After a phone call to Chief Collig from Frank, the small group found themselves pulling into a parking spot near the Bayport police station. As Nancy cut off the engine, Frank slid quickly out of his seat and opened the passenger door on his side. Maggie closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped from the car. Joe, seated next to her in back, opened his door. Noticing that Nancy hadn't moved from the driver's seat, Joe leaned forward.

"Coming in, Nan?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "It's probably best if I didn't," she said. "You're not supposed to be getting help from me, remember?"

Frank peered curiously at her through the windshield. "Don't worry about that, Nancy. I explained to Chief Collig over the phone that you had lent a hand. He'll grumble a bit, but in the end he'll just be relieved that the case is solved."

Nancy bit her lip. "Thanks, Frank. I still think it would be better if you guys take care of Maggie." She tapped the steering wheel, then turned to Joe. "If I take off, do you think you could get a ride home?"

"Take off where?" Frank asked.

"There's something I want to check on," she replied.

Frank raised his eyebrows. "And that would be...?"

Nancy didn't reply as she watched Maggie shift nervously from one foot to the other. "I'm not sure yet. But I'll let you know when I find out."

Joe shrugged his shoulders and stepped out of the car.

"I don't have a problem with you taking off, Nan." He looked up at his brother. "Do you Frank?"

For a second, Frank debated on arguing that they needed Nancy to join them, but then realized how futile that would be if she was set on investigating something. If he'd picked up the signals right, he knew exactly what it was that she wanted to check out. "No," he finally replied. "That's fine with me. We can get home from here."

Nancy smiled, feeling somewhat relieved. "Ok. I'll catch up to you guys later, then." She started the car as Frank bent down and leaned in the passenger side window.

"Be careful," he told her, concern showing in his brown eyes.

"I always am," she told him.

As Nancy drove off, Joe looked quizzically at his brother. "She's up to something, isn't she?"

Frank stared off in the direction that Nancy's car had went. "Of course she is," he said, a resigned note in his voice. Looking at Maggie, he tilted his head in the direction of the police station. "Well," he told Maggie. "Let's get this over with."

Steven Taylor answered his front door only to find Nancy Drew standing on the doorstep. "Nancy!" he said. "Hi. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?" He looked past her shoulder, spotting only her car in front of the house. "Is Frank or Joe here with you?"

Nancy tilted her head and smiled. "No, they're taking care of something at the police station. I'm here to check out a possible lead."

Steven looked hopefully at her. "Do they know what happened to Emma?" he asked.

"Maybe," Nancy replied. "Can I come in for a minute? I promise it won't take long."

"Sure," Steven said. "Follow me." Nancy trailed behind Steven, as he led her through the house into a bright, airy kitchen. Offering her a seat at the breakfast nook, he turned to the refrigerator. "Would you like something to drink? Tea, soda, juice?"

"A soda would be nice," Nancy replied.

Steven pulled out two cans of Coke. Popping the tab, he handed one to Nancy. Sitting across from her, he opened his soda, but didn't drink from it. Instead, he set it on the table, and folded his hands in front of him.

"So, Nancy," he began. "What's going on? I know Frank and Joe have been investigating Emma's case for several days, but so far, they haven't told me anything that they've found. I need to know something. I realize that you don't know me very well, and might not feel it's your place to share, but still..." he gave a sigh of frustration. "It's just that if they're going to send someone else to check me out, I feel like I should at least have some idea of what they've found."

Nancy took a sip of her soda. "You're still worried that you're a suspect, aren't you?"

He met her eyes. "Partially. Wouldn't you be? I have a son to take care of. If something happens to me..." He tried again. "I'm not very close to my family, Nancy. I can't stand the thought that one of them might have to raise Shaun. And Sara's mother's health would keep her from taking him."

Nancy nodded. "Just the idea that someone else might have to raise your child for you is frightening. I used to worry a lot about who would take care of Laurie if something were to happen to me."

He gave Nancy an odd look. "What about Frank? I thought Maggie said she belonged to him. Wouldn't he want to raise her?"

"Of course he would," Nancy said, offering Steven a smile. "It's just that at the time, he didn't actually know she existed."

"Oh," Steven said. "That's right. Maggie told me about that." He fell silent.

"About Maggie," Nancy began.

Steven interrupted her. "I suppose she could take care of Shaun. It wouldn't be an ideal situation, but it would be better than my parents. Or my sister, for that matter." He gazed past her, fixating on a painting on the far wall. "I can't go to prison for something I didn't do. Shaun needs me." His gaze dropped to the table, then returned to Nancy. "Please tell me, Nancy? Am I still a suspect? Or do the guys know who really killed Emma?"

Nancy took a deep breath. "You were right when you said that I don't know you very well, Steven. But I have been helping the guys with their investigation, and I feel like I've gotten to know you a little bit. Let me try to put your fears to rest. You're not a suspect anymore. At least as far as Frank and Joe are concerned. Or me for that matter, and I've had plenty of experience with this type of thing." She glanced at her watch. "By now, I seriously doubt you're a suspect in the eyes of the police, either."

Steven leaned back, relief plainly evident in his eyes. "Thank you, God," he whispered. He fiddled with his can of soda, then smiled at Nancy. "And thank you for telling me." He took a drink of the soda. "So, if it's not too much to ask, what do you guys think really happened to Emma?"

Nancy tipped her head to the side and looked intently at Steven. "I'll share with you if you share with me first," she said.

Steven smiled. "Ok. Fair enough."

"Why did you say that having Maggie raise Shaun wouldn't be an ideal situation?"

He shrugged. "Well, for starters, she isn't really his family. Not that mine is that great, of course."

Nancy scrutinized him. "I'm not buying that, Steven."

He sighed. "It's nothing, really."

Leaning forward, Nancy took his hand in hers. "Sure it is. I'm a mother. I worry about Laurie's future all time. There are people that I know, people I love, that I wouldn't want to leave Laurie to unless I absolutely had to do so. If there's something about Maggie that bothers you, deep down you know what it is. Share it with me. It may help."

Realization dawned in Steven's eyes. "Oh, no. She's your suspect, isn't she. You think Maggie killed Emma."

"No, I don't," Nancy said. "But right now she's with the guys at the police station, confessing to that very thing. I think she's lying. She's covering up for someone, Steven. And I want to find out just who that is."

He sighed as he stared at Nancy's hand covering his. Nancy followed his gaze and gently pulled her hand back. "Tell me what bothers you about her. It may help," she said softly.

"It's just..." he started to say and stopped. Running his hand through his hair, he tried again. "Maggie's a very nice person. We've been friends for years. Since college. But right now she has her hands full with Melissa. And, although I know she's trying her best, I'm really not sure how great her parenting skills are."

Nancy frowned. "But I thought she's been helping take care of Shaun the past two years."

He nodded. "She has. But she's more like an aunt than a mother. She lets Shaun get by with a lot more stuff than she should. She spoils him. And unfortunately, she's done the same with Melissa. Melissa's attitude and behavior has gotten a lot worse since their parent died."

"I wasn't aware that Melissa was a troublemaker," Nancy said.

"She isn't, exactly," Steven told her. "It's mainly the attitude she takes with Maggie. She pretty much does what she pleases and Maggie can't stop her anymore. There's been a few incidences at school, too. So far, she hasn't been in big trouble over it. It helps that she's so smart. When her mouth gets the best of her, the teachers and the principal tend to send her to talk to the counselor rather than punish her. I don't want Shaun to become like that when he gets to be a teenager. Not if I can help it, anyway."

Nancy mulled this over. "So it has nothing to do with Maggie herself then. Just her parenting skills."

"Yeah," Steven said. "Aside from her inability to be much of a disciplinarian when it comes to kids, she's a good person. She'd love him like no one else could. It's just that kids need boundaries and I don't think she'd give him that."

Nancy decided to change the subject. "Steven, could you walk me through what happened the night you found Emma's body?"

Steven looked surprise. "You want me to describe what happened that evening?"

"Yes," she said. "But I want you to walk me through it as you do. Literally. Let me follow you through the house as you describe what you saw that night. Are you up to doing that?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll do my best. Follow me." Nancy stayed a step behind as he made his way from the front door, to the kitchen, and then finally to the bedroom, describing in detail everything that he'd experienced the night he'd lost his fiance. As they reached the bedroom, he paused.

"Are you okay?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah," he said, taking a deep breath. "I haven't used this room since her death." He looked apologetically at Nancy. "It seems so empty having it all to myself again that I've been avoiding it. I moved my stuff into the guest room and have been sleeping there." He opened the door to the master bedroom and entered.

Nancy glanced around, unsure of what she was looking for. "Tell me how the room was staged," she said.

"Staged?" he asked.

"How was Emma laid out on the bed," Nancy responded. "Give me any details you can remember, no matter how small they may seem."

Steven proceeded to describe how he had found Emma's body sprawled on the bed. "I thought she was asleep, at first," he told Nancy. He ran a finger across the bedspread. "She had a book covering her hand, like she'd fallen asleep reading," he said. "There was soft music playing, and the only light on was that little lamp there on the nightstand. It looked natural, not like a set up or anything. I didn't find the pills in her hand until after I'd realized that she wasn't moving at all."

Nancy took in the room. Spotting a CD alarm clock by the bed, she turned to Steven. "What music was playing?"

"I don't know," he said. "It was something soft, kind of romantic. Remember, I thought I was coming up here to spend some quality time with my girlfriend. I didn't pay much attention to the music."

Nancy walked over to the nightstand. She opened the lid to the player, glanced at the CD, then closed it. "Steven, what type of music did Emma listen to?"

He shrugged. "A little bit of everything. She preferred jazz, though."

"What about boy bands? You know, the kind of stuff that some teen age girls like."

Steven laughed. "Are you asking if Emma was a closet Backstreet Boys fan?"

Nancy smiled. "Yeah, I am."

"No," he said. "She drew the line at that kind of junk. No Backstreet Boys, or N'Sync, or Britney Spears. She preferred musicians with staying power."

Nancy pressed play on the CD player. As the first ballad began to play, she asked. "Is this what was playing the night you found Emma?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't think so." Nancy began to skim through the songs. As she hit the 6th selection, he stopped her. "That's it. I recognize that. That's the song that was playing."

Nancy stopped the music and removed the CD from the player, holding it carefully by one edge. "Did either one of you own an N'Sync CD?" she asked.

He stared at the CD. "No," he said. "Where did that come from?"

"Do you have a plastic baggie?" Nancy asked. "Like a ziploc bag? I want to take this to Frank."

He nodded. "Yeah, down in the kitchen. Nancy, who do you think put that CD in there?"

Nancy followed him down the stairs. As he handed her the baggie, she slipped the CD inside. "I think Melissa may have done it," she told him. "I just don't know why, yet. So if you see her, don't mention that I was here. Do you understand?"

He nodded.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for your help, Steven. As soon as I have something new for you, I'll make sure that either one of the guys or I stop by and update you." Waving goodbye, she let herself out the door.

As she headed down the walk, Steven called out. "Wait, Nancy, where are you going? Are you going back to the police station?"

She turned. "In a little while. First, I need to see if Melissa happens to have an empty case to match this CD."

"How are you planning to get her to tell you that?" he asked.

She smiled. "I have my ways. You just sit tight."