HDA - December Magic by RM Chapter 1

Back at the office, the three of them began researching. Joe was reading through the journal and Frank was looking for any information about the Fieldstone family on-line, going back as far as he could. Fenton was looking for any old information regarding a lost chest of money.

“I’m not sure there’s anything here,” Joe said, dropping the journal on Frank’s desk. “The chest and the money is probably long gone by now.”

“Mr. Fieldstone believes the money is there somewhere,” Frank said. “We just need to figure it out.”

“I don’t think there’s anything in there that will give us a clue.”

Frank remained quiet. He had the same feeling as Joe. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. But they had agreed to look into the case and they couldn’t turn back now.

“Were you able to find anything in the journal?” Frank asked.

“I didn’t see anything.” Joe picked up the journal. “Most of what I read deals with what the family did in their lives. There’s nothing really there.”

Frank leaned back in his chair and stared at the computer screen. So far, he had read 10 items dealing with the Fieldstone family. But there's thousands more to go. He knew he needed to narrow down his search so he wasn’t wasting time.

“I’m having the same luck,” Frank said. “Most of what is here is about the family and their accomplishments. I don’t have time to go through a thousand links.”

“As much as I’m thrilled we have a mystery to solve, this one just doesn’t seem worth it,” Joe said.

Frank turned to his brother. “Why don’t you go see if Dad’s found anything?” Frank suggested. “I know he was going to get the blueprints for the buildings on the Fieldstone land. There may be something there.”

“All right,” Joe said getting to his feet. He set the journal back on the desk and left the room.

Frank picked up the journal and scanned the first couple pages. The entries were sporadic, going anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks to a couple months. As Joe had said, many of the entries dealt with what the family had been doing.

Flipping further into the journal, he found an entry regarding one of the fishing trips Frederick Fieldstone had taken.

“The bay is quite fruitful this year. The fish are strong and healthy and will bring a good sum of money. This will be a good year for the family. We won’t have to go without. Hopefully this good news will continue for years to come.”

That entry had been dated 15 June and the next was dated 29 August.

“This was the best week we had for catching fish. We caught a BIG one that I don’t think the other crew members realize how wonderful a catch it is. This load of fish will set us up nicely for the future. This has been a plentiful year.”

Frank looked at the entry and figured Frederick has written about the chest, but hadn’t come right out and said so. He alluded to is in this entry, he thought. The Fieldstone family probably didn’t realize this was what he was talking about. But now, we have to figure out exactly where he put the chest. This may not be as difficult as Joe thought.

“Frank, can you come here?” Joe called out.

Frank left his office with the journal in his hand and headed for this father’s office. As he entered the room, he saw his father and brother, looking at some papers spread out on the desk.

“What have you got?” Frank asked, moving to the desk.

“I was able to get copies of the blueprints for the buildings on the Fieldstone Estate,” Fenton said.

“Anything there?” Frank asked, looking at the pages.

“Each one is a detailed drawing, but it seems as if the building Frederick lived in is not among the drawings,” Fenton said.

Joe straightened. “I think we should head out there. They only way we’ll really figure it out is if we check the grounds.”

“I think we should do that,” Fenton said. “But it’s getting late. We can head over there tomorrow.”

“That sounds fine,” Joe said. “We’ll probably have this wrapped up by tomorrow night.”

Frank’s cell phone rang at that moment. He opened it and immediately recognized the number. He answered the call. “Hey there.”

“Hey, Frank.” Caren’s voice came through the phone. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. You?”

“Not bad,” Caren said. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” Frank answered. “Do you need something?”

“Well, I was wondering if you’d like to come over for dinner. My mom has taken over my kitchen and I thought maybe you’d like to join us.”

Frank smiled. “Of course I’ll join you.” He looked at his watch. “What time would you like me to come over?”

“Maybe in an hour?” Caren suggested.

“That’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? I mean, if you’re working on a case with your Dad and Joe, you don’t have to come.”

“It’s fine,” Frank said. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“All right, Frank. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Frank ended the call.

He looked at his father and brother, seeing grins on both their faces. He asked, “What?”

“Having dinner with your fiancée?” Joe asked.

“And my future in-laws,” Frank said. He looked at his father. “Are we all set until morning?”

“We are son,” Fenton said. “We’ll leave for the Fieldstone property about nine tomorrow.”

“All right. I’ll see you later.”

“Have fun,” Fenton said.

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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.