Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - With This Ring

“No… no! NO! STOP!!!” Joe Hardy yelled. Knowing he wasn’t fast enough to escape, he extended his arms hoping to cushion the blow, to no avail. His assailant barreled into his chest and Joe was lifted off his feet. Seconds later he slammed hard into the ground. Landing on his back, Joe covered his face with his hands, trying to ward off the assault.

“No! No, no, no, no… STOP IT!” He cried out, rolling his head from side to side trying to get out of the line of fire, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Hearing a familiar laugh, Joe used his forearms to hold off his attacker and turned his head to the side.

“You could give me a hand here, ya know?” He glared at his older brother, who made no move to assist him.

“Why?” Twenty-five year old Frank Hardy asked, his voice tinged with amusement. “This is the most entertainment I’ve had all day.” He was seated on a park bench, his arms extended lazily across the back, watching his brother being licked to death by a very large dog.

When Joe finally levered himself up onto his elbows, the ninety-pound mutt that had been sitting on his chest and licking his face profusely tumbled off. It quickly regained its legs and took off across the field after something that had suddenly caught its attention. Pushing himself to his feet, Joe walked over to the bench and sat down heavily. “Some partner you are,” he grumbled. Pulling his t-shirt up slightly, he swiped the hem of it across his face. “And ya know I don’t remember Dad ever telling us this would be in the job description!”

“Could be worse,” Frank said, “you could’ve been stuck behind a desk for the past four days instead of outside soaking up this gorgeous weather!”

“It’s Saturday afternoon, Frank. I’d rather be taking Vanessa for a ride up the coast on my bike,” Joe griped, referring to his tall, blonde fiancée. “Or playing basketball with the guys or hanging out at the beach. Instead I’m stuck here with you and a bunch of slobbering animals.”

“Look on the bright side… if they’re slobbering on you, it means they like you.”

“The only one I like to be slobbered on by is Vanessa,” Joe retorted. A smile lit his face as he watched a light flush suffuse his brother’s cheeks.

“You’re treading dangerously close to T.M.I. territory,” Frank warned. Though he seemed to be rather bored to the casual observer, Joe knew his brother was continuously scanning the people in the park, with nothing escaping his scrutiny.

“Yeah, well, we’ve been here every night this week and now it looks like we’ll be camped out for the weekend, too! I’m starting to forget what Vanessa looks like!”

“Somehow I think if we’d been hired to investigate a rash of thefts at a modeling convention instead of a dog park you wouldn’t be complaining in the least,” Frank grinned.

Five days earlier, the president of Bayport’s city council had paid a visit to Hardy and Sons Investigations seeking help with a rash of thefts at the local dog park. The beautiful summer weather had brought out people and their pets in droves. Unfortunately it had also brought out a thief. While the citizens of Bayport were spending time with their four-legged family members, someone had been helping themselves to wallets, change purses, iPods and cell phones left in bags by unsuspecting park patrons. As the thefts increased, so did the incensed phone calls to city council members from their constituents. The Bayport police department promised to increase patrols in the area but did not have the budget or manpower to station an officer in the park all day. As a result, the Hardys were called in and asked to flush out the thief.

The thefts seemed to occur at the same time every day, in the early evening on weekdays and late morning or early afternoon on the weekends. With Frank and Joe needing to blend in with the crowd, Sam Radley, the firm’s fourth partner and best friend of the boys’ father Fenton Hardy, had happily agreed to let them ‘borrow’ his dog Logan for the duration of the investigation. As a result, the brothers had spent every evening at the park playing with Logan, chatting up the other dog owners and staying alert for any sign of the thief. Unfortunately they hadn’t turned up a single clue and three more thefts had occurred on their watch, discouraging both of them.

As Logan reappeared and dropped a wet, slimy tennis ball at Joe’s feet, the younger Hardy sighed heavily. “Isn’t it your turn?” he asked his brother, looking at the dirty ball with barely concealed disgust.

“Logan doesn’t think so,” Frank said wryly as the dog pawed at Joe’s leg, whining and looking utterly pathetic.

With another dramatic sigh, Joe picked up the tennis ball, mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and followed the excited dog out to the middle of the field. After several more rounds of ‘fetch’ Joe heard a familiar whistle and looked over at his brother. Frank jerked his head slightly indicating he wanted Joe to join him. Picking up the tennis ball, Joe called Logan who obediently followed him to the bench and settled himself at Frank’s feet.

“Got something?” Joe murmured, perching on the back of the bench.

“Down there in the corner,” Frank tilted his head slightly.

Joe looked over the small groups of people milling about and chatting but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Which one?” he asked frowning.

“The one with black hair…” Frank began, finishing with a barely contained laugh, “… and four paws and a tail.”

“What?!” Joe exclaimed. Pulling his mirrored sunglasses down slightly, he squinted and looked hard, now noticing the medium sized black dog, a shiny cell phone clutched in its teeth, furiously digging a hole and virtually ignored by his human counterparts.

As Frank and Joe watched, the dog finished digging, dropped the phone into the hole and proceeded to push the dirt with his nose until his ‘prize’ was covered and sufficiently hidden from prying eyes.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Joe snorted, both amused and embarrassed. “We’ve been hot on the trail of a dog?!”

“Just watch,” Frank grinned as the dog came trotting back up the field looking immensely pleased with itself. He passed by the brothers and continued on up to another set of benches at the far end of the park. While there wasn’t an empty spot to be found on the benches, the people seated on them were so engrossed in conversation they paid no attention to the dog. Approaching a half open backpack hanging off the back of one of the benches, the dog’s head disappeared inside it for several seconds. When it reappeared, he was clutching a black leather wallet tightly in his jaws. Turning, the dog happily made its way back down the field to the same general spot and began digging a new hole.

“I’ll be damned,” Joe murmured, a touch of admiration in his voice. Rising, he followed his brother down to the far end of the field. Frank waited until the dog finished burying his latest treasure and went off in search of more, then squatted down and began digging. Pushing the dirt aside with his hand, it didn’t take long for Frank to uncover a virtual treasure trove – wallets, watches, cell phones, change purses, an iPod and even a set of keys – all dirty but none the worse for wear. Using one of the bags provided for owners to clean up after their dogs, Frank loaded up the cache, stood and turned to his brother.

“And the streets – and parks – of Bayport are safe once more thanks to Hardy and Sons Investigations,” Joe cracked.

*****

“You’re kidding, right?” Dark haired Liz Webling stared at her lunch companions in amused disbelief.

“Nope,” Vanessa Bender replied, grinning as she picked up her cup and took a sip of lemonade.

“Frank and Joe are staking out a dog park?”

“Yup,” Callie Hardy replied, her mouth curving up in a smile.

The three friends were seated around a table in the crowded food court of Bayport Mall. With their husband and fiancé working, Callie and Vanessa had decided to make the best of it and head to the mall for an afternoon of shopping. Shortly after arriving, they’d run into Liz and invited her to join them. After several hours of battling the Saturday crowds they stopped for lunch and were now chatting while finishing up their meal.

“What could possibly be worth stealing at a dog park?” Liz asked, incredulous. “Fifi’s diamond studded leash?” she joked.

“You’d be amazed,” Callie responded. “Frank couldn’t believe how trusting people are when they’re at the park.”

“Trusting?” Vanessa arched an eyebrow. “Joe referred to them as a bunch of dipsticks!”

“That’s another way of putting it,” Callie agreed with a laugh, looking back to Liz. “He said these people bring their purses and backpacks and things, hang them off the backs of the benches they have there and then just forget about them! Frank said one night he stood behind the benches all night and no one even gave him a second glance. He could’ve cleaned up!”

“Hmmmm….” Vanessa eyed Callie mischievously. “Maybe Frank is the thief and he’s just leading Joe on a wild goose chase.”

“Huh,” Liz muttered, then shrugged. “Who would’ve thought the dog park was a pickpockets dream.”

As the girls talked and the conversation easily moved from one topic to another, Vanessa couldn’t help but notice the way Liz would occasionally glance at her engagement ring. Joe had searched for months wanting to find the perfect ring for Vanessa. Never one for understatement, Joe wanted something unique, eye-catching and untraditional. He’d seen a picture of a ring in one of Vanessa’s magazines that sparked an idea. Visiting Mr. Kumar, a jeweler in New York City whom the Hardys had helped in the past, Joe showed him the picture and explained exactly what he wanted. The jeweler was happy to help and was able to handcraft a ring to Joe’s exact specifications. Not a day went by that at least one person didn’t comment to Vanessa on the one of a kind ring, making her cherish it all the more.

Still, Vanessa thought, Liz had seen the ring hundreds of times since she and Joe had gotten engaged, yet still seemed entranced by it. Absently sipping on her lemonade, Vanessa recalled the whispers she’d heard around Bayport High right after she started dating Joe. Rumor had it that Liz had been harboring a secret crush on Joe for years, but never acted on it due to her friendship with Iola Morton, Joe’s first girlfriend. The unconfirmed but oft-repeated story said that when Joe started dating again after Iola’s death, Liz revealed her feelings to him hoping for a relationship.

Vanessa knew that Joe had always cherished the girl’s friendship, and eyeing Liz now, she wondered if he’d ever reciprocated those feelings. They were still good friends to this day and while no one had ever asked Liz about the rumor, a few brave souls confronted Joe. Ever the gentleman, Joe would always smile mysteriously in response and politely change the subject. It was something Vanessa had never broached with Joe although a few times – like now with Liz seemingly drawn to her ring – she wished she had.

“Hey, have you guys heard about those robberies downtown?” Liz’s excited voice cut through Vanessa’s musings. She sat up a little straighter returning her full attention to her companions.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to get around to a hot news topic,” Callie teased. Liz’s father owned the Bayport Times, the local newspaper where Liz worked as an investigative reporter.

Liz waved a hand, ignoring Callie’s comment. “Oh, come on. This ring of thieves has hit six times in the last three weeks; most recently last night! They held up that deli downtown just before closing. Made off with a ton of cash.” She leaned forward now, her eyes alight with excitement. “Same M.O. in every single robbery – four armed men in ski masks walk into the business just before closing. They hold all the employees and any customers at gunpoint while one of them forces the manager to open the safe. They take all the cash in the safe and the registers and leave.”

“Anyone ever been hurt?” Callie asked with a frown.

“Nope,” Liz shook her head. “They never take anything but cash. But when you add this one to the robberies in Kirkland and Southport, they’ve got the police in three towns looking pretty silly. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the types of businesses they hit and with them spread out over three cities they can’t seem to find any pattern and none of them have any solid leads.” Liz stopped and looked from Callie to Vanessa and quirked a brow. “Think the dynamic duo will get involved?” she asked referring to Frank and Joe.

“Well, no one has asked them to,” Callie pointed out.

“And they’ve been busy staking out their furry, four-legged friends,” Vanessa winked and then turned serious. “But I sure hope the police catch them before someone gets hurt.”

*****

Dylan Bradford lay against the blanket, holding his girlfriend close, as they stared up at the star-filled sky. On nights like this, when they had the park all to themselves, it was easy to block out the rest of the world – a world that hadn’t been kind to either of them. He absently stroked her silky brown hair and she sighed contentedly, shifting so her head was nestled against his chest.

Reaching down he laced his fingers through hers, then lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. He stared at the bare ring finger on her left hand and scowled. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he desperately wanted to marry her. She was the only person who had ever truly loved him just the way he was. She was special…one of a kind… And she deserved a ring that was just as special and priceless as she was. He’d been searching but was starting to despair of ever finding it. Then he sighed disgustedly knowing even if he did find the perfect ring he’d never be able to afford it.

They both wanted to get out of Bayport and the painful memories it held. They’d grown up here, she in an abusive home at the mercy of a predatory stepfather and he in the ‘system’. He never knew his father and his drug-addicted mother willingly gave up all rights to him when he was seven. But no one wanted an older child so he’d spent his life in group homes and foster homes, some better than others but most he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.

Through it all, though, Dylan had dreamt of making a better life for himself, but when he turned eighteen he was suddenly a ‘legal adult’. By law, the government no longer needed to provide for him and he was unceremoniously kicked out of the system, now on his own, ill equipped and unprepared for life. With only a high school education and no support system, Dylan was forced to take the first minimum wage job he could find simply to put a roof over his head and food in his stomach. Unable to afford anything more than a one-room apartment in the worst part of town, he quickly grew bitter and disillusioned with life.

Then Dylan met Tanya Madison and the beautiful girl stole his heart. Having come from a similar rough background, she understood him like no one he’d ever met before. More importantly, she accepted him and loved him just as he was – and slowly she began to change his life. They had been together for almost two years now and he was absolutely sure she was the one – he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

But starting a life together would require money; money that Dylan, with his low-paying job and bare minimum education would never have. As a result, he was easily swayed when a few of his more unsavory neighbors recruited him into what he referred to as his ‘second job’. The money was good and the initial guilt at the less than legal way they acquired it soon faded. However while Tanya knew he had another job that he worked one or two nights a week, she had no idea exactly what he did – and she never asked. He was never sure if she simply trusted him implicitly or, having grown up hard herself, knew better than to ask.

That realization, combined with the knowledge from somewhere deep inside that if he stayed on this path it was just a matter of time before he’d be caught, had him rethinking his second income. He really didn’t want to spend his life breaking the law and trying to stay under the radar just to survive. Dylan dreamed of a home, children and a life with Tanya. So he’d given himself a deadline and began saving the money from his ‘second job’. Soon he’d have enough to get both himself and Tanya out of Bayport, enough to rent a little house or apartment…enough to put himself through trade school. Then he could get a good paying, legitimate job that would comfortably support both of them and their future children. Still, when he proposed he wanted to do it right and that required a ring – a ring that would be worthy of her.

Tanya lifted her head slightly and smiled, gaining his attention. “Penny for your thoughts?”

He smiled back at her, mesmerized by the blue-green eyes that held nothing but love. “I was just thinking about you… us… I’m gonna get us out of here, Baby. I promise,” he said passionately. “We’ll do it right, too. We’ll get married, I’ll go to trade school and get a good job. We’ll save enough money and buy a little house…”

Her eyes sparkled at the picture he painted and she joined in his dreaming. “And kids?” she asked.

“As many as you want,” he promised. Shifting, he nudged her and she moved onto her back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Leaning down he kissed her. “I’m gonna give you everything you want… everything you deserve. Everything…” he murmured.

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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.