“Frank. Wake up, Frank.”  

A female voice was calling his name. He opened his eyes slightly. There were two shadows hovering over him. He blinked a few times bringing everything into focus.  

It was Joe and Nancy. Both of their faces were covered in soot. “Joe. Nancy.”  

“I’m glad you’re awake,” Joe said with a smile. “How are you feeling?”  

“Weak. What happened?”  

“What do you remember?” Joe asked.  

“I saw you two fighting with a woman.” He looked up at Joe. “She had pinned you to the floor. Nancy was trying to get the woman to let you go. That’s it.”  

“Do you remember the woman?”  

Frank closed his eyes. He could picture the woman. Nancy asked, “How did you meet her?”  

“I met her Monday night at the theater.”  

“Do you know how you got here to the apartment building?” Joe asked.  

Frank opened his eyes and saw the flames. He pushed himself to a sitting position. He saw the firefighters battling the blaze. He looked at the building. He remembered the building, but he couldn’t recall going inside. He looked at Joe and Nancy. “What happened?”  

“A lot,” Joe answered.  

At that moment, a paramedic came over to them. Joe said to the paramedic, “Frank should get checked over. Nancy and I are okay.”  

The paramedic nodded and then helped Joe get Frank to his feet and over to the ambulance. Nancy followed close behind.  

* * * * *  

The next morning, Joe was up early. He was sitting in the kitchen drinking a glass of juice. As he sat there, he thought about the previous evening.  

Frank had been checked over by the paramedics. Frank was weak, but he was going to be fine once he got some rest.  

They had returned home in the wee hours of the morning to find Ned sitting on the porch. Nancy had hurried into Ned’s arms and he held her close. Ned had been shocked at all of their appearances.  

They had gone inside and filled Ned in on what they had been doing. When they finished, Frank had gone to bed and he had gone to his own room, leaving Nancy and Ned alone in the living room.  

Now, he had the morning paper in front of him. He had checked on Frank and found him sleeping soundly in his room. Nancy and Ned were asleep in the living room. All three of them seemed exhausted.  

Joe unfolded the paper and looked at the front page. The fire was all over the front page. The fire had destroyed the top floor of the building. There was extensive damage to the rest of the building as well. The remains of someone were found on the top floor. Officials believed the individual died of smoke inhalation, but the exact cause wouldn’t be known until after the coroner’s report was submitted. Officials were searching for the cause of the fire.  

All of a sudden, Joe heard the floor creak. He looked up and saw Frank standing in the doorway. He could see Frank was still pale. Some color was returning to his face.  

Frank moved over to the table and sat down. Joe asked once he was seated, “How are you feeling?”  

“Tired,” Frank said, trying to stifle a yawn. “I’ve been trying to remember what went on. There are a lot of blanks.”  

“You were out for periods of time.”  

“The loss of time is really confusing. I wish I knew what I did.”  

“You blacked out almost every night when you were with that woman.”  

“There was something about her. Each time I saw her, I forgot about everything else.”  

“She had you under her spell,” a female voice said from the doorway.  

They turned and saw Nancy and Ned standing in the doorway. They moved over to the table and sat down.  

Frank asked, “How do you know?”  

“She had her eyes set on you. She knew how to get into your subconscious. She gave you hidden messages. That’s probably how you got to the building each time.”  

“It sounds like hypnosis,” Frank said.  

“That’s probably what she did,” Nancy said.  

“She probably put the suggestion in my head to forget everything I did when I was with her for when I left.”  

“It’s possible,” Nancy said.  

“I still wish I knew what went on,” Frank said.  

“It’s not important. She was after something, but she won’t get it now,” Joe said.  

The doorbell rang. Frank went to answer it. Nancy said once Frank was gone, “He’s looking better.”  

“You’re right. In a few days, he’ll be back to normal.”  

Frank returned to the kitchen with Callie. She was carrying a box. She greeted Nancy, Ned and Joe.  

Nancy asked, “What’s in the box?”  

“Frank’s costume for the party tonight,” Callie answered.  

Frank reached to open the box, but Callie stopped him by putting her hand on the box. Callie said, “Open it later.” She looked at Nancy and Ned. “Are you coming to the party?”  

Nancy looked at Ned. She said, “I’m not really sure.”  

“You two should come,” Joe said.  

“You should,” Frank agreed. “We’ll have a good time.”  

Nancy looked at Ned who shrugged his shoulders. Ned said, “We can go if you want, Nancy.”  

“Then we’ll go,” Nancy said.  

“Good,” Callie said. “I need to get going.” She gave Frank a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll meet you at the party.”  

“How will I recognize you?” Frank asked.  

“You’ll know.” Callie smiled. “See you later.” Callie left the house.

 

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.