Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: Don't worry, I wasn't going to finish this story without tying up all the loose ends. (As it turned out, I took a month long vacation in Ireland, far, far away from my internet access.) Well, this one really is the last chapter. Hope you like it!

The Drew house was a flurry of police activity. Crime scene investigators took fingerprints and collected evidence from the living room. One had picked up the bloodied knife and carefully sealed it into an evidence bag. Nancy stood off to the side with the Hardys and Chief McGinnis. The chief was listening intently as Nancy caught him up on the day's events, from the kidnapping of Bess and Joe to Daniel's nearly successful attempt to kill her. She stopped talking abruptly as two policemen carried the still-unconscious Daniel Morgan out the front door and deposited him in the back of a police van.

Chief McGinnis eyed her sympathetically. "With all the evidence we have against him, as well as the testimony of the witnesses, we should be able to put him away for a long time. Or at least give him the kind of psychiatric help he needs."

"Good." Nancy said softly. Even in her current situation, she felt some pity for Daniel. He'd had a lot of tragedy in his life. She knew he wasn't in his right mind when he had come after her like that. She recognised that his problems weren't her fault, but she wouldn't put all the blame on him, either.

A squad car pulled into the driveway and Nancy grinned in relief as Bess stepped out of it, followed by a groggy-looking Sam and Lisa.

Bess ran forward to hug Nancy. "Thank God you're okay!"

"I could say the same about you." Nancy replied warmly, stepping back.

"We thought you might need help, but we weren't sure we'd get back in time." Lisa said, sounding slightly breathless.

"Glad to see you're all right." Sam made his way up to Nancy and gave her a quick hug. "We were worried about you all by yourself back here."

Nancy smiled at Frank. "I wasn't all by myself."

Bess noticed the smile and grinned broadly. "Don't be silly. We knew you guys could handle it."

Nancy didn't miss the wink Bess shot her. "We'll talk later."

"That's right." Chief McGinnis said. "But right now, I'm going to need statements from all of you."

Nancy finished giving her statement and walked outside. The backyard which had held only fear and stifling darkness the night before was now calm and green. The light misty rain and cool breeze felt good on her face. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax.

Nancy smiled to herself when she heard his footsteps come toward her and stop a few feet behind her. She stood quietly for a bit before saying, "You just gonna stand there all day?"

Frank grinned as he moved to stand beside her. He could easily have watched her all day, but he didn't tell her that. Instead he said, "I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk."

Nancy looked off into the distance as she replied, "Talk about what?"

Frank raised his eyebrows. "Anything you want. C'mon, Nan, we could talk forever and not run out of things to talk about."

Nancy laughed, cocking her head to look at him. "And is that what you suggest we do?"

"No." he answered, only half serious. "We can do that later. Now is a time for action."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "You're so melodramatic." That said, she leaned into his arms as he kissed her.

Epilogue

The next morning, Nancy gave her father a call. It had been late when the police left last night, so she'd decided to wait until the next day.

"Hello?"

"Dad, It's me." Nancy said. "Good news: we caught the guy."

"That's wonderful." her father said brightly. "Now, I know you're practically an expert, but I have to admit I lost sleep over this one."

"So did I." Nancy agreed. "It was a close one."

"I want to hear the whole story, honey, but you'll need to tell me later. I'm due in court in a few minutes. With any luck at all, we can get this case wrapped up today. Personally, I think it's in the bag." Carson sounded rueful about hanging up so soon. "I should be home tomorrow."

Nancy smiled. "Don't worry. We'll be fine until then. Go get 'em, Dad!"

Carson laughed. "Oh, I will. Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too. 'Bye." Nancy hung up and made her way into the kitchen where Frank and Joe were sitting at the table. "Good morning!" She kissed Frank and took a seat on his lap.

Joe rolled his eyes. "There are more chairs, you know."

Nancy didn't move. "Duly noted." She teased.

Joe grinned and shook his head. " I'm gonna go somewhere else." He got up from his chair and left the room.

"Hey!" Nancy yelled after him, mock-defensively. "You and Frank are going back to Bayport on Wednesday, so I'm sitting on his lap while I still can!"

"Yeah, okay." Joe called back. "But somehow I get the feeling we're going to be seeing a lot more of you, Nancy Drew!"

"You've got that right!" Nancy shouted, as she and Frank burst out laughing.

A/N: Well, that's the end. Thanks to all my readers for sticking with me. You all rock! As for a sequel, I've started planning one, but I probably won't start it until I've at least finished La Muerta Mystery. Please, review, and let me know what you thought, what you liked or didn't like... I'd really appreciate your comments; they're what makes it all worth it!