Disclaimer: They're not mine.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. So thank you for everybody who reviewed, and if you didn't, review this chapter!

A/N: Want to hear something weird? "Creeped" isn't actually a word. As in "Nancy was creeped out." I left it in there anyway.

A/N: Also, sorry about my slowness to update my other stories. I've hit a huge case of writer's block on La Muerta and I wrote Chapter 8 for The Columbus Connection but I didn't like it, so I'm rewriting it. Thanks for your patience.

"Who... what do you want?" Nancy stammered, desperately trying to mask her fear.

The sinister voice laughed. "I'll give you three guesses."

Nancy concentrated hard, trying to analyze the voice. It was almost a hiss. She couldn't even tell for sure whether it was male or female. Background noise? None that she could discern. She turned her attention back to the conversation, if you could call it that.

"I don't suppose you want to sell me insurance?" Nancy said weakly.

Another raspy laugh. "Not quite, Nancy." Her own name sounded disturbing coming from the voice. "I'll give you a clue." the voice snickered, as if having to give Nancy Drew clues was the funniest thing in the world.

By this point, Nancy was wondering if she should hang up. She could "star sixty-nine" him or her. Or she could call the police, or her father, or someone. She didn't like the eerie feeling that she was alone with the voice.

The voice proceeded to clue Nancy in. "It has to do with waiting until you least expect it," A dramatic pause. "And then-" The voice was sharply cut off. The phone was dead.

Nancy sat, stunned, for a minute. She slowly hung up the receiver. A minute later, she picked it up again. No dial tone. Knowing it was futile, she pushed star-69. When she got no response, she tried 911. No luck. With a shaky hand, she put down the phone. She sat in the dark, wanting nothing more than to be able to turn on the light. She didn't scare easily, but this was too much. Outside, the thunderstorm raged. Staring out the window, she saw a silver car edge past her house, windshield wipers swishing furiously. Should she wake her father? Maybe she'd better. He himself had said, "Better safe than sorry."

Slowly, she crept down the hall and knocked on her father's bedroom door. Her arms were still covered in goosebumps.

Nancy woke up in her own bed the next morning way later than she normally did. All the lights were on. At least the power was back.

She dressed quickly and poked her head into her father's bedroom. Carson was almost done packing for his trip, for which he would leave this evening.

Nancy hurried downstairs, poured herself a cup of coffee, and fed her pet terrier, Togo. Her father joined her a few minutes later. Nancy ran out to get the mail, sorted it, and handed Carson's mail to him.

Carson watched curiously as Nancy frowned and opened a large envelope addressed to her. Nancy drew out a note and a smaller packet. She unfolded the note first and read it silently. Her lips tightened and she handed it to her father. He took it and examined it. It read, "Nancy Drew, You can run, but you can't hide. Watch your back, but it won't do any good." Each letter seemed to have been cut out of a different magazine article. Nevertheless, it was still quite menacing.

Nancy opened the packet and dumped a silver charm into her hand. It was shaped like a horse.

"What's that?" Carson asked.

Nancy looked puzzled. "It's mine. Off my charm bracelet. I thought I'd lost it a few weeks ago!" she shivered. "Or maybe it was stolen? Wait, why would someone steal one charm instead of the whole bracelet?"

Carson answered grimly. "Perhaps so they could return it to you this way."

At this, Nancy was thoroughly creeped out.

Carson cleared his throat. "Okay, that settles it! I'll be in Washington D.C. and I won't be able to get here at a moment's notice if something happens. I don't want to go away this weekend and leave you alone with some psycho stalker on the loose!"

Nancy smiled. "I was just going to call Chief Maginnis."

Carson shook his head. "Good, but that's not enough. Without a phone number or a postmark or something, the police can't do anything. They'll just tell you to keep your eyes open and let them know if it happens again."

"Well, I could call Bess." Nancy said, naming one of her two best friends. The other was Bess's cousin, George. They were complete opposites. Bess was pretty and blonde while George was athletic and dark haired. Bess tended to be a bit more delicate than George. "George is teaching at tennis camp, though."

Carson frowned. "I don't know if Bess is... the best choice. She's a great girl, but I was thinking more of something along the line of protection."

"Like stationing police officers outside the house? Dad, really, I can take care of myself!" she looked hurt at his apparently low opinion of her.

"I know you can, sweetie, but I would feel much better if I knew you had... backup. I don't think we'll have to go as far as police bodyguards, though." he paused, knowing Nancy wasn't going to like his next idea. "I thought maybe we could call the Hardys." He looked up at Nancy to gauge her reaction.

"What?" Nancy burst out. "Dad! That is the last thing I want to do!" She glared at him. How could he even suggest that? Didn't he know how embarrassing that would be for her?

Her father sighed. "Look Nancy, it would only be for three days, and I would feel a lot better if I knew they were with you."

Nancy was fuming now. "Fine. Call Joe."

Her father was getting impatient. "I can't very well invite Joe and not Frank!" He saw she was about to argue, so he said, "Nancy, please!"

"Fine!" Nancy said. "Call them, but don't expect me to come out of my room!" With that, she fled upstairs.

Carson sighed. He didn't want to embarrass Nancy, but it was certainly better than having her dead!

He picked up the phone and called the police station to report the phone call and the note.

"Sorry," said the officer on duty. "But without a phone number or a postmark, we can't do anything. If it happens again, get the phone number and tell us. Then we can help."

Carson thanked the officer and hung up. The next phone number he dialed was the Hardys'.

Riinnng! The phone rang in the Hardys' hotel room. Joe picked it up. "Hello?"

"Joe? It's Carson Drew."

"Mr. Drew? Oh, hi! What can I do for you?" Joe said, surprise reflecting in his voice. Frank came into the room in time to hear who the caller was. He sat on the bed next to Joe.

"Are you two going to be here all weekend?"

"Yes. We're going home Wednesday." Joe replied.

"Well, I have a favor to ask of you and Frank." Mr. Drew said slowly.

"A favor?" Joe said for Frank's benefit. "Sure."

"I'm going out of town this weekend. Nancy's been getting some threatening messages and I don't like to leave her by herself. I was wondering if you'd stay here and just keep her company." Mr. Drew's voice contained a pleading note.

"One minute," Joe said. He covered the mouthpiece with his hand and turned to Frank. "Nancy has been getting threatening messages and Mr. Drew wanted to know if we would stay with her while he's out of town this weekend. What do you think?"

Frank considered a minute. "Nancy's not going to like this." he said flatly. "But, sure, why not?"

Joe spoke into the phone. "Sure, no problem." but he wanted to know, "Is Nancy okay with this or doesn't she know?"

Mr. Drew chuckled. "Actually, she just locked herself in her bedroom and is threatening to stay there all weekend. But don't worry," he added. "Eventually she'll pass out from hunger and then you can pick the lock."

Joe grinned. "It's that bad, huh?"

"Apparently. Thank you so much!" said Mr. Drew.

"When do you want us?"

"I'm leaving at seven thirty tonight. Seven would be great." said Carson.

"Okay," said Joe. "We'll be there."

"Thanks guys. Bye." said Carson. He hung up as Nancy came into the kitchen.

"Dad, please tell me you weren't just talking to Frank and Joe." she said.

"Nancy, I really don't know why you're acting like this. You guys used to be best friends! Whatever happened last year happened last year!" Nancy had never really told him what had happened between her and Frank.

Nancy shook her head. "It will just be really awkward and humiliating." She poured herself a glass of milk.

"Good, good. Fortify yourself for the long weekend upstairs." Carson joked.

Nancy tried to glare at him but couldn't keep a straight face. Both Drews burst out laughing.


Frank lay on the bed in the hotel room for a long time after Joe hung up thinking about Nancy. He was worried about her. Threatening messages? But even worse, he was worried about how she'd react to spending an entire weekend with him. She probably hated him. She thought he had been leading her on all last summer. After he had left he tried to call her and apologize; tell her she was wrong about him, but she wouldn't take his calls. He knew he had hurt her feelings and her pride, but how could he fix it?

Nancy finished dinner at 6:45. A few minutes later the doorbell rang. At this, Togo leapt into action, racing around the kitchen and yipping furiously.

Nancy glared at the dog. "Shut up!" she said sharply. She was in no mood to be trifled with.

Togo peered up at her so pathetically that she felt guilty and knelt down to pet him. "I'm sorry." she said contritely. It wasn't, after all, the dog's fault.

Mr. Drew answered the door. "Nancy!" he called.

She got up and walked towards the door. "Yeah, I know, I know. My babysitters are here." she said, trying to sound joking but ending up sounding bitter.

Joe greeted her with a hug. "Was that thinly veiled hostility?" he asked teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah." Nancy grumbled good-naturedly.

After Joe released her, she and Frank stared at each other uncomfortably. She didn't want to hug him, but she did anyway. She pulled away quickly and avoided eye contact.

Her father left a little later, telling Nancy to be careful. To be honest, she wasn't worried. Threatening messages didn't seem to affect her anymore.

The first thing she did was show the Hardys the threatening note and tell them about the phone call. Joe frowned and said, "That's creepy." After a pause he added, "But don't worry, Nan, the Hardys are here!"

"I feel so much better." she replied dryly. Then, curiously, she inquired. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a serious ego problem?"

Joe looked at her seriously. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Nancy rolled her eyes.

Nancy, Joe, and Frank passed the rest of the night watching movies. They didn't talk much. The phone didn't ring once.

At 11:30 the group decided to turn in. Frank pulled Nancy aside. He had been trying to catch her eye all night, but she was deliberately avoiding him.

"Nan, can I talk to you?"

"You just did." she replied evenly, inwardly smiling at his obvious discomfort. Good, she thought. It won't hurt him to sweat a little.

"Seriously Nan, I just want you to know that I'm really sorry and that I would never intentionally hurt you." Frank said sincerely. He meant every word of it. He couldn't stand Nancy treating him so coldly. He loved her.

Nancy looked at him, unsure of what to say. He was having that effect on her again; that amazing rush that she loved and wanted to hate. His warm brown eyes were sad and remorseful, and she knew that if he kept looking at her like that she would forgive him on the spot. She couldn't do that! She couldn't, wouldn't, let him break her heart. Again! Her frosty gaze flickered for just a minute. "I believe you." she said impassively.

Clearly that was not what Frank had been expecting. His face showed a mixture of surprise and relief. "Good." he said, for lack of a better word.

Nancy looked at him skeptically, then turned away.

Frank grabbed her hand. "What I meant was, "Thanks."" he said warmly.

For the first time that night, Nancy smiled at him, really smiled. Then she went upstairs, leaving Frank alone.

The phone rang at three in the morning. A groggy Nancy picked it up. "Hello?" she said blearily.

She heard one of the Hardys pick up the phone in their room and stay silent, listening. At this point, she wasn't even fully awake, but what she heard next woke her up fast.

The rasping voice cackled evilly. "It's 3am; do you know where your dog is?"

A/N: Phew! Long chapter, for me! Please read and review; the more reviews I get the faster I will update! (Promise!)