CHAPTER NINE

"Misty! Where on earth have you been?" Nancy paused at the door as she saw her sister's entourage. "Well, I might have known," she smiled, "of course we'd run into the Hardys all the way out here." She invited everyone in, filled glasses of water and hugged each boy before settling in on the couch.

"I'll be back in a minute," Misty winced, "I need to get out of these dusty clothes."

" Misty," Nancy's brows knit together, "Are you limping?"

Misty just shook her head and waved a hand noncommittally at the group as she walked toward her room. She was limping, quite visibly actually. Nancy tore her gaze from her sister's retreating form and to the three guests who now sat in her hotel living room.

Frank ran a dirty hand across his face. He looked as disheveled as Misty had. Joe and Chet looked expectantly at him, as if even they weren't sure what had happened.

"Well," Nancy opened her hands questioningly, "Someone needs to fill me in." She turned her gaze on the eldest Hardy brother, "From the looks of it, it's you."

Frank sighed. "Don't…" he hesitated, wincing, "Just don't freak out." Nancy's eyes widened, but she headed his warning, listening as he explained everything from leaving their camping gear to finding Misty on the other side of the glass over the cliff. Joe tried not to snicker, but quickly sobered up when he realized just how bad the situation had been. Misty came in halfway through the tale and sat on the ledge of the couch, beside Nancy.

"And, then we headed back down the mountain and picked up these two bozos," Frank finished, hooking his thumb over toward Chet, "and came straight over."

Nancy looked up at Misty and then back to Frank, "You didn't think to stop by a hospital? You both look awful."

Chet shook his head, "She insisted she was alright."

Misty rolled her eyes, "I am alright. Just a scratch here and there." She lifted her hand as if for proof. It was bandaged with a scrap of cloth. She didn't admit it, but the guard rail had left a pretty deep cut. She'd clean it up later with the med kit they traveled with.

Nancy sighed, "Well, I'm just glad you're okay. Both of you."

"Have you had supper yet, Nan?" Joe asked. Frank shook his head and Misty cracked a smile. Chet looked eagerly over, anticipating her answer.

Nancy shook her head, "No, but I can whip something up. I'm sure you're all starving after this evening."

"Wait," Misty stalled her sister as she rose, "What about the interview? How did it go?"

"Yeah," Frank chimed in, "Storytime isn't up yet. Misty told me the basics, but I'd love to hear more."

"Basics?" Joe crossed his arms, pretending to be hurt, "She wouldn't tell us anything."

Chet nodded enthusiastically, then paused and shook his head, "Hold up." He turned to Frank and Joe, "I don't want her to tell us anything." The Hardy's looked over at their friend confused. He shook his head adamantly this time, addressing the girls, "Nope. Don't tell them anything. This is a vacation and if you wiggle your mystery under their noses, I know it'll be over faster than a New York minute!"

The room erupted in laughter. Joe's eyes twinkled as he glanced over at his chum, "You know better than that, Chet. It's already too late. If there's one thing I want more than dinner, it's details!"

Frank said, more seriously, "We don't even know if we can help, Chet, so all hope isn't lost yet."

"Yeah, right," the boy mumbled, sinking deeper into his chair as he crossed his arms.

Frank left to quickly wash up as best he could in the bathroom while Nancy rounded the couch to the small kitchenette to begin preparing a quick meal for everyone. When Frank returned, the girls took turns filling the guys in on what little they had of the case so far. Much to his chagrin, even Chet began to ponder the clues. Soon, the friends sat around the living room with spaghetti and garlic bread, musing over the robberies.

"Wait," Misty sat forward on the couch, "You mean that Nevenger is connected to the robberies?"

"Well," Nancy set her drink down on the small coffee table, "Yes and no. She isn't really connected to them, but she has a family heirloom in one of the museums that she's concerned about."

"Could you use it as bait?" Joe started thoughtfully into his empty bowl, tapping his fork against his chin, "You know, orchestrate something that would pull the robbers in?"

Nancy shook her head, "I doubt Nevenger would go for that. She was a little…" Nancy pointed at her head and turned her finger around in circles.

"What's the heirloom?" Frank asked.

"Some ruby el—" a soft dozing interrupted her. The crew glanced over to see Chet sleeping in the recliner by the door, his dishes rising and falling with the rhythm of his stomach. They each chuckled and shook their heads. Nancy pulled her amused gaze away from him to finish answering Frank's question, "An elephant. A small elephant carved from a large ruby. She said it was from India. One of her ancestors had done a lot of traveling and picked it up there on an adventure."

"That sounds like a story," Misty leaned her head against her good hand, stifling a yawn.

Nancy's blew out a breath, "Wouldn't I know it." She stood up to collect dishes. Frank joined her, practically prying Chet's from his hands. Nancy called over her shoulder, "That woman can talk."

Frank set his stack of dishes down in the sink and looked to Nancy, suddenly curious, "Hey, did you call Joe's cell earlier?"

Nancy thought back through her day then shook her head, "I don't think so. Why?" She reached for her phone as Frank explained the call he'd gotten while chasing down the runaway car on the mountain.

She smiled, looking at her phone, "I must have pocket dialed you during my interview with Nevenger. See here." She showed him the call log on her phone. "Sorry about that," she didn't really look embarrassed, but she smiled apologetically.

"Not a problem at all," he returned the smile, "Just figured I'd check to make sure you hadn't needed anything."

She laughed, "I think we just about covered everything for the case. At least for now."

Joe glanced up at Misty as she covered another yawn, "You feeling alright?"

"Course," she answered sleepily, "You know me, not a night owl."

He shrugged, "It's been a long day." Glancing at the clock that hung on the wall, he let out a low whistle, "Frank, we should probably get going. It's getting late and I think I can safely say that we're all pretty beat."

Nancy wiped her hands on a dish towel, "You boys should stay here for the night. We've got a spare bedroom here in the suite if the hotel doesn't have any open rooms."

Frank shook his head, "We wouldn't impose, and besides, we came to camp." He turned as a surprised laugh came from Misty.

"It's going to pour again tonight," she looked over her shoulder at him, standing behind the couch next to her.

Joe groaned, "No, please, no more rain."

"Really," Nancy put a hand on Frank's arm to reassure him, "It wouldn't be any trouble for us. Misty's been sharing my bed anyway. And Richardson is paying for the suite."

Misty piped up, "Yeah, we still have to go talk to our hermit since I didn't get to him today and you guys would be a big help."

Nancy scoffed, "You might even keep this one from killing herself." She stared pointedly at her younger sister. Even if Misty had limped in, mostly unscathed, Frank's story had still set her heart to thumping a little faster than usual. She sure wasn't keen to let her out of her sight for the next few days.

As if Misty could read her thoughts, she rolled her eyes, wincing as she stood, "I'll be fine."

"I don't know," Frank still hesitated. They had all of their gear in the van, but he still didn't want to bother the girls.

Joe looked over at Chet's sleeping form before speaking up himself, "Maybe just for the night, Frank. Think about it. If it does rain, we'll be more comfortable here. We can help the girls in the morning and be camping tomorrow."

Nancy nodded, "You don't have to stay all week or anything. We don't want to ruin your fun. Just for the night."

Misty agreed, glancing from one boy to the next until she came to Chet, "You don't really want to wake the poor fellow, do you?"

Frank finally relented, and Joe ran out to gather their toothbrushes and pajamas for the night. Nancy brought out a blanket to cover Chet and made sure the boys had everything they needed, even remembering to hand Joe the spare room key in case they woke earlier than the girls and left for breakfast and needed to come back.

Misty made sure to clear the extra bedroom of anything she'd left and settled into Nancy's room for the night. As she lay down beside Nancy, she was thankful for the cover of the darkness that hid the grimace of pain on her face. She knew nothing was broken, but she was sure she'd have the bruise of a lifetime on her hip from where the car had hit her so hard. With her arm still sore from earlier and her muscles tense from the stress of the day, it didn't take long for her to drift into sleep.