My first Nancy Drew mystery. I wanted to write my own case, and I had this idea. I'm structuring it a lot like the games, where it's mostly dialogue unless you're off by yourself. That's when I'll start the more... investigative descriptions. This mystery has a whole cast of characters. I'll give looks into Nancy suspect list, observations, journal entries and more as the story moves on. I hope you like it. Enjoy.

The Case File

Mysterious murders have been happening on the streets of Chicago around Wallace and 63rd street. That address is where the old Murder Castle of the first American serial killer, H. H. Holmes, was located before it mysteriously burned down. Now in its place stands a post office.

I'm going there to help two friends of Savannah Woodham again. Their names are Spencer Rose Turner and Blake Lisle. I'm not exactly sure why I'm being sent there, but Savannah thinks I can straighten things out. I just hope she's right. At least Spencer Rose and Lisle will be there to help out. According to Savannah, Spencer Rose knows the area like the back of her hand, and Blake knows all about the history of the Murder Castle and the surrounding area. These two may be useful!

Chapter One

I got out of my cab, paid the driver and looked up at the small building in front of me. This was the apartment complex where Spencer Rose and Blake lived. I walked up and buzzed their apartment.

"Hello?" A male voice. Blake.

"Hi, it's Nancy Drew. I'm here to drop off my stuff."

"Oh, hey Nancy! I'll let you up."

Upstairs, Blake was tall and lean in a dorky kind of way. He had tan skin and green eyes. His hair was dark and tousled. He had hollow cheeks and bags under his eyes. A red plaid shirt hung over his shoulders with a wrinkled white tee shirt under it and a pair of ripped jeans. Red converse completed his look. "Hey, Nancy. Nice to finally meet you. Thanks for coming out."

"No problem… Why am I here again?" I asked.

"There's been a murder," Blake said. "A co-worker of Spence's."

"Where does Spencer Rose work?"

"She's a dancer at the Theodore Lincoln Company."

"And where do you work?"

"The post office above the Murder Castle. That's how I know all the stuff you'll need to know. Here's my number. Text me your questions, and I'll get you the answers in a timely manner."

I took his number. "How do you know Savannah?"

"Spence is into all that hippie stuff. She and Savannah like to talk about spirits and things."

"What do you mean by hippie stuff?"

"She keeps a lot of stones on her, and she burns special herbs and things to keep the vibes in our apartment good. I'm not sure I believe in it as much as she does, but my back has been better since she began doing her weird wand massages on it, and the apartment always smells nice."

"Does she do any sort of drugs?"

"Not that I'm aware of. She just likes the smelly stuff and the stones."

I nodded. "What can you tell me about Spencer Rose's co-worker?"

"Her name was Asra and she from Saudi Arabia. She had only been with the company for a few months before this supposed H. H. Holmes impersonator killed her."

"Impersonator?"

"He's using the name as a cover."

"I see." I paused a moment. "Well, I better let you go. I think I need to go find Spencer Rose."

"Call her Spence. She doesn't like her full name being used."

"Note taken. Thanks Blake."

"Be back before nine. It's at ten or later that the killer strikes, and we don't want to be pushing limits."

I walked away, kind of wondering how he knew about the times of the murders as I went to the company building. I walked in and went up to the receptionist, a man with blonde hair, blue eyes and double silver bands on his left hand. Behind him was a picture of a laughing old man, and below it was a plaque that read the name Theodore Lincoln. "Hi, I'm Nancy Drew. I'm here to see Spencer Rose Turner."

"Oh, so you're Nancy Drew," said the receptionist. "I hear you're here to help avenge poor Asra."

"I wouldn't say avenge…"

"I would," he said. "She didn't deserve it at all. Who ever did this should be stopped!" The man was getting angry.

"Was Asra close to you?"

"You could say that… I don't want to talk about it." He shook his head. "New subject. You want to talk to Spence? She's down in E-Studio. Her class ended five minutes ago. I'm sure you can catch her before she heads home to her pathetic excuse of a boyfriend."

"You don't like Blake?"

"He looks like a serial killer himself, and he has such a dumb bad-boy attitude."

"He didn't seem like much of a bad-boy to me," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Just you wait, Nancy Drew. Now shoo, I have work to do."

I nodded and went down the hall to E-Studio and approached a girl in very bright and flowing clothes. Her hair went down her back in a dark and wavy ponytail, and she had pale skin and dark eyes. She smiled at me when I came in. "Hey! Can I help you?"

"I'm Nancy Drew. Are you Spencer Rose?"

"Please, call me Spence. I mean that," she said, not losing her bubbly charm. She reminded me a lot of Bess. "I'm so glad you're here to help me figure out what happened to Asra."

"Well, I'm here to do my best."

"Good thing you're putting forth one hundred percent. What can I do for you?"

"What can you tell me about Asra?"

Spencer Rose—Spence, sighed heavily. "Asra was one of the newer dancers to the company. She was on the professional performance team and she helped me coach the younger competition team."

"Younger competition team?"

"We're not just a company for performing. The company is also a studio for younger children. I teach a modern class here, and Asra was often my assistant when working with the younger students and the competition team. I'm head of that department."

"Sounds like you're a big deal."

"I've been working here for a couple years now. Theodore likes me. He also really liked Asra. I think he was the most upset when she died."

"Why?"

"They were dating."

"How old is Theodore, and where is he?"

"Oh, I'm not talking about the original Theodore. Well, Theodore Senior liked me, too. Theodore Junior is about my age, which you'll never know." She winked mischievously. "I'm kidding. He's about in his late twenties, like I am. So was Asra. She was so young. Her death has really messed up my systems. You have to figure out what happened, Nancy! I can't take this much longer."

"I'll work as hard as I can to get this case solved. What else can you tell me about Asra?"

"She was in love with television shows like NCIS and Grey's Anatomy. She said her family was mostly doctors over in Saudi Arabia. She would have loved meeting you, being a detective and all. She'd be crawling all over you trying to help."

"She liked detective stuff? Do you think she would have tried to follow the murder cases? She could have ended up discovering something and had been killed like that rather than just straight murder."

"I didn't think about that, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Asra was very adventurous and gutsy. She could have tried to do something and then died! Oh, Nancy, that's got to be it! You have to figure it out."

"I'm on the case. Where were you the night when Asra died?"

"I was with Blake. It was last Friday, and Fridays are always our date night. We went to a fancy restaurant and we watched a movie at home. Ask Blake. He probably still has the receipt in his wallet. I ordered salmon, and he got some weird thing with herb butter and lobster that didn't look like lobster. Oh, right, I remember, they were lobster cakes with herb butter. Look on the receipt. Trust me, we didn't do it. But if I were to suspect anyone, I'd suspect the horrible terror at the front desk."

"Who is he? I didn't catch a name."

"His name is Jason Carter. He's a friend of Theodore's from school. Jason's down on his luck and needed a job, and Theodore Senior said they needed a new receptionist. Theodore Junior says he knows a guy, and next thing I know that creature is sitting at the desk glaring at every man and woman who walks in through the front glass doors. He's really killed the positive vibes."

"Positive vibes?"

"Mhm. There's a book about energies and vibes in my apartment. You can read up on them if you want. It'll probably explain it better than I can. I'm not good at explaining. Just understanding."

"Well, that's all I have to ask."

"Wait, before you go, I need you to tell Jason that my paycheck is overdue and that I need it soon to pay my rent. Also, try to talk to Theodore Junior. He can tell you more about the studio stuff. Oh, and if you need to make money, I'm best friends with Margaret. She runs the snack stand here in the studio. Go to her and make some protein shakes and prepare snack trays for the dancers."

"Will do! I'll get you get back to your stretching."

"Adios!"

I left and went to walk down to Theodore Junior's office.

"Theodore Junior?"

"Please, come in!" I went into the office to see a man dressed in tight black dance shorts and a maroon tank top. His bright red hair was shaven on the sides, revealing the true blond color of his hair. "And call me Teddy. Theodore is my father."

"Spencer Rose—I mean Spence calls you Theodore Junior."

"Spence probably wanted to sound all cool in front of you and seem official. Everyone here calls me Teddy, and my father is Theodore. I'll tell her to knock off the act."

"Does she do this kind of stuff often?"

"Only when she's trying to seem serious, which she's not. She's probably just trying to get on your good side. Ignore it. Now, who are you?"

"My name is Nancy Drew. I'm here to investigate the murder of Asra, and everyone else, too."

"You are a godsend. Bless you for coming. My boyfriend and I have been worried sick."

"Boyfriend?"

"Edwin. He works down in the basement where the locker rooms and the costume shop is. He makes most of the costumes you'll find in the storage behind the door in his studio."

"How did you meet Edwin?"

"We met when my father hired him. Blake was the one who set us up. Edwin and Blake are good friends." He smiled.

"How long have you and Edwin been together?"

"Two years, a year less than Blake and Spence. Best two years of my life, too. I can't believe we're moving in together this weekend. I'm so excited."

"That sounds exciting."

He looked at the clock. "Oh my gosh, I'm late. I teach a class in one minute. I have students to take care of. We can talk more tomorrow when I don't have any classes in the afternoon. But right now, I have to go!"

"I'll get you go."

"See ya!"

I walked out of his office and headed down to the basement to talk to Edwin. The plaque outside his door read "E. Chaney".

"Come on in, I can see you through the window." Edwin smiled. He was Spanish with dark hair and bright green eyes and a pointy chin. "My name is Edwin Chaney. Welcome to my studio. Here for a fitting? Hm. You don't look like a dancer."

"I'm not," I said with a laugh. "I'm Nancy Drew. I'm here to investigate Asra's murder."

"Or her kidnapping," he said.

"Kidnapping?"

"We never found a body or anything. Just a lot of blood, and yeah, it was Asra's, but it wasn't enough blood to really kill her. You'd need to lose more than two liters of blood in order for that to happen."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I'm a behind-the-scenes person. Before I worked here, I was a very small tech worker for an independent movie company. I got to play with all the fake blood and limbs. In order to do my job correctly, I had to make the right amounts and do a lot of research."

"You made horror movies for a while?"

"I did. I got out of it because I couldn't stand the work. Making the blood and crafting the organs and things I could do. But then I had to see it in action, and after a while, I couldn't stomach it. I can show you a few of my movies. I keep them in my office."

"Maybe some other time."

"Suit yourself. Any other questions?"

"I heard you're dating Teddy."

"I am. What about it?"

"How long have you two been together?"

"Two years, about. We're moving in together this weekend. We're both really excited to be moving into my apartment. We're also going to be really close to Blake and Spence, which makes us all really happy. We're all kind of best friends."

"How close were you to Asra?"

"Asra had the weirdest proportions of any of the dancers here. We spent a lot of time together down here. She had these huge and strong thighs, this itty-bitty waist and a pretty large bust. It made costuming her difficult, so she had to hang out a lot so we could figure out her pieces. We got along because we both liked to talk about television. I'm not one for her doctor shows, but we liked Sherlock and so we'd talk about that."

"Sherlock?"

"It's a television show based on Sherlock Holmes starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. She was a huge fan. I just watched it because I loved Martin in the Hobbit, so I figured Sherlock had to be good. I was right. It is a good show. Check it out when you're not sleuthing."

"I will. Is there anything else about Asra you can tell me?"

"She and Spence were really great friends. Asra didn't like Blake much, too. Said he looked like one of the criminals in her show. She almost seemed kind of scared of him. I don't know why. Blake's a pacifist. He wouldn't hurt anyone unless it was self-defense. He's decked a few guys for creeping on Spence, but that's about as violent as he gets. When it comes to his 'fight or flight' system, he soars."

"Did Asra and Blake ever fight?"

"No, not that I saw. Blake's not much of a fighter, but Asra was full of fire. They just bantered about dumb stuff."

"That's all my questions for now."

"Find out who did this, okay, Nancy?"

I went back to the apartment for the night and went to sleep.