Warning: This chapter contains adult language and incestuous homosexual situations.

-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 9: Too Little Too Late?

"Where's Frank, Joe?" Fenton asked. He had come back early from the office and found Joe home alone finishing his homework.

"He went up to River Heights to see Nancy Drew."

"Oh really? What for?"

Joe pretended to be focused on his homework. "I think they wanted to compare notes about the case, just to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything that the Sheriff should know about."

"I see." Fenton sounded a little suspicious.

"I'm sure he has his phone," Joe said casually. "You can call him and find out when he's getting back. I was hoping to use his computer for a little while anyway."

"No, it's not that important." Fenton went to his study and closed the door.

Joe finished his homework and went to Frank's room to do a web search on Kevin Brown. He was not surprised to find a large number of hits on such a common name, even when he included River Heights in the keyword search. He settled down to read his way through them.

Frank returned just as he was finishing the last page of hits.

"Did you find anything on Kevin Brown?"

"I know more about Kevin Brown than I ever wanted to," Joe said tiredly. "Unfortunately, I think I've been reading about two hundred different guys. Any one of them could be the guy we want."

"I was afraid of that."

"What did you and Nancy find out?"

"You'll love this!" Frank sat down cross-legged on the bed. "Julie Baker signed a celibacy pledge. She and a bunch of friends from high school swore to remain virgins until marriage."

Joe stared in amazement. "No way!"

Frank nodded. "Yup. That's what the neighbor lady said was in the missing frame: Julie's celibacy certificate."

"I'll be damned!" Joe leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "It all makes sense. Darren and Tonya didn't keep the pledge and someone made sure they couldn't go on breaking it."

"That would be my guess. But I'm not sure how Julie Baker fits into this. She was married."

"But maybe she broke the pledge before she got married."

"Maybe." Frank shrugged. "Nancy and I agreed that we have to find the other people in Darren and Tonya's group. We're going to have to try to contact Kimberly Watson."

Joe nodded. "Given her choice of career, it's obvious she's broken her pledge pretty severely."

"I'll say. Let's look for a number for her producer and I'll try to think of something to say if we do manage to get in touch with someone."

There was a knock on the door and Fenton stepped in without waiting for a response. "I thought I heard you come in Frank. How did your meeting with Nancy go?"

"Fine, Dad." Frank glanced at Joe. "We're trying to keep out of the way of the official investigation."

"That's good." Fenton looked from Frank to Joe and back again. "I don't want you boys to think I don't trust you, but we private investigators depend on our relationships with law enforcement officials. It's important not to alienate them."

"We understand, Dad," Frank said. "Are you going out tonight?"

"No." Fenton looked uncomfortable. "My group is having a social tonight, but I don't think I'm up for that."

Frank sat up. "Dad, if you don't get back on the horse, you're never going to ride again."

A panicked look crossed Fenton's face. "I'm doing just fine the way I am. I don't need to date."

"It's not a date, it's a social." Frank stood up and put a reassuring hand on Fenton's shoulder. "It's just a group of people getting together to talk and have a good time. No pressure. I think you should go. Don't you agree, Joe?"

"Absolutely! You were having a lot of fun at that sobriety night, the night we found the body, weren't you?"

"That was different…"

"Why?" Joe stood up and put a hand on Fenton's other shoulder. "It's only different in your mind, Dad. Go to the social."

"Well…"

"Go!" Frank and Joe ordered in unison.

"All right," Fenton said, a little meekly.

The boys helped him get ready and ushered him to his car.

"Have a good time!" Frank called.

"And don't hurry back!" Joe added.

Fenton backed out into the street and drove away, still looking a little panicked.

"I didn't think we'd be able to get rid of him," Frank said.

"Me neither," Joe agreed. Then he grinned at Frank. "You wanna fuck first or eat?"

"Fuck. I've been with Nancy all day."

"Did she come on to you?"

"Only a little. The joy of sleuthing kept her distracted from lustful thoughts."

"Well, that's something, anyway. Let's use my room."

The boys went upstairs to Joe's room and undressed.

"You know, I find that almost impossible to imagine," Joe said as he rolled onto the bed on his back.

"What?" Frank asked. He lifted Joe's heels up onto his shoulders and moved into position.

"Swearing to remain a virgin until marriage. Ah!" Joe gasped as Frank slid wet fingers into him. "What's the point? If you find someone you want to do it with, you should do it."

"Not everyone feels that way."

"I suppose."

Frank worked lubricant into Joe until he was wet and slippery. Then he shifted closer and put himself in with a contented sigh. He moaned softly as he began to move inside Joe and Joe's back arched up.

"Ahh!" Joe groaned. "You feel so good!"

"Yeah!" Frank gasped back. "What you said!"

They thrust against each other eagerly, moaning and groaning aloud. Climax left them breathless and gasping for air.

Frank collapsed between Joe's legs, his arms flung out to either side. "Right or wrong, someone apparently is taking that celibacy pledge very seriously. We need to figure out who before all of those people are killed."

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Nancy elected not to tell her father what she had learned with Frank that day. He would just insist that she tell Chief Jones and then Chief Jones would accuse her of meddling in police matters again. It was better to say nothing for now. She returned to her room after cleaning up the kitchen just as her phone started ringing. She glanced at the number and her heart skipped a beat when she recognized Ned's number. She'd let three calls from Ned go to her answering machine while she was with Frank.

"Hi, Ned!"

"Hello Nancy. I've been trying to call you all day." He sounded worried.

"I'm sorry, I was pretty busy today."

"Oh. Are you working on a case or something?"

"Yes, I'm working on a case with Frank Hardy. It's a murder investigation." She tried to put some emphasis on the last sentence. It didn't help.

"Frank Hardy?!" Ned sounded worried and unhappy now. "I didn't know you were still in touch with him."

"I hadn't been," Nancy replied lightly, "but he called and asked for my help. You know how I can't resist a mystery."

"Yes, of course." He sounded downright mournful. "So do you still want to go out on Saturday?"

"Of course I do! I'm looking forward to it. You've been so busy we haven't sent each other for weeks."

"Well, I don't want to interfere with the case if you and Frank need to get together…"

"Ned Nickerson, you're being silly!" Nancy tried to keep the edge out of her voice, but it was hard. "I expect you to be at my front door promptly at seven on Saturday and we're going to spend the whole evening together. I don't want to hear another word about it."

"Ok, Nancy! I'll see you then. I love you."

"I love you, too, Ned. Bye."

She disconnected and stared at nothing for a minute. I have got to do something about his insecurity. Maybe I should seduce him. Nancy sighed. I need to stop thinking about how much I want to get laid.

She focused on her computer and put thoughts of Ned, Frank and sex out of her mind. Her goal for the night was to locate Jack Trowbridge and Lisa Delaney. The alumni directory at the high school didn't have current addresses for either of them and no one she'd spoken to was still in touch with Jack or Lisa.

Of course, if she couldn't find either of them, perhaps the person killing the members of their group couldn't either, but Nancy did not want to rely on that slim hope.

It was shortly after ten that night when, while searching the archives of the River Heights Journal, she finally found Jack Trowbridge. It was an article about executives being convicted of securities fraud. Jack Trowbridge was in prison serving a two year, five month sentence.

"Eureka!" Nancy shouted. She immediately picked up her phone and rang Frank's number.

It rang four times before he answered.

"What's up, Nancy?" He sounded breathless.

"I found Jack Trowbridge! He's in prison!"

"No kidding? What for?"

"Securities fraud."

"Interesting."

"I want to go see him. It's only a couple hour's drive."

"All right. I'll pick you up tomorrow and we'll go together."

"Great! See you then." Nancy disconnected with a smile. Another excuse to spend a day with Frank Hardy. Then she thought about Ned and felt guilty. Did he really have nothing to worry about if the thought of seeing Frank again excited her this much? But then, Frank never showed the slightest interest in her, at least as far as her womanhood was concerned.

I need to decide what I want, Nancy thought. Growing up sucks.

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"What the hell did she want?" Joe growled. Frank's pants were still draped across Joe's chest where he'd dropped them trying to fish his cell phone out of the pocket.

"She found Jack Trowbridge. He's in prison."

"Oh, yeah? And you and Nancy are going to see him?"

"Uh huh."

"I can ditch school and go with you."

"No you can't. Dad would have a cow."

"I never get to have any fun."

"Going to a prison isn't fun. And anyway, you seemed to be having a lot of fun before Nancy interrupted us."

"Speaking of which… I wasn't finished."

Frank smiled. "Neither was I." He started moving again.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When Frank arrived at her house the next morning, he offered to drive to the prison and Nancy accepted. She was a little nervous about this excursion and found herself chattering incessantly as they drove. Frank really turned her on and she kept thinking about Ned. Oddly, though, Frank didn't seem to mind her chatter and he even appeared to be listening, because every now and then he would offer some comment that was actually relevant to whatever she had just said. He really was a nice guy.

On impulse, Nancy asked, "Frank, can I ask your advice about something?"

"Sure."

Suddenly embarrassed by her boldness, Nancy flushed. "It's kind of personal."

Frank smiled. "That's ok."

"Well, I was wondering, as a guy, would you think a girl was… easy, if she came on to you?"

"Not necessarily. I suppose it depends on if she acts that way with a lot of guys or just me."

"So if a girl shows a lot of interest in just one guy, she's not automatically a slut?"

"I wouldn't think so. But that's just me. Another guy might see it differently." He glanced at her. "Are you and Ned having problems?"

"Not, it's just…" She was too embarrassed to look at him. "I'm ready for more, you know? And Ned doesn't seem to be." Nancy frowned. She sounded frustrated, even to herself.

Frank chuckled softly. "Wanting to have sex with your boyfriend doesn't make you a slut! I bet Ned wants you just as badly. Maybe he's a little intimidated."

"You think I'm too forceful?"

"Not that. More like… totally confident. If Ned has doubts that he's good enough for you, it might give him a little… performance anxiety, shall we say?"

"So maybe he just needs a little encouragement?"

"Possibly." Frank gave her a lopsided grin. "And you probably shouldn't flirt with me in front of him."

Nancy blushed bright red. "Am I so obvious?"

"A little." He kept smiling to take the sting out of his words. "I don't really mind, you know, but I'd hate to come between you and Ned unintentionally."

Nancy returned his smile. "You really are a nice guy, Frank. I don't understand why some girl hasn't latched onto you yet."

"I'm in no hurry. Look, there's the exit."

Nancy had visited a prisoner before, so she knew the routine. Once they were settled into the visiting area to wait for Jack Trowbridge, she turned to Frank with a serious expression.

"Do you mind if I do the talking?" she asked. "I have some specific questions I'd like to ask him."

"It's your show," Frank replied. "I'll jump in if I think of anything."

"Thanks."

They did not have to wait long. Jack looked trim and tan and not much older than his yearbook photo as he settled down on the other side of the window in their interview booth. He studied them with open curiosity. Nancy and Frank each picked up a phone and Jack did the same.

"Mr. Trowbridge? I'm Nancy Drew and this is Frank Hardy. We're sorry to drop in on you unannounced, but we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions?"

"Call me Jack," Jack answered with an easy smile, "and don't apologize. I'm in prison. My friends dropped me like a hot rock when I was arrested. Even my mom won't visit me. Take your time."

"Uh, thanks. I wanted to ask you about some of your friends from high school. Do you remember Darren Bolton and Tonya Amberson?"

"Of course! Darren was probably my best friend all through high school." A sad smile crossed Jack's face. "I heard he was murdered. That really sucks. He was a good guy, even if he was a fag."

Nancy and Frank exchanged a quick glance. "You knew Darren was gay?"

"Yeah, he told me right before graduation. Freaked me out a little bit, but like I said, we were buddies, so I got over it. Besides, it wasn't me he had the hots for anyway."

"Were you still in touch with him?"

"No, we sort of drifted apart during college. Darren fell into that whole gay life-style thing and I was too busy trying to make a fortune."

"Who did he have the hots for?" Frank asked abruptly.

"Kevin." Jack grinned. "It was kind of funny, too, 'cause once Darren told me, I could think of all these times when he was coming on to Kevin and Kevin didn't have a clue."

"Did Kevin know about Darren?"

"I don't think so. I think it would have totally freaked him out."

"What about Tonya?" Nancy asked. "Were you close friends with her, too?"

"Not as much. She was a little too full of herself for my taste. She wasn't a snob or anything, it's just that she was way smarter than most people and she knew it. Kim was more my style. What a total babe!" Jack leaned forward with an eager expression. "She became a porn star, you know! Man, what I wouldn't give to spend the night with her. I miss being able to watch her videos. That woman is so hot she could turn a gay man straight and a straight woman gay."

Nancy tapped a finger on the table. "Did Kim sleep around?"

"No way, more's the pity. She hated it that guys were always staring at her tits and not paying any attention to what she said. She wanted people to take her seriously, like they did Tonya. I'm sure that's why she agreed to the pledge, when Tonya suggested it."

"Pledge?" Nancy interrupted sharply. "Do you mean the celibacy pledge?"

Jack grinned. "You heard about that, did you? What a colossal joke that was! Tonya got it into her head that we should all take a pledge to stay celibate until marriage. It was the in thing to do."

"Why did you take it?" Frank asked casually. "It sounds like you didn't really believe in it."

"To show the girls I was a serious guy." Jack shook his head and scrubbed his free hand across his chin. "I thought maybe Kim would be so impressed by my dedication that she'd give me a tumble. It didn't work." He laughed.

"Whose idea was it to make the certificates?" Nancy asked.

"Kevin made them. His dad ran a print shop. They were pretty nice, actually. I kept mine for years."

Nancy sighed. "Jack, I've got to be honest with you. Darren isn't the only one of your friends who's been murdered. Tonya and Julie Baker have also been killed."

Jack's face fell. "What?!"

"And we think whoever killed them did it because of that celibacy pledge."

Jack stared at them. "But why?"

"Both Darren and Tonya were mutilated in a way to make sex impossible for them. And they both had broken their pledge."

"We all broke it!" Jack shouted. A guard stepped toward him with a frown and Jack held up a placating hand. He lowered his voice. "Most of us didn't even make it out of high school. Julie had to get married, if you know what I mean."

Frank and Nancy exchanged another long look.

"We wondered why Julie was killed," Nancy said softly. "Look, Jack, we're really worried that the other people who took that pledge are in danger. We haven't been able to locate Kevin Brown or Lisa Delaney. Do you know where they are?"

"Lisa's in Paris." Jack ran his fingers through his hair. "She's a runway model. I don't know where Kevin is. I can't believe this." He smiled humorlessly. "I guess I'm in no danger, though." He looked around. "And believe me I'm as celibate as a priest in here. I'm not like Darren."

"Jack, can you think of any reason why the woods around Bay Port would be significant?" Frank asked.

Jack nodded slowly, realization dawning on his face. "That's where we took the pledge. We were on a field trip for our science class, collecting plant specimens. The seven of us were working as a group, talking about this and that, when Tonya comes up with this idea for the pledge. We stood in a circle, holding hands, and swore an oath to remain virgins until marriage." He closed his eyes. "Man, we were so serious, too. Shit!"

"You've been a big help, Jack," Nancy said gently.

"If you find out who did it, will you let me know?" Jack looked angry.

"Sure. Thank you for talking to us."

"I hope you catch him." Jack hung up the phone and pushed himself to his feet. He gave them a last sad look before plodding out of the visiting area.

Nancy hung up her phone and sat back, staring at Frank. Frank returned her stare with a thoughtful frown.

"It all makes sense," Nancy said quietly. "Everything fits."

Frank nodded. "Someone who knew about that pledge is punishing them for not keeping it. But who else knew about it except the seven of them?"

Nancy's eyes widened. "It's one of them," she whispered.

"It has to be," Frank agreed.