NOTE FROM AUTHOR: I can't believe how many reviews I'm
getting! After this thrilling chapter, there will be only three more
chapters till the end of the story. I'm sorry for not updating my story
last week, so this is another update. And also, I'm going to write
another ND&HB mystery after this, so be sure to check even after
this mystery concludes!
13
Nancy's Day Off
"I'm only two yards away from that maniac!" Joe thought. "Oh, no! There's no time to duck! I won't be able to avoid it!"
Joe shut his eyes as John Dilworth held the rod high up his head, ready to throw it.
Nancy wasted no time. She immediately took the picture frame that hung from the wall and threw it as hard as she could at Mr. Dilworth. It hit the attacker's leg, making him scream in pain. He let go of the rod and it flew past Joe with a "Whoosh!" and hit the lamp, resulting in breaking it in half. As Joe looked up, Mr. Dilworth grabbed another rod and threw it at Nancy.
"Nancy!" Frank shouted as he immediately jumped up and grabbed the lamp. He dashed toward the stunned blonde detective as the angry man threw the second iron rod straight at her. It would have gone through Nancy's chest if Frank hadn't blocked the rod with the broken lamp. The broken piece shattered into many tiny bits and fell on the floor.
Nancy gasped as she saw the attacker run away through the back door. "He's getting away!"
"Get him!" Joe shouted as the Hardys ran after the middle-aged culprit.
Mr. Dilworth ran faster than the two detectives ever imagined he could. But, fortunately, the Hardys were faster. In less than a minute, they caught up with him and brought him down on the ground.
"Curses! Curses!" John Dilworth shouted as he was held down on the ground. Nancy and Mrs. Dilworth ran to the detectives with worried looks on their faces.
"Well, this ought to give you a longer sentence in jail!" Joe said, still holding down the crazed culprit. "Nancy, call the police!"
Nancy nodded and ran back inside. As the Hardys waited, Mrs. Dilworth started to sob. "I knew doing this was a bad idea," she said, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. "I should've talked you out of it, John…"
Mr. Dilworth just grunted and made no attempt to get up. Finally, Nancy came back and told them that the police would be here in less than five minutes.
When the police took Mr. and Mrs. Dilworth away, Frank, Joe, and Nancy looked at the clock in the living room. "It's already three-thirty?" Frank said, amazed. "Talk about time flying by when you have fun."
"Or when you do some detective work," Nancy added. "Oh! I almost forgot! Now it's a whole day after Bess and George were kidnapped. I think we should file missing persons' reports for them."
Frank and Joe nodded in agreement. "Okay," Frank said, "Joe and I will go to the police station with the Dilworths and tell the police all about the vase and the attack. Meanwhile you can go have some fun out there. After all, we are finally in New York City and have nothing to do for now."
Nancy's face lit up. "Really? That's great! I'd love to go shopping and sightseeing." But then she looked at Frank and Joe with a worried look. "Are you sure you want me to have fun by myself? What about you guys? Don't you want to go out there and enjoy the time?"
Joe shook his head stubbornly. "No, no, no, no. We've been out here more times than you have. You live in River Heights and we live in Bayport. They are two totally different places, and Bayport is less than thirty minutes away from New York City. To be honest," he looked at Frank, "Frank and I are getting tired of this place, anyway."
"Okay." Nancy shrugged. "If you want me to have fun, then I will. But don't forget to go to the Grande Wallace Theatre tonight at seven. That's when Kendall and his buddies will be there. And I have a few questions I have been saving for him."
Frank turned serious. "Yeah. But be careful. If he is really stalking you, then don't stay by yourself. Staying by yourself in an alley behind a building is not a really smart thing to do when you are being followed by a guy you don't even trust."
Joe nodded and added, "And I think it's a good thing to go shopping with Bailey. I heard that she was going to take the afternoon off today."
Nancy was puzzled. "How do you know?"
"I called her last night. She would be glad to spend time with you, especially when you proved her innocence."
"Otherwise, she could have ended up in jail," the older Hardy said. "Anyway, we have to go. Enjoy your break."
The blond and dark-haired detectives ran down the stairs leading from the porch to the police car. They spent a minute talking to the officer about Nancy's refusal to go with them. As the officer nodded, the Hardys went into the car and they left the premise. Nancy got into her convertible and drove to the house next door.
She knocked on the door, but nobody was at home. "Where could she be?" Nancy wondered out loud. She knocked on the door again, but the house was completely empty. Mrs. Higgins's car was gone, so the young detective thought that she was going shopping.
Her cell phone rang just as she was about to get into her car. "Hello?" she answered.
"Nancy? Hi, this is Bailey."
"Bailey! Where are you right now? Frank, Joe, and I finally proved your innocence. The Dilworths were guilty after all."
"The Dilworths? You must be joking!" Bailey's voice expressed her surprise. "But why would they steal their own vase?"
"That's because they were in debt and needed money really badly. They wanted the insurance money and the money they could get from selling the vase in the black market to pay off the debt."
"Wow…"
There was a short pause. Nancy then told her friend, "So, I'm officially on a vacation. I plan to go shopping this afternoon. Would you like to join me?"
"I would love to!" Bailey said happily. "But my car broke down."
"Oh… But, don't worry. I'll pick you up. Where are you?"
"At 'Carl's Car Fix'. It's at the intersection of Monroe and Galway. You know where it is, don't you?"
Nancy quickly opened up the map she had in the car and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there. I think it will take about…ten minutes from your home."
"Great! I'll be waiting then."
The eighteen-year-old redheaded sleuth turned the radio on as she drove down the street to where Bailey was waiting. She tuned to the music channel and listened to the soothing jazz music that flowed out of the speaker and throughout the car.
Listening to the music made the time fly by even faster. Nancy was so relaxed she almost missed the "Carl's Car Fix" sign on top of the two-story high building. She saw the redheaded friend of hers standing by the bus stop near the building's entrance.
"Nancy!" she called as she waved her hand to get Nancy's attention. She got in as Nancy stopped her convertible next to the bus stop.
"I'm so excited to go shopping with you, Nancy. I haven't gone shopping in weeks because of my tight schedule," the eighteen-year-old girl said in an excited tone. "I know this magnificent store that sells beautiful jewelry at a reasonable price. Would you like to join me?"
"Certainly!" Nancy said as she started the car one more time. When they got to the store, she was amazed at how beautifully the inside was decorated. There was a chandelier at the center of the store and in the display vases were many amazing necklaces, rings, and earrings she had ever seen.
Bailey and Nancy shopped for about twenty minutes. Bailey chose a ring with blue stone in it. The price was surely affordable, yet the ring was beautifully designed.
Nancy, on the other hand, chose a necklace. The lace was silver and shiny, and the small red stone made it look attractive. There were four small oval rings surrounding the red stone, each made of pure gold, as the store clerk had said. Each oval ring was half an inch long and a fourth of an inch wide. The stone was circular and its diameter was nearly half an inch. Its price was, to Nancy's surprise and delight, only thirty dollars.
As they continued looking at the jewelry, they noticed a couple talking about some of the jewelry. They looked familiar to Nancy, and in an instant, she recognized them as Clarissa Pevely and Ian Kolinsky.
"Hey, how about this one?" Clarissa asked Ian. "I think it's beautiful and will match my dress I'll be wearing to the party on campus."
"No, it's too bland. I'm sure you can pick a better design than that!" Ian said.
Clarissa seemed upset. "Now that's the fifth one you rejected. What are you going to give me as my birthday present, then? It was your idea to buy me something for the dance."
Bailey noticed them too and looked at Nancy with a confused look that asked, "Why are you eavesdropping on their conversation?"
Nancy immediately went to the couple and said, "Hello, Ian, Clarissa."
Clarissa seemed surprised to hear the voice. "Nancy?" she muttered. "What are you doing in here?"
"To shop." Nancy grinned friendly, even though the woman did not smile back. "And one more thing, I need to check the alibis from the two of you. Where were you yesterday at around two o'clock?"
Clarissa rolled her eyes. "Will you please quit doing this, Miss Detective? I don't have to tell you every second of my private life, you know."
"I was at the library studying for the test," Ian said, interrupting his girlfriend. "I was there from one o'clock to five o'clock. You can ask the librarians about this and they will know. I had to pay for the fines I got from overdue library books." He then grinned embarrassedly. "Anyway, they always keep records of those things. I think I returned the books at two o'clock."
Nancy thought, If he did return the books at two o'clock, then it would be impossible to kidnap George. Then, he must be telling the truth.
"Well, I was at Royal Café," Clarissa said. "I was typing up my papers there. The waitress will know. I was there from noon to three in the afternoon. I got out at three. They will know, since they keep records of the time each customer leaves. I go there pretty often, and I think the girl at the cash register can identify me. Now may we go on with the shopping?" She looked at Ian, who nodded awkwardly, looking at Bailey for a brief moment.
Bailey didn't smile at her ex-boyfriend. Instead, she tugged on Nancy's arm and said, "Come on, Nance. We should go and leave these two alone."
Nancy agreed and the two left, leaving the two college freshmen behind. Once outside, Bailey looked at Nancy with a puzzled look. "Why are you checking their alibis? Isn't the case solved yet?"
Nancy shook her head. She then told Bailey all about the abductions of her two closest friends. Bailey listened with a horrified look on her face. "Then, the Dilworths aren't the kidnappers?"
The redheaded detective shook her head. "At least, they say that they aren't the kidnappers, but I'm not sure. I'll give them the benefit of a doubt for now. Anyway, they aren't even supposed to know about the Grande Wallace Theatre!"
Bailey was puzzled. "That's weird. Why didn't you tell my mom and me about this before?"
"Because I didn't want to alarm you two too much. After all, you were worrying about the theft and all other things. I just didn't want you to get any more worried."
Bailey sighed. "Well, I think the best thing to do is go to the theater today at seven. I'm pretty sure that Kendall guy you are talking about has something to do with it. What does he look like?"
"Well, he's about six feet tall, has brown hair, and has a gray overcoat most of the time. I'm pretty sure he is stalking—"
Nancy stopped her sentence. She suddenly felt a chill, as if someone was watching her. She felt as if someone was glaring at her!
She looked at Bailey, who had a stunned look on her face. "What's the matter, Nancy?" she asked.
The redheaded girl detective looked around. Her eyes got bigger with shock when she saw the man in overcoat standing at the bus stop. He was about six feet tall. He had brown hair. And he had a gray overcoat that covered most of his body.
He was Kendall. He just stood there, not even looking at Nancy, but she was sure he was. When a bus arrived, he went inside without saying a word. But at that moment, the coat opened up a little and the girl saw what he was carrying inside.
He was carrying a gun.
ADDITIONAL NOTE FROM AUTHOR: And this chapter will end in another cliffhanger! In the next chapter, the detectives will finally go to the Grande Wallace Theatre to meet Kendall and his friends. But why was Mr. Drew knocked down? Why were Bess and George kidnapped? Is Kendall the kidnapper and the attacker? Why did Kendall stalk Nancy? Will they bring the villain(s) to justice? All these questions (and more) will be answered in the next three chapters, so don't miss them!
P.S. Don't forget to review this chapter after you finish reading it. My goal is to receive 40 reviews by the time I conclude the story, so keep reviewing! :-)
