He noticed her as she walked toward him and whistled. Nancy was wearing a pair of white shorts and a blue short sleeve shirt that matched her eyes. Her hair was pulled back from her face.

"Wow. You look great," Frank said as she sat down.

"You don’t look too bad yourself," Nancy said loudly as the music started up. "Anymore problems with Derek?"

Frank shook his head. "Nope. I haven’t seen him since this afternoon."

"I’ve been thinking a lot about last night," Nancy said.

"And what did you come up with?"

She slid her chair closer to Frank so she wouldn’t have to yell. "We might find a clue to who did this where I woke up."

"Didn’t you look around when you came to?"

Nancy shook her head. "I was more concerned about getting back to camp. Maybe if I go back, I can find some clue as to who grabbed me."

"You shouldn’t go alone," Frank said. "When were you planning to go out there?"

"Tomorrow morning," Nancy replied. "I figured I’d go before breakfast since the girls will still be asleep."

"Maybe you could get Joe to go with you," Frank suggested. "I wish I could, but with Derek leaving for the day, I need to stay by the cabin."

"Do you think Joe will go?"

"Think I’ll go where?" a voice asked from behind Nancy. She turned and saw Joe standing there in a pair of jean shorts and a blue T-shirt. He had a plate full of food in one hand and a drink in the other.

"What are you doing before breakfast tomorrow?" Nancy asked as Joe sat down beside Frank.

"Getting my last few hours of sleep," Joe said grinning. "Why?"

"Would you go with me to check the spot I woke up at?"

"Sure," Joe said. "The loss of a couple hours sleep won’t kill me. Besides, its been a while since I’ve done any snooping and I wouldn’t want to get out of practice."

"Thanks," Nancy said. "Set your alarm for six and meet me at the infirmary at six-thirty."

"I’ll be there," Joe said.

*****

As the evening wore on, Frank, Joe and Nancy sat at the table and watched the campers dance and have fun. George and Bess kept stopping by before heading off to talk to someone else. The evening was warm and the dining hall was sweltering as the kids continued to dance.

Nancy left the table and stepped out on the porch in the cool night air. She looked out and closed her eyes. She heard the music in the background and felt safe. Nancy wondered if they would be lucky enough to find any clues about her abductor where she woke that morning. She wondered if she had made the right decision to go find that spot.

She was still deep in thought when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and quickly spun around. Ned was standing there. He had on a pair of black dress pants and a white shirt.

"Hey there," Nancy said smiling. "You look great."

"And you look beautiful," Ned said. He looked around the area. "Why are you out here alone?"

"It was getting a little stuffy inside," Nancy answered. "I just wanted some fresh air."

She turned and looked back out toward the flagpole. She felt Ned take her left hand in both his. Ned asked, "Is something bothering you?"

"I need to find out who grabbed me last night," Nancy said quietly.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not right now." Nancy sighed. "We should probably go back in."

They started to walk in together. As they crossed the threshold, Ned let go of her hand and headed toward the deejay while Nancy went back to the table. As she sat down, she noticed Joe was back at the snack table. She looked at Frank and noticed the puzzled look on his face. She asked, "What’s wrong?"

"I think I should ask you that," Frank said putting his elbows on the table. "Did you and Ned have a fight?"

"No," Nancy said looking toward the deejay. Ned was standing with Steve talking. "I just want to be with Ned and have him close by. But we both promised Steve we’d act professionally."

"You guys are doing fine."

Nancy decided to change the subject. She didn’t want to talk about Ned anymore, she wanted to focus on the case. "Frank, did Derek leave your cabin last night?"

"No," Frank said. "He was there all night."

"are you sure?"

"Yeah, I’m sure," Frank said. "I know he was there all night, because his snoring kept me awake."

At that moment the deejay said, "This song is for counselor’s only."

Frank looked at Nancy. "How about a dance?"

"Sure," Nancy said.

Nancy and Frank went out on the dance floor and swayed to the slow song the deejay was playing. As they danced, Frank asked, "Are you sure you don’t want to dance with Ned?"

"He’s too busy," Nancy said turning so her back was to the deejay and Ned.

They danced for a few minutes without saying another word. When the song came to an end, they went back to the table and the kids started dancing to the fast song.

Once they were seated, Frank asked, "So, what’s the next step?"

"I need to find out if anyone left their cabins last night," Nancy said. "That’s the only way to eliminate the staff."

"Who do you want me to check on?"

"Check the counselor’s in boys camp. I’ll see if Bess and George can check the counselor’s at girls camp."

"Should we meet after your hike tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Nancy said checking her watch. "Hopefully Joe and I will have a lead then."

"I’ll check with as many guys as I can."

"Thanks."

"Boys and girls," the deejay said. "This is the last dance of the evening. Choose that special person for this song. Counselors, the same goes for you."

As the music started, Frank and Nancy watched the children dance. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Nancy felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Ned standing there. "May I have this dance?"

"Sure." Nancy smiled and they moved out to the dance floor.

Ned put his hands around Nancy’s waist while Nancy put her arms around Ned’s neck. As they moved to the music, Ned asked, "Are you mad at me?"

"Where did you get an idea like that?"

"You were dancing with Frank."

"He asked me."

"So, you’ll dance with any guy who asks," Ned teased.

"Well, you weren’t rushing over to ask me," Nancy said taking her arms away from Ned’s neck. "Besides, we’re not supposed to be acting inappropriately."

"I don’t think dancing with my fiancee’ is acting inappropriately," Ned said pulling her closer.

"What is going on with you? Ever since you found me this morning you’ve been so overprotective. Why?" Nancy rested her hands back on Ned’s arms.

"I’m worried something else is going to happen to you. You mean everything to me."

"But I can take care of myself."

"I know, but I still worry about you," Ned said touching her face.

"I promise I’ll be more careful," Nancy said softly. "Especially now that I’m looking for my attacker."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Not right now."

"All right," Ned said. "Let me know if you need my help."

Nancy smiled. "I know I can count on you."

"May I have everyone’s attention," Steve said with a microphone in his left hand. "The dance has now come to an end. Everyone should head back to their cabins. Don’t forget to walk with a buddy. Good-night everyone."

As the campers started to leave the dining hall, Nancy looked at Ned and mouthed, "I love you."

"Ditto," Ned said and Nancy followed the kids out of the dining hall.

Once Nancy was outside, she saw Bess standing by the stairs out of the way of the campers. As the two of them walked toward girls camp, Bess said, "You and Ned seem to be having a good time."

"It would be better if he stopped worrying about me."

"He loves you so much that he doesn’t want to lose you," Bess said.

"I know. But at times he’s a little too overprotective."

"I saw you and Frank Hardy dancing," Bess said with a twinkle in her eye.

"You know he’s just a friend," Nancy said quickly and switched subjects. "Actually, I need you to do something for me."

"It better not be dangerous."

"I need you to talk to the female counselors and see if any of them were out of their cabins last evening after the campfire."

"I know Misty was out of her cabin," Bess said. "We were walking back with the kids when she said she needed to talk to Steve."

"I didn’t pass her along the path," Nancy said quietly.

"They got to Nancy’s cabin first and Bess said. "I’ll see what I can find out."

"Thanks," Nancy said and went inside as Bess went to her cabin.

As she got ready for bed, she thought about what was going on. Climbing into her bunk, she hoped she’d have some clue as to who was involved soon. She wanted to have an enjoyable time with the kids, but she didn’t see that happening until she solved the case.