Hardy Detective Agency

Frank wandered into the kitchen around eleven o’clock and saw George and Bess were busy making a pie. Joe and Jeremy were “supervising” in between stealing handfuls of apple slices out of the bowl. Frank sat down on a stool beside Joe and asked, “Where are Nancy and Ned?”

“Out for a walk,” Joe said looking at Frank. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good.” Frank looked around the kitchen. “I see everything is almost ready for dinner tomorrow.”

“Almost,” Jeremy said going over to the refrigerator. “Nancy and Ned have volunteered to get up early and help mom get things started.”

Before anyone could say anything, Melissa came into the kitchen carrying her guitar. She said, ”Hi.” She looked at Frank. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thanks,” Frank replied. “The sleep really helped.” He looked at Melissa. “I heard you practicing earlier. You play quite well.”

“Thanks,” Melissa said sitting down on another stool. “I was working on some songs for the concert Friday night.”

“I don’t see why you need so much practice,” Bess said. “You sounded terrific at rehearsal today.”

“Thanks, but even though I’ve performed in front of thousands of people, I still get nervous and fear I’ll forget the words.”

“She always says that, but she hasn’t forgotten the words yet,” Jeremy said proudly coming back to the table. He glanced at the clock on the wall above the stove. “It’s getting late.”

“You’re right,” Joe said, stretching. He looked around. “It looks like everything is set for tomorrow’s big thanksgiving dinner.”

“Yeah,” Bess said. “I’m really tired. I guess all that fresh air tired me out.”

“I think the exercise was also a factor.” George said.

“I exercise!” Bess said, feigning outrage.

“Running through the mall is not exercise,” George said with a smirk.

“Come on,” Joe said. “We’ll debate this tomorrow.”

“You guys go ahead,” Frank said. “With the nap I took, I’m not really tired.”

“All right,” Joe said as everyone started down the hallway. “Just don’t stay up all night, remember what the doctor said.”

“Yes, Dad,” Frank said sarcastically.

As the others went up to their rooms, Frank went into the living room and sat down on the couch. He looked at the blazing fire in the fireplace. As he sat there alone, he began to wonder if the gunman was after Melissa or shot at her by mistake. He couldn’t understand why anyone would shoot at her. She didn’t seem like the type of person who would have a lot of enemies, but he really didn’t know her that well. But if she wasn’t the target, who was? Could the gunman be lurking in the woods waiting for another chance? He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. He needed to talk to Nancy. He knew she would help him figure out what was going on.

As he waited, he grew tired watching the flames dance in the fireplace. He drifted to sleep wondering where Nancy and Ned were.

* * * * *

Nancy’s head was throbbing. Her face felt wet and cold. She opened her eyes and saw snow all around her. She lifted her head slightly and wiped her face. Putting her hands on the ground, Nancy tried to lift herself up. There was something holding her legs. She tried several times to get up, but was unable to.

Wincing in pain, Nancy closed her eyes hoping the throbbing in her head would subside. She wondered what happened. All she remembered was snow everywhere and then darkness. She looked to see what had her pinned and realized it was a pine tree branch. The tree was lying on her thighs.

Ned. Where is Ned? She slowly turned her head and saw he was laying on the ground to her right. His face was turned away from here. His arms were stretched out above his head.

Nancy reached for Ned’s neck after slipping off her glove and felt for a pulse. Nancy felt his heart beating strong. She let out a sigh of relief knowing Ned was alive. “Ned, please wake up. We need to get back inside.”

She received no response. She took hold of Ned’s left arm and pulled it to his side. She noticed his legs were also pinned. She began to wonder if they would get out of there. She could feel the temperature dropping as it snowed harder. Nancy continued to struggle to get the limb off, but realized she was only tiring herself out. She put her left arm on the ground. She put her head on her arms to rest. Reaching for Ned’s left hand with her right, she took his in hers and held it. Nancy wondered if anyone at the house knew they hadn’t returned.

Nancy figured Frank would come searching for them when he realized they weren’t in the house. She knew it wouldn’t be long before help arrived. She started to grow tired and drifted to sleep wishing Frank would hurry.

* * * * *

Frank couldn’t understand why his bed was so lumpy and shaking. Rolling onto his right side, he slowly opened his eyes. He saw Aunt Maggie standing by him wearing a bathrobe. Frank groggily said, “Good morning.”

“Frank, I can’t find Nancy and Ned,” Maggie said quickly.

“Aren’t they in their rooms?” Frank asked, struggling to sit up.

“I just checked,” Maggie said. “They aren’t in their rooms and neither of their beds have been slept in.” She sat down beside Frank and looked at him. “I have this terrible feeling they are in trouble.”

“Are you sure they aren’t somewhere in the house?”

“Their coats and boots are also missing.”

“If you’re really worried, I’ll wake the others and we’ll see if we can find them.”

“Please, Frank. I would feel terrible if something happened to your friends.”

“All right,” Frank said getting to his feet. “I’ll wake the others.”

Half an hour later, everyone was up and dressed, ready to start the search. They convinced Jeremy and Melissa to wait at the house in case Nancy and Ned returned.

Frank and George went off together calling out Nancy and Ned’s name. Joe and Bess headed in the opposite direction. They planned to search the woods to find some sign as to where Nancy and Ned were.