Author's Note: Sorry for not posting last week. Life got in the way and I wasn't able to write. I'm trying to stay two chapters ahead, so I don't get discouraged and drop the story. We are getting to the point where I'll be making up 70% or more of the story as I didn't like how it went in the show. Writing is very difficult for me as I've got dyslexia and dysgraphia. So just keeping up with this so far has been a miracle. I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter. - Kes
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Joe and Frank are walking into the Rathbone building. Joe stops and looks around the lobby, "Well at least this one doesn't seem to have been burnt down."
Frank huffs irritably, "I can't believe that all of the businesses that Nancy was investigating, just happened to have their main offices burn down in the last couple of weeks."
Joe nods his head, "Going to make following her trail harder than our hiking trip in the Rockies."
Frank looks over at his brother, "You've realized you just jinks us?"
Joe raises an eyebrow, "How is that exactly? It wasn't too hard following her group then."
"You do remember how that adventure ended? Considering we just visited four of the recent seven arson locations. Please don't say anything else that will lead to having to pull off a rescue in the middle of a fire, again." Frank looks up, the atrium was three stories tall. "Especially not one in a high-rise."
Joe frowns, he doesn't want that either but the more he thought about their day so far, the more the possibility of the arsonist somehow being connected with Nancy's case.
The brothers make their way to the list of tenants. "Great," mutters Frank sarcastically, "Keller could be getting his books from any one of these."
The two brothers look over each and every business till they come to the last one. Weldon Rathbone Foundation Brotherhood of Companies with its logo made from the W, R, and F all combined together.
Joe excitedly points at the placard, "Brother."
Frank looks over at him confused, "what?"
"Brotherhood," Joe continues "Does that mean anything to you?"
"Should it?" Frank takes a moment to think, "Now that I think about it weren't all of the businesses we tried to look into today in the Brotherhood of Companies?"
Joe's eyes light up as he starts piecing things together, "Yup, and what if that's the brother that Nancy mentioned in her notebook. Wha … What if she didn't finish the sentence. What if she meant brotherhood but only got to brother?"
Frank takes a moment to think about it. It was a leap, but they had made further before. "What if the tip of the iceberg means the $50,000 that Keller embezzled was just small change," Joe continued. "What if all the brotherhood companies are embezzling funds?"
Picking up Joe's line of thought Frank added his own, "If that were true it could go all the way up to Rathbone himself."
Joe nods his head, "Right, we would have to check but what do you want to bet all the Brotherhood companies have to answer to Rathbone." Joe gets the paper from Nancy's notebook out of his pocket and unfolds it. He kneels down and holds it over the Weldon Rathbone Foundation Brotherhood of Companies logo, the light of the sign making the paper semi-transparent. "Look at the logos, Frank." On Nancy's paper is represented the W and the F, but not the R, but the W has an odd hook at the end. Joe takes out a pen from another pocket and starting at the hook finishes drawing the R. "They match almost perfectly," Joe tells his brother.
"Weldon Rathbone," Frank states as he contemplates the situation. Then he looks down at Joe, "You know he lives in the penthouse."
Joe stands up, "So I've heard."
Frank gives Joe a determined look, "Well, I think we should .. ah have a talk with him."
As the brothers walk toward the elevators, they talk about what to do. "You know Frank, even if Rathbone is involved doesn't mean Nancy is up in his penthouse."
"Joe, Nancy is missing. If she is still alive, she has to be somewhere so isolated so protected the police, the FBI, her own father couldn't find her. Someplace like that penthouse." Frank is getting more and more agitated, "Rathbone hasn't been out of there in twenty-two years!"
"I know, but what would he want with her? If we're right and she uncovered a massive embezzlement ring, why would he leave her alive? I mean the man's got to be seventy years old. Wouldn't it be much easier just to get rid of her?" Joe studies his brother's face. He wants to believe Nancy is alive for Frank's sake, but the more they find the more reasons for her to be dead keep appearing.
"I don't know," Frank clinging to hope tries to come up with ideas. "Maybe he lost his daughter. Maybe he's just a lonely old man who wants the company of a beautiful young woman." The last option was the one he had been trying not to think about since he found out Nancy was missing.
As Joe thinks about the possibilities of why Rathbone might want Nancy his face falls, "Maybe he got tired of her."
Frank nods determinedly, "That's why we need to talk to him. So far everything leads to Rathbone. If nothing else, we need to rule him out."
Joe shakes his head side to side, "You know they aren't going to let us in Frank."
"All I want to do is get the layout of the place. I want to see how we can get to him. We can always come back later." The elevator dings and opens. Frank throws his brother the first real smile since this all started. "Don't worry little brother we'll have plenty of time before they throw us out."
Joe gives his brother a look, then they both enter the lift. "I hope you're right, but Frank." He waits till he has his brother's full attention, "I have a bad feeling about this."
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The movie was over and Rathbone hadn't returned. Nancy slowly got to her feet. Concentrating she made her way over to the door. She was surprised to find it unlocked. Rathbone didn't like for her to be unsupervised.
Nancy's face sets into a determined look as she turns the knob. She makes her way to the living room without encountering her captors. She looks the room over as she contemplates what to do next. Should she try to get to the phone? The fact that Rathbone wasn't around would suggest he is in either his office or bedroom. The two places the phone(s) were.
She decides that she needs to risk trying to get to a phone. She will hope he has two phones and will break into whichever room he wasn't currently in. Nancy starts to go through the drawers in the living room looking for anything she could use as a lockpick. She manages to find a few paper clips. Nancy smiles, "these will do nicely."
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Joe and Frank arrive at the Rathbone Brotherhood of Companies offices located on the twenty-sixth floor of the building. It's a strange office, for one there is a secretary's desk sitting in what appears to be a cross-section of a hallway just Infront of blue elevator doors.
As they approach a pretty woman in her mid-thirties looks up at the young men. "May I help you?" She asks.
"We're here to see Mr. Rathbone," Frank states.
The woman looks the two of them over. She closes her eyes and if to say, 'give me patients' then takes a breath. "Mr. Rathbone never sees anyone. Can I tell him what business this relates to?"
Joe jumps in, unsure if Frank will be able to keep his temper in check. "Kidnaping." The secretary looks at him like he's pulling a prank on her. Joe nods towards his brother, "We're investigators on the Nancy Drew kidnapping case, we need to see Mr. Rathbone urgently."
"And what could that case possibly have to do with him?" she asks her eyes narrowing.
"We'll talk to him about that," interjects Frank.
"Mr. Rathbone is a recluse." The secretary looks first at Joe and then at Frank. "He hasn't met with people for several years. You can speak to his representative."
"It has to be Rathbone," Frank insists.
Joe watches as two men walk up to the elevator talking over a file. He recognizes one of them as Keller's lawyer.
"That's out of the question," the secretary is starting to lose her patients with the two 'investigators'.
Joe grabs Frank by the arm and pulls him away. He whispers to Frank, "That's Keller's Lawyer, Coleman."
Frank raises an eyebrow and nods, "We'll come back later." And the two of them walk back down the hallway they came in.
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Nancy made her way over to what she considered to be Rathbone's private domain. It was the only area of the penthouse that she hadn't been in. She scanned the hallway, there are three doors. Behind one of them, she knows is Rathbone. But which?
Nancy makes her way to the first door and puts her ear against the door. She waits for what she thinks is about a minute but doesn't hear any noise. Taking a deep breath, she places her hand on the knob and tries to turn it. To her surprise, it turns easily.
Slowly pushing the door open, so as to not make any noise, Nancy steps into a fairly large bathroom. It has all antique fixtures and a clawfoot tub with a matching pedestal sink. The mirror above the sink was just that a mirror. No personal items just stark neatness.
After glancing around the room Nancy decides to move to one of the other doors. She closes the door as quietly as she can before moving to the next one. Putting her ear to the second door she listens; the sound is muffled but she can recognize the timber of Rathbone's voice.
Well, now Nancy knew where he was. That left one last room to check. Just as she lifted her head from the door, someone grabbed her left arm. Then her arm was jerked back, and she found herself looking at the middle-aged man, Coleman.
