Foreword: Because it's the last week of summer vacation, I will update for the third time this week (since last Friday)! There will be just one more chapter to go until Nancy, George, Frank, Joe, and Ned will reveal the killer. Say in your review whether you want a map of the hotel or not. Don't worry; I won't send you anything but the map. Also, I will make a new map describing how the killer got away with murder when Nancy reveals his/her trick. Enjoy the new chapter, good luck sleuthing, and please review!

12

Denial

Her eyes getting bigger, Nancy faced the telephone in the reception desk. What if it was about something bad? Was anyone else dead? Did the murderer take the third life? Or is it about Frank's failing the polygraph?

None of the thoughts were pleasant, and any one of the news would agonize her. George and Joe looked each other for a while, thinking about the same thing: Who was it from? Was it a bad news?

Frustrating seconds passed by before Nancy picked up the receiver. She called to the person at the other end of the line, "Hello?"

"Nancy?"

It was Frank. The thought of his failing the test came into Nancy's mind and it scared her. "Frank! How was it? Did you pass the test?"

"Yeah," the eighteen-year-old detective said. He sounded a little tired. "I took about three of them and passed all, so they decided to release me."

Nancy sighed in relief. "So do you want us to pick you up at the station?"

"Yep. What did you guys do during the three long hours while I was gone?"

Nancy chuckled. "We talked to the guests at the inn. We also found some strange marks on the floor."

"Strange marks?"

"Yeah. They shape like half-moon. It's really dark red. I think it was blood. But I don't know what it's about."

"I see…" Frank paused for a moment.

"And we're still going to ask two more guests: Mr. Morley and Percival. We saw Mrs. Morley out in the garden, but we didn't see Mr. Morley yet. It seems like they both are away."

Frank seemed to note all these down. "Okay, so come pick me up as soon as possible. Did you already tell the police about the car that was about to hit you when we were at Miami?"

"Yeah. The policewoman said that it was going to take a little while, since it was really busy in the police station. But she said she'll call me on my cell phone after I told her the number."

"Great. I'll be waiting."

Nancy put the receiver down and looked at the others. They all seemed to have heard what Nancy had heard and seemed quite relieved. "So Frank called and wants us to pick him up. He passed the polygraph test."

Joe seemed relieved. "Thank goodness he did. So right now he is officially off the hook, right?"

Nancy said she didn't know. "After all, the police have the evidence pointing Frank to his killing Sam. If we don't find out who the killer is soon and give the police the evidence, he will be arrested again. They don't think he's completely innocent."

Ned suddenly thought of something. "Hey, could there be a secret passageway in the kitchen?"

Nancy never thought of that before. She seemed surprised for a moment. "I think that's a possibility. This building was renovated into a bed-and-breakfast just a few years ago, but the building itself was here for centuries. I hear that in old buildings and mansions, there are secret passageways built so the owners could escape during a rampage or when an angry mob came to burn down the house. I think that room deserves a good search."

The detectives decided to get Frank from the police station after they searched the room. Nancy and Ned searched the kitchen while George and Joe searched the dining room.

Nancy first took a look at the refrigerator in the kitchen. She and Ned moved it over a few inches and she peeked into the opening. "No passageway here," she declared, shaking her head.

Ned then searched the cabinets. He took some of the things that were in the cabinets and tapped on the wood inside them. But he found that they were solid and didn't seem to conceal a secret opening. After putting what he took out back inside, the two detectives continued their search.

Meanwhile, in the dining room, the first thing George took a look was at the huge cabinet that contained plates and cups. The two detectives moved the huge cabinet over just a tiny bit. George and Joe were both strong and athletic, so it didn't take them long to make half a foot of opening between the end of the cabinet and the wall. George put her slender arm into the opening and felt the wall. When she took her arm out, she shook her head. "No opening," she said,

After ten minutes of searching, the two teams got together at the lobby and discussed their findings.

"There was no secret passageway after all," Ned said. "I guess my idea was wrong."

"So now we should go get Frank," Joe said. "I'll drive."

The others shared an uneasy look. Finally, George took the car key and said, "Guess what. You've been working too hard, so I'll drive and you can sit back and enjoy the view."

Joe agreed reluctantly.

The detectives arrived at the station fifty minutes after Frank made his phone call. When they got to the station, Frank was waiting anxiously for them. "About time!" he said jokingly. "Now I have an idea of what we can do. First, we should ask Mrs. Morley where her husband is. Then, we can search for Percival in his law office. The latter has a lot of explaining to do for us."

Nancy took out her cell phone. After dialing Mrs. Morley's cell phone number, she heard the lady answer. "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Nancy Drew. Are you done with your gardening?"

"Sure am. What can I do for you, sweetie?"

"I want to know where Mr. Morley is. Could you tell us where he usually is at this hour?"

Mrs. Morley paused for a moment. "Yes. He works in a restaurant downtown as a part-time assistant chef. He usually works from four to nine during weekdays. From nine in the morning to four in the afternoon, he works at the plantation. He works really hard and seriously. He's also a very talented chef. It's almost six, so if you want to stop by at his restaurant for dinner, be sure to look for a restaurant named 'Miamians' Delight'. It received many prestigious awards mostly because of my husband's ingenious cooking skills."

"Great! I think I'll go there for dinner. Um, do you know where Percival works?"

"Percy works in Keene, Dixon, and Stuarts Law Office. The other two lawyers are Carol Keene and Frank Dixon. I think they have been working together for many years. Their office is at the intersection of the 24th Avenue and the 21st Terrace. I think it's about one and a third hours from the inn. Where are you now?"

"At the police station downtown," answered Nancy.

"Then you'll get there in thirty minutes, I suppose."

"Okay, thank you, Mrs. Morley."

After putting her cell phone away into her purse, Nancy told the others what she heard. Frank decided to drive to the office.

When they got to the office, the detectives were fascinated by how tall it was. It seemed like it had twenty to thirty floors.

"Oh, it's not all a single law office," George said, chuckling. "There are restaurants and shops inside. And speaking of restaurant…"

The brunette pointed to the restaurant just across the street. "There is the restaurant Mrs. Morley mentioned!"

Sure enough, the restaurant's name was "Miamians' Delight". The detectives decided to go talk to Mr. Morley before they talked to Percival.

After entering the restaurant, the detectives saw many people in suits and formal outfits eating dinner there. Nancy figured out that it was a dinner spot for those who worked nearby.

In the kitchen, the detectives found the assistant chef sitting down on a chair and drinking a cup of water.

"Huh? Nancy?" Mr. Morley looked at the teenagers. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to ask you about the crimes. Do you have a few minutes to spare?" Joe asked.

"Yes. I'm on a break, so you can ask me whatever you like."

"Okay… Did you know the two victims well?" asked Frank.

"Christina and I were never best friends. But we did talk about cooking once in a while. I don't think she was as sweet as the oranges she grew."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she was really glacial and unfriendly."

Nancy couldn't believe a man as unfriendly-looking as Mr. Morley talking about a woman who was glacial. If he were telling the truth, then Christina would be the unfriendliest woman in the world!

"So you didn't exactly have a grudge against her?"

"Nope."

"Okay… What about Sam Cantu?"

"I'm not even related to him, so I don't know anything about him more than I know Christina. But he was a man who challenged almost anything. He was quite adventurous and was looking for some way to gain cash quickly."

Even operate an illegal operation to gain money for himself! Nancy thought, but she didn't say it out loud.

The assistant chef looked at his watch. "It's time for me to go now. Please stay and eat one of the entrees if you like."

Nancy looked at the watch. And she saw a bandage on Mr. Morley's finger.

"What happened to your finger?"

"Oh, this? I cut myself when I was using the knife."

"Oh…" Nancy nodded. That sounded reasonable enough.

"And now, if you'll excuse me."

After the man was gone, Nancy had a feeling she was mistaken about how cold he seemed when the detectives first arrived. He's not that bad after all.

The dinner was spectacular; the food served weren't expensive but were very well done. The desserts seemed to melt in their mouths. The five teenagers finished dinner and paid the waiter. After that, they went outside across the street to the law office. By then it was already close to seven o'clock.

The law offices were on the tenth floor. Nancy found that it had a magnificent view of the entire neighborhood, even though most of what she saw was buildings surrounding buildings in the complex jungle of concrete, steel, and glass. The blonde lady at the desk looked at the lot as smiled pleasantly. "May I help you?"

"We'd like to speak with Perci…I mean, Mr. Stuart, please," Nancy said.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but I'm sure he will talk with us. We know each other."

The lady whose nametag said "Eleanor" looked at Percival's schedule and took her glasses out. The glasses had purple frames that matched her outfit perfectly. She looked up and said, "Well, he doesn't have a client to talk to just yet. I suppose he can talk with you for about ten to twenty minutes."

"Great," Nancy returned with a smile. "So where is his office?"

"The third one leads to his office. You should see his name on the door."

"Okay. Thank you."

The detectives then went straight to the office. Inside, they heard someone scribble something on a piece of paper. Frank knocked on the door.

"Yes?" a familiar voice asked from inside. "Who is it? I don't think I have an appointment just yet."

"No, you don't," Frank assured, "but we'd like to talk to you."

"Okay, come on in. The door's open."

When the detectives got inside, they saw Percival sitting at his desk with a pen in his hand and a huge window behind him. From there the detectives could see the river flowing through the heart of Miami. The attorney smiled at the visitors and asked them to sit down on wherever they would like. The detectives found two sofas that could seat two persons each and two sofas that could seat one person each. They were facing each other, making the shape of a hexagon. Percival stood up and went to sit on the sofa that wasn't occupied and asked them, "How can I help you lads?"

"We came here to hear the truth," Nancy said with a hardened expression. "We already know that you were up to an unlawful operation with Sam on bringing illegal aliens into the country."

Suddenly, Percival's soft expression turned hard and cold. It was as if he had been wearing a mask all along. "I don't have a slightest idea of what you are talking about," he said.

"But we already know about it from searching inside Sam's room and…"

"This is nothing but your wild imagination running wilder. I am not in any operation whatsoever! And unless you can find a solid evidence pointing me to this crime, I, as an attorney, will not hear anything more from you and won't answer your questions."

"But…"

"I think it's time to go, detectives," Percival said, standing up. "I am a very busy man. Now, please excuse me…"

Nancy noticed that he was wearing a different tie. Just yesterday, she had seen the man with a blue tie, and now he was putting on a green one.

"Did you change your tie?"

"Of course I did. I spilled coffee on my old one. Please leave now. I'm really busy…"

After the detectives went out, Percival closed the door behind him. "I knew it! They were on to me!" he murmured to himself.

Suddenly, Percival was frustrated. "What if they find out a solid evidence? Then I'll be in trouble! I should've never listened to my stupid cousin. I should've never allowed him in to talking me into committing such crime!"

Percival sat down on the sofa, turning his face away from the door. The sun was setting down, and the room turned as red as fresh blood.

Postscript: Countdown! Only one more chapter to go until the revelation.

Keywords: Third victim, disappearances of the suspects, chasing the killer

Hints: suspect's posession, semicircle marks on the ground, footprint under the window.

Next update: August 25th (I think. It might take a little longer.)