Warning: This chapter contains adult language and incestuous homosexual situations.

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Chapter 2: The Coroner's Report

Joe pulled his blanket up over his head at the sound of his bedroom door opening the next morning.

"You awake, Joe?" Frank asked.

Joe pushed the blanket back down and rolled over. "Yeah. I thought you were Dad. Did he leave yet?"

"Yes, he's gone." Frank came in and shut the door. He only had his underwear on and he had a tube of lube in one hand. "He said he was going over to the sheriff's office to see about that body." He sat down on the edge of the bed. "We probably have an hour or so," he added with a smile.

Joe smiled back and tossed off his blanket. He was naked. "I'm ready."

"Indeed you are." Frank took off his underwear. "How do you want it?"

Joe rolled onto his stomach. "From behind, please."

"Very well." Frank squeezed lube onto his fingers and inserted them into Joe. "How's that?"

"Nice," Joe murmured.

Frank worked his fingers in and out for a minute or two and then stretched out on Joe's back, pushing his legs apart with his knees. "Something's bothering me about that body," he said as he slowly worked himself into Joe's backside.

"Other than tripping over it in the dark?" Joe chuckled. He lifted his hips a little, giving Frank better access.

"Yeah." Frank drew a deep breath and let it out with a soft sigh of pleasure. "We were home all afternoon and I don't remember hearing anyone drive up the street."

"We were kind of busy."

"True, but still..." Frank paused as he was momentarily distracted by the pleasure of what he was doing. "We're always listening in case Dad shows up unexpectedly."

"You have a good point." Joe gasped and let out a soft moan. "And what you're saying is true, too."

Frank started moving faster. "I think we need to go look around some more. Whoever dumped that body didn't come down Elm to get to the woods."

"Right," Joe agreed. He began to gasp. "Ah!"

"Oh!" Frank gasped back.

"Ahhhh!" they cried together. They lay still for a moment afterward, waiting for their shudders to subside.

"Ok," Frank panted after a few moments. "Let's get dressed and get out there."

"Yeah."

Frank and Joe hiked back out to where they found the body. The yellow police tape still marked the area.

"You look around over there," Frank ordered. "I'll look over here."

They separated and began to search. Frank moved carefully through his area, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Frank!" Joe called. "Come look at this."

Frank hurried over.

"I think these are tracks," Joe said. He had lifted back some palm fronds to reveal deep indentations in the mud underneath.

Frank squatted down. "I think you're right." He looked along the line the tracks made. "Let's look back that way."

They followed the imaginary line of tracks and found more indentations at the base of a tree.

"These look like boot heels," Frank said.

They searched farther and found two more sets of tracks along the same line, but eventually the trail faded and they found nothing more.

"Where are we?" asked Joe.

"I think we're just above the highway," Frank answered. "It should be this way." He pushed his way through the thick growth. After a short distance, they came out on a bluff overlooking the highway.

"Look, there's a spot down there where a car could pull out." Joe pointed.

"Let's go down and check."

They made their way down the side of the bluff and hiked along the highway to the pullout. Deep tire tracks in the mud were only partially obliterated by the previous day's rain.

"That's a long way to carry a dead body," said Joe. "There were a lot of other places to leave it."

"You're right." Frank walked to the edge of the pullout away from the road. "Maybe she wasn't dead when they went into the woods."

"But if she was forced, there should be signs of a struggle." Joe looked around. "I don't see anything."

"Neither do I. Let's head back. Maybe the sheriff has the coroner's report by now."

They went back to the house to get Frank's car. Fenton Hardy was still out. The boys were not surprised to find his car parked in front of the Sheriff's office. They parked next to it and went in.

"Hi, Joe!" the young female deputy on duty at the front desk greeted them. Her eyes lit up with excitement. "I heard you found a body!"

"Yes, my brother and I did." Joe tried to sound friendly without seeming too interested. Everyone knew Deputy Rose Waylon had a thing for Joe Hardy, despite being six years his senior.

Rose glanced at Frank. "Hello, Frank."

"Deputy Waylon." His greeting was as bland as hers. "Is our father still with the sheriff?"

"Yes, he is." Rose smiled at Joe. "You can go on in. I think he's expecting you."

"Thanks."

Rose turned to watch as they went by and she continued to smile after them.

Frank glanced back and then looked away with a grimace. "That woman is a perv. You're underage, but I bet she'd still jump you in a heartbeat if you gave her half a chance."

"That's what bothers me," Joe replied with an unhappy frown. "What happens when I turn eighteen next year? I won't have the law to protect me and that chick's gonna have more than her hands down my pants then."

"You're just too damned cute, little brother."

"This isn't funny."

"I know."

They stopped outside the sheriff's frosted glass door and knocked.

"Come in!" Sheriff Becker called. "Oh, good, you're here!" he said when the boys stepped in. "I just got the coroner's report and I was going over it with your dad here." Fenton Hardy, seated in a chair facing the sheriff's desk, waved a piece of paper he was holding. "It's real interesting," Tom Becker continued. "Since you boys found the body, you can have a look at it."

Fenton handed the sheet to Frank and the boys skimmed the report. The woman had died from an overdose of a sleeping agent, but it had not been administered in pills. There had been nothing in her stomach. There were no other signs or marks on the woman at all, except for one anomaly that had nothing to do with causing the woman's death: her vagina had been completely blocked with a hard resinous substance that the coroner was still trying to identify.

"Someone plugged up her vagina?" Joe exclaimed in surprise.

"And she didn't do it to herself," Tom said. "Dr. Chambers is fairly certain the resin was inserted post mortem."

"But why would someone do that?" Frank wondered aloud. "Were they trying to cover up a sexual assault?"

"We don't know that yet. Dr. Chambers can't tell if the victim had sex or not, with that plug in there."

"That's really weird," said Joe.

"I was just offering to help Tom search for reports of similar killings in other places," Fenton said. "Would you boys like to give me a hand?"

"Sure, Dad," Frank said.

Fenton stood up and held out a hand to the sheriff. "We'll get right on it, Tom. We'll let you know if we find anything."

Tom stood up and clasped Fenton's hand in a firm shake. "Thanks, Fenton, I appreciate the help. See you at the meeting tonight?"

"Absolutely," Fenton nodded. "I think I'm about ready to start talking about Laura tonight."

"That's great! The healing can't begin until you open up."

Joe and Frank exchanged a glance. Frank dropped the coroner's report on the sheriff's desk.

"Joe and I will meet you at home, Dad. There's something I want to check on first."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Well, Joe and I looked around some more in the woods this morning. We don't think whoever dumped the body came down Elm. We wanted to check some of the other streets that end near the woods."

"What makes you think that?" Tom asked.

"Joe and I were home yesterday afternoon and we didn't hear anybody drive down the street."

Tom rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Tell you what; I'll have Deputy Hill go with you."

Frank suppressed a groan. "Sure thing, Sheriff."

Joe was wearing one of those utterly blank expressions that people wear when they are trying to hide their reaction.

They went back into the squad room and Rose favored Joe with another excited smile.

"Hill!" Tom called. "I want you to go with the Hardy boys. They have a good idea about that body they found."

Deputy Hill stood up from his desk with a sour expression. "Why don't they just tell me and I'll look into it?"

Tom waved a hand casually. "No, you all just go together. Two heads are better than one, as they say, and the more eyes on this, the better, I say. This is a weird one." Tom shook the boys' hands. "I think I'll head over and see if Dr. Chambers has found out anything more."

He and Fenton went out together and stood outside talking for a few minutes.

Corbin Hill frowned at Frank and Joe. "So just what is this great idea of yours?"

Frank tried not to show his irritation. "We're certain whoever left the body didn't drive down Elm to get to the woods. We want to check other streets with access close to the area where the body was found."

"There aren't that many," Corbin said. "We can divide them up and it will take less time."

Frank glanced at Joe. "Sure! You take the ones on the west side and we'll do the ones on the east."

Corbin smiled. "Sounds fine." He fished the keys to his cruiser out of his desk drawer and headed for the door. "You're on your own till Burt gets back, Rose."

"Sure thing!" Rose replied brightly. She grinned at Joe. "I sure wish the sheriff had assigned me to go along with you. I'd love to get out in the field!"

"Maybe next time," Joe said as he hurried out ahead of Frank. "That woman terrifies me," he announced as he climbed into the car.

"No kidding!" Frank grinned. "Of course, if she assaults you, Tom would fire her."

Joe groaned. "That would leave her with all kinds of free time. She'd probably start stalking me."

Frank laughed. "Don't worry, little brother! You know I'll always be around to look after you."

"I think I need to get some mace."