Author's Note:

Well, I'm actually surprised I was able to get another chapter out this week. I honestly wasn't planning on it but hey, I couldn't stop myself. Yay for you! Thank you so much for the reviews! Rose12, I have a confession to make. I wrote Nancy like that for a reason. She is one of my childhood idols for her strength and passion in what she does. I felt she needed to take her father's death a little differently than other people would. Honestly, people experience grief in different ways. I'm no expert, mind you but it took me a month or so to fully grasp the death of my own father (cancer) five years ago. Some of the thoughts that she had are the same thoughts I had (and still have to this day) when it happened to me. I hope I didn't come as being harsh but I just wanted to give you a little insight to what I was thinking at the time. Well, I think I've gone on too long and spewed a little bit too much about my own life, so I will leave you there. Thank you for reading and enjoy! Until next time.

Chapter Nine

His face was inches from her own, his breath reeking of staleness. Nancy squirmed, trying to move out from underneath him. She kept stealing glances at the door, wishing someone would open it, even if it was just to check on her. He laughed when he noticed her eye movements.

"There's no one coming to rescue you, Princess," he said gleefully. "At least not before I'm done with you. Now are you going to be a good girl if I lift my hand?"

Nancy nervously nodded her head. Even though she want to cry for help, she knew the man would hurt her even more before anyone could save her. Once he removed his hand, she licked her lips and took a deep breath. She looked into his eyes and saw what he was capable of. It terrified her. He remained inches from her face, his body still pinning her arms.

"Good," he smiled with crooked teeth. "That's a good girl."

"What…what do you want, Dixon?" she eeked out. He laughed when she spoke and she used the opportunity to move her hand closer to the call button. Dixon stopped, grabbed her wrist and squeezed hard. She yelped causing him to put his hand over her mouth again to muffle her.

"That's not being a good girl, Nancy," he seethed, shaking her. "Don't do it again."

She nodded again and he lifted his hand off her face though he kept her wrist in a tight grip.

"I'm not surprised you know me," he said quietly. "Your daddy must have told you."

"He told me what you did to those women," she whispered, a little worried about herself being in close proximity to him. "You're nothing but a psychopath who preys on weakness."

"Did he tell you that he was the reason why I spent 15 years of my life in prison?"

"Is that what this is about?" Nancy asked. "Is that why you…"

"Killed your father?" Dixon laughed. "That wasn't my order but I was more than happy to do it anyway. Like I told Lover Boy, I just wished I could see the look on your old man's face when the truck hit."

"No!" cried Nancy, tears now flowing down her cheeks. Dixon clamped his hand over her mouth again and leaned into her a little more, she screams of pain muffled.

"Not a good idea, Nancy," Dixon replied. He kept his hand over her mouth while he continued. "Do you know that his death actually was only to get to you?"

Nancy's eyes went wide.

"That's right. You are the reason he's dead. It had nothing to do with anything other than someone wanting you to suffer the loss." Dixon laughed as he watched the realization hit her face. "He wanted you to hurt and the only way to do that was to take out the one person you valued most. See, you and the Hardys had a little exchange with this guy and he is not too happy. He wants you all to suffer and I guarantee there's more coming."

He watched her eyes. The terror and anguish mixed in them was what he thrived on with his victims. But he was given explicit instructions not to do anything to her like he normally did to women. As much as he would love to do it, he valued his own life more. Mr. Preston, if that was his real name, made it clear to him after he gave Dixon a second chance for botching up the accident. Instead, he watched gleefully as Nancy continued to break down even more at his revelation. Knowing he didn't have much time, Dixon knew he needed to finish what he was sent to do.

"He wanted me to send a message," Dixon replied. He pulled her toward him, their eyes locked. "And I intend to leave it."

"Is everything all right?" Laura asked when Fenton came up to them in the waiting room.

"Yeah, we're good," he answered, taking a deep breath. He knew he didn't ask Nancy about the safe but he decided he would ask her when she went home rather than in the hospital. Fenton looked at his sons. He could tell they were worried about their friend, as they should be, but he was more worried about who was behind everything that was going on. Just before Fenton was about to take Frank and Joe back to see Nancy, two women and a man came into the waiting area, all of them wearing suits.

"Melanie?" Hannah replied when she recognized one of the women in the group. The two embraced as the Hardys looked at the other two people who were with her. Hannah moved aside as her friend stepped forward to greet the others.

"You must be the Hardys," she said, extending her hand. Fenton took it and the two shook hands. "I'm Melanie Baker, River Heights' assistant district attorney. I'm sorry to meet you under the circumstances. Carson was a good man."

"What brings you here?" he asked, eyed the man and woman who flanked her.

"Well, I needed to speak with you," Melanie explained. "We also need to speak with Nancy, if she's up for it."

"Why? What's going on?" asked Frank, a little defensively. "We're not in any trouble, are we? Is she?"

"That depends on what she has to say," replied the man behind Melanie. When the Hardys didn't say anything, he looked around. "Is there a better place where we could speak more privately?"

A few minutes later, a nurse guided them to a small conference room situated just a few doors down from Nancy's room. The group settled into chairs around a large table.

"What's going on?" Laura asked Hannah but the woman only shrugged, too nervous to say anything. Laura, though, had a feeling that Hannah knew something about the two people with Melanie from the way she kept staring at them.

"So, what is this all about, anyway?" Fenton asked, taking charge. He sat at the head of the table with Frank and Joe sitting in the seats next to him. Melanie and the two with her sat on the opposite side of the table. Hannah and Laura situated themselves in the corner as to be out of the way but still able to hear what was going to be said.

"I'm Special Agent Carter Wallace of the FBI," the man stated. Both him and the woman next to him pulled their credentials out for everyone to see. "This is my partner, Special Agent Christine Hayworth. We're here investigating an insurance company in Chicago."

Frank and Joe looked at each other, wondering what was going on. This was news to them though they noticed that Fenton looked as if he knew about it already.

"And what does this have to do with us?" Joe asked. "It doesn't really sound like something that you need to talk to Nancy about."

"On the contrary," replied Agent Hayworth, "it has everything to do with her and the other case Mr. Drew was working on just before his death. He was the one who asked us to investigate the insurance company in the first place. Mr. Drew did ask that we not speak to his daughter about the matter until all the facts were gathered. However, since his untimely death, Agent Wallace felt that we needed to speak with her to clear a few things that have suddenly come up."

"Carson trusted you on this!" cried Hannah, rising from her seat. "You need to respect his wishes!"

"I agree," Fenton replied. Laura guided Hannah back into her seat and took hold of her hand for support. "But I also think it's up to Nancy to make her own decision on this. You have to respect her own wishes if she declines."

"Fair enough," Hayworth nodded.

"What are you talking about anyway?" Frank asked. "If anything, I think you need to talk to Ned Nickerson before you talk to Nancy. He will probably know more about whatever it is you're investigating than she will."

"Your reputations betray you, Hardys," Agent Wallace grumbled, folding his arms in front of him. "We were hoping for some kind of cooperation from you."

"We're thinking Nancy's best interest," Fenton stated, leaning forward. "You need to tell us the whole story before we go on. That way we know what the hell it is that you need to talk to her about. Let's start with why you're here, Melanie. I take it that it has something to do with case against Nickerson."

"Yes, it does," she nodded. Wallace sat back and mumbled something while Hayworth listened intently. "Titus Greyly, Mr. Nickerson's lawyer, requested a hearing yesterday after he found out about Edith Nickerson's death. At the time, there was no physical evidence that Edith Nickerson was murdered, at least not until Carson and Chief McGinnis went to Reignmark Labs yesterday and got the blood work done. The judge granted the hearing and it was scheduled for this morning. I tried to get it postponed due to Carson's death but since he wasn't the prosecutor, the judge decided to continue. Since Mrs. Nickerson was dead and the evidence sketchy, the judge ruled in favor of the defendant and dismissed the case. The warrant was also dropped and since Mr. Nickerson actually showed up this time…"

"Wait a minute," Frank interrupted, the whole table turning to look at him. "Ned was actually there? And he wasn't arrested?"

"Like I said, Mr. Hardy," Melanie continued calmly, "the judge dropped the warrant and even though he never showed up for any hearings before, the judge felt sympathy toward him for his mother's death."

"Which he probably had something to do with," Frank muttered.

"Frank, enough," his father said sternly.

"There is no evidence as of yet connecting him to her death," Melanie said. "All we have is a copy of the blood report from Reignmark Labs since the original was destroyed in the accident. If anything does show up that connects him, we will look into it."

"Was there a nurse or someone staying with Mrs. Nickerson?" Fenton asked.

"Yes, but the nurse has disappeared," she answered. "Although she made the initial 9-1-1 call to report the death, she wasn't at the house when EMS arrived. She also failed to appear at RHPD for her statement. When I talked to Detective Hawkins earlier today, he said they had BOLO out for her. As of right now, the case against Mr. Nickerson is closed and we're at a stalemate with his mother's death."

"So, it's official that Edith was murdered?" Hannah asked softly from the corner.

"I'm sorry, Hannah," Melanie said sympathetically. "The coroner's report and death certificate for Edith have both been changed to reflect the latest findings."

"Okay, now how is that in relation to what you're investigating, Agent Wallace?" Fenton asked, focusing on the two agents.

"Mr. Drew approached us several weeks ago," Agent Wallace began after clearing his throat. "He was informed by an employee of GW Insurance Company that several claims were paid too much or the beneficiaries were nonexistent. The employee went to him because it apparently involved someone he knew personally, Ned Nickerson. Unfortunately at the time, we could not take the case on without a proper complaint made to us. The original informant either decided to remain quiet or disappeared, we don't know but Mr. Drew decided to investigate it himself without any help from us. When a second complaint was actually filed with the FBI, we had no choice but to look into the situation. It was an actual client of the company that noticed a discrepancy in their policy a few weeks after it was filed. A second beneficiary was added with a larger sum of dispersal after death. As we started our investigation, the company cooperated with us but also began its own investigation into the matter. Several people were fired due to this, many of whom we checked into and found out they had nothing to do with the fraud. All except one employee whom we are considering a person of interest. Especially since his mother recently passed away under suspicious circumstances and she herself had a rather large insurance policy for some reason."

"How much are we talking here?" Joe asked.

"The policy was a supposed to be only for about $50,000," Agent Hayworth answered, "but somehow it turned into over a million dollar payout." Joe mouthed "wow" to Frank.

"How can that be though?" Laura asked confused.

"We believe someone changed it after all the signatures were collected but before the papers were filed," Wallace continued. "There were two beneficiaries on the paperwork, like I said and both of their signatures match their handwriting. We believe they were or are working together to get a large payout. Today, we came across another insurance policy discrepancy that had the same two names as beneficiaries. Unfortunately, we don't have the original copies as of right now to see if they match."

"Wait a minute, you are talking about Ned Nickerson?" Joe asked, leaning forward. "The Ned Nickerson who couldn't find a tree in a forest, that Ned Nickerson? He may have a few screws loose but he doesn't have the brains to think up something like this. There would have to be someone pulling his strings."

"And we do believe that there is someone pulling his strings," Agent Wallace smiled. "The second beneficiary, signed and dated in her own handwriting."

"You don't actually think that Nancy had anything to do with Mrs. Nickerson's death?" asked Fenton. He looked from one agent to the other to see their response. "I don't think you understand who she is. We've known her for a very long time and not once would she ever even consider doing something like this."

"I honestly believe she did," Wallace stated, matter-of-factly. "I also believe she had someone knock off her own father. Spoiled little rich girl got tired of waiting and decided…"

"I don't believe this!" yelled Frank, standing up. "I cannot believe that you are that dense!

"Frank, sit down!" Fenton yelled.

"No, Dad," Frank looked right at Agent Wallace. "This agent needs to hear this! Nancy would never, and I mean never, have anything to do with her own father's death, let alone Mrs. Nickerson's. She almost died in that car accident herself, for crying out loud! You don't know her like we do! She is nothing like Ned! That man is a sociopath. He's the one you should be questioning! Why would she implicate herself, anyway? Why would he? He must be one of the dumbest criminals out there if you think he masterminded this!"

"Frank, you need to calm down," Laura replied softly, trying to get him to sit back down.

"I suggest, Mr. Hardy," Wallace said through gritted teeth, rising to meet Frank's level, "you listen to your mother and sit your ass down."

"That's enough, Agent Wallace," Hayworth said calmly. She eyed him to sit down before looking back at the Hardys. "Unlike my partner here, I do not believe that Ms. Drew had anything to do with the events that occurred in the past few days. You are right, Mr. Hardy, she did almost die in that car accident as well and I hardly believe that someone would go through the trouble of pulling it off by being in that car. We saw pictures of it this morning. I'm surprised that anyone was able to walk away from it. Besides, the facts seem too convenient to me and too easy to find. I think that when we sit down with her, everything will clear up and we'll be on our way."

"I'm glad someone believes in her," Frank muttered.

"Okay, let's go cool off, bro," Joe said, pushing Frank toward the door.

"Good idea," muttered Fenton.

"I can't believe the nerve of that guy!" cried Frank once the door to the conference room was closed. "Nancy wouldn't do it. I know it."

"We all know that, Frank," Joe said calmly. "You need to calm yourself down. You could get a ticket to jail if you step too far out of bounds, bro."

"I know that, Joe." Frank raked his fingers through his hair. He looked over at the door leading to Nancy's room. Out of the blue, he felt as if something was off and started toward the door that was slightly open.

"If you don't watch it, Dad could just send you home," Joe continued. "I don't think you want…hey! What's wrong?"

The sound of glass breaking suddenly came from the room and the brothers rushed the rest of the way over. Pushing the door open, they noticed the lights were off and Joe flicked them on. The medical curtain closed off the main room and no noise came from beyond.

"Nancy?" Frank asked, stepping past the curtain.

"Hey!" Joe cried as someone pushed him into the wall and ran out the door. Frank turned toward his brother to make sure he was okay but Joe took off after the guy. Alone, Frank slowly went further into the room. The bed stood empty, worrying him as moved cautiously around the room. He soon saw what crashed earlier. A broken vase lay near the window, flowers splayed around the floor. When he rounded the bed, he rushed to the floor where Nancy lay near the flowers. Gently lifting her body, Frank's heart dropped when he saw the blood stain on her gown and the puddle on the floor.

"I need some help in here!" he yelled as he placed his hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. Nancy's face was pale but she looked up at him, a single tear rolling down her cheek. As she her lips started moving, Franks leaned over to hear her.

Nurses rushed into the room and soon took over, pushing him out of the way. Frank felt numb as he left the room. He felt as if he were moving in slow motion. He saw his mother and father in front of him, shaking him, trying to get him to speak but he shrugged them away. He turned away from the commotion around him and soon found himself outside. Frank took a deep breath, looked to the sky and yelled as loud as he could. Visitors, staff, and patients coming in and out of the hospital stared at the young man screaming. When he stopped, Frank walked away, his anger rising to a breaking point. He wanted to find the people who did this and make them pay.