Author's Note: I am so glad that you liked the first chapter. I'm actually getting very excited about this story and it means a lot that you are, too. I know from some of the reviews some of you were asking about Frank, and he will be in this one, too. You'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. I kind of have an idea in my head, but you know how I like to change my mind!

And to "Nancy Drew", if you look at the very beginning of the first chapter, you will see that I said Nancy was twenty-one in this story. I'm not really sure how old Ann is, but for this story, I will say that she is twenty-eight.

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The next morning, Nancy was driving her baby blue 1969 Ford Mustang Convertible towards Chicago's O'Hare Airport. She had just found a classic rock station on her radio when her cell phone began to ring. She looked down at the screen to see that it was Ann.

"Well, if it isn't our little author," Nancy said as way of greeting.

"I know you're on your way to pick up Carson from the airport, but I have some great news!" Ann's excited voice said.

"Really? What is it?" Nancy asked.

"I just got a call from my publisher in New York and they told me that Never Again is a best-seller!" Ann squealed with delight.

"Congratulations, Ann!" Nancy said. "That's wonderful. It's practically unheard of for a new author to be a best-seller the day after a book's release."

"I know," Ann said. "This is great, Nancy!"

"We should celebrate," Nancy said. "Let me take you out to dinner tonight."

"Oh, Nancy, you don't have to do that," Ann said.

"I know I don't, but I want to," Nancy said. "Come on, you deserve it. You can even bring Thomas with you. I'm sure I can get Ned to tag along."

"All right," Ann said. "When and where?"

"Your pick," Nancy said.

"Alberto's at seven?" Ann asked.

"I'll see you there." Nancy hung up the phone just as she was pulling into the O'Hare Airport. She parked her car into the short-term parking lot and walked through the double doors of the famed airport. She didn't have to walk very far when she heard her father calling her name.

"Nancy!"

Nancy turned around the see her father making his way towards her, briefcase in hand. She gave him a hug and stepped back.

"So, how was San Diego?" Nancy asked. He father had been there attending a conference for criminal lawyers.

"Good–though, I didn't have time to enjoy the sights," Carson said.

"You were in lectures the entire time?" Nancy asked. The made their way over to the baggage claim area.

"Yes," Carson sighed. "And let me be the first to tell you that they were not interesting at all. So, how did Ann's book release party go?"

"Went off without a hitch," Nancy said, grabbing one of her father's bags. "And I just got off the phone with her. Her publisher called and told her that she was a best-seller."

"That's great news!" Carson grabbed his other bag and they made their way towards Nancy's car.

"Yeah, she's really happy. I'm going to take her out to dinner tonight to celebrate," Nancy said.

"She certainly deserves this," Carson said. Nancy popped the trunk of her car and they piled in his luggage.

"She really does," Nancy said. "I need to get back to town and tell Ned that we're going out tonight. I haven't had a chance to call him yet."

"Just drop me off at the office," Carson said as Nancy started the ignition. "I need to check on my case docket for next week."

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"Hey, Joe! I'm back!" Twenty-one year old Frank Hardy called out as he walked into his Bayport home. He put his keys to his Jeep down on the small table beside the door and walked into the kitchen.

"Do you want me to alert the papers?" Twenty year old Joe Hardy asked, swallowing the bite of spaghetti that he had in his mouth.

"That sense of humor of yours gets worse day after day," Frank commented. He put down the bag he had been holding on the table and walked over to the refrigerator.

"If you're looking for the spaghetti, I just wiped it out," Joe said.

"Figures," Frank said. "And no, I was just getting something to drink." He pulled out a bottle of water and sat down at the table in front of Joe.

"So, where have you been?" Joe asked.

"I went to the bookstore," Frank said. "You know–the place where you buy books?"

"I know what a bookstore is," Joe said, giving Frank a dirty look. "It's a great place to meet girls."

"You would think a truck stop was a great place to meet girls," Frank said.

"Well, I see that my humor is not going to you," Joe said. He pushed aside the bowl and looked at Frank. "So, what book was on the must-have list now?"

Joe sometimes got annoyed with Frank's love of books. Joe would rather spend his time chasing girls and playing sports. Frank, on the other hand, loved to read and play with his computer.

"It's some new mystery novel," Frank said, taking the book out of the bag.

"Mystery novel?" Joe asked, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, Frank. Don't you have enough mystery in your life as it is?"

"Yeah, but that's our real life," Frank said. "I do like the occasional work of fiction that doesn't require me to risk my neck on a daily basis."

"So, what's so wonderful about this book?" Joe asked.

"It's about a guy who gets keeps getting rejected by everyone. So he decides to exact revenge against them all," Frank said, reading the inside flaps.

"Sounds like your general, run-of-the-mill nut job that's been written over and over again," Joe said.

Frank ignored him. "It says here that the author is from River Heights–Nancy's hometown."

"And now we've gotten to the real reason why you bought the book," Joe said. He picked up his bowl and brought it over to the sink.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Frank asked.

"It means you would do–or read–anything if it even remotely related to Nancy," Joe said.

"That's stupid, Joe," Frank said.

"Is it? How long has it been since you've talked to her?" Joe asked.

"About two months. But, so what? We've been busy," Frank protested.

"You mean, she's been busy. You've been around a phone every time that I've seen you, just hoping that she would call," Joe said.

"I think you're exaggerating a little," Frank said, wryly.

"Really?" Joe asked. "Then why haven't you been on a date since you and Callie broke up?"

"I'm just not ready to date right now," Frank said.

"Right," Joe said with a hint of sarcasm. "You're waiting for Nancy. But you're going to have to keep waiting, because the last that I heard, she was still with Ned."

"All right," Frank said, standing up. "I think this conversation has gone on long enough."

"You just don't want to face reality, Frank," Joe said.

"Whatever," Frank grabbed his book and went upstairs to him room.

Joe was wrong. Frank wasn't spending his time, pining for Nancy. He just wasn't ready for another relationship right now. But, if Nancy happened to become available all of a sudden...

Frank shook his head, clearing the thought away. He sat down on his bed and opened the book.

Hmm...the book was dedicated to Nancy...

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"I'm really glad that you got to come tonight," Nancy said to her long-time, on-again, off-again boyfriend, Ned Nickerson. She reached out a hand and grabbed his.

Ned brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'm just glad that I could get off of work on time."

Ned worked as an insurance agent for Morton Brothers Insurance, Chicago's largest insurance firm. He had been there for a year now and was quickly becoming a rising star in the company.

"Well, I am, too," Nancy said. "This is a big night for Ann and I'll take any excuse I can get to see you."

It was still hard for Nancy and Ned to see each other, even after the few years they had been together. He was always in Chicago or traveling for the firm and Nancy was still taking on cases full time.

They pulled up in front of Alberto's. it was the most popular Italian restaurant in River Heights and Nancy could already see a crowd gathering around the doors.

"There's Thomas," Nancy said, pointing to a well-dressed man standing under the canopy. "But I don't see Ann."

"Maybe she's inside getting us a table or she's running late," Ned suggested as he parked the car into the first available slot.

They got out of the car and walked up to the entrance of Alberto's where Thomas was waiting.

"Thomas...hey!" Nancy said.

Thomas smiled at her. "Hey, Nancy." He reached out a hand to Ned. "Ned."

Ned shook his hand. "Hey."

"Where's Ann?" Nancy asked.

"Oh, she was running late. When I left, her agent had her on the phone," Thomas explained. "She told me to go on without her. She should be here soon."

Thomas and Ann had been married for the last six years and when he talked about her, he still had the voice of a man who had just met his soul-mate.

"So, should we wait out here for her?" Nancy asked.

"Well..." Thomas looked at the crowd of people to see if maybe he could spot Ann coming. "We could go in and get a table, I suppose."

"I'm sure she'll be here soon," Ned said.

"All right," Thomas said. He reluctantly led the way into the restaurant.

Nancy followed Thomas into Alberto's. She silently hoped that Ned was right when he said that Ann was just running late.

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Ann looked at her watch and sighed in frustration. It was already approaching seven o'clock and she still wasn't ready for dinner. Thomas has to be getting worried, she thought to herself.

Luckily she had showered before Allan had called her and kept her on the phone for the past hour. She went into the bedroom and took out a simple, black dress and threw it on. She paused in front of the mirror and dabbed on a little blush and lipstick.

She then went back into her room and grabbed the silver hoops that Thomas had given her for their anniversary. Just as she was putting them into her ears, there was a knock on her door.

"Just a minute!" she called.

She quickly put the other earring in and went to the door. She looked out of the peephole to see a delivery man holding a large bouquet of flowers.

"Hi, can I help you?" Ann asked, smiling.

"Ann Granger?" the man asked. When she nodded, he said, "These are for you."

Ann took the flowers and looked at the man, curiously. "Don't I know you?"

"We met last night–at the book signing," the man said.

"Right...Dom, right?" Ann asked.

"You got it," Dom said.

"So, thank you for the flowers," Ann said. She stepped inside her apartment and was closing the door when Dom held out his hand to stop it.

"I don't think so," he said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Ann asked.

He pushed the door open, causing Ann to stumble back and drop the vase full of flowers.

"What are you doing?" Ann asked.

"Maybe you can help me out here, Annie," Dom said, closing the door.

"Help you out with what?" Ann asked, fear creeping in her voice. "What are you doing?"

"You wrote a wonderful book," Dom said. "I finished it all last night. The murders–they were so precise."

"I'm glad that you liked it." Ann backed up from Dom, looking at her phone.

"Don't even think about it," Dom said. "You have to help me here."

"Help you with what?" Ann asked.

"I have to send a message to your little friend," Dom said, advancing on her. "You know–you're little blond-haired friend."

"Nancy? What does she have to do with this?" Ann asked. She felt a lump rise in her throat. She didn't like him including Nancy in this.

"Well, she's obviously a great detective. Or, so I hear from everyone around town," Dom said. "And you did write Katie's character for her. I wonder if she's anything like Katie."

"You leave her alone," Ann said.

Dom shook his head and withdrew something from under his shirt. Ann's eyes widened when she saw what it was. A knife!

"So, tell me Ann...how did that first murder go?"

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