Foreword: Merry Christmas, everyone! For those who are interested, I wrote a little short story featuring Nancy for Christmas theme. If you want to read it, the title is: Sleuthing on Christmas. It'll be up by the time I update this story.
Well, as I had promised, here is the latest addition to the story. Leticia was the cold-blooded killer, but her motive was a very tragic one. As she is being forced to accept her crime, she threatens Frank by using... Well, I shouldn't say too much here. You'll just have to read the chapter to find out. As I said, one particular person will make a surprising reappearance at the end of this chapter. Who could it be?
I got 53 review for my first story, 76 for my second one, and my goal for the third one was 80 reviews, but I'll be happy to get 60 reviews, if possible, by the end of this story. So, please read and REVIEW !
14
Disclosure Two: Rondo
Joe and Bess waited. They were at the old warehouse twenty minutes before and started searching the warehouse. When they found nothing, they waited for Frank. Joe flipped his cell phone on and called Frank.
With a grunt, the blond detective flipped the phone shut and looked at the never-ending road from which they came. "His phone must be out of juice," he muttered. "Usually, he always answers the phone."
Bess sighed. "Do you think something happened to him? Maybe he ran out of gas, got a flat tire, or even got into a horrible accident!"
Joe didn't say a thing. "But we don't know where he is now," he said. "If you had some sort of tracking device…"
The detective thought for a moment. "Where would Frank be right now? The only reason he would turn around would be because he noticed that he didn't have much gas, or he forgot something, or…"
"Or he saw Nancy," Bess murmured. "Maybe he saw a car with Nancy in it and turned around to chase after him. He's too smart and serious to stop by a local restaurant and have a snack just because he was hungry. I mean, did you see how determined he was to finding Nancy?"
Joe nodded. "But we'll need something that would enable us to track him down. Now, where would he go?"
Bess suggested, "Maybe we should go back."
Getting into his car, Joe motioned Bess to come in. Bess also got in, and the two started off.
Twenty miles away, Frank and Leticia were looking at each other. Frank looked at her with anger, and she at him with absolute nothingness. Her gaze was cold and hard.
"So, Sherlock," she said, "what's the proof which you are talking about?"
Frank looked at the clock which was located just behind Leticia. He needed to report her to the authority, but he needed to find out where Nancy was. "I heard you arguing with Officer Barnhart when the second murder occurred. You were saying how you weren't the suspects and that he should arrest Abraham. You also mentioned how the notebook with the schedules on it was lying on the floor when we found it." He stared at Leticia. "How did you know that the notebook was on the floor?"
Leticia looked a little surprised to hear that. But she remained expressionless and said, "I just assumed that it was on the floor. I just thought it was on the floor because you mentioned that everything was on the floor and the place was a mess. It's just an assumption and is useless in court."
Frank grinned. "If you deny it, then I have other evidences." He stuck his hand into the tuba box and pulled out few strands of hair. "Notice anything familiar about its color? The color of the hair is the same as the color of Jack's hair. And I'll be that the DNA will match Jack's when analyzed."
The woman grinned. "Hah!" she shouted in amusement. "Do you think that points to me? Anyone could've used that box trick to make his or her own alibi! Anybody in the quartet, the conductor, and the manager could've used that trick."
Frank again nodded. "Yes. This alone wouldn't prove a thing. But the cart will prove a lot."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that your fingerprints are still on the handle of the cart you used! And because it's summertime, it would be very unnatural for you to use gloves. Mrs. Mott would've realized that if you wore a pair of gloves. But that was a poor decision. If the police find your fingerprints on the handle, then that will be more than enough evidence to put you in jail for good!"
The corner of the woman's mouth curled up. "Well," she said, grinning, "it seems that my effort was wasted. I knew that you were suspicious of Mrs. Fontaine from the beginning and clipped the article of Maria Voorhees's death in advance and put it onto the table just before you guys went to her house to investigate. But I see now that you didn't fall for the red herring."
Leticia then ran to the door. With a swift movement, she opened the door leading to the backstage and entered. Frank hurriedly followed her. As he got to the backstage, he gasped at what he saw.
Frank was astounded to see who was lying there, unconscious. The person had her arms tied behind her back, with her legs bound together. Her mouth was covered with white handkerchief which was bound tightly around her head, gagging her. Her titian-blonde hair was nearly covering her entire face; only her mouth showed. The lipstick which she used made it seem like her mouth was covered with fresh blood.
It was Nancy Drew.
"Nancy!" Frank shouted, preparing to run to her.
"Uh-uh-uh!" a voice said from behind the stage. The door leading to the backstage opened, and Leticia appeared from the backstage and came into view. "You shouldn't ruin the play now, Romeo. Miss Juliet isn't dead just yet, you know…"
The woman then showed something small and metallic to Frank. It was some sort of activator with a red button on top.
"Don't come too close, or this activator will set off the bomb that will make the light fall right on this little princess," she said, looking toward Frank.
Frank looked at the machine that controlled the height of the lights. There was a black box on the machine. He knew immediately that the box was a bomb. If the culprit pressed the button, the bomb will explode and break the device. Then, the klieg light that was a few hundred pounds would crash right on Nancy, and Frank was way too far to save her.
The detective glared at Leticia. "Why are you doing this? Why did you kidnap her?"
"Because she knew too much. She almost figured out that I was responsible for the two people's deaths."
"Then why did you kill Jack and Katrina?"
Leticia bit her lips angrily. "Those two deserved to die," she said finally. "Those two are devils, who murdered someone who was very important to me!"
"But if they did kill someone, why didn't you denounce them to the police?"
"To the police? Without proof?" the woman looked at Frank furiously. "Those idiotic creatures won't do a single thing unless they have that stupid evidence of theirs! They didn't even reconsider about her suicide!"
"Who was killed?" Frank wanted to know.
"It was Maria Voorhees," Leticia muttered. Frank knew that name. Mrs. Mott was talking to Nancy about her! As if reading Frank's mind, Leticia added, "And yes, I knew that Nancy was aware of her when I overheard the conversation between her and Mrs. Mott. She was…"
Leticia paused and took out a pendant from her pocket.
"She was my only sister."
Joe and Bess made to Seattle without bumping into traffic jams. The Sunday afternoon traffic wasn't as bad as Friday afternoon one.
"Oh, where should we begin?" Bess asked, nervous. "If we don't hurry, Frank may be the one to be harmed."
Joe stopped the car as he saw a red traffic signal and thought. The detective must not be too far away. And if a kidnapper would hide Nancy, then he would hide her in a place that's deserted. He looked around. Because it was Sunday evening, all the office buildings were closed, but he knew that the kidnapper wouldn't have access to any of those empty buildings. He got his laptop. After opening the Internet window, he did a few researches. Just as he thought, there was no concert planned in the concert hall that night.
He thought for a moment. "I got it," he finally muttered.
Bess looked at him quizzically.
"The kidnapper must be in the concert hall."
"Sister?" Frank asked. "You mean…"
"I mean exactly what I say," Leticia said, her hand still clutching the activator. "She was the only sibling I had, and those two dirty rats killed her as if she were an insect!"
"What do you mean?" Frank questioned. He was still keeping an eye on the machine right behind her.
Leticia looked at the doors leading to the practice rooms. She then said:
"The person killed by them was Maria Voorhees, and I was her older sister. Our parents died when we were young, so Maria was taken by Mrs. Mott, and I was brought to another aunt. Mrs. Mott was my mother's sister, and the other aunt that took me was my father's cousin. Simply put, Mrs. Mott didn't even know that I was Maria's sister.
"Even though Maria and I were very far apart, she still kept in touch with me and sent me letters once in a while. One day, the letter which she sent me stated that I should go to her house and listen to her practice. I was to decide if the song was fit for Mrs. Mott's birthday theme song. I got there that fateful morning and saw a car leaving her house.
"I got suspicious and went into the house, only to find Maria dead on the bed. She left a note stating: 'I hereby end my final note.'"
Leticia paused for a moment, and then started again: "I knew that the letter wasn't written by her. In fact, she was looking forward to the birthday party and practiced for hours every day! I got really suspicious and decided to do an investigation of my own. I remembered the license number of the car, but the police didn't even tell me who owned that car. They said that the case was closed as a suicide.
"Knowing that police weren't any help, I went to the university in which Maria studied. I then found a car that looked exactly like the one that was leaving the house right after Maria died. I hid in the bushes and watched as two people came out of the building. They were Brian McMillan and Katrina Berkeley. I didn't know Brian before, but I knew Katrina because we went to the same high school. I knew that she had one of the most rotten personalities. Suspicious, I went into the school as a janitor and did an undercover investigation of my own. And then, after a year of investigation, I would see those two devils get out of their disguises!"
The woman then continued:
One day, when I was cleaning the hallways, I overheard Brian, a.k.a. Jack Rocky, and Katrina talking. Thinking that it might be important, I eavesdropped on them.
"I can't believe she is such a pest," said Brian.
Katrina nodded, smiling, and replied, "She found out how we were selling drugs to earn ourselves some cash and was about to tell the police about it. How can you give up a delicious business like this when you are earning more money that you ever will if you kept working in a stupid family restaurant as a waitress?"
Brian grinned. "Thank goodness I killed her and left that note to make it look like suicide. Those stupid police officers fell for it!"
"What!" I thought. "Those two killed my only sister just so they could keep earning money?"
Katrina laughed. "Of course. They're the ones with the guns, but without the brains."
"Got that right!"
Then, the two laughed out loud. The school was completely empty, and their laughter echoed in the hallways.
After finishing the narration, Leticia once again looked at Frank. She said:
"I had to force myself to stand still. I now knew that my suspicion was confirmed. Those two had killed Maria simply for their own benefit. I hated them. I loathed them from the bottom of my heart!
"And since the police won't move their butts because they were so stubborn, I decided to take law into my own two hands. I had to finish them once and for all. I had to kill them. I had to kill them to avenge Maria!"
"Shut up!" Frank shouted. The killer looked at him, startled. "You may think this is heroic and all, but it isn't! Do you truly think that Maria would be happy to see you smear your own two hands with Jack and Katrina's blood? Do you really think that she would like your idea of avenging her?"
Leticia's grip on the button tightened.
"Wasn't there another way to resolve this? Did you have to turn to crime?"
Leticia still didn't speak.
"Murder is never right, Leticia," Frank said, softening his tone. "Burglary, causing injury, fraud, and many other crimes can be amended, but murder never can. When a life is taken, it's gone forever. Just because those two killed Maria didn't mean that you could kill them both. I know that what they did was wrong. But wasn't there another way to make them pay for what they did?"
Leticia looked up at the light. Her eyes glittered in the lights, and Frank knew that they were filled with tears. As a single drop of tear fell from her cheek, Leticia's expression changed.
"No! They deserved what they did! And I'll not be caught for that!"
Frank started to run toward her, but she showed him the button once again. That made Frank stop in his path.
"Don't come after me! If you do, I'll press this button, and you'll never see your precious girlfriend again!"
Frank couldn't make a move. As he glared at Leticia, the door right behind the killer opened, and a figure came running toward her. It was Mrs. Fontaine.
"What?"
The woman grabbed Leticia's hand, but the killer recovered quickly. She tried to pull her arm free, but the woman's grip was too tight.
"Get Nancy now, Frank!" Mrs. Fontaine shouted.
Frank immediately ran toward Nancy. At that very instant, Leticia yanked her hands free from Mrs. Fontaine's grasp. But Mrs. Fontaine then kicked her leg. Shouting in pain, Leticia crouched down. Noticing that the woman was off-guard, Mrs. Fontaine reached for the button.
But Leticia was too fast. She immediately took the button away and tossed it high into the air. And as the activator landed on the floor, the button was pressed.
Click!
The bomb was activated.
Postscript: Gasp, gasp, gasp! Will Nancy survive this time? And how did Mrs. Fontaine figure out where they were? Can Frank save Nancy before the lights crush her? The last chapter answers these and many more questions, so don't miss it!
Next and final update:December 29
Special Announcement! At the end of this story, Mrs. Fontaine will reveal a surprising fact about Nancy's past. As Nancy tries to find out the answer to the mystery that remained unsolved for decades, she is invited by Frank and Joe to solve yet another mystery. The next story will be all original and include my own personal interpretations on the mystery of Nancy's tragic past. And the most shocking news is that the next story will include not only one, not only two, not only three, but TOTAL OF FOUR buffling mysteries which the detectives must solve! Because of that, the next one will be longer (I'm thinking about somewhere around twenty to twenty-five chapters)! What will the next mystery be about? Well, you'll find out on January 1, 2006.
P.S. Did you notice how some chapter titles were long and others were short? Well, I did that on purpose. The titles are the clue to who will make an appearance in the next novel! Go to the list of chapters for this story. If you squint, you'll see that two letters appear in the space right after the titles. That's my hint. Those two letters are the initials of a certain character from the Hardy Boys Mysteries who will appear in the next story. Can you figure out before I let you know next week?