Author's Note: Thanks for all of the wonderful encouragement and feedback on the missing moments in Double Crossing! I'm glad everyone's enjoying the series, so far. :) This next one was a bit trickier, as the case(s) were a little harder to create a synopsis for without telling the whole story. Plus, there wereplenty of moments that needed to becapturedin this exploration. Some I could go no further with, since the cases took priority, and disturbing that would've altered the entire concept of the novel. So, I added a special scene of my own towards the end -- which you will patiently have to wait a few days for:)
A side note to Andy, if you're reading this: Since you said that you've had the idea before and were curious as to Frank's thoughts, I'll make you a deal, if you're game. You can co-author with me and write Frank's side of the story and I'll do Nancy's, if you'd like. Let me know via feedback and we can go from there if you want.
Now... on with the show!
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A Crime for Christmas
It was several months after my impromptu run-in with Frank and Joe on the cruise ship when Frank called me out of the blue.
The Chief of Police of New York City, Sam Peterson, had enlisted Frank and Joe's help to catch two young cat-burglars that had pulled off several of New York's most infamous art and jewelry thefts. The newest exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum was that of the crown jewels of a small country called Sarconne. The foreign dignitaries were in town celebrating their countries 500th anniversary, as well as the loaning of the precious jewels to the museum. NYPD was sure that the Sarconne jewels were a target, and desperately wanted to thwart any attempts at theft.
Frank and Joe were asked to help, as the cat burglars were believed to be quite young, and the police didn't have anyone young enough to blend in without being identified. When Frank called me to ask me for my assistance, I readily jumped at the chance, as did another one of my close friends, Bess Marvin.
On the day of our arrival into New York City, Bess and I had arranged to meet the two brothers at the corner of Fifth and Fifty-Seventh. We arrived at the hotel early and before meeting the two decided to do some shopping. After spending too much money in Bloomingdale's, Bess and I happened upon a small gourmet chocolate store. Bess's flirting with the young store clerk scored us two special order chocolate crowns that looked absolutely divine.
We arrived just on time to meet the Hardy's when suddenly, Bess's bags were snatched and she screamed, "Stop! Thief!"
I whipped around and saw three men running through the thick city crowds. I dashed after them and surprisingly caught a glimpse of two of them standing on the corner of Fifty-Sixth, wearinghats slung low on their heads to obscure their faces. The one on the left held Bess's stolen shopping bag in his hand.
Quickly making up my mind to act, I charged the one on the left, yanking his arm behind him that held the bag,as I kickedhim sharply behind his knees.
"Ow!" the man cried, as he fell to the ground.
All of the shoppers around me gasped, and there was a hushed, stunned silence, before the man that was on the ground looked up. Catching a glimpse of a face of not a thief, but of Joe Hardy, my jaw dropped in astonishment."Joe Hardy!" I exclaimed.
Hearing an almost maniacal laughter, I looked over and saw his brother Frank, doubled over and holding his sides as he laughed at the sight in front of him.
"That was a mean trick!" I pouted. "I thought you were.."
"The infamous New York City chocolate thieves?" Frank managed in between his laughter. Grinning, he held his hand out to Joe and helped him up from the sidewalk.
It turned out that Frank and Joe had been crossing the street to meet me and Bess, when they saw the man snatch Bess's bag. They instantly took off after the thief, but didn't catch him. They did manage to retrieve the bag when the thief dropped it during his get away.
With that matter resolved, the four of us decided to continue on to dinner. Frank suggested The Hard Rock Café, as it was close by. The three of us agreed and we headed off to quell our hunger.
Frank and I led the way, with Bess and Joe walking behind. "I hope this place is good," Frank commented casually. "I'm starving."
"Yeah, me too," I replied. Inwardly, I cringed. Was that the most interesting thing I could think to say around him? I was starting to feel nervous. After all, Frank and I never did discuss what happened the last time we saw each other.
All I knew was that there was something special about Frank Hardy. I wasn't sure if it was his deep brown eyes, which sparkled whenever he spoke to me, or his keen intelligence which constantly questioned me. Being with Frank made me feel so alive, but also slightly guilty about Ned.
I laughed at myself and my crazy thoughts. It wasn't as if I was in love with Frank. As much as we had shared, I still loved Ned, and nothing could make me change my mind. At least I'd never known anyone that could...
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During dinner, Frank explained the intricacies of the case and caught me and Bess up to speed. Well, he attempted to inform the both of us, but Bess was too busy eyeing the handsome young man at the table across from us, to truly pay attention to what Frank had been saying.
When we arrived back at our hotel, Bess suggested that we go listen to the singer playing in the lobby bar and order some dessert.
"I don't know, Bess," I said with a little frustration. She had hardly paid any attention at dinner, and we had more important information to discuss. "We really need to get started on this. There's so much we need to look over in Frank's notes."
Bess began practically whining and I looked at Joe and Frank for help. Before they could state my case, a strange voice interrupted our conversation.
"I hear the singer is one of the best in New York." I turned around and came face to face with the same young man that Bess had been eyeing in the restaurant.
The young man introduced himself as John. He had a slight accent that I couldn't quite place. He seemed a little too friendly and eager to join our group. He immediately invited us to go listen to the singer as his guests.
Bess looked at me pleadingly once more, as our new acquaintance John insisted that we join him. Suddenly though, he changed his mind and apologized for bothering us.
"What was that all about?" Frank asked as the young man disappeared toward the bank of elevators.
I was just as confused as Frank was, but I smiled at the dreamy look on my friend's face. "I think Bess has an admirer."
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Bess and I were dropping off our bags in our room before leaving to meet up with the brothers in their room. She was rambling on and on about the mysterious man we met downstairs and about how dreamy he was, when suddenly she focused her gaze on a noise at the window and let out a scream.
I saw a shadowy figure of a man outside our hotel room window and gasped. I instantly reached for the light switch, and the room instantly fell into darkness. "Get down behind the bed!" I hissed.
I carefully crawled over to the nightstand and picked up the bedside phone. I punched in the Hardy's room number and when Joe answered, I told him to hurry to our room. I didn't give him any time to ask questions before hanging up the phone.
The person outside our window turned out to be John, the man I had called Bess's admirer. Bess turned on the light and let him inside. As he crawled through the window, the sound of Frank's fists pounding on the door echoed like gunshots.
"What's going on in there, Nancy? Open up!" he yelled.
I ran to the door and let the brothers inside our room. "False alarm," I said.
John explained his passion for climbing as a not so believable excuse for being outside our window. Although Frank, Joe, and I found John quite unnerving it was clear that Bess was more than infatuated. John quickly had persuaded Bess to join him for a night on the town.
I couldn't let my friend wander the strange city with an even stranger man, so I agreed to join the pair. Frank and Joe reluctantly agreed as well, and soon the five of us were partying our way across the island of Manhattan.
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The lights of the club were blinding as Frank and I danced to a pulsing rhythm in Club Neon, the first stop on our New York City adventure. Fake snow shot of makeshift pipes in the ceiling and I laughed as it fell into my hair. "Christmas, club-style!" I grinned.
I recalled the last time Frank and I had shared a dance. The music was so soft and subtle aboard the Duchess that night, but the pounding of our hearts had been even louder.
Frank reached over and gently brushed a "snowflake" off of my cheek.
I leaned in closer to him so I wouldn't have to yell. "You're fighting a loosing battle!" I informed witha smile.
Frank's dancing slowed and he looked at me with a more serious expression. "I know." On impulse, he grabbed my hand and was about to lead me off the dance floor when we were stopped by John and Bess, who informed us we were already moving on to stop number two of the evening.
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After a whirlwind of an evening we finally arrived at our hotel, sans John. As he hailed the four of us a cab, he insisted that he left his scarf in the club and would join us later.
Strange circumstances in the comedy club left Frank, Joe, and I wondering if John could be one of the cat burglars that we were looking for. Our suspicions didn't sit too well with Bess, who was more than enamored with the handsome young man.
When Bess and I finally arrived back at our room we were shocked to discover that it had been ransacked! We immediately called both security and the Hardy's who responded immediately. Security swept the room and found nothing, while Joe played big brother to both Bess and I.
When we finally settled in for the night, I found myself once again drifting off to sleep as thoughts of a certain dark haired young man filled my head.