for a moment; the way Joe reeled off the details with such conviction, Frank had a hard time believing it could have been a hallucination.
Pulling a flashlight from his pocket, Frank turned towards the window and shined it inside. Slowly panning it across the small room, he examined it the best he could from this distance but saw no indication that anyone had ever been there. Stepping back, he bumped into Joe who was so close he was almost standing on top of Frank.
“Well?” Joe asked hopefully, as he took a step back.
Frank hesitated for a moment. “Nothing yet,” he finally replied. Joe’s face fell prompting Frank to add, “But I want to check around out here.” Walking to the front of the shack, he asked over his shoulder, “Did you check around out here at all?”
“Uh-uh,” Joe shook his head. “Vanessa was calling me. I went back to let her know where I was and by the time we got back the girl was gone. Van thought she was probably a cast member who didn’t realize they were off the property and it was getting close to the time we were supposed to meet you and Callie so…” Joe’s voice trailed off and he shrugged.
“Okay, then let’s check around now.” For the next few minutes they methodically searched every inch of the perimeter but once again there wasn’t one shred of evidence that anyone other than Joe had been there.
As they completed their search, Frank could feel the tension increase dramatically.
“She was here, Frank. I know she was. She was scared to death!” Joe insisted. “I wasn’t hallucinating this time! It was… different!”
“Okay, okay,” Frank attempted to calm his brother realizing he had no idea what to do next. Sighing inwardly, he knew he had to call his father. He also knew that Fenton Hardy would be furious with him for agreeing to let Joe and Vanessa go off alone, but at the moment he was more worried about Joe than himself. “I think we should call Dad. Ask him to come down here. You can tell him what you saw and he can take a look for himself. He might notice something we missed.”
“Or he might blow a gasket when he finds you didn’t keep me under constant surveillance all night,” Joe added bitterly.
Frank ran a hand through his hair and bit back his initial reply. He couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like for Joe to experience the hallucinations but he was all too familiar with the absolute terror and helplessness he - and his parents - felt watching Joe experience them, knowing they couldn’t do a thing to help him. “He’s had good reason to worry, Joe… we all have,” Frank said quietly.
“Yeah, whatever,” Joe mumbled unhappily. “Go ahead and call him.”
As Joe predicted, Fenton Hardy was extremely displeased about Frank’s impromptu change in their agreement and didn’t hesitate to let him know. But once he was finished, he listened to Frank’s recap of what had happened so far and agreed to meet his sons and take a look at the old shack himself.
Having heard his father’s angry tirade, Joe couldn’t help but mutter a sarcastic “Told ya so,” as the two brothers headed back to the entrance.
“Joe?”
“What?”
“Shut up.”
Forty minutes later Frank was once again standing in the dark outside the small shack, this time watching his father and Con Riley, a Bayport police detective whom Fenton apparently called and asked to join him, methodically check the perimeter of the structure. Upon arriving, Con had made it clear that since it was on private property and he was here basically as a favor to Fenton, they could only look from the outside. Only if they found definitive proof that a crime had been committed would he even consider picking the lock to check the inside. Frank could see Joe smoldering at the implication that what he saw wasn’t evidence of anything, but his brother kept silent.
After carefully going over the property – twice – Con had concluded that other than Frank and Joe, there was no sign that anyone had ever been there, inside or out. The padlock on the door was old and rusted and clearly hadn’t been opened in years and the powerful beam of his flashlight on the inside of the shack showed there was nothing suggesting anyone had ever been in there.
Joe had started to protest but one look from Fenton had put a quick halt to whatever he had to say. Still, Frank could feel the anger and frustration pouring off him as they walked side by side back to the entrance.
Con slowed a little and glanced at Joe. “Didn’t you say you and Vanessa were in the barn at first?” he asked curiously.
“Yeah,” Joe replied.
“So what made you suddenly decide to go check out this shack that you knew wasn’t part of Frightland?”
Even in the moonlight, Frank could see Joe’s _expression change as he visibly tensed. Rather than answer, though, the youngest Hardy just shrugged his shoulders and walked a little faster, putting some distance between himself and the other three men. When they finally caught up with Joe at the entrance Fenton posed the question again.
“Joe… why did you go out to the shack if it was clearly marked as being off the Frightland grounds?”
Joe looked nervous and when he did respond, spoke haltingly and with much less conviction than he did when talking about the little girl. “When we were in the barn I saw a… a little boy. He uh… he kept saying ‘Help her’ and motioning like he wanted me to follow him.”
An uncomfortable silence settled over the small group as no one spoke for a moment and then Fenton asked, a little too gently Frank thought, “Why didn’t you mention him before?”
“I don’t know!” Joe bristled. “I was more concerned about the girl, and I don’t understand why you aren’t!”
Con looked at Fenton and subtly shook his head indicating there was nothing more he could do, making Frank glad most of their friends had already left. Turning his back on them, Con leaned over towards Fenton and Frank heard his soft suggestion that they take Joe home so he could rest. Unfortunately, Joe heard him too.
“I do NOT need to rest!” he yelled furiously. “I know what I saw – a girl who needs help! What I don’t know is WHY you won’t investigate!”
“Joe,” Fenton said taking a step towards his younger son and reaching out for him, “calm down.” Joe yanked his arm out of Fenton’s reach and glared murderously.
Con stepped forward, trying to defuse the tense situation that was garnering worried looks from passers-by. “I can’t just break into the shack, Joe. It’s on private property and I have nothing to go on. There is no evidence a crime has even been committed.”
“I SAW HER!” Joe yelled, now livid. “And Frightland confirmed she is NOT part of their cast!”
Con looked nervously from Joe to Fenton and then at Vanessa. “You were in the barn with Joe, right?”
Vanessa looked at Joe warily, as if it might be a trick question and then nodded.
“Did you see the little boy?”
Vanessa swallowed hard and looked at Joe apologetically. “No.”
“Did you see anything at all?”
Vanessa looked as if she were about to cry, and Frank understood she felt as if she were somehow betraying Joe. ”No…I didn’t see anything.”
“Did you hear anything?” Con pressed. “Whimpering? Crying? Anything?”
Now near tears, Vanessa’s voice was a barely audible whisper, “No.”
Con exhaled forcefully and scratched the back of his head. He looked at Fenton apologetically. “I’m sorry but there’s no probable cause.”
“If Frank or Vanessa or anyone else but me had seen the girl, would that be enough probable cause for you?” Joe challenged Con malevolently.
The very awkward silence that followed was finally broken when Con looked at Joe and shrugged helplessly. “Joe…I’m sorry…”
Joe glared at Con for a moment and then his expression changed dramatically. Looking hurt and humiliated, Joe’s gaze slowly swept over the group from Fenton to Vanessa to their few friends that were still there… They all quickly looked away, no one willing or able to look him in the eye. When Joe’s eyes locked on his, Frank resolutely held his gaze. Looking as if he’d lost his last friend in the world, Joe said nothing more. He simply turned and walked back to the car.
As soon as Joe left, their remaining friends murmured words of comfort to Frank, said their goodbyes and drifted away. Vanessa looked around uncertainly, wiped at her eyes and silently walked to the car, climbing into the backseat next to Joe.
Frank let out a world-weary sigh and looked at Callie. “Guess this wasn’t such a good idea, huh?” He took Callie’s hand and started walking towards his car.
“Frank, wait.” Frank stopped and turned to his father, who looked meaningfully at Callie.
“I’ll wait in the car,” she said softly.
Fenton waited until Callie was out of earshot and then looked Frank in the eye. “I’m taking Joe home with me.”
Frank’s eyes widened. “What?!” he exclaimed, stunned then incredulous. “No, Dad! You can’t do that!”
“Yes, I can.” Fenton stated simply and began walking to Frank’s car.
Frank grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop, barely flinching when Fenton whirled on him, surprise and anger mixing on his face.
“I’ll bring him home,” Frank insisted.
“You said you’d watch him tonight and look how well that turned out!” Fenton snapped.
Frank tensed, both at the cheap shot and the knowledge that Fenton had every reason to be upset with him. “I admit I screwed up, Dad, but do not take it out on Joe!”
“He’s coming home with me,” Fenton repeated inflexibly.
Frank felt the anger quickly flare inside him. “You’re mad at me so you’ll embarrass him in front of our friends by making him go home with daddy?!” Frank shot back.
Fenton’s eyes registered surprise for a brief second and then nothing but anger. He took a step towards Frank, smoldering. “Do not talk to me in that tone of voice,” Fenton practically growled. “And your friends are gone in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Frank nodded towards the car where Joe and Vanessa were clearly visible through the rear window. “Vanessa isn’t,” he countered, refusing to back down. “Dad, I’m sorry. I gave you my word and I broke it. I know you’re mad at me and with good reason. And I know you’re worried about Joe – believe me, so am I. But he’ll be totally humiliated if you make him get out of the car now and go home with you.” Frank watched and saw something flicker in his father’s eyes - compassion. “Please, Dad,” he begged. “Don’t do that to him in front of his girlfriend. Let me bring him home.”
Frank waited, unsure if Fenton’s anger at him, and worry for Joe, would override the compassion he’d seen pass over his father’s face. Fenton ran a hand through his hair and exhaled in exasperation. He turned and looked at Joe for a moment, then back at Frank.
“You drop the girls off and come right home.”
“Yes, sir,” Frank replied, heaving an inward sigh of relief.
“I mean it, Frank,” Fenton warned in a tone Frank rarely heard directed at him. “Straight home.”
Frank nodded and quickly walked to his car before Fenton could change his mind.
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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.