Author's Note:
I hope that everyone had a great Independence Day. It was hot and muggy here and we decided to introduce a great American movie to our 6-year-old: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Surprisingly, she really liked it. Yes, I know that it has scary, images but don't judge me. We couldn't watch what we wanted to watch which was The Patriot due to the fact that it's super violent and gory. So, I thought Indy would be fun and it paid off. Anyway, thanks to everyone who left a review for the last chapter. Again, I appreciate anything you guys have to say for the story and love to hear what you think. Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to leave your mark so that I know you were here. Until next time, have a great weekend and God bless!
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Frank went into the office leaving Nancy behind to talk to Hannah. Roughly about an hour after he left, the housekeeper walked in laden with bags of goodies from her family. Nancy was in the den reading a book when she heard the back door open and went to investigate.
"Hi, Hannah," she said softly when she saw her old friend.
"Nancy!" the housekeeper cried, setting down her bags. She smiled as she started pulling out items from the bags and setting them on the counter. Hannah stopped when she noticed the look on the young woman's face. "What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Nancy said, shaking her head. She quickly wiped a tear from her cheek and sniffled. Although it had only been a few days, Nancy was really happy to see Hannah.
The housekeeper gave her a curious look. "A tear isn't nothing, sweetheart," Hannah gently replied. "What's going on?"
"I'm just so glad you're home," she said with a genuine smile. Then the tears started flowing, Nancy unable to stop them. "I'm so sorry, Hannah."
She rushed to her, wrapping her arms around the older woman's waist. The embrace took Hannah by surprise and it took her a moment to return the hug.
"Sorry for what, dear?" she asked gently. Hannah ran her fingers through Nancy's strawberry blonde hair, comforting the young woman.
"I was so awful to you, Hannah," Nancy answered in between sniffles. She looked up at Hannah, her blue eyes glistening with tears. "I…I don't know what's come over me and you didn't deserve it. You were only trying to help."
"Shh, it's okay," Hannah stopped her. The housekeeper's voice was calm and collected. "It's water under the bridge, Nancy. You know I would never hold a grudge against anyone, especially towards you."
The two women stood together, holding each other. Nancy was thankful to have someone like Hannah in her life. She was always there when Nancy needed it the most and this was definitely that time. After a few minutes, the two broke apart and Hannah gave Nancy a kiss on the forehead. She looked around the room. "Where's Frank?" Hannah asked.
"He went into the office without me," Nancy explained. "I wanted some time with you alone and he agreed. I'm going in after lunch."
"Well, then," Hannah sighed, looking down at the bags, "we can talk some more while we put a few things away. Tell me all about the trip to Bayport because it looks as if it helped to get away."
"Believe me, Hannah," Nancy laughed as she bent over to grab a bag, "it helped more than you know."
It was going on one in the afternoon and Frank was sitting alone in the office. Bess went out to lunch with her mother and Nancy was set to arrive soon after spending the morning with Hannah. Frank was glad to see that Nancy was better after their trip and he hoped it stay that way. He knew that all couples went through hard times but their fights seem to be explosive at times and it worried him. He was curious though as to why it took her so long to answer him the night before. She never mentioned the reason why it took her so long either about taking it easy but Frank was grateful for the time alone that they had.
A file folder was sitting on the desk in front of him. Frank had been looking it over to keep his mind focused on the case. He spoke with BD earlier in the day and the detective had sent over the case file for the missing person. Mrs. Stein was set to arrive sometime soon as well.
"Hey," replied Nancy as she walked into the office. She put her purse on her desk and then went over to him.
"Hey back," he replied, leaning back in his chair. He folded his hands on his stomach and studied her for a moment. "Everything good now?"
"Yup," she nodded, taking an M&M from the candy dish nearby and popping it into her mouth. "All is well."
"Did you tell her?"
"No," Nancy said looking down at her hands. It was the one thing she did keep from Hannah since they didn't tell Frank's family. "I'm just not ready to tell anyone yet."
"Tell anyone what?"
Frank and Nancy quickly turned to see Bess standing in the doorway, a manicured hand on her hip. Nancy could see another bridal magazine sticking out of the bag she was carrying.
"It's nothing, Bess," Nancy quickly recovered moving over to her desk again.
"Uh huh," her friend said, sounding a little hurt. Her eyes narrowed, studying the couple. Bess suspected something was going on but she didn't expect her best friend to keep a secret from her. "Whatever. Mrs. Stein is here. Do you want me to show them in?"
Nancy felt bad and knew she would have to tell Bess sooner or later. She looked over at Frank who looked just as concerned as she was though he didn't say anything. The two nodded at Bess and seconds later, two women walked into the room. Bess was cordial to the newcomers but gave Nancy and Frank the cold shoulder as she exited the room.
"Hello, Mrs. Stein," Nancy said, greeting the elderly woman. She nodded to the other woman who looked like a younger version of Mrs. Stein. "So good to see you again. This is my partner, Frank Hardy."
Frank smiled holding out his hand to Mrs. Stein who returned the smile and gesture. She leaned over to Nancy and raised her eyebrows. "Oh, he's a handsome one, isn't he?" Mrs. Stein replied. Both Nancy and Frank deeply blushed. The older woman cocked her head as she studied him. "Hardy? Isn't that the name I saw outside on the door?"
"Yes, Mrs. Stein," Frank answered with a nod. "My family is based in Bayport, New York. We're just a branch of the company. I tried to get Nancy to use her name too but she declined."
"Really?" The older woman was intrigued. She looked to Nancy with a small, knowing smirk. "Thinking of the future, I take it or are you two already married?"
"Oh, no," Frank and Nancy both said slightly embarrassed though they smiled.
"Mother!" mumbled the other woman. "Leave them alone. That's not why we're here!"
"Oh, yes," Mrs. Stein replied, remembering their plight. She took one of the comfortable chairs nearby that Nancy gestured to and sat down. "I'm so sorry. This is my daughter, Janice Blake."
"It's my son who's missing," Mrs. Blake said quickly, diverting the attention away from Mrs. Stein. She sat down next to her mother, her hands gripping the purse she carried. Nancy could tell that the woman was obviously upset over the disappearance of her son. "He…he didn't even get to spend Christmas with us."
Nancy took out a notebook and pen. She remained sympathetic toward the woman while trying to stay professional at the same time. She wrote down the woman's name then looked back up at Mrs. Blake. "You say your name is Blake?" The woman nodded sadly. Nancy thought for a moment. "As in Councilman Gerald Blake?"
"Yes," Mrs. Blake replied, nodding. "He's my husband."
"Isn't he going after the police to find your son, Mrs. Blake?" Frank asked gently. Nancy wondered about the line of questioning though she was interested in the woman's response and reaction. "I'm sure he has some sort of clout to get them to concentrate on this, not that we're not willing to take the case."
Mrs. Blake sniffled, staring blankly at Frank. She obviously didn't expect the question. "Gerry is a very busy man, Mr. Hardy," she finally replied, her tone defensive. "He has his own business along with being a councilman. Austin is not his son, if that is what you are getting at. Neither is my daughter. Gerry thinks that Austin is just being dramatic about something and ran away for the attention. The two don't get along very well, I'm afraid, but Gerry does care about my children. I'm just really worried about my Austin. This isn't like him. He didn't just run away either. He's an adult, almost 21."
"Mrs. Blake," Nancy said calmly, taking over the questioning, "is there anything that happened that may have prompted Austin to leave or something that may have happened?"
"I…I don't know," she stammered. The woman looked down at the ground in thought. "If he left voluntarily, he would have called by now, especially to his sister. They are really close. The two of them are my world. When their father passed away several years ago, they leaned on each other for support while I fell apart. I met Gerry about a year or so later and decided that it was time for me to move on. When I married him, Austin thought I was betraying their father and he never really wanted to get to know his stepfather. Gerry tried but Austin didn't want to have anything to do with him. His sister, Amy, supported Austin though she was at least nice to Gerry."
"Can you tell us what happened?" Frank asked. He noticed Nancy vigorously writing in her notebook and he wondered what was going through her mind.
"It was Christmas Eve and Austin was home from college," Mrs. Blake answered. Frank could tell that the woman was trying to remember the events from the past few days. "He told me he needed to talk to me about something important but Gerry and Amy came home from the airport. She's studying in Boston to be a pediatrician. Austin decided to stay a little closer and is going to Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying communications and political science. When Gerry came into the room, Austin completely shut down and left without telling me anything. I didn't think anything of it since they don't get along anyway. But when I went to get Austin up Christmas morning, he…he was gone."
"Was there a note of any kind?" Nancy gently pressed, her own concern growing. "Was there anything missing as if he packed up and left?"
"There was no note, Miss Drew," the woman sniffled. She withdrew a tissue from her purse and blew her nose. Her mother put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "A few of his clothes and his knapsack were missing though. You don't think he left town without telling anyone, do you? That's what the police believe. I just don't think Austin would do such a thing."
Frank was silent taking in all that was said while Nancy was still writing. He didn't know what to think about the case but he did know that the police were skeptical as to where the kid went. One thing Frank wanted to do was look into the family along with checking out the kid's room. Something was off and he was determined to figure out what it was.
Mrs. Blake suddenly broke down in tears causing the interview to be over. Her mother comforted her while Nancy looked over her notes. Frank was still thinking but he noticed a name on Nancy's notebook and knew she was on the same wavelength as him. She had written down Councilman Blake's name and circled it. He knew he couldn't ask her anything while their clients were there but Frank would once they were alone. Nancy caught his eye and he knew they were thinking the same thing: Austin didn't just run away. If he did, there was a good reason and there was only one person they felt would shine a light on the subject.
"We are going to do everything in our power to find your son, Mrs. Blake," Nancy replied softly. She was guiding the two women out of the office. "If there's anything that you find or remember, please call us. And we will come by to check out his room so please don't disturb it, if you can."
"Thank you so much, Miss Drew," she replied gratefully. "My mother speaks very highly of you so I trust that you and Mr. Hardy will find my son."
Moments later, Nancy was back in the office, seeing that Frank had taken the liberty of looking over her notes. She smiled and shook her head. "You never cease to amaze me, Hardy," she replied, strolling over to him.
"I was just looking at your notes, Nan," he said, plopping the notebook down on the desk. "We seem to be thinking the same thing. How do you want to do this?"
"I think we need to get a hold of Councilman Blake," she answered. Frank nodded. "I can take him. Dad knew him well and Blake might open up to me given the relationship he had with him."
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Nan," Frank said concerned. "What if he had something to do with this?"
"He's not going to try anything if I see him during his office hours, Frank," Nancy noted slightly annoyed. "He had a lot of respect for Dad so I don't think he'll try anything even if he is guilty."
"But I don't think you should go alone," he countered. "Let me go with you. Please?"
"I have to make the appointment first, Frank," she said folding her arms in front of her. "I think I can take care of myself on this one."
Frank sighed, seeing the determined look on her face. He knew she wouldn't let him come with her so that left him with the duty of going to the Blake house and searching Austin's room. Their conversation was interrupted when someone cleared their throat behind them. The couple turned to see Bess standing in the opening, her bag slung over her shoulder. They could tell that Bess was still upset but the woman didn't say anything about it, only that she was leaving for the day. Frank gave Nancy the go ahead to follow Bess. Grabbing her coat and purse, Nancy rushed out the door, catching up to Bess just as she was about to get into her car.
"What?" her friend huffed.
"I'm sorry about earlier," Nancy said softly. She shivered in the cold air though she had her coat on. "I don't want you to be mad at us."
"I'm not mad, Nancy," Bess replied sadly. "Just disappointed that you would keep something from me. I'm your best friend, Nan. You can tell me anything."
Nancy bit her lip, nervous about how to tell her. Bess rolled her eyes, thinking Nancy wasn't going to say anything more. Just as she got into the car, Nancy blurted it out causing Bess to stop. She slowly rose, her eyes wide and her mouth open in shock. Once the initial shock was over, Bess squealed loudly causing several people walking by to stop and stare.
"Oh. My. God!" she cried not caring about making a scene. Nancy tried calming her down, eyeing those around them. "Why didn't you tell me? Does Hannah know? Does his family know? How far along are you? Can I be the godmother?"
"Calm down, Bess," Nancy laughed nervously. She moved her friend away from the car. "Let's go for a walk and we'll talk."
Bess grabbed her purse and locked her car up then followed Nancy down the street toward a coffee shop. By the time they were seated at a secluded table in the shop, Bess was still going on about it. Nancy could tell that her friend was excited as Bess finally stopped talking to take a sip of her latte.
"You're the first one I've told," Nancy explained. Bess squealed again though she kept the volume down in the loud coffee shop. "Frank's mother knows too though she figured it out on her own. We didn't want to tell anyone yet. That's why I didn't say anything to you."
"Why not say something though?" Bess asked confused. "It's not like it doesn't happen, you know. So what it's an 'oops!'" I think it's great! Oh! Does that mean you and Frank have worked everything out?"
"The baby was one of our fights," Nancy replied, looking down at her tea. "But yes, we had a talk. We both agreed to keep this a secret for now until we are ready to say something. He also wants me to stay on the sidelines for a while."
"As you should, Nan," her friend pointed out. "I don't want anything happening to you and from the sound of it, this case might be a bit physical. Just promise me that you won't go looking for trouble."
"You're starting to sound like Frank," she shook her head.
"I'm not kidding!" Bess cried. "You get yourself in danger and it's possible you could get hurt! And you shouldn't keep it to yourself too long. You start showing and you won't have a choice. But to each his own. You and Frank are going to be amazing parents. I just know it!"
"You really think so?"
"I know so," Bess nodded. She did a double take as she looked at Nancy. "OMG. Are you… are you scared?"
"No, pish, no," Nancy laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "Please."
"Yeah, you are," her friend replied. She laughed. "The great Nancy Drew is afraid of having a baby. You who have tackled bad guys in mid-air and shot a man in your own living room and you're afraid!"
"I'm not afraid of it," she mumbled, looking around. "I'm afraid of…not being able to protect it. I…I…"
"I understand," Bess said calmly. Her tone became more serious when she realized her best friend was hurting. She took Nancy's hand and squeezed it. "I'm here if you need me. Oh! We can go shopping for new clothes! OMG, this is so exciting!"
The two friends laughed for a little bit while finishing off their drinks. Nancy felt better telling her friend about the baby. Maybe now she'd have the guts to tell everyone else. When they left the coffee shop, the two were giggling and making plans to go shopping for clothes. Bess wanted to make Nancy as comfortable as possible with the knowledge she held, assuring her friend that she wouldn't tell anyone until Nancy told her she could.
"Have you told Hannah?"
"Not yet."
"Really?" Bess stopped and turned to her. "You need to, Nan. She leaves in a few weeks for Europe and won't be back for a month. By then, you'll be showing and I don't think she'll be as happy then if you don't tell her now. Just promise me that you'll tell her before she leaves."
"I will," Nancy nodded. She hugged her friend. "Thanks, Bess."
"Any time." She got into her car. "I'll see you tomorrow. Let me know if you want to make an appointment with Councilman Blake. I can call his office tomorrow if you like."
"I'll handle it but thanks, Bess." Nancy waved to her friend as she pulled out of the parking lot. Now the really hard part was about to begin. She wasn't just thinking about the case either and having to take it easy while they're investigating it. Nancy wasn't sure how Hannah was going to react to the news but Bess was right. It had to be done before the woman left for a month.
Walking back into the office, Nancy saw that Frank had waited for her. She went over to him as he rose from his chair. Smiling, Nancy embraced Frank in a tight hug knowing that he was there for her just as much as Bess was.
"Everything okay?" he asked, looking down at her.
"Never better."
