Okay, so I totally was NOT originally intending to bring in the HB, but you know how they are! They just crept their way into the story! And, well, I'm glad. I LOVE the HB!

This chapter is kind of long… and kind of slow, but have no fear; more is near! Today was my last day of school (for the summer anyway), so for about two weeks, I SHOULD be free to do whatever (Huh, that was two weeks ago...). I'll definitely be working on this story. I've got a bug whisperin' in my ear about what's next to happen!

Let me know what you think! PLEASE!

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

"I always love spending my vacations on dangerous, sometimes deadly, mysteries with Nancy Drew," Joe said teasingly. A grin spread across his handsome face. His brother, Frank, just rolled his eyes. Frank strolled over to the beige lounger closest to the window and Misty.

He sat down and held out his hand to her, "I'm Frank Hardy, and that," he pointed to Joe, "is the brother that I many times disown, Joe. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And somewhat of a shock, don't forget that part," Joe sat on the coffee table in front of Misty. He held out his own hand to her, "And you are…?"

"Ahem," Misty cleared her throat, "My name is Misty, Nancy's long lost sister, as I presume you already know."

"Well, we could only guess that you were related," Joe said, smiling.

"But sister?" Frank looked skeptical, "Nancy, since when do you have a sister? You're an only child aren't you?"

"Well, apparently not, Frank, good night!" Joe stretched out the second word. He rolled his eyes at his brother and suppressed a snicker. Joe enjoyed harassing his older brother, and he was quite good at lightening a dreary-mooded atmosphere.

Misty sized them both up. Frank was obviously the older one. He had dark brown hair and captivating dark eyes. There was an air of maturity that hung about him. He was the same age as Nancy, and Joe was two years older than herself. He had blonde hair and light blue eyes, lighter than any she'd ever seen before. They held the same playfulness that Bess's held, yet they were as intense as Nancy's ever were. She could imagine that his smile was eternally etched onto his face. Frank seemed more calm, and reasonable, but Misty could tell that he could enjoy just as much fun as his younger brother when he wanted to. She was eager to know more about them.

"I bumped into them and thought I'd bring them home for supper. They're old friends of mine. I sort of forgot to tell them about you until I pulled up," I said, "I told them to wait outside; I didn't want to freak them out." She laughed softly, "When I came in, I saw you on the floor and ran out the door to get them."

"All she told us was that she had a surprise that we wouldn't believe until we saw for ourselves," Joe stated, "I thought she was just trying to pull a fast one, but I can see now that this is no hoax."

"Well, fill us in on the mystery already," Frank burst excitedly.

"And while you're at that, why don't you tell us how you…ya know…discovered each other," Joe waved his arms around.

It didn't take long for Misty to recover. The foursome moved into the kitchen. Nancy set out two more bowls of salad, added tomatoes, and filled four glasses with each particular drink order.

"We should probably start from the first day Misty showed up," Nancy wiped her mouth with a napkin. The girls brought the Hardy's up to date on everything- Nancy did most of the talking. Misty sat quietly, only interjecting when she felt necessary. She was quite shy, as you will remember, and still didn't feel quite well. I should get a good night's sleep, she proposed, I'll retire early tonight. She returned to their current conversation. Nancy had just finished telling about the death certificate, and the floor was now open for questions, speculations, and any other comment of sorts. "I believe firmly now that the death certificate must have held a clue," Nancy concluded, "Why else steal a death certificate?"

"Who would have knocked you out and for what reason?" Frank turned to Misty.

"I'm rather wondering what they hit me with!" she rubbed the sore spot on the back of her head; a hard knot had formed there. "Honestly, I don't know who would have done it. Who would have known..." she trailed off, nothing coming to mind.

"It was definitely someone that knew about the certificate," Joe gathered.

"What makes you say that?" Nancy asked, "It could have been anyone. A burglar, or snoop, or anyone could have just panicked when they found that they weren't alone in the house, hit her, and run."

"But," Frank pointed out, "the robber only took the certificate, nothing else; nothing of value. I mean think about it: at first glance, how many thieves are going to think that a simple piece of paper is worth something-as you implied earlier?"

"Even if it looked official," Misty stood to begin cleaning up, "He has a point."

"Misty!" Nancy exclaimed, "Sit down, this instant!" Misty just shrugged and gave her sister a look. Nancy returned the look, "I want you to rest at least for the rest of the day if not longer. Now, sit down! I'll clean up."

"I'll help," Frank stood.

"No," Misty insisted, "I can do it!"

"Sit!" Nancy pointed at Misty's empty seat.

Misty slumped back down into her chair. She crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue at Nancy. Joe smiled to himself. He could remember times that he had experienced with Frank in which he felt exactly as he now imagined that Misty did.

"Hey, you guys want to hear a joke?" he asked.

"Lay one on us, Joe," Nancy laughed, "the cheesiest one that you can think of."

"Okay then," he paused to think, "So they want cheesy, huh."

"Just spare us our spleens," Frank smiled as he gathered the four empty bowls.

"Got one!" Joe sat up straight, "What were Tarzan's last words?" A smile spread from ear to ear. He waited in anticipation as the other failed to guess correctly.

"'Who oiled the vine?'!"

Misty burst into applause and everyone laughed. "I've got one for you, but it's long," Misty said, a twinkle evident in her eyes.

"Is that a challenge?" Joe's eyebrows rose in surprise, and then he smiled one of his famous 'charming' smiles, "for not many enter that tomb of certain death and survive!"

"Hence the name," Frank quipped.

"Whacha got, Misty?" Nancy asked. She moved to collect the glasses and dessert plates. They had all enjoyed a lovely strawberry and rhubarb pie that Hannah had made.

Misty stood and Nancy began to protest, but Misty held up a hand, "It's only for the jest. Then I'll return to my seat, I promise." She stood away from the table and started the joke, "Once, there were creatures that roamed to and fro high upon the peaks of their mountains. These fun-filled little critters were called Trids. They were petite fuzz-balls of constant overwhelming joy. They continuously traveled from village to village to visit each other. They were a most social species and they were also Jewish. The Trids never frowned; they were so always bubbling with excitement." She stood, leaning on the island. "One day," she spread her hands with exaggerated drama, her tone deepened, "a troll moved into the mountain that was the beloved home of the pleasure-bursting Trids.

"Now, he didn't like Trids, no, not one bit. He was their counterpart- completely opposite of them." Frank and Nancy stopped working on the dishes to listen. Misty continued, "He put a stop to all of their traveling most immediately. He stormed about and kicked them back to their village of origin. He did this every time he saw one.

"Well, quite soon, all of the Trids lost their smiles, happiness, and everlasting giggles. They became depressed and discouraged. The troll had taken all of their fun away." Misty smiled here, and then continued, "This went on for a fair while, when the Trids finally became fed up with the troll. They all decided to go ask their Rabbi if he could do something about the dreaded troll. They expressed their many complaints and stated that all they wanted was just to be happy again. So, the Rabbi said that he would seek out the troll and request an answer to their problems.

"He searched high and low, for days on end, behind every tree and shrub, and in every cave that he came across," Misty slowly walked about the room, "But alas he could not find the troll. Finally, the troll appeared. He jumped out from behind a rock and pulled his leg far behind him in preparation," Misty pulled her leg behind her and looked as if she were ready to score a world champion ship soccer game, "The Rabbi hurried to say, 'Whoa, whoa, hold on a moment, Mr. Troll. I only want a word with you.' The troll looked blankly at him. 'I wanted to pose a simple question' the Rabbi continued, 'What is it that you hold against us? Why are we not to visit between towns? All we wish is happiness and our social lives. Isn't there some way that we can live in peace together?' The troll shook his head and replied," Misty took on the most serious tone that she was able, "'Silly Rabbi, Trids are for kicks!' and he kicked him home!" Misty finished, beaming.

Frank chuckled and returned to drying the dishes that Nancy handed to him. Nancy laughed to herself and then acknowledged aloud, "That wasn't bad."

"You went all that way just to say that?" Joe looked mocking, but he had to admit, it was a funny joke. He even laughed a minute later. "No, not bad at all…for an amateur," He winked at Misty and laughed again.

A few hours later, Frank, Joe, Nancy, and Misty were back in the living room. Frank sat on the same recliner that he had earlier. Joe sat on the couch with Nancy, and Misty sat on the floor between the coffee table and the television. Nancy sat between the Hardy boys.

Misty's curiosity got the best of her, "So, where are you guys from? You said you were on vacation?"

"Yeah," Joe sighed, "We're out for the summer. We took a train and rolled right into River Heights." He leaned back against the couch, put his hands behind his head, and kicked his legs out onto the table.

"We live in Bayport, New York," Frank interjected, "We wanted to come down here and see if we could spend some of the summer together." He gestured toward Nancy. "I think Joe had a trip to the beach in mind, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to fit that in anytime soon. And, of course, we didn't have a mystery in mind, or…you," this time he gestured at Misty, "Although, I suppose we should have expected to come across trouble; Nancy's a magnet! Not once have we crossed paths, yet, and not had a mystery to find us."

"You aren't so bad at askin' for peril yourselves," Nancy poked with a broad smile that lit up her entire face. Her eyes were sparkling and her expression was aglow. "I think we should take a ride to the hospital and see if they will dig up their copy of Misty's death certificate," Nancy continued.

"That sounds splendid! Ooh, and we need to interview Nurse Tilly if she's there," Misty reminded them.

"What say we give George a call and ask her if she knows where the receptionist, Sanso, is now? Perhaps, she still lives here," Joe stood. The others followed suit.

"Well, she certainly won't be expecting this. Let me dial her number in the hall," Nancy went into the kitchen.

"I'll talk to her," Frank shot Joe a warning look and followed Nancy into the hallway.

"What?" Joe grinned, a glint in his eye. He knows I'll try some sort of funny business, he thought, but I don't quite have the time to do it justice, not like Misty and Nancy did anyway. Speaking of whom, he turned to Misty and said, "Shotgun!" They raced outside and buckled into Nancy's car. Nancy and Frank came out a few minutes later. "Well, what news from George? What did she say when she realized that we were in town?" Joe reminded Misty of a playful, little kid.

"At first, she thought I was calling from Bayport, but she soon found out otherwise. She sounded glad and she said that she can't wait to see us." Frank climbed in the back beside Misty.

"She also said that Sanso does still live here in River Heights. She doesn't work in the medical field anymore, though. George gave us her address, and we can stop by to see her on our way out," Nancy started the car.

"That's fantastic!" Misty said, "Two interviews soon to be down, and one more to go!"

"Who?" Frank asked, "Everyone else is dead, except Ruaz-and he's in Washington."

"Yes, but there's-"

Misty was cut off by Joe's panicked cry, "Nancy, watch out!" Nancy slammed on the brakes. Directly behind her was a police car that she'd nearly backed into!