I own the Hardys. Not.

I flipped through the yearbook, thinking about my brother's strange behavior. He was acting really weird about this girl. And he barely even knew her. I got to the page with Katie on it and stopped. She was pretty ― not like cheerleader-pretty like everyone else was. She had strawberry-blond hair and freckles. She was laughing at something I couldn't see, making her eyes sparkle. And even though the picture didn't show it, her eyes were unusual. Kind of like the ocean, which could be crystal-clear blue at one point and a weird grey-green at another.

Anyway, I was looking at the picture when Frank climbed in the car. He had been getting directions to Katie's house. I know, I know, we had been forbidden to even breathe on the case, but we just couldn't let this girl stay missing, could we?

Frank didn't talk the whole way there, which was unusual for him. He loved to talk about a case to "look at it from every angle". Told you he had been acting weird lately. I mean, it wasn't like we hadn't ever looked for people before, nor was this the first time we had looked for someone we knew. Like one time, Biff and Chet, two of our good friends, got kidnapped because this guy thought they were me and Frank. Things like that were always happening.

And, of course, we spent hours looking for each other. And being looked for.

Plus he didn't even know the girl that well. She was an all-honors student, and even geeky Frank wasn't all-honors. But they had some classes together. She was a year above me, so I only had gym with her.

And yeah, she was cute in a kid-sister kind of way. Her laugh was awesome, and she laughed a lot. She seemed to have a lot of friends, though she wasn't real popular. She had a steady boyfriend. (Note to self: Find boyfriend ― Avery Somebody?) Basically an average teenage girl.

Was I going on too much? It's just that Frank is so quiet. I have nothing else to do.

We got to the house just as it started to rain. I made a dash for the house. Frank took the scenic route, like he never even noticed the rain. I rang the doorbell just as I realized I had no idea what to do. I decided to wing it.

A boy came to the door. He seemed about my age, though he was a little shorter to me. I recognized him from the wrestling team. He was Jordan, Katie's brother. He was looking at me warily, "What do you want?"

I was about to answer when Frank cut me off, "We're trying to find your sister."

It was a total change that took place on the boy ― Jordan ― his face lit up. He looked behind him, as if making sure no one else had heard, then stepped out the door, closing it behind him. "My mom is totally whacked out about this. I mean, Katie would never have run away. She must have been kidnapped."

"Can you tell us the last place you saw your sister?" Frank, again, beat me to the question. We both knew that Jordan had been the last person to see Katie.

The boy gestured towards the backyard, "In the gazebo. The police have already been through it, but you might find something."

But it was really raining now. Even though Frank and Jordan might not be bothered by this, I was. I jogged back to the van, ducking into the backseat to get my sweatshirt. Just as I leaned over the seat, the windshield broke into a thousand pieces as a brick sailed through it, hitting me on the leg.

For a second, I was sure my leg was broken; it sure felt like it was. I bent over double, clutching at my leg.

"Joe!" Frank had opened the door and had dragged me out, still clutching my throbbing leg. I looked up at him, seeing his wild eyes almost made me laugh, except that I felt really far from laughing. I must have looked pretty horrible, there were about fourteen pieces of glass embedded in my arms and legs and one in my forehead. Frank kneeled down next to me, prying my hands away from my leg.

It was pretty swollen, and I was going to have one heck of a bruise, but it wasn't broken. Frank took my sweatshirt, which I had balled up as if it could take the pain away, and used it to cover a particularly deep cut on my arm.

Jordan had been looking in the car, and now he took out the brick that had hit me. He showed it to us.

HARDYS (It read)

STAY AWAY FROM THIS CASE OR YOU'LL HAVE WORSE PROBLEMS THEN A BROKEN LEG.

I gasped, not from the content of the note, but because a sudden pain had erupted in my side. I put my hand to it. It came away red and sticky.

Both Frank and Jordan gasped, looking at the blood that had begun to blossom on my T-shirt.

You like? The review!