"That was a pretty good scheme you had going there," said Nancy. "Have Will Wharton use the tunnels between Lilac Inn and Twin Elms to try and scare Aunt Flora and Aunt Rosemary out of their home. Then purchase it for cheap and get back a huge profit from the railroad. But I want to know, how were you planning on getting Lilac Inn? What? Were you planning on using the ghost scheme there too? Even though I just caught the last one?"
Gomber shrugged. "Figured more on infesting the place. Who would want to eat at a place or even stay there with roaches and rats?"
Helen shivered. "No, no they would not." But she glared at him. "But it's certainly cruel of you to wrench these old houses from my family just so you can sell them at a stupidly high profit! What? There were no other lots good enough for you?"
"There were none that the railroad company wanted as badly as these two. These old fools don't know what they were missing out on," said Gomber.
"So you figured on being the one to take that, didn't you?" said Nancy. She glanced at her father. "But not only were they being stubborn, but my dad was looking for other property for them to buy that would fit within their plans. That's why you kidnapped him, to stall him long enough to try and get both places, at least Twin Elms."
"Must be feeling awfully proud of yourself for having figured everything out, huh?" said Gomber.
"But I haven't figured out how Will Wharton fits into all of this. How did you two meet? How did you convince him to be the ghost?"
"Will Wharton's property was one of the ones purchased by the railroad," said Carson. "Apparently he wants more money."
Gomber smirked. "Told you I didn't have to to tell you anything. You and your brainy daughter have figured everything out."
"Except one thing," said Nancy quickly. She had to keep him talking. Richard would know to come back into the tunnel for them, he just needed to gather the police and come looking for them. Plus, there still were a couple of questions that she wanted answered.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" asked Gomber.
"How did you find the secret tunnel? And if you didn't have this tunnel, what would you have done instead?"
"Oh the original plan was to steal one of their keys, get it copied, and use that to get in," said Gomber with a cruel smirk. But then Will told me tales of the Caldwells hiding escaping slaves very effectively, tales that his grandmother had told him. We figured there had to be a secret passage going between the houses. I had asked the old Jane Willoughby a lot of questions about Lilac Inn before you sent her to jail. Apparently Emily told her enough about the Inn that she could tell me which parts of the Inn hadn't been renovated. So I booked that room." He shrugged. "Finding that secret opening was a piece of cake, really. I got Will in and we were making our plans. I figured on getting Lilac Inn, the old Jane Willoughby was pretty keen on selling, but she had to wait until a certain low point before she could." He glared at Nancy. "And then you came in and ruined that whole thing, so we had to up our game on Twin Elms."
"And if you had been able to buy Lilac Inn?" asked Helen in a low voice.
Gomber glanced at her and smiled. "Well, I would have sold it to the railroad company, of course. I would have continued with my plans to buy Twin Elms with Lilac Inn as my base until I sold it."
"You greedy, rotten, little rat," muttered Helen.
Gomber shrugged. "A guy's got to make a living somehow."
"I'd like to see you try that from jail," muttered Carson.
Gomber glanced at him. "See, that's the thing, I'm not planning on it. Which is why I'm awfully glad these two young ladies have come along." He grabbed Helen's arm. She let out a scream as he pulled her up against his chest and placed the gun to her head. "Don't worry, I'll send them for you, once I've been given safe passage."
"You mean you're not going to kill us?" asked Nancy. Hurry, Richard, hurry.
"I don't see the point. I'm sure you've told everyone by now what you've figured out."
"Minus the part you just told me about how you found the secret passage, yes," replied Nancy. "And you're not going to help Will Wharton?"
Gomber scoffed. "He's on his own now." He pulled on Helen. "Let's go." Nancy took a step forward. "Don't even think about it, Miss Drew. I will use one of these bullets on her. So stay put for a few minutes."
Carson grabbed Nancy's hand. "Listen to him, Nancy."
"That's right, listen to me, I'm the one with the gun. And now I bid you adieu." He turned to Helen. "And no screaming or whimpering from you, you hear?"
"Y-yes sir," mumbled Helen, trying to sound stronger than she felt.
"Just do as he says Helen, you'll be alright," said Carson calmly.
"Y-yes sir," said Helen before Gomber dragged her out. Nancy could see her fighting the tears from gushing out. Nancy was terrified for Helen, but she was also raging mad. First he kidnapped her father and now he was using one of her friends as a hostage! But her father was right, they should do as Gomber wants, for now.
She turned to her father. "Can you stand?"
He glanced at her. "I think so. Won't know until we try."
"Go ahead and lean on me." Nancy held out her hand. Carson took it, and rose slowly. Nancy pulled his arm around her shoulders. "How do you feel?"
He smiled wanly. "Worn, tired, but very happy to see you again."
Nancy smiled back. "I'm glad to see you too." She sighed. "I just hope Helen will be alright."
"I'm sure she will be."
"You think we've waited long enough?"
Carson scoffed. "I don't think it really matters, I think we'll be going slow enough as it is."
"True that. I'm just, I'm just worried about Helen," said Nancy as they began to walk slowly towards the main tunnel. Tears began to fall. "Oh Dad, it's all my fault. If I had just stayed at Lilac Inn and not come exploring, she wouldn't be in this situation!"
Carson patted her back. "There, there, you can't account for everything that could happen."
"But I had figured he might have a gun and that he would use it!"
"Nancy, it's no use fretting over the past. What's happened has happened, if you focus too much on the past or what could have been done differently, you could miss what can be done differently now and make the future better. Only look at the past to see the mistakes and learn from them, that's it. Otherwise, it's a hard lesson to learn, and you'll only make things worse."
Nancy sighed. "I suppose, but . . ."
"I said stay back!" Nancy and Carson paused and glanced at each other in fear.
"Richard!" Nancy whispered.
"Who?" asked Carson.
"Richard Matthews!" was all Nancy said before hurrying her father around the corner. The next minute, the full scene lay before them. Chief McGinnis and Officer Patrick had their guns out, aiming at Gomber a few feet from them. Richard was holding his flashlight at him, while Rosemary stood behind him, her hands wringing with the anguish and concern mirrored on her face.
"Please, let her go!"
"Not until I'm out of here!" shouted Gomber. He was backing towards Lilac Inn, using Helen as a shield while still holding the gun to her head.
McGinnis growled. "Patrick, lower your gun." Patrick glanced at McGinnis before placing his gun back in his holster, McGinnis doing the same a second later. "There are no officers at Lilac Inn, Gomber. Leave the girl there and get out of town."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Because Jane Willoughby called me," was all McGinnis said.
"If you're lying she gets a bullet in her head."
"No!" cried out Rosemary.
"Not unless you want one in your back." Everyone blinked in surprise.
"What? Who said that?" said McGinnis.
"I'm no officer, but I've got every right to protect our customers. Now drop it!" Gomber winced before raising his hands and dropping his gun. Helen ran towards Rosemary, who engulfed her in a tight squeeze, the two sobbing. McGinnis and Patrick dashed forward and cuffed Gomber.
"Oh, Nancy, Mr. Drew!" Richard went to help Nancy with Carson.
"Patrick, take him out of here," said McGinnis.
"Yes sir," said Patrick before taking Gomber towards Lilac Inn.
"A broomstick!" roared Gomber.
Mary Turner merely grinned, holding the broom against her shoulder. "Well of course. Next time it could be a real gun."
"Of all the . . ."
"Come on, get moving," Patrick told Gomber, pushing him forward. But he was grinning from ear to ear.
"That was ingenious," said McGinnis.
"That you," said Mary before taking Richard's light and led the way back to Lilac Inn.
Richard and McGinnis helped Carson get to Lilac Inn. Nancy and the Turners tended to Carson while Rosemary comforted Helen. Jane went to Twin Elms to get the others. McGinnis called for paramedics to come check on Carson and called Helen's parents. While they waited, Nancy, and eventually Helen, related how they found the tunnel and everything they had found out regarding Gomber and his plans. They also revealed where to find the stolen items Wharton had taken, giving the jewelry to Rosemary. Carson then revealed what had happened to him.
He had been packing his car to leave that Sunday night and went back into his room to double check that he had everything before checking out. Gomber and Wharton had forced a window open and were lying in wait for him. They knocked him out and carried him out the window. They got back to Lilac Inn in time for Gomber to get in. Wharton and Carson were well hidden in the car, otherwise Jane and the Turners would have noticed. They waited until the Turners and Jane left before Gomber helped Wharton carry Carson into Lilac Inn and into the tunnel. They had only given him enough food and water to barely survive.
Finally, the paramedics and Helen's parents arrived. Mary took McGinnis upstairs so he could confiscate Gomber's things. Then Jane arrived, along with Flora, Emily, and the twins. The twins and Richard were eager to tell everyone how they caught Will Wharton.
After Nancy and Helen left to find Carson, Richard chased Wharton up to Flora's room. But the twins were ready. Since they had no clue where the secret door was, the twins decided to make the whole floor slick and had set up traps at three major points, namely the areas Nancy had focused on, the area near the fireplace, the window, and the closet. Wharton came out near the fireplace, so he ended up sliding across the floor, into a bed sheet, and straight into a laundry basket that rolled out of the room. Chief McGinnis, Officer Patrick, and several other cops showed up just in time to nab the ghost. The twins even got to do an official unmasking to the uproar and praise from the cops. But Richard remembered that Nancy and Helen went back in, and he, McGinnis, Patrick, and Rosemary went in. The twins and Emily stayed behind and figured out how to open the wall next to the fireplace. It took them until almost when Jane came to pick them up, but they found it. It had been hiding underneath an ornamental piece inside the fireplace. It had to be pulled up in such a way to expose it.
"Oh, we never checked inside the fireplace before!" exclaimed Helen.
Nancy grinned at her friends. "Good for you! We finally know where the secret openings are!"
"All thanks to you, my dear," said Flora, patting Nancy's hand. "You didn't give up. And now those two men are in jail, and you found your father."
"Speaking of, I think you should get him home and to bed right away," said one of the paramedics. "A few days of rest and plenty of food should get him back to normal in no time."
Nancy smiled. "I'm sure Hannah will see to that. Thank you, for everything."
"You're welcome," said the paramedic before the two left.
"Well, I guess we should go now. I'm sure Hannah will be quite glad to see you back," said Nancy as she helped her father stand up.
Carson chuckled. "I'm sure she will. And I'm sure you'll help."
"You better believe it," said Nancy with a soft chuckle. She waved to everyone. "Thanks for all your help. We'll talk to you later. Bye!"
The others waved back. "Bye!"
"And thank you!" shouted Rosemary before the door of Lilac Inn closed behind them. Nancy helped her father get into her car. The two were soon on their way. The way home was mostly silent. The two just seemed to need a moment to process everything. It was all over, it was finally over.
As Nancy had predicted, Hannah fussed over Carson, making sure he was fed and comfortable. Togo was glad to see him too, but he didn't know what to do besides sitting by Carson's feet and running around in circles. Hannah got the whole story out of them over a late, but delicious meal. Eventually, everyone calmed down enough to head to bed.
Nancy woke up in the wee hours of the morning, before the sun poked over the horizon. She rolled over to go back to sleep when she heard the soft footfalls of someone tiptoeing down the hall. Curious, Nancy got out of her bed and tiptoed out to the hall. Whoever it had been was already going down the stairs. Nancy followed. She found her father sitting in the living, the newspaper laid out in front of him.
"Dad? What are you doing up? You should be resting," she said as she approached the sofa.
Carson smiled at her. "I got plenty of sleep. I can't exactly stay in bed all day. Besides, I can rest and take things a little more easily now. All I have to do is find the last of the plots of land the company is looking for." He shrugged. "That is pretty easy and a little restful." He patted her hand. "Don't worry, I'll be fine now. You got me home."
"Yeah." Tears began to stream down Nancy's face. "Oh Dad, I thought I was going to lose you too. I, I don't know if I could have handled that."
Carson laid down the paper and held out his arms to her. "My dear, sweet, brave girl."
"Oh Daddy." Nancy ran into his arms and curled up on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. Carson wrapped his arms around and began to rock ever so slightly, thinking back on the last time he held her like this. It had happened not long after she finally realized her mother was never coming home.
(Author's Note: AAHH! One chapter left! Thank you so much for sticking around, my rosy readers, especially during these crazy times. I really appreciate all the support! I am thinking of submitting these to the Wattys over at Wattpad since Fanfiction is a genre. I don't think I would win, but it would be fun to try. Am also working on a story idea I've had for years called the 1001 Nights trilogy. I'm finally making some headway and have some scenes ready to roll, I just have to connect them and get them to the end that I can now see. Part of me wants to post it here because it is kinda a fanfic, but the other part of me doesn't because it's mostly not and I wouldn't know what categories to file it under. So let me know if you would like to read it here, otherwise, you can find it on Wattpad. Submissions for the Wattys end on September 30, so I have until then to write this. Another reason to get these five fanfics done, well, now three, soon to be two. XD Yay! Thanks for reading so far, and I hope you have a wonderful day! God bless!)