Chapter Six

Riversong

lafter@singnet.com.sg

Frank Hardy scanned the crowd frantically for his lost brother. Joe wasn't where he was supposed to be and that was enough to send Frank into a mental frenzy. He swore that bringing Joe out was as bad as bringing a child out because Joe had absolutely no sense of responsibility and neither did he understand the definition of danger.

In addition, Joe could be subconsciously relishing in seeing Frank frustrated and worried. Whatever it was, Joe seemed to think that Frank was having it easy as the elder brother and would always get himself into some sticky situations so Frank could prove his mettle by rescuing his kid brother out.

Now, Joe Hardy was lost. Joe Hardy had a knack for getting lost, just like he had a knack for getting whack in the head. Frank cursed himself for not making his kid brother follow him to the information counter. Heck, he regretted not having Joe cuffed to him so he could watch over Joe's every action.

I just want a peace of mind. Is that so difficult? Going to find him and we're taking the first plane out of here and back to Bayport to freeze in the winter chill.

"Hello. Have you seen a young man, this tall, blond hair? He was sitting here a while ago… no? Thanks…" Frank hurried off after the local man he was asking shook his head repeatedly at Frank's insistent questioning. Exiting from the row of seats, Frank glanced anxiously at every face that passed by him, willing one to morph into Joe's somehow. Finally, he saw an airport security guard and hurried over to him, unmindful of his surroundings.

"Oof…" A familiar husky female voice jolted him briefly out of his worries. The fact that he recognized the person belonging to the voice shocked him… no… the amazing part was from the disbelief that of all places, he would bump into her in a crowded, tropical airport halfway round the globe. He grew up with her and always thought he would grow up to fall in love with her until Callie came into the picture. Once, a case that involved saving her from a cult headed by her half-brother threw him into his heart's struggles and mind's quandaries. Holly Strand. Sweet, misguided Holly.

The world was often touted to be small. Frank had no idea just how tiny it was.

"Frank Hardy! What a surprise!" Holly exclaimed and Frank stepped back to catch a closer look at her. She had changed drastically- her mahogany red hair was cut into a short chin-length bob that tapered sharply to frame her face and she seemed fitter with tanned, well-toned arms. However, the vulnerable side of her was still evident in her actions and reflexes. She reached out to touch his arm but stopped herself and retreated shyly, looking down at the floor for a moment while tucking a lock of hair behind her left ear before she looked up at him again.

"This is amazing… so, where are you off to?" Holly smiled and gazed at him bashfully with wide emerald eyes. Frank knew her discomfiture could most probably arise from him rejecting her advances with finality at the end of the case, making clear that they could only be friends. Not only that, he had seen her weaknesses and her most naïve state of mind. Her gullibility had  placed him, his brother, his father and her own father in danger.

Naturally she would be a little ashamed in seeing him- just as she was pleased.

Had it been another time, another place and another setting, he would have gladly talked to her and maybe a friendship that had turned bland could revitalize again. But this was neither the time nor the place and he was definitely not in  the right frame of mind. Frank gave her a faded smile and gestured towards the guard.

"I'll love to catch up but Joe's missing and I need to find him. It's great seeing you… I just…"

"Joe? I'll search with you then…" Holly offered and he nodded without considering, immediately relieved because two pairs of eyes could scan through a crowd faster than one could and she seemed so much more fresher than him. That was no time for tired eyes but jet lag and anxiety were insidiously creeping up on him.

For the next hour, he and Holly combed through the seas of people after reporting it to the security guard who helped them announced for Joe to wait for them at the information counter. With each unfamiliar mien, Frank's heart palpitated with more panic and he could feel it about to break free from its restrains and burst out of his chest. That would be a bloody sight to behold so he was thankful it did not happen. When it seemed pointless to search anymore, Frank returned to the information counter and saw Holly approaching it at the same time. He brightened up, praying that she would be the bearer of good tidings but when she saw him, her steps became more tentative and she fiddled with her hair- her face a mask of failure. She did not find Joe either.

'Did a blond hair man come here asking if anyone was waiting for him?" Frank asked the pretty Thai girl behind the booth and she shook her head sympathetically. He assumed he must have printed the words, "Extremely worried brother" on his face.

"Don't worry, Frank. Joe's very resourceful and you know how distracted he could be. Maybe he's off somewhere in the company of a bevy of beautiful girls…"

"Then it's very irresponsible of him…" Frank's words drifted off when a sudden thought struck him. Abruptly, he spun around to face the counter but the girl had left her station. In her place, a youthful chap was passing some brochures to a tourist.

"Excuse me? Where's the nearest police station?" Frank asked, knowing if he did not find Joe soon, he would need some assistance. If Joe was kidnapped, Frank feared the worst consequences.

"Ye, sir?" The young man looked at him with a baffled expression. Frank thought he must be speaking too quickly.

"Police station…" Frank slowed his speech but the young man could be unfamiliar with the language as he shook his head helplessly. A little irritated though he knew English is not the native tongue in these parts, Frank turned away to see if there was anyone else who could help him.

"Sawatdii. Yuu thii nay sathaanii tamruat?" The tonal language rolled off Holly's tongue like she had been speaking it all her life. Frank whirled on his heels, impressed despite the seriousness of the situation. Holly leaned over the counter and smiled sweetly at the man who gave a look of recognition. Holly nodded as he spoke and she laid her hand on Frank's calmingly.

"kh@@p khun kha." Holly beamed dazzlingly and the guy blushed. She took Frank's hand and steered him away.

"Most of them understand English. Must be your accent getting in the way." Holly teased him and he flushed, not knowing why her touch would send electricity up his hand.

Not knowing why I would even care about the electricity when my kid brother's missing...

"So, where's the…" Before he could finish his question, his mobile rang and his heart did a leap as his mind whooped. It had to be Joe. He would meet up with his brother and convince him that the trip was pointless. Stopping right in the middle of a human traffic, Frank answered the call, earning the ire of many who could not stop in time and bumped into him. However, he was oblivious to all the impacts and dirty glances though Holly played around with her hair shyly and apologized to those affected by his sudden state of rest.

"Joe? Is that you? Where are you, brat?"

"Frank Hardy?" A familiar voice answered him but it was not Joe's. Frank thought it sounded uncannily like the mailman who started them on the trip.

"Yes?"

"You are very late." The man at the other side of the line clucked his tongue. "The Queen's waiting anxiously!"

"What Queen? Queen McHeart? Are you the mailman? I don't know what prank you're trying to pull but we can't find where your damn island is and now, my brother's lost and I'm worried sick! I don't care about the Queen and if you have any idea at all where my kid brother is, you better tell me now or I wring your scrawny…"

"Tsk, tsk. I must have a talk with our profiler. I remembered seeing patient and cool-headed next to your name. Maybe we got it wrong. If you want to reunite with your brother, you better get to Um right now…"

"He's there?" Frank queried, shocked by the man's answer.

"Some kind of. That's all I have to say. Make your way here if you want to find your brother."

"How do I get to your freaking island? There's no freaking boat!"

"You love to use a lot of euphemisms for vulgarities but they're all the same. Inept at expressing yourself?" The man taunted and Frank growled in a low voice which did not go unnoticed.  The man laughed childishly, raising Frank's ire.

"Can you just tell me how to get to the island? Please?" Frank controlled himself and spoke through stretched lips taut with frustration. There was a space of silence and Frank could hear the man's breathing coming heavier across.

"You have a guide."

"I don't have one damn guide!"

"Yes you do. Goodbye!" The call disengaged and Frank stared at the mobile in disbelief.

"What the hell?"

"What's wrong, Frank?" Holly touched his right wrist and gazed up at him with concern in her luminous eyes. Frank absentmindedly shoved the cell phone back into his bermudas's pocket and breathed in deeply to soothe his frayed nerves.

"Joe's in this island which I can't get to… this is so irritating! I just want this over, go to a hotel, sleep and then go home…" Frank groaned, thinking of his nice, comfortable bed and fluffy covers. He did not have many days of vacation left and he was not exactly thrilled to be in a situation like that.

"You sound just like a child. Where are you supposed to be off to?" Holly chided him and Frank shrugged, not wanting to let his embarrassment show.

"This island called Um…" he muttered.

"Um?"

"Yah." He replied miserably. A guide. He needed more than a guide. He needed a magic carpet pre-programmed to bring him to the island that was somehow looking more like a figment of imagination from his delusional mind.

Holly's face lit up with a bright smile that bared sparkling white teeth. She linked her hand through his and veered him towards the airport's exit.

"That's where I'm off to! C'mon, we are going to miss the island's private yatch…"

-Holly's from Casefile number three- Cult of Crime.