Nancy sighed and picked up her bags. She had to leave Waverly. She just couldn't stand the school. Finally, a short vacation back to River Heights before returning to her world tour. The next stop was... Japan? Germany? The places blended together, leaving only thoughts of mysteries and exotic places behind. Nancy flipped open her cell phone and called Ned.
"Nancy, hey! Are you on your way home?" Ned's voice was so excited. Nancy smiled.
"Yes, actually, I am. I can't wait to have a break from mysteries for a while..."
Ned cut in quickly. "Nancy Drew, tired of mysteries? Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, Ned." Nancy grinned. "I'm just ready to see you and Bess and George again."
"Actually, there are two more people you'll get to see..." Ned sounded amused, like he was hiding something.
"Ned..." Nancy laughed. "Who's over there?"
"Hey Nance!" Joe Hardy's voice called over the phone.
"Hey Nancy!" Frank yelled.
"That was a special appearance by the Brothers Hardy, just for you, ma'am." Ned laughed.
"Ned! Why are they in River Heights?"
"To see you, of course!" Ned replied.
"Well, I've gotta go, my ride's here. I'll see you at home." Nancy grinned and hung up. She jumped into the taxi with her bags. "Take me to the airport, please."
"You got it, miss." The driver tipped his cap and pulled away from the creepy school entrance. Nancy watched the landscape change, the properties get more modern. She saw the boy's boarding school fly past her, saw one of the boys whistle, and she felt a blush creep up her cheeks. She had been thinking a lot about boys lately, after being seperated from them for so long. Ned was so sweet, but she hadn't seen him for months and months, and she was feeling a little... estranged from him. He just hadn't been there for her lately. He was the target of Milly Parker's affections, lately, or so Bess had informed her, and apparently he was acting strangely around her... Nancy sighed. The world back in River Heights suddenly seemed a lot more real, now that she was going back there. The taxi pulled up in front of the airport. The Delta entrance was alive with families returning home for Christmas. Nancy suddenly remembered that the next Friday was Christmas. What would she get Ned? Her mind went blank. As she got out of the taxi, her ears filled with the sounds of rush and bustle.
"Miss, miss, you need to check that bag!"
"Johnny, did you remember the present for Brenna?"
"Mo-om! Alex stole my bankie!"
"Come on, we'll be late!"
Nancy smiled and rented a cart to carry her suitcase. It only cost a few dollars. She pushed the cart through the sliding glass doors and joined the long line to check her bag. Her feet hurt. Suddenly, she felt a little girl tug on her shirt. She looked down.
"Auntie, why is your hair red?" the little girl had a slightly Oriental accent, and Nancy smiled kindly.
"I don't know why, but I've got red hair. I was born with it."
"Oh. I didn't know hair came in that color." Nancy laughed, and the girl ran off. She had dark skin and looked vaguely Oriental.
"Miss Drew?" someone called, and she hurried away to get her bags checked.
~Which One Will Win?~
A few hours later, Nancy landed in River Heights. She looked out of the window at the approaching town. Oh hey, her house! She grinned. It was good to be home. As the plane's seat belt sign turned off, she unbuckled and stretched. Her butt was extremely sore. She grabbed her backpack and was one of the first off the plane, being in first class and all. Nancy walked up the catwalk and watched the flight monitors until she saw her baggage claim number pop up. Walking towards the baggage claim area, she saw Frank and Joe waving at her from behind the doors to the outside. She grinned and grabbed her already-rotating suitcase. The brothers hugged her as soon as she walked outside.
"Frank! Joe! Where's Ned?" Nancy asked quickly.
"Oh, he couldn't make it." Frank coughed and Joe's face strained. Nancy giggled.
"You guys! Seriously, where is he?" she looked around expectantly. Frank grimaced.
"Nancy, Ned is... sick. He's at home resting right now. He sent us to get you. You can stay at our place until he feels better." Joe offered.
Nancy groaned. "Fine, fine. So where are you guys staying?"
"We're renting a place a few blocks over from you, Nance. We've decided to move to River Heights."
"Like... permanently?" Nancy asked hesitantly.
"Yep." Joe grinned. "Permanently."
"That's a big step, guys! Why are you moving over here anyways?"
"We wanted to be close to the girl who finds the mysteries. We're super bored, Nance. We haven't had a good case in ages."
"Well, in that case, you've come to the right place. Find me, and you find a mystery."
"Good to know."
Suddenly, Nancy's cell phone rang. It was Ned's ring tone. "Hold on, I have to take this call. Hello, Ned? How are you? Frank and Joe said you were sick!"
She saw Joe frantically shaking his head at Frank.
"No, I'm locked in my closet. Frank put me in here. He said that he didn't want me bothering them."
"What? Why would he do that?"
"Nancy, they want you to forget about me."
"Forget about you? Never." Nancy's voice grew cold, and she turned away from the phone. "Excuse me a moment, Ned."
Frank and Joe looked at her innocently. "What's up, Nan?"
"You know what's up. I think this is the easiest case I've ever cracked. The case of the two jealous detectives." Nancy almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.
"What are you talking about? Nancy, we thought Ned was sick. Or at least, I did. Frank went over there to check on him and came back and told me he was sick in bed!" Joe protested.
"Well, if that's true, then Frank, I honestly don't know what to say to you."
"For once," Frank tried to joke.
"This isn't funny, Frank." Joe's voice was cold as ice. "You lied to Nancy. No, even worse. You lied to ME."
"I... I didn't..."
"Save it." Nancy turned away and held the phone up to her ear again. "You want me to come get you out?"
"That'd be great. Thanks, Nance."
"Anytime." She shut off her phone. "I'm going to go get Ned out of the closet. We are going to have a long, long talk tomorrow, that I can promise you, Frank."
"Okay..." Frank winced as Nancy turned to leave. But before she left, she could hear his murmur to Joe, "But I didn't even do it..."
This was a strange turn of events.
