"That's him," Vanessa said later when Officer Dell had finished the sketch of the man whose description she had given him. Frank looked over her shoulder to see the picture of one of the men who had taken his brother.
"I know this guy," Dell said, moving over to a computer and looking up something.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Frank asked as his father walked into the room at that moment. He had just been to forensics and then upstairs to talk with Chief Collig who had informed him that Frank was on the second floor with Vanessa.
"Joe's clothes were found buried near the river Hammer Hill," he told Frank and Vanessa. "Collig is forming a search party to cover the area now."
"Hammer Hill," Frank repeated, trying to place it's location. "Isn't that off of I88?" he inquired, snapping his fingers as it came to him.
"As a matter of fact, it is," Mr. Hardy admitted.
"That's where we lost Callie yesterday," Vanessa said, knowing what Frank was getting at. "They must have Joe somewhere near there."
"Here he is," Dell commented, turning the computer monitor so they could all see the man on the screen. The red-cheeked man was Timothy Douglas. A man wanted for questioning in connection with the disappearance of two teen-aged males.
"Douglas is alleged to be some kind of priest," Dell related after reading the man's profile. "His departure from a township is followed by the disappearance of one of the boys from a local high school."
"And now he is here and Joe is missing," Vanessa said, shuddering. "Where either of the two boys ever found?"
"No," Dell replied. "Both boys vanished without a trace."
Callie kept walking, her spirits lifting when she saw a car come around the corner Mr. Hardy's had just vanished behind. Had he seen her after all, she wondered? Lifting a hand to wave, she quickly dropped it back down as she got a better look at the vehicle. She ran for the woods on the side of the road, praying the occupants hadn't seen her.
The car swept past her hiding place and Callie breathed a sigh of relief. The car had been the same brown sedan she had been following last night. After the car was out of sight, she returned to the road and began jogging. Joe was running out of time.
"We're ready to move," Chief Collig said, entering the room where the Hardys and Vanessa where. Dell showed the man to the chief who ordered an APB put out on him.
Vanessa was ordered to go home and the rest of them joined the officers for the search party. They made a considerable convoy as they headed down I88 for Hammer Hill. Callie heard the vehicles approaching and went to hide in the woods along the roadside, coming out again when she saw the multiple squad cars.
"Pull over," Frank ordered his dad who was driving. Mr. Hardy came to a stop and Frank jumped out of his dad's car and ran over to her. "Callie!" he shouted, running over to her and pulling her into his arms in a tight hug.
Callie pulled back. Now was not the time to surrender to his embrace. "They've got Joe," she told him in a ragged whisper. "They're going to do something horrible to him."
"Where are they?" Mr. Hardy demanded, having exited the car and joined them.
"There's a dirt road about twelve miles from here," she told them. "They have blocked it with a big rock, but if you keep going there is a clearing with lots of rocks on the other side. There's a big cave there too, but they took Joe out and were getting ready to...to..." she broke off crying.
"Let's go," Mr. Hardy ordered, his eyes hard. Getting back in the car, Mr. Hardy used his CB to contact Chief Collig and tell him what Callie had said.
Everyone converged on the dirt road. Four officers moved the stone from the path and they all drove as far as they could. Stopping near the clearing, they left the vehicles. Chief Collig ordered his men to spread out. Mr. Hardy, Frank, and Callie would go through the clearing first. Should anyone be waiting for tresspassers, they would be captured first, thus giving the officers time to move in.
The foursome crossed the clearing without mishap and made their way over the rocky hill to the other side where they had agreed to wait for the otehrs.
Frank was the first to arrive at the stopping point, Looking ahead, he emitted an audible gasp. His face turned white and he fell back. Callie who was directly behind Frank, stopped his backward momentum by placing her hands, spread out, against his back. "What's wrong?" she demanded, attempting to get around Frank to see, but Frank, having regained control over his emotions, quickly grabbed her and spun her around. "Don't look," he ordered.
Not one to follow orders blindly, she turned around as soon as Frank released her. "Oh my God," she whispered, her hand flying to her mouth as her eyes expanded.
"Joseph," rasped Mr. Hardy, seeing Joe hanging on the cross below him.
"What is that thing on his foot?" Frank asked, trying to get a better look.
Mr. Hardy pulled out a collapsible monoscope from his shirt pocket and opened it up. He aimed it at Joe. He swallowed but said nothing. Terrified, Frank snatched the monoscope from his dad and looked at Joe.
He was covered in blood from the top of his head to his feet. His head hung down and his eyes were closed. Frank had no idea if he were still alive but he knew if he were, he wouldn't be for long. The thing he had observed on Joe's foot was an IV. They were draining Joe's blood into goblets and drinking it!
When Frank pulled the monoscope away from his face, he was crying. So too, he noticed, was his father. Chief Collig came up behind them and seeing their tears looked down at the scene below. At once, he pressed the button on his radio and ordered his men to move in.
Frank and Mr. Hardy ran down to the enclosed arena; Callie and Chief Collig followed close behind. The congregation, realizing the ritual was about to be prematurely ended, took off running in all directions as they tried to avoid capture.
The red-cheeked Timothy Douglas, the phony Francessca and Baily Wyndham, and a fourth person with red hair remained with Joe. As Frank drew nearer, he saw Douglas remove a large jewel-encrusted dagger from within his robe and step closer to Joe as the other three pulled the cross down so that Joe was lying down.
Douglas raised the knife, aiming it at Joe's chest. Frank gave a strangled cry as the knife began it's descent. A bullet rang out and the knife flew from Douglas' hand.
Bailey Wyndham leapt onto Joe's chest and began strangling him. Joe's breath came out in short gasps although his eyes remained closed. Frank reached the man and dove at him, knocking him off Joe and onto the ground. The two began fighting as Francessca retrieved the dagger, which Douglas had dropped. As Mr. Hardy engaged Douglas in combat, Red took the dagger from Francessca and raised it above Joe's heart as Douglas had done.
Callie moved in and shoved him away. He brought back his hand and smacked Callie across the face, sending her reeling backward. She landed beside a rock which she picked up and threw at him, hitting him in the side of the head, aware she was having a lot of practice at this sort of thing. Red fell back, dazed. Francessca tore the dagger from Red's hand and brought it to Joe's chest. She shoved it down but the thrust was halted as strong arms captured hers, preventing their movement.
Frank had managed to land a left hook which rendered the fake Bailey Wyndham unconscious. He then turned his attention back to his brother where he saw Callie battling it out with Red. He grinned as Callie heaved the rock which connected with the man's head but it quickly faded when Francessca took over.
He ran over and grabbed her arms as she brought the knife down, stopping it just as it pierced the skin. He shoved her away. "How could you?" he demanded, standing over her as she lay where he had pushed her. "After everything Joe did for you, how could you do this to him?
"Because you made it so easy," she replied. "Everyone I talked to said how close you two were and how you were always Joe's big protector." Francessca let out a big laugh. "We thought getting Joe away from you would be the hardest thing, but you severed your relationship before we had too. Poor Joe was so depressed because of the way you were treating him that he never thought twice about being followed or used."
"You were the one who followed Joe and Vanessa," Frank accused her as an officer came over to put bracelets on her.
"Not me, no," Francessca denied. "Roger and Tim. Joe and Vanessa told me they were followed that night but then neither of them mentioned it again. Joe was too wrapped up in his emotions because of you. And Vanessa!" she added, laughing harshly. "She believed Joe would go to bed with me. And she claims to love him."
"Why did you do this to him?" Frank demanded. "Bailey or whoever he is nearly fell off the roof trying to keep Joe from getting hurt and you even stood up for him against Aaron."
"Of course," Francessca admitted. "We couldn't let anything happen to our lamb now, could we?"
As the cult members were led away a helicopter could be heard. They looked up and saw it starting to hover. "What's that for?" Callie asked.
"It's for Joe," Mr. Hardy said. "It will take too long to get him to the hospital any other way."
Six hours later, Frank, Vanessa, Mrs. Bender and Mr. and Mrs. Hardy were gathered in the emergency waiting room at the hospital. Callie had been dropped off at her house after assuring everyone she was fine and didn't need a doctor. Mr. Hardy had dropped Frank off at the police station to retrieve the van and he had called Vanessa on his cell on his way to the hospital. Too upset to drive, Mrs. Bender had brought her daughter to the hospital. Mr. Hardy had driven home to pick up his wife.
Frank jumped to his feet as Dr. Bates opened the door and entered. "How is he?" Frank demanded, his nerves almost shot. Francessca had only confirmed what he, himself believed. What had happened to Joe had been his fault. If Joe died...Frank let the thought go, he wouldn't think that.
"I know you, your brother and your parents have all donated blood and had it stored for emergencies, but there isn't enough," Dr. Bates stated, not commenting on Joe's current condition. "Fenton, Frank, if you will come with me, we'll get you two prepped for a transfusion. Laura, I'm sorry, but yours is the wrong blood type."
"I have O negative," Vanessa said. "Can I help?"
"Absolutely," Dr. Bates confirmed. "With your parent's permission."
"She has it," Mrs. Bender said. She only wished she had the right blood type as well.
"Nurse Leland will take care of you," Dr. Bates told Vanessa who went with the nurse. Mrs. Bender sat down beside Laura and took her hand, squeezing it compassionately.
It was three more hours before any more was heard about Joe. Mr. Hardy, Frank and Vanessa had all returned to the waiting room and the silence was starting to grate on Vanessa. She looked over at Frank.
He looked so sad. Vanessa left her mother's side and made her way to Frank. "He's going to be okay," she told him, taking his hand.
"I hope so," Frank said, wondering when they were ever going to hear from the doctor. He looked away from Vanessa's scrutiny.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "And don't say you're just worried about Joe. I am too, but there's more to it than that."
"I.." Frank began but broke off, blinking back tears. "She was right," he said in a low voice. "It's my fault this happened to Joe."
"No it isn't," Vanessa declared. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was supposed to have taken Joe to meet his train. If I hadn't gotten mad at him because of what that witch did then Joe would never have gotten kidnapped."
"Stop it right now," Mr. Hardy ordered the two teenagers. "They picked Joe out before school let out, remember? It didn't matter who took him to the train station, he never would have made it to the camp. And if he hadn't been going to camp, they would have taken him another way." He looked at the two sternly. "Joe wasn't the first victim of these maniacs," he reminded them. "But he is the last," he added, confidently.
The police had managed to arrest a grand total of sixty-one people, all ages and both sexes. It would take some time to process all of the members but they would all be charged with murder and accessory to murder, attempted murder and other various felonies.
Dr. Bates came into the room once more...this time he wore a sad smile. "How is he?" Mrs. Hardy asked, standing at his entrance.
"He's in bad shape," Dr. Bates began. "He is malnourished and underweight to begin with. His blood sugar count is high and I have put him on insulin to help bring it down."
"Why is his sugar count up?" Mrs. Hardy demanded curiously.
"At the moment, I couldn't say," Dr. Bates said, a bit mystified. "Joe has no history of diabetes and the negligence in his diet doesn't warrant this kind of coma. Unless...."
"Unless what?" Frank asked when the doctor quit speaking.
"Unless he had consumed an enormous amount of alcohol," Dr. Bates said.
"But he will be okay once the insulin takes hold?" pushed Vanessa.
"If he awakens from the coma," Dr. Bates corrected.
To be continued in.........Desecration
"I know this guy," Dell said, moving over to a computer and looking up something.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Frank asked as his father walked into the room at that moment. He had just been to forensics and then upstairs to talk with Chief Collig who had informed him that Frank was on the second floor with Vanessa.
"Joe's clothes were found buried near the river Hammer Hill," he told Frank and Vanessa. "Collig is forming a search party to cover the area now."
"Hammer Hill," Frank repeated, trying to place it's location. "Isn't that off of I88?" he inquired, snapping his fingers as it came to him.
"As a matter of fact, it is," Mr. Hardy admitted.
"That's where we lost Callie yesterday," Vanessa said, knowing what Frank was getting at. "They must have Joe somewhere near there."
"Here he is," Dell commented, turning the computer monitor so they could all see the man on the screen. The red-cheeked man was Timothy Douglas. A man wanted for questioning in connection with the disappearance of two teen-aged males.
"Douglas is alleged to be some kind of priest," Dell related after reading the man's profile. "His departure from a township is followed by the disappearance of one of the boys from a local high school."
"And now he is here and Joe is missing," Vanessa said, shuddering. "Where either of the two boys ever found?"
"No," Dell replied. "Both boys vanished without a trace."
Callie kept walking, her spirits lifting when she saw a car come around the corner Mr. Hardy's had just vanished behind. Had he seen her after all, she wondered? Lifting a hand to wave, she quickly dropped it back down as she got a better look at the vehicle. She ran for the woods on the side of the road, praying the occupants hadn't seen her.
The car swept past her hiding place and Callie breathed a sigh of relief. The car had been the same brown sedan she had been following last night. After the car was out of sight, she returned to the road and began jogging. Joe was running out of time.
"We're ready to move," Chief Collig said, entering the room where the Hardys and Vanessa where. Dell showed the man to the chief who ordered an APB put out on him.
Vanessa was ordered to go home and the rest of them joined the officers for the search party. They made a considerable convoy as they headed down I88 for Hammer Hill. Callie heard the vehicles approaching and went to hide in the woods along the roadside, coming out again when she saw the multiple squad cars.
"Pull over," Frank ordered his dad who was driving. Mr. Hardy came to a stop and Frank jumped out of his dad's car and ran over to her. "Callie!" he shouted, running over to her and pulling her into his arms in a tight hug.
Callie pulled back. Now was not the time to surrender to his embrace. "They've got Joe," she told him in a ragged whisper. "They're going to do something horrible to him."
"Where are they?" Mr. Hardy demanded, having exited the car and joined them.
"There's a dirt road about twelve miles from here," she told them. "They have blocked it with a big rock, but if you keep going there is a clearing with lots of rocks on the other side. There's a big cave there too, but they took Joe out and were getting ready to...to..." she broke off crying.
"Let's go," Mr. Hardy ordered, his eyes hard. Getting back in the car, Mr. Hardy used his CB to contact Chief Collig and tell him what Callie had said.
Everyone converged on the dirt road. Four officers moved the stone from the path and they all drove as far as they could. Stopping near the clearing, they left the vehicles. Chief Collig ordered his men to spread out. Mr. Hardy, Frank, and Callie would go through the clearing first. Should anyone be waiting for tresspassers, they would be captured first, thus giving the officers time to move in.
The foursome crossed the clearing without mishap and made their way over the rocky hill to the other side where they had agreed to wait for the otehrs.
Frank was the first to arrive at the stopping point, Looking ahead, he emitted an audible gasp. His face turned white and he fell back. Callie who was directly behind Frank, stopped his backward momentum by placing her hands, spread out, against his back. "What's wrong?" she demanded, attempting to get around Frank to see, but Frank, having regained control over his emotions, quickly grabbed her and spun her around. "Don't look," he ordered.
Not one to follow orders blindly, she turned around as soon as Frank released her. "Oh my God," she whispered, her hand flying to her mouth as her eyes expanded.
"Joseph," rasped Mr. Hardy, seeing Joe hanging on the cross below him.
"What is that thing on his foot?" Frank asked, trying to get a better look.
Mr. Hardy pulled out a collapsible monoscope from his shirt pocket and opened it up. He aimed it at Joe. He swallowed but said nothing. Terrified, Frank snatched the monoscope from his dad and looked at Joe.
He was covered in blood from the top of his head to his feet. His head hung down and his eyes were closed. Frank had no idea if he were still alive but he knew if he were, he wouldn't be for long. The thing he had observed on Joe's foot was an IV. They were draining Joe's blood into goblets and drinking it!
When Frank pulled the monoscope away from his face, he was crying. So too, he noticed, was his father. Chief Collig came up behind them and seeing their tears looked down at the scene below. At once, he pressed the button on his radio and ordered his men to move in.
Frank and Mr. Hardy ran down to the enclosed arena; Callie and Chief Collig followed close behind. The congregation, realizing the ritual was about to be prematurely ended, took off running in all directions as they tried to avoid capture.
The red-cheeked Timothy Douglas, the phony Francessca and Baily Wyndham, and a fourth person with red hair remained with Joe. As Frank drew nearer, he saw Douglas remove a large jewel-encrusted dagger from within his robe and step closer to Joe as the other three pulled the cross down so that Joe was lying down.
Douglas raised the knife, aiming it at Joe's chest. Frank gave a strangled cry as the knife began it's descent. A bullet rang out and the knife flew from Douglas' hand.
Bailey Wyndham leapt onto Joe's chest and began strangling him. Joe's breath came out in short gasps although his eyes remained closed. Frank reached the man and dove at him, knocking him off Joe and onto the ground. The two began fighting as Francessca retrieved the dagger, which Douglas had dropped. As Mr. Hardy engaged Douglas in combat, Red took the dagger from Francessca and raised it above Joe's heart as Douglas had done.
Callie moved in and shoved him away. He brought back his hand and smacked Callie across the face, sending her reeling backward. She landed beside a rock which she picked up and threw at him, hitting him in the side of the head, aware she was having a lot of practice at this sort of thing. Red fell back, dazed. Francessca tore the dagger from Red's hand and brought it to Joe's chest. She shoved it down but the thrust was halted as strong arms captured hers, preventing their movement.
Frank had managed to land a left hook which rendered the fake Bailey Wyndham unconscious. He then turned his attention back to his brother where he saw Callie battling it out with Red. He grinned as Callie heaved the rock which connected with the man's head but it quickly faded when Francessca took over.
He ran over and grabbed her arms as she brought the knife down, stopping it just as it pierced the skin. He shoved her away. "How could you?" he demanded, standing over her as she lay where he had pushed her. "After everything Joe did for you, how could you do this to him?
"Because you made it so easy," she replied. "Everyone I talked to said how close you two were and how you were always Joe's big protector." Francessca let out a big laugh. "We thought getting Joe away from you would be the hardest thing, but you severed your relationship before we had too. Poor Joe was so depressed because of the way you were treating him that he never thought twice about being followed or used."
"You were the one who followed Joe and Vanessa," Frank accused her as an officer came over to put bracelets on her.
"Not me, no," Francessca denied. "Roger and Tim. Joe and Vanessa told me they were followed that night but then neither of them mentioned it again. Joe was too wrapped up in his emotions because of you. And Vanessa!" she added, laughing harshly. "She believed Joe would go to bed with me. And she claims to love him."
"Why did you do this to him?" Frank demanded. "Bailey or whoever he is nearly fell off the roof trying to keep Joe from getting hurt and you even stood up for him against Aaron."
"Of course," Francessca admitted. "We couldn't let anything happen to our lamb now, could we?"
As the cult members were led away a helicopter could be heard. They looked up and saw it starting to hover. "What's that for?" Callie asked.
"It's for Joe," Mr. Hardy said. "It will take too long to get him to the hospital any other way."
Six hours later, Frank, Vanessa, Mrs. Bender and Mr. and Mrs. Hardy were gathered in the emergency waiting room at the hospital. Callie had been dropped off at her house after assuring everyone she was fine and didn't need a doctor. Mr. Hardy had dropped Frank off at the police station to retrieve the van and he had called Vanessa on his cell on his way to the hospital. Too upset to drive, Mrs. Bender had brought her daughter to the hospital. Mr. Hardy had driven home to pick up his wife.
Frank jumped to his feet as Dr. Bates opened the door and entered. "How is he?" Frank demanded, his nerves almost shot. Francessca had only confirmed what he, himself believed. What had happened to Joe had been his fault. If Joe died...Frank let the thought go, he wouldn't think that.
"I know you, your brother and your parents have all donated blood and had it stored for emergencies, but there isn't enough," Dr. Bates stated, not commenting on Joe's current condition. "Fenton, Frank, if you will come with me, we'll get you two prepped for a transfusion. Laura, I'm sorry, but yours is the wrong blood type."
"I have O negative," Vanessa said. "Can I help?"
"Absolutely," Dr. Bates confirmed. "With your parent's permission."
"She has it," Mrs. Bender said. She only wished she had the right blood type as well.
"Nurse Leland will take care of you," Dr. Bates told Vanessa who went with the nurse. Mrs. Bender sat down beside Laura and took her hand, squeezing it compassionately.
It was three more hours before any more was heard about Joe. Mr. Hardy, Frank and Vanessa had all returned to the waiting room and the silence was starting to grate on Vanessa. She looked over at Frank.
He looked so sad. Vanessa left her mother's side and made her way to Frank. "He's going to be okay," she told him, taking his hand.
"I hope so," Frank said, wondering when they were ever going to hear from the doctor. He looked away from Vanessa's scrutiny.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "And don't say you're just worried about Joe. I am too, but there's more to it than that."
"I.." Frank began but broke off, blinking back tears. "She was right," he said in a low voice. "It's my fault this happened to Joe."
"No it isn't," Vanessa declared. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was supposed to have taken Joe to meet his train. If I hadn't gotten mad at him because of what that witch did then Joe would never have gotten kidnapped."
"Stop it right now," Mr. Hardy ordered the two teenagers. "They picked Joe out before school let out, remember? It didn't matter who took him to the train station, he never would have made it to the camp. And if he hadn't been going to camp, they would have taken him another way." He looked at the two sternly. "Joe wasn't the first victim of these maniacs," he reminded them. "But he is the last," he added, confidently.
The police had managed to arrest a grand total of sixty-one people, all ages and both sexes. It would take some time to process all of the members but they would all be charged with murder and accessory to murder, attempted murder and other various felonies.
Dr. Bates came into the room once more...this time he wore a sad smile. "How is he?" Mrs. Hardy asked, standing at his entrance.
"He's in bad shape," Dr. Bates began. "He is malnourished and underweight to begin with. His blood sugar count is high and I have put him on insulin to help bring it down."
"Why is his sugar count up?" Mrs. Hardy demanded curiously.
"At the moment, I couldn't say," Dr. Bates said, a bit mystified. "Joe has no history of diabetes and the negligence in his diet doesn't warrant this kind of coma. Unless...."
"Unless what?" Frank asked when the doctor quit speaking.
"Unless he had consumed an enormous amount of alcohol," Dr. Bates said.
"But he will be okay once the insulin takes hold?" pushed Vanessa.
"If he awakens from the coma," Dr. Bates corrected.
To be continued in.........Desecration