Foreword: Another week has passed, and here is another shocking update. As I said before, there are many small clues scattered throughout the story that will help you catch the killer. In this chapter, the killer makes another move. Who will be killed? I'm sorry for the confusion in Chapter 3; I meant "quartet" but put "quintet" in that chapter, for some strange reason. Quartet is when four instruments are used, and quintet requires five instruments. I guess my mind wasn't so clear then. Anyway, my newest chapter might shock some of you. I promise that the next seven chapters will go really, really fast and action-packed. If you enjoy my story, then please post a review. If you hated it, then please post a review stating the places I can work on and fix the next time I write another novel. Enjoy, and please review.

7

Tragedy Under the Moonlight

Bess almost screamed as she saw the e-mail. The reason wasn't only because of the message, but also because of the image that was placed right under it. There was a chilling image of a black skull that seemed to smile at them from inside the screen.

Nancy immediately checked who sent the e-mail. As she saw the sender's address, her blood turned cold.

"I can't believe it," she muttered.

"Who is this from?" asked Bess.

"It's from…Jack Rocky."

Bess was horrified. "Do you mean that a dead person sent you an e-mail?"

Nancy shook her head. "Do you remember when Jack said that his phone wouldn't arrive for a few more weeks?"

Bess nodded. "Wait! Then, Jack didn't have a phone!"

Again, the girl detective shook her head. "He did have one for private use, with different phone number than his other one. I think this is the phone. I guess he didn't notice that the blackmailer stole his cell phone and assumed it was lost and broken, then ordered a new one, only to ignore the fact that his old phone was still usable."

This made the blonde girl feel better. "So who is this person?"

"Must be the killer or blackmailer or both, if the blackmailer killed Jack. I have a feeling that they are one person."

The two girls went back to their hotel room and went to bed after taking a shower. Nancy noticed that it was already eleven o'clock. As soon as she put her head down onto the pillow, she was fast asleep.

After a long while, the girl detective noticed that she couldn't move her hands and legs. When she came to, Nancy discovered that she was bound. Trying to speak, she opened her mouth, but there was a scarf covering it.

As the eighteen-year-old struggled to free herself, a hooded figure wearing a cloak came into the dark room in which she was kept. The figure held a scythe that reflected Nancy's horrified face. The dim light from the lit candles just made the circumstance worse. The hooded figure then raised the scythe. As he did so, the hood fell off, revealing a face.

The head of the figure was actually a skull, with no skin or hair, just plain, evil-looking skull that seemed to grin in the dim candlelight.

With a gasp, Nancy woke up, finding herself in her hotel room. She was in her bed, and the bright summer morning sunlight shone through the curtains and into the room. Bess was still asleep in her bed. The electronic alarm clock said that it was eight o'clock.

Lazily, the girl detective got out of her bed and went to get herself dressed. She noticed that the girls were meeting with the Hardys at eight-fifteen. With a gasp, Nancy went to Bess. Waking her friend up, the girl detective then went to brush her hair, leaving her friend to yawn and stretch in her bed, not knowing what was the matter.

"Hurry, Bess!" she said. "We're meeting Frank and Joe in fifteen minutes. They said that they would be coming."

Bess hastily dressed herself and opened her suitcase. She then crossed her arm in front of her chest and thought: what should she wear today?

Just then, when Bess decided to wear a light pink shirt with her jeans, there was a tap on the door. Nancy opened it. Outside, there stood two teenage boys, the taller having brown hair and the shorter blond hair.

"Coming to eat breakfast?" Frank asked with a smile.

Nancy nodded. "Glad to."

The detectives went out to the car in which the boys came in. Bess showed her book to the boys, and the foursome decided to eat at a small local restaurant that served unique local foods and cuisine.

After the hearty breakfast, the detectives went to many tourist spots in Seattle, including Museum of Flight, Museum of Glass, Museum of History and Industry, and the Henry Art Gallery. The detectives then went to the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.

"This reminds me of our dear buddy Tom Swift," Frank said with a grin. "And I'm sure he's out there somewhere, inventing some crazy inventions and getting in trouble this very moment."

After visiting many places in Seattle, the detectives noticed that it was already five o'clock. They went straight to Jennifer's house.

The sound of violin could be heard from outside Jennifer's residence. As Nancy knocked on the door, Mrs. Fontaine opened the door. When she saw the detectives, she smiled. "Well, what can I do for you?"

"We'd like to see Jenny," Bess answered, "if we're not interrupting her practice."

Mrs. Fontaine shook her head. "No, you're not interrupting her practice. I think a day off might be good for her, since she always practice so hard all the time."

The detectives were led to a large room. In it were a grand piano, a couple of bookshelves filled with what Nancy thought was the music scores, and a huge window that covered the entire wall and showed them the scene outside.

In the middle of the room was Jennifer, practicing her violin and not noticing the detectives until she stopped and turned around. Surprised, she the smiled. "Hi, guys! I'm so glad you came!"

Frank asked, "How come?"

"I just got a phone call from Katrina—you know, the pianist—and she invited me to a party at her house, with all the other members."

"That's nice," Nancy said.

"And I'd like to invite you as well. She said, 'The more the merrier!' And also, you'll be able to hear us practice for our next concert, which will be next week."

Joe grinned. "All right! I'm glad to have time off from investigation works!"

As the teenagers departed, Mrs. Fontaine waved her hand. "Have a nice time!" she called after them. When the car turned around the corner and vanished, she turned around and went back into the house. Inside, she went to her computer and turned the switch on. Using her mouse, she clicked on a certain icon on the screen of the computer.

Bling! "Type your password, please," came an electronic voice. The woman typed a few letters and numbers with such speed that if a person was next to her, he wouldn't be able to see what she typed. After pressing the enter button, the screen changed and a new window appeared in the display. It was a list of files. Mrs. Fontaine dragged the bar at the rightmost part of the window down and came to the last file in the list. It was labeled Jack Rocky. She clicked on the folder, and after a second, a new window appeared. The top of the window showed these words: Brian McMillan, a.k.a. Jack Rocky.

The detectives and the musician came to a large house in a suburb of Seattle, about forty minutes of driving from Jennifer's residence. A woman with dashing blonde hair opened the door as the guests arrived. "I'm so glad you came!" Katrina said. "Come on in! The others are already here!"

Stepping inside, the detectives noticed that her house was even larger than Jennifer's. As the teenagers stepped into the living room, they saw the other guests. Abraham was near the window, talking with Smith and Luke.

"Where are Leticia and Mrs. Mott?" asked Nancy.

Katrina smiled. "They're in the kitchen preparing the dinner. Mrs. Mott is a wonderful cook, actually, and Latty has her magical touch that makes any bland dish a culinary pearl of art. And," she giggled, "you know how bad those men cook; they come here mainly to eat something decent once in a while."

Bess giggled also. "But why doesn't Leticia like it when people call her Latty?"

Katrina shrugged. "I don't know. She once told us that Latty makes her sound so immature and naïve. I didn't think so and thought that Latty was a cool name. So we decided to call her Latty when everyone not in the quartet would call her Leticia."

Bess looked at the men who were talking. "I assume they aren't married?"

Katrina shook her head. "They are in their mid-twenties, but they are way too busy to date anyone. Except, of course…" She pointed to Smith. "He was my boyfriend for five years."

Nancy's gaze went to Smith. "Why…um…did you split up?"

"I guess he was just too childish. I mean, he was really selfish at times and I didn't feel like staying with him. So I started dating Jack."

"Jack?" Bess asked, surprised. "You mean…"

"I mean that I started going out with Jack. He was nice, but I then noticed that I wasn't fit for him, after what had happened…" Katrina paused.

"What happened?"

"Oh, nothing," the lady said, suddenly realizing what she had said. "Let's go to the dining room. I think I smell prepared food in there!"

Sure enough, the table was topped with at least five different dishes, each with different ingredient and scent. The aroma made Nancy realize that she didn't have dinner yet. As the three men came into the room, the dining room was quickly filled, and after a short while, the table was cleaned and everyone satisfied with the meal.

"That was awesome!" Bess complimented.

"Thanks," said Leticia, taking the empty dishes back into the kitchen. "The dessert will be out soon."

The dessert was then passed, and the guests finished it in a few minutes. Katrina stood up and looked at her guests. "Okay, we'll be practicing in ten minutes. Let's show these young detectives a concert of their lives!"

Frank looked on as the people stood up and went to the living room. Katrina looked at the clock. It was close to eight o'clock. Without a word, she went to the hallway leading away from the living room.

"Let's go see those quartet perform!" Bess said as she tugged on Nancy's arm.

Katrina went into her practice hall, where a grand piano was placed. The moonlight poured into the dark room. Raising the cover of her keyboard, the pianist raised her head to see a figure standing in front of the door. Moonlight poured onto the person's face, and the pianist recognized the figure.

"Oh… It's you…"

The figure kept quiet.

"What did you want to say to me? You said that I had to meet you here in the practice hall during the party. Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Without a word, the mysterious visitor took something that was hidden behind and showed it to Katrina. It was a knife that glittered eerily in the pale light from the full moon.

"What…what are you doing?" Katrina asked, horrified. "What do you want from me?"

The visitor pointed the knife at Katrina and ran toward her. In an instant, the keys of the grand piano were soaked in blood. The pianist then fell forward onto the keyboard. The knife stuck out from her stomach. Turning around, the person opened the door and went out, leaving the room with Katrina in it.

Katrina groaned and opened her eyes after the figure was gone. With the last of her strength, she thought of a way to tell the others who the person was. It was obvious that she wouldn't be able to live for another minute, but at least she needed to tell someone the identity of the killer.

The desperate pianist touched her stomach, which was gushing out blood as red and dark as her dark crimson shirt. Her fingers were then smeared with her blood. Raising her right hand, she played four notes. After that, her hand fell to her side and turned limp. The pianist was dead.

Postscript: So there is one less suspect in the case. Who is the killer? Is it Nancy's friend who is also the violinist in the quartet, the violist who refuses to talk about his past, the cellist who knows more than he tells, the unfriendly stage crew, the nice and hapless manager, or strange, suspicious Mrs. Fontaine? Find some more clues in the next installment, titled: Devilish Symphony...

All of a sudden, Joe shouted something to Frank. Frank, startled, lifted his head to look at his brother. However, a loud snap followed and the blond detective was running toward him. The older Hardy looked up, and all he saw was the three-hundred-pound kleig light falling down. He then noticed that he was right under it.