CHAPTER 1

Present day…

The blazing orange sun shone on the Atlantic, turning the sky a deep shade of purple, as the sun sank further into the water. Across the horizon and silhouette against the sun, seventeen-year-old Joe Hardy could see a tiny speck of a small piece of island, which he knew as Cabin Island. And if he'd go farther into the horizon, he'd reach Barmet Bay and the mainland, where the town Bayport lies. He had been living there since he was a kid, right after his father, Fenton Hardy, had resigned his work from the New York Police Department.

"Come on, Joe, you'll have time for sightseeing later," a familiar deep masculine voice said from behind, interrupting Joe's thought.

Joe turned to look at his a-year-older brother. "I hope so, Frank," he agreed, "but we're here on this island not for vacationing, so I might as well grab some opportunities to look around."

Even though they were brothers, their appearances contrasted each other. Frank, standing at six one, had dark hair and eyes, while his brother, an inch shorter, impulsive, and more muscular, was blond and blue-eyed. But both of them had one interest in common – solving crimes and mysteries. And that was why they were now standing here on Verin Island.

Verin Island was a small island, which was owned by Shane Unterhauser, a young wealthy businessman from Chicago. Joe couldn't understand why someone as rich as Shane would want an island this small, with almost nothing on it except for old abandoned houses. The island was flat. Almost half of the area on the island was covered with thick woods. Shane was planning to turn the island into a resort island. He had started his project about six months ago. At the moment, the place was still undergoing a large development. According to him, only the main building was ready, which included his office and the employees' quarters.

Shane had originally asked Fenton Hardy for help, but since Mr. Hardy had to make an emergency trip to New York City to meet his old friend Chief Sam Peterson of NYPD, Mr. Hardy had given the case to his sons instead.

"I know what you mean, but I just wished we could join dad," Frank replied to Joe, looking worried and grim. He still remembered the scene well when his father decided to leave for New York City.

A week ago, Shane Unterhauser, a handsome man in his late twenties, with blond hair and a pair of deep-set green eyes, was sitting in Mr. Hardy's study. Mr. Hardy was on the phone when Frank and Joe entered the office. They could guess their father might want their help on the case, but they didn't anticipate the concerned look on their father's face while he was talking on the phone.

"Are you feeling all right?" Mr. Hardy was saying to the speaker on the phone.

Frank and Joe exchanged puzzled looks. Frank managed to study their father's latest client. The first thing that caught his eyes was a large gold ring on the man's right hand. There was a small white globe attached on it, which Frank couldn't identify without giving it a closer look. The man was wearing an expensive gray executive suit. His shoes were black and shiny. Even when he was sitting on the chair, Frank could easily see he was a huge man. The man had an air of authority in him.

"Can one of you please call your mother?" Mr. Hardy suddenly said, interrupting Frank's observation. His father was holding the receiver as he looked at his sons. There was a grim look on his handsome face.

"I'll do it," Joe offered and quickly headed out of the room.

"It's no trouble for me, Sam," Mr. Hardy continued saying on the phone. "I want to help, and I'll be there as soon as I can," he promised as he hung up the phone. At the same time, Mrs. Laura Hardy, and Joe entered the office.

"What's wrong, Fenton?" Laura Hardy asked when she caught her husband's distraught look.

"That was Sam Peterson on the phone," Mr. Hardy said, massaging the bridge of his nose wearily. Then he turned to Shane, as if suddenly noticed the man for the first time. "Would you please wait here, Mr. Unterhauser? I need to talk to my family first," he said with an apologetic look. "It's an urgent matter," he added.

"Of course," Shane replied patiently and nodded. Frank was surprised. His first impression of the man was that he would be irritated by this sudden interruption. Never judge a person by first impression, he scolded himself silently. But he was definitely curious about the sudden family meeting his father had convened.

Mr. Hardy led his family to the living room, leaving Shane Unterhauser in the study. As soon as they reached the living room, a series of questions rained down on Mr. Hardy.

"What's wrong, Fenton?" Laura started asking, looking worried.

"Dad, what did Chief Peterson want?"

"What's going on, Dad?"

"I'll tell you if you just listen first," Mr. Hardy said, a little sternly. When the others had quieted down, he took a deep breath. His expression suddenly turned somber. All of them looked at him with slight apprehension and curiosity. "It's sad news. It's about Sidney," he began.

"What about him?" Laura asked, slightly worried. Sidney Peterson, Sam's son, had started working as a police officer in one of the precincts in Brooklyn. The young man also had been a constant friend to Frank and Joe. Sam Peterson and his son occasionally visited them ever since Mr. Hardy quit the force.

"Well, he passed away yesterday," Mr. Hardy announced grimly.

There was shocked silence. Then, as if turned on like a switch, all of them started talking at once.

"Oh, poor dear!" Laura gasped. "What will happen to Sam? He was so proud of Sidney."

"I can't believe it! This couldn't be true, dad," Joe protested in disbelief, and anger. The news hit him like a hammer on his head as if telling him this wasn't a dream, but reality - the cruelest dream of all. It was almost like the one he had experienced after Iola's death.

"How did he die? Did he die while he was on duty?" Frank asked his father, curiously. Like Joe, he still had a hard time believing the news.

"No, Frank, he died from a heart failure," Mr. Hardy answered slowly.

"Heart failure? But he was so strong, and healthy," Laura remarked in surprise.

"He died in his sleep last night. There were no traces of foul play, if that's what you're thinking," Mr. Hardy told them when he caught Frank's suspicious look. "But Sam told me, his son was starting to have a fever-like symptom a day before he died. It's possible he might caught some sort of a disease."

"But how?" Joe asked.

"We still don't know much, but Sam has sent the blood sample to be tested," Mr. Hardy told them.

"And?" Frank prompted curiously.

"It's too early to tell, but there was a minute peculiarity in the blood cells," he explained.

"A virus?" Frank guessed with a frown.

"We still don't know, yet," he told them. "But I'm going to New York to arrange his son's funeral."

"Just you?" Laura asked in surprise. "I can help him with the arrangement, too," she pointed out.

"No," Mr. Hardy said sternly. "Not at the moment," he softened his voice a little.

"Why wouldn't you let us go with you? After all, we're a close family friend of his," Joe protested.

"Sam needs to talk to me alone, for now," Mr. Hardy explained. "When he's ready, I'll call you and we can arrange a trip to New York," he said firmly. From the sound of his voice, they could tell his decision was final.

"What about the guy in your office?" Joe asked, jerking his thumb toward the study.

"I'm going to let you two handle the case for me while I'm gone. It's a pretty simple case. It should be no problem for you two," Mr. Hardy told his sons.

"Well, I still don't like it," Laura told her husband. "But please be careful when you're there," she reminded him, squeezing his hand.

"I know, honey," Mr. Hardy said with a smile and gave her a peck on her cheek. Then he turned to his sons. "All right, you two, let's go back to my office and I'll introduce you to my client."

Now, Mr. Hardy had gone for a week, and the boys were starting to get worried when they still hadn't heard any news from him.

"Let's go and see Shane Unterhauser, now," Joe said, changing the subject. "He must be bored to death waiting for us." He picked up his gym bag that was filled with his clothes.

They had just arrived on the island a quarter of an hour ago. The only way to get to this island was to rent a motorboat from the nearby island, which they found out, was Inzell Island. The ride took only fifteen minutes from Inzell Island to Verin Island. The dock on Verin Island was small, which was enough to accommodate if the tourists came to this island during peak season. The pier extended into the bay for seventy feet or more. At the moment, there were only less than five boats lined alongside the dock. Frank guessed they belonged to Shane's employees. He had told the brothers only his employees were staying on his island at the moment.

The late afternoon air was heavy with the scent of salt and seaweed. They could hear the waves lapping at the shore on either sides of the dock as they walked along a wooden walkway that led to Shane's building.

The redbrick building was only three stories high. At the main entrance was a sign in deep green bold letters that said 'Unterhauser Resort, Verin Island'.

Shane appeared at the entrance with a smile on his face. Today, he was wearing a pair of jeans, and a green polo shirt. Bulging muscles along his arms could be seen below the short sleeves.

"I'm glad you made it," he said to them, shaking hands with the brothers. "Sorry it took a long time to get the place for your stay to be ready," he apologized. "It would be a bit inconvenient for you to travel back and forth if you stay in a hotel in Inzell. Anyway, the main kitchen and restaurant, at the moment, aren't ready. You have to go to Inzell for food, or cook if you have time. Every employee's quarter has their own kitchen."

"I understand," Frank replied. "This is quite a nice place you have here," he remarked with an admiring glance to his surroundings.

"Thanks, I would say so myself. It would be even better when the resort is completed," Shane told them. "Our work would have been finished earlier if not for all the things that has been happening lately."

Shane had explained about the situation with his resort project. He had a suspicion that someone was trying to sabotage his work. A first, the incidents appeared accidental such as blackouts, lift was not working, and a fire in the kitchen. He had checked the accidents and found out the fuses were still new, and the lift also had used new cables. That had made him slightly suspicious since these accidents happened in the same day. And someone had accidentally dropped a match into fuel oil that caused the fire in the kitchen. No one had claimed responsible for this act, either. All these so-called accidents started about a couple of months ago.

A slim man, about thirty, with brown hair and blue eyes appeared beside Shane. The man stood a couple of inches shorter than Joe and Shane.

"This is Jim Owen. He'll be working here as the bellboy when this place is officially opened. But at the moment, he's a handyman," Shane introduced the man to the brothers.

"Hi, I'm Frank MacAllister," he said to the man, remembering to use his cover name. The brothers had decided to use their mother's maiden name before they arrived here. "This is my brother, Joe," Frank pointed to his brother.

"Nice to meet you," the man said. "You can call me, Jim," he added. Although he appeared friendly, Frank couldn't help noticing the uneasiness in his eyes.

"They are close friends of my family. I've decided to show them around my resort. They will spend their time here at the beach," Shane explained to Jim, using the cover story they had agreed on.

"But they'll get bored easily," Jim commented. "There's not much to see here, unless if you go to Inzell. This place is like a dead town."

"Don't worry, we'll think of something to do here," Joe put in.

"You can bring their bags to their room, Jim," Shane told his employee. "I'm going to show them around the building."

Without saying anything, Jim took the boys' bags and headed toward a hallway on the left. But Frank was quick to notice a glare that Jim had given Shane before he walked away. Looks like Jim would be suspect number one on my list, Frank thought curiously. It might be nothing, but he wouldn't leave anything out at the moment.

"Come on, let's go to my office first," Shane said to them.

They walked inside and passed the small lobby. The wall was wood-paneled, and there was an empty reception counter on one side of the room. Shane walked past the counter and opened a door beside it that said: Personnel Only. Another hallway appeared before them. But the owner continued walking. "My office is just at the end of this hall," he told them before turning around the corner of the hallway.

They were surprised to see a young woman in black skirt and white shirt standing in front of a door at the end of the hallway. She appeared to be in an act of eavesdropping Shane's office!