"Your Two O'clock is here, Mr. Drew."

"Thank you, send her in, please," Carson Drew said just before tipping back the last of his bottle of Diet Coke. Carson caught his reflection in the glare of a framed photo of his daughter Nancy on his desk. Noting his graying temples, he let out a soft sigh. His attention then shifted to the woman coming into his office.

"Miss Scott?" he asked pleasantly as he rose from his chair to greet her.

"Yes, Stephanie," she replied, shaking his hand. Stephanie was a plump woman with light brown hair and pretty eyes.

"I'm here on behalf of Camp River Heights," she began as they sat down. "I understand your firm represents our local Campfire Girls?"

"Yes, we do," Carson replied. "What brings you in today?"

Stephanie exhaled, gathering her thoughts. "Well, I was hoping to get some legal advice. You see, we've been having some weird things going on in the past couple weeks at camp. I'm the youngest director in the camp's history and I feel that I need to prove myself and take action."

"Can you further explain these weird things?" Carson hoped his time wasn't being wasted.

"My staff have been reporting multiple sightings of strangers on camp, which we take very seriously at an all girls camp. We've had high amounts of missing personal belongings among staff, most likely theft. Last week, I had a camper disappear for nearly a full day. Thankfully she was found, but you can see the liability this is causing. I can't continue to put these young girls and my staff at risk."

Carson raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Have the police been involved at all?"

"No, I've been afraid to. That's exactly why I'm here, Mr. Drew. I've been avoiding police involvement because I don't want negative publicity for myself or, worse, for the camp. I also don't want to pressure any more of my staff from quitting on me. I'm short handed as it is."

"Do you have any idea what could be causing all of this?" Carson began writing in his notebook.

"All I can think is that it's a member of staff." She paused, and muttered, "Tom, probably."

Carson looked up. "Tom? You employ male staff?"

"Yes, actually any job that's not a camp counselor, like cooks and lifeguards, are open to men."

Carson nodded and moved on. "In regards to your staff problems, have you done anything to encourage better behavior?"

Stephanie sighed. "I've tried everything I can think of. No one will say anything because they don't want to be a nark, and if I put my foot down too hard, I know I'll only have more staff quit on me." She shook her head. "I'm at a loss."

Carson smiled slightly. "Sounds like what you need is a young, female private investigator who can go undercover among your staff and figure out what exactly is going on here. It may even help if she had a couple friends to fill in as staff."

Stephanie laughed."Oh, yes! But where on Earth would I ever find a college aged PI?"

Carson chuckled, looking at his framed photo of Nancy. "I know exactly where to look."


"Ah, I love summer." The handsome Ned Nickerson walked slowly with Nancy Drew's arm tucked under his.

"And why is that?" Nancy asked, grinning and guessing his answer.

"Because I'm home from school and I get to spend more time with my beautiful girlfriend!" Ned beamed at Nancy. Ned had just graduated from Emerson College in Chicago and was preparing to start his first year at Emerson Law School.

Nancy sarcastically gasped. "Girlfriend! Mr. Nickerson, we better be careful, you don't want her catching us together like this, now do you?"

Ned laughed and steered them toward a table outside Scoops, the local ice cream parlor, telling Nancy to sit down. "Wait here," he said.

Nancy smiled as she watched her boyfriend go into the store and thought about how great Ned was. He came back out with two ice cream cones, handing one to Nancy. She was an attractive young woman with reddish blonde hair and a petite frame. Nancy's dark blue eyes sparkled at her companion, who was her steady boyfriend of nearly four years. Ned himself was also very attractive, with a muscular build from his college football career. He was a recent graduate of Emerson College and was preparing to begin law school in Chicago.

"You know what I don't understand?" Ned asked, staring at Nancy's ice cream.

"Hmmmm?" Nancy was already licking her treat.

"How someone can choose vanilla as their favorite ice cream flavor," Ned joked.

"Well, first of all," Nancy began, "I don't have a favorite flavor. They're all wonderful. But good, old fashioned, plain vanilla is damn good every once in a while."
"Fair enough," Ned replied.

Nancy finished her ice cream quickly, and observed her surroundings longingly. It had been over a month since her last case, and four months since her last good case. "The Case of the Missing Map or Will Leading to a Fortune for a Deserving Family," was getting old. Reading her desperation, Ned gave her a nudge as he finished his own ice cream cone.

"Hey," he said softly. "You'll have a case soon enough. In fact I've got one for you right now," Ned smiled seductively.

"Oh?" Nancy leaned in and brushed his thigh.

"UM! Yeah, it's at your house. In your bedroom." Nancy bit her lip and moved her hand further up his leg. "Oh my god, Nance, let's get out of here." Ned quickly stood up and started walking to his laughed and followed. The couple got in the car and began driving to the Drew home. As they walked into the house, Nancy checked her phone and noticed she had a missed call and a voice mail from her father. She put the phone to her ear to listen to the voice mail.

"Hannah?" Ned called out. "She spends her Mondays at Helen's," Nancy said just as her father's recorded voice started speaking. "Nancy, I've got a surprise for you down at the office. Bring Bess and George if you can. I'm here until 6:00 tonight. Love you." Nancy grinned and put her hands up, almost crying with joy. "I've got a case!" she yelled. Ned smiled back and hugged her. "I need to pick up Bess and George and go to my dad's office." Nancy started walking back toward the door. "Do you wanna come with?" Nancy looked so happy that Ned didn't bother to remind her why they were at her house in the first place. "I'd love to," he said with a smile.

Nancy smiled back as she dialed George's number.