Hello, friends! How are you all going? Chapter Fourteen is up!
And I hear. the feedback. There will be a Bess and Joe scene (or ten) soon! I popped something in the next chapter, but there will be some bigger stuff coming up. So buckle up your seatbelt! This is going to be a ride :)
Any other requests? Any feedback? You know what to do!
Chapter Fourteen:
"Zach Somerton?"
"What do you want?"
"I'm Special Agent Nancy Drew from the FBI. I'm also consulting for Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, the parents of missing woman Mia Robinson. I assume you're familiar with their case?" Nancy gave the man her best probing stare, eyes clear and honest.
"Unfortunately." The man opened his front door wider. "You'd better come on in."
Nancy followed him into a luxurious brownstone, set against a leafy street. The home was spacious, especially for New York. It was a bit too white for her taste, with a lot of chrome and art prints that looked like they should be in a hotel room.
Someone in the relationship was paid well. Even if the interior designer leaned toward a more clinical style. Nancy didn't know much about styling. But she could practically see dollar signs on the white leather couch that looked like it had never been used.
Zach Somerton also looked expensive. He was older than his wife, with hair that was blonde like it came from a bottle. And his skin was too smooth. She could tell he used a ton of product. And some of it came from a syringe rather than a bottle.
"Do you want anything? Water…? Wine…?"
"No thank you."
"Thank god. I've done the motions a million times. Summer's parents are in town, of course. But they're at the Hilton. This is… was… my first time alone."
"I'm sorry. I know this isn't easy."
He sat opposite Nancy. "No, it isn't. But it's a relief to have someone show interest. I'm a political advisor, you see. So, I rang up a buddy and asked what the feds were doing. The police? Oh, they're okay, I suppose. But I want action. And they said there was a task force or something? But I haven't heard anything. The Robinson's, you say?"
"You said you'd heard of them?"
"Hardly. I don't know them. But I saw their names in the paper. I got a bit obsessed. Their daughter looks like Summer, right? It's all a bit weird."
"We think so too."
"Well, tell me about this task force thing."
"That's the thing, Mr. Somerton…. I'm not on it."
"You're on the task force." Special Agent Jordan slammed a file down on Nancy's desk as he passed. He didn't stop his stride. "We're meeting in ten minutes."
Frank served a salad as Joe and Nancy discussed their days. He listened because he was tired and he didn't feel like he had anything to contribute. He'd just witnessed an "alleged" pedophile get a meager sentence and it made his heart hurt every time he thought about the faces of the victims' families, sitting in the front row.
"Yeah, so it was weird," Joe was saying. "Malone brushed this guy off like it was nothing. But I heard his friend say "illegal" and I'm not hearing impaired. I just have selective hearing and certain words get my Spidey senses tingling."
"What did he say about the assignment?" Nancy asked.
"Hm? Oh, not a lot. The drop goes down tonight, and he wants me front and center. I get a uniform and everything. I know something sketchy is going down though, so I'd appreciate back up." He looked at Frank. "You know, a driver?"
"Sure."
The two looked at Nancy.
"Sorry guys. I'm going to be going over my meeting notes."
Frank frowned. "You know, you broke at least ten rules when you approached Zach Somerton on your own. You're not going to make friends at your new office if you keep going over their heads. Just remember, you've already alienated the local NYPD."
Nancy shook her head at him. "I know what I'm doing."
"I know you do, love. I just…" Frank trailed off. He felt like he was about to spar with Athena, Goddess of War. It wasn't worth it, especially when she had that wild, determined look in her eye. There was a fire within, and it wasn't about to go out.
He took her hand and pressed a hard kiss to her knuckles.
"Okay. I trust you," he said. Don't tell her to be safe. Don't tell her to stay in. Don't be Ned.
She gave him a grateful look. "I love you."
Joe stuck a finger down his throat. "If you two keep this up, I'm going to barf."
"Real mature, little bro."
"Oh, I like adult stuff. I like romance movies and porn. I'm a normal dude. I just don't get off on, you know, my brother getting all lovey-dovey with his girl."
"So, you shouldn't."
"Then what's the problem here?"
After the boys left, Nancy poured a glass of wine and put on some Joni Mitchell. She loved all music. But modern hits weren't as conducive to relaxing and concentrating on the fine print. She stretched out on the sofa with her meeting notes.
"" Serial Murder, definition according to the Behavioural Analysis Unit-2: three or more killings within the United States." This meeting has been scheduled, as a recent series of abductions have taken place in a short period of time, in a small geographic area. While no bodies have been discovered, the abductions have caused concern in the community, and victims' families have reached out with the express wish that the FBI work jointly with the appointed NYPD task force assigned to investigate these disappearances."
Nancy heard a knock at the door and set aside her notes.
"Jess," she said, seeing the young woman on her doorstep.
"I'm sorry… I wouldn't normally… I just…"
"Needed company?"
The younger woman nodded.
"Come on in." Nancy poured a second glass and told Jess to make herself at home in the living room. She nudged her notes out of the way and turned her music down.
"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you," Jess said, suddenly self-conscious.
"Not at all. Frank's out. So, I have the place to myself. I used to live on a base, so I'm not used to being alone this much. It's nice to have company." It was true. Nancy missed the constant buzz of activity at Quantico. She could always hear the sounds of the gun range, the training track. The halls were always busy with bodies.
"Your life has been so glamorous." Jess looked around the room, taking in the coordinated furnishings with wide eyes. "You have such a cool job. And you've got a good guy from what I can tell. Mia and I struggle to get a second date."
"My life isn't perfect." Nancy crossed her legs and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "I see… a lot of stuff I can't forget. And my job… it makes it hard to maintain friendships." Her thoughts wandered to Bess and George, who were probably enjoying the sun, sitting on a beach, or enjoying a backyard grill. Was she lonely? Was that why she was opening up to her young neighbor like this?
"I guess." Jess fell silent. Then, she said timidly, "Nancy… is Mia dead?"
Probably. Nancy thought of Leah Martin. The crime scene photos were tucked at the back of her notes. They weren't pretty. It was hard to imagine Mia meeting the same fate, but every hour that passed made the young woman's survival less probable.
"I don't know."
"I almost hope she is. How else would she recover from all this?"
"Okay. So, where to?" Frank asked.
Joe told him the coordinates, and the older Hardy plugged them into his GPS. The wad of papers was lying on the dash, in a nondescript folder. The other delivery man was sitting in the back seat, looking sullen. This was his route, and he was annoyed to have it taken over by two seemingly inexperienced strangers. And no one was telling him why.
"I can do this myself, really-" he started to say.
Suddenly, a dark SUV materialized in front of them in the underground lot.
"Whoa, slow down," Frank muttered. "Turn your lights down, creep."
"Frank," Joe said. "Frank-"
The words were snatched from his tongue as the SUV picked up speed and charged toward them. At the last second, Frank threw his car into reverse, darting out of the path of the dark SUV. It fishtailed, suddenly losing control. But, at the last moment, the driver managed to reign command of his car and hightailed it at the lot at a frenzied speed.
Frank sucked in air and glanced at his brother.
"Let's get out of here before they come back," Joe said grimly.