Sorry about the delay so here is three chapters at once. I hope you like it!

The Collector

Chapter 8

Joe started working on the loosened bed post as soon as Muir left the room. He had to get out of here! He had no idea what kind of game Mr. Rosado was playing when he asked about Frank, but Joe kicked himself for telling the old man anything.

"From here on in," he grunted as he shook the post again, "my lips are super-glued!" And then with a sharp crack, the post broke and both it and Joe fell back onto the bed!

The teenager grinned even as he groaned, and rolled out from under the post and the part of the canopy that had come down with it – he was free!

Now he just had to get out of this room…and then this house!

Mr. Rosado graciously accepted the cup of tea from Frank and then beckoned for him to sit down next to him.

"Come Frank. Sit with me for a bit," the old man enticed. "I love talking to young people, it heartens me to hear their enthusiasm."

Smiling, Frank sat down across the table from him, grateful to have a distraction as he waited for his father to get home. Fenton and Sam had gone to the crime scene with Collig in the hopes that while the scene was contaminated, someone in the area might have seen something.

Fenton asked his older son to stay home in case Joe's abductor called, or in the unlikely event that Joe himself called. The teenager had protested, but in the end saw the common sense of what his father was saying. He did wish his mom was home, though, as she usually took this job!!

But…if Joe did manage to make a phone call, Frank would hate to have missed it, and didn't trust any recording device to pick up everything. With his younger brother, a lot of what Frank read was more vibes than words…so he stayed home. For now.

The FBI had not needed to put tracing equipment on the Hardy phone line, as Fenton's house was already set up for it – he was a top private investigator…. It came with the territory.

So Frank was glad of anything that would help pass the time. Both Chet and Tony were working; neither Biff nor Phil had come by yet; Callie was out of town until later this evening and Vanessa was at church with her Mom – she figured they could use all the help they could get.

"That's a very interesting watch you're wearing," Mr. Rosado commented as he sipped his tea.

Frank looked down at the watch as he smiled sadly. "It was a birthday gift from Joe," he said, "He even had it engraved."

Taking off the watch, he let the old man admire it, turning it over to read the engraving. Best friends by choice.

"Cliché," Antoine said as he smiled and passed the watch back to Frank, "but very nice. You and your brother must be close."

"We are," Frank admitted, "I'd do anything for Joe and he'd do anything for me."

"Really?" the old man said, sounding curious. "Why?"

"I don't know," Frank said, thinking about his brother. "That's just how it is. He always knows when something's bothering me…and no matter how upset or down I am, Joe just has this way to make me feel better. I never have to say anything to him…he just knows. Everyone always thinks it's me who takes care of Joe but…" his voice trailed off. Frank was normally a very reserved person, and found himself uncomfortable saying anything more in front of the old man, surprised by how open he had already been.

"That must be nice," Mr. Rosado remarked after a moment, as he took another sip of his tea and appraised the dark-haired young man in front of him. "I had an older brother, but unfortunately our relationship was slightly different."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Frank said sincerely, as he found the more time he spent with the old man, the more curious he became about him. "You said 'had,' he's passed away now?"

Antoine's wrinkled face crinkled as he chuckled, "You are your father's son – very perceptive….And yes, I'm afraid Horatio died a long time ago."

His old face clouded over with something akin to affection, and Frank felt bad asking about the brother. But then the look was gone and the old man continued, "He was killed, in a hunting accident. Very tragic…but enough about me, I want to hear more about you."

Frank shrugged. "There isn't much to tell." He hated talking about himself. "Would you like a slice of banana bread? My Mom made some before she went away for the weekend."

"I wondered where Laura was. I was hoping to see her," the old man admitted, as Frank stood up to slice the banana bread.

"She'll be back later tonight," the teenager told him and then frowned, "I hope we've found Joe, by then."

Mr. Rosado didn't say anything as Frank cut up and then gave him a buttered slice of banana bread. The old man took a bite and then smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Frank. I think this is the best banana bread I've ever tasted – your mom must have a secret recipe."

The teen laughed. "Yeah, she does. No one else can make it just like her."

"Would you mind if I took a piece with me…for later? This is really quite wonderful," the old man asked, and Frank nodded.

"No problem. I'll put a piece in a container for you."

"That would be nice," Mr. Rosado said as he took another bite, "How is the search going for your brother?"

Frank sat down heavily and sighed. "Not very good," he admitted, and then went on to tell the old man about the setbacks. In hindsight, Frank was surprised with how much he told Antoine, as he was usually not that open-mouthed – that was normally Joe's job….

But something about the old man loosened his tongue.

Mr. Rosado, ever an attentive audience, listened in silence and then when Frank had finished speaking, he watched him intently as he asked, "So you don't think your brother is dead?"

Frank shook his head adamantly. "No…never. As long as he's missing I'll never give up hope or stop looking for him. And neither will Dad. We will get him back."

"You sound very confident about that," the old man said as he finished the last of his tea.

"I am. See, if there's one thing Joe is, it's resourceful. You can bet anything that as hard as Dad and I are looking for him, he'll be working even harder to escape. Or at the very least, trying to contact us."

Frank's dark brown eyes burned with intensity as he spoke slowly and emphasized each word: "Whoever took him have no idea who they are dealing with. My brother will be found because we won't…I won't…accept anything less."

Mr. Rosado nodded approvingly, even as his eyes simmered with their own intensity. We shall see, young Hardy, he thought, we shall see….

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

Getting out of his room turned out not to be difficult at all – the door wasn't even locked, further attesting to how little faith Muir had in Joe's ability to escape.

"Silly oaf," the teen muttered as he quietly moved into the hallway and stood for a moment, listening. Although he knew Mr. Rosado was going out, Joe had no idea if the old man was back, if Muir was around, or who else was working for him.

Joe hadn't seen anyone other than Muir and that poor woman, but that didn't mean anything, since he had only been out of his room…to the dining room…and bathroom. That left a whole lotta house to have employees or more 'guests' in.

Either way, he'd err on the side of caution and work on the assumption that there were other 'employees' he had not yet seen. And if this worked out the way he hoped…that he would never see.

The teen figured he'd get out of the house and make his way to the Mortons' farm, which was only a couple of miles west of Deathe House. The police could then come back and go through the house thoroughly, and deal with Mr. Rosado and company.

Well, big brother, Joe thought as he moved soundlessly down the hall, you'd be proud of me. For once I am going to get myself the heck out of Dodge first….

Of course, if he could find a phone and call anyone, that would change things considerably. But Joe did not want to waste time he knew he didn't have looking for a phone – he just wanted out of this house, now.

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

"Damnit," Fenton hissed as he sat back on his heels and looked up at his partner, "this is impossible!" He had been watching the forensics team working the crime scene and, although he knew it was futile, he had knelt down to look at the mess of tire tracks himself.

"What do you want to do, partner?" Sam asked, as he too felt frustrated by the steady stream of dead ends. Never having had children, Fenton's sons were the closest thing he knew to fatherhood, and he was anxious to have Joe found as well.

The two kids who had taken the van on its final joy ride had been their strongest hope for a lead. But that was dashed when they claimed that they saw nothing except the empty van.

Of course, both detectives knew they could be lying, but their hands were tied as to what to do. Normally, they would have tried intimidating the truth from them, but these were just kids…and maybe that was the truth.

Maybe Joe had just vanished into thin air….

Standing up, the dark-haired detective sighed, "I don't know Sam, honestly I just don't know."

"Well," said the other sleuth as he got a far away look on his face, "we haven't knocked on the door of every house in Bayport yet."

Fenton looked at Sam and gave him a wry smile. "We haven't at that, my friend, have we?"

Looking down at his shoes, Sam shrugged, "I've been aching to break these babies in properly anyway."

"Legwork?"

"Legwork."

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

"Well, Frank," Mr. Rosado said a little while later, "I don't think I can wait for your father or Sam any longer. I have other things to attend to. However, if you can tell them I dropped by…" his voice trailed off and Frank nodded.

"No problem Mr. Rosado, and thanks for coming by. You've been great company."

"No problem," the old man said as he gently squeezed Frank's arm, "and thank you for the banana bread. You have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy it later on."

Frank walked him to the front door and passed him his coat and hat. "I know Dad and Sam are going to be disappointed they missed you."

Antoine smiled as the teen opened the door for him. "I'm sure they will. Well, goodbye, young Hardy, I've got a lunch date that I'd hate to keep waiting."

The old man approached the black limo parked out front, and Frank couldn't help but gasp as he saw the man who got out to open the car door for Antoine.

He was a huge hulk of a man that reminded Frank of a cross between Lurch from the Addams family and Frankenstein's monster, and as the limo drove away the teen was struck by an odd thought, and Joe thought Mr. Rosado was creepy before…. I wonder what he'd think if he got a load of the chauffeur!

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

Joe had made good progress, but the only problem was, he was lost. It made him think of line he'd heard from a movie before, although he couldn't remember which one: We may be lost, but we're making good time.

Deathe House had been built by a madman, and was set up more like a maze than a proper house. There were hallways with dead ends, stairs that seemed to go further into the house instead of up or down, and intersections.

What kind of house has intersections? Joe groused as he stood in the middle of a hallway on the first floor and had no idea which way to go. Every door he tried was either a closet or locked, and now he was frustrated. It should not have taken him this long to get out of the house.

All he needed to do was find a window and crawl out! But this dark corridor had everything but that.

Finally out of sheer frustration, and letting his own impatience get the better of him, Joe decided he'd had enough fooling around. He needed to get into one of those locked rooms! There was a very good chance that they would have a window, and now that he was on the ground floor, he could jump out one easily enough.

Picking the next door on his left, Joe tried the doorknob and was pleasantly surprised to find this one unlocked.

Poking his head into the room, he was even more pleased to see no one in the room. Cocking his head to the side, he listened but heard nothing.

Glancing behind him one more time, Joe slipped into the room, closed the door and looked around.

It was another bedroom very much like the one he had been kept in and it not only had a window…but a balcony!!

"Yeah!" he whispered as he hurried towards it, and he had just placed his hand on the knob to open the door when he heard a sound behind him.

The hair prickled on the back of his neck as he turned around very slowly. All the color drained from his face as he wondered, where the heck did he come from?

Walking stiff-legged towards him was the largest dog the boy had ever seen….A very unfriendly-looking dog, at that.

And as he looked at the dog, the beast growled.

Uh oh, Joe decided, this isn't going to be good.