*****

Joe sat by Frank’s side waiting for him to wake. He had gone home and slept for a couple hours before returning. He wanted to see if Frank had remembered anything from the accident. When he arrived, he wasn’t surprised to find Frank asleep covered in another blanket.

As he watched his brother, he saw more of the color had returned to his face and somehow knew everything was going to be all right.

"What is this person doing?" Frank mumbled.

Joe leaned closer to the bed. He realized Frank was dreaming by the movement of his eyelids. "Frank?" There was no response, but he appeared to settle back down, sleeping soundly.

He leaned back in the chair and started wondering if the sheriff had found anything or there had been any witnesses to the accident. He wanted to know what happened to put his brother in the hospital.

Frank’s quick breaths got his attention and he realized something was going on with his brother. He reached for the nurse’s call button. As he was about to push it, Frank’s eyes flew open and started glancing around.

"It’s all right, Frank," Joe said quickly getting to his feet. He put a hand on Frank’s shoulder. "It’s okay. You were just dreaming."

Frank closed his eyes as he took a couple deep breaths. Joe watched him closely as he kept a tight hold on the call button.

"Sorry," Frank said opening his eyes.

"Don’t worry about it. But are you all right?" Joe saw Frank’s was as pale as it had been earlier that morning.

"Yeah." Frank found the bed controls and raised himself to a sitting position. "It was just a dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Joe asked letting go of the call button and settling back in the chair.

"Nah," Frank said. He focused on Joe. "Tell me what you know about what happened."

"There’s not much we do know," Joe said. "I got home from running errands for Mom and was surprised you weren’t there. It got late and with the storm raging, I knew something was wrong. I was about to leave when Dad stopped me and said he was going along. We headed toward the campus, checked the lot we usually use, but found nothing. We started for home planning to check with our friends to see if they had seen you."

"Then you were heading for home," Frank said.

"Yeah. We saw some flashing lights alongside the road and pulled over to see what was going on. Dad was talking to the sheriff and I saw the paramedics lifting someone out of a car that was partially buried in the snow. It was you."

"Did anyone say anything about the accident?"

"Not that I know of," Joe said. "I didn’t really ask the sheriff at the scene, but he did seem to want to talk to you."

"Probably about what happened."

"Can you remember anything?" Joe asked leaning forward.

"Not a thing," Frank said. "But I guess it’s just from the concussion."

"The memory loss?"

"Yeah. Hopefully it’s just temporary."

"It probably is."

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Joe went to the door and pulled it open. He saw the same sheriff who had been at the accident scene.

"Is this Frank Hardy’s room?"

"It is," Joe said. "Come in."

The sheriff entered the room and Joe closed the door. "I’m Sheriff Crandall. I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me."

"I’ll try my best," Frank said.

"What happened?"

Joe realized the sheriff wasn’t going to beat around the bush.

"I really don’t remember anything," Frank admitted. "I’m sorry. I was telling my brother before you arrived that the last thing I do recall is heading to the university for a final exam. I don’t even remember taking the exam."

"So you had no idea how you ended up in the ditch?"

"No," Frank said.

"Have the investigators started looking at the accident scene," Joe asked.

"They checked the scene, but with the weather, it’s a bit difficult to determine what actually happened. Investigators have examined the car."

"Was anything found?" Joe asked.

"Red paint was found on the front quarter panel and the drivers side door. Further tests are being done to see what kind of vehicle it is, but that’s all we know at this time." Sheriff Crandall handed Frank a card. "If you do remember anything, please let me know."

"All right," Frank said and the sheriff left.

Frank dropped the card on the table. "You know, Joe, I really hate not knowing what happened."

"I can see that, but I really don’t think it’s important especially since you’re all right," Joe said, noticing the color still had not come back to Frank’s pale face. "Besides, what do you think Mom would do to us if we did get involved in a case just days before Christmas?"

"I guess you’re right," Frank said feeling his eyelids growing heavy.

"Go ahead and get some sleep," Joe said quietly. "We’ll talk later."

"Okay," Frank mumbled and was asleep in minutes.

Joe watched his brother sleep for a few minutes. He didn’t like the fact that Frank was having trouble recalling what happened. He knew his brother’s mind was as sharp as a steel trap and could always be counted on. He just hoped that the memory loss was due to the concussion and nothing more.