"Guess what! Guess what! You’ll never guess!" shouted Joe Hardy, racing into the living room, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement and his wavy blonde hair tousled. The seventeen-year-old Joe came to a sudden halt as he collided with his dark-haired older brother, Frank.

"Watch it, will ya?" Frank demanded, grabbing onto a chair to retain his balance. At six-foot-one, brown-eyed Frank carried one more inch than his younger brother, although he was less muscular.

"Sorry," Joe gasped, steadying himself. "You’ll never guess what!" he repeated.

"You’ve won the Nobel prize for clumsiest human alive?" eighteen-year-old Frank asked teasingly.

"Oh, ha, ha, ha. You are so funny." Joe replied, giving his brother a sour look.

"What is it we’re supposed to guess, honey?" The question came from their petite, blonde mother, Laura. She put down the magazine she had been reading, and gave Joe her full attention.

"What I’m going to do! I’m going to make a record!" he announced, his eyes sparkling as his excitement returned full force.

"No way," Frank scoffed. "I mean, you can sing okay, but you aren’t exactly Grammy material!"

"It’s for my music class," Joe explained patiently. "The mid-term is to record a CD. And all those candy bars we sold earlier this year pays for the trip." he added.

"Trip? Where are you going?" Frank demanded.

"Nashville, Tennessee," Joe responded. "When we get back we have to do a report on the culture of the city. But while we are there, we get to do a recording…just like professionals!"

"Sounds like fun," commented their dark-haired father, from his seat on the sofa. Fenton Hardy, an internationally known and respected private investigator was enjoying a quiet day at home with his family. He had just finished a grueling case and was looking forward to some down time to relax. "When is the trip?" he asked.

"Over spring break," Joe replied. "Can I go? I can, can’t I?"

"Since it's part of your grade, how could we refuse?" Laura replied indulgently. Her husband nodded his consent, his dark eyes twinkling.

"Can I go too?" Frank demanded, his gaze flicking back and forth between his parents’ faces.

"You want to go to Nashville?" Laura asked, slightly surprised.

"It sounds like more fun than being here by myself during spring vacation." Frank explained.

"I don't see why you couldn’t," Joe remarked. "But you'll have to drive. I don’t think there would be enough room on the bus. Oh, and you’d have to book your own room," he added.

"But I could go?" Frank repeated to his parents, who nodded their approval.

"That works out just fine," Fenton stated. "And while you two are in Nashville, your mother and I are going to fly to Hawaii for a week's vacation."

"Now that sounds lovely," Laura said, smiling at her husband. "When were you going to mention this trip?" she asked teasingly.

"Over dinner," he said. "I thought we could all go, but since the boys have made other plans—"

"Mmmm," she murmured, reaching over and taking his hand, "a second honeymoon."

"Awww….Aren’t they sweet?" Joe teased, rolling his eyes. He grabbed Frank's arm. "Let's leave the two lovebirds alone, and go online and see what we can find out about Nashville." he said, and pulled his brother from the room.

*****

Joe and his classmates arrived at their hotel in Nashville shortly after six on Saturday evening. They disembarked from their chartered bus, and entered the building, chattering excitedly.

Frank, who had arrived an hour earlier was waiting in the lobby. "Hey," he said, coming over to Joe. "How was the trip?"

"It was fine." his brother answered. "I have to check in." he added, with a somewhat distracted glance at the lines of people quickly forming at the registration desk.

"I already did; we're in room 311." Frank informed him, smiling

"No, I have to stay with the class." Joe shook his head. "We can’t room together."

"Is that true, can’t he room with me?" Frank asked Mr. Freemont, Joe’s teacher, who was standing nearby.

"It's okay," Mr. Freemont reassured Joe. Mr. Freemont was about five-feet-ten, with graying hair and high cheek bones. He was thin and looked frail, but was one of the healthiest people Joe knew, and one of his favorite teachers. "You can room with Frank. Just be sure to be in the lobby and ready for our trip tomorrow morning at eight. We'll be returning around six." he added for Frank's benefit.

"Great!" Joe said, picking up his suitcase and following Frank to the elevator. "We can do some exploring of our own."

"Let's explore after dinner, hmm?" Frank suggested, as he stepped off the elevator. He glanced back as he spoke to his brother, and ended up bumping directly into a man waiting to enter the elevator car. The man had red hair and wire glasses, and looked somewhat annoyed at the elder Hardy’s mishap.

"Sorry," Frank apologized, grabbing onto the man as he staggered backwards.

The red-haired man shook Frank's hand off his arm, and hurried into the elevator as Joe got off.

"Rude, much?" Joe asked, going over to stand beside Frank.

"I bumped into him, but not that hard. And I apologized…." Frank replied with a shake of his head. "Come on, let's dump your stuff and go get some dinner."

 

An hour and a half later, Frank and Joe had finished a delicious prime rib dinner and were waiting for their bill.

"Excuse me a minute." Frank said, standing up. "I'll be right back." he added, heading towards the restroom.

While Frank was washing his hands, a man in his early thirties entered the room. Frank glanced at the man, who had come to a dead stop when he glimpsed the elder Hardy boy. "Hi," Frank said, looking at the man with a quizzical expression. "Have we met?" he inquired, as the man continued to stare at him.

"No, I don't think so." the man replied in a raspy voice. He ran a hand through his wavy black hair and hurriedly entered one of the stalls. Frank shrugged, and dried his hands, then returned to their table, where Joe was just tucking a tip beneath one of the plates.

"Ready?" Joe asked, as Frank neared the table.

"Yeah," Frank said, pulling the ticket from Joe's hand. "You got the tip, I'll get this." he offered with a grin. Joe nodded agreement, and the two went to the register where Frank paid for the meal.

"Where to?" Frank asked, once they were back in the Hardys’ van, which he had driven from Bayport to Nashville.

"Back to the hotel?" Joe suggested, trying to smother a big yawn.

"You sound kind of tired. What do you have to do tomorrow?" Frank asked, glancing over at his brother.

"We starting out with a church service at St. Elizabeth's," Joe told him. "After that, lunch, then we go to the Rhyman Auditorium. Mr. Freemont wants us to take in at least two attractions a day while we're here."

"Sounds cool," Frank said. "I'll go to the service with you but I want to hit the visitor's center before I actually do any sight seeing," he told Joe apologetically.

Joe shrugged. "You don't have to sound so sorry." he said. "I can think of places I would rather be than some Mr. Freemont mentioned. Although, the Parthenon does sound interesting."

"The Parthenon is in Athens, Greece," Frank chuckled. "It may be interesting, but it’s not very available."

Joe grinned at his brother. "This Parthenon is an exact replica, which was built in 1897." he explained. Privately, he was surprised that Frank wasn’t aware of the facts already. "It's supposed to be the largest indoor sculpture in the Western world."

"Cool!" Frank said. "When are you going there?"

"Not until Friday." Joe replied. "Almost a whole week yet."

They arrived back at the hotel and went straight to their room. Frank was actually more tired than Joe, since he had driven all the way, and Joe had ridden the bus. Before long they were both sound asleep.

 

The next morning, Frank and Joe had an early breakfast in the hotel coffee shop, then returned briefly to their room so that Joe could grab his camera and his micro-recorder for the tours. He had decided to just tape his notes rather than trying to memorize or take written notes on anything he felt he might need for his report.

"I’ll see you at St. Elizabeth’s." Frank told him, as Joe hurried out the door to join his class.

Frank had just opened the door to leave when he heard a scream from down the hall. He ran quickly to see what was wrong, leaving his door open in his haste. When Frank arrived at room 319, he found the door open. Entering the room, he discovered the hotel maid standing in the doorway of the bathroom. She screamed again as he approached.

"What's wrong?" he asked, rushing over to her.

She held out a trembling hand and pointed into the shower. A man was lying slumped against the wall, his eyes staring sightlessly into space.