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 2003, so technology was not as advanced as it is today. People still used landlines, and texting, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat were still in the future or in their infancy. Co-written with RokiaHDA, who wrote back then under the name of Aspen.
Thank you, Cherylann, BMSH, max2013 and Sarai, for commenting.
Ghost of November Past
By
EvergreenDreamweaver and RokiaHDA
Chapter 29
"Joe?" Officer Jeremy Isaacs squatted beside the younger Hardy, a hand resting reassuringly on his blanket-shrouded shoulder. To his relief, Joe's intermittent periods of consciousness were becoming more frequent and of longer duration. "I'm going to leave you in these nice peoples' capable hands, okay?" He waved a hand towards the nearby paramedics. "They'll take good care of you – get you to the hospital to get checked out. And I'll go find Frank—"
"And Matt," Joe interposed weakly, "and Cherise."
"And Matt and Cherise," Jeremy echoed, nodding.
"Hurry, please…they're…gonna drown. 'M not…kidding!" Joe's slightly hazy blue gaze fastened on the young policeman's face with surprising intensity.
"I know you're not kidding; I'll hurry. Now you just take it easy—"
"J'remy?" Joe's hand snaked out from the blanket wrapping him, to grasp the police officer's arm.
"Yes, Joe?" Isaacs, wanting to be on the move, strove for patience.
Joe concentrated fiercely, trying to remember why this was so important, why Jeremy Isaacs needed to know. "There're…there might be….Okay, there's probably a – a bunch of people – at the lighthouse. Or the…cottage. The ones who – who stuck us in…the cave. So…be careful, 'kay?"
"Got it. I will be." Jeremy nodded. "I'll call for backup. I'm on my way!" With a last comforting pat, Isaacs got to his feet and departed with a hasty word of thanks to Helen Merrick.
Reaching his car, Jeremy activated his radio, calling in with the report of civilians trapped in a cave on the cliff below Stone Point lighthouse and armed criminals at the lighthouse. Assured that rescue vehicles and backup were being dispatched, he started the car and drove the short distance to the lighthouse. To his surprise, just as he pulled up, three men emerged from the light-keeper's cottage!
Jeremy slammed on the brakes, shoved the vehicle into Park, and flicked his headlights to High beam, pinning the fleeing men in the brilliance. He flung open his door, pulling his gun and bracing it. The three men stood frozen in the glaring light, holding their hands up to shield their eyes.
"Bayport police! Hold it right there! All of you, up against the wall behind you, hands on your head. Legs spread. MOVE!" he bellowed – and was inwardly thrilled that his voice didn't crack!
Two of the men obeyed, moving into position without hesitation. The third, however, sensing that Jeremy was alone, glared at him and stepped slowly towards the police car. Jeremy cocked his gun, praying he wouldn't actually have to shoot anyone, and repeated the command.
"This is your last warning! Up against the wall – NOW!" He pointed the gun directly at the man, holding it steady and braced. For a moment, the man hesitated, seemingly frozen in place, staring into the headlights with a baleful expression – and then he turned slowly, joining his companions, and placed his hands up against the wall of the cottage.
Isaacs got out of the car with care, keeping his gun trained on the trio of thugs. Jeez, I hope backup gets here soon! "Nobody move," he barked, as he moved around the car door. "Hug that wall, now!" He blew out a silent breath of relief as they meekly obeyed. Looks like those arrest procedure classes at the Academy are coming in handy after all! He waited, not daring to try frisking his captives yet, knowing that it would be foolish to risk patting down someone when he had three suspects to handle!
After what seemed like a short eternity to the young officer, backup arrived, with a squeal of sirens and tires, and a psychedelic strobe of flashing lights. Feeling more confident with assistance at his back, Jeremy Isaacs holstered his gun and strode forward to pat down the three men plastered against the cottage wall. He found – not much to his surprise – that all three were armed.
"Where's Frank Hardy?" Jeremy demanded at last, turning one of them about by the shoulder and moving into his personal space – get into his face, yeah, like we learned in class! He'd done it once or twice before, 'for real,' but never with quite this much at stake! "Make it easy on yourself and tell me!"
His captive responded with an expletive that Jeremy wouldn't have wanted his grandmother to hear. He glared at the thug, then smiled sweetly and backed up. "That's okay," he said. "I already know. Sorry, you lost your chance, though." He glanced about as two other uniforms moved in to keep an eye on the three hoodlums. "Okay, somebody get me some ropes – and move one of the cars near the edge!" he shouted. "We have a rescue to make. Get that second ambulance over here; we may need some of their equipment!"
The sergeant who was standing near him made a face, indicating his dislike of what they were going to do – then grinned and nodded. It was Jeremy Isaacs' collar, and his show for now, but the sergeant would be watching, just in case.
Jeremy grabbed one of the ropes which had been produced – and found it abruptly being yanked from his hand by one of the firefighters, as a second one pushed him back! "Hey!" He grabbed at the rope, trying to retrieve it.
"Jer, let me have it. Let me go down." The voice was low, undeniably feminine, and surprisingly familiar.
"Dani Tanner!" Jeremy felt a smile break over his face despite his worry. Friends of the Hardy brothers seemed to pop up when you least expected them. He'd met Danielle a few weeks before, at a small party at the Hardys' home. That still embarrassed Jeremy a little – he could scarcely believe that they'd thrown a party to thank him for saving Laura! Well, and to celebrate the fact that the Bayport Arsonist had been captured…and Dani had had a part in that, he recalled.
"I'm trained for this; this is what they pay me to do," Dani continued, still tugging at the rope they both held.
"I've done some climbing, but…" Jeremy shrugged and relinquished his hold. "Okay, it's all yours. Thanks."
"Good – I didn't want to have to wrestle you for it." Dani gathered up the rope and attached it to the rappelling apparatus she wore. She touched a switch on her helmet, turning on a beam of light, then went to the edge of the cliff, called out "Climbing!" and disappeared over the edge into the darkness.
#####
Give me a burning building any day! Danielle Tanner thought, as she jumped out over the cliff edge and began her descent. She felt the cold, salty spray of the ocean whip against her as she made her way down. I hate water rescues! I really, really hate water rescues! Of course, technically this wasn't exactly a water rescue – she wasn't intending on leaping into the bay, after all – but it was too close for any degree of comfort!
Stop complaining, Dani, you told Jeremy you were trained for it; you wouldn't let him do it, so just stop it! Dani proceeded to drop another few feet, sighing with resignation. I'll do my job and I'll rescue my friend – and then I'm going to promise myself not to do this any more! There are other people in the squad who get a big thrill out of cliffs and water – let them do it next time! Still, she hadn't been able to resist, knowing it was Frank Hardy down there at risk – and darn it, it would make an awfully good story to tell Jack later! Of course, Jack would have a fit – both at her danger and at Frank's….
She stopped for a moment, angling her helmet, shining the light across the cliff face and then downward, searching for the cave opening. Ah, there it is! Off to the left and just a little ways down! Sheesh, that water's close! It was actually splashing into the cave occasionally, as the waves grew higher. She grabbed a handhold to one side and pulled herself toward the opening, then slid down a little further on her rope. At last she was able to grip the edge of the opening and swing herself into the cave, her feet skidding on the wet stone. She was immensely grateful to feel solidity beneath her boots again! She stepped further in and released herself from the climbing apparatus, securing it carefully. She smiled as she took in the sight of Frank, standing near the back of the cave, hunched over with his hands in his jacket pockets, blinking in the glare of the headlamp beam.
"I swear, Frankenstein, you do find yourself in the most interesting places!"
Frank's head jerked up. "DANI?"
"In the flesh." Dani took the extra flashlight from her jacket pocket and switched it on, increasing the illumination in the cave. "You trying to freeze to death now, or drown, instead of burning to death?"
"Jeez, Tanner, I d-dunno." Frank's teeth were chattering so that his words came out in a series of choppy little syllables. "I k-kinda thought I was p-planning to live f-forever! How 'bout a l-little l-less talk, and more rescue?"
"I don't want to make a habit of pulling your butt out of the fire, Hardy – or the cave, as the case may be." Dani's smile took the sting from her words. "People might start talking."
"L-let 'em talk," Frank shrugged, still shivering. "C-come look at Cherise, please, Dani. She needs help; we've g-got to g-get her outta here!"
Matt stepped forward, his curiosity aroused by the easy give-and-take between Frank and this shadowy rescuer. Since Dani was carrying all the light sources, he could barely see her through the glare. "Hi, I'm Matt – who're you?"
Frank, chuckling a little, performed hasty introductions as Dani handed Matt the flashlight with a quiet request to hold it for her, and then bent over Cherise. She remained nearly silent for a few moments as she did a quick check of vitals, only making soft tsk-tsk sounds at the results.
"Okay, Frankenstein, I agree. Getting her out of here right away is better than bringing more help down." Dani pulled her two-way radio from a pocket and busied herself requesting a basket stretcher to be lowered ASAP. "And toss in a couple of extra blankets," she added, "I've got two very chilly people down here who would appreciate 'em!" Putting the radio away, Dani turned, letting her helmet light play over the cave's interior. Abruptly, she stopped, jerking back. "What is THAT?"
Frank and Matt both grinned a little at the girl's shocked tone. "Oh – well, that is – at least we think – that's Erik," Frank faltered.
"Erik? Erik who?"
"I don't know his last name," Frank admitted.
"Frankenstein, how the heck do you know his FIRST name? It's a skeleton, for Pete's sake!" Dani demanded, still staring with shocked wonder at the skeletal remains.
"Dani, don't ask me that. Because I'm not going to tell you – and you wouldn't believe me if I did." Frank cast a discreet glance at Erik's bones. Emily had disappeared when Dani showed up, but he wouldn't be surprised if she was hovering invisibly somewhere nearby. He noticed that Matt was surreptitiously looking around too.
Dani gave him a long, speculative look, then finally rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Okay, okay, whatever." She turned away, then suddenly swung back for one more remark: "You will tell me someday, won't you?"
"Um…maybe."
"Dani—" Matt glanced at Frank, hoping the other man wouldn't kill him for what he was about to do. Diverting Dani's attention was called for! "Frank hit his head before we got stuck in here – he was out for quite a while…."
"He was?" Dani's eyes narrowed, homing in on Frank with disconcerting intensity.
"Matt!" Frank let out an exasperated shout as Ms. Tanner's professional attention was suddenly focused on him instead of Cherise. Submitting unwillingly, Frank glared at his friend. "Eckersley, I'll pay you back for this one, count on it!"
###
It took about twenty minutes altogether – for Cherise to be secured in the basket stretcher and sent up; for Dani and the other rescue squad members to rappel first Matt, then Frank, up to the top of the cliff. Matt, remembering all too vividly his last experience on these cliffs, kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut through the whole thing. Both he and Frank continued to shiver with cold, once they were up top, despite being wrapped in blankets, and they found themselves being ushered to a third ambulance for a ride to the hospital. They might have protested, but upon hearing that Joe was already there, decided not to fight it.
As he was about to get in, however, Frank glanced at the three sullen figures still under guard nearby. He frowned a little, and looked about again, seeking something he didn't find. "Jeremy?"
"What?"
"Where is she?"
"Where is who?" The police officer sounded very confused.
"The woman – Mallory something….Mallory Rutledge, that was her name. She's the one who was behind all this! Don't you have her?"
He didn't need to hear Jeremy's answer, the young man's expression said it all.
Uh-oh. The case wasn't over yet – not by a long shot!
