"What are you talking about?" Frank demanded harshly from the doorway.
Joe jumped nervously as he turned to see who had spoken. Frank saw the stark terror in Joe's eyes and felt a sharp knife enter his heart. Joe turned back to his father, not answering Frank.
"Please?" Joe begged, his blue eyes breaking his dad's heart. "They will do the same to him as they did to me."
"Joe, Son, I can't," Mr. Hardy said, crying. "They'll kill you. I won't let that happen."
"You don't have a choice," Joe insisted. "You can't let them kill Paul."
"Paul?" Mr. Hardy asked.
"My brother," Joe informed him. "Paul Aaron. Please help me help him?"
"You're going to do this with or without my help aren't you?" Mr. Hardy asked, realizing if he didn't help, then Joe would go to the police. Joe nodded. "But you..."
"Will be okay," Joe said. "I'm older and bigger now. And you will have him behind bars before he can hurt me...much," he added softly.
"He could kill you," Mr. Hardy insisted, still fighting the inevitable.
"And letting my brother stay in that situation, letting anyone in stay in that situation, would kill me," Joe asserted. "Please? Just, don't trust any of the cops around him," he added. "He bought them all off," Joe said.
"I don't want you near those people," Mr. Hardy insisted.
"Me either, but if I'm there, then I can make sure they don't hurt Paul. He's defenseless, I'm not," Joe stated.
"What are you two talking about?" Frank demanded, afraid to find out, but more terrified still of not knowing. Joe shook his head, unable to answer him.
Mr. Hardy finally nodded his head. "All right," he said. "I'll put that slime behind bars," he promised. "But Joesph," he said, "I will be checking on you. And if he starts hurting you or your brother, I'm getting you both out of there, no matter waht happens to me."
Joe nodded and left the room to go and pack. Frank looked at his father whose eyes were half closed as tears streamed down his cheeks. "What is going on?" he demanded, truly scared.
"You need to ask Laura," Mr. Hardy said, returning to his chair and wiping his eyes. "The sooner I get started on this investigation, the sooner Joe will be safe again."
Frank wanted to argue, but he couldn't. Not if it meant helping Joe. He left the room and walked down the hall in search of his mother. Frank paused at Joe's door, watching him pack some clothing, crying silent tears. Frank went downstairs and found his mom in the kitchen.
Frank stood in the doorway of the kitchen and tried to think of the best way to broach the subject. "Do you know an Austin or Ami Moody?" he asked.
Mrs. Hardy dropped the glass she held in her hand and it shattered as it hit the floor. "Why?" she asked, her face as white as his father's had been.
Frank told her about Joe's request and their dad's agreement. "Oh!" she gasped softly, before falling into a faint.
Frank ran over and caught his mother and carried her into the living room and put her on the sofa. He ran to get some smelling salts and waved it in front of her nose. Mrs. Hardy lifted her hand and stopped Frank's, pushing it back as she came too. "Where's Joe?" she demanded fearfully.
"He's packing," Frank informed her. She sat up slowly, then stood up. She started for the stairs, but Frank latched onto her arm and pulled her to a stop. "Tell me," he begged her.
Crying, she pulled Frank close to her and huged him. "Sit down," she said gently. "You know I adopted Joe before I met your father?" she asked.
"Dad said you and your first husband hadn't been able to have any kids, and you adopted Joe shortly after he died," Frank said.
"That's right," she concurred. "But you don't know the circumstances of Joe's adoption or how I met him."
"Then tell me," Frank said softly.
"I was walking near the river and I saw a young boy, Joe, floating downstream. I dove in and pulled him out. He wasn't breathing, so I started mouth-to-mouth on him. When he came to, he started crying and asked me why I had to pull him out," she said, fresh tears starting. "That was all he said all night. I held him by the river until the next morning. He cried until almost daybreak.
"The next day, I took him to my house. I got him some dry clothes to change into. He didn't want my help, but he was in no shape to change on his own. When he took his shirt off, I could see he was covered in bruises. The rest of him was the same way."
Frank was staring at his mother with a look of horror. How could anyone have hurt Joe so badly? he wondered. Mrs. Hardy continued to talk and Frank became silent with the quietness of a man who has reached his limit and is ready to take action.
"I called the police," she told him. "They said they would take care of the matter. But they took him back to his parents instead," she added bitterly, guilt washing over her as she remembered Joe's resigned look when the police had arrived.
"I went to their house that night and tried to see him, but I was ordered to leave. I wasn't going to leave without seeing Joe so I climbed a tree. I was going to sneak in through a window and find him. But the tree was in front of his room and I saw him tied to the bed, his face beaten so badly he couldn't even open his eyes." She stopped speaking and cried at the memory.
Frank waited for her to continue and after a few minutes, she did. "I climbed in the window and untied him. I carried him down the stairs, afraid his parents would hear us," she said.
"Why didn't you just help him outside through the window?" Frank asked.
"They had broken both his legs so he couldn't run away again," she explained, more tears falling down her cheeks. "We got outside and I took Joe to another town, almost a hundred miles away. The sheriff was very helpful. He helped me find a place to stay with Joe while his parents were questioned." She stopped speaking and shook her head. "A social worker came back to me and said they couldn't do anything about the Moodys. No one would believe it and the ones who were in charge of the investigation had already been bought off.
"I and the social worker tried to talk to Joe and find out if he knew of anything his parents had done that they couldn't get away with. Joe told us about some dealings his dad had with certain people. The sheriff called a friend of his, a lawyer. He cut a deal with the Moodys. They would let me adopt Joe, but if at any time for any reason they should be investigated, then the adoption would become null and void. And if Joe were not with them at the start of the investigation, then whoever he was with would be aressted for kidnapping."
Joe jumped nervously as he turned to see who had spoken. Frank saw the stark terror in Joe's eyes and felt a sharp knife enter his heart. Joe turned back to his father, not answering Frank.
"Please?" Joe begged, his blue eyes breaking his dad's heart. "They will do the same to him as they did to me."
"Joe, Son, I can't," Mr. Hardy said, crying. "They'll kill you. I won't let that happen."
"You don't have a choice," Joe insisted. "You can't let them kill Paul."
"Paul?" Mr. Hardy asked.
"My brother," Joe informed him. "Paul Aaron. Please help me help him?"
"You're going to do this with or without my help aren't you?" Mr. Hardy asked, realizing if he didn't help, then Joe would go to the police. Joe nodded. "But you..."
"Will be okay," Joe said. "I'm older and bigger now. And you will have him behind bars before he can hurt me...much," he added softly.
"He could kill you," Mr. Hardy insisted, still fighting the inevitable.
"And letting my brother stay in that situation, letting anyone in stay in that situation, would kill me," Joe asserted. "Please? Just, don't trust any of the cops around him," he added. "He bought them all off," Joe said.
"I don't want you near those people," Mr. Hardy insisted.
"Me either, but if I'm there, then I can make sure they don't hurt Paul. He's defenseless, I'm not," Joe stated.
"What are you two talking about?" Frank demanded, afraid to find out, but more terrified still of not knowing. Joe shook his head, unable to answer him.
Mr. Hardy finally nodded his head. "All right," he said. "I'll put that slime behind bars," he promised. "But Joesph," he said, "I will be checking on you. And if he starts hurting you or your brother, I'm getting you both out of there, no matter waht happens to me."
Joe nodded and left the room to go and pack. Frank looked at his father whose eyes were half closed as tears streamed down his cheeks. "What is going on?" he demanded, truly scared.
"You need to ask Laura," Mr. Hardy said, returning to his chair and wiping his eyes. "The sooner I get started on this investigation, the sooner Joe will be safe again."
Frank wanted to argue, but he couldn't. Not if it meant helping Joe. He left the room and walked down the hall in search of his mother. Frank paused at Joe's door, watching him pack some clothing, crying silent tears. Frank went downstairs and found his mom in the kitchen.
Frank stood in the doorway of the kitchen and tried to think of the best way to broach the subject. "Do you know an Austin or Ami Moody?" he asked.
Mrs. Hardy dropped the glass she held in her hand and it shattered as it hit the floor. "Why?" she asked, her face as white as his father's had been.
Frank told her about Joe's request and their dad's agreement. "Oh!" she gasped softly, before falling into a faint.
Frank ran over and caught his mother and carried her into the living room and put her on the sofa. He ran to get some smelling salts and waved it in front of her nose. Mrs. Hardy lifted her hand and stopped Frank's, pushing it back as she came too. "Where's Joe?" she demanded fearfully.
"He's packing," Frank informed her. She sat up slowly, then stood up. She started for the stairs, but Frank latched onto her arm and pulled her to a stop. "Tell me," he begged her.
Crying, she pulled Frank close to her and huged him. "Sit down," she said gently. "You know I adopted Joe before I met your father?" she asked.
"Dad said you and your first husband hadn't been able to have any kids, and you adopted Joe shortly after he died," Frank said.
"That's right," she concurred. "But you don't know the circumstances of Joe's adoption or how I met him."
"Then tell me," Frank said softly.
"I was walking near the river and I saw a young boy, Joe, floating downstream. I dove in and pulled him out. He wasn't breathing, so I started mouth-to-mouth on him. When he came to, he started crying and asked me why I had to pull him out," she said, fresh tears starting. "That was all he said all night. I held him by the river until the next morning. He cried until almost daybreak.
"The next day, I took him to my house. I got him some dry clothes to change into. He didn't want my help, but he was in no shape to change on his own. When he took his shirt off, I could see he was covered in bruises. The rest of him was the same way."
Frank was staring at his mother with a look of horror. How could anyone have hurt Joe so badly? he wondered. Mrs. Hardy continued to talk and Frank became silent with the quietness of a man who has reached his limit and is ready to take action.
"I called the police," she told him. "They said they would take care of the matter. But they took him back to his parents instead," she added bitterly, guilt washing over her as she remembered Joe's resigned look when the police had arrived.
"I went to their house that night and tried to see him, but I was ordered to leave. I wasn't going to leave without seeing Joe so I climbed a tree. I was going to sneak in through a window and find him. But the tree was in front of his room and I saw him tied to the bed, his face beaten so badly he couldn't even open his eyes." She stopped speaking and cried at the memory.
Frank waited for her to continue and after a few minutes, she did. "I climbed in the window and untied him. I carried him down the stairs, afraid his parents would hear us," she said.
"Why didn't you just help him outside through the window?" Frank asked.
"They had broken both his legs so he couldn't run away again," she explained, more tears falling down her cheeks. "We got outside and I took Joe to another town, almost a hundred miles away. The sheriff was very helpful. He helped me find a place to stay with Joe while his parents were questioned." She stopped speaking and shook her head. "A social worker came back to me and said they couldn't do anything about the Moodys. No one would believe it and the ones who were in charge of the investigation had already been bought off.
"I and the social worker tried to talk to Joe and find out if he knew of anything his parents had done that they couldn't get away with. Joe told us about some dealings his dad had with certain people. The sheriff called a friend of his, a lawyer. He cut a deal with the Moodys. They would let me adopt Joe, but if at any time for any reason they should be investigated, then the adoption would become null and void. And if Joe were not with them at the start of the investigation, then whoever he was with would be aressted for kidnapping."