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

11. Nancy

 "Quick," I pull up the window and jump. I land on the ground and immediately roll, jump up and run for the car. Joe and Frank are two steps behind me. I knock on the window for Ned to unlock the car. I personally wouldn't have locked it in the first place but whatever. We have got to get out of here. Ned unlocks the car and we tumble inside. I can hear sirens in the distance.

"Get to my house," I tell Ned.

He steps on the gas and zooms away. I turn to the Hardys in the backseat.

"So tomorrow we go check out Blake Harvey's place?"

"Yeah, but right now we gotta worry about today or should I say tonight?" Frank hints.

Huh. Ned nudges me and gives me a meaningful look. Oh right!

"You guys can sleep at my place. Hannah won't mind. She loves more people to dote on."

Oops, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say.

"Dote on?" Joe repeats.

"Um, she is more like a mom than a housekeeper. You'll love her, trust me."

"So tomorrow we will visit Blake Harvey and see if we can find out about the agents." Frank starts.

"The Harvey place?" Ned mumbles.

"What about it?" I pounce.

"Well, it's near your house. I had to report about their burglaries," Ned starts.

"Can you take us there?" Joe asks.

"Sure, man, just don't take too long. I have to be up at five and need some sleep."

Ned drives on toward the richer side of town. Dad may be rich but we don't live in "mansions". Huge houses loom ahead beautifully decorated. I can see well in the dark but they look like at least a million bucks. Pretty soon Ned stops in front of a house which is on the larger side of the mansion scale.

"The Harvey place," Ned announces. "If you can't get in, tell Miss Harvey you are a friend of mine." He smiles.

Joe and I get out but Frank lingers.

"I'll stay with Ned. You two go ahead."

"Okay," Joe says confused.

"Hey Ned, drive Frank home and go home yourself. Joe and I can walk back." I call.

"Suit yourself," Ned starts the engine and backs out of the driveway.

I hand Joe my light and we start off.

"Let's check outside first," he suggests.

I nod and he goes right while I hang left. I pull a penlight from my pocket and shine it on the ground. I don't see any footprints, dropped goods or suspicious activity. I decide to look in a window. It is a bedroom, with nothing out of the ordinary. Bed, lamp, desk, closet, dresser. I'm still not sure what exactly I am looking for her but my fifth sense tells me I am onto something. There must be something that shows evidence of thieves.

After seeking for long minutes I hear a large thunk coming from the other side of the house. I sprint to the front yard. Carefully I creep to the corner of the house and press myself against the wall, peering around the corner. Joe is laying completely still on the ground with a dark figure over him. I look around to see if I can decipher what happened. But I just see Joe and the dark figure. Oh, and another person or two in hiding in the bushes. But no one knows I'm here so I still have the element of surprise. I creep forward as the figure rolls Joe over. I am guessing Joe's out cold. I charge at the figure and leap on him. He comes down to the ground and I stand over him. Joe now opens his eyes and stands. Apparently, Joe was playing possum. Instead of recognizing me, Joe pounces on the man. He yanks the man up and shakes his mask off. He has brown hair, green eyes, and a few pimples.