Disclaimer: The characters Frank and Joe Hardy, their parents Fenton and Laura Hardy, and their buddy Chet Morton are borrowed from the series of Hardy Boys books by Franklin W. Dixon.

Warnings: This story includes as a sub-plot an incestuous homosexual relationship between Frank and Joe Hardy. Slash Warning! While none of the scenes are particularly graphic or explicit, there's no mistaking what's going on. If these sorts of things make you uncomfortable, I strongly suggest you stop now and go read some other story.

Summary: Frank and Joe Hardy are high school students who moonlight as private investigators. When they look into a mystery involving a ghostly figure sighted on Lovers Lane, they discover more than just a haunting. This story is a prequel to The Mystery of the Celibate Corpse.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 1: Ghost Story

"Frank!" Lindsey said in that half-whining tone that really grated on his nerves. "Can't we just go?" She tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder with a petulant sigh. "I want to meet Marie and Karen at the mall."

"I wasn't planning to go to the mall," Frank replied. He was leaning against the driver's side door of his car, a restored 1967 Buick Skylark 4-door hardtop sedan, in the school parking lot. "Anyway, I told you I was going to wait for Joe after school today."

"Again?!" Lindsey huffed. She blew her breath out in a long-suffering sigh. "You treat your brother better than you treat me. I thought I was supposed to be your girlfriend."

Frank didn't answer that, because he wasn't completely sure why he was going out with Lindsey in the first place. He had asked her out mainly because some of his friends had kept bugging him about it. "I hear she puts out!" his buddy Chet had confided to him. Frank's disinterest in Lindsey had puzzled his friends, so rather than try to explain himself, he'd just asked her out. Then he had discovered that she had a thing for him and the one date had turned into an ongoing relationship. And while other boys might have appreciated the fact that Lindsey was easy, he really wasn't that interested in casual sex.

"Come on, Frank!" Lindsey whined again. "Let's go!"

"If you want to go to the mall, why don't you grab a ride with Karen?"

Lindsey gaped at him in offended shock. She clearly found it hard to imagine that he would simply turn her down in favor of his little brother. "Well, if you don't want to spend time with me," she fumed, "that's fine!" She jerked around dramatically and stamped away, flipping her hair over her shoulder with an angry gesture.

It was all for show, in Frank's opinion. She probably expected him to come running after her, apologize and offer to take her to the mall immediately. He let her walk away. "I should just dump her," he murmured. "She just gets in the way sometimes, anyway."

"Hey, Frank! Sorry I'm late!"

Frank smiled as Joe jogged up, the annoying exchange with Lindsey already forgotten. Anyone looking at the two of them would immediately recognize that Frank and Joe were brothers. Their faces had the same deep brown eyes and strong brows, with straight noses above shapely lips and triangular chins; although Joe's cheekbones were a little narrower and his eyes a little closer together. Where they differed was in their builds. While Frank was tall and broad-shouldered, with a trim waist and an athletic build, Joe's lithe body was slender and graceful, with narrow hips and long legs. He also stood two inches shorter than his brother.

"That's ok," Frank said. "I haven't been waiting long."

Joe looked around. "Weren't you going to give Lindsey a ride home?"

Frank shrugged. "She got tired of waiting. So you get to ride shotgun today."

"Cool!" Joe tossed his backpack into the back seat and hopped into the front passenger seat. "Man, I wouldn't mind stopping somewhere for a snack, but I've got a ton of homework."

"Already?" Frank started the car and backed out of the parking space. "The school year just started."

"Tell that to my teachers," Joe complained. "Mrs. Kubo actually said that junior year should be the hardest year because seniors always slack off."

Frank laughed. "She said the same thing when I had her. She'll ease back after the first few weeks. I think she just likes to break students in."

"Great!" Joe groaned sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

They chatted idly on the ride home. Frank never really thought about the fact that he preferred Joe's company to just about everyone. With just over a year difference between their ages, in many ways they were like twins. They were both extremely intelligent, with inquisitive minds and an attention for detail that they'd probably inherited from their dad. Fenton Hardy was a private investigator with a reputation for always getting to the bottom of things. Frank never minded when people compared him to his father. He was proud of his father. But when it came to Joe, nothing got between Frank and his brother.

When he turned into their driveway, Joe cringed. Visible through the open garage door, their father's plain gray sedan was parked next to their mother's champagne colored Lexus.

"Dad's home already," Joe said apprehensively. "I hope they're not fighting again."

"I wonder why he's here," Frank murmured. "I thought he was working on a case."

They entered the house, worried they would hear raised voices, but it was utterly quiet. Leaving their backpacks by the foot of the stairs, they went through into the kitchen. Their mother, Laura Hardy, was standing in front of the kitchen sink, a glass of wine in her hand, staring out the window.

"Hey, Mom," Frank called.

Laura turned around, her mouth crooked into a half smile. "Home from school already, boys? How was class?"

"Fine." Joe glanced around nervously. "Is Dad home? We saw his car."

"Oh, he's here." Laura turned around and looked back out the window. "I think he just came home to check up on me. I think he expects to catch me in bed with someone."

"Mom!" Joe exclaimed.

Laura laughed humorlessly. "Apologizing all the time gets tiring, you know," she said conversationally. "Eventually, you get to the point where you just don't care." She swallowed the rest of her wine. "I'm going shopping. We're out of milk." She walked out without looking at either of them.

Frank looked at Joe. His brother's eyes were bright with unshed tears. He had always been the more sensitive of the two of them and their parents' failing marriage was hitting him hard. Frank put his arm around Joe's shoulders. He wasn't sure what to say. Neither of them had suspected anything was going on when their mother started going to an exercise class every afternoon. But their father was a detective. It didn't take Fenton Hardy long to discover that his wife was having an affair with the instructor, an old high school boyfriend of hers. Fenton had confronted her and she'd ended the affair. But the damage was done. Fenton no longer trusted her and Laura didn't seem to care.

So when their parents weren't fighting, they weren't speaking to each other. Laura cooked dinner shortly after the boys got home from school and then retreated to her bedroom. When Fenton came home, he would pick at the dinner, drink heavily, and then retire to his study, where he would continue to drink until he passed out on the couch. Joe and Frank tended to avoid them both, doing their homework in their rooms and saying goodnight to each other in unhappy whispers.

"Why don't you go do your homework?" Frank finally said to Joe. "I'm going to look for Dad."

"Ok." Joe trudged heavily upstairs, dragging his backpack by the strap.

Frank frowned. It made him angry that his parents were falling apart in front of Joe and hurting him like this. They should be more concerned about his feelings. He went down the hall to his father's study and knocked on the door.

"What is it?"

Fenton's words sounded slurred and Frank's frown deepened. He opened the door and stepped in without waiting to be invited. Fenton was reclined on his ratty brown leather couch, his shoes kicked off and an arm thrown over his eyes. A nearly finished drink dangled in his free hand.

"I thought you had work," Frank snapped.

"Job's finished," Fenton mumbled. He lifted the glass to his lips and the fluid spilled down his chin onto his shirt. "Shit!" He sat up coughing, wiping the liquid off with his other hand. "Hand me that bottle, would you?" He pointed at a nearly empty bottle of bourbon sitting on his desk.

"No!" Frank growled. "You shouldn't be getting drunk every night like this!"

"Why not?" Fenton glared at him and pushed to his feet. He swayed over to the desk and refilled his glass. He took a deep swig, staggered back to the couch and flopped back down. "My life's a mess!"

"Because you let it become a mess!" Frank shouted. He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He stamped up the stairs and found Joe standing in the doorway of his room, tears sliding down his cheeks. "Joe!" Frank cried softly. He put his arms around Joe and hugged him.

"Dad's drunk again, huh?" Joe's voice trembled as he spoke.

"Yeah."

"They're gonna get divorced, aren't they?" Joe was shaking and Frank held him tighter.

"Probably."

"This sucks."

"Yeah." Frank's phone vibrated in his pocket and he jumped. He pulled it out and looked at it. "It's Lindsey." The timing of the call irked him. He didn't want to talk to her when Joe needed him.

"You should answer it," Joe said, gently disengaging from Frank's embrace. When Frank hesitated, Joe reached out and tapped the answer button. "I've got homework," he mouthed and stepped back into his room.

Irritated, Frank put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Frank!" Lindsey's voice carried that whiny timber even through the phone. "Can you pick me up?" She started to rattle on about some stupid fight she'd had with Karen and how she was now stuck at the mall with no way to get home.

Frank had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her to walk. He had no desire at all to listen to her right now. "Lindsey," he interrupted. "I'm busy right now. There's something going on at home and I can't leave. You'll have to call somebody else."

"Frank!" The fury in Lindsey's voice told him he would pay for his refusal later.

"I'm sorry, Lindsey. I have to go." He broke the connection and immediately turned off his phone. He would worry about Lindsey tomorrow. Right now, it looked like he was cooking dinner.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Did you have a fight with Lindsey?" Chet Morton, Frank's closest friend after his brother Joe, asked. "She's acting like she's not speaking to you."

They were sitting in the senior quad eating lunch. At a nearby table, Lindsey sat with several of her girlfriends, pointedly not looking at him.

"She's mad at me for not picking her up from the mall yesterday," Frank replied. He bit into his sandwich.

Chet stared at him. "And you haven't apologized yet?"

Frank finished chewing and shrugged. "Why does the guy always have to apologize? I was busy. She shouldn't even be mad about it."

"She's going to dump you," Chet warned.

"You say that like it would be a bad thing."

Chet goggled. "Are you kidding?! Lindsey's the hottest girl on campus! And the easiest! You must get it every day! How can you just casually give that up?!"

Frank laughed. "Chet, you live in a fantasy world! There's more to a relationship than sex, you know. Lindsey can be really whiny sometimes."

"Back up!" Chet held up a hand. "What do you mean there's more to a relationship than sex? I'd like to have any relationship that included sex!"

Frank threw his head back and laughed out loud. "Chet, you're going to make some girl a great husband one day!"

"Sure, so why can't I be some girl's half-assed boyfriend right now?" Chet dropped his chin into his hands and stared morosely at the remains of his lunch. "I'm going to end up the oldest virgin in Bayport."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am." Chet sat up. "Oh, hey, I was going to tell you: yesterday, Corey Masters was telling me about doing it with Julie Devonshire up on Lovers Lane, except before he could stick it in, some ghost looked in the window of his car and scared him limp."

"What?"

"Yeah!" Chet nodded eagerly. "He said a ghostly face appeared outside the window of his car and looked right at him. He was so freaked out he couldn't do it."

Frank grew thoughtful. "Did Julie see it?"

"No." Chet laughed. "Apparently, she told everyone that Corey got cold feet. He's kind of mad, but he swore up and down that he did see a ghost."

"Where was he, exactly?"

"Near the two mile marker, he said. People don't usually drive in that far because you can't see the ocean as well from there, but he said all the good spots were already taken."

"That's interesting," Frank said. "Maybe I'll go up there and have a look around."

"You're not afraid of seeing a ghost?"

"I doubt it was a ghost."

"I don't know," Chet said doubtfully. "When he told me about it, a couple of other people admitted they saw a ghost up there, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Now I'm really curious," Frank said. "I'm definitely going up there." He glanced at Lindsey. "I guess I'll have to apologize. People will think I'm a freak if I go up to Lovers Lane alone."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

On Friday night, Frank took Lindsey to the movies, and afterward suggested they drive up to Lovers Lane for a little while. Lindsey agreed, but she pouted, too.

"I'm still mad at you for not picking me up from the mall the other day," she groused. She rolled the window down so she could rest her arm on the sill. Warm air, spiced with the salty scent of the ocean, flowed in, blowing her long hair across her face.

"I'm sorry," Frank said, "but I really was busy that day. We've got personal stuff going on at home and I didn't want to leave Joe there by himself."

"Joe's sixteen!" Lindsey exclaimed. "He's not a little kid!"

"He's sensitive," Frank replied shortly. "Anyway, like I said, it's personal stuff, so I'd rather not talk about it right now." He managed a warm smile. "I'd rather focus on us."

"Oh!" Lindsey wriggled in the seat and wrinkled her nose. "When you put it like that…" She giggled and brushed the hair over her shoulder to keep it from blowing in front of her face. "I was starting to think you were losing interest in me."

"Hardly," Frank replied, but he kept his eyes on the road as he said it. The truth was that he had little interest in her to lose. He just hadn't figured out how to dump her yet without becoming the center of a giant scene. For a moment, he imagined Joe in the seat beside him instead of Lindsey, and then he quickly pushed the thought away. Thinking about Joe going up to Lovers Lane with him sent a strange thrill running up his spine. He turned off the coast highway onto the unmarked gravel road known as Lovers Lane.

Its official name was Forestry Access Road No. 4, but everyone called the narrow track Lovers Lane, because after winding up the face of the cliff above the coast highway, it followed the edge for nearly three miles before plunging deeper into the thick coastal forest. Clearings wide enough to park a car along the edge of the road offered spectacular views of the ocean, and couples liked to enjoy the view while they enjoyed each other. It was late enough that there were already a lot of people up there, which gave Frank an excellent excuse to continue down the lane until he reached the second mile marker. The mile markers were head-sized stones painted white with a number painted on them in black. The road dipped a little way back from the cliff edge here, so the view wasn't quite as breathtaking, but it was still good. Just past the mile marker, an enormous old tree stood, its branches casting the ground below into deep shadow. No car was parked there, so Frank backed into the space in front of the tree's wide trunk.

As soon as he turned off the engine, Lindsey snuggled up against him. "It's so dark here!" she whispered excitedly. "I think I'm scared!"

Frank put an arm around her. "You know you're safe with me."

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. "Am I? But what's to stop you from taking advantage of me?"

Of course, that's exactly what she wanted to have happen, and it wouldn't be the first time. Frank pressed his lips to hers, telling himself it was not such a chore. But kissing Lindsey just didn't do anything for him. He would get excited when she started touching him, but it was not much more than a physiological reaction. Even the sight of her bare breasts didn't affect him much. But he would act like it did and he usually managed to satisfy her. But it was never that satisfying for him, even if he came.

With her breasts in his hands, he nuzzled her neck and Lindsey's head rolled to the side as she moaned with pleasure. And then she screamed.

Frank's head snapped up and he found himself staring directly into the dark eyes of a woman's pale face, her mouth moving as if she were speaking.

But he couldn't hear anything.

He reached for the door handle and Lindsey grabbed his wrist. "Don't!" she cried.

Frank shook her hand off and shoved the door open.

The woman vanished and Lindsey screamed again, burying her face against his arm. Frank just stared. There was no sign of anyone. There were no marks in the sandy ground outside the car door. He climbed over Lindsey, ignoring her protests, and stepped out. Then he reached back into the car to get a small LED flashlight out of the glove compartment.

"Frank, don't!" Lindsey cried again. "Let's get out of here!"

"I want to see who that was," Frank said, not really listening to her. He played the flashlight beam over the ground, sweeping it in slow, methodical arcs. There was nothing. No footprints; just the tracks of other car tires from previous couples. He walked to the tree and lit up the area behind it. Rough brush covered the ground several paces behind the tree, at the far edge of its canopy. He did not see any spots that looked trampled from recent passage. Pursing his lips, he walked slowly back to the car.

"Frank!" Lindsey shouted. She tumbled out of the car, buttoning her blouse over her refastened bra. "I want to go home right now!"

"Sure," Frank responded absently. He leaned past her to put the flashlight away. "Who do you think that was?"

"Who?!" Lindsey exclaimed. "Do you think I'm stupid? That was a fucking ghost!"

Frank looked at her face for the first time. Her cheeks were pale and she was shaking. She looked genuinely frightened. "You really think it was a ghost?"

"Are you making fun of me?!" she retorted angrily. She threw herself back into the car. "You're a jerk!" She grabbed the door handle and he had to jump out of the way to keep from getting hit when she yanked it closed. She slapped the lock button down and glared at him through the glass.

Frank sighed. He would definitely have to dump her after this. She really was nothing but a pain in the ass. He walked around to the driver's door and got in without a word. They drove back to Lindsey's house in complete silence. As soon as he pulled to a stop in front of her driveway, she jumped out without demanding a goodbye kiss. It was a telling sign. It meant she was really angry with him. He watched her storm up the driveway and enter the house before he pulled away.

When he got home, he went straight to Joe's room. Joe was lying on his bed on his stomach with his feet in the air. A textbook lay open on the bed in front of him.

"Hey, baby brother, how's the homework going?"

"Almost done." Joe stuck a bookmark in the textbook and closed it. "How was your date?"

Frank grimaced. "Hopefully, it was the last one. I'm going to dump her, if she doesn't dump me first."

Joe sat up. "Oh, really? It went that well, huh?"

Frank sat on the edge of his bed with a sigh. "I've just never gotten into this dating thing, I guess. I'd rather be looking into a mystery with you."

"Speaking of which," Joe said, "did you see anything up on Lovers Lane?"

"Sure did!" Frank grinned. "It might very well have been a ghost; a pale apparition appearing outside the car window and then suddenly disappearing."

"No kidding?" Joe grinned excitedly.

"Yup," Frank nodded. "It sure had Lindsey spooked. But I looked around and couldn't find any tracks or any sign that someone walked up to the car."

"We should go out there with a camera," Joe said, his face going thoughtful. "Maybe we could get a picture."

"That's a good place to start," Frank agreed. "Why don't we go there tomorrow and see if it happens again? I was unprepared tonight, but I'll plan better next time. We can use my phone camera. If we get a picture with that, we can try something fancier next time."

"Ok."

Frank patted Joe's knee. "Well, you better finish that reading." He stood up and hesitated. "Did you check on Dad?"

Joe made a face. "Yeah. He's passed out. Mom's watching TV in the bedroom."

Frank sighed. "Same routine, huh?"

"Yeah." Joe lay back down and opened his book. "It'll be good to go out tomorrow night. We won't have to think about them."

"I know what you mean. Good night, little brother."

"Sleep well, big brother."