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The Divine Right of Kings	By : vinsmouse Category: G through L > Hardy Boys Series Views: 5915 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hardy Boys, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter 14

Flipping through the mail Laura paused as she came to an envelope addressed to Joe. She didn’t recognize the handwriting and there was no return address. It was postmarked Boston, Joe didn’t know anybody there. She was considering what to do with it when Joe came down the stairs.

As usual Joe had slept late. After getting dressed he had decided to go downstairs to find something to eat. Seeing his mother standing near the bottom of the stairs, sorting the mail, he hesitated.

Laura’s heart ached as her son stood uncertainly on the stairs. As he turned to go back upstairs she remembered the letter. “Joe,” she called, expecting him to turn around. “You have a letter,” she told him when he only froze on the stairs, keeping his back to her.

Turning around Joe moved down the steps. Taking the letter from his mother’s outstretched hand he mumbled his thanks before hurrying back up the stairs. Flopping down on his bed Joe lay back, one arm thrown over his face. He couldn’t do this. How was he supposed to live here with the woman he held at least partially responsible for his suffering? He didn’t really blame her for the whippings, well maybe a little for the second one if he was honest, but certainly not for the first. It was her last escape attempt; he knew that had to be the intention behind spiking their food that he couldn’t get past. It was that action that had given Red the chance to take him into the kitchen and…he shuddered pushing the memories away.

“Hey Joe, you okay?”

Joe turned his head towards the door to see Frank standing there, a concerned look on his face. “Yeah, I guess.”

Frank frowned, that hadn’t sounded very convincing. “You want to talk about it?”

“Not if you’re just going to defend her,” Joe sullenly replied.

Frank sighed. He didn’t blame Joe for doubting their mother but why did he have to be so stubborn? If he’d only listen to them he’d realize that Mom wasn’t guilty of spiking their captors’ food. Knowing that forcing Joe to do anything he didn’t want to would only backfire he kept his mouth shut. “We can talk about whatever you want.”

“Nothing to talk about,” Joe mumbled. A part of him wanted to talk to Frank but he knew any discussion between them would lead to his brother trying to defend his mother.

“Okay,” Frank said, stomping down on his disappointment. “I’m going over to Phil’s later, you want to come along?”

“No thanks.”

“Are you planning to stay inside the rest of the summer?” Joe hadn’t been outside even once in the days since they’d come home. He had barely been out of his room.

“What if I am?”

Frank sat down on the bed. “Joe you need to get out of the house.”

“Why? So people can stare at me?”

Frank blinked, he hadn’t been expecting that. “What are you talking about?”

“I see them Frank, whenever I look out the window there’s always somebody staring towards the house and pointing.”

“Maybe they just think it’s a nice house,” Frank suggested. He knew it was lame but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Ever since the story had broke, even though most of the details weren’t being reported, people had been walking through their neighborhood or driving slowly down the street. He guessed they were curious but it was creepy and rude and he didn’t like it at all.

“I’m not stupid Frank,” Joe growled.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Frank quietly apologized. “But Joe they don’t really know anything, the news hasn’t reported any details.” He knew his brother hadn’t seen or heard any of the news reports. He seemed to be avoiding them as much as he was avoiding their mother.

“It doesn’t stop them from staring and pointing does it?” Joe miserably asked.

Frank sighed. “No, guess it doesn’t. So that’s it then? You’re just going to hide inside for the rest of your life because a bunch of ignorant people don’t have any decency?”

Joe blew out a breath. He knew his brother was right but he wasn’t ready. Why couldn’t Frank understand that? “I’m just not ready Frank, please.”

Frank hated the misery he could hear in his brother’s voice. Damn those men, he wished he could inflict as much pain on Tomlinson as Joe had suffered. They had no right to hurt innocent people like this. He wanted to keep talking but it was easy to see that Joe didn’t, if he kept pushing it wouldn’t end well. Casting his eyes around the room, hoping to find a distraction, he noticed the letter still clutched in Joe’s hand. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the envelope.

Joe looked down, surprised to see the letter. He had forgotten all about it. “I don’t know,” he admitted. Sitting up, he opened the envelope and removed the letter. Unfolding it he began to read, the first sentence bringing a gasp.

“What is it?” Frank asked as he reached for the letter. He had heard of crime victims sometimes getting hate mail from strangers, was that what Joe was holding?

Joe pulled the letter out of Frank’s reach. “It’s,” he hesitated, “from my penpal.”

“Penpal?” Frank doubtfully asked. Why would Joe gasp if it was just a letter from a penpal? “I didn’t know you had a penpal.”

“School project,” Joe shrugged. “I forgot about it.”

Well that could explain the gasp, maybe. “I don’t remember you saying anything.”

Joe could easily hear the suspicion in Frank’s voice, or maybe it was just his own guilty conscience. “You don’t tell me about every assignment you have do you?” Joe countered.

Frank narrowed his eyes. “Answering a question with a question little brother?”

“Am I a suspect?” Joe asked. “You going to start checking my mail now? Maybe going through my emails?” Joe tossed the letter towards his brother. “Here, knock yourself out,” he snapped.

Frank didn’t even glance at the letter. “I don’t want to read your mail Joe, either kind. I didn’t mean to treat you like that I was just worried.”

“Worried? About a letter?” Joe made no attempt to hide his confusion.

“I thought maybe it was from some weirdo or something.”

Joe’s confusion only grew with this answer. “What? Why would you think that?”

Frank shrugged, “It was stupid.”

“Frank?”

“I’ve heard about crime victims getting hate mail and stuff. When you gasped like you did I thought maybe that’s what the letter was.”

“That’s not stupid Frank,” Joe protested.

“Here,” Frank offered the letter back to his brother. Frank stood up and moved to the door. “Think about going to Phil’s, okay?”

“I’ll think about it,” Joe agreed. The moment the door closed Joe’s attention turned to the letter. He knew it wasn’t right to lie to Frank but if he knew the truth he’d take the letter to their father and Joe would never get to read it. He wasn’t sure why but he needed to see for himself what Alex had to say. He had known, with the first sentence, who the letter was from. Throwing it at Frank like he had was a risk but he had done it hoping his brother’s guilt would keep him from looking at the letter. He felt bad manipulating Frank like that but what else could he do if he was going to read it for himself?

Dear Joey,

I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from pet, I only ask that you read this for yourself. What you do with it after that is entirely up to you. I don’t know if your father has told you anything. That he has found information about me I have no doubt. I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that the family Red had chosen was that of such a well known man as Fenton Hardy.

I’m not quite sure what to say to you Joey. I suppose an apology is the best place to begin. I am more sorry than I can tell you pet. You should never have been made to suffer as you were, either at my hands or Red’s. You are a special boy Joey, never let anybody tell you differently. Throughout that day I could see your great capacity for love and forgiveness. Don’t, please don’t, let what Red and I did destroy that ability. Are you terribly confused pet?

Maybe I should give you a bit of background. I met Red, though then I knew him as Gary, when we were teenagers. We quickly became great friends, brothers you could almost say. Each supported the other as best we could during school and after in our travels. For many years we lived a happy existence. As we traveled the country, we saw many sights, both well known and quite obscure. For me it was the obscure sights I loved best but Gary was ever one for the famous and infamous.

Then came the day our happy life came to an end, at least it did for me. I don’t believe Red ever felt any regret for the path we took. I don’t know what inspired Red but one day he came to me talking about his plans. Red liked children, as you unfortunately learned. Gender made no difference, only that they were innocent. I had known this for awhile but as Red had never acted on his desires I didn’t feel there was anything I could do. That day he told me a horrible plan, the most awful plan I’d ever heard. He had seen a girl, just barely a teenager, and he wanted her. He was determined that he would have her and nobody would stand in his way. His intention was to break into her home, killing her entire family, before taking her with him. He planned to kill her when he was finished with her.

I didn’t know what to do pet. Imagine if your brother told you of such a plan. Could you turn him into the police? Even if you could what could they do when he had yet to act? That was my problem. Red was like a brother and he hadn’t actually broken any laws yet so what could the police do? That is if I could bring myself to turn him in. Needless to say I didn’t tell anybody. Instead I tried to talk him out of his plan, to no avail.

Ultimately, to my own horror, I accompanied him on his path. I could, I told myself, prevent him from carrying out the plan. The moment we were through that first door I knew it would never happen. At that point, as guilty as he, I realized I could only try to minimize the damage.

Joe’s hands shook as he read the letter. Laying the paper aside he stumbled to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. How could anybody plan to do that? He couldn’t imagine Frank ever doing something so horrible but he supposed he could understand Alex’s dilemma. How do you, when faced with the reality, turn your brother over to the police? Glancing towards his room he could see the letter lying on his bed. Did he want to read anymore, he asked himself. No, honestly he didn’t, but he had to know the whole story. He deserved to know.

Sitting on his bed once more, he again took up the letter.

It was, I admit, my idea to stay with the family that whole day. The whipping boy aspect was mine as well. I told you I like obscure things, which includes knowledge and the whipping boy isn’t very well known. I hoped by the end of the day Red would realize the risks of carrying out his plan. He did but only partially. We had many arguments that day. Though they saw us in heated conversation the family didn’t actually hear any of it. I couldn’t dissuade Red from taking the child with us but I was able to convince him not to kill anybody. I pointed out that the police would look for us a lot harder if people died.

Beginning that day and spanning several years Red and I attacked many families like your own. With each family I hoped it would be the last but my friend would never be sated for long. Each family was different of course but yet the events played out in similar ways. As we attempted with you each time we would take the whipping child with us. We did, I promise, return them after three days even if their families contacted the police. Unfortunately, no matter how I tried, Red always managed to have his way with the child. I hated it, seeing the light of innocence fade from their eyes as my friend hurt them in ways nobody should ever experience, least of all a child. There was nothing I could do though. I was in as deep as Red after the first attack and I feared that if I left him he would begin killing as he had originally planned.

Dropping the letter Joe jumped to his feet. He barely made it to the toilet in time. That would have happened to him if the police hadn’t intervened. He wouldn’t read anymore, he decided, he couldn’t. He rinsed his mouth and returned to his bedroom. Picking up the letter, he had every intention of taking it to his dad. Something, curiosity, stupidity, he didn’t know, stopped him. Before he knew it he was once more seated on the bed, reading.

I don’t know how the police knew we were at your house. I suspect your mother managed to get a message out, maybe that last phone call. However it happened I was never so glad in my life. I didn’t lie pet; you are a very special boy. The thought of Red hurting you as he had the others hurt me more than I could say, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop him. When I saw the SWAT team I didn’t see police or my freedom being lost. I saw only one thing Joey, a chance to save you from the fate of the others before you. I knew Red wouldn’t give in; he would try to shoot it out with the police. I couldn’t kill him pet, he was my brother in all but name, but I could let him die to protect you. No matter how much I will miss him, I can’t regret my actions, not when they saved you the horror he would have visited upon you. I hope you can forgive me pet, someday, for my part in your suffering.

Yours,

Alex

P.S. I would love to hear from you, though I understand if you don’t wish to correspond. If you do you can send the letter to my friend Wendy. She will forward the letter to my lawyer who will bring it to me. This is, I regret, the only way we can converse freely. Her address is included on the back of this letter.

Turning the letter over Joe found the address just as Alex had said he would. Folding the letter, he placed it back in the envelope before slipping it into his desk drawer. He didn’t know yet if he would respond.

TBC...

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The Divine Right of Kings