Disclaimer: don't own Nancy Drew
Summary: not written for Nancy Drew, similiar stories though, its another fic from Creative Writing that i havent finished, the stuff directly below are things i had to include in the story, read and rate!!
Detective Story
Has to end with the solving of the crime
Clues:
Dish Cloth
Small Child
Parakeet
The wind was howling along Dale Hollow. Rain and hail pounded into the ground and bent the ancient oaks that filled the valley. A lone mansion stood upon a hill, casting a dark and threatening shadow onto the surrounding earth. Inside the forbidding house a young girl stood, her nose pressed flat against one of the tall, icy cold windows, watching the crackling lightening illuminate the sky. She shrank back slightly as thunder beat across the wide expanse, like tribal war drums, coming ever closer and getting louder with each movement. In the child's hands was clutched a small miniature. It was a gold replica of a Pegasus encrusted with little gems; the hooves were coated with rubies, the mane and tail were sprinkled with emeralds and opals, the eyes were crafted from sapphires, while diamonds were splayed over the figure's body and wings. The girl clutched the delicate miniature to her chest as she peered out from behind silk curtains. The storm was getting worse and she was frightened now. Long black shadows stretched across her large, darkened room though with each flash of lightening the entire room was lit revealing finely crafted furniture and delicate toys, which were more for show than play. A tall four-poster bed stood solemnly in the middle of the room it was draped with silks and fancy quilts, the lightening letting vivid blues, greens, and purples leap out from the material. Beside the bed stood a tall glass cabinet, each crystal shelf filled with miniatures similar to the delicate equine clutched in the small child's trembling hands. With each burst of lightening the cabinet seemed to come to life, glowing with an array of colors and sending a dazzling shower of rainbows around the room. The young girl whimpered as the howling wind swirled around the old house, causing the strong wood to creak and groan, and casting strange shadows across the dim yard. Suddenly the storm calmed a bit, much like the effect of the eye of a hurricane. The howling wind died down in the lull, and the only sound that could be heard was the rain pelting the ground. The child peeked out for a bit. The house was completely silent. The adults were asleep, not bothered by the storm, the dogs were in their kennels, long done with their howling. The only one up was the little girl. A sob escaped the child's throat as a suffocating silence enveloped the house. There was no sound save for the beating of the rain, which was beginning to pick up speed and force again. The girl turned, her back now at the window, when a noise came from the far corner of her room. One of the shadows seemed to be getting bigger, stretching towards her like a grasping hand. The girl's eyes widened, the delicate miniature slipping through her fingers, landing on the Persian carpet with a muffled thud and bouncing twice before setting on the floor. Suddenly the windows burst open and the crackling and rumbling of thunder covered a desperate scream that would not be heard.
Present Time:
Ggrrruummbbllee My friend Suzanne and I looked up in shock. Our eyes met those of our other friend, Lydia, who blushed and looked down sheepishly.
Suz sighed and shook her head, "I told you five times that you needed to eat lunch before we came!"
"I did, I'm just hungry again."
I giggled softly and looked at my two friends.
First there was Suz, a tall 'beauty queen' with wavy, honey blond hair that fell just beyond her shoulders, and sparkling baby blue eyes. She was extremely skinny and was always trying to get Lydia and I to start some new health food diet or something like that. Suz was the type of girl who knew all the latest fashions and followed them obsessively. Right now she was wearing some top of the line designer shirt along with a pair of extra skinny jeans and red pumps. A gold and silver handbag was slung of her shoulder, and a pair of black Gouchi sunglasses, that were rimmed with rhinestones, rested on top of her head.
Beside her stood my shorter, and yes, plumper friend Lydia. Lydia wasn't fat, she just liked her chocolates and goodies a bit too much, giving her a slightly plump figure that guys tended to like. She had light brown hair and laughing chocolate brown eyes along with a round soft face that tended to carry a sweet expression. Her pink summer dress and worn out sandals were huge contrast to Suz's 'In' clothes.
I was the outdoorsy one of the group and normally I tried to stay out of the city, but today my two best friends had dragged me out of my 'reclusion' as they called it and convinced me to come see the new miniature exhibit in the fine arts museum downtown. I agreed because I liked miniatures. They were always so exquisite.
We had been standing in line for at least an hour and were finally almost to the entrance of the exhibit. Ten minutes later we were finally in. As I walked through the entrance I paused, catching my reflection in on of the panes of glass. Blue-gray eyes stared back at me as I reached a hand up to brush my long white-blond hair out of my eyes. I was about to turn and catch up to my friend's when I suddenly saw a flicker in the glass. I turned quickly, but the shadow was gone, though the hairs on the back of my neck were on end and I had the feeling that I got when someone was watching me. I shivered slightly and then turned and jogged back to my friends. We started down the long aisles, looking at the figures on each side. We were about halfway through the exhibit when I saw it. A beautifully crafted parakeet. The main body was made of gold, with the wings, tail feathers, eyes, and caws coated in tiny jewels that were sparkling faintly in the dim lighting. I leaned in closer, examining the tiny bird. Next to it lay an identification card that read: Loaned by Lord and Lady Wellington from their larger collection at Dale Hollow. Dale Hollow. That sounded familiar. I couldn't quite place where I had heard that name before. I continued to stare at the bird and the card, trying to place the name when suddenly I heard a small, "ahem". I turned quickly and came face to face with Suz. "watcha lookin at?" Suz asked, peering over my shoulder. She gasped and followed my example in leaning over. "It's beautiful!" Suz exclaimed, staring intently at the tiny bird. Lydia wandered over, wondering what we could be looking at with such rapt attention. "What are you…oohhhh! Wow its gorgeous!" I couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. If their was one thing that Lydia loved besides food and boys, it was jewels. "Dale Hollow..why does that sound so familiar?" I muttered, more to myself than to the girls. "Hmm, wasn't there some mystery concerning the people who live there? Like a disappearance or something. Must have been over ten years ago, I think I remember my parent's talking about it when I was shopping at Déjà vu's." Suz muttered, squinting her eyes like she did when she was thinking hard, something that didn't happen very often. Lydia and I looked at her in astonishment. Suz remembered something other than store and designer names, where was the apocalypse?! Suzanne noticed our expressions and got a slightly annoyed look on her face, "What? I do have a brain ya know!" Lydia sniggered behind her hand and I struggled to keep a straight face. "I wonder what happened maybe there's something we can do to help." I said after looking at the beautiful bird for a moment longer. Both Suz and Lydia looked as if they were about to say something so I continued, "and anyways, maybe the Wellingtons will let us see the rest of the collection." This made both my friends freeze. They thought for a moment, or at least Lydia did, then Suz spoke up, "Alright Ari, but not another one of your crime solving episodes." "Yeah, I think that the police are irritated enough without another escapade." I winced, remembering previous times when the three of us had attempted to solve crimes, last time we had succeeded, and had landed a helicopter in the police station in the process. Three days later we were crammed into Lydia's silver convertible and headed towards Dale Hollow. After a few calls, and some pulled strings, from Suzanne's father, who was an esteemed attorney and very influential, we had managed to get a meeting with Lord and Lady Wellington. The specific reasons had not been stated, though an interest in the grounds and the miniature collection were mentioned.
We had been driving for about 2 hours. It was the middle of spring, and the mountains were alive with vibrant colors. As we wound through the twisting roads Lydia was squinting at the map, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth and her forehead crinkled, the way she normally looked when concentrating hard. "Okay Suz, we have to go about 5 and a half more miles on this road, then we should come to a fork and take the left hand road which leads downhill." Lydia said, while keeping a steady eye on the creased paper resting on her lap. I was sitting in the back seat which I was grateful for. I was finally able to relax a bit and watch the beautiful scenery as we sped by. I would have to remember to tell Suz to slow down on the way back so that I could get a better look. I leaned back and yawned, stretched my arms and legs as best I could in the cramped space of the convertible. The previous night had been spent going through my folder of old newspapers and article clippings, but whatever had happened at Dale Hollow was still unknown to me. We soon came to the fork in the road. The path on the right continued to wind up the mountain, while our path broke off and headed downwards into the woods. Suz smoothly turned the car down the left path and we continued. It got a bit darker as we headed into the woods, the trees blocking most of the sunlight. Lydia shivered slightly in her thin short-sleeved blouse as the temperature dropped in the dark shade of the trees. We continued along the road for another 8 or so miles. At this point the trees began to thin a bit and