CHOICES
by
RM
Chapter 21
THE CHAPTERS
Out
in the waiting room, Joe joined his parents as they waited to hear from the
doctor. He had told them that Frank was awake and the doctor was examining
him. Fenton and Laura were relieved that Frank had finally woken up. Joe
figured Frank was going to be all right now that he was awake, but there
was still some uncertainty hanging over their heads.
A
half hour later, the doctor entered the room. He motioned for them to stay
seated. He slid into a chair across from them.
“How’s
Frank doing?” Laura asked.
“He’s
all right,” the doctor said. “He is weak and will be on a liquid diet
for a couple days. We are also going to watch for infection. The wounds on
his chest and back had not been treated and could lead to infection. So we
are monitoring that.”
“What
about his temperature?” Laura asked.
“It
is increasing to where it should be. I think in a couple days it will be
back to normal.”
“But
Frank will be all right?” Laura asked.
“He
should be fine.” The doctor smiled. “Why don’t you go see your son?
Just make sure he rests. That is the only way he is going to heal.”
“Thank
you, Doctor,” Laura said.
“You’re
welcome. If you need me for anything, have one of the nurses page me.”
“Thank
you again,” Fenton said.
The
doctor nodded and left the waiting room.
As
the three of them stood up to head to Frank’s room, Fenton stopped. He
said, “Go ahead. I’m being paged.”
Joe
and Laura continued to Frank’s room. Ad they entered, they saw Frank was
propped up slightly with pillows behind his back. He was squirming in the
bed.
“Are
you all right, Frank?” Laura asked as she hurried to the bed.
“I’m
fine, Mom,” Frank said, weakly. “I’m just trying to get comfortable.
All these bandages are annoying.”
“I
think the bandages are a small price to pay to keep from getting an
infection.” Laura gave Frank a hug.
“I
know you’re right,” Frank said, letting out a sigh. He looked at Joe
and Laura. “Where’s Dad? I thought he’d be here.”
Laura
brushed the hair back from Frank’s forehead. “Your Dad is here. He had
a call that he had to take.”
Frank
looked up at Joe. “Now, are you going to fill me in on all that has gone
on or do I have to wait?”
“There’s
no need to wait,” Fenton said, moving to the bed. He gave Frank a gentle
hug. “How are you feeling?”
“All
right.” He looked at his father. “So, what’s gone on? How did you
find me?”
“Well,”
Fenton began. “We didn’t get the whole story until Joe regained
consciousness.”
“I
thought you said you were fine,” Frank said looking at Joe.
“I
am fine. Now. I just had a concussion. Nothing too serious.”
“As
I was saying,” Fenton continued. He went on to explain how they began
pouring over the files and notes trying to determined where he had been
taken and that Anthony Perrelli, who they suspected of being involved, was
under surveillance by a couple of Fenton’s contacts. Having no luck since
Perrelli had disappeared from his home, they had started delving into all
the information they could find about Perrelli.
“We
were searching the files when the police called and said that your body had
been identified through dental records in the morgue,” Fenton continued.
“Dental
records?” Frank asked. “The morgue?”
“Supposedly
there had been a car crash which sent the car up in flames,” Fenton said.
“We had been told it was you.”
“But
it wasn’t me,” Frank said.
“Exactly,”
Joe said. “We figured it out that this was a ruse to get us to stop
looking for you.”
“How
did you figure it out?” Frank asked.
“Well,
after Dad had received the news, Vanessa showed up at the house,” Joe
continued. “She had said she had heard the news on the radio and came
over. That’s what got me thinking. She had heard it on the radio about
the same time we were notified. And usually with something like this, the
family hears about it first. And then it’s released to the public.
Anyway, we figured it was a ploy so that we wouldn’t come looking for you
and that should they have gone through with it, we would be going through
the emotional roller coaster ride again.”
“So
we continued searching,” Fenton said picking up the story. “Joe came
across information about a restaurant that was in the Perrelli family.
After a little digging, we figured that could be where he was holding
you.”
“And
that’s where you found me?” Frank asked.
“That’s
correct,” Fenton said. “We got a search warrant based on suspicions and
went there.”
Frank
offered them a small smile. “I’m glad you did find me.”
“Can you tell us what happened from when you were separated from Joe?” Fenton asked.
“Well,
I was put in a car, but I don’t remember the ride. I did wake up with a
headache, so I think they hit me. When I woke, my hands were shackled above
my head and my legs were chained to the floor. I’m not sure how much time
had passed when Anthony Perrelli came into the basement.”
“Did
you know who he was?” Fenton asked.
“Not
at first. I assumed he was Perrelli, but he didn’t admit who he was until
later. He claimed he wasn’t the one doing anything to me and wasn’t the
one who took me from Joe. He didn’t say much to me the first time he came
into the basement.”
“He
came back?” Joe asked.
Frank
nodded. When he returned, he talked for a couple minutes and then two more
people came in. They were strong, burly men. Perrelli left as the one
pulled out a whip. Since I couldn’t move, they turned me over, tore off
my shirt and started on my back.”
“Oh,
Frank,” Laura said tearfully, taking hold of his hand.
“I’m
all right,” Frank said, squeezing Laura’s hand.
“What
happened next?” Fenton asked.
“When
they finished, they rolled me over and left.”
“They
didn’t treat your back?” Laura asked.
Frank
shook his head. “They just left me there.”
“Those
animals,” Laura said through gritted teeth.
Fenton
put a hand on Laura’s shoulder as he looked at Frank. “Can you go
on?”
Frank
nodded. “I think I passed out after that, but I’m not sure. When I cam
to again, I was very sore. Perrelli returned with the two men again. One
held a bucket of water and the other held the whip. They also brought a fan
down. Perrelli admitted what he was doing to me was for revenge. The cold
water was thrown on me. Perrelli left and they started whipping me again.
This time my chest was the target. As I passed out, I was kicked in the
ribs. That the last think I recall until waking here.”
“We’re
glad you are here,” Laura said cupping his face in her hand.
Joe
looked at their father. “Who was it who paged you?”
“That
was the New York City police chief,” Fenton answered.
“What
did he want?” Joe asked.
“He
wanted to let me know that Anthony Perrelli is in the precinct holding cell
and waiting for his appearance before the judge.”
“Really?”
Joe asked.
“Really,”
Fenton said. He looked at Frank. “An officer will be by later to get your
statement. They will need that for when they go to the judge.”
“Okay.”
Frank’s eyes began to close. They knew the explanation had exhausted him.
Laura
caressed Frank’s cheek. She softly said, “Go ahead and rest. You need
it.”
“Okay,”
Frank murmured. Within minutes he was deeply asleep.
Once
they were sure he was asleep, Laura turned to Fenton. “When he is giving
his statement, make sure he doesn’t get too tired out. He needs rest.”
“I
promise,” Fenton said. “Come on. Let’s go get some breakfast. By the
time we return, he’ll probably be awake again.”
“Your
father’s right,” Laura said looking at Joe. “And you could probably
use something to eat.”
Joe
felt his stomach grumble and knew his parents were right. “Let’s go.
But I don’t think the cafeteria food will be the best to fill my empty
stomach.”
“The
food will have to hold you for a little while,” Laura said.
“As
long as it’s just for a little while,” Joe said and followed his
parents out of Frank’s room.
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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.