When he reached the room, he unlocked the door, pushed it open and went inside. After closing the door, he turned around. He saw the room was empty. He moved over to the bed and sank down onto it.

He knew he needed figure out what to do. He knew he owed it to Nancy. All of a sudden, he remembered Nancy’s smile. She was always happy. She was always smiling.

Frank shook his head. He knew he had to focus on what he was doing. He had to do what he thought would bring quick answers. He knew Nancy wasn’t dead. He knew it wasn’t possible. He wasn’t going to believe it unless he had proof.

Reaching under his bed, Frank pulled out his laptop computer. He looked at it, then pushed it back underneath. He knew he needed to get going. He figured he would head to the police station to see if they had any information. He knew it was the best place to start since there had been very little at the scene.

* * * * *

When Frank walked into the police station, he saw officers moving around sadly. He figured word had quickly spread about Nancy and they were upset. He knew Nancy often came in contact with the officers of River Heights when she was on a case, just like he did back home. While they tried to not get in each other’s way, they sometimes ended up helping one another.

Looking around, Frank saw two men sitting on a bench with their hands cuffed behind their backs. He made his way over to the desk sergeant. “Excuse me, I wondering if the car found in the river has been gone over?”

“Who are you?” the sergeant asked.

“My name is Frank Hardy and I’m a private investigator asked to look into the accident,” Frank lied.

“Let me call the detective who is in charge of the case.”

Two minutes later, a man in his forties approached Frank. The man motioned for Frank to follow him. They walked into a room. “I’m Detective Allen.”

“I’m Frank Hardy.”

“Any relation to Fenton Hardy?”

Frank nodded. “That’s my father.”

“I’ve heard a lot about your Dad. He’s pretty well known. So, you’re following in your father’s footsteps?”

“I’ve been working on some cases in the past couple years. I’ve worked on a few with my dad as well,” Frank said.

“Please, have a seat,” Detective Allen said as he sat down behind his desk. “The sergeant said you were asked to look into the accident?”

Frank decided he needed to be honest with the detective. “Detective Allen, I need to know the truth as to what happened,” Frank began. “That car belonged to one of my best friends. I need to know if foul play was involved.” Frank looked right at the detective. “I wanted to go through the right channels to get the information. I don’t want to go behind the department’s back. But if I can’t get the information I need, I will get it my own way.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Nancy and I worked together. We’re both detectives. I need to know what happened.”

The detective was silent. After a moment, the detective opened a file in the middle of his desk. He said, “The car has been checked over. The Chief felt it was best to get it done since he is a good friend of Carson’s and knew he would want to know the results right away.” He took a breath as he looked at the writing on the pages in the file. “There was paint found on the front panel on the driver’s side. The paint was red.”

“Are there any leads?”

“Another driver saw a red sports car, but was unable to see the driver. The driver saw the red sports car take off and was only able to give us part of the license plate. Right now, we’re searching for a car matching the description we were given.”

Frank looked at the detective. “Is it possible Nancy could have survived?”

The detective got to his feet. He moved to the map on the wall of his and motioned for Frank to move over there also.

“Is it possible?” Frank asked again as he moved over to the map.

“Here,” the detective began pointing at the road on the map, “is where her car was found. The current in that part of the river is very strong. Anyone who survived a fall there, whether in a car or without, would have to be blessed with a guardian angel.”

Frank looked closely at the map. On the other side of the river, there was a big area. Frank asked, “What’s on the other side of the river?”

“That’s a wooded area. There are just trees on that side.”

“If someone survived the fall, where would they end up?”

“Anywhere, if they survived. But they would only survive if they were conscious and able to make it out on their own.”

Frank spotted a road on the other side of the river among the trees. It looked like it was about a mile downstream from where Nancy’s car had gone into the water.

“What’s that road?”

“That’s just a dirt road. It allows access to the river.” Detective Allen looked at Frank. “I‘m sorry, but there’s no possible way she could have survived the crash.”

Frank turned away from the map. “Were any of Nancy’s possessions found in the car?”

“Nothing. It appeared the trunk opened on impact. Anything that was in the car more than likely floated away.”

“Was the car completely submerged?”

“The car was in the water up to the front seat.”

Frank looked at Detective Allen, confused. He knew Nancy always wore her seatbelt when she drove her car. She was religious about putting it on and that anyone riding with her also had one on. “How could Nancy have floated away?”

“Her seatbelt may have come loose on impact.”

“Nancy would’ve been stuck in the car then.” Frank stated to walk around the office. “Someone had to have helped her.”

“What are you thinking?” The detective sat down at his desk.

“Nancy’s car went front end first into the water. Nancy would be laying on the steering wheel. Her legs would be under the steering wheel. The current cannot be that strong. The current would have had to slide her out from underneath the steering wheel and then get her out of the car through the window. You said the water was only up to the front seat.”

Frank stopped pacing. He looked at the detective.

“That’s an interesting theory and I just wonder if it is correct,” Detective Allen said. “But, if it is the right theory, how did she get out of the car?”

“That’s what we need to find out,” Frank said. “Thanks for the information.”

“You better let me know if you come up with anything.”

“I will.”

Frank left the police station. He took his time as he started back to the hotel. He tried to figure out what his next move was going to be. He had this feeling Nancy was alive somewhere. He had this feeling that someone had helped Nancy from her car.

He knew he needed to check the side of the river opposite where Nancy’s car had been found. He knew he also needed to check the woods on that side of the river. He knew he should focus on looking for Nancy since the police were looking for the car.