Disclaimer: I own nothing, but wish I did.
Author's Note: Wow, I'm doing pretty good getting this out as quickly as I am. I know I'm impressed! Anyway, thank you again for all of your wonderful reviews. (I know I say that all of the time, but I really mean it. Without your wonderful support, I wouldn't continue doing this.) I hope you like this chapter and please review!
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Nancy didn't know what to do. She knew she couldn't go outside and confront the man. With her broken leg, she didn't really stand much of a chance and she would just be giving him the invitation to kill her. Nancy took a deep breath and looked out the window again. This time she saw that the man was looking right at her window. She jumped back in fear and managed to trip over herself in the process.
Nancy fell to the ground hard. Her leg throbbed in pain, but she ignored it as question ran through her brain. Did the man actually see her? Did he know that she had witnessed the entire thing. And if so, would he be coming for her now?
Nancy's thoughts were interrupted by pounding footsteps racing up the stairs. A few seconds later, Luke rushed in and saw Nancy on the floor.
"Nancy, are you okay?" he asked, kneeling next to her.
"I fell," was all she could say.
"What were you doing out of bed?" He asked.
"You didn't hear all of the commotion outside?" Nancy asked.
"No." Luke said. "It's hard to hear anything but the rain right now."
"I heard people yelling outside. I got up, hobbled over to the window and saw a man and a woman arguing in a red car. The argument got worse and the man hit her with a statue from your yard." Nancy explained.
"Are you sure you weren't dreaming it?" Luke asked.
"Yes, I'm sure." Nancy said, exasperated.
"That pain medicine I gave you could have made you imagine it all." Luke said.
"Luke, please." Nancy begged. "Go look out the window."
Luke looked at Nancy and saw the panic in her eyes. He sighed, got up, and walked over to the window.
"There's no one out there." he said a few moments later.
"What?" Nancy pulled herself up and hobbled over to the window. When she looked out there, she didn't see anything. No red car, no man, and certainly not a body.
"I don't understand." Nancy whispered. "They were out there. I saw that man kill Maddie."
"Maddie?' Luke asked, confused.
"That was the woman's name." Nancy said.
She glanced at Luke. She could see that he really wanted to believe her, but he was having a hard time. She couldn't really blame him if he thought she was crazy. She could only imagine how her story was sounding to him.
"Come on." Luke said. "Let's get you back in bed." He gently helped her over to her bed and helped her settle back in.
"Maybe I am imagining it all." Nancy said softly. "But it all seemed so real."
"Don't start doubting yourself, Nancy. I'm not saying that I don't believe you. If you believe you saw what you did, we can call the sheriff in the morning. The rain's coming down to heavy now anyway for anyone to do anything." Luke said.
Nancy smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you, Luke."
Luke smiled back at her. "You're welcome. But before I let you do that tomorrow, the doc will be over tomorrow to take a look at that leg."
"Deal." Nancy said.
As Luke walked back to the door, Nancy finally seemed to notice that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He must have caught her staring at him because he cleared his throat. Nancy blushed and looked down.
"Try to get some more sleep, Nancy." Luke said and turned off her light.
Nancy was smiling, despite everything that had just happened outside her window.
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When Nancy woke up the next morning around eight, she was greeted by the smell of breakfast. She sat up in bed and swung her legs over the bed. She made her way over to her duffel bag and pulled out some fresh clothes. She then went to the bathroom, washed up, and changed. When she came out of the bathroom, there was a knock on her door. Luke walked in, holding a pair of crutches.
"Good morning." He said.
"Good morning." Nancy said.
"Doctor Newton is downstairs. He brought these crutches over so you could move around a little easier." Luke said.
"Great." Nancy said. "I just need to grab my phone."
"I'll get it for you." Luke said.
He walked over to the dresser and grabbed it. He then helped her with her crutches and they slowly made their way downstairs. He guided Nancy to the kitchen and pulled out a chair at the table so she could sit down.
A couple of minutes later, a man with salt-and-pepper hair walked in holding a black medical bag. He sat it down on the table in front of Nancy.
"Miss Drew, we didn't get a chance to meet yesterday. I'm Doctor Newton." He said holding out a hand.
Nancy shook it and smiled. "Please, call me Nancy."
"Okay, Nancy." Doctor Newton pulled a chair out and sat down in front of Nancy. "So how do you feel today?" he asked.
"I feel good." Nancy said. "I woke up with a slight headache, but it's starting to go away."
"That's great to hear." Doctor Newton said. "So, Luke tells me you fell last night."
"Um, yes." Nancy glanced over at Luke and he shook his head to tell her he didn't say anything."I was going to the bathroom and I fell."
"Well, let's take a look, shall we?" he asked. He unwrapped her leg quickly and examined it. He then wrapped it back up and stood up.
"It doesn't look like you hurt it anymore than it already is." Doctor Newton said. "But I advise you to be a little more careful."
"I will." Nancy promised.
Doctor Newton changed the bandage on Nancy's head and packed his things.
"How much do I owe you?" Nancy asked before he left.
Doctor Newton smiled. "Don't worry about it. I owe Luke anyway. You just let him take care of you and we'll call it even." He turned to Luke. "Call me if there are any problems."
"I will." Luke walked him to the door and came back into the kitchen. "So, are you hungry?"
"Starving, actually." Nancy said.
Luke brought the food to the table and they ate in peace. After they were done, Luke got up and washed the dishes. He gave Nancy the number for the sheriff's office and Nancy placed the call. They promised to come within thirty minutes. After hanging up with them, Nancy called Frank.
"It's about time you called." Frank said as a way of greeting.
"And hello to you too." Nancy said.
"Sorry, Nan." Frank said. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." She said.
"Good." Frank said.
"I'm going to let you talk to Luke and he can tell you how to get here." Nancy said and handed the phone to Luke. She listened as he quickly gave Frank the directions. Luke then handed the phone back to Nancy.
"I'll see you when you get here, Frank." Nancy said.
"You didn't tell him about what happened last night." Luke said when she hung up the phone.
"I'll tell him when he gets here. It would only freak him out and then he would get into an accidenr." Nancy said.
"So, is he your boyfriend?" Luke asked, awkwardly.
"Who, Frank?" Nancy shook her head. "He's just a really good friend."
"Oh," Luke said. "So, do you have a boyfriend?"
Nancy hesitated. "I'm not sure," she finally said. "We're kind of taking a break from each other."
Nancy saw Luke glance at her and give her a small grin.
Just then the doorbell rang. Luke got up to answer it as Nancy used her crutches and made her way into the living room. A minute later, Luke walked in with a woman with dark hair that was pulled into a bun who appeared to be in her thirties.
"Nancy, this is Sheriff Bethanie Vaughn. Sheriff, this is Nancy Drew." Luke said.
They both shook hands and sat down–Nancy on the sofa and Sheriff Vaughn on the recliner. Luke remained standing behind the sofa.
"So, Nancy," the sheriff began. "Luke tells me you claimed you witnessed a murder last night."
"Yes, that's correct." Nancy said.
"Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Vaughn asked. She pulled out a notepad and a pen.
"It was around one in the morning. The rain is actually what happened to wake me up." Nancy began. "I heard yelling, but I thought I was just hearing things. But then I heard the yelling gain. So, I got up out of bed and went over to the window. I saw a small beat-up red car and a man and a woman inside of it. It looked as if they were having a big fight.
"The woman got out of the car and the man followed her. She told him she couldn't do it anymore." Nancy said.
"Do what?" Vaughn asked.
"I don't know. They never said." Nancy answered. "But the woman, Maddie, said she was going to the police to tell them everything. The man said he wouldn't let her do that to him. She started to walk away. The man followed, picked up a small statue and hit her on the head with it. Then he just kept hitting her."
"Do you know what the man's name was?" Vaughn asked.
"No. Maddie never said it." Nancy said.
"Luke, did you see or hear any of this?" Sheriff Vaughn asked him.
"No, I ran up to Nancy's room when I heard a crash. She told me to look out the window, but I didn't see anything." Luke explained.
"I see." Sheriff Vaughn shut her notebook with a snap. "Well, we'll keep our eyes and ears open, but I have to be honest with you, Nancy. This will be the proverbial needle in the haystack."
"I know how this sounds, Sheriff." Nancy said. "I'm an amateur detective and I know I must sound crazy. But I do know what I saw."
"I know you do, Nancy. But without any evidence there's nothing I can really do right now." Vaughn said and stood up.
Nancy looked down, trying to hide her disappointment. As the sheriff was about to leave, Nancy called out to her.
"Sheriff, wait! There is one more thing." she said.
Sheriff Vaughn turned around to look at her.
"I think the man that I saw last night may have seen me. I think he knows that I witnessed everything."
