So I hear that you guys didn't like the last chapter all that much… 'Not my best work' …ah well, I sort of agree with you. I like the idea; it just didn't come out quite right. Hopefully this summer I'll have time to re-read some of the old fashioned ones and try another one set in the 30s or 40s…until then I have this little ditty, which is personally one of my favorites…oh and a special thanks to my TWO reviewers:

PrincessSkywalkerOrgana

WireWriter

You guys are the bee's knees! I know that I haven't done a chapter from Joe's POV yet, but I promise its coming! Anyway, onward!


Ages: Frank & Nancy: 21, Joe: 20

Time Period: 2000s


Frank

Riiiiinnnggg! Riiiiinnnggg! The shrill sound of the telephone jolted me from a deep sleep around 2 AM on one of those days I sure wasn't going to forget. I groped for the phone that was on my nightstand, eyes still closed…but it wasn't there. I cracked open my eyes and it took me a few seconds to recognize where I was because instead of my somewhat empty room in my apartment I saw a pale blue room with sports trophies and banners. The events of the past week pushed me out of bed and down the stairs, I was house sitting (with my brother) for my parents while they were out of town and it was Sunday night, they were supposed to call to tell me when their new flight was going to come in.

I heard Joe stumble out of bed and curse as he followed me to the telephone. I reached the hall table where the phone was just as the answering machine picked up, 'You have reached the Hardy residence, we can't come to the-'

"Hello?" I answered the phone breathlessly, cutting off the answering machine.

"Fenton Hardy?" The woman's voice sounded faint and even scared on the other end of the line, I motion to Joe over to me from where he had been waiting at the stairs.

"Well-"

I started to answer her but here was a noise on the other end of the line and she cut me off, "Please just listen, I don't have much time. You might remember me, my name is Nancy Drew; my father is the criminal lawyer Carson Drew out of Chicago. I need your help desperately, I'm in danger. I'm somewhere outside of London from what I can tell from the phone book I found. I think I might have been abducted because I have no memory of getting here and I'm in a sanitarium, Sheridan's Asylum for the Criminally Insane. It's some sort of set up, I'm the only one here and they've been keeping me drugged up for…I'm not sure how long. Just a few days ago I figured it out and have been avoiding the drugs and that's how I figured out the other strange thing about this place, it's in a Victorian mansion. There isn't even a sign out front. I'm worried about my dad and I'm worried about what's going to happen to me when they finish whatever it is they're up to," She seemed to be finished but suddenly she continued on with a short burst, "Please, you have to help me, I know it sounds crazy but you can check me out. I know your number because of a case that you helped my father out with. McAlister Case," she paused and I heard another crash, "Please help me."

There was a click and the call ended. I had been holding up the phone for Joe, he was suddenly looking wide awake, "I had no idea someone could say so much in one breath."

"You think it was a prank?"

He shook his shaggy blonde head, "I don't think so, she sounded like she knew what she was talking about."

I nodded, "So you think we should check out Dad's files?"

He grinned, "You read my mind."


"Madder, Mauve, McAlister!" I mumbled under my breath, and then with a gin of victory, pulled the thick manila envelope from Dad's file cabinet. There were a couple dozen full-sized color photos and only two pieces of written paper. One was a summary of who had hired dad (a lawyer by the name of Carson Drew), why he had hired, what agents worked on the case (just Dad, which is pretty odd), and contact information for Mr. Drew. The second page was a rundown of the case; it seemed that Sandra and Garth McAlister were con artists selling real-estate in Illinois and New York. Mr. Drew had hired our Dad simply because he had been working on this case from the New York end of it. I assumed that he thought that Dad would be better for the job since he already had an idea of what was going on. The case itself wasn't anything spectacular and the McAlisters were resting safely in jail. I was still skimming when the phone rang for a second time.

"'Lo?" Joe answered.

He paused and listened for a moment, then turned to me, "They got another flight, its tomorrow at noon. Should we tell them about the call?"

I nodded, "If it wasn't a prank then time is of the essence."

Joe nodded in agreement and explained the night's (or morning's, depending on which way you look at it) earlier events, "He says he remembers-"

"Put it on speaker phone," I interrupted.

Dad must have heard me, "I was saying that I remember the McAlister case as well as the Drews. Carson is very good at what he does, he does a lot of research and I think that helps him in his cases. His daughter Nancy was, let's see…probably 17 or 18 when I met her. The first thing that stuck me when I was talking to her was that she is very bright and very logical…I suppose she takes after her father. She was a bit of an amateur detective and she said she was interested in being a private detective."

"Do you think she'd call you rather than her father if she was in desperate trouble?" Joe asked.

"If she was afraid to tip anyone off that she had used a phone," Dad replied.

"If you met her three or four years ago, then I wonder how she remembered this number," I mused aloud.

"Carson did have the house number," Dad paused, "Oh! I know, Nancy was always 'honing' her detective skills, she was always memorizing phone numbers."

"So she might have memorized this one," Joe started.

"And she decided to call you?" I finished, "It's a little odd, don't you think?"

I could almost hear Dad shrug, "I guess, but you never really know until you find out, right?"

"So you think we should fly to London and find her?" Joe asked excitedly.

"I think you should call her father and see what he thinks then think about going to London," Dad finished with a laugh.

There was the sound of Mom in the back ground, "I've got to get going," he said, "We'll talk again later."

"Bye Dad," Joe and I said together as he hung up the phone.

"So," I said glancing at the clock that read a little past three AM, "Do you think it's too early to call Illinois?"

"They're like an hour ahead of, right?" Joe said, reading the Drew's contact info.

"Yea…?" I shrugged.

"I think four AM is a good time to call what about you?" He said as he dialed the number off the sheet of paper.

I laughed and grabbed the phone as it began to ring, "I guess so."

There. The end of chapter one…what do you think? I rather like it. If I do use it as a story I might edit it a little though…okay so I'm going to tell y'all something 'cause I'm just really happy! One of my friends is dating this boy she really likes (and he likes her) and they are so cute! He's a grade younger than us but he's uber sweet, kind of cute too…(not my type though, I go for older guys…like Yannick Bisson…Google him, he's smexy!) But yeah, I thought you all would like to know that!

Review please!

~Striker