Amblewat: What would be the fun in that? ;) I've gotten great advice from reviewers - one being to avoid the dashes between scenes. I don't plan to use those anymore.
The mug had been Joe's favorite as a child. Laura had just recounted the story of eight year old Joe's fascination with The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Joe had finally read the book and demanded that they have a vegetable garden of their own so that bunnies would come and play in it. After he gave a solemn vow that he would not chase the bunnies, he and Laura grew all the vegetables that the Hardy's had eaten that summer. For his September birthday that year, he had received a complete Peter Rabbit mug, plate and bowl set. Vanessa now placed the empty mug down in the sink and tried to blink back the tears in her eyes.
"How do you do it?!" she burst out. "I can't stand not knowing. This has happened before, but Frank or Joe or Fenton was always looking for one of them. Now, it's different."
"Would you love them in the same way if they were not who they are?" Laura asked quietly. "My husband and my sons became detectives because they are good men who want to help people, and this is the best way they can do it. If they felt that they could be helping people on a 9-5 job, they would, and that would be fine, too. But this is who they are, and this is who we are." Before Vanessa could ask what she meant, Callie broke in.
"Other times we had faith that they would be found before it's too late because Frank, Joe or Fenton was always out looking for them, not to mention the entire Bayport Police Department. Now…"
"Now, we have faith in ourselves," interrupted Laura sharply. "You are both strong, smart, women who will find them and bring them home. You wouldn't have stayed with them if you weren't."
Startled at her outburst, and not sure what she meant, Vanessa and Callie exchanged confused looks. Laura saw their expressions and tried to explain as she put down Fenton's mug with "World's Best Dad" written on the side. Frank had given it to him for Father's Day years ago.
"The first illegal thing I ever did was when I changed a friend's grades in college. My motives were good; her professor deliberately flunked her because she wouldn't go out with him. But I really did like it, and I moved on to more serious crimes and mixed with some awful people. The best parts were the fun of planning a job. The certainty that I would never get caught, and the absolute relief when it was over, and I could look forward to the next one. I was young and dumb." She smiled wistfully at the memory.
"I also wanted things, thinking that wealth was the key to happiness. When I fell in love with Fenton, I didn't feel that way anymore. I had his love, and that was enough, more than enough. He saw that despite all I had done, I was still a good person inside and helped me to see that I was a good person, too. That I deserved a better life than the one I had made for myself.
I told you before that the crimes I committed were never solved. What I didn't tell you was that I returned everything that I stole, and most of what the Syndicate stole before we married. That was my choice, and I've never stolen anything since."
"We've been wondering about that," said Callie. "How come you never us about this before?"
"Guilt and fear of rejection," said Laura stoically, firmly refusing to think about that real possibility. "But another reason is that part of me has been afraid of reverting back into my old self if I thought about it too much. That's why I've deliberately kept myself out of the detective life in general. After Frank and Joe were born, I was happy being a mother and left Laura Basden behind for good. But, I remember the pride of a job well done, the satisfaction of helping my friend get back at her professor. I see those emotions in Fenton, Frank and Joe. I wouldn't take the opportunity of feeling that pride and sense of accomplishment away from them, even with all the risks. I also know how ruthless criminals can be, and that they need to be brought down. Otherwise, they'd hurt people and destroy lives. Frank and Joe were born to do that."
"But we're not like them," argued Vanessa. "We don't take those kinds of risks."
"Really?" Laura turned to Callie.
"Remember that case when Gina or whatever her name was came after you? Frank and Joe totally discounted you, and you proved them wrong?"
Seeing Callie smile grimly she turned back to Vanessa.
"Just how many times have you been with Joe and done some fast talking to keep him from getting killed?" Vanessa looked thoughtful and remembered the time when she had convinced a pair of thugs that she and Joe were innocent strollers on the beach instead of looking for a smuggler's hideout.
"Not to mention all the times that you have waited for them to come home, hoping that this would not be the one time in a thousand they did not? That's even harder than going out and looking for them," she said thinking back to the nights when someone was missing and she had not slept at all.
"Less committed women would never have stayed with them. They would have tried to convince them to stop being who they are and left them when they didn't." Seeing their unconvinced looks, Laura pressed on.
"Do you think Fenton and I would let just anyone into this life? Do you think Frank and Joe would have stayed with you, regardless of how much they loved you, if they didn't also trust you - especially after Iola died? They may not realize it, but Frank and Joe have faith in you, as do Fenton and I. You only need to have faith in yourselves."
Two hours later Vanessa walked past a warehouse in New York City. The light sweater that she carried over her arm masked the camera that she was angling toward the guy who had just left it on the opposite sidewalk. He resembled the photograph that she had seen earlier in Fenton's files of known underworld operatives. She quickly got into her car as Callie came around the corner and gestured to Callie to follow him. From talking to men making a delivery to a nearby restaurant, Vanessa had already learned that the warehouse was empty, meaning that the Hardys were somewhere else.
If Vanessa had not known that was Callie, she would have walked right past her on any street in Bayport. Callie's shoulder length blonde hair was covered by a dark wig. She had applied makeup that significantly darkened her skin tone and the first thing that anyone noticed about her face was the awful green eye shadow that made it impossible to notice anything else. Following the man in front of her, she slouched along the street, acting like she didn't have a care in the world. Vanessa started the car and followed both of them, remembering Joe's advice on how to tail a suspect in a vehicle. Most people don't notice what's going on until you move into their space. Stay a good block back and allow other cars to get in front of you. If someone is getting suspicious and you're on a straight road, don't be afraid to get in front of them.
For the last fifteen minutes, their tail had been completely oblivious. Now, he suddenly turned into an alley. Vanessa gasped as Callie followed him. Speeding up, she passed the alley and saw that it opened onto a busy street on the other side. Driving the car around the block, she sighed in relief as Callie emerged from the alley seconds later and got into the car and immediately pulled away from the curb.
"It's a set of old offices," she said. "I pretended I lived in one of the upstairs apartments and followed him inside. He went down into the basement, but I heard someone inside say the names Thomas and Hardy. They're definitely there."
"I can't believe you did that! Don't you know how many women get mugged in alleys?" asked Vanessa exasperatedly.
"Hey, have faith in me!" said Callie dramatically. "I had to take a little risk, and I made sure it wasn't a dead end before I walked into it. You wouldn't have hesitated."
"I'm also trained in Aikido," said Vanessa. "Seriously, there isn't another woman I would rather have with me."
"Agreed! Now, let's see if we can get some blueprints for this building."
Back in Bayport, Laura looked at the set of blueprints and notes lying on the dining room table. Luckily, Fenton had been involved in re-evaluating the security of Bayport Savings Bank three years ago, and had told her after the assignment was over. She chuckled as she imagined what he must have been thinking as he had gone about his work, knowing that his wife had planned to rob the same bank years earlier. There is a possible way in and out, she thought. But police enforcement and banking security standards had certainly increased since she last was in this business. If half of what she had heard about the Amaldo jewelry was correct, a fake would be spotted instantly unless it was done by an expert, which meant that she would have to rob the bank regardless.
She looked up as Vanessa and Callie walked in the door. "Found them!" Vanessa announced triumphantly.
"Even better," said Callie "The owner of the building applied for a permit to renovate the basement and the ground floor. He had to file the papers at City Hall so we have a decent set of blueprints for the building they are in." (No idea if this is true)
"Terrific," said Laura. "I've been looking into the bank. I know we talked about this, but I really think I should do this myself." She raised a hand as Callie put a hand on her hip and Vanessa opened her mouth. "This is happening because of me. I can't let you commit a crime because I was once a thief."
"But we're not stealing!" protested Vanessa. "We're just borrowing it for a little while before we give it back. None of us is either going to open it. The box is probably empty anyway!"
"That sounds just like the things I used to tell myself. You're on a slippery slope."
"Three of us are better than one," Callie chimed in. "We'll have some faith in ourselves."
"Besides," said Vanessa seeing that Laura still wanted to lock them in a room to keep them from going "Are you still going to be able to get in without our help? No offense, but security has dramatically improved in the last twenty years."
"I could manage it," said Laura stubbornly. After a full minute she added "Probably." Another long pause followed. "If you commit to this, you will do exactly as I tell you to. If we are about to get caught, you will leave immediately and I will be the only one arrested. Is that clear?"
"Uh-huh."
"I won't leave you!"
"It's the only way."
"Yes," Vanessa finally conceded.
"Then we're on for tomorrow night." Her eyes gleamed with purpose and excitement. A good part of Laura Basden was back.
The case Laura asked Callie about is one of the Hardy Boys Casefiles. I can't remember which one. If anyone knows, that would be great.