After an hour, another car drove up through the valley and to the house. The men gathered eagerly around it. A man was dispersing hot coffee and donuts to the cold and exhausted crew. Then he walked over to the Hardys and extended his hand to Fenton.

"Hello Mr. Hardy. We finally meet again," The older man with white hair exclaimed in a pleasant and welcoming tone. "You two had better get over there and get you something to eat before it is all gone."

"Thank you Mr. Thomas," Fenton returned the greeting. "Frank, this is Jonas Thomas. He served on the force with me in New York. This is my son Frank."

Mr. Thomas extended his hand to the young man. "Nice to meet you finally. I have heard a lot about the famous Hardy boys. Say, maybe you can work for us someday."

"Frank here is studying law at Bayport University," Fenton broke in, his voice proud.

"So you are not going to follow in the footsteps of your dear old dad here?" Mr. Thomas pried a little more, trying to brighten the mood.

"No, I think I would like to help prosecute some of these criminals and try to keep them from hurting people in the first place," Frank answered with a dish pan tone. He was not in the mood for chit chat. He was cold, but the coldness ran deeper than just mere temperature. While the air smelled crisp and new in between the puffs of smoke, things had not changed the way he was hoping it would. "Besides, I don’t think I want to investigate without Joe."

Mr. Thomas then realized the reason for the somber mood.

"I am sorry about your loss Frank. I am sure that you will make a great lawyer and your parents will be very proud," Mr. Thomas replied as he tried to change the subject. "We at least found our leak. It is very disappointed when you have one of your own backstabbing you in the back. Well, at least now he is in custody. Maybe he will have some answers for us after he is interrogated."

"Who was it?" Fenton inquired, still holding the umbrella that shielded them from the cold rain.

"One of our newest members, Dale Lynnly. He had such great potential too. Very intelligent man," Mr. Thomas said, his face showing his disappointment. "That is the other reason I was sent here, to bring the news to Davies. By the way, where is Davies?"

"Down there sifting through things," Frank remarked as he pointed down to the black rubble.

Mr. Thomas just rolled his eyes and tilted his mouth in disapproval. "He knows better than to do that. Not only is it dangerous, he is tampering with possible evidence!"

"Something tells me he marches to the beat of his own drummer," Fenton said with irony.

"And he makes up the rules as he goes to fit his beat," Mr. Thomas commented under his breath. "But he is a good man and a highly respected agent. He is never afraid to do what it takes to find out the truth. If you will excuse me for a moment, I need to speak to him."

Frank and Fenton nodded and walked back to the car. Frank hated coffee just as much as Joe did. However, he needed warmth and he drank the coffee gratefully. His heart about stopped when a shout was heard from the rubble of the burnt cabin. All of the men put their coffee down and ran towards the black earthen hole that was once a cellar. Mr. Thomas was helping Sergeant Davies push away rubbish from a small area near the rear of the house.

"I hear someone!" Davies shouted. He kept pushing things away from the area until the two men were able to see a small trap door in the floor. They lifted the iron door and ventured down into the earth. Frank started to step forward, but his father held him back protectively. There were still hot embers in the site of the fire. Out of respect, Frank stayed and watched his eyes glued to the small hole in the ground. Those minutes seemed like hours to Frank.

Then the moment came. The answer to all his questions and possibly the end of his two months of agony and emptiness…Frank was speechless at what his eyes revealed.

*****

At that moment, however, Joe was too busy making his way out of the long black tunnel. It had been on of the hardest things he had ever had to do. They had crawled through muck and mud, through damp low spaces and fought the smell of the revolting dead air that was trapped beneath the ground. He was not even sure of how deep under the ground they were, but the total darkness and having to literally feel the slime of the earthen walls was enough to remind him that that they were not out of trouble yet. Iola trudged faithfully behind him, never wavering or stopping for a quick rest. She was ready for the ordeal to be over, to once again smell the fresh air of the outdoors. Something that she had not had the privilege to do for some time.

Then they saw it. A small light illuminated the bend that revealed the four feet tall tunnel that they had been prisoners to for what seemed like days, instead of hours. The bone-weary teenagers just stood there, wanting to make sure that their eyes were not deceiving them. They looked at each other, their faces and hair disheveled with dirt and grime, and simply smiled. Joe reached out and took Iola’s hand and together they walked towards the light. As they neared the end of the passage, they could feel the coldness of the air. It was never so welcoming. Then it happened. They reached the end of the passage and just stood there, admiring the view. While it was just a bunch of half naked trees, it brought tears to the eyes of the young woman who stood beneath them. It was raining, almost like ice pellets. However, Iola did not care. She turned her face up towards the sky and opened her mouth. The rain had never tasted so sweet or refreshing on her dirty skin. While both of them could feel the cold, their happiness of their freedom made them forget for the moment. Iola started to twirl in the rain, going round and round while she looked up at the sky with her hands held out catching every drop she could. Joe smiled at the sight; he had forgotten just how long Iola had been gone from the real world. While it had only been two months respectively for him, it had been two years for her.

Joe turned towards Iola, taking in her beauty. She has never looked so radiant. Her dark brown eyes were once again alive. He pulled her close to him and held her in his arms. Even though she smelt musty, he could still remember the smell of her favorite shampoo scent, strawberry. Without a word, Joe gave her a warm hug. Her skin felt like satin, even though it was covered with soil. He had yearned for this moment. Still wordless, Joe looked down at his first true love and his fingers traced her smooth chin. Then he leaned forward, his lips touching hers. Finally, things seemed right and the hole in his heart was filled.