Thanks to everyone for your wonderful reviews. Here is my new chapter...I know I promised Joe will be in this chapter...I kind of left this in suspense. I assure you Joe will be in the next chapter. Please review
Iola's Treasure 14
Fenton felt the angry tension growing between Frank and Mr. Underwood. He quickly put himself between them to prevent them from going at each other. Even though he wanted to rip into the man after the crazy comment he made regarding his sons. His thoughts quickly turned to Joe and decided to keep him as their motivation to keep things calm.
"Right this way, gentlemen." Mr. Underwood said as Frank and Fenton followed him into the elevator. As soon as the elevator reached the right floor the Hardys were led down the hallway into an office.
Fenton saw a gold plate on the door with the words Richard Underwood, Vice president on it. Then he felt a slight nudge on his arm; he turned to see Frank nodding towards a door at the end of the hallway with the name Mr. Albert Douglas CEO & president on it.
Fenton nodded acknowledging the door. They needed to find something with Albert Douglas' DNA on it, to prove that he'd tried to kill Joe. He could almost see the wheels turning in Frank's head thinking of a plan to search the office.
"Come on in gentlemen."
Mr. Underwood opened the door to a spaciously sized room with a mix of both modern and sophisticated style décor. The most impressive part was the large window with a spectacular view of New York City. He walked around his desk and sat down in a deep burgundy leather desk chair, reclining back and pressed his fingertips together forming a pyramid.
"Please have a seat." He gestured with a hand at the two leather chairs in front of his desk. "Can I offer you coffee or anything?"
"No thank you." Fenton replied kindly before taking a seat.
"Frank?"
"Nope, I'm good." Frank said coldly with a smile, "Thank you, Mr. Underwood, for asking." Clearly not amused by Frank's mocking attitude the business owner remained silent giving him a cold stare.
Frank was about to sit down when something over by the window caught his eye. A small scale model of a resort was sitting on a long table.
"Is this the Barmet Island Resort?"
"Yes," Underwood said, clearing his throat.
Fenton watched as Underwood's eyes followed Frank as he went over to get a closer look at the model. It felt as if he was sitting in the middle of a war zone, just waiting for a bomb to go off, with the intensity of the anger the other two men were giving off. He sat up on the edge of his seat with his hands clutched around the arms of his chair and ready to strike if the man were to attack his son.
Frank squatted down so that the model was at eye level. On one side of the display was a large blue and tan area that looked like water and sand with tiny boats representing the beach and marina. Above it was a wooded area with tiny cabins for a campground. On the opposite side sat a couple buildings for restaurants and shops. In the middle of the display sat a luxurious hotel and spa surrounded by trees. A sign stood out in front with the words Barmet Island Hotel Marina & Getaway Resort.
"Impressive." Frank whistled as he stood up to face Mr. Underwood. "How long did it take you to come up with this? What a couple of months or something like that?"
"Yeah, something like that," Mr. Underwood countered.
"Mr. Underwood, is it true that you and Mr. Douglas own property in New Zealand and Australia?" Fenton cut in, getting back to the original topic, as well as getting the attention off of Frank.
"Yes, that's correct." Underwood nodded, turning to Fenton. "We've built two resorts, one an island off of New Zealand as well as Australia."
"They're similar to the Barmet Island resort. As those two have had a lot of success, we figured we'd try to do the same thing here. Albert and I felt we needed to bring something to the States, which is why we're in the process of renovating. However the resorts there aren't as extravagant as the one we're building on Barmet Island."
"Why is that?" Frank wondered.
"It was Albert's idea. He said he wanted to give something back to his community. Barmet Island was the perfect location for this resort."
The statement suddenly grabbed Frank's interests. "Is Albert from Bayport?" Forgoing the formalities, he asked Underwood as he sat down in a chair next to his father.
"No, but his father was."
Frank and Fenton exchanged looks. Fenton asked, "Who was his father?"
"I don't know." Underwood immediately sat up in his chair and leaned forward. "Even if I did, it's none of your business."
Frank glared at the man. "Why is he getting all defensive?"
Fenton explained, noting the man's defensive tone. "My wife and I moved to Bayport about twenty years ago to raise our boys. We practically know just about everyone in Bayport."
"Like I said, I don't know." Underwood coolly admitted. Frank studied his face; unsure if the was telling the truth. "This company belonged to my father, Richard Underwood Sr. I took it over after he retired."
"Do you know a Harold Granger?" Fenton asked.
"We were told he used to work here." Frank pushed on. "Sadly, he was killed in a car accident for years ago. There is some speculation that it wasn't an accident." He stated recalling the conversation with Hattie.
"No, I don't remember a Harold Granger." Underwood shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "He must've been an employee when my father was here." Frank was beginning to think he knew more than he was saying.
"What about Albert Douglas?" Frank kept asking. "How well do you know him?"
"I have found Albert to be an honest businessman, very ambitious with an adventurous nature." Underwood said. "He came to me about four years ago with an offer to buy half of my father's company."
Another coincidence, Frank thought. "What kind of offer?" He asked again.
"That's confidential." Underwood looked right at Frank. "Let's just say it was the best business deal I ever made." He added smugly and smiled,"It's how we were able to buy Barmet Island."
Frank clenched his hands into fists.
Fenton felt the tension begin to escalate once more as Frank and Mr. Underwood locked gazes. He placed a hand on Frank's arm preventing him from rising to his feet.
"I wanted to speak to Mr. Douglas this morning." He said his face very stern but not angry. "Your receptionist said the two of you were out, taking care of an urgent matter down at the island."
"That's correct."
"Is that where you got the blood on your shoe?" Frank asked out of the blue.
"W- What?" Underwood stammered, startled by the question.
Frank went on to explain, "When you came up to us in the lobby, I noticed a reddish stain on your shoe. Is it blood?" He challenged folding his arms to his chest.
Underwood looked down at his shoe. He paled slightly as his eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh...yes it's blood". He shuddered in reply, and then quickly recovered. "One of our crew members had an accident out at the construction site. Thankfully, it wasn't anything too major. He should be fine in a day or so."
"Where can we find Mr. Douglas?" Fenton prompted.
"He's out at the resort. Due to the incident this morning we felt one of us needed to be out there to supervise and to make sure no more accidents occurred".
"I guess we need to head out to Barmet Island." Frank said to Fenton.
Underwood raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wait! You can't go out there."
"Why is that?" Frank snapped.
"He's very busy with the resort." Underwood said hastily.
"Mr. Underwood, someone tried to kill my son." Fenton pointed out, "It's important to question anyone who may be involved. We need to question Mr. Douglas."
"You think Albert did it." Underwood's face reddened in anger. "Typical."
"What does that mean?" Frank reacted hotly.
Underwood opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a newspaper, then threw it down in front of Fenton.
Fenton and Frank glanced down at the headline on the front page, Joseph Hardy, son of the Famous Detective Fenton Hardy arrested in the attack of the Barmet Island Resort owner Albert Douglas.
"Your son's arrest isn't exactly the kind of publicity you want, is it Detective? Despite all your extraordinary talent for crime solving," Underwood spoke venomously to Fenton.
"I bet you also have a knack for throwing your weight around. Joseph tarnished your good name. So to justify what your son did... Naturally, you would suspect Albert of trying to kill him. Maybe what happened to him was just an accident?"
"What are you implying?" Fenton commented.
"That you have two very spoiled teenagers," Underwood went on. "Who know that daddy will bail them out every time they get into trouble." In a flash, Frank had pulled his arm out of his father's grip and knocked his chair over as he flew at Underwood, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket, shoving him against the wall knocking pictures to the floor.
"It was no accident! Someone tried to kill my brother!" he snarled. His brown eyes were blazing hot as he directed them at Underwood. "If I find out you put your hands on Joe. I promise… You'll be sorry!"
"Get him off of me! He's crazy!" Underwood bellowed. "You touch me... I'll have you arrested!"
"Frank, stop it!" Fenton ordered jumping to his feet. He stepped in front of his son and keeping his hands firmly on his shoulders. "He's not worth it. Think of Joe; he needs you right now."
As soon as Fenton pried him loose, Frank made another attempt to attack Underwood. "No one puts hands on Joe without there being consequences!"
"Frank," Fenton called to him again stepping in front of his son and keeping his hands firmly on his shoulders. "Go outside and calm down."
Frank immediately stopped and did as his father said, even if every fiber of his being wanted to beat the hell out of the guy.
He took a step back to collect himself. "I'm sorry, Dad," he apologized, acting ashamed of his actions. Frank looked over Fenton's shoulder, and this time his voice was calm.
"I'm sorry Mr. Underwood." He said sadly. Then he turned around and headed for the door.
He stepped out into the hallway; he took a deep breath as a smile slid across his face. This was the opportunity he needed. His plan had worked! "Now to find a sample of Albert Douglas' DNA to prove he tried to kill Joe". With that he headed to the office at the end of the hallway.
Mr. Underwood began to straighten out his jacket as the silence beween the two men lengthened.
Fenton took a step back to cool his temper. He would like nothing more than to thrash this man around the room. Instead he took a deep breath, keeping his voice calm and steady.
"Mr. Underwood let's get something straight. I could care less about my good name. Being a detective and solving cases is my job. It is not who I am. I am a husband and father first. When my family is threatened physically or verbally, I take it very personally. I'll work non-stop to keep them safe."
"I don't expect my boys to be perfect, they know the difference between right and wrong, and are still learning." Fenton added his point. "Joe understood his actions towards Mr. Douglas were wrong. He was prepared to take full responsibility for those actions. What happened to him was no accident. Someone tried to kill him." He stated with a warning. "I won't rest until we find the person responsible."
Before Mr. Underwood could answer, Frank burst back into the room, throwing the doors against the walls with a resounding Crash! "Where's Albert Douglas?!" he demanded. "His office is completely empty!"
"What?" Fenton gasped. He turned around to see Underwood's face go from pale to almost white.
That was all Fenton could take. "Let's go!" He hissed grabbing Underwood by the collar of his jacket dragging him out into the hallway with Frank right behind him.
Fenton's heart dropped when he entered Douglas's office he shoved Underwood inside. It was completely empty. He whirled around to Underwood. "Where is Douglas?"
"I know nothing." Underwood replied.
Suddenly, the sound of Fenton's cell phone brought itself to everyone's attention. He immediately answered it.
"Detective Fenton Hardy"
"Fenton it's Joe..." Laura's voice sobbed on the other end. Fenton's heartbeat began to quicken. By the expression on his father's face, Frank knew something was wrong, and fear flooded through him.
"Dad, was that Mom?" Frank asked the minute Fenton hung up his phone. He was doing his best not to panic but inside he was screaming, "What did she say!? Is Joe okay!? Oh God Joe! I never should've left him!"
Then Frank felt a hand on his shoulder, "Frank."
Frank looked at Fenton. He was saying something, but he didn't hear what was being said.
Fenton repeated himself.
"Frank, Joe is awake."
"What?" Frank said, trying to wrap his head around what Fenton was saying.
"Joe's okay. He's awake and asking for you. Your mom says he's ready to talk".
Fenton turned his attention back to Underwood. "Don't leave town. We'll be back for you." With that Frank and Fenton headed out the door on their way to see Joe.