Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the canon book characters, and am making no monies from this story. Any Original Characters belong to the author(s).
Note: This story was written in 2006, so technology was not as advanced as it is today. Co-written with RokiaHDA, who wrote back then under the name of Aspen.
Thank you, Cherylann, BMSH and Max2013, for leaving feedback.
A Fiery December
By
EvergreenDreamweaver and RokiaHDA
Chapter 10
Megan watched Frank depart, torn between her desire to follow and find out what was troubling him, and her wish to do as he'd requested, and stay at the luau.
What had happened? The expression on Frank's face, like a man haunted by demons, troubled her – frightened her – very much.
For Megan, watching the fire had been delightful – beautiful and mesmerizing, and nothing to alarm anyone. Why had it bothered Frank? But then she remembered: that fearful day back in Bayport, in September. The day she'd nearly burned to death, along with the bell tower at their school. And before that, the fire they had escaped when she had been held captive by Ted Crowley. She wondered, now, if Frank was remembering those times and how close he'd come to losing her.
The memory made up her mind for her, and she raced after her boyfriend, following him up the path towards the hotel, away from the luau on the beach. When she caught up to him, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to a stop, tugging him close.
"Frank," she said softly, "You know…I am all right. That fire isn't going to hurt me at all."
He stared down at her, confusion on his face for a few moments. Then he smiled and nodded, tenderly stroking back her wavy hair and then cupping her face in one hand. He kissed her gratefully, then stepped back.
"I know. I know. It just hits me, sometimes. Bad flashback, you know? Anyway, Baby, I want you to have fun…why don't you go on back to the party? You can enjoy it for both of us. I'm going to take a walk to clear my head…then I'll be back, I promise."
Red-gold curls danced as Megan shook her head decidedly. "If you're going, then I'm going…. Unless you really don't want me…" she finished uncertainly.
"Oh Baby…" Frank shook his head too. "I want you…Lord, I want you everywhere I go, it's that simple. I just didn't want to spoil your fun."
"You really think I'd have any fun down there, knowing you were being miserable by yourself?" she scoffed. "I'd rather be with you than down on the beach, anyway."
"You convinced me." Frank tucked her hand into the crook of his arm, and they set out up the path to the hotel, once more.
#####
"What happened?" Quint asked, as he watched first Frank, then Megan, hurry past the bonfire. "Did we say something wrong?"
Joe shook his head. "No, you didn't say anything wrong – and I don't know what's up, but Red – Megan, that is – will take care of it, whatever it is." He'd noticed that Frank hadn't said anything to anyone while they were watching the fire dancers – abnormally quiet, even for Frank – and he wondered if he should follow Frank himself…and then Megan had given him a brief wave, and walked off with his brother.
Let Megan handle it.
Joe settled back on the mat, and pulled Vanessa close, wrapping her in his arms. Jasmin and Akemi left to take part in the hula demonstration being performed for the crowd, while Jarrod and Quint and the other two boys yipped and shouted encouragement to their friends.
The beach was beginning to contain scattered groups of people now, rather than a solid crowd; mainland and Japanese and European tourists mixing with Islanders in little clumps as they became acquainted.
Vanessa joined in the cheers for her two new friends as they were introduced and took their places; as the sensual music began and the hula dancers began their performance, she leaned back against Joe and rested her head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms about her tightly and pressed his cheek against her silken hair.
The dancers were good…very good. Joe smiled, nuzzling his girlfriend's hair as they watched and enjoyed the show. Occasionally, the dancers were joined by the fire-knife dancers again, and would weave their way expertly around the spinning circles of flame, twirling and undulating, as graceful and free-flowing as the flames themselves.
Joe lifted one hand and turned Vanessa's face towards him. The flames of the fire dancers and the bonfire were dancing in her blue-gray eyes. As he lowered his mouth towards hers, he glanced over her shoulder – and to his slight shock, caught sight of his parents, seated a short distance away…and saw Fenton tilt his wife's face up for a kiss of their own!
Joe smiled and closed his eyes, a little embarrassed at having caught his parents in such an intimate moment…and then he turned his attention to his own kiss, and promptly forgot about anyone else's romantic interludes! Reluctantly, he ended the kiss and eased the embrace. He wondered what it was about this place and setting that made him feel so romantic. He didn't have a clue, but there was no mistaking the feeling!
Quint and Jarrod hooted softly, laughing; Quint muttered something about 'PDAs,' and Joe lazily kicked sand in the direction of the other boy's legs. Quint returned the favor, flinging a handful of sand towards Joe, and Joe pulled back, sheltering Vanessa. Stern looks and reproving comments from the adults around them stopped the sand-fight from escalating any further.
###
Later, when the performance was winding down, Jarrod asked, "What are you doing tomorrow? Do you have any plans?"
Joe grinned. "We'll be working…we're not just here vacationing. My father is leading the seminar for the police officers, here at the hotel, and we're assisting. When we're done with that…well, it depends on what my folks, and Frank and Megan, want to do. What did you have in mind?"
"Thought we could give you the two-bit tour of the local area, brah," Jarrod offered. "We could take you to places you wouldn't normally get to see, on the regular tourist circuit. If you're interested, of course."
"How long you have to work for your dad?" Quint wanted to know. "And when could you let us know?"
"Give me a phone number where I can reach you," Joe proposed, "and I'll call you as soon as I know the schedule for tomorrow a little better." He stood, pulling Vanessa up too, and they brushed stray bits of sand from their legs and clothes.
"No need for that; we'll stop by," Quint said casually.
"Okay, that works," Joe agreed. "I hope we can get together tomorrow; if we can't then, I know we'll have free time after the seminar is over."
"Great!" Jarrod beamed. "I can't wait!"
The boys headed up the path toward the hotel parking lot. Joe turned, seeking his parents…and grinned when he saw them heading off down the beach, arms wrapped about each other, and each obviously absorbed in what the other was saying. "Lovebirds," he murmured, indicating them to Vanessa, and then took her hand to lead her along the path to the hotel.
They found Frank and Megan at an outdoor ping-pong table, exchanging what seemed at first to be relatively mild passes of the bouncing white ball, using their paddles gently and without rancor. As the game progressed, however, the hits became more vicious, until Megan hit a particularly nasty swipe that sent the ball bouncing off the very far corner edge of the table on Frank's right, causing him to miss it.
Frank grinned as he ran to retrieve the ball, and Joe exchanged a mischievous twinkle with his girlfriend.
"Wow, bro, slowing down in your old age and getting beaten by a girl, huh?" Joe sniped; the comment earned him a swat on the back of the head from Vanessa. "HEY! No hitting the blonde guy!"
Vanessa glared. "Listen, blonde guy," she said tartly, "This GIRL could beat you any day of the week, if you had the nerve to take her on!"
"Whoa, whoa, babe…." Joe raised his hands in immediate surrender. "Girls are number one, no arguments from me at all!" He watched in satisfaction as Frank managed to win a point from Megan on the next pass. "Way to go, bro!"
"Who taught you how to play, Meg?" Vanessa asked her friend.
"My dad," Megan replied, her aqua eyes glistening. "Since I was small. We just played for fun, though. But Mom and I got rid of the table after...Haven't played in…a while."
Vanessa nodded, understanding what the other girl had left unsaid. She watched as Frank served the ball again, hitting it with deceptive gentleness towards Megan. There were a few equally gentle passes back and forth…and then once more, the hits became sharper, and landed more angularly on the sides of the table. Finally, Frank misjudged a hit, and overshot Megan's end of the table, giving her another point. With a triumphant cackle of laughter, she set herself to receive another serve.
"Frank, Jarrod and Quint have offered to give us a private tour of the local part of the island," Joe commented, watching the battle going on. "You and Megan interested?"
Frank didn't answer, apparently concentrating on his play. Megan sent the ball skidding over the net and watched it land at a sharp angle on Frank's side of the table. "I think it sounds like fun," she said.
Frank smacked an arching shot that slammed the ball down just in front of his girlfriend.
She tried to return it, but frowned when she managed to only get the side of the paddle on the ball. It careened sideways and landed on the floor, still on her side of the net. "Darn!" The piquant face curved into a pout as Megan picked up the ball and tossed it back over the net to Frank.
"Want to do it?" Frank spared a quick glance at his younger brother, and consequently missed the next volley. "Rats!" He grabbed the ball before it could bounce off into the grass. "I'm okay with it."
"Yeah, kinda. But we have to decide if we want to go with Jarrod and Quint tomorrow after we finish for the day, or wait and go after the seminar is over with. When Mom and Dad get back from their walk, we can ask them what they had planned….Or maybe you girls know – Were you and Mom going to go shopping?"
Both Megan and Vanessa nodded. "Yeah, Laura wants to go shopping," Megan said, dimpling. "And I'd like to start looking for souvenirs and something for Mom. Would you two mind doing part of the session together? Then Van and I can cover the other part, depending on when Laura wants to go."
Frank attempted to look reluctant, but it was spoiled by the amusement in his dark eyes. He exchanged a mockingly mournful glance with his younger brother before he finally nodded in agreement. "All right," he said, "I SUPPOSE I can work with Joe, if I HAVE to. But you know what a trial that's going to be!"
"Hey!" Joe protested. He found a stray ping-pong ball on the other side of the table and tossed it at Frank's head.
Frank deflected it with his paddle and laughed. "Sure, Baby, you ladies go ahead and have fun supporting the local economy! We can do stuff together after the seminar is over. The question is, though, what am I going to do with this big lug while you girls are busy?"
"We can look into that car theft thing," Joe suggested, a glint in his blue eyes. "What do you think?"
"I suppose so," Frank shrugged. "If we come up with any good ideas about what to do. Taking into consideration that none of the local police are going to be amused by our unwanted interference, do you have any ideas about where we should be looking?"
"I think we should check out some of the warehouses by the docks," Joe answered promptly. "I'll bet that's where the cars are being hidden – and maybe we can spot those two guys Van and I saw, that stole the Mercedes today!"
"And you don't think that the police might have checked these already?" Frank scoffed. "Ah well, it's as good an idea as any, and a place to start." He tucked his paddle beneath the net. "Baby, let's call it a draw for tonight, okay? I think I'm still on Eastern time; I'm beat!"
The four of them walked to the elevators and ascended to their floor. With more than a few kisses exchanged – and admonishments from both Vanessa and Megan to be careful the next day – they parted, murmuring "See you at breakfast," and went to their rooms.
###
As the boys prepared for bed, Joe kept mulling over the proposed sleuthing expedition. "Frank," he asked, leaning out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand, "do you think we'll find anything tomorrow…or do you have a better idea?"
"No, I don't have a better idea," Frank admitted, "and I also have no idea whether we'll find anything or not!" He hung up his Hawaiian-print shirt and started folding up the shorts he'd been wearing that evening. He frowned and paused, patting at the back pocket. Then he looked into the small bag he'd used at the beach, which Joe had brought up for him after the luau, taking everything out of it to search thoroughly. Finally, he checked the clothing he'd been wearing before he'd changed for the luau.
"What's the matter? You lose something?" Joe inquired.
"Did you see anything lying around when you picked up this bag?" Frank responded to the query with one of his own.
"No – it was just sitting there, under that bush where you left it. What's wrong?"
Frank looked over at him and sighed. "My wallet is missing!"