"Please raise your right hand…Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?"
"I swear."
"You may be seated." And so it began. "State your name for the record, please."
"Ian Hendricks."
"Ian, you are accused of kidnapping Frank Hardy and Nancy Drew. Do you deny this?"
"No."
"You are also accused of second-degree murder in the case of Miss Drew. Do you deny this?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Cuz I didn't plan to kill her. It was self defense, that was all. And I'm well within my rights to defend myself."
"Ah. We'll get back to that later. Ian, why did you kidnap Nancy Drew and Frank Hardy?"
The man shrugged. "Seemed an okay idea at the time."
"Are you implying it was a spur-of-the-moment decision?"
"Not exactly. If it had been spur-of-the-moment, then my having handcuffs with me would lead to some uncomfortable questions, wouldn't it? No, I'd planned to kidnap someone, and they just happened to come along at the right time."
"Why were you planning on kidnapping someone?"
Hendricks paused a moment, and a confused look came across his face. "Well…why not? We all get into trouble for something…may as well be for something major than something minor."
"So you decided on kidnapping?"
"Yeah."
"…Have you ever been "in trouble," as you put it, before?"
"No. I know you're asking if I've ever been convicted of a felony, and I haven't."
"I see…Let's get back to the kidnapping, Ian. Did you know that Miss Drew and Mr. Hardy were well-known amateur detectives?"
"Well, they looked familiar. It wasn't until I actually thought about it that I realized who they were."
"I see…Ian, why don't you fill us in on your account of what happened?"
"Well….do you want me to start on the day I kidnapped them or just skip to the grand finale?"
"Everything, please."
"On the day I kidnapped them, I saw them coming toward me. They looked like a pretty good pair to kidnap – looked like someone cared about them, wouldn't mind paying for them. So, I made it look like I had engine trouble, and when Drew offered me her phone, I grabbed her. Pulled out my gun and held it to her, so that Hardy would go along with whatever I wanted him to do."
"And what did you have him do?"
"Made him get in the car first. He was the guy – I figured he would cause more trouble if I didn't secure him. I'm kind of surprised he didn't try anyway."
"Why were you surprised?"
"Cuz he probably could've overpowered me then, no problem, and yeah, Drew might've gotten shot, but she probably wouldn't have gotten killed. But he was the good little boy, worried I'd hurt his partner, so he behaved and we all know how that turned out. If he had just fought back, none of us would be here now, or at least not under quite these circumstances."
"The same could be said, Mr. Hendricks, of your decision to kidnap Miss Drew and Mister Hardy."
"Yeah, I suppose so. But hey, like I said, may as well get in trouble for the big stuff. Anyways, then I got Drew in the car, and took off. About ten minutes into the drive, I realized who they were…so I drove in circles a bit. I figured they would try that kiddie trick of memorizing the turns or streets or something, which is why I did it. After about forty-five minutes, I glanced back at them, and noticed Hardy was sleeping. Funny, I thought detectives were always supposed to be alert, and on the lookout, but there was Hardy, sleeping, and Drew gazing at him, her head off in the clouds somewhere."
Joe Hardy, who was seated beside his brother in the audience, could've sworn he heard a low growl coming from his brother's direction. He risked a glance, and, whether Frank was the source of the noise or not, it was clear his brother disagreed with Hendrick's assessment of Nancy's abilities to stay alert. Sighing, he turned his attention back to Hendricks.
"I went in to the warehouse to double-check the room I was going to put them in. Now that I knew who they were, I knew they were stubborn kids and might try something a regular hostage wouldn't think of. But I'd already cleaned it up of anything that could be used to get rid of the cuffs. So I got Drew to wake up her Sleeping Beauty, and escorted them in."
"Mr. Hendricks," the questioner began as a brief, angry, cry emitted from the audience. "Please try to refrain from comments that might cause unnecessary unrest in this courtroom."
"Well, that would be my whole testimony, then, wouldn't it? Anyways, I can't help it if I speak what I see as the truth – that's what you asked for."
Joe quickly grabbed his brother's arm, to stop the young man from rising in protest. Frank glared at him, but settled back in his seat.
"After that, it's just what Hardy said…I left them alone most of the time, just bound up in one of the rooms in that warehouse. Most of the time I wasn't there, which is why I took their gags off sometimes so they could talk. I wasn't really worried about them escaping, since I made sure before I put them in the room they were in that there was nothing they could use to pick the lock. When I was around, I'd feed them one at a time; let them use the bathroom one at a time. Though I didn't watch, like Hardy wants you to believe; I just looked at the wall. I'm not without honor, after all. I called Mr. Drew with the ransom demand first, on the second day. Then I called Mr. Hardy later that evening. They certainly seemed upset, and I guess I couldn't blame them."
"You guess?"
"Well, yeah. I personally don't know what it's like to have a child gone missing, since I'm no parent, but I'm willing to bet it's an awful experience."
"What happened on the last day, the day you intended Frank and Nancy to talk to their parents?"
"Went in that morning, told them they could talk to their parents. Said if they behaved, I'd undo their bonds. I knew they probably didn't believe me, since most kidnappers kill their victims if the victim knows their name, face, or both. But I really meant to return them, unharmed even. Just to show there's still hope when your family member gets kidnapped. And I figured untying them couldn't hurt – there was nowhere they could go, even if they tried to escape. And they'd probably need to stretch out and stuff…Anyways, that afternoon, I got Mr. Hardy on the cell, and went into their room, so that Hardy could talk to papa. I uncuffed him and turned to Drew, figuring he'd pick up the phone. Course, he didn't."
"What did he do?"
"Attacked me from behind…it didn't hurt so much as catch me by surprise. Lost my usual gun and the phone though; they went flying…That was a good cell, too…kept working even after that."
"Please don't deviate from the subject."
"Okay, okay…but if anyone wonders what brand it was-"
"Sir, please."
"Fine. Anyways, Hardy and I kept fighting each other…he landed a few punches on me that really hurt. Bad enough that I wondered if, if he won, he'd just keep attacking me. I know kidnap victims snap sometimes. But then I saw the Drew girl going for the gun, and I panicked. I knew those two would know how to operate guns. I figured, if Hardy had already jumped me from behind, what would stop Drew from shooting me? Suddenly, I just felt a powerful surge go through me, and I managed to knock Hardy against the wall so I could go after Drew. Amazing what happens when adrenaline kicks in. Then I realized that I didn't need to go after her; I had my extra gun with me. So I fired a warning shot at her….and it hit her in the abdomen. There was so much blood, then….and in real life, it looks so much different than on TV…brighter…I looked at it for a minute, while Hardy went over to her, whimpering like a baby or maybe it was more like a beaten puppy…I can understand his being upset, but death is a risk in their line of work, and so are accidents while being kidnap victims. See, I didn't mention this earlier, but it was because they were detectives that I really decided to keep them. After all, if I could release famous teen detectives unharmed, then wouldn't that give an example to others?
Anyway, I got the hell out of there after a minute of shock. Grabbed my phone from the floor, since though the call had ended, it seemed to be still working, and left. Drove off…but the cops got me in the next town over."
"No further questions, Your Honor."
"You may step down, Mr. Hendricks."
