"Frank and Joe Hardy disappeared from their home in Bayport, New York early yesterday morning," The pretty blonde newscaster stated reading from the notes on her teleprompter. "The two boys are known for their detective work, following in the footsteps of their famous father, private investigator, Fenton Hardy. Police have not yet confirmed whether their disappearance is in connection with a case of some sort, though sources close to the family claim that they were not currently working on any case. Frank Hardy is seventeen years old, six feet one inch, with brown hair and brown eyes, while his younger brother Joe is sixteen, six feet tall, and has blond hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on their whereabouts are urged to phone the Bayport police at…"

Fenton Hardy turned off his television set with an audible click, and ran a hand through his dark hair in frustration. His sons had now been missing for over twenty four hours, and the critical window for a kidnapping was drawing to a close.

He had spent the past day since they realized Frank and Joe were missing pouring over old case files trying to find a likely suspect. He doubted if they had been randomly taken, but he couldn't be sure whether they had been targeted as a result of their own investigations, or one of his.

According to the police and the FBI, no criminals connected with the Hardy's had recently been released, nor had any recently lost an appeal. As a result they were left to sort through piles of case files, starting with the more recent ones to seek out the most likely suspects.

No ransom note had appeared, nor had anyone claimed credit for the kidnapping. Without any contact from the kidnappers it seemed less and less likely that whoever had Frank and Joe intended to return them.

He didn't dare mention these thoughts allowed to avoid scarring Laura, and quite frankly to keep it from seeming real to himself.