Frank
Frank had barely been able to focus on his drive home. It was another day without leads, and he couldn't stop thinking about Joe's theories.
The first one was that their father had been killed and replaced by someone else. He could see why Chief Collig thought it was questionable, because he himself was beginning to doubt it, but…
Sure, Fenton hadn't been perfect. But the Fenton that Frank remembered before Laura's death was much different than the one after.
He pulled into his hotel, and broke his silence to turn to Chet, who was playing (and losing) a game of solitaire on his cell phone.
"I told you they never found Mom's body, right?" Frank asked. He carefully pulled his car into the parking lot.
Chet nodded. "Yeah. It was kind of a weird service. But the fire department said that there was no way anyone could survive that heat. One of the hottest car wrecks to date."
Flashback
Frank was numb as he followed his father into the waiting area of the fire station. He'd always known that detective work was dangerous, but usually it was he, Joe and his father taking the risks. Not his mother.
"We found some DNA evidence and confirmed the DNA evidence on the teeth that were found," the fire chief told Fenton. "I'm sorry, Fenton, there wasn't… there wasn't much of a body."
Frank stepped back, but his father only nodded. He knew his father had been up all night. He was fairly sure his father didn't want to see the boys see him cry.
"I should have gone with her," he finally said. He left and walked out of the room, seemingly having forgotten that Frank was there with him. Frank debated on whether or not to call after him, but he stopped and turned to the fire investigator.
"Frank… they found your mother's ring at the scene. Parts of it, anyway. I think it was made out of stainless steel."
Frank nodded. "What do you think about this car crash?"
"Head on collision, nothing normal there. Anyone who was riding in the passenger seat would have been instantly killed…. There's barely any remains."
"Thanks," Frank forced himself to say.
He walked the rest of the way home.
Frank flashed back to present as he turned to Chet. "Now I understand why he needed to be there," he said finally. "He was supposed to go grocery shopping but Mom did instead. I need to call Phil," he said.
Chet
Chet watched in mild amusement as he picked up the phone, torn as to whether or not he should call Biff. Biff hadn't spoken with him for a few years, but he knew Joe was still close with him, and -
Deciding life was too short for missed choices, Chet let the phone ring. He was shocked when Biff picked up.
"Hey, Biff. It's me-."
"I know." To his surprise, he could hear a slight smile in Biff's voice. "I- I heard about Joe. I'm coming down. We're about two hours away by car. I'm guessing you're there?"
"Yes," he said. "Wait. We? Two people?"
"I'm coming too," Tony replied. "I asked for a week off work recently. I was going to paint my house but this is more important. Besides," he added. "You guys will need someone who knows how to cook …. Or run errands."
Chet smiled. "Biff," he said. "I… you remember Iola's death, right?"
There was silence, and he could picture the two of them looking at each other. It was similar to Laura's, except a bomb had been used, and there were only a few of her teeth found…
Biff spoke first. "I do."
"I… do you remember the name of the fire station guy? The one who said that Laura was dead with no body?" Biff had an excellent memory for names that far succeed Chet's.
"Granger Parks."
"Thanks. I'll explain when you get here," he said as he got out of the car. He had something to go look into.
FRANK
Frank froze as Joe left, and then he turned to Collig. "Hey, I had a question. So about Joe's belief that Fenton wasn't actually Fenton… why do you think someone would do that?"
"I don't know for sure. My guess is that they wanted access to something… probably files. But then why keep up the charade? I assume they wanted to get access to something… shit." Frank's face paled dramatically. "JOE!"
Joe gave him the one minute figure. "I briefed you on that case, right? No, the case where the father was speeding and doing meth at the same time? No, I told you it was at the same time. The kids need to be extended for another thirty days, but I'm a bit preoccupied… yes their court date is today, but I don't want to move it." He paused. "Okay, okay, I won't come in just for the hearing; you're right. But who will - James can cover it? Does he have the case briefings? Okay. I'll have Frank drive me down there with them now. There's a spare copy under my desk."
He hung up the phone and hesitated. "You don't mind, do you? My car is still at my apartment."
"Not at all. We'll be back," he said as he took his keys. The chief smiled, satisfied that eventually they'd work it out… at least he hoped. He knew that Joe had been deeply hurt by Frank's actions, and how could he blame him?
"Joe," Frank said, "I'm wondering about your theory. Didn't Dad start acting weird a few weeks before your graduation? I remember it was after I moved out and left for college."
"Yeah. Right after we had that fight. I just chalked it up to him thinking I was useless for going into social work."
Frank wanted to groan in frustration but Joe didn't need that. He understood why it had hurt for Joe to hear it, moreso now than he had five years ago. Fenton had been heavily pressuring both of them to go into detective work. Now neither of them were.
"I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Social work is a good field, Joe."
"But you did say it. And - nevermind. What about Fenton?" Joe asked, looking away at the window so Frank wouldn't see the slight tear rolling down his cheek. God, this was five years ago, why was he still getting worked up about this?
"I know. It wasn't right to say." He hesitated. "I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry. But - that doesn't make it right." He hesitated again. "Fenton. He had a brother, didn't he?"
Joe's face lit up with recognition. "Yeah! The twin one. The one he never let us see. I wonder why that was?"
"Collig's pretty good with records, right? We can have him check into it." Frank hesitated. "Do… you mind if I have Phil look into it?"
"No, that's fine. How's he doing?" Joe asked. "I've only really kept touch with Biff and Vanessa."
That made sense. The whole gang had really split when the two Hardy brothers had. Chet hadn't taken sides, but he hadn't really been able to get through to Joe, and had joined the CIA soon after. "He's good. He has a job at some famous tech company in Seattle. I'm pretty sure he makes twice what I make… made for the CIA."
Joe
Joe hesitated. "You quit your job?" He knew Frank had said it before, but he had honestly thought that he was lying in the heat of the moment.
"Yeah. They wanted to let him get you and go after him that way. I set my foot down and said no. They're too willing to sacrifice individuals for the greater good, Joe… and I can't. And to them, I'm a liability because of it."
Joe nodded, but he was lost in thought as Frank called Phil. Frank may have waited five years to make up, but at the first sign JOe was in danger, he'd swallowed his pride, driven halfway across the country, and left his job with nothing lined up.
… that had to count for something. Right?
Actions speak louder than words, he reminded himself.
And yet, Frank's words had spoken. Loudly.
But why couldn't he forgive him?
Phil
Phil had been looking into what had happened to the Hardy boys for awhile. They'd been close and then… things had just absolutely shattered. He frowned. Out of respect for Frank, though, there were certain areas he hadn't looked into.
Now, though, he was certain his idea was true… he had often wondered if Laura had never actually died. The car had exploded. He'd seen the pictures. Flames had shot into the air. Firefighters had claimed they couldn't get into the car in time.
But how had no body been found? That had always bugged him, but people just accepted her death. It was around that time that Fenton had started acting oddly. Aggressive, even. When the two brothers had stopped talking, Phil had written it off as a result of that, but now there was something more.
And when he clicked on one of the CIA's files, he whistled.
He picked up his phone to call Chief Collig. Frank might not be up this late. (Who was he kidding; Joe's life was in jeopardy, of course Frank would be up.) Still.
"I'm coming down," he blurted out before the chief could even say anything. "Don't. I - don't. I can't stay here. I'm coming down. I've already booked a flight. I need to go over everything in person."
"Okay. I'll get you a hotel room and have someone pick you up from the airport," the chief relied.
Next day - Joe
Joe was beyond freaked out, and Chet wasn't doing great either. He was slightly calmer than Joe, only because he was waiting for the chief to get here, but Joe was freaked out.
This tightened his concerns, however, that Fenton was involved. Who would take his partner?
God. He wanted to make up with his brother, he really did. In the meantime, he needed to find him.
He waited until he was back in Collig's apartment though to drop the bombshell. "Chief?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"Phil's coming up. He got the first flight out. Frank asked him to look into something and I guess he's concerned with what he found and he doesn't want to share it over the phone."
The chief raised his eyebrows. "Alrighty. May as well make it a party," he remarked. Their hotel room phone rang.
"There's someone here to see Joe at the front desk," a woman's voice said.
Joe frowned, but he went out with Chet.
He blinked twice, once in relief and once in concern.
Charlie. It was his partner.
He'd returned home. Thank God. Even as he embraced him in a hug, there was one pressing, immediate question. He barely even recognized that Phil must have rented a car from the airport rather than waiting to be picked up. He guessed Frank must have described his partner and somehow Phil had run into him - he would ask questions in a minute, but for now, all he wanted to do was hug his partner and be relieved that he was alive.
Phil came in. "Hey, does Frank still drive an impala?" He asked Chet.
"Yeah, he does. Why?" Chet asked, shooting a concerned look to him.
"His wallet dropped outside of the car and there's blood all over the passenger side door. At least; I'm guessing it's his wallet; I didn't touch it because I didn't want to contaminate the scene."
Joe's stomach dropped. This wasn't good...
A/N: Votes please! What do you think should happen? Should Joe get kidnapped? What is happening to Frank?