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“Who…
what do you want?”
Nancy
stammered, desperately trying to mask her fear.
The
sinister voice laughed. “I’ll give you three guesses.”
Nancy
concentrated hard, trying to analyze the voice. It
was almost a hiss. She couldn’t even tell for sure whether it was male
or female. Background noise? None that she could discern. She turned her
attention back to the conversation, if you could call it that.
“I
don’t suppose you want to sell me insurance?”
Nancy
said weakly.
Another
raspy laugh. “Not quite,
Nancy
.” Her own name sounded
disturbing coming from the voice. “I’ll give you a clue.” the voice
snickered, as if having to give Nancy Drew clues was the funniest thing in
the world.
By
this point,
Nancy
was wondering if she should hang up. She could “star
sixty-nine” him or her. Or she could call the police, or her father, or
someone. She didn’t like the eerie feeling that she was alone with the
voice.
The
voice proceeded to clue
Nancy
in. “It has to do with waiting until you least
expect it,” A dramatic pause. “And then-” The voice was sharply cut
off. The phone was dead.
Nancy
sat, stunned, for a minute. She slowly hung up the
receiver. A minute later, she picked it up again. No dial tone. Knowing it
was futile, she pushed *69. When she got no response, she tried 911. No
luck. With a shaky hand, she put down the phone. She sat in the dark,
wanting nothing more than to be able to turn on the light. She didn’t
scare easily, but this was too much. Outside, the thunderstorm raged.
Staring out the window, she saw a silver car edge past her house,
windshield wipers swishing furiously. Should she wake her father? Maybe
she’d better. He himself had said, “Better safe than sorry.”
Slowly,
she crept down the hall and knocked on her father’s bedroom door. Her
arms were still covered in goosebumps.
Nancy
woke up in her own bed the next morning way later
than she normally did. All the lights were on. At least the power was
back.
She
dressed quickly and poked her head into her father’s bedroom.
Carson
was almost done packing
for his trip, for which he would leave this evening.
Nancy
hurried downstairs, poured herself a cup of coffee,
and fed her pet terrier,
Togo
. Her father joined her a
few minutes later.
Nancy
ran out to get the mail, sorted it, and handed
Carson
’s mail to him.
Carson
watched curiously as
Nancy
frowned and opened a
large envelope addressed to her.
Nancy
drew out a note and a smaller packet. She unfolded
the note first and read it silently. Her lips tightened and she handed it
to her father. He took it and examined it. It read, “Nancy Drew, You can run, but you can’t hide. Watch your back, but it
won’t do any good.” Each letter seemed to have been cut out of a
different magazine article. Nevertheless, it was still quite menacing.
Nancy
opened the packet and dumped a silver charm into her
hand. It was shaped like a horse.
“What’s
that?”
Carson
asked.
Nancy
looked puzzled. “It’s mine. Off my charm
bracelet. I thought I’d lost it a few weeks ago!” she shivered. “Or
maybe it was stolen? Wait, why would someone steal one charm instead of
the whole bracelet?”
Carson
answered grimly.
“Perhaps so they could return it to you this way.”
At
this,
Nancy
was thoroughly creeped
out.
Carson
cleared his throat.
“Okay, that settles it! I’ll be in
Washington
D.C.
and I won’t be able to get here at a moment’s
notice if something happens. I don’t want to go away this weekend and
leave you alone with some psycho stalker on the loose!”
Nancy
smiled. “I was just going to call Chief Maginnis.”
Carson
shook his head. “Good,
but that’s not enough. Without a phone number or a postmark or
something, the police can’t do anything. They’ll just tell you to keep
your eyes open and let them know if it happens again.”
“Well,
I could call Bess.”
Nancy
said, naming one of her two best friends. The other
was Bess’s cousin, George. They were complete opposites. Bess was pretty
and blonde while George was athletic and dark haired. Bess tended to be a
bit more delicate than George. “George is teaching at tennis camp,
though.”
Carson
frowned. “I don’t
know if Bess is… the best choice. She’s a great girl, but I was
thinking more of something along the line of protection.”
“Like
stationing police officers outside the house? Dad, really, I can take care
of myself!” she looked hurt at his apparently low opinion of her.
“I
know you can, sweetie, but I would feel much better if I knew you had…
backup. I don’t think we’ll have to go as far as police bodyguards,
though.” he paused, knowing
Nancy
wasn’t going to like
his next idea. “I thought maybe we could call the Hardys.” He looked
up at
Nancy
to gauge her reaction.
“What?”
Nancy
burst out. “Dad! That
is the last thing I want to do!” She glared at him. How could he even
suggest that? Didn’t he know how embarrassing that would be for her?
Her
father sighed. “Look
Nancy
, it would only be for three days, and I would feel a
lot better if I knew they were with you.”
Nancy
was fuming now. “Fine. Call Joe.”
Her
father was getting impatient. “I can’t very well invite Joe and not
Frank!” He saw she was about to argue, so he said, “
Nancy
, please!”
“Fine!”
Nancy
said. “Call them, but
don’t expect me to come out of my room!” With that, she fled upstairs.
Carson
sighed. He didn’t want
to embarrass
Nancy
, but it was certainly
better than having her dead!
He
picked up the phone and called the police station to report the phone call
and the note.
“Sorry,”
said the officer on duty. “But without a phone number or a postmark, we
can’t do anything. If it happens again, get the phone number and tell
us. Then we can help.”
Carson
thanked the officer and
hung up. The next phone number he dialed was the Hardys’.
***
Riinnng!
The phone rang in the Hardys’ hotel room. Joe picked it up. “Hello?”
“Joe?
It’s Carson Drew.”
“Mr.
Drew? Oh, hi! What can I do for you?” Joe said, surprise reflecting in
his voice. Frank came into the room in time to hear who the caller was. He
sat on the bed next to Joe.
“Are
you two going to be here all weekend?”
“Yes.
We’re going home Wednesday.” Joe replied.
“Well,
I have a favor to ask of you and Frank.” Mr. Drew said slowly.
“A
favor?” Joe said for Frank’s benefit. “Sure.”
“I’m
going out of town this weekend.
Nancy
’s been getting some
threatening messages and I don’t like to leave her by herself. I was
wondering if you’d stay here and just keep her company.” Mr. Drew’s
voice contained a pleading note.
“One
minute,” Joe said. He covered the mouthpiece with his hand and turned to
Frank. “
Nancy
has been getting
threatening messages and Mr. Drew wanted to know if we would stay with her
while he’s out of town this weekend. What do you think?”
Frank
considered a minute. “
Nancy
’s not going to like this.” he said flatly.
“But, sure, why not?”
Joe
spoke into the phone. “Sure, no problem.” but he wanted to know, “Is
Nancy okay with this or doesn’t she know?”
Mr.
Drew chuckled. “Actually, she just locked herself in her bedroom and is
threatening to stay there all weekend. But don’t worry,” he added.
“Eventually she’ll pass out from hunger and then you can pick the
lock.”
Joe
grinned. “It’s that bad, huh?”
“Apparently.
Thank you so much!” said Mr. Drew.
“When
do you want us?”
“I’m
leaving at
seven thirty
tonight. Seven would be great.” said
Carson
.
“Okay,”
said Joe. “We’ll be there.”
“Thanks
guys. Bye.” said
Carson
. He hung up as
Nancy
came into the kitchen.
“Dad,
please tell me you weren’t just talking to Frank and Joe.” she said.
“
Nancy
, I really don’t know
why you’re acting like this. You guys used to be best friends! Whatever
happened last year happened last year!”
Nancy
had never really told him what had happened between
her and Frank.
Nancy
shook her head. “It will just be really awkward and
humiliating.” She poured herself a glass of milk.
“Good,
good. Fortify yourself for the long weekend upstairs.”
Carson
joked.
Nancy
tried to glare at him but couldn’t keep a straight
face. Both Drews burst out laughing.
***
Frank
lay on the bed in the hotel room for a long time after Joe hung up. He was
worried about
Nancy
. Threatening messages? But even worse, he was worried about
how she’d react to spending an entire weekend with him. She probably
hated him. She thought he had been leading her on all last summer. After
he had left he tried to call her and apologize; tell her she was wrong
about him, but she wouldn’t take his calls. He knew he had hurt her
feelings and her pride, but how could he fix it?
***
Nancy
finished dinner at
6:45
. A few minutes later the
doorbell rang. At this,
Togo
leapt into action,
racing around the kitchen and yipping furiously.
Nancy
glared at the dog. “Shut up!” she said sharply.
She was in no mood to be trifled with.
Togo
peered up at her so
pathetically that she felt guilty and knelt down to pet him. “I’m
sorry.” she said contritely. It wasn’t, after all, the dog’s fault.
Mr.
Drew answered the door. “
Nancy
!” he called.
She
got up and walked towards the door. “Yeah, I know, I know. My
babysitters are here.” she said, trying to sound joking but ending up
sounding bitter.
Joe
greeted her with a hug. “Was that thinly veiled hostility?” he asked
teasingly.
“Yeah,
yeah.”
Nancy
grumbled good-naturedly.
After
Joe released her, she and Frank stared at each other uncomfortably. She
didn’t want to hug him, but she did anyway. She pulled away quickly and
avoided eye contact.
Her
father left a little later, telling
Nancy
to be careful. To be
honest, she wasn’t worried. Threatening messages didn’t seem to affect
her anymore.
The
first thing she did was show the Hardys the threatening note and tell them
about the phone call. Joe frowned and said, “That’s creepy.” After a
pause he added, “But don’t worry,
Nan
, the Hardys are here!”
“I
feel so much better.” she replied dryly. Then, curiously, she inquired.
“Has anyone ever told you that you have an ego problem?”
Joe
looked at her seriously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Nancy
rolled her eyes.
***
Nancy,
Joe, and Frank passed the rest of the night watching movies. They didn’t
talk much. The phone didn’t ring once.
At
11:30
the group decided to
turn in. Frank pulled
Nancy
aside. He had been trying to catch her eye all night, but
she was deliberately avoiding him.
“
Nan
, can I talk to you?”
“You
just did.” she replied evenly, inwardly smiling at his obvious
discomfort. Good, she thought. It won’t hurt him to sweat a little.
“Seriously
Nan
, I just want you to know
that I’m really sorry and that I would never intentionally hurt you.”
Frank said sincerely. He meant every word of it. He couldn’t stand
Nancy
treating him so coldly.
He loved her.
Nancy
looked at him, unsure of what to say. He was having
that effect on her again; that amazing rush that she loved and wanted to
hate. His warm brown eyes were sad and remorseful, and she knew that if he
kept looking at her like that she would forgive him on the spot. She
couldn’t do that! She couldn’t, wouldn’t, let him break her heart,
again! Her frosty gaze flickered for just a minute. “I believe you.”
she said impassively.
Clearly
that was not what Frank had been expecting. His face showed a mixture of
surprise and relief. “Good.” he said, for lack of words.
Nancy
looked at him skeptically, then turned away.
Frank
grabbed her hand. “What I meant was, “Thanks.”” he said warmly.
For
the first time that night,
Nancy
smiled at him, really smiled. Then she went upstairs,
leaving Frank alone.
***
The
phone rang at three in the morning. A groggy
Nancy
picked it up.
“Hello?” she said blearily.
She
heard one of the Hardys pick up the phone in their room and stay silent,
listening. At this point, she wasn’t even fully awake, but what she
heard next woke her up fast.
“It’s
3am
; do you know where your
dog is?”
The
rasping voice was back, and it scared her.
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