Chapter Six

After another restless night, Frank dragged himself to work the next morning. Carson had gone on earlier, seemingly avoiding him to not address the subject of Nancy. She never came back the night before after being with Owen's parents but Hannah explained that more than likely, Nancy went back to Chicago to go to work Monday morning. Frank just hoped she was okay after what he witnessed with Owen. Still, he regretted not stopping her from going with the man. If there was one thing Frank didn't want it was to see Nancy hurt.

Plopping his briefcase onto his desk and himself into the chair, Frank stared at the phone. There was something else bothering him and Nancy's words echoed in his mind, reminding him of it: "They might surprise you, Frank." Was she right about his father and brother?

Taking a deep breath, Frank lifted the phone from the cradle and asked the operator what he remembered was his father's direct line at his office. He was sure that the number would not have changed but when a woman's voice answered the phone, Frank immediately hung up, not waiting to hear what she completely said. He didn't recognize the woman's voice but his father could have hired someone different than the older woman who worked for him eight years before.

Frank bit his lip and picked up the phone again. As he waited for the operator to connect him to the other line, he leaned back in his chair, thinking about what he was going to say if someone else answered. Just as he heard a click on the phone, Frank felt someone was watching him. He looked up to see Owen standing near the edge of his desk, a sly smirk on his face.

"Hey, Frank," the man replied pleasantly though Frank could see there was no pleasantness in his eyes. "Do you have a minute?"

Frank took a deep breath and rested the phone back into its cradle. "Owen," he said politely, a phony smile stretching across his face. Clasping his hands in front of him, Frank continued. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like a chat, Frank," Owen stated, gesturing away from Frank's desk. "In private, of course. That is unless you have some pertinent business to attend to."

"No, nothing pertinent," he shook his head. Rather reluctantly, he rose from his chair and stepped away from the desk. Frank followed Owen but stopped when he heard a desk phone ring, wondering if it was his.

"If it's for you, Frank," the lawyer stated, sensing Frank's thoughts, "they'll call back later. This is more important."

"Okay," Frank said cautiously. Owen led him to an empty conference room and held it open for him. "What is it that you need to speak with me about in private, Owen?"

"How are you settling in, Frank?" Owen asked pompously, ignoring his question. He gestured Frank to a nearby chair as he propped himself on the table. "Enjoying your time here?"

"Yes, I'm getting along fine, Owen," Frank answered. He remained standing, eyeing Owen with open wariness. "What's this all about?"

"I'll cut to the chase then," the lawyer said, getting off the table. He put his hands in his pockets and looked up at him with an intensity that put Frank on high alert. "I'm getting married to Nancy in a few weeks. I want you to understand that."

"I do," Frank nodded, suddenly knowing where the conversation was going. "What does that have to do with me?"

Owen took a step forward, his nose a few inches lower than Frank's and his head tilted back slightly to look at him. "I want you out of my way, Hardy," he growled. Frank quirked an eyebrow, his face set tight. "You stay away from her. Do you understand?"

"And why would I need to stay away from Nancy?"

"Nancy doesn't know what she wants," Owen explained, "but she doesn't need you to confuse her more."

"Is this coming from her?" Frank asked politely though his heart pounded. "Or are you afraid she'll change her mind?"

Owen sneered at him though Frank showed no emotion. His anger, on the other hand, was rising and he knew if he didn't get away soon, that anger would explode. The only thing Frank held on to was the ridiculousness of Owen trying to be intimidating considering he was several inches shorter than him. Owen seemed more like a chihuahua trying to intimidate a rottweiler.

"You might think you're high and mighty, Frank, because you have the good graces of the 'great' Carson Drew," the man continued to peck, his voice low and demeaning, "but you're nothing more than a has been. You will not get what you came here for and you sure as hell won't get my future wife. Stay out of my way, if you know what's good for you."

With that, Owen turned on a heel and left the room. The moment the door slammed shut, Frank let out the breath he was holding, his anger pulsating. There was no way he was going to let Nancy ruin her life by marrying a man like Owen. But there had to be another reason as to why Owen was so intent on having his way with her. And there was only one way Frank knew how to find out: good, old-fashioned snooping.

"Have you spoken to Nancy lately?" Fenton asked nonchalantly at dinner Monday night. Joe looked up from his plate, his fork hanging in front of his open mouth. Gertrude eyed the two Hardy men as she ate her meal though she said nothing.

"No, Dad," Joe shook his head, confused. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing," his father shrugged, returning to his food. "I...I just thought about her and I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"As far as I know, she is," he muttered, "especially considering who's she's marrying."

"Now, Joe," Gertrude scolded, slapping her hand on her thigh. "It is not your place to be judgmental. This young man she's marrying might be a..."

"Jerk," Joe retorted.

"Oh, come now," she laughed. "He can't be that bad!"

"Oh, no, Aunt Trudy," the young Hardy's eyes went wide, "he is. Believe me, he is. Owen seemed to swoop in at the right time and take advantage of her. It's not right."

"Have you told her that though?" Fenton asked.

"Well, not really," he answered sadly. "We've been so busy lately. especially with the whole thing with that car, that I haven't had the chance to really talk to Nancy on the phone. It's been a few weeks since I last spoke with her." He scooped another heaping spoonful of peas into his mouth then continued. "Vanessa's been talking to her though. Apparently, Nancy called her Sunday night in a tizzy about something but she didn't really say what it was. Something about having too much going on and Owen was being weird or something. I don't know. You'd have to ask Vanessa. She really likes Nancy as a friend. She just wished they lived a little closer together. You know me though. Girl talk is not my forte."

"We know," his father shook his head. "So, Nancy didn't say anything as to what's going on?"

"No, Dad," Joe growled, rolling his eyes. "Im sure if there was something really wrong, she would have called me about it. Why the sudden interest in Nancy anyway?"

"I...I told you," Fenton mumbled, looking down at his food. "I thought maybe you talked to her recently. That's all."

"Right," he replied, picking at his food.

Something was off with Nancy, especially since she called Vanessa Sunday night. Even his father sensed it. But if it hadn't been for all the cases he's been working on and now the reopening of his mother's case, everything has been crazy for him to call her. He needed to since Vanessa was really upset about Nancy. She wasn't only in a tizzy when she called, she was crying about something and Joe had a feeling it had everything to do with Owen. The moment he got the chance, he was going to call her. Maybe he could finally talk some sense into her before he arrived there in a few weeks for the wedding. Joe just didn't know when that was going to happen.

At lunch the next day, Frank decided to go back to the Drew's house, hoping to be able to get into Carson's office. He tried the day before at the office only to find a few files here and there on Owen Hartley but it was mostly the closed case files that anyone would be able to access. The lawyer seemed to be exemplary in his cases which caused Frank to wonder why Owen acted the way he did. There had to be a way to find out who the real Owen Hartley was.

Carson's home office though, held the actual personnel files Frank was looking for. He just hoped that Hannah wasn't home so he could go through it without having to sneak in. Unfortunately, she was there, fixing dinner for the evening. Even though he tried to hide his disappointment as he walked in the door, Hannah picked up on it quickly.

"Gee, is my presence really that bad?" she kidded, passing him a carrot she just cut up.

"No, it's just…" Frank paused, unsure of what to say. He realized the best thing for him to do was to be honest with her. "Truthfully, Hannah, I was hoping to look into Mr. Drew's office to see if I can find anything on Owen Hartley."

Hannah looked at him blankly, the knife in her hand poised to cut another carrot though she didn't move. For a moment, Frank thought he made a mistake in telling her, worried that he would be sent packing. Hannah slowly lowered the knife to the cutting board and laughed.

"I was wondering when you were going to look into that snake!"

"You…you were?" Frank stammered in surprise.

"Of course I was! Only I was hoping you'd figure it out long before now."

"I've only been here for a little over a week and a half, Hannah," he pointed out. "Plus you literally just told me about Nancy and Owen on Saturday. By the way, why didn't you tell me sooner about her?"

"You never asked," she shrugged walking out of the kitchen. Hannah turned stared at him. "Are you coming?"

"Oh, right." Frank quickly followed her down the short hall to a door he recognized as Carson's office.

"I'm assuming Carson doesn't know you're here, right?" When he shook his head, she nodded. "We'll just keep that to ourselves then, won't we?" Hannah winked at him as she opened the door. The office beyond was a hardwood paneled room filled with books. Two file cabinets stood on either side of the large oak desk in the middle of the room. "I'm not sure what you'll be able to find anything though. Carson usually reads through the personnel files as they come in though I'm not sure when the last time he looked at some of them. He pretty thorough though."

"Whatever I can find may help me figure out Owen," he stated, walking around the solid oak desk. "I just want something…anything that will…"

"Show Nancy who he is?" Hannah ended his sentence. Frank grimly nodded and opened one of the file cabinets. The housekeeper walked up to him and took his hand. "She's figuring it out on her own, Frank. Just give her time and she'll walk away from him."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Hannah," he admitted in a low voice. "I'm worried she's going to get hurt. I want something that is going to take him out of her life for good before that happens."

"You really do care about her, don't you?" she smiled. When he nodded, Hannah patted his hand. "You'll find it. I trust you and Nancy will appreciate it when the time comes. Now, don't forget to go back to work."

"I won't."

"I'll come get you in a bit then." Hannah then left, closing the door behind her.

Frank scanned through the files. It took three drawers before he found what he was looking for: Owen's personnel file. Frank pulled it out, finding it thicker than the others he saw. What he found were complaints against Owen but not from Carson Drew's firm. The man's previous employer apparently fired Owen for ethics violations. There was also an accusation of evidence tampering and harassment.

"Why would Mr. Drew hire a guy like Owen knowing he was trouble?" Frank mumbled under his breath. Knowing how Carson Drew was personally, it made Frank wonder the man's reasoning behind it all.

He continued to investigate until Hannah came back, urging him to get back to the office before he got into trouble. He gathered all the papers he looked through and carefully put them back where he found them. His legal pad was filled with notes and information including names, dates, and other things that could link Owen to something. All Frank had to do was make the calls and get the scoop on where the accusations came from. He was determined more than ever to find out more on Owen now that he had a starting place.

As he walked down the street toward the firm, Frank felt a new sense of purpose with what he had. And it felt good to him. It may have been years since he was a private investigator but he still knew a few things after eight years of studying to be a lawyer. Everything that Frank found though, made him wonder if Carson Drew was hiding something more about Owen. Whatever it was, it kept Owen in the firm and Carson in fear of intervening with his daughter. Frank was going to dig deeper and help Carson, no matter what it took.

"Hello?" Fenton asked into the phone. It was Thursday afternoon and he was still in his office, picking through a few cases before heading home.

"I'm looking for Fenton Hardy?" asked a man's voice.

"This is he," he replied, settling back into his chair. "What can I help you with?"

"Oh, it's me who can help you, Mr. Hardy," the man stated in a slithery voice. Fenton noticed a slight twinge of an accent though he couldn't place it right away. "I hear you are still looking into who killed your wife."

"I may be," Fenton huffed, suddenly interested. "Do you have anything to help?"

"A man was found in the lake not long ago."

"Correct. What do you know about it?"

"I know a lot more, Mr. Hardy," the man continued. "That man was the one responsible for your wife's untimely death. Unfortunately for him, he made a mistake that cost him his own life."

The detective's heart pounded as he leaned forward, listening to the mysterious caller. "What…" he squeaked then cleared his throat. "What do you mean by that?"

The caller chuckled. "I was the one who killed him. Your wife wasn't supposed to die, Mr. Hardy. She was only going to be used as leverage."

"For what?"

Fenton snapped his fingers when he saw Joe hobble by the door, motioning him into his office. As his son settled into the chair, Fenton listened as the man on the phone continued.

"You may want to ask your son about that," he announced. Fenton looked up at Joe, his eyes wide in alarm. "He has something that I want back. You have until Friday to get it to me, otherwise, we'll be having a very different conversation."

Before Fenton could say anything more, the line went dead. He rested the phone in the cradle and looked back at Joe. The young man had a confused look on his face, wondering what was going on.

"Dad, what…" he began before Fenton cut him off.

"Leg bothering you again?"

"Yes, seems like it's more and more often lately. What was that all about?"

"A man just admitted to killing the driver of the car that was found in the lake last week."

"What?"

"The driver was the one who killed…" Fenton leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "He said to ask you about it."

"Me?" Joe pointed to himself in surprise. "Why would he think that?"

"He said that my son had something that he wanted back," he explained, thinking for a brief moment. "Do you know anything about that?"

"How?" the young Hardy shrugged. "I barely remember the past three years, let alone something that could have happened eight years ago."

"I understand that but this man probably won't." Fenton stopped, biting his lip in consternation. "Are you sure you didn't acquire anything while you and Frank were investigating together? Maybe something that was evidence and was just never logged or sent to the police?"

"Nope," Joe shook his head. "There's nothing that I can actually remember or really want to, for that matter."

"Joe…" his father gave him a look.

"You know why I say that, Dad."

"I know. It's a wonder Vanessa puts up with you, Joe," Fenton sighed, rubbing his temple. "Please?"

"All right, all right, I get it." Joe rolled his eyes. "There were a few times that I remember with…Frank but nothing stands out that would help with this."

The two got quiet, both of them thinking about the phone call. Suddenly, the father and son looked at each other.

"You don't think…" Joe started, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, I do," his father nodded with a grim look. "He wasn't talking about you. He was talking about Frank. Frank has what the man is looking for."

"But, Dad," he replied, leaning forward in the chair, "we have no idea where to start looking for Frank let alone finding him by tomorrow. We don't even know what the man wants, for crying out loud! Plus why would Frank help us anyway? He left us, remember?"

"After we both blamed him for what happened to your mother," Fenton pointed out. Joe looked away in shame. "We should have been more supportive and you know it. And I still blame myself for that fiasco but I'm not going to let it go. I want to find Frank and bring him home before someone goes out and finds him! He won't know this is going on and he could be in danger for all we know."

As Joe continued to sulk, Fenton thought about where they could start in the search. He knew Laura tried to get Frank to go to school out west but he wasn't sure exactly where. Plus he wasn't sure if Frank followed that path in the first place. If he did, where would he go from there? He could be anywhere across the country or even overseas for all he knew. Then a thought suddenly came to mind. Fenton looked over at his other son who noticed the sudden attention.

"What?" Joe asked confused.

"Monday morning, I got a phone call."

"Okay, don't you normally get one?"

"Yes, but this one was different," Fenton said, waving dismissively. "Maris answered the phone but the person hung up on her before she said much."

"Okay…" Joe studied his father, waiting. "Still not seeing the connection here."

"Joe, the second time happened minutes later but I answered it."

"And?"

"No one said anything but they didn't hang up right away like before." He looked back up at his son who rolled his eyes. "Someone said something on the other line and I could have sworn…I tried to have the operator call the number back but no one answered. So I didn't try again. That's not what is bothering me about the call though."

"Then what is?"

Fenton sighed, trying to remember what he heard on the other side of the phone call. Then the realization hit him and he looked up at Joe. "I think Frank was trying to call me on Monday."

"Dad, that was three days ago," Joe said pointedly. "Why hasn't he called back since if it was really him?"

"I don't know why," he shrugged. "Maybe he got busy…or something came up and he forgot…or…"

"Or maybe it was someone who dialed the wrong number, Dad." His son shook his head and scoffed as he slowly rose from his seat. "I think I'm going to head home and put my leg up. Dang it!" Joe slapped his forehead in defeat. "I have to get back to my desk. There's a file I need to finish up with before I even get to go home. If you need me for anything else, keep it to yourself. I need to finish this."

"I'm sure it was him, Joe!" Fenton called out as his son limped out of the office.

"Sure it was, Dad."

"I know it was," he mumbled, swirling around in his chair to face the window.

Fenton stared outside, watching the townspeople of Bayport walk by. The town was just as beautiful as it was years before, when his wife was still alive. There were people who still stopped by to give their condolences to him even after all the years had passed. Fenton just wished his wife was there instead of the condolences.

Sighing, he turned back to his desk and stared at the phone that lay dormant. If Frank really did call earlier in the week, why didn't he call back? Was Joe right and it was just wishful thinking that his oldest son called? Fenton shook his head, knowing he was right. He knew what he heard over the phone. He just wished he knew where Frank was to warn him before it was too late.

Authors Note:

Well, it's officially the last day of school for me! Well, tomorrow, that is. Woo hoo! I am so excited for the summer! At least, I think I am. Only June seems to be busy for us. Anyway, thank you to all who read the last chapter and another one to those who left reviews! Thank you all for the support of this story! I greatly appreciate it! So, now we're diving into Owen's background and more will come on that. I know most of you already hate him but this probably is just icing on the cake for that. And there's something brewing in Bayport that is going to cause a ruckus as well. Hmm...what will happen next? Just keep an eye out for the details, especially ones that are subtle or weren't mentioned before. Stay tuned for more. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and, if you will, please leave a review to let me know what you think! Have a great weekend and God bless!