I am so sorry this is late. I've been really ill, but am now on the mend!

Here's the last chapter of Wreck! If you like it, let me know. Then head over to In Pursuit, which I'll be updating ASAP.

CHAPTER TEN:

Frank was just about to take a large gulp of hotel filter coffee when he saw a young woman walking toward the group's table. It was Louise Cormon, looking like a different person in a loose tracksuit, with no makeup, hair straight, and wet from a shower.

She looked nervous but Nancy was, as always, oh so gracious as she invited the woman to join them.

Louise took a seat next to George.

She didn't have a plate loaded with food, like the group of friends did. And she seemed ill at ease, as she twisted her necklace in her hands.

The group had fallen silent at her approach. The glee and adrenalin from their reunion and subsequent excited conversation hung tentatively in the air, still buoyed by recent events, but ready to come down at any moment.

"It's good to see that you made it off," George said at last. "The ship, I mean."

"Yeah. You too. All of you." Louise darted her eyes around the table, gave a swift smile that dropped as soon as her eyes returned to her hands, which fell to her lap. "Um… I guess you're all wondering… I guess you want to know what went on, on the ship… being detectives and all… I probably owe you an explanation."

Joe snorted. "I reckon."

"Joe-" Bess snapped.

"No, no… it's okay. He's right. I do owe you all an explanation." Louise sucked in a breath, then glanced up. Her eyes met Nancy's, bright and clear. "My father… Pierre Frère was the chief electrical engineer when Duchesse was being built. He'd worked with Desmarais in the past, so he let Desmarais take liberties: the chief one being that Desmarais said much of his pay had to wait until after the ship was finished." Louise winced. "But that date was pushed back, time and time again… because Desmarais was cutting as many corners as he could. He put money in the wrong places, spent time and effort on the wrong things. So many funds went into publicity, for example… by the time the ship was half complete, many of his workers had become disgruntled and they were threatening to walk."

"But your dad stayed?" George asked.

Louise nodded. "Yeah. He did. He was loyal to Desmarais until the end. But he was sick. He needed to go to the doctors, to get medication. But he couldn't afford to. My mother worked but not enough. You see, I have six siblings. I am the oldest. We couldn't afford for my father to go unpaid. And he was being overworked. It only made him sicker."

Nancy's heart sank. She glanced at Frank. It was all starting to make sense.

"My mother and father went to Desmarais and told him he had to pay father. So, Desmarais fired him. My father told him there were critical flaws, things that needed to be fixed."

"Like the navigation," Frank said.

Louise nodded; eyes bright with tears. "Yes. But he wouldn't listen. He said father had had his chance. And he told them to get out. My father didn't last long after that. He died, without seeing a cent of that money. And I had to get work to help mother with the bills. But Desmarais made father's name a dirty one. I had to take my mother's maiden name."

"But that's defamation, surely!" Joe and Bess exploded at the same time.

Louise shrugged. "But who would believe us? We had no paper trail, no reputation like his, with his glitzy friends and big mansions. I had to put my head down, work hard. I had no choice. But I found success. And I was able to book passage on the Duchesse."

"He was right. You were spying on him," Bess breathed.

George shook her head. "But he didn't recognize you!"

"He'd never seen me, and I had mother's name, which he never knew. But I stupidly sent him threats before, so he probably expected me to come on board and try to get evidence against him." Louise shrugged. "He couldn't hide all his errors though."

"And if he wasn't afraid of you, he had other enemies," Nancy added.

Louise nodded. "It looks like… how do you say? Karma. Karma got him in the end."

Frank glanced at the newspaper next to his plate. "It looks like there is an inquiry. He'll have to answer a lot of questions. And families will sue. They'll want compensation. If he's as shaky in his finances as you say, this will ruin him."

"Good," Louise said simply.

"Do you think they'll become a couple?" Nancy asked Frank as they stood in the hotel courtyard. She was enjoying the sun. And Frank was smoking a cigarette. They were watching George and Louise, who were engaged in an intense conversation.

Frank shook his head. "George is too smart for that. Louise is a nice person, but she has baggage. George is intelligent, like you. She can want as much as she wants. But she won't follow her heart. Not with that brain that she's got in her head."

Nancy watched Frank, not sure if she was disappointed with his answer or not. He was right. She wasn't impulsive. Not like others. Did she wish she was? She wasn't sure.

"You're one to talk. You're hardly the passionate, impulsive type," she teased.

His eyes darkened slightly. "Not that you've seen."

"Hey." George walked over, smiling from ear to ear. "Want to come to the gym, Nan?"

"Sure. What were you and Louise talking about?"

"Just the future. She's going home tomorrow until she'd needed for the inquiry. She wants to start a fund for medical research. And she's going to try to prove Desmarais' guilt in the proper way. She's realized there are better, more legal ways to go about it."

"And…?" Bess chirped, dragging Joe up to the group.

"And? She's got things to work out. And I've got work in the US. River Heights is home. We'll be pen pals, or whatever you call email friends. But that's enough for now."

Nancy and Frank exchanged a knowing look.

"So, this romantic, tragic vacation hasn't resulted in a single romance?" Bess exploded. "Have none of you watched the movie? There was supposed to sex and secrets!"

Nancy laughed. "I think you watch too many movies, girl."

"Well, at least some of us will get a happy ending."

Nancy followed Bess's pointed finger to see three familiar men approaching the group. Carson Drew, Fenton Hardy, and a younger man with too-long brown hair. Ned Nickerson.

She shot a look at Frank, but his face was impassive.

"Nancy!" Ned cried out, scooping Nancy up in his arms and pressing a passionate kiss upon her lips. He ran his hands through her hair, repeating, "I'm so glad you're okay. I was worried. Oh my god, Nan. I'm so glad. So glad."

"Fenton brought us over in his plane," Carson explained, hugging Nancy, then all her friends.

As Fenton embraced both his sons, Frank asked, "Callie…?" and his dad shook his head, smile turning momentarily downward.

Nancy wanted to ask what was happening, but it didn't seem like the right time. This wouldn't be the only moment where she could sit down with Frank and talk. They'd find time later, probably with coffee in hand. This moment was for relief, reconnection. It was for family and friends.

She smiled at the group, taking in each face and feeling warmth flood through her.

"I'm so sorry," Carson said. "I feel responsible. If I knew Desmarais was so-"

"It's okay, dad. It was an adventure."