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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
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Chapter 15

“I don’t want you to go over there,” Edith Cohen informed her son.

Phil sighed. He understood his mother’s feelings, honestly he did, but that didn’t make the over protectiveness any easier to deal with. He counted to ten before replying. “Nothing is going to happen to me mom.”

“You can’t know that,” Edith countered. “The last time you went over there I’m sure you weren’t expecting to spend the day as a hostage to a couple of lunatics.”

“No I wasn’t,” Phil admitted. “But how often do you think something like that is going to happen? I need to go mom, for myself as much as for Frank and Joe.”

“Now you see I don’t understand that either. Why do you need to talk to Joe? Convincing him of his mother’s innocence should fall to his family.”

Phil shook his head. “Only he won’t listen to them, he thinks they’re just defending Mrs. Hardy. Frank thinks he might listen to me because I don’t have any reason to lie to him. Besides I need to face my own fears, maybe then the nightmares will stop.” Phil could have kicked himself, he hadn’t meant to let that out.

“Nightmares? Oh baby why didn’t you tell me?” Edith crooned as she wrapped her arms around him. “I could ask Dr. Brewer if he could recommend somebody for you.”

Phil squirmed out of her hold. “I don’t need a shrink mom, but I do think seeing the house will help a lot.”

Edith sighed, resigned to what would happen. She had never been able to argue her husband away from something he was determined to do, unfortunately for her Phil was as stubborn as his father. “Alright, you can go,” she finally agreed.

Phil leaned down, kissing her cheek and giving her an encouraging smile. “Thanks mom, I’ll be home for supper.”

“You had better be.” Edith said, giving him an indulgent smile.

“Mr. Tomlinson you are being charged with breaking and entering, unlawful imprisonment, attempted kidnapping and assault of a minor,” Judge Henry Jacobs read out the charges in a solemn tone. “How do you plead?”

“Your honor my client pleads not guilty,” Broderick stated for the record.

“So entered,” Judge Jacobs intoned. “Now to the matter of bail.”

“Your honor given the seriousness of the crimes, the defendant’s wealth and lack of ties to the area the state request that no bail be given,” the prosecutor Evan Sanders said.

Jacobs nodded, “Mr. Lovell?”

Broderick stood again. “Your honor while it is true my client has no ties to the area it is also true that he has no criminal record. Denying him bail would be a clear violation of his constitutional rights.”

“Hmmm,” the judge looked down, carefully perusing the files in front of him. Privately he agreed with Sanders but the defendant did enjoy certain rights. “Bail is set at,” he looked down again, calculating, “two million dollars.” Banging the gavel down he signaled the end of the hearing.

Alex smiled as the bailiff appeared to escort him back to the jail; he’d be out by this afternoon. If his father wouldn’t go the bail he had his own money. He would let the old man pay if he liked, after all who was Alex to deny his father the salve for his guilt. If he hadn’t insisted on bringing his mother home before she was ready Annaleise Tomlinson would still be alive.

True to his prediction Alex walked out of the Bayport jail that afternoon free to go where he liked until the trial; that had been three days ago. He had nearly laughed when the police chief solemnly informed him that they’d be watching him. Did they honestly think he was stupid? Of course they’d be watching, so would the feds for that matter. It must really rankle for the feds right now. All of those open cases and they couldn’t bring him up on charges because the state of New York had first crack at him, per the judges orders. It had been nearly a week since he had given the letter to his attorney, Joey must have gotten it by now. Alex wondered if he would reply.

Fenton was once more shut in his office, reading through the material Sam had gathered on Tomlinson and Wyndham. God he needed a break, Fenton thought as he leaned back in his chair trying to relax. As he sat, eyes closed, his thoughts wandered to a conversation he’d had with Laura a few days earlier.

“Laura are the boys here?” Fenton asked as he came into the kitchen.

Seeing the anxious look on her husband’s face Laura felt her heart stutter. “Yes, what’s wrong?”

Fenton let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Closing the distance he wrapped his arms around his wife. “I don’t want you to panic darling,” he began in a soothing tone, “but Tomlinson was let out on bail.”

“What?” Laura gasped as her face drained of color. “How could they let him out Fenton? Is he going to come after Joe?”

“The judge didn’t have any choice but to set bail. He set it very high but obviously it wasn’t high enough.” It wasn’t easy but Fenton managed to keep the anger from his voice. “I won’t lie to you love, he might try to get to Joe but I won’t let him hurt our son again, I promise.”

“Don’t,” Laura said, drawing away from him. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep Fenton.”

“You don’t trust me to protect our family?” Fenton couldn’t help feeling hurt at the lack of confidence.

“Oh Fenton, of course I trust you,” Laura assured her husband. “But that man spent years terrorizing families without being caught you can’t possibly promise you won’t let him hurt Joe again.” She hugged him close. “Oh Fenton, I know you’ll do your very best to protect all of us but your only one man darling.”

Relief flooded Fenton. He had been afraid for a moment. He knew he couldn’t handle it if Laura lost faith in him, in his abilities. Fenton knew that most people saw him as a strong, capable man but he alone knew the truth. His strength came from the love and faith his Laura bestowed upon him, without her he would be nothing.

Fenton forced his thoughts away from the path they’d wandered down. The more evidence they could find against Tomlinson the better. If he was going to keep his promise to Laura he needed to focus on that.

“Hey Joe, you want to hang out with me and Phil?” Frank asked.

Joe looked up from his desk. “I’m kind of busy,” he said with a shake of his head.

Frank frowned. “Come on little brother, we could play your new video game,” he tempted the younger boy.

“You’re not going away until I agree, are you?” Joe asked, a small smile playing about his lips. He was glad that Phil still wanted to come over. It would have been awful for Frank to lose a good friend because of Alex and Red.

“And everybody thinks I’m the smart one,” Frank teased.

Joe chuckled. “Alright I’ll get the game and meet you downstairs.”

“Did you convince Joe to come out of his room?” Phil asked as Frank came back into his room. He knew his friend was worried about the younger boy. Frank had told him how Joe spent most of his time in his room, though he was eating with the family again. He still hadn’t forgiven his mother nor would he give his father or brother a chance to tell them what they had learned. Phil wasn’t sure they should give Joe all the details, it had been enough to make him sick and he hadn’t been targeted by their captors. He wasn’t sure the younger teen would be able to handle the truth of what the two men had planned for him.

“Yeah, he’s going to get his new video game and meet us downstairs.” Frank shot another worried glance towards his brother’s room.

Phil squeezed Frank’s shoulder. “He’s going to be okay Frank,” he assured the other boy.

Frank nodded and led the way downstairs. Joe joined them a few minutes later. For the next hour the three boys played the game, for a time forgetting all of the problems two psychos had brought into their lives.

“I’m going to get a drink, you two want anything?” Frank asked, pushing himself to his feet.

“A coke please,” Phil replied.

“Joe?”

Joe looked up, “Coke I guess.”

“Be right back,” Frank said. Giving Phil a significant look he left the room.

“You doing okay?” Phil asked.

Joe shrugged. “I guess.”

“It must have been a shock.”

“Huh?” Joe shot him a confused look.

“What those two men did to all those people,” Phil replied. “Didn’t anybody tell you?” He knew, of course, that they hadn’t.

Joe shook his head. Alex had told him but he couldn’t very well tell that to Phil or anybody else.

“Oh, then I guess you don’t know what they figured out either.”

“What they figured out?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t say anything,” Phil hedged. “I don’t want to upset you.”

“Why would I get upset?”

“Well it’s about your mother,” Phil hesitantly replied.

Joe sighed. “I get it now. You coming over, wanting me to hang out with you and Frank, it’s all just a ploy so you can defend my mother. Frank and dad can’t make me listen to them so they got you to do it.”

“Why won’t you listen to them?” Phil asked, not denying the accusation.

“Why? Because it’s her fault; when she spiked their food Red took me into the kitchen and he…he…” Joe was breathing fast now as the panic reared within him, flooding him with fear as he remembered that day, the feel of Red’s hands, the knife digging into his skin, the sensation of a mad man’s tongue swiping at the droplets of blood.

“Joe?” Phil wasn’t sure what to do. He could see the younger boy was panicking but he wasn’t sure how to stop it. He yelled for Frank.

Frank, hearing the fear in Phil’s voice, ran into the room. For a moment he froze and then the training from his first aid course kicked in. Turning back towards the kitchen he nearly flattened his father. “Need a paper bag,” he said as he hurried past him.

When Frank returned he found Fenton kneeling on the floor next to Joe, speaking to him in a calm voice as he tried to bring him out of his panicked state. “Here,” he said thrusting the paper bag towards his father’s hand.

Fenton took the bag and quickly positioned it over Joe’s mouth and nose. “It’s okay son, you’re going to be okay Joe,” he said as the boy’s breathing began to slow to a more normal pace. He continued to whisper, soothing words meant to comfort as Joe’s panic ebbed. “Better?” he asked as he removed the bag.

Joe nodded. “Sorry,” he mumbled, embarrassed.

“Nothing to be sorry about son,” Fenton assured him. “You want to talk about it?”

Joe shook his head, eyes bright with fear. “Can I go back to my room?”

“Don’t you want to finish your game?” Fenton asked. He didn’t know what had brought on the panic attack but he didn’t think retreating to his room was the best way for Joe to handle it.

“We finished already.”

Fenton sighed. “Alright son, you can go.” The words had barely left his mouth before Joe jumped to his feet, nearly running up the stairs. Fenton sadly watched him go. He turned back to the others. “What brought that on?”

Phil looked away, he felt awful for causing Joe to suffer a panic attack. “I mentioned what Frank told me about those men. I thought it might get him to listen, you know make him curious. When I mentioned Mrs. Hardy he figured out pretty quickly that I was going to defend her. I asked him why he wouldn’t listen to you two and he started talking about Red taking him into the kitchen that was when he started panicking. I’m really sorry Mr. Hardy, I didn’t mean to get him that upset,” Phil apologized.

Fenton squeezed his shoulder. “You have nothing to apologize for Phil. I knew you were going to try to help, Frank ran the idea past me first. You couldn’t have known Joe would panic, none of us expected it really.” He pushed himself to his feet and looked towards the stairs. “Maybe I should see if Dr. Bates could recommend somebody Joe could talk to.”

TBC...

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The Divine Right of Kings