AN: Thank you all sooooooo much for the wonderful reviews! I try to respond to each one, and really enjoy doing so! I am very glad everyone is enjoying this as much as they are! Just to clarify, in this story, Nancy and Frank are twenty-three and Joe is twenty-two. (Yes, Joe thinks of Nancy as a little sister even though he is younger than her) Also, I made a mistake in chapter one that has to do with the time change. New York is three hours ahead of California, not two. Not that it really matters when it comes to the plot, but I pride myself on accuracy! :) Thanks to saphiretwin369 for pointing that out! Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter three! Please review! Sometimes, you'll get a little clue about what's to come… ;)

Frank, Joe, Nancy, and Bess made their way to a large circular table near the back of the banquet hall. The elegant room was filled with people, including several Nancy recognized as being her competition in the tournament. Just as they were getting settled into their chairs, they were approached by a tall woman with long blonde hair and ice blue eyes who looked to be close to their age.

"You must be Frank and Joe Hardy," She said, extending her hand to Joe.

"That's us," Joe said, standing up to shake her hand.

"I'm Madison Stradtman," She said, shaking Frank's hand. "Nick Ford's fiancé."

"Nice to meet you," Frank said. "This is our friend Nancy Drew. She is also a detective, and will be helping Joe and me on the case."

"Oh! You're playing in the tournament, too, aren't you?" Madison asked, turning to Nancy.

"Yes," Nancy replied, smiling and instantly taking a liking to the woman. "And this is Bess Marvin, my close friend and caddy."

Bess smiled and shook Madison's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nick is running a little late," Madison said as they all took a seat. "He's caught in traffic, but should be here soon."

"Are you a golfer, too?" Bess asked before taking a sip of her water.

"Yes," Madison replied, nodding and flicking a stray strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. "That's actually how I met Nick," she said, smiling warmly at the mention of her fiancé. "We were both doing a practice round for the same tournament. I was going a bit slower than usual because I had just come off a three-month break after breaking my ankle, so I told him that he could play through, but he ended up joining me."

"Wow," Bess sighed, a dreamy look coming into her eyes. "How romantic."

Nancy and Madison chuckled at Bess's reaction. "I guess it seems that way now," Madison said, smiling, "But at the time, it really wasn't. It was over a hundred degrees outside with ninety percent humidity. Romance wasn't in the forefront of my thoughts."

"That's for sure," A man's voice said from behind her. "But once we were back in the air-conditioned clubhouse, she couldn't resist me. Hi," he said, grinning at the group. "You must be the Hardys," the man said, shaking Frank and Joe's hands.

"You must be Nick," Frank replied. "It's good to meet you." After the rest of the introductions were made, Nick took a seat next to Madison.

Nancy smiled at the two as Nick greeted Madison with a quick peck on the cheek. Nick was at least six feet tall, and extremely handsome with long, curly brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He wore a red polo shirt and khaki pants, which matched Madison's own red knit dress. Together, they made a very attractive couple that obviously cared a lot for each other.

"I'm glad you guys could make it," Nick said to Frank and Joe. "My father speaks very highly of you, which is more rare than you can believe," he chuckled. "And any detective-friends of Frank and Joe's must be just as good," Nick said, smiling at Nancy and Bess.

Bess laughed. "I'm just a friend. Nancy is the detective. I just tag along."

"Oh, good," Madison laughed, turning to Bess. "I was feeling way outnumbered!"

The group made easy conversation all through the banquet and opening presentations. Madison, Bess, and Nancy clicked instantly and got along very well, as did Frank, Joe, and Nick. By eight thirty, the banquet was over and the group got up to leave, deciding to go back to the Hardys' hotel room to discuss the case.

"So, do you have any suspects?" Frank asked, once they were all sitting in the hotel suite.

"Well, not really," Nick said, leaning back against the sofa and putting an arm around Madison's shoulders. "I have no idea, I mean, there are some people I don't necessarily get along with, but I have a hard time believing they would do anything like this."

"Who are you thinking of?" Joe asked.

"Well," Nick glanced at Madison and they shared a brief look before she nodded and he continued. "there is a guy named Jake Koenaman. I don't know him very well. He was on the team too, but he started hanging out with the wrong kind of people. Long story short, he lost his place on the golf team when his grades started slipping."

"Why would he be a suspect?" Nancy asked.

"Well, apparently he had his eye on Mad, which he never told me. He began to stalk her after we started dating," Nick held Madison's hand as he talked. She had stiffened, and looked scared just talking about the man. "I didn't know about it until Mad told me because Jake and I had never really been close and he had already lost his place on his team, so I never really saw him. But anyway, Mad ended up having to get an order of protection after he started to threaten violence."

"Why would you have a hard time believing he would threaten you if he was stalking her?" Joe asked.

"I don't know; he just always seemed to be angry with her, not me. He is definitely capable of doing this, but I don't really think he is. Plus, he seemed to snap out of it after he was given the restraining order. We haven't had any problems, and it's been almost a year. I didn't start getting threats until about a month ago."

Frank nodded, understanding. "Well, you're probably right, but we should keep him in the back of our minds just in case."

"Anyone else?" Nancy asked.

"Well, there is Steven Ryan. He's on the team, too. We've never really gotten along, and I have always had a rivalry type thing with him, but I don't think he'd go this far."

"Why don't you get along?" Frank asked.

"I don't know, honestly," Nick said, shrugging his shoulders. "He's just…a jerk. The things he's said… I don't know, but he seems to have something against me. He told me I was overrated and only made the team because my father was an alumni of the school."

"All you have to do is look at Nick's scores to know that's just jealousy," Madison said pointedly, smiling slightly as she looked at her fiancé.

"Is Steven playing in the tournament?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah," Nick nodded. "Most of the team is."

They sat in silence for a moment, Frank, Joe, and Nancy exchanging looks as they thought.

"Sorry there's not more to go on," Nick chuckled. "I almost wish I could tell you I ruined someone's career or something."

Joe laughed. "Well, it just means we will have to work a little harder."

"Do you need anything else?" Nick asked, starting to get up. "We should get going. I have an early tee time tomorrow morning."

"I think that's it for now," Frank said, getting up from his seat to shake Nick's hand.

"Thanks again for doing this," Nick said. "I'm honestly not too worried, but it gives Madison and my dad some peace of mind to know that you are at least looking in to it."

"No problem," Joe replied. "It's our job."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Nancy said.

Nick and Madison left and Bess sighed. "They are the cutest couple ever!" She squealed.

Nancy chuckled and grinned at her friend. "Did you see that ring?" she asked, remembering the white gold diamond engagement ring that had adorned Madison's left hand ring finger.

"Yes! Absolutely gorgeous," Bess stated. "It's simple, but beautiful. I'm going to have to ask her if I can look at it more closely tomorrow."

Nancy turned back to Frank and Joe, who looked slightly amused. "What?" she asked, not liking the looks they were giving her.

"I've never seen the girly side of you before, Nan," Joe said.

Nancy laughed. "It's there," she said, "Just not as dominant as the detective side. So what do you two think about the case so far?"

"I don't know," Frank said. Nancy couldn't help but admire they way he ran a hand through his hair when he was frustrated. "Like Nick said, there isn't a lot to go on. I think we're going to have to wait until tomorrow. We'll be able to observe a lot and see if we need to seriously consider anyone as a suspect."

"I agree," Joe nodded, getting up and grabbing a water bottle from the hotel-provided mini fridge.

"So we'll see you guys tomorrow morning in the lobby around seven?" Nancy asked, standing up.

"Seven?" Bess and Joe both asked, giving her an incredulous look.

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Yes, seven. We can eat and then head to the course. My tee time is at nine and I need to warm up."

"Alright," Bess said, still looking unhappy.

Frank chuckled. "You guys will live, trust me." He gave each of the girls a hug, once again holding on to Nancy for just a second longer than was necessary. "See you tomorrow, Nan."

AN: Comments? Questions? Review! I know this chapter was a little boring, but I promise next one will be better and longer! Please review and let me know what you think!!! I hope you liked it! Let me know what I can do to make it better! Thanks so much!!!

-E