Pawns & Enemies: A Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Mystery

4. Joe

   Well, we didn't leave for River Heights today. It's one o'clock in the afternoon and Frank finally finished packing. We can't go today because not only do we have to get permission but it is at least ten hours to get there according to Frank. He is now strapping our luggage to our cycles. I am supposed to ask Mom or Aunt Trudy if we can go. We could just tell Dad but he is not here right now so I got the job of lying. Well, I'm stretching the truth. But I can't find any reason that we could be suddenly going to Illinois. Mom will let us go if it's educational but with our work, we go away a whole lot. Without enough excuses. Oh, great Frank is back.

"So, what did they say?" Frank asked.

" Ah, um, I don't have a reason yet to go away to River Heights, Illinois which is ten hours away. Especially if we know nobody there and it is far away." I complain sarcastically. I hate it when I have to lie. Frank comes up with a lot better excuses.

"Dad is going to be home real early tomorrow so I'll ask him then. He'll explain to Mom and we'll be free to go." Frank has all the answers as I was saying.

So now what.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning I get up before Aunt Trudy has the chance to come in. I dress and get downstairs as fast as possible. Somehow Frank is already downstairs eating breakfast with Dad. I grab a muffin and sit down just as Frank starts to explain why we need to leave.

"Dad, A.T.A.C. wants us to go to River Heights, Illinois," Frank states.

Dad without even glancing up from his newspaper and coffee asks, "How far is it?"

"It's aboot tan hoors," I say with my mouth full.

"Joe, clear your mouth before you speak, please," Dad requests, flipping through his newspaper.

I swallow hard and repeat, "It's about ten hours from here."

Dad still reads the paper. "Who is your suspect and what is the case?"

Dad always has to know details to be able to say yes.

"We are supposed to check up on Miss Nancy Drew. She and her father, who is some big hotshot lawyer, are apparently trying to break open A.T.A.C." Frank tells Dad.

"And your case came yesterday in a Stink Foot shoebox?" Dad asks.

Frank and I gape at him.

Dad puts his finger in his newspaper and closes it. He looks at both of us with the brown eyes he shares with Frank.

"I recommended you that case so of course, you can go. That is where I was yesterday."

I almost forgot Dad was the manager and the owner of A.T.A.C. He knows more then we do about this case.

"Boys, this case is very dangerous. According to our sources," Dad spreads his newspaper on the table, "she," he points to a picture of Nancy Drew in his paper, "could be very dangerous. Miss Drew is a master at undercover, being everything from a rookie cop to an exchange student. She gets into places no one wants her and always gets out alive. Her suspects and contacts have been killed left and right. All sorts of villains are out to get revenge on her and her father. Carson Drew, a criminal justice lawyer, has put numerous criminals away for good. Boys, you can go, but please be careful and do not do anything foolish." At that last part, Dad looked at me. I'm not sure why but everyone assumes I will get myself into big trouble. I don't really get in trouble that often.

"Wow," Frank breathes.

Yeah, wow is right. Nancy did not seem that dangerous yesterday. But now I'm nervous. And girls do not usually scare me.

"Now you two had better get going. I will explain to Mom and Trudy," Dad says.

Frank and I run upstairs to do some last minute packing, then hop on our motorcycles. We put on our helmets and zoom out. Frank was leading for a while but then I pulled up and rode beside him for some time. We enter downtown where all the storefronts and businesses are. The light in front of us changes to yellow then red as we stop right in front of a crosswalk. Only one lady crosses the road. She is about our age and wearing jeans and a green tank top with sunglasses on her face. Her strawberry blonde hair blew as she tucked it behind her ear.

"That girl looks a lot like the girl we are looking for," I say through the speaker in my helmet. The system connects to Frank's helmet so we can talk to each other while riding.

"But it couldn't possibly be her. She could not be this far on our trail. Could she?" Frank radios back.

The girl crosses the street and as she steps on the sidewalk she props her sunglasses on top of her head. Sure enough, it was Nancy Drew.

"Pull over and park," I order Frank. "We found our girl."

We park in the next available parking space and jump off our bikes.

"Now, what?" Frank asks.

"We trail her," I answer. "Let's see her behavior and then decide the next plan."

It turns out Nancy was shopping. She went into two grocery stores and a clothing store. By the time she walked over and put the shopping bags a car, I was thoroughly bored.

"Should we keep trailing her?" I asked Frank. "She might know what we look like."

"Yeah, let's wait until she goes somewhere more isolated," Frank agrees. "Then we can stop and confront her."

Nancy crosses the street again and Frank hangs back a little while I follow her at a close distance. She turns into a dark, empty alley filled with trash and old cardboard boxes. I see my chance to stop her. I creep forward and pounce. At the exact same moment, Nancy Drew turns around.