Foreword: Because I didn't update last week, this update will be longer. This chapter introduces all the characters (or suspects hint-hint, so you might want to pay attention! Anyway, next chapter will be about the concert and the murder that occurs twenty miles away during the concert. The suspects' alibis are all solid, and nobody left the building at the time... More details are coming soon (hopefully next Thursday. If not, then the Thursday after that). More suspects, more suspense, more impossible crimes... Can Frank, Joe, and Nancy avoid all the red herrings and get to the real conclusion before the murderer strikes again?
3
First Impressions
As the plane landed on O'Hare Airport a few hours later, the passengers moved out of the airport. Standing up, Nancy took her luggage. Frank took his. The detectives were now in Chicago. In an hour or so, they would go to another plane that would bring them to King County International Airport in Seattle.
The detectives got up from their seats just as everyone else was. After getting their luggage, they went out. In the airport, there were many people walking about. Because it was summer vacation, many college students were at one shop. Probably, they were on a class field trip. Nancy remembered the field trip she had with the entire class, including Bess and George, just a week after they graduated from River Heights High School.
Bess and Joe met Mrs. Fontaine, too, and had finished exchanging hellos and introductions. Mrs. Fontaine looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh, sorry. I have to go to the meeting. It'll start in less than an hour!"
The woman left the group and Nancy then asked what their next action was.
"Joe and I will head for our hotel and you for yours. We'll meet at the concert hall in half an hour. Then, we can go to Jack's house to ask him what was wrong," Frank said. The group then separated into two subgroups. The detectives went to get the cars they rented. The Hardys' car was a black Cadillac, and the girls' was a red Volkswagen. Getting into their own cars, the teams went to different road and headed toward their hotels.
Nancy and Bess arrived at their hotel in forty minutes. She looked at the three-storied hotel. It looked plain from outside, and inside, as the girls found out as they went inside, was quite luxurious. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling and there was an indoor pool and a billiard table right next to it. Bess smiled.
"I knew my swimwear was good for something!" she said.
Nancy rolled her eyes playfully and looked at the four suitcases her friend brought. "Which one has your swimsuit?"
Bess thought for a moment. "I forgot. Maybe I should look for it later. Anyway, we should go get the key to our room."
At the lobby, the girls asked for the key to their room. After given the key, the girls turned around.
"Oh! Nancy! Bess!" a woman's voice exclaimed.
Nancy and Bess saw Mrs. Fontaine. The lady was standing there with the suitcases she had brought to the plane. It was obvious that she didn't go to her room yet. But that made Nancy wonder. Where had she been all along?
"It's great to see that you and I are going to stay in the same hotel. What room did you get?"
"Uh… Room 203," Bess said after looking at the tag that was on the key.
"I got Room 115. The view isn't as nice as yours, but it'll do. At least I got a nonsmoking room. You know, even after a person leaves the room after smoking in it, I still smell the odor floating in the air. Don't you think so?"
Nancy smiled uncomfortably. This lady seemed to be friendly, but now she was just talkative, not to mention a little annoying.
"Well, we'll need to go back to our room now, Mrs. Fontaine," Nancy said. "It was great meeting you here."
"Bye, dear. See you at the concert hall!"
With those words, the woman went to the desk to get the key. Nancy and Bess quickly went to their room. Closing the door, Nancy sighed.
"Don't you think that lady is being a little too friendly?" the girl detective asked her companion. Bess nodded.
"She looks kind of eccentric to me."
Nancy didn't say this, but she secretly agreed. Ever since the group had met her, she had been feeling uncomfortable staying around the woman. Was it a gut instinct or an omen? She didn't know and didn't want to find out. That lady was Jennifer's mother, after all, and she didn't feel like doubting a friend's mother. But the way the woman smiled struck her as suspicious. It seemed like the lady was putting on an act. Sighing, Nancy kept thinking. Could Mrs. Fontaine be involved in the current case somehow? Or is she just an innocent character?
Nancy went to the sink in the hotel room. There were the complimentary facial soap, hand soap, and a bottle of conditioning shampoo. The titian-blonde detective made a face. She hated those kinds. She didn't know why someone would make a fusion of conditioner and shampoo? Each of them had important task to accomplish in order to make the hair clean and silky. Opening her bag, she took out two small bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Tossing the bottle of conditioning shampoo into the wastebasket, she placed the two new bottles on the basket. Then, unfolding the package of hand soap, she began washing her hands.
As she finished, the girl sleuth started unzipping her suitcase. Taking out her laptop, she set it onto the table and got on the Internet.
Bling!
Bess looked up. The computer just made a funny sound, so she looked at the screen. "Hey! Nancy, you got an E-mail!"
Nancy took out the computer mouse and plugged it into the computer. Then, she opened the mail. "Hey! It's from Dad!"
Bess's face turned into a frown. "You didn't tell your dad that you are on a case yet, did you?"
Nancy shook her head. "No. I wonder what this is about…"
She then read the mail:
" 'Dear Nancy,
" 'I want to reach one of my clients, Mrs. Zelda Mott, but her phone is not working and the e-mail account is unreachable. Since she is the manager of the orchestra your friend is in, I was hoping you could talk to her and tell her to call me back about the case she asked me to work on.
" 'Love,
" 'Your father.'"
The girls got out of the car just as they reached the concert hall. It was a huge five-storied building. There was an entrance on every wall. And right next to the east entrance was the poster. It was about the concerts that were held that night. From six to eight, the quartet would be performing. It was actually a unique concert: each person in the quartet would perform a solo, starting from the violin to the piano. In the quartet, there were a conductor, a violinist, a violist, a cellist, and a pianist. According to what Nancy heard, Jennifer was the first violinist.
The Hardys' car appeared just when the girls got out of the car. Frank waved to them and signaled that they should follow him. So the girls did. The detectives headed north and, after half an hour, got to a two-storied house. It was the house of Jack Rocky. The teenagers went to the house and rang the doorbell. Jack answered it.
Grinning, the rock star said, "I'm glad you could come!"
Frank smiled. "Who wouldn't help a rock star in need?"
"And are these chicks your girlfriends?" Jack asked, looking at Nancy and Bess. "Boy, you sure have good taste! I don't think any of my fans are as cute as those two!"
Bess blushed. Nancy studied the rock star. He was a muscular twenty-three-year-old with brown eyes and piercing hazel eyes. He somehow reminded her of Ned Nickerson, her boyfriend. She thought he was quite handsome.
"No, no, nothing like that!" Frank said in a hurry, turning a little red. "These are my friends, who are also detectives. Well, at least this redhead is."
"Do you mind telling us when you got those letters?" asked Nancy, getting into business.
Jack looked around worriedly and told them that they should talk inside. He led them in. After bringing them each a cup of iced cocoa, he explained the situation:
It was just two weeks ago when Jack got the first letter. It didn't have a stamp, so he wondered who the sender could be. When he opened it, a black piece of paper with letters cut out from magazines appeared from inside the envelope. It said: "You'll pay with your life." And the next one he got was just two days after that. The second one said: "I'll make you play your last tune, Jack." The third one, which he received the same way just a week ago, was the one he had sent to the Hardys to examine. And the most recent one, which he got just yesterday, read: "MUSICIAN FROM THE GRAVE is out to get you." The first four words were capitalized, which meant they were emphasized strongly.
"Musician from the grave?" Bess asked in a shaky voice. "You mean, a musician who is now dead?"
Jack looked a little pale. "I think it's just a sick joke, but I want you to investigate this for me. I'm really nervous this person might be serious. If he or she is, then my life won't last long."
The detectives told him to stay at home so he would be safe. The singer hesitantly agreed. "We'll call if we get any clue," Joe said.
"Okay. My phone was fixed and you can call me at this number." Saying that, Jack scribbled his numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to Joe. "I sure wish you could come and tell me the case is solved anytime soon."
Nancy smiled. "We'll try our best."
The detectives drove to Jennifer's house. She opened the door, and when she saw the detectives, she smiled. "What a surprise! I didn't expect you to come so early!"
Nancy chuckled. "I'm glad to see you here. Are you ready for the big night?"
Jennifer answered. "It's not that big anymore, actually. I've been in the quartet for quite a while now. If you want to meet the rest of the members, then you can come to the theater. I bet they are in there practicing."
"I met your mother on the plane," she added.
"Oh, yeah. She's really excited about this concert. We've been practicing for it for nearly two months!"
"I want to meet the rest of the musicians," Bess said excitedly. "Can we go now, please?"
Jennifer agreed. "Let's go. I have my car parked on the driveway."
"It's okay, you can come with Bess and me in our car," Nancy said.
At the theater, Jennifer guided the detectives to the practice room. Right in from the door stood a woman who seemed to be in her early twenties. She looked surprised to find the detectives standing there. "Um… May I help you?"
"Oh, this is Latty Meadow. She is the stage crew here," Jennifer said to the detectives.
"That's Leticia to you,"
There were three men and a woman. Each of them had their hand on either a viola, a cello, a piano, or a baton. The pianist was a woman, but the violist, cellist, and the conductor were men.
"Hi, Jenny!" the pianist said. She stopped playing and came to shake hands with Jennifer. She was about twenty-five and had long black dress on. "It's great to see you. You aren't nervous, are you?"
"No!" Jennifer said. "I'm so confident, I can perform right now."
"And you are…?" The pianist looked at Frank, Joe, Bess, and then Nancy.
"Oh, they are my friends." Turning to the detectives, Jennifer said, "These are the members. The violist is Abraham Connor. The cellist is Smith Wickliffe. The pianist is Katrina Berkeley. And the conductor is Luke Terrain. And Katrina, these are my friends Frank, Joe, Bess, and Nancy."
Katrina smiled. "Nice to meet you."
Just then, the door opened. A woman who was about forty years old came into the room. "Oh, hello," she said. "You are…?"
Nancy smiled. "You must be Mrs. Mott. I'm Nancy Drew."
The woman's eyebrows rose up slightly. "Nancy Drew…? You mean, you are the daughter of Mr. Carson Drew?"
Seeing Nancy nod, she looked nervously at the rest of the crowd. "Nancy… Could I talk to you privately?" Then, without listening for Nancy's answer, Mrs. Mott pulled the girl detective into a nearby practice room. Once inside, the woman closed the door and looked at Nancy. "I'm so glad you could come. My computer is out of order now and my phone is broken. I wanted to call Mr. Drew on my cell phone, but I lost Mr. Drew's phone number a long time ago. How is the case?"
"The case?" Nancy asked.
"Oh… You didn't come to tell me that the case was solved, did you?"
"No… Look, can you tell me what this case is about?"
The woman sighed. "Okay. I had a niece named Maria Voorhees. She was a worldly renowned pianist who killed herself in the house she owned. Because her parents were killed when she was a baby, I had raised her and taught her piano until I knew her talent wasn't something I could handle. She needed to be taught by a real professional. So she went out and found a house that was sold at a reasonable price just half an hour of driving away from the famous musical college. Also, it was quite isolated so she could practice all she wanted.
"But after a month, she died in her house by drinking poison. I don't know why she did that. She was like my own child even though I knew I wasn't her mother."
Nancy thought for a moment. "So you wanted my father to find out who made her commit suicide?"
Mrs. Mott nodded. "It just doesn't make sense that she killed herself. I mean, she had a bright future ahead of her. Her piano skill even surprised the professionals!"
Nancy paused for a moment. "Did she have any enemies?"
"I guess so… She did make a lot of enemies when she became the professor's apprentice. But I don't think they would want to make her commit suicide!"
"I don't, either, but human desire is a strange thing, Mrs. Mott. It can make people do unpredictable thing," Nancy said. She suddenly remembered her past two cases. Even though she tried hard to forget them, they keep coming back in her mind. The two most recent cases she had solved involved revenge. The culprit of the first case plotted revenge against Nancy and her father, while the culprit of the second case turned into a cold-blooded murderer because the person he loved got killed. It was just too much to bear. The girl detective just wished this case would not turn into a murder case, since she didn't want to face another tragedy from occurring ever again.
The young sleuth looked up and heard the door creak a little. Both of them turned around. Somehow, the door was opened without a noise, and someone was running away from the room.
"Oh no!" Nancy muttered. "Someone was out there listening to our conversation!"
Postscript: The next chapter title will be: "Concert Begins."
The concert started, but Nancy and the Hardy boys were not aware of the real event that occurred that night... It was the prelude to a tragedy. Red herrings, false messages, and impossible murder all try to lead the detectives into the wrong solution. Will they be fooled by the traps, or will they find out the real "conductor" of the crime?
P.S. The trick, the killer, and the motive will all surprise you. Guaranteed!