Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - With This Ring

Dylan sat in his beat up old car in front of Tanya’s rundown apartment. All day long, everywhere he looked he’d seen her – the girl with the blue-grey eyes, scared… terrorized… traumatized… all because of him. Slipping a hand into his shirt pocket he pulled out the ring and stared at it. It was beautiful, breathtakingly so, and definitely grabbed your attention. One of a kind… ‘just like Tanya.’

That’s what he’d thought the first time he laid eyes on it. And it hadn’t seemed like that big a deal when he decided to take it. The women at that table obviously had money; maybe they weren’t rich but they were certainly comfortable. But then she refused to give it up and he’d grabbed her hand and he instantly realized his mistake.

The look on her face – in her eyes – when he’d touched her made his stomach lurch. He’d seen it too many times in Tanya’s eyes so he knew; he knew he’d brought back traumatic, horrifying memories for this girl.

‘I’m sorry,’ Dylan thought guiltily, not sure he could live with this girl haunting him for the rest of his life. The longer he stared at the ring, the harder it was to justify, no matter how much he loved Tanya. Taking a deep breath he decided then and there to return it. He could send it to the Bayport police department, anonymously, but almost immediately he thought better of it. No matter how careful he was to cover his tracks, they’d probably be able to trace it back to him. He frowned for a moment wondering if there was another way…

Recalling how friendly the girl and her companions seemed with the dark-haired restaurant employee, Dylan thought he could send it back to the restaurant and ask that it be returned to its owner. He couldn’t take back what he put her through but at least he could give her back the ring - and he would, first thing in the morning.

Dylan put the ring back in his pocket and got out of the car. Walking the rickety steps to Tanya’s apartment he felt as if a weight had been lifted from him. He knocked on the flimsy, hollow door glaring at the three locks on it knowing they were more for show than anything else. Anyone who was determined to get in could do so, frighteningly quickly.

Frowning when he heard no sounds from inside, Dylan knocked again. He’d called Tanya to say he was on his way, which usually meant she was waiting by the door for him. “Tanya?” he called out, worried, “You in there?”

After another minute or so he heard muffled footsteps and the sound of the locks being undone. Slowly the door opened and he needed only a cursory glance at Tanya for his worry to morph into full-blown fear. She had that look in her eyes… she’d seen him… her stepfather.

“Where is he?!” Dylan demanded, pushing his way in. “Is he here… that sonofabitch…” Shutting the door he immediately glanced around the small, sparsely furnished living room half-expecting to see the man there. Locking the door behind him, Dylan did a quick search of the apartment returning to the living room to see a traumatized Tanya, silent and pale, her face tear-streaked.

Pulling her into his arms, he held her tightly, trying to calm his out of control fear as she clutched his shirt and cried softly. “Tanya… honey… did he… was he… here?”

“N-no,” Tanya choked out, shaking her head against his chest.

Dylan let out a soft sigh of relief. He was pretty sure the guy wasn’t suicidal and he’d been scared to death of Dylan’s threat to kill him if he ever even looked at Tanya again.

“Baby, you’re scaring me. What happened?”

Tanya gripped him tighter for just a second and then slowly released him and looked up, the fear in her eyes ripping at his soul. “I s-saw him… downtown…”

Dylan hid his immense relief that it was memories and not what he initially feared, although he knew just seeing her stepfather was almost enough to paralyze Tanya with flashbacks. Still, he’d been afraid that maybe the memory of his beating the man half to death had faded and her stepfather had come back… And that thought was enough to enrage him.

Harvey Olson had preyed on his stepdaughter for three years while her mother, working third shift at her factory job, was oblivious. He’d put the fear of God in Tanya, telling her if she ever breathed a word of what he was doing, he’d kill her.

It ended one night when Dylan stopped by Tanya’s house unannounced and heard Olson threatening her. He wasn’t sure what was going on, other than Tanya was in danger and his first instinct was simply to get her out of there to somewhere safe. Once he did, though it took time and patience, Dylan was able to get the whole story. His fury had been so volatile he still didn’t remember every detail, but Dylan clearly recalled returning to the house and confronting Harvey Olson. The man who had preyed on Tanya for three years, begged for his life and Dylan listened – barely. He administered a severe beating to the man with a solemn promise that if he ever even looked at Tanya again, Dylan would return and kill him.

Dylan had taken Tanya home with him that night they went back in the morning to tell her mother. When Lydia Olson was told Harvey had been sexually abusing her daughter for years, the older woman blamed Tanya insisting she’d tempted the man – had ‘asked for it’ – and threw her out of the house.

Now with her shaking in his arms, the anger and the rage resurfaced and were threatening to consume Dylan.

“Did he see you? Say anything to you? Touch you?!” Dylan demanded, his anger boiling over.

“No,” Tanya whispered, shaking her head. “He never even saw me but he didn’t have to. Just me seeing him is enough…” She shuddered and choked on a sob, her eyes faraway for a moment and Dylan knew what was coming next. It always came next and it always broke his heart.

“If – if you want to leave me I understand,” she said looking up at him, the years of abuse painfully reflected in her eyes. “He always told me I was trash, I was worthless… that no man would want me when they found out… You’ve stayed with me longer than I deserve—”

“No!” Dylan said fiercely, holding her by the shoulders and staring at her intently. “You’re not worthless! Especially not because of him. You’re… you’re…” Dylan grasped for the right words, the words that would prove to her that he loved her more than anything in the world. Holding her gaze he squeezed her shoulders, his voice betraying his emotions. “You’re priceless,” he whispered.

Pulling her close again, he held her in his arms, vehemently professing his love for her. “You,” he said softly, stroking her hair, “are my whole life and I will never – never! – leave you! Getting out of this miserable town and into a better life is my only goal but it won’t mean anything if you’re not right there by my side to share it with. I love you Tanya, and no one can change that – not him, not anyone!”

He’d seen Tanya depressed before when something she saw or heard brought the horrifying memories rushing back but she’d never been this bad before. Then again, whether by luck or divine intervention, despite living in the same town Tanya hadn’t actually seen her stepfather since that fateful night either. And while Dylan had saved her from any further abuse, Harvey Olson had never been prosecuted. Other than Dylan almost beating him to death, he’d gotten away with it and that still haunted Tanya.

Desperate to comfort her, Dylan continued to remind her things were better now and would get even better still. She would never have to be afraid of her stepfather again. He promised to get her out of this town, away from the memories and give her the life she deserved. Yet as he spoke, the words weren’t having the effect he hoped for and Dylan realized that tonight Tanya needed more than promises…

Later, Dylan would look back on this moment and wonder exactly how it happened. Before he even knew what he was doing, Dylan was down on one knee, the stolen ring held aloft, between two shaking fingers.

“Tanya, you are the only person in the world who accepts me for who I am, who loves me unconditionally, who has never ever let me down. You are the most important thing in the world to me and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I promise I will always love you, cherish you… protect you… Tanya, will you marry me?”

It was only a few seconds but seemed an eternity as Tanya stared at him, and then the ring, wide-eyed and speechless. “Oh, Dylan,” she finally said his name on a reverent breath. “Oh it’s… it’s…” Silently she extended her shaking left hand and Dylan slipped the one of a kind ring on her finger. The image of Tanya lifting her hand, staring at the ring, her mouth in a small ‘oh’ of disbelief would be burned into his memory and cherished forever. “It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed finally focusing on him just for a second, before returning her undivided attention to the ring. “I’ve never seen anything like it before!”

“It’s different… special…” Dylan stood now and slipped his arms around her waist. “Just like you.”

Tanya looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears once more but this time they were tears of happiness. “Yes,” she said, smiling and crying at the same time. “Yes! YES, I will marry you!” she yelled, throwing her arms around his neck.

Dylan held her tightly, the annoying little voice that had plagued him for the past twenty-four hours suddenly far, far away. Abruptly Tanya released him, though his arms still gently encircled her waist, her eyes again on the ring. “Oh, it fits perfectly!” Looking up at him once more, her eyes were filled with joy and hope. “I’m never taking it off,” she vowed, “Never!”

Pressing herself against his chest, Tanya settled into his embrace. “Thank you,” she almost whispered. “Thank you for this,” she stared at the ring, “for saving me… for us and our life together.” Sighing contentedly she laid her head on his shoulder, basking in the glow of the moment.

Dylan held her tightly, stroking her hair and listening to the excitement in her voice. Yet as he looked over her shoulder, out the small window into the night all he could see was a pair of terrified, tortured blue-grey eyes…

*****

Vanessa sat on the balcony, the warm and clear midsummer night allowing a perfect view of the star-filled sky. Normally she and Joe would be out here together, enjoying the weather, the view and each other. But Vanessa couldn’t summon the strength to even try and pretend things were normal. Unable to stop herself, Vanessa looked at her left hand, felt her eyes start to burn and allowed herself the luxury of letting the tears fall.

All evening she had been on the verge but forced herself not to let Joe see it, not wanting to put even more pressure on him than she was sure Joe had already put on himself. He’d promised to find her ring, a promise she knew he meant and would do everything in his power to keep, and she hoped he could keep it but logically Vanessa knew the chances of that happening weren’t great. After a mostly silent dinner Vanessa had come outside, hoping to find some comfort in the peaceful summer evening while Joe settled himself on the couch – easily visible from the balcony giving Vanessa the security of visually acknowledging his presence – and buried himself in the files he’d brought home.

After a quick glance inside where Joe was engrossed in his work, Vanessa pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Resting her chin on one knee she closed her eyes and felt her chin quiver as she pictured her beloved ring. She could see the heart-shaped diamond gleam and the way the tiny rubies sparkled in the sunlight but it was the small details – the I LOVE YOU carved into the raised band and the date Joe proposed engraved inside it – that caused her to choke on a sob. The thought of someone else wearing the ring that was her most cherished and treasured possession was almost physically painful.

Bowing her head she tried to focus on the moment itself, knowing the way Joe had proposed always brought her a smile. She thought about that weekend, the hotel, the shopping, the museums, gourmet dinners, the Broadway play and finally, the most romantic night of her life when Joe made her biggest dream come true…

“Vanessa… will you marry me?”

She’d often fantasized about what that moment might be like, should it ever happen, and Joe had surpassed that fantasy by leaps and bounds. The memory warmed her but only for a moment, for as soon as she opened her eyes and gazed at her bare finger, Vanessa quietly sobbed.

*****

Frank hunched over his notes, neatly written out on several pages and spread over the desk in front of him. While he, Sam and Fenton had kept working for quite a while after Joe left, none of them had come up with much other than varying levels of frustration. Deciding to begin again in the morning with fresh eyes, they’d called it a night but something was nagging at Frank. He had a feeling he was on the verge of discovering something, though he wasn’t quite sure what, and didn’t want to lose his edge. So he brought copies of all the files home with him and his tenacity, it seemed, had paid off.

Reviewing his meticulous notes once more just to be sure, he nodded his head, silently confirming the emerging pattern he thought he’d noticed thirty minutes earlier. There had been six businesses robbed so far - a bar, a delicatessen, a cigarette store, a comic book shop, a dry cleaner and Prito’s restaurant. At first glance it appeared the choice of targets was arbitrary and random but Frank noticed several commonalities: they were all very successful, they were all located in what would normally be considered the ‘business district’ of the city surrounded by offices. Almost all of the office buildings closed at five or six p.m. and all of the businesses that had been robbed stayed open later – in some cases much later – than their neighbors. Simply by virtue of their location, by seven o’clock in the evening the area around these businesses would see few pedestrians. By closing time, the streets would be virtually deserted leaving few, if any, witnesses.

Frank sat back in the chair and stared at the wall. Anyone watching would think he was simply daydreaming but he was actually deep in thought, considering what might be another clue they could use. The thieves had hit twice in Southport, twice in Kirkland and now twice in Bayport… might they be going back to Southport or Kirkland now that the focus was on Bayport? And if so, Frank wondered if they could use this pattern to pick out potential future targets.

Musing over these questions, Frank couldn’t help but grudgingly admire the band of thieves. They’d obviously done their homework and chosen their targets carefully, going for highly successful establishments, operating in areas that would be just about deserted at closing time.

Frank’s musings were pleasantly interrupted when Callie came in and perched on the edge of the desk facing him. “How’s it going?” she asked, glancing at the myriad of papers spread out on the desk.

Frank smiled and took her hand, still getting that familiar thrill he had the very first time he’d held her hand almost ten years earlier. Quickly he told her what he’d figured out so far. “If we can figure out where they’ll strike next – and that’s a pretty big if – we can stake out the place and catch them in the act.” He frowned for a moment and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I hate to say it, but that may be the only way we’ll get Vanessa’s ring back.”

“Do you think you can do it? Figure out when and where they’ll go next?” she asked.

Frank heard a trace of doubt in her voice but he wasn’t upset by it; even he admitted it was a long shot but right now it was the only shot they had. He shrugged and replied, “We can probably narrow it down somewhat but if we pick the right place on the right night, well that’ll be pure dumb luck.”

“Can’t the police help?” Callie suggested.

“I wouldn’t count on it. They just don’t have the manpower or resources to stake out a whole bunch of businesses on a hunch. Police departments everywhere are stretched too thin as it is. To be blunt, these crimes are low on the totem pole. Until the robbery at Prito’s no one had been hurt and the only thing taken was cash. Tony got away with relatively minor injuries and he’ll be fine and as cold as it sounds, the police aren’t going to put a high priority on finding one person’s stolen engagement ring. They’ve just got too many other more serious crimes to worry about.

“But hopefully I can convince Dad and Sam it’s worth a shot and maybe, just maybe, we’ll get lucky.”

Callie sighed and slid off the desk, settling herself in Frank’s lap. “I hope so. I talked to Vanessa earlier tonight and she just sounded so… depressed. I hate to say it, but I think she understands what a long shot it’ll be to actually find her ring.” She stopped and laid her head on Frank’s shoulder. He automatically rested his cheek against the silky softness of her hair. Inhaling the scent of her shampoo he smiled, relishing these simple moments with her and never taking them for granted.

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” Frank said. “Joe’s already like a man possessed. You know how he always needs to be Vanessa’s hero. If he thinks she thinks he might not be able to find it…” He massaged his forehead gently. “I don’t even want to think about how far he’ll go to get it back.”

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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.