Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.

Thanks once again to Wendylouwho10 for reading over this for me!

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is kinda blue spine and AU. Joe and Iola are 16, Frank and Callie are 17. Standalone story.

Author's Notes: I almost forgot to post until Cherylanne reminded me!


Chapter Twelve

"So you're saying that Adam has a grudge against law enforcement," Collins said into the speakerphone as he and Fenton sat in his office at the police station.

"Not so much a grudge as a superiority complex," Claude Eriksen corrected, his voice sounded tired.

"Can you explain further?"

Fenton sat calmly taking his notes while Collins did the interview. He was allowed to ask questions, but was asked to let Collins direct the flow of questions. So far, Collins was covering all the bases he would have.

"I'm sure you've run a background check on me. You know I was honorably discharged from the military. After that, I got involved in drugs and I drank too. Made some bad choices when Adam was a kid." Eriksen paused and then continued. "I was involved in some robberies. No weapons. No one got hurt. I was just after money or things I could sell. I was messy and thank God for it. I only pulled two jobs before I was caught. I went into rehab in prison and got clean. But Adam…."

"Yes, Mr. Eriksen?" Collins asked as the pause stretched out.

"Adam was angry that I got caught and went to prison. When I got out, he told me that he never would have gotten caught; that he was smarter than that."

"Police records show that Adam was caught by the police and convicted on a stabbing charge and again for petty theft."

"Did you notice his age?" Eriksen asked. "He was seventeen on both. That's why he didn't do much time. They basically gave him community service. He learned from those arrests; he learned how to clean up a crime scene and how to not leave evidence. Those weren't the only crimes he committed when he was seventeen. They just the ones they were able to pin on him. Wish he had applied himself at school the way he applied himself to crime."

"How did Adam get the Premium KA-BAR knife?"

Eriksen laughed but it was grim. "A failed attempt by a father to bond with his son. He was twenty and he was planning on moving from the place we were living. I wanted him to stay. Wanted a chance to change the direction his life was going. I gave him the knife in an effort to show that I valued him because he knew how much that knife meant to me."

"A knife like the one you gave Adam was used to stab a teenager in the leg after a robbery."

"I wish I had never given him that knife," Eriksen said in a whisper.

"Do you feel that Adam is capable of using that knife on someone?"

"Yes. Based on his history and his attitude, I believe he could." The man's voice was laced with the sorrow of a father that lost hope in his son. It was a tone that made Collins and Fenton look at each other.

Fenton felt his blood turn cold. Just how close did Joe come to being Adam Eriksen's first murder victim?

.**********.

Later that morning, Fenton walked into his house, closed the door and dropped his coat across the sofa. Running a hand across his face he turned to face his wife as she came up from the basement where she had been doing laundry.

"What happened, Fenton?" she asked as she moved quickly across the room to take his hands. Pulling him with her, they sat down on the couch.

"It looks like Adam Eriksen is our guy. Now we just have to locate him and get the evidence we need."

"That doesn't sound like bad news. What are you not telling me?"

"Adam's attitude, behavior, and past history are leading Collins to think that he's escalating things." Fenton stopped. "The current stabbing method may escalate into something more… permanent."

"Murder?" Laura whispered.

Fenton nodded. "I need to find him before someone dies."

Laura let go of his hands and hugged him instead. "Whatever happens, Fenton. You are not to blame for his actions. Adam Eriksen is to blame for Joe's injuries and if someone… dies, it will fall on his head, not yours."

Fenton returned her hug. He knew in his mind that she was correct. But in his heart, he knew that if someone died and he had to look another father in the eye afterwards, the guilt would be there. He hugged her tightly and closed his eyes. The only option was to find Eriksen before he did something that was irreparable.

.**********.

That evening…

Both boys sat stunned at what their father had told them. They couldn't imagine a situation where their father would give up on them or that they would do the same.

"So now that you've interviewed Mr. Eriksen, what's the plan?" Frank asked as Joe sat quietly.

"Well, BPD has already determined that the man who provided Adam's alibis in his previous arrests isn't the man in the brown jacket. The guy is in Ohio and works the night shift Monday through Friday." Fenton responded.

"So he's got a new pal." Joe finally joined the conversation.

"It seems so. Collins is in the process of getting Adam's picture out and also running down leads and tracking him from his last known address which was in Rhode Island." Fenton shifted in his chair before continuing. "I'm going to assist with tracking down Adam."

"And we can't help." Frank didn't even voice it as a question.

"That's right. I need to do this and in this case, I agree with Collins."

"But, dad-" Joe began.

Fenton leaned forward with a serious expression on his face. "Joe, this is someone that has already stabbed you and three other people. Someone who told you that he wasn't ready to 'up his game' to murder. But what if that's changed?" The chair creaked as he sat back. His head shook in a negative fashion. "He may or may not know who Frank is, but he is very familiar with your face, Joe." His tone softened. "I won't let his desire to prove he's better than BPD or me hurt you further. Do you understand?"

Joe nodded. "But you'll be careful too."

"I will."

"You'll still keep us informed?" Frank asked.

"Definitely," Fenton responded without hesitation.

Joe looked at his brother and then back to his father. "Then we'll wait to hear from you."

The brothers stood and left the room. Questions and concerns were in their minds, but faith in their father kept them from becoming overwhelming.

.**********.

Thursday night, the robbers struck again. Striking on a Thursday night was different for them as they usually hit businesses on Friday or Saturday nights. This time a man was stabbed in the left bicep and the blood wiped in the center of his chest. The victim told the police that the man in the black jacket said, "Time for Cupid to strike."

.**********.

"But dad, we don't know that it has anything to do with me," Joe complained Friday night.

"Sorry son, I'm keeping you both close until he's caught or until we see what he means by his 'cupid' statement," Fenton said seriously as Joe paced the kitchen.

"But Frank-"

"Is staying here too. The two of you can miss a meal at Prito's." Fenton was holding firm.

Joe dropped into a kitchen chair and looked as if he was going to sulk. "Iola and I had plans for tomorrow night."

"What are they?" Laura asked.

Joe felt he had a ray of hope and sat up in the chair. "I was going to go over to Iola's for supper and to watch tv."

"And I was going to do the same with Callie," Frank chimed in in an obvious attempt to get in on any leeway his brother got.

Fenton sat quietly and considered the options. "If I'm available I'll take Frank to Callie's and then you to the Mortons'. If I'm not available, then I'll check to see if Sam can do it. If neither of us is free to take you, then you'll just have to postpone your plans. Understood?" Fenton's tone and face was stern.

"Yes, sir," both boys responded. They were pleased that they would probably get their dates for Saturday even if they wouldn't eat at Prito's tonight with everyone else.

.**********.

Friday night there was no robbery and no sign of the would-be 'cupid.' Saturday morning dawned cold and clear with the crystal briskness only a spring morning in late February could bring. Fenton was up and about early. He was going to be checking out some areas in Southport and showing Adam Eriksen's picture and then he'd come back to Bayport for the afternoon/evening and do the same.

Laura gave him a kiss on the cheek as he headed for the door. "The boys will be irritated that you left before they got up."

Fenton smiled at her. "It's not like I'm avoiding them. They knew I was leaving early so they made the choice to sleep in." He gave her another quick kiss. "I'm going to stop by the coffee shop and get a nice dark bold coffee to go. I have a feeling it'll be a long day."

Laura squeezed his bicep. "Take care and good hunting."

Fenton exited the house with his coat over his arm. The car would heat up soon enough and then he'd be hot; however, he would be doing a lot of walking and he might get chilled. So he'd take the coat as he couldn't afford to get sick with Eriksen on the loose. With thoughts of Eriksen and hot coffee swirling together in his mind, he climbed into his sedan.

.**********.

At two in the afternoon, Fenton tossed his coat into the passenger seat of his car as he seated himself behind the wheel. The door snapped closed with a quick irritated pull from Fenton. He pulled his cell phone from the holster on his belt and dialed Det. Collins.

"Collins."

"It's Fenton. No luck in the area I covered. I left pictures and contact numbers but I didn't get the feeling that anyone around this area has seen Eriksen."

"Well come on back. If you haven't eaten, grab something and then head to the Palmer Cutoff area of town and start again. I have men covering the business district, Slade, and Lawton sections. They're pretty big so they're taking a lot of time with the number of men I have working the area."

"Palmer's just as good as any place to start. It has a transient population and they wouldn't really pay attention to someone coming or going."

"Exactly."

"I just hope that he's not holed up in another town that he hasn't hit. He'll be almost impossible to find if he is."

"Let's just go in with the expectation that we're going to catch him soon," Collins responded.

Fenton actually laughed as he put his key in the ignition. "Who would have thought you'd be giving me a pep talk."

Collins paused and then said, "Listen, Fenton. Frank and Joe are good kids and as far as detective work goes, they've got the instincts for it. I don't want anything to happen to them either. Now let's catch this scum before he hurts anyone else."

"Thanks. I'll call you when I'm there." Fenton had the feeling that maybe things would be changing soon.

At 5:00 Fenton realized that things weren't changing fast enough. People were arriving home from work and he needed to stay in the area and get the word out about Eriksen. He pulled his cell out and pressed the speed dial for Sam Radley. "Hey, Sam. You know that favor I called about last night."

"Fenton, you know it's not even a favor. Your boys are like family to me. I'm leaving now. Just call them to let them know I'm coming."

"I'm not looking forward to that call. I don't have much to tell them."

"Well, then. Let me make the call. You got back to work."

"They're going to grill you to death for answers you don't have."

Sam laughed. "If I can't handle two teenage boys asking questions then I should give up detective work."

"You just might regret saying that," Fenton responded with a laugh.

.**********.

It was 5:45 and Sam had been regretting his comment for the better part of twenty minutes. He was seriously considering turning in his private investigator's license. As he watched Frank go into the Shaws' house he was glad that he now only had one Hardy brother to field questions from. The bad part of being left with Joe was that he was with the brother that tended to ask the most questions.

"And dad didn't give you any idea of how things went in Southport?"

"No, Joe. He didn't. I already told you ALL of what we talked about."

Joe leaned back in seat and adjusted the seatbelt before he crossed his arms over his chest. "It just doesn't make sense."

"Joe-" Sam began and then he just gave up. There would be no reasoning with Joe at this point. "Nevermind."

Joe then began a one-sided conversation that required little to no comments from Sam. As Sam pulled to a stop in front of the Morton farmhouse he smiled. He had made it without losing his cool. "Okay, time to get out, Joe. Your dad will pick you up and you can grill him incessantly when he does."

Joe turned and gave Sam a glare and then burst out laughing. "You're right, Sam. I'm sorry. I guess knowing that that maniac is out there and he-, he-" Joe stopped.

Sam reached out and took Joe's arm. "Hey, kid. I'm sorry. You have every right to be concerned. I'm sorry if I made it seemed like I didn't care or wasn't taking you seriously."

Joe gave him a tentative smile. "You didn't. I can even get on Frank's nerves with all my questions, so don't feel bad." Then he smiled so that his face lit up, "But I will grill dad when he picks me up."

Sam sat back in his seat. "I'll tell your dad to pick you up first."

"Thanks, Sam," Joe said as he exited the car and closed the door.

.**********.

Joe smiled as he walked up the sidewalk to the house. The light coming from the windows cast a friendly glow on the porch that was shadowed in the twilight of the evening. He knocked on the door and turned back to wave at Sam. He knew that the man wouldn't leave until he was in the house and he just smiled all the more. The sound of the door opening drew his attention back to the house and he saw Iola giving him a nervous smile. "Hey, what's up?" He said as he stepped into the house and closed the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed someone.

"Cupid decided to pay a house call," the man in the black jacket said.