Chapter Two

It turns out that the whole town of River Heights wanted to help. It had been a week since Ned had proposed and somehow it leaked all over town. Since Nancy had often put her life at risk to help the town, they were excited.

"How does this look?" Nancy asked. She was standing in River Height's only bridal store. Bess, George, and Hannah were sitting, watching her try on dresses. Right now she was wearing a simple white gown. It hugged her body, bringing out every curve she had. It had no sleeves; instead it tied around her back.

"It's lovely." Hannah stated, being honest. All the other dresses that Nancy had tried on didn't suit her.

"She's right. It's the perfect one." Bess agreed.

Nancy looked at herself in the mirror. She did look amazing. She ran her hand over the delicate fabric.

"You're missing something." George stated. Nancy turned back to her audience. George had risen and grabbed something off a shelf. She walked over and placed a tiara on her head.

"Now it's complete."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In a tuxedo shop three blocks away, Ned and Carson were trying on their tuxedos. Ned turned to Carson. "Thank you, sir. You don't know what this means to me. I know that Nancy and I are young, but I love her."

"Actually, I do know what it means to you. Nancy's mother and I were wed when we were young." Carson said, thinking of his late wife. Ned was taken back. He had never heard Mr. Drew talk about his wife. "I loved her more then anything else in the world." He quickly changed the subject. "How do I look?"

"You look great." Ned assured him. They were both wearing identical tuxedos. He now saw Carson Drew in a different way.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning, while Nancy was eating breakfast, the phone rang. "Hello?" Hannah answered. "Hold on." She held out the phone. "It's for you."

Nancy took the phone. "Hello? Yes, this is Nancy Drew." There was a short pause. "I'll be right there." She hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Hannah asked. She was sitting at the table, drawing a sketch of the wedding cake she was going to bake.

"I've got another mystery." Nancy said excitedly. "That was Mary Wheeler. She just moved to town with her husband and her son."

"Yeah?" Hannah prompted.

"Well, she went to get her son up for basketball practice this morning. He was gone and it looked like someone was in his room. She thinks it's a kidnapping. Apparently she called the police and since he hasn't been missing for twenty-four hours, they can't do anything yet, but Chief McGinnis recommended me." Nancy informed her.

"Aren't you supposed to be meeting Ned to discuss more wedding plans?" Hannah asked.

"Oh. I forgot." Nancy said sheepishly. When she got involved in a mystery, that's all that she was able to focus on. She picked the phone and dialed Ned's house.

"Hello?" Ned answered.

"Ned, I got a huge favor. Is there any way we can meet later today?" Nancy asked. Then she proceeded to tell him the case she was working on.

Ned grinned. That was Nancy Drew. She was one of a kind and he loved her for it. "How about this. I'll do all the wedding plans and you can focus on solving the mystery."

This time it was Nancy's turn to grin. Ned knew her so well and she loved him. He was so patient. Even when their wedding was slowly approaching. "Thanks, Ned, you're the best."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Hi, I'm Nancy Drew." Nancy held out her hand. Mary Wheeler took Nancy's hand.

"Thank you so much for doing this. We just moved here and Chief McGinnis said that you were good at what you do."

"That's okay. It's what I do." Nancy said. She sat down on the couch and pulled out a notebook. "What is your son's name?"

"Damien. He's seventeen." Mary answered.

Nancy jotted down the information. "Okay, what time did he go to bed last night?"

Mary paused. "About ten."

"Okay, this is one of the most important questions. Did or does Damien have any enemies? Anyone back home that he might have offended that wants to get even, a rival basketball teammate or team. Anything at all will help."

"There was his ex-girlfriend." Mary finally said. "She was bitter when he broke up with her. But I don't see her sneaking in here and kidnapping him."

"She could always have had an accomplice." Nancy pointed out. "Did you touch anything in his room?" Mary shook her head. "May I see it?"

They both rose and Nancy followed Mary up the stairs. "My husband is at work right now. He left before I went to get Damien up. I called him and he's devastated but I told him to stay at work. We can't afford to lose this house." Nancy nodded. "This is it." Mary stated.

Nancy pushed the door open. It was a mess. Things were thrown on the floor. "Was he a messy person?" Nancy asked, going on a hunch.

Mary shook her head. "He loves basketball. We told him that if he didn't keep his room clean, we would pull him off the team."

"Then obviously there was a struggle." Nancy said. "Which means that it had to be someone who could easily match or over power Damien's strength." She spotted a broken picture frame lying among the mess. "Is this Damien?" She asked.

"Yes. That was taken before we moved here." Mary replied.

Nancy got down one knee to inspect the picture. Damien was a handsome young man. Short black hair, brown eyes, and a strong jaw. She was about to stand up when she noticed something laying close by. It was partially hidden by some clutter. She pulled out a pencil and started to move the stuff around. "Whose is this?" She asked, managing to hook the object on her pencil.

"Oh, that's a ring that Damien's basketball team got. Every team member has one." Mary explained. "But that's not Damien's"

"Are you sure?" Nancy asked, her sixth sense going haywire.

"Yes. Damien's is different and I have his in my bedroom." Mary stated.

Nancy noticed two letters engraved on the inside. R.S. "May I see Damien's?" Nancy asked.

Mary left and returned with a small box. "It's gone." She exclaimed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nancy returned home after inspecting the entire room. The clogs in her head were moving, coming up with motives and suspects. On her way in, she bumped into Ned coming out. She landed on her rear.

"Are you okay?" Ned asked, bending down to help her up.

"Yeah. Just thinking about the case." Nancy replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Hannah called me over to look at the cakes she had thought of. They're really good." He stated.

"I really appreciate this, Ned. I know that this is a union and we should be both doing this but…" Nancy got cut off.

"It's okay. You're just doing what you're good at. I love you, Nancy Drew, and if you stopped solving mysteries then you wouldn't be yourself. I'm happy with you being whoever you want."

"You're sweet." Nancy leaned in to him. He bent his head down and gave her a kiss.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school." Ned said. He hopped in his truck and with one wave he took off down the road.

Nancy heard the phone ring and ran in to answer it. "Hello?" She asked.

"Keep your nose out of things that don't concern you." A voice said then the line went dead.

Nancy smiled as she replaced the phone on the charger.