Thank you to all for reading and reviewing you guys are the best. (I might have to take a little break, I am in the process of getting a new job. I will finish this story, it might take awhile but I will finish it. Because I love this story. But, I have to take care things first.
Here I my new chapter hope you like it. :)
Iola's Treasure 16
All at once Frank felt Joe's arms shoot around his neck; he could hardly breathe. "Joe... What's wrong?" He managed to say in between painful breaths.
When Joe didn't respond, Frank carefully pried his arms from around his neck, taking in a deep breath as he did so before gently cupping Joe's face with his hands, so that the younger boy would have no choice but to look at him. Again, his rage began to boil up inside of him, seeing the fear in his blue eyes along with the white bandage wrapped around his head and the vivid handprints encircling his neck.
"Hey, little brother, talk to me. What's wrong?" Frank patiently asked, while trying to conceal his growing concern, not wanting to scare Joe further.
"There's a man in a black mask..." Joe gulped nervously "...standing in the doorway."
Frank immediately whirled around, standing, protectively in front of Joe, ready to strike the person wanting to harm his brother. To his surprise there was no one standing in the doorway. He replied in confusion. "Joe there's nobody there."
Joe pointed to the doorway. "He's right..." He stopped abruptly in confusion. The masked man had just vanished. What the heck had just happened? Had he imagined it?. "I saw him..." His blue eyes stared almost pleading at Frank.
"Joe, take it easy." Frank reassured him. "I'll step into the hallway, just to make sure".
"No, don't leave me!" Joe protested fearfully. He latched onto Frank's arm with an iron grip, stopping him from leaving. Frank winced slightly at the touch. "Damn you Douglas! If you did this to him, I'll kill you!" He forced the murderous thoughts from his mind and knelt down to meet Joe at eye level.
"Joe, listen to me." He said, keeping his voice calm as he automatically went into big brother mode. "You're safe. I won't let him or anyone hurt you." He vowed and finally Joe let go if his wrist but the fear was evident on his face.
"What's going on in here?" Fenton asked, coming into the room with Officer Riley and Laura.
Rubbing his wrist, Frank turned to his father and asked hurriedly. "Did anyone see a man in a black mask run out of the room?"
"No." The detective replied.
"We've been standing right outside the door." Officer Riley confirmed.
"We heard the commotion and ran right in" Laura added.
"Must've been seeing things." Joe muttered under his breath.
"Maybe you're remembering everything that happened?" Fenton asked cautiously. "The man you saw in here, is he the same man who attacked you outside of Hattie's home?"
"Yes." Joe answered.
"Can you give us a more detailed description of him?" Officer Riley asked.
Joe adamantly shook his head no.
"Honey, we're here to help you." Laura added. "Please let us."
"Don't tell me you're afraid." Frank remarked bluntly. He knew it was the fear talking, not his hot- headed, carefree, "I'm not afraid of anything" tough as nails, kid brother.
"Maybe… so what if I am afraid?" Joe began fidgeting with his blanket. "I think I have a right to be. The guy tried to kill me."
"So what are you going to do? Hide under the covers like a scared little boy and let the guy get away with what he did?" Frank challenged Joe, while folding his arms across his chest. Lucky for him he knew exactly how to push his brother's buttons."Because the Joe Hardy I know would want to go hunt the man down and his kick ass."
Joe's blue eyes narrowed, but still he said nothing.
Laura gave her husband's hand a tight squeeze, "Fenton, shouldn't we stop this." She whispered her voice filling with concern for her boys.
Watching his boys argue back and forth, Fenton realized what Frank was doing. "No." he whispered back. "Frank's got this."
Then Frank saw it: a spark of anger in Joe's blue eyes."Where's the fire I saw in you just a few days ago? You were so hell bent on going to that party and trying to stop Albert Douglas from building his resort. You didn't want him to destroy Barmet Island." He pressed on. "You do remember Barmet Island right? I believe it was yours and Iola's special place. The second he told you the renovations were already underway; you went ballistic; and sent a man half your size crashing into a table."
"Who was he, Joe? Who was your attacker?"
Joe finally spoke through clenched teeth. "I don't know."
"Yes, you do." Frank argued back. "Who was your attacker?"
"I don't know."
"Who?!"
"I told you Frank, I don't know!" Joe exploded, unable to control his temper, his face going pale before turning brick-red.
A big smile spead across Frank's face. "Welcome back Joe." He knew that if there was one thing Joe hated, it was someone making him do something he didn't want to do.
"Good job, bro." Joe took a deep breath in order to calm himself down; he could feel his fear starting to dissipate as anger quickly took over. He finally spoke, "I honestly can't tell you who attacked me. All I can say is that he was dressed in black from head to toe and very muscular; I could see how strong his shoulders were".
"I don't care what this guy did to me." Joe looked up at his father. "But I do want to find him for Hattie's sake." He spoke heatedly.
"What do you mean? "Fenton asked, raising his eyebrows at this comment.
"He tried to break into her place."
"Your attacker tried to break into Hattie's home?" Fenton repeated exchanging looks with Frank and Officer Riley.
"Yes." Joe answered.
"The ski mask we found was lying beside a broken trellis." Officer Riley recalled. "Just a few feet away from where found Joe."
"That's because I literally pulled the guy down off of the thing." Joe stated. "It led straight up to Hattie's room. He was already halfway up. I didn't have time to think. I only knew that I had to do something to keep Hattie safe. The man losing his grip when we fell is what broke the trellis. The guy landed on me; I guess you can say I broke his fall".
"That's when..." His voice trailed off as his ordreal came flooding back to him.
"Joe, do you need a break?" Fenton placed his hand on his son's shoulder. He didn't want to push him any further. "We can do this later."
Joe looked to Frank for support. Frank nodded yes, encouraging him to go on.
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm certain. I have to do this."
Laura held on to Fenton's hand as she braced herself to hear the grueling details of her son's attack.
Joe took a breath and then went on to explain, "I got the wind knocked out of me when I hit the ground. The guy didn't help matters when he landed on top of me. Before I could catch my breath, he started to get up." He kept going as flashes of his ordeal played over and over in his head. "I threw my legs around his waist so he wouldn't get away. The next thing I knew, I got a sharp jab of his elbow into the pit of my stomach."
"He stood over me... looking at me with these dark, cold eyes… then he sat down on my chest... I couldn't breathe." Joe began to choke up as anger entered his voice. "Then his gloved hands...were around my neck." He instinctively touched the bruises on his neck. "I couldn't breathe. His hands squeezed, tighter and tighter...I needed air".
Joe stopped for a moment to compose himself, wiping his tears away before continuing. "I started kicking and screaming at him to get off me. Somehow I managed to reach up and gouge his eyes with my thumbs. He threw his hands up to his face screaming, "I'll kill you, you stupid kid!" and came back belting me hard around the face. And then his hands were back around my throat."
"The guy wouldn't let up; his grip only grew tighter. I didn't know what to do. I knew I was going to die. I started screaming for Frank." Joe felt the tears rolling down his face. Frank could feel his own eyes start to mist as the image of how he found Joe unconscious on the ground, came to mind. "All at once, I heard Frank's voice in my head, telling me to stay calm and think..."
Joe looked right at Frank as he said this. "I used that combat technique you taught me. Thank God it worked. I found myself sitting on top of the masked man's chest. Then I pulled off his mask."
"Did you see his face?" Frank asked anxiously.
"No. Someone hit me on the back of my head, knocking me to the ground." Joe said slowly, thinking out-loud. "I saw a man standing over me, his face came slowly into view, but my vision began to blur and then I must have blacked out."
Laura gave Joe a hug as everyone in the room fell silent, letting Joe's words sink in.
Suddenly Frank's eyes widened as he processed what Joe had just said. "Wait. How could the guy hit Joe on the back of the head, when Joe had him pinned to the ground?"
"Unless he had an accomplice." Officer Riley suggested.
"That would make sense" Fenton agreed. "But why break into Hattie's home?"
"Keys!" Joe piped up. "Did anyone find a key ring with several keys on it."
"We didn't find any keys." Officer Riley said. " Why?"
"They unlock every door in and out of Hattie's house."
"Oh my word!" Laura cried. She went over to the closet to look through Joe's clothes. "No keys," she announced.
"Maybe that was what they were after?" Frank theorized.
"Great." Joe huffed. "Where is Hattie?" He asked thinking of the sweet lady.
"She's staying at our house. Her doctor released her from the hospital this morning". Laura informed him, "Aunt Gertrude is with her".
"Good, because that house isn't safe for her." Joe quickly filled them in on the condition of the house. Fenton agreed to help make the house secure enough for Hattie.
"Dad, didn't you and Frank go to New York?" Joe said changing the subject. "Con said you had a lead on my attacker? What did you find out?" He caught everyone exchanging worried looks with Fenton. There was a look on the detective's face that told him something was up.
Frank ran a hand through his hair, not sure how this was going to go. Joe was already furious with them for investigating Mr. Douglas without him. How would he react to the news that Albert Douglas was at the top of their suspect list?
"I think I'm going to call Gertrude and check on Hattie." Laura giving her family a hug before she left, letting her husband handle this.
"Yes, I need to check in at the station." Officer Riley said leaving the three Hardy men alone.
"What? Dad, Frank what is it?" Joe demanded folding his arms to his chest. He saw the hesitation in Frank's eyes. "Don't forget I live in a house full of detectives. Not to mention being trained by the Great Detective himself." He looked at Fenton as he said this, "I know when something going on."
"Alright Joe." Fenton sighed wearily. "Before I do, promise me you won't get excited."
Joe could see the seriousness on their faces, and he began to feel a bit nervous. "Okay," he said, "I promise."
"There was a gray strain of hair was found in the ski mask."
"O-okay."
"A DNA test was done."
"What did you find out?"
"The DNA sample gave us a match to Hattie's late husband Harold Granger".
Joe shook his head. 'I don't understand... Harold Granger?"
"He was killed in a car accident four years ago." Frank picked up the story. "We think it may not have been an accident."
"Who do you think murdered him?"
"We're looking into that." Fenton stated.
"So what does this have to do with my attacker?"
"We believe whoever attacked you is somehow related to Harold Granger".
"Who?"
Frank sighed, took a deep breath, and just spit it out. "Albert Douglas"
"What?!" Joe gasped in response, looking back and forth between his father and brother."Are you saying Mr. Albert Douglas tried to kill me!"
"We don't have proof of it yet." Fenton put in. "Right now he's on our list of suspects."
"Okay then who else?"
"Richard Underwood." Frank and Fenton took turns filing Joe in on their trip to New York; beginning with Harold Granger being a former employee of Albery Douglas and Richard Underwood's real estate company and ending with Douglas' office having been cleaned out. "We're in the process of looking for him." Fenton concluded.
"I can't be a part of this investigation, can I?" Joe asked, looking up at Fenton. Fenton suddenly felt his sons eyes on him wanting for an answer. He felt his eyes misting over as he gathered the strength he needed to do this. He hated this part, hated having to break his son's heart. Brushing the tears from his eyes he prayed, "God, give me the strength to do this". Then he sat down next to Joe's hospital bed and looked him straight in the eye. "Joe, you know I love you and would never say or do anything to hurt you."
Joe lowered his head at this, already knowing his father's answer.
"A part of me wants you to be a part of this case." Fenton paused before continuing. "But, I can't let you help us investigate Albert Douglas. With that restraining order against you, Joe, I won't take the risk of the two of you crossing paths. I can't let you go to jail." His voice began to crack with heavy emotion. "
Feeling the need to touch his baby boy, Fenton gently brought his hand to the side of Joe's face, sweeping the tears away with his thumb as his eyes blazed in anger, letting them travel down to the bruises in the shape of handprints, circling Joe's throat. "I came close to losing you once, I won't let it happen again."
"It's okay, Dad I understand..." Joe replied trying to sound nonchalant, but the disappointment was evident on his face. His bottom lip started quivering as tears ran down his cheeks. "I'm sorry Frank...guess you're on your own..for this one."
"Dad there must be something Joe can do? He's my partner, we're a team". Frank pleaded his voice mixed in with bits of sadness and anger. Then, taking a deep breath, Frank looked at his father.
"If Joe can't be a part of this, I quit".
Joe's mouth dropped open in shock at Frank's bombshell. "Frank, you can't quit" he said, finding his voice. "One of us has to stay on this. It has to be you".
"You don't really need me. Frank, you can solve this case all on your own. You're good at what you do". Then he concluded with, "Other then Dad, you're the best detective there is."
"So are you." Frank shot back. "If you wouldn't let your insecurities get in the way, you would see that."
"Maybe there is a way Joe can be a part of this" Fenton spoke up, grabbing the boys' attention. After seeing how devastated Frank was about leaving Joe in the hospital alone and Joe needing Frank to chase his fears away, it would be too cruel to split them up again.
"Are you serious?" Frank asked.
"I can really be a part of this?" Joe asked, not daring to hope.
"Yes, Joe you can."
The brothers' eyes lit up with excitement, upon hearing the good news.
"Since your community service involves Hattie, it looks like she is also, somehow, a part of all this". Fenton sighed heavily before replying, "Joe once you're released from the hospital, you and Frank will be keeping an eye on her ."
"Thank you Dad. We will. We'll keep Hattie safe". Joe quickly wiped the tears from his face as a big smile spread across his lips. Frank, too, was grinning from ear to ear. "Frank, it looks like you got your partner back".