Eric let go of Nancy and slipped out of her room before she had time to react. Nancy bolted up out of bed trying to catch her breath. She couldn't believe that he would be brave enough to come into her room in the middle of the night. She was afraid because Eric had just confirmed that she was right about him; she was angry because he had attacked her as she slept and when she was vulnerable.

Nancy went to her door. She shut it and this time made absolutely sure that it was locked. She was sure that she had locked it before she went to bed, but she was tired and was now starting to doubt herself. She then leaned against it and took a deep breath to regain her composure. There was no doubt in her mind that Eric had meant what he said to her. After all, he killed Maddie without any hesitation.

She made up her mind to do as Eric has said–at least as far as the police were concerned. But there was no way that she would let him get away with what he had done. She at least owed that to Maddie.

Nancy smiled to herself as she grabbed her purse off of the dresser. She reached in for her phone. If she couldn't have the police look into it anymore, she would have the next best thing. She dialed a number and he answered on the third ring.

"Frank...we need to talk."

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Nancy had found it a little hard to fall asleep after her run-in with Eric the night before. She had kept her eyes peeled out for him in case he decided to make an encore. When she finally got up out of bed around eight, she went downstairs to find Luke reading the newspaper.

She needed to tell him what had happened. She knew that it would hurt him since Eric was one of his friends, but she didn't want to keep him in the dark.

"Good morning." Nancy said.

Luke looked up from his paper. "Good morning. I have coffee in the kitchen."

Nancy went into the kitchen and fixed her a cup of coffee. She then went into the living room and sat down on the sofa across from Luke.

"You okay?" he asked when she sat down.

Nancy took a sip of her coffee. "Not really." She said and sat the cup down on the small table beside her.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"Luke, something happened last night and I want you to know about it. But I know you're not going to like it." Nancy said.

"What is it?" Luke asked, putting down the paper.

"Eric came into my room last night." Nancy said.

"What?" Luke asked confused.

"He came into my room and he threatened to kill me unless I drop my story about him killing Maddie." Nancy explained.

Luke just shook his head.

"I'm not lying to you, Luke. And I'm not trying to become between you two. But when someone threatens my life, no matter who it is, I tend to take it seriously. You can believe me or not; it doesn't matter. But I'm going to the police later and I'm going to tell them that I must have made everything up." Nancy said.

Luke just looked at Nancy, speechless.

"Will you please say something?" Nancy asked.

"I have to go to the hardware store." Luke finally said.

He looked at Nancy again and stood up. Nancy watched him sadly as he left. She knew that she had hurt him, but he needed to know.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Nancy got up and made her way to the door. When she reached it, she held her crutch up in case it was Eric.

"Who is it?" Nancy called.

"It's Frank and Joe." Frank called.

Nancy let out a huge breath and opened the door to Frank and Joe.

"Hey, guys." Nancy said.

"Hey, Nan."Joe said.

"Where did Luke go?" Frank asked. "We passed him as he pulled out in a hurry."

"He's upset with me." Nancy said.

"Why?" Frank asked.

"Sit down." Nancy said.

Frank and Joe did as she told them.

"What was with the call last night, Nan?" Frank asked.

"I know who killed Maddie." Nancy said.

Frank and Joe just stared at her.

"I think this may be the shortest mystery of our careers." Joe said.

Frank ignored him. "How do you know who it is?"

"I saw him last night at the local diner while I was eating last night. And then, just to make sure that I got a good look at him, he showed up in my bedroom last night." Nancy said.

Frank's eyes widened in shock. "What? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Nancy said. "He just scared me a little."

"What did he do?" Joe asked.

"He snuck into my room and he threatened me. He said I need to drop my story or he'll come back and kill me." Nancy said.

"And you're going to do that, right?" Frank asked.

"Yes." Nancy answered.

Frank looked at her confused. "I'm sorry. I was expecting an argument from you."

"You're not getting one from me right now." Nancy said.

"You're not one to scare easy, Nan." Joe said. "So, what's the plan?"

Nancy smiled at Joe. "I'm going to the police and tell them that I imagined it all. I'll blame it on pain and medication. If he sees that the police are no longer investigating then, hopefully, he'll back off of me."

"And what about us?" Frank asked.

"I don't think he knows that I'm a detective. And I know for sure that he doesn't know you two are." Nancy said. "He killed a woman in cold-blood. He can't get away with that. And I'm not going to let him."

"You're taking a dangerous gamble here, Nancy." Frank said. "And I don't like you all alone."

"Frank's right, Nancy." Joe said.

"I know it is." Nancy said."But he needs to be punished for what he did."

Frank sighed. "All right. Joe and I both know there's no way to talk you out of this. So, do you have this guy's name? Maybe we can find something on him."

Nancy nodded. "Eric Warren. But there's a small problem."

"What's that?" Joe asked.

"He happens to be an old friend of Luke's from high school." Nancy said.

"You sure know how to keep things interesting." Joe said.

"That's why Luke is mad at me. I told him what happened last night. He doesn't want to believe that his friend can be capable of this." Nancy said.

Frank stood up. "We'll go see what we can find out on Eric and if anything has turned up on missing persons."

Nancy nodded. "Call me as soon as you find anything out."

"That goes the same for you." Frank said.

Nancy walked with them to the door and watched as they left. She prayed that she was doing the right thing.

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"So, what do you think about all of that?" Joe asked when they got back into their car.

"I don't like any of it." Frank said.

"This guy must mean business if he's willing to sneak into her room in the middle of the night." Joe said.

"I know," Frank said. "And that scares me. It makes me think that he's unstable and you can't predict people like that."

"She'll be okay, Frank." Joe said.

"I don't know, Joe. Sure, she's going to tell the police that she made it all up, but she still wants to pursue it herself. She thinks that will make everything okay. What I worry about is what he will do if he finds out that we're detectives and that we're trying to put him away ourselves." Frank said.

"You still think he'll go after her." Joe said.

"She was a witness to a murder." Frank said.

"We'll just have to keep a closer eye on her." Joe said.

"How?" Frank asked.

"We could watch Luke's house." Joe said.

"Maybe." Frank said.

"Well, unless you come up with another idea, that's all we have." Joe said.

"I don't have any." Frank said. He parked the car in front of their motel room. "Let's get our stuff and set up while she's talking to the police."

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"Are you ready to go to the police?" Luke asked coming in the door of his house.

"I didn't think that you would want to take me." Nancy said.

"I just want to know the truth." Luke said.

Nancy nodded and walked to his truck. They rode in silence the whole way there. When Luke pulled up to the police station and parked, he looked at Nancy.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" he asked.

"You mean am I sure that I don't want someone to kill me as I sleep?" Nancy joked.

Luke just looked at her.

"Yes, I'm sure." Nancy said. "Let's just go in there and get it done before I change my mind."

"Okay." Luke said, taking his keys out of the ignition.

He and Nancy went into the police station and were immediately let in to see Sheriff Vaughn.

"How are you felling, Nancy?" she asked.

"Much better." Nancy said.

"Good." Vaughn smiled. She then looked down at something she had written on a piece of paper. " I have the sketch artist coming in about an hour. The sooner we can get a sketch out on this guy, the better."

"Actually, I need to talk to you about that." Nancy said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I've been thinking about everything that I told you yesterday, and the more that I think about it, the more unbelievable it sounds to me." Nancy said.

"What are you saying, Nancy?" Vaughn asked.

"I'm saying that I may have imagined it all. I mean, I was in pain and the doctor had me on medication for it. Maybe it was playing with my head and I dreamed it all." Nancy said.

Vaughn stared at Nancy for a long moment. "I don't believe you," she finally said.

"I'm telling you the truth." Nancy said.

Sheriff Vaughn shook her head. "No. I think something happened to make you change your story."

Nancy was at a loss for words. Was I really that unconvincing?

A knock at the door gave Nancy a much needed distraction. She turned around to see a deputy poke his head in.

"Can I help you, Andrews?" Sheriff Vaughn asked.

"Sorry to interrupt, ma'am, but this just came in for you." Andrews said holding up a manila envelope.

Sheriff Vaughn took it from him and he left the office.

"Excuse me," she said to Nancy and Luke. She opened the envelope and began to read over the papers that were in it, frowning. She then looked up at Nancy.

"Care to stick with your original story, Nancy?" Vaughn asked.

"Why?" Nancy asked.

"Missing persons just came back." Vaughn said. "Last night, a young woman by the name of Madelyn Fields was reported missing by her parents."

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Author's Note: Well, folks, here's another chapter down. Again, thank you for all of your reviews. I deeply appreciate every one of them. Let me know what you think of this one.