Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

"Andrea! We need to talk!" Joe hollered as his eyes rapidly scanned the area. Overlapping shadows of the forest caused by the dwindling moonlight was giving him double visions. His head hurt. He felt like vomiting. But he kept reminding himself of the task at hand and told himself sternly that he would control his temper this time and not hurt Andrea, regardless of what she would say.
Andrea was not up in the tree house and neither was she in the clearing. But he was certain he trailed her there and suddenly, he just lost sight of her.

Is this another figment of my imagination? No… it’s real… not real…

This is not a time to get into some existentialism debate! We have the truth to unearth!

Snapping out of his confusion, Joe listened to his own silent commanding voice and stealthily treaded the grounds; hoping the night would cloak and cover him so he could detect her before she noticed him. His head jerked abruptly to the direction where the sound of a twig breaking into two traveled from and he saw her approaching him from a cluster of trees bordering the clearing haphazardly with a gun pointed at her own head.

"Stay back!"

Joe was momentarily stunned by her intentions. Frozen still, he thought he held her life in his hands- any false move and she would disintegrate like memories to a tottering mind. When he regained the faculty of breathing after a second of shock, he walked slowly towards her, hands up high in the air to prove that he was unarmed and would never hurt her.

I won’t let you shed another drop of tear in Heaven, Ness. I’ll protect your mom. I’ll make sure she’s safe.

"Andrea, whatever it is, suicide is not the answer to anything. I’ve been through the grief, I know how you feel!"

"And how would you know, you murderer! You caused Vanessa’s death!! I hate you! I HATE YOU SO MUCH! What do you know of the sorrows and the guilt when a mother cannot protect her child from being maligned? The murderer gets to walk free and she’s dead!" She screamed at him, the hand holding on to the gun trembled. The ferociousness of her tone- the piercing accusations that he rained upon himself all the time that was now spoken by her- riddled bullet holes in his soul even before her gun fired any shot. So the truth was out- the truth he was looking for.

He gazed at her, feeling hot tears surge to his eyes. The tears burned and sizzled as the knowledge of what he must do finally dawned upon him. All the searching was actually his way of running away from the truth. Now she had spoken it, he could not deny it any longer.

I always knew. I am just wondering how long it will take for you to find out that the only way you can resolve this is to hear the handcuffs snap on your hands again. What are you waiting for? Drive yourself down to the police station.

He ignored the voice, knowing he would heed it but he needed to dispatch one last deed to somehow save his soul- if he failed, he could never bear to even think about Vanessa. Their memories- those times spent together- he would deny himself the privilege of remembrance.

"I’m sorry, Andrea…" Joe muttered and fell down on his knees- knees which were trembling with too anguish and pain- loathed to support him any longer. They just lost the strength to carry him- his whole being, including his body, was disappointed in him and his denial. Andrea walked cautiously towards him, pointing the gun now at his forehead.

"You wanted her to go to Boston with you. You wanted to take her away from me. You know what she told me? She said she wanted her own life! She wanted to make her own choices for once and she wanted to go to Boston- to somewhere more exciting. If you hadn’t planted the idea in her head, she would never have thought that way! And the party! Why must a party organized to celebrate your triumphs be held on my dead husband’s anniversary? You caused us to quarrel, to fight! I thought you’d protect and cherish her but you took her away from me instead! I’m her mother! What are you? WHAT ARE YOU? You worthless piece of shit! Now…" She cocked her gun and pressed it against his skull, "I shall kill you and then kill myself."

The cold barrel did not scare him as much as what she promised she would do to herself. If he died, there would be no one around to talk her out of it.

"Andrea, the guilt is mine then. It’s not yours to take. Don’t end it this way… please… I beg you… for Vanessa’s sake, put down the gun. I know what I have to do, Andrea. I’ll turn myself in. But let us get you somewhere safe first… and I’ll go serve my time…"

"Serving time? It’s too easy for you! You deserve to die a hundred times over!" Andrea yelled and the gun wavered. "You deserve to die!"

***

Callie’s feet flew her further and faster than the rest who were still mildly affected by the tranquilizer. She had no idea how long had she been running but she knew the tree house was not too far away for she heard the yells and accusations ripping the air with their hatred. The dense forest huddling on either side of the trodden path gave way into the clearing and the sight that befall her caused her to halt immediately- trapping her breath in her lungs.

"I’ll die inside, Andrea. That I can assure you…you can even bring me to the police… I’ll call Mina to take you home…" Joe looked up from his kneeling position and implored with Andrea. Callie’s heart broke when she saw the anguish in his eyes and heard it in his breaking voice. She wished Frank was there now to tell them all what to do. Andrea might just shoot Joe and all would be lost.

Joe? Police? What’s he saying?

"Look… you even brought your friends here. You roped them into the investigations, hoping to divert suspicions away from you. What you found? Nothing! Because it was you! It was you who killed her and you blinded them!" Andrea spun towards them, her ash-blond hair swished with her head’s movement and some strands plastered onto her face.

Her eyes blazed.

"STAY BACK OR YOUR FRIEND DIES!"

"Andrea, we can talk this out. Put down the gun, don’t do anything silly… please." Callie could think of nothing to say. Footsteps neared her and she felt a hand grabbing hers- but through her anxiety, she could not tell if it was to calm her or to extract support from her.

"Yes, Andrea… we can talk it through. Vanessa loved both of you… she won’t want to see this happening. Andrea, please, let my brother go. We know who killed Ness and it’s not him." Frank stepped out ahead of her after releasing his grip. In his outstretched hands was a journal, presented like an offering to appease an angry goddess.