1
Return to the Big AppleNancy Drew stepped out of her blue Mustang convertible as she arrived at her friend Bess Marvin's house.
The house was very much like Nancy's, but the garden was a little bigger. There was a fountain in the middle that made the whole garden symmetrical.
Ringing the doorbell, Nancy waited until her best friend came rushing to the door. Opening it with great energy, the eighteen-year-old blonde girl smiled as she saw the red-haired detective.
"I was waiting for you, Nancy!" Bess shouted, happy to see her friend.
"Well, it seems like an eternity since the last time we were on a case, isn't it?" Nancy commented, grinning as she sat down onto the sofa in the living room.
Everyone in River Heights had heard of Nancy Drew, the illustrious girl detective who solved a complex on her own ever since she was sixteen. Now that she is eighteen, Nancy has solved over fifty mysteries.
Nancy didn't have to do anything for a mystery to turn up; there seemed to be one around every corner, almost literally. The girl detective usually came upon a mystery when she went on vacation or even when she was shopping in a mall! Her father, Carson Drew, who was an attorney, sometimes gave her cases to investigate. To Nancy, solving mystery was as often and chore-like as anyone would consider washing dishes could be. She usually didn't get cases that had murders or gruesome crimes, as you might read in Sherlock Holmes or Hercules Poirot mysteries. But when there was a crime, even murders and mayhems, Nancy would rush to the scene of the crime.
Being an amateur detective, Nancy's mysteries didn't start in her detective agency but mostly in a living room as quiet and peaceful as this one.
"So, what did you call me about?" Nancy asked Bess.
Bess's expression was grim. "You remember Bailey Higgins, don't you?" she asked.
Nancy nodded. "Sure do. She was in our junior high. Is she in trouble?"
"I don't know. She just called yesterday, saying that she was accused of a theft. She didn't quite say much on the phone; she was too worried to talk much. She asked me if I knew of any detective around here who could prove her innocence. I immediately thought of you."
Nancy was thinking. Bailey has been a quiet girl during the few years Nancy has known her. She knew that Bailey wouldn't steal a thing. But why, then, is she accused of a theft?
"I think we should go there right away," Nancy said. "Did you tell George about that?"
Bess nodded. "I called her right before I called you. She was outraged and insisted that I call you and tell you what happened right away."
Nancy grimaced. "But I don't know where we should stay. I mean it's so sudden. From here, going to New York would be a few hours of driving, but picking a place to stay in could be a trouble. Do you think we can stay in Bailey's house?"
"Oh, yes! Bailey told me that her house is about ten miles from the airport. Her house is in the suburbs. She has plenty of rooms for three of us to stay in. It won't be a problem."
Nancy smiled. "All right, then. I think we should go there tomorrow morning, if my dad allows me to."
Nancy went back to her house right away. She closed the door as she stepped into her house. Hannah Gruen, who was the housekeeper in Drews' residence, came to the front door to greet Nancy.
"Hello, Nancy. Are you looking for your father?"
Nancy nodded. "Yes. I need Dad's permission to go to New York tomorrow."
"New York?" Hannah was surprised. "Are you on a case again?"
"Yes," Nancy said, smiling. "Anyway, do you know where Dad is? I saw him right before I left."
"He's in his office, dear. Do you want anything to drink?"
Nancy grinned. "That would be nice, Hannah."
As the housekeeper went into the kitchen to get a glass of something to drink, Nancy sat down on the chair in the kitchen. Then, she heard bark from underneath the table.
"Togo!" Nancy shouted, noticing her dog licking her hand. "Well, well, are you hungry down there?"
"Oh, no, he isn't!" Hannah said as she came back with a glass full of iced tea. "I just fed him a whole can of dog food. I thought he was going to gobble me up if I didn't give him enough to eat. He probably wants you to play with him, dear. Oh, and by the way, your father is in his office, but he told me that he might go to New York for a case tomorrow."
"Dad is on a case?" Nancy asked, astounded. "I have to go there and ask him."
Leaving Togo behind, Nancy ran to her Mustang and started the engine. In less than half an hour, she was running out of her car into her father's office.
"Well, Nancy! What brings you here?" Carson Drew asked cheerfully.
"Dad, I have a case to investigate and need to go to the Big Apple tomorrow."
"Big Apple! Why, that's a strange coincidence! I happen to be going there tomorrow as well. A client of mine says that an accident happened in a theater and the person who avoided the falling sandbag is now suing the owner. I am there to defend the owner of the theater, whose name is Henry Saraland."
"And my case involves an old friend of mine and wants help proving that she is innocent of a theft. Since we are going there, I'll drive with Bess and George to New York in my car and you in yours, okay?"
Mr. Drew nodded. "Fine with me. It's good as long as you are not involved with any dangerous criminal or doing something dangerous yourself."
The next morning, Nancy heard the doorbell ring as she finished packing up her suitcase. She opened the door and found Bess and George on the front porch. Bess was as cheerful as ever, wearing a lemon-colored dress that matched the color of her hair. George was as tomboyish as ever, wearing her blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
"Come on, Nancy!" Bess shouted cheerfully. "I can't wait to meet Bailey. I just talked to her online a couple of times, but I never met her face-to-face for years!"
The girls cheerfully got into Nancy's car and when all the suitcases were in the car, Nancy turned the ignition on and started driving.
In less than three hours, Nancy was knocking on the Higgins residence's door. The house was beautiful. She thought all the houses in New York were small and crammed together, but she was wrong. The house was even bigger than hers, mostly because it was in suburbs of New York City.
The garden was surrounded in fences and trees were in the middle of the front yard. Backyard was also as wide; there was a pool and an oak tree in the garden.
Bailey Higgins, a redheaded eighteen-year-old, opened the door cautiously. When she saw that her guests were her schoolmates, she swung the door open.
"You wouldn't believe how glad I am!" she shouted, so glad she could meet her best friends. "I was waiting for you all day. Please come in. And let me get the suitcases for you."
"Oh, that won't be necessary," George, who was very athletic, said. "I can bring these suitcases upstairs myself. Can you show us our rooms?"
Bailey went up the staircase that led to a wide hallway. She then opened one of the doors on the wall. "Here is a guest room facing north. Right next to this room is another guest room. The room adjacent to that is my bedroom. I'll bring you girls some juice in a moment."
As the girl went downstairs, her mother came into the room and smiled warmly as she saw her new guests.
"I'm Bailey's mother, Sybil Higgins. I had no idea Bailey knew a friend who was a detective. You see, I have a friend from my university years who had two nephews. She said that they are great in solving mysteries, so I thought of hiring them. But they don't take money, saying that they were simply amateur detectives like you, Nancy. They are about your age."
Nephews? Amateur detectives? About my age?
Nancy thought that it was strangely familiar. Could the "nephews" be…?
Knock-knock.
"Oh, someone's at the door. Please excuse me, Nancy."
Mrs. Higgins walked down the staircase and to the front door. From the second floor, Nancy, Bess, and George could hear the conversation downstairs.
"Why, hello! I didn't think you would be here this early. Please come in. Would you like a cup of tea?"
"No, thank you, Ms. Higgins," a male voice came. It was extremely familiar. In a moment, Nancy knew who the new visitors were.
Dashing down the staircase with her two chums, Nancy ran to the front door and shouted as she saw who the two detectives were.
"Frank and Joe Hardy!"