Foreword: The last chapter ended with Nancy in grave danger as the bomb destroys the machine that controls the lights. Will she survive? And why was Mrs. Fontaine there? All questions that you had will be answered in this epilogue of the newest of the three mysteries. And the ending will probably shock many of you. Please review and tell me your opinions on this story. Please answer as many of these questions as you can in your review: 1) Was the alibi trick easy or hard? 2) Were the characterswell-drawn or two-dimensional? 3) Were the clues I gave you too vague or immediately gave the identity of the killer away? 4) Do you think the next fanfic should be just the same-old adventure/mystery or a mystery with a touch of romance? 5) What did you like about this story? 6) Out of the three novels (and a short story) I've written, which one do you like the most and why? 7) Where do you think I can improve in my next novel? 8) And finally, did you enjoy reading this mystery? Please type a few words in your review about what you think, since I will consider my readers' thoughts when writing my next perplexing mystery.

Thank you for reading my novels! And I hope you'll enjoy this last chapter of the newest mystery as much as the two previous ones. I wish you to keep reading my fanfic novels. I promise you that the next one will beseven times more shocking than the last ones combined because there will be more romance, more mystery, more suspense, more horrors, more chapters, more clues, and MORE TENSION between Frank and Ned! (Yes, the next one will include Ned and, as some of you have already found out, Callie Shaw. More will be told in the postscript.)

15

Epilogue: Fantasia

"No!"

Frank quickly realized that the bomb was set off, and he immediately dashed toward Nancy. With a blinding light, the machine controlling the height of the lights exploded into smithereens. At the same time, just thirty yards away, the klieg light swayed. The light was quickly turned off, and it fell down fast.

"Nancy!"

Frank dived on the floor only five feet from the unconscious girl detective. He pushed the girl detective out of the way. And just as he slid another five feet, the klieg light made contact with the floor.

A deafening crash.

Then, silence.

The silence seemed to last forever. Frank looked back and saw the light destroyed completely. He tried to move his arm. A stinging pain hit his mind, and he winced. Looking at his arm, which was bare because he had worn a T-shirt, he saw a trail of fresh blood running down from his shoulder to his elbow, then dripping down onto the cold wooden floor.

As the light crashed onto the ground, the glass broke and went off in every direction. Some of the small pieces of broken glass hit Frank's arm and cut the skin. However, thankfully, Nancy was completely unharmed.

The girl detective's eyelids fluttered for a moment. Then, she opened her clear blue eyes. "…Frank?"

Then, without waiting for Frank to respond, she hugged the detective so fast that he couldn't say anything for a few seconds.

Then, Frank slowly looked at Nancy. "Nancy, are you all right?"

Nancy didn't release Frank. She still hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you could come," she said, not raising her head. "I was so afraid… Leticia, she was virtually out of her mind, and I didn't know how long I could've lived."

Frank smiled. "But we'll need to get you to the hospital now, Nancy. You've been like that for one whole day! The circulation of blood in your leg mustn't be very good, and you need to see a doctor. I'm sure you're okay, though."

Nancy looked up. Her eyes were filled with tears, so she wiped them with her shirt. "Okay," she said, standing up weakly, "let's go."

Mrs. Fontaine grinned as Frank and Nancy walked to him. "Thank you, Mrs. Fontaine," Frank said, facing the woman. "If you didn't come the moment you did, I wouldn't know what Leticia could've done."

Mrs. Fontaine nodded, looking at Leticia, who was looking at the floor. The killer's face was no longer menacing. She looked simply dead. She wasn't, but she was dead within her mind, and Frank was sure she wouldn't be like her older self again.

Then, Joe came into the room. "What's the matter?" he called, looking at Nancy who was leaning on Frank for support, Frank with his arm covered in blood, and Mrs. Fontaine who was holding Leticia, who looked at the floor with an emotionless gaze. "Um… What did I miss?"

"A lot," Frank said. Nancy chuckled.

Bess then came into the room, shaken. "I was so worried when Frank was gone. After getting here, I immediately called the police. I think they'll be here in three more…"

As Bess saw Nancy, she started to weep.

"What's the matter, Bess?" Joe asked, worried.

"I'm just so thankful Nancy is still alive… I couldn't even imagine losing one of my best friends!" she said, her eyes still tearful.

Frank smiled warmly. "Well, it's all over now. The murder, the blackmail, the kidnapping… Everything is over."

Or so he thought.

The police arrived a few minutes later, just like what Bess said. The police officers took Leticia back into the police car and drove her to the station. Nancy, on the other hand, went to the hospital with three of her best friends and Mrs. Fontaine. In the hospital, the doctor declared that there was nothing wrong with her other than a bruise on her head and weakness in her legs and arms.

"But I'm sure she'll recover in a few days if she eats right and does exercises," the doctor added with a comforting smile. He also bandaged Frank's wound.

That night, the detectives had a huge feast at one of the restaurants which were on the guide book Bess brought with her to Seattle. Mrs. Fontaine said that she had something to do and left the premise.

The detectives decided to call everyone who was a suspect in this case. Abraham, Luke, Smith, Jennifer, and Mrs. Mott came after the detectives invited each of them by phone. Nancy told Jennifer to bring her mother as well.

Abraham was the first to shake hands with the detectives. He wanted to thank Nancy, Frank, and Joe for clearing his name. Luke and Smith wanted to talk to the detectives who solved the two baffling crimes, impressed that teenagers like them were able to solve such complicated mysteries. Mrs. Mott was most concerned with Nancy's wellbeing, since she was the one who asked her to investigate the crime. But what Nancy was most concerned about was Mrs. Fontaine.

Jennifer was with her mother when she came to the restaurant, and Nancy smiled as she saw the woman.

"Um, Mrs. Fontaine," she started, but then paused to think what she should say.

Mrs. Fontaine smiled broadly as she approached Nancy. "What is it?"

"I've been wanting to know why you were at the concert hall the other day and how you found us."

The middle-aged woman said with a grin, "Well, I think I should start from the very beginning. I'm a professor of journalism in Dingell University in Maine. That's the school Jack, Katrina, and Maria went to. Maria was very talented at everything she did, but she was most talented in playing piano. Why, I still remember the day when she performed at the party held in the campus. Everyone was amazed after hearing her performance, and she got paid to perform at many other parties."

"Really?" Nancy said.

"And I'm also a big fan of detectives like you. Because I'm a professor of journalism, I got really interested in you and thought that there could be a scoop. You see, my mother was also a private investigator, and she used to take me out to investigate many crimes (except murder, that is). I was very excited to see her search for clues. And when I heard the news that you were coming to watch my daughter perform, I was really excited.

"But then, Jack Rocky was murdered. He was one of my students, and I got very worried."

Jennifer frowned. "Right," she said sarcastically. She then said to Nancy: "She opposed my hanging out with him. Even when he gave me two necklaces, she was still shaking her head."

Mrs. Fontaine sighed. "Well, I didn't want a perfect girl like you hanging around with a…what do you call those boys? Pukes?"

Nancy giggled. Jennifer rolled her eyes. "They're called 'punks,' Mom!"

Mrs. Fontaine then started: "Anyway, I was just a tad worried about the case, so I started investigating myself! And when I saw you with Frank, Joe, and Bess, I couldn't help but follow you. When I heard that you were going to a party, I went to Katrina's house and waited, hoping that you could lead me to a clue. But I then found out that Katrina was killed as well. Thinking that I should better not show myself to the police (I know how suspicious they get from my previous experience as a journalist). When you detectives drove out of the house, I followed you. When you went into the concert hall building, I started to go in as well, but then I saw someone running from inside the building. My journalist instinct immediately told me that the person was suspicious. I drove after him, but lost sight immediately."

Nancy nodded her head. So the reason Frank saw her car wasn't because she was the one running away from them. She was the one trying to catch the killer!

"And after that, I gave up on the investigation. But when I was driving downtown, I saw a black car pass by me, and right after the car was Frank. He had a serious look on his face, so I thought that I should follow him. When I got there, Frank was entering the concert hall, and right next to his car was the black van. I saw the black van that night when I followed you to the hall and decided to sneak in after him. I hid in the hallway just outside of the backstage and listened to Frank talk with the kidnapper.

"I didn't hear very clearly, but I found out that Leticia was the killer and knew that I had to do something. I still kept hiding, but when Frank and Leticia went to the backstage, I decided to make my move."

She looked at Nancy once again. "And that's about all I can tell you," she concluded. "I guess that when a mother is a detective, the daughter must be one as well."

"Huh?" Nancy asked, surprised. "Do you know my mother?"

"Of course I do," she answered. "We were roommates when we were studying in Wilder University."

"Can you tell me more about her?" Nancy asked, excited at the turn of event.

"Not now, dear," the woman said. "We should eat first."

The dinner was delicious. Nancy was glad Bess decided to choose the restaurant, and she hadn't eaten much in twenty-four hours. For once, she ate more than Bess in a dinner.

After dinner, the guests talked for a few more minutes. Then, every guest except for Mrs. Fontaine and her daughter was gone.

"So," Nancy started, "what can you tell me about Mom?"

"Your mother was really smart and cheerful. We were both very interested in fighting against crimes. I went on and became a journalist, and your mother became a detective. She solved dozens of cases in her entire career!"

Nancy was amazed. Her mother was also a detective, but she hadn't known, since her father didn't want to talk about that subject.

"She really was a wonderful woman," Mrs. Fontaine added. "I think she was one of the best detectives in the whole country at one time!"

Frank and Joe came back from sending the guests away. They sat down at the table. Nancy listened intently to the woman's talk. Mrs. Fontaine took a sip of water and sighed.

"I feel sorry for you, Nancy," she finally said.

Nancy didn't know what she meant. She asked, "What do you mean? Because I don't have a mother?"

Mrs. Fontaine shook her head.

"Because she was killed, and nobody knows who the killer was."

Postscript (more like a Preview): Nancy finds out that her mother was killed and is determined to find the truth. As she continues the investigation, Frank and Joe invite her to a mysterious hotel called Hotel Piermont. From their previous case, the detectives find out that the mansion was where Maria Voorhees lived until her death! But the detectives aren't ready to face a horrifying murder that can be described in one word: impossible. Yes, the body is found in a perfectly locked room, and the hotel owner is the only one with the key. But, most shockingly, among the ones with no solid alibis is Nancy Drew! Could she have committed the crime? Or was it really the ghost of the magician who died in his own home? Read the prologue of this exciting new mystery filled with romance and impossibility on January 1st!

The title of the next mystery is: Haunting Memories.

P.S. The next story will be a little differently set up. I won't count the prologue or epilogue to be a chapter, so the chapter two will be chapter one, chapter three will be chapter two, and so on.