"I don’t know. She may be undercover."

"I wonder if Ned is also here."

"I don’t know," Frank said as the bell rang. "We better get to class. We’ll meet up later and compare notes."

"Got it," Joe said and headed down the hall.

Frank looked back at the office. He wondered if Nancy was there on the same case he and Joe were looking into. He knew that would have to wait until later. He headed upstairs to his first class still wondering.

* * * * *

As Nancy walked into the principal’s office, she tried to hide the shock on her face. She hadn’t expected to see the Hardy’s. She wondered if they were there for the same reason she was.

"Good morning," Principal Meyer said. "I’m surprised you’re coming to this school. The school in River Heights is top notch."

"My dad wanted me in a school where I would get a decent education," Nancy said. "And this was the one he decided on since we are moving to the area. He’s moving the rest of our belongings down. My records should arrive soon."

"That’s fine," Principal Meyer said, pulling out a few papers stapled together. "This is your class schedule, a map of the school, your locker number and combination." The bell rang. "You should be getting to homeroom."

"Thank you," Nancy said and left the office. As she headed to homeroom, she knew she needed to focus on her investigation. She knew she had to find out who was sending the notes and why. She knew she needed to find the answers.

* * * * *

At lunch, Nancy and Debbie Smith left the lunch line together and walked into the cafeteria together. Nancy easily spotted Frank and Joe sitting at a table by themselves.

Nancy looked at Debbie. Debbie was 17-years-old. She had long brown hair, which was pulled back from her face by a barrette. With her hair pulled back, her face was tanned from the weather. Her round face accented her sky blue eyes.

Nancy said, "I saw those two in the principal’s office this morning."

"The blond one is cute," Debbie said with a smile. "Why don’t we go sit with them?"

"Sounds good," Nancy said.

Nancy and Debbie made their way to the table where the Hardy’s were sitting. When they reached the table, Debbie cleared her throat, making Frank and Joe look up. Nancy noticed surprise on both their faces.

"Can we join you?" Debbie asked.

"Sure," Joe said.

Debbie sat down beside Joe while Nancy sat beside Frank. Debbie said, "I’ve never seen you two around before."

"We just moved to the area," Joe said.

"By the way," Frank began, "I’m Frank and that’s Joe."

"I’m Nancy. Debbie is my cousin." Nancy realized it was the wrong time to get into a discussion with Frank. She knew she needed to get Frank alone to find out what he was doing there. "So, how do you like the school?"

"It’s okay. How about you? How do you like it?"

"It’s different," Nancy admitted. "I only have one problem with it."

"And what’s that?" Frank asked.

"I can’t get my locker open." She batted her eyes at Frank. "Would you give it a try?"

"Sure. I’ll probably get it on the first try," Frank said. "Let’s finish lunch and then I’ll see what I can do."

When they finished lunch, Nancy and Frank saw Joe and Debbie were in deep conversation getting to know each other. As they got to their feet, Frank said, "Joe, we’ll be back."

"Fine," Joe said without taking his eyes off Debbie.

Frank and Nancy left the cafeteria. They made their way down the hall. When they reached Nancy’s locker, Frank fiddled with the combination while Nancy talked softly.

"I’m surprised to see you two. I wonder if we’re here for the same reason."

"What reason is that?"

Nancy explained to Frank she was there looking for the sender of some threatening notes. When Nancy finished, Frank told her why he was there. Frank finished by saying, "Our cases may be connected."

At that moment the bell rang and students entered the hall. Frank pulled the locker door open and asked, "What are you doing after school?"

"I was going to watch Debbie while she was at track practice."

"I just may see you there," Frank said with a smile. "Bye."

Nancy wave with her right hand as Frank walked away. She hoped the rest of the day would go by fast.

* * * * *

That afternoon once school let out, Frank and Joe made their way out to the track. When they reached it, they could see Debbie jogging on the far side. They turned and saw Nancy sitting on the bleachers. They made their way up to the bleachers toward her.

Once they were seated, Frank asked, "So, how have you been?"

"Okay," Nancy said unenthusiastically.

Frank and Joe looked at one another. Neither of them believed her. Frank looked at Nancy’s hands. He saw she had a bandage on her left hand where her wedding ring was supposed to be. Frank pointed at her hand and asked, "What’s with the bandage?"

Nancy looked at her hand and then at Frank. "I didn’t want to take my wedding band off." She looked back at her hand. She fingered the bandage.

"Are things okay with you and Ned?" Frank asked.

Nancy nodded. "Things are fine."

Frank knew Nancy wasn’t telling the truth so he decided to change the subject. "Have you been able to come up with anything?"

"I talked with Debbie trying to figure out who could be sending her threatening notes. And she gave me a couple names."

"Who?" Frank asked, pulling a notebook out of his back pocket.

"Well, Debbie claims one person who could be threatening her is her ex-boyfriend, Matt Light. She claimed she broke up with him because he was too overbearing. She said that he wanted her to drop whatever she was doing, no matter what time it was, or what she was doing, and do whatever he wanted. She broke up with him because she couldn’t take it anymore."

"So, he could be trying to scare her because she broke up with him."

"It’s a possibility."

"Anyone else?"

"Debbie said there’s a girl on the track team who could also be the sender. Debbie said the girl has tried to know her off the team. She’s been tripped while running. Her sneakers disappear and then suddenly reappear.

"Who is this girl?" Joe asked.

"Ashley Morgan." Nancy looked at the track. "She’s running right behind Debbie. She has the long, red hair."

"Okay."

"Debbie hopes we can catch whoever it is."

"We?" Joe asked. "You told her about us?"

"No, I didn’t tell her about you. But I figured we’re after the same goal."

"Of course we’ll work together," Frank said. "We’re a team."

"So, what have you come up with?" Nancy asked.

"Not much," Joe said.

"Actually nothing," Frank said. "We are keeping our eyes and ears open."

All three of them saw Debbie making her way toward the bleachers. Joe got to his feet and moved toward her.

Nancy asked, "So, what’s your next step?"

"I’m going to log on to the school computer and see what I can find."

"Let me know what I can do to help."

"I will."

They watched Debbie moved over to her bag and open. She let out an earth-shattering scream.