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

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Chapter 3: The Victim's Identity

Frank and Joe walked back to Frank's car after searching the woods around the end of the last road they were to check.

"I guess we should call Corbin and see if he found anything," Frank said.

"I doubt he did," Joe said. "I think the tracks we found leading to the pullout on the highway were it."

"I think so too, but let's go through the motions anyway." Frank pulled out his cell phone and dialed the sheriff's office. "Hi, Rose. This is Frank Hardy. Can you patch me through to Deputy Hill? Thanks."

Joe grimaced at the mention of Rose's name. Frank grinned.

"Deputy Hill, Frank Hardy here. Find anything?" He listened for several minutes, while mouthing the words 'pompous ass' to Joe. "Ok. We didn't find anything either. I guess my idea didn't pan out too well." He listened some more and rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Sure. Ok. Well, thanks Deputy." He disconnected. "What an asshole!"

Joe laughed. "But that should keep him out of our hair for a while."

"True." Frank leaned on the roof of the car. "Let's head back to the house and see if Dad found anything. I'm getting really curious about whether there have been any similar deaths recently."

"Me, too."

They climbed back into the car and drove home.

Fenton was in the kitchen making a sandwich when they got home. "Find anything, boys?"

"No. Neither did Deputy Hill."

"Well, it was a long shot, but worth the effort."

"Did you find out anything, Dad?" Frank asked.

"Nothing like what happened to our victim." He frowned. "There have been quite a few women murdered in the past few months, but none were mutilated in the same way."

"Do you think she was murdered, Dad?" Joe asked.

"Someone took her out into the woods and laid her out like that," Fenton replied. "Even if she took the sleeping draught herself, someone else stuck that plug in her and left her there. It's the same thing as murder, in my book."

Frank nodded in agreement. "Hopefully, the sheriff will find out who she is. Then we can focus on murders committed closer to wherever she's from."

"That's what I'm hoping, too." Fenton took a bite of his sandwich.

"So, how late will you be out tonight, Dad?" Joe asked casually.

Fenton swallowed quickly. "Well, there are supposed to be a couple of new people at group tonight, so we'll probably run late. Don't wait up for me."

Joe tried not to smile. "Ok."

"Joe, let's go use my computer and do some research. Maybe something will leap out at us."

"Sure."

They went up to Frank's room.

As soon as the door was closed, Joe rubbed his hands together gleefully. "He could be gone for hours!" he exclaimed happily. "This makes up for him staying home last night."

Frank grinned. "Let's get as much done before dinner as we can. I don't want this nagging at me later."

"I should have made some sandwiches. I'll go back down."

"Good idea."

Much later that afternoon, Joe sat back and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Man, I'm ready for a break."

"Me, too." Frank frowned at the screen. "I can't believe we can't find anything. That death scene was too deliberate. It had to be planned."

"Maybe so, but we haven't found anything even remotely like it." Joe stood up. "I'm going to make dinner. If I let Dad do it, we'll be eating mac'n'cheese out of a box again."

"Ok. I'll be down in a bit to set the table."

After dinner, Fenton left for his group meeting and the boys returned to Frank's room.

"This really bugs me!" Frank exclaimed. "I feel like I'm missing something."

"Do you want to surf the web a little more?"

Frank stared at the blank computer screen for several seconds and then shook his head. "No. Let's go to bed. I think I need to get my mind on something else for a while."

Joe started to undress. "That's a good idea. Your subconscious always seems to work better when you're fucking." He climbed onto the bed on his knees when he was naked and watched Frank strip.

"Maybe something will come to me when the coroner determines if she had sex or not before the plug was inserted," Frank said. He climbed onto the bed and moved behind Joe. "Hand me the lubricant on the nightstand there."

Joe reached for the tube and handed it over his shoulder to Frank. "You probably shouldn't leave this out where Dad can see it."

"Too late for that!" Frank laughed. "He saw it a couple of weeks ago. I told him I use it on my models when the parts don't quite fit. I said it was easier to clean off than oil."

"He bought that?"

"I did use it for that once when I was out of oil. Bend over for a second."

Joe complied and Frank squirted lubricant onto his fingers and worked it into him. Then he dropped the tube on the bed and slipped his arms around Joe's waist, pulling him back upright. He inched forward and put himself into Joe with a firm thrust.

"Ah!" Joe gasped. "Keep doing that!"

Frank kept doing it.

Several hours later, they lay on the bed side-by-side, deeply satisfied.

"That was really good," said Joe.

"I'll say," Frank agreed. He rolled onto his side facing Joe and propped his head up on one hand. "And you know what? I just thought of something. When I was searching through that list of possibly-sexually motivated murders, there's one that came back to me just now. It was a guy who was castrated after he was killed. They never found his penis."

"Hmm…" Joe rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What does a guy with no dick have in common with a woman with no hole?" He looked at Frank.

"Neither one can have intercourse," they said together.

"We need to find out who that woman was and see if there's any way she can be connected to the dickless guy," Frank said.

A car turned into the Hardy driveway, its headlights briefly illuminating the ceiling.

"Dad's back," Joe said.

"You should go to your own room before he comes in."

"Yeah." Joe sat up. "Do you suppose Dad gets any?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure he's not dating anyone, but it's not something I feel comfortable asking him."

"I know what you mean." Joe slid off the bed. "Oh, well. See you in the morning."

"Good night."

Sheriff Becker called the next morning while the Hardys were having breakfast. Fenton put him on the speakerphone.

"We got an I.D. on the victim," Tom said. "Her name was Tonya Amberson. She was a substitute teacher over in River Heights, so they had her fingerprints on file."

"That was lucky," Fenton said.

"Yeah. I talked to the police chief in River Heights," Tom continued. "She hadn't been reported missing. I'm heading over there in an hour or so. Chief Jones is going to take me to her place. Care to go along, Fenton?"

"Yes, I would. I'll meet you at your office in half an hour."

"Great! See you then."

Tom hung up and Fenton turned off the speaker.

"You boys want to go with us?"

"No thanks, Dad," Frank said. "I want to do a little more research on-line. I think I might be on to something."

"All right." Fenton cleared his dishes from the table and put them in the sink. "I'll have my cell if you need to reach me."

"Sure thing, Dad."

Fenton left the kitchen and Frank leaned toward Joe. "I think the dickless guy was from River Heights, too," he said in a low voice, "but I want to check that again."

"Wow!" Joe said. "Maybe there is a connection."

"I'm starting to wonder," Frank agreed.

They finished their breakfasts, put the dishes in the dishwasher and went up to Frank's room. Frank settled in front of his computer and Joe sat cross-legged on the bed.

"If they are both from River Heights," Joe said, "what are the odds they know each other?"

"It's a pretty big town." Frank began typing. "But if they did, that starts to make it look more like we might have a serial killer on our hands." Frank studied the screen. "I was right! Darren Bolton was from River Heights. He was found dead and castrated in his home just over two weeks ago. Hey! Look at this!" He pointed at the screen and Joe slid off the bed so he could read over Frank's shoulder.

"He worked for Carson Drew?!" Joe exclaimed in surprise. He looked at Frank. "Do you still have Nancy's number?"

Frank grimaced. "Yeah."

Fenton knocked on the door and stuck his head in. "I'm heading out now. Anything you want me to tell the sheriff?"

"Not yet," Frank said. "I want to check a few more things first."

"Ok, see you later."

"Bye, Dad."

Joe sat back down on the bed. "So you gonna call Nancy?"

Frank scowled. "I guess."

Joe grinned. "Maybe she's over that crush now."

"One can only hope."

"Still… It was kind of cute the way her boyfriend got all jealous."

"Shut up!" Frank threw a pen at him.

Joe dodged it, laughing.

They heard Fenton's car start up and back out of the driveway. Frank put the computer in standby and moved to the bed.

"Maybe it was funny to you," Frank complained. "You weren't the one she was pawing every five minutes."

"You should have just fucked her."

"Eww!" Frank made a face. "I don't like fucking girls." Then he shoved Joe down on his back and sat on him. "Anyway, you should talk! Have you ever even seen a girl naked?"

"Sure, lots of times!"

"In person?"

"Well…" Joe grinned. "What do I need girls for? I have you."

"Damn straight!" Frank pinched Joe's nose. "Let's fuck first and then I'll call Nancy."

"Ok."

Afterward, Frank sat back on his heels, with Joe's feet still resting on his shoulders, and rubbed his hands up and down Joe's thighs. "All right, I think I'm prepared to face Nancy Drew," he said.

Joe laughed. "Oh, come on! She's not that bad. I kind of like her."

"She's as bad as Rose Waylon."

"No one is as bad as Rose Waylon!" Joe exclaimed with a shudder. "Just the sound of her name makes my balls suck up into my pelvis."

"I'm sure she'd be glad to suck them back down for you."

"I don't want that woman's mouth any where near my genitals!"

"You're such a fag!" Frank laughed.

"And damned proud of it!" Joe pulled his knees forward, swung his legs to the side and sat up. "So are you calling her or not?"

"Yes! Geez! Quit nagging!" Frank's cell phone was on the nightstand, next to the tube of lubricant. He sat on the edge of the bed and clicked through his list of contacts until he found Nancy's name.

"Truthfully, I'm kind of surprised you didn't erase her number," Joe said.

"She's a valuable contact," Frank replied, "even if she is a horny, undersexed bitch." He pushed the call button.

"Hello, Nancy? This is Frank Hardy." He held the phone away from his ear and Joe could easily hear her excited squeal.

"Frank Hardy! I haven't heard from you in ages!"

"Sorry this isn't a social call. I need to ask you about something." He held the phone at an angle and Joe moved closer so he could put his head next to Frank's and listen in.

"What's up?"

"A man from your father's office was killed recently. Darren Bolton. Can you tell me anything about it?"

"Oh! Darren was an intern. He'd only been at Father's office for six months when he was killed."

"I read an article about the murder. It said he'd been strangled and castrated. Was there anything else that might not have been reported?"

"Yes. They found traces of the narcotic GHB in his blood."

"GHB? The date rape drug?"

"That's right. The police think he was with someone that night and the person killed him."

"Do they have any clues?"

"No. The assumption is he tried to drug and rape a woman and she attacked him."

"But the article said he was strangled. Women don't usually strangle their victims. They tend to bludgeon. Men are stranglers."

"I know. That's why I think he was with a man."

"That's very interesting. Any theories about why Bolton was castrated?"

"That one has me stumped. So what prompted you to call?"

"My brother and I found a body in the woods near our house and I think there might be a connection to the Bolton murder."

"Why's that?"

"Because our victim had her vagina plugged up with resin."

"Oh wow! So neither one of them could screw anymore!"

"That's the conclusion we came to."

"We should get together and compare notes."

Frank put a hand over his face. "I agree. Are you busy today?"

"No. Will you drive up?"

"Yes. Why don't we meet for lunch at Nick's Coffee Shop?"

"Sounds fine. About noon?"

"Yeah, see you then."

"Great! I'm looking forward to it. Bye!"

Frank disconnected and looked mournfully at Joe. "You'll protect me from her, right?"

"Absolutely, big brother."