Vanessa had loved every minute of her outback tour with her mother, except for not being able to talk to Joe Hardy! She was settling back into their Darwin hotel room, happy in the knowledge that they would be returning to Bayport in two days. She had taken some stunning photographs and was looking forward to sharing them with her friends.

‘Here you are, Vanessa,’ said her mother as she entered the room, placing two new magazines on the bedside table. ‘I know you love flicking through new magazines. There’s ‘Adventure Weekly’ and ‘Young Scene’.’

‘Thanks mum,’ said Vanessa, ‘I think I’ll run a bath and have a look through one now.’

‘Don’t forget to ring Joe,’ teased her mother, knowing full well that there was no need to remind her daughter about that particular pleasure!

Fifteen minutes later, Vanessa was luxuriating in a warm bath, flicking lazily through ‘Young Scene’. Being interested in all aspects of photography, Vanessa loved magazines full of gorgeous things and gorgeous people! She found herself drawn to a full-page advertisement featuring a young man in black boxers and sunglasses reclining on his side across the sand. ‘Good enough to wear just about anywhere’ read the slogan. It was probably referring to the boxer shorts or the sunglasses but Vanessa wasn’t interested in either. Nearly flooding the bathroom in her haste, she emerged from the bath, grabbed her towel and the magazine and ran to the telephone.

……

By the light of the desk lamp, Biff Hooper, Frank and Joe poured over the information they had gathered.

Three blonde, blue-eyed males aged between late teens and early twenties.

Missing for between two weeks and three days.

All drugged with Rohypnol.

No injuries inflicted.

Two arrive at police station with no memory of getting there.

One arrives home with no memory of getting there.

No theft of property involved.

No ransom

White car with partial plate of ‘WG’ involved in returning one victim

Perfume worn by Greta recalled by one victim

‘Click’ noise recalled by one victim

‘Dad said Chief Collig re-interviewed Josh and Steve,’ said Frank. ‘They still can’t remember anything. Perhaps because they were kept drugged over a longer period of time than Joe.’

‘If it was Greta,’ mused Biff, ‘why would she risk having Joe dropped off near his house? Why not leave him near the police station?’

‘Personal connection with Dad?’ suggested Frank. ‘It’s clear to us that she is fond of Dad. Maybe she wanted to make sure Joe got home safely. It could also explain why she didn’t keep him as long as the other two.’

‘And she sort of insisted that I was the one who pretended to be an instructor,’ added Joe, ‘but what did she want with us?’

The boys had also spent some time pondering what the ‘click’ noise Joe thought he remembered could be. Frank had suggested that it could possibly have been the sound of gym equipment being used but that didn’t make much sense given that the gym had been closed while Joe had been missing.

Fenton was out at a meeting with a client, despite the lateness of the hour. Mrs. Hardy was in bed already. The three boys had just reached the point of calling it a night when the ringing of the telephone made them jump. Frank snatched up the receiver, not wanting his mother woken.

‘Hello, Hardy residence….. Vanessa! Great to…. Okay, okay! I’ll pass you on!’

Frank passed the phone to his brother who was grinning widely. He was as anxious to talk to Vanessa as she obviously was to speak to him!

‘Hey Babe,’ Joe said cheerily, as Biff and Frank rolled their eyes. Suddenly Joe frowned in confusion.

‘No, I certainly haven’t! I swear I would have told you! What! Hang on, Van. I’m going to put you on speakerphone. I want Frank and Biff to hear this! Okay, start again Babe.’

The three boys listened in astonishment to Vanessa.

‘I was flicking through ‘Young Scene’, an Australian magazine, about ten minutes ago,’ said Vanessa excitedly. ‘I came across a full-page advertisement for boxers or something. I’m looking at it right now. Guys, I swear the model is Joe!’

Momentarily lost for words, Joe let Frank do the talking.

‘How can you be sure Vanessa? And how can this be? As far as I know, the last thing my little brother would be doing is modelling!’

‘Frank, I swear it’s him! If it’s not, it must be an identical twin you don’t know about! The chin, lips, cheekbones, shape of the shoulders, teeth, everything! I can’t see his eyes but I know Joe! There’s one slight difference, but that could be the result of airbrushing.’

‘What’s that?’ asked Joe, finally finding his voice.

‘Your hair,’ announced his girlfriend. ‘It’s definitely a little shorter and, well, more styled than it was when I left you at the airport. But how did you end up in an Australian magazine? Can someone please tell me what’s going on?’

Frank decided immediately on a course of action.

‘Vanessa, if you were my girlfriend, I would kiss you, and I quite probably will when I see you in a couple of days! You’ve just given us the missing piece of a puzzle we’ve being trying to solve! We’ll explain everything when you get back. Make sure you bring the mag. Say goodbye, Joe.’

‘Bye, Vanessa. Love you heaps,’ said Joe, and blew a kiss into the handset, ignoring a second lot of eye rolling from Biff.

Frank stood up and began to put on a long-sleeved, black top.