Ned has been very supportive and helped while her arm was in a cast. He helped her any way he could. He had been wonderful. Luckily, her cast had come off a week earlier, but she had on a brace until her arm became stronger. It was also to help protect her arm.

Nancy heard the doorbell ring. She got to her feet and hurried to the door. She pulled the door open and saw Ethel Martin standing there. Ethel Martin was a neighbor down the street. Ethel had short dark hair, graying at the ends. She as wearing a blue shirt with black slacks, and an old black sweater. She was twisting a tissue in her hands.

“Come in,” Nancy said, ushering her into the living room. As Ethel sat down in the armchair, Nancy asked, “Is something wrong?”

“I think my daughter Vicki ran off,” she said.

“Why would she run off?” Nancy asked, sitting down on the couch.

“I think she ran off because of the group she’s hanging out with. She’s changed so much in the past few months. Vicki stays out all hours. Sometimes she doesn’t come home at all. She’s out of control.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police?”

“I’m afraid for Vicki. I’ve seen the group hanging around. I’m afraid she’ll get hurt if the police approach them.” Ethel looked at Nancy. “That’s why I came to you. I need help finding my daughter. She’s been gone for days.”

“Are you sure your daughter is with this group of kids?”

“I believe it’s the only place she’d go,” Ethel said. “Please, Nancy. I know you are good at helping other people. Please help me help Vicki. You may be the only one who can get her out of there.”

Nancy remained quiet. She wanted to help, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to get involved. She had so much to do to get ready for the wedding. She didn’t know if she could focus on the investigation.

She looked at Ethel. She realized the woman was really worried about her daughter. Nancy knew she could only say one thing.

“I’ll look into is.”

“Oh, thank you, Nancy,” Ethel said smiling. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this. Thank you so very much.”

“I’ll look into. As soon as I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”

Nancy walked Ethel to the door after getting a picture of what Vicki looked like. She watched from the doorway as Ethel walked to her car. As she stood there, she saw a familiar car pull up behind Ethel’s. A moment later, Ned got out of the car. As Ned approached the house, Ethel drove away.

Ned reached Nancy and gave her a kiss. When they pulled apart, Ned asked, “How was your day?”

“It was all right,” Nancy said, staring at Ned with a smile. His light brown hair was curled slightly on his forehead. His dress shirt was unbuttoned at the top and his tie was loosened, but still hanging around his neck.

“Was that woman here?” Ned asked.

“Yeah. Why don’t you come on in?”

Once inside, Ned asked, “What’s going on?”

Nancy went into the living room with Ned following behind. “That was Ethel Martin. She wants me to find her daughter.” She then told Ned about the conversation while she cleaned up the papers on the coffee table. As she finished, she said, “I told her I would look into it.”

“Wait a second,” Ned said. “We’re supposed to get married next week.”

“I know that.”

“Getting involved in a case right now is wrong,” Ned said. “We need to be planning the wedding. There’s a lot we need to do.”

Nancy looked at Ned. She couldn’t believe he wanted her to give up the case. She looked at him closely. “I already told her I’d look into it.”

“You’re not,” Ned stated.

Nancy’s eyes went wide.

“I forbid it,” Ned added.

“You forbid it?” Nancy asked.

“Yes, I do. I’ve seen the group hanging around. They’re dangerous. You shouldn’t go anywhere near them.”

“I’ve been in dangerous situations before. I can take care of myself.”

“I won’t let you investigate this. I won’t stand for it.”

Nancy’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her husband-to-be. “If I want to investigate, I will.”

“My wife is not getting involved in this.”

She couldn’t believe him. She never expected him to tell her what she could and couldn’t do. “I’m not your wife yet. I’m going to do what I want. I’m going to look into this situation.”

“Fine. You do what you want. But if you investigate this, we’re through.”

“That’s not fair!”

“It is fair,” Ned said, forcefully. “You almost died in July in a car accident a couple days before we were to get married. By taking this case, you are just asking to get hurt again. I do not want to have to go through all that again.” He paused for a moment. “So, you need to make a decision. It’s going to be me or the investigation.”

Nancy couldn’t believe Ned was making her choose between the man she loved and her love of solving mysteries. She could understand his concern, but she had been solving mysteries for so long that there were times she had gotten in danger, or even hurt, but the accident hadn’t been while she had been on a case. It had been an accident. Plain and simple. She knew she couldn’t make a choice. She knew she had to do what she thought was right, even if it hurt someone.

“I’m going to investigate,” Nancy finally said.