Nancy knew this wasn't a social call. It was no coincidence that the same security guard that she saw the other night, should just happen to show up at her door. And worse, he knew who she really was. No, this isn't good at all, she thought.

But she also knew she didn't want any trouble. And how do you keep trouble out? Slamming the door shut in their faces was certainly one way.

"I'm sorry," Nancy said. "I think you have the wrong room."

"No," the well-dressed man smiled at her. "I don't think we do."

She tried to shut the door, but it didn't work. The security guard pushed it back open, causing Nancy to stumble back. She then looked down at their jackets and saw they each had a gun.

"I really would like to involve as few people as I can." The well-dressed man said. He nodded at the security guard and he closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar.

"If you don't leave, I'll call security." Nancy said, backing towards the phone.

The man actually laughed at her. "It won't help. I'm a very powerful man. Perhaps I should introduce myself–I'm Stuart Grayson, owner of the Saraphina." He pointed at the security guard. "And this is Phil Minor, head of security for the Saraphina."

"Did you forget where your hotel was?" Nancy asked, sarcastically.

"Ah, a sense of humor." Stuart said. "I can certainly appreciate that in a woman. But I am a busy man, Mrs. Drew, so let's talk."

Stuart sat down on the sofa and pointed to the small chair in front of him. "Please, have a seat."

Nancy hesitated. She really didn't want to be in this position. Especially since she didn't know what Stuart Grayson knew about her and what he wanted with her. But then she thought of her baby. She didn't want to do anything to jeopardize this pregnancy. She looked over to see that Phil Minor was guarding the door, so there was no getting out that way.

You might as well just get this over with. Find out what he wants; maybe it could help out Joe. And besides, you called Frank–he'll be here soon.

Nancy sat down slowly in the chair and looked at Stuart. He flashed her a dazzling smile and nodded his head.

"Good," he said. "Now, tell me what you were doing at my hotel the other night."

"I was looking for something," Nancy said.

"Really? That's odd, because the hotel room you were caught in was closed off. So, I have to wonder, what could you have possibly been looking for in a room that wasn't registered to you in the first place?" Stuart asked.

Nancy was starting to feel uncomfortable. She had no answer that she could give him that wouldn't lead right back to Joe. And she didn't want him in any more trouble than he was already in.

"Having trouble coming up with an answer?" Stuart mocked.

Nancy ignored his tone. "What is this about?"

"Did you know I could have you arrested for breaking and entering?" Stuart asked.

"Then do it," Nancy said.

Stuart shook his head. "You don't think I know you could get out of it in no time? I've read about you, Mrs. Drew. You have quite a reputation."

"Glad to know that I have a fan," Nancy said coolly.

Stuart chuckled at that remark. "Not a fan. In this business, it's important to know who I'm dealing with. A few phone calls and I found out that you're a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. And not only a reporter, but also a detective. As is your husband, Frank Hardy, and his brother, Joe."

"Anyone can find that out. All you had to do was Google it." Nancy said.

Stuart ignored her. "And now you're here to try to clear young Mr. Hardy of murder. I have to say it's quite admirable what you're willing to do for family."

"What can I say? I don't like to see the innocent go away for something they didn't do," Nancy said. "Or the guilty get away with it, no matter how powerful they think they are."

"Let me put it in a way that you will understand, then. If young Mr. Hardy doesn't take the fall for this murder, I will make it a lot worse for him." Stuart said.

"You shouldn't make idle threats, Mr. Grayson." Nancy said.

"There's nothing idle about what I'm saying to you, Mrs. Drew." Stuart said. "Drop what you're doing and leave it alone."

" There's something you should realize, Mr. Grayson." Nancy said.

"What's that?" Stuart asked, amused.

Nancy leaned forward in her seat. "Criminals always make a mistake, no matter how careful they are."

Stuart stood up and walked the couple of steps to where Nancy was sitting. He put his hands on either railing of her chair, causing her to sit back. He stopped when his face was mere inches from hers.

"There's something you should also realize, Mrs. Drew," he said.

Nancy tried to ignore his warm breath on her face. "What's that?" she asked, her bravado fading.

"I never make a mistake," he said, coldly.

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Frank hung up cell phone, frowning. What was going on with Nancy? And why couldn't she tell me over the phone?

Joe watched Frank as he stared at his cell phone. "That had to be some phone call for you to look at the phone like that."

"It was Nancy. She's back from the doctor, but she won't tell me what they said." Frank explained.

"If it was something terrible, she would have told you, Frank." Joe said, finishing up his last bite of pancakes.

"You're right," Frank said. "But I'm not going to sit around, waiting for you to finish up. Come on, Joe."

Joe scowled at Frank as he threw money down on the table. "This is the first decent meal I've had in a couple of days."

"Yeah, and you've been eating for an hour straight." Frank said, standing up.

Joe took a large gulp of orange juice and grabbed the last strip of bacon from his plate, before following Frank out of Mandy's Diner.

"You could have waited on me," Joe said to his brother.

"I thought you would get the hint if I left," Frank shot back.

They walked the couple of blocks back to their hotel in silence. They got on the elevator and took it up to the fifteenth floor. Frank had his keycard out by the time the elevator doors opened. He and Joe walked to room 1515 and just as Frank was about to unlock the door, he noticed that it was standing ajar. He looked at Joe and held a finger to his lips. Joe nodded his head and then looked at the door.

Frank flung the door open and was pushed aside as a beefy man rushed out of the room. Alarmed, Frank ran into the room to see a well-dressed man cornering Nancy in her chair.

"Get away from her!" Frank shouted.

The man looked at Frank and smiled and then looked at Nancy again. "Remember what I told you, Mrs. Drew."

The man stepped away from Nancy and walked up to Frank and Joe. "I just needed to have a word with your wife," he said to Frank.

"Who are you?" Frank demanded.

"I'm sure she'll explain everything to you," he said, smiling.

Frank glared as the man left their room. As soon as the door was closed, he rushed over to Nancy, who was now standing up.

"Are you okay?" he asked, hugging her.

"I'm fine, Frank. He didn't do anything to me. We were just talking." Nancy said, calmly.

"What did he want? Who is he?" Frank asked.

"Never mind who he is; we should go after him," Joe said.

Nancy shook her head. "Don't–especially you, Joe. The guy you just met? That's Stuart Grayson, owner of the Saraphina. And he was here pretty much admitting that you were being framed."

"What?" Joe asked, shocked.

"That's more reason why we should go after him." Frank said.

"No, Frank," Nancy said, shaking her head. She sat down on the edge of the sofa and looked at Frank and Joe. "He is a very powerful man here, so he has tons of connections around here. And if we go after them, he'll just make it worse for Joe–he pretty much guaranteed that to me."

"So, what are we supposed to do? We can't just let him get away with this." Frank said.

"You're right, we can't. We'll have to figure out something." Nancy said.

"Well, while you two figure it out, I'm going down to the vending machines." Joe said.

"You have got to be kidding me." Frank said.

"I never kid about food, Frank." Joe said, seriously.

Frank rolled his eyes at his brother as the door closed behind him.

"Well in the midst of all this craziness, I forgot to ask what the doctor said to you." Frank said.

"Oh," Nancy said, grinning. She instantly forgot about Stuart Grayson. "Um, I think you should sit down, Frank."

"Why?" Frank asked, confused.

"Trust me, okay?" Nancy said.

"All right–whatever you say." Frank sat down on the sofa and Nancy stood up in front of him. She took his hands in hers and looked into his eyes.

"I hope you're not asking me to marry you because I'm already spoken for." Frank said seriously.

"Shut up," Nancy said. She took a deep breath.

"You're really freaking me out here, Nan." Frank said. "What's going on?"

"Geez, you really know how to mess up a moment," Nancy said rolling her eyes. "Will you just shut up and let me speak?"

"Sorry." Frank said, slinking down.

"Thank you," Nancy said. She turned away from Frank and when she looked back at him she had tears in her eyes. She brought his hands to her stomach and left them there. "Congratulations, Frank–you're going to be a daddy."

Frank stared at her for a solid minute, as if time had stood still at that very moment. When he finally snapped back to the present, Nancy was looking at him, smiling with tears falling down her cheeks.

"You kind of need to say something," Nancy said.

"I'm sorry, honey," Frank said, standing up. He wrapped her up in a big hug. "Please tell me you're not joking."

"Why would I joke about something like this?" Nancy asked. "It's something that you've wanted for a long time."

"I know. I'm sorry," Frank said. He beamed at her. "You're right–we've both wanted this for a while now."

"So, are you happy?" Nancy asked.

"Are you kidding? I've never been so happy in my life." Frank said. "I mean, except for when I married you, of course."

"I know what you meant," Nancy said. She gave him a kiss. "This is good, Frank."

Frank smiled down at her. "This is the best. We should celebrate."

"The celebration will come. I just want to get this mess with Joe over with first." Nancy said.

"You've got yourself a deal," Frank said. He leaned down until his forehead was touching hers and smiled.

Just then Joe came back into the room. Frank and Nancy looked at him, beaming.

"What are you two freaks so happy about?" Joe asked, closing the door.

"Why don't you come in here and we'll tell you, Uncle Joe." Nancy said.

"What are you talking about?" Joe asked. "And why did you just call me 'Uncle Joe'?"

"Nancy's pregnant." Frank said, beaming.

"What?" Joe asked, shocked. He gave Nancy a big hug. "Nancy, this is great!"

"I know," Nancy said, smiling.

"Uncle Joe, huh?" Joe said appreciatively. "I like the sound of that. And I also like the sound of Joe Junior."

"Keep dreaming, Uncle Joe." Frank said. "If anything, it would be Frank Junior."

"Keep dreaming to you both." Nancy said.

"You're telling me you wouldn't even consider naming the baby Frank Junior?" Frank asked.

"We don't know if the baby is a boy or girl." Nancy said.

"Well, we can name it Francis if it's a girl." Frank said.

"So, what did you two do today?" Nancy asked, changing the subject.

"Joe completely shut down Mandy's Diner." Frank said, looking back at his brother.

"He's exaggerating," Joe said to Nancy.

"You went to the buffet at least five times," Frank argued. "You were making everyone nervous."

"It did say all-you-can-eat buffet," Joe said.

Frank ignored his brother and turned to Nancy, smiling. "Oh, Joe remembered something from the night of Abby's murder, though."

"Really?" Nancy asked, interested.

"I remembered meeting Abby. We talked for a while and she told me she was dating none other than Stuart Grayson." Joe said.

"Wow," Nancy said.

"That's not the best part," Joe said. "She also said that she witnessed him and another guy kill someone. She wasn't sure if they had seen her or not, so she took off. But now with this visit to you, it's looking even more obvious that Stuart or his goon killed Abby, and they set me up to take the fall."

"Now all we have to do is prove it," Nancy said.

"Which shouldn't be too hard if the guy is willing to come here and tell you to let Joe take the heat for something he didn't do." Frank said.

"Actually, it will be hard. He knows what we look like, so it will make it a little tricky for us." Nancy said.

"Well, then we go undercover," Frank said. "I think I should be the one to do it."

"Why?" Nancy asked.

"Well, it's obvious that Joe can't do it and you're pregnant, so I think I'm the only choice that we have." Frank explained.

"I'm pregnant, Frank, not an invalid. And I am perfectly capable of doing this." Nancy said.

"I wasn't saying that you couldn't–" Frank began.

"And another thing," Nancy said, interrupting him. "Just because I'm pregnant does not mean that I"m going to stop investigating and stop working for the paper."

Joe sat on the sofa and watched the two of them argue.

"I never said that you had to stop," Frank said.

"Good," Nancy said. "Then it's settled."

"But I do want you to use more caution," Frank said. "That's our child that you're carrying and I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby."

"We'll continue this conversation later." Nancy said.

"We sure will," Frank agreed.

Nancy gave him a look. "Besides, the only way we'll be able to get anything good on Grayson is talking to Abby's friends and coworkers. Maybe she told them something before she was murdered."

"And how are you going to get answers from them? They're not just going to come out and talk to you, especially if they know there's a chance that Grayson will find out." Joe said.

"Just leave that to me," Nancy said.

"She was a dancer, Nan. There is no way that I am going to stand by and watch you perform on that stage." Frank said.

"Who said anything about being on stage?" Nancy asked. "They are always looking for interns or stage hands or assistants. It doesn't matter–I can get in and get what we need."

"What if Grayson discovers you?" Frank asked, concerned. "You saw the pictures of what happened to Abby. You think he'll show any mercy on you, especially when he knows that you're a detective and a reporter?"

"That's why I have the two of you," Nancy said. "You'll watch out for me."

"How?" Frank asked.

Nancy stood up and put her arms around his waist. "Don't worry so much, Hardy. It gives you wrinkles."

"Not to mention a few other things it gives me whenever you go and do crazy things like this." Frank said.

Nancy gave him an innocent smile. "But I'm worth every bit of it."

Frank's worry lines melted away and he smiled at her. "God help me, you are."

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Stuart looked up, amused, as Phil Minor stormed into his office.

"Please, Phil–come in." Stuart said, sarcastically.

Phil just glared at him and started pacing back and forth.

"There's something obviously bothering you, Phil." Stuart said. "Why don't you tell me what it is?"

"What we just did? It was completely stupid." Phil said.

"I'm sorry that you see it that way," Stuart said.

"How did threatening the Drew woman help us any?" Phil demanded. "Maybe it was just me, but she didn't seem to be that intimidated by you."

"You noticed that, too." Stuart said, grinning.

"You think this is some kind of joke?" Phil stopped pacing. "If anything, it will make her even more determined to pin us for this murder."

"Glad to hear you're saying 'us'." Stuart said. "Because if I do happen to take the fall for this, you are going to go down with me."

Phil didn't say anything.

"Because I'm not the one that framed Mr. Hardy for this. You're the one that planted the evidence, so if any other DNA was found, it would be yours." Stuart said, watching Phil for a reaction.

"I'm not the one that stabbed Abby," Phil said. "You did that on your own."

"You're right...I did." Stuart said. "But who was the one that stayed and cleaned up the mess?"

Phil stared at Stuart, trying to figure out a way he could get himself out of this mess. But any way he thought of it, he was stuck in a corner. There was no way out of it–he would go to prison if the truth came out.

"So, what do we do?" Phil finally asked.

"We continue to keep an eye on everyone. But I think we need to send a message to them to show that we're serious." Stuart said.

"What did you have in mind?" Phil asked.

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Author's Note: And yet more suspense! I hope that you liked this chapter–I really tried to give them true emotions; I only hope I did them justice. As always, let me know what you think?