To Whom It May Concern (aka, you):

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. I do; however, own Claire and Lexi. They actually come from my own mystery series which some day I may post on fiction press. If I ever do I'll let you guys know.

Much luv,

Political Blonde

PS:

This chapter was BETA read by msnancydrew; I thank her and you should too. So please, if you review, thank her for her hard work.


Ch.4 Nightly Escapades

"That was a lot further than it looked," grumbled Claire as she and the other sleuths stepped out of the woods and onto the sprawling lawns of the manor. Several lights could be seen in the windows. "It looks like everyone else is already here. I guess we were the only ones who were thrown out. Just great!" Frustrated, she blew some stray hairs from her face, causing bits of mud to fall from her face.

"Yeah I s'pose you're right," commented Lexi as she stepped out of the woods, carrying Joe's bags. Nancy was carrying Frank's.

"Do you guys think it was a good idea to leave those two out there with the dead body?" Claire asked as she shifted her own bag.

Nancy sighed. "I've been on plenty of cases with those two and believe me, if anyone can survive a night alone in the woods, it's those two."

"So how many cases have you guys been on together other than the Mystery Train?" Claire asked curiously.

"We've worked on tons of cases and been to plenty of places including Paris, Egypt, New Orleans, and Charleston. And I know they can survive a night out in the woods because we once had to do that and that was a huge disaster because the woods caught on fire. We ended up riding a river down to escape the flames."

Lexi gave a low whistle. "Charleston? As in Charleston, South Carolina?" Nancy nodded in confirmation. "Wow, that's where we're from. We must have been out of town when that occurred because we never heard about you being there. We've been to Paris before but never to Egypt. We're mostly involved in cases that are domestic but when we get the occasional call from our friends in the CIA. We are completely pumped to get out there and start sleuthing."

"Paris, is really pretty but I prefer Egypt."

Claire looked up, "How come?"

Nancy blushed and prayed to herself that the two girls couldn't see her in the darkness. "It was just a bit more fun. My friend Bess and I had to pose as Frank and Joe's wives for a while. It was part of our cover."

"Let me guess—you and Frank?" Nancy nodded. "I thought so."

"Why?"

"Well it would make since wouldn't it?" Lexi mused.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lexi merely chuckled but whatever answer she may have given was cut off by Claire.

"So do we tell the others about the body or not?"

Nancy looked up to see that they had arrived at the front door. "No, we wait for the boys."

Claire shrugged, "Whatever you say. Who has the key?"

"I do," answered Lexi, pulling the small brass object from her pocket and inserting it into the rusty doorknob.


"Dear lord! You would think this guy would have enough money to insert an elevator or two," whined Claire as she threw the bags down on the bed. The room had two large king sized beds covered in moss green linens. The room also contained a desk, a book shelf, several chairs, a fireplace, floor to ceiling windows, and a crystal chandelier. Clearly the room cost money.

"I completely agree," replied Lexi letting her bag and Joe's crash to the floor before falling back into a lumpy green and gold lounge chair.

"Well, I think that we should clean up a bit and then check this place out," Nancy said.

"You read my mind, Miss Drew. We need to get down to business." Lexi said her eyes closed.

"Great!" Nancy answered as she pulled her dirty hair into a ponytail and unzipped her bag to search for a pair of clean clothes and new shoes.

Claire reached into her own luggage and pulled out a black pair of sweats and a black sweatshirt. "I think it would be best if we made ourselves as invisible as possible. Anyone here could be the murderer and anyone, including one of us, could be the next victim. I don't think it wise to make ourselves easy targets."

"Good idea, sis. Let me help you with your sleeve."

"Thanks."

Nancy searched through her bag until she found a pair of black sneakers and a pair of black pajama bottoms. "Do either of you have a shirt I can borrow?"

"Let me check," Lexi answered as she pulled out her own clothes. "Err… sorry Nancy but no."

"Oh, well, thanks anyways."

"Why don't you go through the Hardys' bags? I'm sure they'll have something," Claire called from the restroom.

"Good idea. They won't mind." Nancy unzipped the first bag and sifted through. Judging from the vast amount of grooming products this was Joe's. Nancy blushed as she stumbled across a pair of boxers. "Oops." After sifting through the bag a moment longer Nancy pulled out a long sleeved black shirt. It would be a bit big and she would have to roll up the sleeves but it would still work.

Changing into the sleuthing attire, Nancy watched as Lexi pulled out a small watch from her bag and then removed one from her shoe and another from her belt. She put one on and handed the other to Claire who had emerged from the bathroom with a muddy towel before walking up to Nancy. "This is a watch we received from the CIA for our last case. We have six of them and decided it would be best to bring them all. There are small microchips in each of them that measure pulse ratings and give off a small beep when the pulse rate of someone else wearing one of the watches changes drastically. They also work as walkie talkies by pushing this small button on the side." She handed it to Nancy. "Based on past experiences this is a good device to carry around because you never know when you'll need it."

Nancy nodded causing her ponytail to bounce. "I guess my earrings aren't needed then." Lexi chuckled and Nancy couldn't help but smile.

"I see we're not the only ones involved with the CIA."

"Well, that's convenient. That means we'll have more gadgets between us, and the CIA always has the best" Claire walked over to the two with her watch gleaming on her hand.

"So how many stories do you think there are to this house?"

"I counted seven rows of windows but with this being a castle we can almost bet on a basement or dungeon and most likely an attic," answered Nancy seriously.

"So, I'll start at the top, Nancy can start at the bottom, and Claire you can start right here on this floor." She looked down at her watch. "We'll meet back here at 2:00Am. If one of us doesn't make it and doesn't call in, then the other two are to stay here until the boys return or until morning comes, whichever is first, and at that time we will commence a search. Is that all right with you two?" Both girls nodded. "Well, then I will see you two in four hours," Lexi finished as she opened the door and stepped out into the darkened hallway.


"No luck with the mud. How are the bushes coming along Joe?" Frank asked as he pulled himself out of the pit. He was covered in mud and his face was sweaty. He pulled off his shirt and set it on the ground in hopes of cooling off some.

Joe glanced up briefly from the thorny rose bush he had been examining and smiled. "You know Frank; I'm the only one here. Nancy isn't here to appreciate those muscles and well, quite frankly, I'm not like that so there is no reason to be stripping."

Frank glared. "Joe we're not bringing that back up."

"Why not, brother? We were having such a nice conversation earlier." Joe turned back to his bushes his anger from earlier returning now that his fearful adrenaline was wearing off.

"Because I said so."

Joe gritted his teeth and turned back to Frank. "Because you say so? Frank you don't rule the world; you can't make decisions for me. If I want to bring this up I will."

"Yes, well I won't be a part of it. I have Callie and that is final." Frank irritated, scrunched up his sweaty shirt and tossed it at Joe.

Joe pulled the shirt off his face with a disgusted look. "You know you stink, don't you?"

"Why do you think I took it off?"

"I'll take that as a yes." Joe threw his hands up in disgust. "I'm having zero luck. Quite frankly, I think we're going to have to come back in the morning. Even if there was something here it would be near impossible to find in this light or lack thereof."

"So then let's just go up to the house."

"Sounds like a plan but umm… how will we find this area again?"

"Give me your beeper."

Joe turned around. "My beeper? Why?"

"Well, yours has a timer on it. We can just set it to loud and then set it for say noontime tomorrow and when it rings we'll follow the sound back here."

Joe hesitantly removed his beeper. "Fine, but if my beeper gets lost you are fronting the money for a new one."


Nancy sighed and pushed her reddish blonde hair out of her face. There had been nothing in the basement aside from old wine barrels and cobwebs. Her allergies were not very happy. She emerged noiselessly into the darkened kitchen and began sorting through cupboards. She was a bit disheartened at only finding some expensive china and no clues.

She turned and examined the island. On top was a coffeepot and it looked like someone had set it to start a pitcher of coffee for 7:00am. Someone was planning on getting an early start but aside from that all was normal.

Next was the dining room. Now this was a spooky place. There was one long table at which all guests could sit, running the length of the room and a large stone fireplace just behind the head chair. Periodically throughout the room were eight suits of armor pushed up against the walls. Nancy glanced over these but refrained from touching them in case she caused too much noise. Nancy was again frustrated as she realized that this room would have to wait until morning.

She pushed opened the large double doors and cringed as they screeched. Nancy prayed no one upstairs had heard that. She was now in the front room and it was 1:00am. She walked over to a bookshelf in the far corner and glanced over the titles. There was nothing extraordinary about them; they were just classic mystery novels.

Nancy turned and picked up a phone off the neighboring desk. She held it up to her ear and was a bit dismayed to find that there was no dial tone. Nancy set it down just as something behind her squeaked. Nancy immediately dropped to the floor behind the sofa to avoid detection. She waited silently as two pairs of footsteps crossed the room and bumped into the furniture.

Nancy closed her eyes and held her breath. They were getting close. And as if on cue they met her. Whoever it was bumped their foot against her side and fell forward landing on top of her. Nancy could feel the large person's breath on the back of her neck and she rolled over under their weight just as the lights turned on. Nancy gasped. She was staring into the dirty face of a very shirtless and rather red Frank Hardy. It was then Nancy realized that his hand was in a rather awkward spot.


Dear Reader,

N/F moment much? Don't worry there'll be more; however, for those of you who hate N/F this isn't a flluff fic. There is a mystery going on here that will be solved. I can also promise that this will NOT be a fic where Nancy and Frank are both free and OMGlove each other and get together.That isn't normal. They've got a long road to go just as all normal people do. I hope you enjoyed and I'd love to hear your reviews. This is my first N/F fic and I need all the constructive comments I can get.

Much luv,

Political Blonde